Monthly Archives: May 2007

Kablooey

Family Life

PeterLife and it’s little intracacies. Just as work started to slow down to “Barely Manageable”, I strolled in from walking Photon to find my computer—which should have been asleep—running all of its fans at the volume of a vacuum cleaner. The hard drive had failed.

From there, it has devolved into a series of episodes much like Fortunately, a book I loved as a kid: Fortunately, the computer is fine, unfortunately there is a mechanical flaw and physical damage to the hard drive. Fortunately I do backup, and had backed up important work files relatively recently; unfortunately I have been not as rigourous at saving my email and iPhoto library with all the family snaps in it. Fortunately there is a reasonably priced data recovery service in our neighbourhood; unfortunately reasonable price means something different in the data recovery world.

You get the idea. I’ll learn the extent of the loss in the next day. C’est la vie. But let me be a lesson to you. Oh, I had excuses too, I had a big pile of DVDs out to back everything up. I put it off one day too long. Don’t be me. (Brought to you by the National I-Told-You-So Council.)

If I had three wishes……..

Jon, Thoughts & Musings

Jon May 23/07

My first wish I would like to have another Math CD. I like to work on money problums and puzzles. My second wish would be to visit my grandparents more offtin. I like to spend more time wit them because I love them. My third wish would be to paint my room purple. I would also like to add more bookshelves in my room.

Jon

The cottage

Jon

Jon I’m going to the cottage this evening And I’m going to sleep in bed at the cottage.
I like to play Wii at the cottage. I like to watch channel 398. I like to go to the cottage in the car. I listen to the iPod on the way. We’re taking Photon with us on the trip. I like going to the cottage. Tonight I’m going to watch a Looney Toones DVD.

Jonathan

My doctors appointment

Jon

Jon (I prefer Jon’s spelling of hospital. “ooney” refers to his surgeon’s first name, Unni.—L)

I saw doctor ooney. I like to take the wedge off. I like to have the new zimmers on. I like to go to the Hospittle in the car. When I get to the Hospittle I get out of the car and I get in the Hospittle. First I get on the elevator. I like to go to a room in the Hospittle. Tonight I’m going to watch Between the Lions two. Tomorrow I’m going to the cottage.

Jonathan

Thunder Girl

Family Life, Photon

Photon looking at rain

PeterWe have a ballsy little pup. During the recent big thunderstorm, the one that did this, Photon sat at the back screen door, relaxed, watching the rain pour and the lightning flash and looking up during massive thunderclaps to try and figure out where the speakers were mounted.

Photon looking outside and up

Wedge-free

Family Life, Jon

PeterWell, today was the long, long awaited check-up day for Jon. Not unexpectedly, the x-rays look good, and Dr. Narayanan is very happy with how everything looks.

So Jon no longer has to wear the wedge during the day. But since we’ve done this before, we’ve been girding our loins for what were knew was coming—the announcement that he had weeks more of wearing it at night. Weeks more of heavily interrupted sleep for all.

Dr. Narayanan gave us the usual recommendation that he wear it as long as he can tolerate it, but then when he heard of the multiple wake-ups at night, he shook his head.

“We do these things to improve the quality of life. This kind of sleep deprivation is not improving quality of life for any of you.” We were able to counter-offer some wedge time during the day, for instance at video game or computer time, when Jon isn’t likely to notice much at all. So he’s wedge-free, tonight and all nights to come!

There is a lightness to the household that we haven’t felt in a while.

Now, at 10:55 in the evening, I can report that Jon is still awake, rolling around on his own in bed and cackling away, two hours after tuck-in. He’s still in his leg-length knee immoblizers, but they are nothing compared to the wedge, and he’s so happy—even full of a cold—that he just can’t sleep.

BEFORE
xray before

SURGERY
xray postop

TODAY
xray today
Our bionic boy.

Sisters

Family Life, Jon, Photon

PeterJon has a bad head cold, and Laura was working at a client’s, so Photon got only one walk (run) today. She was at loose ends for the first part of the morning, desperate for exercise, but when she realized it wasn’t coming, she settled down and slept for much of the day. What a mature puppy!

When we got out, I was determined to give her a good run, so we headed to Riverdale West, where a number of dogs and owners were encamped near the top of the fairly-steep hill, and the dogs played on the slope itself. Photon was immediately challenged and chased by a larger Sheltie. Photon took off in sharp serpentine patterns up and down the hill with the Sheltie in hot pursuit, finally ditching her in a tight, 5-gee turn that left the Sheltie tumbling down the hill.

But the day wasn’t done: look who came to the party:

Our dog Photon and her sister Cobalt
Photon and Cobalt. Picture courtesy of James Redekop.

We met Cobalt again! Both sisters were tired; Cobalt had spent the day at doggy daycare and Photon had been in the park about an hour. But off they went, first chasing toys, then wrestling with each other ferociously. And within ten minutes of wrestling, there was blood again—Photon’s other baby canine came out during the fight! Her sister knocked out both her top canine teeth!

Enjoy the excellent pictures on James’ blog; next time I’ll bring my camera!