Misc.

Thank You

Ok I must start with props where props should be – at the beginning no?

In Remembrance to:

My Grandmothers brother who died in WW1 and is buried in/at Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in France.

To my Grandfather, Father, Uncles and Aunt, who all served.

To All those who served and paid the ultimate sacrifice and those loved one they left behind.

To all those that have served and all those that are still serving their country and their families – THANK YOU!

And to carry on the bird theme:

Nothings, Somethings, and In Betwen

Sometimes I have lots to write about but don’t and at other times I have nothing to write about and do. Does that make sense? Just have not been in the blogging mood lately I guess.

Catfish’s incision is almost completely healed and his fur is starting to grow back. He is back to his usual self but a tad more clingy. Annie dog must sense something is up as she is acting more maternal toward him than sisterly. I have to make the appointment with the doggy cancer specialist (you have to wait till the wound is healed). He had a few bad days where for an unknown reason he started throwing up last night dinner around 11am. This was a week after the surgery and the dogs have not clue as to why but he took some medicine for intestinal stuff and he now gets famotidine each night for awhile.

Billy, Trish, and Ryan were here.  Billy had an appointment at the VA in San Francisco and afterward we headed to Chinatown. Parking there is a nightmare! He somehow got their large four wheel F350 truck into a space with a few inches in both directions to spare. The folk along the street were actually making comments like ” God that is a big truck” and “he ain’t gonna make it”. Seriously, I did not think it would fit in the space and was totally amazed that he managed getting it in.

I took the scooter and zipped up and down the streets and alley ways. I don’t like admitting it but it allowed us all to cover more ground and I was not totally zapped the next day – so yah – I belong to the scooter crowd now LOL. We took Ryan to the little fortune cooking making store so he could watch the cookies being made.  I bought a bag of the wafers (the cookies before they are folded with the fortune inside).

Our friends gave us a solid oak china cabinet.  It is so cool having somewhere to but my stuff. We had to change from a large storage unit to a small one to save money as our roommate is moving out. Talk about boxes of crap all over the place! I dug out some of my Grandmothers china, some of my antique salt and pepper shakers, salt cellars, silver, and had fun arranging them in the cabinet.  Then I decided I needed to find out the pattern of the china. Hours of google and eye strain I finally found the pattern number. Not an easy task when there is no maker stamp or mark.

I planted lots of flowers and made sort of a rock garden along the wall where we have the little water fountain I bought last year. I also planted some lemon cucumbers, zucchini, a bell pepper, and another pepper plant (can not remember what kind right now). I think the little back yard is gonna look like a jungle if the sun ever comes out. I put my little tomato plant in one of those Topsy turvey upside down deals and placed it where the dogs can not eat any of the green parts.

The weather has been weird here. I come on it is the end of May and the rain keeps pouring, the wind keeps blowing and it is down right cool for this time of year. They are still skiing up in the Sierra’s. This has really but a damper on my goal to ride the Cool Olmstead loop. First it trying to ride to get in shape is not going so well with all the rain and wind and the trail might even have snow on it still – I know it is a muddy mess at the least.

I am enjoying that it is not hot but dang this weather is strange. Wonder if the volcano ash effected the wind patterns? Maybe all the oil covering the ocean in the gulf? No matter something has sure stirred a strange pattern. NOAA  released the combined land and ocean surface global temperature data for April 2010 and this  April was the warmest April on record going back to 1880.  I looked at  on of those global heat maps and here we are colder umm global warming and I get cooler.

Today our roommate and I went to lunch and I stuffed my face with cheese enchiladas, beans, and rice.  We hit a couple stores and I found some new red cloth napkins and bought I bought some more lavender air oil stuff for my air freshener and some new sticks for them.  We spent quit a bit of time smelling all the potpourri mixes, soaps, and candles – good grief some of  the stuff out there just down right smells gross.

A few weeks ago our dryer took a dump and then our washer started sounding like a car motor with a thrown rod – yikes! We have been doing our laundry at Mike and Michele’s but last night I had to wash my undies in the sink.  We found a new set but we have to have the old set moved out, call and get our drying vent cleaned, and then have the new set installed.  We have a tall curio cabinet on the stair landing so we have to get everything out of it and somehow get it back downstairs so the washer and dryers can all get down and up and well moving it is going to so suck.

Right now my left eye is refusing to act like a normal eye – oh yeah that optical neuritis crap that never goes away but sometimes is worse than other is being worse right now oh happy joy joy.  My bladder is in I don’t wanna go in the mornings and hee hee there she blows in the later day.  My balance is hanging in there at way better but my right lower leg is more numb and my fingers are not doing the dexterity thing well right now. My mood has been kind up and down the last few weeks bouncing between wanting seclusion and gosh I want to socialize.

An hour ago I ate a pineapple yep the whole dang thing and had a cup of mint tea.  What I am really craving is cheese fondue but we don’t have any french bread in the house and I gotta have the french bread.   Maybe liverwurst on crackers?  Now that might work but then again it is almost two a.m. to eat liverwurst or not to eat liverwurst . …  I do want to finish a book I am reading …

So, I wrote something about nothing much and nothing much about the somethings.

I am  headed downstairs to get the crackers and liverwurst and a scooby snack for Catfish.

Yah I get to Go Go

On the more positive front our my friend Mike purchased a new four wheel scooter/chair. And – here is the good news – he gave me his Go Go Traveler Elite scooter – just gave it to me!

Not only that his friend who owns a durable medical equipment store installed a new seat, cup holder, extra duty upgrade batteries,  and new tires. I even got a spare tire and wheel.  His pal then gave me the pack for the back of the chair. How cool is that!!

Now when we go to San Francisco on the Ferry I can zip along  and not end up tired and stumbling all over the place. Maybe I can motivate around the Wildlife refuge and get some photos in ummm . … I could ponder on the slap in the face multiple sclerosis reality – that I need one of these things –  but why bother.

So look out – crazy woman on scooter at large – known associates Catfish and Annie.

Lab Results In

We received the lab report findings last night for Catfish- it is not good.  The tumor was what they put under the general terms a peripheral nerve sheath tumor. It was malignant after that info I kind of got lost in my head so I do not remember what this refers to just something about a count of cells and 2 or 3 would not be so bad – Catfish’s was at 20.

We will get more information today from the vet and a referral to a doggie cancer center so we can have more information. So far what I have found on the internet is rather depressing yet there is a sort of irony in it also.

Nerve sheath tumors occur in the myelin sheath of the peripheral nervous system .) The tumor originates from the Schwann cells, which make up the myelin sheath.  They have high rate of reoccurance (71%) so many times amputation is recommended. But and this is the problem in making decisions – if it has spread it will appear somewhere else anyways. The average time after diagnoses for survival is 2 years.

As  my little buddy watches me type I hope the right thing to do becomes obvious. I know that his not being in pain is a major factor after that I am not sure. We would almost have to re mortgage the house to cover the cost of some of the treatments I have been reading about and I hope that cost will not have to become part of the decision.

Well I have to get ready to head off to PE class – and of course give Catfish and Annie scooby snacks before I head out.