Better Living Through Pharmaceuticals

Well, it's that time of year again ... no, I'm not talking about fall, I'm talking about Elvis' annual vet visit. Always a fun and exciting experience for me, the staff and other patients at Memorial 610!

Our new game plan was to use what worked during last year's ear debacle (tightly wrapping him in a towel and not using the car kennel) and layer on a ThunderShirt and pharmaceuticals. So I found him a large cat-sized ThunderShirt and we practiced the day before our vet visit.



The ThunderShirt was invented as a device to comfort dogs who are unnerved by loud thunderstorms or other loud noises. There is something about the light compression of the "shirt" that makes them feel supported and calm.



Elvis, looking disgusted at wearing his shirt ...



Some time after these ThunderShirts came on the market, people were reporting that their dogs - and later cats - were experiencing less anxiety in a variety of situations ... storms ... separation anxiety ... riding in the car, etc.



Dr. Rose and I also decided to experiment with "pharmaceutically enhancing" Elvis' public persona with 1/2 of a magic happy cat pill. The happy cat pill would normally "knock out" a regular cat, but it only "took the edge" of of our Elvis. Thankfully, it was enough!

Here he is in the car - sans car kennel, as that seems to make him LIVID on trips to the vet. Why he lounges around in it headed to the beach is beyond me ...



We had a good vet visit - Dr. Rose looked in his ears, looked at his teeth (!!!), poked around on his belly and vaccinated him without one swipe of the claws. He did get off a few threatening hisses at a vet tech that I tried to warn. Of course, the next one in the room he happily let pet him on the head.

We left, legally compliant and vaccinated, and Elvis was quite relieved when we pulled into the garage.



Unfortunately, two weeks later, we were back to see Dr. Rose because I discovered a strange, hard knot on the outer edge of Elvis' right wrist. It feels like a deformed or damaged joint, but after much inspection and a series of x-rays it was determined that he (somehow) damaged the wrist, resulting in a "jutting out" of fluid/cartilage from the joint, which formed this knot. The radiologist said osteoarthritis has set in the joint and there were signs of healing in one of the bones, but the actual joint is not damaged. Overall good news.

Although it seems tender and bothers him off and on, it's not really slowing him down and hasn't gotten any larger. Hoping to avoid any type of surgery to remove it, since he isn't the best patient. I'll spare you all the details of how we got the x-rays, but let's just say it was a team effort between me and the vet techs!

As a side note, Denny also went to the vet and was his usual pleasant self. Scared of them poking around on him, but never misbehaving!

Cats ...

Elvis, chillin' out on the patio:



Washing the Elvis!



"We didn't do it!"



Looking innocent working on Denny's fur



Denny, kicking back in my office after a hard day of doing nothing.

Farewell Endeavour

Growing up in Pasadena, with my childhood friend's dad being one of the engineers at NASA - responsible for designing the training simulators to teach the astronauts to fly the shuttles - the space program has always been close to my heart. Kenny Mansfield passed away many years ago, but when the Shuttle Endeavour toured the greater Houston area for the last time, I couldn't help but think of him and how proud he would have been of this remarkable sight.

Endeavour rocked the house on this fly-over September 19th:



The following morning, headed to its final docking space in Los Angeles, the shuttle again flew right over the end of our street ... amazing!



During their brief stay in Houston, the crew toured the area - out of respect for NASA and the men and women responsible for so many space flights. Here is a beautiful shot of Endeavour and the escort jet flying over the San Jacinto Monument:



Another beauty shot taken at Ellington Field:



Following Endeavour's progress, many Twitter followers posted photos as it flew over iconic landmarks ... here it is flying over Alcatraz ...



Looking up at Endeavour aboard it's huge transport plane:



Approaching the Golden Gate Bridge ...



Beauty shot, with the escort jet at its side.



It's the end of an era, but one that we can look back on with pride. I know in my heart that Mr. Mansfield was smiling down from heaven as he watched that shuttle circle our area ... not only was the shuttle itself an amazing example of engineering, but attaching it to that transport plane must have taken a few mathematical calculations as well!

Back to the Beach!

Jerry had a board meeting in Galveston on Saturday morning, so we "saddled up" Friday evening after rush-hour traffic. That afternoon, as I was packing the car, I brought down the car kennel and you-know-who couldn't wait to jump in and take a nap.



Beautiful sunset on Friday night ... over the newly constructed marina next door



Bay watch ...



Sunrise this morning ...



I had been watching some rain over Texas City and looked up and caught this rainbow almost overhead



Shortly after, we had a good rain shower and the rest of the rainbow appeared!



When the rain stopped, we went for a long walk on the beach and when we pulled up to park, all these seagulls were positioned on the posts - they were wet and tired from the rain, I guess.



It looked like the leader said to line up and they did!

I Spy ...

Can you see me now?



This tiny lizard - his body isn't much longer than an inch - lives in the gardenia bush on the patio. So far, he has survived Denny the Master Hunter's regular patrols.

Las Colinas & the Dallas Brewers

Our end-of-July vacation at the Four Seasons Las Colinas was a fun visit with the Dallas Brewers. Jerry and Jason played the tournament players course and we had lots of pool time!

Melissa and I took advantage of the pool, while the guys played golf and - even in 100 degree heat, the boys had fun going from the hot tub to the pool. Here's Luke ...



And Zach loved sitting on the big rock letting the hot water run down his back.



Here's a beautiful view of the hotel and golf course. Saturday morning, Jerry and I walked the entire course (have to finish by 7am) as our morning exercise.



Saturday afternoon, we had worn out the pool, watched a lot of Olympic events and the boys wanted to practice their pitching. Jerry showed Luke how to use the seams on the baseball to control different types of pitches.



Impromptu baseball set-up on the lawn at the Four Seasons in front of our Villa (no one complained)



Luke, zinging one in there!



I'm not sure what kind of a stance this is, but it's probably not seen in the major leagues. Good leg work, Jason!



Although he's got less experience - and control - than Luke, Zach throws a fierce fast ball. Facial expressions are a critical element in the fast ball pitch!



The boys spent the night with us Saturday and we had room service while watching the Olympics. Here's a cute picture of Zach wearing a teeny-tiny hat that was in our room for some reason.



Since the Olympics kicked off on Friday night, the boys were having their own "Brazilian Olympics" (not sure why they weren't called Brewer Olympics) and there were lots of games and competitions through the weekend. One game was seeing how many back flips they could do without taking a breath. Zach nailed it with four flips!



Those of you receiving this post via email may not be able to click and view the video clip. If it doesn't work, visit http://nanbrewer.blogspot.com and watch it from the online post.

29.18631N by 94.47416W

Although he passed away in December, and we held a graveside service for he and Mom in March, we wanted to honor a request that Dad made to me many years ago. He asked that his ashes be spread from the Bolivar Ferry, half-way between Galveston and Bolivar, since he had spent so much time there in his youth.

Ed had retained 1/2 of his ashes - not buried in Rockdale - and worked to arrange an event with the Bonura side of the family. After several delays, plans finally came together for July 21st. Ed arranged a luncheon at the Stingaree and Jerry arranged a charter back in Galveston for later that evening.

We all boarded the Ferry for the ride to Bolivar. Jerry, Hope, Ed & Ray ...



Switching places with Hope ...



Initially he was not too keen on the idea of driving onto a boat, but Memphis soon warmed up to the idea of ferry travel.



After a short detour, we found the Stingaree!



We had a big group and a great lunch! It was good to catch up with our Beaumont area cousins, including Dad's only living sibling - Uncle Joe Lee.



Before lunch, we entertained ourselves out on the deck, watching the barge traffic.






Hope, Mary & Memphis on the deck ...



Kent, enjoying a cold XX!



We saw lots of seagulls, pelicans & dolphin on the ferry rides and took this photo of the Bolivar Light House while waiting in the L-O-N-G line to cross back to Galveston.



After a quick run to pick up some flowers and snacks, we headed to Pier 19 to board the Island Girl, the larger of the two Aqua Safari fishing boats. Fresh off his second ferry ride, Memphis had become an "old salt" and was singing and ready to go!



Dad's ashes in a pretty wooden box, provided by Suzanne, against a backdrop of our very utilitarian fishing boat.



Leaving port ...



Toni, Memphis & Ray ...



Ray, Kent, Ed & Hope ...



Jerry, enjoying the view



Photographing the photographer ...



We stopped several times along the way to watch dolphin swimming by and soon we were at the mid-point between Galveston and Bolivar. Our captain pointed the boat up-wind and we shared a Prosecco toast (Italian champagne) to Dad.

As Ed got the bag of ashes out of the box, we noticed a group of dolphin in the distance, making their way towards us. Three dolphins continued towards the boat and surfaced several times as they approached us. They came up about 3 feet from us before diving under the boat and surfacing again on the other side, as they made their way towards the lighthouse. Nature always amazes me and I believe it was a blessing, of sorts.

I took this photo with a telephoto lense before they got near the boat.



Ed started the ceremony by scattering some ashes and then dropping a lavendar and red rose into the water.






Mary went next ...





Followed by me (no photos) - we saw some barge/tanker action since we were more-or-less stopped in the middle of the channel.



Jerry spreading ashes ...



and flowers



Followed by Ray ...



and Hope



Ed finished the task ...



and we had a pretty stream of flowers and dried rose petals (being tossed by Memphis) trailing the boat.



We were visited by a single seagull and it made me think of the song, I'll Fly Away. Dad would have been very happy to know that we had carried out his wishes, expressed before the dementia took hold, and more importantly that we were all together out on the water. It was something that he loved and sailing in Galveston Bay was something that we all shared with him.



Heading back for the "harbor cruise".



Ms. Hope ...



Toni, Hope, Ray, Ed & Jerry ...



On the way back, we passed a large, sunken concrete boat - apparently it's been out there for years. I was clueless!






Hope, Jerry, Ed & Mary ...



Memphis & Toni



The beautiful Elissa ...



Toni and Ray ...



Memphis, taking it all in