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It’s the last day of June. Can you believe it? This is going way too fast! Like many New Englander’s I appreciate our summers so much, mostly because they are so brief and then we are back into the cold, gloomy winter. I wish summer would stick around a bit longer.

It’s two weeks today since I had my operation. I think I’m doing very well. If I could just get the double vision under control I’d be a lot happier, but over all, things are good. :~)

Shubi goes in today for a liver function test. When she had chemotherapy a year ago it started to damage her liver. We’ve noticed a few changes in her lately and felt that a liver function test was a good thing, so we know exactly how well her liver is functioning.

After a few days of frozen pre-cooked meals and leftover’s, I’ll actually have to cook tonight. Not sure what I will pull out of the freezer to turn into a culinary delight. Maybe chicken. Ah yes, “Rubber Chicken Extraordinaire“!!!

Over the years many people have come and gone in my life. I’m lucky to have a wonderful sister, Mel, who all but raised me when we were growing up. She is 5 years old than me, and due to our mother’s inability to bond with me, she became my surrogate mother. What I know about love and nurturing, I know because of Mel.
My cousin Janet, has always been in my life. She’s just a year older, so I can’t remember a day that she wasn’t a huge part of my world. She helped me to learn to be free. To play with wild abandon, to laugh at the ridiculous and to have the confidence that I was really okay.
I don’t have a friend from my early childhood that is still in my life. However, when I was 13 I went to a Christian summer camp and I met Gail. We had so much in common, and in one week we developed a friendship that has lasted 33 years. She’s family now. A sister. I know she and I will be friends until the end.
It’s funny about this friendship. We’ve never lived close by. Our relationship has been molded through the written word. Even with the advent of computers we still prefer to sit down and write an old fashioned snail-mail letter to share our thoughts. Occasionally we talk on the phone and it’s like we are sitting at the table drinking coffee together. Happily, she is coming to visit in August! I am so happy!!!
It’s always been hard for me to meet people and to form relationships. So when I met Uschi and we began to correspond, I was amazed at how quickly we got to know each other. And I was even more amazed when I began to see how much we shared in thought. After all we grew up in different countries and had no real common experiences. Over the years, we have become sisters. We both know that special feeling of being able to free yourself of heavy thoughts to the other, with the knowledge that you won’t be judged, just understood. When we are lucky enough to get together, it is so wonderful to be able to talk and talk and talk. And so much laughter fills the air.
I am so lucky to have these 4 special women in my life. Each one gives me their unconditional love and acceptance. Think about the special sisters or friends in your life. Isn’t it great to have these special people with you in this crazy world? How good is that?

There are days I don’t feel particularly lovable. or loved. Those are the days that perhaps a pint of Ben & Jerry’s starts to look appealing. When you are lucky enough to be owned by a dog, those are also the days, that you will find your fur friend attached to your side.
I wonder how they know? Our furry little beasts. How can they tell that we need their adoration on that particular day?
From the day I brought her home, Shubi has known me better then I have known myself. In her puppy days, there were times I was so depressed I didn’t want to get out of bed, and there was Shubi kissing my face and snuggling me and enticing me to leave the safety of the bedroom.

Continue reading “For the Love of Fur”

We just got home. What a long day. The heat is incredible once again, and I think that made everyone very testy in the doctor’s waiting room. He was late. I accept this. He usually is. I comfort myself with the knowledge that when I needed surgery he spent 3 + hours operating on me and I have my vision. So I don’t complain when he is running late.
I had an appointment for 10:45. I got in at noon. Several things concern me, the first is that my eye pressure has jumped from 8 to 25!!! I have to stop one of the eye drops, (that could be causing the problem) and I go back in two weeks for a recheck.
The other is that things are just healing slowly. The fog is caused by that, and the pain I continue to have is caused by that too. He explained that after an eye has been operated on as much as this one has (5 times) it heals a little slower each time.
Also it appears that my allergies are also causing problems with the poor eye. A normal eye can wash out the pollen, but it is getting caught in my eye and causing me some trouble.
My retina looks beautiful! And after 10 days we’re less concerned about a detachment. Not that I plan anything like a ride on a roller coaster, but I can get back to life and not worry too much about that.
My vision is still poor, but he told me not to expect it all to be fine so fast. These things take time.
I know, I know, I know. I just am not very patient. I want it to be fixed NOW!
Oh well, at least for now, I don’t have to worry too much. The next hurdle is getting the eye pressure down.

I’m feeling so nervous! I go to the doctor’s this morning for a check on my eye. The last few days it hasn’t been doing as well. It’s been sore, very bothered by light and the vision is foggy. Like your glasses get when you lean over a steaming pot. Only I can’t seem to clear it. I also have a terrible headache. That’s probably stress related.
Hubby is driving me, which is a good thing. I’m actually still not driving at all. With slightly doubled vision and all this fog in my eye I’d just be a menace. Hubby doesn’t mind. He is such a good guy.
My appointment is at 10:45, but of course it is on the other side of the state. 55 miles away. So it’s an hour and 15 over and another hour and 15 back. I may get a free lunch out of this if Hubby is feeling hungry! Perhaps a small breakfast is in order! ;~)

I decided that today I would slowly do the things I needed to do and if they got done, great and if not, well, that’s okay too.
I started the day by getting the laundry down to the basement. Sorting it, and then getting it all going.
Next was the ironing. Actually, I don’t mind doing that on a hot day like this. (another over 90 degree day) My ironing board is in the basement and it is blessedly cool down there. I didn’t have too much, so that was done quickly.
Then I got out the clippers and gave Shubi another hair cut. Her hair had grown so much in a month and she really needed this trim. She was so good and now she is all smooth and sleek.

Continue reading “Slow & Easy Sunday”

We were invited to a barbecue today by our neighbor. She is a teacher for ESL (English as a Second Language) classes and the cook-out was for all her kids. These kids come from Mexico and Taiwan and The Philippines. What beautiful kids!
We brought the dogs and they had the best time. The dogs played fetch with the kids until they collapsed. At one point I looked over to see Greta sitting under the sprinkler while the kids ran back and forth under it!
Shubi hung out with the food. She is not a dumb girl. At one point she got a little hot and helped herself to someone’s ice water, which had carelessly been left on the ground, and drank the entire cup!
And dear Fritz, he was so good and so gentle with all the children. The kids couldn’t remember his name so they kept calling him, “Hey Whitey!” He didn’t care. He would come to them, sit and let them throw the ball for him.
And all I could think was, what great doggies we have!
Hot-dogs and hamburgers were had by all, (including the doggies) before we all sat eating ice cream sandwiches for dessert.
I’m so glad we went. It was great to meet all the kids, and to see how wonderfully the dogs got along with all the children.
A nice way to spend a hot summer day!

99.8 F at 7:30 PM Amazing!

It looks like our high today will be 95 degrees F. We hit that about 3 o’clock this afternoon and the last time I checked, the temperature had actually dropped a little. The house is nice and cool as I have had the air conditioners on, and the shades pulled all day. Even Fritz, who loves to be outside just watching the world go by, has opted to stay indoors.
We are due to go out for a barbecue in a little while. I’m not sure how long I’ll stay. My eye has been bothering me today, and so I may go for a short while and then come back. Since it’s just next door I can do this very easily.
I wonder if we’ll have any thunder storms to bring the temperatures down??

I’m doing better. I actually feel pretty good and my eye is not nearly as painful as it was. Just two problems that will resolve in time. The dizzy light headedness, and the blurry vision. The dizziness, is because I have been lying down for so long and my equilibrium is off, and the blurry vision is because of the swelling in the eye, and the probable change of glasses prescription that the surgery caused.
So I am trying to spend time up and moving around the house so that the dizziness will correct and I will start to feel stronger.
I am back to cooking all the meals myself. I wanted to do this, as it’s something I enjoy and also gets me moving again. On the menu tonight is my beef burgundy. Only instead of using burgundy wine I used merlot. So would this now be called beef merlot?
I want Hubby to get the vacuum out for me so I can push it around the house. Fritz is shedding faster than Jeff Gordon drove at the Indy 500! There are white fur balls all over the house. Greta keeps trying to attack them and at this point I am afraid they might all turn and attack her!
***One little note from last week.***
When the anesthesiologist came to give me the big injection of *drugs* she said, “I have a delicious cocktail for you! Any kind you want.” I thought of a chocolate martini because I have heard Janet talk about them, but when she asked me what was in them, I couldn’t tell her. While we pondered that and I got more and more tipsy from her shot, I asked her if they put a cherry in it instead of olives?
Okay, I want answers here!!!