Hurricane Gustav

Too early to tell where he's going - but he is now a hurricane. Be aware.



Hopefully, he'll blow far away.

Uh-oh

Not to alarm anyone - but take a look at this picture:



Tropical Storm Gustav is making some headway - not really sure about him right now - but keep an eye on the weather channel.

Ciao.

It's Sunshine Sunday

The sun finally came out today. I took a picture to prove it.

We might still get some rain today. Yesterday, the rain was incredible - a deluge - and it came on fast - we saw the clouds and heard the thunder and knew we'd get some shortly - but 30 seconds later it was raining cats and dogs - it happened so fast - incredible.

Peanut and I went for a walk this mornning - still working on trying to get her to stop pulling - we use a gentle leader which helps a lot - but she still pulls. I could notice a slight improvement as we walked - but this little doggie is dense. I tried changing directions when she would pull and also tried stopping until she turned around and gave slack. But she really does not seem to get it. I'm still on board for a lobotomy. Sometimes, no, lots of times, I really do think she is a crack baby.

Mir had to work this morning - she should be home shortly. I went out and picked up Peanut's "crazy pills" - okay, her medication - also got some poop bags and some pictures printed. I think it's sometimes easier and maybe cheaper to have the professionals print the photos. Ink and photo paper are not cheap. Now, I'm home and boiling some eggs for a tuna salad I'm going to make.

The students are back. It's so busy everywhere now. And next week is the start of football season here in Gator town. I hope they win - everyone is so much happier when they do.

Go Gators!

Wet Friday

It's been a wet one today with a little wind - but not too bad. UF closed down so Mir had the day off - although, she did spend much of the morning coordinating a subject patient whose travel was hindered by the storm.

We went and bought dog food and treats and then picked up Cheryl for lunch. After lunch the weather declined a bit so we decided to forgo shopping and come back home. I did a little bit of work on the laptop until Miriam became a nag - I need to work on her some.

Talked to dad briefly - he called to ask about Boxer's nodules. I did mention that I had written about his test results in this blog. Anyway, mom is continuing to feel better and even cooked dinner.

So, despite Fay, all is well here in Gainesville. I tried to take a video of the storm but it didn't turn out very well. So, I'll try to do something else. Gotta keep things fresh here on the blog so you, my loyal readers, don't get bored. If you have any ideas for my blog - please post a comment. I've yet to get the first comment.

The Daily Show is on - let me go and watch it and try to get a few laughs.

Tootles.

Wet Weather - Beware Flooding

For those of you keeping track of TS Fay - it's starting to get wet here. I'm home for lunch and it's raining - I like the rain but trying to get the dogs outside to do their business can be challenging. Today I have been successful - Sydney went out with no problem, but Boxer knows the game and required a treat before he went out - both went wee-wee. Miriam hates using that term - but it works with the children. Peanut also went - had to coax her off the deck - on the fourth try she finally relieved herself (and me).

I'm glad I'm off tomorrow - think I'll just hang around the house watching what should be a lot of rain - that's the forecast anyway.

Checked in with mom yesterday evening - she's doing well. Wishes she could do more - but she's gotta take it easy until she's healed some more. I suggested she read a few books - should have suggested she work on her genealogy.

I'll give Peanut a few more minutes and then it's back to work.

Later.

Good news....

Boxer is fine! The pathology came back good on his nodules. So, we are all happy! We need to let this settle a bit and then Sydney will be the next one to get her teeth cleaned. Boxer is also more alert and happy today - he wasn't so happy yesterday - can't blame him - he was put to sleep and stuck with needles. I'd be upset, too.

Everything else is going okay. Got wet during lunch. Had to take my shoes off at work to let my socks dry out and feet warm up. I need to find some kind of water repellent pants and shoes.

Thought we'd be preparing for a hurricane but it looks like we're just gonna get some rain and a little wind. Sounds good to me. We'll keep checking the weather just in case something changes.

That's all for now. Tootles.

Boxer Update

Okay, Boxer had his neuro consult today, along with an ultrasound to check his prostate. We had received a call last Friday that his radiographs seemed to indicate an enlarged prostate - so, an ultrasound was in order. Well, his prostate is fine - however, the ultrasound revealed nodules on his spleen, kidney and liver. We had the nodules on his spleen and kidney aspirated and should get the pathology tomorrow. The one on the liver couldn't be found at aspiraton time. At this point, we're thinking that these are not cancerous. We'll know for sure tomorrow.

So, regarding Boxer's shaking - we can't really find anything - which is okay - it means that it could be related to aging - whatever it is it doesn't seem to be life threatening or anything.

We have now spent a small fortune on Boxer this month. Plans for our charitable foundation for medical care for our dogs are moving forward.

Checked in with mom today and she is progressing - still in some pain - but overall doing well.

Stay tuned.

Update On Mom

Just talked to dad - mom is doing great this morning and is ready to go home - she's eating a good breakfast right now. As soon as the doc comes - sometime this morning - she will most likely be discharged into the care of her loved-ones.

What a Weekend!

Good morning, readers! My, my, what a weekend. As you can tell by the posted picture someone is in the hospital - sorry, I had to black out the face due to privacy issues (HIPAA).

Mom had emergency surgery over the weekend. She's doing great - when she put back in her earrings yesterday, I knew it wouldn't be long before she was out of there. Surgery was yesterday around 11am and She is scheduled to go home today. I was lucky enough to see the surgical site ( it was done laparoscopically) - kind of neat - they sutured from the inside and glued on the outside.

You'll have to forgive the quality of the picture - it was taken with a camera phone. You do with what you've got.

Boxer is still scheduled for his neuro consult tomorrow. Stay tuned for the result of that.

I need to go feed the birds. Later.

Boxer's Recheck Goes Well...

We took Boxer in for a recheck this morning. The stitches were removed and he was given a clean bill of health...except for the shaking in his back legs. So, we've made an appointment on Monday for him to have neuro consult. We're not sure if it's neurological or orthopedic - so, this consult might shed some light on what's going on. Once we get Boxer squared away - it's Sydney's turn to get her teeth cleaned. We are pondering the idea of setting up a foundation for all of the dogs so that our loyal readers might contribute a few pesos here and there in order to help us to continue to provide the excellent medical care necessary for these wonderful animals.

I'm (Lisa) sitting here on the deck under the umbrella - Boxer and Sydney felt it was too hot and requested to go inside. I suppose I would also be too hot if I was wearing a fur coat. I'll give them a little more time to be free before I lock them up and let out the Pea dog. I'm taking it easy today - doing very little house work - trying to learn how to relax a little and not be compelled to clean, clean, clean.

Took Mir to lunch. You can tell the students are back. We'll be avoiding the Archer road area for a while.

I'm gonna surf the web a little. Peace.

Boxer's Wound Area

I said I would - here is a picture of the surgical site where a "skin tag" and another mass was removed. It doesn't look so bad I guess. Just hoping Boxer will leave it alone long enough for it to properly heal.

We're still scheduled for a Friday recheck at the vet school.

Ciao.

Week Five of 4/10

I'm up earlier than usual this morning. The dogs got us up at 4:30am to pee. And, of course, I can't fall back asleep - so, I lay there until about 5:17 and decided the gig was up and to just shower and start my day.

This is week five of the 4/10 work weeks. I'm still not 100% on board with it. The evenings after work are the issue -with both of us now getting home later it pushes everything back in the evening beginning with dinner. We've done a decent job of planning meals and utilizing left overs but it still seems that we're not done until at least 7pm or later. Other than that, the 4/10 are okay - having Friday off is a big pull. I will get to see what just working 7 to 3:30 will be like during the week of Labor Day. Since that Monday is a holiday, I'll work 4 8hr days. I know getting off early in the afternoon will be nice.

We enjoyed watching some of the Olympics - but the commercials are ridiculous - too many - we ended up just turning it off or changing the channel - too bad, but I can't stand to watch them.

It's almost time to start the morning meal preparations for the dogs. Boxer's surgical sites where his skin tag and the other (benign) thing were removed is healing but not as nicely and cleanly as we would like. Some of the stitches came out yesterday. So, we're giving him some meds to help reduce the itching so he won't scatch the area. That would be a good pic - his wound site - if I get a chance I'll take one and post it.

I originally wasn't going to post a picture but then decided that the schedule I came up with for the dogs was worthy of attention. We've got to work harder at getting to bed earlier, so I'm hoping this schedule will help.

Later.

Sunday It Is

Good morning from the deck of mirlisa. It's a beautiful morning - the temperature has been very nice - a bit on the cooler side than past mornings this week. And there's a nice breeze.

I was up at 7am to feed the dogs and then myself. Took the camera out and got a couple of pictures of hummingbirds at the feeder. I also got a video of one the birds alight and feed. Check out the video on the right side of the page!

Got lots of little things to do today - so, I need to go in and shower - I don't consider my day really started until I've had my shower.

Tootles.

Happy Saturday!

Good morning - it's Saturday - one of my favorite days of the week. I got up around 7am and have spent most of the morning out here on the deck with the dogs watching the birds, perusing the paper, on the laptop, etc. It's starting to really warm up now so my time out here is limited - besides, we need to go buy dog food.

I played with my little camera this morning. It had been cutting off in the middle of taking videos, so I reviewed the owner's manual and it suggested reformatting the card. I did and it has seemed to do the trick.

The picture for today is one of Boxer and Sydney from this morning - we had some nice quality time sitting on the desk and watching nature around us.

I think Mir's in the shower - and as soon as she's done we'll take off to do some errands.

Later. gator.

Feeling Better

I'm finally starting to feel better. Took a high powered cough medicine last night and it really helped me to get a good night's rest.

Boxer had a rough week, too. Took him in to get his teeth cleaned and he ended up with two fewer teeth - two were loose and needed to be removed. We're thinking one of them might be related to when he was shot with BBs as a pup - one hit his mouth (he lost part of his tongue).

In addition to the teeth, we had a skin tag removed and another little thing removed - it's being biopsied - hopefully, that will come back normal.

It's been a long week for all of us. Tomorrow, I'm off. Thank goodness.

Under the Weather

I'm sick today. Haven't been sick in almost two years (well, except for my frozen shoulder - but I don't consider that "sick"). Am blogging until the meds kick in and I'm off to bed to see if I can nip this thing before it goes any further.

Remember that the land line gets cut today.

Okay, I'm tired - going to bed.

Vote Obama

Ahhh, our lovely home, and yes, the Obama sign is there - listen, folks, unless you want more of the same, you gotta vote Obama. If you care about the war in Iraq, about global warming (and yes, it's really happening and yes, mankind, is to blame for the rapidity at which it is happening), health care, social security - well, then your bests interests are best represented in electing Obama. However, if you like things just the way they are - and/or worse - well, then McCain's your man. I, for one, am ready for a change.

This country needs a change!

I took this picture of one of our hummingbirds this morning - we love to watch them.

I was also called into service this morning. Genny wasn't up to going to church, so I sat with her for a few hours this am while Buddy went to church. My guitar accompanied me and I played nearly non stop all that time. I must not have hit too many bad notes, because Genny said it relaxed her. She was kind of funny - she woke up and said, "Well, I slept through that one." And in my mind I'm thinking, actually, Genny, you slept through the last five - it just seemed like one to you. Anyway, I got in some good practice and played a bunch of music I hadn't seen for months. And Genny is really good for my ego - she loves all my playing and never seems to hear my mistakes!

Alert - Landline is Going Away

I mentioned it in my last post but wanted to restate it - our land line is going bye-bye on Monday, August 4. So, you will need to call either one of our cell phones to communicate. We have also become quite proficient at text messaging.

Another Saturday Evening

It's Saturday. I'm sitting here playing on the computer while Miriam irons her clothes for work. Yes, she will go in tomorrow morning for a few hours. While she's away, I will play. Not sure yet what I'll do.

It's been a nice weekend so far. It was overcast and a little rainy today - but it was great for working in the yard - so we mowed and edged and trimmed - now it looks real nice. We like to have curb appeal.

I need to get out and take some pictures and post them here.

Oh yes, we have killed our land line - yes, we're stepping out on the edge and going to cell phone only. We'll see how they hold up if we have a hurricane this year.

Just for fun, I thought I'd post a picture of Peanut at the beach.

Ciao.