Big happy sigh in The Long and Winding Road

Here I am again.... with so many good and trusted friends encouraging me to keep giving this place a chance, how could I resist? And now that I'm starting to understand the format, well, I have to admit, it's so wonderful to click on a link or an entry and have the page open up! I tried to access Open Diary a few minutes ago and at first, it loaded up really quickly -- just long enough for me to glimpse something on the home page about an apology from the diary master. But I had already clicked on another link and ya know, that page is still trying to open up. It's sort of my plan to dual post but at this rate, that might not be possible very often!

My friends know that my entries are usually "friends only". I feel more comfortable sharing in a diary if I at least know who I am sharing with. So I will eventually move to that here, I think, but for now I am open to making new friends, and I also need to take some time to know who my old friends are here, and for them to know who I am. So hey -- in case you aren't sure, I am Elan over at Open Diary.

I chose the name "Liebe" here because it's been a sentimental favorite of mine for many years. Back when I used to play Asheron's Call, and then WoW, I was Liebe. The name just felt right. It means "love" in German, and I am of German descent. And I am all in favor of love. So there you go.

It's been a busy week but kinda nice too. My boss has been on vacation for two weeks, and it is the only time each year that he takes ANY time off. I love my boss and I love my job, but when he is on vacation it's like a vacation for me too. Our HR director has also been on vacation, and our owner (whom I refer to as Big Boss) has been out of town so we've been having a lot of casual days, and I've been able to duck out early (I mean, maybe 20-30 minutes early) on several occasions. So it's been pretty nice. All that ends on Monday when everybody is back from vacation and the craziness will begin again.

Meanwhile, there is there is the weekend. I am finally starting to unwind from the months-long project of getting my house ready to sell, selling it, finding an apartment, cleaning stuff out, purging, trips to Goodwill, trips to the dump, selling things on Craigslist, moving, getting settled in. That epic move consumed my life since March and wow, does it feel good to be getting my life back now -- and in a new apartment that I am loving. It's the first time in decades that I haven't been a home owner and I'm a little surprised to find that I'm not missing it at all. Although I am sure I will when it comes time to do my tax return and I don't have that mortgage interest deduction. But for now, I'm just fortunate to have found an apartment that I'm so happy with, in a location that has changed my whole lifestyle.

There isn't anything super special on the agenda for the weekend. I am always content in my own company and I am looking forward to taking Bing out for a nice long walk tonight along the lake, and sitting out on my balcony with a glass of wine to do some people watching, and then curling up on the couch for a movie or a TV show that I recorded. On Sunday there is a neighborhood ice cream social on the beach with a couple of different bands, including a ukulele band. My good friend Nancy is coming over to take a walk to the social with me and Bing, and then later we'll probably go have drinks and dinner outside at one of the nearby restaurants. That will be Sunday. Oh yes, and a Seahawks preseason game tomorrow night. I'm not really that big on preseason games but I'll take what I can get. If it's preseason, can fall be far behind? We have had absolutely the MOST gorgeous summer, and I know I'll be sorry to see it go, but I love fall -- the crisp cool air, a pot of soup or gumbo on the stove, and football.

Hmmm, guess what. The Open Diary page is still trying to open.

In other news, Bing has now been on the Prozac for almost 2 weeks. In some ways he seems more calm, and I THINK (I really have to go pay attention to the format for putting words in italics) the separation anxiety is getting better. I've changed his routine a little, I think I described in an earlier entry on OD, how comfortable he is in his crate, but I can't keep him crated all day because it's too many hours. So I use his crate to block off the kitchen, with the crate door open to the kitchen. That way, he can get in and out of his crate and he can walk around, move around, there are pee pads on the floor, and his favorite blanket, a couple of toys and of course, food and water. I think he's doing a little better with this than having free run of the house. Part of my motivation for doing this was his fondness for peeing on carpet, even if pee pads are right there. Since I started confining him to the kitchen, he peed on the pee pads once but has held it all day, ever since. But I know I still can't trust him on carpet, at least when he's home alone. On the down side though, I think the Prozac has weirded him out a little. He sleeps more, and he just seems a little "off". The vet said that after a few months of the Prozac and behavior modification (i.e., me not making a big deal out of it when I leave the house or come home) we can try weaning him off of it to see if "learned behavior" kicked in.

Well..... I'm at work and I need to shut this down. Thanks for being here and for all the encouragement! Ciao....