Itchy and Scratchy

My DH has been suffering a skin ailment for years.

We have been to the doctor, to the dermatologist, and nearly went to an allergist for help.

He received multiple diagnosis, multiple prescriptions, multiple steroid injections, multiple biopsis.

The only thing that seemed to help was the steroid injections.

We thought he was allergic to some kind of food. We cut out wheat, nuts, processed foods, almost anything. Nothing seemed to work long-term.

I did internet searches, looking for matching pictures of the blotches on his body.

Finally, after yet another trip to a dermatologist and the prognosis that there really wasn't anything they could do except give him skin cream, I began deeply searching the internet, determined to find a diagnosis and cure.

I stumbled upon a picture that looked a bit like what he had. "Hey, did the dermy ever use the term 'nummular' eczema?" I asked. "Yeah, that sounds familiar," he replied. So I dug ever deeper into treatment options, and found one I hadn't tried before.

"Could it be this simple?" I thought to myself.

I began washing DH's clothing and bedsheets in gentle soap with no fabric softener and added a double rinse to the cycle. Within days his skin improved.

He is now so much better. We can't believe it. We are hoping it is not a fluke, but it seems to be working. His clothes come out just as soft as if I had used softener. But best of all he feels better!

So, if you have skin issues in your family, try this and see if it works!

A Visitor, Hurray!

You know all many of my old posts have invited people to come and visit??. . . . Anytime?

WELL, TODAY'S THE DAY!!

Daughter #1 is coming here for a week. We are excited to have her! She is coming particularly to see her sister in the musical, because it wouldn't be her first wish to come in the middle of the winter when it was just 7 degrees this morning (sorry daughter!)

We'll keep you warm, I promise!

Mournful Monday

Our little doggie died this morning.

We are all sad.

It was a miserable weekend for him. The worst thing is that he still had a little doggie spirit. He was lively and bouncy. He just couldn't breathe. Even going outside for a minute was rough for him.

His larynx was totally gone. He couldn't keep any food down either. We know it's for the best, but it is still hard.

Rest in peace, little Tazz.

Musicale Weekend

I wish you could all be here for the musical.

It is very entertaining. I always forget how much better a stage production is when it is on the stage and not on film.

The talent in this show is amazing for such a small town. I will try to post some video later on in the week so you can all see it. We are not allowed to video during the show, so I'll have to do some during a rehearsal.

Wish you all could be here!

Man's best friend

This little doggy gave us a scare today.

He is 12 1/2 years old. Pretty old for a dog, but not unreasonably old.

The last 6 months or so we have noticed that he is increasingly having a hard time breathing. It is not constant. It comes and goes. We made an appointment with our vet who diagnosed a partially paralyzed larynx. Not much you can do for that. I guess he could have surgery and remove his larynx, but he would never be able to bark again.

Hmmm. . . . that may not be such a bad idea.

Today we could tell he didn't feel good. His breathing grew quite ragged. He lost his breakfast, several times. We finally let him go outside and he just walked round and round the house. He collapsed once. Ems was in tears. We thought this was it.

We tried to coax him to come back into the house, but he didn't seem to want to. We were pretty sure he wanted to go outside and die somewhere. Eventually he got whatever was bothering him out of his system, but his breathing was still seriously labored.

It was snowing hard and he was covered in snow. We got him in the house and tried to give him some steroids which the vet prescribed. He struggled for about 1/2 hour then suddenly settled down. His breathing became normal. He is relaxed and happy now.

But we know his time is not long. We were all traumatized by today's experience and realize that soon a hard decision will have to be made.

Thankfully, it won't have to be made today.

Mousecapades

Dear friends, I really wonder if I should share this story with you.

You might think that my home is a tiny 3rd world country.

That we are country hicks.

That I am a neglectful housewife. Well, that part may be true.

A few nights ago I fell asleep on the couch. Actually I do this quite often. I have a hard time falling asleep and when I do I don't dare wake up, get back up, and try to go to sleep in my bed. I will lay awake all night if I do that.

While I was dosing I kept hearing noises. Little tiny rustling noises. It was precipitating outside and in my foggy brain I assumed it was that--just the sleet coming down. Suddenly I woke up with a shock, sat up, . . . . . and stared a mouse right in the face.

IT WAS RIGHT NEXT TO MY HEAD!

The thought of it even now makes me shiver. UGH!!

I leaped up with a shriek and ran to the stairs. Poor little mouse didn't know what had just happened. He ran crazily around the room, thankfully not in my direction, before he found a hiding place. I put out a trap next to the couch, ran upstairs, and snuggled with my sleepy husband.

I couldn't sleep after that. Neither could DH. I told him I wasn't getting out of bed until he found that little critter and did him in.

About an hour later I heard some thumping noises, footsteps on the stairs, and a knock at my door. It was Miss Ems. She jumped into bed with us, and said she woke up . . . . with a mouse on her bed!

Miss Em has inherited her mother's inability to sleep. She shuts her bedroom door, stuffs a towel underneath to block out the light, and has to have complete darkness and silence before she can sleep. I cannot figure out how that little mouse got in her room with that towel under the door. Maybe there were two. . . .?

As the sun came up, DH, crept downstairs on the lookout for the mouse. He was hiding pretty well by this time and was nowhere to be found. I vowed to stay upstairs until he made himself known. I was walking into the kitchen when . . . you guessed it . . . I saw the mouse running around in the kitchen.

How could he move around this house so fast? Up a flight of stairs? Through a shut door?

My heart cannot take two shocks in one day.

After hearing yet another scream, DH came up and began the hunt. The dog joined in. We finally cornered the little guy between a broom and a shoe (he was in the coat closet by this time). DH shouted for me to open the door, which I did. Out went DH in his bare feet (it was 6 outside) and accidently dropped the mouse on the porch. I slammed the door shut and DH did a little mouse jig while it ran around under his feet. By this time, the mouse had the dog's attention and . . . well, let's just say we won't have to worry about mousey anymore.

Until the next one moves in . . .

OOOOOOOOOK LA HOM A

Miss Em is in the musical this week. I thought you might enjoy seeing pictures since most of you live too far away to see the show. Although I would welcome any visitors with open arms, you know. These are from the dress rehearsal.

"Why would I want to go out with Curly?"

Curly is describing the "Surrey with the Fringe on the Top"

Curly was sick during this rehearsal. Just picture the other girl as a boy. We are hoping Curly gets his voice back by show time tomorrow--and that with all the kisses he's giving to Laurey, that she doesn't get sick too.

That ol' peddler man thinks Laurey has grown up. She tells him to go eat a green apple for breakfast. A feisty one, is that Laurey.

The peddler gives Laurey "the Elixer of Egypt"


"Many a New Day"

I had to leave after the first act. It was a good thing, too, because I took about 200 pictures. I'll put the other 193 up over the next 3 weeks. . . .

Just kidding! Seriously, there may be a few more. She sounds AMAZING!!!