Miscellanea

We're having a cloudy day in Boulder; it's the remnants of the big rain storm that caused the mud slides in California for the past two or three days.  Even though we're supposed to reach the low 50s today, it'll be grey outside and above, which will make it seem cooler.  I was disappointed that the Orion rocket launch was postponed this morning - first there was a boat in the restricted area, then high winds, then a valve problem.  Now the folks at Cape Canaveral are hoping for a launch early tomorrow morning, if they can solve the valve situation.
   Rosie injured in lower back over the weekend, chasing something in her back yard after dark.  She's had problems with her hind legs since then, and fell (backwards) down the stairs when her rear gave way Tuesday.  I took her for a medium, slow walk yesterday; I was hoping to take her around the stone loop, but she wanted to head up Sumac.  That made our walk just a tad too long for her.  She started stumbling two houses away from hers during our return, and her hind legs were shaking when we got inside the house.  I hope that Dr Katie was able to perform her magic yesterday afternoon with acupuncture and her laser treatment.  I hate seeing a dog want to do things but be physically unable to do so....
   After walking Rosie this morning, I will meet two new felines that I'll begin caring for in a couple of weeks.  One is an older indoor/outdoor cat, who wears a radio collar; the other is a recently adopted youngster who has taken over the house and is terrorizing the older cat.  The owners hope that I can help them get the younger kit to calm down a bit...  This will be an interesting trial.
  If I don't do so today, then on Saturday, I'll hit the used book stores and World Market to pick up my stocking stuffers for the family.  I've already told them that the rental of the vacation house on Chincoteague for Pony Penning week is my Christmas gift to the family as a whole.  Now I need to find a few inexpensive gifts for stockings, and a few more books for me to read...   And, who knows?  I might find another first edition in it's original dust jacket for $20 or less - that'd be worth all the poking around I do in the used book stores!