Diary of a Dick Vet

I’ve resolved - especially after two weeks spent solidly planted on my bum, except for the brief walk to and from the library - to take many long walks over my remaining summer break. The weather has been hideous all week, but today the forecast suggested a break in the heavy rain, so I headed off for Blackford Hill. Although only a 15 minute walk from my flat, I had never heard about this park until reading about it at needled’s blog. In fact, I can see the hill from my window, but thought it was perhaps an extension of the much larger Pentland hills; only after climbing the hill did I realize that second brae, Braid Hill, lies between Blackford and the Pentlands - clearly my depth perception is off!

Midday was actually very sunny today, and the sunflowers outside the corner shop further brightened the start of my walk.

From the Grange, the hill looked very tall to me. I’m not going to pretend I’m anything other than totally out-of-shape, but I wanted the achievement of climbing even a small hill. Actually, worse than up, as far as I’m concerned, is down, especially when dealing with often muddy Scottish footpaths. I slip often, which is more messy than embarrassing, and I won’t climb anything if I can’t picture how I’ll get back down. But I remained determined.

Despite the heavy rain over the past few days, the mud was only slight as I climbed the hill. And gosh, it was beautiful.

Just as I was at a steep point, and starting to feel sorry for myself, Arthur’s Seat was there to remind me that there are most challenging climbs:

There were many, many, many, many dogs running around. Here are a few:

By the time I reached the top of Blackford Hill, the sun had slipped behind the clouds for a bit. The view was no less stunning.

To the North was the Castle and Calton Hill, to the West I could see Craighill (another favorite spot of mine), and the Pentlands were off to the South. I could also see clearly across the Firth of Forth to Fife - Kirkcaldy is supposed to be somewhere in the distance in the photo above. I sat on a rock and ate Jaffa Cakes and rehydrated, while enjoying the dogs running up and down the peaks.

It was time to come down. Fortunately, the descent was far less treacherous that I had imagined, and I ended up at the bottom free of mud and full of pride.

Naturally, the sun came out as I reached the bottom of the hill. But it was still a warmish, dry day in Scotland, so why would I complain?

Bordering the park was a collection of allotment gardens. I’m fortunate enough to have the space to garden if I want to, but I couldn’t help but crave my own allotment, if only to be surrounded by so many pretty and well-loved gardens.

Before leaving the park, I stopped to see Blackford Pond, which was lovely and tranquil, and full of swans and quirky ducks. Benches line the pond, so I sat down and enjoyed the scenery, and quiet. Unlike the rest of Edinburgh during festival, which is noisy and crowded and exciting, a Friday afternoon on Blackford Pond was a mostly solitary occasion.

It was a very, very lovely walk.

How on earth (a) did break end, and (b) am I almost finished with the first week back? Exams are in a few weeks time, and I don’t know how I’ll learn all the new material and review the old stuff in the meanwhile! The perennial problem for the student, of course.

When I last left you, I had nearly completed a stunning first week of EMS. The second week was great as well, especially since the vet who did most of the operations was back from vacation. I was able to watch a femoral head and neck excision arthroplasty on a Border Terrier and a splenectomy on a Rottweiler before I left, have a good chat with everyone about the realities of working in a small animal clinic, and enjoy some good cuddles with lots of interesting pets. Success!

Sadly my scheduled trip to Holland/Belgium/Luxembourg was cancelled due to an unfortunate cloud of ash from some Northern neighbors, but at least I spent an extra week ’stranded’ in Edinburgh, rather than stuck in a foreign country, with no certain way of getting home. I spent my last week of sweet, sweet freedom knitting and watching The Mighty Boosh on DVD. As you do.

Some FOs:

My o w l s! This was my first proper sweater, and I would say it’s a good beginner jumper. Perhaps it wasn’t as challenging as I had originally anticipated because I was already confident with circulars, cables, and short-rows, but I still think anyone who can knit and purl can make this! The pattern is written wonderfully and is hugely popular on ravelry, and I’m proud someone who wrote something so fantastic is also a current resident of Edinburgh! I want to knit all of her designs (Manu is going to be my next ‘big’ project.) I’ve gotten several compliments on this sweater, which illustrates how knitted garments can truly be trendy and fashionable.

In addition, I found a way to use some of the lovely 4-ply I bought from Scottish indie yarn dyer Ripples Crafts:

It’s a very simply little shawl/wrap - I didn’t want a complicated lace pattern to obscure the colors in the yarn. I genuinely enjoyed knitting the the stockinette stitch base and then simple lace section, before finishing with some good old-fashioned garter. Garter - it’s coming back in, man. I have purposely photographed this from a distance, because upon closer inspection, it’s very, very obvious that I was off on some of my stitch counts, leading to a disruption in the lace pattern. You’d only noticed if you looked closely, and I’m going to let my amazing shawl be spoiled by details.

And finally, my pretty green hat. My wardrobe is unintentionally skewed green but my accessories are not, so this was a way to fill the deficit. The colorway is ‘Light Olive’ but it makes me think of lichen or moss, of damp forests and mushroom hunts with my dad when I was a teen. I call it my ‘Angwin Tam,’ and the yarn is 50% angora, 50% wool - it’s super-soft! I think I might buy another skein and knit some simple mittens to match, for next winter.

In addition to knitting my fingers raw, I also took a semi-impromptu day-trip to Thirsk, where the famous vet, James Herriot, had his surgery. All Creatures Great And Small is practically the bible for aspiring vets, and I’d been wanting to visit ever since I learned his old surgery is now a museum. The three hours of train journeys made it just far enough away to be someplace very different, but close enough to enjoy a full afternoon, arriving home in the early evening.

It was a very overcast day, but for a gal who lives in Edinburgh, the absence of rain is enough cause for joy. So forgive me if my photos are a bit gloomy and gray.

Donald Sinclair, aka Siegfried Farnon, vetted the Thirsk Races every year. I could just see the track, as I made the 20 minute walk from the train station to the town center.

On the front of Skeldale House

I was practically alone on my tour of the house. The guide at the entrance insisted that I take loads of pictures, and filled me in on many of the little details of the house, such as which pieces are original to the house, and sights that were directly referenced in the books. Wight’s widow was involved in the curation of the museum, so the house is a fairly accurate picture of how it looked in the 1940s. I couldn’t help but find the place a bit romantic, full of old charm, and a reminder of what vetting used to be. My absolute favorite room was the old dispensary, where James and Siegfriend mixed any number of strange brews for the farmers.

A real potions cabinet, full of 'Placentula or Cleansing Drink' and 'Oxygas for Udder Ill' and other strange wares. I wonder how vets 50 years from now will find our current pharmacies?

The consultation room for small animals

The cheerful kitchen

I doubt this tea cozy was originally in the house, but I'm still in love with it!

The back portion of the property included a short video on Wight’s life, and the car used in the television series. I’ve only seen bits and pieces of the show and wouldn’t call myself much of a fan, but I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to sit in that sweet car. Sadly, no one was around to take a photo of me in it, so I had to improvise:

It's me!

Upstairs was a totally brilliant museum of veterinary medicine. I majorly geeked out, looking at the old instruments and reading about all the wonky things early vets used to do. I recognize that non-vets probably couldn’t care less about this, and since my tiny readership consists of my immediate family, and people from my knitting group who openly stalk me (hi, Jez!), there’s no need to detail all the photos I took, but I will share this beauty:

An old probang - used to retrieve potatoes and turnips lodged in the throats of cattle. It looks remarkably similar to the modern version, although the favored material is no longer leather. On a side note, it's a bit...wrong...that an instrument made from cow hide was shoved down the throats of other cattle to retrieve potatoes. I suppose it's not unlike using catgut in sheep!

In addition to the potato-grabber’, calving aids and castration instruments appear to have changed little in the past 100 years, and why would they? Those were skills based on experience and knowledge of anatomy, along with a bit of strength. The most important contribution to veterinary medicine (human medicine, too) has undoubtedly been antibiotics, and anthelminthics have dramatically improved welfare and production systems for food animals, but these don’t retrieve a stuck lamb or geld a horse. This was represented on the poster boards that guided the tour of the museum, but I imagine only someone involved in the vet profession would realize how humbling it is, after having a good laugh at the often useless potions at a vet’s disposal, that so much of this field hasn’t actually changed since the introduction of antimicrobials.

Okay, one more geeky thing:

A cat castration box - use your imagination. (Anesthesia is such a wonder!)

I spent about two hours exploring the museum, and loved every minute. I bought myself a few souvenirs and walked down the street to St Mary’s Church, which is a gothic-period church in really good condition. Its original windows had been destroyed during the Blitz, but this appears standard for most British churches; what makes it unusual is that one of these windows had been restored to near perfection. The inside was lovely:

View from the alter

There are a few more pictures on my flickr, especially of the vet museum, if you’re interested. Now I’m back in classes, and trying to relight that fire that led me to this place, to complete this course…with exams so frighteningly close, let’s hope I find my spark!

The sun came out today (it was just about too warm for my heavy jacket!) and so did the camera. The crocuses are in bloom in the Meadows and in my front yard, and I can’t wait for the Daffodils next!

Flowers in the front yard

The Meadows

Everyone else seemed to agree that today would be perfect for hitting up the Farmer’s Market:

See that pretty blue sky?

During the winter, the Market is mostly full of butchers, fishmongers, and the odd baker, but there was some nice produce mixed in today:

I see the makings of a good omelette!

I bought an angus burger, which I planned on taking a close-up photo of - the kind that would upset a vegetarian while still appealing to their photographic eye - but I remembered my plan literally as the last bite of that beauty went into my mouth. It was tempting to order a second, but I managed to restrain myself. Instead I ducked into a Starbucks and bought an iced latte (thanks, family!) One day of sun and I act like it’s appropriate to get iced drinks! I stayed in the cafe and studied/knitted, then set off toward the Meadows again.

Indeed, the flowers are everywhere.

Of all the lovely things I saw and smelled and heard today, perhaps my favorite was the pencil case I bought to house my knitting supplies. Usually they kick around, haphazardly, in the bottom of my tote bag, which is pretty frustrating when I’ve just dropped a stitch and need a sturdy crochet hook to save the day. Anyway, it took fifteen minutes of rummaging through the bargain store, but in the back corner, buried under far more practical options, was this beauty:

Score!

Yep, I am well excited to show up to my knitting group on Wednesday with my new pencil case.

When I started blogging about vet school, it was a project borne out of excitement. New country, new people, new course…there was a lot to say.

Now I’m in third year, and it feels like the mojo is gone. We spend all day in lecture, with the occasional practical sprinkled throughout. We haven’t seen any real cases, at least nothing to blog about (I don’t assume for one minute that you want to hear about every dog/cat submitted for diarrhea, especially if we don’t get details at this point about treatment.) There are no funny client or animal stories, we don’t get bussed anywhere interesting, and my weekend are dreadfully plain. As an example: I’m taking a beginner’s Dutch class, and our weekly assignment is to practice the past perfect tense by describing what we did this weekend. Every week I rack my brain for something beyond ‘I studied’ and ‘I knit’ and ‘I went to a cafe and drank coffee.’ Meanwhile my classmates talk about trips to Cogenhagen, concerts in Glasgow, dinner parties and museum exhibits. So that what a weekend is like!

I know it’s a good thing, study-wise, that my weekends are so mundane and structured. Still, I can’t say if I study more, or if I’ve just become more of a hermit. Knitting is a nice, soothing way to break from studying, that tucks in nicely throughout my schedule, filling study breaks and wrapping up the day as I enjoy some television in the lounge with a cup of coffee; yet, hoping on a bus or a train, or walking up to Princes St or George IV Bridge to pop into a free museum is clearly more exciting than the meticulous advancement of a project as it builds, knot-by-knot, from the germinal substance of a few balls of yarn, to a fully-fleshed wooly creature. Some days I can look at myself as a student, and see the same laborious progression from the raw materials of mind and will, hopefully someday to transform into a real, certified, vet. And adult and working citizen, who watches movies, and doesn’t knit to avoid another hour looking at a page describing each type of tumor to be found in the lymphoid system, and doesn’t have to blog about how guilty she feels that there is nothing to say.

But, there’s nothing to say. I could show you the dozen or so rows of the pullover vest I’ve started knitting, but why bother? I think it’s more interesting to wait another eighty rows or so, when I reach the sleeves, and what you look at isn’t just a large green rectangle, but the beginning of something useful. And interesting.

So this knitting thing, it is so addictive. I did finish those wrist-warmers:

But I didn’t stop there! I kept on going with a hat, which was distressingly tricky for me. I had to start over about 10 times, and the yarn was quite happy to tear or snag while frogging the project, so I grew increasingly distressed with each failed attempt. Finally, I set my needles down, and just as I was about to fall asleep that night, defeated, I had a moment of clarity, and realized the large, glaring mistake I had made in the pattern. It was easily fixed and finished a few days later:

To be honest, the hat doesn’t fit the way I want, so although I’m proud of finishing the beast, I’m much more excited about the next hat I made:

Back view of the vine lace pattern

Two things:

1. This was made with half of a 50p skein of yarn I found in a charity shop. Score! I’m not sure what to do with the rest of the yarn, but I could easily make a second hat with another, equally intriguing pattern.
2. These pictures are before I ‘blocked’ the object, e.g. shaped it, so the vine lace pattern isn’t terribly apparent. However, I sort of like the gentle waviness of the hat, so I didn’t change it too much.

Between knitting and class and orchestra, I’m quite a busy little vet student. Today, I woke up to an inch of fresh snow on the sidewalks, and the trees and fields were gorgeous out at school. The sun was shining, and inside Easter Bush I was so warm, it was an all-around pleasant feeling. As the days get longer and the classes and tons of information pile up, I hope I still get a chance to enjoy how beautiful winter in Edinburgh can be.

I have an awful habit of picking up hobbies and dropping them. Sometimes I will come back to them again later, reminding myself how much I enjoyed them in the first place, but again they lose favor with me, and I trade those hobbies for something else new and exciting.

Having mastered some very basic crochet since my freshman year at my first University, I thought I might take up knitting. So, with pair of US size 9 aluminum needles and some cheap acrylic yarn, I taught myself to knit over Christmas holiday. Not sure how long it will keep my fancy, but already I prefer it to crochet, and I have a long list of patterns I’m itching to try. I have a few things cast on but not finished, so I’m trying to discipline myself and finish one before starting another - just like I intend to ‘finish’ learning to knit, instead of dropping it for, I don’t know, embroidery. On a related note, I am currently reading 4 books right now!

The internet is an absolutely wealth of information, with so many free patterns and videos showing techniques, that it was quite easy to pick up the basics. I made my first hat and it ended up far to short, but it was just a practice go for my second hat, which went much better:

My 'Hot Head' hat

I have a scarf in the works, but what I’m enjoying the most right now is a pair of wristwarmers I started yesterday. Like the hat above, there is a ‘ribbed’ effect, which is very basic, but what’s keeping them interesting right now is trying to knit it the round. In order to make a tube-like structure without stitching a flat piece together, and thus to avoid a seam, you can knit with double-pointed needles, which is a very fun balancing act between 3-4 shorter needles.

Simple Wristwarmers

There’s something satisfying about juggling those little bamboo sticks, to create something useful and sorta cute. I just hope I can bring myself to make two of them!

…And now I am back in Edinburgh, unpacking, cleaning, watching Big Brother (with much guilt, I must add) and preparing for my sister to come visit. Then, on September 2nd, I am going hoooooome for two weeks - for the first time since I moved here on August 5th, 2008.

While I was down working in England, I had a chance to revisit Stratford-upon-Avon; however, this time I was greeted by sunny skies, warm weather, and bright cheerful gardens. And lots of other visitors, too! But for being a perfect English summer day, not to mention a Friday, the crowds weren’t too bad, and even made the trip a little more interesting, allowing me to watch families and couples and the odd lonesome Shakespeare fanatic share their time in the city.

Garrick inn and Harvard House

Guild Chapel - from the 15th century. I think it's the most beautiful church I've been to in the UK.

Last time I visited, I bought tickets that let me into Shakespeare’s birthplace and Anne Hathaway’s home, but this time I was too cheap to pay the £17 again to get into those homes and Nash’s Croft, which is next door to the where Shakespeare died. That house, ‘New Place’, is gone, with only part of foundation surviving, but its location had been turned into a garden. Next door to Nash’s house and garden is another garden which was free to the public.

The gardens, with Guild Chapel in the background.

Poppies! Poppies!

The gardens were lovely and fragrant, and I came back after lunch to spend a more time in them. But the gardens were on the way to where I was really headed, the River Avon:

Busy on the River

I paid £2 for a very pleasant boat ride on the river, with some very friendly swans.

After enjoying lunch on the lawn, I strolled over to the ancient Holy Trinity church, the oldest parts dating back to 1210, where Shakespeare, his wife, and several other family members are buried in the chapel. The most famous and well-respected English poet ever, and in death he is still just an abstract slab of stone and a plaque with a name.

Shakespeare's grave

He did have a last hurrah. His epitaph? (in slightly more modern English)

Good friend for Jesus sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosèd here
Blessed be the man that spares these stones
And cursed be he who moves my bones

What a wise ass! I love it.

The church itself was lovely, although I am obviously a glutton for Gothic architecture.

But my favourite part of it all was a little carving hidden in the corner and almost impossible to appreciate without a camera zoom. It’s a very early image of Christ that managed to survive the Reformation (when images of Jesus were destroyed), it being hidden until somewhat recently.

I think it's beautiful.

I hung out a bit longer, appreciating the architecture before walking back into town. After a fish supper enjoyed next to the River, I did a bit of shopping, stopped into Starbucks, and caught the train back.

Kudos to the people I stayed with taking such good care of me and giving me rides to and from the train station. It was hard work at the kennels, but rewarding.

Also, I got to spend time with the boss’s 9-month-old French Bulldog Mastiff (I do actually know the difference, I just had a brain fart), like the canine in the classic Tom Hanks dog-com ‘Tuner and Hooch‘. He had the unfortunate name of Tea Bag, which had been selected by the previous owner who had to rehome the poor beast. Upon first meeting Tea Bag, I was NOT impressed, since he nearly knocked me over by jumping on my chest and subsequently covered me head-to-toe in his special blend of slobber. But after a while, I couldn’t help but have a change of heart, and what had made him obnoxious and gross made him - oddly - charming. He weighs over 30kg and is a big stupid lug, but he has no idea that he’s too big to play rough. He’s just a puppy and a very affectionate one at that.

Who, me?

I mean, how could you not love him?

It's hard work being this slobbery

I received an email from a previous EMS placement looking for help at their kennels for the next few weeks. With summer vacation, the kennels fill up quickly and staff is short, so I’m taking the train down and staying for two weeks to help. I’m excited to return and not have to worry about filling out a pesky EMS form, and hopefully I’ll remember enough from my last time there to be useful. Plus, dogs and cats! Yay!

Before this popped up two days ago, I was facing two weeks of total free time until my sister arrives. I found the idea terrifying - how does one pass the time without classes to complain about and EMS to fulfill? I don’t think I have a workaholic bone in my body, but vet school so totally encompasses my life, that I can’t be fulfilled unless I’m doing something that somehow relates to it, even if I’m doing that activity for fun. In this case, I’m going to work, but it feels more like a holiday for me: returning to an old haunt, playing with animals, staying in the Most Comfortable Bed In The World, enjoying plenty of wine, and visiting friends.

I’m glad I can be useful. The couple I’m going to help have taken such good care of me in the past, inviting me to their boxing day and new year parties during my first holiday season away from home, and I’m pleased I can do something nice for them. Plus, um, I’m getting paid. Don’t mind that, neither.

Hello, it’s your faithful blogger once again.

Meh.

I’ve had a rather busy summer with my EMS: 1 week horse, 3 weeks cattle (2 dairy, 1 with a beef suckler herd), and 1 week of small mammal so far. Next week I’m out in the countryside to work with chickens and then I have three weeks of completely unplanned free-time. Well, only vague planning anyway - I will have 4 more EMS forms to complete and there are a few movies I’m planning on seeing, but otherwise I’m not sure what to do. I made a (very nerdish) list of things to do in and around Edinburgh for under £5, one of which I already unsuspectingly completed: my beef placement was all over the Pentland hills, so I can cross hiking the Pentlands off my list. In fact, as lovely as that park is, after spending days trekking up and down pasture in the heat and weeds, I’m not terribly concerned with visiting that place for a while.

As far as my list is concerned, I think I will wait to do a lot of it until my sister arrives in mid-August. I’m SUPER PSYCHED for someone from my other home to come visit my current home, and also to watch her experience the bizarre land and culture that is Scotland. She will have to be very careful crossing streets! The currency will be weird! Old men will call her ‘hen’! And she will have to try Irn Bru! Plus other marvels of Edinburgh, oh my.

The new GEPs will be arriving in town in a few weeks time, as well. It’s nearly a year for myself since I first arrived in Edinburgh, miserably tired and jet-lagged, with three heavy suitcases and no sense of direction. I survived, and they will, too.

Cue ‘The Circle of Life.’

Exams are done. I’m still trying to convince myself that I no longer have to run around like a chicken with its head cut off, that I can sleep in a little bit and that doesn’t mean I’ve lost some precious minutes of the day.

I’ve had some trouble setting up the internet in my new flat. Actually, we were very lucky, because we didn’t get a phone line connected until the 1st and internet activated until the 5th, after exams, so we had precious few distractions when we were studying. I’m hoping it was enough to help me pass everything. However, the router we plugged in yesterday doesn’t seem to work, so now my flatmate and I have plenty of time and no internet to waste all hours of the day browsing. The new router should come on Monday, when I start a week of horse EMS. Oh well. The nice thing about no internet is that I’ve gotten loads of laundry done, we’ve officially organised the kitchen, and I threw out loads of miscellaneous paper that I didn’t get a chance to sort through when I moved. I passed my Animal Husbandry course, so those flashcards and notes have been recycled. What a relief! Although, those poor trees! It takes a lot of resources, both physical and mental, to study vet.

I’m not terribly keen to do another week of horses, but at least it’s a Monday-Friday, 9 to 5 sort of EMS placement. Hope the weather stays warm!