Sylvia Browne is coming to Wisconsin! Guess who has gotten tickets? XOXO, "Guess Who"

Vets, Food, and Sick Dogs-

She smiles!

Good Morning All;

Casey brought Punk back to the vet yesterday-
She has an infection in her ear- (Punk, not Casey)   hehehe  
... Just not of the bacterial variety- She is now being treated for a yeasty infection in her ear.
Gentocin and Miconazole Drops- 5 or 6,
twice a day. 

Go figure- Only Punk.

This was brought on by the antibiotics she is on for her sebaceous cyst. 

Dare I ask "what next?!?"

No. I'd better not. hehehe

Ain't it the truth!

And the quote:
“Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened.” A. France
Honestly I have problems with those who do not love animals; even if they are allergic.

I have the TV on the background-

And now have to ask, "What recession?" !?!?
Yesterday, someone paid nearly 120 Million dollars for Munch's "Scream"

Methinks I should now put all of CaseyAnne's signed first grade artwork up for sale.  
hehehe

Last week, Casey and I were very curious about what was down the lane by the woods-




I took the picture from up by the house- (Whatever it was, it only appeared in the afternoons)?

Finally we took a drive back there.

Turns out it was a lump of ground, turned over by the plow- and only showed up when the sun hit it right. (No wonder I never saw "it" coming or going)!! hehehe


I do see these guys coming and going all the time!  

Yes that is my driveway- I had Randy scatter the old seeds out there so I could watch what might come and eat them.

2 more walking through the west field!




Still another around the back of the garage too.

Besides those, I have only seen a few sparrows pigging out. And they barely even move when I am out there with them! Even Punk gets real close before they fly off.

No fear.

The crows actually show more fear than the sparrows cardinals, chickadees, robins -or the other birds. No wonder crows prefer dead meat, they are lazy cowards.

(Hey, I know people like that)!  hehehe

 - - - Punk had to hold her 'potty' until the wild turkeys were out of sight too. She wasn't too happy about that.

She did look kinda funny with her legs all crossed up behind her though--- hehehe

Now about that mini chicken casserole I wound up making the other day.

Was hungry for lunch and pulled out a 'new' (to me) variety of mac and cheese. 

 ??????????  

Rotini and Cheese with Broccoli- But I had to laugh when I pulled out the 'broccoli'.

No, really?
That's the broccoli?!?   (& Yes, that is my thumb holding onto the little package)!

So after I got through laughing at it, and while I boiled the rotini, I defrosted and cut up a big chicken breast, and added some frozen peas. Then cut up an onion, and also added a few pimentos. A bit of cream, a little leftover corn; and then the cheese packet.

While it wasn't half bad, I would not recommend making a casserole from this.
Truth be told I would not even recommend buying the package in the 1st place.

But yes, I am still laughing at those "little troll broccoli's"!  

Tons of water outside with the storms we got yesterday, and this morning too.

And lots of noise that accompanied the rainfalls too.

Punk had been lying at my feet earlier while I read... One particularly LOUD thunderclap woke her up fast! She sighed and just looked at me as it rolled on and on...

She had been laying with her bad ear down. (That must have sounded awful on the linoleum).

She is asleep on the couch now.

Time for me to close and to begin with my day. After all I have to get Casey's artwork for sale. hehehe

I hope all is well with everyone!

Have a 'wunnaful' day! (Even if it hurts)!   

XOXO
Me

PS
Yes the pic of Punk is an old(er) one-

But yes too, she WAS smilin' already by yesterday afternoon!!!

From an email (I think)-

Punk really is almost this bad!!!   hehehe    

Coffee- Hot Dreamsicles for Breakfast

Good Morning!

Before I blog...

Regular or decaf?

This is for everyone who might think that decaf coffee is better for you?

No reason to make that switch...
or is there?

Read on...

Caffeine is the most widely consumed drug in the world. 

Coffee addicts who switch to decaf for health reasons may not be as free from caffeine's clutches as they think.

Coffee addicts who switch to decaf for health reasons may not be as free from caffeine's clutches as they think. A study conducted by the researchers of University of Florida put forth that decaffeinated coffee is not entirely caffeine-free. Also, it is important to understand that there are a number of significant chemical compounds present in coffee, other than caffeine, which also have strong effects on the body. ">The common active constituents include chlorogenic acid, caffeol and diterpenes. Many health disorders that are aggravated by coffee are still affected by decaffeinated coffee, despite the lowered level of caffeine, due to these other phytochemicals that remain in decaf coffee even after the decaffeination process.

Coffee is highly acidic and it can stimulate the hyper-secretion of gastric acids. Coffee creates more reflux than caffeine added to water, suggesting that other components of coffee contribute to its aggravating effect. Decaf coffee has been shown to increase acidity to a greater degree than either regular coffee or caffeine alone due to the fact that decaffeinated coffee is made from Robusta beans.

This in result aggravates health problems such as acid reflux, GERDS and ulcers making people susceptible to the detrimental effects of high levels of acidity. Decaf coffee consumption has also been associated with a greater incidence of heartburn than drinking any other fluids. Therefore, quitting coffee may reduce stomach problems that are associated with the high acidity of decaf coffee.

Decaf coffee increases cholesterol and heart attack risk

Several studies have shown that decaffeinated coffee raises the risk for heart attacks similar to regular coffee in spite of the lowered levels of caffeine. A U.S. National Institutes of Health study suggested that drinking decaffeinated coffee increased the risk of heart disease. This study showed that the group drinking decaffeinated coffee experienced an 18% rise in non-essential fatty acids in the blood, which can drive the production of LDL cholesterol and an 8% rise in apolipoprotein B - a protein associated with cholesterol linked to cardiovascular disease.

Levels of LDL cholesterol, a strong predictor for heart attacks, increase after coffee drinkers switch from regular coffee to decaf coffee. These finding suggests that a phytochemical present in coffee other than caffeine is responsible for the subsequent LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B activity.

The fact is that caffeinated and decaf coffees are known to be made from different beans. Decaf coffee is often made from Robusta beans, which contain a much higher content of fats called diterpenes. Diterpenes are known to stimulate fatty acid production in the body. Thus, decaf coffee has proved more harmful effects on the heart as compared to regular coffee. Coffee oils other than caffeine have also been demonstrated to elevate liver enzyme levels, further inhibiting the liver’s ability to effectively regulate serum cholesterol.

Also, chlorogenic acid is found in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. It is believed to raise plasma levels of homocysteine, which is associated with increased susceptibility of developing cardiovascular disease. Reducing intake of both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee may be important in controlling plasma homocysteine levels.

Decaf coffee may lead to osteoporosis

According to an osteoporosis expert of Creighton University in Omaha, there occurs a loss up to 5 milligrams of calcium for every six ounces of regular coffee that you drink. As little as 300 to 400 mg of caffeine a day doubles the risk of hip fracture.

Low bone density increases chances for developing osteoporosis. Metabolic acidity contributes to demineralization of the bones. The high acidity of decaf coffee increases the risk for developing osteoporosis. It alters bone cell function, increasing osteoclastic bone resorption and decreasing osteoblastic bone formation. Avoiding regular and decaf coffee and including 3-4 servings of calcium rich foods a day can reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis.

Decaf coffee leads to increased incidence of rheumatoid arthritis

Decaffeinated coffee intake is independently and positively associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) onset. According to researchers from the American College of Rheumatology, older women who drink four or more cups of decaffeinated coffee a day are more than twice as likely to develop RA as regular coffee drinkers. Moreover, drinking more than 3 cups of tea per day is actually associated with decreased risk of developing RA. 

Decaf coffee increases risk of glaucoma

Caffeine consumption may be harmful to people with glaucoma because it increases pressure within the eyeball. While caffeinated coffee more significantly increases intraocular pressure, decaffeinated coffee also causes a rise in levels of pressure within the eye. People at risk for developing glaucoma and those who already suffer from glaucoma should avoid anything that further increases intraocular pressure to avoid damaging their eyes.

Link to cancer and organ damage 

The decaffeinated coffee is likely to contain the solvent methylene chloride that is used to remove caffeine from coffee. This process leaves small amounts of this chemical in the beans. Methylene chloride is a proven carcinogenic that is toxic to lungs, the nervous system, liver, mucous membranes, and central nervous system (CNS). Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage.  Ethyl acetate is an alternate solvent used to extract caffeine. As this chemical is in low quantities found naturally in fruit, companies often market coffee decaffeinated using this process as naturally decaffeinated. However, this is a chemical with serious health consequences. 

From here.

When I have it, I'll have mine, regular, with cream and sugar please.

My Dreamsicle in a mug!

XOXO
Me

Another good one here:

There’s nothing like cup of hot steaming coffee to rejuvenate you after a long tiring day at work. Scientists have always known about the property of caffeine to stimulate the central nervous system.

Increased Coffee Consumption is Associated with a Reduction in the Risk of Depression

Very few studies have been carried out to establish any relationship between coffee and caffeine consumption and relief from depression. 

A new research, which has been published... CLICK 

↓ See comment- This is heading my way- Soon.

Lumps are not good.

Good Morning All;

Warning! This story may be a bit too descriptive for a few of you.

If so, too bad.    Just kidding- Hey, just look at the pics then.  hehehe  

A long week last, for the Punk-

On Tuesday I had felt a spot of hard fur on her side- Like she had gotten into some syrup or jello- 

But saw nothing out of the ordinary, even as I brushed her!

She has had a lump on her back for a while- Doc said it was nothing to worry over, so I never gave it a thought.

Besides, the hard sticky 'evidence' was ½-way down her rib-cage, and nowhere even close to the almond sized lump in the middle of her back..

On Wednesday, she was twisting around, flopping even- 

My first thought was "she's showing off" (Not that she does that a lot).  hehehe   

As she did it again, and recalling the stick, (among other 'mishaps' she has had), my next thought was "What next?" 

I can see in these shots that her almond 'lump' was getting bigger and bigger...

And her smile was getting rarer and rarer.

So tired she seemed-

But she has been getting a workout too as the weather has been so much nicer.  

I just thought my [sort of] fat dog was pooped out...



Nice to sleep alone-

But sometimes you just want to have a friend nearby...

These twists, jerks and 'sighs' continued...

Good grief, was she epileptic? 
Or did she just keep reacting to me saying something to her with a smile on my face about her strange calisthenics?

By Thursday, her jerking around alerted me as I finally realized that the lump on her back had opened up...

I used a warm wet washcloth to clean it up the best I could, and it began to open up even more!

That warm washcloth drew out some pretty funky crap, and her fur came right off!

1.  Blood. 

2.  Water-Ooze? (Not like pus though, real runny).

3.  And little bitty white circles.  They didn't seem to move of their own accord, or I would have been forced to barf.

4.  I trimmed the hair from around it; then used the Hexaseptic Flush Plus I have for her.

I repeated this every few hours throughout the night-  

I even called Casey about 10:30- (Hey, she's the one with the veterinary background- much more than I have).

I called Dr. Spires early Friday morning.

 hehehe   
She was not at all thrilled when I asked her if she wanted to go see Doc Spires.  

Just one more shot- I should have noticed that swelling...

As he thought, it is a sebaceous cyst. Rare for them to open up too.
He shaved it better- finding two more little cysts near to it...



I should have put a nickel up there so you could see how big it is. 

(About the same size as that nickel)...

The little pinhead size white balls were fat! hehehehehehe

And it is still a bit swollen, but looking better after 4 days on the antibiotics; and I am to continue using the Hexa stuff a few times each day-

She didn't even beg for the chicken from the mini-casserole I'd made yesterday.

Still catching up on that sleep. (Damned antibiotics). hehehe

With our weird weather last month- (In the 80's mid-March), then back to below freezing again for the past few weeks- (at night), my tree blossoms have been as weird as the weather...

Only half of my flowering crab has blossomed out. 

Blossoms are on the north side, and the south sides. But NONE on the East or the West?

My daffodils are turning up pretty- and I have had a few vasefuls in the house already!


This is the little patch out in the west lawn.

More behind the house and out by where my garden... was.

Miss Polly called yesterday afternoon, and even got to speak to Casey!

Casey with a Wink, and the Sput!
* Polly and Rich are dealing with his ALS diagnosis as well as can be expected.

I cannot imagine what they must be going through, even after speaking to Polly

Those are not shoes I would care to walk in.

My heart, my love, goes out to both of them.

As soon as Casey leaves the chair, Sputty immediately decides it is time for his bath.




"Bathus-Interruptus!"

My own bath will be postponed a while today, as I have to get outside and mow again. 

Last week, I did not even do the west lawn- and barely even finished behind the house by the clothesline.

Oh UGH.

Hope all is well in your little corner of the world!
Love to all.

XOXO,

Me!

PS
As I write, I am also thinking some very good and positive thoughts- burning sage, and saying prayers for my friend Jerri...
Some of you may know her as "CubbieFan"

Jerri is at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, this morning, receiving results of yet another 'opinion' as to whether she will lose her leg. Her knee has been infected for 3+ months now- 

This destruction, because of the RECLAST POISON she had received.

Like me, she did not do her homework ahead of time; and like me also, she is paying an awful price for drugs that do not work.

Please, won't you keep her in your hearts today, and do the click (on her name), to leave her a message in her guestbook on here?

Bone Scan- Dexa Scan Mania

--Clicking on pic should make it viewable--

Do you have bones?

As most of you know, (and among other things), I have been diagnosed with severe Osteoporosis.
And am now up to 28 fractures...

Has your doctor ever mentioned having a bone scan? (Especially if you are post-menopausal, or an over 60 male).

See why they might just "THINK" you need one- Do the click below! ↓↓↓

Bone Scan Mania: A 12 Year Drug Industry Con Finally Exposed.
«  SpeakEasy

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2012/01/19/bone-scan-mania-a-12-year-drug-industry-con-finally-exposed/
or

www.blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2012/01/19/bone-scan-mania-a-12-year-drug-industry-con-finally-exposed/

From the article:

"... Nor do the bone drugs even prevent fractures–their intended purpose! By suppressing bone remodeling, they are supposed to stop bone loss. But since the bone is not being renewed, it becomes brittle, ossified and fractures. The thigh bones of patients on bisphosphonates have “simply snapped while they were walking or standing,” after “weeks or months of unexplained aching,” reported the New York Times in an article called “Drugs to Build Bones May Weaken Them.” Oops. Medical journals and patients on the web site askapatient have been reporting the fractures for years...

...it should be even more embarrassing that the con only surfaced when the biggest bone drug patents are expired so the drug companies don’t even care–because the big bucks are behind them."

The human skeleton is made from 206 bones which create a framework that supports and protects the body's soft tissues and organs.  Movement is the result of the muscles acting on the bones of the skeletal system. Muscles are connected to bones by tendons; bones are connected to each other by ligaments. The places where bones meet each other are called joints.  The main difference between the male and female skeleton is that females have a wider pelvis to allow for childbirth. Smaller diferences include a shorter, straighter clavicle in the female (resulting in narrow sloping shoulders), as well as a smaller skull and smaller, lighter bones.  The skeleton produces red blood cells from the bone marrow of certain bones and white cells from the marrow of other bones. The skeleton's bones also store minerals such as calcium.  Babies are born with 270 soft bones (about 64 more than an adult); many of these will fuse together by age twenty, into the 206 hard, permanent bones.  Click on a label at the right, or a link below, to find out more about each part of the skeleton.

SKULL | CERVICAL VERTEBRAE | CLAVICLE | RIBS | SPINAL VERTEBRAE | PELVIS | SACRUM | FEMUR
PATELLA | STERNUM | HUMERUS | ULNA | RADIUS | HAND PHALANGES | FIBULA | TIBIA | | FOOT PHALANGES | BONE

Biology | Science & Math | Worsley School

---

HTML & design by Bill Willis© 1996 - 2012Wunderland Website Design

***********************************************************

Bone Densitometry

Every day, physicians use radiography, or x-rays, to view and evaluate bone fractures and other injuries of the musculoskeletal system. However, a plain x-ray test is not the best way to assess bone density. To detect osteoporosis accurately, doctors use an enhanced form of x-ray technology called dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). DEXA bone densitometry is today's established standard for measuring bone mineral density (BMD). It is a quick, painless procedure for measuring bone loss. Measurements of the lower spine and hips are most often done.

The DEXA machine sends a thin, invisible beam of low-dose x-rays with two distinct energy peaks through your bones. One peak is absorbed mainly by soft tissue and the other by bone. The soft tissue amount can be subtracted from the total and what remains is a patient's bone mineral density.

The amount of radiation used is extremely small—less than one-tenth the dose of a standard chest x-ray.

More portable devices that measure the wrist, fingers or heel are sometimes used for screening, including some that use ultrasound waves rather than x-rays.

Osteoporosis involves a gradual loss of calcium, causing the bones to become thinner, more fragile and more likely to break. The DEXA test can assess your risk for developing fractures. If your bone density is found to be low, you and your physician can work together on a treatment plan to help prevent fractures before they occur. DEXA is also effective in tracking the effects of treatment for osteoporosis or for other conditions that cause bone loss. Bone density testing is strongly recommended if you:

• are a post-menopausal woman and not taking estrogen.
• have a personal or maternal history of hip fracture or smoking.
• are a post-menopausal woman who is tall (over 5 feet 7 inches) or thin (less than 125 pounds).
• are a man with clinical conditions associated with bone loss.
• use medications that are known to cause bone loss, including corticosteroids such as Prednisone, various anti-seizure medications such as Dilantin and certain barbiturates, or high-dose thyroid replacement drugs.
• have type 1 (formerly called juvenile or insulin-dependent) diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease or a family history of osteoporosis.
• have high bone turnover, which shows up in the form of excessive collagen in urine samples.
• have a thyroid condition, such as hyperthyroidism.
• have experienced a fracture after only mild trauma.
• have had x-ray evidence of vertebral fracture or other signs of osteoporosis.

For more detailed information on this examination, visit RadiologyInfo.

From:  http://www.radiologyinfo.org/index.cfm?bhcp=1

RadiologyInfo.org tells you how various x-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiation therapy and other procedures are performed. It also addresses what you may experience and how to prepare for the exams.

• The website contains over 115 radiologic procedures and is updated frequently with new information. 

All material on the RadiologyInfo.org website is reviewed and approved by experts in the field of radiology from the ACR and RSNA, as well as other professional radiology organizations.

All the info, plus more, can tell you why YOU are your own best doctor!

XOXO
Me

PS
My newest blog will be up shortly, but I am still clearing out my drafts folder

Bone Scan Mania: A 12 Year Drug Industry Con Finally Exposed. « SpeakEasy

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2012/01/19/bone-scan-mania-a-12-year-drug-industry-con-finally-exposed/

2012 Bumper Stickers

Checking my 'drafts' folder here...

And *If* I remember correctly these came in an email from my Sweet SissyKrissiePoo. 

(My apologies if I remember wrong).  hehehe

Just for fun ya know- 
Enjoy!

XOXO
Me

 

 

 

 

If I had an old VW Bug I would buy every one of these...  hehehe

XOXO
me

PS

Being the caring individual that I am,  I am offering my assistance for you...