One last summer bloom

Although it's felt like fall her for several weeks, just yesterday I moved my hibiscus plant inside, with this one flower on it. I noticed it also has a bud ready to bloom, so I hope moving the plant into my kitchen where it stays during the winter, won't disrupt the blooming process.
Today is a cold dreary fall day with rain falling.

The structure/foundation for the deck/covered porch is up and in place, with the steps on and the risers done.
The demolition and repair work to the brick wall near the deck, and other glitches, are all fixed, which slowed the project by 1-2 weeks.
And now that we are entering colder weather and lots of wind on the hill where we live, it will be harder, when the rafters and roof go on.

Bailey had a seizure this week, in the process of weaning him, very slowly from his pheno. and putting him on another medication for seizures.
He is still on medications for ingesting mouse poison, so care of a very sick dog continues.
Of course I don't get the flu and usually proudly say to my friends who get the flu shot that I don't need one, as I don't get sick.
Yes that's right, I've had the flu with high temps for two days, so the fun continues here at home.

I am anxious to get to my list of fall projects and tasks, but for now they are on hold.
So for today Bailey and I will be in front of the fireplace, and for me lots of hot tea, catching up on the papers I was unable to read this week.
Oh and I finally may feel like watching TV and the political news as I missed several days, or did I not really miss anything!!!
This drama will soon be over; well at least the political fighting will be over.
Happy Saturday to all.

Family Meals

It's a beautiful cool crisp fall day.
We've had a crazy wonderful scary week.
Last weekend our daughter decided she needed a break from her masters degree classes in SF and so we got together some of our frequent flier miles and she flew home over night Tuesday from the West Coast.
We've been having family dinners, and shopping, and visiting friends, and relatives.
And taking in each moment with her because she doesn't get home often.

And taking care of a sick little Bailey in the middle of all of this.
He's on some liver medications, and being weaned off the pheno which may be causing the liver problems. On Monday eve he got into the barricaded room in which we are doing construction...and ate a full box of Decon, mouse poison. A call to emergency vet told us what to do. The next morning another trip to the vet for a Vit K shot, and then the next 48-72 hours would be touch and go.
He got really sick the second day, but has rebounded and is still with us.
He's just had a really hard two weeks.

Speaking of our renovation and construction. All the prep work has been done, and some repair to a brick wall and on the side of the house, caused by the demo part.
The new door to the basement is in, and deck/porch posts ready to be poured.
All you out there who have done this know that things always take twice as long and 3 times as many dollars as predicted. It's just been two weeks and I want the mess and anxiety over.. soon.

My husband's ready to get his fifth shot in the rabies shot series, and then heading back to India for hopefully the last part of this long four month project.

The red and yellow leaves are dropping off the trees, the nights are colder, and I smelled someones wood fire burning last night for the first time this season.
Fall is definitely in full swing.

Bailey

This is a Bailey update.
Bailey's bloodwork came back yesterday and one of his liver functions is 4x the level it is to be. The other liver function is 10x the level.
So he does not yet have liver failure, but more like big liver problems.

After a thorough question and answer time and putting our two heads together the vet and I determined that he may be toxic from phenobarbital he's on 2x day for seizures which developed 4 years ago, when we flew him 32 hours to Singapore with us when we were living there.
So she is unsure if his symptoms that I took his to the clinic Wed are related to liver damage, or if it is coincidental. He is not acting like he did Wed when I took him to the clinic. For 3 days he's been on the prescribed meds, and is begging for food once again but staying right by my side.
Today I took him back to the vet for a liver funciton test, and results will be in Monday.
We shall see.
Right now he is curled up next to me as I type.
Hopefully Monday we will get a good prognosis or at least a course of action to reverse the liver problems.

Early autumn morning

A very early October morning before the sunrise and as you can see so dark and almost eerie except for the bright orange morning light.
This is a lifeline to my days these weeks.
We are under a bit of stress; between my husband's severe illness reactions from his rabies vaccine(is on #4 shot, one to go), my dog being very sick as well(for a week now), and some deck demolition with many snags.
The vet thinks my dog has acquired something(parasite?) from his bad habit of eating crickets, when we go outside, or we are in the garage and grabs them before I can stop him. Oh and a $189. bill with two kinds of medications and complete blood work being done... yum... tastey crickets.
The existing deck(call it a cement something something, that had shifted from the foundation, under which was a 6o's style fall out shelter. The complications involve foundation, electrical, phone and cable lines and the bulldozer(bobcat) the contractor used for demo.
Much too complicated to go into here, but as those of you who have done home renovations know, one never knows what is there until the demo begins..

So we will keep going.
Of course this is all shrouded my the financial markets, the political bickering, and the general malaise caused by both situations. Urgggh.
So it seems hardly right to list all that is going on around here, when much bigger things are happening elsewhere.
I just wanted to stop by and say hello to you my blog and email friends.
Hope you are holding your heads high and dealing with whatever is happening in your world.
Next time I will have a before and after demo picture, but they are quite alarming and I wasn't quite up to posting them today! Maybe there will be a brand new deck with roof.. maybe but don't know that today!

I didn't mean to

Well hello there, I really didn't mean to disappear.
I really didn't.
Actually I am right here and didn't disappear at all.
This is an evening sky picture from my deck and wow is the weather wonderful.
Just what we want in an autumn forecast.
Cool crisp, with warm sunny days.
It's glorious.
I've been working in overdrive it feels like.
And somehow between reading a few of my favorite blogs, reading a couple of novels I'd started, and of course watching political news, the week somehow disappeared.
I've been working on planting some fall perennials, and getting the flower beds in better shape.
That also has included moving some shrubs and established perennials, to make way for the demolition of the existing shabby back deck.
And not a nice shabby I might add.
So the demolition has begun, and the just approved building permit has arrived.
So you see between construction people, and my own projects,
things are buzzing along in high gear.
Somehow this happens to me in the fall.
The weather is invigorating.
The doors and windows can be open all day and by evening, the cool settles into the house.
But I get so much more done this type of year than in any other season.

In the middle of all of this I am actively job hunting, after an unplanned 6 year break in employment.
I have not yet decided if I am going for full or part time but will depend on what kind of job I decide to take.
So that probably explains the urgency I feel and the necessity to get as much done, in as short time as possible.

So thanks for stopping by and I promise to try really hard and not take such a long unplanned break again.