Louie and I were out for our daily walk the other day when we ran into a nice couple and their chocolate lab.  The man said he’d grown up with four or five miniature dachshunds, and said they were red short hairs.  He said “One of them was just like a badger, eh?  If you even looked at him while he was eating he’d come at ya like this” and he demonstrated with teeth bared and hands made into claws.

I told him about my three short-haired dachshunds, and what vicious animals they were, and said how completely different Louie the long hair is.  Whereas the three short-haired hounds would race to the door, hackles raised, ready to attack, Louie races to the door wagging his tail and ready to accept any friend or burglar who might show up.

And what a thrill this little dog’s going to get on Friday when Nicky returns home from Taiwan.  Do you remember how I told you in July Nicky was off to teach English for a year?  It turns out he didn’t like it, and is homesick, so there you go.

So that ends my time of peace and quiet on Hall Road.  It was short-lived at four months, and you’ll recall I completely re-decorated the basement, thinking he’d be gone for a year.

The theme of the basement is feminine and largely white.  I cleaned everything out of his bedroom and re-decorated it into a guest room.  The living room couches were hauled to the dump and a lovely brocade couch and chair were bought.

The bathroom fibreglass stall was torn out, and I had tile setters build a new shower stall and I bought a darling white ruffled shower curtain for it.  The curtain hooks are porcelain daisies.  It’s all just adorable.

Never mind.  I’m sure four months away plus living with a room mate for the first time in his life have taught him something about keeping a place clean.

Remember last week I told you I have to visit a massage therapist regularly to get rid of sciatic joint pain?  Now I found a chiropractor who I think is going to do a better job and I’ll go to him instead for a few treatments to see if he can get rid of it.

I like his methods, as I Googled SI pain and what can be done, so when he did what I’d read about, I felt reassured.  None of it feels very good, but I think when the pelvic bone is completely immobile it’s going to take some work to get that thing loosened up.

He had me lie on my side, and said to lift my leg toward my chest.  He then slammed his body down on my side, springing back mightily and almost hitting the wall.  He said, “Wow, that’s a lot tighter than I thought!”  I said eleven years at the gym seems to have produced a body of steel.

I screamed several times and when I left to pay the receptionist, who happens to be a pal from the gym, she said, “Were you screaming?  I heard screaming.”  I said, “Yes I was screaming because that hurt like a son of a bitch.”  But I’m okay with it as I think it’ll help me in the long run.  We’ll see, won’t we?