Choo & Ella's Excellent Adventure

For those who don't know, Choo and Ella are our two Shih Tzu "puppies". Choo (short for Ah Choo) is on the left and Ella is on the right. They are sisters - both from the same litter.

Today I had to do some Christmas shopping. Well, I really didn't HAVE to go shopping, but I wanted to try to get some of it done. So I took them along. As a treat for them, we went to Petsmart. Petsmart lets you bring your pets into the store with you. Talk about puppy paradise! I think if they could have a Christmas list, their list would read "everything in Aisle 6 in Petsmart - if it squeaks, we want it!" And the best thing is that after you get done shopping, you get a free cookie (well, the dogs do, the owner just hands over the money!)

We spent about a half hour in the store. I think they smelled almost every toy in the store. We went over and looked at the birds. Hopefully, the canaries will recover! I am sure those birds are used to this by now (I hope!).

As we were leaving, a lady with a big boxer walked in. Choo and Ella always love meeting new friends. The boxer gave them a look and just stepped over them and walked on. Poor Choo and Ella! I do think they had fun.

The Pitfalls of Working with Goats

About two months ago, I was milking one of the goats, can't remember which one it was. She did not want to get off the milking stand. I can understand why - you get all the free grain you want and no one bothers you. So I tried pulling her off. She didn't like that and decided to let me know by giving me a pretty hefty pull. I didn't think too much of it at the time.

The next morning I woke up and my left shoulder was sore. You know how it feels like you overdid it the day before. Only problem the pain never did go away that day, nor the day after that, or the day after that and so on. At first, I took a couple of aspirins - didn't do much good. Got out the ibuprofen - helped a little. I figured maybe it was the onset of arthritis. So I went to the store and bought some "Icy Hot". That didn't do much good. Meanwhile the shoulder is getting worst - to the point where I can't sleep on it. Driving became next to impossible because I couldn't lift my left arm up to the steering wheel - time to go see a doctor!

Went to the doctor this week and had an MRI done yesterday. I have a torn rotator cuff - anyone want to buy a herd of goats? We are now off to see an Orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday. Talk about luck! The only surgeon available is the guy that is the doctor to the Bengals! So if he can fix the Bengals, I guess I am in pretty good hands!

So, Diane, what did you do on your Christmas vacation?