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24 days to Halloween.
Fifteen days until we complete our large voodoo doll. The most detail goes into the head so that is what we are working on.
Tomorrow I cut out the body, arms, and legs. G will sew the seams and I will do the detail work, the stuffing, and armature. We are hoping it all comes together within our 15 day time frame. I like to have wiggle room. 😀
You all have a good one!
Could this be a voodoo doll mini me?
It started yesterday
So we were surprised yesterday when The Curmudgeon’s starter kit showed up for his Tecfidera. He was told he’d get it Wednesday.
Therefore, he took his first two doses yesterday. Now we wait and see how it goes from here.
Warnings and Precautions
Tecfidera reduced blood lymphocyte (white blood cell) counts but no
significant or severe infections were reported. Liver enzyme tests were
elevated, but there were no reports of significant liver injury or liver
failure.Possible Side Effects
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The most common side effects in the clinical trials of Tecfidera were
flushing (which can create a sensation of heat or itching and a red
blush on the skin) and gastrointestinal events (such as diarrhea,
nausea, and upper abdominal pain). The incidence of these events during
clinical trials was highest in the first month of treatment, decreasing
thereafter. Taking Tecfidera with food may reduce flushing. Tecfidera
reduced blood lymphocyte (white blood cell) counts but no significant or
severe infections were reported.
So far he’s had the flushing. We’re hoping that’s all he gets.
You all have a good one!
See you later, I’m reading…
Ever since I first discovered Piers Anthony’s Xanth books I’ve been hooked. Yesterday his newest paperback showed up in my mailbox.
Never guess where I’ve been since it arrived. Well, maybe you will. Yes! I’ve been off into the land of Xanth. I’ll be back there when I finish writing my post and an E-mail to my dear friend E.
If you’ve never read the books, you can start with, ‘A Spell For Chameleon,’ and take your first journey into the land of living puns and adventure.
Bye-bye, I am diving back in between the covers of ‘Luck of the Draw.” You all have a good one!
Where can I borrow time?
The Wishing Fish Clock in the Regent Shopping Arcade, Cheltenham, may be the world’s tallest mechanical clock. The vertical distance from the duck to the fish is 14 metres. It weighs 3 tons. On the hour the fish that is suspended under the clock revolves and blows out bubbles. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
You can go to a bank and borrow money. You can borrow a car by renting it or having a friend loan you one. Does anyone else wish you go somewhere to borrow time?
I need a little extra time every day to get everything done that needs doing. I could get up at five in the morning every day and I still wouldn’t have enough time to get everything done around here.
When we were younger, before his MS hit so hard, we thought we had all the time in the world to get things done that we wanted to do. Now, he can’t help so the lists get longer, and I get further and further behind.
I have to wait for Bath Fitters to come and do the shower before I dare do my painting. I know if I try to do it before they come, somehow, someway, my paint job will get screwed up.
I still need more time. Anyone have any to spare?
You all have a good one.
5th Anniversary of this blog!
I can’t believe I have kept this blog going for five years. Wow.
How long have you been one of my readers?
More props…Yeah, I should never go shopping at this time of year.
Wilting roses.
Books that hold a surprise…a spider jumps out at you!
Another Funkin and a second large cauldron.
And more stuff…like paper plates, skull food picks, and other party supplies.
I am getting there…
You all have a good one!
A new drug for The Curmudgeon
The Curmudgeon saw his neurologist’s nurse practitioner yesterday. And, after having a blood test run, it looks as though he’s cleared to start the Tecfidera.
He’s excited about not having to do injections anymore. He’s not excited about some of the possible side effects, but is willing to live with them if it helps.
Wish him luck, he will soon begin this new adventure into the land of weird drugs and MS.
You all have a good one!
Doing that Voodoo that I do so well.
I am trying to come up with a pattern for my giant voodoo dolls for the porch on Trick or treat night. So far, I traced G’s silhouette on to tracing paper and it just doesn’t seem to be quite large enough to work. Therefore I do believe I shall have to create one in pieces sewn together to be large enough for what I am picturing.
If I have enough material, I may try to make two of them. The Curmudgeon thinks that dowels with toy balls on the end will make suitable pins. Plastic lids will make lovely button eyes.
Now, I need to buy some heavy black yarn…
You all have a good one!
The neighbor’s little calico cat is scary smart.
I was outside talking to a neighbor about two new props I bought, when up walked another neighbor’s pastel calico cat. Ella is just a little bit of a thing and used to be quite skittish. So it was extremely unusual that she walked right up to me, rubbed against my legs, and head butted my hand when I went to pet her.
Now the reason I say she’s scary smart is that she was out a couple of weeks ago, I saw her, and led her back to their back door so someone would let her in.
She heard me talking to the neighbor and came to get me so I could tell someone to let her inside the house. Once, I did it once before mind you. She led me all the way to the back door. If I didn’t move fast enough, she ran back to my feet and led the way again. Scary smart.
You all have a good one.
One of the two props.
Could a change in medication make a difference? We shall see.
After having such a bad week last week and a not so bad one this week after not taking his Avonex, The Curmudgeon made an appointment with his neurologist for Monday to discuss stopping the Avonex completely and switching to one of the new drugs, Tecfidera.
This what Web MD has to say about Tecfidera:
How does Tecfidera work?
It appears to have anti-inflammatory actions and brain-protective actions. The main problem in MS is that immune cells are getting into the brain and the spinal cord and they are attacking the nerves. One of the main ways they cause damage is by inflammation, particularly in relapsing-remitting MS. So Tecfidera does a number of different things to lower inflammation and lower the ability of the immune cells to get in and attack the central nervous system. Additionally, it may protect nerves from damage.
For Tecfidera, the common side effects are abdominal pain, diarrhea, and some bloating. And it causes flushing. You also have to watch the white blood cell count and the liver enzymes.
The Curmudgeon is hoping he has better results with it than he’s had with the Avonex of late. Keep your fingers crossed people!
You all have a good one!
Side view of the brain and spinal cord (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
Yesterday G brought over samples. I’d given her a recipe I saw on Facebook and she tried it out. Can you say delicious? They are so yummy!!! They are a delightful taste sensation!
The Curmudgeon tried to eat one late last night and had two drooling dogs to contend with. They sure did want to share with him.
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling
Makes 12-14
3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 – 15 oz. can of pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat together brown sugar, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
Using a pastry bag with a round tip, or a big zip top plastic bag with one corner snipped, squeeze out concentric circles of batter, starting from the middle and working outward until the circles are about 2 inches in diameter. Bake for 11 minutes and cool on a rack.
Cream Cheese Filling
1 – 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 – 16 oz. package of powdered sugar
about a cap full of vanilla extract
a pinch of cinnamon (to taste)
Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Frost flat side of half the pies and top with another piece.
Enjoy right away or chill overnight.
Mid-week updates
So The Curmudgeon decided to skip his Avonex shot Monday night since he had so many bad days last week. So far this week, he hasn’t been nearly as bad off as he was any day last week.
Both of the pups were itchy last week. I went over them with the flea comb. They each had two fleas on them. Damn it, we haven’t had fleas here in almost twenty years. So far since then, I’ve gone over them daily, found three more, have vacuumed the house like a maniac, and we are now two days clear of them.
The Curmudgeon mowed the lawn. Took him two days but he did it.
My tomato plants are done, pulled from the pots, and the green tomatoes are inside ready for me to fry them in the next day or two. It looks as though I may get two more eggplants before the frost kills the plants.
Next project is to figure out how I’ll get the house painted. Do I wait until they do the bathroom? I think so, I’d hate to have them damage a new paint job getting the old bath tub out of here.
I can always get to work on the much-needed, much neglected caulking on the back porch.
Then there are those voodoo dolls I need to make for our Halloween porch decorations. Anyone ready to volunteer to lie down on my tracing paper so I can draw my life-sized patterns? 😀 I have coffee.
You all have a good one!
Doggonedmysteries 