Epic Pregnancy

Lola has been pregnant for 2 months + now and she was due any minute. When i came back home on Wednesday evening, i knew the end was close - she normally always come when called, especially when it's either me or Dear Beloved coming back from work. Not this time.

She was in the corner of her room, not moving much, barely lift her head up when i got in and looking like she had the world's entire load of misery upon her.

I immediately called the vet to ask for tips and to let him know that my dog was about to pop out puppies. 

What i didn't know, cuz let's be honest, it'd be my first puppy birth (and Dear Beloved's first as well), is that dogs start by secreting a slimy green liquid before the actual labor starts (glad the vet told me that cuz i would definitely had freaked out if i had seen that slime on her when i went to check her up on Thursday morning).

At noon that day, she still hadn't started to deliver her puppies so we took her to the vet who gave her a shot to induce labor. And then the waiting began. And we did just that: waiting, waiting and waiting some more. 

But when her water broke at around 5pm, i was on first raw to see her delivering a gigantic beautiful all white puppy girl. The only not so right point about it all is that the puppy came out outside the bag it normally should and with its umbilical cord already sectioned. And righteously so, Dear Beloved couldn't revived her :( 

But when 6 hrs later, no other puppy had gotten out, we knew something was not too good. That's when the camping started, and the watching over Lola, me up until 2am and Dear Beloved until 6am.

That's when we rushed to the vet for an emergency c-section.

Long story short, after a psychological pregnancy 6 months ago, an emergency c-section, a 2nd dead puppy and 1.5hrs into surgery, we decided to spay Lola. In no way i want her to go through this hell again (neither do i to be honest).

It took her an entire week to feel better about it all and start eating again. She's now back to her happy self, walking with us and Bullet in the morning. We're a happy family again :)

Camping With The Kids

What i really mean is that i'm outside, pending of my dog Lola in case she pops out more puppies since she's been in labor for what may seems like 2 days already.

I'm not really camping but it surely feels like it anyway.

I'm outside in my garden. I have a mosquito-repellent spiral burning next to me, a candle on so i can see a bit, Lola is sleeping like a log next to me and i peed behind the bushes earlier on! :o

I also have the criquets, the fireflies and some weird scary noises going on around me. If it wasnt for the public light, my wireless internet and the fan that Dear Beloved set up earlier on today to "kick" the armies of flies away, it could very much be like camping. We even had pizza for dinner!!!


Why am i on the watch with Lola you might ask? Well as i mentioned above, she's in labor. We were expecting her to give birth these days and yesterday afternoon when i came back from work and i saw her, it was obvious it was coming soon.
And this morning (well, it's not this morning anymore, it's yesterday morning but since i havent slept yet, we'll keep it as such) - so this morning, at aroun 6:30am, when i saw her bed was half covered in that green fluid the vet told me about, i knew the time has come.


Dear Beloved was off and i took the afternoon to be together with him and her. Since things were going way too slow, we had to take her to the vet so she could get an injection to induce labor. Still took her 5 hours to push the first puppy out.


First puppy was a beautiful fat female, all white. Unfortunately, she was born still :(
Actually, Lola delivered her first pup ever like a total pro. She started pushing, pushed her out in less than 5 seconds and start licking it and cleaning it like a good dog mom would do. Except that this little girl was born outside the bag they normally come in with and with her ombilical cord already sectionned. I told Dear Beloved this wasnt a good sign. And sure enough, it wasnt. He did try his best but couldnt revive the little one.


And so far, it's been the only pup getting out of my dog. We called the vet about 2 hours ago, a good 5 hours after the first pup was born and he told us that it can take all night. Reason why i'm outside with her in case she starts pushing again.
Even though i must admit, the probabilities seem low considering the fact that she's currently sleeping belly up with her 4 legs wide open and snoring! jaja.


This is a very traditional position in this house. Every single one of my 5 pets sleep like this. Both dogs and cats! LOL


So yeah, i'm camping outside, while Dear Beloved is sleeping in our bed. I guess we'll take turns but so far i can keep myself awake for some extra time!


Now if you'll excuse me, i need to grab my torch and go find a spot to pee again! 

This is big fat Lola trying to get some rest ... just before i set up my camp!

And this is Bullet, knowing something is definitely going on and willing to participate (very good quiet attitude around Lola - what a good dog he has been!)

I Live in the Countryside

Technically, i don't, but it sure feels like it. And i only realized it this morning - more than 2 years after moving in here.

This morning at around 8am, i went to the store to get some bread. I agree, it was Sunday and Sundays are generally even quieter days but still. There were not a single sound outside but the singing of my neighbors roosters and some birds in the trees. No car, nobody ... It was pretty awesome. 

Right this second, it's pouring rain (i don't remember having such heavy raining in July since a very long time ago) and the only thing i can hear, is the rain falling on the leaves of the trees and plants in my garden and a storm coming that way.

Life is good in the countryside.

There is scarcely any writer who has not celebrated the happiness of rural privacy, and delighted himself and his reader with the melody of birds, the whisper of groves, and the murmur of rivulets.  ~Samuel Johnson

C'est Le 14 Juillet

It's national day in France today ... I don't celebrate it here, i didn't celebrate when i was living in France either, i was just enjoying the fireworks at night.


Today, in order to actually "celebrate" my home country of France (even if i haven't been living there for 12 years!), I've listened to one of the best anthems in the entire world (along with the Mexican one):


LA MARSEILLAISE!

I get emotional every time i hear this anthem (it's the long version this one!)


Joyeux 14 Juillet!


Aux aaaaaaaaaaaaarmes citoyens!
Formeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez vos bataillons
Marchooooons, marchoooooons
Qu'un sang impuuuuuuuuur
Abreuve nos sillons


Ponponpon!

I Have a Whole New Understanding of Mechanics

When we crashed the car last year, i had to acknowledge the fact that before meeting dear-beloved, i really hadn't taken a good care of my car. It's not that i'm reckless, i just tend to not care about stuff like that. If it works, good, if it doesn't, i'll take it to the mechanics. What i never realized is that had i taken it to the mechanics BEFORE it needed to, it would have cost me half of what i ended up spending on that car.

I then swore to god that i would care for my next car the way it should be taken care of.

A year later, riding a bike on a regular basis and leaving my man the infinite pleasure of driving "my" new car, I've come to realize that taking care of your everyday vehicle is of utmost importance. And i realized that riding my bike actually!

Un-freaking believable.

When the chain is not oiled or the tires are not pumped up, the amount of energy i'm asking my body to produce is multiply by at least 10. I suffer through the entire way to work and the entire way back. I arrive on each end twice as tired as i normally would and the bike is making noises that feels like it's going to fall apart.

So I've deducted that, on the bike, I AM the power source to get moving. And if a 10 kg bike with a tire a bit low on air or missing a few drops of oil on the chain get me, the engine, into so much trouble and such harder work, i can only imagine what the engine of a 1.5 ton car car go through.

This has completely changed my view on it all. And I've realized that there is no better way to understand something or someone than to put yourself in their shoes.