Sunday

 

Hostas, I think, blooming in the front yard.

 

Wide-load Dee Dee

She had a good day. She only got up once to pee pee last night. She ate full meals quickly. She enjoyed her walks. She rested comfortably. She took her meds. She even tried to go after a cat hiding under a car.

We had a relaxing day. We stayed in this morning and ate oatmeal with blueberries. I did a little work. Then read for a while. We took short walks in the neighborhood, including walking to the Pinellas Trail after dinner.

 

The heat finally broke and the wind picked up, making for a nice early evening walk: 82 degrees and winds over 10 mph. The trail was almost completely deserted, in both directions, a rare site.

 

We passed the land for the new park where the old par 3 golf course was located. It seems the city had turned to a third party to manage the course, but things didn't go as well as planned. There were different interpretations as to why it didn't succeed. Whatever it was, the city decided to turn it into a park, with perhaps a section for a dog park. There's been a lot of activity, getting it ready.

 

I think it has a lot of potential as a park. It's beautifully landscaped with ponds and golf cart trails. Turning it into a walking park seems like no-brainer. It beats selling the land for condo development. It is in a prime location on the corner of Bayshore Drive and Palm Boulevard.

This morning, we met some ducks that have been hanging around. They may not stay long since we had Dee Dee with us and she was a bit overeager to say hello. There are lots of ducks around the par 3 course; I suppose it's possible that the park construction could be disturbing them, so they may be venturing out into the neighborhood. It's also possible that it's coincidental.

We walked 8.1 miles today, 0 bike miles.

Saturday in the Parks

 

My sister likes sunsets and she also likes to see things in the clouds. These three pictures should make her smile. Do you see the rat coming in to eat the cheese (sunset)?

This is a picture of Dunedin's first art project installed after the Public Art Master Plan was adopted in 2018. It's a bus stop located downtown at Main and Douglas. The work is called "Celebration" and was supported by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, of course. The artist is nationally known, Catherine Woods.

The elements in the art include metal discs that convey the feeling of celebration. The cut outs in the circles represent many of the things that Dunedin is known for: water, a sailboat, orange slices, bicycle wheels, a thistle, and a puppy.

This work joins the 20 existing public artworks, including small works, murals and sculptures.

We took a bike ride downtown last night to get a picture of the new artwork featured in this week's Dunedin Beacon. While we were on Main, we ventured east (away from the water) to see the new uses of parking spaces to accommodate social-distance dining. It looked fun. Lots of people and live music--not ready to pull up a chair yet. After looking around, we headed to the Weaver Park pier to catch the sunset pictures above.

We had a veggie burger, oven fries, left-over cauliflower frittata, and salad for dinner.

This morning, we road to South Beach on Honeymoon Island State Park and parked our bikes. Then walked back to the drawbridge and back. We fixed lunch, and then I worked on making some adjustments to my bike to make it more comfortable.

I met with a student in an on-line conference, and then John and I headed to Wall Springs Park to test my new bike adjustments. I think it's getting better. Still no neck pain.

Dee Dee is the same. She is eating normally, resting and sleeping comfortably, and walking and doing her duty normally. On the downside, she still looks enormously wide. Freakish. She's coughing occasionally, but not like she was when she was at her worst. And the edemas under her throat and chin have not returned. Maybe this is her new normal. We were hoping she would lose more of that fluid buildup. The new meds are just beginning to take effect, so maybe they will bring some positive changes.

We have walked 7.3 miles so far and biked 25 miles today.

Clearwater Buzz

Before lunch we took my new Buzz e-bike on a long ride. First we stopped at Kafe Racer to inquire about a stem riser to make the handlebars come up higher and closer to me. But he said that there wasn't enough slack in the cables to make it worth it. I'm not sure that I agree, but he's the expert. But I'm hardheaded and may figure out a way to make it work. In the meantime, I'm just going to live with it. 

So we left the bike shop and headed to Clearwater Beach. The art above is on Cleveland street in downtown Clearwater.

And this is a picture looking west (looking towards the water) on Cleveland St. in downtown Clearwater. The road drops down about 40 feet to the water. What a great spot to build a town! The city is in the process of designing and constructing a huge waterfront park where now there are just parking lots. The park will be in the shadow of the causeway that connects the city to the beach.

 

This shot, also on Cleveland, looks west (away from the water). We noticed that they were blocking off the streets and moving tables and chairs into the roadway for the restaurants to be able to open and practice social distancing. I've read where Dunedin is doing something similar downtown, blocking off parking spaces for restaurant use.

 

 

My new e-bike had no trouble riding into the wind or climbing the steep causeway bridge. I did not notice any neck or shoulder pain. Perhaps the handlebars will be fine the way they are. 

The first time we rode to Clearwater Beach it took us about 50 minutes each way, or about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Today, we did it in less than an hour and a half, even though we took a detour through the new park and Cleveland Street and stopped to take pictures. I think we could do it round trip in an hour and twenty minutes.

The particular e-bike I got does not have a throttle. You have to pedal to use the battery. It does have a torque sensor though, so the harder you pedal, the more the motor helps. You might think that it's cheating to use an electric motor and that you don't get exercise. That would be wrong, at least for my bike. You have to work, and the bike weighs 57 pounds, so you have to work when you turn the motor off, which I did whenever the road was flat and there was no wind and I didn't want to go fast. On the way home, we used the motor and hit top speed (17-20 m.p.h.). I was breathing heavy and covered in sweat when we made it home. It was quite a workout. 

The key difference is that hills and wind do not slow you down. It's easier to maintain an even speed.

I think I'll continue to get used to it. One thing I noticed is that you have to work with the bike. On a regular bike, you're in charge. The bike goes as fast as the amount of effort you put into the bike. It's easy to gauge what's going on because it's all you. On an electric bike with a torque sensor, it is constantly monitoring your effort and changing the amount of forced applied accordingly. So you have to think of it as a relationship. You have to communicate, in other words. If you want to go slow with a little assist, then pedal casually. The motor will help propel you casually. If you want to go fast, you need to communicate that to the bike by bearing down on the pedals and working. The sensor notices and tells the motor to offer more help. So, it's like a force multiplier. The more effort you put in, the faster you go. But you have to put the effort in. It flat-out does not go on its own. I'm happy with this new relationship because I like to get exercise. Others may be disappointed, hoping that the bike would be like a mo-ped.

 

This is a picture looking down from the causeway into the green water.

 This picture is looking south from the causeway, towards Belleair and the beaches.

 This is a picture of the bridge from Clearwater Beach to Sand Key to the south.

 The temperature was in the low 80s; winds were light, about 6-7 m.p.h.

 

This morning was for Dee Dee. We skipped our morning walk and took her to Honeymoon Island. Then on the way home we stopped on the causeway beach to hang out. She enjoyed the smells and the water. She did not like having to sit in the back of the car. She wanted to get out. She doesn't know that dogs are not allowed on the beach.

She seems to be feeling okay. She's still very wide in the chest and very narrow in the hips. She ate a good breakfast and dinner and took all her meds. She is alert and jumping to the bed (and sofa) and floor on her own. She's sleeping and resting comfortably. She's determined and insistent on her walks. No cheating and turning back until she says so. I'm hoping she loses some congestion in the next week. That would make us feel a lot better.

The lawn service came while we were gone, very thankful for them.

After lunch we were going to head back out, but storm clouds were brewing. So we took a nap instead--a wonderful nap. We slept for an hour and it rained the entire time. Perfect for the newly cut grass. Then the clouds disappeared to reveal a totally blue sky.

Walked 3 miles; biked 27.2.

Bike Mechanic

We slept late today, until 6:30. Dee Dee got up at midnight and 2:00. I gave her medicine at 4:00 a.m. and went back to sleep. Her medicine is supposed to be more potent when taken on an empty stomach.

About 9:00 a.m., we headed out to Honeymoon Island on our bikes. I took my new Buzz bike. I hadn't adjusted everything, so it made quite a racket. Both disc brakes were dragging and three of the gears were out of alignment. I did enjoy the boost of the electric motor, especially going over the bridge and coming back into the wind.

It was nice being out on the causeway again. We both needed some fresh air and a break from Dee Dee.

She's really not much better. She's still retaining a lot of fluid. Her new medicine makes her a little unsteady at times. It's only been a little over a day, so we're trying to be patient. She's a bit sporadic with her eating. She ate heartily this morning, but was picky tonight. 

We'll probably schedule an appointment with the doctor sometime next week.

We had lunch and then I had office hours for my students. We do virtual meetings on a product kind of like Zoom. No one showed up, but I was able to use the time in front of the computer to evaluate work and get organized. I had mandatory financial aid/advising training at 4:00, which is a little weird since I won't be advising any more. Oh well.

 

After dinner, I started working on my bike. It took some trial and error, but I got the squeaky brakes to stop, and I adjusted the cables so that all the gears work. I can coast in silence. I was a ramblin' wreck this morning. 

I am so glad I still have this bike stand. It would have taken forever to make those adjustments without it. This puts everything you're working on at eye level, and it lets you pedal, change gears, and brake without having to ride it. You can see what you are doing and what the adjustments change.

Lots of toys.

We walked 7.1 miles, biked 14.5.

Buzz Bike

We ended the day with an easy dish of Turmeric Chicken. We followed the recipe except we used white rice instead of brown and dried parsley instead of fresh. We cut the chicken up in chunks. Quick, easy, and delicious.

A bonus is the healthy effects of Turmeric. It's an anti-inflammatory and an anti-oxidant. It improves brain function and reduces risk of brain diseases. It also lowers the risk of heart disease. It can prevent and help reduce certain cancers, especially colorectal cancer. It may play a role in preventing Alzheimer's because it can help prevent the build up of plaque, and it can help with arthritis because of its anti-inflammatory effects. It can help reduce depression, similar to the way Prozac works. And it helps to fight many age-related diseases. There's a reason why turmeric is called a miracle food.

We could use the help. We are both exhausted from worrying and lack of sleep. Dee Dee's been on a nightly pee schedule of midnight, 2:00 a.m., and 4:00 a.m. We usually just stay up after the 4:00 outing. Sometimes, she wants to walk, so we head down the block on a short leash looking out for coyotes. 

We finally made it to the doctor's office. He didn't call us knuckleheads for messing up the medicine schedule, which was a relief. He gave her an injection of the diuretic that worked so quickly last time and he added another heart medication. Now, she's on 3 meds, taken twice a day. She's still looking bloated, but she seems to feel much better and she's eating heartily and resting comfortably. The vet said to let her eat and drink all she wants. Paradoxically, the intake of water works as a pump to draw the water out. Go figure.

We will be up all night for bathroom breaks, but at least we will do it without the same sense of worry and anxiety.

 

My Buzz bike arrived today, earlier than scheduled. I had already watched the assembly video, so I had an idea how to go about it. Nevertheless, I loaded the YouTube video on my phone and played it and paused it until I had the bike all assembled. I used the box it came in as my workbench.

 

I unpacked everything and set up a fan to keep me comfortable. The rear fender was bent, but I was able to bend it back into shape with some effort. The first trial ride sounded awful until I wrangled the fender some more so that the tire wasn't rubbing. There was a missing washer for the stem bracket, but I might replace that anyway.

I only had time (and battery power) to ride it about 4 miles. My first impressions: With the motor off, it's a quiet, but heavy bike, not very responsive or nimble. Ho hum. With the motor on, even in the lowest setting, it's a very different experience. The motor is loud, but effective. It's smooth on take-offs, very gentle. But much appreciated on hills. When biking on flat roads, it's not worth having the motor on. One thing I noticed is how many hills there are, even here in Florida. On my old bike, it was so light, I could power up them, but on this new bike, I need some help. I expected this, and figured that I'd appreciate the bike much more on long trips, where my old bike is a literal pain in the neck and butt.

I have some adjustments to make: three of the gears aren't functioning properly, but it's just a matter of adjusting the derailleur. Lucky, there are instructions. I used to know how to do this, so I know I can learn it again. Funny that our old bikes never needed adjusting in the 11 years we've owned them. Their parts are of higher quality. That and they were assembled professionally at R.E.I.

I also need an adjustable stem to bring the handle bars up higher and closer, more like a cruiser bike. That way I can sit upright and spare myself neck pain (I hope).

The seat is going to take some getting used to. It's a gel seat and feels squishy and a bit unstable because it's so spongy. I don't know quite where to sit.

I also need a mirror.

So, it's a work in progress. Stay tuned for more reports.

Waiting

 

We called the vet first thing this morning to make an appointment and to see if we could get Dee Dee back on track after our blunder with medication frequency. Unfortunately, our vet is a one-person operation and he's off on Tuesdays. We could have gone to an emergency vet, but she seemed comfortable enough and stable enough to wait until the first available appointment Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. So, we spent another day at home . . . waiting.

She took two bites of her breakfast and walked away. She must feel "full" because of all the fluid retention. We've fed her canned dog food throughout the day. She loves that. The dry food she takes out of the bowl and puts it on the floor. I guess it's the equivalent of us only wanting to eat jello or icecream.

I was hoping the diuretic would remove more water, but it hasn't. John reminded me that the doctor started her off with an injection of the same diuretic, and that started working immediately, and in two days she looked and felt so much better. Then for the next 11 days she looked almost normal. I'm hoping that he can do another injection.

She's gotten 3 correct doses of her heart medication now. I can't see any results, but with all that fluid who knows what's going on inside?

She just came in to see what I was doing. Poor thing.

Summer school classes began today.

We've taken several short walks around the neighborhood: 5.6 miles, no biking.

To Err Is Human

 

Two weeks ago, Dee Dee's fluids were greatly reduced after two or three days of a diuretic and the doctor put her on Vetmedin for her congestive heart failure. She continued to improve for a week or so. She was walking lively, eating, pooping regularly, sleeping and resting normally. We felt that we were on the right track. Then we began to notice about 3 or 4 days ago that she was starting to retain fluid again. She had a restless night and couldn't get comfortable. 

We remembered that the doctor had cut back her diuretic from 1 1/2 pills twice a day to 1 pill twice a day. The only thing we could think of to do over the holiday weekend was to go back to 1 1/2 pills of the diuretic to help flush the excess fluids like before. 

We began to suspect that the heart medicine wasn't working. The medicine is supposed to open up blood vessels in the heart to make it pump more efficiently without getting larger. This more efficient heart keeps fluids from pooling around the lungs and heart. Typically, dogs show improvement in a week and continue to improve thereafter. The medicine can prolong their lives from 6 months to 2 years.

I started doing research on the Internet and found that the usual dosage for the heart medicine was twice a day, but we had only been giving it to her once a day. We double checked her prescription and instructions and saw that she was supposed to be getting the heart medicine twice a day, not once. The Web stressed the importance of not skipping doses. Essentially, we've been giving her half of her needed medication for two weeks. We had simply misheard the oral instructions and didn't check the written ones.

So, here we are. I'm trying not to live in the past: "Dee Dee was on the road to better health, but I've botched it for her. How irresponsible!" John's trying not to live in the future: "I've killed my dog." We are trying to live in the present. The present says: "We made a mistake because we are human. Give her the correct dosage starting today because that's all you can do now. The medicine may still work once we get the dosage correct."

That's a start. But the present includes her not wanting to eat, trying to poop her guts out, not being able to get comfortable, and looking at us wagging her tail saying "I don't feel good. Help me."

We are anxious living in the present.  Our anxiety takes us directly to the past (for me) and to the future (for John). It always takes more courage to live in the present. I guess that's why we so readily seek ways to escape it.

The clouds reflect our state of mind.
I walked 4.4 miles today, biked 0.

"To err is human; to forgive divine."
--Alexander Pope, from the poem An Essay on Criticism, Part II, written in 1711.

Pope explains that humans make mistakes, but that we should aspire to do as God does and show mercy.

Frittata

The rainy season in this area of Florida runs from June to September, where the average rainfall per month goes from 3 inches to 8 or 9 inches. We had some rain late yesterday, but the skies still cleared in time for sunset. It looks like the next 3 days offer a good chance of rain.

I've been waiting for a rainy day to do some bike maintenance.

Today has been overcast with a few light sprinkles.

 

 I made a quick and easy frittata.

• 1 onion, cut into large chunks, scattered raw on the bottom of a baking dish sprayed with non-stick coating
• 1 package of cubed tofu on next, uncooked (press the water out)
• 1 package of frozen cauliflower, microwave to thaw, then drain excess water
• 1 cup or so of grated cheddar cheese
• 6 eggs and about 1/2 cup milk, mixed
• Pour egg/milk mixture in
• Salt and pepper

Cook at 350 degrees for 40 minutes until golden on top.

4 miles walking.
0 miles biking.

Restful Day

 

I worked on my summer courses this morning, so I skipped the morning walk. I didn't sleep well last night and didn't feel up to it. Dee Dee was up several times and needed to go outside to pee. 

But around 10:30, I was ready for a break. We headed out to Honeymoon Island. The line to get in was backed up to the Dollar General, almost to Bayshore Drive. Of course, on bikes, we zipped past the line and rode right through. It looks like it's going to be a very crowded weekend at the beach. We rode to the end of the parking lot and went home for lunch. I think the beach is off limits until Tuesday. 

After lunch, I attended the second of three Q&As with the prospective new presidents at the college. It was done through youtube. After that, we took a bike ride down the trail to the Dunedin Marina. We sat on the bench and enjoyed the nice breeze and watched boats come and go. 

I've decided that the "D" flag (white on blue in the picture above) is the Dunedin flag. I saw several of them in the marina.

We were anxious to try out our new phone holders I ordered.

They're pretty cool. Simple and secure.

 

 

Here's another driveway chalk art, alluding to Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. In the drawing, E.T. is saying "E.T. Stay Home," alluding to our current Caronavirus stay-at-home policies. In the movie, E.T. learns to speak and his words are "E.T. phone home."

It's been a hot day, about 90 degrees. It's beginning to feel like summer in the middle of the day. There wasn't much breeze except along the water at the beach and the marina.

We just had a Florida-style late afternoon 15-minute thunderstorm pass through. Intense, but brief. Good for the grass.

This is a lazy day:
2.5 miles walking
20 miles biking