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      Monday, December 06, 2010

catstuff 08:59 AM - 12/06/2010 The topic: The vet’s office just called ---------------------------------------------- I have to take Benny in at 9:30 for a geriatric workup.  I was in the shower and I heard the phone ring.  Brian answered it. When he got off, he said “Sebastian isn’t coming back”.  The vet called to let us know the tag had fallen off and Sebby wasn’t even sent to the memorial place, he was sent with all the other animals that are just cremated and disposed of. He assured Brian that they’ll be changing their way of tagging animals and that it will NEVER happen to us again.  I’m just really sad because Sebby’s life just sucked so much anyway.  And now he’s not going to be coming home.  I know it’s just remains, but he was a part of our family and he belongs with us.  Brian said that he’ll still be in our hearts, yeah, I know that. And how do we get our $150.00 refund from the crematorium now? Obviously, the paperwork does NOT go with the animal.  Because they charged us for a pet they never got. I’m pretty upset right now. | Permalink

catstuff 03:00 PM - 12/06/2010 The topic: Update from this morning’s vet trip ---------------------------------------------- He doesn’t know how the tag was loosened on Sebastian’s leg, he told me that it’s only happened one other time.  And they called the memorial place, I should have a refund on the credit card by now. Benny was a doll. Not a peep out of him on the way over. He’s gained an ounce from his last visit, which was years ago. The vet said he’s looking really good. He checked out Ben’s ears and didn’t see anything that could cause the violent scratching, diagnosed allergies and said to keep using the Tresaderm drops. I was told he was a champ when they took his blood, just kicked back and didn’t fight them. The vet called an hour or so ago with results from the blood test, vet said Ben is in the beginnings of stage two renal failure (why am I not surprised?).  His bun was 44, creatinine was 4.3.  Not high enough to call for fluids (yay!).  He’ll be on calcitriol along with Mickey. Who, by the way, is not putting up a huge fight when he gets fluids. The vet gave me a tube and explained how to use it if I want to try just hanging the fluids and doing it that way. I dunno….. | Permalink

      Wednesday, December 08, 2010

catstuff 03:30 PM - 12/08/2010 The topic: The other day at the vet’s office ---------------------------------------------- When he asked about how that other cat was doing (Mickey), I told him that Mickey HATES getting fluids, that Brian’s been helping me and it’s still hard.  Of course, Brian isn’t really firm with Mickey, he’s afraid of hurting him.  The vet mentioned the drip method of fluids and he gave me a tube and explained how to use it.  I also told him I had been using the pink needles (I do on Miss Elizabeth) because they weren’t as big, he said to try the green needles because it goes in faster.  A lot faster. So, this afternoon, I gave Mickey some food in the bathroom and while he was eating, I heated up the fluids and got them ready. I didn’t ask Brian to help this time.  I went into the bathroom, sat on the floor, my feet close to the door (thinking Mickey wouldn’t have far to squirm) and I wrapped my legs around him, my feet crossed in front of his chest, my knees squeezed up against his sides and I pushed the first needle in and shoved the plunger.  Before he had much of a chance to react, I had the second needle in him and that syringe was quickly emptied.  Then I released him and instead of wanting to get out of the bathroom, he was back on the counter eating more food. I hope this keeps working this well. | Permalink

      Thursday, December 09, 2010

dreamstuff 09:46 AM - 12/09/2010 The topic: A new category! ---------------------------------------------- I don’t know how often I’ll use this, but I think it might be fun to share some of the strange things that happen in my head at night. This was last night/this morning. Brian was gone and I noticed the front door open just a bit, just enough for a cat to get through it. And while I was walking over to shut it, Charlie slipped out.  Well, not only was the door open, so was the screen door.  Not something that’s ever happened here.  I went out to get Charlie, grabbed him and brought him back in, then went back outside, where I grabbed one cat (didn’t know who it was until I got inside, it was dark out, it was Bobby) and I saw Ron Howard on the driveway.  Oddly enough, I wasn’t in the least bit worried.  Then Brian was reminding me that I needed to get the property taxes paid since they’re due the 10th and not to forget to call my parole officer. | Permalink

catstuff 12:53 PM - 12/09/2010 The topic: Last night ---------------------------------------------- I noticed Angel’s chin was all wet.  I was able to look in her mouth and her bottom canines were brown at the root.  Her siblings have bad teeth, her aunt has bad teeth. So, I’m hoping that’s all Angel has. I made an appointment for her for next Wednesday for a dental. | Permalink

salestuff 06:57 PM - 12/09/2010 The topic: My store ---------------------------------------------- I’ve got free shipping now.  Just in case you wanted to buy something and not pay for shipping. | Permalink

      Friday, December 10, 2010

otherstuff 08:10 AM - 12/10/2010 We found a nickle on our walk this morning The topic: I couldn’t resist ---------------------------------------------- I just couldn’t. I’ve been very good about not getting Woot shirts, I’ll like them, I’ll think they’re cute, but I pass. But wait! I'm not done yet! I've got more to say! | Permalink

      Wednesday, December 15, 2010

08:47 AM - 12/15/2010 The topic: Dropped Angel off at the vet’s ---------------------------------------------- For her dental.  I almost cried on the ride over, she sounded so sad.  This is only the second time she’s left the house. The first time was over nine years ago when she was spayed.  I has a sad today.  I love this little girl. | Permalink

03:34 PM - 12/15/2010 The topic: Well, Angel’s home. ---------------------------------------------- When I called to see how she was doing I was told she had one tooth left.   But the vet said she still had a few, but he did pull (or they fell out) eight.  He said her mouth was “wretched”.  That was the word he used. “Wretched”.  He said that he’s seen cats without teeth eat hard food once their mouths no longer hurt (I think many of us have seen this).  But she’s home, she’s not happy, but give her a week and I bet she’ll be feeling a lot better than she was yesterday.  Tooth pain is awful. | Permalink

      Thursday, December 16, 2010

catstuff 09:08 AM - 12/16/2010 The topic: Crummy morning ---------------------------------------------- I can’t find Angel. And Mickey threw up.  A huge amount of food.  Right after leaving the litterbox. Then he walked through the house, squatting and dropping little drips of very wet poop.  Typical sign of constipation.  (The little drips are all that can get around the big feces that’s waiting in the bowels, that isn’t leaving.)  It was so bad I had actually asked Brian to get the big crate down because I didn’t see me following Mickey around all day, cleaning up after him.  If he didn’t push it out today, I’d be calling the vet. Then I saw a very small pile on the runner carpet (washable, everything in this house is washable) and I knew he’d pushed it out.  I gave him fluids (three times a week, Monday, Thursday and Saturday, until I get him back to the vet for a followup blood test), then I found another large poop in the hallway.  So, he had a lot in him, he must feel a lot better now.  And I’ve got some laundry to do. Now to find Angel…... Found her, under the sofa.  Wiped off Mickey’s bottom and put him back on the bed (he had been sitting on the toilet seat in my bathroom).  Now Miss Elizabeth is crying for food.  Off to feed her. | Permalink

      Friday, December 17, 2010

dreamstuff 09:33 AM - 12/17/2010 The topic: So, we’re in the bedroom ---------------------------------------------- (not the bedroom as I know it, it’s smaller,  but it’s dream and it’s the bedroom) and I’ve brought in breakfast.  Some sort of burritos, his was different than mine.  We’re in bed watching television and all of a sudden, we hear music in the other side of the house.  We look at each other, puzzled and both got out of bed to check it out. We walk out of the bedroom and WTF?  This wasn’t a house, it was a mansion!  Our mansion!  The room we went into was more like a storefront or or or…I dunno, let me describe it.  The front wall was curved and had these huge openings in it and there was no yard or sidewalk, it was immediately asphalt.  The people across the street were having a party and that’s where the music was coming from.  All of these people walking around!  Anyway, the walls of this room were a royal blue, very nice.  On the side opposite of the openings was a bar and high up on the wall was a fish. It was like one of those painted glass fish, I could see the bones and it was very pretty.  Then, right when I was going to tell Brian to look at it, a bird came along and ate it. I smelled cat pee (gee, big surprise there) and followed the fragrance (ha) down the hall and there was a shower.  Odd looking shower, it was more like the drainage ditch on a hill, but it was tiled in dark blue. And at the bottom of the shower was an amazing amount of dried cat urine.  I climbed into the shower (it wasn’t very wide) and turned on the water, it was one of the hose type of shower heads.  I was washing off the floor, the water going down the drain (another oddity, the drain wasn’t covered in anything, it was more like a hole in the wall; remember, the shower was more like a drainage ditch than a flat shower and gravity pulled the water down and out) I was a little concerned because that hole was large enough for a cat to go into, I looked down it, but saw nothing.  Even stranger was the water ran towards the hole, then veered off to the right through an opening in the wall and where it went after that, I have no idea. While I was cleaning, Brian’s cell phone rang and he answered it.  He looked at me and said “it’s for you” and I asked him who it was.  Jennifer Barnes. (I don’t know anyone by that name.) I had a difficult time getting out of the shower and I asked (with irritation in my voice) if he would mind helping me get out of it.  Just as I took his hand to climb over the wall, I woke up. | Permalink

catstuff 11:02 AM - 12/17/2010 The topic: Mickey is doing lots better this morning ---------------------------------------------- I’m pretty relieved. I called the vet’s office yesterday and will be picking up some potassium to add to his fluids.  His values back in October showed he had low potassium and it’s possible that is one of the reasons he had the problems he had yesterday. He didn’t come to bed with us, but this morning around four, he did come to bed and climbed under the covers with me and slept there for a couple of hours. That was nice. And he’s been eating so that’s a good sign, too. My poor little boy. | Permalink

disneystuff 03:01 PM - 12/17/2010 The topic: Some pictures from our trip last weekend ---------------------------------------------- We lucked out when we got to the hotel (The Paradise Pier Hotel) early Sunday afternoon.  Our room was ready and we could check in. We parked the car, got the luggage out and went up to the room.  Unpacked and headed over to Disneyland.  On the way, I took a picture looking out of one of the big windows in the hallway. click for a larger pic We got to Disneyland and had lunch at Carnation.  It was pretty tasty.  Then we headed over to Fantasyland to see if Gramma Pat (the best cast member ever!) was there.  No, she comes in later.  We wandered around and while I was waiting for Brian outside of one of the restrooms, I took a shot of It’s a Small World.  click for a larger pic We rode the train around the park once, then to the main gate and we went over to Disney’s California Adventure.  We stopped at BurrBank and had double scoop ice creams in a dipped waffle cone, then went rode the Golden Zephyr, then figured we’d do Midway Mania. On the walk over, Brian pointed out that the Maliboomer was gone.  Brian liked it. I wasn’t all that fond of it.  I’m not really happy on elevator rides. We got in line for Midway Madness and about a half hour in, the ride was having “technical difficulties”.  Lots of people left the line, we didn’t.  While in line, I took some photos of what I saw above me.  The sun was just going down and dusk was fast approaching.  I caught some cool images in the fading light of day.  The moon over the roller coaster. click for a larger pic I like the next four.  I like to think of them as “now you see it, now you don’t”.  In one of the pictures, you can see the roller coaster car. In the other one, it’s gone.  I took these just using regular settings on the camera, nothing special. Although I did keep clicking because I did want to catch the car in the loop. click for a larger pic click for a larger pic click for a larger pic click for a larger pic After waiting in line close to an hour and the ride still wasn’t going, we said the heck with it and went back over to Disneyland.  It was still mild outside (the high had been in the upper 80s) and I really wanted to speak to Gramma Pat (I sent her a package back in September and she never got it…it went to the Disneyland front office and was sent to her team manager, who never passed it on to Pat; I cancelled the gift card and was sent a new one and I got everything back in the package and sent this one directly to her home…it had arrived, but it had been a month with no word from her and I was a teeny tiny bit concerned).  The parade was just starting and we had a big crowd to go through.  We finally made it over to Fantasyland and I was told that Pat was just working the parade.  So, Brian and I went back over to the Small World area and I took another picture.  click for a larger pic We waited for the parade to finish, then about fifteen more minutes and headed over to Storybook Land Canal Boats.  I finally was able to speak with Pat and she had gotten her package.  Yay! Then we decided we were about finished.  Brian wanted to get some candy for his mother and I wanted to pick up some Disney dollars for our petsitter.  She and her boyfriend have annual passes.  Got the candy and were informed they no longer sold the dollars at the stores, we’d have to go to City Hall.  We stopped there on our way out, then left the park.  Between the park and the hotel, we went into Tortilla Jo’s cantina and had some food and beverages.  Then we went back to the hotel.  Brian was fast asleep by nine.  It took me a little longer. Monday morning we went back to Disneyland. We took the Monorail over from Downtown Disney.  First stop was Tomorrowland Terrace for breakfast.  Worst breakfast ever. Juicy eggs? click for a larger pic Limp, undercooked and nasty. click for a larger pic You can see the puddle of bacon grease by the biscuit. click for a larger pic We went into Great Moments With Mr Lincoln and were pleased to see it was back to its original glory.  Gone were the headsets and the barber snipping hair in our ears.  The next ride was Space Mountain, then we came home! It’s nice to get away sometimes. | Permalink

      Saturday, December 18, 2010

catstuff 09:09 AM - 12/18/2010 The topic: I’ve been looking at photos ---------------------------------------------- I’ve taken and never uploaded to the interwebs.  See, I was addicted to a FaceBook game by the name of Fish Wrangler and I made the decision to quit.  And even though I’ve not quit yet, I’m spending less time there.  And doing other things. Like looking at photos I’ve taken and never uploaded to the interwebs. So, here’s one of my favorites. It’s Potter in a sunbeam on the rocker in the living room. click for a larger pic Then there's one of the pictures I took of Mickey around the time I was so terribly worried about him. This picture really makes me sad.   click for a larger pic Another sad photo, this one taken the day we said goodbye to Sebastian. click for a larger pic Ever wondered about the catcam chair?  Brian was complaining about the smell of cat pee and he only noticed it when the furnace was running.  I told him it was probably coming from the catcam cover.  The cats pee up there. (Is there anyplace they don’t pee?)  So, I pulled all of the covers off to wash.  It takes a couple of loads.  That's Lorelei in the chair click for a larger pic The first set of covers is on. It's not nearly tight enough. Charlie is one of the cover cats click for a larger pic Finished product: Rory is the other catcam cover cat click for a larger pic Ollie loves his pa: click for a larger pic Rachel was sleeping on her side with her paws in the air; the initial flash woke her up. click for a larger pic   | Permalink

catstuff 09:33 AM - 12/18/2010 The topic: Then there’s the recliner we gave over to the cats ---------------------------------------------- We quit sitting in it when we realized the cats climb up into the works.  This was years ago.  We didn’t have a problem with them scratching it until Charlie came to live here.  He’s really bad.  Once he started the others followed suit.  click for a larger pic When they started pulling out foam earlier this year and had it clawed down to wood, I had enough.  Last month, we went shopping to get a new one.  We checked Mor furniture, but didn’t have anything at a price we liked (money is pretty tight right now).   Then we hit Jerome’s.  Brian hates Jerome’s (I have no idea why), but we ended buying a chair and footrest there.  He had to go pick it up, he wanted me to go with him, but new fish were being released and I wanted to be on the top 100 first catches.  (Another one of the reasons I figured it’s time to quit.)  When he got home, he took the old one apart and put it in the dumpster and set up the new one.  Marco was the first. click for a larger pic Of course, I start putting blankets and stuff on it. And with the extra time I'll shortly have, I'm going to try my hand at making a cover for both pieces. Ronnie, Katie and Mickey click for a larger pic | Permalink

catstuff 09:41 AM - 12/18/2010 The topic: Pancho and Skipper ---------------------------------------------- I love the look on Pancho’s face. (Who at this very moment is climbing all over me.)   click for a larger pic | Permalink

catstuff 09:43 AM - 12/18/2010 The topic: When we went to bed last night ---------------------------------------------- Brian kept looking around the bed (it was fairly light in there with the light from the Christmas tree out front, pictures of that later).  I asked him what he was doing and he said “counting cats”.  He counted twelve. I got to thinking “had I seen Bobbie?” and got out of bed to look for him.  He was in the office, next to one of my cameras. I grabbed the camera and headed back to the bedroom.  It was no longer light, the timer had shut off the lights outside, but I used the flash. And I got this shot. click for a larger pic Can you see all the cats? No? But wait! I'm not done yet! I've got more to say! | Permalink

      Monday, December 27, 2010

catstuff 11:10 AM - 12/27/2010 The topic: In an incredibly bad mood ---------------------------------------------- I’m so very sick of the cats pissing everywhere. I just can’t seem to get on top of it.  I clean one area, move on to the next, clean it and by the time the cycle is done, there is piss where I cleaned at the start. I’ve got some old carpet runners in the office, Jackie craps on them at night, and Ollie pisses on them every chance he gets. I wash and I wash and I wash them and damn it, it never fails that within a half hour of putting them back down, Ollie comes in and pisses on one of them again and I step in it with socks on. It’s very, very frustrating and right now I’m near tears because of it. I was down most of last week because I messed up my back baking cookies (lifting a heavy bowl at about shoulder height and scraping the dough into another bowl) and I’ve fallen pretty far behind in my housework and I just want to sit down and cry.  Benny’s been in the bathroom three times this morning with food, he didn’t like any of it and now he sits on the counter squawking.  I can’t even begin to describe how annoying it is for hours on end.  I put him outside, but it’s nice and sunny and I opened up the house and he came back in.  The next time he gets on that counter and starts squawking, I’m taking him out of the room and shutting the damned door.  I’d love to just throw every single cat outside and let them live in the backyard where I don’t really care where they pee, but I’d never do that, I’d be so worried about them.  *sigh* | Permalink

      Thursday, December 30, 2010

disneystuff 07:53 AM - 12/30/2010 The topic: We renewed our annual passes yesterday ---------------------------------------------- I tried doing it online last week, but for some reason that is unknown to most of humankind, one of those mysterious Disney suits reasons, I couldn’t renew online with my Chase Disney Visa Card rewards.  You have to do that in person.  It sucks, mightily.  Seeing as we were just there on the 12th and 13th.  Anyway, remember the great deal we got last year?  Ended up out of pocket $404.00 for two premium annual passports? This year? $ 878.00 Total cost of passes    -15.00 Reimbursement for parking    -18.84 Leftover from birthday gift card (the gift that will keep on giving….)    -50.00 MyPoints Visa reward card    -50.00 MyPoints Visa reward card -330.00 Chase Disney Visa rewards —————————————————————— $ 414.16 Out of pocket for two Disneyland Resort Premium Annual Passports This coming year, Brian wants to go up at least once a month.  That’s what we wanted to do last year, but there was a little bump in the road (or was it a truck making an illegal lane change?). | Permalink

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lisaviolet is seventy something, married with no kids, takes care of lots of cats, likes taking photographs, loves Southern California weather and spends altogether too much time avoiding her responsibilities.

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