Insights from The Magic Tutu

Good Morning from windy Nevada

Sooooo windy this morning.  It's 9:30 and only 81* today but I already had to shut the front door to keep the wind out of my living room.  Jelly didn't like that...

I have read each comment posted on my newly resurrected blog but still cannont figure out how to respond to your comments directly on the blog.  Kind of frustrating.  Regardless, thank you for your sweet comments.  Frustration probably isn't good for my brain tumor which by the way is 80-90% dead according to a PET scan I had last week.  Yeah!

Photo is our summer getaway in Oregon where we did not getaway to this summer due to my health issue.  Pretty house with deer, blue jays, squirrels & songbirds is our go-to destination to escape the scalding So. Nevada summer heat.  Makes me a little sad because the house sits on top of a hill with endless views and is surrounded by a pine forest.  Just about as opposite of So. Nevada as you can get.

New deck surrounds back side of house plus an area outside the kitchen where I have morning coffee, read and pet kitties.

That's Margo Fonteyn -- our famous ballerina kitty.  She had 2 litters before she was fixed.  If you read this blog a long time ago, you might remember her son, the most handsome Mr. Bubbles and one of her daughters (my favorite) Baby Girl.

I don't have a photo of Mr. Bubbles on this laptop but if you scroll thru the old part of this blog you'll see him.  One day he crawled under the TV table and died.  I heard him dying and left him alone except for trying to give him some water which he would not drink.  Photo above is his sister, Baby Girl, my favorite cat of all time.

My housekeeper arrives momentarily so I'm off on a mad scurry to pick up a little before she walks thru the door.  Remember... if you post a comment I can't reply to you with a comment but I will see what you wrote.  Typepad sends your comments to my e-mail.  Have a great day!  xoxo Amy

Angel and I are on the mend!

Good Morning Friends--

Angel got her cast off and is  walking & jumping and almost back to her old self.  I got the BEST news from my doctor 2 days ago after a follow-up MRI that showed the brain tumor has shrunk by 50%.  We are so relieved.  My next adventure is going to be to stop stuffing myself with sugar & carbs.  My doctor asked me to do this, and I have not been able to do it yet.  I guess cancer loves sugar & carbs so the goal is to starve the cancer by not giving it anymore fuel.   What will early morning be without toast & butter & apriot jam?  Guess I'll find out...  Butter is OK and so are protein & veggies.  I can do this!

Typepad (company who sponsors this blog) is not as easy to navigate as blogspot which is why I have not responded to your comment, if you have commented here since I restarted my blog.  When I was blogging regularly I knew how to respond, but I can't figure it out anymore.... maybe that's due to 30 rounds of radiation?  I'm getting my wits back, but situations like this frustrate me.  

Desi & I still support the rescue of baby elephants that have been orphaned due to the ivory trade.  We have adopted 13 orphans so far.  Before I had the brilliant idea to delete my original blog, there was a mini-blog attached called Orphaned Baby Elephants that I loved... but it went away when I deleted the main blog.  Darn it!  I loved posting photos of the babies and the amazing work the folks are doing at the Sheldrick Orphanage in Kenya.  Once I feel my wits coming back, my plan is to re-start that mini-blog hoping it will introduce a new person to the plight of elephants worldwide who are being gunned down for their ivory.

We're on our way to see my oncologist then to Whole Foods Market.  Yeah!  Going to start my new no carb, no sugar diet today.  Thank you for stopping by my blog to check on me.  Much appreciated.  Hope you have a wonderful day.

xoxo Amy

 

 

 

Angel and her run-in with Tom's Akitas

Happy Sunday Friends--

Tom is my brother and he lives 4 doors away from us.  He is very proud of his (3) 200 pound Akita dogs and decided to let them into my fenced in yard last week (kitty sanctuary.)   I've asked him over the years NOT to let them in my yard, but have not enforced this rule.  So what happened to Angel was in-part my fault.  To the point:  Tom let them inside my yard and not knowing Angel was out there, they saw her under a bush and went straight for her.  Big scramble.  Meowing.  Barking. Scruffling.  I was in the house, heard the commotion and made it to the window just in time to see the little white kitty running for her life accross the yard with the 3 Akitas in hot pursuit.  I didn't know they had already broken her foot and chomped on her leg & hip which explained the wobbly way she was running.  Thank Goodness Tom was also in the yard and broke it up.

I felt sorry for Angel but also felt sorry for Tom because he knew he was going to get it from Desi & me... which he did.  Banned from my yard.  Since then (11 days ago) Tom has not even walked his monsters past my house altho he has come over to visit with me.  He is SO sorry.

 

 

 

Don't think I've posted a photo of my handsome brother, Tom, before.  So here he is last Thanksgiving. (Can't figure out how to move this paragraph next to Tom's photo below.)

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  Now I'm off to the rest of Sunday.    Hope you are all well & happy.    xoxo Amy

Desi & Gracie

Hello Friends--

Posting a photo of Desi and 8-week old Gracie who was born in our yard from a feral mama.  3 kittens were born, but Gracie, attached herself to Desi almost immediately unlike the other two whom he can pet a little bit but cannot hold like Gracie.  Hope you like the photo.  xoxo Amy

Good Morning from the Mojave Desert

We have had one HOT summer here in the desert.  Couldn't leave for our cool 10 acres in Oregon due to my treatments.  Still hoping to make that happen in September.   In addition to apricot cobbler, meat loaves, mashed potatoes, homemade breads, cakes, pies, ice cream and other goodies pouring thru our front door while I can't cook, there has also been a flood of Get Well cards and gifts on my front porch.  I was so surprised that 6 people read my last post to my Mom after I had neglected my blog for so long.  Thank you!

I'm still doing a little better each day, but still extremely tired.  Tired of being tired.  Wonder how much longer this "being tired" will last?  Can't wait to have my full energy (and full head of hair) back.  

One of my goals in January when this whole medical issue erupted was to get things done around the house that I usually push to the back burner.  So far we've accomplished:  cutting down 2 huge palm trees in the back yard that were interfering with power/phone lines, new washer & dryer, painting the 2 Adirondack chairs on my front porch (thank you Haley), new faucets in restroom, COIT to clean carpets, wash the stinky dog & plant Vincas.  Lots of little accomplishments too... more could have been done if I was allowed to drive... but I'm not... haven't driven my Prius since January.  Gosh, I miss being able to hop in the car and go.  Haley & Desi chaufer me everywhere and never complain.  Love them.

This year is the 3rd year in a row we have not presented The Nutcracker in our Theatre.  I feel so guilty about that.  The first 2 years I thought I had valid reasons for not orchestrating The Nutcracker.  And in a sense I did-- big trip to NYC last year (2012) where Desi performed at Feinstein's and lots of Lucy stuff the previous year (2011).  This year it's my health that put a big stop to The Nutcracker.  Makes me sad because The Nutcracker ushers the Spirit of Christmas into our little town and when we turn the Theatre marquee on at night our quaint downtown district become magical.  

I am so happy to be alive today!  Finally, it's not a squeltering hot day and should only reach 102* (that's nothing for us desert rats.)  If anyone reads this... thank you!  Hope you have a wonderful day too.  

xoxo Amy

 

Hi Mom...
No one will read this post because I have not been here since September 2012. I want to leave a post for my little Mother whom I hope has figured out how to read my blog from Heaven.
Whilst in the hospital in January for a new knee Mom, I had a seizure that revealed a tumor growing right on top of my brain. Now I'm going thru 30 radiation + chemo pills M-F to shrink the tumor. I'm bald, puffy, semi-negative, always hungry and craving chocolate & meat. Desi & Haley have been REMARKABLE in their caregiving to me. I love them so much. Lisa prepared a pot roast yesterday which Haley then baked and brought over. I slipped and said it was a little dry in front of Haley and that hurt her feelings. I apologized and all is well. Gosh... I would love one of your apple pies right now with some melty vanilla ice cream on top. I miss you so much but at the same time am glad you can't see me looking like this... or maybe you can? Not sure. I would post a photo of my puffy, prickly face but would faint if one of my dancers stumbled upon this post and could see what "Miss Amy" looks like! Good grief.
Love & miss you so, so, so much. Funny, I'm 61 and miss my Mommy.
xoxo Amy

Retrieved my blog from oblivion

In a whimsical moment a while back I deleted my blog and then regretted it.  So the ladies at Typepad (thank you Jen) retrieved it for me and it's back but doesn't look the same.  I'm working on restoring it and all the fun photos I had on the sidebar and soon it will be wonderful again.  Till then, thank you for stopping by to check on me today!  xoxo Amy

A month is a day ~ Part 2

Actually, 2 months is a day.
 Where did the time go?

Hope you have been healthy & happy and
enjoying this wonderful summer.  While we
were in Oregon we lost 4 cats from our
feral colony.  Mama Zane is gone along
with one of her kittens.  Very sad.   Haley's
lovely siamese cat, Cherry, vanished.  So
sad because Haley takes impeccable care
of her cats.  She put LOST CAT posters
up and down the nearby streets and the
City took them down.  Go figure...
Boulder City is very anti-cat. 

I am very happy with the selection of
Paul Ryan to run with Mitt Romney.
It's a good ticket.  I'm going to see the
movie about Obama (2016) tomorrow
with Henriette.  

My knee is almost 100% and I'm so
relieved!  At one point I thought it would
never heal and work.  I love it now.

 

I am still dedicated to the orphaned baby elephants. This new book is a must read for any of you who may be elephant lovers like me. It's on amazon.

 

Went to Oregon with my boys.

Baby Girl on our deck.

Back in NV, Desiree cut Desi's hair before a trip to LA. The Desi's are wonderful together.

Thank you Doug for this nice photo. Desi and Lucie in LA at an interview.

Getting ready for "The Founding of America" with our scholar portraying John Adams and Alexander Hamilton.

While in LA we stopped by the old Desilu movie lot that is now called Red Studios. Desi got to see his father's old office. A little bittersweet.

A random photo I saw on the internet. I would like to do this for our 25th Anniversary. Sorry I do not have photo credit.

 I have so many fun photos to share.  I better get busy.  Till then, thank you for visiting with me today even tho I've been absent from my blog.  Life has a way of doing what it wants to do.  Sending love and all my best to each of you.   xoxo Amy

A month is a day

How could a month speed by as if it is a day?
Each day is so full and the days roll into each
other and suddenly a month has passed.
And now it's Father's Day Weekend when
Mother's Day was yesterday.   Oh my.

Happy Father's Day Dad.
Miss and love you.  Sorry I was mad
at you at the end. 

 We have 7 kittens in our yard as a result of
not trapping & fixing two mama cats.  Desi
has already named them.  Watching the kittens
play is light years better than watching TV.  
They will make Father's Day a most enjoyable
day for Desi.  Dinner?  Hmmmmm...

Happy Father's Day handsome husband.

I wonder what will happen this month?
We want to escape the scorching desert heat
for a while but another cat hater across the
alley has threatened to kill any of our cats
that set foot in his yard.  This is not the same
cat hater I wrote about previously -- she moved.
How do I explain to our feral colony that they
must NOT set foot in the haters yard? Once
again I'm appalled at what we so-called
"humans" do to the innocents.  Makes me sad. 

Desi, Heather McNair & Chuck Wagner

Desi was in a TV series in the 80's called
Automan.  The show is being re-released in
England so Heather & Chuck who were the
co-stars in Automan came here to be interviewed
by the BBC as part of the promo.  Fun to see
these three together after almost 30 years.
Forget about a month being a day.  How
do we classify decades?  Double oh my.

Sending a Happy Father's Day to the
many wonderful fathers out there.  And
thank you friends for stopping by my
unattended blog.  Love you~
xoxo Amy 

Home from the coast

Desi took me, Jelly & Miss Daisy to the coast
for a little R&R.  Practically no internet was
wonderful like in the good old days.  

Thank you for the nice photo Kamal.  Our favorite
getaway on the Sea of Cortez.

Traveling with Jelly, Miss Daisy and me in a
wheelchair earned Desi a Gold Star.  Usually
we fly with only Jelly but Miss Daisy is too
old (18) to leave behind.  She was a good girl.

There were huge, long distances to walk
at the airports so we asked for wheelchairs
everywhere and wow! what a difference.
My knee is healing just fine but I still
can't handle long walks.  I can, however,
handle sitting by the ocean.

My handsome husband.

No one is happier for us to be home than
Kremer because today he finally gets to
come home.  He's been at the vet for over
3 weeks.  Going to pick him up shortly.

Hope Life has been wonderful for you Friends!
Sending love and all the best to you on this
lovely Spring day.  xoxo Amy