As you know, I had surgery scheduled for Monday, September 17th. The orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Kendra, was going to reset my wrist into proper alignment and put *wires* (as HE called them) to keep the bones in place, He had made an attempt to reset it in his office but was unsuccessful. I didn't want it to heal the way it was since it would reduce my flexability and would ultimately lead to arthritis. I knew it would be like starting all over but I wanted it to look and perform as normal as possible.

I reported , as scheduled, at 7:30 a.m. after fasting after midnight. I took my kidney medication as instructed with the smallest sip of water you would believe. I was so proud of myself!. They took mt blood sugar (76) and got my IV started. The pre-op was like a meat locker in that paper thin gown they give you but the wonderful nurses brought me HEATED blankets! I then decided to try to sleep until they wheeled me in and that was only about five minutes later My doctor came to see me as the nurse gave me a shot in the IV and promised to use a small hammer (a running joke between us).

I woke up at 1:30 p.m. a little shocked that they had let me sleep so long but found out that was what the doctor told them to do (*Let her wake up naturally*) I was surprised to find myself in a cast from my palm to my armpit but figured I hadn't asked about it so it might have been standard procedure for this surgery. I called my hubby after I got dressed and the nurse brought me a Sprite Zero AND a cup of coffee, all the time telling me how surprised she was that I dressed myself. When I finished with both beverages, got my discharge papers and last minute instructions, I was wheeled out front and helped into our car.

I was full of *happy juice* still so I got online to let my sisters know that I was alive and even played a few games on Pogo. The real pain didn't set in until the next morning.

I knew it was going to be just like breaking the wrist all over again but, in reality, it was a bit worse. I hadn't had any *nails* beat into my wrist then. Thank God for pain pills. I needed and I used them. The doctor and nurses all said not to try to tough it out so I didn't. I want my wrist to be as good as new so I have been as good as I can be.

On Thursday, I went into the doctor's office to have the dressing changed on the *wires* as the doctor called them. He said he'd be using two......bullshit. I have three that I am sure about and they are inserted like the ribs of a fan. He told me it was a bit more complicated than he anticipated and I also have a couple stitches. The cast is a clamshell cast (a special cast that allows it to be closed with one layer of plaster bandage so its easily cut to the area with the dressing and then the outer, wide elastic bandage is used to reshut it. If all goes well, I will get a shorter cast next Thursday after the wrist is x-rayed and the stitches removed. The shorter cast will have to stay on for another five weeks.

So that is where I stand as of now. I am going to post this and then fill you in tomorrow on some of Baron's feats and the Saga of the Treadmill.

Love you all

I knew when I bought it that I would probably regret it but I did it anyway. I bought our doberman pup a squeaky toy. It looks like a shaggy caveman cartoon character but had an easily mouthed shape. I wasn't really sure if he would like it or be so startled by the squeaking (like his squeaking tennis ball) that he wouldn't play with it.

At first, he was startled and would hide then bark at it. When he finally realized that HE was making it squeak, he was just delighted. It is now his favorite toy and he entertains us for (what seems like) hours at a time. (Insert grimace of sarcasm here)

Last night, as he was relaxing by The Beast's feet (the Beast was playing Hearts online), he just squeaked it and squeaked it and squeaked it ad infinitum until I was ready to choke him (the dog, not the Beast ) Finally, even The Beast's patience wore thin and he took t away f rom him and gave him a dental bone to chew on. Baron was NOT happy over the switch and let The Beast know it with some disappointed barks (that lasted for a good five minutes before he settled down).

A piece of news regarding my broken wrist (another Baron legacy).....I have to go into the local hospital this Monday for a closed reduction to put the bones back into their proper places. The orthopedic doctor tried a local anesthetic in his office and attempted to do it when I was there on Thursday afternoon. He actually put me into a sound-proof room so, if I screamed, I wouldn't scare the shit out of the other patients, including those waiting to see him. He complimented me on my high pain threshold because he could see the sweat break out on me while he was making the attempt. He finally stopped and said I had two choices: one, let the bones heal where they were. It would mean some loss of flexibility, some pain on occasion and arthritis in the area down-the-road OR I could go into outpatient surgery for a general anesthetic to knock me out (I would have insisted on THAT, trust me), a closed reduction and the insertion of two removable wires to prevent the bones from slipping out of place while healing. The wires could be removed in his office (like its no big deal!). He casually mentioned there would be some chance of infection and, maybe, some carpel tunnel problems. I weighed the options (as I was looking at the ugly wrist) and opted for having it be the best it could be. So, on Monday at approximately 9 A.M. Central, pray for me. I DID ask the doctor if the reduction involved a hammer and he said, "Just a small one..." as we both laughed. I hope he was kidding.

I learned how to make my own hummingbird nectar and was told (by an ornithologist) NOT to use any kind of red dye in it. Although the color red attracts hummingbirds, there is usually red on the feeders themselves (true) that attracts them. The red dye is actually harmful to their tongues and general health over time. For those that don't know, you use one part regular granulated sugar to four parts water. Boil the water, add to sugar and stir well. Let cool and fill feeder. Any excess can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks. The nectar should be replaced in the feeders every four to five days. My feeder holds a little over two cups of nectar and, by Day 6, is almost gone anyway. Oh, and do NOT substitute honey for the sugar. Honey will attract bees and can cause severe tongue and beak problems in the hummingbirds since it will grow a nasty black mold. It causes other problems too but you can't see liver damage so why mention it?

We went to Tara's house (my niece) for another of her sons birthday dinners. Poor gal has three of her five kids birthday's in September. This son chose steak, REAL mashed potatoes and gravy and cheese broccoli for his menu. That's yummy to the tummy in MY book any time. There was also the traditional ice cream cake and something called Cherry Fluff, which I didn't get to try but will have to attempt to make one day. I haven't talked to their grandmother yet (my sister *C*) but I will later today. Tara told me she got the sweetest email from her mother that morning, all about how good a mother she (Tara) was in her mother's eyes. I join in that sentiment and told her so.

Today, Tara and her two older boys are at an Indian Pow-Wow. It's the Northeastern Alabama Cherokee tribe's Annual Pow Wow. They were invited by a friend, Bad Moon Rising (his birth name). He has his name he was given when he was older (some kind of Hawk name, forgive me for forgetting). He does face painting at these events since he is very artistic, When not attending this event, he does various things like sign painting, leather work....too much to mention really. And these are just things he does to relax and earn a little extra cash. He actually has a regular job, too.

He attended the party and invited The Beast and I to attend . We won't go this year but will probably go next year. It's been more years than I can count since I was at one. The last time, I went with my great-grandfather, whp is dead many, many years now.

I admit I am a bit anxious about this surgery on Monday. It will be just like breaking my wrist all over again since that is really what will be taking place. I hate the thought of all that pain all over again. But, for the sake of my crocheting projects I have planned, I have no other choice.

I don't know if I mentioned it before but years ago I made afghans for the oldest three of Tara's kids (all boys). I made them in red, white and blue bands and varied the colors sequence and width of the bands so the boys could easily tell their's apart.

Imagine my shock to find out they all stll have them and wouldn't give them up!!!! They are discolored now for various reasons but I decided that I would make each of the boys their own new afghans for Christmas. I just hope they like them as well this time as they did the first

Well, it's time to try to get a few things done around here. I'm a bit limited, as you can imagine, but I can still do a lot of my normal household things except sweep. I DID give it a try but it was laughable. Just try it youself sometime. And FORGET using the dustpan. So I just let the Beast do it.

Have a great weekend and think of me on Monday. Love you all.

After posting today's entry, I found out that *D*'s THANKS she asked me to convey to the Beast for the hummingbird pictures was pure sarcasm since he promised them to her several days ago and she had still NOT received them. He, however, neglected to tell me that and he knew it for the sarcasm it was. But did he send them, knowing that she was still anxiously awaiting t heir arrival in her email??? Of course not. It is now almost 3pm here in Alabama on Tuesday. He is taking a grandpa nap and he has not even turned on his computer today. Will he or won't he send out the pictures?

I will keep you informed.

I think I told you about feeding the pup and how we make sure he is calm so he doesn't *wolf* his food down without chewing. The Beast and I have been double-teaming him the past couple of days. I prepare his food dish and bring it out on the deck but put it on the table instead of right down. Baron is ALWAYS excited when he sees his food dish. I sit down for a couple seconds/minutes, depending on just how excited he is at the time. Then the Beast makes him sit calmly while I put the dish down and he has to stay there calmly before he is told to go eat. Now this does NOT happen by magic. The Beast has to keep a hold on Baron's collar so he can't charge the dish once it's down on the deck, there for the taking.

I think it took four days for him to *get it* because he now automatically sits when I come out with his food dish. You can tell he's excited but trying to comply with what he perceives as our wishes. The Beast must still hold his collar and give the command but it is a lot easier now. He also will leave some food in his dish (not for long, however) and then return to it. I sometimes think he is trying to show us that he isn't a barbarian but, of course, that is people thinking, not dog. I'm sure he just knows that no one is going to eat it while he steps away from it like when he was still at the breeders with all his siblings.

I wondered just when he would notice the hummingbirds at the feeder and how he would react. He noticed them this morning and he just watched them, turning away when they flew off. He actually hears them before I do (and they have a distinctive sound) so he drew my attention to the feeder when he would sit down and stare in that direction.

I have found that the hummingbirds use up almost all the nectar in the feeder in one weeks time. We have six regulars that we recognize and see the oddball *stranger* from time-to-time. Of course, we are not watching 24/7 so we can' t really keep track of how many use the feeder. As it is, I love to watch them playing and/or taking turns at feeding. The Beast finally got a few good pictures of a couple of the different ones that are regulars and he shared them with my sister *D*. He also put one of the pics up as his desktop image because it is so different. I asked him to email them all to me and, of course, he hasn' t. But that is the nature of my *beast*. He will do it ..... eventually...and I just hope I am alive to see them. He is, by far, an even worse procrastinator than I ever
thought about being.

A few stray pieces of information. The wrist is still broken. I STILL haven't been referred to an orthopedic surgeon. I did find out, via the nurse in the office, that the doctor wanted to see if the brace would *push back* the slightly displaced wrist bone and avoid the necessity of surgery. I suppose I should be grateful but I won't find out until tomorrow how the tactic has or has not worked.

The Beast almost always wakes up around 6am every day. He takes the pup ouside in the yard so he can do his business while the Beast has his first cup of coffee. The past couple mornings, I was informed, Baron sat at the door looking inside (obviously for me) and was giving out a whine, then going over to *my* chair and laying his head on the cushion then returning to the door and whining some more. He would finally give up and go lay down under The Beast's chair. That is what I would see when I got my coffee and went to the door and gave it a tap so The Beast would open it for me. I can't open it and carry a cup of coffee at the same time with a brace on my left wrist. When I stepped outside, you would think Baron hadn't seen me in years by his level of excitement that I was finally outside. As soon as I sat down, he would be putting his head in my lap, tail going a mile-a-minute, then trying to climb in my lap and lick me all over my face and neck. He then would start mouthing my arms, toes...any place he could get to, all the while jumping up and down like he couldn't decide which to do next.

My sister *D*, who admits she is addicted to the site, sent me a link to YouTube and a video clip of a doberman on a pool water slide. He kept making the round trip up the steps, slide down into the pool, get out and repeat it all over again. It was a cute clip. However, it got me curious so I typed in doberman, dobie and pincher and got a slew of video sites. I started looking at them ALL and found the ones showing dobies playing very interesting. It's sometimes difficult to distinguish when a dobie is playing and when it is being aggressive but the videos gave me a lot of clues. I told The Beast about it and he went on the site and also found it informative. We CAN tell a lot better when he wants to play.

The Beast has very thin and fragile skin and will bleed at the slightest scratch or bump. When Baron's paws (nails) scrape his skin, *I* get a white mark but the Beast bleeds. So he put his gardening gloves on to *play* with Baron and Baron seemed to take note of this. After a few minutes of rough play, he took off one glove and Baron ignored the ungloved hand and mouthed only the gloved one. We DID discover that much of his open mouth, display and use teeth was only play with no pressure applied. The use of the glove by the Beast had one unexpected result. Baron now think my black wrist brace is also a glove! The constant corrections and firm *NO* has to confuse him I am sure. I don't think he will be able to make the exposed finger connection. To him, I am sure it is just another glove, I expect this to continue to be a problem until the wrist is healed and the brace gone.

Tara and the kids came over the other evening bearing dinner for us all. Baked chicken, flavored noodles and a nice fresh salad. She also brought paper plates so we wouldn't have to dirty our plates. If that isn't thoughtful, I don't know what is.

Her youngest son is 3 years old and about on a par with Baron in playfulness. However, he was not prepared for Baron's claws. Baron wantwd to play with him and vice versa but Baron was too rough and I ended up having to put him into his crate. I wasn't sure who I was protecting more because the 3 year old started to get mean, which confused Baron and made me decide to put him out of reach so HE wouldn't get mean in return.

Well, thats all I have on my mind at the moment. I have to drive down to WalMart to oick up a couple items AND a birthday card for the Beast's aunt. How unfortunate that her birthday falls on the same day as the Twin Towers terrorist attack. You would think we both would remember it well beforehand and get the card out to her sooner *sigh*. It's hell to get old. The Beast;s uncle used to say *,,,getting old is not for the faint of heart*. I'm sure someone else said it somewhere (someone famous most likely) but it really IS true.

Have a great day and remember to tell those you love that you do even if it is *love you* as your parting words when ending a phone conversation.

Love you all.

I love Cesar Millan, the *Dog Whisperer* but even he admits he is NOT a dog trainer so...I have been reading a lot of web sites about training dogs. Its been 27 years since we had to train one after all, and you forget certain things that are important. I also subscribe to an E-zine called Dogs & Cats, which is very informative and, as I have found, very useful.

The breeder and her children called Baron *Big Daddy* because, as she told us, he was the bold one, first to do almost all the mischief and intimidating the others in the litter. He is very intelligent and he *got* it when it came to housebreaking him in just two days. I am STILL amazed over that. He had two accidents but that was because we didn't know his signal for needing to go out. He has, however, been difficult about heeling and walking on a leash. He has also started balking at running with the scooter if he doesn't *feel* like it, so-to-speak.

Well, I was reading about Alpha dogs and the problems with getting them to submit to your leadership in *Dogs & Cats*. You don't want to break their spirit so it takes more patience and personal discipline (you have to be vigilant and consistent) to curb their constant wanting to be the leader. They DO eventually *give it up* and accept your leadership when you are present. AND....most importantly, they also accept the rules. I am glad we have few distractions because Baron has certainly tried our patience at every opportunity.

We had to remove several toys because we found out they actually triggered aggressive behavior and he would become hyperactive. This included a lamb bone! Who would have thunk it....LOL

But, taking a mixture of advice from Cesar and some of the different trainers, he has now stopped his jumping on us, both frontally and from the back. He will walk calmly, most of the time, and he doesn't get in front of us like he's leading. He's forgotten himself a time or two (mostly with ole' 97 lb. me) but a firm correction calms him down. I expect this is going to be something that will need to be done several times a day depending on how long we are alive (LOL).

Our back yard is completely fenced in now so we bought a dog shelter for the pup that is big enough for him to grow into and more. He loved it when he realized it was his. It's kind of cave-like so I guess he feels like it's his den. We had to get it so we can leave him in the yard when we have to go somewhere that we can't take him.

He got into an Alpha mood and was feeling brave so he went to the fence on our neighbor's side and started barking at the dog next door. I was in the house so I didn't see it but I sure heard the result. I heard this awful *yip, yip, yip-ping* and thought the dog had hurt himself. Know the sound I mean? I ran outside and found the dog on the deck, his head between the Beast's feet and both front paws wrapped around his ankles, The Beast was laughing his ass off. I said, *What the hell happened?* When the Beast finally stopped laughing, he told me that Baron had gone to the fence and challenged Bozo (as we call him) with his puppy barks. Well Bozo charged the fece, hit it and gave several deep, resounding barks back. There was no doubt who won THAT challengr

So now all is quiet and both my boys are asleep. I am still typing one-handed but getting a bit used to it. Tara is here four days a week now, using our trailer for an office since she is still working online for the nursing home in Ohio. Shr can concentrate better without the distraction of things that need doing at home, which I totally understand. (Oh, I should get these dishes done....or I'll just throw a load of clothes in the washer, etc., etc,) I was grateful for her being here because the beast was napping and I had some undetshirts that needed folding. She did those for me before she left to go home. *sigh* I really am glad to have family nearby.

It's bedtime for Bonzo now while the pain pill is still working. I cleaned up the kitchen and put my split pea soup in the fridge (a little surprise for Tara, who loves it). Goodnight all and have a wonderful day. Be sure you say *love you* to those you love every time you part. You just never know if those might be the last words you ever get to say to them.

I had a post here about the nrw regimen of exercise we started the pup on involving the 80 cc motor scooter. To cut to the chase, it seems to be working wonders as far as his hyperactivity goes. He's much calmer and seems to be listening better. My hunt-and-peck efforts with this broken wrist was all for naught, however, since the cloud cover we experienced yesterday had the satellite link fading in-and-out.

I think I need to borrow a page from my sister *D* and use mt Word Perfect or even notepad and then cut-and-paste when I am ready.

Speajing of mt sister *D*, she is suffering from the loss of her best friend in the world. No, not a death but it wpu;d probably be easier if it were so.

i don't know the details and really don't need them to know it involves an unforginable betrayal. I know my sister well enough to know that much. You see, they were friends before it escalated into a love affair that seemed to be an enviable match. He may not have been my cup of tea, but she admired his mind, forgave his foibles, laughed at many of his antics and seemed genuinely happy no matter how they had to struggle at times. He also seemed genuinely in love or at least perfectly content as any lifelong batchelor can be. I often admired what seemed to be a very open and realistic line of communication between them.

I had noticed a slight differece in the past year or so but thought it might be due to *D* being in pain a great deal of the time. Some of the humor she met his escapades with seems to have been lost. But that could have been due to the pain regardless. Or perhaps it was a type of ESP that our family is blessed/plagued/cursed with that made her feel a sudden shift in *the way things were/should have been.* I don't know and won't second guess it.

I just know that she is terribly hurt and a liile lost right now. They are sharing the same space, but the relationship is gone, gone, gone. My heart just aches for her. All of us siblings were concerned when our fears were confirmed but our sister *B* reached out to her and she has a place to call home when she is ready. Bless you, *B*.

As for my thoughts, the man/boy/child will not realize until he has totally lost her contact/input/encouragement just how much he has lost. Unfortunately, it is already too late because trust is gone. Even the shared history/memories will fade into ashes for her.

Those of us that truly love you unconditionally, Sis, may not share the depth of your pain but we are here for you when you are ready or need us to just hug you, listen to you or just cry together. Ready when you are.

Have a great Labor Day everyone else.