I practiced yoga again this morning. I’m slowly getting a better handle on the sequence of poses. Each time I go through it I’m learning a bit more about what I’m trying to do. It’ll be nice to get to the point where I just know the poses and don’t have to keep referring to the book. I think it’ll flow better as I learn the sequence.
Yoga Practice
I haven’t been consistent about my yoga practice. When I do practice regularly I feel better but it hasn’t become a habit yet. This morning I went through the Sun Flow series of postures in my Kripalu Yoga book.
I’d like to get into the habit of practicing regularly. Maybe if I post more about my practice it’ll help. Right now I’m very stiff and inflexible. I can’t even sit up straight with my legs extended! My legs are the biggest problem right now. Very tight in the hamstrings, the back of my knee and calf. Sitting postures and bends are the hardest things for me. It’ll be interesting, if I continue to practice, to see how much it’ll loosen up. I look at pictures in the book of a guy bending forward along his extended leg in the Great Seal (Maha Mudra) and wonder if I’ll ever be able to have that sort of flexibility. Right now I can’t even make the first step, sitting up straight with my leg extended on the floor. That’s okay, I don’t want to strain things trying to get into postures I can’t achieve but it’d be nice if I look back someday and am amazed that I used to be so stiff.
Sun
The Sun has come out today. I’m sure the plants are enjoying the warm weather. There are clouds but it’s been a pretty nice day.
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Next week we might be planting potatoes!
Happy 88th Birthday Granny Goose!
Last Wednesday was my Granny Goose’s 88th birthday. On Thursday my Mom and Grandma drove down to Salem, Oregon to spend a few days at my Aunt Andie’s. On the way they stopped here for a birthday lunch.
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I had two new recipes that I wanted to try and I figured Mom and Grandma would make good guinea pigs that this would be a good occasion to try them out. For lunch I served sausage stromboli. I’ve seen a lot of stromboli recipes and always wanted to try one. It turned out quite yummy though very rich. I think I’ll try other recipes that aren’t quite so gooey, this one had sour cream and cream cheese and oozed a lot. The crust turned out well but I think I cut too deeply when making my slashes. Live and learn.
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For dessert I made an almond apple cheesecake. The crust was shortbread like, then normal cheesecake, covered with sliced tart apples coated in cinnamon and sugar, and topped with sliced almonds. Oh, it was so good, not that it’s possible to have a bad cheesecake. This recipe is definitely a make again one!
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We had a great visit and I really want to thank my Aunt Andie and Uncle Henry for moving to Salem so that my place is just the right distance for a quick visit on the way. It’s been really nice having family drop by on their way between the island and Salem.
I can’t resist adding a photo Ryan took today of the furry ones all sleeping on the loveseat. Aren’t they cute? From left to right: McCoy, Shakespeare, and Conehead Poppy Seed.
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Snow
Yesterday while driving to work it snowed on me! Actually it was more slushing on me because the “snow” melted on contact. It wasn’t even freezing out. Just a small reminder that the cold weather hasn’t entirely gone away. We also had a couple hail showers during the day.
Poppy Seed Update
The lab results came back for the growth that was removed from Poppy Seed’s side. It was a dermal hemangioma. Combined from multiple posts on Vet Info:
It is sort of hard to find information on hemangiomas. These are a benign lump formed by blood vessel tissues that occur in the skin. Hemangiomas can vary in color from bluish
to purple to reddish-black or purplish-black. Most hemangiomas appear to be raised lumps but we have seen some that just looked like skin discoloration. They can vary in size from very small to as large as several centimeters in diameter. Sometimes they look like a small chain of colored lumps. They are most common in dogs but do occur in cats, as well. There is some argument about whether these are even a cancer. Some sources identify these as blood vessel abnormalities and others as benign cancers. These can get large and they have a really irritating habit of intermittently bleeding from ulcerations of the surface and the bleeding can be severe enough to be a problem, based on a couple of cases we have seen in our practice. These can also grow to be quite large at times. The good thing is that surgical removal should provide a complete cure if it is possible to get the whole tumor. In sites where this is hard, radiation therapy can be helpful. It is a good idea to send these tumors for histopath exam because they often resemble other tumors that are malignant.Mike Richards, DVM
Yippee! Nothing to worry about. The vet felt that they had removed the entire tumor so it is unlikely to grow back. The only bad news is that the vet wants the stitches to stay in longer so Poppy gets an extra week in the cone of shame! Thankfully she is getting used to it. She still won’t eat, drink, or go to the bathroom while wearing it so we de-cone her and watch her like a hawk while she takes care of the necessities, then back into the cone. She will now jump, run, walk, and most importantly SLEEP while coned so life is better.
