A Record Broken!

First, a correction: Tuesday we tied the old record at 28 not 27. However, today we set a new record at 29 days of above 110 degrees - it hit 113! Firework celebrations are not allowed due to drought conditions. Rats!

Thank You

Grandma and I thank all of you for your messages of condolence on the death of our beloved Pepper.

A Record Broken?

The record for the most days of temperature over 110 degrees is 27. We tied the record on Tuesday. Today, we break may that! Wow! What an accomplishment to be able to tell my great-grandchildren! I can hardly wait for the 5 o'clock news.

Pepper Miller

Pepper Miller, March 31, 1996 - August 18, 2007

Pepper, a red and white Pembroke Welsh Corgi, came to us from a pet store, most likely the product of a puppy mill. We also brought home her littermate sister, Ginger. They were both four weeks old, and had been separated until we made the purchase, when they were overjoyed to see each other again. The more lively puppy was named Pepper, and her sister, who tended to be more casual, became Ginger.

Pepper was my shadow. She looked to me to protect her from other dogs; she was scared to death of them, and would jump into my arms if any came near her. We tried to take them to parks for walks, but unleashed dogs brought that to a halt. She also hated kennels, so she only stayed in one when she was sick or going to have her teeth cleaned. When we traveled, rather than put the two of them in a kennel, they stayed in their own home and a neighbor came in to care for them.

Every morning, we would put them up on the counter in the laundry room where Grandma would brush their teeth and I would brush their coats. Baths were every other week, and I made sure to clean the patio beforehand of the particulates that landed there (Arizona air is noted for particulates). Otherwise, they would come in almost as dirty as before their bath.

The window sill in the front room was just the right height for them to lie down with their heads resting on it. Whenever we went away, they would both wait in the front window for us. In recent months, though, when Ginger came into the room, Pepper would leave. There seemed to be some unsaid understanding between them that Ginger had the say about that.

We have a dog door in our bedroom that was put in for our Siberian Husky, who had passed away several years before Pepper and Ginger came to us. When we first brought them home, they wouldn’t use it. It took a few minutes to realize their legs were too short; their bellies would scrape on the bottom, so I installed a ramp. Pepper was leery of it until I covered it with some old towels; after that she would come and go at her leisure.

Pepper enjoyed being outside. We had a game of “catch me” that we played on the patio: she would run around the furniture and I would run after her to try to catch her. Usually after a few turns she would declare the game over and wait for an ear scratch or a back rub.

In the morning, as soon as they were allowed to go out, Pepper would survey the yard, making sure neither feline nor fowl trespassers lingered. She always went to the far ends of the yard to do her “business” and tried to make sure nobody was watching. (Ginger, on the other hand, felt that anywhere out the door was fair game for her toilet.)

Several years ago, Pepper suffered two torn anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL), which were repaired, after which she was able to run and play with no signs of injury. She had lost several teeth over the years, found during her annual teeth cleaning at the Veterinarian’s hospital. And she was gradually turning grey around her muzzle and ears.

About two weeks ago, she seemed to lose her energy and her appetite. X-rays were taken, during which we found that she had a dislocated right hip. At first, she was diagnosed with a kidney problem and she was treated for that, to no avail. A subsequent ultrasound examination showed no signs of organ problems or cancer tumors. After being examined at three animal hospitals and by ten Veterinarians, it was finally determined that she was not able to keep up a blood supply; either her immune system was attacking her blood cells or her bone marrow was not making sufficient blood. There was no good treatment option that would bring her back to health, so we visited with her one last time. She gave me a couple of goodbye kisses and then we held her to the end. She will be cremated and her ashes spread around the yard.

Pepper Is Gone

Pepper has been put to sleep. There were no good options for treatment, and her condition was not good. We held her to the end.

Pepper Update

The latest word is that she either has an auto-immune problem in which her immune system is destroying her blood, or a bone marrow problem in which her marrow is not producing blood cells. We will find out later today what the latest prognosis is, but we are preparing ourselves to say good-bye.

Pepper

Grandma and I are on tenterhooks. We're on pins and needles. We're edgy. We're mentally pacing up and down. Our Pepper is at the vets where they're trying to find out why she is so listless, and, to me, obviously in pain. She didn't eat last night or this morning. She has been on a special diet, after being tested a week or so ago for valley fever and deer tick disease. The only thing that showed up then was a possible kidney problem. We hope to know something positive this afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed for her.

Monsoon

We had a real gully-washer last night. I woke up about 11:30 to the sight and sound of lightning and thunder, followed by rain on the skylight. The lightning continued to flash and the thunder to crash until about 2:30, then resumed around 3:30. Grandma slept through it, as she puts ear plugs in her ears. The ground was soaking wet when I went out, so I turned off the automatic sprinkler system. No sense watering ground that was already saturated. Now if I can just remember to turn it back on before everything dries up.

Happy Birthday, Sharon

We hope you are having a great day. I think the best photo of you is the one on your blog, riding a bicycle. (If anyone wants to see, it's at mimimiller.blogspot.com.) Just goes to show what a grandmother of 7+ can still do.

Happy Birthday, Mark

Happy Birthday, Son. Hope you and Karen are having a good time in New York.

Happy Birthday, Sally

We hope you are having a GREAT birthday celebration.

I've Been Workin' On The Railroad

One summer during my college years, I took a job with The New York Central Railroad on a signal crew. We were mostly college kids and on our first day, we built up our sagging muscles by emptying out a gondola car of sand. The rest of the summer was spent digging deep holes for a line of telephone poles along a new switch-over connecting the Main Line to the North Shore Line. It was hard work in the hot, humid New York summer, but we were given enough breaks to replenish our water (and beer) supply.

One day, one of the gang brought a large basket of home grown cucumbers. On our break, we dug into the basket. I can still remember how cool they tasted and how refreshing they were. They certainly slaked our thirst. Today, the sight of a large green cucumber brings back the memory.

Growing Up

Rick Watson's blog (Life 101) yesterday struck a chord with me. I remember being a thorn in my parents' sides when I was growing up. I had written a poem a few years ago that hints at it, so decided to share it:

Our Triumph
by Robert H. Miller

Sometimes there are
When the moon is low overhead
And stars begin to almost-shine
That I walk paths
Grown over with the brambles
And tangle
Of cob-web clouded thoughts
Down forgotten vignettes
That played themselves out
So many ages ago
Yet flash and flutter
For encore after encore
In the blink of a thought.

It has been a long way coming to Now.

For the first part,
They led us by the hand.
But we wore them out
Keeping us from the waste-land on either side.

Then they were content to watch
And call a warning
When a bramble would catch and tear,
And the hurt became alone.
Guided only by the shrugging shoulders of inexperience,
We bled,
And broke ourselves on boulders
Suddenly thrust up by fate’s fantasy.

Garments rent, bleeding, blistered,
Yet erect we stand
Proudly viewing this, our triumph -
To have made our individual paths
To Now.

What Tomorrows lie in ambush
That we have not stood up to
And beaten down
Today?
Strengthened and encouraged,
We look at moon and stars and Future
And slip on sandals
For the grassy plain ahead.

09 Jan 1963

Happy Birthday, Bert

Happy birthday, Bert. Tante Shirley and I wish you a very merry time with lots of kuchen und bier. (Next time, open your eyes.)

My Accident

While going through the preparations for a colonoscopy earlier this week, I fainted and hit my head on the bathtub. The paramedics were there quickly and took me to the hospital which is less than a mile away. Not too much later a plastic surgeon sewed me up - 12 stitches - and my regular doctor came in to see how I was. He signed me up for the overnight observation ward in case other symptoms showed up. By morning, my forehead was swollen and I had the beginnings of two black eyes. (Actually, they were red and green and blue and yellow and purple.) It won't be until next Monday before some of the stitches will be removed. Until then, I'm limiting my personal appearances.

It turns out that fainting is not uncommon when going through the preparations, but we didn't know that. So my word of warning to anyone planning to have a colonoscopy is to beware of the possibility of fainting. Ask your doctor.

In Olden Times

I started jotting down some things I remember from my youth, like radio shows, comics, early TV shows, etc. The radio list started to get out of hand, so I thought I'd better publish the list before I ran out of paper. Here it is, and you're welcome to add to it:
Lum 'n Abner; Fibber McGee and Molly; Amos 'n Andy; Jack Benny with Mary Livingston, Mel Blanc, Dennis Day and Eddy "Rochester" Anderson; Fred Allen and the Allen's Alley Gang; George Burns and Gracie Allen; Red Skelton; Nat Cole Trio; Hoagy Carmichael; Hank 'n Herb, the Two Old Cronies; Lone Ranger; I Love A Mystery; Green Hornet; Edward McHugh (gospel music); Stella Dallas; Just Plain Bill; Abie's Irish Rose; Our Gal Sunday; One Man's Family; The Shadow; Edgar Bergen; Bob Hope; Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons; Mr. District Attorney; Tales of the New York State Police; Jack Ross and the WHAM News.

We had a floor model Philco radio that picked up WHAM, the 50,000 watt, clear channel station in Rochester, NY. (When I was in college in Stillwater, Oklahoma, we could listen to WHAM from time to time.) I always liked to hear Jack Ross deliver the news; he had a deep baritone voice. He didn't mince words or get into a lot of opinions or analysis, just reported. Once through the news; no telling us what he was going to tell us, then tell us, then tell us what he told us. No ticklers about what was coming up, just straight reporting. To bad they don't teach that in journalism schools today. Just imagine how many words and how much time could be saved with straight out reporting. It boggles the mind!

In Other Words

Anent the high humidity in our house since we turned on the swamp cooler:

"Holy humidity, Batman", exclaimed Robin.

"Leapin' lizards, Sandy, it sure is muggy in here", said Little Orphan Annie to her dog.

"I believe it is rather watery in these parts", said Tom Swift fluidly.

"Everyding is thamp", said Professor Spooner.

And so it goes.

Anyone care to contribute?

Leapin' Lizards, Sandy, It Sure Is Muggy

Friday evening, there was a power outage, and when the power came back on, our air conditioner didn't. By Saturday morning when a repair crew could get here, they discovered one of the control modules was shot. Since they couldn't get repair parts or a new AC unit until Monday, they helped me get the swamp cooler up and running. I hadn't turned it on since about 2000, but it started right up. A while later, I noticed the air was hot and a lot of water was pouring off the roof, so I went up to take a look. Seems that the water pan had corroded and water was leaking out the bottom as fast as it was coming in. So I spent the next 2 or 3 hours trying to get it repaired well enough too hold water at least until Monday. Grandma went to the local Home Depot for me and brought back some roofing cement to plaster on the bottom, but it didn't hold up. The next step was to seal a piece of plastic in the tray, which worked. All of this while working on the roof in the hot sun with a temperature in the 100s. Not something I'd recommend to anyone. So this morning we woke up to 73 degrees in the house and enough humidity to make puddles. But at least we're not baking, and the swamp cooler is still working.

Hot Enough For Ya?

According to my physical, blood work and dental cleaning this week, I'm in great shape, but last night almost did me in. Walt Whitman wrote "Out of the cradle endlessly rocking...", but here it was "Into the inferno endlessly turning" as our air conditioner had quit on us after bringing the temperature UP to 85. We called a repair service and they came right out to get it going, and when the repairman left, all was in working order. HOWEVER, a while after he left (around 8 or 9), the unit stopped bringing in the cold and brought in the warm. So we tossed and turned all night, catching the sandman for a few (darned few) winks. The great part was that the repair company was here before 7 this morning to find the true cause - a bad fan motor. Right now, all is well and the temperature is slowly dropping into the comfortable range. Yesterday, the official temperature was over 110, and today it's forecast to reach within a degree or two of the record of 115. So we count as one of our blessings the repair company - aptly named Cold Blue.

They're Engaged!

Congratulations to Jeanna and Chris on the announcement of their engagement! We'll pack our bags as soon as we know where and when the wedding will be.