Friday, June 2, 2023

Starting June

A Doily my Mother Crocheted

On the first day of June, I made milkrice and seeni sambol, picked three pink roses from the garden, lit a candle and a stick of incense, made an offering of the food, flowers, light, and perfumed smoke at the altar and said blessings for good health for us all.  And although it was another overcast and relatively cool day, I opened the doors and windows to air out the house.  I also turned over the page of the wall calendar in the hallway to June.  So far, there are no appointments on the calendar for this month, but, I wrote myself notes to set up three appointments, for myself, for Dancer, and for the car!

Then, after a brunch of milkrice and seeni sambol (veered off the meal plan a little bit as I chose not to have mackerel curry with my milkrice), I did a little bit of housekeeping.  I was inspired by the fact that the dining table has remained cleared for almost three weeks, which is perhaps the longest it has been kept clear!



The Dining Table on June 1


So, today, I cleared the coffee table in the family room (I had my basket of scrap fabric, self-healing cutting mat, and the ruler on the coffee table, as I was cutting out some pieces of fabric for the quilt I'm currently repairing), washed the glass top, put one of the doilies that my mother had crocheted, and placed a decorative bowl on top (sorry, the picture is not focused properly):


Family Room Coffee Table

Dancer likes to sleep on this coffee table and he approved of the fact that I had cleared the sewing stuff off the table!

A Clearer Photo of the Doily and Bowl

Now, hopefully, I can keep this table surface clear, too!  The rule is: I can place things on it, temporarily, but, I need to put those things away and clear it at the end of the day.

In the afternoon, I received a call from the pharmacy that the vet had called in Dancer's medication.  It is a compounding pharmacy and they were calling to give me the price of the medication ($68.00 for a month's supply) and to verify I still wanted them to go ahead and fill the prescription.  I said yes and I was told that the medication will be ready in one hour if I wanted to come and pick it up.  So, at the end of the hour, I drove over and collected the medication.  It is a small pharmacy and I was very pleased to see that they were still observing all the Covid protocols, including masking and social distancing!  They also do complimentary deliveries, too, but, I'm glad I went in person, today, because the pharmacy staff explained in great details how I am to administer the medication.  It is a dermal gel for hyperthyroidism, to be applied to his inner ear, twice a day, and it comes in pre-filled syringes.  I was provided with written instructions about the medication and how to administer it, too, but, sometimes, verbal instructions are helpful, too.  I am going to wait until tomorrow to start him on it because side effects include vomiting, loss of appetite, lethargy, fever, etc., and I want to be able to reach the vet's clinic if the side effects are severe.  Hopefully, there won't be any side effects!  

I continued to tidy the family room after I came home and I washed a couple of hand knitted wool garments by hand and lay them out flat to dry.  

In the evening, I watched news and the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals, chatted a bit with friend R, and video chatted with my daughter.

Dinner was the last of the bag of frozen gyoza (pot stickers) and a freshly picked peach.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Dancer's medication was available and the prescription was filled
- A safe drive to the pharmacy and back
- Friendly, helpful pharmacy staff
- Fresh peaches
- Rites and rituals that keep me centered

Today's joyful activity was driving to the pharmacy and back - I really enjoyed driving there and back!  Maybe because it was a new to me place.  

By the way, Sharon at My NEW Uneventful Life is starting a decluttering challenge with the goal of decluttering 50 items in June.  I had told her I will join her (especially after acquiring several items in May!)  Is anyone else wanting to declutter in June?

Plans for tomorrow include tending to the garden with M and maybe baking a batch of blueberry muffins.  

How was your first day of June?  What are your plans for Friday?

12 comments:

  1. I hope giving Dancer his medication goes well for you and I'm pleased to know you have a diagnosis and it can be treated and hopefully he will have no side effects from the medication.
    That's a beautiful doily your mother crocheted such intricate work.
    I do need to declutter but won't commit to a challenge as I'm quite sure I would not succeed :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Eileen; this morning's dose went smoothly and I am hopeful that it will continue to be that way!
      My mother loved to crochet and made many table cloths as well as doilies. There was a time when we (my mother, my step-father, and I) were living in three different countries; at the time, my mother lived in a rented room in Hong Kong and she would crochet in the evenings, after work, to ease the loneliness she must have felt.
      Decluttering is hard for me and joining challenges seem to spur me on to declutter. The actual number of items is a goal to aim for. :)

      Delete
  2. We have done the inner ear meds for three different cats. And while they don't like it sometimes, it's the easiest way we've found to give our cats meds. If Dancer protests, we found the best way to do it is when they are sleeping/relaxed or when they're eating. Lucky had hypothyroidism and the medicine helped him a lot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, June. I applied the first dose, this morning, when Dancer was relaxed and just getting ready to settle down for a nap. This is a gel that you apply to the inside of the top of his ear and while he looked as if he was wondering what I was doing, he didn't protest. :) Hopefully, that continues!

      Delete
  3. The doily your mother made is gorgeous! I'm so glad to see that the vet prescribed meds for Dancer, and I hope he's feeling better soon. I got my cat with hyperthyroidism ear cream from a compounding pharmacy as well. I asked the pharmacist if this was strange to them, he said not at all, they do a lot of pet meds. I got up early and watered the garden, and now I'm spending the day inside relaxing with the aircon on. It's been very hot (90+) and dry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Celie. Yes, my mother crocheted some lovely items. I told my daughter that, while she was free to get rid of everything I've collected or made, once I'm gone, I hope she'll keep some of her grandmother's and great-grandmother's crocheted items. She assured me that she will not toss them! :)
      Yes, Dancer had his first dose this morning and he didn't fuss at all. Hopefully, he'll feel better, soon.
      Oh, please, send me some of that warm weather! Our high today is supposed to be 70F!

      Delete
  4. That is a gorgeous doily and it reminds me that somewhere I have an unfinished doily because I ran out of the white cotton and never got around to looking for some in another town as I couldn't find it here.
    Your 1st of June ritual is beautiful. I did remember that you would be making milk rice. I hope Dancer is okay with the medication.
    It isn't as hot today, so far, and I have windows open, but it is rather muggy and overcast. I had such a good night's sleep on Wednesday night and last night I woke at 4 am and stayed awake for a while. I did hear a whippoorwill yesterday evening, which was exciting as we don't hear them every year. Fortunately it didn't go on too long!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Bushlady; my mother learned to crochet when she was in her 50s and preferred it to knitting. Oh, all those unfinished projects that are waiting for us to finish them! Maybe you can order the white cotton and finish it. One time, when my mother ran out of the cream colored thread she was using to crochet a table cloth and we couldn't find more (I think she bought it on clearance), I suggested that she used a completely different color to finish the table cloth and she did! We chose a dusty rose and she used that to make a border.

      Thank you; the rituals of offering flowers, incense, light, etc. are all what one would do at any puja (service) at the Temple.

      I've given Dancer the first dose and so far, he seems fine with it. :)

      Glad it's not quite as hot for you, today. We have some sunshine, this afternoon, and the high is supposed to be 70F. It's warmer outside than inside, and I've opened a couple of windows to bring the warmth in!

      Delete
  5. The doily is very pretty and it looks lovely on your coffee table. I can't actually see mine at the moment - Lily has some tidying to do!
    I hope Dancer manages to avoid suffering any side effects from his medication and that you will soon see an improvement in him. Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Jules. It's hard to keep horizontal surfaces clear all the time, isn't it, as we need to use them for projects and such. I'm sure Lily will tidy up once she's done using the coffee table. :)
      Dancer seems to be doing OK after the first dose; he's sleeping it off! :D

      Delete
  6. Reading through your replies, I see that Dancer wasn't too bothered by his first dose of medicine. I hope that has remained the case and it is helping the little guy.
    I'm glad you were able to get a good sense of what to do by visiting the pharmacy.
    What a lovely doily from your Mom. It looks very nice on the table with the bowl. I hope you are able to enjoy it and stick to your plan of keeping the table clear. (It's hard!!) I think it's interesting how doing so with the dining room table has spurred you on to doing the same in another room. It shows how you must be enjoying a cleared dining room table - with the beautiful cloth I would be too :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dancer has been sneezing a bit (he started on the evening before I started him on the meds, so it can't be a side effect) and hiding from me! But, once I find him, he tolerates having the gel applied to his ear.
      Yes, I'm glad I went to the pharmacy and I loved how mindful they still are of Covid precautions, starting with the box of masks and hand sanitizer dispenser as you enter to keeping their shields in place.
      I thought you'd like to see the close up of the doily my mother made. It has since been taken off the table, though, because I gave away the bowl and Dancer thought that he'd make a good centerpiece! The table is still clear. :)

      Delete

Thank you for visiting my blog and commenting. Your comments are much appreciated. Please comment in English. No Anonymous comments, please. Thank you.