Rosy Girl

I think this might be bad

I woke up 

on Wednesday May 22 with a massive sunburn

except I had not been in the sun

and the rash existed only where clothes had touched and every area tingled and felt like I was being pricked by needles

don't think Shingles 

I have had the opportunity to receive the two latest vaccines

  

I keep becoming more fiery, red and blown up

my skin is the color of Rosé wine
https://vinepair.com/wine-101/learn-about-rose-wine/ 

with a hint of salmon
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmon_as_food 

neither of which I like at all

For two days I tried every remedy I had at home

I researched and used all the products shown at right below 

and yet
I grew rosier
and when it crawled up my face to my hairline and traveled down my legs
I knew I had to seek professional help

I made an emergency appt with my dermatology group

The PA, Angela, took pictures for future reference 

She was intrigued 

Angela said I was definitely reacting 

That’s good I suppose 

I still have reactions

something is in me and revolting by displaying an angry evenly distributed sunburn with a few areas of blotch...I dubbed it rashburn...

I had worn a dress to bed...one I had not worn since last summer...when my dresses get too stained I relegate them to indoor use only. Did something occur in my closet? 

Impossible

I Marie Kondo'ed my entire closet two months ago.  No surprises there...

Was it my profound recurrent nightmares finally sprung to the surface...Liam illustrates

Was it the wrenching goodbye to my guest plants? 

They left Tuesday, the day before the outbreak

MY GUESTS ARE LEAVING

I was prescribed a powerful cream and the over the counter antihistamine Claritin
My items were in CVS. The helpers are never in a happy place.
The prescriptions are all over in bins, carts, shelves... if not found immediately the assistant delves into a darker place and shoots aggressive vibes at the customer. I was the recipient of anger as my cream was in a giant brown bag off to the side. She shoved it on the counter at me causing a clatter.
I motioned that I had a non-prescription item as well...this added to her consternation...transaction done. I turn away, reach for my car keys, Not in my bag. I go back. The customers help me look. Her big shove at me had pushed my keys off the counter into the shelves below....where they were found residing with those items they want you to grab as you go like gum, mini candies travel lotions

arrive home

swallowed the Claritin pill

then to the cream
It took a half hour to apply the cream 

I did it myself with a wooden spoon for hard to reach places

I don’t ask for help from Paul because I am practicing to be a self-sufficient widow
my yoga flexibility helps with the positions I had to achieve to get to my middle back.

Liam tries to help
but he
is a licker
not an applier

I then had to walk Liam. I wore a dress which stuck to me. It was windy. Thank goodness for the cream. I only wore the dress. I noticed a group of young teenagers following. Himm.

Liam kept turning around looking. was a free feeling. since my body was scorched the wind and bare covering was relief. Liam and I sat outside so I could cool off

The rashburn is receding from my face.and moving down
a bit each day
At the one week anniversary of its appearance, Wednesday May 29,
there was vast improvement
Only legs now
and today June 2nd
gone

so what to do to prevent it from happening again
No Clue

I have decided to excuse all the suspects mentioned and adhere to a dictum which works
Blame up, credit down
My fault
and I give credit to all the listed possible causes
as participants

Woof, Woof

Soloing in Southport

Yep
I was on my way
To Southport
alone
leaving Liam, King of the North to visit Sasha, Queen of the South
both treasure their twin blankies
Before leaving I adopted two direwolves to add to Liam's pack and ensure he would not be lonely

LIAM WITH GHOST, NYMERIA AND WOLFIES

I was at MacArthur Airport and I got as close as the plane. I was flying Frontier, I got a bargain $106 round-trip. My fellow passengers were dotted about in the rows of seats. I arrived there at 5:45am. The flight was at 7:20am. Once a day to Myrtle Beach and one back 3 times a week. I was visiting my childhood friend Lynne who was to pick me up in Myrtle Beach and drive me up to her Southport NC home. Seems many of the passengers were regulars between Islip and Myrtle Beach having a home there and relatives here.


I immediately was told there was a delay till 1:20pm. What?  I was scheduled to arrive in MB at 9:11am. Lynne had a full day planned for me. Apparently this delay was of no surprise to the group.

This flight had been 9 hours late Monday and cancelled completely the prior Wednesday. I was taken aback. I had received emails every day from Frontier since I had booked 5/5. They were informative and caring and efficient...the lonely plane on the runway without any humans and the lack of any company spokesperson or announcement or messenger was the exact opposite of what one would expect from the tone of their online communication. My fellow passengers called the corporate number on the website...we were told the plane needed a part...uh oh. After an hour my woman buddy adjacent told me I had a decision to make. It could be leaving early afternoon, or later or be canceled.
I was far from home. Did I want to hang out with her? Or leave and come back.
Or try another time

 I escaped.

I watched all day for the news

departed at 4:03pm...see shot at right

It was a deep disappointment

We have tried to do this trip a number of times and it has been cancelled for illness, accident, hurricane and flood and now the airline
Frontier is a classy customer service oriented airline. But they have no staff, ground personnel or tech support at MacArthur, Online they are outstanding. But they need to get the planes moving and flying not parked and waiting.



And where was I going?
Here is a link about Southport

https://southportnc.org/







Home of Lynne, Organizer of Activities
see them on the left

and Planner of Gardens, Lynne's botanical creations above

         Home of Ken, Maker of Chairs

He builds them, paints them and decorates them
they are sold locally and are seen at the waterfront
and around town on people's porches

Soutport is the
Setting for the TV Shows, Revenge and Under the Dome

Film Location for many Nicholas Spark's movies

  
and fish 

and water
Intercoastal waterway
Atlantic ocean
and ships
and sunrises
and sunsets

however it was

 not happening for me
that day

 but

there were positives


If the delay is more than 3 hours you get a refund
I did
They gave me a $100 voucher for a future trip

I made money
and saw a sunrise

Got to know and enjoy MacArthur airport
quite a lovely spacious airy location

MacArthur, I shall return

Got lots of Fitbit steps

Had fun with the group

Learned the Frontier drill

tried out my

backpack...awesome

learned I can function on 3 hours sleep

Got to try a new Starbucks

did my first Mobile check-in and it worked
see below







I had spent hours squirting liquids into little bottles  I like it.
will leave it all there. like a mini universe.
see right

And watched the Survivor finale with the boys 

I will get there
Lynne's pups

Sasha and Kendl (see photo bottom left)

and the exquisitely

welcoming porch (see photo bottom right)
are waiting
and the Barb gift pothos plant is thriving in its pot here
 which matches Lynne's decor and will make it on the next trip
so Barb can be in Lynne's coastal home

I will not disappoint

 




When the snows fall 

and the white winds blow

the lone wolf dies

but the pack survives

 
  
Woof, Woof

Nicknames

LIAM JOSEPH MCNIFF-NIKOL

yes, that is Liam's full name. but like all pet parents we have a slew of nicknames which we use.
Started watching Game of Thrones and was blown away by the nicknames given the characters. And got me thinking of Liam's

what is a nickname?

Here is the link

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nickname
if you are not a LiamLinker
Looker upper
here it is

nickname

noun

nick·​name | \ ˈnik-ˌnām

Definition of nickname

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a usually descriptive name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to a person, place, or thing

2 : a familiar form of a proper name (as of a person or a city)

synonyms:

sobriquet, byname, tag, label, familiar name, epithet; pet name, diminutive, term of endearment, endearment, affectionate name; informalmoniker; formalappellation, cognomen; archaicbyword, eke-name, to-name

why do we do it?

accentuate a characteristic or highlight a behavior

we call Liam 

Stubbett, Short Legs because he is height challenged 

His uncle tagged him Beast he jumps and barks

show affection by prefacing with a loving adjective

Baby L, Baby Dog, Little Li, Baby Leester, Sweet Boy

bestow an analogy with another animal
Dingo, Ding

acknowledge a current condition
Fluffer Nutter
after a bath at Best in Show

Nicknames may also diminish, insult, taunt

Game of Thrones exhibits the use of descriptive nicknames

as I mentioned above

I started watching the first night of GoT

of its last season 

I am buried in it now

addicted

Up to season 5

see link
where the origin of nicknames are explained

 https://www.tor.com/2014/03/31/game-of-thrones-nicknames/

and some of its most famous

Mother of Dragons
The Hound

Kingslayer

Breaker of Chains

Thorn Lady

White Wolf 

Red Woman
Imp

"Nicknames can be a mixed bag—sometimes they signal affection, admiration, or acceptance, and sometimes they’re a form of taunting, a devastating insult that lingers like a malicious ghost, inescapable. In the Song of Ice and Fire series, nicknames can be obvious, or ironic, affectionate or scathing, incredibly apt or impossibly unfair, but whether merited or misleading, such names often provide a window onto a deeper understanding of the characters that bear them."

Liam's

an illustrative series

see the inserted nicknames

Stubbett

Li

 

Ding

Short Legs

Baby L

Beast

Little Li
 Baby Dog

Ding

Leester
Fluffer Nutter
 L

 Dingo
Leester
 Sausage Dog
Direwolf

Mine

C

Cbiz

The C

CM

Carola

Cruella (thanks Mom)
Carlotta
Carol #2

McSniffy

Niff

Niffy

Bison Queen
Baba

 

On Kentucky Derby Day

how about my plant hat?
I guess I am
the Red Sister
Game of Thrones-ish
don't you think?

Liam with a new pack member Ghost
direwolf
of Jon Snow
Game of Thrones








 

 Woolf, Woolf

Love Bites

The sweetest dog on the face of he earth bit me when I leaned in for my usual kiss

He was as shocked as I was and for the next hours and several days grieved for what he had done 

head down

sleeping

staring at me

following me
sleeping on me
hugging his pillow

what happened

Liam was alone for several hours
was a dark rainy day

when we returned he was in a deep sleep

no twitchy body movements

or rapid eye openings
really comatose

I leaned my face in for my hello kiss, touching his shoulder for balance
 and he bit me

on the lips


I was startled

he was as well

He curled up and tucked his head into his chest

I hurt my Mom and I feel awful

dogs do grieve

have remorse

 Liam needed comfort

I petted him.

talked to him

next day

walked him

and allowed endless sniffs on the walk

see link for recent NY Times article

about a dog who bit and what happened 

and an excerpt from it follows

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/opinion/sunday/emotions-animals-humans.html

It would be better to test behavior that is wrong by almost any standard, including that of their own species. The Austrian ethologist Konrad Lorenz gave one of my favorite examples, about his dog, Bully, who broke the fundamental rule never to bite your superior.

Humans don’t need to teach this rule, and indeed Bully had never been punished for it. The dog bit his master’s hand when Dr. Lorenz tried to break up a dogfight. Even though Dr. Lorenz petted him right away, Bully suffered a complete nervous breakdown. For days, he was virtually paralyzed and ignored his food. He would lie on the rug breathing shallowly, occasionally interrupted by a deep sigh. He had violated a natural taboo, which among ancestral canines could have had the worst imaginable consequences, such as expulsion from the pack.

   Grief over Loss

and a now iconic photo of SullyHW Bush

grieving at His Dad's funeral

 http://time.com/5470348/sully-george-bush-service-dog-capitol/

what do we do when bit?

http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/my-dog-just-bit-me-now-what-do-i-do?page=2

reasons a dog may bite

Many bite situations occur simply because signals get crossed. Here are some of the more common situations in which owners have reported being bitten and they are often due to owners misreading their dog’s signals. Simply think of how you would respond in some of these cases:

• Disturbing your dog when lying down or sleeping
• Disturbing your dog while eating
• Trying to take an item away from your dog
• Reprimanding your dog using punitive measures
• Redirected behavior
• Touching a painful area
• Kissing your dog on the face or hugging him
• Breaking up a dog fight
• Partaking in vigorous or excited play

and I did the bolded

three

Liam back with me after the bite

Daddy Paul and Liam were at first apprehensive about this story.
 Liam is known as a blogger, a licker, a lover, leaper, sniffer

not a biter

I wanted to share the story because one incident does not define a lifetime of love and goodness. Liam is a good dog.

He reacted to a perceived attack. Spontaneously. He did what dogs do.
I had touched his sensitive shoulder where his tumor had been.
I woke him up from a deep sleep..
He was disoriented. And there was a giant head zooming in.
I did not think.
I am the one who caused it.

People punish dogs who bite

They blame the dog

They isolate them
hit them
medicate them

 return them to shelters
and worse

 .

I wanted to help stop assumptions and give hope

Don't worry Liam
we love you

And have I resumed my affectionate behavior

But not on a sleeping, unsuspecting

vulnerable Liam

never again

I am a good dog

Woof, Woof

Fish Foray

UH OH, MOM IS GOING TO COOK

I decided to try.

To cook

Paul is the cook.

Paul is the Chef.

He cooks every night. Except one

Sunday is free.

Maybe a slot for fish.

Paul does not do fish

Oddly

I have no memory of cooking for myself when I lived alone...9 years

and I must have eaten

I lived to tell

I have the NYTimes cooking app

https://cooking.nytimes.com/ 

I found a doable recipe

for halibut

I don't like steaky fish...that would be salmon, tuna (in a salad it is fine with tons of mayo) swordfish... you get the idea

no halibut in King Kullen

so tilapia subs

I needed help with the stove

I rarely look at it. 

recently discovered the burners are different sizes. Imagine

there is a light in the oven. one can look in...

there is a timer

and a clock

what a marvelous piece of work is the stove

the following collage has the purchased tilapia, the recipe and the ready to go in the oven fish

Liam wants in

but in his bowl

he likes salmon kibble

I am not envious

I despise salmon

I give him some kibble

below

on the left Liam waits

on the right

I used my phone for a timer

the oven too complicated even with Chef Paul assisting

Here it is

Liam is curious wants to try

Liam is gloomy

where is the salmon? 

Woof, Woof