Family

I just got the following from my daughter. Please, prayers for her uncle.

Hi Dad,
IMPORTANT NEWS.
In the last two weeks, my Uncle Kevin has been in and out of the hospital. He had a stent put in for a other than heart organ issue and went home. During that time other issues were found and he was in pain and weak. As of the other day, he is currently back in and is facing a diagnoses of pancreatic cancer. As you know, that is what my Grandpa was diagnosed with, and passed from, in 1995.
He is at Hoag Hospital where both Grandma and Grandpa were at before they passed.
As of news today, Kevin is in good spirits and joking, much better than the last few days. More tests to happen this week. Due to his health, chemo and radiation versus surgery are his options.
Please keep Kevin, and all of us in your prayers. We will know more this week to know what's possible but it is pretty scary and devastating.
I especially ask for your prayers and kindness for strength for my Mom. She is the go to sibling. And, as I imagine, very difficult to be again at Hoag where she lost her parents.
I ask for your prayers and strength for me as well.
Love,
Jennie

Thank you all.

National Sibling Day

Two things.

Lane, Martha, and me...

Me, Martha, Lane. I was second, by about 20 minutes.

 ...and, siblings. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

Suzu

Another bad weekend.

Suzu had been failing for the last year or so, losing muscle mass, and at some point coordinated use of her hind legs.  Even so, she was able to get around and feed herself.  When I got home Monday, she had, for no apparent reason, lost the use of her left front leg.  She has holding it up, and when I extended it, she had 'paw drop' - no control of it.

I was able to feed her and get her to drink by use of a large syringe. Tuesday and Wednesday, she had a fairly decent appetite, and drank pretty well.  Since Wednesday, however, her appetite started to disappear, and she would not drink as much water.  (And, lemmie tell ya, when a Shiba says 'No', she means 'No, dammit!!')

I discussed her situation with a couple of friends.  Though about building a cart for her so she could get around.  No consensus from my friends, and I wasn't sure that a cart wold make any real difference.  So, this morning, I decided that a trip to the vet for a consult was in order. (OK, I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen, but 'consult' let me get us out the door and into the car.)

I took her to the same clinic I took Dakota about three years ago, and was happy to see that the same vet was there - Dr. Lisa Miller.  I had worked with her when it came time to let Koda go, so I knew that we were in the best of hands.

Her assessment was honest, unadorned, sympathetic, and not good.  A cart wouldn't be of use.  Suzu's dog breath indicated that her kidneys were starting to fail.  Her left pupil was fixed and small, which suggested a lesion or possible stroke, which would account for the loss of use of her front leg.  The prognosis wasn't any better - nothing to be done to alleviate any of the symptoms, and I could expect her to crash rapidly in the near future.

All of which confirmed my thinking, so I decided to let her go.  I held her while Dr. Miller administered the drug.  Suzu slipped peacefully and quitely.  She was almost 16 1/2 years old, which I understand is a bit exceptional for a Shiba Inu.

A bit of her life in pictures, below the fold.

So long, sweetie.  I miss you.

Time Bomb...

...of a (Now) Minor Sort.

Last last month, I got an email from my cousin, John, asking for my physical mail address.  He said that his brother Robert had found something he thought I'd be interested in.  I replied, and a week ago, I received a warm letter from Robert, along with an interesting enclosure.

The enclosure in his letter is the bottom dog tag.  I've had the other two, since Martha had saved them.

Here is the letter:

The sentence that got partially cut says "tale of the tag".

I can only think of two "easy" explanations. First is, the house belonged to a friend or friends of Dad's, and he gave it to them, or somehow lost it while visiting.  Second, Martha visited after the funeral/accident, and gave or lost it.  I'm guessing that finding out who owned the place after WWII until the end of 1950 might shed a bit of light on the puzzle.

About the title of this post. After Mom passed away, I spend a month of weekends going thru her stuff, sorting what I wanted to keep and what not to keep.  I found a boatload of Dad's things, which just nailed me to the floor.  And the name was given.About ten years later, my cousin sent me an envelope she found addressed to me that was in her mom's (my aunt's) desk.  It was her written recollection of what happened to Gladys, Lane and me after the two of us were born. As I recall, that pretty much cost me my weekend.  I learned to hate time bombs.

But this one not so much.  As I told Robert, I've had 35 years to process all of this since Martha passed on.  That was the start of my mourning not only her, but Gladys and Dad as well, something I had never truly done until then.

Not Good Morning Mail

This was in my in box today:

 Hi Lee, Jennie was in a car accident in Billings this evening.  She was taken to the hospital and the Cat Scan was ok.  She is really shaken up and will be sore for a while.  She thinks her car is totaled.  John and Becky went to the crash site - I think there were multiple cars and the accident was on the news.

She is staying at John and Becky's tonight-they are leaving on a trip tomorrow.  I will either fly up tomorrow or she if she can fly here to recuperate.  She was supposed to move to a new home tomorrow.

Jen will call you tomorrow-she didn't want to call you in the middle of the night.  I will keep you updated.

Love,  C

I talked with her a couple of hours ago. She is still shaken, but otherwise OK. She's probably going to be stiff & sore for a while. Her car may or may not be totaled, depending on the cost of the repairs. If John was correct, and he found a piece  of the crankshaft, that is a given.

Three cars - her, the one that hit her, and the one it bounced off of.

Apparently everyone walked away.

I wish I could get out there...

Yet Another Blog!

My daughter has the genealogy bug, and I have been scanning photos and documents for to use in her research.  I plan on writing them all off to disc, and then thought "Why not a Tumblr page for her to use?"  I can get the pictures to her, and add notes and comments to explain what each one is about.

New tab for the site - "Leelu's Tumblr" at the top.  A bit thin right now, but More To Come!

Actor's Rule: Never Work With...

...with kids and dogs!!

No matter what is going on in your life, this will make you smile & laugh! Bookmark it for emergency happiness! http://t.co/kiqtHcW1iE
— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) January 26, 2014

Halloween Minion

I carved a pumpkin last night, for the first time i I don't remember how many years.  (I suspect my daughter, at a young age, was involved, but I have no recollection.)

Both my daughter and I think Gru's minions are absolutely great, and can't wait for Minions (the minion movie) to be released!  Soooo...

Finished...

...and lit!

I have pumpkin guts that will become pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds).  And the pumpkin itself will be cut up and steamed, to make the base for a pumpkin pie or two.

I handed out candy, too.  Haven't done that since Maryland.    I stood out on the front porch, telling folks to "Come on up!", since my minion by itself didn't seem to be an encouragement to come up the steps to the door.  More decoration next time, I guess.

Mostly little ones, with a few olders.  Don't think I saw anyone over 12, if that.  All with parents, all polite.  Some of the littlest blanked on "Trick or Treat", and when I asked them what to say, the answer was usually "Thank you" instead.  And yes, they got their treat!

Dakota Has Passed On

Koda (as he was affectionately known), went into convulsions at about 2:30 this afternoon.  I took him to the 24-hour emergency vet, after trying a few first aid things at home.  They pumped him full of valium, which reduced the convulsions to mild tremors.

The vet was straight up with the prognosis - based on what the expensive tests that I can't afford might tell us, she was not optimistic that he could go home and be OK.  So, I made the decision to let him go.

He passed peacefully.  The med they use anesthetised him immediately, and continued on to an overdose.  He slipped away in less than a minute.

Pax vobiscum, Koda.

Dakota (Updated)

Tuesday, Dakota took a pretty good tumble down a full flight of stairs, spine first.  Nothing was broken, but I noticed yesterday that he seemed to have lost balance and strength on his left side.

Last night, he went into full-body convulsions for a minute or so.

We are off to the vet at 3:30.  Koda is resting on the air mattress down here on the first floor.

I don't like how this day is shaping up.

Update:  Back from the vet. We are treating "symptomatically", as the diagnostics for Koda would cost more than mine!  He now has industrial-strength steroids (Dexamethasone) to take over the next two weeks.  If his symptoms are caused by swelling resulting from the fall, this should clear them up. 

I'm cautiously optimistic, which is a big improvement.

Latest and Greatest...

...Unorganized Hancock:



Proud dad story at Sippican Cottage.

Father's Day, 2013 (Updated)

Had a nice, long chat with the Kiddo.  She was sitting in her car, on top of The Rim at the Billings airport, knitting while we chatted.  She had sent me a present, which arrived Friday.  I told her that I would wait until today to open it.  I resolved to open it when she called.  She called once, but it rolled to voice mail without ringing.  I left a message on her's, and since she had called, decided to go ahead and open it!

To my joy and surprise, it was a cook book holder.  It's collapsible, to the size of a smallish cigar box laptop.  And, it has some storage!  And a conversion chart, from teaspoons to cups, to ounces to milliliters.

The book support has a clip for holding recipe cards and such.

And of course it holds books!

Eat What You Want And Die Like A Man by Steve H. Graham

As part of dinner this evening, Crock Pot Beans!

`

If you're wondering...

1 lb white beans                       1 c brown sugar

1 large onion                             1/3 c yellow mustard
1 lb ham, in chunks                  1/4 c cider vinegar
1 12oz can diced tomatoes     1 tbsp liquid smoke 
1 can tomato paste                   1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
About 20 oz stew run-off (chicken or beef - I'm not sure which.  Smelled good, tho.)

I started soaking the beans Friday night to de-gasifiy them.  (Safety tip!!)

Saturday afternoon, I put everything into the crock pot, and cooked on high for about 6 hours.  I turn to low when I went upstairs, and let it go over night.  Turned down to warm this morning when I got up.

All of the above are "to taste", measurement approximate, since I squeeze and splash instead of measuring.  YMMV!  I neglected to account for heat - a couple of Thai Hot Peppers should probably have gone in, but I can always add some Tapatio if I need heat!

Dinner: planning on grilling a couple of burgers (if it doesn't rain), and having some mashed potatoes. Brownies for dessert!

Update:
I should have added more sugar.  The amount I used was what normally works well when I use catsup instead of canned tomatoes.  Also, some more liquid smoke.  I didn't get around to brownies, but I did grill the burgers outside.  And got beer.

All in all, a great Father's Day.

I May Not Be Spock...

...but I had some cool toys to share!

The Kiddo and me, at the Bird Farm, 2004-ish.

My Dad Is...

...Mr. Spock!

OK, you win.

(Via Post Secret!)

Cebolla Verde

...from Unorganized Hancock


My second favorite jazz number after "Take Five"

Via Sippican Cottage

This was My Birthday

When my aunt passed away in 1990, my cousin found an envelope addressed to me among her things and sent it off to me.  It was what I call a "Time Bomb", one that exploded in my face some forty years after the original events.

It's all below the fold.

 

Mom and Dad at MGM Studios, late 1940s