Thursday, November 26, 2015

Fudge's Thanksgiving Wish

Hi Everybody
Today is Thanksgiving and Mom wanted to make a nice dinner. She said she was a little sick of turkey and that made us think she must be crazy. Anyway, she made ham and sweet potatoes and asparagus. She was happy because she could make the whole dinner without help. Her hand is doing better.

We each had an asparagus, some sweet potato and a little taste of ham. Tomorrow she says she's making us a turkey, rice and sweet potato topping for our dinners. Yum, we can hardly wait.

We hope you all had a good Thanksgiving wherever you are. If you don't celebrate it, then we hope you had a good dinner with the peeps you love.

Here is my special holiday wish.

May your stuffing be tasty,
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes 'n gravy...
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious,
May your pies take the prize,
May your Thanksgiving Dinner
Stay off of your thighs.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Portie Pack and your pal, Fudge

 

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

A Mixed Bag

This morning I was quite excited to head off for the doctor's office to get my stitches removed. That part went well, but (there's always a but, isn't there) the doctor wasn't pleased with my progress. The incision has healed nicely and he said it looked great, if you think a swollen blue area over an ugly red scar looks great.

Four of my fingers are moving smoothly and have no stiffness or pain, but I still can't bend the thumb. When the doctor bent it, there was still a catch and that didn't please him at all. He said it may start moving better once the swelling goes down some more and I'm to try using it as much as the pain allows without forcing it. If it doesn't move normally by Christmas, he may need to try an injection to help promote faster healing. So, I'm bummed!

I knew there was a fairly long recovery but I really hoped it would be farther along by now and that he would give me a bit more encouragement. Doctors!!!

On the brighter side, today is (gasp) the third birthday for the little girls Sydney and Mackey.
Mac has turned into a sweet little companion except for her shrill bark when she gets excited, which is just about any time Rob moves.


Syd has had a much harder three years and made life tough for everyone in her orbit. The Prozac does seem to be helping her, we haven't had an incident of aggression in weeks, but we also try to give her  plenty of space. She knows to wait till all the other dogs have come into the house before she comes to the door and she spends lots of time outside by herself working off her demons with exercise. The results aren't in yet, but they look promising.
 So, happy birthday girls, you've made our lives more exciting though not always in a good way.
 Tonight we'll celebrate with a special birthday dinner for the whole pack.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Good News = Happy Mom

First, before the good news, Blogger and Yahoo are not playing nicely lately and my comments to your posts are getting messed up. It looks like they're getting posted to your blogs but the notices are getting lost in space. I get lots of notices that the emails are not going thru. I'm experimenting to see if I can correct the issue but I'm not really sure what the problem is, so just check back on your posts and my comments are hopefully waiting there.

Now for the good news. My hand is doing well and I can move all my fingers except the thumb. I can wiggle the thumb a little but it's pretty stiff. The stitches will come out on Tuesday. Then I'll have some exercises to get it loosened up and I can't wait till it's moving again and I can start using it normally.

Last Wednesday we took Fudge to visit Dr B. He was due for his senior exam and his Lyme and Lepto vaccines. It makes me sad to think that Fudgie is now a senior dog and I was feeling gloomy walking into the exam room. Dr B started checking him out and my mood improved. He said his weight is perfect even though he'd gained almost two pounds since his last visit.
 His ears looked clean and his eyes don't show any sings of cloudiness or cataracts. His teeth looked good except for one tooth that needs a little extra attention when we brush. Fudge had blood drawn and had his injections without even flinching.

I mentioned that he sometimes drags his foot when he's tired so the doctor  checked his strength and balance by making him stand on his front legs, then his back legs, then the left legs and then the right legs. He said he has good strength and placement. The weakness is from his stroke so we'll keep an eye on his leg and treat it if it becomes worse. He got lots of attention at home and some treats for being such a good boy.

On Thursday Rob was trimming Norma Jean when he noticed a bump on her shoulder. I took a look at it and immediately called the vet for an appointment. It was raised and red and angry looking, all the signs of a mast cell tumor.

Friday morning we were at the clinic bright and early. Dr B looked at the growth and said it could be a mast cell tumor and needed to come off. He also was concerned about a small bump on her chest. I expected him to set up a date for surgery but instead he said he'd do surgery immediately and walked off with her.

In the afternoon when we went back to pick her up, he came in smiling. He handed me Fudge's lab report. It was perfect, not a single blood level out of line. Then he said that he had aspirated the bump on Norma Jean's chest and found only fat cells, so he left it alone. The angry one on her shoulder was a benign fibroma and he had removed it completely. He said because it was ulcerated that it would never heal on it's own and needed to be removed. Norma Jean is recovering nicely.
So, a somewhat frightening week turned into a good news week.


Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Do Flowers Make You Smile?

This week has been somewhat boring. My hand is healing but I'm not to use it yet and I'm sick of computer games. I downloaded a few books, but I can't just read all day. No needlework of any kind yet and though I keep thinking of starting a jigsaw puzzle, I just haven't done it. By the way please excuse any typos, I'm doing this one handed.

Today it's raining. Actually, it's pouring and all day it's looked like evening. OK, I'm being crabby, but there are so many things I want to do but need both hands. I absolutely swore I would follow doctor's orders and not rush things.

But when I walk into the dining room, I can't help but smile and here's the reason.
Aren't these beautiful? They arrived Thursday soon after I got home from the hospital from
the Lapdogs and their Mom.
 They are still just as beautiful and smell so good.
Then there is my Christmas Cactus, which is outdoing itself this year.
 Just look at all those blooms and there are plenty of buds just waiting to open up.
 Even my old girl, now 39 years old is sending out some buds and blooms. The plant itself isn't very attractive any more. It's branches are spread out and have become thick and woody like a small tree, but it's still flowering a little.
 And look at what's blooming in this hanging plant.

A Portie flower.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Miss Morgan's 16th Birthday


Today our sweet little girl would have been sixteen years old. She didn't make it to this day but we're all remembering and celebrating her long wonderful life with us.
 She was a naughty little puppy.
 She loved being a part of the pack.

 She was friends with the other dogs.

  She and Samba were best friends.
 
She had a competitive spirit.
  She was a character.
 She was always a happy girl.
 We miss you, Morgan. You added something special to our lives.
Rest in peace, sweetheart.