Missy

Missy passed on about an hour or so ago. I am afraid I didn't get anywhere on top of it until I noticed that she wasn't eating anything. I tried to hydrate and feed her, but too little too late.

When I discovered her distress, I was pretty sure all the vet could do was put her to sleep.

So long, sweetie.

Looking at the date on the picture, I realized that she was with us almost five years.

Which means she was about 17.

(Griffin's butt in the foreground.)

Thumper (and Me)

 Just before Jen left for home last month, we noticed Thumper was limping. Our working theory was that, in digging into the compost bin and bouncing it up and down with his snout, he had managed to guillotine his paw and injure it. I got him some doggo aspirin, which seemed to take care of the issue. 

He would go for a few days without limping, then start again. Give him aspirin, limping stopped. Lather, rinse, repeat until this past Monday.

He suddenly became a tripod dog, not using the injured paw to walk on at all.  Aspirin did nothing. So, Friday (yesterday), we went to the 24 hour emergency vet (our regular one was booked up and waitlisted). We did the intake, a tech came out to the car and got Thumper, and home I went. 

Calls back and forth, talked with the vet. Basically, the x-rays showed no breaks, but one of the bones in the 'elbow' looked fuzzy. We didn't get the radiology report, so the vet released him, along with doggo Ibuprophen and gabapentin. I was instructed to get some Pepsid to make sure he wouldn't get an upset stomach from the ibuprofen. I was chuckling during his lecture, and finally told him that I've been on nsaids and gabapentin for quite a while, and was confident I could handle this. 

Thumper was pretty well stoned when we got home. The idea is to give him 10 days of rest, followed by 10 days of slowly bringing him back up to speed, assuming the limp is gone. The 10 days of rest is what the gabapentin is for.

So, that is Thumper, in a nutshell. 

I wound up not sleeping in this morning. In fact, I think I was awake at about 6:30 - 7:00. I gave up and got up, and started the day. Got Thump out to the back yard for a bit, then took him around the corner early afternoon. At about 2:30, I decided to go up for a nap.

When I woke up, it looked like early morning light. My phone said it was about 5:30, so I was expecting to get up and face the new day, in a while. Read my mail fiddled around on my dating site, and decided to get up.

So here I'm thinking it's Sunday AM. My phone told me it was still Saturday evening. And down the rabbit hole I went. I honestly was worried that something had happened to the internet clock, but the timeline as I remembered it didn't make sense either. I was confused. 

I bounced around with it for a while, until I realized that it was way too dark for 8:30 in the morning, even with the rain clouds overhead. It slowly dawned on me that I had taken a nap at 2:30, and a) either I'd slept for almost 30 hours, or b) it was in fact 8:30 on Saturday night.

Occam's razor prevailed, and so here I am, sharing this at (now) 9:30 Saturday evening.

I'm pretty sure this is another reminder that I don't have as much stamina as I did before my surgery. 

And, as any IFR pilot will tell you, "You gotta trust your instruments."

Fauci Knows

 He always did.

Wade leaves it to the reader to draw conclusions. 

The case for 'escaped virus from the lab' is certainly more presuasiven the 'it came from the jungle.'  It has a couple of particular features that haven't been found in the wild, that can partricularly target humans.

Yes, Fauci knew they were doing 'gain of function  work' (making new, more virulent virii). It was the whole point of our funding.

We've been using cheap chinese labs to do our virus research. Not up to standards, and cutting corners.

He's covering his tuchus.

Don't believe me - here's the whole thing.

God. One possible scenario

Once again, I find I am merely transcribing what Gerard has written. This comes a couple of day after  my retired flight attendant friend asked me if I'd gone back to a church yet. I tried to explain that I hadn't because I wasn't sure if my peculiar perspective on things would fit into the Catholic framework. That's probably a conversation I need to have with a friendly Jesuit.

Anyway, this popped up this morning, and since it answers my friend's question better that I did, I felt the need to post it, and send her a link. So here we go:

 The Spark Gap

I’ve long had a theory about why prayers are answered but answered rarely. I think that God, for all his omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience is pretty much nailed to the present as far as humans go.

Yes, I know all the arguments for predestination and preordination but those strike me as a one-way street to Dullsville even for God. If, as God, You let Yourself know everything that was going to happen everywhere for all time (Not that You couldn’t if You wanted to.), what’s the entertainment value in that proposition? Slim to none, if you ask me. 

RTWT: Sunday sermonette: While You Were Out

Coronavirus Prep

I've been keeping an eye on the progression of the coronavirus of the Johns Hopkins map:

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus map

It focuses on Mainland China, but you can scroll the list on the left to select another country.

Meanwhile, over on Twitter, @BryanDeanWright is (rightfully) grousing that the CDC is saying "Get prepared" without saying about the 'how'!

So, as a public service, I am posting a link to @TreeHuggingSis' blog post on hurricane prep. While you don't need to board up the house, it's got tons on infor for all of your prep needs.

Coalition of the Swilling Disaster Prep

I did mention to Bryan that the CDC does have prep info on line, at the Zombie Apocalypse page. So here is a link to that:

CDC Zombie Apocalypse Page

Because you never know!

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.

More Garden...

...And A Sad State Of Confusion

The garden this year has been a sort of controlled "Let's see what happend when I do this!" Here are the main contenders:

Somdewhere, there is a picture of two bags of this stuff, gutted open, and planted. I decided that eight openings on the ground was easier.

Interestingly, the lettuce leaves here are darker than the ones that took in the garden bed.

Tomatoes. I had given up on ever growing decent tomatoes; I gather there's something in the soil that races up the vine to see how many fruit it can kill before they are ready to be picked. So, when a  random plant sprouted in the corner of the garden bed, I thought "OK, let's see what happens."

There is a clutch of seven tomatoes hiding in the middle of the bush. Plus six or more green ones of various sizes.  Not to mention the four I have sitting in the kitchen.

They are all roughly the size you see me holding here (pretty close to actual scale!):

One woud think that, in the middle of small garden in a small town in Pennsyltucky (or Pretzelvania, if you prefer), we would be immune from gender self-identification type issues. But, no...

It seems that Basil has decided to identify as a strawberry.

Even more discouraging, one of the Romaine offspring has chosen to identify as a common weed, and go sprout in a crack in the sidewalk.

There's no talking sense to either of them.

I fear that neither will grow to be happy.

Friday Garden...

...Drunk Walk.  (Not really, just shots as they come from the camera, taken in no particular order.)

This late in the season, and there are two blueberry buds! 

Flowering bud!

A clutch(?) of ripening 'maters. Reddest one is about baseball size!

Volunteer Romaine! These were from seeds produced buy a plant I purchased at the store.

        Strawberries. 

        About a week and 1/2 ago, I pulled everything, broke up the plants, and re-planted them.  

        The deadlooking ones mostly have green shoots, so the bed will be bangin' next year!

Peppers.  These are the ones that came (for free!) in my order from a nursery in

            New Mexico.  The ones I intentionally purchased did about as well - I have one 

            immature plant in a pot. It will come in when it gets cold, too.

Potted Basil.

Lower pot, Rosemary, which will be re-potted and brought in for the winter.

More strawberries, in a mini-Mexican pot. Plus Oregano!! 

The heavy rains and the weight of the tomatoes toppled the cage, but didn't uproot the plant.

Still rooted!

Horticultural notes:  The peppers sprouted quite well in a mini-hothouse I use. It consistes of water-saturated planting media in a square aluminun cake pan with a plastic lid ('bake and carry'). Pan with lid sits on a warming pad, and water condenses on the plastic lid.  Tapping the lid a couple of times creates 'rain', and the seeds stay hydrated!

Doc Deb and I discussed the interesting growth process pf these peculiar peppers. They sprout, and in about two weeks, hit about 4 inches tall. Then, they 'stall'.  I don't know if they're concentrating on root development (my hunch), but they stay the same height for about a month. Then, blammo, they get about 18 inches tall, and peppers sprout.

More on the peppers soon! (I'm doing a test quiche using them rather than Green Ortegas!)

Nadia

Nadia, aka Nadia the Obese, and more lovingly, Nadie-boo, passed away sometime last Sunday (June 28) afternoon/evening/night. I left the house at about three, and she was gone when I got back at eleven.

She had developed some large masses under the skin around her hip and base of her tail. She also developed a runny nose and eyes, The final insult was congested lungs, and patches of skin peeling off. The latter was not ordinary dermatitis, but peeling of skin a couple of layers thick.

I was feeding her and watering her using a syringe. She took the water and chicken broth, and her kidneys seemed to be working fine.

Nadie was a Tortoise shell cat (as if you couldn't tell from her picture). Torties are known for being moody, if not psychotic. She was also a 'hidey' cat, meaning that she would dive for the nearest safe space if something scared her.

On the other hand, she did get the Shibas under enough control to suit her.

Above is a picture of the very first time Nadia deigned to be on the bed with Suzu. (Like me, Baxter is staring in disbelief.) She eventually tolerated Dakota as well. There were a couple of discussions about territory, though. The fierst time, I was awakened by loud cat vocalizations. I was awakened the second time by a heavy paw in the middle of my back as Dakota made his departure from the bed.

There was some blood spatter on the bedspread the first time, and some bloody paw-prints after the second. Both time I checked noses and faces and paws of all involved, but found no sign of damage.

When it was my bedtime, I would have to encourage her to move over with a shove. I figured out that it was easier to use the bed covers to roll her over to the other side. Once I got in and got comfy, she would come back to my side foe some attention. Her method of notifying me was to put her paw on my arm, and flex her claws. which resulted in a whole bunch of skin punctures.

Out of curiosity, a year or so ago, I did the 'weight me, then weigh me holding her' thing to get her weight.  Guesses. anyone? (Answer below the fold.)

I got Nadia as a companion for Baxter, after Shin-wa got run over (and killed. By me. Worst Saturday ever.) She was a normal size cat when I met her. She and Baxter lived in the garage, because the Mistress of Pain was highly allergic to cats. When I went out to the garage, I would see her peeking out from behind some shelves. After a couple of months of that I decided to pull her out and see how she was.

She was obese. And she stayed that way up until the last couple of months.

During the winter here in Pa, it was not unusual for me to see her burrowed under the covers during the day, so she could keep warm. I'd get home and go upstairs to find a large lump in the bed, with her face just peeking out.

I hope she's with all of her friends who preceeded her, and that she's content.

Thumper

Well. I took a week off to go out to Montana and see my daughter and the rest of the family. I hired a gentleman to come in twice a day to check on the cats, and walk Thumper. This would be the first time that I would be away for a relatively long period of time (ten days), and Thump would have to adjust to a new alpha human.

Steve, the guy I hired, is retired, and (I believe) does pet sitting to get out of his wife's way. He was a godsend. He did a bunch of extra stuff, like some cleaning up of poo in the house that I hadn't gotten to before I left, and got Thump some new toys to play with. In his written summary, he said:

"Thunper would let me sit on the sofa with him. (He) would let me scratch his back and rub his head with the walking harness on. ... He is learning to trust."

Funny thing was, when I got home and Steve came over to collect his check, Thump pretty much ignored him. I think he was letting us know who he thought the boss was!

A couple of days ago, Thumper and I went for one of our usual walks. As we were coming back in the alley behind the three townhomes, we ran in to our neighbor who lives on the other end unit. He and I started talking about some maintenance issues, while Thumper just stood there. At one point, my neighbor idly bent over and scratched Tumper on his back.

Thumper. Did. Not. React.

We have crossed the Rubicon. I don't know if this extends to the little kids who want to pet him or not, but it signals a major breakthru!   He has become much more comfortable with people than he has ever been since I met him.

He's becoming a real dog.

Friday Garden, Before And After

About a month and a half ago, I started to resurrect the garden from a year's worth of neglect. The oldest part of the oldest bed finally gave out - it has rotted at the joints. I'm salvaging what I can, and re-arranging things a bit.

Remains of the oldest bed. Top half is all the can be re-used as-is.

The new potato bed, with potato sprouts

I'm experimenting with a new potato growing technique. I was told by one of the guys at the auction to keep burying the sprouts as they come up, which causes them to grow more potatoes. I've doubled the height of this bed, and will add one more layer. This makes use of another bed that started to rot.

10 Gallon Potato Bag

I'm also experimenting with the bag o' taters! Same principle, just in a canvas bag. The bag has a door flap that you can use to 'pick' potatoes without pulling up the parent plant.

Romaine lettuce and onions

I pulled up the oregano, replaced it with red and green romaine, and tidied up the onions.

Below, the two blackberry sticks:

 
Progress below the fold!

Catching Up

OK. This is a photo fueled ramble, pretty much in chronological order.

First, the establishing shot! Last fall, I got the patio cleaned up and the heavier bits of construction wood out of the elements.

Here's a random shot of Thumper campling out in the laundry basket. He has gotten calmer and more pet-like around me. I can approach, reach and scritch him with no downside. (Others can't - an elderly gentelman tested that out for us last week.) He's excited to see me when I come down in the morning/get home from work, and is generally more manageable. He still quivers, but less so than before.

We have become buddies.

Work is progressing on the walk-thru closet: 

Much more below the fold!

Manly Crockpotting (Now With Update)

Update:  I use Twitter in an effort to broaden my readership here. One response, from a friend:

YOU'RE A GUY? pic.twitter.com/NdZsSe0jPk

— MoxieMom (@moxiemom) January 27, 2019

I always thought the header pic on my Twitter profile was a dead giveway.  Huh.

* * * * * * * * * *

Once again, an e-mail to friends turns into a post:

I stumbled upon the Art of Manliness site a while back, and have subscribed to their weekly news letter.  I also have a link to their site in the blogs.  Anyway, they put out some (dare I say it?) good, old-fashioned advice on all sorts of things, from survival tips to tying neckties.

So, today, I found their advice on crockpots.  Since cooking and eating are required by everyone, not just men, I thought I'd pass it along.  Only problem I see (as a single guy) is the copious quantities of stuff it makes, but that can be frozen.

I just finished a batch my white chicken chili, and thought I'd pass it on with the article:

(Notes are in parenthises. I don't generally measure too much, as you will see, so the measurements are approximate where noted. Yes. I open the pot whilst cooking to check on taste and doneness, so I can tweak the flavors to my taste.)

Lee's White Chicken Chili  

2 can of navy beans (I only had one can, so I used a can of black beans)

One of those chicken-turkey hybrid skinless breasts

(I tossed in a thigh w/ skin for the flavor. Thumper approved highly.)

1 small can of diced ortega chiles

1 medium onion, chopped or diced

Teaspoon cummin

Teaspoon dried oregano

1 - 2 cups chicken broth

A splash of Tapatio hot sauce (more or less, to taste)

(Tapatio just adjusts the 'picante' of a dish without extraneous flavor, which is why I recommend it for general purpose cooking. Although I see it in a lot of gerocery stores, I usually buy it a Walmart, because their price is usually about $3.00 for the quart bottle. But use whatever you want.)

Cut the chicken breast into chunks.

Drain the beans.

Toss everything into the pot, add broth till you can see it peeking thru the ingredients.

(Sigh. OK, I was thawing a jar of frozen broth on the stove while prepping, adding it from the jar as I went, so the volume used is a bit hazy. And use the whole can of chiles, juice and all.)

Set it to high. After about 4 hours, it should be close to done. When the chicken chunks fall apart easily, you're there.

(I will try doing an 8 - hour version on low to see how that cooks. Science experiment!!)

(One more note: I added about 1/4 cup of Salsa Lizano, which is a condiment/sauce I discovered in Costa Rica. It gave the chili a bit of a curry flavor, which is what I like it for. I use it when I make Arroz Amirillo con Pollo, too. You can, of course, get it from Amazon.)

Enjoy!

Buy A Nun A Book Day

...is approaching once again - September 17.  Once again, I will be sending books to the good Holy Names Sisters who taught me in my callow youth.

It's a nice way to say "Thanks"!

Ranty Nurse Amy

Update: We reached the goal for Amy!!  Thanks to everyone who donated!!

I didn't realize what a horribly rough patch @RantyAmyCurtis is going thru. Her story popped up in my Twitter timeline, and I got myself involved in the conversation about it. It got a tad heated (not between Amy & me), I was behind a couple of really nice chocolate stouts, and thought to myself, "Self, we gotta do something about this."

Amy wants to get her marriage annulled, and the Church's ecclesiastical court fee to process it is $500.00, which she does not have.  That, plus other debt I know nothing about, have her in a tight bind.

Did I mention she is raising three boys?  By herself?? While she went to nursing school, graduated, passed her boards, and went on to qualify for a specialization as well.  All of this reminds me of Martha, and what she went through to adopt and raise me.  (Story here, if you're interested.)

So. I said to myself, "Self, I can stay online here and try to talk my ginger friend down."  That, as you might expect with a ginger,  didn't exactly happen, but it at least stopped. I knew that there was really nothing I could say to Amy that would make it all better, so what could I do? "Self, I said, let's go set up a gofundme for her. She can get the annulment, and have a life free from the ton of spiritual baggage of not having it."

So, I did.

From about midnight last night until just before I posted this, the fund is at $200.00.  Wouldn't it be great to have the $500.00 funded by tomorrow night? Once that happens, I'll ask her if she wants to continue to raise money to help w/ her debts or not.

So, click the link, and make a donation so Amy can freely get on with her life!

P.S. To my ginger friend:  I have a great deal of respect for you as a person of faith, a successful business woman, and as a person.  I have found that, without intending to, I manage to step on your toes from time to time. In our conversations, it is never my intention to cast things in concrete. Last night, all I was trying to do is describe what Amy is up against, not defend it to you. I am sorry that I didn't make that clear to you.  I can describe a bunch of things about the Church petty well, even though I disagree with some of them.

Again, I am sorry for the misunderstanding.

Update! Thumper and Me

Update: So, off we went to the vet last week.  Thumper was knocked out, blood drawn, and X-rays taken.  X-rays came back clean.  Initial blood word showed that, yes, his thyroid numbers are low.  Vet wanted to do a more specific test, which I ok'd.  There was enough blood from the draw to do it, which was good.

Bottom line: his thyroid is low, so he is now on a thyroid med.  After a month, the vet wants do do another test to see what's happening.

Started them med last Friday (7/20). He seems to be a bit calmer.  He's hopped into my lap a few times, letting me pet and scratch him. He also comes up to me for attention. If he's focused on something not me, I can get his lead off without lighting him up.  It's very clear that he is uncomfortable if I bend down and reach for him. Potentially hazardous to me. He seems to improve a tad every day, so patience and caution are the most important things for me to bring to the game.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About a month ago, the day after my second cataract surgery, Thumper decided that he didn't want me touching him. I've talked with two dog trainers, who have done some informed speculating, and the consensus is, get him a physical.

So tomorrow, we are of to the vet. "How", you may ask, "can he get a physical when no one can touch him?"  The answer is, anesthesia. He will be knocked out, poked, prodded, x-rayed, and assessed.

And then we'll know if he is salvageable. By which I mean, 1) can he and I somehow get along better, being a happy, fun dog; 2) do I take my loss and return him to the shelter; or 3) is he so far gone physically that the only answer is putting him to sleep.

To recap, I lost Baxter, Benny, and Griffin last year. I've been depressed since Thanksgiving.  (I'm just figuring that out, and yes I have a Dr's appointment scheduled).

This truly and deeply sucks.

Welcome, Thumper!

Meet the newest resident of Casa Chaos, Thumper:

Thumper's Petfinder bio page:

Meet Thumper

Thumper is a 6 yr old Shiba Inu mix who was tied outside most of his life. He was surrendered with his canine son who was also previously tied out. His son has been adopted and Thumper is awaiting his forever family.

Thumper has made a lot of progress since being at our shelter since early January. He learned that toys are cool, fetch is a fun game, and that belly rubs are priceless! Thumper needs a patient person who is willing to visit him a few times to earn his trust. Treats and fetch are the highway to his heart! Thumper would do best in a mature home with a dog experienced family as he is still learning to be a "inside" family member. If you are patient and knowledgeable on how to slowly acclimate a scared dog into home life, he may be just what you need!

He's been here since about noon today, and, all in all, is doing pretty well. He was nervous at first - trembling with a bit of marking. Once he got water and food, and was introduced to his new bed, he calmed down considerably. He is essentially a six year old puppy, given that his only constant contact with people started when he arrived at the shelter. He knows sit, will let my sit and old him in a hug without struggling, and will actually come when he hears his name! Plus, he follows me around constantly, barks at people walking past house outside, and is good aboout watching/avoiding me when I'm moving.

And he really wants to chase Missy! (He hasn't met Nadia yet.)

Right now. I'm in bed with the cats, and he is in one of the crates that we used to get Suzu and Dakota back here ten years ago.

My sense is this is going to work out. He seems to really want to be 'good'; he's intelligent, and willing to learn.

More as this develops. And `two more picturs:

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.

"Where The **** You Been?!" - Yen, The 'Grease Man', Ocean's 11

So, no, I really haven't been around much since June, just a couple of posts on the two blogs.

I was self-medicating over on Twitter.  Since it's Lent, that came to a stop.

Last year pretty much sucked.  If you follow Leelu's Place, you know I lost Baxter in February, and Benny in July. What you don't know is that I lost Griffin in November.

He had taken to going down about half the way on the stairs, and then leaping to the bottom. On his last try, he managed to cripple himself. We did the same kind of steriod treatment that we did for Benny.

In his attempts to get up, he bruised his shoulder badly.  When I finally discovered it, it was about the size of my hand. I managed to drain it, but it was, I think, sceptic. He passed away on November 27. I'd put him on the bed, and started to read. After a bit, I looked over, and he was gone.

That was the proverbial last straw for me. He had started to become more friendly since his teeth were pulled, coming up to me for scratches when I was sitting and reading or watching a movie. It felt like we were beginning to bond, and I was really looking forward to seeing that develop.

So, I started to mourn them all. I didn't realize that was what I was doing until just before my birthday. In the time between losing Grif and my realization, I pretty much did nothing, except self-medicate with Twitter. OK, my alcohol consumption ticked up a bit. And I put on a couple of extra pounds (about ten). I mostly blame the two full batches of Ike's eggnog for that. And the chocolate peanut butter bars. But mostly, the alcohol.

I'm pretty much back now. Doing Lent has helped a great deal. No meat, just fish, eggs, cheese and such. No Twitter. Read the Daily Readings (Epistle and Gospel for the daily Mass) from the USCCB.  Didn't make 'no drinking' past the first week, but I have cut down to less than what I was drinking before the Black Dog came for his stay. And my weight has been dropping. This I know from being weighed each on the many times I been to the doctors in the last couple of months.

(That is another post.)

Work has been done to the house. I finished bracing the joists, and tightened up  the rods to (hopefully) keep the wall from sagging any more. Lots of Romex has been pulled the back bedroom. The 220 V line to  my old third floor bedroom has been split into two 110 V lines, one for the old bedroom, and one for the closet.

The next trick is to get the beam between the living and dining rooms reinforced to correct the sag. After that, I want to make the place able to pass inspection for homeowner's insurance. That will, I'm pretty sure, reduce the mortgage payment. As I understand it, it has to pass the 'looks right' test from the outside, and have no active knob and tube electrical wiring.

(That is yet another post.)

Most importantly, I'm looking for a new (senior) dog.

Thought For The New Year

Happy New Year!!