Round three

We had round three of chemo today. It was eh. Not as great as the last two. Although I am not sure if I am a very good judge. The day of chemo has been a little poopy each time. This time just seems poopy-er. His chemo drug du jour was Cytoxan. Apparently it can cause bladder infections if it stays in the body too long. So they give the dogs lasix to flush it out. That = lots of drinking and peeing. Lots. Poor boy. He can't even rest. As the day progressed it eased up a bit but he just seems so restless. Today is the first time I have wondered if I am doing the right thing. I hate second guessing myself. The last two weeks have been really good. So I think I am probably over reacting. Like I said, chemo day has been a poopy day every time. So tomorrow could be, hopefully will be, much better. And it's not like he's throwing up or anything. I just can't stand him feeling bad even a little bit. So, with all of that said, I hope I haven't over extended myself in asking for well wishes and good thoughts - we still need 'em!!

I'm in, I'm in! Holy crap, I'm in.

Just found out that I was accepted into Austin City Limits Music Festival aka ACL. I am vacillating between thrilled and scared half to death! It is October 2-4...so I have approximately three months to make enough jewelry to fill a booth for a three day show that brings in over 65,000 (yes, three zeros) people. uh huh. Okay, I've got to go now...

News and a cute baby bird...

First of all, drum roll please, Preacher is officially in remission! Whoo Hoo! He had his second round of chemo today. When they called to let me know he was ready to be picked up they also told me that the doctor feels he is in complete remission! Now we just continue on with the course of chemo (six months) and try to keep him that way. Last week when we took him in he was dragging big time. He felt like serious poop. Today, when I picked him up, he came running from the back room pulling the tech behind him and didn't see the glass door in front of him and ran right into it. Like Mother like dog. If you don't know that story...I'm glad! :)

The photo is of a baby bird in our back yard. Now, I am not a fan of birds. I am actually a little afraid of them. But baby birds are pretty precious. And the whole sweetness of leaving the nest...it's so sad and symbolic. Anyway, a momma made a nest in a lantern on our back porch. Not sure how many babies she had, but this little guy hopped out of the nest a little early. In my back yard that can be a dangerous thing. I scooped him up with a pot and plopped him back into his lantern. But not before snapping some photos of his fuzzy little face.

round two

Well let me start by saying another huge Thank You! I have received many jewelry orders that also include well-wishes for my Big Man. And people asking for continued updates. So, just a quick update: He is doing GREAT! His energy level is back and his apatite is back and then some! Tomorrow is round two of chemo. We are hopeful that it will go as well as week one. All thoughts, prayers, e-mails...well, it is all still wanted and appreciated!

The Preacher Chronicles

I suppose I should think about changing the name of this blog if all I am going to talk about is Preacher. But he is about all that is on my mind these days so you are stuck with him as well. So, major progress in the last two days. His chemo was Tuesday. He felt pretty poopy Tuesday night I think, not worse but not better. But yesterday and today? Sooooo much better. If yesterday was good, today was great! He is eating Actual dry dog food which he has not eaten in well over a week. Tonight we were talked into leaving to go to a movie. I knew it was a good idea to get out but I was a nervous wreck. I called my dad and asked him to go check on him while we were gone just so I could actually go without having a panic attack. So we just got home and he actually RAN, well, maybe it was more of a trot, but still he came trotting to the door to greet us! My body was torn between crying, laughing, or jumping up and down. I settled on giving him huge hugs and kisses by the ton.

people DON'T suck!

Doing all this dog stuff over the years I have gotten a little jaded about people. You know the saying, "the more people I meet the more I like my dog"? Well everything we have gone through with Preacher has restored my faith in people. My friend Robyn, who I met because she and her family adopted a dog (Mr. Pink - Yay!) from us, posted THE nicest thing on her blog and her facebook page. And so many people have called and e-mailed, dropped off food he might eat, offered up hugs and help. My friend Casey went with me to the oncologist today and I don't know what I would have done with out her. She heard all of the things that I missed while I was still processing the last bit of info. Long story short, as awful as this has all been, the people in our lives have made it so much easier. We love you all.

ps Preacher had his first round of chemo today! 90-95% chance of achieving remission with chemo in lymphoma patients. Good news.

Metalsgirl.com update

Okay, I hope this is taken in the spirit that it is intended and not overly solicitous. But if you have been reading my blog you know that my Great Dane, Preacher, has lymphoma and will *fingers crossed* be starting chemo soon. So I have updated the Metalsgirl website and added tons upon tons of close out items to help us with the costs of chemo...maybe i should rename the close out page "the chemo fund"...it's a thought! Anyway, I have also added a couple of items to the One of a Kind page as well - like the necklace pictured above. So, shop away and know that your purchases are helping a very good dog!

Painted Man

A few months ago I commissioned California artist Gwen Rosewater to paint this portrait of Preacher for Tom for his birthday. To say we love it is an understatement. It is him. The eyes are what truly amaze me. She is beyond talented. And here's another cool thing about Gwen - if you want to have a painting done of your dog and say that you heard about her from Blue Dog Rescue she will donate 25% of the price of the painting to Blue Dog. how cool is that? She is a big believer in rescue. Check out her website - her paintings are lovely. And the fact that she did such a lovely job with my Preacher man makes me adore her.

Have you ever had one of these days...

...or weeks? So Seven, our oldest, jumped off of the bed (which is ridiculously high) and did something to her neck or back. The vet thinks it's something the left side of her neck radiating down her left leg. Whatever it is she squeals/screams if you even look at her funny. Poor girl. But hopefully she is on the mend. Then Preacher. We found out today that he has lymphoma. It was devastating at first, but we are adjusting to it and realizing that we have options. We are meeting the oncologist on Tuesday. Then I woke up this morning with some kind of hideous pain in my right shoulder blade. Off to the people dr. this time. I swear, my little family of two people, 12 dogs, and two cats is just a train wreck. However, we knew before that we had terrific friends and family - but all of these goings-on have just reconfirmed that no one, NO ONE, could ask for better friends and family than we have.

Oh, and that's a picture of The Business Man doing some sort of bizarre thing with his face. But it's how I have felt the last two days so it seemed appropriate.

It's like Candy!

I absolutely adore making these little gems! And I always want more and more. A big bowl full of them is like candy to me. They are simple little sterling charms filled with resin and herbs:

Purple has Spearmint for peace and happiness
Red has Cloves for love and protection
Yellow is Cumin for prosperity and good luck
Aqua Basil for love and wealth
Olive green has Fenugreek Seed for wisdom
and there are many, many more...

well wishes, please.

My big man is feeling kinda poopy. We took him in to see our vet this morning and it seems his liver is being squirrely. Hopefully it's just a bit of an infection. But he could use all the thoughts and well wishes he can get!

Tom and I adopted Preacher from Great Dane Rescue 10 years ago this month! He was a skinny 10 month old - old man already. I swear he was just as lazy then as he is now. Anyway, we just love him to absolute bits. So send your hugs and kisses - I'll happily pass them along!

Our revolving door...

Can you stand how cute this dog is? Can you even imagine that he was like minutes from being euthanized? Don't get me wrong, I think our local shelter is great, they do what they can - it's the people that dump the dogs there that make me crazy. Anyway, I got an e-mail about these two from the shelter rescue coordinator with a deadline of 4pm that day. Around 3:30 I had Tom convinced we should go meet them. I shot off an e-mail to the shelter to hold on to them!

My mom and I went down to the shelter to meet them on Saturday. There was tons of interest in lots of the dogs down there - but none on these two. They had been owner surrendered to the shelter. Dropped in a night drop box. The little shaggy thing is a boy and the little miniature fox is a little girl and they could not be sweeter. And let me tell you - a bath went a long way with these two.

So, with Scribble, Captain, and Tenille, our last round of fosters, all adopted into loving homes - we were able to go pick up these two. They don't have names yet - we're still working on that. Feel free to send any suggestions our way. They should be posted on the Blue Dog Rescue site by tomorrow morning! Check 'em out!

Tom's B-day! Whoop Whoop!

Saturday is my sweet husbands birthday. We have been married almost 10 years (October!) and I am anxiously awaiting the next 50! He is everything to me. He is my webmaster, my Yahtzee competitor, my champion, my own personal comedian/shrink/masseuse all rolled into one, my confidant, my in-the-pool-hip hop partner, my upper when I am down, my cohort in all dog craziness, the love of my life, my rock, my everything. Happy Birthday my love.

To all the dogs I've loved before...

I'm not the only one who is over the moon for my dogs. Recently my friend Jyl asked me to make her a necklace for all the dogs she has loved in her life. This was so right up my alley. I used a combination of sterling, brass, and copper and several different patinas. I just love the reds you can get out of copper - perfect for a heart. The only problem is that now I want one for me!