October - Winds of Change

October - winds of change

I finally recovered from the extreme fatigue flare up. It took lots and lots vitamins, water, rest, food, peace and quiet. Lots, 3K mgs of Vitamin C, B-complex, 200 mgs of magnesium, and 325 mgs of iron.

This month seemed to go by faster than fast, warm Indian summer like temps early in the month and raw cold rainy days by the end of the month. It's definitely starting to feel like holiday season, football and thanksgiving.

We finally conquered the laundry pile we had since moving in here. I kept piling onto it during the summer months between the heat and Grammy being in the hospital, the laundry room here had a fire, further delaying things and by back to school time there was all the making up of other things that needed doing. All told we had 11 loads at one laundromat and another large load at a new laundromat. I had to split this into 3 days with breaks in between, just way too much lugging and putting away for this disabled gal. All told, with extra laundry bags, softener and supplies we didn't already have on us, total cost of $175 Holy Freaking Ouch.

Later in the month we had unit inspections again. We also ran into an old high school glory days era friend. That was nice. Has it not been for Sven we might not of noticed each other or realized it.

And then I finally decided to take on Sven's food allergies again and started making him some homemade food to mix with the kibble. His kibble is the only brand we can give him, but even that affects him. Things like mixed tocopherols are made with and contain fish oil and/or egg yolks, Sven is allergic to eggs. Chickpeas are part of the legume family and he's allergic to peanuts. So I'd like to try to eliminate as much as possible to see if it helps. It's hard to lug around homemade food and/or be able to afford making it for a dog his size, but we're going to give it a shot. Shots, shampoos, powders, creams and vet bills cost more and he shouldn't have to suffer or be uncomfortable. Winter seems like a good time to start, we're home more. For now it's fresh, eventually if the ingredients work out, we'll figure how to dehydrate it in an oven and make it more portable and sustainable for us.

New place, new environment, different things going on. We changed his heartworm meds, that seemed to help the lose stool issues. Skin looks better, but now he's got runny eyes and anal leakage. Ugh. He started nibbling on this strange weed-look grass that has been growing as of lately, something the wind and lawnmowers are spreading around all over. He's allergic to grass pollen, so I've been after him with the leave-its a lot lately. I can't wait for the first frost to see if things abate. Thyroid pills seemed to really have kicked in, he's lost weight, fluid has gone how and while he's still big, he looks a lot less flubbery and more Svelte again which for an older dog is a good thing. So far he seems to be doing well on the new diet, so we'll stay the course for now and make the change gradually.

I'm looking forward to the holidays, can't wait for some turkey, I'm not a fan of turning the oven on for one person or having to cleaning it often I've had a few mishaps in the past with that sort of thing. Still deciding if I'm going to decorate a bit early or not, it comes down to having to do things when I feel up to doing it. That and Sven's due for a bath... one of his least favorite things to do.

Can you believe we turn the clocks back this weekend already, where did a whole year go?

Below are a few pictures from our travels. Breakfast with Grammy, laundry, Halloween, etc.