Wednesday, July 22, 2009

News of the Kitty



Boots is fine. He is (who knew?) allergic to flea bites. Apparently he has picked up a couple from lying in Chance's beds. We do Frontline on both, but Chance picks up fleas from outside, and we know it's inevitable that he'll bring them inside with him. Then, before the Frontline can kill them, sometimes they jump off him and onto his bedding. Boots loves to sleep in both of Chance's beds (sort of a cat version of thumbing his nose at the dog, I guess).

Anyway, the vet couldn't find any fleas on Boots, but she did find "flea dirt" so we know they're there. She said it only takes a few, if a cat is very sensitive to them. She says sometimes cats come in just covered in fleas and don't even scratch themselves. Then, a cat that is allergic can have just a couple fleas, and about scratch themselves to death. She recommended a bath for him. Yikes ... talk about my least favorite task in the world. Actually, I can't even imagine. So we'll be making a trip back to the vet soon, to take care of bathing the cat.

She gave Boots a cortisone shot and said he'll be fine. It's just that the skin on his back near his tail was inflamed. Poor baby. But he's okay. I just took these pictures of him a minute ago. It's hard to get a good shot of him because he's so dark. She did talk about what a beautiful silky coat he has and what a sweet boy he is ... which I already knew (says the proud "cat mama").

Monday, July 20, 2009

Christmas in July?

We’ve had a gift the past several days – low humidity and much lower temperatures. On Saturday the high was about 80 degrees. Now, THAT’S what I’m talking about! Middle of July in Memphis, Tennessee! We’re gradually creeping back up the temperature/humidity gauge (of course), but today was still nice.

I got a great “find” Saturday morning at a garage sale. I’ve wanted a recumbent exercise for quite awhile now. I bought one for $25 and love it. I spent 20 minutes on it Saturday night, and almost an hour on it last night! I’ll post a picture of it soon.

I’m a little concerned about Boots. He has a place on his back, right above his tail that is very, very tender. When I tried to look at it earlier, he snapped at me. He’s never done that before, so I know it’s really hurting him. I made an appointment with the vet for tomorrow to get it checked out. I just can’t figure out what it could be.

Chance went to the groomer today, and they sent him home with the cutest little “heart” kerchief. Here’s a couple pictures I just took of my sleepy boy. He’s made himself quite comfy in the recliner, don’t you think?




Thursday, July 16, 2009

TGIF - tomorrow!

It’s a nice Thursday evening and I’m enjoying the peace and quiet. Chance has made his last trip outside for the night, Boots is lying sprawled out in the middle of the hallway, and my sweet husband is in the kitchen making his lunch for tomorrow. Which, in case you haven’t realized, is FRIDAY.

It’s been busy at the office lately, which is a good thing. I don’t think I’ve talked much about my job here. I work for a labor and employment law firm. My particular job is pretty interesting (most of the time) and involves working on PowerPoint presentations, training programs, research, and lots of other things. I like that it can be very challenging and also rewarding. We’ve gone through a pretty slow period, which I hate. The days drag by and I find myself getting lazy. It’s much better when we’re busy and there are lots of things going on!

Here’s a picture of a pretty piece of wall art we found. It’s iron and I really like it. Sorry it's a little blurry...



More later --

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Sunday morning check-in

Stayed home from church this morning. I think I overdid it yesterday cleaning the house. This blasted fibromyalgia … I can’t figure out where the energy starts and ends. I’ve been feeling better lately. When I saw my doctor last week, she tweaked my medicine, and it really has helped. I haven’t felt as dopey-sleepy and have had a little more energy. So yesterday, I guess I pushed myself. And today, I’m paying for it.

I belong to a Frugal Living forum, and one of the threads lately is about “using it up.” So I’ve been a lot more conscious of not throwing leftovers out and trying to use up everything and reduce waste. Last night I made a chicken stir fry. We’d had roast a couple of nights earlier, and I had just a little roast and gravy in the fridge. So I shredded the roast and put it and a couple tablespoons of gravy into the stir fry. Not only did it “use it up,” it really added a depth of flavor to the dish. Yay!

Hubby and I are starting to plan our vacation for later this year. We’re heading back to the beach, I guess. We plan on going the second week of September. It’s a great time, because school has started, the crowds are gone, it’s still nice and warm – but oppressively hot, and best of all … prices are almost half of what they are in the summer.

Here’s a picture of what I want in our front beds. My favorite flowers in the world are hydrangeas.



More later --

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Wow ... is it Wednesday already?

This week is going by really fast. Which is good. I’ve been busy at work, and I’m glad, because it makes the day go by faster.

Tonight an insurance guy was supposed to come by the house, and we were going to sign applications for a life insurance policy for both of us. Weird – he never made it. I say it’s weird, because he’d already done his pitch a couple weeks ago, and we’ve been considering it since. So he knew it was a for-sure thing. He seemed like a really decent guy, so I guess we’ll give him a chance to call us and let us know what prevented him from coming…

I made a big bowl of tuna salad tonight for both our lunches. I make it with diced sugar-free “sweet” pickles, minced onion, diced celery, chopped eggs, mayo, and (of course) tuna. Then I like sandwiches with my “health nut” bread, lettuce (or spinach), a slice or two of tomato, sliced onion, and a little more mayo. Yum-O!

Okay, just in case you’re not sick of pictures of my house, here’s another one. This is a shot of our screened-in back porch.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

On the road again



I'll be out of town and offline for a few days. I'll post again on Sunday. Till then, have a wonderful Fourth of July holiday!