A Deer Sighting in Northampton!

On my way to work this morning, I was given a gift from God. Four deer crossed Rt. 66 (the road we live on, plus it is the route I take to Smith), I slowed down because I've heard that if there is a group of them there usually are more. Three more came over the hill but they were scared by my presence, that they ran into tall grass and I scooted passed them.

I'm so blessed to have see this awesome moment in time! Made my day!!

The Dogs in my Life!

Good Morning! This morning’s subject is about the three dogs that own Mary and I. They are Chloe, a Eurasier, Fast Eddie, a Puggle and Chancey, a Scottish Terrier.

The morning routine for them goes like this. When getting them up in the morning, Fast Eddie is a slug and has to be pushed off the bed while the other two cooperate without problems. They all need their collars put on and for the boys harnesses as well. One of us has to chase Fast Eddie through the house to corner him to get his collar and harness on. Then there is getting them out the door and into the car. Fast Eddie must be put on a leash or he takes off and he doesn’t come back in a timely fashion. The other two know to just climb into the car. Then Mary takes them to a park near our home for a 30-minute walk.

Once they come home they might need to be washed off depending on what muck they got into. Fast Eddie and Chloe both love rolling around where there is deer poop! Then once in the house feeding time begins. The whole time it takes me to prepare their breakfast, Fast Eddie is sitting under the kitchen table making a sound that sounds like steam coming out of a radiator because he's anxiously waiting for his meal.

Ok, the food bowls are ready to go down on the floor! Fast Eddie’s goes down first on the kitchen floor. Chancey’s eats in the living and Chloe eats in the guest bedroom. This entire food arrangement is to keep Fast Eddie from eating their food as well, which is another whole story in itself. Meaning I’m running from one area to another to make sure that Fast Eddie behaves himself.

Chancey is now done eating and needs to go out for his after meal jaunt in the front yard. Fast Eddie likes to follow to see if Chancey does a poop. I won’t even begin to tell you what Fast Eddie does with that!

Now it is time for me to get ready for work and I have already spent too much time on the dogs. Oh yes, as I leave the house each dog has to have their individual blankets draped over them and they are each given a treat. I tell them “I’ll see you in a little while” which means I’m returning home at noon time to let them out, give them treats, cover them up again etc. etc. This is just a glimpse into how the two adult are wrapped around the paws of their three dogs!

"The Critter" Saga Continues

Well, I took a big step today and sent e-mail to my supervisor telling her the situation about the "mass."

Here is what I wrote: "A couple of weeks ago my knee "blew" and I went to the knee doctor. At the time, I was also complaining of sharp back pain. The decision was made to take a x-ray of my spine. Well, a mass was discovered in my stomach cavity. Due to issues with Harvard Pilgrim and Thanksgiving the CAT scan approval has been delayed. Hopefully I can have the CAT scan in the next day or two. As things develop, I will keep you in the loop. I am telling my work-study students what is going on as they might have to cover additional office hours. Ticket sales for the Winter shuttle starts this coming Monday, December 3rd so office coverage is definitely needed. Believe it or not, I am quite calm about this situation. I have faith that this isn't as serious as it sounds."

So folks, the saga of "the critter" continues. I will keep all of you informed as things progress. Cheers!

The Critter

The story continues about the “mass” found in my stomach cavity. Harvard Pilgrim will not approve the CAT scan request if it comes from my orthopedic surgeon’s office. So they are now trying to reach my primary care physician (PCP). I called their office myself and begged for assistance. I know I got that person’s attention when I called the mass “the critter” and she laughed. I also mentioned that I wanted this issue resolved before Christmas since that is my birthday. She gave me reassurance that this would get resolved.

Mary and I’ve finally decided that we are going to Paris over spring break. The Paris trip will be my “carrot” to get through whatever the future holds about what “the critter” really is. Life is what you make it and I want to go to Paris! More later...

My life changed at 12:50 p.m. on Monday, November 19, 2012

This is when I received a phone call from my orthopedics’ physician assistant. The previous Monday, my right knee “blew” and it started to swell. Anyone who has ever battled bad knees knows that swelling can be fluid build-up and needs to be taken care of. I also was experiencing a sharp pain in my lower back. Upon hearing this, she ordered an x-ray of my spine.

She noted something odd on the x-ray but at the time dismissed it as nothing serious. Upon further reflection she reviewed the x-ray and noticed that the spot was some sort of mass in my stomach cavity. Of course, once I heard this I went to the extreme and thought of cancer.

So the next step is a CAT scan and then we go from there. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday approval from my health insurance hasn't happened yet. I have such a wonderful life with Mary and I will fight whatever I have, because I want to grow very old with her. As I get updates, I will let you all know what is happening.

Thanksgiving 2012

We had a wonderful day yesterday. We invited five Smithies over for Thanksgiving and it was a blast! Two were from China, two from India and one was from Wisconsin. Mary out did herself with cooking up a feast.

With a 19 lb. turkey, home-made mash potatoes and stuffing, sweet potatoes, a cranberry chutney (made from scratch), plus green and yellow waxed beans it was quite a meal. Plus, we had two pies, an apple and pumpkin. Both were made by the Ultimate Frisbee Club at Smith. And, the pies were a big hit! Mary only purchased one can of whip cream and I was worried there wouldn't be any for me. It worked out fine and there is still some in the can, I checked!

After dinner and before dessert, we played a card game called “May I?” I haven’t played it in years so my explanation on how to play was a little hard to follow, which was fine, because I was the winner with the lowest score! We’ve invited all five of our guests back to dinner because it was such a wonderful experience. Cheers!

I'm back, again!

Well is has been months, almost seven, since I last wrote in my blog. Life so gets in the way that taking time to be creative to write is never an easy task. So here we are, tighten your safety belt and hang on for dear life! I went to Lowe’s this past Sunday to return an item that we didn’t need in the first place, so why did I buy it? That is so another whole conversation. I promised Mary that I would return the item and not do any additional shopping. Well, that didn’t happen. I blame Lowe’s for that. The Return counter was closed so I had to enter the store and go to Customer Service. Along the way I saw all sorts of Christmas holiday goodies. So I returned an item for $36 dollars and turned around and charged $39 instead! Some of the items were just plain tacky, what was I thinking? So I’m going back to Lowe’s to return those items. I wonder what I’ll get this time. Oh, one of the items I purchased was one of those small decorative flags. This one says “Got Turkey” with a big fat bird on it. Well, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and don’t eat too much! Cheers!