Well, we've had a time around these parts. On and off line, I suppose. As you can see from your address bar, we're making tweaks to SPL, and carts got put in front of horses and things were a bit rough for awhile (I may or may not have been weeping in the laps of the wonderful folks from Customer Support at MacHighway, but that's a story for another day.), but I'm here (thank goodness), and you are too (really, really, thank YOU!), so I'll try to keep things smooth sailing from here on out. Thank you to all of you who checked in and wanted to make sure things were okay. They mostly weren't okay, but they never were insurmountable. We're getting there.

In the midst of all of this our sweet Violet has been getting worse. Our vet had wanted to do a follow-up with her this week anyway, but Neel and I were both noticing appreciable changes in her gait and struggles with her back legs. We simply love our vet, at Dog and Cat Hospital, not least of which because she (rightly so) adores Miss Violet. Dr. Marshall has been cautious but careful, and yet it was clearly time for further action. Yesterday we headed north about half an hour to a surgeon recommended by our vet. This surgeon is wonderful and has now recommended that we head south and west about three hours for an MRI. It could be a bulging disk. It could be a mass on her spine. But we need answers. It doesn't hurt that our vet wrote on our records to the the surgeon that Violet was "the sweetest dog ever." She's right. We leave at seven this morning for an involved (and pricey) appointment that will hopefully clarify our next steps.

Between that and my blog woes, the mantle of worry has weighed heavily upon me this week.

I was all set to tell you about our weekend, which was pretty fabulous, so I'll just pop a few tidbits on here. We had just the most lovely dinner with friends on Friday night (and Neel got some long awaited spaghetti and meatballs) which capped off the most decadent day ever: hike, then lunch, then dinner. If I managed to squeeze a massage in there somewhere, I practically would have qualified as a Real Housewife. Our Supper Club went really well, even though some people (I'm looking at YOU Tequila Bill) had babies to avoid us, and perhaps flu season isn't the best time to get together. Still, we managed to shuffle through with some amazing food and equally wonderful company. I'll blog about it as soon as I possibly can. But really the highlight of my day was saving a whopping $61.43 at the grocery store on Saturday. It's the little things, right? It's $61.43 worth of things.

There's one other thing I want to say about our weekend, and that's the fog. It was thick and dark and deep almost all weekend. Saturday, for sure, never got past misty. I know I've told you that we're just blocks from the Elizabeth River, one of the busiest rivers in the US, and on Saturday morning I woke up to the sound of foghorns, long and low. All morning they blew. It's such a mournful sound, but beautiful too, and I thought how lucky we are to live near the river and hear that sound. It's good to remember how lucky you are sometimes.

So as you're reading this, we've likely headed out the door. Violet has probably begged at least half a dozen times to stop and get fries at McDonalds (she can't have food past midnight), and she's saying over and over again "When Violet was good, she was very, very good, and when she was bad she was PRETTY!" (It's going to be a long drive.) Please hold us all in the light. My little puppers especially. I don't know exactly what the week will hold for me. I've been taking photos, and I have some posts lined up, but I can't promise to get them on here. Frankly, I'm just happy to be here. Love you guys. Thanks for everything. We're getting there.