Snug went to the vet yesterday for his wellness exam.
Tug went along to reduce post-event Alpha Control Syndrome.
We’re not sure if the strategy worked or not.
Driving to the Vets Office from Jammie J. on Vimeo.
Parking lot at Vet’s office from Jammie J. on Vimeo.
It was a fun drive. In fact, I’m still laughing about the vision I must have been. A yowling red convertible on a Saturday drive. Nothing like a clown car!
Filed under I feel Amused, Kid Substitutes, Tidbits
* It’s been a bit of a rough week for me at work. I know I’ve mentioned how glad I am when both of my bosses are in the office. A main reason for that is, I have one boss who seems to have the worst travel luck I’ve ever seen. Delays, cancellations and other bizarre happenings always, without fail, seem to happen to him. He started traveling this past Monday for a two week journey. This week he happened to be right in the middle of all the tornadoes, hail storms, heavy rains and winds… (sigh) You can pretty much guess what happened. Not looking forward to next week, either.
* A couple nights ago, we were all comfy, watching a movie. Tug was curled up on my lap, happily soaking up some human time. All of a sudden, we heard a HUGE yowling noise. One of our other cats (Ripper) had jumped the little black cat (Snug, also known as Tug’s cat) in an attempt to play. The huge noise was Snug making a scene since he didn’t want to play. Tug leaped out of my lap and bounded to Snug’s defense and we immediately had to act as referees (anything with Tug involves refereeing). An hour later, I got up to go to bed and saw blood spots all over the entryway (where the huge fight happened). There was a trail of blood out to the cat run, another one out to the garage, trails of blood everywhere. So much blood. It was unbelievable, really.
A small sample of all the blood…
We spent the next 20 minutes herding cats so we could inspect them and, of course, the last one to be inspected (Tug) was the culprit. And it was just a torn ear. Look at all that blood splattered inside his ear, too. Stupid head wounds.
* Next month, auto insurance and home insurance come due. That’s always a huge chunk of money that pains me greatly when I have to write the check. I have to say that the bill paying, money spending part of being a grown-up is a big incentive to want to stay a kid forever.
* There are two tree shrubs over by our community pool that bloom the most gorgeous, scented pink flowers every year. Last year, I took a picture of them a day before the gardeners heavily pruned them back, making them look like immodest sticks. This year, I missed the initial blooming, but tonight I noticed there were two renegade stalks of flowers. I picked one of them and brought it home, justified by the suspicion that I just know the gardeners are waiting, watching, and will snip them off and discard them tomorrow.
* Lap swimming. God, how I love lap swimming. It makes me feel good all over. I swear, I should have been born a mermaid.
* I’ve always loved lemonade, and when at restaurants can be found inquiring, “Do you have lemonade from a mix or squeezed from lemons?” If it’s fresh squeezed, I’m all over it. (Side note: Chick-Fil-A makes their own real lemonade, in case you were wondering. So does Lucille’s BBQ, but theirs is really sweet.) I found a recipe online that uses fresh lemons and Splenda. I customized it a bit, and now I just make my own lemonade.
* I called the lady who cuts my hair this week to see how she’s doing. I’ve been praying for her, because she had surgery to eradicate a cancerous tumor from her intestines back in March. She’s doing chemotherapy and sounds somewhat upbeat, if a bit confused at how quickly it all happened. In the course of our conversation, she suggested that I go see “Dalia, the lady who worked at the station next to me” for my hair trimming needs. Today I worked up the nerve to do so and am so happy with my freshly trimmed hair. Swishy, swishy. Loving it!
* Facing a three day weekend. Also, tomorrow is a “work 6 hours, get paid for 8” day at work. Seems fair to me, so that’s what I’ll be doing!
Filed under Blogabilities, Kid Substitutes, Mermaid Envy, Money Hump Building
* Remember the cat barf on my car I mentioned a couple weeks ago? i wasn’t sure how the barfer could top getting barf down in my gas filler area, but I am now able to tell you. For Friday the 13th last week, the Barfer barfed on the side mirror… and my hood, but the side mirror is the one that mystifies me. Trying to figure that one out… like, if it were bird crap, I could totally understand how it happened, but a cat? Mystifying.
* Also, on Friday the 13th, the coffee maker at work went out. Our Facilities Manager created this sign for the occasion and vehemently denied it being a Friday the 13th gag. I finally believed him when I saw the coffee machine fixing man out on Monday working on it.
* Did you know there are people whose job it is to go around to companies and restock their first aid kits with band-aids and Tylenols? I sure didn’t, at least not until I saw some dude in a uniform restocking ours at work. I’m still pondering what the guy puts on his resume as his official title. Also, what his qualifications have to be and how would one go about landing that kind of gig?
* Given my love for watermelon, and all melons in general, I have to say this story made me really, really sad.
* The owner of a company who partners with my company told someone pretty high up at my company that I am one of the nicest, most helpful people he’s ever worked with. He phrased the compliment in such a way that it sounded like he’s worked with me for years, although he hasn’t. Just goes to show that things do go through the grapevine, both good and bad. I’m glad this one was good.
* LivingSocial.com offered a deal with Fandango, 2 movie tickets for $9. Of course, I was all over that! We’re presently scheduled to see the new Pirates movie on Saturday morning and I can’t wait! Per Tony’s Movie Rules of Conduct, if the movie we’re going to see is a series, we have to watch all previous movies prior to seeing the new one… so, we’ve been watching all the previous Pirate movies this week. It’s a good thing I’ve been in a movie mood lately.
* Update on the washing machine fix… Tony determined that the broken part was actually a $30 part that we could buy at Sears. Once it was in, tested, and proven to be working, I called the company from whom I had ordered the $100 Brain/timer and asked to return it. In the course of the conversation, they learned that the part had actually been delivered slightly damaged. I told her it wouldn’t affect the operation at all, it’s just one of the four clips that hold it in place, the other three are just fine. She said not to worry, just go ahead and discard the part (umm, right, that will be happening) since they can’t sell it damaged and she would process the refund to my credit card.
* Last week, Tony’s parents went up to the family cabin in the mountains. For breakfast, they went to our favorite restaurant, pointed at our picture on the wall, and said they wanted one of “those messes for her” (“her” being me). The waitress knew exactly what order to put in for that (the Mess, no cheese, extra jalapenos), and then that night, my in-laws delivered said Mess to me at home. To say I was astounded and touched at their thoughtfulness would be an understatement. Then, when I opened the bag and saw these messages from the crew at the restaurant, I nearly cried. You guys, sometimes (a lot of the time), I either forget or don’t believe it, but I am so very loved.
Also, in case you were wondering, the breakfast is delicious. I separated it up into tortillas and rolled them up into “breakfast burritos” and froze them. There was enough for six of them. First time doing that, and it won’t be the last.
* On Saturday, I put a load of laundry in the washer and figured it’d be done in an hour and I’d then put it in the dryer and then I would have freshly clean laundry. That’s what usually happens in my happy little world. That is not, however, what happened. No. Apparently the timer/brain control part stopped working and it refuses to go into the rinse or spin cycle. So, instead, it fills, agitates and then soaks and never drains. Which means if I had any stains at all on my clothes, they have now been suitably pre-treated. God bless my in-laws who allowed us to rinse and spin my load of laundry in their washer. And my wonderful husband who transported it from here to there and back again for the drying. Now, I’ve just gotta cough up the spare $100 I always have lying around (ha ha) to buy the washer a new brain.
* While I was researching washer parts at 10pm on Saturday night, I went to print out a couple of “finds” on my “wonderful” HP C7250 printer that I bought a couple years ago. It refused to print and gave me a printer cartridge error instead. So, I changed out the printer cartridge it indicated and reset it… but the error didn’t clear. Despite re-inserting the cartridge, and all manner of acrobatics, the error refuses to clear and so the printer won’t print. I have had problem after problem with this printer and am at about my wits end with it. While searching for a resolution online I came across hundreds of bad reviews for this thing that weren’t out there when I bought it (guess it was too new?). The best one of all was something along the lines of, “This piece of crap isn’t even worthy of being a boat anchor.” I laughed because that about sums up how I feel I about it, too.
* This was my hamburger on Monday, and just before I took my next bite I saw the frowny face made out of seeds (if only it were the face of Jesus, I could have sold it on eBay for a fortune!) which pretty much shows what my face was like after the washer part breaking and my printer having an unresolvable error.
* Say hello to WATERMELON! I held off buying them, even though they were there, because last year I bought some at this time of the year and was soooo disappointed. The rind was over an inch thick and the fruit was like eating pithy, tasteless water. I guessed it was too early in the season. I finally gave in this year, because I could hear them taunting me, “Jammie — come buy and try us….” And, lo, they are very good. I am waiting impatiently until blueberries drop in price and then I shall have my mostest favoritist seasonal snack ever … watermelon and blueberries, together. I live for this time of year!
* It was so hot last week, I was searching out anything and everything that was cold… have to say, these Dreyer fruit bars are pretty good. Even on a cold day (like we’ve had this week).
* When we were over at Fish Whisperer’s house a couple weekends ago, I noticed that in his cichlid tank he had some big, plastic pipes that he’d bought at Home Depot for a couple bucks. The cichlids LOVED them, and used them as tunnels, even going out of their way to swim through them. A light bulb went off in my head, and Tony went and bought a couple of them, which I added to my cichlid’s tank. At first they were scared, but after a day or so, they were swimming through them and it is so fun to watch them do that!
* I saw it coming a couple weeks ago, and this week it finally happened. The star jasmine that is everywhere alongside the street where I exit the freeway to all around the building where I work, and in the parking lot at work, has just exploded. The scent from that jasmine is like a drug to me, it smells so sweet and good. I’m savoring that scent because I just know the gardeners will come through and cut them all back… probably in a couple more days. They always do that, you know.
* The street I take home from work is lined with magnolia trees. It goes on for several miles, and I tried to count the trees but lost count after 30… I would guess there’s maybe 100 on that street? I don’t really know, but they are all preparing to bloom (again) this season. The huge blossoms are still green and closed, lifted straight up in the air like fancy light bulbs in a candelabra, just waiting for someone to illuminate them for unfolding. It’s quite magnificent, and I am really looking forward to their blossoming. The scent will be amazing.
Filed under Blogabilities, I have Family, Kid Substitutes
I crept quietly downstairs, the gurgle of water in the fish tanks a soft constant sound, disguising the patter of my stealthy steps. I remember reading somewhere that if it’s dark, to look to the side of my target. By doing so, I will actually see what’s in front of me better than if I attempt to look at it directly. Which is how I avoided cracking my shin on the coffee table. That and the glow from the green digital clock on the microwave.
Who says reading stuff on the Internet doesn’t come in handy sometimes? Or shin-saving, as the case may be.
I grabbed the utensils I had set out earlier that evening, prior to the house darkening; a small flashlight, fish transporter and two fish nets.
Then I lifted the lid on the tank, turned the flashlight on and set it at an angle on the counter. My prey was floating softly, drifting really, at the bottom of the tank. I have about 30 seconds before she wakes up enough to realize something is coming for her, so I easily swooped her into the net and went to put her into the transporter… except the net didn’t fit into the transporter correctly, and she woke up more quickly than I expected and darted out of the net back into the tank.
Crap.
I turned the flashlight off and waited a minute. The reset button for fish capturing. Using the smaller net this time, I again captured her easily and moved her into the transporter. I hung the transporter on the lip of the tank for a minute while I set the net down and then carried her across the room to the big tank. I acclimated her for a few minutes and then dropped her in.
(It’s much easier to catch non-nocturnal fish, such as cichlids, when it’s dark. Also, since they’re such aggressive, territorial fish, it’s better to relocate them when it’s dark, too. Their tankmates don’t see the new addition until the next morning and then assume they’ve been in there all along. Which saves us all a bunch of injuries and suffering.)
The glowing green clock from the microwave sufficiently lit the lower part of the house for me to rinse the transporter, fill it with sterilizingly hot water and then head upstairs to bed. Again, avoiding my shin on the coffee table.
The next morning she was swimming around with the rest of the fish as if she’d been in there all along. Somehow, she’d already established a territory of her own, and came out to eat when I fed them.
What that means is, the fish hospital tank is now just an empty tank. It’s a little weird, but it’s a good thing. Once again, Fish Whisperer was right — she’s been ready to go back into the big tank for a long time.
Filed under Kid Substitutes
* Since I’m not allowed to go swimming right now (doctor’s orders), I’ve been using my “swim time” as “scan time.” Surely you remember the family photo archiving project I embarked on back in … 2004? I’m able to get through two years each night (thank goodness my mom wasn’t a photobug like me!). I just finished scanning year 1982 and came across this picture taken in Gettysburg of two of my cousins sitting on a cannon. It’s not a very good picture, which is directly correlated to the camera (a pathetic 110 deal where the viewfinder didn’t match the lens, so all the pictures it took were skewed to the right, usually cutting any person on the left of the frame in half, and also only one speed of exposure), not the skill of the photographer (an 11 year old girl who was in a hurry).
It makes me laugh because I always think, “Hey, that cannon must have just boomed a ball out!” I mean, why else would the picture be so blurry, right? Nothing like action photography in my imagination.
* Our local grocery store has been undergoing a remodel, and so they were clearancing some of their inventory at unbelievable prices. I’ve wanted to try pretzel chips for awhile now, but not to the tune of $4 a bag. I was thrilled (absolutely thrilled!!) to find bags and bags of them, in all different flavors, on clearance for $.79. Also, cinnamon sugar pita chips. Awesomely delicious.
* This hot sauce from taco bell. I like it so well, I’m thinking of going there, ordering one taco and grabbing a handful of them for inventory.
* I’m usually one for vivid, dramatic sunsets, but yesterday’s was so gentle and soft and peaceful… and it was soothing. I snagged this picture over my backyard fence.
* My hospitalized fish has started intermittently eating again. She has been on a hunger strike for the last month or so, so it’s a huge relief to not have to vacuum moldy food out of her tank every night. Apparently, she is very stealthy about the whole eating thing, and won’t eat if you’re looking directly at her, but if you peek around the corner, you can see her darting out and getting food. Tony reported on the beginning of this miraculous happening a few days ago.
Filed under Blogabilities, Kid Substitutes, Love/Loathe
Loathe:
* Tug’s attitude this week toward his cat, Snug. Snug had his teeth cleaned on Monday, so he went under anesthesia, spent the day at the vet’s office, and that night isolated for his safety. Now Tug is acting like he hates him, growling and hissing at him when he gets within eyesight. Poor Snuggy — he’s the one who should have been traumatized, not Tug. Speaking of irrational behavior, did you notice the full moon this week?
* Troubling or frustrating things that cause fear. We’re keeping it general this week.
Love:
* Grocery stores with bins. Bins with dried beans, bins with coffee beans, bins with different types of granola, bins with trail mix, bins with banana chips, bins with chocolate covered cranberries, bins with bulk items that I can buy as much or as little as I want. Bin heaven!
* Banana chips. Have I mentioned our current addiction to banana chips? It’s been going on for 2-3 months now, so it might be an addiction that’s gonna stay around for awhile.
* Snug snuggle time. Since Tug has been angry, bitter and abusive turning Snug away, Snug has been turning to me for love. Which I find to be very sweet, but also funny because the entire time Snug spends on my lap, Tug spends staring at him on my lap, growling. Jealous much?
* MLK week. Everyone was reminding me to remember MLK this week. I was sitting on the couch watching the Lakers game, glanced over to the other side of the screen to check the score, and there, big as an elephant, just above the score, was yet another reminder. So that night I went and bought some.
* Inspiration in the least expected places — like a traffic jam on the freeway today.
One Last Thing:
I had my first raw dairy convert this week. A lady at work was talking about how milk made her sick and she couldn’t have ice cream or any of that stuff. I asked her if she’d ever tried raw milk. She had no idea what I meant. So, I explained how the pasteurization process kills all the good bacteria that most people need for proper digestion of dairy. Something like 90% of people who think they’re lactose intolerant are actually “pasteurization process” intolerant. Milk straight from the cow, from a clean dairy, bypasses all that nonsense.
She expressed a strong interest in trying “real” milk but was afraid of it “not working” and then having to deal with the side effects. Oh, how well I understood (and remembered) that feeling from my sojourn into raw milk back in 2006.
We emailed back and forth a couple times, she was planning out her weekend to factor in any “downtime” and making the most of her possible malaise to annoy her husband. Ha!
As it happened, I was replenishing my inventory of raw milk, so I bought an extra jug and gave it to her. She tried it last night and emailed me this morning in absolute thankfulness. She’d daringly tried some last night and, to her surprise, she was miraculously OK! *happy sigh*
I love that my aunt encouraged me to try raw milk four years ago. I desperately love my raw milk. And I really, really love it when a small gift turns into a bigger blessing because of what it means to someone.
Filed under Kid Substitutes, Love/Loathe
Loathe:
* Being tired. (Long explanation: With Slasher having been so ill, we’ve isolated him in the upstairs bathroom. His day starts early, since Tony gives him a thousand meds before he leaves for work. Maybe I exaggerate, but I had no idea one could actually give a cat that many medications at one time. Anyway, my hormones have been whacked out, so I’m not tired when I should go to bed and I’m sleeping so lightly that I hear the neighbor’s dog’s flea’s farts three houses away. Giving a cat meds at 4:30am is much louder than a flea farting. And then I’m not able to go back to sleep.)
Love:
* When companies send a survey form asking how they did. I don’t know if they will actually read my response and take measures to improve their service, but I spent time filling one out for the 1st overnight facility where we took Slasher. That place gave us such a horrible experience… maybe they’re good with the critters, but they were horrible with the humans.
* It’s one week until Thanksgiving. I’m really looking forward to getting some rest.
* I finally figured out where to park my car to get shade at work during the afternoon. I had it wired during the summer, but this winter shift messed it all up for me. It’s the little things, people.
* Buy one, get one free deals… especially when related to pomegranates.
* Baking cookies. I made some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, and some banana chocolate chip cookies. Both types turned out soft, moist and incredibly delicious. I predict I shall be making these cookies all winter long!
One Last Thing:
Every year when the baking bug strikes me, and I start making things with pumpkin in them, I’m always surprised by our little girl kitty. She magically appears in the kitchen, quietly watching. Then when I approach the trash can with the empty pumpkin can, she bursts into pleading meows. The first year she hovered around while we were carving our Halloween pumpkins, and swooped in every time we turned our back for the pumpkin guts. Thankfully, she doesn’t do that anymore, but I love that she now waits for the leftover pumpkin in the can.
It’s been 5 years since we discovered her love for the stuff, and she still loves it… every year.
Filed under Kid Substitutes, Love/Loathe
Loathe:
* We had a layoff at my company this week. I survived the cut… this time. But I feel a great deal of compassion for those who were let go, as I will never forget how scary it is to be on the other side of that door.
* Night driving on the freeway. Here I thought rush hour was bad when the sun was out. The time change added a whole new dimension to the 10 million people crammed on a freeway together at the same time.
Love:
* I pulled one of the large rocks out of my cichlid tank and replaced it with ornamental plants. The goal being to remove sharp objects from their playground so they stop hurting themselves, but still keep their established territories. Look at me, trying to outsmart the fishies.
* Slasher is going to be OK. He still has some swelling in his urinary tract, so we’re watching him closely. But he is going to be OK. Even though we had a bad experience with the first overnight vet we took him to, we found an excellent overnight care facility for the second night. And now he’s home at nights, just under observation (and med administration) during the day. Thank God for our timing in finding him. Thank God that our primary vet really knows and loves animals. We almost lost him, thank God we didn’t.
Sunday, this is the view we had of Slasher at the vet’s… just his IV’s
Being transported to night care with his bag o’ urine…
* The community pool is still being heated. At this point, I’m fairly certain this is not actually an intended blessing from my HOA. But a blessing it is to me, and I will take it.
* Thanks to Tony and one of his birthday presents to me, the addiction to reign of Pink in my car’s CD player has been taken over by Jewel’s CD, Perfectly Clear. Hooray for musical variety in my life!
One Last Thing:
The other day a co-worker walked by my desk at work and, in a tone of disbelief asked me, “Is that a pomegranate you’re snacking on?”
I responded, “Yes, they’re one of my favorite snacks. I’m so glad they’re in season right now!”
She looked at me weird and said, “Do you eat the seeds?”
I responded, “The arils? Yes. They’re good. Kind of adds a crunch.”
“Oh. I always thought they were too much work because my mom told me to never eat the seeds. She says they build up in your system and make your appendix go bad.” She took a step backward and laughed nervously as if my appendix were going to pop out and bonk her over the head.
This lady has lived 48 years, married, divorced, raised two children as a single parent, holds down a demanding job, and yet has never eaten pomegranate arils because her mom told her not to. Now THAT is an obedient daughter.
Meekly, trying not to laugh, I managed to squeak out in defense, “But… they’re just fiber…”
Filed under Kid Substitutes, Love/Loathe, Money Hump Building
We got home this afternoon from the mountains to discover that in the 36 hours we’d been gone, one of our cats had become critically ill. I won’t go into details, as much as I want to, but suffice it to say, it wasn’t pretty.
After six hours visiting two different vets, we’re not sure if he’ll make it through the night. And if he does make it, whether his kidneys will be OK. Which, well, kidney failure is terminal… so we might have just spent all this time and money when we shouldn’t have.
But we had to give him a fighting chance. We just had to… and he’s on painkillers now, so he’s not hurting anymore, which is something we couldn’t have done for him. We know he’s “just a cat” but dammit, we love him.
But after tonight’s experience, I can’t help but feel as if veterinarian care is overpriced… especially when we learned his second doctor, the one whose staff is monitoring him tonight, her last name is Crook. It’s a terrible thing to be in a position of trying to determine if someone we love can be cured, and if he can be cured, did we take him to the right place and choose to scale back the right tests because we can’t afford it? We just don’t know. Maybe another facility would have been less expensive, but timing was critical… and we felt kind of trapped by that… and humbled.
Of course, now I’m giving all of our cats a crooked eye for any odd behaviors… (sigh) Snug just ran away from me, does that mean he’s sick? Maybe I should just take them all in for a physical?
Forgive me for rambling… any prayers or good thoughts you might want to send Slasher’s way tonight and over the next few days would be most appreciated.
*Update*
I would have updated sooner, but it’s been touch and go for Slasher… but he’s home tonight. He’s on Valium and antibiotics, and he’ll go back in tomorrow for observation. But it looks like he’s going to be OK.
I’ll write details soon, when I have a chance to breathe a sigh of relief.
Filed under Kid Substitutes
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