Birds Birds Birds!

A couple blog posts ago, I mentioned my pair of cardinals.

I went out and bought a bird feeder for them and we put it up on Thursday. We are going to try moving the hummingbird feeder to the front, since that's where the flowers are. Anyways, at first I was very worried they wouldn't like it. The feeder has a relatively small perch that isn't very big for them to sit on and actually be able to eat. They seemed to confirm my suspicions when cautiously flying around the feeder, acting as though they wanted to land but just weren't quite sure the best way to do it.

I decided I was going to give it a week. If they didn't come back much, then I'd find a feeder with a larger perch.

Well, the cardinals seem to have figured it out. They will grab a seed or two, then move away from the feeder to eat them as seen here in my photo. This is the beautiful, orange-red cardinal that has been visiting for quite some time now (but the picture's color really doesn't do him justice.)

But, now I have even more birds coming by! So far I have seen:

• cardinals
• song sparrows
• mourning doves
• a downy woodpecker
• blue jays
• robins
• house finches
• a white-crowned sparrow

Oh, and a squirrel. Of course. Those conniving things always figure out a way. He positioned himself on that corner post in the picture and stretched the gap to the feeder; hind legs on the post, front paws grabbing the food.

This morning I saw about three male cardinals duking it out for territory, so now my pair has some intruders to deal with. I also have a pair of house finches (they look like this) that I saw feeding seeds to each other last hour. They are adorable and small enough that this bird feeder fits them perfectly.

Needless to say, I'm keeping the feeder. The cardinals are happy, many more birds are happy, and I'm happy.

Fourth of July Musings

1. The day was off to a good start this morning with mass at Lourdes. Cardinal Dolan came home and since he was here, he said mass with us. It was nice, and there was quite the turnout. But my short night of sleep sure made for a lazy rest of the day. Oh well. That's what a holiday is for sometimes, right?
2. Sign of the times: I looked up and down our road today and only saw ONE house with an American flag out front. Now, I must admit, we are at fault in this too. And I don't know how many times Jarrod and I have both commented "We need to get a flag" but we still haven't bought one. When I do, I really want it to be made in the USA because, well, you know. Non-surprisingly, not all of them are made here. But anyways, isn't that sad? 50+ years ago, every single porch would have been flying a flag, or multiple! There is an old newspaper photo from 1950 I found at work one time showing all of the flags outside the businesses on Main Street for George Washington's birthday! Let alone, Independence Day. When was the last time anyone gave much emphasis to Washington's birthday?
3. I'm happy to report I'm over my fear of fireworks. I should be, right? I mean, I'm well into my 20s now. But alas, in my younger days, fireworks scared the ba-jesuses out of me. I hated the loud booms that came with them. 
4. The fireworks show was really good! It would have been even better if no one around us was smoking, but I guess clean air is too much to ask for... At least I didn't smell it the entire time, just in little spurts.
5. The only part that totally sucks about seeing the fireworks is the "everyone trying to leave at the same time" part. And jeez, why are people so selfish these days? We were stuck in a lot for about 20 minutes before our line of cars even moved. Then TEN cars passed behind me before someone finally let me back out of my spot and join the line. I'm sorry, but what ever happened to the 'every other one' rule? You let someone in, they go, you go, next person goes, on and on. It's hard not to get aggravated about it, but I was able to stay patient. Because once I was finally in line, then three other people wanted to get in front of me. I was going to let two of them in, but I didn't mind because I'm sure they were just as frustrated as I was that no one was letting anyone back out. Ugh... people!
6. I am so darn tired. It is getting close to midnight, and I have to get up at 6 a.m. for work tomorrow. Sigh... luckily my treatment is almost over. Goodnight folks and happy Independence Day!

Birds and Breathing Tests

I woke up this morning to something great: my two cardinals were sitting on the deck together, and I'd like to think they were watching the sunrise together. These two cardinals, I like to call them husband and wife, have been around for well over a month now. The male is a beautiful bright red, almost with a hint of orange, and the girl is a beautiful tan with just the tinge of red on her head. But they were both sitting on the deck railing about a foot apart from each other. I moved slowly to my phone to try and get a picture, but I was detected and they flew off. Shucks.

It was then I also decided that I will get a small bird feeder for them. I finally put my hummingbird feeder up about a month ago, but I have only seen one hummingbird stop by, and the level of nectar is not going down. I either was too late in getting it up, or we really don't have that many hummingbirds around here. That makes me a little sad, but I know I have two delightful cardinals, who stop by daily to take a drink or splash a bath in some water that collects on the lid of Jarrod's tub. So I think I will offer them some birdseed and they will like it and continue to come back!

I had my follow up appointment yesterday, which went well. My PFTs were 34%, which is pretty good for me considering where I've been hovering recently. So we could stop meds.

I got to take a shower last night and if it's not too weird, I'd like to tell you how awesome it was haha. Last week on Wednesday, when the nurse reaccessed my port, I got to take a shower at the hospital. It was 'fine', with warm water, a funky shower head that sprayed in all directions, and a very small amount of water pressure, but still a shower, for which I was thankful. But when I finish IVs, I like to give my skin "The Works", you could say, like a super duper car wash (it's funny how so much of what I do with my tune-ups can be likened back to cars.) I wash with soap twice, I condition my hair, I even went out and bought some body scrub. It was wonderful: I had brazil nut body scrub, and a walnut apricot scrub for my face. I am sparkly clean today with smoother skin than I've had in a long while. Yay!

Bring it on Tuesday!

The Transplant Issue

You may have heard about the 10-year-old girl with CF in Pennsylvania and the controversy surrounding her much-needed lung transplant. If you heard about this, feel free to skip to paragraph #3. If not, continue reading...

In a nutshell, this girl was in dire need of a new set of lungs. She was on the pediatric transplant list, which is normal. There are separate adult and pediatric lists for lung transplants. All children are also placed at the bottom of the adult list in the rare case that an organ would not match an adult first. There are simple reasons for this that have been scrutinized and evaluated, the main one being that most adult donors' organs are simply too big for children. Furthermore, the complications of a transplant are much more harsh for a child than for an adult, so success rates are lower. Where the controversy starts is her parents were able to persuade a judge that she was is such a need for new lungs that the judge overruled the list and include her on the adult list (at the top I believe) for a period of 14 days. After that time, they would reevaluate and most likely bump her back up again. This is monumental because never in the history of the transplant list has anyone essentially "jumped ahead in line."

I don't want to say too too much about the parents, because I don't know what they're going through. However, I feel I can comment on this a little more than the average person. I've read about many fellow CFers (that I've never met) to know a little about the transplant process, and the huge disappointments, decisions, and complications it can bring. This is not small matter. But, the more I read about this instance the more I wonder if the parents are just grabbing at media attention. They aren't raising awareness for CF, that's for sure. I've never heard of the mother ever mentioning anything about raising money to find a cure so others don't have to go through what her daughter went through.

Like many ethicists who question this bold move, I too do not feel this is right. I do not like the idea of a transplant list being decided in a court, by lawyers, judges, or politicians who know nothing about medicine. As some have pointed out, what's to keep more transplant patients from essentially suing because they are not happy with their placement on the list? And how do you decide if a child who is 10, has a 20% chance of success should get a pair of lungs, versus a 40-year-old that has an 80% chance of success? Again, these things should be left to the rules that have been put in place for that very reason, not the courts.

The story continues... lo and behold the girl did receive a pair of lungs during that time period. It was revealed Friday that she actually underwent two lung transplants (some sort of issue with one of the sets.) To me, this sounds fishy since most people wait years to receive just one match for organs, let alone two in a period of 3 days? The adult set of lungs had to be reshaped and cut up in order to fit her smaller body. The parents are obviously thrilled at the chance for her life to continue on more than it would have, had this not happened.

But what the media isn't talking about, or maybe doesn't want to touch, is the fact that by doing this, these people in turn put someone else in second place. I understand wanting to do anything and everything for your child, but it takes a certain kind of person to knowingly sentence someone else to a most-likely death by taking their potentially life-saving organs away from them. There is most likely someone else who would have been in line for these organs, or even two people now that two sets of lungs were used on her, but because of their decision to jump in line, Adult#1 and Adult#2 were robbed of their chance. And who knows, maybe their situation was just as grave as the 10-year-old's, maybe it wasn't.

That's why I think this entire case has opened up one big mess of problems. The transplant list is already complicated enough as it is; how to determine who is more worthy, more in need for something that is in short supply. And it's enough of a lottery already without adding this to the mix: will the organ even work for a person due to size, weight, height, blood type? There are set formulas and rules for this, which I won't pretend to know or understand, but I take comfort in knowing they exist. They give everyone the same chance whether you're fat, skinny, rich, or poor.

Or... they did.

It will be interesting to see how this affects the future of transplants. I hope it's an isolated case, but the floodgates have been opened. It's terrifying to think where this might lead.

Honey Mustard

I made a small discovery tonight that made me so happy: an easy way to make honey mustard. I wanted to put some on some sandwiches I was toasting, so I gave it a shot. It turned out awesome, and it's good to know I can throw together some honey mustard sauce with stuff I already have, versus wasting money on a bottle of French's.

So, to make some awesome honey mustard, just have equal parts honey, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce (wow, I just spelled Worcestershire off the top of my head correctly!) I promise it tastes good!

Neighbor Kid

Most of our neighbors keep to themselves, and I've only met 3 houses. They've all been really nice, and I'd say in general that we probably have a decent bunch of people on our street. Another on the corner waves all the time, but I've never actually gotten to say hi.

But there is a house across the street that kind of baffles Jarrod and I. Ever since we moved, we've always seen this boy outside playing soccer. He's usually by himself, occasionally his friend comes over. Come rain or 10" of snow (remember when we got that? Yep, he was out there in shorts and a tshirt playing soccer) it doesn't deter him. It wasn't until about April that I even knew he had a sister, because I saw a friend drop her off from school one time. She must spend all her time inside, you never would have known she lived there. Kids these days...

While I applaud this mystery boy for spending time outside kicking a soccer ball around instead of playing video games all day long, it's actually super annoying listening to it. And here's the part that baffles us...

He kicks the ball against their house, and not gently either. These are like I'm-trying-to-score-a-goal kinds of kicks. Their gutters are clearly damaged, I'm sure there are dents in the garage door, their bent  garage lights have all but fallen off, well actually one of them is missing.  Sometimes he kicks his ball against his dad's work van too.

Apparently the parents don't care. For one thing, I've noticed they're rarely home. But still, it just blows our minds that they would allow him to do this over and over. But then again, they don't care much about the rest of the outside of their house, they're also 'those neighbors' who let their grass get 1-2 feet tall before cutting it.

This past week

Since Tuesday of last week, June 18th, I have been in the hospital for usual, routine CF stuff. What a way to spend our 2nd wedding anniversary, I know, but such is our life. But what started out as a routine stay turned into a not-so-routine stay. WARNING: I will be blunt and at times graphic about what happened, so if you don't want to know, stop reading.

Usually I go in to treat my lungs, so we got started with all of that like normal on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the doctor ordered an ultrasound of my liver because my bloodwork came back showing my liver enzymes were elevated. Liver failure and complications is a concern in CF, so he wanted to see what was going on.

Life and Death at the Hands of a Storm

The devastation in OKCity is just unreal. And the loss of lives is just so, so saddening. I probably said similar things back when the Joplin tornado happened, but I just can't imagine one day going to work, then coming home and my entire life's hard work, possessions, and mementos are vanished. Obviously, life is the most precious thing there is, but I think we'd all be lying if we said we wouldn't miss our homes and, on a deeper level, all of the emotions and memories they contain. Many prayers to everyone there as they try to find strength to continue on.

Now that I'm a pet owner, too, I can empathize with those who are searching for their lost pets. Once I know all of my family is safe, who am I going to look for next? Well, I'll hope to find my pet. There was a heartwarming TV interview I saw where an old, single lady who had lost everything was speaking to the reporter that she clutched her dog as the tornado tore at their home, but lost the dog out of her arms. As the interview went on, the reporter spotted the woman's dog underneath the rubble of her home. The dog was spooked and wounded, to say the least, but at least she has her companion with her. Like I said, I can relate to that now.

On a much smaller scale, but much closer to my house (because it's right in front of it), the storm had another impact.

I really like birds... maybe just slightly less than turtles. I like having a bird feeder and seeing the birds nearby, but most of all I have most loved the times at mom and dad's where birds made nests in their holly bush. Most times these were cardinals. The anticipation, checking on the birds, the way the father bird continually brings food back to the nest after they've hatched, and then checking on the birds to see how big they are and trying to guess when they might fly off, hoping I can be outside when they do. Sometimes I've caught them leaving their nest and it's the cutest, sweetest darn thing.

The robin nest in our rose bush.

Well, I was ecstatic to find a robin fleeing our rose bush a couple weeks ago because I then realized, she had made a nest there! We have this giant rose bush (seriously, it's too big for its space) in front of our house, and that's where she chose to build her nest. I saw three eggs, then four! Oh goody! I took this quick photo then vowed to leave it alone so I wouldn't scare her off.

Then the raging storm happened Sunday night. The winds were ferocious, and it battered our rose bush something awful. The branches were leaning over and out like the time that ten inches of snow weighed it down. But I checked on the nest, and to my relief, mama bird was sitting on it and all was well.


Then last night, we got even more storms, and the rose bush is even more ravaged and leaning over our sidewalk. When I came home at lunch, it was a sad sight. I found three of the four eggs broken on the ground, their embryonic contents spilled out staining the sidewalk. It made my heart break just a little. It was also strangely fascinating, because in the liquid mess that spilled out of the eggs, you could see the very, very beginnings of eyes and beaks.

The nest itself is still in the rose bush, but it is tipped over so much, hence how the poor eggs fell out, and I'm not sure if the mama bird is going to return to sit on the one remaining egg or not. So far, I have not seen her. Which makes me wonder: do birds go through a grieving process? Like the lamenting phoenix in the Harry Potter books, the idea of a bird wailing a piercingly sad, beautiful song has a tragic beauty to it.

I hope the robin will come back, but I just don't know if the last egg will survive much more. With the prediction of more storms tonight, it might very well fall to its death like the others. But I hope not.

Last night's storm

So how did everyone fare last night? We were fine.

I was hanging up some clothes when the lights started dimming. I thought to myself "Oooh... I should probably turn the TV on." I checked my phone, which gets weather alerts, and saw we were under a tornado warning. And I suddenly realized the storm was getting much worse. While waiting for the TV to turn on, I proceeded to turn off the dryer and came back to see the line of storms was almost on top of us. The weathermen were saying possible rotations between Washington and Union.

Meanwhile, Jarrod was in the garage, with the door up, my car in the driveway, just vacuuming his car. If I've never told the story: There was one time in Wentzville when they were under a tornado warning, and the storm was right over Wentzville. Jarrod was just standing on the porch watching it, eating a bowl of cereal. Once I found out what was going on last night, I went out to the garage to tell him the deal and that he needed to bring my car in, close the garage door, and come inside.

I went back in, Josie was shaking a few times, she was getting nervous. I'm sure she picked up on my own nervousness too. And as I was glued to the TV watching the updates, the storm kept getting worse and worse. It finally hit me I needed to go in the basement, so I grabbed Josie and her chicken toy and we went down there. A short time later, Jarrod joined us, soaked obviously.

We waited it out down there for probably 15 minutes. I don't think the house was damaged, though I want to take a walk around today just to check. But it was still a little nerve-wracking at times.

Welcome to the spring storm season!

Easter and Complicated Emotions

Two completely separate points to make about Easter this year.

1. Did you see that Party City TV commercial... where they took "Mambo Number 5" and rewrote the lyrics to say something a like "A little bit of Easter in my life..." Second question, did that ad bother you? The entire ad was this lavish Easter party, with a crap ton of decorations, an Easter bunny, kids running around having a blast, and a crap ton of candy. I could never quite put my finger on it, but that ad bothered me. Something about putting the entire holiday of Easter to a weird pop song did not sit well with me. I think the fact that Easter has completely been overtaken as just another holiday to capitalize on, with absolutely no mention of the actual reason we have Easter, is mostly to blame. This commercial just completely furthered that objective.

2. Easter and Christmas mass are two of the most beautiful masses in the whole year. But it is almost always ruined for me, even if just for a little bit, by the Chreasters around me. (I call the people who only attend on Christmas and Easter, Chreasters.)

I very vividly remember being so ticked off one Christmas mass because of the three kids (I say kids, but really they were 2 teens and a ~10-year-old) behind me who were laughing and talking the entire time. Sunday wasn't much better, except this time it was an adult! Wow, didn't expect that one. This lady behind me had been jibber-jabbering away in spurts throughout mass. We were in the middle of the Eucharistic prayer, the priest is consecrating the host, and she starts talking softly again to the lady next to her. It was inappropriate and I really was surprised at the terrible example she was setting for her kids.

This all is just so frustrating to me. I almost dread the crowd on Easter and Christmas because of the numerous experiences like this that I have had over the years. But then I feel bad about it because, well, I'm in church, and shouldn't I be welcoming these people instead of being so judgmental? Jesus is probably glad they are here, right? But it is just so hard not to get upset about it.