CALI POOLSIDE

I found out today that Cali makes a very willing and very still model when American cheese slices are involved.







Cali, 4 months old.
Photo by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed July 31, 2009 in Encino, CA

A LOVELY SUMMER DAY AT THE GETTY WITH FRIENDS

I spent the afternoon yesterday at the Getty Center with Tiffany, an old college friend I only get to see every few years since she moved to the East Coast. Me, Tiffany, her foster son James, and her Mom all enjoyed the food, the views, the architecture, the gardens, and the art (especially the sexy Paul Outerbridge photography exhibit). The Getty supplies free umbrellas while you roam around - perfect for sun shade any time of year and even rain protection for the few drops we get annually. I have to say that walking around with the umbrella definitely made me feel cooler. And it brought out my hidden diva side I tend to forget about too. :-) Something about walking around with a parasol that just makes you walk a bit more regal and put a little bit more swoosh in your step.



Photo credit: © Lydia Marcus 2009 / www.lydiamarcus.com
Photographed July 28, 2009 in Los Angeles, CA

CALI AFTER HER BATH

Who can resist the cuteness of a wet, scruffy puppy!!!

Cali video by Lydia Marcus
Shot with an iPhone.

CALI DAY 2

Cali & Me - our official first portrait. My Dad is a horrible photographer but someone he managed this one!


Cali and I spent our first full day together keeping on a puppy schedule so she has consistency in her young doggie life. Cali is crate trained but since I don't have a crate for her yet (it was ordered from dog.com today), she slept on in a doggie bed on the floor next to my bed and didn't go to the bathroom until I let her out at 7am. Good Dog!!!

Here's a run down of the day:

Breakfast at 7am. A walk with my Dad after the meal.

Pee breaks every 2 hours.

Playing with her soft squeaky toys, chasing tennis balls and playing fetch, wrestling around, cuddling, and napping in between the pee breaks.

Lunch at noon. Another walk with Dad.

More play and nap time.

Dinner at 6pm.

Her first dog park visit around 6:30. Voracious play with ALL the dogs. She never looked back at me once - she was off and running and playing rough for about an hour. No shyness, no fear, she was like a bat outta hell at the dog park. If she's like this at only 25 pounds, I have no idea what terror she'll be full grown! Those big dogs better watch out!!! I attribute her outward behavior at the dog park to early socialization with other dogs at her wonderful foster home.

Here's video of her at play.



Cali with a guy at the dog park. If only she stayed this fun size forever!


Since the dog park, she's been pretty pooped out, but I don't know who's more tired - the puppy or this new doggie mommy!

Photos by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed July 21, 2009 in Encino, CA

MEET CALI MY LAB RESCUE PUPPY!

My new puppy Cali - named for my home state. She's a four month old black lab (probably a mix), adopted from Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue (SCLRR / www.sclrr.org) on 7-20-09. She was found a month ago roaming a parking lot. Her owners couldn't be found and she was taken in by SCLRR where she was fostered until I adopted her.

Some stats:
Approx Weight: 25 pounds. Vet figures she'll be double that when she's fully grown.
She's spayed, has all her vaccinations, and is microchipped.
Sits and lies down on command.
Crate trained and working on being totally housebroken.

My new doggie adventure begins...

Cali Al Fresco


Cali's First Snooze


Photos by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed July 20, 2009 in Encino, CA

FRANKENSTEIN DODGE

Spotted this Dodge conversion parked in front of the defunct Wiener Factory in Sherman Oaks. It had a note taped inside one of the windows that said it was for sale for $6,995 and that it had $20,000 in customization. Is it a van, a truck, a semi, a camper? What the hell is it?

Adding to the customization, it has two doors on the passenger side and one door on the driver's side.

Frankenstein Dodge
Photo © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed July 12, 2009 in Sherman Oaks, CA

GREETINGS FROM MALIBU, CA

Photo credit: © Lydia Marcus 2009 / www.lydiamarcus.com
Sent From My iPhone

GET YOUR QUEER FILM ON!

Outfest_Orpheum, originally uploaded by fotonomous.

Opening Night of Outfest
Photo by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed July 9, 2009 in Los Angeles, CA

BACKYARD BASH

Saturday I had my 2nd Annual 4th of July BBQ and Pool Party. Preparing for the party and having friends and family over kept me busy so I didn't have as much time to focus on missing Lucy. I bbq'd traditional burgers and hot dogs, and everyone snacked on fresh fruit, cheese, guacamole, homemade potato salad (thanks Ros!) and we had tons of desserts like homemade brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and lemon bars (thanks Jeff!), and Canter's cookies (yummy - thanks Paul and Zelde). The weather was perfect for hanging out all day in the pool and jacuzzi.

Here are some photos from the day. Most of these came from my trusty Sony Cyber-shot U DSC-U60, a long in the tooth (circa 2003) but still awesome 2 megapixel waterproof camera.

S & Me


Jon, Jeff, and Me


S' sister Sonya


Patti and Me


Tina & Val


"Libbit Ladies" - Donna, Liz, and Michelle


My Dad, Michelle, Val, Tina, Adam, & Donna


Tara, Tina, Val, & Patti


Jeff - baker extraordinaire. His lemon bars should be illegal!


Amy & S before and after Jeff cannon-balled them!!! :-) Pure hilarity in action!!!





My Dad taking a break from the sun


S & Sonya's Dad (and my adopted Dad) George regaling a jacuzzi full of girls with a funny ad from the 99 cents store that had a top 10 Best and Worst Father's Day gifts ad. The Best and Worst turned out to be the 99 cent condoms. We all had a good laugh, but George's storytelling and presentation made it truly funny.


S & Sonya's Mom (and my adopted Mom) Joyce cooled her feet off in the pool.


Masha ("MEOW!!") and Amy


Sonya, S & Joyce


Sonya & S battle it out underwater - racing from the shallow to deep end


Patti & Me comparing our painted toenails.


Patti, Sonya & Lucia


Amy, Lucia, Patti, Masha, S, Jeff & Jon


Some of the food!

SOUL CONNECTION

"Soul Connection"
Me and Lucy - The Last Hour.

Photo by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed June 30, 2009 in Encino, CA

HAPPY 4TH!

Polaroid Photo by © Lydia Marcus
Photographed May 2008 at Los Angeles National Cemetary
Westwood, CA

SO LONG "GOOSE"

Lucy lost her six month battle with Lymphoma today. I adopted her on December 8, 2007 and let her go on June 30, 2009. Words just cannot express how I'm feeling. It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let this photo taken less than an hour after her passing do all my talking for now.

Lucy The Boxador R.I.P
Photo © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed June 30, 2009 in Encino, CA

LUCY'S LIFE

I saw an oncologist on Monday to find out about possible chemotherapy treatment for Lucy's recently diagnosed Lymphoma. Lucy has been sick since January, but it's only been a couple of weeks since she was finally diagnosed with the Lymphoma.

After hearing the three chemo options for her (that range from about $350 a month for oral chemo to $4200 for a five drug cocktail that's administered over a 5 week period), I've decided not to pursue chemo. Apparently chemotherapy is not a cure for Lymphoma (or other cancers) in dogs, it only temporarily treats the symptoms. The cheapest chemo averages only extra months, the middle chemo (around $3000) just six months, and for the most expensive chemo, the average prognosis is survival of one year before the lymphoma returns. At that point, you can redo chemo (which is less effective for the second bout) or just let the dog go.

If spending the money meant that Lucy would live a normal life and live for many more years to come, I may have considered it. But for the possibility of just one extra year (a period of time that may only have her feeling so-so), the chemo is not really something I want to pursue. As much as I love and adore her, I've already accepted that she's not going to be around long. Right now, the only thing I can do is continue to give her twice daily prednisone and occasional steroid shots (that really seem to give her a nice pick me up for a couple weeks), plus continue to give her a tasty diet and treats for as long as she is able to eat.

Right now it's just a waiting game as I continue to just be grateful for the time we have left together. Good days where she has a little pep in her step, a smile, and a healthy appetite fill me glee, bad days where she is lethargic and sad looking and not wanting to eat just makes me sad on a very heavy level.

I just have to take it a day at a time and keep thinking that when one door closes, another opens. There is a dog out there that will take over her spot, but never her place in my heart.

Photo credit: J. Herbert
Photographed May 18, 2009 in Encino, CA
© Lydia Marcus 2009

DOXIE LOVE

Meet my doggie "nieces" Mathilda and Talullah, blue Dachsund sisters that are two months old. Their human mommies are very close friends of mine. They just brought them home yesterday. They're the first blue doxies I've ever seen!

Talullah (on the left in the Polaroid below) is the one that seems the most photo savvy - she stared straight at the camera in practically every shot. Mathilda (on the right) seems to be more shy (or maybe less interested) in the camera. Talullah is larger but a lot more easy going and gentle. Mathilda has an obvious Napolean complex and is a raging little scrapper!


Sheryl & Denny (aka Shirley and Lennard) with their new doggie babies.








Photos by © Lydia Marcus 2009
Photographed in Lake Balboa, CA on June 7, 2009

PURPLE CALALILY TRIO

This is a perfect example of what makes Time Zero film so special and irreplaceable. It's why I have 13 boxes of it stockpiled in my fridge and literally wait for special things to photograph with it. There is nothing quite like TZ blue - it is just dreamy. Something about TZ makes images look like paintings. I love calalilies and these were a present. Since they only live a few days or so after they're cut, I thought this was the best way to immortalize them. The blue backdrop is courtesy of my swimming pool.

Photo by © Lydia Marcus
Polaroid SX-70 Alpha / Polaroid Time Zero Film
Photographed in Encino, CA

THE DIAGNOSIS

My apologies for being an erratic blogger, but my mental energy is really consumed with taking care of my dog Lucy right now.



On the previous post I wrote about Lucy's experimental drug therapy with Pamindronate. Well it turns out that was the 1st and last Pamindronate treatment she will ever receive.

Here's what happened since the treatment:

The vet wanted Lucy to take Pamindronate instead of the steroid shots and Prednisone pills we had been giving her. About 4 days after the Pamindronate, when all the last bit of steroids had left Lucy's system, she got VERY sick again. Stopped eating and drinking and just pretty much didn't want to move from Friday night until Monday when we got her back to the Vet. Spoke with our Vet over the weekend, and she said to put Lucy back on the Prednisone. She said that although her blood count was getting better as far as the Calcium numbers, clearly she was not faring well without the steroids in her system.

Saturday night, my Dad discovered a lump on the side of her neck. So Monday we returned to the Vet and did a biopsy. After six months of not knowing exactly what was wrong with her, we finally get the diagnosis - Lucy has Lymphoma. All the visible signs of illness go back to January when she first started vomiting and not eating for days on end, but I have a feeling the Lymphoma was lurking way before those symptoms arrived.

After a day back on the prednisone (and a steroid shot at the Vet), the lump in the side of her neck has become smaller right away. The steroids kind of suppress the lymphoma but doesn't completely take it or it's symptoms away.

We have an appointment with an Oncologist next week. The Pamindronate didn't really work out BUT had we not tried it and taken her off the steroids, the Lymphoma would not have shown itself - so ultimately this is a good thing to finally know what has been wrong with her since January 09. I don't know what the long term prognosis is - we may start chemo - but just taking it a day at a time. At least with the steroids in her system, Lucy's personality comes back, and she enjoys eating and playing with her Kong toys. She doesn't have as much energy as when she was healthy - our walks are pretty brief - but at least she isn't lying around looking like she's at death's door. I will continue to update Lucy's story as I know more. And when I find myself in the mood, I'll continue to post some new images of my beloved Polaroids and some digital too.

Lydia & Lucy photo by J. Herbert
Photographed May 18, 2009 in Encino, CA