It Really Does Happen in Three's

First it was Dawn's dog, Winnie. She was throwing up pieces of a dog toy, a squeaker ball both she and our foster dog Mister Artie love to play with (he especially liked to simply hold one in his mouth). Winnie began to look droopy and then felt like she was running a fever, which Deni discovered when he felt her furry little forehead. Dawn brought her to the vet and sure enough, her intestines were inflamed from the pieces of the ball and she was quite dehydrated. The veterinarian recommended that Pet's Mart be notified that the balls are defected so other dogs won't go through what Winnie did. She's all better now (almost $400 better!), but it was sure scary there for a while.

Then it was Valerie's turn to give us a scare. About a week ago she began feeling a pain in her lower, right-hand side and it just kept getting worse and worse. She was examined by a physician's assistant on Monday, had labs done early Tuesday morning and then was told they would call her with results as soon as they got them back. The next day she got a message from the doctor's office (she just missed 'em), said their office would be closing at Noon, so she called them back immediately (11:50) and the answering service picked up so she couldn't get the results. She called them again on Friday and was told no one was there with the authority to tell her what was wrong with her. Ugh. To make a long story short we ended up at the emergency room last night around 6:30, was brought into the back around 8:30 and was on our way home at Midnight. Yep, it was packed, but it was worth the wait. We found out a cyst was the culprit and she's feeling hecka better knowing it wasn't her appendix, whew!

The third emergency of sorts happened shortly after the girls left to pick up Val's prescription. I found a spot that looked like someone had thrown up another piece of one of those derned balls and was just about to clean it up when I noticed Mister Artie by the couch. Mister Artie's toys seem to end up underneath things like the coffee table or couch, so I didn't think much of it when I saw him on the floor, facing the couch and making a noise. It looked like he was after an Eeyore slipper (he likes to sneak out of Val's room), but when he began to make more noise than usual I ran over to him and found him in the midst of a full-blown seizure! Deni and I both began to talk him through it just as we do when Thistle, our 14-year old half-toy terrier/half-chihuahua has them. When I saw this wasn't ending any time soon I called Val and told her to come home as quick as she could, that it was a biggie and wasn't ending.

Deni told me to grab a towel, so I put one under his head where a puddle had formed from his drooling and used the another to gently wipe his face and paws. There we were, the three of us on the floor, Deni on one side of Artie talking him through this doozie of a seizure, me on the other, holding Artie's head, soothing him and cryin' like a baby. It must have lasted at least 5 minutes, it just kept going on and on, poor guy. It finally stopped and he was left looking confused and shaky. Winnie sat on the couch just over our heads, looking down on us like she wanted to help. Afterward Artie followed the other dogs (Thistle, Winnie and Clover) outside to the back yard, legs weak and a bit wobbly. He seems to be fine now, but we'll get him checked out after we speak with an AFRP (dog rescue) rep. to let them know what's going on.

I don't know if this old boy will become a permanent part of our family, but for now he's got a home where he's bloomed into a lovable mutt who's slowly stealing the hearts of those who abide within a hop, skip and a jump of the little house out back.

Happy birthday to Deni!

My hubby is one of those people who has gotten a gazillion birthday gifts with a "BTW, this is for your birthday AND Christmas." Poor guy. So anyway, I always make sure we celebrate his birthday (the 22nd) separate from the holiday hustle and bustle. Since we all have to work tomorrow, two of us work swing and the other two work days with no way for all of us to be together at once, we gave him his gifts a day early.

I picked up several Hallmark ornaments from his favorite Christmas story (Rudolph, the stop-action version from eons ago) and a refill kit for his rock tumbler. The one I was really excited about giving him was the two San Jose Sharks tickets and he was mondo happy to get them! They're a set of tickets I bought from a season ticket holder a while back and I've been bustin' at the seams to tell him about them, they're fantastic seats! Since Valerie and I both have to work the night of the game Dawn will be accompanying him to help him cheer his favorite sports team on to victory, lucky duckies.

The girls spoiled him rotten with gifts like add-ons for his World of Warcraft game (from Dawn) and some awesome Bose speakers for his computer (from Valerie, they sound fabulous, dalink!). We all got a kick out of the Hallmark Star Trek ornament Dawn gave him, a communicator that makes that neat-oh noise when it's opened. There's also buttons to push to listen to phrases from The Captain, Spock and a few other cast members, all original recordings. I know, we're dorks, but it's pretty cool. Deni and I have been rockin' out to the sounds coming from those speakers and let me tell you, I'm gonna have to get me some of those, too, wow!

The weather is cold and wet, and the hot tub is screaming for me to jump in so I'm off to warm up these ol' bones.

I wish you all a very merry Christmas!

A Rainbow of Hope in Indiana

Everyone who knows me has watched my Wizard of Oz collection grow by leaps and bounds the last few years. I collect anything and everything related to this classic movie and then some. With a name like Dorothy, how can one NOT collect such things?!

The other day it was announced that the Wizard of Oz Festival held each year in Valparaiso, Indiana (formerly held in Chesterton), had seen its demise. Throwing out the bathwater with the baby, so to speak, was the closing of The Yellow Brick Road Shop, opened by Jean Nelson (who also founded the festival), presently owned by Marilyn Zengler. I cannot tell you how sad this has made Oz fans.

Where there is rain there are rainbows, and one may be appearing soon! There is hope for saving the shop's museum, which holds many Oz artifacts relating to both the movie and books: http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2008/12/02/columnists/offbeat/doc0ddaf3307127d8658625751200629a1d.txt

The reporter, Philip Potempa, is not just any reporter, he truly loved this festival and all that went with it, and he's been wearing his heart on his sleeve when writing about this latest news. Thank you, Mr. Potempa, for being the voice of so many Oz fans throughout the world.

I've been a member of an on-line Yahoo! group, The Everything Oz Club, since early 2000, which has met at the festival in Indiana since the early 1990s. http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/everythingoz/

We live all over, California, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Alaska and even England! EO is a diverse group of friends who have gotten to know one another simply because of our love of anything and everything Oz.

I attended the festival in 2007 and was gobsmacked to meet several of the remaining Munchkins who were in the 1939 movie as well as other Oz celebs (including Jean Nelson, L.Frank Baum's g-grandsons and John Fricke), and most importantly my EO friends.

We met up again in Hollywood, California, in November of 2007, to watch the Munchkins receive their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was that ever a trip to remember! My husband and I drove down and spent several days with EO friends and schmoozing with celebs, something I will forever hold close to my heart.

I'm holding out hope that the Oz fest will be saved and will keep you posted.