Dackel Princess

Life or Something Like It.

In recent months, while dealing with my health problems, I started to watch a lot of TV. What I found were a few often hard-to-digest truths.

Many genuinely gifted entertainers from back in the day are either gone from us or have aged so much that we no longer see them.
I went to Liverpool and took the Beatles tour. I thought of those four Lads from Liverpool and how they revolutionized popular music through the songs they wrote and the ones they performed. John and George died, and Ringo and Paul are in their 80s.
I now understand what my grandmother once told me. One day, you are sitting at a full table with all you love, and the next, half of your loved ones and friends are gone.
I will be 66 years old in November. If I am lucky, I will have 20 more years to live and enjoy my crazy life.
I sit eating my Cheerios in the morning, and I can’t believe how quickly I have lived 66 years.
We all share these feelings. If we are lucky and stick together through thick and thin, we can go when this life ends with a smile.

Lili ~ Part ~2

I thought I would do a quick rundown for those following the medical disaster my two doggies and I have experienced this year.

Heidi is finally well. She is on good food and medication and is returning to her sweet and happy self.

Meanwhile, Lili went to the Vets. I brought a urine sample, and they checked that and ran a blood panel. It was then that my sweet girl flipped out.

She fought everyone, including me. They’d never seen Lili have a nervous breakdown, and they were impressed. And not in a good way.

They asked about her behavior at home, and I told them it had worsened in the last year. There are days I am afraid she will accidentally hurt me.

So Lili got her prescription for antibiotics as well as a drug akin to Prozac and a tranquilizer if she was having too much of a breakdown.

I’ve been watching Grey’s Anatomy, and two main characters refer to friendship as “she’s my person.”

I think Lili’s person was Jack. Since he died, she gets out of control like this. I so wish I could sit her down and explain things to her. This truly makes me sad.

I know Lili loves me, but I know she misses her daddy.

I will go in a couple of weeks for my cardiac testing. Nothing gets your attention faster than being told you have congestive heart failure. I am on some meds now, and there may be more in my future as I am reminded almost daily that I am an elderly woman now.

Lili

For the last few days, Lili has been feeling poorly. She wakes me in the night as she frantically begs to go out. With all the wildlife in our yard after dark, I am not thrilled to grab my flashlight and take Lili outside. However, I did, and what I witnessed made me even more concerned.

I knew I needed to act quickly when a ten-year-old dog got diarrhea like this. The poor girl kept going and going and going.

I immediately put her on Heidi’s food for the weekend. I noticed a change immediately. I slept through the night, and Lili’s painful belly disappeared.

I am so glad. I can’t stand to see my fur babies not feeling well.

Darling Lili

The above post was written last night. This morning, I got up, and Lili had wee-wee’d all over the kitchen. Trust me, when a large dog wee-wee’s like this, it is a huge mess. And there sat Heidi in her crate, waiting to go out.

I put both dogs out, got my electric hard floor cleaner out, filled it with deodorizing cleaner, and cleaned the floor.

Tomorrow, I will bring Lili in to see our Vet. Lili’s history of accidents is that she never had them. Once she was housebroken at three months, she was good to go.

So Heidi is doing well, and now I have Lili to worry about. Heidi and I are keeping our fingers crossed that Lili will be well.

The Friday Five ~ July 26th

As this week has passed, I feel a little stronger each day. I am still napping each day and sleeping 10-12 hours each night. Here’s a quick list of my week.

We’ve had an abundance of wildlife passing through the yard, including bears,

groundhogs, foxes, and deer.

I used to jump up and try to take a picture. Now, I stand still, and I enjoy the moment!
The weather has been a bit nicer—cooler and drier. I will say that this July has been an odd month. The start was so hot, and we had an actual heat wave, and now it is so much nicer.
After a year of not making coffee (Jack was the big coffee drinker), I finally stored my 14-cup coffee maker. I’ve been drinking instant coffee, but I’m much happier drinking tea.
Now, I need to rearrange my kitchen shelves. I know that sounds easy, but I need to make it all workable.
I have been streaming Grey’s Anatomy. I never watched it early on, but I do love it. It has excellent writing, great acting, and great characters.

It looks like our weekend will be a good one. I hope you all find some time to kick back and enjoy!

Happy Birthday Ron!

I have known my brother-in-law, Ron since I was eight years old. I was a brat, and Ron was so patient.

In the last year, Ron has been a fantastic help to me. After Jack passed, I was in shock and not sure what to do. Ron came up and took over. He helped me sort things, donate things, and throw things out.

Today is Ron’s Birthday, and I wish him the happiest days and a great year ahead!

Happy Birthday Melodie!

Today is my sister’s birthday. I wish I could be down with her to celebrate her big day.

I want to tell you all what a wonderful sister Melodie is. She is five and a half years older than me, and I was her “first baby.” She cared for me like a little mother and was always more like a mother to me than a sister. I am so blessed to have her!

Mel is one of the kindest women that I know. She always has a smile and a warm greeting for those around her. She loves her family with her whole heart, rejoices in their successes, and comforts them in their sorrows.

Ron and Melodie

She has been married to Ron for 53 years. They met at summer camp at the age of 13 and wrote to each other for many years before their November 1971 wedding.

So today, on her 71st Birthday, I want to wish my beloved sister, Melodie, a very Happy Birthday!

My beautiful sister! I love you so much!

The Friday Five ~ July 19th

Time is passing rather slowly right now. I have been down and out since I returned from my trip. I was first diagnosed with pneumonia and then Covid. I ran a fever from June 12 – July 15.

It has not been fun. But…here’s what has been happening.

Heidi has been my nurse all of this time. She sits in my lap. Perhaps because it’s been nice and warm there.
I did lose the sense of taste. This made it tough to eat or stay hydrated. But I made it and I think the worst of that is over.
Now I’ve been sleeping a lot. My favorite things these day are my afternoon naps. I have to laugh about this because I remember hating naps as a child. Now it’s best part of my day.
I have planned to get my screen porch reworked. I decided to enclose it with real windows. Thus it will become a three-season room.
I have also been streaming Grey’s Aatomy. Having never watched it I have been able to watch episode after episode and really enjoyed it.

Have a great weekend everyone!

It’s All About…

Learning to take care of yourself, no matter what.

Life is never quite what you expect it to be after close to a month of being sick with pneumonia. Finally, last night, the fever I was plagued with broke; it was under 99 for the first time since June 13th.

I have learned so much. The first thing is how to ask for help. If not for my neighbors, I would not have gotten my medications. I also learned about Instacart Shopping. Everything is done online, and then someone selects your groceries, bags them up, and, in my case, brings them upstairs.

I finally felt well enough to do a couple of loads of laundry. It is much easier now that my washer and dryer are in the master bath.

So I wake up, drink, do laundry, and then nap. But at least I am not coughing as hard as I was.

Yay!

The Friday Five ~ June 28th

Good morning to you all. I am finally feeling a bit better from pneumonia. I am still coughing and still tired, but I am so much better. Nevertheless, here is this week’s Friday Five.

My carpenter has now ordered new windows for the screened porch. When we built the house, someone made windows you could pull up and hook to the ceiling. After 24 years, they are falling apart, and since I am not tall, I need standard windows. This will help me make this a three-season porch.
Lili and Heidi are going to be groomed on Sunday. Poor Lili has about three coats of fur, so my house is full of her fur! Heidi looks like a ragga muffin and will also be washed and groomed.
I am planning a short trip to the grocery store today. I finally have an appetite and need some good, healthy food.
Today would have been my Mom’s 95th birthday. Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mom.
Lastly, it is nice to feel better. When I take my next trip, I will also take extra vitamins to keep myself healthy.

Have a great weekend!

The Friday Five ~A Day Early

The last week slipped right on by. It went fast for me because I fell ill with pneumonia on Saturday afternoon. I felt I was running a fever and had a small one. I decided to go to the walk-in clinic.

The doctor listened to my congested lungs. She ordered a chest X-ray, and since I had bloodwork done a few days before, she looked those over as well.
I was ordered antibiotics and a nebulizer. I was told to go home and drink copious amounts of juice and water.
My neighbor was kind enough to get my prescription, and I got straight into my pajamas, grabbed my blanket, and fell asleep on the recliner.
The next few days found me asleep most of the time. The coughing was terrible, and my fever spiked up to 102.7 at one point. I promised myself that if it hit 103, I would call for help.
When I woke up on Wednesday, my fever had broken. Although I still feel weak and tired, I am on the upswing.

So that was my week. I am glad it is nearly over, and I am starting to feel better.

Happy Weekend!