Sunday, March 29, 2009

Small Talk Six - Getting Naked

Toni posted this meme at The Mud Bug this weekend and I just had to join in this week's dish. The Mud Bug shares a weekly meme under the guise of Small Talk Six. Every weekend something new and scandalous to blog about. This week:

“6 things you would like to do naked if you lived alone”

If you participate you can be just as verbose or as terse as you like about your answer list.

I've never lived alone, alone but growing up in my household was pretty much like being alone at least until the party started around 3 a.m.

Up until I was about six I loved to run around in my panties. At least until a neighbour came over and squealed at me, "I can see your titties". I highly recommend not doing this to your neighbour's kids. It's mortifying, even at six.

So if I wasn't so emotionally scarred from that incident and lived alone (with blacked out windows in the boonies) I would like to do the following six things naked:

1. run around (inside) the house
2. dance to my favorite songs whenever I wanted
3. lounge in my favorite chair while I read
4. occasionally sunbath (need a huge peek free fence of course)
5. fall asleep on top of my bed (it's so soft)
6. do the laundry

Toni mentioned she'd like to cook naked and I thought at first that might be fun but I'm a dangerous cook so decided against it.

So what would you do naked in your house uninterrupted (besides the obvious)?

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Baby Dreams

I'm getting close to the use or lose stage of life but I never thought I would be having baby dreams like this:

I'm pregnant. The baby is sitting really really low in my abdomen and it is quite painful. The doctor is looking, you know, down there. She says she's going to reposition it. Next thing I know she's holding my baby boy. Who to me, someone in the waking world who has assisted in births as a nurse, notices the baby is quite large for a newborn and his eyes are wide open.

The eyes are a big issue for me in this dream. Bright blue and glazed over... unresponsive. I ask the doctor about it and she says it's too early to tell if there are any mental defects. Only time will tell.

I ask if I can hold him and she gives him to me and I wrap him up. She tells me I can have a few hours with him before they stuff him back in my belly so he can finish his term. He hasn't finished the whole nine months thing. For some reason I'm fine with this.

I proceed to go around town showing everyone my baby boy and asking about his eyes. I'm concerned about some kind of mental defect (I'm assuming because I'm over thirty-five).

Now here is the really good part. I go back to the hospital and we're in the usual medical type room with doctors, nurses etc getting ready to perform the procedure of stuffing the baby back into me to finish his term. The baby boy is on a tiny table and they unswaddle him.

Before my dreaming eyes the center of the baby from neck to pelvis splits open and is filled with rows of gigantic razor sharp teeth going deep inside. His body flails once popping him into the air where he bites off the doctors head. He this becomes at least ten times his size (he kind of reminds me of one of those fly catching plants except not a plant and no stalk and totally huge) and begins eating the rest of the hospital staff while I watch from the corner.

At this time I decide it would be prudent to wake up.

What do you think? Stephen King complex? Baby issues? Age issues? Or too many horror movies before I was ten years old?

Friday, March 20, 2009

Dog Day Afternoon

We drove to Ottawa on Wednesday to meet with the oncology surgeon at the Alta Vista Animal Hospital who would be working on Shelby. Jeff and I both got a good vibe from Dr. Julius Liptak. He had a look in Dog's mouth and told us he thought it was a fibrous tumour coming from the ligament in the roof of her mouth. This kind of tumour does not require aggressive treatment like removing part of the palate so we were obviously thrilled by that. After our visit we confirmed the next day's surgical appointment with the receptionist and went to the hotel.

We checked into the Monterary Inn and Resort. Jeff found them online through Mapquest. It was one of the facilities listed as close to the animal hospital. It is definitely going on our list of places to stay at in Ottawa. It cost us $119 per night for two large beds on the ground level with a river view and two continental breakfasts (cereal, toast, bagels, fresh fruit, juice). They have a number of buildings for lodgings. Ours was the furthest from the road and was also considered the "pet" rooms. But we were seriously impressed. If you ever visit Ottawa and need a place to stay please check them out.

On Thursday Dog was dropped off at the Alta Vista Animal Hospital for her oral surgery around 7 a.m. She went under the knife and was waking up from her anaesthetic by 11 a.m. They called us around then to let us know how it went and what to expect when we picked her up. The assistant let us know what had transpired during the operation: they cut out the tumor, used liquid nitro to freeze the tag, then caterized for bleeding. They wanted to keep her for a few more hours as she was still partially sedated but coming out of it nicely. We eventually picked her up about 3:30 p.m.

She was so incredibly anxious to see us when she came around the corner. She nosed us both and then headed for the front door. She wanted out. No goodbyes were wasted on the staff. I was dragged out while Jeff paid off our bill which came to just over $1000.

We stayed another night in Ottawa ordering pizza in so we could keep an eye on her. I worked for a bit and then read some more of Breaking Dawn (fourth book in Twilight series) before heading to bed. We were jolted awake early by the sound of barfing cat. Luckily I remembered to pack the pet spot remover and paper towels. Since we were up we showered went for a continental breakfast then checked out. I'm not ashamed to admit I slept most of the way home.

We are home, oh-so-happy to be home. And oh-so-happy that puppy dog had a successful surgery. Here are a few pictures (click to enlarge)--the front side of our building, view out patio doors, dog before surgery, cat checking things out, Jeff looking for directions to food (wearing his Threadless birthday tee I bought him):

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Dog Going Under the Knife

As you know, a few weeks ago Jeff discovered a tumor on the roof of our 8 year German Shepherd's mouth. She had just been to the vet not long before but it was well hidden. DH only found it because she rolled over for a belly rub with her mouth open.

The tumor came back non-cancerous when biopsied but it is still one that is common for becoming invasive into the bone.

Since it's on the roof of the mouth we are quite concerned about it. Instead of leaving it to see what it does we decided to have it removed at which time they will send it for further analysis as well as be able to see how much underlying tissue is affected. She will probably lose the adjoining canine tooth and husk surrounding it.

Apparently these kinds of tumors are common in senior dogs and often go unfound because of lack of mouth care. By the time they are found they are usually quite large and obstructing breathing or eating as well as having invaded the bone. This requires major surgery usually removing part of the dogs jaw or worse euthanasia.

It is incredibly important that senior dog (6 and above) owners realize the importance of mouth care. It's not just about brushing the teeth. It about doing an oral exam. Don't just leave it up to your vet. Once a month you should be opening your pets mouth to check the gums, teeth, back of throat and one of the most overlooked spots -- the roof of the mouth.

We are headed for Ottawa tomorrow for a three day layover. We'll meet the animal oncologist/surgeon the first day, she'll go for surgery the next and hopefully we'll pick her up on the third. I'll be taking the laptop with me and hope to do an update.

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Topic Links
* Poor Puppy
* Puppy Update

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Puppy Update

We just came back from a second opinion vet about Dog's mouth (aka couch potato) and the going consensus is that she'll need surgery to have the tumour removed. It will also involve removing the tooth (possibly teeth) and socket(s) involved.

We were referred to a clinic and oncology surgeon in Ottawa and it will involve a three day layover. The first day will be an exam, the second day the surgery and the third day recovery and follow up. It's going to happen during the March break so it will kind of be like a mini vacation... but not.

They are expecting that it will cost around the $1000 range but are not committing to a total yet until the surgeon has a look.

Jeff and I are still having emotional issues about the whole thing even though we both know that logically it's a good thing that it was found so early. I hate the waiting part.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Poor Puppy

Here is a picture of our beautiful German Shepherd dog:


Here is the picture of her mouth tumor. Jeff found it simply by accident about a week and half ago when she rolled over to have her belly rubbed. Her mouth was open and he happened to see it. It's a good thing too. At the time it was about the size of my pinky up to the second knuckle.

Within a few days we had her in to the vet to get it looked at and have a biopsy done ($300). Of course we go online as we wait the week out for the results and see all manner of horror stories. Don't worry, we've stopped doing that.

We found out yesterday that it is a fibrous growth. It's not cancerous but it could become invasive to the bone on the roof of the mouth if left unchecked. We'll be talking with the vet again in a few days about going to Toronto to have it removed. Jeff would like to get a second opinion but regardless, common sense tells me it should be removed.

She's an eight year old dog and if it's something that is going to continue to grow and potentially cause bigger problems in the future then I would rather have it done when she's a skippy senior instead of a decrepit senior.