I’m up and decided to name it in honor of the aforementioned cat of mine … who trying her damnedest to ignore what is wrong with her as much as she can …
So here we go!
I just now looked up our critters’ birthdates. We didn’t know Taz, but the guess was Aug 06 (based on what the rescue folks told us) so he’s creeping up on 16, and he’s starting to show his age. Instead of lean, he’s starting to look skinny. But he still eats and drinks and uses the box and sleeps most of the day - typical cat, yanno. Still, it’s obvious he’s an old man.
Ziva is right behind - she’ll be 14 in June, but with all her hair, we’d be hard-pressed to know if she was becoming gaunt. Plus she spends most of her time hiding. I think if no one else lived here, including critters, she’d be on and around me all the time. But for whatever bizarro reason, she flees when any non-me person is around.
Higgs will be 10 in July. If this site is to be believed, we’ll have her maybe 3 more years. She’s looking like a senior pug - lots of white showing up among the black hairs. But who knows??
The only thing we’ve decided for certain - they’re our last pets. Our vet is phasing out care to house pets in order to concentrate on farm animals. They’re not taking new pet clients, so as the current ones die out, the practice is changing. At least they didn’t quit abruptly. Anyway, that’s another reason we don’t plan to have any other critters. I don’t know if any of ours are too tough, but they’re all in their respective geezer phases, which means lots of sleeping on top of me.
Meanwhile, I’m drinking water. The lab opens in 2 hours - I’ll head down there in about 90 minutes to be near the front of the line. I can sit in the parking lot and play with my tablet while waiting. Then I can finally get food - the headache is starting to niggle at the corners. Probably just due to habit - I usually eat right after feeding the critters. But I’ll survive. I’m too tough to give in, dammit!!
Happy Moanday!!
Second! Morning, mumpers! It’s allegedly 5C/45F out there, it was certainly rather fresh at 7am when I left for my walk to the station. I’d aimed for the 7.30am train but it was running late so I looked at the 7.33am but it only had two carriages and was already packed by the time it reached my station. Waiting the extra few minutes was worth it. Meant I didn’t get to the orifice until 8.30am but I can deal with that. Still leaving at 4pm though.
Cats…ours are all somewhere between elderly and geriatric. Whisper is our youngster, he’s 10 and still behaves like a kitten. He’s been with us for a while now but he’s still skittish and nervous around Shadow, they’re both boys so that’s probably why they have a bit of tension.
Ophelia is 17, coming up for 18. We’v had her since she was 10 weeks old so we know all about her. She’s just recently lost quite a bit of weight and was diagnosed with a thyroid problem, she’s on medication now and looks to have regained a little bit of weight so that’s good news. I have to take her back to the vet for repeat blood tests so they can see if the meds need to be adjusted so might try to get that done this week.
Shadow is our old man. He came to us over a decade ago as a stray, the vet estimated his age as “at least as old as Ophelia, maybe older”. We think older but maybe only a couple of years. He’s recently been at the vets after he went off his food, looks like it was a bit of inflammation in his mouth, I changed his food to something softer, he had a week of Metacam, and seems to be picking up nicely. I’ll have to weigh him soon, and see if he’s regained a bit. He is getting on a bit, and he looks skinny especially compared to Whisper who is a big lad and a picture of health.
\color{indigo}{\text{HAPPY BOOFAE DAY!!!}}
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN 'Tis 60 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 88 and N.O.S. for the day. This weekend it will be highs in the 50s and next week highs in the 70s. Weird! I need to gas up twuck, so I shall bite the bullet and do so. On the plus side it will be two to three more weeks before I do it again. We are in need of a few items so I shall betake myself to 
Wally*World whilst out and about. Sup shall be beastloaf, cabbage, mac 'n cheese, peas (I shall not whirl them flyboy and rolls. Plus there’s still some cake left.
shades she is indeed a tough ol’ lady! I hope it will be peaceful if this is indeed her end.
And now this…
< AHEM > CLEARIN’ THROAT < AHEM >
HAAAPPPYYY BBBIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BBBIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BBBIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY DEEEAAARRR BBBOOOFFFAAAEEE!!!
HAAAPPPYYY BBBIIIRRRTTTHHHDDDAAAYYY TOOOOOO YOUUUUUU!!!
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, alas, alack, and bother of bother, I suppose I must purtify and don appropriate bein amongst the public attire. Woe is me!
Happy Moanday Y’all!
Waiting outside the Dr office, #6 in line for labs. At least they provide wifi…
Happy birthday Boofae!
A week ago we had three days in the 70s. Today it is 23f (-5c) and we had a dusting of snow in the night. Oh, well. Thirteen days until Spring. We will get in our usual hour of walking laps in the local mall and then on to the excitement of balancing the checkbook and paying bills. Our girls have decided on baked ziti and garlic bread for dinner tonight. My older daughter (44) only comes to dinner on Mondays and she is a fussy eater. The younger daughter (41) who lives with us is getting a dental crown this afternoon so wanted something soft.
Yesterday’s dinner jogged a memory. When I was eleven I went on my first camping trip with the Boy Scouts. We were told to bring a sack lunch from home for our dinner on Friday night. When we got there, there was a man named Leo B. He had come out early to get our camp site started and had a big pot on the fire so we all had something hot to go with our sandwiches. It was a stew made with venison. I had never eaten anything like it. It was savory and delicious. I have always remembered that bowl of stew. It may have been one of the things that started my interest in food.
I have been experimenting with my pressure cooker. I made some beef stew. It started as nothing really special, and the ingredients were things that I had used before. I was looking for something to add and came up with a can of tomato paste. I stirred it in just before serving. My first spoonful took me back fifty eight years to that pot of venison stew, made by Leo B.
That was the key ingredient.
It was a great dinner, I wish Leo B was still alive so I could call him and thank him once again for my Cooking Merit Badge and a great memory.
Mornin, y’all, and happy mundy. I have much to do a irk, since the designer won’t stop designing. But we shall muddle on.
Stay safe, evr’body!
Morning all. Spent a couple hours last night on crosswords, jumbles and sudoku, so off to bed about 11pm, then up at 6:30am. First of many loads of laundry are washing/ Rain is due about 9:30am and should be around until mid-afternoon, but it’s already 67F heading for 70F, so that will be nice.
No pets here, partly because when I worked I traveled a lot so it wouldn’t have been fair to the animals, and now that I have time I don’t want to get out of my rut–and losing them hurts so damn hard. Still will pet and fuss over most any canine I see and can get along fine with cats.
hippie, weather forecasts says highs will be about 38F by Saturday, then heading back into the 60’s. Hope it warms up there. Hope the ziti is a hit tonight.
And a most happy birthday to you, boo fae.
swampy, like you, I only have to get gas every 3+ weeks or more. Last fill-up was over $75, dreading what the next one will be like.
FCM, glad you’re getting the doctoring done in the morning. Hate to have it hanging over me all day.
OK, onward into the day. All y’all take care.
Good morning everyone and Happy Birthday, boofae!
It’s currently 32 degrees outside with an expected high of 52.
I am still tired as all get out, but my back is less sore today, thank goodness. We tossed a few more odds and ends into the dumpster yesterday, and today it will be picked up. I also steam cleaned the crappy Berber carpet in the great room. It’s beyond help. I will probably do it again tonight, but the long and short of it is, that I will be getting a large area rug to cover it until I can replace the flooring in there. I moved all of my Christmas stuff to the way-back of the front hall closet yesterday too, along with some other stuff. I still need to steam clean the carpet in the old clutter/now guest room.
You know, dear readers, you probably think I’m sort of weird hoarder. I am not. I just had twenty years of stuff that needed to GO. Stuff the kids left when they moved out, stuff that we no longer used, and old technology. The next dump run will include the desks in the den, but I have to buy new desks first.
I am on the fence about getting another dog or two when Polar is gone. He’s around 15 years old now and as you all know has cancer. He’s still bossy and let’s us know when it’s snack, dinner or dessert time. He’s a tough guy and has mellowed so much in the last years. Siberian Huskies can be very challenging dogs and he definitely presented many in his first years with us. He ate numerous shoes and part of my leather sofa; he was an escape artist and not particularly good at coming back to me when I called him. He’s always been somewhat picky about his food, but his pickiness has reached new heights in his advanced age. Part of me can’t imagine life without a dog, and part of me would like to not have vet visits and messes. I guess I’ll know what the plan is after he’s gone and I’ve had time to mourn.
I have to go to the vet this morning and pick up his prescription refill. I’ll do that around 8:00. During my lunch, I’m going to go to Mud Bay to get Polar’s favorite biscuits. After work, I’ll run the damn steam cleaner again and tidy up the rest of the house. I’ll also pack my suitcase (except for toiletries) so I’m ready to head over to Wenatchee tomorrow.
Well, on with the day. I hope you all have a great day.
aunt swears no more cats but she swore that on the day my cousin brought raven here …so I think well find another scraggly half-starved kitten that needs a rescue like most of our other ones …
Yet another voice added to the HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOO-FAE!!! chorus.
That was a great story, hippy.
When the time is right, Taters, you will know.
My Nikki is 13 or 14, and definitely starting to get that “elderly cat” look to her fur. She’s my last real link to my old life with my beloved Other Shoe so it’s gonna be devastating once she’s gone.
As much as she hates him, that’s why I got Monkey now - there’s no other way I’d survive the devastation of a cat-shaped hole in my heart (and home).
Running on very little sleep. Gentleman Caller came over for, literally, a midnight visit. Today is a Blessed Day Off, so of course I woke up at a stupid early time.
Technically, given when I finally went to sleep, this is timed appropriately for my middle-of-the-night bio break.
May not go back to bed, though, at least not right now. It SNOWED last night - in fact, little flakes are still drifting down - and everything is so white and muffled. May very well hafta put on some clothes and go for a ramble. 
Ursala Kitteh is nobody knows how old she is. The shelter classified her as older, but the vet said she wasn’t a senior. She’s been here for 6 years, so I figure she’s 11 ish. Ariel will be 21 on the 25th of this month. She galloped 5 laps in her pasture on Saturday so she still has plenty of get up and go. It snowed overnight and my previously clean car is gonna get all salty. Ick.
WEATHER UPDATE: we’ve upgraded from “a few drifting flakes” to full-on “oh, it’s snowin’!” so now that I’ve had a bite & checked in on my zombie game, it is definitely time for pants and a coat. (And socks, and a bra, and a shirt, and … sigh this whole “getting dressed” thing is a P.I.T.A. Can’t I just run around nekkid?)
BRB gonna go ramble in the snow.
I wouldn’t recommend nudity while playing in the snow. Don’t want the sensitive parts frostbitten. 
Since it was supposed to be a fasting blood test, ain’t no way I wanted to wait longer than necessary! I was done just before 8 and immediately got me a McBreakfast. FoodLion didn’t have any of the Diet Cokes that were on sale - I’m guessing they were cleaned out over the weekend and haven’t gotten their delivery for today yet. A little later I may run to the Charlotte Hall store and see if they’re better stocked.
You can, but in the snow? I wouldn’t recommend it. And in the sun? Too much UV-A. And in the US? Too many Puritans and prudes.
On our first cruise, one of the stops was St Martin and we decided to go to the beach because it was hot. As we bobbed leisurely in the surf, we saw a women on the beach change out of one swimsuit and into another. Not under a towel. No pretense of modesty. She just changed. I’m pretty sure she wasn’t an American.
Just helped FCD move some steel, then fetched some things he wanted so he can continue cleaning and organizing. He didn’t want my help, so in a bit, I’ll head out to start raking again. I’ve decided where I want to plant the new-found Naked Ladies so I’ll get them out of the pots and into the ground before the next chill hits. It’s nearly 70° right now on the way to 80, and tomorrow we won’t get out of the mid-50s. They’re even saying chance of snow tomorrow night. Enough already!
My Atilla is close to his fifteenth b-day. I think I’ve mentioned before he’s the only pet I’ve ever had whose birthday I can actually pin down. His mom was a fairly friendly feral cat, and the neighbors across the alley and I both were keeping an eye on her as her belly grew.I went to bed on April 29 and the next morning there were kittens. I’d prepared a nest for her on my back porch and she stayed there. I did have a cat that reached 16 but I’d only had him for five of those years, adopting him from a friend in trouble.
So we were short our supervisor this morning, and the one SSLAW was out of labels. And yet I was syill home by 8. Oh well.
Gordie turned 16ish in February, and Alex Catt will be 7ish on St. Patrick’s Day.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY boofae!!!
I died laughing at the punchline.
We’ve had 5 kitties since I’ve been married. Cuervo, a black and brown tabby, belonged to Mrs. W before we met. He was shy but really cool once he got to know you. His kidneys began to fail at age 15 and he got weaker and weaker. One day, when he couldn’t jump onto the couch, Mrs. W said “It’s time,” and that was that.
Our next two were white Maine Coon sisters, Daphne and Velma. They were the sweetest, most loving kitties I’ve ever known. Kidney trouble got them, too. They passed within 5 months of each other at 14, both of them quietly and painlessly at home.
Our current kitties are also sisters, Chloe and Zoe. They’re quite different. Chloe, a calico tabby, is kind of dumb, rather lazy, and also quite portly. We’re trying to slim her down, but Mrs. W is unable to resist her “feed me” meows. Sigh. Zoe, a black-and-white, is more active and definitely smarter. She’s also extremely skittish and jumps at every little noise. If you visit our house you will never see her. They both have one clouded-over eye from an infection before they were rescued. We call them our special little girls. They are closing in on 8 years old, so definitely middle-aged now.
Losing a pet is tough no matter how or when it happens. To have one is also to live in dread of they day they will be gone.