allison, our Gordon was pretty typical of the breed - incredibly loyal to DH, big gentle galoot, a bird-hunting savant, and an all-around great dog. He was one of the bigger types; he was up around 85 pounds in his prime. DH has every intention of getting another one some day. The only downside - a verrrrry long adolescence. That dog was a total airhead until he turned 3!

shannon, I think if I exercised 9 days in a row, I'd be dead.

michele, yikes, I hope your tummy problems resolve! I can certainly understand why you don't drink if that's your feedback!

On capris - I have one pair of black nylony-workout type, and while they're comfy, I doubt I'd wear them in public. I don't need the look of my legs to be any shorter than they already are, and my calves are frankly, my least favorite body part.

Becky - I feel kind of dead today, honestly. I just tried to scratch between my shoulder blades just above my bra strap and couldn't get either hand there. I think the DB circuit from yesterday was harder than I thought. Today might just be some yoga and a rest. LOL

I just got back from Chico's oncology visit and wanted to report in. It looks like there is no recurrence of the cancer (although it might rear it's ugly head at any time). He'll do chemo on the 10th (oral) and then we don't go back for 2 months (unless I see changes). His oncologist says it's dogs like Chico that make it worthwhile to get out of bed in the morning. His original prognosis was April 19th, 2012 and at that time the vet had never seen a dog with his type of cancer survive over one year. We're just about at a year and no signs that he has it.

Good boy, Chico !

I am thrilled to hear that Allison!
My dog, Annie, only lived about 9 months after her diagnosis with a very similar cancer.

Yay Chico!

Beijing's Crippling Pollution Problem

One more reason NOT to move to China, Michele, although your DH will still have to deal with it. I asked my DD, who went there about 6 years ago, and she doesn't remember the air being polluted, but it's what I always think about when I hear China.

Allison, great news about Chico!

ICU, your story about your Gordon Setter gently eating tomatoes and raspberries reminded me of my stepmother's Golden Retriever delicately removing all the bird ornaments (real feathers) off the Christmas tree one year. Dogs can be very adroit with their teeth!

Dagmar, I hope your husband gets the job.

Jen, I'm jealous of your old house. My little house is from the mid to late 1800s, probably built to house workers for the federal-style mansion across the street. The only original feature left is the pine flooring in a couple of rooms. And the sewer line, which worries me.

Megan, I agree that most men are poor listeners. How are you going to fix the water problem? I know water softener systems are expensive.

I'm going to get on the bike tonight. I know I'm not doing myself any favors with my crappy diet and lack of exercise.

There are daffodils blooming in my garden and the temperature might get up over 50 tomorrow. Come on, spring!

Edited to add: thanks, all, for the warm thoughts and concern. It is much appreciated!

Hello maintainers! I hope you don't mind if I jump in here. After a couple months of maintaining my weight while hoping to lose 5 more pounds, I've decided to quit with trying to lose more and instead maintain this lower weight and focus more on my health goals of healthful eating and ramping up and sticking to an exercise plan. I've always been good about cutting calories, bad about falling back into old habits, and just generally terrible about exercise.

My first major victory was that this past winter I maintained my weight instead of putting back on the 10-15 lbs I would then again take off every summer.

I'm looking forward to learning from you all!

Atmos, welcome to maintainers ! congratulations on your loss. Good job over the winter.

Atmos!!! Welcome!!! We welcome anybody to the maintainers threads!

Welcome Atmos!

Allison-- the pollution issue is just one of the issues we considered. I am concerned about dh being there but he will be almost 100% inside-- in office buildings or hotels.... hopefully they clean up their act soon-- literally.

atmos.

Dagmar

atmos!

Allison, great news about Chico!

Shannon, I am very impressed by your 9 straight days of exercise. Sounds like time for a recovery day to me.

Megan, sorry, but I laughed at your story about BF not listening. My DH's listening problem is more like I'll start telling him something, and he'll tune in after the first three sentences, by which point he's missed all of the context. He doesn't stop me though, he waits until I finish, then asks me a question that was answered in the first two sentences which tells me that he has no clue what I was talking about the whole time. This can even happen in the middle of a conversation!

Steph, I'm impressed by your daffodils. We're still in the crocus phase, although the hyacinths are starting to open up too. Daffodils still are just buds.

Well, Carter had his annual exam yesterday, and while he's been fully vaccinated and is generally healthy, he got fat again. Sigh. Now he has to go on diet dog food! It's not like we've been feeding him extra very often (though we do occasionally when he acts really hungry), so it might just be that he's getting old and his metabolism is slowing down. For now we got him the general adult large breed weight control formula, but depending how he does we might switch him to the "senior" formula.

Starting out with the canine health reports: Jessica, sounds like Carter needs to start posting here and needs a ticker. Maybe right underneath yours. Allison, what a relief to hear Chico is thriving. Anytime I hear about anyone -- dog or human -- getting the upper hand over cancer, I am filled with a kind of quiet triumph: Good on them. (Anyone who's fought cancer or loved someone who fought and lost will understand that.)

Atmos,welcome, and I'm glad you're ready for what I think of as The Big Reveal, which is what happens when summer arrives and the winter coats, sweaters and blazers go back into the depths of my closet, and I'm suddenly out in public wearing lightweight fabric and body-skimming clothing. It's a good feeling when last summer's clothing fits again in late spring. (But I'm still waiting for that feeling, since temperatures are still in the low 30s here.)

Jen, oh how I'd love to see your house. One of my great regrets in deciding to live where I do, in a large pre-War co-op apartment building, is that I gave up one of my dreams, which would have been owning a white-painted or old brick federal or Greek Revival farmhouse in Upstate NY. (Or a cobblestone, since I am thrilled whenever I drive past one of those.) Down here, fully restored, if one were even available, it would cost three times what it does in Northern NY. I have to content myself with buying up the furniture & small decorative objects that would have originally filled such a house.

Becky, still thinking about your visit with your friend in which you talked about ideas. Every time I have a conversation like that, I'm like "aahhhhh" and I'm good for a couple weeks. I really need more of that in my life.

And in general, to all: I'm in the minority. Yes, I hate my calves, but I don't hate capris. I buy them in petite sizes, and listen to my mother call them "pedal pushers" when she sees me wearing them on visits, a term that I find rather endearing. Probably I'm blind to what I really look like in them. They're particularly handy when I go for a pedicure.

Now I want to talk about gel or shellac nails, if anyone's gotten them before. In girlie magazine lingo, I think I'm obsessed with them. I've had them done twice now in two months -- not frequently enough, as I have the bad habit of peeling at them once they get beat up. They seem like the answer to my thin, weak fingernail problem.