September 6, 2014
Rin-Tin-Tin
As Rin-Tin-Tin, Juliet stands high on a rock in NC. I stuck her up there, above my head, took off her leash and said 'stay". I think she was too scared to move! I didn't realize she was standing so pretty until I saw the photo.
August 4, 2014
Back Yards
My husband and I have never had backyard neighbors. Until now.
Growing up in Clearwater, Florida, my husband had a pasture behind his house. I don't think a cow ever set foot on it, but there it was, complete with barn, the perfect hideaway for sly adolescent boys to sneak off and try out cigars and chewing tobacco, then throw up behind the building. I am glad Mark had a negative experience; it saved him from a lifetime of smoking.
In my Jacksonville, Florida childhood home, there was a house behind ours, but it wasn't visible with thick foliage from our orange trees, and then a tall hedge of Japanese Ewe on their side. Hiding inside was a plethora of paper wasp nests, occupants with evil stingers waiting patiently for me to climb the chain-link fence, a short cut to a friend on the next road. If I was in my swim suit, I could run and leap into our backyard pool, holding my breath long enough for the wasps to give up and go home. They attack in droves. I never knew the people that lived there and I don't think they liked fence-climbing kids.
Our first home was tiny, smaller than most apartments, close to Clearwater in Pinellas Park, Florida. It was small, but it was ours! We had a huge 200 foot deep back yard. Beyond that was an unused service road that was once used for trash pickup and and tall with weeds and trees. There was man that lived in a house at the front of his equally long back yard. Standing at our patio door in the dining area of our eat-in kitchen, we couldn't see past our own backyard. That was not a bona fide backyard neighbor, wouldn't you think?
We relocated to Jacksonville and purchased our second home, double the size of our first, had a big cow pasture. It was visible from the breakfast nook and the french doors in the great room. The sun worn old owner, Mr. Williams, would ride the fences, thin and wiry as a cowboy should be. He'd tip his hat if I was in our back yard and let me know when he planned to plant rye, let the "girls" out, and warn me of the big bulls during breeding season. Our son was a toddler and the fear of him getting into the pasture was real.
Mark was transferred to Central Florida, and we chose a home in the City of Apopka. Three thousand square feet was almost twice the size of the Jacksonville house and had dozens of kitchen cabinets and wondrous multiple drawers. Looking out the kitchen window, was a screened in pool, and beyond that, the wooded forest of the Wekiva State Park. The same view was from our formal living room and master bedroom. Our oldest son was lucky, he didn't have to look past the screened pool area. The only neighbors there were bunnies and turkeys, deer and bears. Sometimes we'd enjoy a covey of quail, slipping in and out of the bushes for cover, or a small red fox, beady eyes worried for his safety. There was no concern where I was concerned. I adored those special foxy sightings. We used to slip through the barbed wire fence for a hike through the blackjack pines, sandy forest floor covered with long needles. It was so exciting to find giant bear prints in the sand, as big as a dinner plate, and next to those, delicate slices from deer hooves. Exciting and scary. What was lurking behind the next big granddaddy oak?
Children grown and gone and my parents aging, we returned to my hometown of Jacksonville, where we bought a smaller house, 1320 square feet of well-appointed space. It doesn't feel small, until you check out the kitchen cabinets of our eat-in kitchen. "Eat-in" means it is big enough to walk around comfortably and there is room for a cafe table and two chairs. There are two kitchen drawers and eight cabinets. We added more in the garage for storage. Our patio door looks out to a nice back yard with lots of tall trees. We have a big deck and tall stockade fence. What is beyond our back fence? Interstate 295. That's right! A busy eight-lane highway.
We have gone from a lifetime of no backyard neighbors to sharing our backyard with everyone in the entire city. When cars drive by, it sounds like ocean waves. The motorcycles are another story. They're really loud like jet skis. I lay in bed at night and pray for the navy guys, headed back to the base in a big hury after the bars close at 2 AM. Those boys have mothers! They say that there will soon be a giant cement silencer wall. I have plans to paint mine with a forest scene.
Growing up in Clearwater, Florida, my husband had a pasture behind his house. I don't think a cow ever set foot on it, but there it was, complete with barn, the perfect hideaway for sly adolescent boys to sneak off and try out cigars and chewing tobacco, then throw up behind the building. I am glad Mark had a negative experience; it saved him from a lifetime of smoking.
In my Jacksonville, Florida childhood home, there was a house behind ours, but it wasn't visible with thick foliage from our orange trees, and then a tall hedge of Japanese Ewe on their side. Hiding inside was a plethora of paper wasp nests, occupants with evil stingers waiting patiently for me to climb the chain-link fence, a short cut to a friend on the next road. If I was in my swim suit, I could run and leap into our backyard pool, holding my breath long enough for the wasps to give up and go home. They attack in droves. I never knew the people that lived there and I don't think they liked fence-climbing kids.
Our first home was tiny, smaller than most apartments, close to Clearwater in Pinellas Park, Florida. It was small, but it was ours! We had a huge 200 foot deep back yard. Beyond that was an unused service road that was once used for trash pickup and and tall with weeds and trees. There was man that lived in a house at the front of his equally long back yard. Standing at our patio door in the dining area of our eat-in kitchen, we couldn't see past our own backyard. That was not a bona fide backyard neighbor, wouldn't you think?
We relocated to Jacksonville and purchased our second home, double the size of our first, had a big cow pasture. It was visible from the breakfast nook and the french doors in the great room. The sun worn old owner, Mr. Williams, would ride the fences, thin and wiry as a cowboy should be. He'd tip his hat if I was in our back yard and let me know when he planned to plant rye, let the "girls" out, and warn me of the big bulls during breeding season. Our son was a toddler and the fear of him getting into the pasture was real.
Mark was transferred to Central Florida, and we chose a home in the City of Apopka. Three thousand square feet was almost twice the size of the Jacksonville house and had dozens of kitchen cabinets and wondrous multiple drawers. Looking out the kitchen window, was a screened in pool, and beyond that, the wooded forest of the Wekiva State Park. The same view was from our formal living room and master bedroom. Our oldest son was lucky, he didn't have to look past the screened pool area. The only neighbors there were bunnies and turkeys, deer and bears. Sometimes we'd enjoy a covey of quail, slipping in and out of the bushes for cover, or a small red fox, beady eyes worried for his safety. There was no concern where I was concerned. I adored those special foxy sightings. We used to slip through the barbed wire fence for a hike through the blackjack pines, sandy forest floor covered with long needles. It was so exciting to find giant bear prints in the sand, as big as a dinner plate, and next to those, delicate slices from deer hooves. Exciting and scary. What was lurking behind the next big granddaddy oak?
Children grown and gone and my parents aging, we returned to my hometown of Jacksonville, where we bought a smaller house, 1320 square feet of well-appointed space. It doesn't feel small, until you check out the kitchen cabinets of our eat-in kitchen. "Eat-in" means it is big enough to walk around comfortably and there is room for a cafe table and two chairs. There are two kitchen drawers and eight cabinets. We added more in the garage for storage. Our patio door looks out to a nice back yard with lots of tall trees. We have a big deck and tall stockade fence. What is beyond our back fence? Interstate 295. That's right! A busy eight-lane highway.
We have gone from a lifetime of no backyard neighbors to sharing our backyard with everyone in the entire city. When cars drive by, it sounds like ocean waves. The motorcycles are another story. They're really loud like jet skis. I lay in bed at night and pray for the navy guys, headed back to the base in a big hury after the bars close at 2 AM. Those boys have mothers! They say that there will soon be a giant cement silencer wall. I have plans to paint mine with a forest scene.
July 15, 2014
Fearful Pooch
Storms have always been a welcome daily summer occurrence in Florida, leaving behind steaming asphalt, perkier flowers, happy little birds bathing in puddles, and cooler nights. My mother used to say, "Sunshine and shower, won't last half an hour!" And it's true. Try telling that to my dog!
Juliet became fearful after four brave puppy years of Florida weather, which includes tropical storms, tons of thunder, enough lightening to power the whole city for a year, buckets of rain, and all of this always results in mosquitoes galore. What happened? Who knows? Our once brave Juliet became five pounds of fear about a year ago. She starts pacing with she first whiff of a storm cloud. A rumble sends her wide eyed, shivering and panting to the closest human for safety. She shakes like a vibrating toy at my side. I never had much use for a miniature shivering dog and thought them to be wimps, and so for an entire year I have ignored her begs for protection, hoping it was just a passing thing. No. Hers is a deep seated problem.
My new mode of dog parenting now includes a kind lap to burrow into when thunder claps and rain pounds on the skylights. I don't say anything, don't pamper or encourage, but if she needs a safe haven, I will allow my dog the comfort of my lap. I'm not to the point of purchasing a thunder coat or doggie zanex...YET.
Juliet became fearful after four brave puppy years of Florida weather, which includes tropical storms, tons of thunder, enough lightening to power the whole city for a year, buckets of rain, and all of this always results in mosquitoes galore. What happened? Who knows? Our once brave Juliet became five pounds of fear about a year ago. She starts pacing with she first whiff of a storm cloud. A rumble sends her wide eyed, shivering and panting to the closest human for safety. She shakes like a vibrating toy at my side. I never had much use for a miniature shivering dog and thought them to be wimps, and so for an entire year I have ignored her begs for protection, hoping it was just a passing thing. No. Hers is a deep seated problem.
My new mode of dog parenting now includes a kind lap to burrow into when thunder claps and rain pounds on the skylights. I don't say anything, don't pamper or encourage, but if she needs a safe haven, I will allow my dog the comfort of my lap. I'm not to the point of purchasing a thunder coat or doggie zanex...YET.
June 2, 2014
Cocoa Beach and The Orange Blossom Song
Mark and I just returned home to Jacksonville after a wonderful week at our timeshare in Cocoa Beach. "Timeshare" sounds so cheesy, but it's actually a really nice place to have a guaranteed vacation every year. We own week #21, a 1-bedroom suite that is actually made from two hotel rooms. It has a bedroom with two queen beds, a living room with pull out queen couch/bed, two bathrooms, a big closet, and a closet sized kitchen, equipped with everything anyone might need. In exchange for a reasonable annual maintenance fee, this one week a year belongs to us and usually includes Memorial Day. Our sons and their wives come for the weekends, filled with pool time, adult drinks, boogie boarding in the ocean, and after bbq, we enjoyed playing beer pong and also Robert's guitar talent and he sings so well too. His wife Vanessa and he have some nice duets - Virginia Bluebell is one of my favorites. Sadly, David and Amanda could only come the first weekend. The whole week is left for relaxing and sunning and enjoying pretty Florida. I looked at pictures of the beach but they look like every other beach pic you've ever seen, so I will save you from one more.
Today I woke up singing a Florida song that every little Floridian should have learned in elementary school, except me, who had Irish nuns that weren't familiar. Lo and behold, my friend Cathy Kersten, who taught this song to me a few years ago, had posted it in Facebook. Cathy makes me happy! you can search youtube for a guy singing it (the introduction is long), but below are the words.
The Orange Blossom Song
I want to wake up
in the morning,
in the morning,
where the orange blossoms grow.
Where the sun comes a peeping into where I’m a sleep’n
and the songbirds sing hello.
I love the fresh air
and the sunshine,
and the sunshine,
it’s good for us you know.
So I’ll make my home in Florida,
where the orange blossoms grow.
May 9, 2014
Elysium
href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8091035.
Here is the review I posted in Amazon and Goodreads:
The story instantly drew me in and kept me on the edge of my seat all the way to the very end. I loved the ending and didn't want it to stop. and so I've been daydreaming about what would happen next. Set in fabulous locations (I feel like I've been on a vacation), there was suspense, wonderful friendships, love and great sex. It was like seeing a fabulous movie, where you're telling your friends that you'd go see it again as you're walking out of the theater. And you do! I sure hope there's going to be a book #2!
May 6, 2014
CLOTHES That Closet Door!
Haha, a play on words!
I live in Florida and what little winter we get (actually this winter was pretty cold!) was over in February or March. For a month I've been delaying the cleaning of the closet. I just shut the door and ignore the fact that my closet is busting at the seams with things I don't wear. I really don't have a lot of clothes, but I wear less than 75% of what is in the closet. First I need to move the turtlenecks, sweaters, boots and jackets into the guest room closet to see what I actually have. Next, slide the clothes I wear regularly to the side and, finally, try on all the clothes I never wear to find out why. Maybe I'll find a hidden gem, but my guess is, a spot, snug on the hips, too short, too long, or too ugly. No matter that it was a gift from a favorite person, my best color or material, how much (or little!) I paid, or how much I dreamed it would fit right in the future, if it isn't right, it is wrong! Into the reject pile those go for some lucky soul to purchase from Goodwill.
Yesterday I promised myself I would tackle the closet, but in typical Marty fashion, I distracted myself on purpose with a need to bake cupcakes. From scratch. Uh-huh. The recipe I used is in my food blog, What's For Dinner?
I promise to post a picture of the outgoing pile after I'm done. Scout's honor. For those of you that know me, I was kicked out of Brownies in 2nd grade for skipping school, so swearing on the scouts and skipping chores may not be a guilt-ridden stretch for me.
I live in Florida and what little winter we get (actually this winter was pretty cold!) was over in February or March. For a month I've been delaying the cleaning of the closet. I just shut the door and ignore the fact that my closet is busting at the seams with things I don't wear. I really don't have a lot of clothes, but I wear less than 75% of what is in the closet. First I need to move the turtlenecks, sweaters, boots and jackets into the guest room closet to see what I actually have. Next, slide the clothes I wear regularly to the side and, finally, try on all the clothes I never wear to find out why. Maybe I'll find a hidden gem, but my guess is, a spot, snug on the hips, too short, too long, or too ugly. No matter that it was a gift from a favorite person, my best color or material, how much (or little!) I paid, or how much I dreamed it would fit right in the future, if it isn't right, it is wrong! Into the reject pile those go for some lucky soul to purchase from Goodwill.
Yesterday I promised myself I would tackle the closet, but in typical Marty fashion, I distracted myself on purpose with a need to bake cupcakes. From scratch. Uh-huh. The recipe I used is in my food blog, What's For Dinner?
I promise to post a picture of the outgoing pile after I'm done. Scout's honor. For those of you that know me, I was kicked out of Brownies in 2nd grade for skipping school, so swearing on the scouts and skipping chores may not be a guilt-ridden stretch for me.
May 5, 2014
Can't Stop - Biking
Really.
I cannot stop my bike!
Several years ago Mark got us both matching bikes...a small one for shortie me, and a huge bicycle for him. Mark is a big man and he is a six and a half foot tall giant! You should see him walking our five pound yorkie! It looks like Shrek walking a squirrel!!
The reason I can't stop my bike is, it is a fancy mountain bike and it has hand brakes. Like I'd EVER ride a bike up or down a mountain!! My hands have more scars than Frankenstein, so they don't quite work the way they used to. In my right hand I have three artificial joints, a fused thumb and fused long finger joints, there are two fake joints in my left hand, but they're all old and mobility is limited, so my squeezability is gone. All due to rheumatoid arthritis. Here I am, feeling good enough to ride a bike (I haven't for years!) and I can't because of mechanics.
Before I even tried to drive it, Mark took my bike to the repair shop to get a tuneup: replace a flat tire and get a kick-stand. Then, in the parking lot, I took it for a spin and Mark had to stop me, as I couldn't do the squeeze to the brakes thing. Forget even trying to change gears! I will need to find a beach cruiser with foot operated coaster brakes. Too bad. I was ready to get all summer skinny, had my basket ready for the dog and everything.
I cannot stop my bike!
Several years ago Mark got us both matching bikes...a small one for shortie me, and a huge bicycle for him. Mark is a big man and he is a six and a half foot tall giant! You should see him walking our five pound yorkie! It looks like Shrek walking a squirrel!!
The reason I can't stop my bike is, it is a fancy mountain bike and it has hand brakes. Like I'd EVER ride a bike up or down a mountain!! My hands have more scars than Frankenstein, so they don't quite work the way they used to. In my right hand I have three artificial joints, a fused thumb and fused long finger joints, there are two fake joints in my left hand, but they're all old and mobility is limited, so my squeezability is gone. All due to rheumatoid arthritis. Here I am, feeling good enough to ride a bike (I haven't for years!) and I can't because of mechanics.
Before I even tried to drive it, Mark took my bike to the repair shop to get a tuneup: replace a flat tire and get a kick-stand. Then, in the parking lot, I took it for a spin and Mark had to stop me, as I couldn't do the squeeze to the brakes thing. Forget even trying to change gears! I will need to find a beach cruiser with foot operated coaster brakes. Too bad. I was ready to get all summer skinny, had my basket ready for the dog and everything.
May 3, 2014
Organize
"Today is the day to let go of things that no longer serve you."
I came across this website and didn't want to lose it.
It's great!
http://www.organizinglifewithless.com
I came across this website and didn't want to lose it.
It's great!
http://www.organizinglifewithless.com
April 15, 2014
Rosy Day
Want to know what my day was like? It was a typical busy day running at break-neck speed. After a fitful night's sleep, I drank coffee and filled two 7-day pill containers. Mark bathed the dog and I ran the blow dryer. Mark and I went to my 83 year old father's car lot for me to bid with dad on an online car auction. Daddy doesn't do computers. After volleying with some other dealers, the van we most wanted to purchase was ours for the full final two minutes until 4 seconds before closing, when some slime ball, whose name shows up as a*****e (really, you can spell asshole with his name) slipped in under the wire and took it from us without a second to spare. Usually very calm, I felt my face turn red as I wished for the good old days where you could actually see the vehicles in living color and the other bidders are polite enough to realize when one truly wants a vehicle and respects the "going, going, gone" at auction. After watching the two vehicles we were interested in slip through our fingertips, sigh, I ran an errand to the tag agency downtown, then back to the car lot to drop off a customer's new tag before heading home.
Mark and I stopped to pick up prescriptions at the pharmacy, then finally back home. I unloaded the dishwasher and Mark put the shelves back into the clean smoker grill. I cleaned out the fridge, lots of containers of mystery leftovers, fuzzy strawberries, dried out blueberries, and moldy cheese hit the disposal. Finally, we had a late lunch of viable leftovers. Next, I followed Mark to the mechanic to drop off our SUV for new rear brakes. Back home again, we started a weeks' worth of laundry and vacuumed the house.
Just prior to dusk seems to be the magic planting time, and the roses I bought a few weeks ago are finally in the ground! I cannot wait until we have fragrant blooms to pick! Click on each to go to a link for photos and descriptions.
Climbing Blaze climbing rose
Chicago Peace hybrid tea rose
Perfume Delight hybrid tea rose
Golden Showers climbing rose
Mark also planted two of four azaleas before it got too dark to dig more holes. I watered roses while Mark dug, then we cooked dinner and cleaned up. As soon as this is posted to my blog, I will go pack for an overnight trip to Tampa tomorrow where I have a job Wednesday and Thursday making photo mugs at the student union of a community college.
It was a normal, busy day for me. I have friends that complain that I never return their calls. Imagine that!
Mark and I stopped to pick up prescriptions at the pharmacy, then finally back home. I unloaded the dishwasher and Mark put the shelves back into the clean smoker grill. I cleaned out the fridge, lots of containers of mystery leftovers, fuzzy strawberries, dried out blueberries, and moldy cheese hit the disposal. Finally, we had a late lunch of viable leftovers. Next, I followed Mark to the mechanic to drop off our SUV for new rear brakes. Back home again, we started a weeks' worth of laundry and vacuumed the house.
Just prior to dusk seems to be the magic planting time, and the roses I bought a few weeks ago are finally in the ground! I cannot wait until we have fragrant blooms to pick! Click on each to go to a link for photos and descriptions.
Climbing Blaze climbing rose
Chicago Peace hybrid tea rose
Perfume Delight hybrid tea rose
Golden Showers climbing rose
Mark also planted two of four azaleas before it got too dark to dig more holes. I watered roses while Mark dug, then we cooked dinner and cleaned up. As soon as this is posted to my blog, I will go pack for an overnight trip to Tampa tomorrow where I have a job Wednesday and Thursday making photo mugs at the student union of a community college.
It was a normal, busy day for me. I have friends that complain that I never return their calls. Imagine that!
April 14, 2014
Back Yard - Blank Slate
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| Click on picture for larger view. |
This weekend we participated in the neighborhood garage sale, cooked a smoker full of chicken legs (60) and went to a family reunion. Afterward, we went to visit my parents. On Sunday we went to church, visited an uncle's grave, had lunch with family, and went to my parents' house again. Somewhere in there, we watered all the new plants in the front yard and then Mark and I found time to start planting. Here is a list of the items we planted:
- 3 Christmas poinsettias (2 from mom, one was mine)
- 2 hip-high Japanese plum trees - outside each bedroom window to block light and traffic noise (mom)
- a nice hydrangea bush (from mom's yard)
- a skinny Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow plant that will one day be a nice, full, flowering bush (mom)
Plants we have collected but haven't planted yet:
- 4 big azaleas - 2 pink, 2 white
- 3 or 4 climbing roses for the back fence
- a trumpet plant that I rooted from a cutting daddy gave me
- a foot-tall baby dogwood, potted by momma's friend Lucille Long, now deceased
- a couple of dozen orange blooming amaryllis bulbs (mom only wanted red ones)
- some hibiscus cuttings I rooted from my front yard plants
- grass seed, fertilizer, and bug killer - all to be spread eventually
Planting the rest of the items listed will be a challenge. Our neighborhood was built on what used to be a swamp. Plants and trees didn't have to go deep for water, so the surface is coated with a billion trillion roots. We cannot just pick a spot and dig a hole. Mark has to use the limb loppers with every hole he starts. It's a big fight to dig a little hole...The amaryllis will be a big pain!
We think spreading pine straw (they sell bales at Lowes) will be nicer to walk on and more cost efficient than mulch. Our idea is to make big curvy beds. I'd like to also add bunches of pretty, shade loving, mounding impatient flowers and maybe some other flowers (white periwinkles?) or an assortment of wild flower seeds or squash to fill in the empty spaces. Next year, the yard will look lovely.
We think spreading pine straw (they sell bales at Lowes) will be nicer to walk on and more cost efficient than mulch. Our idea is to make big curvy beds. I'd like to also add bunches of pretty, shade loving, mounding impatient flowers and maybe some other flowers (white periwinkles?) or an assortment of wild flower seeds or squash to fill in the empty spaces. Next year, the yard will look lovely.
April 9, 2014
After A Year
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| I want the boxwood hedge moved and transplanted with azaleas. |
It was a long cold winter and now that the sun has returned, we (meaning Mark) have been working on the front yard and put in azaleas, gardenias, impatients, amaryllis, grass plugs, and two citrus saplings. It looks better, but it doesn't look like much this year. Just wait until next year when the plants are mature!
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| Grass plugs should fill in quickly. We need more! |
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| First day amaryllis bulbs planted, a bit droopy. |
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| Front garden, a week later, blooming amaryllis! |
January 30, 2014
Otosclerosis? No, it is PET
When we were in North Carolina, I noticed that I didn't need to clear my ears as we went up and down the mountain. I always had to clear my ears at a certain curve on Beech Mountain, going up and going down. Now I don't...How strange is that?
Shortly after, I began hearing my own voice, amplified, (oy) inside my head, plus breathing and heartbeat accompanied by a feeling of clogged eustachian tubes, I made an appointment with an ENT - Ear Nose & Throat doctor. He used the old fashioned wishbone noise maker thing, he sprayed numbing stuff in my nose and sent a long tube with a lighted, camera end to look for polyps, he tested my hearing with tight earphones and high and low noises. I passed everything, in fact, my hearing is a bit above average. No secrets around me! The prognosis is Otosclerosis. I have calcification of an inner ear bone, it will affect both ears eventually, I will lose my hearing and require surgery to replace my stirrup bone. This surgery may or may not reverse the hearing loss, and it may or may not stop the noises in my ears. The inner ear sound of Otosclerosis is ringing. I do not have ringing.
I went home and researched online. I am convinced that I DO NOT have otosclerosis!! It is a heredity problem and nobody in my family, mother's or father's family history has any hearing loss. Secondly, I do not have the ringing ears symptom of Otosclerosis. I do, however, have EVERY classic symptom of another inner ear dilemma called PET - Patulous Eustachian Tube, including the simple "test" to see if you have it: In a sitting position, hang your head down between your knees. Voila! The noises stop! Laying prone with head lower than feet helps too. Anything that sends blood to the head and causes a stuffiness to the ears does what my body stopped doing; it closes my eustachian tubes and stops the echo. I may go through the rest of my day upside down...
Doctors must hate the internet.
I am going with my gut feeling and decided for a second opinion, this time with a hearing specialist that does delicate surgery like cochlear implants (don't need that, thank you) and I talked to his nurse and she listened to my symptoms and said that he could help me.
It sounds like I am a whiner, "I hear my voice amplified inside my ear..." "I can't judge my voice volume and singing is miserable..." "I hear my heartbeat..." My breathing makes my inner ear feel like I am listening to a wind tunnel..." "My ear won't clear." After a few days of this, trust me, you will consider hammering a big nail into your ear. Don't worry, I won't do it, but just imagining the relief from doing this makes me feel better.
Shortly after, I began hearing my own voice, amplified, (oy) inside my head, plus breathing and heartbeat accompanied by a feeling of clogged eustachian tubes, I made an appointment with an ENT - Ear Nose & Throat doctor. He used the old fashioned wishbone noise maker thing, he sprayed numbing stuff in my nose and sent a long tube with a lighted, camera end to look for polyps, he tested my hearing with tight earphones and high and low noises. I passed everything, in fact, my hearing is a bit above average. No secrets around me! The prognosis is Otosclerosis. I have calcification of an inner ear bone, it will affect both ears eventually, I will lose my hearing and require surgery to replace my stirrup bone. This surgery may or may not reverse the hearing loss, and it may or may not stop the noises in my ears. The inner ear sound of Otosclerosis is ringing. I do not have ringing.
I went home and researched online. I am convinced that I DO NOT have otosclerosis!! It is a heredity problem and nobody in my family, mother's or father's family history has any hearing loss. Secondly, I do not have the ringing ears symptom of Otosclerosis. I do, however, have EVERY classic symptom of another inner ear dilemma called PET - Patulous Eustachian Tube, including the simple "test" to see if you have it: In a sitting position, hang your head down between your knees. Voila! The noises stop! Laying prone with head lower than feet helps too. Anything that sends blood to the head and causes a stuffiness to the ears does what my body stopped doing; it closes my eustachian tubes and stops the echo. I may go through the rest of my day upside down...
Doctors must hate the internet.
I am going with my gut feeling and decided for a second opinion, this time with a hearing specialist that does delicate surgery like cochlear implants (don't need that, thank you) and I talked to his nurse and she listened to my symptoms and said that he could help me.
It sounds like I am a whiner, "I hear my voice amplified inside my ear..." "I can't judge my voice volume and singing is miserable..." "I hear my heartbeat..." My breathing makes my inner ear feel like I am listening to a wind tunnel..." "My ear won't clear." After a few days of this, trust me, you will consider hammering a big nail into your ear. Don't worry, I won't do it, but just imagining the relief from doing this makes me feel better.
Breaking Sharing Bed With Juliet: dog behavior gets worse before it improves
Never co-sleep with your darling little puppy. One day you won't want to share your bed with a hairy farting fleabag (the dog, not your husband) that insists that sleeping between her human mother and father. Your sleep is disrupted by your always-at-ready-to-protect-you canine, that will pop up from a deep sleep at 3 AM because she heard a leaf fall outside and feigns a full bladder to get the opportunity to drag you from bed to open the door so she can explore, instead finding the trail of a raccoon that she must follow. We go to bed between 11-12 and she goes outside to potty before we hit the hay. We expect her to sleep and not wake us up until about 6-7 in the morning. Juliet wakes us up several times every night. Sleeping in bed with just my husband would be nice. Together we made a decision to retrain Juliet to sleep alone.
Ask any parent or teacher...When you make a change, behavior gets worse before it improves.
When Mark and I go off, we put Juliet in the kitchen, where she happily waits behind the gate that separates her from the carpeted rest of the house (that she will wet on) until we return from wherever we went and deserted her. She is familiar with the gate (our fourth, she broke out of, chewed up, or climbed the others), her food and water bowl, the potty pad that she uses only in a pinch - she can "hold it" for about 6-7 hours, and the fact that when she is placed there, we always return and free her from her kitchen jail and the gate is opened to the rest of the house where squeak toys abound. She tries to hold it, but if we are gone a long time, she will use her potty pad. She can jump on a stool and look out the window. She probably barks her head off.
The kitchen is a familiar lock-up, why wouldn't she adapt quickly to her new overnight digs? Nope, Juliet is in a full war with us to reclaim her spot in our bed.
The first night she intermittently cried and whined and yipped all night long.
The second night she cried, whined and yipped, she ripped the stuffing from her toy, pulled the cushions from the chairs, climbed onto the table and knocked the oranges to the floor. She refused to go outside before bed and pooped next to the potty pad on the tile, pulled her bed to the middle of the room, and knocked over her food bowl.
The third night we moved the pads out of the chairs so she wouldn't be able to jump onto them. She jumped, pulled pads off the table, knocked a chair over (we didn't hear that?!), pooped next to the potty pad, missing both the newspaper we added and the potty pad, tore both to bits, knocked over food and water, drug her bed from it's spot and urinated on the floor and drug her bedding through it. She figured out if she wrapped her paws around the bars, she can jiggle the gate and make a good noise. Oh and since she worked herself into a tizzy, she threw up. Twice.
Last night there was yipping and whining, We turned the chairs away from the table, cushions on table with my purse and jacket. She couldn't get onto the table, but she was able to pull everything off through the rungs on the chair backs. Juliet pooped and missed the potty pad, but it was closer this time, hitting the newspaper, so we suppose her front end was on the potty pad. She did urinate on the pad, yay. She did not knock over her bowls, but drug them from their regular spot. She moved her bed and blanket from its original spot, which is her choice. A little improvement.
Tonight we plan to make sure nothing is on the kitchen table, we will move the chairs out of the room and the food bowls will be on the counter (nighttime is for sleeping, not dining). We will continue to leave a potty pad and additional newspaper beside it, and are considering moving her bedding into a box (open to the side, so she will feel safer, more enclosed. It has been freezing and we hope for some warmer weather tonight to take her out for a long walk and get that bad girl energy out of her system.
UPDATE 1/31/14 - Last night after a good walk and potty - she held it until morning :) we decided to move the chairs, not into the garage because it was freezing outside, but in the kitchen away from the table. One went in front of the pantry, the other near the fridge. The dish towel was moved from the rung of the stove. We didn't have a box, so Juliet had her regular bedding on the rug in front of the sink. It was mostly quiet last night (!) but she did bark a little once, which we ignored. Mark's unlocked car was rummaged (nothing taken) and this was probably what she was barking at. Then at 4AM we heard a loud slap sound. Juliet had jumped from the fridge chair to the counter top, walked across clean pots, pans and knives that were drying (!) and made her way to the end of the counter close to the closed gate to the living room. She knocked down my pill dispenser (a few were on the floor) and a sample piece of wood flooring (the slap sound). We caught her there on the counter. She was worked up, panting and drooling like she does when there's a thunderstorm. The second time she woke us up was 5AM and she was making noises like she was moving furniture. She had opened the cabinet under the kitchen sink. I will put a rubber band on the knobs to stop that problem. Crazy dog WILL get used to her new nighttime digs. She is very very smart and will keep pushing out buttons until she realizes she will not win.
2/1/14
Juliet is such a fighter. It is a battle of the wills. Last night I put her bed in a box, one side open so she could come and go. We thought she'd like that and maybe feel more secure. Oh contrair mon frer! JuJu battled with that box all night long!! We could hear her trying to beat that box up, scratching/digging it and trying to push it, but with her bedding inside, it was too just heavy for 5 pound Juliet. Momma suggested laying the chairs on their side and that was a brilliant idea. Juliet could not get on table or counters. I guarantee that if she could, Juliet would have pushed that box over to the doggie gate and jumped on top, then leap over the gate to freedom. What would she do? Go to our door, slip a paw under and jiggle the door and beg to resume her spot in our big warm bed. So glad that didn't happen! We wonder now, maybe she is afraid of the dark? Tonight, chairs on side, bedding - no box, and a night light. Maybe this will be the night that we get to sleep uninterrupted by Juliet the Terrier Terror. Potty pad had poo and wee - Bullseye!
2/2/14
Pretty delighted with a 6:15 wake up call! The night light must be the charm. We did not lay the chairs down and when I went into the kitchen, Jul was on one, doing the panting/drooling panic thing. Maybe she got up there and was afraid to jump down onto the hard tile. More likely, she just thought we'd hear her occasional pitiful yip (I thought she might have her head stuck in the gate or something) from a higher spot in the kitchen and, since I was awake and it was (close to) morning, I went to investigate. The potty pad had wee, no poo anywhere, thanks to Mark taking her on an evening walk. Tonight's plan: evening walk, chairs will be removed completely and the night light will remain on. I would still love to sleep, uninterrupted, until daylight wakes me up, not a rotten little dog, but it looks like she is getting used to the fact that this is where she will be sleeping from now on. My morning hours are erratic; I get up at 5:30 two or three mornings a week to babysit for a good friend's daughter, who happens to be a neighbor. After their father leaves for work, I wake two little girls, feed, dress, brush teeth and hair, then their mother gets home around 8. I am naturally an early riser, but I'd just prefer no alarms (dog or clock) on the other mornings.
2/3/14
OH WHAT A GOOOD GIRL! We are having a PUPPY PARTY! Although I think I may have heard one pre-dawn yip, Juliet has finally soothed herself and allowed us to sleep through the night uninterrupted. Halleluia!! Oh Happy Day (sing it with me). It was 7:30 as daylight peeped into my window and I stretched and wondered, "Is she dead? Has she somehow hanged herself in the dog gate?" and I hurried to the kitchen. The sweetest little bright-eyed pooch was sitting on the other side of the doggie gate, grinning at me with her ears smoothed back flat on her head. Juliet smiles a one-sided lip raise, like Elvis. She KNEW she was a good girl and she was proud of herself. We keep a little container of coveted chewy dog treats on the counter within reach of the gate and I took it and shook it and told Juliet how amazing and brilliant she is, while Juliet did the trick she knows means YES, which is to spin in circles. I opened the gate and she went straight to the front door, hurried outside to relieve herself, then without being tempted to sniff some night critter's trail, she immediately came back inside and spinned in circles again (yes yes yes). I gave her not one, but TWO treats. Ohhh what a good girl! I am so so so pleased with her good behavior. I could write a book about how fabulous this feels to have a good little dog and how wonderful I feel after sleeping through the night. I haven't felt this rested in five years. Oh. My. God. This is magnificent! Juliet's bedding has been moved a bit, but not far, and that's her choice, and I pushed it back to the corner with my foot. Since I moved the chairs to the dining room, the counters and little cafe table were undisturbed. There was a plastic shredded plastic shopping bag...I think it was on the pantry floor and held the new package of potty pads. I can visualize her now, having a ball pulling that bag out from under the door. Her potty pad is placed in front of the door to the garage and that was flipped over with wee wee on the backside and a little bit on the tile nearby. Although she took a walk last night and did her duty, hiding underneath the pad was one little poopie, so it appears that she went on the pad, then decided to hide/bury/flip the pad over. With no place to urinate, she used the top. Yorkies have a bladder the size of a walnut and I don't expect her to hold it all night. Not a problem, I threw everything away and quickly cleaned up the minuscule puddle on the tile with a sudsy paper towel. Juliet dutifully broke the rubber bands I looped over the door knobs on the under sink cabinet on the two prior nights, but last night I switched to a loop of elastic (I sew), and she was not able to open that cabinet and left the others alone. It is incredible how pleased I am with this one single night of success, and although she may have a rebellion in the future, it is clear that she knows what we expect. She is sleeping beside me on the couch now as I enjoy the wonderful morning. Occasionally she wakes up and we have a "chat" about how very good she was last night and how much better our lives will be if this will continue. I swear to you, she stares into my eyes with a look that say, "I understand". She is dreaming now, her little paws are running fast and she twitches her ears and making an occasional muffled woof, surely chasing bunnies and squirrels. Juliet dreams that she is king of the yard, protecting us from monsters. I hope she catches a big one.
2/3/14
SLEEP GLORIOUS SLEEP! Brilliant Juliet understands that momma-lady and daddy-man mean business. Her good behavior last night proved that Juliet can be even more perfect than we dreamed. Mark's good friend came through town and spent the night. Kevin has yorkies, and while he gave Juliet lots of fun little dog attention, I wondered if she would revert to her familiar bad behavior from her kitchen jail during the night. Because I was tired, I went to bed at 10, Mark had the task of making sure Juliet was taken care of. Mark and Kevin took her outside to roam around the front yard for a while, then back inside for more ball chasing and lots of good doggie cuddles before they went to bed around midnight. I woke up early to a quiet house and a little stream of dim light peeping through the drapes. My first thought was that Kevin let Juliet sleep with him. I am pretty sure that both of their dogs sleep in the community bed. I tiptoed into the kitchen and lo and behold, there sat our smiling little girl, good as gold, in the kitchen. I am beyond thrilled with her good "company" nighttime behavior. Her food/water bowls were in place, no water spilled. Her bed with fluffy blanket on top was against the wall, not pulled apart into the center of the room. And except for a little wee spot in the center, her potty pad was undisturbed. The under sink cabinet still had the elastic band holding the doors securely shut. Juliet is (finally) a very good girl and was excited to get her well-earned morning chewy treat. We are so proud.
Ask any parent or teacher...When you make a change, behavior gets worse before it improves.
When Mark and I go off, we put Juliet in the kitchen, where she happily waits behind the gate that separates her from the carpeted rest of the house (that she will wet on) until we return from wherever we went and deserted her. She is familiar with the gate (our fourth, she broke out of, chewed up, or climbed the others), her food and water bowl, the potty pad that she uses only in a pinch - she can "hold it" for about 6-7 hours, and the fact that when she is placed there, we always return and free her from her kitchen jail and the gate is opened to the rest of the house where squeak toys abound. She tries to hold it, but if we are gone a long time, she will use her potty pad. She can jump on a stool and look out the window. She probably barks her head off.
The kitchen is a familiar lock-up, why wouldn't she adapt quickly to her new overnight digs? Nope, Juliet is in a full war with us to reclaim her spot in our bed.
 |
| This darling little pooch is really a monster. |
The second night she cried, whined and yipped, she ripped the stuffing from her toy, pulled the cushions from the chairs, climbed onto the table and knocked the oranges to the floor. She refused to go outside before bed and pooped next to the potty pad on the tile, pulled her bed to the middle of the room, and knocked over her food bowl.
The third night we moved the pads out of the chairs so she wouldn't be able to jump onto them. She jumped, pulled pads off the table, knocked a chair over (we didn't hear that?!), pooped next to the potty pad, missing both the newspaper we added and the potty pad, tore both to bits, knocked over food and water, drug her bed from it's spot and urinated on the floor and drug her bedding through it. She figured out if she wrapped her paws around the bars, she can jiggle the gate and make a good noise. Oh and since she worked herself into a tizzy, she threw up. Twice.
Last night there was yipping and whining, We turned the chairs away from the table, cushions on table with my purse and jacket. She couldn't get onto the table, but she was able to pull everything off through the rungs on the chair backs. Juliet pooped and missed the potty pad, but it was closer this time, hitting the newspaper, so we suppose her front end was on the potty pad. She did urinate on the pad, yay. She did not knock over her bowls, but drug them from their regular spot. She moved her bed and blanket from its original spot, which is her choice. A little improvement.
Tonight we plan to make sure nothing is on the kitchen table, we will move the chairs out of the room and the food bowls will be on the counter (nighttime is for sleeping, not dining). We will continue to leave a potty pad and additional newspaper beside it, and are considering moving her bedding into a box (open to the side, so she will feel safer, more enclosed. It has been freezing and we hope for some warmer weather tonight to take her out for a long walk and get that bad girl energy out of her system.
UPDATE 1/31/14 - Last night after a good walk and potty - she held it until morning :) we decided to move the chairs, not into the garage because it was freezing outside, but in the kitchen away from the table. One went in front of the pantry, the other near the fridge. The dish towel was moved from the rung of the stove. We didn't have a box, so Juliet had her regular bedding on the rug in front of the sink. It was mostly quiet last night (!) but she did bark a little once, which we ignored. Mark's unlocked car was rummaged (nothing taken) and this was probably what she was barking at. Then at 4AM we heard a loud slap sound. Juliet had jumped from the fridge chair to the counter top, walked across clean pots, pans and knives that were drying (!) and made her way to the end of the counter close to the closed gate to the living room. She knocked down my pill dispenser (a few were on the floor) and a sample piece of wood flooring (the slap sound). We caught her there on the counter. She was worked up, panting and drooling like she does when there's a thunderstorm. The second time she woke us up was 5AM and she was making noises like she was moving furniture. She had opened the cabinet under the kitchen sink. I will put a rubber band on the knobs to stop that problem. Crazy dog WILL get used to her new nighttime digs. She is very very smart and will keep pushing out buttons until she realizes she will not win.
2/1/14
Juliet is such a fighter. It is a battle of the wills. Last night I put her bed in a box, one side open so she could come and go. We thought she'd like that and maybe feel more secure. Oh contrair mon frer! JuJu battled with that box all night long!! We could hear her trying to beat that box up, scratching/digging it and trying to push it, but with her bedding inside, it was too just heavy for 5 pound Juliet. Momma suggested laying the chairs on their side and that was a brilliant idea. Juliet could not get on table or counters. I guarantee that if she could, Juliet would have pushed that box over to the doggie gate and jumped on top, then leap over the gate to freedom. What would she do? Go to our door, slip a paw under and jiggle the door and beg to resume her spot in our big warm bed. So glad that didn't happen! We wonder now, maybe she is afraid of the dark? Tonight, chairs on side, bedding - no box, and a night light. Maybe this will be the night that we get to sleep uninterrupted by Juliet the Terrier Terror. Potty pad had poo and wee - Bullseye!
2/2/14
Pretty delighted with a 6:15 wake up call! The night light must be the charm. We did not lay the chairs down and when I went into the kitchen, Jul was on one, doing the panting/drooling panic thing. Maybe she got up there and was afraid to jump down onto the hard tile. More likely, she just thought we'd hear her occasional pitiful yip (I thought she might have her head stuck in the gate or something) from a higher spot in the kitchen and, since I was awake and it was (close to) morning, I went to investigate. The potty pad had wee, no poo anywhere, thanks to Mark taking her on an evening walk. Tonight's plan: evening walk, chairs will be removed completely and the night light will remain on. I would still love to sleep, uninterrupted, until daylight wakes me up, not a rotten little dog, but it looks like she is getting used to the fact that this is where she will be sleeping from now on. My morning hours are erratic; I get up at 5:30 two or three mornings a week to babysit for a good friend's daughter, who happens to be a neighbor. After their father leaves for work, I wake two little girls, feed, dress, brush teeth and hair, then their mother gets home around 8. I am naturally an early riser, but I'd just prefer no alarms (dog or clock) on the other mornings.
2/3/14
OH WHAT A GOOOD GIRL! We are having a PUPPY PARTY! Although I think I may have heard one pre-dawn yip, Juliet has finally soothed herself and allowed us to sleep through the night uninterrupted. Halleluia!! Oh Happy Day (sing it with me). It was 7:30 as daylight peeped into my window and I stretched and wondered, "Is she dead? Has she somehow hanged herself in the dog gate?" and I hurried to the kitchen. The sweetest little bright-eyed pooch was sitting on the other side of the doggie gate, grinning at me with her ears smoothed back flat on her head. Juliet smiles a one-sided lip raise, like Elvis. She KNEW she was a good girl and she was proud of herself. We keep a little container of coveted chewy dog treats on the counter within reach of the gate and I took it and shook it and told Juliet how amazing and brilliant she is, while Juliet did the trick she knows means YES, which is to spin in circles. I opened the gate and she went straight to the front door, hurried outside to relieve herself, then without being tempted to sniff some night critter's trail, she immediately came back inside and spinned in circles again (yes yes yes). I gave her not one, but TWO treats. Ohhh what a good girl! I am so so so pleased with her good behavior. I could write a book about how fabulous this feels to have a good little dog and how wonderful I feel after sleeping through the night. I haven't felt this rested in five years. Oh. My. God. This is magnificent! Juliet's bedding has been moved a bit, but not far, and that's her choice, and I pushed it back to the corner with my foot. Since I moved the chairs to the dining room, the counters and little cafe table were undisturbed. There was a plastic shredded plastic shopping bag...I think it was on the pantry floor and held the new package of potty pads. I can visualize her now, having a ball pulling that bag out from under the door. Her potty pad is placed in front of the door to the garage and that was flipped over with wee wee on the backside and a little bit on the tile nearby. Although she took a walk last night and did her duty, hiding underneath the pad was one little poopie, so it appears that she went on the pad, then decided to hide/bury/flip the pad over. With no place to urinate, she used the top. Yorkies have a bladder the size of a walnut and I don't expect her to hold it all night. Not a problem, I threw everything away and quickly cleaned up the minuscule puddle on the tile with a sudsy paper towel. Juliet dutifully broke the rubber bands I looped over the door knobs on the under sink cabinet on the two prior nights, but last night I switched to a loop of elastic (I sew), and she was not able to open that cabinet and left the others alone. It is incredible how pleased I am with this one single night of success, and although she may have a rebellion in the future, it is clear that she knows what we expect. She is sleeping beside me on the couch now as I enjoy the wonderful morning. Occasionally she wakes up and we have a "chat" about how very good she was last night and how much better our lives will be if this will continue. I swear to you, she stares into my eyes with a look that say, "I understand". She is dreaming now, her little paws are running fast and she twitches her ears and making an occasional muffled woof, surely chasing bunnies and squirrels. Juliet dreams that she is king of the yard, protecting us from monsters. I hope she catches a big one.
2/3/14
SLEEP GLORIOUS SLEEP! Brilliant Juliet understands that momma-lady and daddy-man mean business. Her good behavior last night proved that Juliet can be even more perfect than we dreamed. Mark's good friend came through town and spent the night. Kevin has yorkies, and while he gave Juliet lots of fun little dog attention, I wondered if she would revert to her familiar bad behavior from her kitchen jail during the night. Because I was tired, I went to bed at 10, Mark had the task of making sure Juliet was taken care of. Mark and Kevin took her outside to roam around the front yard for a while, then back inside for more ball chasing and lots of good doggie cuddles before they went to bed around midnight. I woke up early to a quiet house and a little stream of dim light peeping through the drapes. My first thought was that Kevin let Juliet sleep with him. I am pretty sure that both of their dogs sleep in the community bed. I tiptoed into the kitchen and lo and behold, there sat our smiling little girl, good as gold, in the kitchen. I am beyond thrilled with her good "company" nighttime behavior. Her food/water bowls were in place, no water spilled. Her bed with fluffy blanket on top was against the wall, not pulled apart into the center of the room. And except for a little wee spot in the center, her potty pad was undisturbed. The under sink cabinet still had the elastic band holding the doors securely shut. Juliet is (finally) a very good girl and was excited to get her well-earned morning chewy treat. We are so proud.
January 13, 2014
Pine Mold Allergy=headache
I love real Christmas trees and have fond memories of laying beneath our tree as a child to see the sparkling ornaments and breathe deep the wonderful pine aroma. How can something that smells so wonderful create such awful allergies?
Feeling bad about not having the pine scent in the house, Mark surprised me with a beautiful huge, live wreath from Costco. We hung it over the fireplace and it looked so pretty. This is about the same time that my right ear clogged up. I have heard my voice echo in my ear, every heartbeat, every breath - in my right ear for two months. I went to the doctor and took medicine. I took Zyrtec by day and Benedryl at night. I had daydreams of poking a needle into my eardrum, but I'd never do it. Mark took the wreath down yesterday and my ear cleared. Today it's a little bit clogged, but not nearly as bad as it has been. Today I only hear the echo of my voice, but am free from the heartbeat and breathing sounds. I will continue to take allergy pills until the pine allergies clear out of my system.
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