Miserere Loves Company

I'm getting ready to post some knitted neck cozies (aka, neck warmers, neck gaiters) on Etsy. Knitted from acrylic yarn with those allergic to wool kept in mind. I have to get some ribbon to tie them in a roll so I send them out lookin' good.

Next up will be some tea cozies and hand warmers. I'd like to make some Malas too, but I have to learn how to do it first! (LOL!) Also planned are lace-trimmed camisoles for summer wear, and maybe Kindle covers. (the latter two can only be done if I either get my sewing machine fixed or get a new one.

Chris has surgery tomorrow. Keep him in your thoughts.

Dr. Rachel saw Pepper this morning. Pepper was very good and behaved perfectly. When we usually take her in, Pepper puts on the brakes and one of the staff has to carry her into the vet's office. (it's a few yards down the hall from the waiting room.) This morning, the dog waiting room was full, so the receptionist told us the cat waiting room was empty, so we took her there. Pep had never been there before. She sniffed around nervously then lay down in front of the fish tank (yes, they have a large tropical fish tank in the cat room!) Pepper watched the fish. =) When Dr Rachel came out, Pepper got up and went right to her. Awww. She knew the vet was there to help her.

So Pep was examined. Dr Rachel said that there is a canine stomach virus going around that Pep could have picked up on a walk. Or it could be the meds, or it could be the Bufferin I gave her. We got a sample of Rymadol (sp?) arthritis med for dogs, to see if that helps. We also got an rx to stop the diarrhea, and some med for her eye. (Pep's inner eyelid has been puffy and draining.) The vet gave Pep a shot for nausea, and Pep never winced. The vet praised her for being such a brave girl. Dr Rachel also told us to give her 20 mgs of Pepsid. Pepsid for Pepper. And thus, fully loaded, we paid $225 and came home.

The vet touched on the subject of Pancreatitis and examined Pep for that, but since Pep's belly isn't tender (and Pep rolled over on her back to have her tummy poked) Dr Rachel doesn't think that's it, but she said if there's any change to let her know right away.

And then, getting out of the car, my back went out. I was bent in half and Bob asked me what the matter was, and I said 'My valve closed.' So I have a heating pad on my back and Rx Motrin in my gizzard.

It's always something.

Squee! Got #132 Nodame Cantabile! The bad news is, it's in Japanese and not translated.. (>__<)

I haven't posted over here for a while and I want to keep the blog alive.

Pepper's been sick, she had crystals in her pee and the vet put her on med, and that made her sick. So she's on a 'medical vacation' from the tablets till she's back on her food again.

My son got a job with a philanthropic organization. He likes it much more than corporate work.

I've been having having weird dreams about walking down the street in Colchester or looking for the house where I lived there. Strange. I haven't been there in 20 years.

I went to bed relatively early last night - 10:30, and slept 10 hours! Zonk! And did I ever have dreams!

The first one - before the 3am thunderstorm that woke me and send me running to unplug computers- was about returning home from a trip in England. It took place in my former MIL's house in Colchester. Which was weird, cuz the ex wasn't in it! I was hurrying to get ready to catch a jet home - packing, washing and setting (!!) my hair on rollers and trying to blow it dry with one of those damned 1970's hand held Braun hair dryer. The dream was so vivid, I could feel the hair gel on my fingers and in my hair. Some how, a young Elton John was there to say goodbye. I made it to Heathrow in time, but there was a problem with the ticket and I was delayed. I still don't know if I got on that plane or not because thunder woke me up!

The second one was about a trip to New Orleans and Louisiana. In the dream, I was walking around NO, and then later driving along River Road toward Vacherie. I was going to visit Evergreen and Felicitie plantations. That's when Bob called me and asked if I was ever going to get up!

Once I as awake and got my act together, I did the shopping and general Thursday running around on errands. This included a bitch-a-thon at the drugstore, where to new pharmacist told me my doctor had NOT called in a new RX for me (Zolcor, my cholesterol numbers were nasty for the first time in my life!), and I had been on the phone with my Doc and he had told me that he had personally called in the new Rx. Turns out, I was right, and the new pharmacist just stomped off to the back of the store. (we've been going to the same drug store for years, and this new woman is a pain in the ass.)

Anyway, the dog is fed and I'm going to make dinner for us. Heh, wonder if the bois will notice vegan hot dogs? *G*

http://tinyurl.com/cl3sz7

Did a gig today in Jersey, at Bergen college. The Green Room was one of the best I've ever been in. Catered, fridge with cold drinks, Coffee, hot water for tea. Board Games!TV with DVD and comfy furniture.

Spring finally. And of course we started off with snow. Just got a fraction of an inch but it's still snow, isn't it? LOL!

I watched Kamikaze Girls this afternoon. It's funny and frenetic. I enjoyed it. Not something everyone would catch on to, but I liked it.

Just uploaded the photos of my knitting projects. This is the 'Apple Hat', modeled by Glenn Bear.
Clickie! to see the rest of the knitted projects.

I'm on a new kick. Knitting. On my fourth hat in two months. One of the hats was for me, the others were gifts. I'm actually following patterns! Amazing!

The most shocking things ever found inside a dog's stomach

I am so glad Pepper doesn't do that sort of thing. In her puppyhood she was a real piece of work. She ripped up the kitchen lino, she tried to rewire the phone line, she took the cabinet door off yet she was housetrained at 10 weeks and never intentionally pee'd or poo'd on the floor once she graduated from newspapers. (Unlike our old Beagle who expressed her anger by squatting and peeing while staring us in the eye!)

Pepper still rearranges furniture once in a while. She'll pull the cushions from the couch or actually push the rocking chair or the coffee table to a different spot- but she's part Border Collie and we just crack that up to Border Collie-ness. =)

Man demands return of kidney in divorce settlement. Clickie!

Well, well. Looks like LJ's in financial trouble. So if it goes belly up, I'm here.

Is lj down or is it just me?

see Sarah Palin pictures

We left home at 7:15 and arrive in Northboro, MA, at Aileen's home around 10:30. The morning drive was wonderful. The leaves in some areas were at their peak. When we drove up, Aileen was walking her dog Bridget, and she invited me inside. Bob then took off in the direction of the nearest bookstore to browse to his heart's content while I was at the class.

There were six women in the group, a Reiki level 1, two Reiki Masters (inclinding myself), and four Reiki level 2's. One of the women brought a service dog that she is training - a sweet, LARGE, year old black Lab, for a second dog for us to practice on. His temperament is the opposite of Bridget, Aileen's dog. As Bridget is a mellow, quiet, mature lady, Topher is young and bouncy boy. Aileen' two cats, Dragon and Squeeker, took one look at the exuberant Lab and opted out of the class.

The first part of the day was spent in discussion, then we broke for tea or coffee, and a snack. The second part was hands on practice and further discussion of approaching an animal, how to treat varying sized animals, and about protocol when you are treating a dog in a multi dog family (approaching the alpha dog first, etc.)

We broke into two groups less experienced people paired with a Reiki Master, and a third (I was with a level 1 gal and a level 2 gal) and Aileen went back and forth between us. The first dog in our group was Bridget. Bridget is a Katrina rescue. She's got the biggest heart and is so loving. She has problems with her hips and back, and doesn't like her forepaws touched. (When I went to treat one of her forepaws, she gently nudged me away with her nose, so I held my hand over her paw to treat it, and that went well)

After sitting on the floor with Bridget for a half hour, our group swapped dogs and went to Topher. All he wanted to do was play, so we treated him, then let him romp for a bit, then went back to treating him again. That was the best method for him.

There was another break, more discussion,(this time about treating horses and birds), and wonder of wonders, five hours had flown by and it was time to go.

My next step is to practice on the animals and birds that belong to friends and clients, and find someone with a horse I can practice on!

If you want to study Companion Animal Reiki, I cannot say enough about Aileen D'angelo. She's a wonderful teacher, and a lovely person. Her website is Hoof, Paw and Claw - Reiki for Critters.

We went to lunch, hubby and I. We drove into the city and went to a wonderful German restaurant. So nice to just share a meal and talk. ♥

This week has been crazy. It began with the Reiki workshop last weekend. Our dog was totally confused by the cleaning and strangers coming into the house. Although she loved the attention, she was nervous and unhappy. I think the next time we do this I'll put her in the kennel for a couple of days. She loves going to the kennel - lotes of other dogs to play with and no odd energies floating around to puppy ponder.

Then we got a call from Lincoln Center and they signed on to own our souls for most of the month in regards to rehearsals and two Chamber Music concerts. The pay is very good even if it makes life wacky for a bit.

We have a concert on Sunday - a house concert. It's actually a fund raiser for Obama. So cool. I wonder if we'll get paid or if they expect it to be a donation? Hm. Then we do another concert on Monday in Jersey. Odd all these NJ concerts at once.

The following week we are off to the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. (shoot me now if I spelled it wrong) It's only one day. Pity. It used to be three or four days and two concerts.

THEN on the 18th is my Animal Reiki course on Northboro MA. I hope my back is okay for that.

So that's what's happening.

I haven't been here for a while.

Back in May - May 6, my hubby was hospitalized for internal bleeding. A colonoscopy discovered the reason - colon cancer. The world that we built around each other seemed to shatter. The doctors at the hospital where he was taken wanted to perform surgery right away. We decided on a second opinion. We went to a doctor at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in NYC. The doctor is the same one who has treated my hubby's sister's husband for stage 4 Colon cancer for five years. We wanted the best for my hubby so we went there. The doctor looked at all the information, the tests, CAT scans, etc, and said, the same thing, he needed surgery - but then the doc went even farther - telling us exactly what he would do, how he would resection the bowel and remove lymph nodes as well. The entire thing would take four hours and would be performed by laproscopy - a delicate surgery performed with tiny incisions. Instead of the big gaping 15 inch incision in the gut, the biggest incision is 4" long. It's amazing. So we went ahead with it, and the doc operated on May 28.

Although we were told the thing was benign, the doc found that it was a stage 1 cancer. It had not spread ANYWHERE else. It was only that one tumor. The lymph nodes were clean. Now Hubby must have tests at least once a year to check and make sure it doesn't return. But he's okay. They got it all.

So my Hunny is home, recovering from his surgery. We are so lucky it was found early.

And that's where I've been for the past month.