Like much of the United States, we’ve had a hideously hot and humid summer. I don’t think we ever cracked 100 degrees, but we spent way too many days in the mid-90s or higher. And with it so horribly hot, we’ve needed a lot of rain…instead we’ve had either no rain for weeks and then it rains so hard that there are floods. My front yard looks like shredded wheat. We’ve tried to avoid complaining…let’s face it’s been worse in other parts of the country…but the heat, and the high electric bills, gets to you. I still miss Reggie, but this summer would have been too hard on him. He suffered in the heat last year and this summer was much worse. The mosquitoes have been raging…the Tribune called it “A Banner Year for Mosquitoes.” And with the economy in the dumps, and other things, it has been a depressing summer for many.
I’ve always loved reading, but haven’t done as much in the last few years. So this year I’ve been reading more and listening to several audio books. I’ve read reports that reading stimulates a different part of the brain than watching TV or movies…so I’ve been working on that part of the brain. If I can get myself motivated, I’ll try to post about what I’ve been reading and maybe get a little project going.
It’s Labor Day Weekend here in the US…happy holidays to each of you.
I had water in the utility room the other day, and that was unwanted. Very unwanted.
But we need this:
We need water!!! We need water on grass and in the yards! Everything is parched. As I said to my neighbor tonight, “We need rain to moisten everything, but not to flood anything.” (The image above is just under a year old and was taken in my backyard.)
Last year Marvel Comics released Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice in comic book format. This year, they’ve moved on to Austen’s Sense & Sensibility.
They’re using the same writer for the adaptation, but a different artist. I’m so behind in blogging, issues 1 and 2 have already been released and issue 3 will hit the stands next week. I have to admit, this artist sure had me laughing out loud at half-brother (I almost typed half-wit) John’s befuddlement as Fanny talks him out of giving assistance to his step-mother and half-sisters. Here’s the cover art for the first issue, which is probably still in the shops if you want to get copies. That’s John and Fanny in the lower right corner of the cover.
Speaking of Fanny, over the weekend a friend and I re-watched the excellent movie, The Young Victoria. Actress Harriet Walter gives a wonderful, subtle performance as Victoria’s aunt, Queen Adelaide. It’s too bad it wasn’t a bigger part. Walter gave another wonderful performance in Emma Thompson’s adaptation of Sense & Sensibility. Who can forget her delightful performance in the scene mentioned above…talking John out of helping his family. “People always live forever when there is an annuity to be paid to them.” And later when she says “I’m the soul of discretion.” Only to be squealing, “Viper in my bosom” seconds later. Ah, such a great laugh.
Who wants to have a Jane Austen book club? I’m thinking it might be fun on Facebook. Never enough Austen!
I’ve been swamped by work the past few weeks and the blog ran dry. In this wretched economy we’re struggling with, it’s good to be busy with work, but being swamped is not the greatest. Why couldn’t it have been a little more spread out? Oh well, the swamp has receded, hopefully follow-up work will rise at a more livable pace. I spent today catching up on my bills, bank statements, invoices, etc. Lots more paperwork to sort through the next few days. Sigh. Paperwork, it never ends.
My utility room was also swamped again, too. With water, not work.
As tends to happen in the warmer weather, the doorbell rings more frequently. And more often than wanted it is a solicitor…any ring from a solicitor is more than is wanted. Reggie used to howl and charge the door when the bell rang. This made solicitors only too happy to leave as quickly as they could, but that is no longer a joy to behold. (Not to be mean, but it was interesting that this little dog could put them off so quickly.)
I was at the local hardware store and took a look at their signage. They only had two signs that said, “No Solicitation.” One was a big, white plastic sign with small black lettering…terrible design. The other was smaller, some sort of pressed, thin metal, but it was radiating red with vibrating gold letters…I suspect the next county could see this sign if I put it on my door. I want something that can be read up close, but not look like a blight on my door.
There was one sign that had possibility. It said: “Please Use Other Door.” Since I don’t have another door, I thought that might annoy the solicitors as much as they annoy me. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will stop them from ringing the bell and it might confuse others.
I think many dogs and their owners would love to have this. I know my brother’s old Border Collie would have been in doggie heaven if he’d had this (and it threw further). My brother would have had to buy the machine in bulk because Scottie would have worn them out!
Oddly enough, I think Reggie is probably one of the few dogs that might not have liked it. Oh he would have learned how to use it and, like Jerry, he’d know exactly which sound meant the machine was about to throw the ball, but he’d get bored with it.
To Reggie, the fun about playing ball was the people interaction. Whether he was playing Goalless Soccer, Half-Fetch, or Tag, it was the people that mattered. Goalless Soccer was something Reggie would play with anyone that would run around the yard kicking, passing, and stealing the ball. He was faster than most people, so he was good at sneaking between feet and stealing the ball. Then you had to catch him. Half-Fetch involved having a person kick or throw the ball, Reggie would joyfully fetch it, but he’d return with it only to taunt the person. Both games often lead to Tag. Reggie would run around with or without ball, pleased out of his mind that people were reaching out trying to touch him. He’d dart in and tag you with his nose and scamper away again. He loved all three games, but all required people. On the other hand, Scottie, my brother’s Border Collie, also loved people, but when it came to balls and fetch, people were only a means for throwing the ball for him to chase and catch mid-air…I’m sorry Scottie never had this machine.
The website DeepDiscount.com (formerly DeepDiscountDVD.com, if I remember correctly) is in the middle of their twice annual big sale. They are advertising 25% off already reduced prices. I’ve only looked at a few items, but the prices look good. For example, with the additional 25% off, Foyle’s War Set 6 is $25.49 as opposed to Amazon.com’s $32.99. If this latest season of Foyle’s War had been better, I might make a purchase, but my jury is still out. Some of the earlier seasons of Foyle’s War, which were typically excellent, are also on sale.
I don’t know if I’ll buy anything, the economy is awful no matter what the politicians are saying, but I wanted you to know.
There seems to be many codes you can use to get this additional 25% off. The webpage says to add the code 25MORE to the coupon field.
NOTE: Illinois residents usually have to pay taxes on items from DeepDiscount.com because it is an Illinois business.
Every spring my neighborhood is inundated with ducks. They waddle around the yards. Take naps. Quack…oh boy do they quack. They almost always travel in twos…Mr. and Mrs. Duck. Occasionally an interloper starts a fight…quack, quack, quack. Every year without fail they come. Eventually the chicks show up too…no comment.
Below is a picture I took of Mr. and Mrs. Duck some 10-15 years ago. I know it’s that old because 1) I had to scan the film picture and 2) I painted my house that long ago and the pale, mustard yellow in the shutter is now soft blue.
But this year things are different. The quacking, waddling, the traveling as a couple, the interloper and of course the quacking, quacking, quacking are all here…but something is different:
I don’t know what’s up…but the ducks are taking to the roofs this year! It’s a bit freaky.
Taken through a window screen because they flew off if they saw me and I had to get close with my sad zoom. The fella on the right is a Golden Finch, but I’m not sure about the other. I suspect it’s also a finch, but I don’t know for sure. My mother calls the one on the left a Katie Bird after my red-headed niece. Perhaps a Redpoll?
I tried to make just a slight modification to a picture using Photoshop…and it looked so wonderful! Then I looked at it using another OS and discovered it was way too dark! Now I’m not happy with either version, but I’m going to bed. (Need to figure out how to calibrate monitor…especially since the problem came from looking at the image on the same monitor, but once running Windows and once running Mac OS X.)
Finally! Foyle’s War is returning to PBS in May with new episodes! VE Day has been celebrated in Foyle’s world, but war and mystery are not over in these three new episodes!
If you remember, the “brains” at ITV canceled Foyle’s War, but then decided that was a mistake, but then the economy flubbed and the show was canceled again after only three new episodes*. For U.S. viewers that means we last saw Season 5, in which much of the war was skipped over so the series would “end” on VE Day. Season 6 has three new episodes beginning in the after-effects of VE Day.
Amazon.com is listing June 1 as the release date for the corresponding Season 6 DVDs.
Woot, woot…reason to celebrate! Foyle, Sam, Milner and the gang!
*There are rumors on the Internet that if viewing numbers are high, there will be additional episodes. I don’t see anything about that on writer/creator Anthony Horowitz’s website, but it is an incentive to watch and get those numbers as high as possible. This season airs in the U.K. in April, so no viewer numbers are available yet. (The U.S. and U.K. have numbered the series differently. In the U.S. this will be Season 6, but in the U.K. it is Series 7…same episodes, different numbering.)
Note: I am not affiliated in anyway with PBS, ITV, Foyle’s War, or Amazon. This is fan news. Thank you FCC.
The plan, as best laid plans go, didn’t go as planned. My previous post, Reggie at the End, should have been immediately followed by a post called Thank You. Only, as you can see, it wasn’t. For that I’m Sorry.
I’m afraid my Reggie at the End post made some people think that I’m morose, wallowing, lost, mired in despair at the loss of Reggie. I’m not. I really miss my little guy, but I’m not going off the deep end. However, I would love to snuggle him again.
Right after Reggie at the End I wanted to blog about all the kind and sweet things people have done for me since Reggie died; only life interfered. Today I finally got the last of three sets of taxes mailed…YAY!!! Tomorrow, I need to tend to my messy house, which is crying out to be cleaned. I hope to get back to regular posting, including Thank You, in the near future.
I detest house cleaning. Reggie used to think company was coming if I was cleaning house. He’d keep me company till he lost interest because I was slowly working my way through the clutter. Ugh. Just thinking about cleaning makes me morose. See why I want to snuggle Reggie…it was so much better than house de-cluttering!
Everyone keeps asking what exactly was wrong with Reggie at the end. Most of you know that he’s had lots and lots of health problems over the years, but this time…wow. It might be easier to list what wasn’t wrong, but I’m not sure what that would include.
Reggie Writes His Blog
Here’s the list the animal hospital doctor rambled off to me on Feb. 11:
Liver shunts, which we’ve known for years
3 new stones in his kidneys and bladder
A re-occurring limp and unexplained pain
Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA), which was first diagnosed in Nov. 2008
A red-blood cell count at 20-21% that wasn’t improving with treatment; it had been the mid-30s
Pancreatitis, which might be caused by the IMHA
An enlarged common bowel duct, which might be caused by the pancreatitis
Pigment in the bloodwork, which might be related to the pancreatitis
A very high fever, which did come down with treatment
Extreme weakness, he struggled to stand and walk
A heart murmur
A nodule on his liver
A growth/tumor on his liver, which might have been cancerous and might have caused the IMHA
Because of the heart murmur, they couldn’t push fluids very fast and that meant he wasn’t getting meds or nutrients very fast. But worse, other than his fever coming down, he wasn’t responding to the meds he was getting. The doctor at the hospital wanted to do a needle biopsy on the liver growth, chest x-rays to evaluate why Reg was anemic, and various heart tests. If the biopsy was positive, then he said surgery might be needed. I finally interrupted and said, “But he’s over 12 and half years old! I don’t think he’ll survive surgery.” To top this off, if we did the biopsy on that Thursday the results wouldn’t come in until Monday or Tuesday, and the doctor admitted Reggie might die before the results arrived.
Reggie’s regular doctor basically shrugged off all these tests. He said, “IF Reggie survives this time, he’s going to get sick again. He’s going to have IMHA the rest of his life, he’s going to have pancreatitis again. The question is how much more can the two of you take…IF he survives this time.” He was concerned about the new liver tumor and the ramifications it would have. He and I decided that I would visit Reggie at the hospital, and I would decide whether he was better enough to come home or to have him put down.
You know the rest; Reggie’s fever was down, but he wasn’t improved. I spent an hour and a half walking around the hospital holding him, talking to him, crying, but he was completely listless. I couldn’t have him suffering like that. He’d been on meds for almost a week, and had crashed instead of improving. I wish I could hug him again. And again. And again. He’s missed.
So what was wrong at the end? Everything listed above, and I wonder if maybe something else too. It was so strange, Tuesday evening Reggie was jumping around, playing a bit, and eating really well. Two hours later he started throwing up and was uncomfortable and edgy in his own skin. After a rough night, Reggie seemed a little better, drank water, took his meds, and slept for several hours. But after he got up, things were seriously worse. He struggled to walk or stand, he wouldn’t eat, and wouldn’t drink. I called the vets and said we were coming and started putting on shoes and a coat when Reggie suddenly decided to drink water, and drink a lot. This made me feel better, but after this nothing went well. Each time Reggie’s been sick the past 15-16 months it has hit really hard and fast, but he’s never had trouble standing or walking till this time. So I wonder what caused that and why he wasn’t getting better. The not getting better was probably everything and the new tumor, but why so suddenly from eating to not standing? I guess I’ll never know. He was a wonderful dog and will always be missed.
I’m at a loss for words. Last Thursday evening Reggie’s health had deteriorated so much and there was so many health problems and he was so miserable, that I had to make the awful decision, but I think the best for him, to have him put to sleep. I had intended to write more tonight, but it’s hard. I have never cried so much in life as I did last Thursday and Friday. For days afterward, I couldn’t talk about it and I still need to call or email several people to let them know.
Reggie was a wonderful, sweet dog. I’m blessed he was part of my life for twelve years. I’m going to miss him for a long, long time.
I wanted to post some pictures of Reggie through the years, but I found so many cute ones of him as a puppy, that I’ve decided to just post those tonight. I may drive everyone nuts posting more pictures in the coming days. All the pictures below were scanned from prints.
This is a picture Reggie’s breeder took when he was a wee pup. The original is a faded Polaroid.
(Still at the breeders.) I love this picture. It shows why I frequently said to Reggie: Big yawn, little dog.
He was so small that first year, the grass was often a challenge for him to conquer.
Reggie with his buddy Dustin.
Reggie with David. These two adored each other! Dave would laugh and squeal with delight whenever he was with Reggie. Dave is almost 14 now.
I was up most of last night with a very sick Reggie. I finally got him to settle down by curling up with him on the couch…where we kind of-sort of really didn’t sleep. This morning he seemed a little better and the vet’s gave me some medication for him, but by mid-afternoon he was really sick and we went to the vets then to the animal hospital. Reggie is vomiting, has a high fever that went up almost one degree in two hours, is very weak (as in struggling to stand and walk), and much of his blood work is all out of whack again. Reggie has been sick since last Friday, but was getting better. At 6:15 last night he ate a good amount of food…two hours later he just flew downhill. It might be one of his existing problems really flaring up, but it might be something new like cancer, hepatitis or …. He’s spending the night at the hospital on an I.V., having tests and an ultra-sound tomorrow morning at 9:00. He’s 12.5+ years old; I don’t know how much of this his body can take.
In other news, as Reggie and I were dosing on the sofa, another earthquake rocked us. It felt like something hit the house. It was really odd…in the other recent earthquakes it didn’t feel like something had hit the house. And I’ve heard several other people describe today’s 4:00 A.M. earthquake the same way…as feeling and sounding like their home or something nearby had been hit, and hit hard. The April 18, 2008 earthquake felt like I was on a rocking boat. That April 2008 quake was stronger, but further away. This morning’s quake registered 3.8 and was less than 30 miles from my home. Currently, they don’t know why an earthquake would have originated from this location…odd. Is it just me or are we having too many “more than a wiggle” earthquakes in the Chicago area?
If I can get myself motivated, I’ll try to post about what I’ve been reading and maybe get a little project going.
Copyright: NHL.
Foyle’s War is on PBS in the US tonight (double check your local listings)! Don’t forget to watch! 
