Ethan’s Journey

 I woke up this morning, vacuumed and mopped. I sat on the couch with Paul. He had his computer out doing work and I was texting people to coordinate for our weekend next weekend. How did life get so busy. Some times I feels busy but then it seems like I am sitting in one spot just spinning like a stuck browser. What is that? We prepared for departure for cousins weekend. Paul took his time with his beauty routine and we left a little later than expected. It was a chilly day but there was NO RAIN! Bright side! We all were bundled up in our extra layers and huddled by the campfire for warmth. It was fun to share stories, laugh at each other and eat junk food. Ethan was chatting with his cousin, Zack for quite some time. We filled our bellies with pizza and wings. Our wings were made by one of the cousins. Jiminy was with us and was passed from person to person as he happily napped. Nana really enjoyed snuggling with him and they both fell asleep together. It was heart warming to sle...

 Today I had a celebrity guest stop by the house this morning. It was Avery Reese! She was working remotely and thought it would be nice to work remotely together. Awe.i love that! We went to Nana and Papa’s to visit. Obviously I brought my celebrity guest with me. The Aunt’s (both named Julie) were there. We spent the afternoon chatting and laughing a lot. We distinguish the Aunt Julie’s with “aunt” and “auntie”.  Aunt Julie and I went into the liquor store while Auntie Julie and Avery stayed in the car. We picked out some things for this evening. Julie picked up some peanut butter flavored tequila. It didn’t even sound good. But we were going to find out how aweful it was. “How do people use this in a drink?” Julie asked the cashier. The cashier was a bit grumpy and strait laced. She gruffly replied that “people just do shots”. She was not there to chat apparently. She then asked Julie if she wanted two bottles. Julie explained that she was only buying a small bottle for us ...

 I was able to get the remainder of my laundry done today! For some reason, that just makes me stand a little taller with that off my “to do” list. But there will always be more! Penny’s tush is healing nicely. The swelling is down, she seems more comfortable. She isn’t making noises like she is being murdered as she tries to do her “business”….see..it sounds very official. My in-laws were on their way into town for Cousin’s Weekend. It is always something we all look forward to. I sent a text to see how their trip was going. It is such a LONG drive for them. About 8 hours or so. They finally crossed into New York and stopped at the Angola rest area on the Thruway. As they returned to the car, my nephew realized he couldn’t find his phone. Ugh! Everyone knows that feeling. Did I misplace it? Was it stolen? Is someone hiding it on me? After some searching my sister in law checked the app and the phone had already started traveling down the thruway….but they weren’t in their car. If ...

 “Get out of your butt!” Ethan said to Penny this morning.  Penny is known for being the exact opposite of a lady, so this is not surprising. Ethan didn’t really appreciate her licking her butt in front of him. The noise itself is pretty foul. Penny looked at him and continued to lick her button. What a gem! Ethan left for work and a while later, there was Penny, smacking her lips as she was licking her button.  “STOP!” I said to her. So nasty! 🤮  I let the dogs out and did a few things while they did their “business”. We call it “business” because it makes them sound official in some way. Like they pay bills or something. I heard what my mind painted as Ferguson being attacked by a hawk and raced outside. I called Mr. Ferguson frantically. I was squawking loudly as he is a bit deaf these days. Ferguson was happily smelling flowers, unaware of my yelling and arm waving. The noise I was hearing was Penny. She had to poop but was crying while posturing.  I rudely...

 Today Ethan had an appointment with his hematologist. His hematologist gave us some good information about platelets numbers, red blood cell percentages and more. He gave us symptoms to look for that would indicate a problem. At the current time, the percentage of red blood cells Ethan has are low, but not overly concerning. We are going to monitor. I feel comfortable with that. Ethan graduated to seeing the hematologist “as needed” and does not require follow up annually at this point! Yay. He did say that because anemia and kidney disease go hand in hand, the nephrologist should be able to manage the anemia portion of things. Tomorrow we meet with the nephrologist. We will see if she got the final results back or not from the biopsy. I will be interested to see what the plan will be. The dogs got some good outside time. I had Moe out on his chain today. I saw some guy walking up and down our road. He looked like he was selling something. Yuck! I left Moe out for a bit to bark at...

I laughed a lot this weekend—genuine, belly laughs. I smiled often, and I felt it deeply. I love weekends like that. Despite the weather being gloomy and muddy, we still managed to enjoy our camping rituals. Day fires are always fun, but when they stretch into the night, they're even better. This morning, I took the dogs out and was surprised by how thick the fog was—visibility couldn’t have been more than ten feet. Then, for the first time, I heard the foghorn. I know where the lighthouse is, but I’d never actually heard it before. It made me strangely excited—such a simple, silly joy. The day turned out to be beautiful. The best part was not feeling rushed to get home. We were able to soak in some sunshine and enjoy the slower pace. I did have a bit of sciatic pain, but it was minimal. I even felt up to doing some weeding outside—which is a huge step forward compared to last August and September. That progress means a lot. There’s so much to be grateful for. When we got home, Eth...

 We actually lucked out with the weather. It hardly rained today. We even saw the sun for part of the day! BONUS! We did have a day fire to attend to. That kept us warm. We found a spot with minimal wind. The pups got to go on a few long walks today. They loved it. They would go for a walk, pee on things and run around. Moe got to go off leash. He has come across two men he “doesn’t know” and he has not growled at them. This is improvement. He also seems to be remembering people he has met in the past. Ferguson got some alone time with Mom. Ferguson is my shy guy. He doesn’t ask for much, is usually standoffish but appreciates a little one on one time. I flipped him on his back and help him life a baby. He started napping immediately. He had a little smile on his face and was so relaxed. He looked like a happy little bat. This is what almost 14 looks like. We had a campfire into the mid to late evening. Good tunes, lots of laughs and a fire to keep us warm. Not a bad day. I have fi...