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      Friday, January 04, 2019


otherstuff
09:33 AM - 01/04/2019
I'm listening to the heater
The current weather is freaking cold!

The topic: Wow. over two weeks
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Lots of little things going on. Nothing major.

It's been cold for over a week now. I mean "my nose is running in the house because of the cold" cold. I am not used to that at all. We had rain on Monday, supposed to be a third of an inch, it was 1.14 inches. It rained late and there was no gunfire and no fireworks going off at midnight.  Nice.

Spent the week from the day after Christmas to New Year's day watching a Game of Thrones marathon. Each day they ran a season.

My neat new digital photo frame started having a burping problem. The slideshow stopped working because "can't transcode" this file. Turned out the router was dropping the wifi output. So, when the television couldn't access my cloud, it stopped running. I updated firmware, then things really went south. I figured the router was crashing (and my googling the issue seemed to back this up), so I ordered another router, with the intention of filing a claim (I bought an extended warranty when I got the router). Set up the new one, have one for backup.

While waiting for the new router, I got the old router running and set the wifi range extenders set back up and things are running nicely. It took almost a week to get it working right and everything set back up. Alexa quit, my Google devices quit, it wasn't very much fun at all. Streaming shows wouldn't play without buffering. I'm not pulling the photos from the NAS now, I'm putting them on a USB flash drive. It works okay, just a pain to add photos since I have to remove it from the television.

Cats are okay, I think Mario's back is hurting more, he's not climbing into bed now, spending most of his time sleeping on the sofa. Sagwa is having problems, he's not eating as much as he had been and he is very, very clingy. Clingy to the point where I can't move my elbows when I'm typing and at night he sleeps with his face in mine. And if he doesn't, I go looking for him to make sure he's okay. I don't wake him when I see him, I'm just checking.

It's so cold all of the black cats are sleeping in the house now. Joey and Phoebe had been spending most of their time in the garage or outside. Now, they're in the living room.

Brian has picked up a lot of my work around the house and I couldn't understand why until we were talking about a conversation he'd had with his brother. His brother knew someone who had bad knees and put off doing anything about them and by the time he was ready, his knees were in such bad shape, nothing could be done. Brian doesn't want this to happen to me. So, he's doing dishes, preparing meals, even does the dishes when I cook. My favorite thing he does is the litterboxes. Earlier this week I started to clean them out and he yelled at me "where are you?" and I said "laundry room". He comes out and said "let me finish that". Okay. With the house closed up we have to be mindful of the smell from litterboxes.

Orders were really, really slow the last couple of months and money was tight. I've wanted to get a new cordless vacuum (well, he wanted it - my old one is dying and is really whiny when I run it; the last time I did, he sat there with his fingers in his ears, finally got up and went outside). I haven't replaced a vacuum in years, the last one I got was in a mystery bag, my little BotVac.

Well, the past week orders picked up and I checked CostCo online. They have a Shark cordless for $299, the same one on Amazon is $495. Since we have some money, after discussing it with Brian, I ordered it. Really excited. And after my hip is fixed, we have a lot of stuff to start getting rid of. Like old, disabled vacuums.

He asked me this morning (I had a very vocal discussion with him last week about spending money before we have it in the bank; he placed an order for $1,000 with one of his suppliers and that put our account below a thousand, which doesn't really sound bad, but there are automatic payments that come out, like our weekly UPS invoice) if we had enough to get the gardener here. Yeah, go ahead. 

I'm caught up with invoicing and new account set up. It was pretty frustrating until I got the router situation taken care of. I couldn't connect to the NAS, which is where I have my Quickbooks files. I run QB from both the laptop and the PC, so having common access to the data is a huge help.

Our black and white laser printer is dying. It will print on regular copy paper, but when I use a heavier weight colored paper (these go in with the shipments we send out) it jams after seven or eight pages. I have to take it apart to get more printed out. Not cool. Found a cheap one at Office Depot, should be here next week.

Anyway, life is just life. Nothing exciting.

sagwa    mario    geekstuff   

      Saturday, January 05, 2019


otherstuff
02:01 PM - 01/05/2019

The topic: I’m bored
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I have a zillion pictures to go through, I have my little scanner for negatives so I can check out photos I took before digital came into existence. I have three loads of laundry to fold and put away.

I have four books that need reading, I have a bunch of movies I could watch in my streaming accounts.

It's cold and cloudy, we might get up to an inch of rain in the next twenty-four hours and I'm just bored.

I cleaned all of the litter boxes, took the bags and put them in the trash, I pulled out the pee pads from under my laundry containers (cats pee on everything), washed the floor under them, put down new pads.

I cooked a frozen chicken breast in the Instant Pot this morning and when it had cooled, I shredded a fairly good sized piece and let Sagwa have at it. He ate quite a bit.  A few hours later, he kept getting in front of the laptop and I gave him more and he ate most of that. He's fast asleep now. Wouldn't it be nice if his appetite came back?

My leg hurts. My leg hurts a lot right now, I took three naproxen. Hopefully it will kick in before much longer and I can put the laundry away.

I keep hoping someone cancels their surgery. I really want to get back to doing things outside of the house. I'm getting cabin fever.

      Monday, January 07, 2019


catstuff
11:39 AM - 01/07/2019

The topic: Lactated ringers
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Otherwise known as subQ fluids. Just amazing how they'll bring a dehydrated cat around.

Sagwa has been a little off for a few weeks. Not really sure why. I hadn't been giving him his thyroid meds like I should have, but they seemed to bother him. But last month, I started him on the as he should have been on all along. I know they take a while to actually do some good, so I kept at it.

But then he started not eating very much and it was almost opposite of how he was supposed to be on the pills. The past couple of weeks, I gave him fluids on three occasions. Only 60cc at a time, but by the next day, he was like a new cat.  So, I'm thinking he's having kidney problems.

Which means he needs to get to the vet for blood work.

He loves the cooked chicken, hasn't gotten tired of that yet. As long as he'll eat it, I'll cook it. The problem is the vultures that come like zombies when they smell fresh food. So, I have to sit with Sagwa while he eats. But as long as he's eating, I'll sit with him. He likes Fancy Feast's chicken pate, but not like he likes chicken breast.

I have stuff I want to do, but I need my table to do it and he won't leave. I can move him, but he just comes back up here, sitting as close to my keyboard as possible.

If it was warmer, I'd open up the house and I know he'd go outside and lay in the sun. But the doors and windows I'd open are in the shade and it's barely fifty degrees. So, I'll give him more food (he's eating Fancy Feast right now) and hope that a really, super full belly will make him sleepy and he'll go snooze on the sofa.

And I can finish what I need to start.

sagwa    catstuff   


otherstuff
11:52 AM - 01/07/2019

The topic: And Kaiser called this morning
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I'm officially on a list for surgery. No date yet, but she asked what kind of notice would I need.  One day, two days, a week?  I said "how about today?" 

She asked me some health questions. Are you on blood thinners? She rattled off a list of medications. Nope. Are you diabetic? Nope. Do you smoke? Nope.

So, when an opening  becomes available, we'll be ready. 

Walking without pain. I wonder what that will be like.

surgery   

      Tuesday, January 08, 2019


catstuff
10:24 AM - 01/08/2019

The topic: Sagwa is having an off morning
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We've never had much luck with cats and thyroid problems. It started with Annie a long time ago.

Anyway, we're just taking it one day at a time with him. I gave him fluids this morning and he got his meds. He didn't show any interest in food, which worries me, but maybe after the fluids and med kicks in, he'll feel more like eating.

He's been very clingy lately and this morning is no exception. I tried putting him on the sofa with the heating pad set on low, but he didn't stay there long. He was back up on my work table before long.

I really need to get stuff wrapped and shipped out. I decided I'd do the wrapping on the dining room table and let him have my work table. I brought up one of those cat pads that are extra warm when they lay on them and he snoozed for quite a while. Now that I'm typing, he woke up. He seems so wobbly, but he just started purring.

Anyway, I got a picture of him sleeping just a while ago.

I hope this is just temporary, but I'm afraid it's not. And it makes me sad. I just opened a can of A/D and he's eating. Not sure how much he'll eat, but he is eating something.

sagwa    catstuff   

      Wednesday, January 23, 2019


otherstuff
06:54 AM - 01/23/2019

The topic: Yesterday was just, well, one of those days
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It started off auspiciously. (First time I've ever used that word!)

Woke up a little before six, came back to the office, booted up the PC, went to the kitchen, got my BP meds and my morning omeprazole (only thing that works for my stomach acid), came back to the office and sat down. Checked my email.

A woot-off you say?  I logged in to wootstalker.com, headed over to woot, signed in there and at that point, a popup popped up alerting me to a Bag of Crap.  Clicked on that (it automatically took me there) but I was put in the waiting room, so I went to woot directly and scored a bag. Great start to the day, right?

I'm in the process of consolidating the data on six external hard drives onto one huge external hard drive (seven terabyte!). And I will store the old drives someplace safe. I was down to one hard drive and it had the most data to be transferred. I kept starting over with it, which just made it take longer. It started to get frustrating. I finally just started copying one directory at a time. All of these hard drives were essentially backup drives. Duplicate backups. I don't know exactly how many C drive backups I have, or music backups or photo backups, but it's a lot. And it takes time. Even though the last one is USB 3.0, it's taking a long time. I had to leave it running overnight to finish what I started early yesterday.  And now, it's copying the last directory of the last hard drive, so this will be finished today. And I have more room on my shelf. But it should have been completed yesterday.

And then there's the cats. My last entry was about Sagwa not doing so well. Last weekend, Lorelei came down with a cold, she was congested pretty badly. I gave her doxycycline pill form on Saturday, she puked it up. I gave her liquid doxy on Sunday, she puked it up. She's not eating. Probably because she can't smell. But that's not the major thing.

The major thing is when she's feeling good, she can eat and eat and eat. It's like a bottomless pit. And she screams at you whenever she thinks you have food. I'm serious, she has a problem.

And she's skinny as a rail. That's the concerning part. For as much as she consumes, she hasn't put on any weight. This has bothered us for a while, and Monday, I made an appointment for both her and Sagwa. My gut feeling is she's hyperthyroid.  It was yesterday at 4:15.

So, life is moving along and I notice Rocky is all hunched over. He's not happy, he doesn't feel well. I was able to feel his lower abdomen, did a little squeeze of it and it distressed him. I called the vet, "can I bring in another cat? He either has a bladder infection or he's constipated".  Yeah, sure, bring him in. I told Brian and he's like "how are we going to get three cats in?" since I have a hard time just walking. We'll figure it out.

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to get cats to eat. I had at least five different types of food out at one time (the well cats are loving this). Monday evening, I discovered that Lorelei will eat treats. So, I wrap a doxy pill in a pill pocket. Nope.

I get some Temptations treats. Yeah, I'll eat those. I got more Temptations treats and added the pill pocket to the little pile. She ate it all. Okay, now I know how to get her to take a pill. At the point we get to the vet, she's had two. Monday night, Tuesday morning.

The ride over was noisy. Lots of crying from the backseat. Luckily they took us right in. Sagwa and Lorelei were both taken back (in carriers) for the blood draw. Then we were taken back to an examining room where a tech took weights and wrote down why we had the cats there.

Long story short, the vet felt a hard stool in Rocky's bowels. He's on Miralax twice a day. One eighth of a teaspoon. Okay, we all know Rocky will not be medicated. This will be fun. I think I've come up with a way to get this into him. Mix the Miralax with Nutrical and smear it on his paw.  (Please, no advice on what to do, we've tried everything with his crypto meds for over a year at a cost of hundreds of dollars of wasted medicine, ripped up hands and arms and a cat who's afraid to be around us, runs when he sees us; I won't respond to this advice as nothing works.)

Sagwa has actually gained a few ounces and his thyroid values were perfect. And we are to give him fluids every other day since it helps him stay hydrated. He's just getting old.

Lorelei has bacteria in her ears, which the vet found when Brian mentioned how hot her ears were. The vet noticed how dirty her ears were, took swabs from each ear and tested them, found bacteria, so, we're to give her ear drops twice a day for a week (why is it always the most difficult cats?). She got both ears cleaned out (I asked the tech if she liked it and his short answer was "no"). She's to stay on the doxy for eight more days. She's supposed to get fluids. And meds for her hyperthyroidism. Her values were pretty high. She gets a different dose than Sagwa, less, so hers is liquid.

So, three cats, a case of A/D, Vectra for fleas (the Revolution we got didn't work very well; Vectra is for dogs, but the version we got works for cats as well, so don't go buying dog Vectra to use on your cats unless discussing it with your vet first), two bags of lactated ringers, a box of 20 gauge needles, refill med for Sagwa, meds for Lorelei for just about $450.00.


Rocky


Sagwa



Lorelei in the corner - she didn't want to stay in a carrier


Sagwa


Lorelei

And there's no update on a surgery date for moi.

I found a message last Wednesday on my cell that the scheduler had called, please call back. I called for over a week and never got an answer, the call always went to a voicemail message. So, I figure they only call when they have an opening. And I missed the first one. I figured out how to forward calls from the cell to my landline, just for when we're home so I won't miss the next one.

But I'm getting things ready, keeping on top of paperwork, getting those cats to the vet, cleaning up really pissy areas of the house. Brian already has his hands full and if I can do things to make it easier, I will do it.

vet    sagwa    rocky    photos    lorelei    geekstuff    catstuff   

      Thursday, January 31, 2019


catstuff
02:57 PM - 01/31/2019

The topic: Another sad goodbye
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My last entry, last Wednesday, we'd been to the vet the day before. Lorelei is getting used to her medication, Rocky pooped and we thought Sagwa was doing better.

He even ate kibble.

But Monday, he started not acting so great. He had a hard time walking. He was dehydrated. Three mornings in a row, I gave him fluids. He wouldn't eat anything. He looked uncomfortable.

He didn't spend so much time with us. He didn't come into the office in the morning and jump up on the desks, looking for food and attention.

He didn't sit up much, most of the time was laying down. When he was in the sun, he would eventually lay on his side and sleep. But something would wake him and he'd once again, lay on his tummy. He had a hard time lifting his head and looking up.

Then there was the breathing. Whenever he'd exert himself, he'd have to catch his breath. You could see his sides moving in and out with more effort. I spent yesterday with him. When it was still cold in the morning, I brought him inside and lay him on my chest. After much stroking and soft talking, he lay his head down on my arm. We sat like that for maybe fifteen minutes, but he got anxious and got off of me. He ended up back outside, the sun was higher at this point and he had plenty of sun to keep him warm. And I checked on him. I got down on my knees with his body cradled between them, me giving him gentle pets. I would sit next to him, petting him, and just telling him wonderful things about himself and how much we loved him. I would bring him treats, which he ignored. Occasionally, he'd let out a soft purr. Sometimes barely audible, but I could feel the vibration in his throat.

As the sun left the sky, it cooled off and I carried him inside. I set him down on the coffee table, with the cat blanket under him. He laid down. And I watched him breathe. I was alarmed. It was five o'clock. The vet closes at six. I made a decision.

I called to Brian and told him we needed to get him in. Now. Should I call the vet? Brian wasn't really thrilled, thinking maybe another day. But I didn't feel that way. He shook his head, "whatever you want to do". I called the vet. After describing the symptoms, I was told to bring him down. We put him in a carrier and left.

They took the carrier into the back and we waited. Finally, we were called back to an examining room and the vet came in. Without Sagwa.

The news was bad. She said he didn't even look like the same cat she'd seen just the week before. His blood values were not good. He was anemic and his kidneys had shut down. Past the point of doing anything to extend his life. There was also a problem with his red blood cells. New ones were being made, but where were the mature ones? Nothing showed on the x-rays, but she strongly suspected some form of cancer. The prognosis was not good. We agreed that euthanasia was the best option at this point. She said that he most likely would have died during the night and it would not have been an easy passing.

He was brought into the room, with a catheter in his front leg. The tech gave him to me and brought in a blanket. I gently placed him on the blanket. We were asked if we needed time with him.  No, we were ready. We said goodbye. His passing was peaceful.

You know, the past few weeks he had started this thing where, during the night, he would get onto the bed and come over to me. I would wake up with his paws over one of my arms, next to my face and his face would be next to mine. We were sleeping nose to nose. I didn't understand it, but I think I do now. He was saying his goodbyes.

Looking back, he was diagnosed in the beginning stages of renal failure last September. The doctor told us last night, that sometimes the thyroid problem masks kidney problems. And it looks like that happened with Sagwa. He had been slowing down for a while and I say to Brian that it won't be long now. And we steeled ourselves for the inevitable.

It just never gets any easier. He'll be sorely missed.

sagwa    goodbye    catstuff   

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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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