Plenty of lemonade, no AC.
The air conditioning unit, the finest of heavenly inventions, died at 12:03 PM yesterday. With the help of a box fan, the house temperature hovered at 80 degrees last night. Of course, this would happen on a Friday when repair shops close for the weekend. Murphy’s Law at work.
Comforting it is to know this problem will cost me a flat $75, thanks to my home warranty. The problem must be fixed, and if it can’t be, the unit must be replaced. So, I can easily wait out a weekend. After all, it’s summer in the desert and AC repair people are in high season. Patience. Patience. Patience.
Today will be a day filled with misting, full speed fans, and naps. A good day to watch some movies and lay low. Ace has the knowledge, tools, license, and Freon to help me out, but he has weekend clients. As soon as he is finished, he’ll come to the rescue, if a repair shop hasn’t contacted me by then.
To compound the matter, Oliver is not feeling his best. Not sure of his issues, but we’ll visit his vet on Monday if he isn’t feeling better. It could have to do with his sneaky ingestion of apricots and their pits. But there are other indicators it could be even more serious.
Oliver is such a strange little creature. He’s so very intelligent, having spatial awareness. He knows the world is in three dimensions. He will sit under the apricot tree gazing at fruit yet to fall, contemplating the best way to get into the tree. He knows the countertops in the house are rich with everything yummy. He never forgets what he’s seen, having a photographic memory. If there is a crumb of food anywhere, he won’t stop until he finds it. He would make a great working dog, as his energy is as limitless, unless he is not feeling his best.
When Oliver came to live with us, VST and I were in the midst of RVing. Oliver was housetrained on the road. He is the only dog I’ve ever met that uses only pee-pads. Yes. I have lawn, but he’s just learning what that’s for. Being neutered at a young age, he never began to lift his leg. He’s a squatter. One benefit of pee pad exclusivity is that I know what comes out of Oliver. In the last week, the amount of liquid has been increasing.
Along with that, strange new spots are growing on his abdomen. Tan in color, they are flat, brown spots. Rather like the age spot on my arm. These could be absolutely nothing, or they could be the sign of something very serious, common in dachshunds. Hyperpigmentation. Two kinds exist. Primary and secondary. If primary, it could be a symptom of many troubling issues, with no cure.
The internet, vast with information on every subject, is not a place to sit and read about your furry friend and possible illnesses. Especially when said friend is peeing more frequently, while restlessly looking into your eyes. Dachshunds are prone to many health issues, but this is a new one I hadn’t heard about. I’ll be emailing his breeder to get his thoughts on the matter.
With that, I bid you “Farewell” this morning. I need to retrieve more fans from the barn and get this air moving. Expecting 100 degrees, today. I love the desert. Patience. I love the desert. Patience. I love the desert. Patience. Etc. Etc. Etc.