Thankful

• I truly thought I was going to lose my baby Aldo to chylothorax on Thanksgiving week (these photos are from Thanksgiving). He had over 11 lbs of fluid removed on Monday (after being tapped the Friday before) and he was tapped on Wednesday and Friday again too. It was the scariest day of my life.

• But we went to see the number one expert in the COUNTRY on chylothorax on Friday and he said that Aldo is a good candidate for surgery. The surgery gives him an 80% chance of a FULL recovery (and back to our normal lives). Without it, he can't survive much longer.

• Needless to say, I am not buying a new car or going on vacation for quite some time. My funds are tied up in doggie surgery! Aldo is worth every penny (and then some!).

• The first photo here (it snowed on Thanksgiving!) is of Aldo sniffing Kiki's face after she has been eating snow in the yard. You can see where his ribs have been shaved for chest taps.

• The next photo is our family portrait (taken by mom).

• The last photo is NAUGHTY Lexa making noise in the kitchen. I knew she was eating something, and discovered a few seconds after this was taken that she had gotten the mashed potatoes off my island. What's funny about the photo is that we ALL know Lexa is up to something in the other room. Kiki and I have the same look on our faces. My dogs are SO good and well behaved. Where was dad during all this (watching football and NOT watching Lexa is my guess).

• In any case I am VERY thankful that I can give Aldo the surgery that he needs next week. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers for a FULL recovery!

Somebody Ate November

Apparently we are all dog people in my family. Even the distant relatives....

My Aunt came home from work one day to see that my Nana's calendar was on December. Seeing as there is still plenty of November left, my Aunt asked what happened. Nana's response was that "somebody ate November." That somebody was most certainly my Aunt's naughty little Riley dog.

Aldo and Kiki both went to the vet on Friday (Kiki for an ear infection and yearly shots/check-up and Aldo for a chest tap). Well then on Saturday I realized that little miss thing hadn't pooped in days (that I had seen) and yet she sure was trying. With that it was BACK TO THE VET! It turns out that she had eaten charcoal when my dad grilled out on Wednesday (at Lexa's prompting I'm sure) but she didn't chew it very well and it was clogging things up inside. Poor baby! She basically ate rocks! The vet gave her an enema, and then later a bath... Now she's on almost as many meds as Aldo. The newest one is an antibiotic in case she had injuries from internal bleeding. Christ!

Aldo woke me up around 3:00 AM today and was having breathing problems so I took him to the vet this morning. He gained three pounds of fluid since Friday. That's another chest tap for him today. I want my baby to be OK. I want him to get better. I want him to live. My dogs are my family, and I NEED Aldo to be OK. Please pray for him. For us.

I'm sitting at home right now waiting for the vet to call so I can go pick up my little man.

E.S.L.

I know that I shouldn't laugh at anyone using English as a second language (especially since I speak French like a 6-year old French kid) but since I've been to Asia, I know that using bizarre English is par for the course. One of my home-stay sisters in Japan had this shirt that had a panda bear on it and talked about the wind blowing, in some weird nonsensical way... My roommate and I knew that there was something to all this (even back in 1992).

• MK sent me this site, http://www.engrish.com/ and it is almost always fabulous! I think the biggest issue they have in Japan and China is they don't have anywhere near enough native English speakers to proofread anything....

• Also, whenever I'm in France at any kind of touristy attraction they usually have signs in French, Spanish, German, and English. But of course the English is Great Brittan style, so they use "English" words that are the same as the French word. Like I can read the whole description in French and just not know one word, so I look to the English and they used that same damn word! ARGH! Languages are hard. We should take a page out of the European play book and TEACH OUR KIDS SEVERAL LANGUAGES STARTING WHEN THEY ARE LITTLE AND THEIR BRAINS ARE STILL LIKE SPONGES.

• I have a friend who teaches at an immersion school in California. That's the right idea!

Holiday Cheer (?)

Paris ROCKS!!!! Thanks to Emily for sending me this photo. It's from Galleries Lafayette, gearing up for the Christmas season.

I just don't know if I can get it up for the holidays this year. My dad and I ordered our 10 lb organic turkey a few days ago, and when we realized that thanksgiving at my house will include JUST me, my mom, and dad, it seems so small. And kind of depressing.... None of the other relatives want to celebrate it since my uncle died. Life goes on people! And I wish I had a boyfriend to invite, but I don't. Last year MK came and helped add some flava to the celebration, but she'll be in Florida this year with her new beau.

The thought of Christmas is good, and I LOVE buying (and giving) gifts to my friends, but this Christmas all I can think about is will Aldo get better soon? Whenever I'm home that's pretty much all I can think about, my baby boy. His allergies are really getting to him this week too. So on top of the chylothorax and breathing issues, he's super itchy. Poor guy. I give him all the love I can, I just don't know how parents of sick children do it. This is one of the hardest things I've ever gone through, and the waiting and not knowing is the worst part. Although we WERE able to go for a one mile walk last week, so I felt good about that. And I planted two new trees in my back yard yesterday and Aldo can pee on them now too. Yay! More vertical surfaces! He's still happy, bless his heart. The meds I'm giving him should start working any time now. Please god, let the treatment make him better.

I think I'm totally finished with my Christmas shopping, which is satisfying. I was sucked in by some after Halloween shopping too... but when DON'T I need more orange and black socks?? Or 50% off candy for work?

Today is my last day off after 4 days off in a row. I wish I could say that my house is clean and bills are paid and laundry is done.... but all I did is watch Netflix, cuddle with Aldo, pick about 100 tomatoes from my garden, book a wedding for next spring, and plant two trees.

I guess my mini-depression is a good excuse for being a slacker.

Within the next couple of weeks I'll have new windows installed on my house (I have something like 13 windows PLUS a 13' wide bay window) and the solar voltaic cells powering my electricity. Big, green changes are on the horizon!