Happy Leap Day!!!

I decided early this morning that since this was an "extra" day; a gift, if you will, that I was not going to waste it doing anything important!!! So other than taking a shower, I've been a lovely lazy girl all day ~ what fun!!

I have, however, compiled the following for you... in honor of this special day...

On this date in history ~

1288 - Scotland established this day as one when a woman could propose marriage to a man. In the event that he refused the proposal he was

1504 ~ Christopher Columbus, stranded in Jamaica during his fourth voyage to the West, used a correctly predicted lunar eclipse to frighten hostile natives into providing food for his crew.

1692: The Salem witch trials begin when Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba are accused of using witchcraft.

1792 ~ Composer Gioacchino Antonio Rossini was born in Pesaro, Italy.

1904 ~ President Theodore Roosevelt appointed a seven-member commission to facilitate completion of the Panama Canal.

1904 ~ Bandleader Jimmy Dorsey was born in Shenandoah, Pa.

1940 ~ "Gone with the Wind" won eight Oscars at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, including best picture.

1940 - Hattie McDaniel became the first black person to win an Oscar. She won Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Mammy in "Gone with the Wind."

1944 - Dorothy McElroy Vredenburgh of Alabama became the first woman to be appointed secretary of a national political party. She was appointed to the Democratic National Committee.

1952 - In New York City, four signs were installed at 44th Street and Broadway in Times Square that told pedestrians when to walk.

1956 ~ President Eisenhower announced he would seek a second term.

1956 ~ An Islamic Republic was proclaimed in Pakistan.

1960 ~ The first Playboy Club, featuring waitresses clad in bunny outfits, opened in Chicago.

1968 ~ The discovery of the first pulsar, a star which emits regular radio waves, was announced by Dr. Jocelyn Bell Burnell at Cambridge, England.
1972: Hank Aaron signs for $200,000 a year, making him the highest paid professional baseball player to date.

1972 - Jack Anderson revealed a memo written by ITT's Washington lobbyist, Dita Beard, that connected ITT's funding of part of the Republican National Convention.

1984 ~ Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau announced he was stepping down after more than 15 years in power.

2004 ~ "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" won 11 Academy Awards, including best picture and best director for Peter Jackson, to tie the record held by 1959's "Ben-Hur" and 1997's "Titanic."


Historic Birthdays

John Philip Holland 1840 Irish-bn. American "father of the modern submarine"

Paul III 1468 Italian noble and last Renaissance Pope

Ann Lee 1736 English-bn. American religious leader

Karl Ernst Baer 1792 Prussian-Estonian embryologist

Gioacchino Rossini 1792 Italian operatic composer

Herman Hollerith 1860 American inventor of a tabulating machine; precursor of the modern computer

Jimmy Dorsey 1904 American musician and orchestra leader

Have a wonderful leap day!!!

My big Sis will be at bobbie-Palooza!!!

:-))))))))))))))))))

I just let my big (half)Sis know about bobbie-Palooza this afternoon ~ she immediately wrote back and said that barring a catastrophe, she'd be there with bells on!!

YEEEEEEEEEEE-HAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! This will be the first time since I can remember than we will be together for one of our birthdays!!

Now ~ for the those of you who are shaking their heads and wondering what the big deal is ~ here's the back story...

Leah and I are 16.5 years apart. (Mom REALLY believed in family planning!) She got married and moved out when I was 2, but she raised me more till then than my Mom did.

Being a generation or so apart, we didn't always get along well as I was growing up. Getting to know each other as adults has taken a long time, and is still an on-going thing. It's one of the reasons I want to get to the OR coast; she & her DH vacation there ALL the time!

Leah has a wicked funny sense of humor, and a unique way of looking at life ~ I think we must have both gotten that trait from Mom. She's much less shy socially than I am, so I know she will get along with any of my crazy/crazed friends who can make it to the party!!

Love you, CL!!!



Picture from T-day 07...

Chemo #3 was a Go!!

Duncan was able to get his chemo # 3 today; his CBC was perfect!! I had kinda thought it would be, as he has been so perky the last couple of days... And since they already knew how he reacts to the Vincristine, he was able to come home after only a few hours! The only bad news is that he has developed a bit of an infection in his right eye again (the one that got hit with all the radiation), so we've started him back on the ABX ointment. Hope fully it will clear up quickly.

Right now, he's carefully watching Jim, who is in the kitchen fixing dinner. He (Duncan!!) is doing his little huff & puff/whine & moan thing; bouncing from one front foot to the other! He's also being very careful to stay in HIS area, outside Jim's footpath ~ what a good pupper!!

The other good news is that he is starting to regrow the hair on his tummy (where they shaved it for the US), on his legs where they were searching for veins; and he is also growing eyelashes back on that right eye! Still nothing on the hyperpigmented skin around his eye, but that's the least of my worries!!

One of the girls at work was asking me about him yesterday ~ she said she loves her dogs, but that she would probably never do the rad tx./chemo thing for them if they developed cancer.
If we had not caught Duncan's CA as soon as we did, I'm not sure I would have gone full court press, either.
But that dog is my life ~ so I'm going to give him every chance I can, until I feel he is in pain, or too debilitated to enjoy life.

Work and Dunky...

It's been so great to be back at work this last week & a half!! (I hadn't worked since just before T-day)... Even more than the pin money, I'd missed the patients, and the jiving with the gals!! Today was a long day, but only 1 EKG, so my back isn't complaining too much!! And the day was rich with lots of "memorable patients" moments... :-))) Crazy, but fun!!

Duncan goes in tomorrow for another try at chemo... if his neutrophil count is still low, I'm going to see if there is a canine version of Neupogen we could give him...
His energy level has picked up in the last few days, so I'm hopeful (and still keeping everything crossed!!) Thanks to all for the good wishes you've sent ~ they really DO help!!

Note to the Colonel ~ Miss you, Miz C ~

Yeah, yeah...

...I'm over-due for an update. But I just haven't been in the mood, ya know?

Duncan wasn't able to have his chemo on Tuesday ~ his white count was too low. We'll recheck, and try again next week. And I've been noticing it the last few days ~ he's lost some of the pep and vigor he had when we brought him home from WSU. All somewhat expected, but still disheartening. Esp. since it means he hasn't wanted to share morning chair time with me... :-(((

The GOOD news was that his amylase and lipase (pancreatic enzymes) levels were both WNL ~ Yayyyyyyyyyyyy on that!

Despite a high haze and some clouds, last night's lunar eclipse was way cool! Jim set his camera up and got a whole bunch pix... tomorrow we'll go thru them, and I'll post some of the best ones.

I've found a GREAT new (to me) blog site ~ The 15 minute lunch... (see Where I Go) ~ the guy is hysterical!! If nothing else, you MUST read his "1977 JC Penney catalog" post... I hurt myself laughing!!!
And at P Dubs blog, I didn't make into her top 6 list of finalists for Name that Photo, but something similar to mine did!! My title was "Real Men do Kids"; one of the finalists was "Real men wear toddlers". Hmmmph ~ of course I think mine is far superior!!!
:-))) Great photo, too...

Chemo #3....

... tomorrow is another dose of the Vincristine he rec'd week 1; but it's half again as much the initial dose... So I'm expecting him to be VERY sleepy not only Wednesday, but Thursday also. I just hope there are no other side effects.

In other news, yours truly returned to work last week (for the first time since just before T-day!!) Not only that, but I'm working 2 days this week!!!(Wed. & Thurs.) Yippee skipee!!! I need that pin money!!! And I've also truly missed the crazy gals there... It's one heck of a job when you walk in the door and the boss hugs you! :-)))

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all my SG friends who have stood with me the the last couple of days ~ you guys are the greatest!! And particular thanks are due to the one I've come to call "Kylie the Mad Kiwi"!!! Her friendship and humor have helped me "Kia Kaha"! (you didn't know I could speak Maori, did you?!?!)
Aroha nui, Kylie ~

I've started to work on my pages for Li's "Perception" swap. Last night I finally figured out a good design that allows for hidden journaling, so I'm going to stick with that basic design, but vary all the PP and embellies ~ should be fun!!

Till next time...

Duncan...

... is doing great! The Tuesday dose of Cytoxan seems to be giving him no problems; and the risk of Sterile Hemmorhagic Cystitis is a small one.

And, he seems to have acquired a good friend in RobinC's Gracie!! :-)))

A rose by any other name...

I got this from Kylie's blog ~ what my name supposedly reveals about me...
***What Bobbie Means***


You are full of energy. You are spirited and boisterous.
You are bold and daring. You are willing to do some pretty outrageous things.
Your high energy sometimes gets you in trouble. You can have a pretty bad temper at times.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life.
You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you.
At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself.





You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.


What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyournameshiddenmeaningquiz/


Ummmmmmmmmmm ~ maybe!

Take a little time...

I stole this from Stacy Julian's blog...
It takes a bit too long for me, but then I read real fast! Just some things to make you think... which is never a bad thing!
Turn your volume off if you're not a fan of the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey"...

Chemo # 1...

...was yesterday. Other than that they had trouble finding a good vein for his IV, Duncan did fine. But now the poor little guys has 3 different bald spots on his legs! And with the chemo, those won't be growing back in any time soon. The good news is that because he doesn't have 'continuous growing' hair (like a poodle or a human), he probably won't lose any of his other hair.

His eye is almost completely healed ~ I'm only having to put the ABX ointment on once a day. But he's lost about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of hair around the eye, and the skin is hyperpigmented from the radiation, so he looks a bit racoonish on that side! And again, it will be a long time, if ever, before that hair comes back.

So far no signs of side effects, other than the fact that he's slept almost all day today... a normal reaction. I SOOOOO hope, for his sake, that he experiences few, if any side effects through all this. I'd probably fall apart if he started any vomiting, etc!

Long live the 'Mighty Warrior', as one of my scrap buddies has called him!!

Snowman.....and dog

We've had some absolutely wonderful snow today... thick and wet and heavy... perfect for building a snowman!!! And since we haven't done such a thing since we've moved here (this is our 3rd winter), I felt it was high time!!! The husband grumbled a bit, but once he got into, he had a good time!!

We did the snow man first... had you realized that scrappy tools could be used for snow peoples?!?! Since we had no coal, circle punch shapes for eyes and mouth and buttons... held in place with nails... Voila!!!

After we'd come in for a bit of warming, I decided that Mr. SMan needed a companion... and what better companion could he have than a snow Doxie?!?! This one was REALLY tricky... his head didn't want to stay in place! But with some judicious snow packing, a pink curly tongue, sock ears, and a grassy, wavy tail... :-)))

What I would really like to build are some snow creatures ala Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes)... the decapitated ones, the screaming, run over ones... Yeah, I'm a sick puppette!!! :-)))

Click on pix for bigger view...