I feel like we got an extra week in November this year!  I am grateful as it gave me time to recover from Thanksgiving! How does that Alka-Seltzer commercial go, "Drop, drop!  Fizz, fizz! Oh what a relief it is"?  I felt more like"Eat, Eat! Stuff, Stuff!  Oh what a pig I am!" LOL!  I swear it took 4 days to get over it!  But it was yummy and worth it once a year! And, of course, I am thankful that we have no shortage of food and many blessings for which to be thankful!

Buddy's condition is an ongoing concern since November 7, when he had surgery.  Twelve days after surgery some of his stitches were removed and the vet injected medication into another tumor in his front leg.  That medicine caused the incision in his belly to open up again.  This caused near panic for yours truly!  A big hole just where his belly button would be opened up as if there had never been any stitches there at all!  Of course this was on the Friday after Thanksgiving so no vet to call.  I had to deal!  I washed and covered the hole with the balm the vet had given me, then put a bandage on that.  Buddy scratched it off with his hind foot almost immediately!  Damn!  What to do!  Steve is brilliant!  My wonderful Spouse!  He suggested we put socks on Buddy's hind feet! Ha!  So we did.  Then I found an old belly band, one of those things that is supposed to reduce the size of your midsection just by wearing it around the house, yeah right!  But it turned out to be useful for Buddy.  I re-bandaged his belly then wrapped the belly band around him.  Waala!  With socks and belly band in place his scratching no longer worked.  

We returned to the vet on Monday, Nov. 26.  She thought the belly was healing well and removed a few more stiches from his hip.  I was afraid for her to remove all of the stitches because of what happened with the belly so leaving them in awhile longer was ok.  We also decided to go ahead and put Buddy on cancer medication.  This will stop more tumors from growing hopefully.  Frankly, I do not want to deal with any more open wounds or cause Buddy any more pain by giving him injections every time a tumor pops up on his skin.  The tumor on his front leg did finally come off but it has left another gaping hole that I am currently still delaing with.  I am replacing the bandage often and have put a long-sleeved t-shirt on Buddy to keep him from tearing the bandage off.  I had to keep the cone on his head because the bandage comes off immediately if it is not in place, even with the t-shirt on.  Today, I removed the belly band and will see how that wound is doing.  So far so good.  His leg however, is down right scary!  I have faith that it will eventually heal but right now it is pretty horrible and I'm sure it is painful.  

Buddy has to be on a new diet now that he is on the oral cancer medication.  I am cooking for a dog! HA!  He has to have cooked meat, rice and vegetables with the medication added.  After he eats 2/3rds of his food, he has to have a scoop of ice cream to calm his belly from the meds and then he gets the rest of his food.  This goes on til the medication is gone and the vet does a re-evaluation, about 4 months!  He may be on a lower dose of the medication for the rest of his life.

Life does go on! Thank God!  I have finished the Christmas shopping and we have put up our new tree.  We replaced an artificial tree that we've had for the last 25 years with a new "Martha Stewart" pre-lit and snow flocked tree.  I decided to decorate with silver and blue this year.  The tree needed a little something more.  So yesterday, I went to Tucson to get a few more decorations and bobbles.  I was glad I did not go on Black Friday because people were still rushing around in panic, rudeness mode even if there were fewer of them than on that infamous day!

Our family picture was taken on Thanksgiving Day and has been ordered in mass quantities for delivery with the traditional Christmas card and letter.  I am working on addressing cards today with a goal of having them all posted to all of you by next week.  Next week is DECEMBER!  Holy Cow!  Only 27 days til Santa comes, unless, of course, the Mayan are correct and the whole world comes to an end on December 21, 2012.  The thing is, my Lord and Savior said that "No one will know the time and day..." when He is to return.  So while I am looking forward to His return, I intend to enjoy His birthday and every day until then.

Buddy had his surgery 8 days ago.  He is recovering nicely.  With his big long surgical stitches and his big cone around his head, he became known as "Frankendog" by the grands!  Poor Buddy!  He still has all that to deal with but I know that he is doing better because he has refused to stay indoors since Monday.  The sock the vet put on his foot is not covering his pad any longer but has become a leg warmer instead.  I need to replace that sock.  I am also still giving him anti-biotics 3 times a days for 10 days.  He has finished with his pain meds.  On Monday the 19th, we will return to the vet to have the stitches removed and find out what to do next.

The vet called yesterday to say that she had the results of the tests on the tumor that was removed from Buddy's belly.  It is not good.  She said it is malignant and she was not able to remove all of it.  The other tumors that were on his hip and leg are under the skin.  The vet said they will continue to multiply,on top of his skin and just under the skin.  She said there are several options that we will discuss on Monday.  She said she does not know and cannot imagine how much it will cost to give Buddy oncology treatments because he is such a big dog.  Also, Buddy will be 9 years old in May.  He is old by Great Pyrenees standards.  The vet said they usually only live for 8 to 10 years, although I read that it was 10 to 12 years.  I have been blessed to have enjoyed this monster dog as long as we have been together.  I certainly will not make him suffer in his old age, I love him too much.

Our weather has gone from summer to winter without benefit of fall.  We plunged down to freezing this week.  I moved plants indoors and covered others.  We have switched from AC to Heat.  There is almost no humidity again and the wind is freezing.  By noon it is almost up to 70 degrees again so wardrobes consist of layers, undershirt, long-sleeved overshirt, sweater, and then a jacket.  They get peeled off one by one as the day goes on.  Steve about fell out of his seat the other day when I removed my long-sleeved shirt.  I guess he didn't realize that I had a tank top underneath.  LOL!

I finished my muu-muu for Thanksgiving.  It is brown with autumn accents.  I am working on one for Christmas now.  I will post pictures when I finish it too.  I have also been taking notes from historical books for my historical novel.  Tons of books!  I don't know how I will get through them all but I will try to get the good parts and get the history straight in my mind.  If the facts are accurate, it makes the fiction more believable. 

Only 6 days til Turkey Day!  Are you ready?  Got pies made and cranberries smashed?  Got the napkins ready and the good china out?  Me neither but we'll get there!  I wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving with your families and friends!  Laugh and love and count your blessings!  Even that overstuffed, bloated feeling you have after the big dinner is a blessing because it means you have plenty to eat!  LOL!  Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!