girl_named_fred

DSCN0815

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:47:40 GMT

DSCN0815
Originally uploaded by girl_named_fred

test - test - test

Chester: 30 lbs of love

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:09:03 GMT

Chester: 30 lbs of love
Originally uploaded by maryrobin

random flickr photo

It is primary day in RI, OH, TX and VT -- GO Vote!

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:01:01 GMT

It is primary day in RI, OH, TX and VT -- GO Vote!
Originally uploaded by girl_named_fred

I voted this morning at about 7:20 am. ...much too early for me, but I didn't want to risk getting stuck in Boston and missing the opportunity to VOTE.

Pawtucket is the birthplace of fun!

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:32:08 GMT

Pawtucket is the birthplace of fun!
Originally uploaded by girl_named_fred

I've made a decision

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:17:34 GMT

Visit her website

Who knew the love of my life would be orange?

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 02:58:18 GMT

Video Killed The Radio Star

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 22:13:37 GMT

Vote for Symba

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:36:05 GMT

http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/View.aspx?IRtehbaibe128448949129446250

undone

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:09:27 GMT

St. Anthony, when you prayed, your stolen book of prayers was given back to you. Pray now for all of us who have lost things precious and dear. Pray for all who have lost faith, hope or the friendship of God. Pray for us who have lost friends or relatives by death. Pray for all who have lost peace of mind or spirit. Pray that we may be given new hope, new faith, new love. Pray that lost things, needful and helpful to us, may be returned to our keeping. Or, if we must continue in our loss, pray that we may be given Christ’s comfort and peace. Amen.

I like the old kids version better.....

Saint Anthony.
Saint Anthony.
Please look around.
Something is lost and needs to be found

Bunny is lost. I can not find him anywhere. We've been together since the spring of 1968. I don't recall seeing him since just before Christmas. I had assumed he was under the bed. He wasn't.

make merry spunk

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:35:14 GMT

make merry spunk
Originally uploaded by petitshoo

Flickr find of the day!

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:45:33 GMT

Thansgiving Comes First

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:53:21 GMT

One of my favorite bloggers, Jim Sullivan over at Suldog (he reminds me of my cousin Michael) has several excellent posts up about the all too early jump retailers and other businesses get on endless Christmas promotions....you know the ones: radio stations that play Christmas music 24/7 starting in early November, stores that take down the Halloween decorations and put the Christmas stuff on October 20th etc. etc. Jim is encouraging everyone to remember that holidays should be celebrated one at a time.....and specifically that Thanksgiving celebrations should conclude prior to the commencement of the Christmas hype. Jim is encouraging all bloggers who agree to create a post titled "Thanksgiving Comes First"....a wee, little, homespun movement.

Personally, I would be very happy if my world had an extra few weeks free from endless Dunkin Donuts posters and billboards featuring an orange skinned Rachael Ray hawking gift cards.

If I get organized, I may have my Halloween decorations down by Thanksgiving.

Always late to the dance

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:17:48 GMT

So I took this silly meme quiz back in June and e-mailed myself the results....I'm just getting around to posting them.

So, girl_named_fred, your LiveJournal reveals...

You are... 8% unique (blame, for example, your interest in wellesly willis) and 1% herdlike. When it comes to friends you are normal. In terms of the way you relate to people, you are keen to please. Your writing style (based on a recent public entry) is conventional.

Your overall weirdness is: 50

(The average level of weirdness is: 27.
You are weirder than 90% of other LJers.)

Find out what your weirdness level is!

My new bestest friends, the Bubble People

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:33:04 GMT

Type your cut contents here.

Topsfield Fair 2007

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:40:35 GMT

Lookie what I did this weekend, instead of sitting around being depressed, sleeping too much or spending scads of time at the office! (And I made the video this morning, on the bus, while on my way to work! Technology is FUN!!!)

Giant Santa

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 02:52:32 GMT

DSCN0296
Originally uploaded by girl_named_fred

My Summer (in lieu of real content)

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:05:12 GMT

Open!

Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:13:37 GMT

rewopdik
Originally uploaded by oyunfound.

The Museum is open and the visitors are posting their photos on Flickr!

Here is a link to a great photo set shot by Oyunfound on 4/15 the second day of the public opening.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oyunfound/sets/72157600081397375/

The baloon or the knife (or even more whining)

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:27:14 GMT

All the testing is over --- and now I get to choose. My terminal ilium/ileoscal valve is very scarred and will only dialate between 2 and 4mm. (It should dilate to about 20mm). The rest of my large intestine (colon) and small intestine (ilium) look nice and healthy. No signs or infection or inflamation. My meds have all been adjusted and now I'm taking only 5 pills a day! (down from 15 a few weeks ago)

But now I have to make a decision. I'd hoped to not need to make this decison until my 50's.....but..oh well.

Do I want to try and have my valve streached using a baloon dilation method? This would be a one day, outpatient procedure. Recovery shouldn't be more than a day or so. If it works, I can expect the results to last for no more than 2 years. If it doesn't work I can still have the surgery. There is a 5% chance that the dialation would cause a perferation and I'd have to have the surgery right away. I will still need the surgery eventually.

I could also just go ahead and have the surgery this spring. This would be major, inpatient surgery. Good, old, small bowel, resection. From what I've read, even if they manage to do the surgery laproscopicly, I'd still be in the hospital for 13+ days. A perfect result would leave me having no more blockage, and no more inflamation and no fresh, internal scarring. It is more likely that I'll get more internal scarring and need more surgey in 5+ years. And this is surgery -- so there will be external scar or scars and possible post surgical adhesions. I'd probably need significant recovery time at home as well.

I'm not meeting with the surgeon until May 4 -- and then I need to follow up with my gastro doc. Until I do this I don't have all the facts and I'm doing independent research and speculation. If I have the baloon dilation they would do it on May 9. (They could do it earlier -- but I can't take any time off in April.)

I've missed so much of 2007 already -- and my work and family life are both in the toilet. I don't have any more time left to be sick. Then again - a small part of me thinks that 2+ weeks in the hospital, hopped up on painkillers and not needing to do anything more complicated than eat jello and stumble to the bathroom sounds like an awesome vacation.

Here you can see a video of an actual baloon dilation procedure....but it is not on the terminal illium ....its on some old dude's colostomy stoma. (I do not have and hopefully never will, have a colostomy)

And here: is a paper about quality of life for patients undergoing this type of surgery.

And here is an abstract for a journal article about long term results of the baloon dialtion procedures on my kind of scars.

Here is another graphic slide show of an acutal person with Crohns disease symptons just like mine.

Sure sign of Spring

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:49:16 GMT

First Del's of the Season 0325071307.jpg
Originally uploaded by girl_named_fred.

First Del's of the Season

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:17:58 GMT

Hospital Jello

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:18:12 GMT

hospital jello 0312071822
Originally uploaded by girl_named_fred.

I was at MGH for more tests on Monday ---- and afterwards hung out at "Eat Street Cafe" until it was time to catch the next bus back to Providence.

Monday was orange Jello day --- I'd sampled lemon at MGH the week prior. While both the orange and yellow jello had good firmness and clean, cube cut lines...neither had any flavor.

Apricot and Cranberry - Two for Tuesday

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:19:36 GMT

apricot and cranberry 0227070647
Originally uploaded by girl_named_fred.

Today's Jello was alternating layers of Apricot and Cranberry. Both flavors rock --- and are even more amazing together.

Note the stylish use of a left over deli-container and the BEU-TEA-FULL, faux marble laminate of our kitchen counters.

Stackers!

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 22:50:15 GMT

jello stackers 0223071621
Originally uploaded by girl_named_fred.

Lunch today was a delightful medley of Jello Strawberry and Kozy Shack Atomic Apple....purchased during Thursday's Zip Car run.

Zip Car gets the Jello

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 04:41:59 GMT

zip car to the rescue 0222071329
Originally uploaded by girl_named_fred.

I'm happy to report that it was not A DAY WITHOUT JELLO despite the fact that my lunch Jello and I were separated. Zip Car Pesky Prius whisked me away from my office in beautiful Fort Point Channel and took me to the supermarket on Morrisey BLVD for some much needed Jello.