R & R, followed by a meltdown

I returned yesterday from a fun and relaxing weekend with Margaret.

Our first stop was the Walkway Over the Hudson, in Margaret's hometown, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., also location of my alma mater, Vassar College. A 19th century railroad bridge that underwent a major refurbishment last year, it's a 1.28-mile span with spectacular views of the Hudson River. We walked from Poughkeepsie to the other side, the town of Lloyd, and then back again on a day with blue skies and sun glittering on the water.

Our next stop, and destination for the weekend, was the nearby Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, located in Rhinebeck, N.Y., where we shared a cabin and spent some valuable time together.

As part of a "Rest and Rejuvenation Retreat," I took a Tai Chi workshop, went to a workshop on energy fields and grounding, took a yoga class and went to an event called "An Evening of Poetry and Healing." I stopped in at a hula hoop session; although my body obstinately refused to keep the hoop going (something that came so naturally when I was a kid), I finally got the hang of it. I also had a wonderful foot reflexology/massage session.

I had some time to read and just hang out, so while Margaret was off doing her own thing, I took my book to the cafe, which, unlike the main dining hall, has desserts and sandwiches with meat. It's the kind of place where everyone seems to be reading something about inner harmony or enlightenment or peace and love; I happen to be reading a very opposite book, "The Girl who Played with Fire," the second in the popular trilogy by the late Stieg Larsson. I don't really love the book, but so many people are crazy about the series, I want to find out what it's all about.

I stuffed it in my bag while going to and from the cafe. Yesterday morning as I sat reading it, a woman's voice from behind me said, "How do you like the book?"

I jumped, but when I turned around, I saw that the woman had the same book. She said she had just finished it and enjoyed it thoroughly. We both had a good laugh over our agreement that we didn't feel comfortable reading it there.

There also happened to be tennis courts, and Margaret and I got a chance to hit some balls. I could have done that for hours.

Everything was interesting, but, besides spending time with Margaret, I enjoyed the yoga class most. It was an intermediate class that I almost didn't take, having taken a break from our local intermediate class because I was toppling over so much. I was encouraged to find that most of the poses were more doable than they had been a couple of months ago; I only toppled over once, and it was a gentle fall, not a crash. It inspired me to try my regular intermediate class this week.

I was relaxed after the weekend, but still, it hit me hard that nobody was home when I returned. I knew they wouldn't be, but that didn't make it any easier. Maddie was at our friend Jim and Jane's, so there wasn't even a tail-wagging dog to take the edge off.

I unpacked a little, emptied the refrigerator of nearly-green food and surveyed the remaining contents. The only potential dinner food was an egg, but it had been there so long I threw it out. I wasn't surprised, because I hadn't felt like shopping before I left, but still, I was bummed. Having eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the way home, I wasn't hungry, but I expected I would be later.

I felt the house's emptiness physically, like an ache in my stomach. I started crying. I didn't feel like going shopping with tears running down my face, so I went to a nearby farm stand and bought a tomato. I have no idea what I was going to do with it.

Then I went to get Maddie. Jim and Jane, who are like our aunt and uncle, listened and sympathized. They offered a bed for the night, but I felt better after talking and told them I could go home. They gave me a tupperware container filled with homemade beans and hamburger, potato salad and a beautiful green salad. I came home and walked the dog before the light faded.

While I walked I got a call from Katie, and hearing her voice perked me up.

Back home, I ate the good food and, shortly after, got into bed with my book.

I knew everything would look better in the morning.

Dog, and sodium, misbehave

Got lab test results from local blood draw Tuesday which showed that my liver was stable but not normal. Still, I got the go-ahead to reduce the prednisone to 30 mg. from 40. Meanwhile my sodium had dropped, necessitating a recheck yesterday.

I ate as many salty snacks as I could tolerate (I wish it was sugar!) and found out today that it was a little better but still low. I later took a salt pill. We'll see. My stomach is a little messed up again, and I woke up this morning shaky, wobbly and dizzy, then perked up when I had some juice and breakfast. Went for a walk with Barry, and he was kind enough to hold the dog. I hadn't totally recovered my strength from this morning, so that was a good idea.

Man's (and women's and children's) best friend is driving me a little crazy. She has still not resolved her house-training problems. She's good for maybe two days in a row, and then she leaves me an overnight nugget. I've stopped feeding her afternoons, and I've given her the run of the house. She could sleep with me, but she likes it downstairs, where she has her bed and her favorite place, the corner of the couch, covered with an afghan.

All happy, she runs up to get me around 7 a.m. and leads me down. If she's done something, she either cowers or acts like nothing is wrong. I have to drag her over and point it out. From time to time she barks at me. But she is a very passive dog, so I just get her on the leash and bring her over. The vet says I should crate her again, but Maddie was actually kind of weird in the crate. They're not supposed to, but she would do her business in there anyway and then inch away from the mess.

Today she wasn't so great on our walk, either. (I'd say she was "bad," but for dogs, that is not a pc word, as in "No Bad Dogs," only "bad" owners. Oy!) We tied her to the leg of one of the lightweight tables, told her to briefly hold our place, and went into the Mount Holyoke library, where there is a Rao's coffee shop tucked inside. While we were getting our stuff, a student came in and said, "Your dog is freaking out." Barry went out and found that Maddie had dragged the table all the way to the door, where she was whining and barking.

Then we went to the Odyssey Bookshop, an independent store that I like to support, and tied her for a minute or two there. I've done this before, and she usually sits and chills. Again, she went crazy.

So Barry sat with her when I got my books – "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," by Stieg Larsson; "Truth and Beauty," by Ann Patchett; and "Autobiography of a Face," by Lucy Grealy.

I'm starting with the first, a bestselling mystery and apparently a quick read, which is our book club choice before we break for the summer.

Meanwhile back to the dog...While I was writing this post I decided I needed a Coke, one of my major comfort foods, or drinks. Down the street at Tailgate Picnic, the place we call the deli, I hooked Maddie's leash on the white picket fence and told her sit quietly on the grass while I ran in.

She was just fine.

Maybe she liked the grass.

Or maybe she had been crying for her good friend Barry, and once it was just the dog and me, she didn't need to fuss.

Anyway, now she is curled up, lightly snoring, sleeping and cute on her bed. Maybe all that carrying-on helped wear her out. Katie and Joe are both out – Katie's in a play that I'm seeing tomorrow, and Joe is watching the Bruin's game with friends – so it is nice to have the dog for company.