Monthly Archives: June 2010
Ampyra formerly known as Fampridine
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Ampyra was FDA approved back in January. Today the neurologist’s physician assistant talked to DH about putting him on Ampyra. Funny, when I mentioned to his neurologist the last time I was along, he didn’t seem to know WTF I was talking about then. To me this means I’m probably one-step ahead of him.
DH is the love of my life, my soul mate. Do you think I don’t try to keep on top of everything out there for MS? I do daily research. I read articles on MS treatments from all over the world. I keep track of the progress of clinical trials and any new drugs that show promise.
They list 14 of ‘the most common side effects’ of Ampyra. Yes, a few of them are scary but then his secondary progressive MS is overwhelmingly terrifying. To DH it’s a case of choosing between struggling to walk and improved walking. He wants to walk.
He isn’t taking it yet. They are checking to see if his drug plan covers it or not before prescribing it. Knowing his drug plan, he’ll probably have to fight for it.
Posted in MS related, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Healthcare, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Surprise! A new look.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I thought it was time for a change. I hope you like it. One thing I noticed was the print is larger, which I like. However, it is lighter, which I don’t like.
I may have to play a little.
The Blogrolls are now on the bottom of the page along with everything else that isn’t a post. Not sure if I like that, but we’ll see.
This is going to take some getting used to. I hope you all like the changes. If not, let me know. I do want your opinions.
Posted in Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Fish, Food, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pennwriters, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Are we sanitizing ourselves into oblivion?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
When we were kids, we used to go outside and play…in the dirt. We’d come home so filthy you couldn’t tell us from the neighborhood boys, or the boy cousins, if we were visiting our grandfather’s farm.
Mom was lucky if we really washed our hands before dinner. We went swimming in lakes and stagnant ponds and went wading in drainage ditches and creeks.
There was no such thing as sanitizing wipes or antibacterial soaps. Do you remember the two-second rule for dropped food? Don’t forget to blow on it too.
We rolled in the grass, rode our bikes all day, played in the rain, and we seldom caught colds. Allergies? The closest I came to one as a child was a reaction to eating way too much fresh pineapple—I got a rash that went away the next day.
I have a novel idea…for the entire summer put away the kids’ computers, game boys, WIIs, X-boxes, cell phones, and other paraphernalia and take them outside to play. I mean really play and get filthy. They might get healthier.
In fact, moving around and doing something outside would do adults a lot of good too.
Posted in Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, comedy, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
Consistency in writing or brain farts can happen to the best of us
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I sent Dave a chapter to read where I must’ve been channeling my Grandmother because I used her first name instead of a character’s name. I have no idea why or how she popped in there. I’m glad Dave caught it so I could change the name to the right one.
I am writing several books at once. It isn’t unusual for me to have an ‘oops’ now and then. (Okay, Dave I admit it isn’t infrequent for me to oops it.) That’s why I have people such as Dave read and comment on my work.
Name errors aren’t the worst of it. I’ve managed to screw up time lines, had an entire chapter go missing, and other things too. I know I’ve truly goofed up when a chapter comes back to me with a large question mark and the comment WTF on the top of the page.
Brain farts can happen at the best of times. Mine happen when I have too many trains of thought derail in one day. The choo-choo can only go off the track so many times before there’s nothing left but rubble.
Posted in Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Time management
Posted by doggonedmysteries
You have to be kidding. Me manage time? I wish. That’s as much a pipe dream as organizing the house. I’ve tried to do both and have yet to succeed.
It never fails to amaze me that no matter when I get up, the day doesn’t have enough hours in it for me to do the things I’d like to have done around here. Maybe if I could clone myself…
I’d need more than one clone. However, that would pose another problem. Where would I put my clones? This house is tiny. How would I feed them? If they eat like I do that would put a hurting on our food budget. Clones won’t work.
This, in turn, brings us back to time management. How does one manage time? I have no idea. I remain clueless. I’ve tried making schedules but between DH, his mother, and the dogs schedules don’t work. Something always comes up to scotch it.
I would try delegating chores and projects but when there’s no one else to delegate those things to, that doesn’t work either. I need more hours in the day, or in my case, the night.
How do you manage time?
Posted in Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, I need more hours in the day, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Time management, why can't I get things done?, Writer, Writing
Garden update
Posted by doggonedmysteries
We’ve had enough rain to get the veggies and melons off to a great start. I have tiny peppers on most of the pepper plants. The tomato plants all have flowers now. I have to go out and find another sugar baby water melon plant because I foolishly bought only one and should have purchased two. The one I have is growing like crazy but without another to cross-pollinate I doubt I’ll get any fruit.
The eggplant plants have tripled in size but no flowers yet. I finally have dill growing tall and happy without the nasty earwigs chewing the plant down to the roots this time. Planting it in the pot worked well. The squash plants are loaded with flowers and a couple of them have teensy squash on them. The bush cucumber has flowers but no sign of any cukes yet. I’m not very certain that the plant was marked correctly because the plant certainly isn’t a bush.
G gave me some cannas the other day and I planted them. I hope they come up. The black elephant ears are beginning to look good. The ones in the pot are bigger than the ones in the garden.
Posted in Food, hobbies, my garden, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Oh, the carnage in a rewrite.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
As writers, we all write phrases, similes, or metaphors that we find irresistible. We are in love with them. However, when we have someone read our offering and they say those certain phrases we hold dear suck, well that’s when we realize that no one else likes our attempts at cute, humor, or brilliance.
In that case, we need to slaughter them. (No, not the readers.) We need to kill those phrases, similes, or metaphors the readers find that take them out of the story. We must put our fingers on the delete key and get to work.
Yes, ouch.
Then again, you may want to keep those babies of yours because you find them to be brilliant. Remove them from the story anyway and store them elsewhere. Weeks, months, maybe years down the road, you’ll go back, re-read them, wonder why you found them to be so fantastic, and then be willing to let them die a dignified death.
We mustn’t fall so profoundly in love with our writing that we refuse to let our stories evolve.
I’m doing three different rewrites right now and you wouldn’t believe the carnage.
Posted in My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Revisions, Rewrites, Writer, Writing
Poor little kitten in mittens
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I wish I knew what possesses people to dump animals. G has a kitten that someone dumped in her yard. He’s about 4 to 6 months old. The little guy is staying on her deck and in her yard. He is a brown tabby with four white mittens and a white bib. He has beautiful green eyes and a wonderful personality—very loving and outgoing. G can’t take him in because she already has three cats and they have already protested his presence in her yard. She doesn’t want to take him to the shelter because it is a kill shelter. All the no kill shelters are full and they won’t take him.
I can’t take him because Patty and Gavin don’t like kitties. We are trying to find him a home. Visually, he’s healthy no ear mites or fleas. As far as other health problems such as feline leukemia, we have no idea.
At least the weather is warm and G has a gazebo over her deck so he can stay dry. He’s been eating as if it has been weeks since he’s seen food.
If you live in Eastern PA and want him, let me know. I’ll put you in contact with G. The word is out. All we can do is sit back and wait for someone who wants a young cat.
Posted in Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, homeless kitten, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pets, throw away pets, Writer, Writing
Toss out those adverbs
Posted by doggonedmysteries
“Use strong verbs.” My little editor says. “Don’t be such a wimp. Become a verb superstar.”
“Yeah, you would say that.” I delete a verb and try another. “It’s not as easy as you think.”
“It’s not as difficult as you feel it is. Dig deeper. You can find the right words. Think of it as a treasure hunt, the stronger the verbs the more gold in your writing.”
“In other words go word mining? Do I get a verb detector? One of those hats with a light on it? How about a pickaxe?”
“You don’t get the toys but that’s the idea. You need to find the right words.”
“I know, I know but remember this is the rough draft. I’m only getting the story down I can fix things later.” I continue typing.
“It doesn’t hurt to start good and finish great.”
“Now you sound like my father.”
My little editor makes an elaborate bow. “I am honored to hear you say that.”
“Yeah, but he also told me to work smarter not harder.”
“Haven’t you noticed? Your writing is getting better all the time. You are working smarter because you’ve been listening to me.”
Posted in My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Dog gone dog home
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Things were somewhat quiet at the MIL’s house today. We should’ve figured it was too quiet and was the hush before the next squall.
Five this afternoon I was out weeding the gardens when I saw DH hobbling to his truck. “Where are you going? It’s almost time for me to start dinner.”
“My mom’s again.” This would be trip number three for the day. “The dog got out.” His mother has an elderly Border terrier who, like most terriers, even at his old age is still fast on his feet. She should have some old roly-poly dog that can’t get out of its own way.
“Want me to come along? Drive you over?”
“No. Go ahead and finish what you’re doing.”
“I won’t start dinner until you get back.”
“Okay.”
Three hours later, he came dragging in the door. He hadn’t found the dog. His mother was in hysterics and we both knew she’d make his life hell if the dog never came home. The poor man was distressed and beyond tired. It was late, I made dinner, we ate, and soon afterwards, he went to bed.
Around ten p.m. the phone rang, it was the MIL, some woman showed up at her door with the dog. DH mustn’t have been sleeping well worrying about the dog, because as soon as I hung up the phone, he called downstairs and asked me what was up. He knew it was his mother, she has a special ring on our phone, and it sounds as frantic as her constant calls.
“The dog is home.”
“Thank God.” He went back to bed.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
How to repair a hole in a wall
Posted by doggonedmysteries
There’s a hole in the wall behind Patty’s crate.
How did that get there?
The idiot dog put it there.
Sure, blame the dog.
Really, she did it. No, she didn’t use a hammer or put her paw through it, she used her crate.
Patty is a high energy Bull Terrier. Patty will run full tilt into her crate and slam into the back of it. One of these days, I expect to find her unconscious in there with that I-meant-to-do-it look on her face. The last time she ran full tilt into her crate, it hit the wall so hard that it knocked a hole in the plaster. It’s not dry wall this is an old plaster and lath wall.
I will clear away any loose dust and plaster and undercut the edges. I’ll dampen the hole and edges, fill it with patching plaster, not quite even to the wall, and then score the surface of the patching plaster. Let it dry for 24 hours. Then I’ll apply joint compound even with the rest of the wall. This doesn’t have to be perfect since I painted the wall with textured paint, which I’ll apply after the joint compound is dry.
Have I done this before? Oh, yeah. Many times, between DH’s frequent falls and two high energy BTs I’ve become an expert.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, comedy, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, DIY, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Home repairs, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, the dog did it, Writer, Writing
Vined and died
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The heat wave finally broke today but not without some damage. We had thunder, lightning, and heavy rain. That didn’t do the damage, on top of all that; we had strong winds whip through after the rain.
In the back corner of our yard, we have a good-sized shed. Going up the side facing the alley we had four types of vines growing up and over the roof. Two types of ivy, bittersweet, and chocolate vine had all intertwined and created a lovely mantle over the boring aluminum shed. Ferns below covered any of the lower faults.
My first trip out into the yard with Gavin after the rain stopped the wind kicked up into high gear. When I took Patty out next, I was shocked to find that in a few minutes the wind had literally peeled all the vines off the shed. A huge mass of vines were now hanging by a few tendrils that had attached to the magnolia.
All I could do was put on my work gloves, haul out the trimmers, and get to work on clean up. I filled four forty gallon trashcans with vines by the time I finished. It took me three hours to clear away the mess. It was still hot and humid when I was working.
Now if I can find someone willing to paint the shed for me…
The winds continued through the evening but not as wild as in the afternoon. By 11 tonight, we’d cooled down to a very comfortable 61 degrees. The air conditioners are off and I opened the house to welcome fresh air.
Posted in Misc, my garden, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Doggonedmysteries 