October 17, 2017 Kali got braces on.
June 6, 2019 they came off!
Lest you think that's all I'm going to say about it, read on if you wish! We aren't done with trips to Dr. Kray's office, with one next week to get her retainer, but we are nearing the end. It may come as a surprise to hear me say that I'll miss those treks, but they have mostly been quite pleasant and with an added and unexpected perk. Of course it's never fun to pass over 1/5 of one's yearly income at one shot for something like braces, especially when there are still lingering doubts as to whether it was "essential" for Kali's long term jaw and teeth health. But once the payment was done, we could just focus on the process, which turned out to be much easier than expected.
Kali didn't seem to have any extreme pain throughout, just discomfort after each tightening. And she is a trooper and not one to complain so we didn't hear about it much. Additionally, it was really nice to work with an office full of people who seemed to enjoy their jobs, seemed to have playful and respectful relationships with each other, and were kind and competent with all of us who came through their doors. It was a smooth running operation with never much of a wait at all and the staff was great from the front door folks to the technicians and Dr. Kray herself. I'd recommend them based on our experience to anyone.
The hardest thing for me is the amount of waste that seems to be part of so many businesses that I just wonder if there is a way around. Single use toothbrushes. New gloves every time you do something new. Instruments in packaging for each patient. And the list could go on and on. But I'm pretty sure that would be the same at any orthodontist, so I'm very glad with the one we went to, because I haven't even mentioned the biggest perk: dog therapy!!!!
I talked with Dr. Kray this week to let her know that we felt like we got both braces and dog therapy out of our payment and how grateful we are for Hank and Wally. By this final appointment, Alida and Terah both walked confidently into the office, went looking for the dogs, were sitting or laying on the floor with them, Terah was putting her face right in front of them, petting and giving them belly scratches, etc... Yep, nothing short of a miracle - or the result of almost two years of repeat positive experiences. Now if only we can get those experiences to translate to some improvement in other settings with other four legged creatures!
Kali now just has a little wire keeping her front bottom 6 teeth where they want them. That will stay on indefinitely. She had lots of x-rays done and was fitted for a retainer that they will make and give to her next week. For awhile it sounds like she will need to wear it all the time and then just at night (but flossing is already easier, giving her a few more minutes of nighttime reading)! So I probably won't have as great an opportunity for crazy photos of Kali for awhile. That is, unless she has to get her wisdom teeth out, which sounds like it might be on the horizon.
Terah was saying this week that she hopes to get braces some day. Her mother feels differently about it, and Kali tried to articulate to her the downsides of them. But for Terah it was mostly all fun: cute and friendly dogs that became pals, free pens of different colors, other treats occasionally, people who were kind and fun, and dress up clothes for post-braces photos! There would be much cheaper ways to accomplish all of those things so I won't be at all disappointed if Alida and Terah are spared the experience, along with our bank account. Time will tell!
The way we celebrated the occasion was picking up a bag of organic apples from the co-op so that Kali could crunch into a whole apple rather than having it cut in small slices. Oh the luxury!!
So that's the main news and the rest of this post is just an update on the outdoor growing things. With lots of rain in the forecast, I left my camera inside a lot recently as we tried to get as many seeds in the ground as we could and as many weeds pulled before they grew event bigger. We've had poor germination on a number of crops this year so it's been a stretch to seed once and then have to go back and fill in. Not sure where in the process we are having failures, but it's been a little discouraging. But the pictures below will try to highlight some of the successes, as I'm great at looking at what is not going as well. So things to celebrate:
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| Pea shelling has commenced and I forgot how much our kids love it. Bright moment last evening: Terah shelling peas and chattering with Alida providing background music! |
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| Alida's flower garden is starting to provide splashes of color outside our side door. |
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| Goumis - yum! And the bush is tall enough that the chickens haven't gotten all of them! |
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| Our kitchen garden soil knows how to grow sugar snap peas!!! |
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| We have to divvy them out carefully at this point, but hopefully there will be lots soon! |
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| The potatoes are hilled (thanks to Jason's hard hard work!) and there are black beans and watermelon planted with them. |
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| Main barley crop harvested and today Jason is harvesting some in the pig paddocks but giving most of the rest to the chickens (we are just out of time!); in the foreground is Kali's garden with eggplant, popcorn, spaghetti and PA dutch squash - beans will go in once the corn gets a head start. |
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| Alida and Terah's popcorn patch is now taller than her! |
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| The chickens left a few red currants that were up high but not many! |
And I'll end with a flower from each of our daughters' gardens. The gardens are full of beauty, just like the girls the gardens were created for/with!
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| Terah's garden |
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| Alida's garden |
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| Nora's garden |
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| Kali's garden |
Kali didn't seem to have any extreme pain throughout, just discomfort after each tightening. And she is a trooper and not one to complain so we didn't hear about it much. Additionally, it was really nice to work with an office full of people who seemed to enjoy their jobs, seemed to have playful and respectful relationships with each other, and were kind and competent with all of us who came through their doors. It was a smooth running operation with never much of a wait at all and the staff was great from the front door folks to the technicians and Dr. Kray herself. I'd recommend them based on our experience to anyone.
I talked with Dr. Kray this week to let her know that we felt like we got both braces and dog therapy out of our payment and how grateful we are for Hank and Wally. By this final appointment, Alida and Terah both walked confidently into the office, went looking for the dogs, were sitting or laying on the floor with them, Terah was putting her face right in front of them, petting and giving them belly scratches, etc... Yep, nothing short of a miracle - or the result of almost two years of repeat positive experiences. Now if only we can get those experiences to translate to some improvement in other settings with other four legged creatures! 
Kali now just has a little wire keeping her front bottom 6 teeth where they want them. That will stay on indefinitely. She had lots of x-rays done and was fitted for a retainer that they will make and give to her next week. For awhile it sounds like she will need to wear it all the time and then just at night (but flossing is already easier, giving her a few more minutes of nighttime reading)! So I probably won't have as great an opportunity for crazy photos of Kali for awhile. That is, unless she has to get her wisdom teeth out, which sounds like it might be on the horizon.
Terah was saying this week that she hopes to get braces some day. Her mother feels differently about it, and Kali tried to articulate to her the downsides of them. But for Terah it was mostly all fun: cute and friendly dogs that became pals, free pens of different colors, other treats occasionally, people who were kind and fun, and dress up clothes for post-braces photos! There would be much cheaper ways to accomplish all of those things so I won't be at all disappointed if Alida and Terah are spared the experience, along with our bank account. Time will tell!
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