Equipment

John thought I should take a picture of my little medical station on one end of the kitchen counter. The instructions for Spike's care were all written down, but it seemed a bit overwhelming when I went to pick him up after his surgery, so I made a little check list and put all my 'equipment' in a box. The meds are getting easier now, and Spike is a good patient, but I'm beginning to second guess the other instructions. We've had many pets and three children who have all needed a variety of kinds of 'nursing care' but I have never dealt with this particular situation, and when it comes to the instructions for Spike's care, I am beginning to second guess myself.

How do I know if he's in pain since he never shows it. 
Should I have let him go down those three stairs?
I do think his ear is still infected because he's shaking his head. How do I get him not to shake his head?
He's starting to open his eyes more, but he's prevented from opening them all the way by stitches. What should his eyes look like?
All shall be answered on Thursday when I take him to get the stitches out.

Fortunately I had an appointment with the lovely Gail for a relaxing facial and was able to leave my patient at home with John for a couple of hours. Gail and Bob live in a beautiful tree shaded area, and yesterday one of the trees fell on a power line and started a fire...an oft repeated scenario around here.Trees fall, but power power lines could should be underground. Fortunately it was during the day, one of the neighbors heard it and called the fire department who came and put out the fire. PG&E came and cut up the tree to get it off the power line so they could repair it, but left the branches and logs on the ground. This is the standard scenario for a power company that apparently has tree cutting equipment that doesn't stretch to a wood chipper....

The county has a free wood chipping service but also a long waiting list.

We have moved the rather lethal cement coffee table out of the living room and have decided not to move it back even when Spike has recovered. A round one or, better yet a padded, oversized ottoman is what I have in mind for a replacement, and I spent the morning on my computer going down the online shopping rabbit hole. 

Remember when they said computers and related technology equipment would save time, paper and gas? I'm not so sure...