Monday, September 20, 2010

Catching Up is Hard to Do!!

Ok, so I admit it. It has been forever since I've posted on here. I've had some spare time but when I did, I just wanted to crash and not work on my blog. Sorry! But, here I am for a few minutes anyway.

First of all, on August 20th, we went to San Diego to visit my daughter, son in law, and 3 grandsons. Usually we do lots of sightseeing while we are there but this time, it was mostly spent working on their new house which they had just moved into a couple of weeks prior to our arrival. There were still boxes to be unpacked, windows (LOTS of them) to be washed, cupboards (LOTS of them) to be washed, kids to be watched while parents ran errands, etc etc etc. They bought a wonderful ranch home on an acre of land in the Mt. Helix section of La Mesa. It has a large pool, a wonderful patio, a small orchard, a small barn (full of spiders right now), and lots and lots of different kinds of vegetation. What a fantastic place to raise three energetic boys. I took lots and lots of pictures. Here are a few.

Oh, and did I mention the pool???

We worked but did take time for some family fun, such as a campfire on the patio. Or a trip to one of my favorite spots--Old Town San Diego.
And a meal in my favorite Old Town restaurant.

We had a great trip but all good things must come to an end. We headed home the day after Labor Day and then the real work began!

As some of you know, there has been a big upheaval at CROW where I have volunteered for almost 9 years now. Our head vet, Dr. PJ, resigned after more than 10 years at CROW. She pretty much made CROW what it is today. A new executive director and assistant were hired last January and in 6 months have kind of made CROW their own leading to the resignation of at least 5 employees, Dr. PJ being one of them. Along with her was the acting Development Director, The Buildings director, the Senior Rehabber and one of the receptionists. That on top of letting one of our other rehabbers go in June and out new intern not showing up has left CROW is a terrible bind! We depend a lot on students and volunteers. The students have all gone back to school so we only have 2 now and many of the volunteers are snowbirds and aren't back yet. We have one vet and 1 full time rehabber in the clinic as well as l full time rehabber/handyman and 2 part time rehabbers outside. Even the receptionists are busy cleaning cages when they aren't answering phones. Sooooo--to make a long story short, I am trying to take up some of the slack myself and am volunteering in the clinic 4 days a week now. I usually work between 6 and 8 hours a day---or as long as my back holds up. My main job right now is taking care of and feeding MANY baby squirrels. Thank goodness baby bird season and baby squirrel season don't happen at the same time!

This is pretty much how I spend my days--and no, I did not take this picture, I borrowed it from online.

So that is pretty much my life right now. Not that I'm complaining. I love working with Dr. Amber, Nikki, my baby animals and most of the rest of my CROW family.

6 comments:

Little Black Scrap Cat said...

It's great that your kids were finally able to find a home they wanted in the San Diego area. I know the pricing there has been outrageous. Our kids are looking, but have not found a place to buy for them and their 3 boys. Wonderful that you were able to go visit and spend some time both with family and helping out.

Sorry to hear about the shake up at CROW. It's nice that you have the time to help fill in for the lost hands. I hope they still have the education center open. I'm planning on bringing my daughter in there on our upcoming visit to Sanibel. Perhaps we will see you there!

Gayle said...

I want to pack up and move to that house right now! What a beautiful home, yard and pool. How very fortunate they are.

So sorry things are not running smoothly at CROW where you love to spend time. Hopefully soon you'll be able to cut back so that it is a less work and more enjoyment!

Snowbird said...

Scrap Cat--The Ed Center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10-4. I think you will really enjoy it.

My daughter's house was a short sale. They have been married for 10 years and it took them this long to find their "forever" house. She said when she drove in through the gate, she knew she had found the right one.

Gayle, Karen would love your gardening expertise. CROW will be ok eventually but it will take time, patience, and lots of blood, sweat and tears!

gpc said...

Karen's new home is amazing and it will be fun to see her make it even more so. Be careful now that you're home, you need to learn not to over-do, especially a problem this year with the lack of help! (nag, nag, nag)

Tink *~*~* said...

For a retired person, you work too hard! :)

*~*~*

yui said...

I'm looking forward to the next update.