Chez PLJ

Photon just came back safe and sound from an overnight stay at the vet’s for her spay, with a dainty little scar and a huge shaved patch on her belly. (Sister Cobalt’s spay is today.) Now we can breathe a sigh of relief; she was suddenly getting humped by a few more dogs than we were entirely comfortable with. (I realize humping is usually more a dominance thing than a breeding thing, especially now that she’s not a little puppy any more, but we were getting a little nervous that her hormones were starting to kick in. Especially since early heat isn’t unheard of, hey Teagan?)

Surprisingly, she came back not a cone-head. She doesn’t seem to be licking the wound too much, so hopefully we won’t need one. However, we have to keep her on a short leash for five days. No runs in the park with the other doggies. No vigorous exercise (and what other kind is there for a dog?) A tired puppy’s a happy puppy, remember? She’s going to be a wound-up terror around the house for the next few days.

Along with Photon’s regular obedience commands we’re now and then trying to teach her tricks. Currently we’re training her to Roll Over, and it’s coming—slowly, but she’s getting the idea. Maybe someday she’ll be like this dog, though!

Well, actually, it’s not blue any more, but it was up until yesterday! I finally had my tooth implant put in yesterday after countless oral surgeon/dentist appointments (well, five) and countless x-rays (well, again five) since January. Peter insisted I use this title to pique the interest of all our geeky friends. (I was going to go with the title “One tooth, Two tooth, White tooth, Blue tooth”, but it doesn’t quite work grammatically or chronologically, and anyway I digress…)

For those wondering what’s involved in a tooth implant, here’s a précis of what I went through (the squeamish can skip the rest of this post):

Mid-December: Dying baby tooth pulled.

Early January: At oral surgeon’s get panoramic x-ray taken to check out bone density. Local anesthetic given (nitrous oxide or general anesthesia available at added cost), then hole is drilled into jawbone by two progressively larger drill bits. There was absolutely no pain; the only sensation I had was a vibration as if someone was holding a drill in their hand and the back of their hand was against my head somewhere. The oral surgeon warned me that I might feel “pressure”, but I literally felt nothing in my mouth. Implant (which looks like a bolt with no head) screwed into jaw. Temporary metallic blue cap screwed onto implant and two stitches put in gums. There was so little pain (getting my tooth pulled was far, far worse) during or afterward it was almost disappointing! I was put on antibiotics and an antibiotic mouthwash which was so horrid (I lost my sense of taste) I quit using it after a few days.

A week later: Check up at oral surgeon to see if there were any problems. Nope.

Late April: Three-month check up. Oral surgeon gives cap a tap to see if implant “took”. Apparently they can usually tell how well an implant worked by the sound the tapping makes (high and bright-sounding: good; dull and mushy-sounding: bad). X-ray taken to check on bone healing. Thumbs up on all counts; next stop is my regular dentist.

Mid-May: Fitting for crown. Temporary cap is screwed off; abutment (post for crown) is screwed on. X-rays taken to make sure abutment is screwed down all the way to the implant; dentist had to do this twice because the first time wasn’t quite right. Moulds taken of both top and bottom teeth to get sent off to the denturist to get a crown made. Abutment taken off (also goes to the denturist); cap back on.

End of May: Cap off, abutment on. Another x-ray to check that seating is good. Crown put on post. Bite alignment adjusted and crown filed down as needed. Tiny bits of surrounding teeth filed a bit because they had shifted even since two weeks ago, underlining importance of getting a missing tooth replaced. Crown glued into place. Ta dahh! Because the bone is not maximally strong yet, I’m told not to chew anything hard on that side for another month. I guess that nut brittle just has to wait!

All tigers like water, but this one really likes that water. Look at that face (and scroll for more photos)!

Actually, they’re having a blast. That’s Cobalt doing the chainsaw impression: no surprise that her owners have recently seen Evil Dead: The Musical…

UPDATE: James’ gorgeous photos are up!

So three or four weeks ago, Grandpa Cook dropped by with an early (as in 5 months early) birthday gift for Jon: a Nintendo Wii.

(For those who don’t know, this new video game console (it’s pronounced “Wee”) has wireless remotes that require you to make motions similar to what’s going on onscreen. It comes with five sports (tennis, bowling, baseball, golf and boxing), and Grandpa had bought another disc that had more games (air hockey, pool, ping pong, targets, etc.) and came with a second controller. The second controller allows two people to play together.)

I’d been wondering about a Wii for Jon since it was released; I wasn’t sure a) whether he would take to it, and b) whether it would take to him. The answer to a) is “fish in water” and b) is “they’ll figure it out between themselves”.

Not all of Jon’s movements are the same as other people, but he figures out what works for him, as do we all (his bowling technique is odd, but see the photo below). And not everything is an equal challenge: in tennis he plays more by sound, since the ball is so tiny and quick. His favourites are bowling and boxing, but what Jon really likes are the training sessions for the sports: bowling Power Throws and Picking Up Spares, and golf (!) Target Practice. And he makes the family do their Wii Fitness Test (three random training sessions) every day.

The other addictive thing is that you’re represented by a cartoon version of yourself that you create. This “Mii” is what is taking part in the events, and it truly makes you feel like you’re part of the action. The other fun thing is that if family and friends have created Mii’s, but aren’t there or participating, they still may appear in the crowd, or on your ball team. It makes everything more personal.

He beat his own father in bowling!

We brought this thing up to the cottage last weekend, and pretty much the whole family got some measure of the addiction. It was a great social time for Jon, who played and watched delightedly, including Auntie Patti and Uncle David’s 9-hole round of golf!

David lines one up during the epic round of golf, whle the crowd looks on.

Patti nails the green again!

Grandpa has given Jon two early birthday presents in his time, and both have been out-of-the-park home runs. Thank you, Grandpa!

I went to gym class today. I like to play a game. I love to end up with the YMCA dance. I like to go back to class to have my snack. Timaira passes out the pylons and we play a race game. The other team won. This afternoon we have choir. Tonight I’m going to watch Between the Lions one.