Week 10

Wow!  We're already at week 10 of the 52 weeks project!  I took advantage of the nearly 70 degree sunny day today and got some photos. 

It was REALLY windy and I was hoping the winds would die down before the sun faded, but no luck.  I had to move the platform we were sitting on into the neighbor's yard so the house could block some of the wind (otherwise my hair was standing straight up on one side!) LOL

I also jumped on the bandwagon with this style of photo collage (like ones that several people posted to Facebook).  This is a few of Dazzle's favorite things...

Click on photo to view it larger

Back to normal- H&G show visit

I'm finally able to open my mouth normally again!  Whoo Hoo!  Off all the antibiotics and pain killers and my digestive tract is slowly getting back to normal too.

Just about everytime I got off the couch, Dazzle decided it was a good time to try to reclaim his spot (or maybe he was just keeping my pillow warm for me) :-)

We had a scare with the tornadic storm cell that passed over us WAY too close for comfort on Friday! Luckily we didn't have any damage.  But Holton Indiana, where several people were killed and the little town was basically flattened, is not too far from us.  A very scary, everyone in the basement, moment for sure!

Since I was feeling better and no storms were predicted, I spent several hours on Thursday at the HUGE Home and Garden show downtown.  It was SO nice to see and smell all the wonderful spring flowers, the mulch and the moist dirt.  Not to mention seeing some amazing garden displays and dreaming of what our yard could look like if we had the funds :-) 

Below is just a small part of one half of the show. It continued under the wall on the left and about the same amount of vendors/floor space was on the other side of the skywalk. Bless the mobility products vendor that let me borrow the mobility cart (free advertising for them). Not sure why the convention center didn't rent out scooters or wheelchairs.

Dazzle got LOTS of compliments on his calm and well mannered behavior, especially when he helped me as needed.  It's so normal for me to ask him to pick up something I drop or to help me up a flight of stairs that I forget how impressed people can be with a well trained dog :-)

Dazzle was very patient with me as I posed him in several places to get photos.  I had a couple people ask if they could take photos of him too :-) I did find a booth with all natural dog treats and found some beef jerky treats he liked even more than the freeze dried lamb lung I brought, so he got a big "paycheck", payed out in small portions during the show. And it was very reasonably priced as well as buy one get one free, so I bought enough to last a long time.

My Favorite:

This was a display by "Back tree services" depicting an Emeral Ash Borer in mutant giant form.  Out of all the weird sights and sounds at the show, it was this display that made Dazzle hesitate to approach.  Can't say that I really blame him! :-) 

Once I touched it, he got brave enough to give it a sniff (from the side) and then he was fine with it.  The owner of the display took this photo for me and emailed it to me. I think Dazzle was thinking that I was either really brave or very stupid for reaching for this thing's mouth :-)

Dazzle did a LOT of meet and greet.  Most people asked before putting their hands on him, a few didn't.  Just about every vendor had a comment like "Beautiful dog!" or "So well behaved!" and many stopped me to ask questions about him. Several of the attendees had the same reactions.  I probably could have seen the show in half the time if he was invisible, but I wasn't in any hurry and enjoy chatting with people about my favorite subject- "All about Dazzle" :-). 

Enjoy the following "Spring preview".  I wish I could include the wonderful fragrances too!

I just had to get a photo of this. "Well... Which is it?"

Week 8 Photos and pain update

Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes. They are working, so please keep them coming. The antibiotic (every 6 hours for 40 doses) finally seems to be having an effect and the swelling has gone down significantly, though not completely).

 

I'm still not able to open my mouth and trying to eat a small meal yesterday from a fork rewared me with about 5 hours of pain that the meds couldn't over come (had to double dose). Still trying to stretch my jaw muscles, gently, as much as I can. As soon as I can get my mouth open, they can proceed with the full dental exam and determine what surgery is needed.

 

I'm still eating with a straw at this point and still needing the muscle relaxers and pain meds to keep my jaw from cramping closed. But at least the infection is finally starting to go away so that's progress.

 

I have all activities cancelled and I pulled my entry in the obedience show at QC next month. I've been living on the couch and sleeping there because my sleep schedule is SO messed up. With the pills on different schedules (some every 6 hrs, some every 4 hrs), I have something to take every 2-4 hours.

 

In spite of that, I did get a couple photos taken for the 52 weeks challenges from my spot on the couch and uploaded them with very little editing.

 

Dazzle has been SO good!  But the restricted activity is really wearing on him and today he went out in the yard and just ran several laps at full speed. We have been making use of the doggie treadmill quite a bit, but it's just not the same as flat out running after the chuck-it ball.  He won't play that game with my husband because he wants to keep coming in to check on me.

 

"Longing to go out and play"

 

 

Pain update

Not sure if I'll be taking/posting photos this week.

Still in pain, still can't open my jaw and lightheaded because I'm not eating (can only eat through a straw and I'm REALLY sick of broth). 

 

I did see the dentist yesterday. They prescribed clindamycin (antibiotic) that I'm taking every 6 hours and some pain meds that are just barely taking the edge off the pain. I'm using an ice pack frequently too.

 

The swelling seems *slightly* reduced, but I still can't open my mouth. I'm supposed to go back tomorrow for a full exam, but I'm not sure how they plan to do that when I can't open my mouth (can still barely squeeze the pills between my teeth and trying to open my mouth is very painful).

 

It feels like the muscle that is used to close my jaw on the right hand side is cramped and refuses to stretch, but it could also still be the swelling in that joint area causing the hinderance. I haven't been able to open my mouth since Saturday (even using my fingers to try to pry my teeth apart in spite of the pain).

 

Week 7 - week of pain

I had big plans this week to do a fancy Valentine's photo and get it posted on the 14th.  But I didn't get the photo till today. 

Warning: health rant
Most of monday, all of monday night and most of tuesday I was having charlie horse cramps about every 5 minutes.  I didn't get any sleep all night.  I tired regular pain killers and they didn't make a dent.  I also tried calcium, potassium and magnesium along with lots of water. Finally gave in around mid day tuesday and took some strong pain meds that knock me out.  That gave me 8 hours of coma like sleep and when I woke up, the cramps had changed to normal muscle cramps and were much more bearable.  They were also not as frequent as they had been previously. I got a little bit of sleep Tuesday night and by Wednesday, the muscles were just really sore and only cramping if I tried to use them.

I thought the worst of it was over, but Thursday morning there was no doubt I now had an infected tooth.  I HATE tooth pain and found myself wishing to go back to the charlie horse cramps. So now I'm on antibiotics and have a dental appointment for next week.  Hopefully my insides will be back to more normal by then and I sure hope the antibiotics will take away the pain in my jaw.

Good news is that my eye exam last week let me know my eyes are normal and nothing out of the ordinary to worry about. But I got a perscription for "readers" and found out that, when needed, I can get a pair that has zones for the computer monitor and the keyboard.

-End of health rant-

I managed to take a few minutes today to get the following photos for this week.  Did a crappy job on the post processing, but they are what they are and will have to do.

Dazzle was so patient with me through several shots with him holding the rose.  What a dog has to do to get a ball :-)

This one I had to use the tripod and timer and it was the only one in which the camera focused on Dazzle and not my hands.

Hopefully next week will be better

Week 6 and visit to Conservatory

This week the challenge I gave myself was to find an interesting point of view.  I think I out did myself because I had a really hard time choosing!

Monday was the only day with sun this week (though Tuesday and Thursday were supposed to have sun) and I headed out early to get some photos. This first photo was an angle I tried and found I liked. I like this point of view, but I didn't like the lighting from the sun being so low.  So I decided to give this one another shot later in the week (when I thought it was going to be sunny).

This was on another tree only about 15 minutes after the shot above. I love the color of the sky, but I don't like Dazzle's pose (front legs too far under him) and I don't think it's as dramatic a point of view as some of the others. 

This is the shot I had in mind when I headed out on Monday.  It's really two shots.  Dazzle on the tree was turned sideways and layered over the background.  I think it's a cool shot, but after seeing it finished, I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I also accidently took the background in landscape instead of portrait, so I couldn't get as much of the tree in as I wanted (to make it look like Dazzle was way up high on the side of the tree)

While at the park, I played around with some other shots and saw his shadow on the pavement.  Decided to try to capture that. I like how it came out!

Back at home on Monday. I promised Dazzle I would throw the ball if he would hold his pose on the tree, so I had to hold up my end of the promise.

 Doesn't it look like he would trip over his legs?

Tuesday was supposed to be sunny, but instead it was overcast all day.  I went back to the park anyway to try the 1st shot again, but the sky was too bright and white. I tried this shot instead and I like this.

 Wednesday, the weather was supposed to be bad and they were correct.  But even Thursday morning they were still saying it was going to be sunny, and instead it was cold and overcast all day.  Once again, I tried the shot again.  I like this point of view, but would really prefer the pretty blue sky.  So I'm tableing this shot till the right day (and maybe some greenery) comes along. Dazzle is about 8' off the ground in this shot. The tree is at ground level on the right hand side, so that is how he got up there.

Since the day was so cold and dreary (and supposed to get even colder with snow this weekend), I decided to take a break from the weather and visit the "Early Spring" exhibit at the Krohn Conservatory.  It was a much needed break, but I didn't want to leave and go back into the cold! Wonder if they would let me put a cot in there where I could stay till spring?

Still trying for interesting points of view, I had Dazzle sit on a bench so I could hold the camera low and use a big palm as the backdrop. I don't like the drastic light/shadows in this one. 

Another point of view shot I like

Not an unusual point of view, but I LOVE the light on his face and in his eye on this shot!

This is the point of view I ended up going with for the Flickr group. I like the colors and lighting and how the path dissapears.  And the cacti provide an unusual background with the light colored path helping Dazzle to really stand out.

 But I didn't take only dog shots.  I did get a few photos of the residents of the conservatory too :-) This the waterfall in the main room (tropical).

Large palm plant base

They have an amazing orchid display that I think is permanent.  I took lots of orchid photos.  Here are a few of them.

 This was a drainage grate that caught my eye. I like the pattern

Dogwood flowering in the Early Spring display

Very large succulent of some sort in the desert section

Aloe Vera plant

There was also a very lovely Bonsai display that I don't think was permanent.

An enjoyable visit for sure!  I'm looking forward to when spring hits for real around here.

To see more photos, visit my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scoutdogs/