Sunday, January 21 through February 9, 2024: Rain Days, Pickleball, Jamie's Health Situation, and Various Appointments

Social Partners 10:00 a.m. pickleball Round Robin was cancelled Sunday morning due to rain. So, the morning was quiet. It was cute when Kelsey joined Jamie on the same bed.

Most of the time, Jamie is propped up on the couch.

Jamie has not been eating well. He has been ignoring his usual kibble. I have been giving him dog treats and some human food that he readily consumes. I'm not sure what is going on. I could use a "drop off" service at Casa Grande Animal Hospital. If I decide to take Jamie to the veterinary clinic, I call exactly at 8:00 a.m. in the morning and get a "drop off" appointment. He is put into a kennel at arrival and is seen by a vet when able.

 

Leading up to the Super Bowl, there are various AFC and NFC games being played. My niece Katelyn's husband is a Buffalo Bills fan. For one of the AFC playoff games, the Kansas City Chiefs played the Buffalo Bills. Grandniece Lily was dressed for the occasion.

Unfortunately, Kansas City beat Buffalo 27-24. The Kansas City Chiefs advance once again to the AFC Championship Game.

On Monday, a final decoration arrived from Amazon. It is a solar hot air balloon. I placed the decoration on a hanging fixture above the emerald palm tree.

The next morning, I walked Kelsey and Jamie to the main entrance of Palm Creek and took a photo. Jamie's back legs were bothering him, so he posed sitting down.

Donna and David are still trekking in Florida. They enjoyed a Disney Resort in Orlando and are now near Tallahassee.

The replacement television arrived on Tuesday. Fortunately, Tom was home when the truck arrived to deliver it.

Wednesday, there was a Parkwide Tailgate Party. The band was Hillbilly Deluxe. On the way to my 2:00 p.m. Ladder Pickleball play, I stopped to hear some of the music.

Thursday morning was the first full moon of 2024, the Wolf moon. I tried to take a photo of the moon on my phone.

The phone camera does not have the clarity I wanted. So, my girlfriend --- Paula Browne --- had a better version.

There was also a great photo of the Wolf moon that was taken my one of my neighbors here in Palm Creek.

My niece, Lauren Carroll, is back home from the hospital after delivering her son Colter. What a cutie pie he is!

When I lived in Los Angeles, I was very active in the Organization of Women Executives (OWE) group. A Pasadena group of the ladies from OWE had dinner at one of the member's home. It was nice seeing a post of this gathering on Facebook.

Friday afternoon, Tom and I picked up takeaway dinner at Panda Express.

While we enjoyed cocktails before dinner, there was another fabulous sunset.

I had a Round Robin at noon on Saturday. Jon had told me that our friend, Greg Jonsen, was in Casa Grande. His wife's sister's husband was killed in an automobile accident in Vermont. He had just retired at age 71. Di flew to Vermont to be with her sister and to attend the funeral. I stopped by the pickleball courts to say hello.

That afternoon, a photo of Sherry and John Phelan showed up on my phone. They celebrated their wedding anniversary #37 on January 3rd.

Later in the afternoon, Tom and I attended a "Ross Talk" lecture about UFOs and the presence of extraterrestrials. That evening, Tom and I had sushi from the nearby Fry's.

I played Social Partners pickleball with my neighbor Merilee on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. In the afternoon, I invited Tom to go geocaching in Casa Grande. There was cache that I was not able to find in February last year. We found three caches. The first one was Doce/Doce/Doce.

This cache owner mentioned that she has similar containers at various sights. Perhaps the cache I couldn't find last year will be like this one. The second cache was Urban Bushwhacky. Sure enough, the cache container was in a bush in the mall parking lot.

I found the cache behind Kohl's Department store. Tram-Stepping was a cache I could not find last year. So, I logged a smiley face. And, it was a similar container to Doce-Doce-Doce.

Tom found the fourth cache. It was named "View of the Slab." I now have a total of 255 finds!

That evening, we enjoyed another beautiful sunset.

Sunday night and Monday morning, Jamie threw up. It was time to take him to Casa Grande Animal Hospital. I called at 8:00 a.m. and secured a drop-off appointment. I took him to the clinic at 9:00 a.m.

The veterinarian, Dr. Szable, called. She wanted to do some blood work. I authorized it.

Monday morning, Jorge Hernandez was scheduled to come to our trailer and install the new shade and the new television. He was his usual several hours late, But, he did the work.

In the early afternoon, Dr. Szable called again. Jamie's blood work was normal. The next step was urine analysis. I authorized it. She later called back. Jamie has a urinary tract infection. Dr. Szable also wanted to rule out obstruction in Jamie's abdominal. This required x-rays. I authorized it. The results of the x-rays is that Jamie has stones in his bladder. This is not uncommon for Dalmatians. But, Jamie is the first Dalmatian I have had with stones. It was recommended that these stones be surgically removed. I authorized it.

Jamie's surgery went well. Tom and I had to pick him up around 7:00 p.m. We brought him home. He was very groggy with the anesthesia.

He also has to wear a cone for 14 days.

Tuesday morning, Jamie once again thru-up. I called Casa Grande Animal Hospital. They told me to bring him in any time today. Jamie's back legs were coupled, so we could not get him up. I had a noon pickleball assessment to see if I could move up to 4.0 play. There were four 3.75 ladies and two assessors, Dave and Meredith.

I have never been assessed and did not know what to expect. The other three ladies were more informed. The first things each of us did were drills --- windshield wipers, drop shots, and serves. I truly was the weaker person. We then played three short games. Again, I clearly was not as competent as the others. It was hard work and I learned a lot. It also was 80 degrees, so I was very hot. Live and learn.

Tom and I were able to get Jamie up and into the truck. Tom waited in the truck with Jamie, and I went into the reception area. Dr. Szable and her technician came to our vehicle.

They looked Jamie over and were happy with his stitches. The technician gave Jamie an anti-nausea shot.

We then took Jamie home. He seemed to be better. Jamie is not eating properly, but we will see progress one day at a time.

My cousin Steve's wife, Kathy, emailed photos of precious Madison Boggs. She is their first grandbaby. The San Francisco 49ers are playing the Kansas City Chiefs in the LVIII Super Bowl. Madison is decked out to route for San Francisco.

I received my Pickleball Assessment results. I did not pass, so I will remain a 3.75 pickleball player. That is fine with me. I was not properly prepared for the assessment.

My two nieces shared recent photos of my two grandnieces. Sophie is playing in some snow. Lily is surrounded by colorful balls.

A pickleball clinic was cancelled on Friday due to rain and wet courts. So, I went to the gym for the first time this season and rode a stationary bike.

 Williams got 4 more inches of snow.

On the same day, Palm Creek got more sunshine.

Later that afternoon, I had a hair appointment with Miranda at Bloom's.

For dinner, Tom and I met up with Jon, Di and Greg Jonsen, Roland and Christine Manahan, and Idaho friends Vicky and Jim. We enjoyed the company, the food and the drink at McMashers Sports Bar & Grill.

While in the parking lot of the restaurant, I dropped my phone and the screen shattered. Darn! Fortunately, it still works. I'll have to find a cellphone repair place on Monday.

Our neighbors kitty corner from us have two female Corgis. They don't get along, so Ann and Pat have to walk them separately.

Saturday pickleball was fun. It was a Women's Round Robin at noon. One of my friends posed with me for a photo opportunity.

That evening, Tom and I had tickets to the Highway 85 band. The first set of songs was newer music, but they eventually reverted to better dancing music.

Sunday, Tom and I went to a matinee at the Harkins Theater. We saw "Killers of the Flower Moon." Tom read the book twice. It was a 3 1/2 hour movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. The movie is based a real phenomena that happened in the 1920s.

Monday morning, there was a magnificent sunrise.

At 8:00 a.m., I went to a cellphone repair shop inside the BatteriesPlus store on Florence Boulevard. A new screen was ordered for my phone. It will come in Friday or Monday. In the afternoon, Kelsey and Jamie had appointments at Casa Grande Animal Hospital. Tom was so helpful in coming with us. Kelsey needed blood-work. Both needed their monthly injection of Librela. I was astonished to find out the the basic blood-work panel cost $300.00!!!! Wowzer 😕😕😕

Tuesday, my sister Carrie posted a photo of her husband Brent with their grandson, Colter. Obviously, Carrie and Brent are in Georgia. What fun!

Several days later, a photo of my sister Carrie with her grandson, Colter.

Two days in a row, there were some wonderful sunsets with clouds.

Wednesday, I had a telemed appointment with Dr. Mohammad-Ali El-Harakeh, my sleep doctor. My hourly events are higher than he prefers, so Dr. El-Harahey increased the pressure in my C-PAP machine.

Thursday morning, I took Jamie back to Casa Grande Animal Hospital. He started throwing up again. Dr. Natalie Zelenky was the veterinarian on call for the day. She ran a blood test. Jamie's liver numbers are off the chart. I picked Jamie up later in the afternoon. Dr. Zelenky provided me with some liver health supplements to give to Jamie.

Dr. Zelenky suggested that Jamie get an ultrasound of his liver. This can be performed by Dr. Maher when she returns on February 18.

On Friday, I had an appointment with oral surgeon, Dr. Jeremy Cully, to remove a human papillana skin tag in my mouth.