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I was thinking some more about the railing
extending beyond the top step (see yesterday's
post), and I realized that it wouldn't be easy
to put a railing beyond that last step of the 
2nd group of steps because there isn't a wall 
there.  It wouldn't be safe to have a railing
sticking out in the hallway beyond the steps.
:(   The good news is that I'll still be able
to get up and down the steps, I just won't be
able to do it myself.  Someone will have to
assist, which won't be a real big deal because
it's an easy thing to do, but it would be nice
to be able to do it completely on my own.

I was also thinking about how when I'm in 
balance mode, I probably won't be able to 
pick up things off the floor.  Not a major
problem, but it takes a bit of time to go
from balance mode to regular.  Like maybe
a minute.  Luckily I have Gus!  Gus is my
3 year old lab mix.  When he was young, I
taught him to pick up things for me.  He
loves to do it (treats are involved), and so
now if he hears me drop something, he comes
right over and picks it up for me.  He's a very 
good boy!

I have another dog, Trudy.  I adopted her
when she was around 10 years old.  I found
out that teaching an old dog new tricks is 
not an easy task.  She won't do a thing for
me, which is fine, but, she can also be a very
naughty girl.  For example,  last night my 
neighbor brought over a plate piled high 
with home baked Christmas cookies.  This 
afternoon, when I got home from picking 
up my daughter at school, the plate of
cookies, which had been left on the table, 
was now on the floor, empty, licked clean.
Not a crumb remained.  I love her anyway!
:)  When I asked them who did it, Gus
looked at me sheepishly while wagging his 
tail and then he burped.  I'm sure Trudy was
the one to get the cookies off the table, but
I'm pretty certain Gus helped with the eating
part.  It's times like this that I wished I set
up a video camera to record them when
they are home alone.