Life is a journey

Wheeeeee!

2008-06-25T22:02:24Z

Today, I knocked the hell out part of a hellish project in record time. It was some very Hulk-like action, along the lines of ONSAFARI SMASH! I'm very excited about this, so much so in fact that I'm eating a cupcake with a glass of milk. But then, I'm not the only one who's excited. Several people who sit next to me (and are impacted by this nasty project) are also excited about my progress today. It's almost like a little celebration is in order, so we can all revel in the progress.

Fishkeeping - more than a goldfish bowl

2008-06-20T22:25:55Z

A decade ago, a coworker and I picked up some goldfish and a 2 gallon tank. Over time, and with a lot of trial and error, I now have 2 stable fish tanks. One is a long 30 gallon and is home to a few tetras, a pair of cories and a single Opaline gourami that hides all the time. This tank is a bit overgrown with its live plants, but the addition of a second filter and heater has stabilized the plant growth immensely. One of these days I’ll clean up the plants and get an actual light for it (the tank is a 30 year old hand-me-down and doesn’t have all the right pieces any more) and take some pictures. The fish are happy, especially when the cats are leaving them alone.

But this tank isn’t that interesting to me. I built it out mostly for my husband, who likes tropical fish. He likes the colors and the flash that you only get in warmer waters. I actually think these fish are unintelligent and have no personality. Of course, I could be prejudiced by the constant hiding. One of the cats is convinced she can get the fish by swatting the outside of the tank.

My favorite tank right now is the one that’s becoming a problem. I started with 3 goldfish in a 10 gallon tank, not realizing that they’re messy and will get enormous. As they grew, I had to invest in a larger tank. They’re down to 2 (one didn’t survive the move) in a 30 gallon. It’s planet with a few anubias and java fern, since those seem to be the only plants these two won’t eat. In fact, that’s the only thing they won’t eat. They’re now so huge, about 6 inches each, that we need a new tank for them.

So last month we went and bought a 120 gallon tank. We’re slowly gathering all the parts to put it together, and I’m going to aquascape this one thoroughly. I even have a layout in my head for all the plantings, after flipping through some amazing books on layout. I am very excited about this project.

But the best part? Tomorrow we head to the lumber yard to pick up wood to build the stand. We’re not buying a stand from the store, rather we’re taking plan for a generic stand and crossing it with the plan for the bookshelf we built. The melding of these two will give me a stand that has space for books AND all the aquarium stuff. The tank is even deep enough that the stand with have room to hold additional hardware, should I get the bug to go crazy on the plant maintenance.

Between the woodworking and the tank setup, I’m going to have lots to talk about over the next few months.

When they were still small:

Originally published at my blog. You can comment here or there.

Breaking radio silence

2008-06-02T22:45:35Z

It’s been quiet around here, most of my time has been spent either trying to figure out the logistics of moving several large tree segments and all the accompanying branches to a place where they can be disposed of or worrying about paving the driveway. But the last week has been special. It’s been a week of avoiding the cough my husband brought home from our trip down to Portland, OR over Memorial Day. He’s currently at home, trying to find a way to hork his lung out through his mouth. As a consequence, I’m a little tired and cranky, but not yet sick. Insert finger-crossing here.

Before picking up the cold, Memorial Day was a wonderful mini-break. We drove down Friday night, arrived very late, but were able to spend all of Saturday messing around. The weather was great, so we headed out to the Rose Garden, where I took a ton of pictures. Unfortunately, none of them are that great. But I had a great time setting up shots and working around the gardens. The guys (husband and our host) either humored me particularly well or actually enjoyed themselves.

After a few hours wandering around in the sun, we tried to find the Japanese Garden. My fabled direction-fu failed us miserably, it took us about 30 minutes to find the entrance despite it being just across the street. Somehow the signs just didn’t make any sense. I blame the unaccustomed sun exposure.

Once we got into the garden and rehydrated a bit, we wandered around for another hour or so. There I was able to take the best pictures of the trip. This one is my favorite. There’s just something about the sand that brings the foliage out perfectly. Fortunately, this was toward the end because we were all fried from sun and heat and lack of water. So upon leaving the park, we headed straight for the Bridgeport Brewery. This time my direction-fu was working perfectly, because with only an address and a vague sense of where we were, we ran straight to it.

You might think this wasn’t the most brilliant of choices, but before any of us touched food or beer, we drank 4 litres of water. Then we ate enough food to be full through the next mornings breakfast and had a couple beers to go with. Can I just say that Ropewalk is an amazing beer? And it’s even better at the brewery where it’s made than out of the bottle.

Dinner and drinks fortified us to head out to see Indy 4, which we all liked. It wasn’t the Best Film Ever, but it was pretty darn entertaining, even the 2nd time. And it did nothing to harm my love of Shia LaBeouf. He’s one of my indicator actors - he always picks films I’d like to see, so anything he’s in gets added to the list.

After a long day of walking, drinking, and sitting in a theater, we went back and passed out. Somehow we managed to miss the worst of the rainstorms, even after getting up Sunday. The huge amounts of food and milky coffee set us up for a late lunch at McMenamins (yes, it was a brewery tour weekend), which was a good thing because it rained all day.

The rain meant that the farmers markets were all off the activity list, so we had to find something else to do. We eventually settled on seeing Iron Man (which I loved) and managed to kill time getting more coffee and wandering around the hardware store. This is what happens when you get 3 homeowner/geeks together. We buy tools and plan projects. It was a good hour-killer before the movie, and we were able to skip dinner after what with the massive quantities of bar food over the last 2 days.

When we got back to the house, we spent a couple of hours playing Wii games. This was fun and silly, and in now way lessened my desire to have on for my very own. Group Wii games are even better, what with the insults and distractions that become part of the competition. Trying to focus on the screen when someone is talking about politics and saying silly things behind you.

Overall, a really nice and relaxing weekend. I wish I’d used the camera more, but with all the rain Sunday, it was hard. And if we hadn’t come back with the nasty cough attached to my husband, it would have been perfect anyway.

Originally published at my blog. You can comment here or there.

De-stress

2008-05-24T16:44:09Z

So it turns out that the cat probably has a fatty cyst. The vet was awesome, even though I've never seen this particular one before. I think the main vet at that clinic does a good job of screening for caring people to work with. They were all kind and caring, even remarking on how good my girl is. The best part was that she dyed the cells she retrieved while I was there to give me an initial analysis.

The bad news is that the cat needs to have her teeth cleaned. I knew this, her gums aren't happy looking. But now we have the time to wait until I get her on the road to a better cleaning regimen (chunks of real food) until we get them cleaned. They're just going to pull the cyst out at the same time, kind of a two-fer deal.

The mister is going to have his teeth cleaned at the same time, even though his gums are much better looking. His teeth still need it, and he's a serious butt when she's not at 100%, taking every advantage to pick on her. It's just easier to have them both down at the same time.

His gums are better in large part because he's graduated to eating actual animal parts, as they come from the store. Whole chicken breasts, pork t-bones, whole cuts of beef. Getting Moll onto this program means that we're waiting on the whole rabbit to arrive. They've been out for months due to the feed fiasos the last couple of years. I should be getting some next week though. And then the little stinker will be getting her meat in actual pieces. Some day.

onsafari @ 2008-05-19T15:56:00

2008-05-19T22:59:20Z

How can there be a flood warning on a day where it's over 90? Oh, that's right. You have snow early that month, crazy cold temperatures that keep spring from coming, then hit them with summer. Yes, the weather is crazy. Hopefully the flooding will subside before flood season actually starts in October.

Timber!

2008-05-16T16:56:15Z

One of the trees we're taking out has already come down. This 50+ foot maple was so dead that when the larger limbs were coming down, they exploded on contact with the ground. That was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Bits of trees spraying every which way is fun to watch.

ECCC 2008

2008-05-13T21:27:44Z

Saturday my husband and I went to the Emerald City ComiCon. This was the first time either of us had been, I’m relatively new to the comic world and my husband just went along because I wanted to go. We arrived about 11, so the crowds hadn’t really picked up yet. This was a very good thing, because the first thing I did after a quick tour of some of the building was to stand in line for Wil Wheaton.

I’ve been a fan of WWdN for a while, and have picked up all his auto-biographical books so far. I managed to get Just a Geek from Mysterious Galaxy pre-signed, and ordered the special edition of The Happiest Days of Our Lives which came signed as well. So this was my chance to get my copy of Dancing Barefoot signed. Completion issues, I haz them.

Anyway, while Wil was personalizing my book, I was able to avoid saying anything too scary and instead thanked him for introducing me to Alan Moore. The best part? He was totally cool and we geeked out about comics for a bit. I must now order Lost Girls because he recommended it specifically. And so far, we’re in total comic-book-agreement. The worst part? Being trapped in line by in front of two girls who reminded me of Cordelia and Harmony from Buffy. Seriously lacking the clue necessary to recognize their own hypocrisy. But it was pretty entertaining to listen to.

While I was waiting in line, my husband wandered around and looked at stuff. This is good because I was in serious power-shopper mode. No idea why this happened. I move much faster through those situations than he does; he wants to stop and look at everything, I only want to browse things that catch my eye.

A couple of the art tables caught my eye and we ended up walking away with Nighty-Night by Scott Kikuta and Lucha Monstruo by Daniel Davis (pictures after the jump). I love them both, they’re going to get framed and hung in my office. As we were cash poor, we didn’t walk away with much else, but there are a couple of titles I’m going to be asking the local comic shop to be picking up for me.

We ran into a couple of old friends that we haven’t seen (hi Zannah!) in ages and then burned out and left. There were lots of people there, the standing had cranked my back, and we still had to head out to get lunch, a present and attend a party. Saturday was awfully busy, but the con was a good way to start.

Originally published at my blog. You can comment here or there.

Shortie reviews

2008-05-09T22:04:24Z

I’ve finished a lot of fluff books lately, nothing real groundbreaking. Here’s the catchup:

Phantoms by Dean Koontz is the story of 2 women trapped in a town by an unknown agent of death. They’re joined along the way by police, scientists and one scholar whose theories are confirmed. This is one of Koontz better books. He keeps the spiritualism that taints his later works to a minimum and concentrates on the untenable situation the protagonists find themselves in. A little unrealistic in that all the good guys stay good even with the surety of their deaths looming over them, but the identity of the agent is worth it.
Michael Crichton’s Prey is typical of his formula of writing. Just like in Terminal Man and Congo, scientific excess and unchecked ambition lead to a disaster of potentially global proportion. I enjoyed this book for its investigation into the nuance of nanotechnology, but the reliance upon his earlier formulas left me disappointing. I was unable to suspend my disbelief long enough to really enjoy the last hundred pages or so.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman is a childrens book based in an alternate reality. People have companions that are tied to them, almost as the physical representation of their soul. The main characters best friend is stolen away by mysterious people and she decides to get him back, no matter the cost. Lyra faces down monsters of every sort, including her guardian, to achieve her goal. It turns out that the worst monsters she faces are people. It’s a decent book for one aimed at kids, though I don’t understand the furor over the theism in this universe.

Originally published at my blog. You can comment here or there.

Do the twist

2008-05-05T15:28:41Z

As part of my ongoing effort to be my own advocate for my scoliosis, I asked the hospital to send me a copy of my xray. This is remarkably easy to do now, what with digital media and all. They sent me a CD with a little program that pops up the xrays. Oddly enough, it only runs on Windows.

Anyway, I’ve decided that being my own advocate is the only way to proceed with this. The alternatives I was presented with at my initial consult just weren’t acceptable, which was how I ended up on the alternative track to start with.* So I’m collecting all relevant information and keeping copies on my own. That way if I get stuck hopping to a new doctor at some point, I don’t have to go through all of this again.

Anyway, for your amusement, I present thoracic scoliosis with a 19 degree curve:

_________________

*How can anyone, let alone a back specialist, tell people that their options are surgery, with fabulous new metal rod (bionic woman powers not included) or 45 minutes of aerobic exercise a day? Because climbing stairs will magically fix spine alignment issues, or something.

Originally published at my blog. You can comment here or there.

Vacation Anxiety

2008-04-29T23:52:27Z

For the last couple of days, I've been on edge. Irritable, cranky, short-tempered. This has been a departure from the calm, happy person I've come to know and love over the last couple of months and it's distressed me greatly. Why was I backsliding? What was going on in my brain that was different than things have been?

This morning, I figured it out. We're going on vacation Friday. It's only a couple of days, so I've been telling myself it's not a big deal and I shouldn't worry about putting together a plan or big lists or anything. But it's a vacation nonetheless, and traditionally I'm bad at vacations. I end up cranky the whole time and shouting at people or sulking.*

I finally figured out that keeping all the little things that need to happen in my head was making me crazy. So I wrote them down, and I've been crossing them off the list one by one. I even found some stuff that could have cause massive headaches if I hadn't done it today and handled it all.

Suddenly I'm calm again. And really looking forward to this mini-break. Look out vacation, here I come.

*Yes, I realize this is no fun, nor is it really a vacation. It's no fun for me either, thus the work on changing it.

Interlude

2008-04-28T22:37:34Z

Today is funny, mostly because I’m crabby. There’s a lot going on today, in a mental-overhead sort of way and it’s taking some weird sort of toll on my brain and my ability to concentrate, making the day fuzzy and indistinct. It’s also making things funnier than they would normally be.

Take, for instance, the hallway yawner.

I’m walking along, minding my own business, headed off to heat up my lunch in the kitchen. Around the corner comes a big man in a bight yellow sweatshirt with his mouth wide open. The first thought I have is that he’s trying to eat the world. And then I wonder where he’s going to put it all, since it doesn’t look like the sweatshirt will expand that much.

I had to stifle giggles until I was safely in the kitchen and away from him. Passing his office has been dicey since then, I’m seriously tempted to let him know that he just shouldn’t try it. Too danged risky.

Originally published at my blog. You can comment here or there.

Finishing up

2008-04-22T22:18:57Z

I’ve finally finished the bookshelf that I built with my father. I’d put off staining or sealing it because I was paranoid about my ability to get a nice, even stain applied. My success on previous projects was directly proportional to the color I picked - the darker the stain, the worse I applied it. Especially in cases where I really wanted the color but not the saturation. As a result, this bookshelf has been sitting in various pieces waiting for me to get some courage for over a year.

Two weeks ago I finally got the bug. I decided that I really liked the color of the red oak without any stain at all, so all I needed was to seal it. We get tons of natural light, so 3 coats of varnish is essential for anything to retain even a bit of its intended color. The living room floor is a perfect example of this - the color fades from one side of the house to the other in direct proportion with the amount of sun.

The trouble with 3 coats of anything is that it takes 4 hours between coats. So it took 4 sets of painting sessions (yes, 12 total) to get everything sealed. It took a couple of weekends, especially with other projects thrown in, but I’m done. And the piece is beautiful. I’m still deciding whether or not I want to wax over the sealant to protect the wood from scratching and daily abuse, but for now it’s actually holding books.

Additional images in the gallery.

Originally published at my blog. You can comment here or there.

Busy weekend

2008-04-21T19:04:10Z

Last weekend was busy in spite of the horrors of snow, sleet, hail, rain and sunshine. What the heck is up with snow this late in April? I rarely snows here in January!

Anyway, it was good for finishing up some indoor stuff. The bookshelves are all sealed now, I just need to decide if I want to wax the shelves to further protect them from careless scraping. And we've figured out how to fix the vent that randomly detached from the heating ducts. That should be fun.

But the best part? That was getting a CD of the xray of my back. Seeing the wonky curve in my spine and the way my head is out of alignment with my lower spine was fascinating. And now I have proof, so when people/doctors/insurance carriers get snippy, I can smack them with the pictures.

Grind Away

2008-04-16T21:27:24Z

The disposal is in! Finally, I can grind bits of food into smaller bits and then flush them away down the sink. This is strangely satisfying, especially considering the amount of time it took to get around to completing the dang task.

But now the plumbing is done (One minor tweak involved and only 3 new pieces of pipe! Thank goodness for compression fit pipe.) and the thing works like a champ. It’s enormous - 3/4 hp motor. I can’t imagine what we could possibly grind up that would need that much power, but its there if we need it. Maybe I’ll start grinding bones or something, just to justify the thing.

And now the box can go to it’s final resting place in the middle of the living room. It seems to make the best kitty fort ever. Once inside, the cat goes into full-on army mode. It’s almost worth more than the disposal itself.

Originally published at my blog. You can comment here or there.

Braindead

2008-04-10T22:53:27Z

You
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.
(its harder than it looks)
1. Where is your cell phone? - purse
2. Your significant other? - work
3. Your hair? - what?
4. Your mother? - work
5. Your father? - home
6. Your favorite thing? - home
7. Your dream last night? - sleep?
8. Your favorite drink? - vodka
9. Your dream/goal? - entrepeneur
10. The room you're in? - office
11. Your ex? - dunno
12. Your fear? - head
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? - Italy
14. Where were you last night? - bed
15. What you're not? - motivated
16. Muffins? - ick
17. One of your wish list items? - books
18. Where you grew up? - suburbia
19. The last thing you did? - email
20. What are you wearing? - green
21. Your TV? - off
22. Your pet(s)? - alive
23. Your computer? - apple
24. Your life? - solid
25. Your mood? - even
26. Missing someone? - nope
27. Your car? - bug
28. Something you're not wearing? - necklace
29. Favorite Store? - n/a
30. Your summer? - work :(
31. Love someone? - duh
32. Your favorite color? - green
33. When is the last time you laughed? - lunch
34. Last time you cried? - fight!

The Heart saga limps along

2008-04-04T19:31:47Z

I'd been looking forward to the next book in The Looking Glass Wars series, Seeing Redd, for quite a while, so when I saw a copy I jumped at the chance to read it. I'd started with the short series of the Hatter M comic (which I loved, partially for the artwork and partially for the brilliant story) and then moved on to The Looking Glass Wars. I mowed through that book in a weekend, entranced by the new take on Wonderland and its vicious war machine. I expected to love this book.

Was I ever disappointed. The story is clearly a middle space; something that intends to lead somewhere but could not possibly stand on its own. It has no merit other than setting up book 3. And maybe 4. And however many other books they intend to push out.

It is mostly a rehash of the Hatter M series, from a mildly different point of view. Redd ends up in England by some quirk of fate/imagination and goes through much of what Hatter went through, meeting many of the same characters but getting along with them because she's evil. There's a minor skirmish back in Wonderland and some characters have some emotions. That's about it. Book over. Beddor is clearly setting this up for the Epic Battle in book 3. Or whatever, depending on how long he strings his audience along and can play on this for money.

Right there, in the dust jacket About the Author segment, I found the explanation for my disappointment. Frank Beddor is a movie producer. He spent 3 years coming up with the ideas behind the first book. This second book came out in under a year. He's working on a movie about the saga. This book was not written for itself, but to try to build up a Looking Glass following that resembles the Harry Potter phenomenon. Sure, it's for a slightly higher age range, but the idea is still the same. Books > Movies> notoriety.

ETA: John Scalzi addresses the topic of writing descending into hackery today. I think this applies perfectly in this situation.

What I wouldn't give to trade Seeing Redd for book 1 and my naivete.

Originally published at Journey to the Center. You can comment here or there.

onsafari @ 2008-03-31T11:48:00

2008-03-31T18:50:54Z

Over the weekend, we had snow. Well, the snow started Wednesday, but it was mostly gone every day by 5, so it wasn't a big deal. Weird, but nothing really exciting. Then Sunday morning we had 6 inches of snow. In March, nearly April. This boggles my mind. Seriously, we have many years with no snow at all then 6 inches this late in the season in ONE DAY. If someone had told me about this in advance, I would have told them they were crazy.

Adventures in Wiring

2008-03-25T23:48:24Z

Over the weekend my husband and I tried to put in the new garbage disposal. It’s one of the things about this house that we just haven’t been able to get used to. Low water pressure? Fine, we’ll adjust. No microwave? Well, we have an oven. No disposal? Panic!

The reasoning behind not putting one in was sound - we’re on a septic system instead of sewer. Fortunately they’ve developed a disposal with septic in mind, so we went out and picked one up. It’s one heck of a disposal too: 3/4 horsepower with a 40 oz grind chamber. Not that we need all of that grinding power, but it will be nice to be able to just wash stuff down the sink instead of being super careful about catching scraps in the trap. And then the really gross part of transferring the ick from the trap to the trash.

After bringing this bad boy home, we came up with a plan of attack. See, the dishwasher was put in after the rest of the kitchen, so there’s some weird wiring under the sink (along with a switch?!?) to accommodate it. We figured we’d just attach the disposal to the dishwasher electric feed, do a bit of plumbing and be done. We’ve done electric work before. This shouldn’t be a big deal.

Wouldn’t it be nice if things went to plan? Just once, even?

So we started flipping breakers, trying to determine which of the lines fed which parts of the kitchen. There are 2 lines for outlets, the stove, the fridge, some more lines for other receptacles and the lights… none of them impact the dishwasher. So we start flipping other random breakers, leaving out the upper and lower floors. The last one on the list before we get to the last-resort-upstairs-breakers is the furnace.

Naturally, they hooked the dishwasher up to the furnace. Why on earth wouldn’t you hook two items that take 15 amps up to the same 20 amp breaker? What possible reason could you have for wanting the dishwasher to stand alone?

At least now we know why there’s a switch for it.

So we spent Sunday running wire from a spare breaker (Spare. Hah! At least now I know we’re not going to increase the water pressure in the house. Ever.) and hooking it up to the dishwasher. In moving the electric, we’d decided to pull out the old wires that weren’t going to be used any more and clean up our mess. Unfortunately, that didn’t go to plan either. It turns out that there are several more wires coming out of the furnace junction, and we have no idea where they go. We decided to leave that mess well enough alone. So we capped the wires and called it good. No fire hazard, no foul.

Next weekend, we’ll try setting up the box for the extra power and putting in the new plumbing. At least the old pipes are compression fit and easy to replace.

Originally published at Journey to the Center. You can comment here or there.

Elk vs. Wheelbarrow

2008-03-11T23:23:54Z

The Herd wandered through the yard today. I wouldn’t have noticed except for the buck who decided that the wheelbarrow was his mortal enemy.

At first it sounded as though a truck was trying to load something in the driveway. I assumed that the meter reader was here, but no car when I went to check. So I looked the other way, and what do I see but a buck trying to get the better of the wheelbarrow.

His battle went on for several minutes while he bashed the wheelbarrow against the post that will eventually corner our compost heaps. Back and forth it went, rocking in the ground despite the concrete footing. It’s a good thing we were so careful to get those properly planted. I would never have guessed they’d have to stand up to a battle with an elk.

Just when it looked like the elk was getting bored, he discovered he could hook his horns into the legs of the wheelbarrow and drag it around. He spent another minute pushing the wheelbarrow around and trying to pick it up. I don’t know if he strained his neck at all with that awkward angle, but it certainly didn’t seem to stop him from trying to lift and/or throw it.

While all of this play was going on, the rest of the herd munched away on the lawn. The only one interested in this guys antics was the other buck. I couldn’t tell if he thought there might be a fight later, or if it just looked like fun and was thinking about getting in on the game.

I stood there for about 2 minutes before the buck really noticed me. He stopped his play to look at me through the window, ready to run. When he decided that I wasn’t a threat, he licked his nose a few times and wandered off nonchalantly. It was almost as though he were a child, embarrassed that he’d been caught doing something silly but not about to admit it to anyone. Let alone himself.

See the rest of the set here.

Originally published at Journey to the Center. You can comment here or there.

Middling advice

2008-03-10T20:37:43Z

My husband and I are looking at getting a dog. We’ve never owned a dog as adults, so I’m trying to get as much information as I can ahead of time. Sort of get a plan together so that we’re not too surprised when the dog comes home.

This has led me to the library, picking up every book that could be useful on the subject of owning a dog. Some have been helpful, others were just a skim and dump back at the library. I started this process by finally finishing Dr. Pitcairn’s New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. Interesting book, but has a few odd spots. I was unaware that cats would thrive on veggies and dogs should be fed oatmeal. In fact, I’m pretty sure that these are dead wrong. But overall, it was relatively useful and a good starting point. Add some judicious logic and you’re well on your way to actually knowing new things.

I then picked up Sue Sternbergs Successful Dog Adoption. Fantastic book, especially since we’re looking to integrate a dog into our 2 cat home. The temperament tests are going to get copied and used on every dog we look at. We’re looking for our perfect dog, not a dog that’s just good enough for right now. I don’t want to be trying to keep the dog and cats from chasing each other after the first few weeks. My husband was a little reluctant at first (there are lots and lots of tests), but most of them are pretty obvious and easy to perform, so he’s on board now. This will make things both harder and easier. Long term it will be a blessing, but short term its going to be hard to find a dog that’s right for us.

After that, I hit a couple of stinkers. The American Animal Hospital Association encyclopedia of dog health and care was an overview that can be summed up as “take your dog to the vet.” Nothing useful there for anyone who’s ever been around a dog, let alone believes in medicine that’s not strictly Western in origin. The second was The holistic guide for a healthy dog. Absolutely a dud. I tried so hard to read it hoping for something alternative but practical, but it was largely a listing of herbs and what they do. I have an herb encyclopedia for that, I was hoping for something with actual data related to dogs. Both went back after a thorough skimming.

While I was wandering in the library, I picked up Your Cat. Our cats are now eating raw food, but I wanted to see another vets opinion on it. It seems like the standard opinion cliche applies, but the author of this one actually worked in the pet food industry for a while so I was hoping for a bit more. Turns out this was a good primer on simple things you can do for cat health. There were descriptions of symptoms for the fairly common age-related illnesses and some debunking of common myths. I’m particularly interested in the fact that she runs her practice around reducing the instance and maintenance of diabetes in cats by feeding species-appropriate diets. There’s a fabulous description of the circle of crystal control due to bad diet.

Overall, I’d say I’m pretty disappointed in the options in dog books. I know just enough to be dangerous - you’d think someone would have figured out this market and written for it by now.

Originally published at Journey to the Center. You can comment here or there.

Busy busy

2008-02-27T22:22:21Z

I can't believe it's already Wednesday. Where the heck did the time go? Must be what happens when you work all day then get straight to chores at night.

Anyway, last weekend was wonderful. Somehow the stars aligned such that everything I needed to get done was simple. Friday night was drinking and poker. Saw some folks I haven't talked to in ages, and it turns out that one that used to make me crazy finally stopped bugging me. Somehow he was normal and fun. I have no idea how that happened.

I also got to play tug of war with a dog. I love that game. Even though I suffered for it all Saturday. I managed to pull a muscle in my back to the point where I had headaches that made me nauseated. My husband had made plans for us to go out to dinner, but I was barely well enough for us to go out and pick up a pizza to eat at home. Nevertheless, it was a nice evening. He recognized right away that I wasn't feeling well and suggested we stay home. It was perfect.

Then Sunday I met my mom to go pick out fabric for reupholstering a cedar chest. Somehow I found the perfect fabric at the first store we visited. And it cost less than $10. I'll even have enough left over for pillows. This is largely a miracle, particularly in light of the fact that I've been avoiding the subject for over a year. This new-found decision making is wonderful.

After finishing so quickly, Mom and I went to pick up lunch for us and Dad. When lo and behold, my brother spontaneously shows up. This never happens. Most of the time it takes an act of congress to get all of us in the same space at the same time. I have no idea how that happened. He even volunteered to help me get rid of some stuff I've been storing for far too long. And he'll get use out of it. We talked for a while and hashed out some stuff that we've been talking about for doing for a while. I'm still in shock that this worked out.

After dinner, I had time to get home and feed the little monsters. No problems at all, no traffic, no fighting cats about what their dinner should be made out of. Over all, one of the weirdest confluences of events that wasn't the Bermuda Triangle. But sooooo happy.

Progression

2008-02-22T21:38:12Z

I am very glad that I went through the exercise of recounting my back issues here, it made recounting the saga for my new doctor much easier. The process of getting this diagnosis has taken 15 years and covered 4 doctors so far. The most irritating part is that there is no record of my visit to the surgeon in 1999. The xrays are gone, and the doctor was such a waste that I can’t remember his name.

But there is good news on the horizon.

My new doctor wrote me a prescription for the physical therapy and is interested in monitoring my progression. So much so, in fact, that after I saw him Monday he sent me off to get new xrays made. This would not be problem except that the local imaging company seems to be run by two year olds.

It’s Monday, a workday for most people not affiliated with the government or banks, and I’ve taken a couple of hours out to go to the doctor. He sends me off to the imagingin company, and I head out for a walk in. I called ahead to make sure the waiting list wasn’t insane and am at reception within 10 minutes. I only have an hour and a half until I have to go, since I have a meeting, but it’s just xrays. No big deal, right?

Oh, but that’s so wrong. First, the person checking me in can’t read the doctors writing. But since I’m standing right there and know what he’s sent me for, I can do some interpretation. She finally gets the stuff entered and I’m off to sit and wait. I didn’t bring anything to read, so I pick at the magazines and try to avoid listening to the shouting match between an old guy and his relative/caregiver. It was like trying to ignore a Jerry Springer episode. I have no idea why they were so angry, but it was clear they were never going to get over it.

Finally they call my name and I’m thinking that they’re ready. It’s just an xray; two shots and I’m done! Except that it turns out they don’t do that type of xray there. It requires special film which they don’t have. I’ll have to go down to the hospital proper to have that done. And by the way are you in a hurry? Because in order to arrange that I had to sit back down and wait for them to call the doctor then call the hospital then come get me again. Fortunately that didn’t take very long, but there was more bad news. In order to get to the xray machine I’d have to be admitted to the hospital, which is going to take more time than I have. So I decided to take my doctors order and come back another day.

The funny part of this story is that when I went back Wednesday morning to talk to the hospital people, I had to get admitted anyway. Seems that’s just how they bill you for services and it doesn’t really take that long. I was in and out in an hour. All for 2 special pieces of film. Which were long and skinny. Seriously, they could have just used the regular squares and shot the images from farther away at the first place. Silly.

Anyway, end result is that I have a 19 degree curve now. That’s up from the 10 degree one years ago. The doctor wants a recheck in 6 months to a year to determine the rate of progression. The original surgeon told me it was about a degree a year, so I wasn’t too terribly surprised.

And I still need another prescription because the insurance company is made up of butts.

Originally published at Journey to the Center. You can comment here or there.

Aaahhhh, clean

2008-02-14T00:01:13Z

The house is clean. It's wonderfully, blissfully clean. The house doesn't smell like cleansing fluids and both bathtubs sparkle. I am so happy. Hiring a cleaning service was one of the smartest things I've done this year. Neither of us like to clean the bathroom, especially the shower floors. Paying someone to clean made me feel a bit guilty, but then it took the team of 3 three hours to get done. And now it's money well spent.

V as protest

2008-02-12T23:51:59Z

Images of the Scientology protest last weekend here. This is a kick. I love that people are protesting against the crazy brainwashing that is Scientology. I would have no problem at all with the religion if it weren't just a scam that was injuring people and stealing their money. You want to believe in Dianetics? Fine. You want to kill people by not allowing them access to doctors because of your beliefs? Not ok at all.

Best pic of the lot:

Interesting notes from the caucus

2008-02-11T22:27:10Z

Went to my first caucus over the weekend. Yes, we still use the caucus up here. No, we can't figure out how those danged voting machines work. Except for every other election in the state.

The caucus was interesting, due in large part to the fact that the place was packed. This was, unfortunately, not due to massive turnout (even though it's more than previous years) but due to the fact that they had lots of districts in the same place. Doing some poking around, it appears that there are 300-600 people in a voting district. All of 35 showed to the caucus. If you take into account that last years primary election got a turnout of 35% for absentee ballots alone, this caucus showing was embarrassing. That's what you get for being in the dark ages, I guess.

Anyway, everyone in our precinct was really nice. We even had nice chat about who we should elect. No heated tempers, just polite people saying nice things about the candidates they support. I think it was the weirdest political gathering I've ever been to. I sure as heck wouldn't mind going to more if they were all like that. Everyone was excited and ready to go. And it only took an hour and a half to get everything done and squared away.