I can see the light
Jun. 23rd, 2021 10:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
awanderingbardHello, folks! Hope you are well.
We were able to see my brother and his wife on Father's Day, with the COVID restrictions easing slightly! We did it outside and it was lovely, and my dad was so happy. They also have a new cat we hadn't met yet, who is so, so cute. They have an 11-year-old cat named Jack who is very aloof and anti-social, and now they have Larry who is about a year old now and came up to get pets as soon as he saw me. He's a riot. They have a cottage they're going to in July, and we're hoping to be able to visit them there around my mom's birthday.
It's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel to get us out of the pandemic. They've opened up early second dose vaccine appointments, but, in the typical way the Ontario government likes to handle things, they just said 'it's open, sort it out yourselves', so it's a free for all, and so far it looks like my parents won't be getting their second doses any sooner than their already scheduled appointments. They had Moderna and that's in short supply, though they're now suggesting you can mix the two mRNA vaccines if necessary. I might be able to get mine sooner than my appointment, though, as I had Pfizer. Though apparently, that supply is going to get low, so they're considering giving Pfizer people Moderna now, and, c'mon, just make a plan, government! Anyway, hopefully by the end of summer things will be starting to look back to normal, and it's nice to have these baby steps.
Pax is throwing a hissy fit about putting his leash on again, and God I wish I knew what goes on in his little Scottie brain. It's like I'm torturing him to put it on him, and he gets so stressed and won't come near me. I don't know if it's the leash or the walk, or something else, but it's just frustrating for all involved. We've tried two different types of collar, two different harnesses, slip-leads, and they are all equally traumatizing to him. The slip lead seems the least horrifying, so we've gone right back to the beginning and training him over again. I invested in some treats he loved so much as a puppy we had to eventually stop using them because he became like a little addict, and I hope by making them 'special treats only for leash time', we might be able to convince him that it's not so bad. Yesterday went pretty well, so fingers crossed he won't figure out the plan and stop cooperating like he has all the other times we got a routine going.
In good news, I've been feeling pretty good lately. Stones are still kind of iffy, but I'm managing, and I'm sleeping well and in a good mood and have more energy. Though I have to induce a period after three months without one (screw you, PCOS!), and I think the lack of period might be why I've felt so good, lol.
Hope you are living the best lives you can right now!
We were able to see my brother and his wife on Father's Day, with the COVID restrictions easing slightly! We did it outside and it was lovely, and my dad was so happy. They also have a new cat we hadn't met yet, who is so, so cute. They have an 11-year-old cat named Jack who is very aloof and anti-social, and now they have Larry who is about a year old now and came up to get pets as soon as he saw me. He's a riot. They have a cottage they're going to in July, and we're hoping to be able to visit them there around my mom's birthday.
It's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel to get us out of the pandemic. They've opened up early second dose vaccine appointments, but, in the typical way the Ontario government likes to handle things, they just said 'it's open, sort it out yourselves', so it's a free for all, and so far it looks like my parents won't be getting their second doses any sooner than their already scheduled appointments. They had Moderna and that's in short supply, though they're now suggesting you can mix the two mRNA vaccines if necessary. I might be able to get mine sooner than my appointment, though, as I had Pfizer. Though apparently, that supply is going to get low, so they're considering giving Pfizer people Moderna now, and, c'mon, just make a plan, government! Anyway, hopefully by the end of summer things will be starting to look back to normal, and it's nice to have these baby steps.
Pax is throwing a hissy fit about putting his leash on again, and God I wish I knew what goes on in his little Scottie brain. It's like I'm torturing him to put it on him, and he gets so stressed and won't come near me. I don't know if it's the leash or the walk, or something else, but it's just frustrating for all involved. We've tried two different types of collar, two different harnesses, slip-leads, and they are all equally traumatizing to him. The slip lead seems the least horrifying, so we've gone right back to the beginning and training him over again. I invested in some treats he loved so much as a puppy we had to eventually stop using them because he became like a little addict, and I hope by making them 'special treats only for leash time', we might be able to convince him that it's not so bad. Yesterday went pretty well, so fingers crossed he won't figure out the plan and stop cooperating like he has all the other times we got a routine going.
In good news, I've been feeling pretty good lately. Stones are still kind of iffy, but I'm managing, and I'm sleeping well and in a good mood and have more energy. Though I have to induce a period after three months without one (screw you, PCOS!), and I think the lack of period might be why I've felt so good, lol.
Hope you are living the best lives you can right now!
no subject
Date: 2021-06-27 09:38 pm (UTC)Weird about Pax. Sometimes, pets just go through phases. Phantom went through a phase of peeing on things. We never figured out why. We never figured out if the calming collar helped, because it certainly didn't help right away. She's had other phases, but that was the most unpleasant. I hope Pax gets over his.
Periods—can't live with them, can't live without them. Until menopause. (I keep waiting for mine. It keeps not coming.)
no subject
Date: 2021-06-27 11:04 pm (UTC)There are a few factors at play. One is just that we don't have vaccines, which is no one's fault. We're reliant on getting them shipped to us and are at the mercy of the people shipping. My objection is how badly the roll out has been done. For every phase, they start out with a system of some sort. 80+, then 70+, etc. Then, at some point, they change their minds and go 'vaccines for everyone!' without any system in place to coordinate that, so you've gone from two age groups trying to get vaccinated to literally everyone trying to get vaccinated. And they change their minds every other week about if we should use AZ or not use it, what to do if you had it for your first dose, can you mix two vaccines, etc. Which sends people shopping around, so they're skipping out on Pfizer appointments because they want Moderna and then they're skipping out on Moderna appointments because they want Pfizer. We need a system in place and they've just refused to offer any assistance for it.
I hope Pax gets over his.
We've had a lot of success with the 'special treat' approach, but only in training. If it's actually walk time, he can't bring himself to put the leash on. Any other time, he'll put it on and we let him drag it around to get comfortable in it (we monitor him, so he can't get stuck or hurt himself) and that's fine. But if it looks like he'll actually be going for a walk, total freak out. I think he might be so excited he can't concentrate. But we're making some progress, so that's good. And we got him out once with very little trouble! Baby steps.
Until menopause. (I keep waiting for mine. It keeps not coming.)
Yikes! I feel ya. I've wanted menopause since I was a teenager. I have no idea when women in my family tend to go through it, because most of my mum's female relatives had hysterectomies quite young, and so did she.
PCOS has literally been the source of all my health problems and there is so little research being done about it, despite the number of people with uteruses dealing with it. And most of the research being done is how to make it so we're fertile--which is great for the people who want to have babies, that is super important!--but for me, who is just trying to, you know, exist, I would love someone to look into how to help with weight issues, anxiety, hirsuitism, migraines, mood swings, gallbladder disease, debilitating periods, insulin resistance, all the other shit that goes with it.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-28 12:08 am (UTC)My gynecologist tells me that family age at menopause is no predictor for any given woman. So the fact that my mother and her younger sister were each three years older than I am now when they reached it doesn't mean I have to wait three years—but it also means three years might not be enough! I'm probably in early stages. I won't bore you with the details here. Could be a lot worse, but I'd like to be past it.
Excitable little Pax! He sounds adorable but frustrating.
You must have whiplash from all that back and forth about the vaccine! We had some sudden changes (sometimes announced after people had gone to sites—no, we didn't mean you), but nothing on the scale you've had.
no subject
Date: 2021-06-28 11:40 pm (UTC)Excitable little Pax! He sounds adorable but frustrating.
That's a Scottie in a nutshell. Their stubbornness is what we love, but also what makes them not for everyone. ;-)