Marni, Tux the lap cat, and Rowena the pocket Corgie who thinks she's a lap dogIt's been almost half a year since I posted. No excuses, just felt like I didn't have much to say but in retrospect, really a lot has happened.
As is obvious from the picture above, we have adopted a new rescue Corgie. She's still settling in and getting used to us, but Dad's dog Beau was so lonely and sad after our previous Corgie Sadie got poisoned and died, that we decided to go ahead and be a two dog family once again.
We had intended to adopt a dog in October, but then I had to have a couple of ductal carcinomas in situ removed ( a partial masectomy). Along with the surgery went a couple of tense weeks before hand getting the diagnosis, getting it confirmed, considering treatment options, rearranging our lives so Phil could take a couple of days off to help me out etc. That made adopting a dog at that time a little fraught so we had to put that on hold for a while.
As for the ductal carcinoma in situ, it was completely removed and had not metastisized or spread so I will take the tamoxifen for the duration and be checked every 6 months alternating a traditional x ray type mammogram with a new scan which is similar to an MRI scan, in order to catch any possible recurrence ASAP. I opted out of a masectomy and or radiation on this go around figuring that I would go with the least intrusive and smallest step possible and save the big stuff for later. This was a group decision and involved in put from the surgeon, the radiologist, my doctor, and Phil. Throughout all of the discussions and all of the flows of information and the anxiety (terror) and uncertainty, he was a rock of calm caring and rationally logical discussion that made it all seem so much simpler and less stressful. I certainly picked a good guy.
I am fully recovered from the surgery, which only left me stiff and sore for a week or so, back to my usual days at the gym with a trainer. In the meantime Dad, who lives with us now, has also started going to a trainer which is a real accomplishment for a 90 year old with diabetes, and other health issues. It means that 4 days a week we spend time in the gym. The gym schedule has cut into the biking time significantly, but the weather is to blame as well as just still getting settled in and staring up with the different lifestyle of being caregivers for an aging parent.
There are some interesting wrinkles about living in this area. While there is a dearth of "pithy" church signs that were fairly obvious in Sugar Land, we do have the local "Cinco Car Care, Christian Community Center and 24 hour dogwash" just down the street. They somehow manage to combine a churchy sentiment with a garage sentiment on their sign almost every week. The best on so far is "being in church doesn't make you a Christian any more than being in a garage makes you a car. Almost as good was " don't be an old crank, be a self starter." Well, you get the idea.
I still haven't figured out how the 24 hour dog wash fits in but it is there. In fact most of the car washes in the area have a dog wash or pet care center. Somehow the idea of hot waxing a dog just seems wrong.
Other concepts that just seem wrong somehow include the ad at a local Walgreens Drugstore which was touting the idea of showing your family "how much you love them by giving them a gift card for a flu shot in their Christmas stocking" and the number of used body pillows for sale at Amazon.com. On the other hand, the huge multiple billboards that show a local defense attorney, dressed for court, carrying a brief case and striding manfully across a parking lot somewhere with the caption "Arrested for a crime? Call 1-800-WASNTME" seems strangely appropriate.
About the only other source for "pithy" sentiments seem to be the beer tops from a local brewery , not as much room as church signs or garage signs but amusing none the less ,with things like "bring your girl growlers and flowers" and "beers to you." Corny, but amusing, especially since I like the brew so much.
So here we are going into December with a new dog named Rowena who is smaller than Tux our Maine Coon cat although she weighs about the same, who things she was born to be carried around in a lady's bag or sit on someone's lap. She is slowly learning that the floor can be good too and is learning some basic obedience, sit, leave it, but doesn't come when called yet. Beau, Dad's dog has gotten used to her and is much happier.
Everyone is happy, healthy and gainfully employed, including Marie who is starting a new job as a quality assurance assistant for embedded music in video games. This will be a real change for her from being on a cell phone service help line but she's excited since she has the background for it.
We are looking forward to a family Christmas, and to being able to house everyone comfortably instead of having to house them all at motels. We are hoping for a reasonable new year with lots of good weather for riding and enjoying our patio.
We had intended to adopt a dog in October, but then I had to have a couple of ductal carcinomas in situ removed ( a partial masectomy). Along with the surgery went a couple of tense weeks before hand getting the diagnosis, getting it confirmed, considering treatment options, rearranging our lives so Phil could take a couple of days off to help me out etc. That made adopting a dog at that time a little fraught so we had to put that on hold for a while.
As for the ductal carcinoma in situ, it was completely removed and had not metastisized or spread so I will take the tamoxifen for the duration and be checked every 6 months alternating a traditional x ray type mammogram with a new scan which is similar to an MRI scan, in order to catch any possible recurrence ASAP. I opted out of a masectomy and or radiation on this go around figuring that I would go with the least intrusive and smallest step possible and save the big stuff for later. This was a group decision and involved in put from the surgeon, the radiologist, my doctor, and Phil. Throughout all of the discussions and all of the flows of information and the anxiety (terror) and uncertainty, he was a rock of calm caring and rationally logical discussion that made it all seem so much simpler and less stressful. I certainly picked a good guy.
I am fully recovered from the surgery, which only left me stiff and sore for a week or so, back to my usual days at the gym with a trainer. In the meantime Dad, who lives with us now, has also started going to a trainer which is a real accomplishment for a 90 year old with diabetes, and other health issues. It means that 4 days a week we spend time in the gym. The gym schedule has cut into the biking time significantly, but the weather is to blame as well as just still getting settled in and staring up with the different lifestyle of being caregivers for an aging parent.
There are some interesting wrinkles about living in this area. While there is a dearth of "pithy" church signs that were fairly obvious in Sugar Land, we do have the local "Cinco Car Care, Christian Community Center and 24 hour dogwash" just down the street. They somehow manage to combine a churchy sentiment with a garage sentiment on their sign almost every week. The best on so far is "being in church doesn't make you a Christian any more than being in a garage makes you a car. Almost as good was " don't be an old crank, be a self starter." Well, you get the idea.
I still haven't figured out how the 24 hour dog wash fits in but it is there. In fact most of the car washes in the area have a dog wash or pet care center. Somehow the idea of hot waxing a dog just seems wrong.
Other concepts that just seem wrong somehow include the ad at a local Walgreens Drugstore which was touting the idea of showing your family "how much you love them by giving them a gift card for a flu shot in their Christmas stocking" and the number of used body pillows for sale at Amazon.com. On the other hand, the huge multiple billboards that show a local defense attorney, dressed for court, carrying a brief case and striding manfully across a parking lot somewhere with the caption "Arrested for a crime? Call 1-800-WASNTME" seems strangely appropriate.
About the only other source for "pithy" sentiments seem to be the beer tops from a local brewery , not as much room as church signs or garage signs but amusing none the less ,with things like "bring your girl growlers and flowers" and "beers to you." Corny, but amusing, especially since I like the brew so much.
So here we are going into December with a new dog named Rowena who is smaller than Tux our Maine Coon cat although she weighs about the same, who things she was born to be carried around in a lady's bag or sit on someone's lap. She is slowly learning that the floor can be good too and is learning some basic obedience, sit, leave it, but doesn't come when called yet. Beau, Dad's dog has gotten used to her and is much happier.
Everyone is happy, healthy and gainfully employed, including Marie who is starting a new job as a quality assurance assistant for embedded music in video games. This will be a real change for her from being on a cell phone service help line but she's excited since she has the background for it.
We are looking forward to a family Christmas, and to being able to house everyone comfortably instead of having to house them all at motels. We are hoping for a reasonable new year with lots of good weather for riding and enjoying our patio.
Tux channeling an African lion in a tree
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