Just hanging around

This squirrel looks rather like it should be hanging in a butcher's shop window, but it was definitely alive & kicking & stuffing its face with bird seed; it's one of last year's babies, & from another shot I took I'm in a position to tell you that it's definitely a girl - who looks very much as though she's spilled henna on her foot; perhaps one of her near grandparents was a red squirrel?

Dental-phobics may not wish to read any further....

No blip for yesterday, as the day passed in a haze of pain, soup, & sleep; I could've done a back-blip for Thursday - of my face before I set off for the hospital, but on closer inspection I don't think it's something I want to share. Let's just say that it was massively swollen & distorted due to the abscess having taken off overnight, & all the way there I was convinced that the hospital would take one look at me & send me straight home again; perhaps the abscess was a blessing in disguise, as I was so surprised when they said they could go ahead (& then really 'went for it') that I didn't have time to get anxious! Having been assured that the room was soundproof & that I could therefore yell, scream, shriek & swear as much as I wanted, they said they would ignore all sound effects, but promised to take note of hand signals, & if I waved at them they would immediately stop. So I sat on my hands, & they went in like a well-practiced commando raid: they pooh-poohed my request for anaesthetic gel before the injections, saying it would all be over much quicker without, & then with a jab-wiggle-tug, jab-wiggle-tug, it really did seem to be over astonishingly quickly; hubby (who was sitting in the corner of the room) said that it took about 20 minutes, which equates to less than 3 minutes per tooth; seven (including a partially erupted wisdom tooth) were removed, & with almost every one the nurse was saying: "My goodness, you're going to feel so much better to be rid of that one"; I didn't just have the enormous abscess I'd presented with, but another one as well, plus two other roots were infected, yet I got away with only four injections, so I suppose they knew what they were doing & it really was best to be 'cruel to be kind'. After it was over I could've kissed the dentist (except I was eminently un-kissable), & came home feeling quite euphoric; but my top lip was too swollen to be able to admire my new teeth, & I was so tired that I dozed for most of the day, & was so dopy (& squeamish with dopiness) that hubby had to help me remove them & put them back in the first couple of times - greater love hath no man! LOL
Yesterday wasn't much better, & even today I woke at 4am needing painkillers, but the swelling has nearly all gone & at last I can admire my beautiful new smile. But it doesn't look at all like me, & it definitely doesn't feel like me! I'm hating the feel of this great chunk of plastic in my mouth, I can't work out where my tongue belongs & so I keep drooling; & eating & drinking are a torment through fear of choking. So I've felt very down today, but it is early days, & it's bound to take time; there's no going back, so I'll just 'have' to get used to it - either that, or be like an elderly family friend I recall, who kept her teeth for 'best' & would take them out with a sigh of relief as soon as she got home, very much like other people kick their shoes off!

In Jack news, he thoroughly enjoyed having his 'Auntie Nicki' dog-sit him, & we were glad to have her here to dilute his exuberance when we got back from the hospital. But Jack seemed to cotton on quite quickly that he had to be 'gentle' around me, & has actually tried to be on his best behaviour.
He's also learning car etiquette: instead of walking him up our road, hubby is now putting him in the car first, then driving him round for a few minutes before giving him a walk with different scenery & smells. Apparently he's already a lot calmer in the car.