See ya, September!

Another month has come and gone in a blink of an eye......

The weather has finally started to feel like fall, WAHOOOOOOO!!  It was a hot, DRY, DRY summer!

The Red Butte Concert season came to a close on the 17th with Billy Idol, but before him, Trombone Shorty (if you know nothing about him, google him immediately!!!) and O.A.R with Matt Nathanson (my new musical crush, he's adorable on stage and I love his music).  I'm always conflicted about the end of the season, I am happy for the crazy busy part to be over but at the same time, I always miss the music!

A migraine update, I got botox and a new medication for when one hits, and I have not had one since the changes!!!!  It feels like a minor miracle after all of the ones I had in a row.  I was slightly disappointed and teased my doctor that my botox would make me look younger, but the dosage and locations of my migraine botox does nothing for the cosmetic side.  ;)

I also had an eye exam and am officially blind as a bat and without the sonar capabilities.  I am getting used to my new prescription.  Let's just say, if they ever change that big E on the eye chart, I am in big trouble.  The good news, my vision is completely fixable with glasses or contacts to the point of 20/15.

If you went to Pioneer Memorial Theatre during the run of 'Oslo', you will know why I am about to rave about this play, and if you didn't, or don't live in the area, if you see it being performed in your area, GO!!!!!!!  Do not be discourage by its running length-almost 3 hours-the time flies and the subject matter is engrossing.  I don't want to give too much away but 'Oslo' is a Tony winning drama play and based on a real life event......

The Broadway Across America, SLC schedule, kicked in on the 30th for me with 'Waitress'.  There was a musical number that may of been one of the funniest scenes I have ever witnessed on stage.  I was crying I was laughing so hard.  People ask me all the time why I put the money into my season tickets and this show summed it up completely, I would of seen it advertised and maybe purchased tickets, but probably would of forgotten and I would of ended up missing it.  My season tickets get me to shows that I would probably miss and some that I would of never purchased tickets for, and do you want to hear something really interesting, some of my favorite shows are the ones that I would of never gotten tickets for without my season tickets.....

Bacall is massively cheering the cooler temps!  She still goes on walks, very, very slow walks, but walks nonetheless.  She is such a happy soul.....  Meeko has been in a very sociable mood lately, so if you stop by, you might actually see her....

The UofU football team is going to give me an ulcer this year.  The game against Washington State about drove me over the edge....  I'm still a fan, I will always be a fan, but good grief.

I hope September was a good month for you!
Melissa

my art for the month, a koala I knitted...

10 Random Things...

My writing binge of June has faded away, and ideas have come in but not enough for a whole blog, so I decided to revive a 10 random things entry, so July doesn't fly by without at least one.

#1.  Holy Cats has it been a HOT HOT and DRY summer!  It rained for about 5 minutes the other day and I was excited as a kid at Christmas!

#2.  Ice Blocks are back in stores...  I searched and searched last summer when family was in town last summer to no avail, this year, as they were visiting again, I FOUND them!!  We were able to revive a summer time tradition of tempting fate and injury and ice blocking down the hill at Sugarhouse Park.

#3.  Did you know that at the Winter Olympic Park in Park City you can do extreme tubing?  You cruise down the ski jumping hills and can reach speeds of 50 mph...  Here's a little video.. and I did it!

#4.  Sometimes you need visitors to come to town to become a tourist in your own area again.  It's fun  to do the things that on the surface seem touristy...  My tip, don't wait until someone comes to town, get out and explore your area so you know the really fun stuff.

#5.  I've started knitting stuffed animals to giveaway.  I'm leaning towards donating them to 'The Teddy Bear Cops Program' which gives them to cops for them to give to kids in accidents and other stressful incidents.  I've got to check to see if SLC has a program set up, if not I may start one up....

#6.  My tv viewing has plummeted this summer and I haven't even missed it....  It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the fall.

#7.  I have joined the ranks of Red Butte Garden Volunteers...  I am a second generation volunteer as my Mom is a volunteer as well.  I have done one shift and had a wonderful time.  I can't wait to have more opportunities to get involved.

#8.  Miss Bacall's favorite summertime activity is hanging out on the porch, so it has been a lot of fun to talk to all my neighbors and dogs as they stroll past....

#9.  My health journey is an adventure....  I am recovering, not as fast as I would like, but I am recovering.  There have been a few hiccups, but no major setbacks.  The main thing that has come out of this whole thing, I LOVE my medical team.  They are a mixture of traditional and for lack of a better word non traditional approaches and they work together!

#10.  Don't go into shock, but I am still rolling forward on my New Year's Resolutions!!!  My pushups are almost there!  My bad habit just got another reason to stay away.  My book challenge is going nicely, and for the most part, I have enjoyed the books.  I've seen movies in theaters!  My food challenge is keeping me on my toes in the kitchen.  My daily walk has had some misses, but has started a wonderful routine that connects me to my neighborhood.  The Weird Holidays have been SO MUCH FUN!!!!  and I now have others giving me suggestions now!

I hope your summer is going well!

Melissa

Moving Forward....

I thought I would give an update on how we are doing around here....

We are ok.

Humphrey's death clobbered me and I am still grieving.  I do not think that I have been hit as hard by a dog's death as I have been by his.  He was my boy.....  I think the trust that he gave me and the patience I learned from him were such life lessons that he went deeper into my heart.  I have had a bit of the blahs and have fallen back onto the Diet Coke crutch, which is something I will be working on (avoiding emotional eating and Diet Coke consumption), but I can only handle so much at once.   Going to Georgia for almost a week really helped, but I will still tear up at certain times of the day or when the silence gets to me.  It turns out he was a fairly noisy dog.  Snorting, sighing, barking to get your attention, and the such which kept the noise and energy level fairy high around here for a basset hound's house anyway.

Bacall is a much quieter dog.  I never knew how quiet until now.  It's been interesting to figure out how to interact with her without trying to replicate the things I used to do with Humphrey.  I have never had one on one time with her, Humphrey was always in the background.  She will sigh or give the basset hound equivalent of an eye roll when I do something that is not her style.  Adding to her grief, and she is grieving, while she was at boarding, she managed to get an infection on the skin on her neck and has been one sick little camper the past week.  She is on a steroid, antibiotics, and a cream to help fight the infection.  Since the early part of May, she has lost 6 pounds.  Fortunately her appetite is starting to come back and I am seeing glimpses of her sunny personality.

Once Bacall is feeling better, I will be adding another dog to the mix.  Not a puppy and probably not a Basset, but I don't get to decide, Bacall will.......

I've decided to deal with myself with a bit of grace with everything that has happened lately and not beat myself with those negative comments that pop into my head.  I have not exercised with regularity and  the Diet Coke issue, so I have gained a couple of pounds... grrrr.  I am now recognizing it and getting back on the wagon, so maybe that is the lesson of all of this.

Just keep moving forward.
And forgive yourself if you just need to stand still for a bit to catch your breath....

Healing,
Melissa

Goodbye, My Sweet Prince.

my boy....

Humphrey lived in a house full of women,
and often was teased for it.  I would ask him if he wanted his nails done and he would just sigh....

I would leave the tv on for him on sports when I left the house just to get some manly energy in his life.

We are now a house of only women.

Humphrey is no longer with us.

On Wednesday evening, he was hanging out in the front room with me when he suddenly ran out of the room.  I could see him when he stopped.  He looked scared, then it happened.  A bigger event, whatever it was, that had him scurrying back to me.  The only problem, his back legs no longer worked.  He was dragging them.  I got to the floor next to him and his fur was still standing up near his tail and his upper body was just quivering.  His back legs had no movement at all....  It was like he had been shocked by a massive electrical bolt.  I've been describing it to people like this, Humphrey had a 'Spinal Seizure.'

I sat with him just petting and comforting him for about 15 minutes to see what would happen, per experience from his seizure this past fall, but in my mind, I think I knew immediately that this was different, but my heart did not want to believe what I was seeing. He did not improve.  The quivering did not end and you could see pain beginning to creep into his eyes.  A call to the vet occurred next, but guess what?  My normal vet was closed.  It was 7pm.  Emergency Vet time......

It was time to go, even if I really did not want to, but I knew I needed to....
My amazing neighbor helped me get Humphrey into the car.  80 plus pounds of Humphrey was never easy to move, but this time H could not help me at all and there was no way I could of done it alone.  It was a gesture of compassion and kindness and I will be forever grateful.  My mom and Bacall joined me on the drive to the Vet.

I knew before I left the house that Humphrey would not be coming back.....  It is the hardest, yet the most important, part of having pets in your life.  This moment of compassion.  Of letting go...

You see, dogs have hearts that will not give up on you.  If they have a choice, they will stay with you. They will suffer pain as long as you still love them.  They will not give up.

The vet, whom I had never met, came in and agreed that there was no coming back from whatever had happened and the compassionate and right thing to do was to end his suffering.

I had one last responsibility in the gift of having Humphrey in my life....I had to let him go.

He died peacefully in my arms...
with Bacall near by.

We are now dealing with the silence of his missing presence.

Bye Boo....

In Mourning....
Melissa

A bunch of stuff...

I haven't written in a while...
I've been having thoughts about what to write, but they don't seem to be enough for an entire blog, so I have not done one.

Well, that ends today with a Random Thoughts blog.

It will be disjointed.
It will be random.
It will be ok.

1.  I love to read and discover new authors, but get very frustrated when I LOVE the first book I read by an author and then am bored to death by the next two by the same author.

2.  I quit playing Candy Crush on my phone for a couple of reasons.  Do you know much time was being sucked into that game?  Too Much. And, more importantly, I found out it was ripped off from a guy who had invented it for his mom who was battling cancer.  Why would I play the ripoff after hearing that?

3.  I started taking American Sign Language classes last week.  It is something I have always wanted to do and finally found a class that works with my schedule.  I can sign the alphabet, numbers up to 10, yes and no, and the phase, "Hi, my name is Melissa.  Nice to meet you."  Not bad for my first week!  And here is a bit of useful information, the deaf community prefers Deaf or Hard of Hearing (if there is some hearing ability).  They consider Hearing Impaired an insult.

4.  Even though, we did not have a hard or exceptionally snowy winter, I am ready for spring.  I am having a hard time, however, getting motivated for the projects in my yard however.

5.  Remember how I was redoing the bathroom?  I talked about it here.  I have yet to get the doors off of the cabinet.  I now have VERY VERY strong opinions about people who paint over hinges.  I got sooooo frustrated by the whole situation that I stopped even thinking about it for a while.  I have a plan, it involves paint stripper. grrrr.

6.  Humphrey has not had another seizure!!!!!  I am still in Overtime and enjoying every moment of it.  He has a fatty tumor, non cancerous, under his right front leg, but I am treating it with essential oils, since surgery is not an option for him.  He is slow on walks, but still HAS to go out every day and generally loves his life.

7.  I have gotten into Essential Oils.  I think it is just the evolution of eating better, cleaning without toxic chemicals, and a hopefully environmentally friendly lifestyle.  I use DoTERRA oils and am now a Independent Consultant.  If you are interested in them, let me know.

8.  For the current season of the Utah Symphony/Opera, I bought a mini 6 performance pass.  Five of them were for the Symphony, but one was for the Opera.  I saw La Traviata in January.  I fell in love.
With Opera.  Me, who always said that the women always sounded like they were screeching, fell in love.  I ended up getting tickets for Turandot and it cemented my love.  Ironically, I still am not a fan when just listening to a cd of the women, but when you combine the live performance with the set and pageantry of it all, I'm good to go.

9.  I am still doing pretty well on my New Year's Resolutions.  YA!  There is one that may end up being tweaked, but I can not figure out how.  It's one about finishing projects in a timely and sane manner.  I'm struggling to figure out how to complete items but take the pressure off of having to get it done.

10.  I am very hard on myself when I make a mistake.  It is one of the things that I struggle with and continue to work on.  I spiral. And then spiral some more. Until in my mind, everything is wrong.  This past week has been a summary of that.  Spiraling and working on it and getting help and coming back.

So there you have it,
my life in the past little bit in a nutshell.

Progress and regression.
Learning.
Savoring.
Frustrating and Wonderful.
Life.

Melissa

Overtime...

I think most of you know that I am a HUGE sports fan, especially football, but this post has nothing to do with sports despite the title.

I am in overtime with Humphrey.

One of my favorite pictures of Humphrey

Three weeks ago, today, Humphrey was getting off the couch on his pet stairs (we'll discuss how spoiled he is at a later date) when he suddenly seized up.  I immediately knew what it was having seen seizures in my brother.  Humphrey jerked and his eyes rolled back into his head and lost control of his bladder.  I had a brief moment of control and timed the event, because in my heart this seemed like it was going on forever. Reality shows the seizure lasted just over a minute.  When it was finally over, I was not even sure he survived the seizure.  It was absolutely terrifying.  I laid down on the floor with him to make sure he was breathing and to give both of us some comfort.

A phone call to the vet was next.  An appointment two hours later was made when they squeezed us in between other appointments.  During those two hours, I began to mentally prepare myself that this was then end.  It was brutal.  I think I cried for almost the entire time.  Humphrey was breathing, but that is about all I could say at this point.  He did not respond to his name.  He looked confused and out of it.  After about an hour, he attempted to stand up and needed some help.  He had very little control over his body.  My heart broke once again.  I could tell he needed to go to the bathroom, but he had no idea where to go.  Bacall and I led him out to the backyard and Humphrey followed out of love and trust.  We led him back in, because he did not know to come back inside.

His heart was beating, but it was like Humphrey, as I knew him, was gone.

It was finally time for the appointment, and I loaded up the dogs and went to the vet.  Bacall would not leave Humphrey's side, so she had to go, too..  She was all excited until she realized that we were at the vet, then I had two worrywarts at the vet.  Me and Bacall.

The first thing Dr. Gold did was calm me down.  He was actually pretty excited that Humphrey could walk in (it was a good sign).  I learned that seizures in dogs are more common that I had previously thought and more importantly, it was not a death sentence.  Epilepsy is even seen in dogs and with medication can be managed like it is in humans.  Whew.

The next thing that happened was that I learned I was in a 24, then a 48 hour window, before we decided anything.  Seizures can take up to 48 hours to recover from in dogs.  No medication was dispensed and we were sent home.

Humphrey was still out of it and it ended up being a very long 24 hours.  He had to be led outside when he would stand up, due to the fact, he did not remember how to go outside.  When he got outside, he would do his business and then just lay outside.  The temperatures that night were near freezing.  Bacall would go out and bark at him and nag him back inside.  During that long night, Bacall became a great sister to H.  She took care of him, worried about him, and for once did not challenge him in any way.

We made it thru the night and I called the vet to give an update.  Humphrey was starting to recognize his name and seemed a little more with it.

I was to call after another 24 hours.... the very important 48 hour mark.  Night two went better and he was starting to want food and snacks.  (A key indicator in Humphrey is whether he wants food, if he doesn't, you know something major is up)

By the end of 48 hours, I was no long having to escort him in and out to the bathroom; he responded to his name and could walk well, slowly, but well.

Humphrey was all the way back.

Whew.

Another phone call to the vet......
We now need to go 30 days without another seizure.  If he does have one within the 30 day window, he will most likely go on medication.  The vet's main concern is that Humphrey is 10 years old and seizures, especially major ones like he had, are hard to recover from.  I understood.....

I am in overtime with Humphrey.
We have had a AMAZING time during regulation and I got bonus time.
To cherish.
To enjoy.

He is a bundle of love.  He is happy.  He is not in pain.

He is, however, weaker than he was before the seizure.  He sleeps a bit more.  His walks take longer, but he still wants to go.  His back legs, sometimes, take a little bit to get going when he stands up.

We have a week to go before the 30 day mark.  I hope he makes it without another seizure.
But if he does, we'll get thru it and make the best decisions for him.

A dog lover....
Melissa

Humphrey, the Ham.....

This is Humphrey.....

You've met him a couple of times before here on the blog:  here, and here, and even in the one where his sister wrote, but he's never had a post dedicated to just him.

So, today is Humphrey's day here at A Little to the Left.

A little background information about Humphrey.

His full name is Sir Humphrey Dyson Murphy, aka Boo.

I got him at a Petsmart Super Adoption.  He was on the last row and the last cage and when I saw him, he walked over to the edge of his cage and looked up at me and said, "I'm yours."  I had no intention of getting another Basset Hound that day....  I went looking for any type of dog, but a Basset.  I was still getting over the death of my previous Basset Hounds, Tobie and Daisie, and did not think I could take another one.  Humphrey changed that idea and came home with me that day.

When I got home, I realized this full grown 70 pound dog had no leash training and was terrified of almost everyone and rapidly had separation anxiety anytime he was left alone.  The leash training took a couple of weeks of long walks, giving him a stick to carry so he wouldn't bite his leash, and a lot of patience.  The fear took quite a bit longer and a lot more help.  Humphrey was about 2 or 3 when I got him, and was (and I still believe) a handsome hound dog.  He's a big guy,  but not fat, just long and dopey looking.  People along the routes of his walks in the early days would want to talk to him, but he was just too scared and shy, but there were a few dedicated dog lovers who took the time to earn his trust.  Humphrey soon realized that in addition to me and the family, most of the world is very nice to dogs and he did not have to be so scared.

Humphrey still has a few quirks from his early abuse and lack of socialization, but has become an amazing dog.  He's a little more protective in the house than I would prefer but is easily disciplined.

Why did I explain all of his?

To show the growth and love this dog now has for people and the belly rubs they give out and the joy I feel when......

Humphrey, the Ham shows up.

You see it on walks when he sees kids, who are the most likely to pet, and he puts his tail up and his ears out to look very handsome.

But it really comes to life on a couple of events a year.
1.  The St. Patrick's Day Parade in Salt Lake City, when the Utah Friends of Basset Hounds (the Basset rescue group I now belong to) has an entry in the parade, which we call the Wasatch Waddle.  Humphrey spends the entire parade route on the edge getting tickles and pets from anyone who will give him one.

This photo is from a couple of years ago, but you get the idea.  Notice how he rolls over to get his belly rubbed.  I call him a 'BellySlut.'

2.  The Easter Bone Hunt at Wheeler Farm.  While this is more a dog event, Humphrey always seems to find people to pet him and basically make a big deal about him.

By the end of the event, I joke that Humphrey had a fan club and they were his 'peeps'.

3.  Strut Your Mutt....  I don't know what it is, but Basset Hounds seem to draw a lot of attention at events, and Strut Your Mutt is no exception.

Here is is taking a break in between all of his 'peeps' and pets.

4.  Walk, Wag and Swim.   This is a great event!!!!  The Saturday after Labor Day, the Draper pool is open to dogs.  Humphrey loves to swim and his people are there.  Could there be anything better?

If you are wondering about Bacall, she tolerates all of these events.  She loves her family, but other people are a bit suspect.  I always tell the people who she lets pet her that they have a special touch.  Dogs, however, she'll say hi to and play with.  She always makes sure Humphrey is in her sight, but stays off to the edge and let's him have the spotlight.

If you're out and about and see Humphrey, please feel free to give him a pet.  He'll probably sit on your feet to keep you there a while and if you show any skills at belly rubs, he will roll over so you can test your skills.

Later,
Lover of Basset Hounds,
Melissa

Thundering Herd....

If you own a Basset hound or two, like I do, at some point in time or multiple times, you will be sent this link...

50 Bassets Running

You will laugh and think 'yep, my dog looks like that too when he runs.'

If you also own a camera and are a budding photography geek, you will then round up your dogs and head to the local park and try to recreate the pictures.

At the park, you will quickly realize that Bassets while not great runners are even worse at stopping before crashing into said photographer.  They also get sidetracked on the way to you because they saw someone who might want to tickle their belly.   They will also get tired of running to you just so you can get the perfect shot with the perfect lighting and not do it anymore.

So, after making them run around, you will get the preppy dog shirts you found at Old Navy for $3 a piece and throw them on the dogs and take more pictures.  People will walk by laughing at the goofy dogs in the goofy shirts and then ask if they can come pet them.  It will make your day, but more importantly it will make your dog's day.

Without further ado,
here are Humphrey and Bacall running

                                                 Nice start, Bacall!!!

  Brakes would be good... (about 1/2 second later, I was cleaning slobber off my lens)

                                              Alright, Humphrey.... your turn

                            Keep going, Humphrey, you're not done running yet!  :)

               And now, the Thundering Herd of Basset Hounds are on their way!

                          Don't you hope, that you don't look like this while running?

 

                                           Whew, we made it!!!  No more running.

                               Can someone, please please please, tickle my belly now?

                                                     Or even just pet me?

              And if you have a cat, she will stay home and think
                                        Dogs drool and Cats Rule!