Monday Miscellany

Hello.

Are you sure there isn't something you need me to cook? Really? Nothing? You're sure? Honest?

Cause all I've done is cook.

I started cooking yesterday. The buns, the first half of the sweet potato thing (don't ask, long story, it tasted fine), the rice stuffing and the pie. Oh, and John School somewhere in the middle. (In which I cooked up a righteous indignation on slug-slime men who prey on battered, abused, addicted and enslaved women. But that's another post)

Yes, and ground beef and rice for a certain dog .

Today was the bird (15 pounds), the other half of the sweet potato casserole (still don't ask - like I said, it tasted good.), digging up some carrots in the garden, mashed potatoes, setting the table, coping when part of my guests called in really sick, making gravy, sugared pecans for the sweet potato thing (just don't ask, it looked ok) and toasting the almonds for the stuffing. Heating every thing up, and serving it.

Oh, and polishing silver. When you don't use it in 18 months, it's really tarnished. Who knew?

Are you sure you don't want me to cook something?

Would you like to come for leftovers?

I know, I'm sorry. I forgot to take pictures of the dishes before they went on the table. I was busy. Cooking.

Could you please?

Go and vote for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation here? If you need a Canadian postal code (and I think you do) use T5J 1P1. The video is the third tab in (a little boy wearing a red shirt). Watch it and vote afterward.

There are lots of worthy causes on the list, but CF is very close to my heart. 25 years ago, my cousin died of CF. Robyn was a young child - not even young woman. She should have had her whole life ahead of her. Instead, Aunt Faith keeps Robyn's ashes at home, because Robyn just wanted to be at home. It is a sad thing when a child only wants to be home with her dog, and has had so much time in the hospital.

We have seen progress. Research has increased life expectancy. Early testing, early treatment. Hope. There is still more work to do.

For Robyn, for Aunt Faith, for Uncle Ken. For all of us, and for all of those diagnosed and their families, would you go vote?

I takez over blug

dIs id DeLtA.
i TAke oVer muMyz bluugh blOooG boOg.

I deManD Fudz!!!%##!

WhAt wid Thiz stOopID hAmbUrger and bleAck, rIce?

seRsly. whEre reAl fudz?

rEaLLY. Whatz wiD deSe purtioions PourtIons?

I knOEz eAtzie dIs CrApz.

vEt is meAnz. and NaSty.

wHeRe my ToorKeY and my Froit and mY WEgetEwaBbbbbLeS?

sErSly.

bring. FuDz. DeeSe HooManS staRRRvEs deLta.

iZe VerDy hUnGRiezzZZZe.

i NO EatZ sTuffIes no Morz.

U BriNGz dA FuD?

(I noZe liKse doSe CatZ on DahDeeeZe BlUgh. U nO LisTenZe tO DeM)

And so it passes

The stuffed animal has passed. Mr. Spit (God bless his heart!) got the flashlight to make sure.

All stuffies of that model have been removed from the house.

Delta would like you to know that she is very, hungry, and it's going to be al ong time till tomorrow when she can eat.

She thanks you for her concern, but wants to know where her dinner is and why you haven't brought it.

She thinks the vet is very mean.

Delta Update

It looks like the girl will be coming home tonight. We will have to take her for a long walk to get things, ahem, moving. There is a stuffed toy and the "exit point". A long walk should get it out.

Which is more of a challenge than you might think. You see, the thing you need to know about a Mastiff, is that they are lazy.

More lazy than a sloth, more lazy than your brother in law with a bottle of beer in his hand after pay day, they are profoundly lazy.

A long walk for a mastiff is roughly 100 feet. Possibly we might get 150 feet because she has been cooped up in a kennel.

This is going to be grand, I tell you.

Grief and Christmas

After a number of requests to share what we learned at our seminar, I sent the presenter an email. I wanted to be respectful of her material and her wisdom, while still seeing if we could help others. She wanted me to share as much as I could.

The topics were wide ranging, but she gave some great ideas.

1. Be intentional about how you want to remember the person you are grieving. You could light a candle for them, hang an ornament on the tree, donate money to their favourite charity, or a meaningful charity, leave a place setting at the table, talk about your memories of that person, tell their favourite joke, sing their favourite song. It doesn't matter what it is, but have a plan. Accept that plans sometimes go awry.

2. Find a supportive place to go, where you can openly express your grief and sorrow at Christmas. This could be a blue Christmas service, a remembrance service at a local hospital or funeral home. These are important. This will be one place where no one will expect you to have a stiff upper lip.

3. Accept this year is not like other years. Make changes if necessary. The changes aren't forever, but just for this year. You can do other things, different things, or the same things you have always done next year, but this year, do things differently. This can mean going to a restaurant, going to another country, having appetizers only and no turkey, you get the picture.

4. Accept this will be hard. There will be days that will be better than other's, there will be days that it is easier for you to be in the Christmas spirit than others. Accept what you can do, and be kind.

5. Communicate that this will be hard for you, to your friends and family. Talk about how sad you are that the person isn't here, and talk about your memories or your hopes and dreams about what this Christmas was supposed to be.

6. Be kind to yourself. Watch a funny movie, leave early, bow out, go to things that bring you peace and comfort. Buy yourself a gift. Don't compensate for your sorrow by spending too much money. Invite friends over to help you decorate the tree.

7. Use ritual. Consider the holiday memorial to help you bring your loved one back into the holiday.

Perhaps more than that, remember, there is a wide group of us, we dead baby mums. And we are standing together, with not just our child's name, but yours as well. We do not grieve only for ourselves and our children, but for all of us, and this terrible time of pain. We are stronger together. When one falls, we can help each other up, and if that doesn't work, we can sit on the floor together too.

Delta Update

She's still at the vets. Unfortunately, they were unable to keep the barium down to do a scan. They did try, and they can tell that her stomach lining is very irritated.

Her blood tests have come back completely normal, and she has responded well to re-hydration with an IV.

Tomorrow they will try the barium again, to make sure that there is no obstruction, and we will go from there.

Not out of the woods, but looking more hopeful than this morning, when we discovered that she had lost just over 20 pounds in a few weeks.

We are kicking around the house, missing her.

Thanks for your prayers and support. We will keep you updated.