Adventures…. I did not have to wait for long since Savannah. Or Grinnell.

Friday I got layers put in my DIY mostly-blunt-cut-with-scattered-ends-hair.

Since then I have pulled my old trusty old-school curling iron out of retirement.

I forgot how walking around with a finished look can feel. I prefer the old-school curled-under look I grew up with to the spiral waves of recent years— I would not begin to understand how to operate a flat iron or a curling wand; never owned one and do not plan to make the investment now.

Jared has a work event in Austin, so I am along for a writer’s retreat.

We made it as far as Shreveport, Louisiana Sunday night after deciding late Saturday night that getting an early start might be prudent.

Jared did a search and hit a home run: for less than $100 he found Clarion Pointe at Shreveport West: clean, recently remodeled, close to the airport but with a major police precinct literally next door: our first floor room faced the back side of the station. Probably safest spot in that part of Shreveport. Right off I-20.

I have been to Austin once; when I was two years old, my parents drove to Austin with me in tow after visiting our Missouri family, to see my Dad’s best friend from high school. I remember arriving late at night, climbing steps to an apartment, and setting up camp on the floor.

I remember Missouri from that trip too; I remember a cousin a year younger sitting in a high chair at my aunt’s house. It seems like there was a cookie we weren’t happy with each other about involved.

Memories are strange.

I nearly stayed home and perhaps should have, but a month ago when Jared made these plans he opted out of the offered flight to drive so I could come.

We had no idea Abby would get sick.

Abby is sick. First she refused her regular food. Then she was lethargic and stopped drinking much. She was just not her normal energetic self, so I took her to the vet last Tuesday.

She snapped at the vet tech, so I asked for something and was given acepromezine, which exacerbated things after I gave it to her for grooming on Wednesday.

She had a UTI, and has been on her antibiotic since last Tuesday. Friday she went back and was given a special canned GI food, a probiotic, and gabapentin for stress instead of the acepromezine, and we were told she could also have canned chicken if she wouldn’t eat much else. She had pretty well emptied her bowels with normal poop Thursday night but there was a lot of it.

She downed a half can of the GI food Friday and decided she was done. She grazed at chicken until Sunday morning, when she finally had a normal poop again. She’d eaten well, taken her meds well, and had a normal poop and seemed comfortable, so we left her in the capable hands of our house sitter.

This morning it was reported she’s had diarrhea in the night and was not interested in food today.

If she is not better by morning, my mom is taking her back to the vet.

Elderly dogs are hard. Abby is 13 years old. She is in good attentive care but I hate that I, her person, is not there for her.

I dared not let Jared do a 14 hour drive by himself though. So the decision to proceed with the trip was made.

So, adventure. But dampened with worry for my therapy dog, as her therapy person.