An Interesting Discovery

While walking over to my mom's house today, I took my same route - I walked around the front of my car.  Coming back I decided to take a different route so I walked around the back of my car and this is what I saw -

Ok, that's why my cats have been in every window, as the drapes tell me, when I get up in the mornings.  I'm not used to seeing evidence of raccoons in the winter time but I guess every one is getting hungry.  There is a pile of Med Chips for birds and squirrels on my porch.  I'll have to watch out for them when I get up for that early BR trip.

Chandler just bugs the heck out of me at 2 p.m. every day until I make his "tent" for a nap.  So, can you find the cat in this picture?

Here I am,

A big bunch of snow is forecast for the next two days, beginning tonight - we'll see how accurate our  ditso weatherman is.  Maybe another post tomorrow.

We're Back (Again)

You haven't heard from us for months it seems.  In part this is because these have been my constant companions while battling what could have been a life-ending infection in my foot.  It was scary and quite a battle but the victory without hospitalization or surgery is just miraculous and I am thankful.  End of story.  During this time I have had a very sick kitty who has require emergency treatment, hospitalization, then daily and now weekly visits to his doctor and he too is all better so we will continue the weekly visits until his doc says we no longer need to do that.  I feel so fortunate that she is letting me pay off his (whew) big bill as I can. 

Then my dryer died - sounded like a broken blower assembly so the part was ordered and the laundry piled up higher and higher.  Then the repair guy came out and took it apart and here was the culprit

Oh, that's where you are.  Neither one of us could figure out how in the heck it got down there but in the words of my friend and tech expert said, "that's what socks do."  Oh, right on Troy.

Next, I got up one morning and found that my computer keyboard had been the recepient of a projectile hairball (no photo required) and it was fried.  Thank you to my consultant/repair guy of 20 some years, he picked up a new keyboard from the Apple folks and brought it out and hooked it up for me.  Thank you Michael, Paula and Nick.  You Rock !!!!

Then I got a phone call that rocked my little world.  My cousin Alan, who has been my mentor in Geocaching, was found dead in his truck, pulled off the side of a road in Oklahoma to take a nap while working on a DeLorme and County geocaching challenge.  He was such a fun and great guy.  He actually helped me locate my first cache, he in Fort Worth, TX and me here in Bend, OR.  thanks to technology of the day - smartphones, geoearth, my new GPS unit and a couple of hours of walking and talking.  I have struggled with this more than I ever thought I would.  I do know exactly where he is tho - he has been a believer for many, many years.  But, darn it, 69 is too young and I miss him so much.  We had planned a geocaching trip together later this year.
Here are a few memories:

Reading a book with his dad and sister Janet.

Gettin' a hug from granddaughter Savannah,

the same cowgirl who loved grandpa's King Air airplane.

Grandpa in the cockpit.  Heck, Oregon was on his radar as on his bucket list was getting to go geocaching in each of the 50 states and on my bucket list was to go out geocaching with my cousin Alan, walking side by side this time.

I'm sure the discussion here was geocaching, or flying vintage aircraft.  Alan flew with the Confederate Air Force and had one remarkable trip flying a B-24 with crew across the North Atlantic into England for a WWII reunion.  On the way over he lost an engine and the story would make an incredibly interesting book.  He was also a Navy Submariner.

To wrap up, here are a few of his Pathtags that he was pretty proud of

He had just begun a series of Medal of Honor recepients and had completed Audie Murphy's -  another Oh darn - I wanted the whole set.  TXOILGAS is missed in the geocaching world for sure.

Alan had a beautiful Tenor voice and if you followed him on FB you know that he could be pretty critical of anything but the classic interpretation of music.  I know that there is some great conversation and singing going on in heaven with my dad, his parents and aunts, uncles, grandparents and all of those others who we researched and put into family trees.  Alan made sure that my 6 week trip to Tennessee back in 1996 would take me to even the most out of the way spots with the most high resolution maps  he could find.

I miss so much about this great guy.

Parakleto and the Relaxed Cat

It is so sweet to bask in being the recepient of people coming along side to live life with you.  To be in the place of being able to give and receive.  Having been on the giving/serving side of things my whole life, it has been a very different experience to be on the receiving end.  My heart says a huge thank you to those of you who gave to me over the past 2 months.  I smile from head to toe to know that now if I need a guy to help me out with those things that come along where only a guy can help out, I now have someone to call on.  John and Jennie, I love you.  I love you for seeing and making a list then making the phone call - so unexpected.  I have some things on my "list" so when winter passes I'll call you.   I am blessed by the sweetness of God's gift of his people and parakleto.  Thank you.

Calvin is getting better after a horrible sickness of a blocked urinary tract.  I see him be the old, precious Calvin more and more each day.  He is now down to fluids once a week which will continue indefinetly for a while.  Here he is cuddled up to his heated pad in his bed in his garage "apartment".  The tarp blocks a leak around a vent pipe that brings a little water when it rains hard and the wind blows. 

And then there are those naps with mom when both are relaxing in the morning sun.

Miss Mia is quite happy and rarely asks for anything.  She is the perfect cat.  For a girl born in a feral community and one who never had much loving or holding in her previous home, she is becoming quite the lap cat.  Our Princess.

Don't tell Calvin that this is a door draft blocker that we got from a friend at Christmas.  To him it is 6 new friends and the perfect place to take a nap with his catnip "lick stick".  If I ever were to invent a yoga pose I think it would be called "Relaxed Cat".

Aidan begs for water from the bathtub faucet a couple of times a day.  Please mom.

I have mentioned this before, but I can hardly wait for Spring when two of my favorite authors publish their new books - Charles Martin and Mary Alice Monroe.  Thunder and Rain will be out in April.  Ahhhhhh, flowers and good books, could life be better?

No Photo Needed

THE INJURY:  Life with totally dead nerves in you feet is not walk in the park -literally.  A few weeks ago I got one of those dry-winter cracks on the top of my big toe.  I was treating it and it was totally healing when I guess I spent too much time walking and one evening when I took off my shoe, there was a grand canyon there instead of a crack.  Almost to the bone, it extended across the entire top of my toe and down one side then around the back of my toe and the whole top of my toe was like a hat you could almost remove.  So yesterday afternoon and evening I sat in the clinic with my favorite orthopedic physician's assistant Mike Wulf while he worked on it for me.  It took a scalpel, a dremel with a very fine sanding tool and other PA magic, antibiotic, exceptional bandaging and today it looks Mahvelous.  It just felt so good to know that someone else was medically in charge and I could take observation and decision making off of my already too full plate.  So now we wait for healing.  Maggie told me of some great crack preventing and healing stuff to get - Heeltastic.  So with this great team, I really can see healing in my future.  It is nice to have numb feet because they don't have to use any anesthesia.  I was pretty afraid of the word "Surgery" but that didn't even come up.

Here are some Christmas pictures I haven't posted yet.  It is Christmas Eve dinner at Julie's home:

Christmas Cheer to Julie's mom, Helen who will be 98 in February. Now that will be a celebration.

 Helen and mom starting on a really yummy meal with a Paula Deen ham and other southern delights.

 Cheers to the cook!  Thanks Julie.  We have been friends since the early 1970's; met in Boise when I lived there - Julie is a Boise native.  Fun friendship.

Here is her Mr Lee kitty getting a good nap in while we were pigging out.

Calvin says, "thanks, everybody for praying for me." He is getting better and is still on fluids every other day but does get tomorrow and Sunday off; then he goes Monday, Wed, Fri next week and then down to once a week.  He is really good about it and boy do those girls love him.  He gets a tummy rub from each one of them.  What a good boy.  The bill is just mounting up and I am not even asking how much it is.  Once a month I take a small amount out there and they greet me with a smile.  I love that place.

So give this tummy a big rub and pray for a lifetime of healing for my precious little boy.

TTFN

Rose Bowl Halftime

I could hardly stand it.  For 66 years I have woken up on New Years Day to watch the Rose Parade and then the Rose Bowl.  What were they thinking moving it to Jan 2 without checking with me.

At least this morning I could watch the parade after bringing Calvin home.  He is doing well and I just pray that it continues.  He has won the hearts of all of the Cat Clinic staff.

Here is a pretty  picture of our High Desert.  It just invites me and I hope you, too, to know that 2012 is going to be good because we have a loving God in charge.  I have to remind myself of that often these days because I feel so beyond my capability to respond to the demands put upon me.  My mom still makes it very difficult. I do everything I can to set her environment up so she can just relax and enjoy her day, and she continues to complain and argue over the slightest thing.  It sure would be nice if I had the kind of support she has.  But I can't let myself go there.  I am recovering from a virus and am so tired as I get up before sunrise and care for Calvin and go to bed late after all the care my mom requires.  I am so glad that I have these kitties who love on me and are just so precious.  I wish I had someone who would really be there for me and help me with some of the things that are falling apart in my environment.


I need to start looking at what I can sell to help me financially.  I don't know what that could be but.........  I do have several cans I can return for $10 a day so weather permitting I will try to get out there.  I have a big open wound on my foot again and am trying not to go to the doc - where is the time.

Okay.  That's my 5 minutes of spouting off.

Look at this cold Rhodie.  I am so thankful that this is not in my front yard.  I am getting my hose out like so many of us gardeners in Central Oregon to assure that my plants don't dry out and freeze - the main killer of plants here.  It is so dry this year that this becomes a once a month requirement.  This Rhodie is on Mt LeConte in my favorite spot  in Tennessee - the GSM.  And this photo came from a friend yesterday.  Burrrrrrrrr !!

This has to be the biggest board I have ever seen.  This shot comes from friend Dan Patching in Kauai today.  Dan and Jodi "had" to move there this year from Bend because Dan was transferred there by his company.  Too Bad Dan, someone has to take it for the team. 



I want to send a shout out to friends Kevin and John.  Your phone calls really help my days.  I just love you guys and hope some day I can repay the friendship.  Kevin, love on your kitties for me; and John,  love on your family for me - wish I was in Tennessee right now.

I think I am going to study the book of Luke for my Bible Study the first part of this year.  Just finished "The Litigators" on my novel list.  Not Grisham's best in my mind.  I just get so tired of books that you can figure out within the first chapter or so.  I am so far enjoying Red Mist. 

I am so ready to get out there and do some geocaching so guess I should do my research and make my list.  That is lots more fun than moving furniture and cleaning carpets on hand and knees.

Well,  I'll Be Back.......  

Apologies, Apologies

When times are so very stressful, I should post more but I kind of hide away.  Thank you Kevin for letting me know that that isn't the best idea.

Calvin has been a sick little boy but is doing well with his recovery.  He got out of the hospital after a one week stay and now goes in for fluids every day.  (At 7:30 a.m. on weekends and 8:30 on weekdays. )  He is such a good little traveler and then he just lays there and lets the girls poke him and fill his tank and then love on his tummy.  He thinks it is really great.  Then we get home and I go over (about an hour late) to get my mom up and ready and then it is home to take care of the cats.

When I finally sit down to read the paper and relax.  Here is what it looks like:

The caption reads - boy that relaxer medicine really works good.

And as a cousin of mine said, "I'll have what he is having". Right On.

After one evening where he was restless and his urine output was a bit lower than it had been, his doc decided to extend his fluids and his bladder muscle relaxer and decrease them slowly.  He will finish his injectable antibiotic and oral antibiotic  in a couple of days.  They are so great to let me just keep my debt (which is extensive now and I call it my National Debt) there at the clinic and let me pay it off without interest.  Whew.  This is the first debt I have had in 12 years so it doesn't feel good but I am thankful.  I mean, really, what do you do?  When you have an animal family member, you have to help them out.  A friend has given me a small bit of money to help out and believe me, I am so thankful. 

While outside today I discovered a pile of deer poop in my yard and that was fun.  Wish I could have seen the guy who left it (or girl).  Since Calvin and I are going out before sunrise tomorrow, maybe we will see him or her.  (Didn't think you needed a picture of that.)

Here is a photo of a beautiful sunrise at the Cat Clinic last weekend.  So pretty and hopeful.

I have a gi flu bug now and boy it was a violent one a couple of nights ago.  Hope it goes away soon.

Chandler was under the weather for a few days, poor little guy.  After loving on him and giving him a couple of doses of laxatone and spending the night on the couch with him, he started to get better.  I think he could smell that animal hospital smell from Calvin and it really bothered him.

Well, Big Red Calvin wishes you Adieu and Happy New Year.  I will get some pictures of the other guys up soon.  And I will share more regularly with everyone.  Thanks for the support and the food and the money and the prayers.  Boy, do they help out.

Calvin's Ordeal

Monday night at 9:00 we headed to the emergency animal clinic as his urethra was blocked and he was one sick kitty.  Happened over just a couple of hours.


He had an irregular heart beat so the vet did complete lab work and passed a catheter.  I came home at midnight and he stayed

Tuesday Morning
I picked him up at 7:30 and drove him with his catheter and IV to his regular doctor at the Cat Clinic and got him settled in.  The girls all goo gooed and gaa gaaed over him and made him feel special and we started on the drill of x-rays, the start of 3 days with catheter in place and me visiting him twice a day.  Boy did he perk up when he saw me coming.

I just love that clinic and feel so relaxed when someone of my flock has to be there.

Today he was up to his old tricks.  When he wants some attention, he does something dramatic.  Now that might be difficult in a small cage but, the girls were cleaning up in there this morning when Calvin looked them in the eye and drew back his paw and used his water dish as a hockey puck. SCOOOOOOORE !  They were cracking up and if we only knew, I suspect he was too.  Here are his photos of the day.

Thanks to everyone who is praying for him.  Prayers are being answered left and right.  Now the issue will be to find the cause. He doesn't have crystals; his blockage was a soft plug of white and red blood cells.  I just don't want him to continue to block and have to go through the ER thing.  I can't afford that ($1100) and don't want to see him be that painful.  I can't even entertain putting him down as he doesn't have a terminal disease.  I am working hard to scrub up the house and make it as calming as possible for him when he does get to come home.  I remember Oreo being in the hospital for 9 days one time during his blockage period.  Stay tuned and thanks for the support everyone.  Wish I knew of a benefactor to help ease my stress of future cost but......  I will take one day at a time and be thankful for my gifts of these little lives.