Cindy’s Blog

Do you think Jack has Maine Coon in him? I’ve always wondered.

You really need a side view to show his mane in its full glory - a pic I don’t have.

And another one. He doesn’t weigh nearly this much now.

I had a wild dream last night in which I gave birth to twins, the first one born breach. The fact that I’m missing the necessary girly bits for this should have been a clue to me that this was a dream, but I can never tell when I’m dreaming.

This was quite an upsetting dream. When I woke up I was so relieved. Whew!

According to an online dream dictionary, giving birth to twins means wealth is coming. Its about time. A psychic told me when I was 19 that I would be extremely wealthy in this lifetime. Finally its going to happen.

I went in for a repeat blood test today - again. This is the second time that the lab botched my sample. I’m having a series of tests to find out why my IgM values are low.

Yesterday the doctor called me to tell me that the blood lab in Utah put my sample in the frig for 30 minutes when it was supposed to be analyzed right away. They asked me to come to the hospital lab (instead of my doctors office lab around the corner) for the repeat draw to minimize errors and asked what time I could come in. Thanks to Cesar Chavez, I have today off.

To my surprise, the lab manager and her assistant were there to greet me and apologize profusely for the errors. They gave me a $5 coupon to use in the gift shop or one of the cafes. They also told me that the Chief Operating Officer of my healthcare system and the Medical Director of Quality Resource Management wanted to speak to me afterward to restore my confidence in the healthcare group. !!

Apparently there was a plane or some type of urgent medical delivery system in place to handle my blood this time. And the Utah lab is on alert to watch for my silly sample. All for a low IgM value that most likely doesn’t mean anything.

After my blood test I was led to a conference room with the COO and medical director. They told me that there have been a few meetings about why things went wrong repeatedly with my tests. As a result, new procedures are in place for out of the ordinary lab tests to make sure it never happens again.

Glad to do my part to improve health care for everyone.

I saw my pulmonologist a few days ago. Thankfully he switched me to a different inhaler that might not give me the hoarse voice that Advair did.

During this visit he reviewed my lab results from last time. One of my blood values was low. I can’t remember what it was - something that drops with infection or allergies. He stepped out to consult with another doctor about what to do. Or John suggests, maybe he was googling for an answer. I waited for a few minutes, then had a Seinfeld moment as I realized that he left the computer logged in with his notes about me still on the monitor. I turned to read but as soon as my eyes were on the screen I heard his footsteps approaching the door.

The only thing I caught was the phrase “supple neck.” What an odd thing to read in your records.

John’s response to this was “Your neck’s not that supple.”

“Apparently it is!” was my answer.

I finally got a haircut yesterday. It was long overdue. I asked my stylist to make it longer in the front than the back. I told her I wanted a more obvious angle than I had last time and that I wanted the front to be chin length or a little below. This is what she did.

I told John that I have a Catholic school girl haircut now. He agrees.

Later he told me “It doesn’t look bad. It just doesn’t look good.”

Last time she was done in 15 minutes and it looked pretty good. This time she took an entire hour, cutting layer by layer, which isn’t necessary with my fine hair. It may have started out the right length in the front, but she spent a long time evening it out on one side, then the other. She charged me $10 more too. She told me she couldn’t make it any higher in the back. I don’t believe her.

Here I am with my cat, Maestro. Part of the reason I look so crappy is that that’s how I feel. I have a cold and am so tired. My spirits are lifted somewhat in this pic by the nearness of the furry ball of sweetness and the fact that I’m wearing the fingerless mittens I just finished knitting.

Why not end the year with a summary.

I didn’t garden this year at all except for the attempt to grow kale and broccoli. The rabbits are free range again and I don’t plan to garden while they’re still alive. They are past their life expectancy now - 9 years - but look as healthy as ever.

We lost Lucy earlier in the year. One day I noticed that she didn’t run to meet me as she usually does when I’m feeding them. After a minute or two of waiting she stumbled out of her burrow but her head was tipped sideways. She couldn’t hold it up. She quickly fell back into the burrow. I told John that something was seriously wrong with her. We debated what to do. I didn’t want to spend money by taking her to a vet and I didn’t want to pester my veterinarian neighbor about it either. After debating for a while John decided to have a look for himself. But she was dead by then. Sadly, Ed was licking her all over. What a sad sight.

We thought that maybe at their age their testosterone levels were low enough that they would get along so we left the door to their bunny palace open. Fred went in and out, but Ed stayed in. We had to cut the bottom of the opening down so that leaving required no hopping before he would venture out. The pupils of Ed’s eyes are cloudy and blue now. I doubt he sees very well.

But at least they get along. They snuggle constantly. Its absolutely adorable. I really don’t want to cage them again even if it means I must sacrifice my gardening. But please don’t let them break records for rabbit longevity.

An assorted list:

• I sent no christmas letter this year. Or the year before. Or the year before that.
• I received no raises, promotions or awards.
• John starts a new job on Monday - commercial property sales. Yeah!
• We have a new cat, Maestro. The bold sassy fellow decided he liked our house and surprisingly our picky siamese cats like him. A rare event.
• Garrison sports 16 inch biceps.
• I have no New Year’s resolutions.
• I have bronchiectasis.

The last item: Bronchiectasis is a form of COPD. [Edited after second visit with lung doc. The Internet has incorrect information. Who knew?] Its when part of your lungs are damaged, making it harder to get rid of lung infections. Its the reason for my constant cough. Finally I know why I cough so much. My FEV1 or forced exlhalation volume is only 78% of what is expected from someone my age and size. I haven’t noticed a decrease in lung function yet. But now I’m on Advair and have been given an Albuterol inhaler, just in case.

Since a cold I had two years ago I’ve been coughing a lot. Its been steadily improving but I just came down with a new cold a week ago and unfortunately its in my lungs. Today a coworker commented “That’s quite a cough you have. I hope its gone by Monday.” She has no idea.

So here’s wishing employment and good health to everyone.

I came across the Egypt project report Garrison wrote in 6th grade on mummification. Its so cute I had to share! I believe this may be one of the best homework assignments he’s done. At least its the most engaging. He actually went through the steps to mummify a stuffed bear and a cornish game hen while photographing and describing the entire process.

We still have the mummies, as you can see. Menwi, the hen, is usually kept in a sealed plastic bag, but she was let out for this photo shoot. Read the report for yourself. Mummification of a Stuffed Bear and a Cornish Game Hen

I didn’t plant anything this year, unless you count the kale and broccoli I planted last Fall. But this wonderful cucumber plant appeared and is growing well anyway. I haven’t even watered it.

Its doing even better than last years cucumbers, which suffered from crowding by the overplanted soybeans. I have a garden this year after all.

Here’s the shell tank, finally finished.

The point of the V turned out to be quite low. I’m not sure why. The armholes are small. It would be more comfortable if they were larger, but they’re small on the model in the book the pattern came from too. Even so, I like it.

round 2 smackdown hat, originally uploaded by cwalker5555.

Here it is. The finished round 2 yarn smackdown hat. Pixieknit should have received it yesterday but she hasn’t posted a message about it. Come on Pixieknit. Confess.

The wisteria is blooming. Here are some shots of it.

But the wisteria pics are really an excuse to try out a new technique I learned for rounding image corners.

Here’s our ridiculous ground cover, winter wheat and hairy vetch. The passages through it were made by the rabbit, Fred. He’s constructed his own maze so he can hide from hawks and eat at the same time. Its so cute.

Here’s the broccoli and kale crop. All that survived is the few plants that were protected inside fencing.