Sketching, Surgery and FOOD

Hello again.  Life is rumbling along.  This morning we are off to the hospital for him to have foot surgery.  He has a cyst/bulge/bunion/something on the side of his foot that has been bothering him for some time.  It makes the dancing painful.  Weirdly enough his middle brother had the same thing a few years ago.  So today, I am packed up for hurry-up-and-wait day.  I've got counted-cross stitch ornament, journal, sketching journal and pencils, my Kindle, I am ready for sitting and waiting.  We have to be there at 9:15 and surgery is 11:30.  They also said it will be a 4-6 hour surgery!  What the heck.  I also packed a lunch and a few munchies for me to make it through the day.  He said he will be ready to eat a bear when done but who knows.  I'm expecting to be out about dinner time and I'm also ready to cook.  

FYI, I am down 11 pounds today!  That is pretty exciting.  I've been stuck at 10 pounds for nearly 2 weeks but suddenly the scale shifted.  I've really, REALLY been trying to be dedicated to what I am eating and it's been pretty easy.  

Last week I cooked a pork butt in the crock pot and we got three meals out of it, with one of the meals with three other people.  It was $10 and stretched nicely. I made pulled pork over mashed cauliflower which was so tasty.  He loved it.  A couple days later I made pozole verde for 5, another home run.  The Friday evening I made pork and cheese quesadillas.  The verde part of the last two meals was my favorite find of Herdez Salsa Verde!  OMG, my new favorite salsa.  

I used it in the pozole and to dip the quesadillas in.

Last night I had shrimp, a half package of grape tomatoes, "j"arlic, 2 sad stalks of celery, 1/4 cup of white wine, salt & pepper.  I served it over mashed riced cauliflower with lemon, adding a splash of cream and butter, S&P.  OMG, this was tasty too.  So, this low carb thing is really working.  

Max and Min - PRAYERS

Good morning.  It's 7 am, yet I've been awake since a bit before 6, along with MIN!  Yup, she is once again our house guest.  Her daddy came to get her Thursday and The Hubby and I had some alone time till yesterday evening.  Her daddy headed back to OKC to be by Af's side and Max's bedside.  Today is his surgery day, the 2nd of 3 he will have.  This one, the Glenn, shouldn't take but a few hours and he will not be left open like the Norwood, the was the day after his birth.  He will also be extubated before he is out of the operating room, again unlike last time.  His recovery should, SHOULD be about 7 days, unlike the last time of 90 days.  Please pray all goes according to plan and expectations.  It's very nerve wracking for his parents and all of us who can't be at the hospital to support.  Little Max is 8 months old now and such a bright light. He loves to sit up in his bed, watch cartoons and play with his toys.  He's ready to move on with his life!!!

Min got her cast off last week and is getting around so good now.  She even rode around on her tricycle on the back porch last night.  Today I take her to meet her teachers at her preschool and tomorrow she starts school!!!  Eventful week.

 

Cold, Virus, Waiting Game

Good morning all.  The weekend has passed with us jaunting off to the cabin for some much needed R&R.  I had planned on having a bit of day-drinking with my friends but this DAMN COVID messed that up yet again.  One of the ladies husband had come down with the virus on Friday and I couldn't take the chance with my surgery so close to being possibly exposed.  Even though she works in OKC at the Capitol and hadn't even been around her man it was just to iffy for me.  I've already had a close encounter in December and dodged that bullet, I don't want to stretch my luck.  

So we hunkered down with most of my view this from our bedroom.  

Plus the fireplace kept us all nice and warm during the nasty cold snap.  I accomplished not much more than reading two entire books and feeding us.  We didn't take my walker so I only had my cane to get around.  It's funny that as long as the temperatures stay about 45 I get around pretty good but if it is freezing, OH MAN!  It's like my joints are like concrete.  It just hurts so bad to try and even go to the bathroom.  It tells me that a lot of my inability to just move is a lot of arthritis, but this hip replacement surgery cannot come soon enough.  Time is ticking away as the time approaches and I am getting a bit nervous.  

There is just so much I must get done before with work and home, plus I'm having a joint replaced!!!!!  That is a lot scary for me.  It's the end of 2021 at the office and for personal tax stuff.  Since the surgery is February 3 that means I will also have a pile of bills that will need to be paid at the first of the month.  I HAVE to stay up on that stuff and also payroll is in the middle of this.  I will play it by ear and do the best I can do.  I might need the help of my girls for sure to pull this off.  

Work wise it has been not good this week.  We have a total of 6 employees and 2 of them have Covid and one has an upper respiratory virus NOT COVID! That means half of our staff is off.  You know we have gotten by for nearly 3 years without this so we've been pretty lucky.  Also lucky is that I don't see any employees most of the time.  They go straight to the jobsites, whew!  It does make The Hubby groan and gruff around a lot of the time in the mornings.  He gets jobs all set up with the customers and this many out makes it tricky.  Thankfully they are understanding.  Oh well, I guess this is life in the new world of Covid.

 

Moving Forward

Lots on my mind lately, weight loss, pain, family, possible surgery, retirement...

Yesterday was my baby's birthday, #36!  Somehow I do NOT feel that old but guess what, I AM!  I am 65 years old now and on MEDICARE!  Who let that time machine continue on and make me old.  In my heart I am still in my 30's at least but my body is certainly betraying me.  Last night I hurt, absolutely hurt.  My leg, not necessarily my hip but my leg hurt.  I think it has to do with the sciatic nerve and because my leg is shorter than the other one the muscles don't work as well and they are atrophying.  I honestly was in tears last night because it hurt all the way down my leg through my knee and just above the ankle, where I broke it at age 11.  Wondering if that nerve is caught there or something.  I finally got up and took a couple of Aleve and was able to dose back off until the alarm went off at 5.  Miserable, absolutely miserable last night and today is a bit rough because it even hurts to walk a bit and I have a lot to do because I'm having company tonight.  I have got to clean my kitchen and make some pie.  ARGHHHHHhh! 

This little recipe I developed after reading a few other recipes.  

(Oh, and the scale has been up because of TOO MUCH birthday celebrations but as of today it is back down to a loss of 16.8 pounds!!!)

Chicken Curry Salad (single serving)

Boneless/skinless Chicken breast

1/2 tsp (or more) Curry powder

1 tsp olive oil

Salt & pepper

Celery stalk, chopped

20 seedless grapes, halved

1 Tbls toasted pecan pieces or halves

1 Tbls mayonnaise

Preheat oven 350°. Rub oil over chicken and season with salt, pepper, and curry powder to taste. Roast 25-30 minutes till meat thermometer registers 165° internal temperature. When done let it set to cool a bit and chop celery and halve grapes. Toast pecans in 350° oven about 3-5 minutes. When chicken cools chop and add to bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Adjust seasonings to taste. Enjoy.

On to other things on my mind and it does relate to my age again.  I've been entering all these art competitions and shows trying to get in and all I'm doing is wasting my time and losing a lot of money because all I am getting in return are RED "X'S".  Turned down over and over again and it starts taking a hold on my mental health.  Then I begin to think I am going to quit this merry-go-round of entering and just give it up.  I watch a lot of artists do it, they paint, get in the shows, ship the paintings off and sometimes attend the shows but honestly, because of how my physical body is working I am not inclined to participate in that stuff anymore.  I really don't want to give up that desire but I am not seeing light at the end of this dark art tunnel.  I have tried and tried to no avail.  Don't you want to be accepted with your peers?  I certainly do, my art peers, but the constant denials are slapping me in the face and I'm too tired and in too much pain to deal with it right now.  Have I waited to late in life?  I'm afraid I have and that is such a sad thought for me.  I look at my art studio, which is a mess right now and don't see a point in continuing it all.  I'm just creating a lot of paintings that are gathering dust because I can't seem to sell much either and since the pandemic shows have stopped, local stuff.  If there are some I am just too sore and exhausted to try to schlep my stuff to the show.  It takes a lot of energy that I just don't have anymore.  I don't trust myself to be able to walk, let alone carry paintings to a show.  It's all I can do to get groceries inside the house.  

Plus we are still working, not me so much, but I am going into the office when needed and the job I do is needed.  I do invoicing, payroll, deposit checks, accounting...I am needed there and we are so close to being able to end it.  I don't have time to have hip surgery yet.  I need my hip done, my knee and I think my shoulder and none of it am I looking forward too, but it all may become a necessity, especially after last nights painfest!  The Hubby has set the end of the year for the closing our business doors, one way or another.  We find a buyer or we just close it down.  Originally it was June 1 of THIS YEAR, but obviously that didn't happen.  

Ice, Ice Baby

Ice, Ice Baby...in more ways than one.

I believe I've actually used that title before.  Our weather this past week was an absolute ice rink out there.  Yesterday I was extremely apprehensive about driving but I HAD TO!  The day before, Thursday, The Hubby took me to the office to do payroll and just trying to get in the door was nerve-wracking.  Absolute ICE out there and I do not need to break my hip or knee or any other bone in my body.  We then took a drive to south Tulsa to check out where I had to drive to yesterday.  You see, my guy was having a bit of minor surgery and there was no canceling it, absolutely NO CANCELING it, in his mind.  At first he was going to have me drive his very large truck, Dodge Ram pickup but after driving to the place I realized that the main roads were just fine.  It was the side roads that were hell.  Once home I decided I could drive my car and that is what we did.  

Do you see The Hubby's eyes in the photo, how droopy his eyelids are.  Since Thanksgiving for some reason they started getting worse to the point that the girls were concerned as I was.  The eyelids were swollen and puffy and when he looked at you it almost looked like he was cross-eyed trying to look under the droop.  Trust me that photo was a good look.  They got worse and worse to the point I didn't see how he could maneuver through the day.  He went to his eye doctor, nothing wrong.  He went to the dermatologist, nothing, except that his skin was irritated and she gave him some cream, but he couldn't use on his eyes.  I suspect that since he quit using Dove Soap all over his body, face too and started using Dial anti-bacterial soap that he had irritated his skin which enhanced the puffiness and redness.  So, yesterday he had an eyelid lift, all covered on his Medicare, BECAUSE he couldn't see!  There is a lot of icing going on outside and inside this house this weekend.  He's really not in too much pain, thank goodness and is doing what he was told to do.  They are bruised and a different kind of puffy.  I'm feeding and getting him to TAKE IT EASY, which is not something he does well. In fact, he got so bored last night he started cleaning out the front hall closet.  GOOD GRIEF!  Retirement is going to drive him crazy.  

Plus with all this ice outside and having it clear up enough to drive we will have a snowstorm starting tomorrow and then again on Wednesday.  I really, REALLY hate winter and hope I can stay busy enough to welcome spring soon, very soon.  Here's to being cooped up in the house with a workaholic husband!

 

Clayton (and more)

This guy, this puppy, our little baby, Clayton has had rough time, once again.

How can you NOT love that face...

First he had that connective tissue tumor on his hip we had removed.

Then it appeared on his leg which we had the tumor removed twice, then...

he had to finally lose the leg.  He is such a tough cookie and has rallied through amazingly.

The day we got him (here) was the best day ever.  He has so enriched our lives and cannot imagine not having him with us.

That happy little guy has gone through so many surgeries and yesterday he had to endure one more and it will be the last.  We will not put him through that again, because he has cancer, bad cancer, melanoma.  In his mouth what we thought was an abscess from his nasty teeth and the smell turned out to be a rapidly spreading melanoma cancer beside his tongue.  When I took him to the vet yesterday as a walk-in the Dr. Poteet took one look and said that has got to come out ASAP and he immediately gave him a pre-anesthetic and whisked him away.  The tumor had grown massively in less than two weeks and had to go.  Dr. Poteet said he would call between 6-7 and we could pick him up.  We waited and finally after I was getting all relaxed, about 7:30, he called and said Clayton was ready to be picked up.  I rushed to the vet and the poor guy, oh the poor guy.  Dr. Poteet showed me the tumor (BLECH) and said he would send it off to pathology but he was pretty sure it was melanoma and that it was highly unlikely that he got it all.  Where it was located there was not much skin left to suture up so he had to suture it to part of the back side of his tongue, (again BLECH!)  His poor tongue was so swollen he couldn't close his mouth.  I was sent home with antibiotic and a syringe to give him water and possibly some broth because he wasn't too sure he could lap.  Oh boy, this is going to be fun.  He slept fairly well but about 3:30 he started crying and I jumped up and took him outside and he pottied pretty quick.  Back in I tried the water and the antibiotic and that went down fairly well.  I cradled him until he went back to sleep and then put him in his bed.  It's going to be a long few days to get him feeling better but we love him and will do what we need to do to make him comfortable and then wait.  Wait for him to heal and wait to see if it starts growing back, then we will ease his suffering at that point.  He is 14 years old and he has been the best dog ever.  We love him so much.  Say a doggie prayer please.

On another note, Monday evening Daddy's best friend since childhood, Jay passed away.  I had a feeling he wouldn't last long after Daddy died.  Jay and Daddy we so close and every time they left each other Jay would say "I love you bud" and they would hug and kiss each other.  They were so very close.  It's funny that I had the need to text his son Dino a couple of days ago but got busy and just didn't.  Dino sent me a text yesterday morning that he had passed.  He had gotten over Covid but then developed pneumonia and just couldn't fight it.  They had a friendship that was so strong and it was fitting they passed so close in time.

Short Update

He WAS home but yesterday had to go back because the drainage and infection.  

It's still going to be a long road to recovery.  He seems to be getting the hop down and was very excited yesterday to have a treat, until the rush back to the vet.  He will be there for a few days, hopefully not long.  

The Tale of Clayton

About 9 years ago The Hubby and I were given the opportunity to take this little guy into our lives, our hearts.  He belonged to a friend of ours at the cabin retreat place and as it turned out was also a neighbor in town.  Anyway, at the time she was traveling way too much for this young lad and he needed to have a more stable life.  When we would see Clayton we would jokingly say, "Rose, we're just going to take Clayton." He was the cutest and friendliest little guy and we loved him, everyone did.  

Then one day the phone call came where she asked us if we would like to have him.  Oh GOSH!  We thought and thought and decided we would make him a part of our world.  Clayton was a young, 3 year old puppy.  This photo is the day we said yes.

The next two photos are bringing him home and me trying to capture his picture.  I thought we had made a mistake.  He was manic and it scared me.  

 

Very, VERY quickly it was determined that we did indeed make the RIGHT decision.

This face... 

This personality... 

The love... 

Clayton has melted our hearts and we couldn't love him more.  

He so loves our granddaughter and any little child that comes through the door. 

He especially loves his daddy. 

...and me. 

...and occasionally he has overnight guests, Mondo the Wonder Dog, Snicklefritz's companion. 

Oh MY he loves Mondo. 

Clayton is a huge part of our life, even breaking bread with us on a nightly fashion. 

 Sadly, about 2 years ago things took a bad turn for little Clayton.  He developed a connective tissue tumor on his hip and another on his left front leg, the one that is short from birth.  

The hip one was successfully taken off.  It was baseball size!  

Then we went for the one on his leg.  The vet said he didn't know if he could get it all because there wasn't much fat or skin on his leg and the likelihood of it coming back was very high.  He was right because about a year after it was taken off it was back very quickly.  We again tried to take it off and that time around the surgery was so stressful on our little guy I didn't know if  we could stand it.  Poor baby cried and cried when we got home.  I was heartbroken for him.  

The second surgery for the leg was just in September and about 3 months ago that dang thing was back with a vengeance.  At the time The Hubby took him back to the vet for a consultation and he said that if it ruptured (abscessed) to bring him back and they would try to cut down some but short of amputation, there was really not much chance of getting rid of the thing.  In the past month that mass started growing at a rapid speed and we made an appointment to get him in but had to wait two weeks as our vet was booked.  Well, this past Memorial Day weekend, it abscessed!  BLECH!  It was a horrible weekend with a trip back to town at 2 am to the emergency vet and yesterday we were told by our vet that amputation was our only option.

So tomorrow (if the surgeon can get in schedule) our little Clayton, our heart, will go through major surgery to lose his leg.  I am absolutely distraught over the decision we have had to make.  If it was a back leg there would not be a hesitation but with it being a front leg the learning to walk again is much tougher, and the vet said his recovery will be much slower not only because of that but because he is 12-1/2 years old.  He's an older dog.  We will not put him down because he is in great health and this is the only thing wrong but I fear that he will not weather this well and that we will go down that road.  I DO NOT want to make that decision.  

Please say a LOT of prayers for our little Clayton.