Thursday, December 18, 2008
It continues to fall....
Well, this just might be history making stuff. We're up to just over 11" of snow at our house and it's just about over. Never fear, they say there is more on the way for the weekend. So in case we truly are making history here, let's make sure it's well documented photographically. :-) The snow is up to the chest on the dogs, they bound through the snow rather than run now. Great shots Daryl; click them to view larger. Enjoy! We are....
Saturday, December 13, 2008
First Snow of the Season!
It's finally arrived, the first snow of the season. I've been waiting for this to happen! Now it feels like Christmas around here. Friday (12/12) night the snow started and by morning we had about 3". The dogs LOVE playing in the snow. Daryl took so many great photos Saturday morning I couldn't pick just a few to post. As I type this, I'm watching more snow fall outside the windows... enjoy the photos (click each one to view them larger)!
Our snowy paradise
Coral Bark Maple in the backyard
Storm
CJ
Storm, the snowball is in the air
Storm with snow on the nose
CJ
CJ caught a snowball!
Storm caught the snowball!
Storm caught the snowball!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Halloween....
Ok, so it's almost Christmas, but I just got some of the photos from the Halloween party we went to at a neighbors house. Costumes were mandatory and there were some real gems!
Names will not be mentioned to protect the innocent, if you think you recognize someone it's probably not the person you know and of course, only the photos up to PG-13 rating will be shown - this is a family blog after all. :-)
Daryl went as a doctor (of the female variety) and no I won't tell you the name on his lab coat, we'll leave it at that; remember, family blog! I went as a beer (tavern) wench. My costume was pretty G rated until my friends got a hold of me. :-)
It was a ton of fun and I can't wait until next year (apparantly this is an annual event)!
Names will not be mentioned to protect the innocent, if you think you recognize someone it's probably not the person you know and of course, only the photos up to PG-13 rating will be shown - this is a family blog after all. :-)
Daryl went as a doctor (of the female variety) and no I won't tell you the name on his lab coat, we'll leave it at that; remember, family blog! I went as a beer (tavern) wench. My costume was pretty G rated until my friends got a hold of me. :-)
It was a ton of fun and I can't wait until next year (apparantly this is an annual event)!
Friday, December 5, 2008
They made a liar out of me....
It's only been one day since my last post and here I am again. In yesterday's post I was so happy to put up a photo of a RARE animal cuddle. It just doesn't happen; Louie doesn't tolerate it and CJ is too busy to slow down for a snooze.
(Non-animal admirers, if there is such a thing, please bear with me as I talk yet again about our furkids)...
So here we go again, Louie allowed CJ to use him as a pillow... this is the 3rd time EVER and we caught it 2 nights in a row! Yep, that means it's only happened one other time in the last 7 years. We just might be making Faust Haus History here!
What happens when they all take up a whole couch? Daryl and I find someplace else to sit. Of course that was the premium sofa with straight on views of the TV... oh well - I'll just make another appointment with my masseuse and let her work the kinks out.
(Non-animal admirers, if there is such a thing, please bear with me as I talk yet again about our furkids)...
So here we go again, Louie allowed CJ to use him as a pillow... this is the 3rd time EVER and we caught it 2 nights in a row! Yep, that means it's only happened one other time in the last 7 years. We just might be making Faust Haus History here!
What happens when they all take up a whole couch? Daryl and I find someplace else to sit. Of course that was the premium sofa with straight on views of the TV... oh well - I'll just make another appointment with my masseuse and let her work the kinks out.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Stuff in general
It's been awhile since I've blogged so I thought I should at least write a little something. With the boat all tucked away for the season we just don't get out as much. We've been wanting to go for a hike but either plans, illness or weather have gotten in the way. Besides, poor CJ still can't go with us and I have such a hard time leaving him behind to do something I know he loves!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. There were 3 invitations to join friends and neighbors, we only made it to two. Dinner was FABULOUS and I think I was stuffed until Sunday. The following 2 days were spent putting up all the Christmas decorations, inside and out. I just love this time of year! Now if only we could get some weather reminiscent of Christmas! :-)
Daryl and I learned how to play Sudoku recently - wow is that ever addictive!! Now we have it on the Nintendo Wii as well... it's a fun interactive way to play.
CJ's condition hasn't really changed much, but he will be on the anti-biotics for about another 5 weeks. Neurologically he's still showing all the signs of compression on his spine. We're trying to get him out for very short walks each afternoon (just to the end of the street and back) to attempt to build up his strength and stamina again. Besides, we're hoping this will also help to move some of the blood flow around and deliver those medicines where they need to be. He's still not eating well, I think I'm going to try something completely different than the lamb/rice variety foods. Maybe he'll tolerate a venison/sweet potato variety better. Who knows......
Speaking of CJ - here's a photo of him and Louie 'cuddling'. This really doesn't happen often... Louie is generally not tolerant of being used as a pillow. It sure is cute though!!!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. There were 3 invitations to join friends and neighbors, we only made it to two. Dinner was FABULOUS and I think I was stuffed until Sunday. The following 2 days were spent putting up all the Christmas decorations, inside and out. I just love this time of year! Now if only we could get some weather reminiscent of Christmas! :-)
Daryl and I learned how to play Sudoku recently - wow is that ever addictive!! Now we have it on the Nintendo Wii as well... it's a fun interactive way to play.
CJ's condition hasn't really changed much, but he will be on the anti-biotics for about another 5 weeks. Neurologically he's still showing all the signs of compression on his spine. We're trying to get him out for very short walks each afternoon (just to the end of the street and back) to attempt to build up his strength and stamina again. Besides, we're hoping this will also help to move some of the blood flow around and deliver those medicines where they need to be. He's still not eating well, I think I'm going to try something completely different than the lamb/rice variety foods. Maybe he'll tolerate a venison/sweet potato variety better. Who knows......
Speaking of CJ - here's a photo of him and Louie 'cuddling'. This really doesn't happen often... Louie is generally not tolerant of being used as a pillow. It sure is cute though!!!
Friday, November 7, 2008
More good days than bad...
Well, CJ had his last Prednisone yesterday so now time will tell if the antibiotics are helping with the infection in his spine. So far in the last 7 days, he's had more good than bad. Which is a change in the right direction. Next week will be a big indicator for us as he'll be without the anti-inflammatory (Pred).
On another note - updates to the blog haven't been as frequent or fun. With everything we were going through on the CJ front we just haven't been getting out. Now that the weather is changing we won't be having adventures every weekend like before and the posts will turn into recipes as I cook more this time of year.
The fall leaves were plentiful this year and oh so beautiful. We didn't get as much wind in October so the leaves stayed on the trees longer.
That's about all I have to report for now; more later!
On another note - updates to the blog haven't been as frequent or fun. With everything we were going through on the CJ front we just haven't been getting out. Now that the weather is changing we won't be having adventures every weekend like before and the posts will turn into recipes as I cook more this time of year.
The fall leaves were plentiful this year and oh so beautiful. We didn't get as much wind in October so the leaves stayed on the trees longer.
That's about all I have to report for now; more later!
Bow Ties with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream
This is a fabulous quick dinner that tastes fresh and can be done within a half hour. No sense making pre-packaged foods on a busy night when this can be done as fast!
INGREDIENTS:
1 (12 oz) package bow tie pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet italian sausage, casing removed and crumbled
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can Italian-style plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
DIRECTIONS:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.
Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage and pepper flakes until sausage is evenly brown. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, 8-10 minutes.
Stir cooked pasta into sauce and heat through. Sprinkle with parsley.
NOTES:
* It's important to mix the pasta into the sauce
* Do not rinse the pasta after draining, the starch helps it to thicken as well
* I used diced tomatoes and quick drained from the can using the lid
* I didn't use the 1/2 tsp salt - there is already enough in the canned tomatoes and salted pasta water
* I used regular ground sausage instead of messing with removing casings
* I didn't have fresh parsley so I just topped with grated parmesan/romano cheeses
* Try topping with chopped fresh basil (didn't have any, but I wished I had)
Recipe from: Allrecipes
INGREDIENTS:
1 (12 oz) package bow tie pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet italian sausage, casing removed and crumbled
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28 oz) can Italian-style plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
DIRECTIONS:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.
Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage and pepper flakes until sausage is evenly brown. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, 8-10 minutes.
Stir cooked pasta into sauce and heat through. Sprinkle with parsley.
NOTES:
* It's important to mix the pasta into the sauce
* Do not rinse the pasta after draining, the starch helps it to thicken as well
* I used diced tomatoes and quick drained from the can using the lid
* I didn't use the 1/2 tsp salt - there is already enough in the canned tomatoes and salted pasta water
* I used regular ground sausage instead of messing with removing casings
* I didn't have fresh parsley so I just topped with grated parmesan/romano cheeses
* Try topping with chopped fresh basil (didn't have any, but I wished I had)
Recipe from: Allrecipes
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Unbelievable News
CJ went in for surgery last week, Wednesday. He had a minor complication of losing a bit too much blood and spiked a post-op fever, but otherwise he did just fine. The doctors examined a smear under the microscope and felt certain the diagnosis would be a plasmacytoma tumor, which is cancerous. They put him on chemo that night while waiting for the results of the biopsy.
I went to visit him the next afternoon and he was already up walking around; a little shaky but walking on his own. They gave us a room to use for our visit and CJ decided to give me a little punishment. He went to a corner and curled up with his back to me. I think he was a little upset that I left him there! After awhile he warmed up and moved closer allowing me to pet him.
Friday morning he was given the clearance to go home so I picked him up that afternoon. If it weren't for the 8" incision on his back you wouldn't even know he just had spine surgery! It's amazing how fast they bounce back.
Now for the unbelievable news: Yesterday (Monday) afternoon I got the call about the biopsy - no signs of cancer!! What?!?!?! The neurologist now thinks it is an infection of the bone and surrounding soft tissue. We don't know exactly what kind of infection, but they did find some left over tissue and it's now being sent to the lab for culture.
Obviously we stopped giving him the chemo pills and we have to wean him off the Prednisone (it's an immuno suppresant so the body can't fight infections) right away. He's now on 2 different antibiotics, one of them aimed at bone infections.
What a roller coaster ride this has been - and not only are we still not out of the woods, but we don't even have a true and actual diagnosis based on positive test results yet. CJ still has spinal compression which is bad, so the road ahead is still long.
We are grateful that no cancer cells were found - so a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you out there praying for our boy. Keep them coming; we still have to fight whatever is in there.
I went to visit him the next afternoon and he was already up walking around; a little shaky but walking on his own. They gave us a room to use for our visit and CJ decided to give me a little punishment. He went to a corner and curled up with his back to me. I think he was a little upset that I left him there! After awhile he warmed up and moved closer allowing me to pet him.
Friday morning he was given the clearance to go home so I picked him up that afternoon. If it weren't for the 8" incision on his back you wouldn't even know he just had spine surgery! It's amazing how fast they bounce back.
Now for the unbelievable news: Yesterday (Monday) afternoon I got the call about the biopsy - no signs of cancer!! What?!?!?! The neurologist now thinks it is an infection of the bone and surrounding soft tissue. We don't know exactly what kind of infection, but they did find some left over tissue and it's now being sent to the lab for culture.
Obviously we stopped giving him the chemo pills and we have to wean him off the Prednisone (it's an immuno suppresant so the body can't fight infections) right away. He's now on 2 different antibiotics, one of them aimed at bone infections.
What a roller coaster ride this has been - and not only are we still not out of the woods, but we don't even have a true and actual diagnosis based on positive test results yet. CJ still has spinal compression which is bad, so the road ahead is still long.
We are grateful that no cancer cells were found - so a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you out there praying for our boy. Keep them coming; we still have to fight whatever is in there.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Pray for CJ
It's been a long and difficult couple of weeks since my last post. A few days after that writing, CJ started having bright orange diarrhea every hour that changed to blood. He was on so many medications we had to make a chart to keep track of it all. About a week later that was cleared up. We still don't know exactly what caused it.Last week CJ had an abdominal ultrasound to check for any tumors that may have spread to other organs or lymph nodes. Fortunately that came up clear. They also tested his urine for a particular protein that would tell us CJ had multiple myeloma - a type of tumor that is not aggressive and wouldn't require surgery. Unfortunately, that protein was not found.
Today CJ is going into surgery so they can biopsy the tumor and hopefully get as much out as possible, giving him some relief from the spinal cord compression. Please pray for CJ; best case scenario (though not likely) is that he has an infection of the bone instead of a tumor. Next best case is that it's a benign slow growing tumor. Let's put the power of prayer to work for CJ.
He will have to spend a few days in the hospital, but we are allowed to come visit him.
Friday, September 26, 2008
CJ Update - Tissue Alert
First I'll say - you might want to grab some tissues before reading this. I guess if I'm going to use the blog for updating everyone, I have to report on the good, the bad, the ugly and the just plain miserable.
The last time I may have updated you, we were going to try a round of Prednisone, thinking CJ had IVD (Invertebral Disk Disease). So, for the last 6 weeks, CJ has been on the meds along with not being allowed to play - at all.
Last Saturday he had his last Prednisone. By Monday he was down for the count. We went in for another follow up with the vet and she became very concerned and strongly suggested we do the MRI.
We got it scheduled for Thursday (yesterday)... in the meantime, CJ didn't move much all week. He would get up to go out and potty, but that was about it. We tried to do one lap around the perimter of the back yard with him and half way through he laid down. Naturally, we're scared. Still thinking along the lines of IVD, we got ourselves prepared that he'd probably need surgery and we would be nursing him back to health for 6-8 weeks.
I dropped CJ off at the neurologist yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon our world changed, drastically. The phone call from the doctor came and I just felt like I'd been sucker punched in the gut. Spine cancer, inoperable. It's an unusual tumor because it involves two vertebrae while it usually only involves one. The doctor doesn't know how much time we have.
We're told we can try a surgical biopsy of the tumor to find out what kind it is. Depending on what kind we may have success with chemo or radiation. Or, we can just put him back on Prednisone because it makes him comfortable.
We haven't made up our minds yet. We have a lot to think about. We didn't expect this diagnosis. We still have to gather facts and opinions from the experts. For now - he started the Prednisone again last night and already I can see a change. He is more alert than he has been all week.
He slept right in between us on the bed last night - all night. We didn't sleep much, but it was a great opportunity to pet him and love on him. Click to see the photos larger. They aren't in any particular order. These won't be the last photos you see of him.
The last time I may have updated you, we were going to try a round of Prednisone, thinking CJ had IVD (Invertebral Disk Disease). So, for the last 6 weeks, CJ has been on the meds along with not being allowed to play - at all.
Last Saturday he had his last Prednisone. By Monday he was down for the count. We went in for another follow up with the vet and she became very concerned and strongly suggested we do the MRI.
We got it scheduled for Thursday (yesterday)... in the meantime, CJ didn't move much all week. He would get up to go out and potty, but that was about it. We tried to do one lap around the perimter of the back yard with him and half way through he laid down. Naturally, we're scared. Still thinking along the lines of IVD, we got ourselves prepared that he'd probably need surgery and we would be nursing him back to health for 6-8 weeks.
I dropped CJ off at the neurologist yesterday morning. Yesterday afternoon our world changed, drastically. The phone call from the doctor came and I just felt like I'd been sucker punched in the gut. Spine cancer, inoperable. It's an unusual tumor because it involves two vertebrae while it usually only involves one. The doctor doesn't know how much time we have.
We're told we can try a surgical biopsy of the tumor to find out what kind it is. Depending on what kind we may have success with chemo or radiation. Or, we can just put him back on Prednisone because it makes him comfortable.
We haven't made up our minds yet. We have a lot to think about. We didn't expect this diagnosis. We still have to gather facts and opinions from the experts. For now - he started the Prednisone again last night and already I can see a change. He is more alert than he has been all week.
He slept right in between us on the bed last night - all night. We didn't sleep much, but it was a great opportunity to pet him and love on him. Click to see the photos larger. They aren't in any particular order. These won't be the last photos you see of him.
We're just a bunch of wino's!
Mom, KJ and Elaine all came in from AZ for a weekend in Washington, arriving on a Wednesday. We had so much fun; and hit the ground running! As soon as we left the airport in Bellingham, we went to the Mt. Baker Winery - hey, we know what's important! This was a cute little vineyard that produces some pretty tasty wine!
Next we went to Samson Estates Winery. They too are a cute little vineyard, but certainly off the beaten path! Here we sampled some very interesting fruit based wines. Our favorites were the raspberry, blueberry and hazelnut. These are dessert wines, but they make great toppings for fresh fruit or even cheesecake! Oh yummmmmm!
Outside of making a few quick stops on the way home, we arrived for the gals to settle in and I was to prepare for an evening of appetizers with the neighbors. I wanted them to meet the girls, and the girls to meet them. I talk about our friends enough it was great for everyone to put faces to names.
Thursday we went to Seattle via boat. It wasn't optimal boating weather, but what the heck - we've got plenty of jackets! The girls were all real troopers in dealing with the cool wind, as they had just left 100 degree weather!
We stopped at Pike Place Chowder for some delicious chowders to warm them up, then headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant on the steps. Everyone loved the food and then hit the market with full bellies. This time around Mom got a 6.5 pound King Salmon to take home. We shopped and sampled, walked and enjoyed the sights. On our way home KJ, Elaine and I each took turns at the helm being Captain of the vessel. We had a great day and each brought home a few treasures. :-)
Friday morning we took off for the ferry landing in Anacortes with the intention of catching the 8:30 ferry to Victoria. Well, it appears that the ferry leaves at 8:15. Since we didn't catch that sailing we decided to head out to the San Juan Islands instead.
Certainly not a bad back up plan; we first hit the lavendar fields, then (of course) the winery and afterwards a picnic lunch at Lime Kiln Point State Park. We were not graced with the presence of whales, but we did see porpoise swimming in the distance.
Going back to the winery on San Juan Island - we had the place to ourselves for most of the visit ... the gal behind the counter was just a gem. She had so much fun right along with us - and I'm sure you can imagine 4 girls at a winery ... well anyway. The gal brings out this HUGE zucchini and since she wasn't going to use it, hands it off to us! I swear this thing must weigh 10 pounds. As you can imagine (go with me here: 4 girls in a winery) we had some fun with that. :-)
After leaving the picnic spot, we headed back to town so we could claim a spot in line for the next ferry. We had an hour to kill before boarding so this was a great chance to walk around town and explore. We found a few more treasures before boarding for a beautiful sunset sail back to Anacortes.
Sadly it was time for them to leave on Saturday morning - but we had a great time with so many laughs. My cheeks were sore. So, until next time bitches - I miss you, love you and can't wait to see you again. And don't be a hater!! :-)
Next we went to Samson Estates Winery. They too are a cute little vineyard, but certainly off the beaten path! Here we sampled some very interesting fruit based wines. Our favorites were the raspberry, blueberry and hazelnut. These are dessert wines, but they make great toppings for fresh fruit or even cheesecake! Oh yummmmmm!
Outside of making a few quick stops on the way home, we arrived for the gals to settle in and I was to prepare for an evening of appetizers with the neighbors. I wanted them to meet the girls, and the girls to meet them. I talk about our friends enough it was great for everyone to put faces to names.
Thursday we went to Seattle via boat. It wasn't optimal boating weather, but what the heck - we've got plenty of jackets! The girls were all real troopers in dealing with the cool wind, as they had just left 100 degree weather!
We stopped at Pike Place Chowder for some delicious chowders to warm them up, then headed to our favorite Mexican restaurant on the steps. Everyone loved the food and then hit the market with full bellies. This time around Mom got a 6.5 pound King Salmon to take home. We shopped and sampled, walked and enjoyed the sights. On our way home KJ, Elaine and I each took turns at the helm being Captain of the vessel. We had a great day and each brought home a few treasures. :-)
Friday morning we took off for the ferry landing in Anacortes with the intention of catching the 8:30 ferry to Victoria. Well, it appears that the ferry leaves at 8:15. Since we didn't catch that sailing we decided to head out to the San Juan Islands instead.
Certainly not a bad back up plan; we first hit the lavendar fields, then (of course) the winery and afterwards a picnic lunch at Lime Kiln Point State Park. We were not graced with the presence of whales, but we did see porpoise swimming in the distance.
Going back to the winery on San Juan Island - we had the place to ourselves for most of the visit ... the gal behind the counter was just a gem. She had so much fun right along with us - and I'm sure you can imagine 4 girls at a winery ... well anyway. The gal brings out this HUGE zucchini and since she wasn't going to use it, hands it off to us! I swear this thing must weigh 10 pounds. As you can imagine (go with me here: 4 girls in a winery) we had some fun with that. :-)
After leaving the picnic spot, we headed back to town so we could claim a spot in line for the next ferry. We had an hour to kill before boarding so this was a great chance to walk around town and explore. We found a few more treasures before boarding for a beautiful sunset sail back to Anacortes.
Sadly it was time for them to leave on Saturday morning - but we had a great time with so many laughs. My cheeks were sore. So, until next time bitches - I miss you, love you and can't wait to see you again. And don't be a hater!! :-)
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