Fight of the Meds

So Myra is not very happy with this whole medication situation. We're supposed to give her this liquid medicine, orally, twice a day. She HATES it so much! I think today was the first day I could actually get it to work. It stinks though, she'll foam at her mouth, run away and fight us so much. She got a little bit the first try, but then we tried to put it in her food - no luck. The next morning I tried to put it in her milk - still no luck. So I've been trying the best solution I can come up with: quarantine her in the bathroom, wrap her in a towel, stick the syringe in her mouth and just hope for the best. Yesterday I ended up with most of it on my arm. And this morning she refused to come out from under the bed. I just don't know how we can say for sure if it's even helping. I'm supposed to call the vet tomorrow and say how it's working, unfortunately out of the 7 doses she should have had by now, we've only got about 2 down. Oh well. I've actually been talking with this other vet who has come to a couple of my programs this past week. She is suggesting to get it in pill form instead. So maybe I'll try that tomorrow.
So if it turns out that the medicine works, then it's good because it means that it's just allergies, but bad because we'll have to do this medicine bit on a long-term. BUT if it doesn't help, then back to the Doc. and more tests - mo' $ too :( I'm not sure what to wish for. I guess for her to relax and accept that she has to take this stupid medicine. Poor girl!

Sneezy Little Girl

Poor little miss Myra Jane.
She's been having sneezing attacks lately (actually for quite awhile now) so I decided to take her in to get checked out. We haven't found a vet yet here in Ithaca, so decided to check out Cornell's Vet Hospital (thanks Chief!) You actually have a 4th year student examine your pet with a licensed vet to help out. They were really nice and came to the conclusion that it is probably just some allergies. Prescribed some meds (basically beneadryl), and sent us on our way. Only downside was that it took FOREVER! We got in right away - they even say when you call for an appointment that they always run on time - but I guess for situations that need some research and consultation, it can take longer. They were in and out of the room about 4 times and they would leave in between to discuss possibilities of what it could be. The actual appointment took about an hour and then there was a mix up with the meds so I had to wait an additional 40 mins! That stunk, but overall they were really nice and I think I'd go back. It wasn't even that expensive! I just felt bad for poor little Myra - she hates the vet so - but did really good. Now she gets to be at home and have her brother harass her for smelling funny, but he should be over that shortly. Hopefully this does the trick!

New Toy!

Last week I treated myself to a SPOTLIGHT!! You may ask "Why would you need a spotlight Chris?" well, I'll tell you, I've been really thinking about this for several weeks. It all started at one of my nature programs on frogs where we go for a little hike and try to find frogs in the wild. Well, one of the guys in my group volunteered to bring his spotlight along, and I'll tell you what - it made such a difference!! We could see so much, and so much easier than with a regular ol' flashlight. I was blown away and decided that it could be helpful with plenty of my programs I do at night.
It's rechargeable, which I'm a little leary about, but it even came with a car adapter, so that's pretty cool.
So anytime you want to come on a night hike with me, you can be sure that we'll have plenty of seeing power and we should be able to find some pretty cool things :) Just had to share!

And of course I need to add a side-note: when taking night hikes, it is best to stay in the dark with no light at all so your eyes can adjust, BUT when you're trying to find specific things, like owls, bats, frogs....it's really helpful to have a light to really see it :) so yes!

Dry Days

As the summer rolls on, the falls become more and more dry. I have been noticing Buttermilk since I'm on hikes there 4 times a week, but I hadn't checked out Taughannock for probably over a month! Oh MAN!! Is it dry! We did get a little rain last week, so things got a little better, but overall, I think we are drying up more and more every week. Sad, but I suppose it's just part of nature.

you can barely see the water!!

Perseids

Last week, Mike's family was at Keuka Lake for their week-long family reunion. Unfortunately Mike and I had to work most of the week, but we were able to make it over for a few days on the weekends. The weather was beautiful and it was really nice to see some of the extended family. We only get to see most of them about once a year.
Saturday night (the last night), we all stayed up till midnight and then ventured out onto the boat to watch the night sky. The Perseids Meteor Shower is happening these past couple of days and we wanted to see if we could catch a glimpse of some shooting stars. While out on the boat, most of us saw about 15! It wasn't quite as much as we had hoped for, but it was still a good show. The sky was so clear, and the weather was perfect. It was just neat to be able to see so many stars and even the milky way - sort of a rare site these days with so much light pollution everywhere.
After coming in for the night, about 1:30am, Mike and I decided to sleep out on the dock and try to see a few more. It was such a good idea - so peaceful, and we saw several more before drifting off to sleep. I think Mike's final count was around 33 or so.
Hopefully next year we can all make it for the entire week, so much fun to be had - tubing, skiing, swimming, boating, eating, kayaking, fishing, reading, cards, games, hiking, and most importantly, reuniting with family and relaxing. Miss you all!

Happy Birthday Betsy!!!

Today is Betsy's Birthday!!! (Mike's sister). She's in Portland, OR, so we won't be able to see her but we hope you are having a great day!!!

Urban Horse Thieves

Saturday night we went to Taughannock Falls State Park for another concert - this time it was The Urban Horse Thieves - somewhat of a country rock band. They were really entertaining - I think we'd go back for some more :)

My friend, Teri (who I actually work with - that's really how we met) got to do the announcing for the band, introduce them and welcome everyone. She did such a good job!

After the concert, Mike, Teri & I went to Trumansburg and checked out The Pourhouse (which I was just shocked to see that they actually have a website!) I've heard that it's a fun place to go - good beer selection and good eats. We were too late for any food but they had a live band, good cheap beer, and they also had GAMES!

SPIROGRAPH!!!! I need this! I forgot all about it, but man, it still is just as fun as I remembered.
So pretty :)

I had to take this picture (even though it's really hard to see) Our table was being stabilized by a Dogfish Head coaster. How funny.

Another side-note: our camera is still in the shop :( But hopefully we'll be reunited this week! I miss it so much - I must have a disease.

For Joy

Last week I did a program at Buttermilk Falls SP on paper marbling. It was so much fun and I just had to take some pictures. I put "For Joy" because we used to do this together and I haven't since we did it together last. I thought you'd be happy to see it Joy!

Adventures of the Traveling Sisters

We had a lot of fun and did a lot of neat things while my mom and aunt were visiting. We started off on Sunday at Ithaca’s Farmer’s Market. This is such a fun outdoor market with not only fruit, veggies, and flowers, but also food vendors, wine tastings, boat rides, live music, and art stands. It’s a big deal and is three times a week (Sat, Sun, Thurs). We got there for the last hour and to our surprise, realized that they were actually having a local art show. It was really nice and I even got some contact info to possibly join it someday.

Next we headed to the Corning Museum of Glass. We've heard so many good reviews about this place, so Mike and I really wanted to go. My mom and aunt had actually been there several years ago, but it seemed to have changed a lot since then. It was really nice. I have never seen so much glass in my life. Every time you turned a corner there were thousands of more pieces to look at. A little over-stimulating, but interesting and beautiful all the same.

The classic "sister's pose" in front of a huge Dale Chihuly sculpture in the front of the museum.

Afterwards, we headed to Watkins Glen and had dinner at their local brewpub – Rooster Fish Brewing. Good eats and drinks. I tried to get a picture of the brewing area but it was pretty dark and my camera on my phone doesn't have a flash. Oh well - you'll just have to visit for yourself :)

Monday we headed to the Cornell Plantations. We had been there earlier in the summer - June I think - and it was amazing to see how much more colorful and how many more flowers were blooming since then. It really is such a beautiful place to visit.

After that we also did a quick visit to Buttermilk Falls and then to the Brewery to see Mike in action (he had to work). But then for dinner, we traveled up the west side of the lake to Taughannock Farms Inn.
I always wanted to go there since I worked at the park. It's up on the hill right next to Taughannock Falls State Park - it's an Inn but also serves very nice dinners too.
This is it from the outside:

View out to Cayuga Lake.

Mum & Aunt Nene

We had such a nice time together.
We were also lucky enough to have the two sisters visit us in DE last year. We did some fun things but definitely the highlight was visiting a teahouse in Milford. Good times as always - we miss you both and can't wait to do it again!

(just a side-note: Mike wasn't the one taking this picture - he chose to sit this one out :P )

Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk

Last weekend, my mom and her sister (Aunt Nene) came to Ithaca for a visit and arrived late Saturday night. So we had some good plans for Sunday and lots that we wanted to accomplish. But when I woke in the morning and ventured into the kitchen to get the kitties their morning drink, I opened the fridge to find a huge mess of white substance all over EVERYTHING! I was like “What the heck is this……oh NO!” It was frozen milk.

A few weeks ago, Mike and I found a place in town that sells milk in glass bottles. We were pretty excited because when we lived in State College, we would buy our milk like this from a local dairy farm (Meyer’s Dairy). Anyway, it tastes great and the nice thing is that you reuse the bottles – take them back when you’re done and they refill them. You feel good because you have no waste and you’re supporting your local dairy.

Unfortunately, there is one drawback, they can break. So with the anticipation of having company, we stocked up a little more on groceries. As a result our fridge was packed, but I found that the bottles fit perfectly in the fridge – right in the back (right under the VERY COLD air coming out.) As you may imagine, the milk froze, the bottle burst and everything in the fridge was covered in cold, icy, milk. YUM! Booo :( Not the way we had planned the beginning of our weekend, but it actually wasn’t too bad of a clean-up. And the good thing is that our fridge had a nice milk bath and is now sparkling clean!

See the icy milk inside!



What a mess :(