Tuesday, May 26, 2009

LUCY THE TROUPER

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Today Lucy got her first treatment of the experimental drug Pamidronate, used to treat high levels of calcium in the blood that may be caused by certain types of cancer. Lucy's increasingly high calcium levels have been making her sicker and sicker since the beginning of the year. The high calcium levels indicate that she has cancer in her body but where it is and what kind, we don't know. The cancer itself is not treatable by the Vet, but the Pamidronate will hopefully bring her calcium levels to a more normal level so that she can have a good quality of life. The Pamidronate is being given in place of the steroid shots and Prednisone pills that have been keeping her stable so far.

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Lucy did remarkably well at this all day procedure. My Dad took her in at 8am and then we switched off shifts every couple hours throughout the day. In the end, Lucy didn't leave the vet until 4:30pm - a whopping 8 and a half hours being hooked up to an IV drip - 4+ hours of the Pamidronate followed by 4+ hours of just basic fluids to flush her kidneys. We have to repeat this treatment every 3 weeks.

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Dr. Svenja Viete checks Lucy's heartbeat.

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Photo by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed May 26, 2009 in Van Nuys, CA

Friday, May 22, 2009

AERO CRUISIN' AMERICANA

Aero Cruisin' Americana
Photo by © Lydia Marcus
Photographed February 10, 2009 on Route 66
Cool Springs, Arizona
www.coolspringsroute66.com

Monday, May 18, 2009

LYDIA & LUCY THE BOXADOR

Lydia & Lucy The Boxador

My dog Lucy has been very sick since the beginning of the year. She vomits and stops eating for days and gets very lethargic. Plus she's lost a lot of weight.

The vet has gone down the line testing for various illnesses. Finally she's figured out the culprit is cancer or lymphoma but doesn't know where it is occurring in Lucy's body. The only thing that shows up in blood work is that she has very high calcium levels and each time we test her, they're higher and higher.

As a temporary fix for her symptoms, Lucy is on daily Prednisone, gets occasional steroid injections, and even takes a pill to stimulate appetite. She also has to be given occasional Pepcid pills for her upset stomach.

This week, Lucy's appetite and personality has returned with a force thanks to upping the dosage of Prednisone and the steroids.

A few days ago the vet told me Lucy has anywhere from a couple weeks to six months to live. The calcium will shut down her kidneys eventually.

But in the meantime, the vet is going to try a new injectable cancer drug on Lucy to see if it can bring the calcium levels down - the very thing that is making her so sick. If the drug works, maybe I'll have Lucy around a little longer.

Whether that will her snap out of this illness or not remains to be seen. I'm trying to deal with acceptance - that Lucy is probably not going to be around a very long time. She's only 3 and I've only had her in my life for a year and a half. That's what makes this so hard. It just isn't how life should be. Every other dog I've had in my life has lived to be 12 or 13. That's a long time to enjoy their company and love. I don't want to let go of Lucy yet, but I will if she starts to suffer.

Right now, I'm enjoying her personality and quirks and special Lucyness for as long as the shots and meds allow. Because I'm the one always taking photos of everyone else, I realized that I really did not have a good photo of me and Lucy. So I asked Jon, one of my closest friends, to come over today and shoot some shots of me and Lucy. Jon isn't a photographer, but I'm comfortable with him and Lucy adores him, so I figured with a little direction, he'd get a great shot. This one is my favorite.

Photo by J. Herbert
Photographed May 18, 2009 in Encino, CA

Friday, May 15, 2009

A FACE IS LIKE A WORK OF ART, IT DESERVES A GREAT FRAME

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My Dad and Lucy The Boxador.

This is VERY special Polaroid film called Image Wild Sides. I got it from polapremium.com where it's $16 dollars a pack (plus shipping). I never knew they made Wild Sides for Spectra cameras. I used to love shooting the 600 version in my One Step. I held onto my last pack for years and just tried shooting it and it was a total dud - what a disappointment. Well at least I have 3 boxes of the Image Wild Sides to shoot. They're dated 10/2008 but the color is perfect. I gotta get my hands on more of this stuff!

Photo by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed May 10, 2009 in Encino, CA
Polaroid ProCam with Image Wild Sides film (sold by polapremium)

Thursday, May 14, 2009

LETTING GO

SOLD!!!!!!!!! Enjoy the car Barry :-)

1995 Audi A6 For Sale. $3199 OBO
Smog certified until May 2011. Registration good through July 2009.

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(More photos below)

I purchased this 1995 Audi A6 used from McKenna Audi in July 1999 when it had 53,000 miles.
I have loved and maintained this car for nearly 10 years. Mileage is currently 165,000. I work from home so the car has pretty low mileage for a CA car.

The only cars I have ever driven have been Audis. Once you drive an Audi you are hooked for life. This was my third Audi after two 5000S models. The only reason I'm selling the car is that I needed a wagon for the utility and have just bought a used 2004 Audi A6 Avant. So now my blue baby has got to go. Even for a 14 year old car, the luxury and driving pleasure and timeless Audi styling are still there. A joy to drive and own.

My Dad has always supervised the maintenance on this car and he knows how to keep things nice and running for years. He still has his 1966 Buick LeSabre convertible in original condition if that tells you anything. So this 1995 Audi A6 is in excellent mechanical condition inside and out.

1995 Audi A6
Europa Blue Metallic
Leather seats (light tan color)
Burled walnut wood inlays for dash, door panels and console
8-way power front seats with manual lumbar adjustment and memory functions for driver seat and outside mirrors
4 Wheel ABS (anti-lock brakes) and Four disc brakes including two ventilated discs
Dual Airbags (driver and front passenger)
Keyless entry. 2 keys provided. Each key can be programmed for a different driver so that you have two separate seat and mirror settings. There's also a third memory setting located on the drivers door.
Power Windows
Moonroof (sliding and tilting)
Tilt and telescopic steering wheel
Professionally tinted windows (3M with lifetime guarantee)
Full power (windows, moonroof, seats)
CFC free liquid air conditioning with climate control (Ice cold Air Conditioning including vents in the back seat!)
Anti-theft vehicle alarm system
Cruise Control
2 cupholders
Leather-wrapped steering wheel
Leather shift knob and hand brake
Ski Storage sack (run from truck through pass through in backseat armrest). I've never used it for skis but it has come in handy to transport some long items.

Audio:
Sony 10 CD Changer
Prewired for Sirius Radio (professionally installed antennae and power supply). Just buy a Sirius brand radio, plug it into the two connectors, and activate it. That simple.
AM/FM stereo cassette radio with anti-theft and 8 active speaker sound package

Fuel Economy 19 City / 25 Highway (21 gallon tank) Typically if you wait to fill up until the reserve light comes on, you will get at around 350 miles per tank under normal driving (without even using the 3 reserve gallons). On road trips, I have actually gotten 450 miles!) This is a very well tuned engine. My 2004 A6 is the same size but has a bigger engine and gets nowhere near this fuel economy. Something I will definitely miss about my '95 A6.

2.8 Liter, 12 valve, V6 engine

Car Fax report available. Car Fax shows it had one accident in 1999 (before I owned it) and since I've owned it, zero accidents or body work.

The first couple years I owned the car, I serviced it at Keyes Audi in Van Nuys. Then I switched to the Auto Gallery in Woodland Hills. Most recent service has been done at Ingolstadt West (an independent Audi/VW/Porsche shop) in Woodland Hills and through my Dad's personal mechanic in Reseda.

Recent maintenance:

new brakes on the front
new front tires
replaced both catalytic converters 2 years ago and new spark plugs (so it will pass smog for many years to come)
new belts
new water pump
overhauled radiator
replaced the seals on the moonroof
replaced the airbag sensor/monitoring system on drivers side steering wheel

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Some road trips I have enjoyed in the A6:

White Sands, New Mexico
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Capitol Reef, Utah
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Arches National Park, Utah
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A recent photo shoot for a lighting class I took:

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Model not included with car ;-)

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

GOT WINDOWS

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Photo by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed May 9, 2009 in Culver City, CA

Monday, May 11, 2009

THE BAGDAD THREE

Bagdad Cafe
Photo by © Lydia Marcus
Photographed February 8, 2009
Bagdad Cafe, Newberry Springs off Route 66

Thursday, May 7, 2009

FLY PEGASUS FLY

Fly Pegasus Fly
Photo by © Lydia Marcus
Photographed February 8, 2009 in Barstow, CA
at Tom's Welding near Route 66

Monday, May 4, 2009

PURPLE 'STANG

Purple 'Stang
© Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed May 4, 2009 in Encino, CA