Charley

Charley’s new car seat

What a Beautiful Day, Time to get Busy!

It was a beautiful morning only 65 degrees but Charley was shivering, I will need a jacket for him sooner than I thought he has very thin skin (me too) So I spent much of the day in the studio trying to make one. First I tried using a Mexican blanket I wasn’t using but that was not a good idea because after cutting it up I realized it really wasn’t warm, and besides I’d made a mess of it. I looked for patterns on line but did poorly making my measurements of Charley though he tried to cooperate but got impatient with my “stand still Charley”. then I remembered this huge soft bathrobe my sister gave me a while back and figured I could share a piece of it to make him his own bathrobe.

So far it’s not working, after hours of trying I gave up for the day and will try again tomorrow hoping we have another cool morning. It was a beautiful day until later when the winds picked up and blew over my chairs, all good

Living with Charley means making some changes, like when do I get groceries? He hates the car and snuggles too close to me, maybe his own seat belt may help him feel more secure but I doubt I’ll ever be able to leave him in the car to shop and I know he will not be quiet if I leave him in the RV alone. So now I’m seeing how long I can wait before getting groceries, using the staples I have on hand. I’ll probably save a heap of money staying out of town!

Could I say he’s a therapy dog? What kind of requirements are there? He certainly qualifies, giving me emotional support and loving companionship. Does he need a badge? Who gives out the badges? Can I make him a badge or whatever, guess I’ll look into this possibility, he is a calm pooch and when I took Becky out to lunch for her birthday he sat nicely under false pretenses of being a support dog.

Later………

After some research it seems there are no special qualifications for the dog, but I would need something wrong with me to need a emotional support animal. I’m old, alone and sometimes feel a little bit lonely so I qualify and could probably get a MD note saying so but don’t expect to need one, really who is going to ask me for it? Its not like I want to fly with him or rent an apartment.

After spending $100 on a collar, leash id and vest I now have an emotional support pet that I can take in the stores or where ever I go, he goes with me.

I guess I don’t have to tell you that I ordered the wrong set of what I need , at least I noticed it immediately but not in time, so there you are.

Hoping to catch up with myself again!

Finally starting to cool down here in Caballo. I even was chilly this morning but we’re still in the upper 80’s all week.

We went out to get a new leash this morning, the one I got from Joan broke and I couldn’t repair it, they allow you dog in the store if on a leash, they have everything Charley needs at this place, which is very good as I won’t be able to bring him in when I need to grocery shop. It gets complicated, he barks if I leave him alone for more than 2 minutes.Now he is sleeping in my space and I am in his., we need to work on that.

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The park hasn’t been real busy, people park for a night and are gone in the morning. There have been some really huge RV’s in here lately. Soon the snow birds will be here, CJ (owner)expects many of the same people as were here last year. A nice sense of community here. I look forward to seeing them.

I’m having serious procrastination issues lately can’t get started on my to do list. It’s because I’m reading too much. I get library books on Overdrive. and I just keep reading. I don’t even cook. Do you have it on your reader? Saves huge amounts of money and I can read anytime on my ipad. If you have a library card you can download it. I just don’t have space for a lot of books and this is a great option.

My paints have dried up so I ordered new, can’t wait to get started, I want to paint the mountains that I see from here, it won’t be easy but I have time to work on it, ready for a challenge.

I’ve only had one Acupuncture client recently, one treatment only but I wasn’t able to help her with her stiff neck, she only gave me one chance had she been willing for a 2nd treatment I think she would have been fine, she wanted a magic pill so went to a clinic. I thought I had a good chance to fix her as she had only been hurting 1-2 days. She’s is feeling better now, I’m glad.

Charley and Me

Life changes when you live in a confined place and add a dog to it.

But I chose well and Charley makes no demands, but obligates me to at least three walks daily which is only good but that first am trip comes early…….. which makes me start my day earlier than I want, but even that is good.

I could go on and on, or tell you about some of his “cute” dance patterns he makes before the multiple droppings to get a treat. (He loves this treat so much that I’m afraid he’s going to hurt himself trying to do his business too often)

He’s a cuddle baby

We’re both happy with our choice.

September is Interstitial cystitis awareness month

A word to encourage those suffering with IC that it can get better over time and may not always get worse.

I’ve had IC since about 1990 , I don’t expect to be cured of it. I want to manage it and not let it manage me.

I was lucky to be a nurse with access to the medical library and realized early what my diagnosis was, when I told a MD friend I thought I had IC he said “no you don’t want that.” He was right, I didn’t want that, but here we are years later and I still have IC. Many suffer for years before they get a diagnosis.

Initially it was pretty awful if you are reading this you know what I mean. So I won’t get into the many ways we suffer with this bladderbitch.
I have found that stress reduction and medication has made a difference in my symptoms, I can eat what I could not and even drink coffee if I am cautious . I know that if I wake up in the morning in pain, which happens less and less, I need to be careful and avoid my triggers. I drink ensure every morning instead of having coffee.

I’ve seen several urologist over these years, some good and one really terrible, who thought I was drug seeking and told me there is no such thing as bladder spasms and I didn’t have IC.

I never went back to see her.

The next urologist I saw insisted I had to have a cysto but agreed I couldn’t have it done in the office because the last one I’d had the MD punctured my bladder and it was horrible. So in the OR he found I had profound damage and ulcers in my bladder, he was convinced I had severe IC and gave me what I needed for pain started me on what for me is the miracle drug elavil (amitriptyline) 10 mg at bedtime, I currently take 100 mg and even more if in a flare, but it works for me and I don’t expect I’ll ever stop needing it, I’ve tried to decrease the dose when feeling good but always need to go back to 100 mg. So yes, I’m much better than I’ve ever been and I remain cautiously optimistic and hope that reading this might give hope to someone just starting on this rocky road that it can get better.

Elavil is an old drug, super cheap and has of course some side effects that include weight gain, dry mouth, & constipation and for some an increased heart rate all easily managed if you hang in there. If your uro hasn’t suggested this medication for you, you should ask about it. Cheap, effective is an antidepressant and helps with nerve pain and sleep. I think this outweighs the tolerable side effects.

I have a urine cytology test yearly because chronic inflammation anywhere can cause a change in cells (and no matter what you are told, it can initiate cancer growth). I have inflammatory cells in my urine even though I feel better, it’s still a damaged bladder.

Not everyone can take the steps I’ve taken to manage life, nor would they want to, I wonder if I’ve made the right choices. Then I remember last year I still lost several days in pain every month and since I’ve moved I’ve only had a few hours in pain and haven’t needed pain medications more than 4 or 5 times for comfort. It can be lonely but now I have Charley to take care of and that helps us both. This works for me right now.

I really hope that some one reads this message with hope and if I can help anyone understand interstitial cystitis you will only have to ask.

We need a cure.

Charley tells me, again & again

Charlie tells me when he has to go out to do his business but he’s taking advantage of my willingness to respond whenever he indicates, sometimes with great energy, that he needs to go out quick and urgently, but when we get outside and he just looks around. Two out of the 5 times during the night he did this, he would raise his leg to sprinkle a few bushes but mostly he just looked around, probably grinning to himself that he has it made in the shade with this new human. We finally went to sleep until 7 am and it was time to start all over again. By the way, my kipling, was neutered early and never knew he should lift his leg not squat like a female, I think the raised leg is icky and rude………what can I say, especially since this is done where ever when ever a bush is passed by. No bush is exempt.

He walks very well on the leash, I keep him tight by me but the leash expands, and he spotted another dog walker with her dog, way up ahead and he tried to tear off after them, Charley the runner was very fast until the extending leash stopped him in his tracks. Ouch!

He likes papaya, I wonder if it likes him, guess I’ll find out.

He only weighs 12 pounds of skin and bones..and long legs and thin skin, shivers in the morning air.

He’ll soon need a jacket.

I’ve been watching a set of videos that I have from Tim Gagnon, painting lessons with attention on clouds and landscapes. I’m a dedicated cloud freak, a danger on the roads because I am watching for clouds and not the road, the traffic here is so sparce it’s almost not dangerous. Clouds are what I want to learn to paint and will be spending plenty of time trying, it seems simple but if you don’t know how to paint them they look like white blobs, flat and boring blobs. Some of my paints have dried up, glad I can order on line, not much available at Walmart.

This morning was cool enough to paint in the studio but I had to reorganize my space for Charley, he wants to be beside me where ever I am, guess it’s a dog thing. I don’t mind, he sleeps a lot but wakes up if I move to watch what I’m doing, okay enough dog talk really, I promise to write of other thoughts, not only about Charlie but this is new and I am enjoying his company.

Ciao