spring, sprang, sprung and a ramble

It's here, and never soon enough. Warm enough to sit in my rocker on the back porch for more than a minute and I couldn't be happier. Really. The Eastern Screech Owls are back, despite a squirrels best effort to oust them. It is with glee that I tell you that the missus is in the nest box making noise and laying eggs. Naturally Mr. Spock is busy standing guard and giving me the stink eye.



I mean...serious stink eye.



Not to worry though, my friend Renate has gifted me a special gnome that stands guard under the owl tree. His name is Boudreaux and he's come straight from the bayou to keep watch over the owls and my happy place.



Things are starting to green up and flower.



And we have the special treat of what is shaping up to be a bumper crop of dewberries thanks to our birds...I think. They weren't there before and I can only imagine that the birds were enjoying them somewhere else and deposited the seeds here when they were finished with them.


When we were kids my Dad used to take us to a field in our neighborhood to pick dewberries. That was always a treat and a memory that I love. That makes having them in my yard even more special.

Last but not at all least, Mavis Pearl wants you all to know that she's ok. Almost fully recovered from the meningitis, and nursing her collapsing trachea like a champ. She's a spunky young dog again and for that I'm very grateful.



Welcome back to my happy place.

Snap!

A whole month? Really has it been that long? I've been very busy taking care of the doglet (she's doing very well) and taking care of myself too. Between the 2 of us it's a whole lot of high maintenance. First, the doglet. We've been at this treating the disease thing for a little over a month. The doggy neurologist was very impressed when we went in last week. I got a little optimistic and asked how soon we could taper down the meds. He said not any time soon. Boooo. She's taking prednisone which makes her CRAZY. And hungry. Bad combo for a doglet. No sleepy sleep for me. Over all it's good and I'm grateful to still have her here.

The biggest reason I've been MIA is this new thing/life/journey I've started. I've dubbed it "operation truth in love". You know, from where it talks in the Bible about speaking the truth in love? Ephesians 4:15-16. I like the "Message" translation best. My friend Renate TWICE spoke some truth in love to me regarding my health. I'm dense like that. It took 2 heart to hearts and one more trip to the urgent care clinic with a crushing migraine for me to snap out of it - or in to it. I've committed to making a life change for the sake of my health, which frees up my energy to be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. It's totally Biblical. I'm not always certain of what the will of God is for me, but I'm pretty sure He would like for me to take good care of myself so I can be a better me. I'll just say that the first step was seeking the help of a nutritionist, and making some radical changes in my diet. I'm saving most of those details for my next post. It deserves one all it's own. I'm just sayin' it's taken a lot of focus and I'm all in. So the blog, Twitter, and Facebook have all gone by the wayside, till now.

Now, especially for Vicki, I will leave you will some delicious video of my juvie owls. This one is of a goofy, wobbly juvie. It was a great rainy evening with lots of thunder and lightning.


If you don't have 4 minutes left, then don't click the next video. If you do, enjoy the visit to my backyard with the lightning and thunder. Listen close to the owls trilling and whinnying, and the bill clacking. All three (the 2 juvies and adult female) were in attendance. I'm pretty sure at the point the bill clacking started mom was trying to break up a sibling spat. Priceless.


Today my adult female Eastern Screech Owl returned to her old roost. Same branch, same spot on the branch. I've missed her while she's been out rearing those younguns.

she's home with her little chicken leg...

...and her bald neck. Her little leg was shaved where the IV was, and they had to shave a patch on her neck to do the spinal tap. I know from past experience that IV's hurt, and can't imagine how uncomfortable it was in her little bony leg for 3 days. Her legs already look like chicken legs, but with the hair shaved off, wow, naked chicken leg. She has to feel like crap just from the IV and spinal tap alone.

It was so good to pick up our little doglet and get those sweet kisses and tail wags. It quickly became apparent though that we have a long road ahead. She is better, by just a little. Her balance seems better but she is really weak. We'll give her 2 meds daily for months (an possibly life), and she will go back to the vet once a month for an injection.

I am hopeful.

inflammation of the meninges

Meningitis that is. The doglet has Meningitis. This is good news because it's treatable. The doggie neurologist says that about 2/3 of the dogs that have it get better, and some even recover completely. Apparently dogs get a type of the disease called Steroid Responsive Meningitis. It's an auto-immune illness that is highly treatable with steroids - umm - hence the name.

She is at the hospital tonight, and tomorrow night. It's very strange being here without her. I don't know how I'll sleep without her giant 5lb presence in the bed. I'm hoping she's resting ok. I left her with her big pink stuffed FiFi dog and her 2 favorite binkies. And a tiny pink backpack with cookies and treats and some other stuff.

I'll say it for you, I win crazy dog lady of the year I'm sure.

That's ok cause I love my little girl named Mavis Pearl.

update on the doglet

The visit with the doggie neurologist went well today. I really love the doctor. She was compassionate, and thorough, and gentle. It's too soon for me to tell if she's a genius, but I have high hopes.

Her hunch is that this may be something like meningitis. Not bacterial like us humans get, but something auto-immune. Or hydrocephalus. I will take her back for an MRI tomorrow morning. They will also draw spinal fluid and test that. On a normal day I would be upset that she had to endure all this. But today, I am hopeful because it may be something treatable. The doc didn't think it could be a brain tumor since the symptoms were multiple (affecting more than one part of the brain).

Thanks for all your caring, my bloggy friends. I will keep you posted.

ps.. if it wasn't wrong to rip off cool stuff from other bloggers, I would call her Dr. Nerve. Isn't imitation the highest form of flattery? One of my favorite bloggers names all of her doctors that way. I won't call her Dr. Nerve. Not here anyway, but in my head I will. That's not wrong is it?

she's not even 3 years old

I've put off having this conversation for days. My heart is broken. I am so very sad, seriously depressed I think. The doglet is slipping away from us and I feel powerless to help her.

It started a couple of months ago when she appeared to be suddenly going blind. The vet looked at her eyes and couldn't see anything other than very dilated pupils. We were having a bumper crop of mushrooms in the backyard, and he assumed it was mushroom consumption. He said to watch her, and if it didn't improve soon to take her to the doggy opthamologist. It didn't get better so we did, and he agreed, no eye disease. Perfectly healthy eyes, but blindness in her left eye. After some expensive, extensive tests the eye specialist said "it's neurological in nature, you have to see a doggy neurologist". I put off making the appointment for a few days. I just couldn't wrap my brain around it, and it didn't seem to be any worse than some vision trouble. Then, in just a matter of days Mavis began to have trouble walking. She could no longer make it up and down her little stairs by the bed. No hopping up on the couch with her foot stool. In just a few more days she merely stumbles around, her legs often just going right out from under her causing her to fall. She wants to play but can't function. I just don't understand. There are moments when she seems to be better, giving me hope that we might get her back. But just moments. One good thing though is that her appetite is great. She really perks up for her scrambled egg, and as recently as 2 days ago still enjoyed the trip to her favorite restaurant for plain grilled chicken.

I feel really guilty getting so upset and sad about this. I have friends whose children have serious diseases. Potentially life threatening diseases. I know they feel like life is over some days. I also have friends who have lost their children too soon. I can't begin to imagine that pain. I wasn't able to have children. I just can't imagine how hard having a sick baby would be. Or, oh my God, to lose one. Mavis is the closest thing I've had but I feel ridiculous loving her this much. But I do.

We have an appointment on Tuesday to see a neurology specialist. We have health insurance for her. Doglet health insurance. I'm so grateful I made that crazy decision. I don't know what he diagnosis will be, and I of course have been googling like crazy. Until Tuesday my imagination will be cranking overtime. I've had little energy to think, write, or talk at all about other things. So if you haven't heard from me, that's partly why. To you it may seem crazy. She's a little dog. How did I get so wrapped up?

I've been busy with some other things, wonderful distractions and very busy days. I'll write about that soon, maybe even later today. I just had to get all of this off my chest. There, I feel a little better already. Thanks for being here.

Tribute to Sasha

My friend Susan and her husband Harry lost their little dog-child Sasha on Monday. She went in her sleep while they were at work. Susan and I spent Tuesday morning being all weepy in my office.

This picture was taken at Mavis Pearl's 1st birthday party (you heard me right). Sasha was the reason there even is a Mavis Pearl in our life. We went to a Super Bowl party at Susan and Harry's in 2007. There we met darling little Sasha for the first time. Prior to that Chris was sticking to his "in 5 years you can have a dog" guns. We were still getting over losing our 2 cats Beaux and Pee-Wee in 2006. Sasha won him right over. The little princess will be missed so very much.

Flashback Friday

"The first time, ever I saw your face..."

not so free food

(gratuitous doglet picture somewhat unrelated to this post)

I dragged the sleepy doglet to Sonic last night for a free float. Like they advertised. I wanted to stick to my plan for losing a little weight this summer and asked for a Diet Coke float. They said no, the special was root beer only. So out of my mouth flies "then give me a chocolate hot fudge caramel pecan mini bundt cake". I didn't want to sound wishy washy so I didn't retract the order. And so I wouldn't appear wasteful, I ate the whole thing. Stupid Sonic people.

Saturday Morning Shout Out

Just wanted to share with you what's new with my friend Bernie in Tennessee. She has become a special friend who I'm blessed to know and support. Amazing artist, lover of all God's creatures, and all around great chic. Check out her blog here, and follow her on Twitter here. Not only does Bernie provide second chances for dogs and cats who would otherwise be euthanized, she does an amazing job spreading the word of humane treatment for animals worldwide. Love you Bernie. Keep up the great job and don't lose faith.

Doglet's Day

Angel Doglet, loved Doglet, Doglet spoiled by Grandma, busy Doglet, and finally done Doglet. A rough life she has.

As Promised...

The rest of the blooming cactus story. I was out of town lolling around the Guadalupe River and Chris had to finish the photo-documentation. Good job and thank you honey!

Spring has sprung, I think.

(Japanese something or another in our backyard)

We've had crazy up and down weather. I like having a winter, and we've barely had one. It's been in the 80's for weeks, then we had highs in the 30's and rain all this last week. The plants, trees, and grass are really confused. I'm confused. Would it be too much to ask for just a few straight weeks of winter? I'm getting exhausted with switching out the summer clothes, no wait the winter clothes, no it's the summer clothes again. If it's gonna be spring, then I'm ok with it. Let's stick with it. Alrighty? I'll get over the lack of winter if it means my backyard will green up and Mavis can run around in lush grass and I can hang with her out there.

(Bradford Pear blossoms out front)

The spring also brings mating season for the Eastern Screech Owl. That means that Mr. Spock should find a mate and move into the house we hung for them. Owlets! That's what I want. Okey dokie? Got that?

Now that I'm done being bossy and airing my grievances with the seasons, I'll leave you with today's Mavis pic. I know the internets have been missing her. She's been busy with an obedience class. We're getting all prepped to try for Therapy Dog Certification. Maybe. We'll see.


Oh yeah, and I still have my Christmas Tree up. Could be the lack of winter. I may be in denial, or just crazy. I kind of like having it there.

I have so much to tell you...

But SOMEONE is pitching the biggest hissy fit so I'll have to take care of HER instead of telling you all about my trip to the opera, the fabulous dinner, and our right up close AC/DC rock star sighting. Excuse me while I go and detach a small dog from my big toe now.

We like the new Vet!

Today Mavis went to check out the new Vet. We LOVE this guy! He spent about 45 minutes with us going over every little thing. He even had a book with pictures to explain everything she has going on. It also turns out that her health might not be as bad as we thought. Go figure, the medically obsessed mother of the dog (that's me) had made up her mind that the doglet was already an invalid at 2 years of age. She does have a little bit of a collapsed trachea, but a lot of her problem is likely allergies. Duh. We live 5 minutes from a ginormous airport and 3 major freeways. Who wouldn't have allergies. He personally trimmed her nails, and plucked the hair from her ear canals. Yorkies grow crazy amounts of hair down in their ears. Old men got nothin' on them.

We also talked extensively about her diet. He actually gave me a high five on my choice of dog food. It's all natural, grain free, and mostly raw meat. Dogs are carnivores! We talked about the horrors of commercial dog food. It's mostly filler and grains, and even if you buy the big name brands at he grocery store, you'd be horrified to know where some of these ingredients come from. If it takes you more than a couple of seconds to read the ingredient list, it's probably not healthy for your dog. Unless you are brave and really interested, don't read this article. It will freak you out I promise. The whole website is helpful and full of information, and echos what I read in other places as I did my research, and the Vet agreed. He even feeds his dog raw meat and bones for the most part. We discussed how even the often Veterinary prescribed Hills Prescription Diet is full of filler and additives. Many Vets push Hills foods because they are a big contributor in Vet school text books etc. While I didn't obsessively research cat food like I did dog food, I did run across similar information about it. Cat's are carnivores too. I get sad thinking about Beaux Kitty and Pee Wee, and how I might have helped them live a longer and healthier life had I known then what I know now. They both had kidney failure in the end. Hallmark illness for animals fed a sub-par diet.

My hope is that I will keep Mavis healthy, and prolong her life by feeding her the good stuff. It makes sense. You wouldn't stay healthy eating only Cheetos and Ding Dongs every day now would you? The same goes for your furry friends.

**If you live in the DFW area, Metro Pet will deliver for free, and that's where we get our food**

The full moon and a dozen other things that have been on my mind...

The moon was a beautiful full one tonight. And as I read here, the closest to us it has been all year. Had it not been so cold, we would have done some moon and star gazing from the back yard tonight after the nice little dinner date we had. This is the time of year that I miss spending time out in the back yard. If I had a pile of money, I would build a gas fire pit like the one we sat around in San Diego. Nice, that would be real nice. I miss Bernie Mac. I digress.

Speaking of cold, did you hear about the snow in New Orleans this week? Crazy. Have you ever said "when hell freezes over"? You should be careful saying that from now on. I'm not saying the NOLA is hell, I'm just saying that if there is lake effect snow and the lake is Pontchartrain, then hell could be next. I have family in NOLA. They hollered about the snow on Facebook. It sounded like fun.

Speaking of Facebook, I've gone now and done something foolish..got a Facebook page. I barely keep up with this blog, Twitter, and my 2 email addresses. My plan is to manage it all from the iPhone. I will go blind trying to read the tiny screen for extended periods of time, but I'll look cool.

Speaking of the iPhone, I love my iPhone. I have an addiction to the App Store on iTunes. I have 4 pages of Apps on my phone, and 5 of them are weather apps. 4 Twitter Apps, 3 for restaurants and points of interest. I have Ebay, Amazon, and of course the voice activated Google - for when I'm driving down the road and need to Google. I love Google. I've got a novel by E.M. Forster that I'm reading in drive thru lanes. I only have 2 games, but they are my favorites - Ms. Pacman and Crash Bandicoot. There is the virtual Zippo lighter, just in case I'm at a concert and feel so inclined. Ooh, and Shazam. I've never used it but I might need it some day, at a concert. And then there are the Apps I use to listen to radio stations, and Pandora. I love Pandora. I have a Mazzy Star station on Pandora and that's just the best. I also have a KC and the Sunshine Band station, a Family Force 5 station, and a Mozart station. My neighbors at the office hate me. Chris says that Pandora and Satellite Radio are going to kill his career. Why can't they all just get along?

I have achieved electronic clutter. And I'm OK with that.

There were a few other things on my mind, but Mavis has chewed off one of my toes and is starting on a second. Jealous dog. It's probably for the best, the rest was going to be a rant. Nobody likes a rant.

Saturday Afternoon Multi-Tasking..My Way

I'm spending my Saturday the way I like it. Just enough lounging, but not so much I feel I've wasted the day. It's a beautiful fall day and I've enjoyed coffee on the back porch, and now letting the afternoon sun come in the windows. I'm home alone with Mavis - Chris is working this afternoon. We're watching LSU play Alabama. That's the most stress I'm gonna let in today :)

I gave the doglet an overdue bath today. For those of you with human kids, you're gonna shrug off my despair when it comes to just how hard it is to keep up with this furry kid of mine. For ME, it's like keeping up with a toddler. I've struggled with her at bathtime from the beginning. We've tried double teaming her, me bathing her alone, in the tub with her, sitting on the edge, the kitchen sink, space heater to keep her warm, no space heater... No matter what, she fights bigtime. This time, I tried something a trainer recently told me. I was completely silent the whole time. No "it's ok baby, shhhh, BE STILL!!!". Non of that. I was silent from the time we went into the bathroom. Even the times that I have used a soothing voice all the way through and not yelled it hasn't made a difference. This time, I was shocked to find that Mavis was completely relaxed. So much so that she laid in my arms hanging her legs down while I lathered her head. I have no scratch marks. I'm a believer. This may be the start of a beautiful thing. I also tried a new shampoo. My pooch had an Aveda Shampure spa treatment today. I think she's worth the money. She's a calm submissive silky smooth :) I've tried several shampoos especially for dogs, baby shampoo (which I always still use on her face) and this one made her the most beautiful. It's the little things that make me happy. Now my doglet smells amazing!

I've also managed to hang some pictures that have been stacked and waiting on me. I have a small collection of antique postcards. I've had a few framed and hung them today. I also framed (myself thank you!) a print we got in New Orleans. That goes up today too. This is my most recent postcard find, "Bon Voyage".
I think the last energy I will exert will be gathering together some supplies to work on something artistic tomorrow. Georgianna is coming over and we are going to take a first stab at Artist Trading Cards. I am eager to get my hands working on art again, this is the perfect project. Small and easy to finish. I do think it's gonna be hard for me to let go of what I've created - that's always been difficult to me. I don't think I could ever make money as an artist. Once I'm satisfied with a painting I get so attached to it. We'll see how this goes :)

A Visit to Music City

This week we paid a visit to Nashville to see April in her new hometown. We had the best time doing mostly nothing, our favorite pastime. As long as we eat and laugh it's all good. There was movie watching in the hotel room, several visits to really great coffee shops (Nashville has the best coffee shops), and of course a trip to Guitar Center in Nashville. I thought we would miss our flight - Chris and April were just lost in there. It goes without sayin, Mavis went with us. It was her 2nd trip on an airplane. She's a pro! I just have to stick a foot into her carrier under the seat and she's happy.


Chris, Mavis and I also got the chance to visit with Bernie at A Place to Bark. The folks at my office all pitched in to take a donation for her ongoing building project, which gave me a good excuse to visit. I really appreciated her taking time out of a very busy schedule to visit with us. I got the VIP tour of her shelter, and some always welcome puppy love from the adorable schnauzer pups! (it was FREEEZING - we had to tuck them in our jackets)


In a addition to her obvious passion for animals, Bernie is an artist. She is active in the ATC (Artist Trading Card) movement, having written a book and teaching others how to create in workshops. Bernie gave me a copy of her book, and now I'm getting motivated. I may have to start a shoe box of supplies and get started creating my own cards. I majored in Fine Art/Painting and Drawing in college. I've just let it go over the years. This would be a great way to get back in the swing of things. I've still got some of the old tools, just need to dust them off.

Most of all I'm encouraged by the hearts of others who strive to do the right thing, and give selflessly. Not just Bernie, but my April too. It was a good visit.

Pumpkin Patch

We made our annual trip to the local pumpkin patch this weekend. It always has that small town feel and really gets me going for the holiday season. Sometimes I imagine that I live in Stars Hollow while we're there (one of the things on my life list..live in a town like it). There's fresh roasted corn on the cob and made fresh kettle corn right there in a big kettle while you watch.

The corn maze is pretty spooky at night - they hand out flashlights and you can always count on someone to lurk and scare the bajeebas out of you. I've gotten lost in there during the day, which is precisely why I let everyone else go while I stand by ready to call in the choppers to search for them if they don't come back :) I was perfectly happy to sit with Mom on a bench and people watch. Kids running wild with excitement. I love it.


Mavis tagged along and was tortured by wearing her costume for this year, compliments of Aunt Pamela:) She wears these things to make me happy you know. She'll have to wear it again to my office on Oct 31st. So this was a good practice run. She was the cutest pumpkin in the patch.


Of course we went on the hay ride. Half the fun is waiting for your turn, and then spotting the rabbits and foxes in the field at night. My niece Sadie commented that they went way slower this year. I'm pretty sure that was because she is a year older and it just seemed slower. Pretty soon there won't be any kids in the family that still want to do the hayride. What will my excuse be then :)


Sadie made a great Tiger, but sadly, her wild getup didn't help my LSU Tigers at all. While we were at the Patch, they had their first loss of the season. Ironically to Sadie's favorite team, the Florida Gators.


At the end of the night, we all got to pick out a pumpkin or two to take home. I'm grateful for a Mom that insists we all still do these things, and who will always treat us to it.

PS.. April and McKenna, we really missed having you here this year.

The Dog Whisperer

I'm a HUGE fan of the Dog Whisperer. Cesar Millan is hosting a live seminar and I wish I could go (with Mavis of course)

Cesar's ONLY 2008 Live Seminar!
Saturday, December 6th, at 2 PM
Atlanta, GA - John A. Williams Theatre
at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre

Click here for details. Anyone want to donate a ticket to get us there :) We could really use some Dog Whisperin'!