What Can Be Next?

Oh, my goodness! I read earlier today that garlic does not lower cholesterol. I've been taking garlic tablets for some time with the hope that it will have an effect on my cholesterol reading. I add fresh chopped garlic to a lot of my culinary efforts. Just now, I read that taking antioxidants does not give one a second more of life...in fact, by the analysis of this study, taking antioxidants shortens lives. No! It can't be so! I have been taking Vitamin C for decades and also take a famous brand of vitamin pills for mature people. I'm certain the next thing I read will say that oatmeal doesn't lower cholesterol either. Four or five days a week I eat oatmeal in the hope that it too will help to lower my cholesterol. I've also been walking. My friend, who works as the director of a center for the study of well-being, says that if a person does not get her heart rate up enough, the exercise she is getting isn't cutting it. Could I be walking too slowly? Could it be that the olive oil I have substituted for most fats isn't helping, either? Maybe I should just stop reading Prevention magazine. Cancel my on-line subscription to Dr. Weil. Go back to bed.

Taking a Chance

Today, for a few minutes, I wandered amongst the racks of clothing in a couple of mall stores. I had the time while my husband was getting a shirt and a belt. He didn't get them in the first store, so we went to another. I noted that many of the tops for women look like those I wore for maternity tops when I was expecting. I don't ever want to wear those things again. Maternity fashions have changed. Young women who are pregnant today wear their clothes tightly stretched over their bodies. I think they look fine. I just don't want to wear the loose tops again. What I didn't see, though, were clothes for me. I am a woman who wants classic lines with a little style.

This evening, I had a look in a couple of online catalogs. One outfit in Travelsmith caught my eye. I ended up ordering it. I felt like I was taking a chance, since I couldn't feel the fabric, nor try on the pants. Pants are always harder to fit than tops for me. We'll see, when the outfit comes, whether the gamble was a good one or not. I have rarely had to return items that I have bought online or from a catalog. Let's hope that I'm equally lucky this time.

Canine Epilepsy?

Last night, just before when we were making supper, I asked Alan to let our two dogs into the family room for some company for them. Don, my dh, was in the family room. Our large black Lab., Jingle ran in, and then collapsed. She proceeded to pant and have paralysis of her back end. She couldn't stand and didn't respond when her name was gently called. It lasted around two minutes, long enough for Don to ask me to give him a flashlight while he looked into her pupils.

We decided to take her to the emergency vet. She did get up and walk, although she couldn't jump up into the back of the van and Don lifted her in and out. When we got to the vet, it was only about 20 minutes since it happened. Of course, there were forms to fill out, but the vet tech saw her about half an hour after it happened. After describing it, the vet came in. She ruled out Don's first guess, which was a stroke, because she was by then responsive and licking and following the vet with her eyes. She was panting and her temp. was slightly elevated.

We agreed to leave her there for a blood test to rule out poisoning, although we are pretty confident that she couldn't be poisoned unless she ate an animal which had itself been poisoned and got into our well-fenced yard. We declined the EKG and overnight observation. The upper end of the estimate was $800! We did have to pay $300 for this visit.

What are we to do? Basically not much. We are to record any further seizure on the calendar and describe it as best we can. If they become frequent, we are to take her to her regular vet, who will decide whether or not medication would be in order. If her quality of life is good and she doesn't have frequent seizures, nothing will be done.

It did give us a scare and we hope she doesn't have these frequently. I am considering getting a second crate as our crate is now occupied by the smaller dog, Pepper, at night. Now, I think we may put Jingle in the big crate and get a smaller one for Pepper. That way, if Jingle does lose control of her bowels or voids, the crate is easier to clean up. She spent a few nights in it when she was sick in January, but she recovered fine from that illness, which was likely a virus, according to the regular vet. We so love Jingle and hope that this is manageable.

I Don't Get Out Much

One of the consequences of having a child on the autism spectrum and living where I don't have much of a support system, means that I often have to say no to going to significant events. In the past, I have gone to some of these with the help at home of one of my daughters or rarely, a sitter. Tonight, in the early evening, we think that Alan can cope at home alone, and he is convinced he will be fine. We have gone over what to do in the event that someone knocks on the door. He will carry his cell phone, and we will check on him by our cell phones. We are going out to dinner at the new Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village. This is a celebration of the City of Westlake Village's twenty-fifth anniversary. The company Don works for is sponsoring a table. This is a black tie formal.

Sometimes, I have bought a special dress for dinners and dances. I had one in my closet. Don wasn't at all sure he would be in town for this event as he has a looming trip to Japan. I didn't want to get another outfit in case we weren't going to go. Also, it is a good thing I had something that fit that I could wear again since I can't remember the last time I wore it. So, I will dust off the dust on the shoulder (really should store this better) and wear it. I have some hose I bought at the grocery store. Who knows where a person buys hose? I have some shoes I either got at PayLess or from Zappos.com for a previous event. I have a bag I got at that well-known boutique, Target. I clipped off a tacky looking loop. The only people who will know it comes from Target are people who look closely at such things at Target. Probably they will also have something from there with them or on them. The only thing I did that cost extra was have an inexpensive manicure yesterday. I have only had manicures about five or six times. I didn't have fingernails to manicure until I was in my fifties. It is a treat to have someone else massage my arms and clip and paint my nails. Don got his tuxedo cleaned. It is only the third wearing of this suit. He bought it for Cate and Jim's wedding. Men can wear such a thing many times as long as they can still get into it.

So, we will be stepping out for dinner in style tonight. It will be interesting to see how this goes. I hope I won't mortify Don in some way. I hardly know anyone. I can't remember anyone's name from previous occasions, even the one this past fall. Maybe we will get to go to dinners a bit more often now that Alan can stay alone and I will be able to commit people's names to memory.