UPDATE ON MOVE

So, lots has changed since I last blogged.  I moved to a new house, same city, kids stayed in same school.  Moved the horses to a new place which I really like. I got a new job.  Got promoted!  Became the Director of Nurses at the County Jail.  It has been a lot of work and lot to learn but I am really enjoying it.  My truck broke down and I put it in the shop.  I get it out tomorrow for a small (ha ha) fee of $1,318.00 (ugh).  Oh well, the good thing is it will be running better and safer and it won't make that embarrassing squeaking noise with every bump.  Hope to post more often.

A POEM BY MY DAUGHTER, MEAGAN JOHNSON

I Am....

I am an artist.

Some see their life in number.

Some see their life in diction.

But I?  I see the world in colors.

I see smooth, open plains,

ready to be molded with light.

I am a leopard moving fluidly,

through tall, shining grass

to shape a world of meaning.

I'm one hundred shades of light

that change with my scene.

I am a creator of silent wind,

of motionless water,

of frozen time.

But to me it all moves,

because I...am an artist.

I am an actor.

To mold my deepest emotions is my field.

My field of colorful flowers I mold to my my liking.

I am a conformist to the person I am told to be

on a bright, open stage.

I become a different being in the spotlight.

I amplify the smallest emotions

to create a new person.

To others, that's all it is...an act.

But to me,

it's an art.

I am a musician.

I am a musician who finds herself when she's lost.

Who finds herself by getting lost.

I know how to lose myself

in the rushing waters of my sound.

I am a builder of walls around my soul

just to tear them down

with fluid, unforgiving music.

I am a musician who breaths in the water

when I find myself drowning.

I find myself when I am lost.

I find myself by getting lost.

I am a musician.

I am a searcher.

I search through the movement of

one hundred sounds in one.

I search through the changes in my soul

to be another.

I search through ten-thousand colors together

to make a moment.

I'll search for solace in a world

where peace is underrated,

options are limited,

and too many are dejected.

Where the road to understanding

is broken, long and lonely.

But still I search because I

am a searcher,

of serenity,

of peace,

of understanding,

of balance.

But I am most of all...me.

I am still searching for myself

in the ice of the stars,

in the rush of the wind,

in the crash of the waves.

Through art, music, acting, and life,

I am searching for me.

Meagan Johnson
13 years old

December 2012

WARNING SIGNS OF A HEART ATTACK

Years ago, if you had a heart attack it was very likely you would not recover.  However, with advancement of modern medicine, people are now surviving heart attacks and going on to live long, productive lives.  Today we are better educated about what to watch out for and what to do if we think someone is having a heart attack.  If you know the warning signs of a heart attack and act promptly you will have a greater chance of surviving a heart attack or assisting someone else who might be having a heart attack.    Some warning signs of a heart attack are textbook and include chest pain described as "tightness" or "heaviness".  People will often report feeling like an elephant is sitting on their chest.  They may also report that the pain radiates down their arm or up into their jaw.  Another classic symptom is nausea and or vomiting.  Many people will break out in a cold, drenching sweat and most will complain of shortness of breath.  While these are textbook signs of a heart attack, not all people have textbook heart attacks.  Often, the signs are more subtle and slow and some people will have no pain at all.  This is particularly true of diabetics.  The important thing to remember if you suspect you might be having a heart attack is that "Time is Muscle".  The heart is a muscle and therefore needs oxygen in order to survive just like any other part of your body.  If you were to put a tourniquet around your arm you would deprive that arm of oxygen and blood supply you would begin to experience pain and if left on long enough your arm would eventually fall off.  The same is true of the heart.  If a part of the heart muscle is not receiving adequate blood supply you will begin to experience pain, a warning sign that something is wrong.  If blood supply is not restored soon, that part of the heart muscle will eventually die and it cannot be restored which means you would be left with only part of your heart's ability to contract or pump as before.  This is why seeking prompt medical attention is so important.  The sooner you get to the hospital, the sooner the medical staff is able to remove the blockage and restore blood supply to that portion of the heart, thus saving you heart muscle for later use.  So, while it may be scary to think you are having a heart attack, if you know the warning signs to look for and you seek prompt medical attention you may be saving yourself precious heart muscle for later use and a longer life.

Dear Blog, I miss you.

Haven't posted in so long I thought I might be done but....I miss blogging!  So, we got moved, over to my friend Lori's house.  We stayed with her and her husband Herbert October, November and December.  Then, in January we moved a three bedroom two bath trailer onto land behind their house.  We have been working very hard on getting electricity, water, sewage, etc.  We are building a fence around it now.  Of course, as soon as we moved the trailer in it started raining frequently so things have been muddy.  Well, at least the drought is over.  The kids really like our new 'homestead' and our horses seem to be quite happy there as well.  Our view is great, we can see our horses out of the kitchen window every day.

So, update on very one:

I got a new job finally, working with the Galveston County Jail in the medical department.

Kyle changed jobs and is now working as a waiter at Olive Garden in Bay Area.

Dean still works for Petco.  She got put on her parent's insurance so she can finally start getting better care for her diabetes. yea!

Travis is taking college courses to become an EMT.  Surprisingly he really seems to enjoy the medical field...who knew?

Jacob is taking Drivers Ed.  it's so much easier with him than with Travis and I'm happy I don't have to worry about having a heart attack before it's all over with.

Meagan is getting into a new fashion trend, 'Scene' which I think is really quite cute.  Got the clothes, the make up and the hair cut.   Hey, may as well have fun while you can right?

Terra and Bonnie are fine, happy but not ridden much.  This will probably change along with the time change
.
The Bearded Dragons are still with us.  Lizzy, the female looks so old and frail I don't know how much longer she will last but so far so good.

Andi is still with us but that's not necessarily a good thing.  He's just so...irritating!

Anyways, just an update.  Back soon I hope!

Good bye blog :)

STILL MOVING

But almost done.  Tired.

Still Moving

Meagan made it to school today.
S-t-i-l-l       M-o-v-i-n-g..........

Job Offers

Two new job offers today!
One from Christus St. John's Ambulatory Services
Another from Carol Young Facility.

MEAGAN'S SICK

Meagan home from school today, runny nose and 103.7 temp!  Tylenol brings it down though.

Everything sold

OMG, I just watched a moving van leave with practically everything I own in it.  Good for me though, everything has sold except my bed and dresser.  Clean start.

Moving

Moving, selling everything, what a pain.  Oh well, that's one way to "declutter" I guess.  Clean slate.

Bees In the Barn!

Last spring I noticed a swarm of bees gathered by the back corner of our barn.  I noticed them because I was working in the pasture and could hear the swarming sound they were making and followed them in.  Not knowing what to do I asked around the neighborhood and was instructed to call a bee hive removal service.  After calling three local services I was told the average cost was about $200.00 to extract and/or kill the bees and that would not include the cost of repairing the barn wall once it was torn out.  Well, I didn't have $200+ dollars so I continued to ask around about how I could do this myself.  In the meantime I just kind of hoped they would 'go away' but, of course they did not.  They continued to grow and grow and by mid summer I had a pretty good swarm going and they were becoming more and more aggressive as time went on.  So I had to do something.  Did not want to kill them, in fact I would have preferred to harvest the honey but what does one do?  It was either me or the bees so....bees had to go.

First, with the help of my good friend Carl, we waited until night time, when the bees were quiet and settled in for the night and sprayed the opening of the hive, which was located between the wall of the barn, with Bengal roach spray, something the feed store said was sure to kill them.  It did, we didn't get stung and for the next two days, no more bee activity.  Great!  Seemed to have worked, that was easy!....NOT!

Couple of days later the bees were back and angry.  I tried to do this same thing a couple more times with the same results.  Further research told me that unless I tore the wall down and removed the hive, the bees would continue to return.  Perfect, now I have to get up close and personal with a swarm of  20,000-50,000 bees.  (According to the internet, once you see a swarm outside the wall that's approximately how big the hive is).  And at this point there is actually honey dripping down the inside of the wall.  I felt sorry for the bees but...

So, again with the help of Carl, we sprayed the nest down good one evening and when we couldn't hear any buzzing around in the wall, we proceeded to tear the wall down.  I can't say I was very brave about all of this.  Mostly I stood with one foot in and one foot out of the door and started to bolt for cover a couple of times while Carl courageously moved on in.

Once inside was this huge bee hive, dripping with honey.  It was so cool to see it.  Some of it was newer, golden and plump with little baby bees inside but some of it was old, dark and swarming with maggots!  This part really stunk.  We had to scrape the hive off of the wall and then hose everything down and dispose of the remnants.   The following are some pictures of us removing the hive behind the wall:

Removing the wall

Behind the top wall

Removing the bottom half of the wall

The total hive

Up close view of the good part of the hive

Inside the hive

Even more inside

Maggots inside the old part of the hive

The old, nasty part of the hive after we've knocked it down

It was a tough job but somebody had to do it!

 This all took place over the course of a couple of hot, sweaty days and nights but the deed was done and the bees are gone.  I think they just moved across the pasture as I can see bees buzzzing around a bush out there so I may have to battle them again someday.  I hope not.  Either way it was an interesting adventure and I must say I learned quite a bit about bees and bee disposal.  Just wish I could have learned more about collecting honey.  It could be done but only with a bee suite and smoking them to calm them and you still don't want them in an area that you are going to be using.  So, if you should ever have a pesky bee hive nearby and need some help in getting rid of it..........don't call me!  I hope I don't have to do this again.  

Our Bearded Dragon Lizards

This is an introduction to the other pets in our family, our bearded dragon lizards.  Their names are Beardie (the male):

and Lizzy (the female):

We have had them for about 7 years now, since they were babies.  Both were bought from a pet store about 6 months apart.  I had earlier pictures but they got lost when my computer crashed but this is them now in their home: 

Lizzy & Beardie

I have actually been very surprised about how attached one can become to lizards-I mean, really? a lizard?  Who knew.....

They were bought for the boys but I became attached to them when I almost killed (yes, killed) the female, Lizzy.  That's why she looks so frail and skinny.  She got out of her cage one day and because they are very social beings, she followed up behind me y and I didn't know it.  I stepped back, bare footed and stepped right on top of her head and shoulders-hard!  It made me fall down completely and when I turned to see what I had stepped on I saw Lizzy, leaning side ways and bleeding.  How she survived I'll never know but when it looked like she wasn't going to die right away I picked her up and moved her to her cage expecting her to be dead soon.  I know I punctured her lung because for a week only one side of her rib cage would expand when she breathed.  I also damaged the entire right side of her neck and shoulders.  She did not die.  Somehow she made it but it took her weeks to mend and during those weeks she had to be fed with a syringe and not moved for fear of worsening the punctured lung.  She never did regain 100 percent and she has always looked kind of peeked and frail since then but the experience bonded us in a way I would never have dreamed.  She will actually paw at the side of the cage to be picked up when she sees me now.

About a year after her 'near death' experience, she laid a clutch of eggs, much to everyone's surprise!  I didn't know the signs and the next thing we knew she was popping out 15 little eggs in the cage!  I was in no way prepared for this and after researching I discovered that they will continue to lay clutches of eggs about every 4-6 weeks for a period of time from one fertilization so I attempted to put together an incubator.  This did not work very well however and over the course of the next few weeks she laid two more clutches and I was not able to bring any of them to full term.  I am told it is very difficult to do even in the best of circumstances.  But we did get a picture of one clutch:

This is a video we tried to take while she was laying her last clutch.  You can't see her actually laying them but you can see the little cave like place she made to lay them in.  Lizzy Laying Eggs

These bearded dragons are interesting creatures.  The males have an interesting head bobbing thing that they do to show dominance and during mating season and the females have an interesting arm waving thing that they do to show submission.  The male can be very rough with the female at times and very protective at other times.  They are social and tend to like to 'stack' on top of one another.  The male doesn't like being fooled with as much as the female does and Lizzy likes baths where as Beardie does not.  Here is a video of Lizzy playing in the water.  

They eat fruits and vegetables and crickets and meal-worms among other things.  They need a warm, dry location, about 78-88 degrees which is accomplished with a heat lamp and they need a UV lamp as well.  It is a little difficult to learn at first but once you get it down and the initial set up going it's not too bad.

These bearded dragons are much better pets than say an iguana or a savanna monitor, both of which we have owned in the past.  They are better because they just practically don't bite, they don't whip you with their tail or try to hurt you in any way and they actually do like to be held once they are used to it..  They inflate their 'beards' for protection which is where they get their name from.  They are also active so they can be fun for entertainment.

Update 2012:

We lost lizzy.  As I said, she never did recover from her injury well and while she lived another 6 years or so she was always frail.  So she just started looking weaker and weaker and stopped eating and pooping and was really sick for about three days and then she died as we knew she was going to.  So I guess we had her for about 10 years.  I was sad to see her go.  We buried her properly in the back yard.  This leaves only Beardie now who is alone.  It has been just the two of them for so long I wonder how he will do.  R.I.P. Lizzy.

Update 2013:

Still have Beardie.  He's still alone but doing OK.  He is more sociable with us than he was before but he looks kind of lonely to me.  I really don't want to get another one but I'd like to find him a companion as Beardies are social but physically he looks good.

   

MEAGAN

This is Meagan, my youngest.  She is the only girl out of four, 12 years old and in the 7th grade.  She is smart, taking all pre-ap classes.  She is in the junior high advanced band and plays the flute.  She is an animal lover and has always said she was going to be a veterinarian when she grows up and I believe she will.  She has a puppy and his name is Andi and he, like Jack before him is her constant companion.  She takes good care of her pets giving them lots of love, food, baths and good training.  She recently got her first horse, Terra, whom she is learning how to ride.  She, like the rest of my kids is also very independently minded.  She makes friends but prefers to stay close to home most of the time.  I call her my 'little velcro' because she does everything with me which suits me just fine.

JACOB

This is Jacob, my third child.  His smile says it all doesn't it?  He is pretty easy going most of the time, pleasant and helpful and doesn't let things get him down - as long as you feed him that is.  When he's hungry he becomes grumpy and obstinate. it's about the only time.  He is 16 years old and in the 10th grade and will be getting his driver's license soon.  He, like the other two boys, is protective of his family and would walk through fire for them.  He'd also give you, a complete stranger, the shirt off of his back if you asked for it.  That's just the way he is.  He played football for about 4 years.  His last team went to the super bowl and won.  He also plays the viola.  He makes friends easily but is mostly independently minded and lives by his own code of ethics which are pretty good.

TRAVIS

This is Travis, my second oldest.  He came into the world in a hurry, 45 minutes from start to finish.  I barely made it to the hospital in time.  He is 18 years old now and taking college classes to become an EMT but his ultimate goal is to join the military.  The marines in particular.  He went a little off course awhile back when he was 14-16 years old and just about made me crazy but then he voluntarily joined a military academy called Texas Challenge Academy which was very tough but it helped him catch up and get back on track.  He is very strong willed and when he sets his mind to something he stays the course.  He got his first job when he was 17, worked every day and saved up enough money to get his first car with no help from anyone else which is how he wanted it.  He likes his independence.  

Dena

This is Dena.  She is 22 years old, my son's fiance and my daughter-in-law.  They met online about 7 years ago.  She, living in Virginia and he in Texas.  They were a perfect pair from the start and I am so glad to have her as a part of our family.  She fits in so nicely.  She works at PETCO.  She is very artistic.  She can design web pages, draw pictures and takes pictures as well.  I tell her she needs to go pro with her camera.  She is also a diabetic which we discovered when she was 19 years old when we found her unresponsive on the bathroom floor and she spent a week in ICU.  She now takes insulin shots at least three times a day.  She is smart, funny and has a most unusual smile.  But don't let her blood sugar get too high because then she becomes a bear!  It's one of the ways we know.  

KYLE

This is Kyle, my oldest.  He's 28 years old now.  Born July 10, 1983.  He is funny, smart and mister protector of the family.  I just dare anyone to cross any of us.  They will have unleashed the wrath of Kyle!  He is always there when I need him and very loyal to those he loves.  While he doesn't like to be around a lot of people he tends to make friends for life and has had the same group of friends,  some since birth.  He is a whiz at working on computers and can fix problems that arise or he can build one from scratch for you if you need it.  He works at a machine shop where they build all kinds of metal equipment using high powered machinery.  He and his fiance Dena have been together for about 7 years now.  They met online, she lived in Virginia at the time and they are a perfect match for each other.  

TRAVIS STARTING EMT SCHOOL

So, Travis is all set to start school Tuesday evening.  I think it will be exciting.

BONNIE'S HEAD INJURY

Sunday night Aug. 28, 2011

Going out to the barn to feed the horses I discovered Bonnie looking sad and maybe stunned?,  blood dripping and drying from a fresh head wound.  Don't know what she did but it looks bad.  Laid her forehead wide open.  Really needs stitches but vets are closed this hour of night.  Meagan and I attempted to clean it and take a better look at it but it only looked worse when we could really see it.  Of course, she doesn't want anyone near it so doctoring her was difficult.  Called my good friend Carl for some assistance and he was good enough to come out at eleven o'clock at night.  He successfully cleaned the wound with hydrogen peroxide and sprayed an antibiotic medication called Vetericyn into it.  This was not done without much resistance from Bonnie (I stood outside the stall while he wrestled her down ) and some damage to the barn wall that separates two stalls.  But the task was done.  Not enough I'm afraid as I think she needs more than we can give here.  Tomorrow I will call Dr. Jenkins, our local veterinarian whom I have not met yet but I hear good things about him and have seen his clinic which is nice.  Jeeze, she looks bad.  Don't know how she did it but I think she was either running from Terra or running from these idiots doing target practice with guns next door, and banged her head on the top of the barn.  Poor baby :(      Warning, the following picture is a little gory.

This is after we cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide and sprayed an antibiotic  ointment on it.

UPDATE:  Monday Morning Aug. 29, 2011

So, today Bonnie still looks just as pitiful as yesterday.  I called Dr. Jenkins' office who said they could see her at 2:30 today.  I don't have a trailer so I have to rely on someone else to help me get her there.  Isn't there a deadline for sutures for horses like there are for people?  Dr. Jenkins' said he could probably still suture her.  I sure don't have the money for this.  Then I decided to call Kris Anderson, the vet who came out to Bobby and Joellyn's place and did the coggins test on the horses.   She has a mobile service.  She also had me email her a picture of the injury.  She said she'd be out here at 7:30PM.    Hope that goes well.  Waiting for 7:30.

Also, I did find out where she hit her head.  It's a 2x4 that runs down the roof of the barn and is at the entrance to Terra's stall.  She was probably running full force, scared of something knowing her, and hit it head on.  I wouldn't be surprised if it knocked her down or knocked her out completely.  Glad I didn't see that happen,  I would have freaked out!

UPDATE:  Monday evening Aug. 29, 2011

The vet came out as promised at 7:30 last night.  It took about an hour and a half to treat her.  She was heavily sedated.  I thought she was going to fall over but she didn't although her head must weigh 50 pounds by itself as I noticed while trying to hold it up for her.  Poor thing, she really did a good number on it.  In the end, we couldn't stitch it completely as she had a good sized indention in the middle of it that needs to drain so we cleaned it up, removed the hair around it, sutured the edge and pulled the flap down over it leaving the bottom to drain.  She also got several injections, two for sedation (one was not holding her), one antibiotic, one anti-inflammatory/pain med and a tetanus shot.  Then the vet sprayed this silver stuff on top of it to keep the flies off of it and we braided the rest of her mane around it to keep her hair out of it.  She was so drugged she could hardly walk back into her stall but she's all fixed up now.  From here, we follow up with twice a day antibiotics orally and twice a day anti-inflammatory/pain med.  We clean it if we can but I can assure you she's not letting anybody near it, probably for the rest of her life!  This is what it looks like:

Me holding her head which, I found out, is quite heavy!

Notice the stitches on the right side.

Kris Anderson, DVM preparing to give her one of her many injections.  Notice how Bonnie's legs are splayed out.  She's barely standing here.

The final product.  That silver stuff will keep the flies away.

She was able to eat and drink after about an hour and she looked like she had been through hell, which she had.  I felt so, so, sorry for her.  She needed lots of love after all of that.

The bill was $187.00 for the whole thing including the medication she left here for me to give her.  I paid her $100.00 and will pay the rest when I can.  Not too bad really, but money I sure did not have to spend.

One Thing or Another

Well, we got Dena's  blood sugar under control,
and we got Kyle's tooth pulled,
and Meagan's ringworm has healed, (Oh yea, I forgot to tell you about that)
I'm still looking for a job (yikes!),
the kids all back in school again,
and, wouldn't you know it, Kyle dropped an 80 pound 'something' on his foot and broke it!
Something's in the air.