Bandages, Shopping Malls, and New Smells

I finally got Beth into the Department of Licensing to renew her state ID! It expired in 2019 and I just never got it done. I got her the REAL ID so she doesn't have to bring her passport with her every time we fly. The guy was so kind and even showed us all her previous photos with the different headbands, pink, blue, purple...! He complimented her on her signature and said it looked like a beautiful drawing. We left there and stopped for lunch before going to the mall. 

 

 

Chuck and I are going to a Seattle Mariners game in a few weeks so I'm looking for a new team shirt. We parked at the opposite side of the mall from our usual place and found out the team store isn't there anymore! I needed up walking the full length of the mall to find another one. She didn't want to make the trek so she found a seat and settled in with her phone. Course I prayed as I walked away, "Lord protect her. If anyone even thinks about harming her let them see your ministering angels...! Sure enough, she was right there when I got back. 😄

 

Then we went to DSW to get some new shoes. Chuck and I got some new arch supports a few weeks ago and I've needed some new walking shoes, and Beth needed some too.

 

She also went to the doctor a few days ago for a blood draw to check on medicine levels. She takes thyroid medicine and every 6 months she's got to get checked. She holds her arm out and straight like this for a long time. I have to convince her that it's okay to use her arm, even with the bandage.

 

 

Chuck, Sharaya, Diana, Poppy and I went for a walk at a local park. It's about a half mile from our house, so we walk there and then walk the loop a few times before heading back. It's right on the edge of a forest area and it's always so cool and pretty. Poppy loved all the new smells!

 

 

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Autism, Puppies and Technology

Ken called the other day and said he'd like to have the memorial in San Diego on Mother's Day weekend. It will give him enough time to continue working on the house and would be a nice way to honor my sister. So now I'm scanning photos to make some posters to take down with us. Instead of taping photographs onto display boards, I guess the thing to do now is to just have some posters made. Upload your pictures and they print collages on any size poster you want. It will definitely be easier than packing all the photos, then buying the boards once we get down there.

I went down to the waterfront the other day and saw this guy 'greeting' everyone who walked, jogged or drove by.

 

Special Connections is going well. We have two boys - brothers - who absolutely love the class. They refuse to be with the typical students and even ask me to close the door when the other kids get too loud in their room across the hall. They are both on the spectrum but often hug me and tell me Sunday is their favorite day of the week. It does my heart good!

The boys with our other teacher, playing with kinetic sand

 

Poppy is growing fast and learning all sorts of things: sit, stay, come, don't eat that! Let go of my finger! You know, typical puppy stuff. We took her for a walk a few weeks ago and she became so overwhelmed by the people, other dogs barking, traffic (she's just 4 months old) that Diana had to carry her the rest of the way home. She won't be able to lift her much longer!

 

Beth got a new phone. She dropped her old one and the screen cracked. Not just the protective cover but the actual screen. She wanted a Motorola since that's what she's used to and was so concerned she would lose all of the information on her old phone. She was so relieved to find out they would transfer everything to the new one!

 

That's about all from here. I hope you're doing well and are enjoying this last bit of winter.

With Friends Like That...!

Two days after Diana and Peter's reception, we loaded up a Penske truck and moved them across the country. 

We packed up the last few things from Diana's house and Peter came with the truck. His parents arrived and about the time we started hauling things out to the truck... it began to pour!!

I spotted Diana waiting in the car hoping it would slow down before she ran back to the house!

 And about the time we finished, the rain let up. Ahh, life. 😊

 

We all went out for brunch and then the 5 of us headed west. But I want to tell you about a site we saw just outside of Bozeman, Montana. They were doing some construction on the highway, not much, most were just getting off the highway and getting right back on again. But for some reason Google maps took us on this 5 mile detour. 

We're cruising along, trying to enjoy the sights when a pick up pulled out in front of us. We could tell they were locals and we drove along for a few minutes when all of the sudden...

 

This massive dog pops up from the bed of the truck! We couldn't even tell he was back there until he stood up. He was so big and was moving around the back... then we see this little dog pop up on the left side of the truck. I couldn't tell you what kind it was, a terrier I think. It looked like he put his paws up on the wheel well and we could see it's little head. 

And then all of the sudden....

So Busy - So Thankful

It's Thursday! Go over to Rebecca Jo's blog and link up with us!

This week I'm so thankful for:

Family

Water fights

Washington State Ferry rides

Crepes

Ice cream

Hydrangeas

German Shepherds

My job

Finding $20 in a pocket of old jeans

Waiting for packages to arrive

Uncontrollable laughter

Portrait mode on my new phone!

Sitting at the beach on a beautiful day

I miss you all! I'm hoping to be back to my regular posting schedule in a week or two. I hope you're doing well.

Has It Only Been A Week??

What a crazy week.

A friend and co-worker is on vacation so I'm filling in for her, doing her job as well as my own job. Working a lot more hours than usual. It's been busy, that's for sure but the biggest issue is my back. My co-workers chair is very different from mine and I've been using both of them this week. I think that's why I've been having muscle spasms in my lower back. Over the years I've learned to be so careful about what shoes I wear, how I move, to almost eliminate all back pain and this chair thing is the only thing I can think of that would be causing these spasms.  I'm glad she'll be gone only a couple more days!

Diana is dog sitting for a friend. We now have a boxer living at our house. She trimmed his nails this morning and cut one too close so he's been bleeding all over. She's tried a four/water paste on the nail and that's helped a lot. She also put one of her blankets on the couch and we're trying to keep him there. It's not working well though. As soon as he hops down, the nail starts bleeding again. Diana's shopping right now so he wants to be with me in our office area. I finally got the bleeding stopped again after he went outside to go potty. Ugh, dogs. I'm done with having pets. For 25 years we've had dogs, cats, guinea pigs, fish... I'm done with pets for a while. It may be selfish but I want a break from all the work that comes with having pets.

I was out mowing the lawn last weekend and hit a rock. The rock hit the back of my van and shattered the window. I just stood there in shock as I listened to the crackling of the window as it cracked into a million tiny pieces.

 

I called one place and gave them all the info: make and model, window tinting, wiper... they gave me a quote. I called a few days later to make the appointment and was told they gave me the wrong quote. It was actually going to be more than the original quote. Fine, it's still cheaper than the other places I called. We set up the appointment. The night before they were to come out, they call and say they don't have my particular glass in stock and they have to order it. It will take longer than expected and oh yea, the price will go up. No thank you. I now have an appointment for next weekend with a different company. In the meantime I'm driving around with white plastic duct taped to my car.

We got a call from Beth's doctor telling us the biopsy results are positive for Scarring Alopecia. Her doctor is sending off tissue samples for a second opinion and I should hear from them in a few days. The Nurses Assistant for the 'second opinion doctor' calls and tells me they don't have any appointments available until 2016. Oh. "But I thought our doctor was just sending tissue samples for your opinion?" The NA was just as confused as I was. I called our doctor back (and you know how it goes, they're with a patient or have gone home for the day and will be in touch... it's never quick and easy!) So a couple days later our NA calls and says, "Yes, take the 2016 appointment." But, but I thought you were just getting an opinion on the sample. "No, doctor T does want Beth seen by the 'second opinion doctor'". And while we wait, the alopecia continues to spread and Beth continues to lose her hair. Arrgh!

So, how was your week? :)

She's Gone

It was 6 years ago that Diana asked us for a dog. We already had Buddy, our black lab, but she found a westie who needed a home. Pleeeaaassse could she have her, she'd be leaving for California in a few months and would take the dog with her, she'd only be with us a short time.

Well, the move to California fell through and Sugar has been a part of our lives ever since. Her and Buddy got along well and having one more dog didn't make that much difference.

Sugar loved the sunshine! She'd sit outside (preferring her own lawn chair, thank you) and soak up the sun. She'd find the only spot in the car, on a log at the beach, didn't matter. If there was sun, she wanted to be in it!

 

 

 

 

She loved to sit on the back of furniture. She was more like a cat than a dog, really. Diana used to always say that and it was true.

 

 

 

But more than the sun and furniture, she loved people the most. She was such a people 'person' always wanting to be touched. She would even jump up on the couch and reach out to just put one paw on your leg. As long as she was touching you, she was okay. But so often, she just HAD to be touching someone.

 

 

 

 

In October 2014 she had her first seizure. Diana had come home late and didn't want to wake us so left her in our room to sleep for the night. Then out of the blue, at 2:30 in the morning she had a full on, gran mal seizure. Scared me so much! She had another one later that morning so we took her to the vet and they believed it was blood clots in her brain that were causing them and told us that she would probably continue to have them. Considering she was already 12 years old, we did some blood work, a urinalysis but opted not to do surgery.

 

She had a few more before Christmas, then went almost a month without one seizure! Just last week I remember thinking that it had been a whole month and I was glad and a little surprised. But then, without any warning she had another one. And another. And another. Then in 3 days time, she had 6 seizures and never really recovered.

 

Diana made the difficult decision to have her put to sleep but knew she couldn't take her to the vet herself. She spent the day on the couch with her, loving on her and saying her goodbyes. Beth came up and was petting her for a few seconds, but then burst into tears. Chuck and I drove her to the vet today and they were so kind, to her and to us. We went into a private room where we got to say our final goodbyes, I cried and kept petting her. She could barely lift her head. The doctor came in and gently took her from me, we paid the bill, walked out to the car and I burst into tears. She's really gone.

 

'Sugar Babe' as we used to call her, will no longer pop her head up as we walk in the door. No more jumping off the couch to come greet us. No more begging for bananas. No more scrambling to get that one little piece of lettuce. That dog loved lettuce! 

 

Our hearts ache. We'll miss you Shug. You were a good girl.  

Fun Photo Friday - Mystery Lump

What is it?!?

Diana's dog, Sugar!

She loves to sleep under blankets!