FEB 17 2016

CAKE DAY IS COMING-- ARE YOU ALL PREPARED???  IF  YOU NEED A POSTER  EMAIL ME AND I CAN ATTACH THE FILE TO YOU TO PRINT...  HOW MANY STATES CAN WE COVER???? ************ since many brilliant  inventions were pure accident.... i felt it necessary to mention that i could "hear" sound quite well when my head was underwater in the tub.. now before you all make fun of hearing aids designed like bath tubs....i had in mind... i wondered if a deaf child might be able to "hear"  that sound... therefore adding a dimension to the education process.    ***** i knew someone would have some related info... Hi  Funny how you mentioned this today at mail call to Grace and it's on the weather network as the quiz of the day ! How much faster does sound travel through water than through air?  1.5 times faster  2 times faster  3 times faster Sound travels through water 3 times faster than through air. Well we can't have you living under water at Crazy Acres  Love watching you at mail call have a great week. Edgey **** on second thought  -- better stick with the idea that sign language should be the second language taught to all kids- it would put all kids in the same boat-- spanish, english, or whatever...  2 years of latin sure did nothing for me. ******** don't you love the american political scene?   i hear the fbi is now going around checking to see whos pillow is missing. ****** finally--- i have the pieces together for  running a chicken shatting at  dawn's school fundraiser-- concept being..... at a silent auction type table....set up a poster telling about  how  the chickens  in the video will be picking a new member of the shatupon society- in the meantime -- to attract attention---   watch the cute puppy pictures-  put the paper numbers in a fishbowl and charge $1 per number-- the winner would get the usual certificate-- and if the school wants to add it, a box of chocolates ( or some such)-- the video runs for 25 minutes at which time the poo is measured and the winner announced. with very little effort we could  put these together for any  school/church or anyone who  can run the video off a flashdrive .. i put together a second one for laura' school     -- she wanted to try a $5 number... along with a box of chocolates, the school would have to add a pad of paper for people to write down their number and name-- the person running the thing will know the winning number so at the start they would try and rig the fishbowl so the winning number. did actually get picked... pull out the number  and hand it to someone as a quick pik   or something.... **************** Hard to imagine that khaki will be 3 next week.  Time fly's! Since my situation has advanced. One thing that remains steady, strong and never waivers is khaki. I want to thank you and your team for  relentless dedication. Getting up every day even when you don't feel like it. Opening your hearts and home to strangers you don't even know to see if you can help with their needs. It takes a strong individual to do what you do. But with your team and all of the cp followers dreams have been and continue to be fulfilled. When you look at khaki be proud..BE VERY PROUD! He is a service dog. Every day he represent your organization and the team that trained him to be the best he can be. Thank you Carlene for the best gift ever. A gift that keeps giving unselfishly. Love you ALL.  Marsha/ khaki. ******* Happy post-Valentines Day! I wanted to write you with the happy news of Ethel's struggle with thrombocytopenia and I wanted to wait until I had the full progress report in hand to update you.  Ethel is off steroids (hopefully for good) and she's in great health with a high platelet count and lots of energy. I've been informed and done research on thrombocytopenia and I wanted to share what I've learned.  Thrombocytopenia is just Latin for "low blood count" and it's the resulting consequence of a separate disorder. That "trigger" is what her vet here (a Captain Magee, very competent vet despite his funny name) and I have been researching. It's pretty well accepted by her Ipswich medical team and her Army medical team that this bout began with a tick bite, which launched her immune system into an aggressive response. Ethel couldn't turn off her immune response and began destroying her own platelets. The steroids served to moderate her immune system and lower the response to a level that allowed her platelet count to increase. With the transition to a new state and exposure to new infectious agents (neighborhood dogs, new types of southern flora, local insects), her count did not increase at a linear rate but slowly progressed.  During this process we also discovered that she is allergic to chicken protein and upon exposure loses hair on her front paws and nose. Once I switched her to Purina Salmon, her hair grew back and her platelet count also had consistent growth for the first time.  As warned by her Ipswich medical team and confirmed here, Ethel cannot receive vaccines besides rabies. Any exposure that causes an immune reaction isn't advisable since it could cause her to react similarly again.  What we don't know is if she'll have an excessive immune response with the next infection/bite and if this is a lifelong complication. I've read articles that favor the idea that it is a lifelong condition and I'm favoring that school of thought. Better to err of the side of caution.  I have a supply of steroids at home and drastic changes in mood, energy or skin discoloration will take us to a vet and get her checked. Blood pooling or evidence of bruising is a major indicator and if she ever has spotting on her gums or on her belly, that's an emergency.  But that never was the case and since it snowed here in Missouri over the weekend, Ethel's been frolicking with her Husky friend Max with a big smile (it's very obvious that she's a Northeastern girl). With the decrease in steroids came a decrease in swelling, leading her back down to her normal 118lbs and she has a tight tummy once more. She's a galloping, happy dog and it's evident that she just feels better.  Thank you for this gift that is my 118lb of happy girl. She's a healthy pup and we'll keep her that way.  Thank you,  julie