Thanksgiving with the Kowals - 2009

10/27/09 Sparky is at the vet now. She is having the ACL surgery. They have to replace her ligament with an artificial one. She will have to stay overnight. Once she’s home we will have to keep her crated (but it is a large crate) for several wks. Then I will have to do physical therapy on her 2-3 times a day for several more wks. After about 3 months she should be able to play again. My poor, sweet baby.

10/30 (Fri) Poor, sweet Sparky girl. Her surgery went well. They replaced the ligament in her knee with a titanium piece. So Sparky & her brother both have titanium in them! Lewis got her a cage – pretty big. She can walk around in it but not much. She is sitting in there crying her little heart out. It drove me crazy for the first day, but I’m kind of used to it now. When we are in bed, we take her cage in the bedroom & she sleeps on the floor next to me. I have her pillows & blankets & her dinosaur in there with some water. In the day, the cage is in the computer room with me. When we watch tv I just put her on my lap as usual & hold her. We aren’t ignoring her; It’s just that she isn’t supposed to move that leg around too much. You should see the cast. It’s on the entire leg & is about as wide as her whole body. I was thinking about how miserable she is in there so I put a pink sheet up on 1 side of the cage. Pink is supposed to be a soothing color. I think it’s working too. Here's a picture of her a few days after her surgery.

Just finished making dinner. It’s in the fridge. Don’t need to heat it up for about an hr.

Game night tomorrow night! Then on Sun, Cath, Dennis & Natalie are coming over for lunch. I’m making chicken piccata. Haven’t tried this recipe before but it sounds really good. Another busy wk-end.

11/4/09 (Weds) Went to the orthodontist yesterday. Alex got his braces off. His teeth look really nice. And they’re very white. We thought he might need to have them whitened but I guess not.

Sparky is not happy. Her back leg is in a full cast. From hip to foot. It looks like a teddy bear leg. I will take Sparks back in 2 wks for her follow-up. She seems to be doing well, except she doesn’t understand why I carry her from room to room when she isn’t in her new (huge) cage. She only sleeps in there at night. We put it next to our bed. I put her pillows & blankets in there with 2 of her favorite chewing toys. Also a dish of water. But in the day I don’t like to keep her caged up. Since she isn’t supposed to walk much, I just carry her wherever I go in the house. I am building up arm muscles I didn’t know I had. She is only 19 pounds, but I’m a weakling.

Have to get Alex to physical therapy soon so I should go see why he isn’t out of bed yet.

11/5/09 (Thurs)

As Lewis was perusing some grocery ads that came in the mail yesterday, he asked me if I would eat buffalo meat. I said no. He said yes, I would. I said no, I wouldn’t. He then proceeded to tell me how healthy it is. I don’t care. I told him I am not eating buffalo. I have a feeling he’s going to buy it anyway. I will not eat it anyway.

I made my Sturniolo meatloaf last night. Also some scalloped potatoes and a medley of fresh vegetables. I bought fresh broccoli, zucchini, grape tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, & pearl onions. Threw it all together in a pan of butter & then simmered it on low for about 2 hrs. I also made Waldorf salad that I found a recipe for a couple days ago. It was delicious. More like a dessert. I just had some now for breakfast.

We all 3 got our flu shots last night. Now we have to wait for the H1N1 shots.

11/6/09 (Fri) Had dinner last night with Kim. We met in PSI (Professional Secretaries International) in 1990 & have been friends ever since. I was telling Lewis last night that Kim’s son is a yr older than Alex & that she loaned me a lot of her maternity dresses when I was pregnant. She helped pull together my surprise baby shower which was planned for the PSI meeting the night I had Alex. I remember calling Kim at 8:00 that morning when Alex was just 4 hrs old. I told her I wouldn’t be able to come to the meeting that night. (I was the editor of the newsletter). She said, “Oh no!” And she seemed really bothered so I said, “Don’t worry. I can have Lewis drop the newsletters off.” She said it wasn’t about the newsletters; It was because that night was my “surprise” baby shower. Then I told her “Oh well. Just had the baby a couple hrs ago.” I guess I forgot to mention that earlier. So they still ate my cake at the meeting. The next day Kim brought all of the gifts & the leftover cake to the hospital for me. That was 16 yrs ago.

Alex & I had a productive day today. I did a mystery shop this morning at 5 & Diner at Paradise Valley Mall. When we were leaving we noticed a Blockbuster going out of business. Had to stop. But they didn’t open until 11:00 a.m., so we went to Costco to pick up a few things we needed (like Excedrin – my favorite drug of all time). Then I took him to physical therapy. At noon, when he was finished, we went back to that Blockbuster & spent WAY too much time (& $$$ ) there. Called Lewis a couple of times to let him know what games they had. He didn’t want any of them, but Alex & I got several movies, some kettle corn & some other candy. Stuff we didn’t need but had to have. They are still going to be open until Jan 3, so we will stop back every now & then & see if the prices go down much. Went home & had lunch. Now I have to complete my mystery shop form online & scan in the receipt.

It’s weird-looking outside. Looks like it might rain but still feels very hot out. Way too hot for Nov.

Tomorrow is the McDowell Mountain Ranch yard sales. They are held twice a yr – in the fall & the spring. Deb & Nancy are coming over at 7:00 a.m. & then we’re gone until they are over (11:00 a.m.). Then we will go someplace for lunch.
Went to Armitage (wine bar) for lunch & to Temple Bar & Grill for dessert & drinks. Since I was the driver, everyone had drinks except me. Me & my lemon water.

11/14 – Scott’s bar mitzvah at the Marriott. Great music. The filet was fabulous.
I had my usual bourbon, neat, when we arrived at 6:30pm. Since it was my turn to be the designated driver, that would be it for me for the night. From then on I had only non-alcoholic drinks. 4 hrs later, after an hr of appetizers & a huge meal of filet mignon, vegetables, potatoes, salad, flatbread, more water, a virgin bloody mary, & a few Cokes, it is time to drive the 4 miles back to our home. In the parking lot, Alex was refusing to get in the car with us because we had been drinking. We tried explaining the rate of alcohol consumption in a 4-hr period, my body weight, the amount of food I had eaten, & the amount of water I had in me, but he was not buying it. Eventually, he did get in the car with his seat belt tighter than usual. If we had been thinking, we would have had him bring his permit so he could have driven home. That way, my one 4-hr old drink would not have mattered to him so much. We thought of that when we got home. Wonder what kind of an example we set? The next time, he’s taking his permit. Actually, he passed the driver’s test. All we have to do is take him to the DMV to have his eye test & pay the fee & he’ll have his license.

11/15/09 Javalina in the yard across the street from us. About 12 of them, adults & babies. It was dark outside so Lewis & I got in the car & drove as close as we could. I stood up in the sun roof to take pictures. But even with the headlights on them, the pictures aren’t clear. They are cool to watch, though.

11/16 – First evening it was actually cold. When I took Sparky out after dinner it was cold. Yet still way too hot in the day.

11/17/09
Took Alex to Blockbuster for more sales, went to the clothes donation box to drop off some of my too-small clothes, returned a shirt. Productive day.

11/20 Took Alex to get his driver’s license. He is now a registered driver in the state of Arizona. Another milestone. Then I took him to physical therapy. While he was doing his workout, I called the insurance company to add him on. Then I called AAA to add him on to that also. His card should come in a few days.

Look how cute my 16-yr old baby boy is in his car!

Got my hair cut & died back to my natural color (black – or charcoal). Isn’t that a sexy-sounding hair color - - Charcoal ? Yuck! Cut about 12 inches off of it. I’m sending it to this organization to donate.

Thanksgiving was fairly quiet. We had the Kowals over here. Lewis cooked an incredible turkey & made homemade stuffing this year that was the best I've ever had.

12/5 (Sat) My cousin, Denny died on Fri. Lung infection. He was 65. Lived in Pittsburgh.

Lewis & Alex are going to a hockey game tonight with Eric, so I will watch a movie I have that neither of them wants to see, “House Bunny.” I know, it’s probably stupid, but I’m in the mood for something sophomoric tonight.

Lewis has been cooking a roast in the crockpot since last night. It smells wonderful in this house.

It was really cold this morning. I think it was 40 as the low overnight. We stayed in bed for a while to get warm. Lewis got up early & went out – shopping again. I didn’t wake up until he got back, around 10am. Then Sparky & I snuggled in bed for about another half hr. Got up for breakfast. Lewis made us waffles & bacon. He also brought us donuts from Dunkin Donuts. Last night he bought these cute little oranges we love. They are Clementines & are only available a couple months a yr. They’re small. They are so good & sweet.

Alex has been driving himself to physical therapy twice a wk. Yesterday we had some errands to run so he drove. I can’t believe my baby grew up so quickly.

Lewis & Alex went to the Kiss concert a couple nights ago. I was supposed to go too but I wasn’t feeling well. Headache, stomach acting up. So I missed it. They said it was very good.

We recorded the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary special a few nights ago & have been watching bits & pieces of it each night, time permitting. Bruce Springsteen recently turned 60. Paul Stanley (Kiss) has had 2 hip replacements. Phil Collins can no longer play the drums due to injuries to his spine, & Bill Wyman (Rollilng Stones) has quit the band claiming he is tired of the touring life. If I didn’t feel old before, I certainly do now!

12/9/2009 (Weds) My dad would have been 80 today. Alex & I are going to the cemetery after his teacher leaves.

House Bunny. The movie. Just made my list of worst movies of all time. Not just on the list, but at the very top of the list. Never, never, ever watch it. It was so unfunny. I could only get through a little bit of it & had to turn it off. Gag.

If I don't see or hear from you before Christmas or Hanukkah, have a nice, restful holiday.

Hugs,
Candace