Friday, January 30, 2009

Starting to look lived in...

The rain has let up today and it looks like they are back to finish my deck and pour concrete, how exciting. It looks like it's going to be done before Luana's birthday party. Patrick is going to be here on Wednesday to start landscaping.
I got a call from Lauren from CCI, Canine Companions for Independence, I thought I was through with the qualifying process but because I have such a high level injury they want one more personal interview so I have to find somebody to drive me to Santa Rosa.
Angie and Parker came by the other day with Terrie, one of Angie's friends, what a nice surprise. They were in that neighborhood and they were going to go to Mobo's for sushi but it was closed. They are going to come back by for Luana's birthday party in a couple of weeks. My brother David is going to come down and do some work on my home automation system and he's going to try to come down the same time as Luana's party so he will be able to see a lot of the family.
Poor Heather has been really sick but she keeps trying to come over here and cook something for me. She started out with bronchitis and now she has the flu, I hope she kicks it really soon.
They poured concrete today for my new deck and it looks really great, I can't wait for it to dry so I can try it out.
Last night my uncle Dick put an extension on the frame of my bed so that the pillow will not fall off the back and I think it's going to work out great. I was going to get a wedge pillow but this is an even better idea, he is so creative.
On Wednesday I decided to cruise down to Cost Plus, Office Depot, Ross and the nursery. I'm looking for something to my stereo equipment on in the living room and I'm looking for a fountain to go on my porch.
The guy who did the painting and finishing of the wood, Ray, is doing some household maintenance for my mom and I. We have lived here for eight months and neither one of us has any pictures hung and there's a few other things. It sure is nice to get everything done finally and ready does a really good job. He is an artist but right now he is painting houses until his kids get old enough to where they can pursue his real dream. He showed me some of his artwork and it was amazing, he really is talent. He doesn't really beautiful Ocean scenes.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Last week...

Stanley and Corinne came down last weekend and Alexia, my cousin's daughter, was here so they have a sleepover here and tried to see who could stay up the longest. Alexia told me that she was going to stay with me for the next couple of days because she knew I would be very sad about Brodie and she did we went and rented a couple of movies. It was really nice because it gave me a chance to really get to know her it is a great girl. Before she left she gave me a hug and told me that she was sorry.
Last Tuesday I decided to go for a long cruise through the lagoon and down past the lighthouse. To get from the lagoon to wear the lighthouse is you have to go on this really narrow winding uphill path. As I was going up the path I looked around the corner and this guy on a bicycle was going way too fast and had to slam on his brakes which made him go sideways and headfirst into the metal handrail, he landed about 2 inches from me. I know that it really hurt him but he was just afraid that he had hit me so when I told him that he didn't I just picked himself up, apologized, got back on his bike and finished his ride. I felt really bad for him because he was definitely hurt but he should not have been going that fast.
On Wednesday it started raining and it really hasn't stopped so needless to say the work around here has temporarily stopped. I hope I get a chance to finish it before Luana's birthday party on the seventh. I'm going to call Melissa is weak to see if she can wash the outside windows and paint them for Valentine's Day.
The seventh is also Linda's birthday party but it is in the evening, I'm really excited to meet Heather and Linda's friends.
Last night I interviewed a lady named Kimberly to help me out evenings and I really liked her. She works in the morning for a gentleman who is a quadriplegic and seems to be very knowledgeable about a lot of things. She is also a massage therapist so I couldn't ask for a better person. She's going to start on Sunday.
Susana, my morning caregiver, has been having a really bad last couple of weeks. She had to take two of her daughters to the emergency and just as they were getting better somebody stole and totaled her vehicle. She hasn't been able to work very much and I feel really bad for her.
Yesterday Aunt Kathy had her Cardiac Ablation operation yesterday and had to spend the night in the hospital but she is on her way home and doing really good. My uncle is going to bring her by to say hello before she goes home and HOPEFULLY rests for a while, it's really hard for my aunt to rest.

Friday, January 23, 2009

A funny memory of Christmas...

On Christmas while we were eating dinner I had a forkfull of roast beef and I was resting my arm on the arm rest of my chair, when I went to take a bite my roast beef was missing...

Monday, January 19, 2009

Brodie is gone...


She just couldn't take it anymore.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Sad weekend...

Yesterday while I was eating my lunch, a salami, cheese and pepperchinis wrap, I could feel my front tooth split in half so I called my dentist and luckily they took me in right away. Whenever the cold air hit my tooth the pain was excruciating. The dentists gave me a temporary tooth and will have a new one ready for me in two weeks. My aunt took Brodie to her house and when I came back to get her my Aunt said she had a lot of blood in her stool. I know that it's time but it's so hard to make a decision, do I take her in Friday or wait until Monday and if I wait until Monday is that selfish. I have been watching her really close and the doctor said when she can't urinate or she is panting for no reason or just simply visibly in pain it's time to let her go.
Tomorrow they are are going to pour the concrete for my new deck. It all seems to be happening so fast it seems like every day I go outside there is something new happening. Patrick is going to come by today to give us an estimate for landscaping and maintenance. Patrick is a friend of Teresa's and he really seems to know a lot about gardening and plants, I'm really excited. After Patrick left I spent the rest of the afternoon looking up the plants that he put in the bid and they were all my favorites.
Heather has been very busy but she always makes time to come over and visit to make sure that I have plenty to eat... and of course to scratch Brodie on the butt. I told her that I really need to lose some weight so she is going to try to help me, no more cream sauces and comfort food but everything that she makes his delicious so I'm not worried.
There's a possibility that Stanley and Corinne will be coming down this weekend. Corinnes sent me a message on MySpace and said that she is riding horses on Friday so might not be able to come. It will be really nice to see them but I am going to be very sad so it might be a really good distraction.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Saying goodbye to TueTue...

Wednesday morning my mom brought TueTue down and just looking at her broke my heart. She couldn't lay down, she was wobbly back-and-forth, her heart was beating really fast and she had a scared and sad look in her eyes, she just wasn't herself. My mom took her up to the vet and they said that her lungs had filled back up with fluid and her kidneys were shutting down. After thinking about it all day and talking to the vet my mom decided to keep her there and let them euthanize her. I was so sad I didn't know what to do with myself but then I kept remembering the look on her face and I know she's better off. It's amazing how many things remind me of her now that she's gone... giving Brodie a treat, looking over at Brodie's bed because that's where she liked to lay, every time I go in the living room I look up the stairs and I don't see her cute little face. It's going to hurt for a long time.
I thought about staying in bed yesterday because I was so sad but I'm glad that I didn't. I keep looking over at the door and I can imagine seeing TueTue waddling through with her tail wagging, she always came down in the morning because the morning caregiver gave them both a treat when she left. Their favorite treat for some reason is a banana chip with a piece of chicken jerky wrapped around it... go figure. Today they started on the overhanging for my mom's balcony. They said that that, the deck, pouring in the concrete and building the fence in the front yard would only take two weeks. She had to move her birds away from the window because the noise was scaring them, she has three cockatiels and an African Ringneck parakeet. I'm really glad that I got up because I got to go over and see the progress on my uncle and aunt's place, it is so gorgeous.
Today I think is going to be another boring day. I can't really go very far because of Brodie but that's okay. The knot on her leg is getting really big but she doesn't seem to be limping anymore. The other day she was flinging around one of her toys, a rope with a knot tied at each end, and she hid herself and you couldn't really tell that it hurt.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

When it rains it pours...


I really thought that this year was going to be a better year but so far it really sucks. My mom's dog, TueTue, came downstairs yesterday and was just sitting in front of my bedroom door and panting, when dogs pant for no reason it means they are in pain, Susanna took her outside and when she came back in she kept trying to hide underneath the bed so I called my mom come down and get her. My mom made an appointment for her and apparently she has a bad heart and her lungs were filled with fluid, she is pretty much the same boat as Brodie, it is just a matter of time for both of them.
I decided to watch a movie this morning called I am legend, another bad choice. The movie was really good but in it Will Smith had to put his dog to sleep, of course it made me cry.
Heather came by by last night with some more sea bass. She cooked it with rock shrimp and be this KILLER pineapple and macadamia nut sauce, the sauce was so good I just ate spoonfulls of it, she also made sautéed spinach and rice pilaf. She also made one of my favorite wraps with liver worst, Swiss cheese, pickles and horseradish sauce.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

The circle of life...

My cousin Rich and his wife Vanessa came by yesterday to tell us that they are going to have another baby. They showed us the ultrasound and said that it is going to be a little girl, born around May 14th and they are going to name her Malia Katherine, they were both very excited.
Today I just stayed in bed because I'm just very sad, it seems like everything makes me cry and I NEVER cry. Now that everybody has left I don't have to hide how I feel and pretend to be strong. I hear that you just have to hurt until it doesn't hurt so much anymore. The doctor gave me some very strong pain pills for Brodie to keep her comfortable but although it is fast growing she doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain and she still very playful so I'm going to save them until she really needs them, the doctor said I will know because she won't even be able to put weight on her foot and she will start panting for no reason. I don't want to mask her pain so that she will hurt herself.

The guy who did my fences came by yesterday to give us an estimate for my deck outside my bedroom door, an awning above my mom's porch and a fence for the front yard, every dog in the neighborhood wants to come and take a dump in my front yard and nobody cleans up after their dog. He's also going to put down concrete around the back so we have a place to put our garbage cans and barbecue so they don't have to be in the driveway. The guy did a really good job on the fence and I know everything else will look great.
Heather came by today and made some chicken breasts stepped with cream cheese, artichoke hearts and roasted peppers with a cilantro cream sauce, scalloped potatoes and asparagus... it was awesome.
My brother David called to see how everything was going and it sounds like they also had a really nice Christmas and New Year's. He spent most of his underneath his car fixing his transmission and replacing his clutch but he's glad to have his truck running again. His daughter Deziree got a job in an Asian market and is going to start next week, this is her first job and she's very excited.