Had a great 2.5 days in NYC with my daughter. The city is really fun and much safer, it appears, than the NYC of my impressions. Heck, New Yorkers are even nice and friendly now!
Did a bunch of touristy things including dinner at Pastis, a favorite of Carry, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha. They weren't there last night.
All in all, a great weekend. I'll post more later when I can upload some pictures.
Ciao
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Hawaii!
Here are Hawaii pictures with Tom and Reenie. Click on any picture to take you to the album directly. For iPad users, Click here.
p
p
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Shawna, Maui, Hawaii & Ingrid!
Today is going home day. I haven't posted because I have been in Hawaii since Tuesday November 2.
Ingrid has been a saint taking care of Shawna. Ingrid reports that Shawna is eating her normal kibble, drinking water, and properly performing the results of those two activities. She is mobile and active and displays only a slight tilt of her head This is a long way from last week when Shawna's legs didn't work or later when she could only walk in circles and decorated the floor with a real mess. And Ingrid stuck with it and nursed her back to health.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Ingrid.
From Tuesday the 2nd to Monday the 8th I was on Maui with my sister-in-law, Reenie, and her husband, Tom. We had a great time on Maui visiting all the places that were Mary's favorite. We had a great dinner at Mama's, hamburgers at Leilani at Whaler's Village, visited the Coach store there, drove to Hana and the next day to Haleakala, flew to Oahu to visit Pearl Harbor and Waikiki, took a snorkel trip to Molokini and to Turtle Town and the grand finale was dinner at "The Feast at Lele" in Lahaina. I rented a two bedroom condo facing the beach and we could walk just a few paces and be swimming and snorkeling in front of our own unit.
On the 8th, I flew to the Big Island while Reenie and Tom flew home. I was attending the ITPC, a trade conference I have been attending and organizing for about the last ten years--except last year of course (click here for ITPC). This year I moderated a panel discussion. This conference is designed to include spouses and there was a few times with old friends when the tears appeared. Overall, however, it was very good to be here.
Speaking of tears, Maui was Mary's favorite island. And, we loved staying at the Renaissance in Wailea. The Renaissance is closed now but I managed to rent beachfront condo (Unit 7H) at the Ekahi Village immediately north of the closed hotel. After breakfast, Mary and I would walk the very long stretch of three adjoining beaches--Ulua, Mokapu and Keawakapu--it was our tradition--and the beach walk takes a little over an hour. One day Reenie and Tom joined me and a couple other times I wanted to simply be alone on my walk.
I could feel Mary on those walks.
I watched a family--mom, dad and two very cute 3 year old twin girls just celebrating being on the beach and playing in the surf. We chatted a bit and then I made a comment about how fortunate they were to be on Maui. The mom responded that Grandma and Grandpa had brought them along on this vacation.
I had to take my leave and turn away as I realized Mary would never fulfill her dream of hosting her grandchildren on Maui. I cried then and I am crying now as I write this.
Ciao
Ingrid has been a saint taking care of Shawna. Ingrid reports that Shawna is eating her normal kibble, drinking water, and properly performing the results of those two activities. She is mobile and active and displays only a slight tilt of her head This is a long way from last week when Shawna's legs didn't work or later when she could only walk in circles and decorated the floor with a real mess. And Ingrid stuck with it and nursed her back to health.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Ingrid.
From Tuesday the 2nd to Monday the 8th I was on Maui with my sister-in-law, Reenie, and her husband, Tom. We had a great time on Maui visiting all the places that were Mary's favorite. We had a great dinner at Mama's, hamburgers at Leilani at Whaler's Village, visited the Coach store there, drove to Hana and the next day to Haleakala, flew to Oahu to visit Pearl Harbor and Waikiki, took a snorkel trip to Molokini and to Turtle Town and the grand finale was dinner at "The Feast at Lele" in Lahaina. I rented a two bedroom condo facing the beach and we could walk just a few paces and be swimming and snorkeling in front of our own unit.
On the 8th, I flew to the Big Island while Reenie and Tom flew home. I was attending the ITPC, a trade conference I have been attending and organizing for about the last ten years--except last year of course (click here for ITPC). This year I moderated a panel discussion. This conference is designed to include spouses and there was a few times with old friends when the tears appeared. Overall, however, it was very good to be here.
Speaking of tears, Maui was Mary's favorite island. And, we loved staying at the Renaissance in Wailea. The Renaissance is closed now but I managed to rent beachfront condo (Unit 7H) at the Ekahi Village immediately north of the closed hotel. After breakfast, Mary and I would walk the very long stretch of three adjoining beaches--Ulua, Mokapu and Keawakapu--it was our tradition--and the beach walk takes a little over an hour. One day Reenie and Tom joined me and a couple other times I wanted to simply be alone on my walk.
I could feel Mary on those walks.
I watched a family--mom, dad and two very cute 3 year old twin girls just celebrating being on the beach and playing in the surf. We chatted a bit and then I made a comment about how fortunate they were to be on Maui. The mom responded that Grandma and Grandpa had brought them along on this vacation.
I had to take my leave and turn away as I realized Mary would never fulfill her dream of hosting her grandchildren on Maui. I cried then and I am crying now as I write this.
Ciao
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Shawna, Shawna!
The x-rays taken Saturday were negative and Shawna proceeded to get worse. So much so, by Sunday evening she could no longer stand on her own legs and her head appeared in a permanent twist to the right. She had not eaten or drunk since Thursday although the vet had injected saline solution to make sure she wasn't totally dehydratred.
By early Monday morning, I could not stand to see how poorly she was doing--unable to use her legs, unwilling to eat, barely able to lift her head. When the Vet's office opened, I called and made an appointment for 8AM to put Shawna down. After all, she turns 17 in December. Mary and Ingrid agreed to join me at the Vet so they came to the house and we headed to the vet together.
Our long term vet, Diane Wiese, was on duty. Diane also takes care of Mary's cats so we would be among friends. I carried Shawna into the exam room, the technician had me sign the papers and then Diane joined us. We were all very sad and Diane said she wanted to do one last look before she got the injection paraphernalia. As she looked at Shawna, she asked about her eyes. They were rapidly twitching from left to right and back again. Diane stepped out, got some inspection instruments and checked Shawna very thoroughly. I said the twitching had started Sunday and, by the way, here is an iPhone video of her walking on Sunday before her legs totally gave out--Shawna was simply walking in circles.
Diane views the video then says, "I think we are looking at Old Dog Vestibular disease. What that means is that Shawna will be fine in 7 to 14 days."
Say what?
I immediately did an iPhone search to find results like this one. Click here.
Ingrid and I did time trades from our jobs while we took care of Shawna Monday. By Monday night, Shawna was eating a chicken-rice-carrot dish that Ingrid had made. Just a tablespoon or two at a time but the fact is, she was eating! The vet told us we should force food down about every two hours to make sure her intestinal tract was functioning. Force, heck, it was more like feeding a vacuum cleaner. That dog was hungry!
Here legs were still not working and her head still had the twist to the right but she did manage to scoot her body out of the bed during the night. I found her about five feet from the dog bed on the floor. Amazing considering her legs are virtually useless.
As of this AM, Shawna "produced!" Hey, it was messy but it was a great event. Her intestines are working!
Now it is the "Tincture of Time" to allow her to recover from the affects of the disease. Shawna is clearly fighting hard to get better. She is eating, drinking and doing her best to get the legs working again. The attitude is so much better than it was just 48 hours ago.
If all goes to plan, by this weekend she should be very close to full strength again and by the following weekend back to normal--except for a slight head tilt if I understand the write ups correctly.
You go girl!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Wow, its been a week!
This week was somewhat uneventful...(I lie)
First, I developed a very painful upper right shin over last weekend. On Monday, it was painful enough that I saw the doc. She said it appeared to be gout-like, but it is in the wrong place. Gout is ankle or below, this was near my knee. However, because it appeared to be an inflammation, she put me on turbo Advil (whatever) which I took for three days and now the pain has substantially subsided to the point that I let Ingrid massage it last night.
Second, Shawna is giving me fits. She is acting, finally, like an old dog. She sleeps deeply--its 9:30 on Saturday morning and she is still asleep. She stopped eating this week and it has taken a lot of encouragement to get her to eat even half of her normal feeding quantity. I arranged to have MaryR drop her at the vet on Thursday night (thank you, Mary) and by the time I got there after work, they had done some simple and quick blood tests, and it appears we may be moving into kidney failure. Not unexpected on dog that is 17 years old. Today, I did order the complete blood test and we will do x-rays today to see if it is something obvious other than old age. Boy, I am hoping for an obstruction--like she ate a toy or something. Otherwise, it is going to be a very, very sad time as we move into the holidays--like those won't be bad enough this year.
Actually, the holidays will be pretty good. I will spend Thanksgiving with my Daughter and Christmas with my son and his family! That is a real upper!
My grief counseling continues and that is very beneficial. This week we had a large group event with about 40 grievers and we discussed plans and methods to survive the holidays plus we did a very nice ceremony to honor those who have died. It was a very good event. Later in the week, I saw my counselor one-on-one and that was a very good session.
My sister, Sister Maureen CSJ, has a problem with her legs right now and the treatment means she is residing in the convent nursing facility for a while. Well, my brother Dan and I decided she needed some entertainment so we bought her a new iPad for Christmas--Chrismas of 2010, 2011, 2012 and maybe 2013!!! My cousin Dr. Mary Jo arranged with her son who works for ATT to acquire the iPad and deliver it to Sister Maureen on Thursday this week. I heard the screams of joy from St. Paul without a telephone call!
Time to take Shawna to the vet for her xrays.
Ciao
First, I developed a very painful upper right shin over last weekend. On Monday, it was painful enough that I saw the doc. She said it appeared to be gout-like, but it is in the wrong place. Gout is ankle or below, this was near my knee. However, because it appeared to be an inflammation, she put me on turbo Advil (whatever) which I took for three days and now the pain has substantially subsided to the point that I let Ingrid massage it last night.
Second, Shawna is giving me fits. She is acting, finally, like an old dog. She sleeps deeply--its 9:30 on Saturday morning and she is still asleep. She stopped eating this week and it has taken a lot of encouragement to get her to eat even half of her normal feeding quantity. I arranged to have MaryR drop her at the vet on Thursday night (thank you, Mary) and by the time I got there after work, they had done some simple and quick blood tests, and it appears we may be moving into kidney failure. Not unexpected on dog that is 17 years old. Today, I did order the complete blood test and we will do x-rays today to see if it is something obvious other than old age. Boy, I am hoping for an obstruction--like she ate a toy or something. Otherwise, it is going to be a very, very sad time as we move into the holidays--like those won't be bad enough this year.
Actually, the holidays will be pretty good. I will spend Thanksgiving with my Daughter and Christmas with my son and his family! That is a real upper!
My grief counseling continues and that is very beneficial. This week we had a large group event with about 40 grievers and we discussed plans and methods to survive the holidays plus we did a very nice ceremony to honor those who have died. It was a very good event. Later in the week, I saw my counselor one-on-one and that was a very good session.
My sister, Sister Maureen CSJ, has a problem with her legs right now and the treatment means she is residing in the convent nursing facility for a while. Well, my brother Dan and I decided she needed some entertainment so we bought her a new iPad for Christmas--Chrismas of 2010, 2011, 2012 and maybe 2013!!! My cousin Dr. Mary Jo arranged with her son who works for ATT to acquire the iPad and deliver it to Sister Maureen on Thursday this week. I heard the screams of joy from St. Paul without a telephone call!
Time to take Shawna to the vet for her xrays.
Ciao
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Saturday is Laundry Day...
...especially for the single person.
I sorted laundry into my three baskets this morning. I then took my shower because I wanted to add my towel to the day's work. As I came out of the shower, I found that Shawna had created a new dog bed.
Why she picked that particular basket is beyond my understanding, but clearly she is very comfortable.
I sorted laundry into my three baskets this morning. I then took my shower because I wanted to add my towel to the day's work. As I came out of the shower, I found that Shawna had created a new dog bed.
Why she picked that particular basket is beyond my understanding, but clearly she is very comfortable.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
I totally forgot to post this
I was looking for my post on the Alaska cruise I took with Ingrid and MaryR in August and discovered I never did an entry on this blog. I think what happened is that I fell and broke a rib and that set me sideways and I never got back to the cruise. My bad.
The short story is that I took MaryR and Ingrid on a Holland America cruise from Anchorage to Vancouver in August. We had a blast and truly enjoyed the cruise, the scenery and our friendship. We also did, as my sister called it, "Performance Art" making sure the other guests were aware of our threesome. I think the dinner conversation with Fey and Anita from New York summarizes the fun we had.
Anita, "Oh, so Pat and Ingrid are a couple?"
Again, "Nope."
Anita, "Ah, so Mary and Ingrid, you are a couple?"
"Um, nope."
Of course, we manipulated poor Anita into this position with our "Performance Art" consisting of a certain amount of visible intimacy--holding hands, kisses on the cheek, lots of "Darling this and darling that" and that sort of thing as we were seated. We had even established a code to break into our act when we sensed it was time for some laughs.
Anita's traveling buddy, Fey, cut her off as she started to dig deeper into our relationships. It was rather fun to observe. However, Anita was not done! Some time later during the meal, Anita blurts out, "So what are the sleeping arrangements on the ship for you three?"
I was flabbergasted and speechless, so too was Ingrid as well as the other people seated at the table! Mary, however, was much quicker, calmer and she deftly responded while picking up her glass in a toasting fashion towards Anita, "We're from California, why?"
End of discussion!
Taking Ingrid and MaryR on the cruise was a "thank you" for all they had done for Mary during her year of cancer. I am glad they could take the time to join me and I am very thankful that we had such a great time during the cruise. We did all sorts of excursions ranging from whale watching, nature tours, glacier visits, sled dog training and MaryR even did a zip line experience. And, of course, we did the formal nights and even wore red in honor of Mary for the first formal evening.
Clicking on any picture will take you to the album to view full size pictures. For iPad users, click here.
The cruise was a watershed for me! Taking a week and simply enjoying friendship, a great ship and a wonderful itinerary took a tremendous burden off my shoulders. Comparing my overall feeling, attitude and spirits pre- and post- cruise showed a huge improvement in my outlook on life. I don't know what the mechanism is but investing time in me and taking care of my spirits was extremely beneficial. I went from being always down in the dumps to being more like the enthusiastic, gregarious, happy person I have always been. I have my moments and (once in a while) days but they do not dominate my day to day existence as they did before the cruise. As I wrote recently, most days now it is a momentary sharp jab and it disappears for hours, often until the next day. Then there are days like the 8th of October and Monday of this week where grief just swamps me.
Consistent with that joyous experience, I am taking Reenie and her husband, Tom, to Hawaii soon. We'll be on Maui in Wailea, staying in a beach-side condominium. Again, this is a less than adequate "Thank You" for the weeks--no make that months--that Reenie spent helping me with her sister during the year of cancer. Reenie and I were together with Mary when she took her last breath.
We are planning a day trip to Pearl Harbor and Honolulu, then horseback riding, Haleakela crater hiking, sunset cruise and lots of "surf, sand and mixed drinks" as Mary would say about our island vacations.
Take care,
p
The short story is that I took MaryR and Ingrid on a Holland America cruise from Anchorage to Vancouver in August. We had a blast and truly enjoyed the cruise, the scenery and our friendship. We also did, as my sister called it, "Performance Art" making sure the other guests were aware of our threesome. I think the dinner conversation with Fey and Anita from New York summarizes the fun we had.
After our self-introduction of the eight people at the table (Ingrid of Mountain View CA, Pat of Los Gatos CA, Mary of Los Gatos CA, etc.), Anita says , "So Pat and Mary, may I assume because you are both from Los Gatos that you are a couple?"
Our response, "No. We are not a couple."Anita, "Oh, so Pat and Ingrid are a couple?"
Again, "Nope."
Anita, "Ah, so Mary and Ingrid, you are a couple?"
"Um, nope."
Of course, we manipulated poor Anita into this position with our "Performance Art" consisting of a certain amount of visible intimacy--holding hands, kisses on the cheek, lots of "Darling this and darling that" and that sort of thing as we were seated. We had even established a code to break into our act when we sensed it was time for some laughs.
Anita's traveling buddy, Fey, cut her off as she started to dig deeper into our relationships. It was rather fun to observe. However, Anita was not done! Some time later during the meal, Anita blurts out, "So what are the sleeping arrangements on the ship for you three?"
I was flabbergasted and speechless, so too was Ingrid as well as the other people seated at the table! Mary, however, was much quicker, calmer and she deftly responded while picking up her glass in a toasting fashion towards Anita, "We're from California, why?"
End of discussion!
Taking Ingrid and MaryR on the cruise was a "thank you" for all they had done for Mary during her year of cancer. I am glad they could take the time to join me and I am very thankful that we had such a great time during the cruise. We did all sorts of excursions ranging from whale watching, nature tours, glacier visits, sled dog training and MaryR even did a zip line experience. And, of course, we did the formal nights and even wore red in honor of Mary for the first formal evening.
Clicking on any picture will take you to the album to view full size pictures. For iPad users, click here.
The cruise was a watershed for me! Taking a week and simply enjoying friendship, a great ship and a wonderful itinerary took a tremendous burden off my shoulders. Comparing my overall feeling, attitude and spirits pre- and post- cruise showed a huge improvement in my outlook on life. I don't know what the mechanism is but investing time in me and taking care of my spirits was extremely beneficial. I went from being always down in the dumps to being more like the enthusiastic, gregarious, happy person I have always been. I have my moments and (once in a while) days but they do not dominate my day to day existence as they did before the cruise. As I wrote recently, most days now it is a momentary sharp jab and it disappears for hours, often until the next day. Then there are days like the 8th of October and Monday of this week where grief just swamps me.
Consistent with that joyous experience, I am taking Reenie and her husband, Tom, to Hawaii soon. We'll be on Maui in Wailea, staying in a beach-side condominium. Again, this is a less than adequate "Thank You" for the weeks--no make that months--that Reenie spent helping me with her sister during the year of cancer. Reenie and I were together with Mary when she took her last breath.
We are planning a day trip to Pearl Harbor and Honolulu, then horseback riding, Haleakela crater hiking, sunset cruise and lots of "surf, sand and mixed drinks" as Mary would say about our island vacations.
Take care,
p
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