Hanging out with Martin

Sometimes, your back is cold but your toes are hot.

These boots have done their walking

I have this pair of Merrill hiking boots. I got them during my residency, and they have worked hard.

They have been worn on 16-hour shifts, working in the large animal hospital. They have been worn at 2am to see an emergency in the middle of the night. They have been worn at 10pm when the work isn’t done for the day yet.

They have been in horse manure, sheep manure, cow manure, alpaca manure, and dog poop.

(I had a different pair of boots I wore when I helped cows give birth. THAT is a different kind of mess…)

Now they mostly sit in the corner and collect cat hair.


The cats are fans of these boots. Something about the smell of all that poop is just so great to rub on.

Home improvement

We have been planning for a seriously major home remodel since May. Things were going very slowly until yesterday. Now, all of a sudden, everyone is ready to kick it into high gear.
Hubby Doc and I spent a day cleaning out our garage so we have a place to store things during the construction. We are also working on finishing out a space that will be our temporary apartment for the next 3-4 months. And we need to move out of our house ASAP, so we can start pulling the stone off the exterior walls. Apparently the guys will be ready to break ground for the new addition sooner rather than later.
If I'm a bit absent over the next few weeks, this is why. I promise there will be lots of pictures to share, but it's going to take some time to get moves out and settled back into the new temporary digs. The existing house is going to get some major plastic surgery, and we are also putting on an addition, so the before-and-after photos should be pretty dramatic!
Stay tuned, but please cut me a little slack if things get a bit sporadic around here!