Bopcha Blog

KC, that is so heart breaking about Jazz. I am so sorry to hear that. Did you ever actually find his body. Wow, that seems like such a devastating way to go. I am sure you provided a rich and full life for the little guy. I am truly sorry about your loss.

And yes speaking of blood and guts, Nina did say there was blood all over the floor when she watched the surgery. It did not freak her out she said. She was really okay with it and says she could handle it.

Nina and Alex spent New Year's Eve with us. We watched the New Years Eve program on TV and you could see little Alex was getting really tired. But he wanted to be a trooper and kept saying that he did not want to go to bed yet and he wanted to "stay up for New Years Eve" while his little eyes struggled to stay open. When midnight came we cheered him on for staying up. He had this really cute little smile on his face like he was so proud of himself.
He is adorable in my unbiased opinion.

Thanks to all of you for the many wonderful gifts, we really appreciate them. Judy, I have to say that your delicious jam is dangerous, I could go into a sugar coma with the way I eat it.. I have been eating it right out of the jar to satisfy my sweeth tooth. I have opened the strawberry jam and have pretty much devoured it. It is heavenly. I shared a little with Sid, but he definitely let me have the lion's share of it. Your fruit jam is the best.

Oh KC by the way, Sid and I are not the only ones who love the "throws' you sent. Our little cat Zuki has taken quite a liking to them. He spends lots of time on them just reclining and curling up as he enjoys their softeness.

That's it for now. Sid and I are back at work today after a nice break. Yukkie! So hard to be back to responsibility

I wish you all a wonderful New Year - full of wonderful surprises.

With much love,

Sandra

Hello Everyone,

Although Nina is only 13 years old, she has moved on to being an equine surgeon
So the story goes like this. I am sure you are wondering at this point what in the world I am talking about. Nina has been absolutely intrigued and impressed with one of the best equine surgeons around who happens to be at Penn Vet. He is the Vet who tenderly cared for the famous Barbaro. Since the days of Barbaro, Nina has always been impressed by Dr. Richardson.

Nina is also continuing to be interested in Vet Medicine - and it appears that it is not just a passing phase. So at her ripe age she is doing everything possible to learn about it. She choose to work on a project for school that explores the world of horse racing. So she asked me if she could possibly interview Dean Richardson. Well finally my job and position is serving a purpose (and it isn't resolving employee issues). I contacted Dean Richardson and asked if he could spend some time talking to my niece. He is a tough guy and very no-nonsense. But he has a tender place in his heart and I guess is honored to be part of this little girl's learning experience.

So finally I tried to set up a specific time for them to meet and he replied to me by sayng that instead of "interviewing" for 30 minutes - he let me know that he doesn't even spend that much time talking to residents - she could perhaps come in and observe a real live equine surgery.

Imagine that a 13 year observing a surgery at Penn Vet. What a memorable experience. So her Dad took her, he had to wait outside because they try to limit the number of people in the surgery. So she had to scrub in and wear orange scrubs that they gave her and she got to watch the whole thing. She said she can see the passion that Dean Richardson has for the horses and for his work. She said he is impressive and works very quickly. He was even kind enough to answer all her questions about horse racing and the health issues of race horses. She said he was absolutely awesome. After the surgery, he came out and met her Dad.

Needless to say Nina is overjoyed at such an experience. I am also really happy to have contributed to this amazing experience. I don't think it's every day that a 13 year old gets invited to the operating room to observe an equine surgery.

I guess this is a good Christmas present huh? I just wanted to brag about this. Nina will always remember this experience.

Anyway, I hope all of you are enjoying the holiday season so far. It can be a sort of stressful time but it can be lots of fun too, right?

Take good care everyone. I wish you all a wonderful Christmas.

With Love,

Sandra

Hello Family,

I have intended to write a variety of times - really I have It just seems like time escapes so quickly between work and trying to babysit Sid (just kidding). Work is absolutely crazy - there is always so much drama. Who could ever imagine that Penn Vet School could be such an exciting place to work. I wish I could go into more detail about the excitement but I guess since this is a fairly public forum I will refrain and keep myself out of trouble. How boring to have to refrain from such fun gossip. I guess we will have to have a family gathering so I can talk about it. Sid gets to hear all the stories. He is always amazed.

Thanks Diana for keeping us posted on how the farm looks. You are so diligent about sharing photos. That is really nice of you.
And what about the wickles - is that some kind of pickle, that is being eaten with peanut butter. I am trying to figure out if that sounds good. The peanut butter part sounds good. I can go through half a jar of PB which is why I hate having it around.

So anyway, I am doing better than I was in the summer. I had a really rough four months. Sometimes I could not believe how bad I felt and how rough things got. Things seem to improve in October, thank God. So I am now getting in to to the Christmas spirit, even though I can find our Christmas decorations! So I had to go out and buy a few things, so that our home would not be bare.
The cats clawing at everything is definitely a consideration in what decorations we put up. We have a tiny little Christmas tree with little lights and decorations. It is really adorable and small. The cats have done some exploring but they are leaving it alone for now.

Are all of you putting up a Christmas tree and decorations? I actually think I am going to make the biscotti again this year. I just have to figure a day that I dedicate to it, preferably before Christmas. I hope to make a variety of biscotti, I just really have to get organized.

Hope all of you are well. Diana thanks so much for the Christmas card, what a strikingly good looking family. It's a delight to look at it.

I think of you all, and I wish you a happy holiday season, and of course surviving the inevitable stress that can also come with Christmas.

Love you all,

Sandra