weekend notes #37

I did so much this weekend! Here was just Saturday's schedule:

05:45 Ran [This is the first time I've ever managed to run before volunteering.]
07:00 Volunteered
10:00 Walked down to Boomerangs to donate a few bags of stuff
10:30 Ate a Belgian waffle with blueberries and whipped cream at J.P. Licks [Self-reward for industry]
2:30 Tutored [Discussed literary terms and examples from Macbeth]
4:30 Shopped for groceries and ran other errands
8:00 Baked chocolate chip cookies [I was redeemed - they turned out well this time]

It was the sort of productive and full day that I imagine is a matter of course for people who never procrastinate and rarely nap (Mom, Keri). For me, this sort of day happens maybe once every two years.

On Sunday, Celeste and I had a fabulous brunch at The Bristol Lounge. Highlights included baked French toast and a delicate blintz with lemon crème fraiche . . . heaven.

Afterward, we quite enjoyed the ballet. I was delighted because my favorite dancer, Larissa Ponomarenko, had the lead role in our performance. Her fluidity and grace are awe-inspiring.

Now, sigh, it's Monday and back to reality. Tomorrow I start my next block of patient care, so I'll be scarce here for the next couple weeks. I'll be back during the week of November 29th. In the meantime, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!


(photo of La Bayadère by Gene Schiavone, on boston.com)

friday felicitations #33

Happy Friday!

It's been a weird week; I've been feeling mildly off-balance for no obvious reason. I think the Thursday holiday threw me off. I'm grateful to have the weekend to regroup.

The news about Izzy has also occupied me, between incorporating new medications into her regimen - she was also started on a steroid today to decrease inflammation in the ureter - and arranging follow-up studies and simply taking it all in. The lab results from Wednesday came back today, and the good news is that Izzy's creatinine level (reflective of kidney function) improved!

Celeste and I are attending a ballet, La Bayadère, on Sunday, perhaps preceded by brunch. It sounds like it'll be a grand and beautiful performance.

Hope your weekend is lovely!


(photo by Le Portillon, on Flickr)

a surprise

Izzy went back to the vet yesterday for repeat labs and a kidney ultrasound. Last month when we discovered her kidney function had worsened, Dr. Rollings offered the option of checking an ultrasound to evaluate for a treatable condition like a kidney infection or obstruction (blockage). He explained that we'd likely find nothing (other than evidence of chronic disease) since he'd detected no signs of pain or change in kidney size on exam, but he described occasionally being surprised in these situations. I waffled about whether to go for the ultrasound, suspecting as he did that it would probably be unrevealing. Would I be wasting money and subjecting Izzy unnecessarily to additional stress?

Ultimately, I decided to get the ultrasound. I didn't want to miss any condition for which we could potentially intervene. In addition, although the radiologists (yes, the animal hospital has special veterinary radiologists - they have the veterinary equivalent of practically every human medical specialty; it's pretty amazing) have a policy against letting pet owners into the radiology suite, Dr. Rollings spoke with them about allowing me to accompany and hold Izzy, which meant, critically, that we could keep her calm enough to avoid sedating her.

Izzy did beautifully. She complained the whole time but cooperated well enough that all of the needed images could be obtained. And the findings? Izzy's left kidney is very small and scarred, so much that it's hardly recognizable as a kidney. Hearing and seeing that made me sad.

But the surprising news was . . . Izzy has kidney stones! They've caused swelling of her right kidney and ureter. A fairly good-sized stone was visible in the ureter, and the ureter wall is thickened, suggesting inflammation.

In one respect, this discovery is good news because it could explain, at least in part, why Izzy's kidney function and labs worsened, and if the obstruction caused by the stones and inflammation can be relieved, her kidney might improve. As treatment, Dr. Rollings started her on another medication (her fifth!) called amitriptyline. It's an antidepressant in people, but it's also been found to cause muscle relaxation in the ureter wall, sometimes permitting stones to pass or at least resulting in better urine flow.

This makes Izzy's second medication with antidepressant properties, so I guess as a side benefit, she might also experience improvements in her mood! (In truth, she remains her usual slightly querulous but super-sweet self.)

Please keep your fingers crossed for us that the new medication works. We want to avoid surgery because Dr. Rollings informed me that it's tricky in cats since their ureters are so tiny. Complete blockage is a significant risk, either from inflammation immediately after the surgery or from strictures (scarring) during healing.

Sachi suffered dreadful problems with a kidney stone while pregnant with Kayleigh, so I called last night to share the news about Izzy. We agreed that she can now tell people she and her kitty-niece share a common condition!

of course, i had to include this one

exactly right
Charles Bukowski

the strays keep arriving: now we have 5
cats and they are smart, spontaneous, self-
absorbed, naturally poised and awesomely
beautiful.

one of the finest things about cats is
that when you're feeling down, very down,
if you just look at the cat at rest,
at the way they sit or lie and wait,
it's a grand lesson in persevering
and
if you watch 5 cats at once that's 5
times better.

no matter the extra demands they make
no matter the heavy sacks of food
no matter the dozens of cans of tuna
from the supermarket: it's all just fuel for their
amazing dignity and their
affirmation of a vital
life
we humans can
only envy and
admire from
afar.

Who knew that Charles Bukowski, for all his gruffness, was a big softy for cats?

(Poem from The Writer's Almanac. Photo: котики by asya baranova.)

butterflies

Monday, September 13, 2010
-m4w, 25
i kicked myself all the way home
for not saying hello
maybe you'll see this
and let me take you out
i was reading d h lawrence

Sunday, May 9, 2010
-m4w -19 (2 or 5 train)
You were the gorgeous brunette sleeping on the train. I was the guy sitting next to you. I just wanted to apologize for my repeated lack of consciousness onto your shoulder, we both got off at flatbush. Hit me back up if you think this is you.

Monday, May 3, 2010
- m4w - 25 (Astoria)
We both purchased owl statues today. You are the classy looking dame in a red dress. I am the mustachioed gentleman. I think we should meet up and discuss further wildlife decor.

Thursday, April 15, 2010
-w4m
Not just those on show, you know that right?

Sunday, March 14, 2010
-m4w
It was windy and pouring rain last night, and you were looking for directions in the East Village. You were wet and cold, so I gave you my umbrella. Unfortunately, I later discovered that I gave you the wrong directions and I feel just awful about it. I hope you and your friends got to your destination without too much trouble.

Sunday, January 31, 2010
- w4m (BPL)
We were in the Brooklyn Public Library on Saturday, browsing graphic novels – you had on a big furry hat and nice smile. You tapped me on the shoulder and told me I'm pretty. That was nice. Which book did you end up borrowing?

Sophie Blackall illustrates Missed Connections, those messages posted for intriguing strangers on Craigslist by authors who couldn't work up the courage to say hi but haven't given up hope completely.

Her illustrations are delicate, old-fashioned, wistful, and so lovely.

She explains:

Messages in bottles, smoke signals, letters written in the sand; the modern equivalents are the funny, sad, beautiful, hopeful, hopeless, poetic posts on Missed Connections websites. Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I'm trying to pin a few of them down.

You can see more Missed Connections and watch for new ones here. For other projects, including her illustrations for children's books, visit her other blog, here. Prints of Missed Connections and other illustrations are for sale here.

weekend notes #36

Friday's baking and cooking mood was supplanted by a cleaning and organizing mood. The lovely thing about weekends, of course, is that I can follow my whims at will. I did a bunch of laundry, and Izzy helped by sitting on the folded piles. I also refolded and reorganized my sweaters, setting aside for the donation bag those that I hadn't worn for a while.

It was perhaps for the best that I chose not to undertake extensive culinary endeavors because the kitchen gods weren't with me this weekend. When I attempted to bake the chocolate chip cookies, something went terribly wrong. My guess is that I mis-measured the flour; the batter seemed suspiciously thick, and the blobs of dough failed to spread out properly and remained raw in the middle despite extra minutes of baking. A tragic waste of good ingredients, especially the special vanilla from Haiti that I received from Joyce after she and Grace went there this past summer. So sad.

On a happier note, I temporarily forgot about Daylight Savings Time and enjoyed the welcome surprise of the extra hour on Sunday. (My computer clock clued me in.)

well-stated in november

Quotations featured this month on what maisie knows:

"In great affairs men show themselves as they wish to be seen; in small things they show themselves as they are."
- Nicholas Chamfort

"She had a pretty gift for quotation, which is a serviceable substitute for wit."
- W. Somerset Maugham

"It is far more impressive when others discover your good qualities without your help."
- Judith Martin


(photo by Yves Lorson, on Flickr)

november bliss

Bliss equals . . .

1. a steaming bowl of chili on a cold November day. (November 3)
(It has not escaped my notice how frequently, for me, bliss involves food!)

2. remembering this weekend is an hour longer. (November 7)

3. 39 degrees, the regular cadence of my feet on the ground, blazing yellow leaves
backlit by sunshine, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" on the iPod,
then home to hot tea and a pumpkin muffin. (November 12)

4. the first turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce sandwich of the season. Yum, yum!
(November 21)

(photo by Max & Mason, on Flickr)

friday felicitations #32

Happy Friday!

I'm feeling that some baking and cooking are in order this weekend. I already have the ingredients for these cookies. I tell ya, knowing I have some saved in the freezer, ready for when the next craving strikes, is its own special happiness.

But I've also been wanting to try this recipe. I love apple desserts, and as Smitten Kitchen's author, Deb, observes, any excuse to eat cream cheese frosting has to be good.

Since, unfortunately, one can't live on baked goods alone (although sometimes I try), I'm also intrigued by this recipe, just posted by Deb today. I'm generally not a big fan of chickpeas except mooshed up as fresh hummus, but her first photo looks really good.

What are your weekend plans? I say, Eat something yummy, whether prepared by you, someone who loves you, or a chef whom you love.

P.S. An update for those of you who saw my post on Ezra Caldwell and perhaps followed the link to his amazing blog: Ezra had a PET scan this week that showed no spread of the cancer to other organs. Woohoo!

(photo, wonderfully titled "Possibility," by Mike Stimpson, on Flickr)

goldilocks no more

Ever since my ballet teacher stopped teaching on Saturdays, I've been trying out new classes at new studios. While I'm happy I can still take my teacher's Tuesday class, I enjoy attending two classes a week and know I don't make progress otherwise.

As I've mentioned before, finding the right class at my level isn't so easy. I'm no longer an absolute beginner, but I'm definitely still working on basic technique and learning more advanced steps.

More often than not, classes designated as "elementary" tend to be a bit too hard. Sometimes contributing to the difficulty level are students who could really move on to intermediate classes but choose not to (I guess we all tend to hang out where we're comfortable).

But I also found a class that was too easy. It wasn't that I could do everything perfectly (I can only dream), but the exercises were short and simple. One of the things I love about ballet is the mental challenge of trying to remember more complicated combinations, even if my execution is far from flawless.

Tonight, however, I think I found a class that is just right. It's called "advanced beginner/elementary," and for once, the name proved true. The class is offered at a studio called "The Studio: A Dance Center for Adults." The facility was pristine, pleasant, and well-equipped (you can see photos here.) The teacher was simultaneously low-key and energetic, a good combination for adult students. As reflected in its name, the studio only takes students who are 18 or older, and while I don't mind younger classmates terribly, it was indeed nice not to be side by side with twiggy, hyper-flexible twelve-year-olds. None of the other students looked like they really belonged on stage. And best of all, the teacher was adept at accommodating varying abilities, and the exercises were challenging but not impossible.

If you're in the Boston area and interested in dance, check out The Studio. In addition to ballet at levels from beginner on up, a variety of other classes is offered, including jazz, hip-hop, and bellydance (!), as well as fitness classes like zumba, yoga, and pilates. I'll be going back for sure.


(pretty photo by raisinsawdust, on Flickr)

i voted

And I have the sticker to prove it.

Passing out "I Voted" stickers is kind of a funny practice. And a cute one. When else in adult life are we rewarded with a sticker for doing something? I can think of plenty of other accomplishments for which a sticker would be fitting. "I finished my taxes on time." "I exercised." "I didn't eat the doughnut." But voting is the only occasion I can think of that comes with stickers.

My sticker looked like these. "This is for you," the poll worker solemnly pronounced, pressing it into my palm after I fed my ballot into the machine (no dodgy electronic voting machines for our county, apparently). I didn't put put my sticker on my forehead but rather attached it to yesterday's page in my five-year diary.

Voters in Maryland enjoyed more than civic pride with their stickers; they got flu shots. In a smart public health move, a "Vote and Vax" station was set up next to a polling station. Pharmacy students administered the vaccine for free to voters, and nurses were available to vaccinate kids.

Even when they don't confer additional benefits, people value the stickers, as a county clerk in Illinois discovered when she decided to save $900 by not buying the stickers this year. ($900! Those stickers aren't cheap.) According to news coverage, "dozens of calls pored [sic] in from election judges and voters," wondering what happened to the stickers. The clerk acknowledged her error of judgment and said stickers will be back.

I'm tickled that many people wear their stickers, whether on their foreheads or, more commonly, their clothing. Perhaps we haven't changed so much since first grade. I'm glad.


(photos by Olive Talique, willowforlife, captain.magnificent, and zigeunerweisen, all on Flickr)

poem for november

I love poems that celebrate small, everyday moments. This one fit yesterday perfectly. Hope your November is off to a cozy start!

Monday

Cindy Gregg

On this first day of November
it is cold as a cave,
the sky the color
of neutral third parties.
I am cutting carrots
for the chicken soup.
Knife against carrot
again and again
sends a plop of pennies
into the pan.
These cents,
when held to the gray light,
hold no noble president,
only stills
of some kaleidoscope
caught being pensive...
and beautiful,
in the eye of this beholder,
who did not expect
this moment of marvel
while making an early supper
for the hungry children.

From The Writer's Almanac.

weekend notes #35: halloween, vicariously

As anticipated, Halloween was pretty quiet around here. My most Halloweenly activities:

* Starting on the stash of Halloween candy from my parents' most recent care package.

* Discussing the role of witches and sorcery in Macbeth.

* Reading ghostly poems.

I know, I know; could I get any more geeky? (That's a rhetorical question.)

To make up for my own lack of Halloween excitement, I hereby reveal Aidan the Boy's secret identity . . .

Aidan the Boy Superhero! (Yes, it's long for a superhero name, but he picked it himself.)

Here Aidan the Boy Superhero mounts a valiant defense against his arch rival, the Dog Who Would Eat the Halloween Candy.

Here is Aidan the Boy Superhero's trusty sidekick, Kayleigh the Ballerina Girl.

Here are the girls, without whom no set of weekend notes would be complete.

Regrettably, they are unenthusiastic about dressing up for any occasion. To put it mildly.


(photos of Aidan and Kayleigh by Sachi)