5C's Que Pasa

Some snaps from our park annual July 1st parade.

Fun in the sun!

Maggie’s Free Hugs and Back Rubs

We even had animals.

After I published my post yesterday we were suddenly without warning attacked by Mother Nature.  The storm warnings were gone and we had finally sat down to eat a late dinner about 9PM when the sky darkened.

This was the first sign of the approaching system.

Less than an hour earlier these two were out on the lake. The back end of the boat certainly appeared low to me.

This was our first glimpse that something big was coming.  Taken from inside the house.

Of course we were hearing the thunder and needless to say the girls were going loco. Carmeh finally settled in the bathroom and we turned on some really loud music.

This weather system was responsible for 5000 lightening strikes last evening.

We were lucky. Many had trees fall on their homes and even power poles were blown down.

It was short in duration but extremely powerful.

Colin ended up holding the girls and trying to comfort them.

In the following one minute video you can hear and see the effects of the sounds of the storm.

We were fortunate that we only received the tail end of the system.  We are on an alert for yet another system tonight but at 8:30PM we still seem to be alright.  Colin has been out working all day and won’t be back till very late so I do hope it doesn’t make a late appearance.

I had my veins done again today.  After the initial injections of 3 times on each leg over 3 weeks you get a freebie  ( I pay $50.00 dollars each time and our medical system pays the rest, about $100.00 each time ) 2 months later and that was today.  The doctor thought my legs were really responding very well and was pleased with the progress. She did both sides of both legs today, ouch 😥   The only horrible thing is that I am supposed to wear my thigh high compression stockings for a week.  I almost died today wearing them as I did a few errands on the way home.  94F is not the weather to have your legs all bundled up.  Even inside with the A/C running I am feeling very warm indeed.

Sad to report that the Copper River Salmon are officially gone for the season and we only got 3 feeds.  However Costco does have fresh wild sockeye fillets available although at the same high price that the Copper River was priced at.  They are also very tasty.  I picked up our second one today.  Better get it soon as there is talk from the higher ups that the fishing season may be closed down soon due to the lack of snowfall this past winter and the low levels of the rivers.  This heat and wind and extreme dry conditions are creating many problems in Canada and the USA.  So many forest fires out there.  Will this ever end?

Darn, as I am about to publish this we are being surrounded by heavy cloud and wind.  Please let it pass us quickly.

It’s amazing what you can learn from Dr. Google. Today I solved a problem that has been an issue even since we have used a computer. Hot machines 🙄  At times our computers have run so hot that you could burn your fingers by touching the back.  I remember our laptop would burn my thighs.  I knew something wasn’t right.

Recently Colin has taken to running a household fan behind his 27″ desktop to keep the heat down.  The fan died this morning so I decided to do some research.  I Googled ‘how to cool an iMac computer’ and there went the next four hours.  Considering Colin has called our ‘Computer geek’ in on various occasions at the cost of $100.00/hour, I decided to tackle this one on my own.  So after 4 hours plus I really truly did solve the problem.  It turns out that Apple computers have a minimum factory setting for the built in fan control.  My computer was running at 135F and now is steady at 99F and no more heat emanating from it.  I later installed the same free download into Colin’s computer which is always finger burning hot.  It has also cooled down and is still cooling. A very simple matter of adjusting the fan speeds.  For those of you with Apple computers with the same problem check out this link for the smcFanControl.  I only downloaded the 2.4 version as the newer versions tend to have issues for a while.

Don’t you think Colin owes me $400.00 or at least another case of special vino?

Gosh between figuring out You Tube running on Chrome vs Firefox yesterday ( at least in my computer ), I may be ready to graduate to the next level.

We broke weather record after record here in BC the last few days, here is the scoop on our area.

Global warming…..no way 🙁  It was very very warm in here last night but we did sleep without the A/C.

This morning we had rain showers and it was so nice to have that wonderful fresh rain smell coming in through the windows.  Such a wonderful reprieve from day after day of running the A/C.  Then later today we were issued severe thunderstorm warning, not just a watch.

Yikes….

Of course Carmeh went ballistic at the first clap of thunder.  Trying to run around with her tail between her legs.  Finally got her settled in the bathroom with the door closed 90% and a guitar CD playing at top volume.  She is used to Colin’s playing and often goes to sleep.  It did settle her a bit.  Meanwhile after about two hours the storm dissipated and we returned to blue skies.  We dodged the bullet, it seems the storm swirled around us but never hit us directly.  Thank goodness.

The next few days….

We had been at the vet just before the storm started this afternoon for Carmeh’s second acupuncture treatment.  She was not happy to be there but did tolerate it well.  She still has hot spots along her spine but she won’t let me ice her any longer.  So she remains on Metacam.  However it is now clear that in addition to her back issues she does have another problem.  We don’t know specifically what it is other than it is related to high liver enzymes as well as the ALP that is off the charts which normally refers to Cushing’s Disease which they say she does not have.  So is it a gall bladder issue?  Or??  A guessing game.  The vet suggested an ultrasound as they could find the cause of the problem and give her meds.  I asked if the Metacam might be the cause of the increased liver results.  Yes, possible.  So if we stop the Metacam she may be at risk for a disc rupture but her liver results will improve. But then her ALP is still way high and why?  What to do?  Right now we are going to stay as we are for the next 10 days which means giving the Metacam.  Next acupuncture is for July 8th and then we we discuss it all again.

We actually went out on a date night.  For the first time since Carmeh was hurt May 26th we decided she was well enough to leave alone at home with Caeli of course, for a few hours.  Yes she has pretty much had someone with her the entire last several weeks.

So last Thursday evening we headed out to see Abra Cadabra at the Kelowna Community Theatre.  The show started at 7:30PM and as we didn’t want to leave Carmeh alone too long we had dinner at home first.  The show is a tribute to the music and magic of Abba.  It was a great group and from their bio ( click the link above ) they have performed all over from Canada to the USA to Malaysia for the Royal Family and even in Monterrey, Mexico.

They did share some great stories about Abba throughout the evening.

The rousing opening act….

The first half was a good 45 minutes of music.

About a dozen people dressed for the event. Cute.

I had 3 short videos for you to listen to but for some reason they are not playing.  I can download them onto the post but they will not play.  Ah ha…..it’s Firefox that won’t play them.  So if they don’t work try Chrome or something else.  But basically is it just great Abba music.

The second half was even more lively with different flashy costumes.  The audience really got into the music.  The closing number, Dancing Queen had everyone standing up and dancing in place 😀

But one of the best parts of the night was driving home with the top down on the Z3.  It was a hot sultry evening.  Perfect end to Abra Cadabra.  By the way the girls were just fine when we got back.

Colin did get back down the mountain and home safely last night.  He was pretty wired and tired and needed a glass of vino to relax.  Home after 10:30PM and up early and off @ 7:30AM to the next job this morning.  This time photos for a winery way south in Oliver, B.C.

Meanwhile it was yet another hot day here in the Okanagan. It is a challenge to get the girls walked/strollered before it gets too hot.  I found a new walk with 70% shade this morning but did not have my camera.  Next time.

We did get the blood results back for Carmeh and they do not show Cushing’s Disease. That is neither good nor bad.  A thought was put out that perhaps it was a false reading and we should do the test yet again.  In a word no. We will not be subjecting her to any further tests.  We have to meet with the vet on Monday to discuss irregular liver test results and more acupuncture.

She has had an up and down week but seemed stronger yesterday.  So today I did not give her any Tramadol ( pain meds ).  She got thru the day alright but did seem to tire more easily.

Carmeh loves to look outside but we can no longer allow her to jump up to the front window to look out at the street. It occurred to me the other day to open a bedroom window where while on the bed she can look down the road.  You can’t see it from here but from her eye level she can see down the street.  Makes me feel good anyway.

We had a very cute moment earlier this afternoon when I took them out to do their business on the lawn. They both immediately started sniffing and tracking.  Carmeh’s hackles came up on her back.  They were very active, going here and there, serious stuff.  I thought to myself that a critter of some sort must have come thru in the last little while.  I have never seen them so agitated.  Not a minute later a squirrel came running through the yard.  Carmeh saw it and gave chase.  Good thing our yard is small, it wore her out but she was one happy dog.

The sun sets to the extreme right of the photo and this was just reflections but it does make for a nice sunset.