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The highlight of the weekend (other than a victory over Detroit by the Packers!) was a new kitchen faucet. We had been having problems with the faucet and spray hose for some time, and even after cleaning out the cartridge, it still would only work in fits and spurts. So… off to the Internet to do some research.

We decided on the Price Pfister Marielle in a stainless steel finish. It has a tall spout with a long reach and separate control, spray hose, and even a soap dispenser! Spent a couple hours yesterday afternoon making the switch, and what a difference it makes. Now we wonder why we waited so long. Plus the kitchen looks a lot classier now.

!http://images8.fotki.com/v131/photos/2/247084/914007/IMG_0042-vi.jpg (New kitchen faucet)!

BBC has made available the first teaser for the new Doctor Who series on their web site. They don’t show much, but you do see the Tardis dematerializing, the new logo, and audio of the Doctor and Rose (his new companion) introducing each other.

Of course, it is a real tease for those of us in the US, since there aren’t any plans for anyone to carry the series over here as of yet. You’d think BBC America would be the natural outlet for it, but some people say BBC is shopping it to the Sci Fi Channel.

Folks in Canada will get to see the series though. A BBC Worldwide press release from October announced the sale of the series to CBC Television.

Collen had a really lousy day today. I noticed that he had been fussing with the area below his tail quite a bit during the last week, and when I looked, it looked a bit swollen. Normally they take care of that when he goes for grooming, but I didn’t want to wait that long, so on Tuesday, I took him to the vet. The doctor said he was pretty full, expressed the glands, and Collen seemed to be feeling better.

The next couple days, however, he seemed to be even more focused back there, and was obviously in some distress, so I took him to the vet again today. His glands were fine, but the vet noticed a raw spot on his tail. Apparently when the glands were bothering him, his licking and fussing was directed at the tail as much as his rump, and he wore it raw.

Collen was very unhappy as they shaved his fur around the affected area and applied some medicine. The poor dog was about ready to come out of his skin. As soon as we put him back on the floor, he went right for the spot again, so on went a cone collar. He has to take antibiotics and steroids for a couple weeks, and the doctor says that when the steroids kick in, he should start leaving the spot alone. Until then, though, the cone stays on.

Since he returned home, Collen has alternated between sulking/moping/pouting and bumping into everything. Plus he can’t get to his food or water dishes easily, so I’m feeding him by hand and giving him water from a cup. The things I do for my little baby.

Here’s a peak at Collen and his cone collar. Poor guy looks like he got stuck in a lamp shade.

We bought a Christmas present for ourselves this morning, a Canon PowerShot SD310 (DCRP Review). Actually, I bought the present and only after Kristin gave her OK.

We’ve had our digital camera for a few years now and with the new systems coming out, it looked like a good time to upgrade. I have a Canon PowerShot S110 (DCRP Review), a great little 2 MP camera. The small size makes it easy to carry, and therefore I am much more likely to go out and take pictures.

I had been watching the news about the upcoming SD models with great interest. The SD310 is a 4 MP unit, half the thickness of the S110, uses SD media, and has a larger LCD. Retail on it is ~$400, but I found it at Dell’s site for $299 with free shipping thanks to a sale and a coupon. Gotta love Ben’s Bargains!

I briefly looked at the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX7 (DCRP Review) because of its image stabilization feature. But I didn’t like that they left off the optical viewfinder. Plus it is impossible to find at local retailers, and a camera isn’t something I’m going to buy sight unseen.

I haven’t posted for a while. We’ve been pretty busy lately, so I’ll just hit the highlights.

My dad and I drove up to Omaha for the weekend on November 5. As part of his birthday present, I gave him the weekend trip, specifically to go to the Strategic Air & Space Museum, formerly the Strategic Air Command (SAC) Museum. My dad was in SAC when he was in the Air Force in the 50s and 60s.

I had never been to Omaha before and was pleasantly surprised at how much there is to do there. The Strategic Air & Space Museum was fantastic. We spent at least half the day there. Afterwards we went downtown for lunch and stopped by the Durham Western Heritage Museum at the old Union Station. On Sunday we visited the Henry Doorly Zoo, and then drove home.

The following weekend, K and I made a spur of the moment trip to Kansas City to see Tears for Fears in concert at the Ameristar Casino. We drove out on November 13 and spent the day visiting Truman sites in Independence. The Truman Library and Museum and the Harry S Truman House were both very interesting and well worth the trip by themselves.

That night we went to the concert. Tears for Fears put on a great show, and we enjoyed a special bonus. Oleta Adams was in the audience (she lives in K.C.) and went up on stage to sing Woman in Chains.

I hope to have photos from both of these trips up soon.

Photos are now available!