We've had an exciting few days at home, not in a particularly good way.
On Saturday evening, we lit the menorah (a nice mixed marriage celebrates all the fun holidays) and were watching television. When Len shouted "oh my god!" I thought he had recognized the actress on the Burke's Law episode we were watching, but no. The table cloth behind me was going up in flames. Somehow, one of the candles had dripped or toppled, setting the cloth on fire. Before we got it out, the table was charred, one of the chair seats was melted, my son's jacket was melted (fortunately, not the side with the PS2 and games in the pockets), some newspapers caught fire, and black ash landed everywhere. And the supper I had just started to eat was all over my chair as I rushed to grab a blanket to smother the fire. That's truly a way to get adrenaline pumping.
On Sunday night, after we went to bed, we heard one of our beloved golden retrievers sounding like she was in the race for her life. If you've ever watched dogs, you know they must dream about things like chasing rabbits, because when they are asleep you can see eye movement and sometimes their legs start to run. But you can usually wake them up. We could not get Muffin to stop and she began to foam at the mouth. Finally, it did stop and Len took her to the vet in the morning. Her tests came back fine, but she's had three seizures like that since Sunday night and has trouble getting on her feet afterward. Len's calling the vet again today.
Our other golden, Sheba, turns 13 this week. We got her from a rescue when she was 7 months old. Muffin will be 13 in February. We've had her since she was two months old. They are great dogs who almost never bark (Sheba doesn't like the gardeners) and they have us well-trained.
My dog Muffin made her debut on What's My Line Live on Stage on July 22. The logistics of this were a little challenging, because Len was a panelist that night. That was the reason J. Keith van Straaten and Jim Newman were both desperate to have Muffin be the dog worked on by the dog masseuse who was the "demonstration" guest that evening. She did really well, except for almost dragging the hostess on stage. Len was bowled over--and I didn't get a picture of it. I was too worried about Muff to be paying enough attention.
Here's Bruce with the panel and J. Keith on July 22. Len's on the seated row on the right. He broke his glasses just before going on stage. He managed quite well without them. I'd suggest contact lenses, but Len can't deal with the idea of sticking his fingers into his eyes intentionally. I've been wearing them for so long--and wanted them so much--that this was never a problem for me. (I would have a problem if I became an insulin-dependent diabetic who had to give myself shots on a regular basis. Needles. Ugh.)
ionally happen on the original television show, but this is the first time I've seen our stage version have two Mystery Guests. The surprise first Mystery Guest was Wallace Langham of CSI. Len, who is a huge fan of the show, identified him. Len got to visit the set for the last day of the past season's shooting, but did not meet Wally that day. Wally's invited him back for another visit, which I am certain Len will be happy to do.
