mob

worse things to complain about

TheBon and AmpuTeeHee having one really fine time
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I'm having so much fun smiling and laughing that my face hurts (guess I haven't been using those muscles much lately---they're out of shape!!)

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Sent from my iPad

on my journey to oregon....

...I spied (with my little eye) a nice ol' chap riding his chopper, which sports his camping gear in his casket.

Sent from my iPad

i get by with a little help from my friends

My friend Cathy on the east coast sent me this mug.

TheMostImportantGuy is working from my house for the next few days so I can go to Sock Summit.

Robingail of the comments (who I also know in real life, from overlapping circles, knitting and dance) is coming to dog-sit and give TheMIG a break on Friday so he can go to the office.

My mom has made herself available if anything comes up over the weekend.

My vet is there 7 days a week, should problems arise (but the dog is looking good lately! huzzah!).

KarenTheDancingLurker is taking care of dance class this week, even though we're in the middle of a performance series with our students (and ourselves).

My friend TheBon is putting me up in Oregon and tour-guiding me around through Sock Summit.

My friend Lorena of the comments sent me buttons that I can wear at Sock Summit so her compadres and I can all try to spot each other.

And all of YOU have been so wonderfully supportive here lately...



...honestly. I don't know what I'd do without all of you.
THANK YOU!!!

Tomorrow I drive. LOTS.

o's

Only ate one can, but licked the bowl clean...and the night is young.
Love you, Mom! Thanks for going to store for me!!

the barometer of craving

The dog is looking muuuuuuch better. Finally. I think he's responding well to the new antibiotics. No funky infected smells, no wounds re-opening. In fact, he's barking when neighbors walk by the window with their own dogs, and he's even acting playful towards Teeny (which sounds great, except he's still not supposed to be jumping around because the stitches are still in, including the ones holding his fractured jaw together.

Me? Still cabin fever. And it's still playing with my head some.
I know that because all day I have had an unsatisfied craving for one of my most quirky comfort foods: spaghettios.

funny to note: those links go to posts from way back in 2006, and none of my quirks have changed. not a one.

really enjoying the knitting right now

Almost done with the shawl I am working on, and thinking ahead towards my next next project.



I'm thinking it's been awhile since I have knit a sweater, so I'm going to work up this little number.

snaps on saturday

Dropped MyFavoriteKid off for a week of (rock/guitar) band camp.
Ahhhh, coastal redwoods :-)

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Sent from my iPad

maybe what i really have here is a dogblog

Remember when I knit that awesome Hap Blanket for meeeee to snuggle up in? I made it before Teeny came to live with us, but even then, I had to keep it away from Riley because he was always trying to curl his dog-stinky-self up in it.

Well, ever since Teeny had her little leg surgery, and I was supposed to keep her physically restricted, I discovered that the easiest way to keep her in one place without crating her all the time was to offer her the blanket.





She's now completely taken it over, and she snarls at you if you try to take it away.




I'm using the leftover yarn to knit her her own little doggy version of the blanket, but I don't think doing so will keep her away from the original.
I'll probably have to just knit another one for myself.
Thank goodness it was such a fun knit.

More dog. Sorry if you are bored....but it's the only thing I got goin' on in my life right now though! And it's all encompassing!
(although I am still watching Le Tour and knitting)

Well, we went back to the vet today.

She wasn't worried one bit about the stabilizing stitches that had come untied (thank god, because two more had come undone over night--sheesh!!). In fact, she thought the incision line looked so well healed that she removed the whole stabilizing system and the laces. She also removed the drains.

But. As I suspected, infection had indeed begun to set back in.

For once though, something went right in this whole fiasco. The results of culture had made it back to the vets office this morning before my appointment. If you recall, the vet had taken a sample of the goop Riley was leaking during that last surgery on Saturday. Lo and behold, it turns out poor Riley has 3 very different nasty things growing in there (with names so foreign to me, I couldn't repeat them if I tried). The broad spectrum antibiotics he's been on for the last 5 days have been a bit helpful, but they were not as specifically targeted as they could have been. The doc is super pleased to know exactly what she is throwing darts at now, as she put it.

Sooooo.....behold, the new pharmaceutical cocktail:


Three antibiotics, and an anti-inflammatory/pain med.

Another 5 days of hot compresses, another 9 days of pain meds, and another 2 weeks of restricting his mobility, plus wearing the cone of shame, plus keeping the stitches in along the suture line. 30 days of the new antibiotics. And 6 more weeks of feeding pureed food due to the broken jaw.

And a partridge in a pear tree ;-)

a report from the zookeeper

Monday.
Riley: One of his stitches comes untied. Not one of the stitches along the actual incision line, but one of the stitches that are placed a couple of inches outside the incision line (the bottom right one, close to his frequently moving elbow), where the vet put the stitch to act as an anchor for the woven-in lacing system she put there for extra reinforcement (photo in here somewhere if that descrition doesn't make sense). I very nimbly re-tie it. Twice.

Shelob (the spider that has taken up residence in my bathroom): I take down a huge web, and I see her dart behind the cabinet that holds the lighting above the counter.


Yesterday.
Riley: The stitch comes undone again, as does another one directly above it. I call the vet's office and the vet that did this last surgery is out until Thursday. I take photos, email them to the office, and the other vet there (whom I like, but seems a quite a bit less anal) calls me back and asks me to trying tying them myself again. She suggests my sewing over them to hold them, or a dab of superglue (?!). I try retying them, but cant get Riley to sit still. I decide to wait until after dinner when I also give his second round of meds, thinking he'll be calmer after a pain pill.

Shelob: I take down a new web. Bitch.


Last night.
Riley: The two untied stitches fall out entirely. There is now nothing to fix. The drains that are in place begin to leak a little more.

Shelob: Comes out and threatens me.



This morning.
MrDarcy (the tuxedo cat): brings in a dead bird. Not just any ol' bird, but one of the Northern Mockingbirds that frequent my yard (they come for the fruit, especially the cherries).

(filched photos, not taken by me...I aint that good)

I love them so. I watch them all the time, and they sing to me. I bury it with flowers and cry.

Gaara (the other cat): Comes strolling in for the third time this week with no collar.

Teeny (the chihuahua): Brand new thing, probably due to my cutting back her food since the doc says she's overweight and it's not good for her poor little back legs and kneecaps. I find her standing, full on, all four legs firmly planted, in the cat box, digging around looking for...kitty-roca. Eww.

Riley: Leaking more, and the discharge looks a little more gunky. I call the vet to move my Friday follow-up to Thursday, the first opening available with the last vet upon her return. His nose is warm. I'm freaking out.

Shelob: Is lurking. And looks like she is plotting.



I live in a zoo.
And I'm kinda losing my mind a bit.

front lawn

The most I've seen of the great outdoors.
*sigh*

since i cant easily leave the doggy-patient to do the shopping...

...my mom went and picked up groceries for us today, preventing a bad case of scurvy here.

(she also restocked the Ben And Jerry's, too--heh)

what i did, and what i didn't

Well, what I didn't do was to go to the Ravelry Meet-Up, but TheMostImportantGuy went (muggle!!) and he texted me a picture of....

...butts.
hahahaha

He did bring me home a goodie bag, though. That was sweet. He had to be there because he provided the PA system, and one of us had to stay home with you-know-who (that would be the dog).

So I decided to cast-on for a little shoulder shawl that came in on Friday as a Club Shipment from A Verb For Keeping Warm.

I'm so glad I cast on for this. I have two other things on the needles right now that are both close to being done, but I just haven't been inspired. One of them has cables and the other is an scarf with aran-type stitches. Heavy, dense knitting...both of them.

It has really lifted my spirits today to cast on something lofty and airy. The pink feels like a big fat healing dose of rose quartz, and the yarn is so fluffy it feels like a cross between a cloud or like petting a kitten (superfine alpaca, silk, cashmere---yum!)


Dog is still a little odd. His eyes are looking a bit clearer, but he's randomly wimpering from time. One of the stitches that is holding the argyle lacing untied itself, but I think I managed to re-tie it.

Three cheers for my crafty dexterity LOL.

snaps on saturday

spoon-feeding Riley his "dog food soup"

Ok.

I have one more photo and it is pretty graphic.

It's a wider shot of Riley, taken today.

If you don't want to see it, don't scroll down anymore!!!

I made it small, just in case....

but if you're into really seeing the gory details,

just click to embiggen.

I tried to make him look pretty with the evening light and such...





....and I don't think I did half bad.

The sutures remind of argyle socks a bit.


So here's the situation with Riley. The reason none of the previous sutures have been holding well is because he has some sort of pretty serious infection (yet to be determined), and it's just rotting away at his skin. It turns out that even though the vet has been trimming off the necrotic/dead skin and re-suturing "healthy skin to healthy skin", this infection is just underneath everything, including the fat and softer tissue, and so the infection just keeps coming back.

This has the potential to be very bad :-(

This vet who did this latest surgery yesterday (different vet, same office/group) took out a swatch of skin that was about 3-4" wide and ran the full length his side. That's a lot. While she was in there, she also took cultures of the ick, but it will take until Thursday to get the results. Meanwhile, she has put him on a pile of broad spectrum antibiotics. She put in new drains and ran them horizontally. They will come out in a week, as will the wider-set, shoe-lacy looking sutures that are there to reinforce things and hold him all together. He's needs to wear the cone, and he will need to be on a seriously restricted movement plan for 21 days, because the rest of the stitches (the ones on the incision line) will need to stay in those 21 days. Most of his medications (especially the antibiotics) are set to be taken for 30 days, although the meds may change once the results of the cultures come back.

You'd shit your pants if you knew how much the bills are thus far.
And there may be more, plus he still may need surgery to remove one of his canine teeth once the jawbone fracture heals.

My greater concern right now, is that Riley just does not quite himself this time. Up until now, every time he's come home, his personality has still be shining through. It's something in his eyes (or not in his eyes) this time, and it's worrying me sick. I'm just hoping it's because he's tired, or because he's just had enough of all this crap, or maybe that he's just looking strange because he's got a pain patch taped 'round his ankle.

That's my hope.

I really need him to stay strong and heal from this infection.

bullet train.

You know how I keep mumbling, "I keep thinking I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it keeps being another train,"....???

Yah, well. It's not only a train. It a freakin' bullet train.



Today I brought Teeny the chihuahua in for her 4-week post-op check up (she had both back legs operated on). I brought Riley along too, because I cant leave him alone in his present state. While I there waiting, I did my "every couple of hours wound check," and sure enough, the incision was opening again. It also didn't smell so great.

He went back into surgery. His third surgery, his fourth procedure (one was a re-suture under lighter sedation). They've done a fairly aggressive removal of tissue today, have cultured whatever his happening underneath, have sew him up with some other method that involves much more reinforcement, and they are sounding very worried about infection. They are keeping him overnight.

I am just beside myself, am crying lots, and just feel outright sick to my stomach.

Riley, back in April 2008 when he first came to live with us

For anyone looking for me at the Ravelry Meet-Up, I just dunno, guys. As Riley had seemed to be improving, and so the plan was that I'd be in the car with Riley while TheMostImportantGuy set up and tore down the sound equipment he is loaning to the event....and then TheMIG would wait in the car with Riley while I went into the event itself. I have no friggin' idea if putting Riley in a car for that length of time is a good idea. We'll decide on Sunday morning, but tight now, it feels like it's not a great idea. If that's the case, I will be home with Riley, but TheMIG will be there in a room full of knitters....and he's used to being around one or two knitters, but not a whole event full of them. Please direct him to the potluck tables if his eyes look glazed over from all the fiber fumes. A plate of snacks will help him stay grounded.

And as for Portland? Well, I'll know more after I speak with the vet again tomorrow when I pick Riley up, but what is happening is that every time Riley gets re-sutured, they reset the "remove the sutures in 2-weeks," date....and the kennel was agreeable to handling him with kid gloves, but that was with sutures out, cone off. I'm not sure if they're gonna be able to take him. If he's this close to post-surgery.

But really. Activities and trips are not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about my poor little dog. That didn't do anything wrong except to be a dunderhead and approach that damned aggressive dog with his happy face and wagging tail. I'm worried about why he's not healing weel, and I'm really really worried about the infection.

Secondarily, I'm worried about my mental state and my ability to function and relate to other people. In fact, if you just see photos here for the next day or two, it's because I'm just trying to get my head on straight.

i cannot tell you how bad i need one.

Do they really come in jars??

answers and.....

Answers

Yes, my trip does have to do with socks :-)
And yes, it's a trip to Portland :-)
And a convention center :-)
(but the real point of this trip is to get to spend time with my friend TheBon....going to Sock Summit is just the icing on the cake)

And yes, I will indeed be at the SF Ravelry Meet-Up this Sunday...and I'm only able to go because TheMostImportantGuy had already volunteered his time and audio equipment to the event (we'll be taking turns out in the car dog-watching, so if you really want to see Riley too, well, that could probably be arranged LOL).


and...

Yah.....it really was an oncoming train posing as "the light at the end of the tunnel". Riley's wounds opened up again today and he had to go back to the vet again for another emergency procedure. He's doped up and resting.

things still suck, so....

Because I am still stuck in the house, going nowhere....I'm still trying counteract the sucky-ness of that by inventorying the happy things that have happened the last few days.



A neighbor brought me flowers from her garden.

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Blog reader Lorraine/MaidInEngland tracked me down on Ravelry and sent me along with the gift of a lovely pattern. Not only was that one totally sweet surprise, but I'm not sure I'd have ever figured out on my own what I great tool that is for perking up a knitting buddy. So thank you on both counts!! I'm stealing that method! (and it turns out that the hat pattern Lorraine sent is an awesome match for the wrap I am knitting right now....it's by the same designer!)

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Being stuck at home on Doggy-Duty has given me all the time I could ever need to keep up with watching the Tour de France (although there have been soooo many crashes, it's been a bit anxiety producing at times).

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My kitchen is clean. All the time.

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So is my laundry.

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Lorena of the comments making me laugh so hard I almost choked (so I shall now share her comments with you, too):
Excerpt of her comment on this post:
I have often wondered what I would do if I or my dog was attacked while I were walking her, and... I'm surprised you could hear the barking of the dogs over the clanging of TheMIG's giant brass balls.
And this excerpt of her comment on this post:
Ooo, and I demand that the next time someone starts a sentence to you "would you mind...." that you interrupt them with "would you mind shutting that whale vagina you call a piehole?!"

Dudette. You totally crack me up. I hope you know that should you ever have a reason to come to California, you always have a place to stay. And if you don't have a reason to come to California, maybe you should make one up.

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Just now discovering, after all these years, that my friend TheBon and I both enjoy reading (relatively cheesy) romance novels.....and even better if they historical romance....and her recommending books to me that I could actually download on the spot (yay Kindle, because I can't leave the house to go to a bookstore), AAAAND.... I actually have time to READ.

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Finding out that the kennel that I normally use for Riley is willing to take him at the end of the month so I can go on that trip! She totally knows me, and totally knows Riley....and come to find out, she has a whole separate set up for just this situation. It's separate from the rest of the kennel. It's a big space with it's own dog run attached, and it is out of view from the other dogs (because I'm not sure how he's going to react to other dogs by the time I go on this trip---not enough time to test things out fully). AND! She is going to take Teeny, too! She'll put them together, and she knows they will both have some lingering special post-surgery needs. And she's willing to deal with the spoon feedings and everything! I'm thrilled.
And I CAN GO!!
:-D

(I haven't told you where I am going yet, huh. Can you guess??)

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I am trying really hard to keep looking for the bright side, because when I treat it like a tunnel and I look for the light at the end of the tunnel, it keeps being a train.
So bright side. Bright side. Bright side.

vintage me (in a crazy dress)

Poolside in our backyard in Southern California. I'm thinking 4th or 5th grade.
Not sure what I was "dressed up" for!