RIP Pounce

We said goodbye to our sweet cat Pounce today. She was 14 years old and had survived 3 cancer surgeries. She stopped eating over the weekend and barely drank any water as well. She had lost 30% of her body weight in the last 8 weeks. You can imagine how bony she felt as we petted her. Last night was the first night ever that she couldn't jump up on the bed to cuddle at my feet or on my pillow. I thought it also sounded like she was starting to have a hard time breathing this morning as well. I took her into Dr. Hunter's office today to have her put to sleep. He found her to be anemic, dehydrated, and with two more masses in her abdomen. We knew from the biopsy in August that a lymph node had tested positive for the cancer so it was probably in her chest as well - most likely causing the eating/swallowing problems. We will miss her loud "motor" and her friskey presonality around here. Oliver believes he's already seen her ghost in his room! I searched the library's database for a good juvenile book on pet death and couldn't find one so I think I'll write my own. I hope Pounce is enjoying kitty cat heaven with unlimited cat chow, cat nip, and birds to watch.

Election Day 2008

Congratulations Barack Obama! Oliver did his part in the campaigning.
We spent the day by voting and then having some family time. I went to Oliver's swim lesson and then we enjoyed a beautiful November day at the Stan Hywet Gardens in Akron. After that we got home in time to watch the elections results come in. What an exciting night!
The other album that I just posted is the Halloween party we had at our house. Enjoy!

Trick-or-Treat

Natalie's costume this year is Mariposa. She can be seen in the pictures at right having a great time at her friend Amelia's Halloween party. Daddy braided her hair and Mamma helped her with make-up. Amelia's mom is the one whose costume is "cloudy with a chance of flurries." Check it out. Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon was trick-or-treat time here in North Canton. Oliver, with the help of Dad, became a mouse mummy. Or more specifically - Benjamin the mouse mummy. If there are any fans of Geronimo Stilton's books out there, then the previous sentence will totally make sense to you. We enjoyed trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood that has lots of kids.

Devo!

Here's a picture of me wearing an Energy Dome with Gerald V. Casale of the group Devo! I saw Devo in at the Akron Civic Center on Oct. 17. Devo came back to their hometown to play a concert to raise money for Obama. It was a great concert! Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders (another hometown hero) also showed up and played a great acoustic set. I caught an Energy Dome that Mark Mothersbaugh threw out into the audience during "Whip It." I bought a special VIP ticket so that I could meet the band at a reception after the show. I got my picture with several members of Devo.

First Days of New Schools

Nothing makes ya feel older than sending your baby off to Kindergarten, but that's what we did on Friday. Oliver has Miss Steepleton in the Green Room of the Kindergarten Center here in North Canton. He gets to take the bus! Natalie started 3rd grade with Mrs. Peldunas at Northwood on Tuesday. Check out her tortoise shell glasses. She just got them last Monday and loves them. She also gets to take the bus, even though we live close by. I guess because there are no sidewalks and a busy street, the buses get everybody. Natalie also started Suzuki Piano last week. We are still trying to decide if we have time for dance lessons or anything else. Both kids have enjoyed playing with my cousin's kids, having sleep overs at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Chuck's house and chalk drawing in the driveway. CD enjoyed playing 18 holes of golf today with a friend of mine from high school. I enjoyed having two old high school friends over for dinner Friday. I'm still tackling the yard/garden stuff. Then I'll be hanging more pictures and starting to paint the rooms. Next week I start rehearsals with the Canton Symphony Chorus.

Happy Fourth of July from the Dhyanchands. This is a picture of Natalie and Oliver at the Garden Montessori School parade. Natalie rode her scooter and wore her patriotic socks and had red and blue fingernails. Oliver wore his red white and blue shirt, but as you can see was not really interested in wearing the tri-cornered hat from Williamsburg.

The Past Three Months & Getting Up Off the 'Couch'

Here's what we have been up to the past three months.

I need to start back with ABQ. Our experience in ABQ had its bright points, but overall we were feeling tired of being on the road. The patients and staff I worked with in the VA were nice people, but I never felt that I connected with the organization. Suffice it to say there seemed to be too much bureaucracy and politics that affected everything. In any case, we were feeling strongly that this might be the last locums job abroad for a while.

Our trip to Colorado was a nice reprieve, which Karen detailed in the previous few posts. We had a safe, uneventful trip home and we were glad to be back. I was lined up to work with Cherokee Health Systems one more time. This time I was in the Seymour, TN office, working directly with my friends from residency, Ken and Betsy Mays and Richelle Schiro. But Karen and I were really tackling the question of what to do next. We were feeling that the time had come to settle into something more permanent.

We prioritized ideas of what we were looking for in a community - walkability, good school system, job, etc. We eventually landed on North Canton, Ohio, where Karen grew up and her sister currently resides. North Canton has an excellent public school system. It is a small enough community that everything is easily accessible without spending much time in the car. It is within easy driving distance of museums, etc. in Canton, Akron, and Cleveland. There is a great airport within 3 miles. There are extended family ties to the area as well.

So I began my new job search at the same time I started my new job in Seymour. We made a trip up to North Canton in May where I interviewed with 2 nearby community health centers. I decided to join Akron Community Health Resources, a small but growing community health center in South Akron. I was most impressed by their management. This job is 12 miles from North Canton - my shortest commute ever. The timing for the new job worked perfectly as they needed me in July shortly after my time with Cherokee would be finished.

As for selling our house, we have had it on the market since early May with only a handful of showings. However, the market slump favored us in our purchase of a new home. We found one pretty easily that was everything we were looking for at a great price AND only 7 doors down from Northwood elementary school! It has a remodeled kitchen, a sunroom, gardens and a level picturesque yard with a playland. We were especially excited by a blueberry bush growing on the property. You can view pictures of our new house at this link.

I finished working at Cherokee in mid-June, and once again had a great experience. Since then I have had some time off which I have mostly spent giving Karen a break from the kids. We have also worked determinedly at getting in some last minute Knoxville and Tennessee experiences before we leave. These have included going up the Sunsphere and World's Fair Park, eating at Tomato Head, and visiting our friend J.D. Dimick's farm, for starters. Most importantly, it has been a time to reconnect with good friends before our departure. The photo album titled "Back in Knoxville" shows some of these most recent adventures. I have captioned some of the photos to provide explanation.

Right now we are in the middle of packing boxes and planning the logistics of our move next week. We will be starting our life in our new house on Wednesday, July 9. My new job begins on July 14.

PS - If you are confused about the 'Couch' reference in the title, check out this travel section from the New York Times.