The Lucky Dog Blog

CHOIR PRACTICE

To be honest, Marilyn hasn't had a lot to sing about lately, but when she met a couple who said they were part of a community choir last week, she decided to accept their invitation and try it out. Last night she went to her first choir practice.

                                            

It was not a conventional choir, the 24 members sat in a circle and the director paced about in the middle. The singing was all a cappella, but in the close harmony that Marilyn loves. The music was different as well. There were African, Hawaiian and spiritual tunes. She said it was a fun evening and she met some nice people.

She is going back to a 2^nd  writing class next Monday and the choir is giving a concert on February 13, so she may not be able to participate again for a while (she is not ready for prime time with a concert with only one rehearsal under her belt.)

Anyway, it was good to see Marilyn smiling again. I think the classes are good for her.

Tonight is an orchestra concert at the elementary school. Both Ian and Max are in the orchestra so that is a can't miss event.

Finally, some different things are going on around here and I have something to report.

Lucky

TRYING ANOTHER NEW THING

Al seems to have run out of new ideas, so I had a visit with Marilyn about her newest project. This is what I learned:

About 3 weeks ago she got a call from Kin and David telling her that they were sending her a book called “Wheat Belly”. They had read the book and as a result were trying out a gluten-free diet. Daughter-in-law, Dawn, had been on a gluten-free diet for some time. Still somewhat skeptical and thinking that gluten-free was probably the fad of the times, she read the book. It said that gluten intolerance was linked with osteoporosis and was often mistaken for Crohn's disease. Since she had both and nothing to lose, but a little time, she decided to try it.

Of course, she got off to a rocky start. She made some cornbread from a mix and forgot to read the label. Yep, it had wheat flour in it and she of all people should have known better. Putting that behind her, she started seriously avoiding gluten on  Saturday, January 21. On Tuesday morning, she suddenly realized that she felt good. Now that isn't much of a surprise to most people, but to Marilyn it was like having a black cloud roll away. She hadn't “felt good” for such a long time that she was compelled to tell Al about it.

Since then, she has continued to “feel good” most of the time. She has ordered other books and is reading up on the subject. It is a bit ironic that one of her projects at General Mills forty years ago was to write a cookbook for people who needed to avoid all kinds of protein, including gluten, in order to help control kidney disease. She has come full circle.

She is a little disappointed that unlike Kim, she hasn't lost any weight, but hopes that will come with time. Meanwhile, she is pressing on with her new project.

As for me, I'm glad to see that she has more energy. Maybe she will start taking me for walks. I need to know more about the neighborhood. Lots of things to sniff. I might find a new project.

Lucky

LEGO PRESENTATION

We heard last night that the Lego team that Ian is a part of, came in second in the Minnesota State Lego Competition in St. Paul. (Ian is Marilyn's grandson.)

I did an earlier story about a Lego Team Practice Session that Marilyn and Al attended.

Apparently there was a glitch with their robot during the competition and the team handled it so well that the judges were very impressed. They got called back for the final four and from their answers and poise came in second from an original field of more than 500. They also won the Judge's Choice award. Quite and achievement for six youngsters.

                                             

This year's Lego robotics and research challenge was “Food Factor” to explore the topic of food safety, so it was of special interest to Marilyn and Al who are both food scientists.

The Williams Team is very proud of the competitors. They all have a great future ahead.

Lucky

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

When Marilyn was growing up in Pineville, Missouri, the Arkansas state line was almost like the Berlin Wall. If her family left the county, it was to go in any direction except south. The roads were terrible and there wasn't much to see or do once you got there. She doesn't remember going to Bentonville (only 20 miles south) more than two or three times before she went to college. Her first visit to Fayetteville was when she was a sophomore in college considering whether or not to transfer to the University (she decided to go to MU in Columbia, a day's journey away because it seemed more a more promising institution).All of that began to change with the creation of Wal-Mart. Like it or not, the company has made a huge impact on the entire area of NW Arkansas, SW Missouri and NE Oklahoma. NW Arkansas has become the home of trendy shops, restaurants and now a world class art museum and complex.

Marilyn recently saw a story in a news show from Arkansas that she thought would be interesting to our readers:

 

BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- President Barack Obama has signed a new initiative to increase foreign tourism to the United States as part of his plan to boost the economy, which could create more than 1 million American jobs in the next 10 years.

Northwest Arkansas, particularly Bentonville, is reaping a lot of those benefits already.

"In the last two years, in downtown Bentonville, we've had 123 jobs open up," said Ed Clifford, president and chief executive officer of Bentonville and Bella Vista Chamber.

Travel and Leisure Magazine named Bentonville as one of the hottest destination spots in the world and the only place in the U.S. in that category.

"That has a big impact on not only Bentonville and Bentonville's hotels and restaurants, but all up and down the corridor here in northwest Arkansas," Clifford said. "That set the stage for a lot of visits to northwest Arkansas by lots of people from a lot of different areas."

Kathryn Roberts, director of Member and Guest Services at Crystal Bridges, said because Bentonville is the home of Walmart and now Crystal Bridges, foreign tourism is on the rise in the area.

"We track where our visitors come from, and already, we've had 30 countries represented from the Virgin Islands to Spain, Mexico and England," Roberts said. "Many of those people stay here and eat or go out to lunch or dinner, and spend additional dollars at close by hotels and bring great commerce to our area."

The article from “Travel and Leisure” magazine mentioned above can be found by clicking here. Who would have dreamed little Bentonville that before Wal-Mart was primarily associated with its connection to the Battle of Pea Ridge nearly 00 years before would become a topic of conversation all over the world. 

Marilyn has long maintained that the construction of Crystal Bridges would have a major impact on the area ever since she learned about it in the late 1990's. She believes that it will attract artists and others who will want to move to the area and find that McDonald County a cost effective place to live. It will enrich the culture and raise the standards for education  –  issues that have long concerned her.

If anybody is interested, we have a couple of cabins nearby for sale.

Lucky

MARILYN GOES BACK TO SCHOOL

People who know Marilyn know that she loves to go to school. Every year in September, she says she feels an urge to get a new plaid dress, a # 2 pencil and go back to school. It didn't happen this year as she was still traumatized by the changes in her life, but finally, there is some movement around this place. Marilyn signed up for a writing class with the adult education program of the Hopkins School District. They offer a rich array of classes from pottery to sushi making (yes, she and Al have signed up for that). She thought that a writing class would get her motivated to do something constructive and creative once again.

As she read the catalogue she was reminded of when she read the budget for the McDonald County High School a few years ago and the only class offered to adults was welding. That was a good thing, but there was (and is) such a need to offer opportunities for adult learning in the county that she was sick about the lack. Apparently, there are some classes from Crowder now being offered, but the potential to enrich the lives of residents is vast.

Back to the subject at hand: The class was actually a workshop –  one of a series of four –  on how to complete a manuscript and get it published. She had thought it would be more about techniques of writing, but even so, she wasn't disappointed. It was a small class of six students and it was fun hearing about the writing journey of the teacher, Charlene Torkelson. One of the most interesting parts of the class was learning more about self publishing and e-books. Marilyn promptly signed up for the other three workshops. Time to get the little gray cells humming.

As she carefully stepped her way through the snow to her car, a young man came up and offered his arm. He asked if he could help and she readily agreed. A brief conversation ensued (my readers know Marilyn is a talker) and she learned that he was part of a community choir that meets weekly at the school. Now Marilyn has another option to widen her circle of acquaintances. She plans to go next week.

Lucky

PS Al is feeling a little better. The surgeries took a little more out of him than he expected, but he is well on his way to recovery.

AL'S SURGERY

Yesterday Marilyn took Al to the Mohs Micrographic Surgery at Park Nicollet clinic to have surgery for the skin cancers on his ear and ankle.

             

As you can tell he was not happy about the procedure. And he was even less happy when the anesthetic wore off. He had a pretty miserable night. He says he is a little better this morning.

                                                                  

The technique involves removing the skin cancer in thin layers and examining the tissues under a microscope to check for cancer. This process is repeated until the microscopic exam reveals no cancer. Al had to go through this twice before they got all of the bad cells.

After four hours of this he was cleared to go home. 

Lucky

NEWS OF THE DAY

This will be a short post as Al and Marilyn are rushing about getting ready to go to the clinic where Al is to have two small skin cancers removed.  One on his ear and one on his ankle of all places.

Tomorrow I will have more to report. Marilyn went to her first writing class last night and had a great time. She has to tell me all about it today so I can write a story.

Lucky

BOOK REVIEW - FOLLOWING ATTICUS

Marilyn has just finished a book, Following Atticus that she thinks my readers would enjoy.

                                                    

It was recommended by another dog lover, Candyce, who also enjoys hiking like Atticus (Marilyn –  not so much).

It is a charming true story of a little dog that hikes with his human in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Marilyn related to the politics and threats of harm in the small town where they originally lived.

Incidentally, the little shoes are called “muttluks” and are made in Canada. I am hoping that I can get some. They look pretty snazzy. The description of Atticus' first “try-on” of a snow suit made Marilyn laugh out loud. Warning: there are some teary parts as well.

Lucky

PS  We did get some snow last night. It is pretty frosty out side.

SIDEWALK SNOW

Yesterday Marilyn's son Ben came over to the house to clear the snow from our sidewalks. We have noticed that most people are good about clearing their sidewalks after a snow. We like it when he does that as he usually stops for a cup of coffee and a visit when he finishes.

The city of Hopkins requires that that there is no parking on city streets after the snow reaches two inches deep so the snow plows have free access.

This year we have not yet had a two inch snow, but it will happen soon. In fact, we are expecting something worse today –  freezing drizzle and rain, followed by snow. We know from experience what havoc that can make. After all, it was the big ice storm of 2007 in Missouri that led to the creation of this blog.

We don't anticipate any problems at this point, but best to be prepared. We have plenty of food and water on hand and even have a fireplace in the basement if the power goes out.

I think I will just rely on my humans to take care of things and take a nap.

Lucky

MASSAGE & ACUPUNCTURE UPDATE

Yesterday was Marilyn's day for her weekly massage. The illustration is not an accurate portrayal because in Shiatsu (Jabanese massage) and Tui Na (Chinese massage), the client is fully clothed.

Marilyn is trying everything she can to try to regain better health. The acupuncture treatments have miraculously helped relieve the pain in her knees and shoulders and the massage is helping with the almost crippling anxiety she experienced as a result of the flood, Al's illnesses and the sudden move to Minnesota. She didn't want to go about life in a drugged haze, so finding ways to deal with these things was a challenge.

She decided to try acupuncture and massage as it was low risk and was not in conflict with Western medicine. The results have been very heartening.

For the last three weeks she has been drinking hot herbal teas three times a day that Dr. Brian (the acupuncturist)  has forumulated. Each week there have been changes in the formulae, but all are quite bitter in taste. She has added a bit of agave nectar to make them more palatable. She and the Dr. went over the prescriptions she was already taking to be sure that there would be no interactions that might be harmful.

In week three, she started sleeping through the night almost every night. That was a big change for her as she has had sleep issues ever since her tenure as Mayor of Pineville caused a similar time of extreme stress. That experience of betrayal by people she trusted caused her health to be delicate for many years. It is good that she is beginning to recover at long last.

Her recovery is due to a blend of Eastern and Western medicines incorporating the most appropriate of both. It may not be for everyone and finding reputable practitioners of Eastern medicine may not be possible in many places, but it has proved to be an excellent experience for Marilyn.

I will report from time to time on her progress as I will about Al's. Fortunately, I am in excellent health and in the current sub-zero weather, my humans are being very careful that I don't get too chilled when I have to go out to take care of business. I have a special place to cuddle on Marilyn's lap while she reads the morning paper. It is about time we got down to important things like that this morning.

Lucky