Weekends Like This ...

... are why I try to blog a lot earlier in the month. Never know what's going to come up and I do want to manage 30 or more posts per month on average.

I was planning to get quite a bit of writing done this weekend -- a couple of blog posts, Monday's column, some work on another project I'll be telling you about eventually. I also expected to have time to bike 10 miles on Saturday and maybe even finally get to the theater to see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Then things just started drifting south in a big way.

First the neighbor's dog died.

Good dog, Pepper. About a year ago, the neighbor took her to the vet with a swelling in her right jaw. Cancer. Incurable. No point in operating, it will just come back. Here's some anti-biotics for a related infection and some anti-inflammatories for the pain and swelling.

I've been visiting next door twice a day for months to help get pills down her gullet, etc. And she seemed to have a pretty good quality of life until late this last week, when she started to have trouble getting up and walking. Yesterday, Tamara and I dropped by. Pepper gave her usual greeting bark, wagged her tail, and headed for the back door (her owner has trouble getting around, so Pepper would wait for one of us to come by before asking to be let outside).

Maybe 15 minutes later she was dead. Went outside, did her business, lay down on the grass. I went out to see if she needed help getting up. She couldn't get up at all. I carried her inside, and by the time we got there she wasn't breathing.

So, I buried her, got a nap (it was hot and I was tired), and then Tamara and I went out to do some household shopping. During which time we got the call: My daughter's 1998 Volvo S-90 had been rear-ended by a pickup truck at a red light. No major apparent injuries, but a few hours at the ER awaiting examination, CAT scan, etc.

I'm glad she was driving a Volvo. The car is basically gone from its rear end to its rear axle, but both occupants walked away with minor visible scratches.

So, how was your weekend?