Booming Banter

Its nearly twelve years since my friend Laura and I first started working together in Paris. We got to know each other so well during our three years in France and Aaron and Laura’s daughter did lots together. Laurel was so tiny then but now is a beautiful young lady.

They moved to Florida around the same time we moved to Ohio and our friendship has continued to get stronger.

Two years ago when they moved to Ohio we were again within driving distance and today we had a flying or rather driving visit  from them.

As always the lovely ladies brought treats this time some super duper champagne and a tarte aux fruits. A delicious reminder of our days together in France.

Even though we might only see each other every few months it’s always the same when we meet. We just catch up where we left off as though we’d seen each other yesterday.

Blessing # 245 – Beautiful People

Like magic our Dibley has improved over the past five days.

Only in seeing this can you believe it!

On his first day on his meds he played ball with Aaron. After running around he had a little accident inside and was very embarrassed. So for the rest of that  night he chilled.

By day two his fluid consumption started to fall. It had been as high as 1.5 liters but he is now back to 900 mls which is already a step in the right direction. All this is as libitum so we could restrict if needed.

The best progress though was today! Up until recently when asked if he wanted to go for a walk he was at the back door like a flash. Over the past months we’ve had to drag him out but today he was just like the old, or maybe that should be the young, Dibley and nearly took me out when the walk word was mentioned.

With beautiful blue sky and cool temperatures he then proceeded to walk a full mile at least. Much more than he has done in sometime.

He walked fast and wasn’t in the least breathless. He even broke into a little jog at one point when he picked up on another dogs smell who was some distance ahead of us.

Best of all he was up to his usuals tricks walking with his head held high and peeing on ever mail box!

Blessing # 244 – A Boy Leaving Calling Cards!

My Dad was a man who loved a bet. Every Saturday without fail he would place a triple permutation on the horses. It was amazing how he could do the math in his head to calculate what he’d win if all three horses placed. All too complex for people used to calculators like me!

He sometimes got lucky and won quite a bit but of course this was quickly spent on buying us all treats not to mention a few beers with a whiskey chaser! His winnings never made it even as far as a post office savings account.

Krishna and I have always been conservative with investments and have rarely taken bets on anything.

Recently though we decided to take a little gamble on something that we sincerely hoped would pay off.

We bought some SEARS stock. One reason was that the price was really low just 39 cents a share and we were only buying a small amount.

The main reason though was that we heard of a last minute attempt to save this iconic company from the brink of closure and very much want this to happen.

SEARS has always been iconic in the USA. The tallest building in the world was once the SEARs tower in Chicago and every family in the country shopped at the stores at some point in their lives.

We always found SEARS staff to be helpful and knowledgeable about what they are selling. A recent example of this was when we were changing our oven and fridge.

We had looked all over for a good deal but it was only when we went to SEARS that someone explained to us that very few of the hundreds of models available would just slide into the space left by our old built in appliances. He was absolutely right!

Yesterday the rescue bid was accepted by the courts and the stock hit a full dollar today!

The press have been far from gracious in their treatment of the key bidder but the prospect of saving so many jobs surely plays a part in this rescue attempt.

There are surely headwinds ahead but the revival had begun and were sticking with the stock!

Blessing # 243 – Leaves Fall Trees Survive!

There is heightened awareness of how dietary choices impact the environment. Many people are cutting back on their consumption of animal products for this reason.

Today a friend posted a chart comparing beef and beans. Those beans surely look like the better choice!

Each time something like this surfaces it reminds me of  Sir Kenneth Blaxter. This great man was an expert on human and animal nutrition and in particular on energy metabolism. His books and papers are key references for generations of students working in this field and in 1984 I had the honor to have him as my Ph.D examiner.

One thing he studied extensively and underlined often is the ability of ruminants to graze on lands that could never be used for crop production. Their ability to harness this scrub energy into highly nutritious food is nothing short of a miracle.

Seeing sheep climbing in the mountains of Ireland and the cows in the alps of Switzerland always underscored his position for me.

Grazing is just part of the story. Traditionally and still in many parts of the world to this day  poultry, pigs and ruminants transform waste food into fine quality materials.

Shouldn’t all this be environmentally beneficial?

Well it might if we still ate grass fed beef and free range eggs but we don’t. We eat animal products that are often intensively reared and fed corn and soy and grains that are environmentally demanding. Add to this the amount of animal products we consume and we begin to see why we need to change.

Each of us have a choice to make. Some may choose to be vegan out of deep concern for animal welfare and this will have a positive environmental impact too.

If we can afford it some others may choose to eat only free range eggs and grass fed beef.

Maybe the easiest first step, given the obesity epidemic is simply to eat a little less of everything!

Share your thoughts and suggestions and for those interested in digging a little deeper here’s some not so light reading.

https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/raising-cattle/efficiency-of-cattle-grazing-ze0z1411zdeh

https://bovinepracticum.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-beef-vs-vegetable-land-use-argument.html

Blessing # 242 – Debate

It is only a few days since we had record low temperatures in Central Ohio. Once again we are set to break new records. This time with record highs! A mind blowing swing of 50 degrees!

Today, as we’d say in Ireland it is not taking time to rain! It is pouring!

This rain, combined with all the snow that has melted means the yards are like swamps.

A small river has formed at the front of our house. Good for frogs and ducks but not doggies who have regained their energy.

The warming has brought with it  hopeful signs of spring with daffodils pushing through the mulch up near our front door.

Great day also for getting all that salt and grit washed away before the next blizzard blows in!

Blessing # 241 – 100% Natural Car Wash

 

Today sees the start of the Lunar New Year. In China, Japan, Tibet and of course in every country where people of these cultures live this is the biggest celebration of the year!

With family members from both China and Tibet we of course have to make sure we join in the festivities. This includes a red envelope for the lad and a pill in a pocket for the pup. So much easier than Santa visits!

We’ll be making dumplings tonight too and stuff Dibley’s meds in one as a special auspicious start to the new him!

For the Chinese this is the year of The Earth Pig. For Tibetans it’s the year of The Earth Boar!

The last time we had an Earth Boar / Pig year was 1959 the year when many of my friends from schooldays were born.

People of this sign are said to be full of love and generosity. They are social and affable and have all sorts of other great gifts! They may run a little late at times though just like the piggy who was last to arrive at the Buddha’s ball!

As I have learned from Chinese friends if it is your Year you must prepare yourself for the challenges that will come your way by wearing red underwear!

So ladies get yourselves to Victoria Secret or at least to Marks and Spencer as soon as possible. Boys better buy boxers!

Blessing # 240 – Piggy Pals

 

 

So here we are back at Dibley’s Docs!

His tests last week confirmed he has Cushings. When he was given the dexamethazone that should suppress cortisol production his level of cortisol fell only briefly and rose quickly again to its elevated level.

This profile suggest pituitary involvement but an adrendral tumor couldn’t be ruled out until an ultrasound is done.

The consultant radiologist was scheduled at the clinic today so we got lucky to get this done quickly.

She looked to see if both his adrenals are the same size. If they are then he has a pituitary issue if not then we have another problem.

Great news for all Dibley lovers his adrenals are fine just a little enlarged but no tumor.

To do the scan Dibley’s tummy had to be shaved revealing not just what is inside but also the full extent of his little pot belly.

 

In a sense this is good because now we’ll be able to watch thst tummy shrink as he starts his meds tomorrow.

Blessing # 239 – All Set To Bounce Back

When we moved to China in 2001 it was difficult to find a good plain yogurt. All that was on sale back then was super sweet, artificially flavored gummy stuff.

Yogurt is an important part of Indian cooking and so Krishna decided he’d make some himself.

This is pretty typical in Indian households and not so difficult provided you have the starter seed. This culture is something of a family hierloom and often given by a mother to her daughter when she marries.

Of course in China we couldn’t find the starter and our Indian family were thousands of miles from us. So on a trip to Switzerland I smuggled a few of the best live and active bifidus home in my suitcase!

The critters worked a treat and without fail for our remaining three years in China Krishna made a big batch of yogurt once a week.

Friends raved about how good this was and we’d often send them home with tubs of it to keep their tummies in good shape. He could have gone into business if he’d set his mind to selling his potion!

Once Aaron came along he’d purée it up with seasonal fruit and stuff it into him to make sure his immune system was up to speed! It  certainly did him no harm!

On leaving China there was no longer a need to make yogurt as it was in abundance back in Switzerland and the thought never crossed our mind until very recently when we were budgeting.

Milk being so inexpensive here and yogurt quite the opposite we decided to give DIY a go again. We tried with the plain yogurt that we’d bought on our budget but all we made was sad sour milk!

Now though we were curious could we find a good started? So as soon as the budget ended we bought the best yogurt we could get! Every feature was present organic, all natural, whole fat with live and active cultures! If this didn’t work nothing would.

With anticipation Krishna got to work a few days ago. It was one of those days when it was about minus thirty outside so the air temperature inside the house was a little chilly even with the heating on full blast.

After twenty four hours all we had again was a slightly sour smell until he decided to set the pot over the heating vent itself.

BINGO! The next morning we had a beautiful white as snow creamy yumminess. It gave us a really good feeling to see this little bit of tradition restored.

Now all we need to do is make more and more to keep all those healthy little loves alive!

Blessing 238 – What Works Within

 

My friend Jackie posted this beautiful photo that she’d taken from the air this morning when her flight was coming into land at Belfast City Airport.

The photo clearly shows the Neolithic stone circle at Ballylesson that we lovingly refer to as the Giants Ring.

It is just about a mile from where I grew up and where a lot of walks were taken with boyfriends!

Holy Trinity Ballylesson, the church where we went as a family and where my parents are at rest overlooks the ring from an elevated point.

The perfection of the circle is so clear from Jackies photo. It is hard to imagine that it was made more than 5000 years ago and that, give or take a half mile or so, has been a site of worship ever since.

The most famous of these circles is Stonehenge in England but they are scattered all over the UK and Ireland. Another beautiful one that has featured in Game of Thrones is at Ballynoe. This is close to where Saint Patrick established his first Church at Saul and where our dear Saint is buried at Downpatrick.

Its not just in Europe though that we have sites like these. Each one of you could for sure share a story from your own homelands.

In Ohio there’s the amazing Serpent Mound in Adams County and just round the corner from our home the Olentangy Caverns. Nature carved the Caverns but the Wyandotte Indians made them their home.

The permenancy of these structures is a humbling perspective on the ingenuity of our ancestors.

Worth remembering next time we think we’re smart! Good idea to look for one close to home!

Blessing # 237 – History On The Doorstep

Last night brought a good six inches of snow so at five this morning school called to cancel.

A friend had her birthday party yesterday and when we took some photos I was under a spot light. This highlighted perfectly the brilliance of the grey roots of my hair!

Since most everything that was to be done had been done over the past few days what better thing to do than get out the hair dye.

This derailed quickly into a complete makeover. While the hair was cooking out came the face pack and while that was wrinkle wrecking the reserves of beauty products were ravaged in the hope of finding a new mascara.

There must have been a dozen different makeup remover products, gallons of night creams promising miracles, chapstick to last the rest of my life and enough dental floss to stretch to the moon an back. Of course not a single spare drop of mascara.

All this underscores a point on which good intentions have been wasted many times! Makeup that goes on faithful each morning before leaving the house must be removed and teeth flossed before going to bed!

Got to give it another go!

Blessing # 236 – New Month New Resolutions!