Live everyday like it's your last

Well, yesterday at the vet was quite the scene. I had to bring both babies in so Baxter could get his infection from the rattlesnake vaccine treated and then do all the testing on Sissy to figure out what is wrong with her.

Baxter did fine and after another round of antibiotics, he'll be good as new - minus the now, count them, 4 bald spots he has from all the shaving for the procedures he has had over the last month or so. He's a patchwork quilt!

Sissy, on the other hand, well, we know what she doesn't have, but we are not sure what is wrong with her. It could be a liver infection, liver failure or possibly cancer. Her bloodwork came back pretty good. Nothing was extremely off, just a little anemic and then one of her liver enzymes was slightly elevated, but nothing to cause alarm. Her X-rays came back pretty good, too. No major masses standing out. There was one round spot that could be problematic near her stomach, but it also could have been just her intestine. They sent me home with a round of antibiotics and would like to take more X-rays in a month or so to see if anything has changed. If they see a mass at that time, they could do a biopsy and possibly exploratory surgery, but I think if it comes to that, I need to let her go. She already has a very slight heart murmur and surgery would be really hard on her. Needless to say, I didn't go home happy. In fact, I cried all the way home. The logical, reasonable part of me knows that she is 14 and I should not expect her to live forever, but my heart wishes for something different. She has been with me more than a 1/3 of my life and certainly all of my adult life. She has seen me through some of the toughest times, when my mom died in particular and some of the happiest times. She has always known when I was sad and when she would see my tears she would start her "laughing" and bring me a ball to raise my spirits (for those that don't know her well, she loves to laugh and playing ball is her favorite thing to do - EVER). She has been fortunate to have lived a very healthy life with very few health problems and still has all but 1 of her teeth! It's just really tough to imagine life without her. I do my best to take comfort that she is currently in good spirits and seems to feel fine and is surrounded only by those that love her dearly, including Baxter, Clint and all of Clint's family. There is still a chance that this will pass and I'll have her a little while longer. All I can do is watch her closely and enjoy her as much as I can. That's really all we can do with each other every day. And not take one minute for granted.

Recent happenings.

So, I don't have photos of the living room walls yet, but I decided to write anyone because it's been awhile. Yes, we finally finished something. The living room walls were textured and painted weekend before last and we're very excited to be moving on to something else. Er, so we thought.

That's the next topic. We pulled up the carpet to expose hardwood floors in the living room months ago. But, we didn't want to refinish them until we pulled the rest of the carpet up in the kitchen, dining room and both front and back halls. Well, this past weekend, while I took a Dremel tool to the guest bathroom's 1 inch floor tiles to prepare it for re-grouting, Clint started to pull up the carpet in the front halls working his way to the kitchen. Not good news. There was more vinyl under the carpet (there were two layers of vinyl at the entry way) and the kitchen hardwoods are ruined at least beyond repair we want to get into. So, we brainstorm and decide we'll just do alternate flooring in the kitchen and dining room and refinish the wood floors in the front hall along with the living room. That's when it gets sticky. See, I did some research, being the thorough person I tend to be, and found out that there is a 99% chance the vinyl flooring we pulled up has asbestos in the backing. Not good. After careful thought and consideration, and weighing our options we've decided the safest and easiest thing to do would be to cover up the hardwoods in the entry, front halls, kitchen, dining and back halls with vinyl. His grandpa recently had installed some pretty floating vinyl tiles that interlock and have a wood backing that are supposed to be just awesome. It's not the warm hardwoods we envisioned, but with the expense of a complete kitchen remodel in the fall, we figured this is more than we want to spend on this place. So, onward and upward.

More flowers continue to bloom in the yard. I'll spare the photos, but I did find out we have several batches of Calla lilies. I was excited. That coupled with the neighbor's cherry tree that happens to have most of it's branches over our fence. They were yummy! Even Baxter got in on the action and would happily gnaw on the cherries and spit out the pits to play with them. He bats things around with his paws like a cat. He's a strange one!

We have some potentially troubling doggie news. Baxter's had the same reaction to the rattlesnake vaccination as he did to his initial one so he's going to the vet tomorrow to get his second "hunchback" lanced and drained. Gross. The scary part is Sissy. Yes, I know. In the back of every one's mind they've been waiting for something to happen to sweet Sissy. Well, after doing some research (there I go again), I think she has what's called Cushing's Syndrome. Her symptoms: darkening of the skin, excessive thirst, pot belly (though hers is slight), panting, lack of regrowth of clipped hair on her trunk, lethargy. She has all the ones they list on several different websites so I think it's a safe bet. The cause: well, there's two potential causes. Either a tumor on her pituitary gland or her adrenal gland. Either could be benign or malignant. The treatment is the same so they may not even do diagnostic testing to determine which gland is affected. There is a drug that treats it very effectively and most dogs do very well and have good prognosis. That's the best news. I hope and expect Sissy will do as well. This is common disease among aging dogs (horses and cats, too) and is often undiagnosed because people attribute the symptoms to old age. I knew there was something really wrong when her hair didn't grow back from her clipping 10 weeks ago (she usually has to go every 6 weeks) and her skin started to get dark which really shows under those blond locks of hers. We all go to the vet tomorrow afternoon so I'll keep you posted.

So, that's the latest. Adios, amigos! Let me hear from you!

Here's to dear old Dad!

Father's day is coming up and while I was looking at some old family albums I saw a whole bunch of pictures of me and my dear old Dad. He used to have black hair and was really skinny! Ok, so he's not so old, but lately he feels pretty old. He's been working triple time since his company acquired a new paper in DeQueen, AR. Good luck with that Dad!

This photo was taken at our home in Jacksonville Texas. That's Brownie, my mom's little dog that decided we were going to be her new family when we lived in Sweetwater, TX. One of Dad's favorite things to do would be to sit on the patio and look at the backyard and the little forest behind the house. I would just want to be near him so I often sat with him. I remember the first time we got a bug zapper, I sat out on the patio with him and wrote on a piece of paper every bug that fell victim to the wonderful zapper. I've always been good at or enjoyed analysis so I guess I knew that at an early age. It was probably my way of evaluating the cost/benefit analysis of our new purchase. Hee!

So, anyway, here's to you Dad. Love you bunches!

Feathers, tutus and taps

A friend of mine from Houston sent me a photo of her oldest daughter's first dance recital and it reminded me of mine. I thought I'd share a photo I found. My mother kept that silly costume for YEARS! I finally tossed it when she passed away. I sure hope, if Clint and I have a daughter someday, that I'll be able to find dance lessons for her around here. Anyway, I still remember my first dance classes (in Sweetwater, TX) and the teacher had a real pianist, just like they used to do (and still do at some good studios). She would have us all line up in a row and bow with our heads up and our mouths open to receive a candied cherry like a little bird. I can't eat candied cherries without thinking of that.

The other photo is one of my mom and I practicing our tap routine. My mom always wished she had taken lessons when she was a kid and so when she enrolled me, she signed up for a beginner tap class. We learned the same routine so we could practice together. Aren't we cute?

CODE RED

We are in CODE RED with Baxter. I started it last night. He peed on our bed the day before our camping trip, did I mention that? Yeah, we had to sleep in the guest room while I let the enzyme cleaner get the smell out and stuff. Then night before last, he peed on my grandmother's quilt that we use for covers in the living room when we watch TV. Thank God for Simple Solution. It really gets all pet stains out for good. I always lock him up in the bathroom with me (like a baby!) when I take a shower in the morning, even after he's been out b/c he often has to go twice in the morning and he hasn't learned to hold it until we make the second trip. Well, yesterday morning, he crapped in the bathroom and I almost stepped in it. So, I came up with Code Red. Code Red means that he LIVES in one of this houses (plastic kennel) unless he is outside pottying or playing, or we are sitting on the floor playing with him, or he's eating. Period. That's it. He can hold it all day while we are at work, but he seems to forget to when we are home. That, coupled with he doesn't seem to know how to let us know when he has to go. I just think confining him to a tiny space is the next to last resort. I know it sounds harsh, but I'm at my wits end. He's still getting neutered in the next week or two, but I don't think even that will be enough. Now if Code Red fails, we're moving to CODE BLACK. Code Black is sending him to a training school or something. I've just got to do something. I'm getting desperate and the sad thing is I've grown attached to him so I can't give him back. I've got to get this figured out. Can you read the desperation?

On a lighter note, it's the weekend, and from what I know, we don't have any plans of living on the sand or in a tent this weekend so I'm happy. Now, perhaps sandpaper is in my weekend plans. My walls are calling....got to go!