I’m thankful for a Cooper visit at work, a quick rainstorm, dinner out, and checking things off my to-do list.

I’m thankful for a puppy who likes to sleep all night long, a work day that moves quickly, warm sunshine with a cool breeze, and dates with friends.

I got a call from my surgeon’s office today giving me some the pre-op instructions like stop taking my Tamoxifen a week before. I’m glad they called because I saw an orthopedic specialist this morning who doesn’t believe my swollen hand is from tennis elbow. He’s not entirely sure what’s causing it, just that he thinks the tendons along the top are inflamed. He prescribed an oral steroid to help with it, but my surgeon’s nurse said it’s also something I can’t take. In fact, she even said they’d cancel the surgery if I had. That was close!

And apparently, my CT scan hasn’t been read it because it’s not a high priority given that it doesn’t typically show a good or bad result. The nurse said it’s usually used to inform the doctor for the surgery, but if anything else showed up as an issue, they would call me right away. Then she answered all my questions and encouraged me to call if I have any more.

I also had what is probably my final massage before my surgery. I always leave there feeling so much better, but I’m really hoping I won’t need to go back, at least not for a medical massage. Maybe I can go once later just for relaxation.

I’m super thankful I got the call from my surgeon’s office when I did today because I would have been sooooo upset if my stupid hand screwed up my surgery. I’ll revisit the issue later. I’m also thankful for a good final massage, and that all my lingering appointments are now done.

I spent the morning working in our bedroom, hoping to get some wallpaper up. Unfortunately, after getting the first strip on the wall, I had an uneasy feeling I misread the square footage. After the second strip, I knew and immediately ordered a second roll. Grrr. I hate wallpapering and now I’ll have to do it another weekend. Thankfully, though, I should get the new roll by Friday, and thankfully, I like the change to plaid.

I still haven’t heard any results of my CT scan, which makes me nervous. At the same time, I’m hoping that no news is good news. Hopefully it means that nothing urgent was visible, so I got put into the “not urgent” pile.

Still, to keep me occupied, I did some cleaning around the house and then worked on the new drapes I’m making for our bedroom. I’m not done, but I’m about halfway there. Of course, in between I spent a bunch of time outside with the pups. Potty training a puppy is time consuming, so I’m thankful the weather was pretty decent today. I’m also thankful for a big discount on some solar lanterns that I put on our deck. I love good atmosphere.

It’s Friday! I had to take an early afternoon meeting, but it was still a short work day. It was also really nice outside, so we spent a lot of time in the backyard with the pups. Barley is getting a little more perky and less grumpy towards Cooper every day. They even stayed side by side went we went for a walk. I’m thankful for that.

I’m thankful today that it’s almost the end of the week, that Patrick got more painting done without hurting himself on a ladder, that our concrete work should be scheduled soon, and that Cooper doesn’t fuss in his cage so we can actually sleep.

I’m thankful today my pre-op appointment went well. I’m all cleared for surgery, but even better, I liked the nurse practitioner I saw. She was really personable and helpful. I ended up adding her as my primary care physician.

I’m also thankful that Barley is warming up a little bit more every day to Cooper. We aren’t forcing it, but he seems a little more curious about him. And he’s not going the opposite direction every time Cooper walks towards him.

And Cooper is getting acclimated. He’s slightly better at listening and stopping when we say no to things. And he makes no fuss at going into his cage at bedtime or when we have to leave the house briefly. We need to work on the puppy stuff like jumping on people or grabbing everything he sees, especially if it’s fuzzy or moving. My feet seem especially interesting. Since he’s 6 months old, I know that won’t last a lot longer, so we just need to take it a day at a time.

I’m grateful today that Barley was tolerating Cooper (we decided on his name!) a little bit better today. Although I’m questioning whether Cooper is really a cat.

Today I had to leave work early and get a CT scan in preparation for my upcoming surgery. The hospital is an hour away when the traffic is good, so I knew I had to leave in plenty of time. I was told to drink a couple of glasses of water a couple hours ahead, so by the time I got there, I was desperate for the bathroom. Luckily, I didn’t need a full bladder for the scan because the contrast dye they injected gave a warm sensation that made me feel like I had wet myself. Good thing the nurse warned me ahead of time. I’m thankful the scan was uneventful, and I should have results in a day or two.

Uneventful is not what happened at home today. Over the weekend Patrick and I were discussing when we thought we’d be ready to get another pup since it feels very empty without Chance. And as the way things go, we saw posts of a little guy on a local shelter’s social media/website that gave us Chance vibes. Today we decided it wouldn’t hurt to meet him. We were wrong.

Against all better judgement, we brought him home. I mean, it’s terrible timing with my surgery coming up. But something in this little fella’s face and temperament spoke to us. Still, I cried all the way home thinking of my Chance and remembering the day I brought him home. I felt disloyal, thinking maybe we haven’t grieved long enough. But I’ll always wish he was back and I know we will never replace him.

We’re just opening ourselves up for a new chapter. Barley wasn’t too keen on him at first, but wasn’t aggressive, which helped push us towards adopting him. He usually doesn’t like new dogs. We’re hopeful it won’t take long for them to bond. Barley has seemed a bit lonely. We have good signs.