Leonard's 10th Birthday!

We decided to go north to Sedona for the day. Was hoping to reach the vortex at Bell Rock to get my boy some healing energy but alas, it was too hot and too far a walk from the parking lot to get him up there. I am sure the positive energy from the day did him wonders. It for sure conked him out!

Are we there yet?

Bell RockTlaquapaqueLunch in Sedona proper.Heading to Oak Creek next.We couldn't find a safe way to get Leo down to the Creek though...Pilot & Co-pilot.Are we home yet?Time for presents!

Yummy dinner, baked Salmon, Asparagus & Broccoli.

One tired Bulldog.

We had an ultrasound appointment yesterday, we waited 5 hours to get in for our appointment. There were no metastasis on the ultrasound (they didn't do the lungs), the prostate tumor measurements were actually smaller but it's hard to compare since it was a different doctor and different machine who took the last measurements. They have deemed Leonard "stable" and they said "stable" is just as good as "remission".

We hired a Canine Nutritionist last week http://www.thepossiblecanine.com/ . I really like her and am very certain that her diets will make a huge difference. Hopefully we will have some input from her this week.

We went to The Farm for breakfast today, tomorrow is their last day open for the season. Big Bean's 10th birthday is tomorrow, I am trying to figure out somewhere fun to take him up north for the day. He is doing really well.

Dad and the kids.

To anyone who reads this blog for updates on our renovations, this will probably be on hold for a while until we get Leo's dis-ease into remission. Please bear with me, he is our little bean and the most important being in our lives right now.

He has been doing fantastic; he is eating well which I accredit to getting him started on the FO/CC (flax oil/cottage cheese) portion of the Budwig protocol. He had bloodwork done just over a week ago and everything was in range except for a few values that were still close enough to not worry excessively.

Two pics below of him eating the FOCC mixture that he gets twice a day with PB8 (probiotics).

Resting.

My Co-pilot.

Leo & Magda sharing the crate.

Yummm....salmon for dinner tonight.

Right now all of his meals are home-cooked organic meats (except for the Salmon that is Alaskan Wild Caught). He gets a handful of organic Quinoa, some lightly steamed organic spinach or kale or broccoli and a splash of shredded organic carrots. Along with some Prozyme, Standard Process Whole Body Support, Dr Schultze's Superfood, Milk Thistle and/or Desert Defense. I kind of rotate these supplements.

He is also on Enrofloxacin (tomorrow ends his RX), Piroxicam (NSAID for the prostate) and Zyflamend (for the prostate). I also purchased some K9 Immunity and K9 Transfer Factor but have not started them yet.

He is getting daily sunlight and walks, which we abandoned for a while due to the heat and his joints but we are doing them again, they seem to perk him up.

I have scheduled another ultrasound for Friday the 28th. I am confident it will be clean. We will accept your positive intentions and prayers for this outcome as well. :)

Last Sunday we had an appointment for an ultrasound for Leonard, he has had a UTI for months. Well, the ultrasound showed a splenic mass that needed to be removed immediately or it could burst. The vet also noted that his prostate was enlarged, even though he is a neutered dog.

The biopsies showed Splenic Fibrosarcoma and probable prostate cancer (not enough cells to give a definitive diagnosis). We met with Dr Betsy Hershey, the oncologist, this Thursday. The prognosis she gave was grim whether we opt for chemo or not. BUT - we are fighting this, and I will put this in writing for all the world to see - we will heal him, Leonard is strong and Leonard is healthy. I have been assembling my arsenal of anecdotes, treatments, positive intentions and vibes. Mark my words, HE WILL BE HEALED!

Jeff loves the vet office....

Leo feeling miserable just a couple days after the splenectomy...

Leo full of acupuncture needles.

More Griffin Homes

I have been unsuccessful in finding much info on Fred Griffin but have come across a few of his other houses in the valley here and there. I need to compile the info so what better place than here?
A local blogger sent me an article about a home built by Mr. Griffin in Tempe. Recent photo
here. The article was from Arizona Days & Ways and originally identified the home as 1114 Okley Place, Tempe, AZ but according to Google Maps, this home's addres is now 1408 S. Oakley Place.

I was sent another .PDF with a photo and caption only of a super modern triangular fireplace flanked by large built-in speakers, this was attributed to Mr Fred Griffen (sic). I know this is our same architect because he also built-in floor-to-ceiling speakers here, flanking the sliding glass doors.
My home-hunting friends recently came across a great listing for only $235 in Encanto! It is falsely advertised as an Al Beadle. As my friends researched tax breaks for historic properties, they discovered this gem was also by our own Fred Griffin! We drove by it tonight and it's a stunner! Love the pool! This one was apparently built in 1953 as Mr Griffin's residence as well. It is located at 2201 Encanto Drive NE, Phoenix. Pictures from the real estate listing and tonight's drive-by are seen below.

So far, this is what I deduce: lot placement of the home is imperative to Griffin. All of the homes I have identified have somewhat unusual placement of the home on the lot to maximize yard space. That is one element of our home that I **love**. We are built on the far north side of our lot and our home runs from the front of the lot (far east) all the way to the back of the lot (far west). So our yard is really maximized and the entire home has glass windows that look into the green yard.
The home pictured above and our home both have unusual decorative elements on the entry door and sidelights on one side. He builds his homes long & skinny :)
Geometric and linear elements are integrated into the design, whether in the wood construction or the block construction. The Encanto home was built in 1953, our home was in 1959. I am surprised to see the nice glass sidelights above, as our home has white plexi. It is quite possible, however, that a homeowner along the way upgraded those windows.
I have a few other .PDFs I will try and get converted and onto the blog soon...