Spring Break

Had a lazy day today. Took Ballou for a walk  in the same woods where the Boxer attacked her. We saw a woodpecker and then met up with a Chocolate Lab and a Shitzu. Bear and Yogi! Ballou was afraid of Bear at first, but when she realized he wasn't like the Boxer she was okay.

Japan Quake

Can't stop watching the news from Japan. It is terrible! Makes worrying about flooding seem minor by comparison.

Vicious Boxer

The days are longer and it was warmer today so when I got home and it was still light I decided to take Ballou for a walk. We have a nice natural area near us that in the winter is a great place to walk a dog off leash. We usually meet one or two other dog walkers while out and the dogs all sniff and say hello then we go our separate ways. Today was a different story, the boxer came up sniffed and then attacked. She had Ballou on her back and was trying to get the jugular. Ballou was yipping and yapping, I was trying to pull the Boxer off, but couldn't get a hold on the collar so I started hitting it with the leash to no avail. Finally the owner pulled the dog off. I was livid! I told the owner that if a vet visit was necessary as a result they were paying and made her give me her name and phone number.
I think she thought I was over reacting.
Ballou is actually fine, thank goodness, as for me I didn't enjoy the last half of my walk and was still shaking when we got home.
Good thing Len wasn't there or the Boxer might have turned on him when he planted a few kicks on its head.

Pileated Woodpecker

While walking Ballou at Assiniboine Park yesterday we saw a Pileated Woodpecker. He (I am pretty sure it was a male) was beautiful. I don't remember ever seeing one before. After doing some research on the internet I have learned that Pileated Woodpeckers do not migrate and Winnipeg is withing their range, so I am hoping to see him again, maybe with a mate, and hopefully when I have a camera, or better yet Len has his.

Psoriasis

I wasn't going to blog about psoriasis but I have reached my limit.
Every one who knows me is aware that I have this dreaded condition, one that is so dreaded that Star Trek used it to scare prisoners into confessing and behaving. A fact that my loving sons' thought was hilarious! LOL!
So in the past years I have tried many things and now have embarked on a new "miracle" drug. Enbrel is part of a family of drugs known as biologics. It works by binding with the proteins that attack the skin to cause enbrel. By binding up the proteins they are unable to attack my skin and so it clears up. All good so far, but there is a cost. Enbrel is VERY expensive and my private insurance company keeps blocking me. Before starting on this drug, Enliven, a patient support service provided by enbrel, and I called my insurance company to get the low down on how they would pay for the drug or if they would pay for the drug. They said that they would cover 80%, that they would pay immediately, that I didn't need a letter from a doctor, nor any other letter and that there was no cap on how much I could claim. Then I put in my first claim and they denied it. Enliven called and yelled at them and they sent me a check. Now my second claim went in and they have decided that there is a cap, so we have to yell again. The big issue here is that I have to pay and then submit, so I am sitting with a huge balance on my credit card because the month has gone by and they didn't send the check like they were supposed to. I haven't identified my insurance company but I would really like to as I am sooooooo angry with them. All this stress is not good for my psoriasis or anything else either.
Well I must say maybe blogging is a good way to get the stress out. LOL

Snow

We have had a ton of snow this year. Yesterday we had about 6 inches fall in about 4 hours. Our house looks like it is buried now, with snow up to the bottom or the picture window and drifts as tall as I am, which the boys would say isn't all that tall then. LOL!

Even with all the snow Ballou still has fun outside!

Gran!

I am still in shock and can't stop smiling. Ken and Shavon are expecting and I get to be a grandmother. I have decided I would like to be called Gran, just as my maternal grandmother was Gran for my siblings and myself.

Ballou and Youtube Schipperkes.m4v

Crazy Dog

I was playing on YouTube, and played a Schipperke video. Ballou went nuts. She tried to dig under the laptop and sniffed all over the keyboard and behind the laptop, desperate to find the crying Schipperke. For about 5 minutes after it was over she continued to try to find the dog on the computer.