A Simple Ride in the Car

Right up there next to "Let's go for a walk!" is "Wanna go ride in the car?" As she has aged, many of her activities have diminished, but not walking or riding! We bought a nice, big doggie carseat that belts into the car and seats her high enough to look out the window safely. So yesterday, as we were preparing to go to the pharmacy for her meds, we invited Treasure to ride along in the car.

Now, normally she prefers to sit in the front seat, but the joy and anticipation of a ride keeps her satisfied to take the back seat. As you can see, she can watch for activity outside the car, or keep an eye on Mom and Dad in the front.
The medicine we picked up is Piroxicam and is intended to either shrink the mass or slow its growth. This drug type is an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug), which previously had been used for canine arthritis, but was found to be beneficial in shrinking tumors. We have to watch for signs of stomach distress, so she gets an acid reducer along with the pill once a day.

This morning she woke up with a "squealie" tummy, and our instructions are to back off the medication if it persists. This is not an unusual occurance for Treasure, though, and hopefully by noon she'll be back on track and ready for lunch. We took a walk already - even though it's Sunday and off our schedule - but, heck, it's a beautiful morning, just perfect for an early, quiet walk around the neighborhood. And these are not ordinary times... another Treasured moment.

Walking with Treasure

One of Treasure's signature personality traits has been her spirited enthusiasm for her daily walks. "Walk" is the number one word in her vocabulary and we learned to use it honestly and sincerely because she had high expectations as she waited at the front door.

Being the dainty female that she is, I was often amused at her habit of "marking" certain areas of grass along our route. (I thought only boy dogs did that!) After a while my amusement would turn to impatience as her incessant marking delayed our mission and took her focus off my plans!

Well, it's amazing how a simple diagnosis of bladder cancer can turn my focus entirely off myself and onto every one of her stops to pee! I find myself savoring every attempt to mark because that means she is still one step ahead of the thing that will eventually kill her.

Our walks, which were always a great source of exercise and friendly chatter, are now precious moments to be stored away for remembering later. We'll take a little more time to visit with other walkers who are charmed by her bright eyes and friendly overtures. We'll stop and sniff the flowers along the way and maybe bark a little more at the dog behind the fence. And if she wants to stop and sit in the middle of the street for a while, so be it!

These will be my "Treasured moments."

Time for Treasure

I have decided that I need to share on this blog the devasting news that our precious Treasure has developed bladder cancer. It was discovered in a routine "geriatric profile" yesterday. We are consulting her vet today to discuss treatment for her. But the outcome is not good. This cancer, called Transitional Cell Carcinoma, is 100% fatal. My aim is to keep her as comfortable as I can until the end.
Because this is an emotional subject for me, I will post updates regularly, keeping them brief and to the point. Otherwise I will not be strong for this dog, who God brought into my life four and a half years ago to bring healing to my broken heart.
I would just ask that you pray for us during this difficult time.

Why "Old People" Don't Move or Have Children!

For the past week, Meredith and Cristian have been moving from their home of less than five years to a new home. I mention "less than five years" because one wouldn't think a family of three could accumulate so much in less than five years! And to think that I have lived in the same house for 35 years. No, don't let me even think about my accumulation.


I come from a family that puts down roots and leaves them there forever. My grandparents lived in their home for probably fifty or more years. My parents had only two homes in the fifty years they lived in Wichita Falls. I have memories of trying to sort out possessions of each after they had all passed. What a chore!


But back to the current move. Meredith and Cristian not only have an accumulation of things, they have a one-year-old! I'm thinking that all the scholars in the universities could not come up with an ideal time to make a move. But I'm guessing they would suggest that this would be one of the more difficult times.


Enter grandparents! In the wisdom of God, grandparents come along at the right time and with the right temperament to help with those moves! Picture this: Meredith is packing boxes while Ludee plays with Adrian. Cristian is hauling boxes while Granpa is napping with Adrian. Meredith is meeting with the title company while Ludee is lunching with Adrian. I figure we got the sweet end of the deal!


So here's the insight: "Old People" have too much stuff to even consider moving. And besides, the grandchildren can find more old stuff to play with at Grandma's house. Grandpa is much more fun to nap with, Grandma has lots of fun stuff to eat, and when the going gets tough, we can always call Mom and Dad to come get their kid! It's a sweet deal!


Here's the one picture I managed to take during the week and it speaks volumes!

Driving Green

We did it! After much discussion and putting our name on a waiting list, we bought a Prius!

I have a dear friend who has been driving a Prius for several years and she got me thinking about looking into buying one. Then, as the price of gas got higher and higher, Graham joined me in thinking more about a Prius. When we went to Seattle in May to start our Canada tour, we rode in a Prius taxicab to our hotel and realized how nice and roomy the car is, in addition to the fantastic mileage it gets. Finally, we started looking at Toyota dealers to see if we could test-drive one and, of course, there were none to be had in all of San Antonio. So we did the next best thing, we rented a Prius for a weekend and discovered how much we like the car. That's when we put our name on a waiting list.

About six weeks later, and after selling both cars, we got the call to come and pick up our new car. That was yesterday! It came with a full tank of gas, so now I can't wait to see how long it will be until I have to fill it up again! O Happy Day!

What a Day!

Today is Adrian's first birthday. Having an August birthday, Meredith chose a "beach" theme for his cake. I baked a plain old white cake in a 9x13 pan and she fashioned an ocean with a sandy beach and beach umbrellas. Did you know that a graham cracker pie crust makes great beach sand? Yum!

Meredith invited three of her close friends with young children to come and share lunch and some fun with new beach toys. "Auntie" Jo and "Mimi and Da" were there to enjoy the festivities and visit with Ludee and Grandpa.
Adrian was given just a little "taste" of his cake. I think this is the first bit of sugar he's ever had. He was a little cautious at first, then broke out with a big grin as the flavors soaked in! It looks like he had some of the "ocean" on his fingers!
About the time his guests were departing, this little boy was ready for a nap! So much excitement for one day.
Look who else was ready for a nap! Treasure was absolutely wonderful with all the children, but especially with John Daniel, a 2 year old who discovered "doggie" for the first time. She let him pet her over and over and even walked right in the midst of the other toddlers. But she did just have a birthday herself and is reminded that she is after all eleven years young! What a trooper.

After we cleaned up Meredith and Cristi went to their appointment to close on their new house. They will be moving in this weekend. As I said, "What a day!"

It's a Whole New World!

Meredith's church nursery worker surprised her on Sunday when she gave Adrian a cracker in the nursery. She hadn't really considered that he was ready, with only two teeth, but that opened up a whole new world of fun for our baby! I discovered the Gerber finger bites at the HEB and bought a canister of the banana flavor. We got so tickled at Adrian's expressions as he discovered the new textures and flavors in his mouth. I think you'll get the idea as you look at these pictures.

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It's August, and I'm Just Thinking

It's so hot, thinking is about the only thing that doesn't take much effort!

I think alot about how cool it was in Canada! We would get outside after breakfast and the temperature hovered around 38 degrees. It was so nice to have to bundle up in my coat. I love going back through our pictures and looking at the snow-capped mountains, the enormously tall trees, the roaring waterfalls, all the different species of wildlife... We chalked up some wonderful memories from the great Northwest.

Another thing I think about is getting back with my ladies and our Bible study. We take a much needed break in the summer. After about three weeks I realize how much I miss getting together weekly to share insights from our study with each other. We'll gather in just three weeks for a Beth Moore conference here in San Antonio. Then we'll get out our calendars and see when everyone will be ready to start our next study. We'll be doing the Psalms of Ascent in a study called "Stepping Up". I can't wait.

I think about some pretty big events happening in August too. And all of them are coming in the same week! Meredith and Cristian will be moving into a new (to them) house some time around the 15th of the month. They found a 90 year old home in a historical area and just fell in love with it. And of course, the 14th of August is Adrian's first birthday. We will host a small gathering for his party here at my house with select friends and family to celebrate this momentous occasion. Some time in this general period we will be getting our new Prius automobile. We've been doing well with only one car for the last month, so Graham will actively pursue a buyer for the Maxima and we'll see how long we can stay happy with one car. It will be like an increase in our retirement check with only one car to gas up (infrequently) and insure!

Well, that's enough thinking for now. I'm reminded, though, to pray for some of my friends who are having health crises. The older I get, the more frequent these requests become.

Back to the "dog days" of August.