Update on Max and other things

As you can see from the photos, Max is getting back to his old self.  Perhaps a creakier old self, but nonetheless he is enjoying chasing and retrieving his 'kong' and no longer has stentorian breathing that sounds like he is having a heart attack.  It is a wonderful time with him.  The other two have their noses out of joint because of all the attention showered on Max, but that's good.  It evens the playing field.

Chemo went smoothly this week.  My blood count was normal throughout, which surprised me, given that I still have the walrus-bark cough from the flu.

The cancergrace.org benefit is this Saturday at the Palladium behind Hale's Ales in Ballard.  It really should be a blast.  The group who is performing, The Approximations,  sounds pumped, and invitations have been flying all over the place. My work office had a silent auction today and we raised almost the entire cost of the rental for the Palladium, so YAY work friends!  You are the greatest!

And then, family news.  The exciting news, which I've shared with as many as I can on Facebook and elsewhere, is that my daughter was voted the "Outstanding Medical Student" of the year for the WWAMI area (Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming).  I am so proud of her!  And I bet all those docs in her past, i.e. the  Drs. Holst (Fred andBurton), the Drs. Murbach(Edwin and Clarence), the Drs. Fauster (John U. and John U.  Jr), and my dad are all cheering for her.  I know my brother, the anesthesiologist, is.  The award will be given on Nov. 5, as part of the American College of Physicians' MCE in Seattle.  I am invited to the luncheon and just thrilled to attend.

Seth, my second child, but oldest boy, is doing Water Polo at the Univ. of MN in addition to seeking his BS in Engineering there.  I will finally have to learn the fight song.  Better than Michigan (mind you, I was raised by a mother who graduated from MN when they were competitive with Michigan, so....)

And then my youngest.  Good thing he's there to tether me to reality.  Yesterday he called to see if he could take the two dachshunds on a walk around Greenlake.  I said yes, with gratitude, because they love it, particularly when they get to retrieve their ball from the water (they were taught how to by Max--you cannot believe the attention that they get because no one has ever seen a water retriever dachshund until now).  That evening got a call from the youngest, who informed me that Scooter had pooped in my car on the way to or from Greenlake, but he had cleaned it up.

Tonight I went looking for a bra that I had left in the car in a sack, that I had intended to return to the store for a refund, because it did not fit.  I did not find it, so called youngest son and asked if he had seen it.  Turns out that he had used the sack (a cloth reusable sack) to clean up the mess in the car, either not noticing or not caring that there was a bra in the sack, and he dumped the whole mess in a trash bin at the end.  He was shocked, shocked, that I had noticed the bag missing and confessed that he thought that if I didn't say anything, he could let it slide unremarked.  Obviously he forgot who he was dealing with.  When I told him I wanted him to reimburse me the cost of the brassiere in cash, his response was, "But Mom, you always pay me in checks."

Sigh.