worried
Last month I took Zeke to the vet for shots and to have his anal glands cleaned out (an absolutely delightful task I assure you, but some dogs need it). The shots went fine, but while the vet was doing the anal gland thingie she noticed a little bump where there isn't supposed to be one. We scheduled a recheck in a month, which was today, and the little bump is still there.
While it could be many things that aren't terribly problematic, it could also be anal sac carcinoma, which can be deadly. So the vet took some blood for some tests which will help determine if it's the carcinoma and next week I'm taking Zeke back in to have a biopsy done. If it is a carcinoma at least it's small (about the size of a pea), so it's most likely been caught early which makes a successful outcome much more likely. Because it's in an area that doesn't usually get a lot of checking, many of these are found in the late stages when they have spread.
Another good thing is there is a very good specialty and emergency vet clinic less than 10 miles away, plus the OSU vet school clinic very close as well, so I have easy access to top of the line vet care if needed. So right now I'm feeling pretty positive about this, but I can't help but be worried. Zekie is a wonderful dog and I want him around for many years to come.
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And that wasn't even the stuff going on I mentioned in my last post. Thanks for the birthday wishes!
So for my birthday I bought my first wide format printer. Now as wide format printers go, it's just a baby, but it will print sheets up to 13"x19" with eight colours of pigment ink.
"Wait a minute" I hear you say. "Isn't that the type of printer used to make SK's art prints and cards?"
"Why, yes, it is" I say with a big smile.
Yep, I finally gave the woman I've had do the prints (and the photographing the paintings to get the image to print) the boot. Ultimately I could not accept waiting weeks and sometimes months (often with no communication during this time) for work which for most of the time I was doing business with her was supposed to have a week to maximum ten day turn around time. I really should have done it long before this, but she was someone I knew and I felt loyal to her. Unfortunately, I have since realised she did not feel as loyal to me as I did to her.
So the plan now is to have all the paintings scanned and colour corrected and the image files put on disc. Then I will do any final tweaking needed and will make the cards and prints up to 13"x19" (which is our current max size). Because large format scanning usually has much more detail and sharpness than a photograph for making prints, we will also now be able to offer larger sized prints of the larger sized paintings (SK is now doing some 20"x30" pieces -- his previous max size was 18"x24"). These larger prints will only be offered as special orders because I will have to order them which can take a while, but I think it will be good to offer them.
But back to my new printer. Getting this printer is a big step for me because although it is just a printer, it's an expensive little (not so little -- it's approx 2'x2.5') devil. I could have gotten a decent computer for what I dropped on this printer. A set of eight ink tanks (the printer head is attached to the machine) costs a bit over $100 and these printers are ink hogs so the ink doesn't last long. And then there is the cost of the specialty paper....
Still, because we make virtually all of Steve's paintings into cards and prints it would be nearly impossible to set up everything (currently we offer cards and prints of approximately 150 paintings) with another printer. Plus I can print off work when I need it, so I will be able to offer excellent service and not have to carry a large inventory of printed pieces.
The printer is supposed to arrive tomorrow. If I post a pic of me with clumps of hair missing you'll know it's not going well.
While it could be many things that aren't terribly problematic, it could also be anal sac carcinoma, which can be deadly. So the vet took some blood for some tests which will help determine if it's the carcinoma and next week I'm taking Zeke back in to have a biopsy done. If it is a carcinoma at least it's small (about the size of a pea), so it's most likely been caught early which makes a successful outcome much more likely. Because it's in an area that doesn't usually get a lot of checking, many of these are found in the late stages when they have spread.
Another good thing is there is a very good specialty and emergency vet clinic less than 10 miles away, plus the OSU vet school clinic very close as well, so I have easy access to top of the line vet care if needed. So right now I'm feeling pretty positive about this, but I can't help but be worried. Zekie is a wonderful dog and I want him around for many years to come.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And that wasn't even the stuff going on I mentioned in my last post. Thanks for the birthday wishes!
So for my birthday I bought my first wide format printer. Now as wide format printers go, it's just a baby, but it will print sheets up to 13"x19" with eight colours of pigment ink.
"Wait a minute" I hear you say. "Isn't that the type of printer used to make SK's art prints and cards?"
"Why, yes, it is" I say with a big smile.
Yep, I finally gave the woman I've had do the prints (and the photographing the paintings to get the image to print) the boot. Ultimately I could not accept waiting weeks and sometimes months (often with no communication during this time) for work which for most of the time I was doing business with her was supposed to have a week to maximum ten day turn around time. I really should have done it long before this, but she was someone I knew and I felt loyal to her. Unfortunately, I have since realised she did not feel as loyal to me as I did to her.
So the plan now is to have all the paintings scanned and colour corrected and the image files put on disc. Then I will do any final tweaking needed and will make the cards and prints up to 13"x19" (which is our current max size). Because large format scanning usually has much more detail and sharpness than a photograph for making prints, we will also now be able to offer larger sized prints of the larger sized paintings (SK is now doing some 20"x30" pieces -- his previous max size was 18"x24"). These larger prints will only be offered as special orders because I will have to order them which can take a while, but I think it will be good to offer them.
But back to my new printer. Getting this printer is a big step for me because although it is just a printer, it's an expensive little (not so little -- it's approx 2'x2.5') devil. I could have gotten a decent computer for what I dropped on this printer. A set of eight ink tanks (the printer head is attached to the machine) costs a bit over $100 and these printers are ink hogs so the ink doesn't last long. And then there is the cost of the specialty paper....
Still, because we make virtually all of Steve's paintings into cards and prints it would be nearly impossible to set up everything (currently we offer cards and prints of approximately 150 paintings) with another printer. Plus I can print off work when I need it, so I will be able to offer excellent service and not have to carry a large inventory of printed pieces.
The printer is supposed to arrive tomorrow. If I post a pic of me with clumps of hair missing you'll know it's not going well.
posted by eek at 11:36 PM
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