Time flies

I can't believe it was March when I last wrote in this Blog. The elevator is finished, and the process was a pain in the patooty, just as I thought it would be. And I still haven't taken a ride on the elevator. I am afraid of enclosed places, and that is sure enclosed. It does have a phone in it in a box, and I put a flashlight in there too. It is nicely decorated. I have an oriental rug (very small) on the floor and a painting hung in there. The walls are cherry. It is really nice looking. Jon doesn't try to make me ride it, but everyone else does. We had a party last Saturday. It was a Summer Solstice party. The longest day of the year. Now the days will get shorter and shorter. Damn. But I digress. The party- it was a success since no one cried or threw up. The food catered by La Dos Divas was yummy. Everyone had to wear a name tag. I think that this helps to break the ice. It also saves you from desperately trying to remember a name. All that is needed is a discreet look down to the chest.

I haven't done any of the pottery that I told myself I would do this summer. Who knows what I do with my time. And why is is so hard to get up in the morning? I think that I must go. I'll try to write more later- before three months have passed.

Installing an elevator

First question- why didn't we do that when we built this house eight years ago? It would have been sooooo much easier. However, here we are. Jon really needs a knee replacement, and he is convinced that he'll be a crippled old man- any day now. Where to put the elevator to run from the basement and garage, to the main floor and then up to the top story. Well, it turns out that it will be in my closet with the main floor door opening into the bedroom. Fortunately, the closet is 10.5 feet by 22 feet. And the elevator cab will be on Jon's side taking up 4 by 5 feet. That's really ok, because we can put new rods, shelves or whatever on the walls where the elevator is. That is really the least of the problems though. Number one that is being worked on now is that the upstairs heating and air has to be moved, and the ducts in the basement also must be moved. A large mess and expense. The concrete floor in the basement has to be cut out, and framing is necessary. Electrical work is part of the project along with painting, etc etc. My nerves are ok for now, but I'll let you know more later. I'm really afraid to get on the elevator , but Bella will enjoy it as her arthritis makes going up and down difficult.

dog problems

Poor Bella. She has had a hard life, and if dogs are reincarnated, she'll come back to live in the lap of luxury. Oh wait, she already does live in the lap of luxury, but NEXT time she'll be healthy and will always have a home.

I rescued Bella about 5 years ago. She was an abused dog who had been dumped in the pound with a litter of pups. When I went up to Kentucky to get her, Bella was so terribly thin and had kennel cough. She also had a terrible case of separation anxiety. We worked on it for a long time. I would leave and then pop right back in repeatedly. Then I stretched the time out and tried to have someone here when I left. Of course I didn't see this, but Jon and Rebecca told me that she wailed and cried when I left.

Bella gained weight and was truly doted upon. I love her so much. One day about six months after I got her, Bella got really sick. She was so tired, didn't eat, was thirsty all the time. I took her to the vet and he called to say that she was in kidney failure. How could that be? But then, he said that we should check her for Addison's disease, and sure enough, that is what she had. There was an amazing change in a few days. Her Addison's was managed beautifully with a monthly shot of Percortin and a small dose of Predisone.

Then in September of 2006 we rushed Bella to the vet because she had a urinary obstruction. She had bladder stones and an infection. The emergency vet performed surgery and Bella healed up pretty quickly. But then, she had repeated infections and last week Bella had surgery again for stones. The first stones were Struvite stones, usually caused by infections, but these were calcium oxalate stones. She had seen a vet internal medicine specialist, but she didn't really have any solutions.

Sadly my vet had a fit of frustration ,and told me that he didn't want to see Bella anymore. I won't go into my opinion of that behaviour. Trust me that it is pretty low, and I should have trusted some gut instincts. He was just in over his head with this complicated health problems with Bella. A good friend whose dog has Cushings recommended her vet. I took Bella today and he prescribed potassium citrate to prevent the oxalate stones, repeated urinalysis to check for infection, and to put her back on the predisone on a low dose. The internal medicine vet wanted her off of the corticorsteroids and only on the mineralcorticodes (percortin). In the end, I was receiving so many different orders that it was impossible to keep up with. I just want someone to help me to keep Bella feeling ok, and to let her live out the rest of her life as pain free and happy as possible. I hope that I have found this someone to help Bella and me.

I've mined the web sites repeatedly looking for a magic bullet. There isn't one of course, and I know that one day Bella will die. It is so hard to love your pet and then lose them. I'm old enough to have loved and lost quite a few furry children. If there is a heaven I just know it wouldn't be paradise without them there.

thinking about bladder problems

It has been a long time since I added to my blog. I guess Christmas was busy, and then I got in too big a funk to write. Winter is so boring when you can't be out in the yard. Now, I've been in a twist because I have been having bladder issues. About six weeks ago I started having sharp stabbing pains in the bladder. Finally I saw my doctor and he said no infections and prescribed Urospas to stop spasms of the bladder. it didn't work. I feel like I have to pee twenty four hours a day, and when I do go, it is just a little and there is stinging afterwards. I saw the urologist today, and he did a cystoscopy. The doctor saw nothing wrong, but I can tell you that something FEELS wrong. He prescribed Detrol, but after reading the drug information it seems that the side effects could be worse than the problem. I am really frustrated. I would rather not think about peeing at all. I'm hoping that it disappears by itself. Sigh. I've plumbed the depths of the internet on bladder problems. One thing that I can say for sure is that there are a LOT of people out there with bladder problems that defy medical treatment. Looking up things on the internet can be instructive, but it can also cause a potential nervous breakdown. There are a lot of horrible illnesses that maybe you are better off not knowing all about.

Christmas was nice. Rob and Amelia came in from Seattle, and I had the big Christmas Eve party here with all the extended family for a change. For many years we all got together- cousins, aunts and uncles, all living relatives. After my grandmother and grandfather died, the party was held at my parent's house. One year when my kids were still pretty young, my mother decided to cut out the extended relatives, and just have her three kids and their spouse and children. It wasn't as much fun after that, so finally I decided to take charge and have it here. At first Mom was all bent out of shape, but she came around after pouting a while at the party. It was a lot of work but worth it all. Rebecca broke up with her sweetie of three years, but is dating someone else now. Her sweetie wasn't ready to make a commitment after three years of dating. What can I say- he'd never be ready.

I worked on another birdhouse in my pottery studio. So far I am so pleased with it. It is an undersea birdhouse for Parrot Fish. I have fish, coral, an anchor, starfish, and shells. Doing clay makes me feel so calm (usually). I need to add some photos of my pottery. Yes, that is what I'll do soon. First I have to take the photos.

I wish that I had more exciting things to write about. I also can't forget the old Chinese curse, "May you have an interesting life." Dull is ok for now.