Saturday, June 02, 2001 Hey. How you? Bet ya thought I'd given up, huh?

Well, Kirby seems to be doing okay. I saw him peeing this morning and he didn't have any difficulty. He's not really excited about eating soft food, not like any of the other cats would be. They'd be all over me. He ate some this morning, but I notice he puked it up. :( Maybe he just has to get adjusted to it.

Sunday, June 03, 2001 What did I tell you about me getting sidetracked? It sure doesn't seem to take much any more. But then, I seem to want to clean house a lot. I see this or that that needs to be taken care of and instead of putting it off, I do it. And my diary isn't getting entries.

So, I was a little worried about Kirby last night. He did eat more canned food yesterday and this morning. He's still peeing, although just little bits at a time. He slept most of the day yesterday, he's been pretty tired since his last blockage. But this morning he was up and after his chicken, was outside hunting something. He's also peeing and it doesn't seem to be bothering him. Last night, it was. He had some of toe prescription canned this morning, seemed to like it. I just hope the canned food works. He was so resistant to it at first.

Last Monday, Memorial Day, the washer died. Well, not really died, but it was pretty sick. No hot water came out and there was just a trickle of cold. Brian put new hoses on, but that didn't do much. I ended up calling Sears, because we have a warranty with them. At first, I was told that it wouldn't be until Thursday, and I'm thinking no way can I last until Thursday. So, she looked at our account...."Oh, you have a Sears Premier card, we can have someone out tomorrow." That's cool. So, we set it up. I mentioned the dryer and she said they could take care of all of it. Then I started obsessing about the cat pee under the top part of the machine, because I knew he'd have to take it apart. The screws were so bad, they were rusted out and a screwdriver wouldn't work with them. Same thing on the dryer, which I didn't find out until he tried to get the top up. But he was able to get the old screws out and replaced a part in the washer and it works great. And it wasn't really bad with pee under the top, because I had squirted window cleaner under the crack, the slid papertowels under to sop up all of the moisture. But I didn't do that on the dryer. I'd never done it on the dryer and on, my Gawd, it was awful. He let me clean it while he had to go out to his truck, I put a good amount of Simple Green on a rag and went to town. It was much better when I finished, I can't even describe how gross it was. Brian is going to put a bead of silicone down to keep the pee from going under there in the future. Ideally, the cats wouldn't pee up there, but they do. We just have to work with it.

Since he left, the machine has been going since I get up in the morning til I go to bed. I've washed a lot of stuff. It's fun. It's much quicker. The machine was taking an hour to fill. I could dry a load of Levi's in the time that it took for the tub to fill. Boy.

Thursday afternoon, Charlene called to let me know that Opie was finally eating on his own (Opie's brother, you may recall, has already gone to a new home). She said that she's finding homes for the other kittens pretty easily, but so far, nobody is interested in Opie. She said he's half the size of other kittens his own age and he's just slow. Broke my heart. I told Brian about it, I was just really sad. I think Opie would do well in our home and I really feel responsible for him. I don't know why, maybe it's because we didn't get Cleo spayed before she got pregnant, maybe it's because if we hadn't interfered with nature, the kits would have died. Whatever the reason, I just felt sad that I couldn't take him in. Well, throughout the weekend, I'd think about him and yesterday, I really got depressed. Brian, who was building a gate for the pool, told me we could bring him home. So, Opie has a new home!! It probably won't be until Tuesday, because we have a ton of stuff to do tonight and tomorrow, going visiting (btw, I won't be online) and I wouldn't want him here if I can't be with him. I'm excited and I'm scared. A kitten!!

Last Tuesday, I took my blood pressure after exercise. It was down. I took it a little later. Still down. But as the day wore on, it went up. I was curious about this and I asked the chiro on Wednesday, why it would go down after exercise, wasn't that supposed to make it go up? He asked if my pulse went up and I said yes, way up. So, he said that the bp thing was good, because it meant my arteries aren't clogged. But I got to thinking. Maybe, if I didn't sit on my butt in front of the computer, if I actually got up and did stuff, like washing windows and doing laundry, folding it and putting it away, vacuuming and dusting, you know, moving, my blood pressure may drop down to where it should be. So, I've come to the conclusion that I spend to much time online. Add to that, I went to WalMart and tried on some shorts, shorts that were ten sizes larger than what I wore when I started dating Brian. They didn't fit. You know how depressing that was? I've been in denial about my weight for a lot of years now. Well, enough is enough. I have to do this for me. If Brian wants to eat garbage, he can, but I'll start exercising my won't power. I won't eat it. I designed a log that is similar to what I used in the past at NutriSystem and in high school. I write down everything I eat and how hungry I was when I ate it. I'm choking down at least sixty four ounces of water a day, which gets easier each day I do it. If I'm full of water, I'm not full of junk. It's only been a couple of days, but I'm already sleeping better and my stomach isn't nearly as bad as it was when I ate all day long. I can't tell you how often I'd wake up in the middle of the night, my stomach very upset. I'm not going to deny myself yummy stuff, because this is a lifestyle change, not a "diet". But we won't be bringing ice cream or shakes home. If we have them, we'll have to eat them while we dine out. We're not going to have stuff like that in the house. Having junk in the house doesn't affect Brian like it does me. I can't say no. It's like a little nag in my voice, constantly reminding me that it's there. No more pies from CostCo. No more boxes of pastries. I just can't do it. I don't like the way I look and I know I don't feel as good as I could. I'm doing this for me. And I can do this. I've made the diet log available if you'd like to print it out. Just click here.

My mom is going in for an MRI on Wednesday and I'm taking her. She's been frightened lately because her tongue felt swollen. Last week, while shopping, she lost feeling in the tips of her fingers. Scary. She had to find a restroom, where she ran hot water over them until they were no longer white, but pink. She was talking with her neighbors and one of them said it could be a pinched nerve in her back. Before they diagnosed her cancer years ago, she had been treated for a pinched nerve. She saw her doctor this past week and the doctor agreed that it was most likely the never. That would explain her tongue and her fingers. Makes sense to me. I remember how I lost feeling in my leg and foot when my sciatica nerve was pinched. It took months for that to get better. But, to be on the safe side, her doctor wants her to have an MRI. I'll be going with her.

I mentioned above, Brian making a gate. Here's why. Remember when we found Buddy in the pool last year and Brian put the wire up around the pool? Well, he also had some around the top of the steps that go down to the pool. Not very strong and easily bent. Junior was able to jump over it. That didn't bother me. Just as long as Buddy couldn't get down there. Well, last week, Buddy was down there. I have no idea how he got over that wire without doing some major damage to himself (I would imagine him losing his balance and rolling down the steps). But I knew I didn't want him by the pool. If he went in at night while were in bed, or during the day when we weren't home, he'd die. He'd drown. So, Brian said he'd put up a gate at the bottom of the stairs which would also keep Junior out. He did it yesterday, didn't take all that long. And it's much nicer than stepping over that wire. It was very easy to catch your foot on it and very possible to tumble down them. Brian almost endoed once. So, I'm glad we have the gate up now, much safer, for everybody.

Last weekend, I found a great new search engine for my site. So, if you're ever looking for something in particular, but don't know where to look, try the search.

I ran out of cooked chicken for the cats yesterday, so I did the crockpot thing last night. This morning when I went into the kitchen, there was a very bad smell, a burny electrical smell. I turned off the crockpot, took the chicken out and fed the cats. Then I noticed the smell in the living room. It worried me so much that I woke Brian up to come smell it. He did smell it, it wasn't my imagination. After much sniffing around, I realized it was from the crockpot base. Another one bites the dust. I'm not risking losing everything we own for a forty dollar crockpot. It's toast.

Well, that's about all that's been happening.

Thursday, June 07, 2001 Well, I have some sad news this morning. Monday night, Charlene called. I had planned on calling her Tuesday to get Opie. She told me when she got out of bed Friday morning, Opie had passed away during the night. She said the doc said it was probably because his organs never grew right. Remember, he was half the size of kittens his own age and had eaten on his own for the first time Thursday. She said she'd emailed me Saturday, but my email didn't notify me that I even had any. Damn. I really thought I finally had my Opie.

Then, this morning when I went out to get the paper, there was a cat in the street who had been hit by a car. It was the feral we caught after Cleo. He was dead. He wasn't a cat we often saw, I think the first time we saw him was in the trap. I'm really sorry that he wasn't around longer, because he would have had a life free from being ruled by his gonads. Brian will dispose of his body.

On a brighter note, Kirby is doing very well. He's finally started eating the canned food and I've noticed he's not having nearly the problem he was having with urinating. I suspect that it's a combination of things, the glucosamine in the night food as well as the canned. And I've also *seen* him drinking, which I hadn't for a while. Even this morning, he was drinking from the swimming pool. I'm glad, whatever reason. He's much mellower and easy to get along with and I sure like seeing him squat, pee, then move on. I watch him to see if he's going to stop and clean himself, which he does when urinating is uncomfortable for him. He's not doing it. I'm hoping we finally hit upon the way to help him out.

My little Reddy boy is getting bolder in his search for affection. Last night, I was watching a movie with the lights out and a cat came up the steps to the top of the sofa, where my head was. It was Red, wanting to be loved. He's doing this much more often now. Sometimes, he gets so into it, he stretches out next to me. I'm looking forward to the day when he stays there and snoozes.

And remember the time I had with Lonee in the morning when I tried to pick her up? How she's twist and squirm to get away from me? Well, she doesn't do that anymore. She waits for me, talking to me until I'm ready to hold her. She loves it. She headbutts my face, she'll lick my nose, she'll push her body into mine..... She's enjoying it. I still don't try walking around with her because it frightens her, but that may come in time.

Sunday, we went to Anaheim. We stayed at the California Grand Hotel at the Disneyland Resort. The room was fantastic. I'll be posting about our stay on the Disney portion of the website, as well as pictures.

Brian had to go to work early today, so I haven't exercised yet. I'd best get on it and get it over with because the longer I wait, the less chance I'll have of doing it. I know how I am.

Tuesday, June 12, 2001 Well, my priorities are slowly changing. It's been easier to keep the house picked up and now, I've started in the office. My procrastination with office work cost us some money (I paid two bills that I shouldn't have; if I'd given them to Brian in a timely manner, instead of having them sit on my desk, I would have known this) and Brian was angrier with me than he'd been since we've been together. It wasn't fun. So, even though the cameras are running, I may not be online as much as I have been in the past. Oh, the overpaid money (about twenty one hundred dollars) will be credited to our account, so it isn't all bad.

I followed Kirby yesterday morning and he was in the nip. He found a little grass and ate it. Then he backed up to the wall and I heard him pee from about eight feet away. So, he's still doing okay. Whew.

The weather has been nice. It cooled off between yesterday and this morning, but it's a nice clear day. A little on the windy side. I laid in the sun last Sunday and it was really enjoyable. Late Sunday afternoon, Brian used the chainsaw to cut the grass by the pool and I raked it up and put it in the trash as he went along. Got quite a bit cleaned up.

Thursday, I checked out the pay per view movies and saw Space Cowboys listed. I had wanted to see that in the theater, but we never made it. It was too late to watch it that night, so we counted on watching it Friday. Well, Friday evening, I go to the channel to get the correct phone number. The message on the screen said that the satellite receiver had to be connected to the phone lines. What? There's no phone jack anywhere close to the receiver. I got some phone line and got it connected, the dialed. For forty-five minutes, I got a busy signal. Then I was on hold for fifteen more. We got everything squared away, but the tv never said what the guy said it should. I double checked the phone lines and the one Brian had handed me went nowhere. It wasn't plugged into the wall. I called the company back, but they quit answering the phones at midnight, eastern time. So, the next morning, at six am, I start calling again. Brian left early to replace his mom's water heater. It took me over three hours to finally get through and get the problem resolved. Then I started looking at plugs and setting it up so that there would be a connection to the receiver at all times. I didn't have enough phone cord, so when Brian got home, I told him we needed to go to Radio Shack. And while we were there, I might as well take the old roof cam to UPS to get shipped back to the manufacturer (there's a MailBoxes, Etc in the shopping center). I figured I'd better get that webcam sent back because I just found out that they'll no longer be making them. Bummer. It's a nice camera. At least, I'll have a backup, should anything happen to the one on the roof. That all done, when we got back home, I got the phone cord cut and connections placed on the ends, then attached it all. Works great. We watched Space Cowboys. I fell asleep during part of it, but that's okay, Brian liked it. This will be a lot more convenient, too, because all you have to do is go to the channel that will be playing the movie you want to watch and you click "enter" on the remote. It asks for the password (this will prevent having to pay for movies we didn't really want) and that's it. No more phone calls to order movies.

I've been calling about once a week on the camcorder that we took in to get fixed back in April. That guy treats me like I'm a moron. I told Brian last night what he'd said ("I'm not gonna pay somebody twenty dollars an hour to work on your camera") and Brian's gonna go down there this afternoon and talk with him himself. He's tired of waiting for the camera to be fixed.

Well, the mail just got here, which brings more paperwork. I should get on it now instead of putting it off. That's what got me into trouble before.

Monday, June 18, 2001 Holy Moley, it's hot. Man. Brian took today off and we finished getting the grass cut/pulled up from around the pool. Then Brian mowed the lawn. He only mowed the back lawn, not the front. More on the reason later.

Last week, I finally got all of my filing caught up (bet you were wondering where I was). I did the company's 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 files on Wednesday. Thursday, I got personal files caught up. It's really nice being able to relax by the pool now and not have the filing hanging over my head. And I'm doing my best to do stuff on a daily basis. I know it's easy to say to myself it's only one invoice, it can wait, but if I get it done that day, I won't have a stack of stuff to do weeks later. Old habits are hard to break, but I'm gonna break this one.

Well, guess which kitty was licking his genital area last week? He usually only did it in the am, but I called the vet on him Friday morning. Elena said to bring the little guy in, because I didn't want him blocking on the weekend. Good point. He was laying in the bedroom window and I went into the exercise room to get the carrier, brought it into the office and opened it. Can you believe he heard it and took off? Kirby, Kirby, Kirby. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't in your best interest. It's not real fun for me, either. Before I started to search for him, I grabbed a clippers and got some nip to take with us. Then, I started to look for him. It took about fifteen minutes to finally get him in a spot where he couldn't get away and off we went.

I was thinking that maybe he just had an infection. He's been eating his soft food on a regular basis now, so I know he's getting his fluids. I wasn't really concerned, to be honest. Well, I called a little after three and they were so busy, that Liz asked if she could call me back. I said sure. At four thirty, she said Kirby could come home, but the doctor wanted to talk to me. No big deal, I thought. I get down there and had to wait for a room. I checked out Kirby's chart on the wall and saw the urine analysis, surprised to see his pH at 7. Normal is 6 and he's been getting his pill every day and also been eating a prescription diet. And the doc came in. He said Kirby's urethra is very, very scarred. Not a good thing. He said he felt it was time that Kirby had the surgery. You know the one. The one we've been tossing around for a couple of years now. A perineal urethrostomy. The vet went over the possible complications and I think I asked all the right questions. I pretty much knew what was in store, because we've been discussing it with him seriously, knowing that it may eventually be a reality, since early 2000. And it seems that now is the time. Kirby's system just can't handle any more blockages. We discussed recovery. He usually keeps cats who have had this surgery for at least three days, because there is a stint (a silicone tube) placed in the kitty where the penis had been removed to keep the area from burning when the cat urinates. Doing this, the cat has no control over the urination process and leaks. The doc said he's usually pretty lax with E collars, but with this surgery, it's imperative the collar stays on so the cat can't lick himself and do damage to the incision. But with Kirby, he said, there's just no way he can keep him in the clinic for that length of time. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but Kirby just goes catatonic. Won't move. Won't eat. Won't drink. Won't sleep. Just won't move. So, he felt it would be best if we brought Kirby home after the first day of recovery. The doctor was most concerned with the leakage problem, but I'm more worried about him trying to get out of the house or start climbing into the rafters or the other cats trying to start something with him. I asked the vet if a large dog crate would be an acceptable alternative and he thought that was a terrific idea. We'll put it in the exercise room, so Kirby can have quiet and I'll cover the bottom with pee pads (I still have one container left from Bobby). He got out his price list and figured out how much it will be. $495.00. I was surprised it wasn't more, and said as much, but he said that he's giving us a break on the price. I know it seems like a lot, but we've been spending that much a month I bet, on having him hospitalized when he blocks. The soonest they can do the surgery is Thursday. He'll be there. I know that this will be better for everyone concerned. He won't have the stress of the vet, we won't have the stress of worry about whether he's blocking or not. And I won't worry nearly as much about him and maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to take a decent vacation.

Now, why Brian didn't mow the front yard.

Little Guy, Katie and Mystie's sister, brought her kittens over here. Thursday night, there were two little white ones. Friday morning, there were two red ones and one white one. Friday night, there were two white ones and two red ones. They are absolutely adorable. Saturday, I didn't know where she had the red ones, but the white ones were under a bush in front of the house. I didn't know where she had gone. But Saturday night, all four were back in the entry way, eating. Brian suggested putting out a bowl of water for them, because he saw one of the kittens trying to drink out of the fountain. I guess it was pretty hard for the kitten to do. So, I put out a plastic bowl with fresh water. When LG came back that evening, the kittens were drinking from the bowl. And we know where they stay during the day. Under the car in the bumper. The car is covered, so it's pretty quiet under there. I didn't see one of the white kittens this morning, but maybe it was already sleeping. I've been giving them some kitten food in the morning and again in the evening. The other feral queen, Blue, hisses at the kittens. But the other cats don't seem to mind them at all. This morning, I think OC was bringing them a bird until he saw me at the door. I don't know if LG is staying with them during the day. I am really curious how she lets them know not to follow her. I think she brought them over here because it will be safe for them. I had an idea that they were in the yard next door, in the very back, where we nabbed Katie Blue. Every morning, the dog in the yard behind, would start barking like crazy. I'm really sure it was because of LG and her kittens. Since they've been here (Friday?), I've not heard the dog barking in the morning. If anybody out there is interested in adopting one of these guys, let me know. I'll try to get them in and socialized. Brian says there's absolutely no way we'll take them in unless they have a home to go to.

Yesterday afternoon, I really cleaned up the catnip garden area. Yesterday morning, I got a twenty five foot soaker hose, because sprinklers just aren't cutting it out there. The catnip is high enough that if I have the sprinkler set to get all of the area, I also get water in Brian's shop. I set the hose, then started pulling the mint that's gone wild and used the clippers to get all of the tall grass. It's much nicer now.

I signed up with a new program that lets people send me money. It's for webmasters who would like a little help in paying for their websites. It's with Amazon, so when you see the little Amazon box at the top of the page, if you're interested, go ahead and send money. The minimum is a buck.

lisaviolet is fifty 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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