Changing Styles

I’ve been growing my hair out for the last 18 months.  It used to be an inverted bob that was really short in back, so it has taken some time.  I’ve found that over the years, my hair has become more naturally curly.

The inverted bob has meant that my hairstylist has had to keep cutting a bit shorter in front, to eventually get the front to be the same length as the back.  I think we are almost out of that phase!  Of course, yesterday’s haircut went a bit shorter than I ultimately want it, for the sake of evening out the front and the back.  But I am loving the easy style and the layers!

This photo is me a little more than a month ago on a trip to Atlanta, with the curls.

Me, curly-headed, in Atlanta

 

This photo is yesterday, right after having it cut, straightened and layered.  I love both styles, but the curls certainly take less time!

 

Me, straight-haired, after my cut

 

A Canine Switch

So Biz and I headed back up to the clinic on Monday to see about having two of his canine teeth removed, as they seemed to be causing him a lot of pain. After further consulting, we decided to try continuing the daily painkiller for awhile and then extract later if it is still needed.

If you are newer to this blog, you may not know that Biz has EOTRH, more officially known as equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis disease.  In very simplistic terms, it is kind of like osteoporosis of the teeth. The tooth root begins to break down and get spongy (the tooth resorption), and then the body tries to strengthen the weakening root by creating a ball of “cement” (the hypercementosis) around the damaged root.  The ball of cement presses on the gums, causing pain.  Not to mention the teeth become loose, and can eventually just break off either at or below the gumline.  More pain.  Interestingly, people and cats get their own version of this disease.  Something to look forward to!

Although it isn’t a new disease, it has become much more recently studied in horses, because, in the past horses didn’t live long enough for it to matter.  They died of something far more usual (colic, laminitis, etc.) long before some vet ever started poking around much in their mouths…  Horses are living longer, more leisurely lives, just like people, and now the diseases of old horses are becoming more common.

Biz is 30; considered an old horse.  Domestic horses, like people, have a wide variation in longevity, and most statistics point to an average lifespan of 25-30 years.  He has had 9 of his 12 incisors pulled already, and his canine teeth are now affected.  One canine had already broken off at the gumline sometime in the last year and healed over on its own.  That left three canines…  Two of these canines were the ones that we were eyeing for potential extraction today.

After we decided to go with the more conservative daily painkiller approach, the vets then went to do a routine float on his molars and cheek teeth, and get rid of a sharp edge on the one canine that seemed to not be a problem.  “Floating” a horse’s teeth is the process of filing down the sharp edges to keep them from pinching or poking the horse’s cheeks and gums.  The process of chewing hay and grass just naturally creates these sharp edges over time, as the teeth wear unevenly.  This too, can cause pain.  Most of the time anymore, floating is done with a power tool in the horse’s mouth. Biz LOVES this, I can assure you!  (that was pure sarcasm, in case it wasn’t obvious…)

Well, filing down that sharp edge on that one canine tooth (the one that had seemed to be the most stable), caused it to break off from the vibration of the floating tool.  It was immediately apparent that it was just suddenly very loose, and ended up having to be removed. A quick pull with a pliers and the entire crown of the tooth came out.  The root was left in, in the hopes that the gum will just heal over it.  This same thing actually happened with his other upper canine, and Biz is a great healer, so fingers crossed.

We are hoping that perhaps that upper canine, or the sharp edges on his molars and cheek teeth, might have been causing at least some of the pain that has made him so reactive lately.  And that solving those problems will make the daily painkiller work well for him, or even be unnecessary.  Sadly, Biz never did learn his words, and doesn’t even have fingers to point to a particular spot and say, “that’s where it hurts.”  He’s a prey animal, and prey animals instinctually hide pain…  And even worse, he HATES having his mouth messed with on his best day, so he’s always more inclined to act like it hurts EVERYWHERE!  Hopefully, we will know more over the next couple weeks, as he heals from today.

 

Biz, looking regal before the sedative…

 

So, in true Biz fashion, he lost the canine they didn’t plan to extract today, and kept the other two. He can’t ever just do the expected…  Touche’ Biz… You never can seem to stick to a plan…

Walla Walla 2017: Wine on the Way…

Day 4 – Monday, May 29, 2017

The last day of our trip we headed out of town, stopping at Sleight of Hand Cellars along the way.  I had known about Sleight of Hand, but never been, and Lelani had found them and decided that should be where we went.  Of course, she didn’t have to twist any of our arms…

Sleight of Hand has a Magician theme.  Their wines are delicious and have magician themed names!  The tasting room has is brightly decorated in a modern theme, and they have a ton of music posters (many are autographed) and magician posters on the walls.  They also have records – over 2,000 of them – they always have something playing on the record player!

The Tasting Menu – delicious wines!

Seating in the tasting room

Posters at Sleight of Hand

An autographed guitar at Sleight of Hand

I brought home their Magician’s Assistant Cabernet Franc Rosé and their Conjurer Red Blend.  That isn’t to say I didn’t love all their other wines, because I did, but they are a bit above my price point, starting at $45 for their varietal reds.  I did get a tank top though – which I love!  Lelani found a Prince Purple Rain themed tank top there too!

Me at Sleight of Hand – I’m not sunburned – it’s just the red umbrella above me

 

Lelani took this photo, not realizing I was photo bombing her!

 

After Sleight of Hand, it was time to get on the road and start working our way home.  We stopped in Yakima for Miner’s Burgers – Home of the Big Miner Burger – these burgers are huge!  Trust me, if you go, split the fries.  One order of fries is probably enough for four people if you plan on having a burger to yourself!  Especially if you have a milkshake, and trust me on this too, you should have a milkshake!  Miner’s has been a Yakima institution since 1948.  We left stuffed, and happy.

Waiting for our burgers!

Our next stops were the Fruit and Antique stand in Selah, just outside of Yakima, and the Thorp Fruit and Antique stand.  I love going there!  We all spend some time poking around and checking out the fruit, gourmet foodie items and antiques.

Brandon, me and Lelani waiting for Joel

Soon enough, it was time to hit the pass and get back over the mountains toward home.  The traffic was just as bad on the way back and this time I was awake for it!  It was, however, the end of a really great friends weekend…

 

How to Pull a Canine…

Biz’s canine tooth extraction surgery is coming up.  We postponed it a couple weeks ago after finding out the issue was not with his incisors, in order to give the vet some time to consult with specialists.  Said consulting has been done.  Monday morning, we are traveling back to the clinic to give it a go.  They will start with his lower right canine.  And ugh, it sounds awful…

When the vet called Friday to explain what he had found out about the procedure and how to best do it, “bone grinding tool, levering against jawbone, and risk if ligament has calcified” were phrases used…  Yuck.  I asked all my questions and he offered the option of having the extractions done by the dental specialist, but that involves either waiting longer until she will be in the area, or traveling two hours south.  Trailering Biz two hours south into the big city and its horrendous traffic doesn’t sound like a good time for a 30 year old man…  So we are going to give it a go at home.

Basically, they will cut off the crown of the tooth (the part above the gumline), then grind away a portion of the jawbone to expose the root to make it easier to access and extract.  This, although it sounds terrible, is the better way to go because it reduces the pressure on the jawbone that occurs when they have to lever against it trying to loosen the tooth.  Hopefully, the ligament that is holding the tooth below is still relatively healthy, and has not calcified, because that bony calcification makes it harder to remove the root.

If, and this is a big if, he is tolerant and the extraction of the right lower canine goes well, then they will try to also pull the left lower canine.  If it’s too difficult, or takes too long, and they are concerned about his reaction or how long he is sedated, then it will be left for another day.

I’m cringing as I write this.  It sounds painful.  Biz on his best day doesn’t like people messing with his face and mouth.  A power tool grinding his jaw bone is going to be interesting. Not sure there are enough drugs in the world for him to tolerate that easily.  But leaving him in pain isn’t an option.  So all I can do is pray that it all goes well, and be there in whatever clothes I don’t care about getting blood on, pulling his ear to distract him, talking to him, and holding him up when he’s sedated.  It’s just what we do.

Getting down on his level – waking up from the sedative a few weeks ago…

 

I am going to need more than one glass of wine when I get home Monday.  For sure.

 

Walla Walla 2017: Retail Therapy

Day 3 – Sunday, May 28, 2017

Our third day in Walla Walla started with the hotel breakfast, and cocktails on the patio.  Bloody Marys for some/Moscow Mules for me.  It was warm enough outside by 9 am to make me wish I had a sun hat!  The five of us relaxed in the sun for a while, chatting and sipping our cocktails, before deciding we were ready to hit the town. 

One of my fav pics of Paula!

 

Me, Sunday morning

 

More shopping!  I was trying to save as much money as I could on this trip, but when I go back I am totally going to do more shopping.  I did check out an antique store, and I bought a vintage photo album – one of those souvenir ones from the 1950s!  Walla Walla has some really cool antique, vintage and shabby chic shops downtown.  At one point in the afternoon, Paula, Lelani and Brandon stopped for a cocktail and Joel and I went to the Goodwill store to do some thrifting. It was fun! 

A WWII MP’s bicycle that I saw in an antique shop

Brandon relaxing

The gang waiting for me at the antique shop

Bubbles! Not really his name, but if I had a Bulldog…

 

Lelani and Paula outside an awesome shop!

Such cool stuff!

I am totally going to Pinterest a desk like this…

Then we all met up at Goose Ridge Estate Winery, and sat outside on the patio to enjoy ourselves!  I loved the ciders at Goose Ridge, as well as their First Flight Red Blend.  I purchased a couple bottles there and a cider glass too! 

 

We stopped for lunch at the Walla Walla Bread Company and had delicious flatbread pizzas and Lelani and I split an asparagus soup that was to die for.  Then we headed back to the rooms to do a little afternoon relaxing – Paula and I went out by the pool to relax in the sunshine and read. 

 

Dinner that evening was at Saffron; one of the most popular foodie places in Walla Walla.  The food was amazing.  We had flatbread and another appetizer, and I had a delicious beef medallion entree with fingerling potatoes.  I didn’t write down what it was though, so that’s all the detail I can give you.  It tasted wonderful with my glass of Sauvignon Blanc.  If you have a chance, definitely check out Saffron; you won’t be disappointed.  And make reservations; it is popular!    

Our flatbread appetizer at Saffron

My entree at Saffron – delicious!

The gang at Saffron

Peeking

I got a big box in the mail the other day.  Cora approves.

A February Sunball…

It was sprinkling Friday morning on my way to work.  That’s the norm in winter.  So I was delighted when it came time for my lunch walk, and I was greeted with this view!  That dazzling orb in the sky!

 

I admit, when Google photos had its way with the picture, I decided that I liked the effects.  For the sake of full disclosure, it is edited…

I hope all of you are enjoying this long weekend!  Happy Birthday to all our best Presidents!

Book Review: The Witches

I have read a few books on the Salem Witch Trials and have been fascinated by how it all went so far… So when The Witches: Salem, 1692, by Stacy Schiff, popped up as available on the library website as I was looking for new audiobooks, I was interested.  Into the download folder it went…

This book started off differently, with a history of the Puritan ministers in Salem and Salem Village, as well as the conflict that existed among the villagers at that time.  Wood was already scarce, and whether a minister had to procure his own wood or have it delivered by the congregation was an issue that lead to some deep seated feuds over the years.  Who knew…  She gives several examples like this, where day to day relationships had been breaking down for years.  Add to that the fact that the Massachusetts Puritans seem to be really litigious, and you have a group of people who seemed bent on settling scores.  It makes all the finger pointing make a lot more sense, all of a sudden…

She pulls in the transcripts of the trials when possible, while pointing out that there are some trials that seem to have no transcript at all.  Even the most complete transcripts are mediocre at best, filled with summary, huge gaps and interspersed with opinion and bias.  What is clear from the transcripts is that the judges took confessions as fact, and denials as just another opportunity to wear down the accused.  I bet by the time I’d been in a filthy, cold jail with no food for months, I’d be willing to cough up a confession too if I were offered mercy.

Schiff breaks down the statistics of who went to the gallows; how many confessed vs. denied, how many had seen previous witchcraft allegations, how many were involved in a land or other legal dispute with another villager.  She also broke down the behavior of the judges and other key players long after the trial: who regretted, who repented, and who steadfastly stuck with their original decisions.  It is fascinating when seen in the light of day, and when considering who had something to gain by getting you out of the way…  In Puritan New England, just like now, it was a case of “be careful who you cross.”  It seems we haven’t changed all that much…

The Witches: Salem, 1692

 

Schiff’s book, although relatively long, makes for an interesting read.  She supports her findings with research – there are a lot of footnotes.  She breaks new ground on the topic, offering plausible background context for how the mass hysteria got underway and how it was permitted to continue.  Her writing style draws you in and kept my interest until the end.  A worthwhile read.

 

The Surgery that Wasn’t… Yet…

All has been pretty quiet in Biz news lately… He’s been doing well, using his three remaining front teeth and his mostly-worn-down molars to eat a complete diet of equine senior pelleted food.  Sometimes he gets beet pulp, if he likes it that day…  His weight has been good, and his skin has been good, and he’s overall just been hanging out – good.  I like that.

About 10 days ago I noticed he didn’t want me to look in his mouth at his incisors, which I do whenever I am out to see how they are doing.  At some point they are going to have to go.  Last Friday night he REALLY didn’t want me to look in his mouth…  NOT. FOR. ONE. SINGLE. SECOND…  He’s hurting…

Saturday morning I was on the phone with the vet’s office to discuss proceeding.  Antibiotics, painkillers and a vet appointment at the clinic this morning to x-ray and remove those last three teeth.  I was sure of it…

Well Biz had another thing in mind.  Because he can never do anything the easy way…  The incisors are fine.  Still stable.  Instead, it is the canine teeth; the two lower canines in particular.  And don’t get me started on why horses have teeth called canines?

Canines are harder to extract, because the roots are more deeply embedded in the jawbone.  It means a harder surgery, longer healing time, and more potential for complications, especially when both sides of the mouth are affected.  So his x-rays and photos were emailed off to an equine dentistry specialist, and my vet will consult on the best option.  Pull the whole tooth, or cut the tooth off at the gum line and let the gum heal over the root of the tooth.  Biz, it seems, already decided that the second option is the preferred method, because one of his upper canines has already broken off at the gum line, and the gum has healed completely over without us even noticing…  The body is a fascinating thing…

 

Getting down on his level – waking up from the sedative…

In a couple weeks, we will make the return trip up to the clinic for round 2.  Wish an old man luck!  Sometimes it’s hard being 30…

Sunset Solitude

The sunset last night was a stunner.  I walked out of work a few minutes before 6, and saw the light beginning to fill the sky; at the time I thought the light was fading and that the sun had already set…  I chatted with a friend who happened along as I was standing there watching, talking about the light. I then walked to my car, noticing the light was getting brighter and more colorful.

Had I made it to the beach just a few minutes earlier, the light would have been a bit more beautiful, and had I had more than just my cell phone with me… But I was happy to be greeted with this…

The peace and solace one finds when standing on a beach watching a particularly beautiful sunset.  It must be God’s way of saying, “You can keep going.  You got this…”