Look What I Caught and Cooked

What a beautiful day it was. We went fishing on Rehoboth Bay and Indian River Bay. The wind was blowing a bit harder than we liked, but it still was nice. It helped keep the heat of sun from being too hot.

The best part of the day, and why I'm writing, is I caught a keeper flounder!! That is darn near impossible these days since the size limit was raised to 19-1/2 inches this year. My flounder was 21 inches long. I caught it on a squid/minnow combination. When I felt it hit my line, I initially thought I was snagged on something, but I started reeling it in and saw it coming to the top of the water. Ron said not to pull it all the way up as flounder have this unique ability to flip themselves off the hook. He grabbed the net and put it under the fish and pulled him into the boat. We looked at the fish and said it HAD to be a keeper. We grabbed the tape measure and, sure enough, it was! WOOHOO!!

When we got home, Ron cut it up. We got four good-sized filets out of it. I cooked two of them and put the other two in the freezer. They were delicious!!

Now that we know there ARE keeper flounder out there, you can bet we will be out there every chance we get. Wish us luck!!

The Boat is in the Water!!

FINALLY!!! We got the boat put in the water yesterday. It was a beautiful day, but by the time we got finished tying it up in the slip, it was too late, and a bit too chilly, to go out for a ride. Today we need to go get some hardware to better tie the boat up in its slip. We thought we had the right stuff, but some of it just wasn't what we needed. We had everything set up just right at our old marina, but we decided to go to another marina this year.

It's another beautiful day. Perhaps a little ride around Rehoboth Bay is in the cards for this afternoon. That would be just loverly, wouldn't it??

Dude!

I took Dude! to the vet on Tuesday for his rabies and second distemper shots and a follow-up on his heart problem. Thank God, his heart problem seems to have resolved itself. It seems it was a puppy thing after all. No expensive trip to the doggy cardiologist required. Dude! is now cleared for neutering surgery. He gets snipped on May 28th.

The Biopsy

Sitting here just a bit sore today from the biopsy and subsequent excision. It wasn't too bad, but I hated having to lie on my stomach for 1-1/2 hours while the biopsy and excision were being conducted (my boobs were getting squished). I guess I thought it would go a bit quicker than that. Luckily the doctor had a mobile pathology lab in his parking lot, so he was able to get a reading and then take action based on that reading.

Diagnosis: superficial basal cell carcinoma. Skin cancer. I certainly never would have thought that little red spot on my back was anything serious. I just thought it was a discoloration of skin. Luckily, my family doctor thought it was suspicious enough to warrant another look and sent me to a plastic surgeon.

The good news is the surgeon said he got it all. The margins were clean. I guess that means I'm cured. I guess it also means I'll have to have regular skin checks from here on out. To think, I originally scheduled both Ron and myself for skin checks because I thought he had a suspicious mole. His is being monitored by the plastic surgeon, but he doesn't think it's anything serious.

Better go get some sunscreen. Yuck, I hate that stuff...and I like being tan. Dang it! Had the best tan of my life last summer being out on the boat every weekend. Ron always fusses at me to put the sunscreen on, but I rebelled several times. No more. *sigh*

The Vet Called

The vet called about Dude!'s EKG. The cardiologist said he has mild sinus tachycardia and could, but might not, grow out of it. Fancy words for irregular heartbeat. Anyway, the vet said at this point he will just monitor Dude! regularly. The only sticking point now is the vet said he will not neuter Dude! until a cardiologist clears him for surgery. He said that anesthesia is too risky without knowing for sure. So, we go back to the vet on March 11 for Dude!'s rabies shot and another EKG. I had asked the vet last visit when we could get him neutered and he said six months was the earliest. That's when I want it done. It definitely makes for a much better pet if you get them neutered as soon as possible. So....I guess I need to make an appointment with the cardiologist and make that dreaded trip. We shall see what the vet says on March 11.

Jenny, dear, I think you're right. CA-CHING is the operative word here. I don't have a clue how much I would/will spend. Dude! is such a sweetheart and I love cuddling with him. He sleeps on my pillow wrapped around my head. He doesn't even wake me up if he has to go potty. He just waits until one of the older dogs gets me up. When I ask him if he needs to go outside and go pee-pee, he gets all excited and wiggly and kisses me as if to say that's such a good idea, Mom!

I'll keep y'all posted.

BTW, my biopsy is next week on Tuesday. YUCK! Not looking forward to that. Right in the middle of my back, where I am VERY sensitive. At 7:15 AM. I don't even know what AM is any more. I'm retired, damn it!! Why can't I come in later? *sigh*

Dude!'s Trip to the Vet and My Trip to the Doc

We went to the vet today for some puppy shots. The vet does his little exam to make sure everything's okay, like he always does. But this time he keeps listening and listening with the stethoscope to little Dude!'s heart. I'm getting concerned, but don't say anything because I know I need to be quiet so the vet can hear. After a couple of minutes the vet says, "I'll be right back" and leaves the room. He comes back in with a little machine that has electrodes on it. He gets some goopy gel and puts it on little Dude! in three places and places the electrodes on him. I figured this was an EKG machine and I was right.

After trying to hold Dude! still for a couple minutes (no easy feat), the vet tears off the EKG strip and shows it to me. I notice some sorta straight little lines and then some very wavy lines and then some more sorta straight lines. I ask what he thinks. He says it may just be a puppy thing and he will grow out of it, but he's concerned enough he wants to send it to a cardiologist to be sure. It appears Dude! has an irregular heartbeat. Bless his little heart! Poor guy is only 11 weeks old. The vet said he would call me tomorrow or Thursday to let me know what the cardio doc said. Hopefully, it will just be a puppy thing and he'll get over it. The vet did tell me there are only two kinda sorta local dog cardio docs...in Newport and Annapolis....both two hours away.

Hopefully, this will turn out to be nothing to worry about. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. He's such a sweet little guy and we have already grown very attached to him.

Okay, now for my trip to the doc. My hubby and I went to our family doc a couple months ago for a skin check. She said both of us had 'things' she was concerned about and wanted us to go see the local plastic surgeon (????). Today was the day (he's very difficult to get in to see). Well, he thinks hubby's mole is not really much, but wants to see him again in four months to make sure it's not growing. But mine, MINE, is a little red squiggly thing he says looks like it could be a possible skin cancer. He's going to have his scheduler call me tomorrow to schedule a biopsy. Oh joy..... He told me what he would do, then, if the cells are malignant, what more he will do. Again, oh joy....

So, not the best day I've had lately. Please keep your fingers crossed for little Dude! and me. I'll keep you posted on the outcomes.

Baby Brandon

Well, it took a bit of teeth pulling, but I finally got my husband to post some pictures of our new grandson. So...presenting Brandon Shawn.


He is so sweet. I didn't want to give him up, but my husband said I was hogging him. So, reluctantly, I gave him to one of his aunts.


First picture with his eyes open....and I was holding him and talking to him when it happened.


This is the four generations picture, with my father-in-law, my husband, my stepson, and Brandon.

Word from Mom and Dad is that Brandon eats his final meal of the day around 11 pm and then sleeps until 6 am the next morning. Where was this kid when I was having babies?? They are so lucky. I'm really glad he's a good baby though.

I Wanted It, I NEEDED It

I've been thinking a lot lately about the beach. I live so close, but rarely ever go. That's why I moved to the beach for retirement, so I could go whenever I wanted. I don't know why I haven't gone more often. I just haven't.

So, today, for some reason, I really, really NEEDED to go. I've been feeling so crappy lately and I figured this would be a good pick-me-up. I asked my husband to take the new puppy, Dude!, and me to the pet store in Rehoboth, which he did. Once we got what we went to the store for and got back in the car, I casually asked him if maybe we could take Dude! for a walk on the boardwalk. This is a tradition with all our new puppies and it was such a nice day (for winter), so I figured why not get the tradition in and my fix in as well.

It was just what I needed. Dude! loved running in the sand and I loved watching him. I also loved getting the sand in my shoes. I wore my knock-off crocs so the sand would fill them up when I walked. The sand felt SO good, even though it was cold. Now I am renewed and can be a bit more patient waiting for spring to come.

You know, I really should do this more often. Especially when I'm feeling a bit down. It's the perfect medicine for my winter-weary soul.

Finally I Got Off My Butt

Well, I finally felt well enough to do a little something today. I've been watching the birds and squirrels for the last week and telling myself I needed to get out there and refill all the feeders. So today I actually got off my butt and did just that. The birds especially are thanking me.

I love my newest feeder, a sock contraption for finch food. The socks have little holes in them so the seed can either fall out or the birds can perch on them and pick the seeds out of the holes. At times, there are about 20-25 birds on the two socks at the same time.

I've seen different little birds I had never seen before this winter. It's relaxing just to sit and watch them feed and play. Just so the birds don't have to fight off the squirrels, I also have three squirrel feeders on the trees along the fenceline. One is a post you put corn cobs on (woodpeckers love this, too). One is a cage you put a feed cake in and the other is a little box you fill up with squirrel food. They have to open the top of the box to get the food.

It's been a while since I felt good, so I'm enjoying it today with the help of my little bird and squirrel friends and the puppies and kitties.

This Bites

Well, now that we have a new puppy to housebreak, wouldn't you know I'd come down with some medical condition that makes it hurt really, really bad when I move (so I don't try to as much as possible).

I called the gastro doctor yesterday and he agreed that I might be having a diverticulitis attack (or a kidney stone or a urinary tract infection). He phoned in the two usual prescriptions and said to come see him in three weeks if I'm still not better. Still not better?? In three weeks?? I can't handle that! Every time I move it hurts!! I did laundry today because....the puppy pee'd on our bed last night. I hurt too bad to take him out one last time and hubby was already in bed. Guess Dude! taught me, huh? Anyway, the laundry is done, but is not put away. That's one of my big things about laundry, it must be put away immediately or it won't get done. At least I suffered through the pain long enough to fold everything or put it on hangers.

I'm also very hungry. When I have this diverticulitis thingy, I'm supposed to go on a liquid diet for a few days to give my system a rest. That leaves me feeling hungry...and having to pee a lot. You know what having to pee a lot means? Yep, that's right, I have to get up and down....a lot. And that hurts....a lot.

Did I mention how incredibly tired this makes me? I would probably do best lying in bed for a few days, but a household, especially with a new puppy, doesn't come to a complete standstill just because I'm sick.

Oh well, how was your day?