Java has meningitis. Her scan came back showing no significant changes to her spine, which is good. But it didn't explain the extreme pain she was in. While Java was under, the vet did a spinal tap just to rule out meningitis. The results came back on Monday. The remedy for this is high doses of steroids. She has been on them for a few days now and is feeling much better. She is also eating like a pig, which is helpful.

Java is in the hospital; we brought her in on Thursday due to extreme neck pain. She's been there since, on an IV with pain medication. We're waiting to hear whether she should have an MRI and possibly an operation, so that's why I pretty much quit posting the pond pictures.

I did take the pictures, though. Here's what it looked like Thursday morning. They are filling it.


Here it is pretty complete, except for the water plants and the plants that will surround it:

After the big rocks come the little rocks.


The next step is to rinse the rocks of the stone-dust, that's what's at the bottom of the pond now. They'll vacuum that up and the water will be clear when it's filled.


A close-up of the waterfall:

A different angle:

This morning they are lining the pond with rocks and building caves for the fish to hide in.

Pond Progress

After the hole is dug, the pre-liner goes in:

And then the liner:


And they build up the area for the waterfall:

Pond

This morning the workers came and started on the pond. I'm excited! I will post pictures as they progress. In the meantime I have to watch. I love watching machinery.

Snow Farm

This weekend Robert and I went to Snow Farm, a craft center in Western Massachusetts. The Boston Chapter rents it out for its members and offers classes in glassblowing, fusing, welding and bead-weaving. I chose to lampwork and made butterfly beads for Beads of Courage. Robert welded and made a nifty stand for his gas-powered forge.

Here's our comfy room. We have to bring our own bed linens. I used the ones from my guest room. I love them because they're cozy and warm and I only get to use them this once a year.


The campus is really special. It is on a hill, surrounded by other hills and has fruit trees and other ornamental trees all around. Also, there is art every place you look. I love that. Here's the pond:


And a big bullfrog:


Here's Robert explaining to me what he's making:


This is the welding barn. I love the decoration on the doors:


The view as you drive up:


An apple tree:


The dorm we stayed in:


Some knitting time after torching:

So last week Jim went to his foster home. It was hard to say goodbye, but he's going to have a great life with a wonderful family and it doesn't have to be me.

The landscapers came and cleared the brush for the new dog yard. This is what it looks like now. The plan for the pond is that they will come next week and dig it and put it in. I'm looking forward to it.


Little Java is having another flare-up of her back problems, which is strange because she just saw her neurologist last week and had a good report. This time, we put her on prednisone right away, we didn't muck around with painkillers like Rimadyl. I didn't want to have to wait for a "washing out" period if she got worse. Last time she had a flare-up, we had to take her off the painkiller before giving her the steriod and it was awful seeing her in such pain with no medicine for such a long time. It kills me to see her in pain, and she still is, but she's moving around a little better. I just had to put her in her crate, because she wanted to jump on the chair on the porch and we can't have that happening.



I haven't made too many beads lately, but I have been working on a little fund-raising project. I'm going to make a Boston Terrier themed Christmas tree and auction it off to benefit rescue. Here are some of the "ornaments" I made. They're beads and I think it'd be cool to wire wrap them so you can take them off the ornament hook and wear it like a necklace or on earrings. I'm not sure how to go about doing that, but I have some time to think about it.