Musings on a Small Life

Okay, cleaning the boxes today, in full light, I can see that the Odour Buster isn't truly 100% dust-free; there's a fine coating on the sides of the boxes that I truly didn't see before. Maybe because it's settled now, for a couple of days? Anyway, I think it's still good stuff, am impressed with it, so will keep buying it. I promise there was no intent to mislead. It also would help if (a) I had better lighting in the house and (b) wore glasses. LOL.

I said that to a departmental contact early this morning, as I was checking on something. She replied that she felt the same way. Ah, so nice not to be alone in that regard. LOL. At least what I'm currently doing, I'm doing right. My boss is home, btw. He emailed us yesterday. He's not sure when he'll be back to work, certainly not this week. He said it depends on what further indignities he's subjected to when he goes back to his specialist for a check later this week or next. And his sage advice: If you have troubling symptoms, get to your doctor ASAP. *** Now I'd like to take a moment to commend Nicki on his prowess in hunting Mr. Green Squeaky Mouse at 1:40AM, and for bringing said "prey" into the bedroom to chase, before "killing" it. Indeed, he is a mighty hunter, and both Derry and I were very impressed. *** Still cat-related: I found the absolute best litter I've ever tried in my eleven years of being a serv...

OMG, my boss must be one tough cookie! He sent a brief email to me from his mobile device a short time ago: "Apparently things went quite well. Started the chemo wash already." I'm so glad he's out of surgery and able to function. Wow. Must be all the purrs and purrayers (around the CB and here, I mean). Not sure what the prognosis will be, of course, but I do hope it will mean he'll be cancer-free. Fingers crossed. I can tell you that I wasn't very productive today...which might have had something to do with the wine I drank yesterday. Okay, that's not entirely true, I cleaned out my files, with 11 years' worth of paper to go through. Got rid of a HUGE pile for shredding, so I guess that counts as being productive, after a fashion. Anyway, I can just feel my whole body releasing its tension now. ::Sigh:: Universal Blessings, Light and Mercy to All Beings.

Man, guys...I'm sitting here on glass #2, okay, maybe #3 of white wine...I can't drink wine. Half a glass puts me out. My boss, the man who hired me 11+ years ago when my life was in chaos, when I had been out of work for 1.5 years, when I had not one iota of self-esteem, is going in for surgery tomorrow, cancer. Bladder cancer. Long story. Knew he had something serious going on because he had blocked off a number of days for medical tests, didn't tell me what, just "medical." I figured prostate cancer, because he's in the right age group, but after some Google research on the treatment, decided it couldn't be that. Days off were staggered too much. Colon cancer, maybe, I thought. Or maybe lung cancer, given he's a heavy smoker. So today he called me from home, a bit shaky of voice, and said his doctor had called him a short time ago, surgery scheduled tomorrow, told me it was "serious" but didn't go into further detail. I knew f...

3:50AM Big sigh, shoulders slump, "Oh, god, another day." 3:50:30AM Straighten up, think, "Wow, thank you for another day!" The first was my initial reaction getting out of bed and getting myself upright this morning. The second, a few moments later, was my conscious effort to turn that around and be grateful I woke up alive and well, that the boys were fine too (at least then), that I had a good job to go to for the day. Because it's all a matter of perspective, right?  It's a good day, even if you do have to go to your storage trunk and dig out a winter coat and scarf because it's snowing out. Even if you do have to don long johns at almost the end of April. It's a good day, with dark chocolate covered almonds as a treat. With some yummy greens and smoked salmon for lunch. It's a good day with a wonderful, kind, caring amazing blogger in the U.S. who so kindly is sending me another supplement I've ordered for the boys, for t...

RE: a couple of comments yesterday: I already leave the radio on during the day, usually tuned to CBC Radio 1. I don't blast it, though, can't imagine the cats wanting to hear blaring voices (or music) all day. This area doesn't have an "easy listening" station. We have country, pop, classic rock and hard rock, plus two CBC stations. I miss the old CBC Radio 2, with its classical programming format. Remember that the "fleas" next door are in school all day, till the end of June. The problem is during the late afternoons and evenings, till about 9:30PM. (I go to bed before the kids do. LOL.) However, I do notice that some of the HD TV stations are actually music, one of which is jazz/blues -- perfect for me . Not sure what the cats will think about it, though -- if anything. I'll find out in early May, when I get the upgrade.  :-) Thanks, as always, for comments and suggestions!

When I got home Friday there was a message from my current vet clinic telling me they'd ordered the Zylkene and that it should be in on Monday. Great! I have no idea how much it costs; I didn't ask, either. Too afraid! And in the mail was a package of Pet Naturals calming treats from a blogger; I'm waiting for the Vetri-Science ones to come from the States. I gave Derry and Nicki one treat each Friday afternoon, not sure I noticed any difference in either of them. They were content to enjoy the sunshine and warmth in the back garden, had a good evening. I gave Derry one this AM and then gave them both one this afternoon around 4:30PM. Both are sleeping right now, but it's a cold, rainy, miserable day, so they'd be sleeping anyway. The treats don't cause drowsiness. Supposedly you give just one a day, though can double or triple without any problem in times of severe stress. I'm a little fuzzy on how I'll know if any one of these things w...

I called yesterday regarding the Zylkene, then called again today to ask if the order was placed, but it hasn't been yet. The woman at the front desk had left a note for Derry's vet, and I've not heard back from him. If he balks, Derry will have to go to the other clinic to be examined, to get the product. In any case, I've scanned in the the two most recent blood work results, as well as last fall's and Tuesday's urine analyses. "Erased" the vet's name and clinic info from the top of each page via PhotoShop Elements and printed them out. Along with a half-page note on things I want/don't want (for any new vet), such as no Metacam, no Convenia, no antibiotics unless proven warranted for a bacterial infection, preferably no further vaccines, no corn/soy/wheat in the food, etc. As well as end-of-life instructions, how I would want that handled. Just so any new vet is clear on my wishes. Then they can decide if I'm worth taking on. LOL. ...

Zylkene: http://www.petdrugsonline.co.uk/site.aspx?i=pr184036 I just called the clinic to get the name. They can't give it to me without seeing Derry; it has to be prescribed. But she said all the vet clinics get it from the same source. "Zylkene is a revolutionary new product used to help cats and dogs cope with stress. It is a food supplement made from a protein found in milk (the same molecule that helps babies relax after a milk feed). The active ingredient is a peptide (a protein molecule) which is able to bind temporarily to certain receptors in the brain. This has a calming influence similar in some ways to tranquilliser drugs, but without the side effects associated such as sedation or memory loss. It has been clinically proven to be effective in dogs and cats." I just called my current clinic and said I wanted to get it in to try with Derry before going to any pharmaceutical. The woman at the desk wasn't familiar with the product, said she h...

I stopped in at a vet clinic (not mine) on the way home, to pick up a Feliway refill. (I did not want to call my clinic and don't think they would carry it, anyway. It's not a drug, after all.) I was impressed with the the young woman who helped me. Her dad owns the clinic, as well as another, and they have a farm with horses, etc. She didn't scoff or scorn at my desire for a natural product. Said she got her rescue dog onto a good food, not from the vet. She mentioned that because she had said they have a calming food for cats (?!) and I said, almost apologetically, that I steered away from corn, soy and wheat...well, most grains, except that one of their two current kibble brands has rice. (The boys get about 2 TBSP per day.) Anyway, that's when she mentioned what she feeds her dog and how it's made such a difference to the dog's health. I got the Feliway (I need another, but they had only one refill in stock) and she also showed me a natural product ...

Geezus Murphy, I don't want Derry on this stuff: http://www.vetinfo.com/side-effects-amitriptyline-cats.html He's doing better, btw, still on pain meds, but he had a huge pee in the outdoor litter box this AM. Yeah, yeah, TMI. Yesterday I had two visitors at the door, which totally freaked him out and made him extra-jittery for the rest of the evening. (One was the mother next door...Have I said I really like her? Wish her kids were quiet. She said they have "no furniture"; no wonder the sound just bounces off the walls. I don't know why they don't have furniture. They must have something , beds, or at least mattresses.) I've thought about a calming collar, but Derry's never worn a collar and I'm not sure if he'd flip out over one. I'd be paranoid he'd get it caught it on something in the house while I was at work and choke himself to death. So I feel rather at a loss here...I will be trying the Vetri-Science and P...

I don't need comments to this, just rambling. No emerg vet visit, thank goodness. I slept in clothes (comfy) last night, just in case, had his medical history at hand, etc. Will do the same tonight. Derry has been in and out of various litter boxes at least a dozen times today, sometimes not doing anything, sometimes just a tiny dribble. Three times more substantial clumps:  3cm around 10AM, 4.5 cm around 2PM, and 4 cm around 4PM. He did, or tried to do something in the garden too, but I haven't any way of measuring that. I had the outdoor litter box covered up because of the forecast rain, otherwise I could have seen whether he really did anything. So tomorrow afternoon he'll go to the vet, something neither of us will want to endure. The vet is not a proponent of alternate medicine, of course. I've got two bloggers sending me calming treats: One is made by Vetri-Science ("Compose") and the other is Pet Naturals calming treats. Same ingredients, slig...

I took today off work, since the forecast was for sunshine and reasonably warm temps (about 13C/55F). Spent most of the day doing something I normally detest--slacks shopping. It took trying on 22 pairs in 6 different stores to find 2 that actually fit, but that's better than not finding any. (And thank you, Dad and Mom and Harry, for the birthday money -- this time I didn't use it all for bills.) Didn't I just do this, though? Slacks shopping, I mean. Maybe it was over the Christmas break. If I didn't have such a difficult pear shape, it wouldn't be such an ordeal. And it still was an ordeal when I was in my 20s and 30s and 30+ pounds lighter. So I came home with a pair of black slacks, a pair of dark jeans, two short-sleeved blue print tops, a short-sleeved heavy-weight turquoise-ish top I'll wear as a little jacket, and the practical socks. All new and on sale, and at great buys. Oh, and the dark chocolate Lindt Easter bunny, half price of co...

I wish, now, that I had taken yesterday (my birthday) off, as I normally do. But the weather was crappy, cold and rainy, and I didn't want to waste a vacation day. So in the end I really don't feel I had a birthday, in spite of all the wonderful calls received both at work and at home. (Including a call from my uncle in Bergamo, Italy.) In fact, I had arrived home with ribs and salad and a nice dessert, but got sidetracked by a girlfriend's call....for 1 hour, 40 minutes and 51 seconds. So supper cooled in the oven and it was after 7:30PM before I could scarf anything down. I'll take a day off work when it's sunny and warm (is it ever going to be warm?) and treat myself then, I hope sometime this month. I'm also getting together with a friend and his partner this weekend--I haven't met the new partner yet, so am looking forward to it. I did however, get a cosy sweater from Mom, as well as these two cute tote bags. I actually had asked some month...

Okay, well, this might be a bit too much info, but last year, around May/June when all my groin and odd abdominal issues started, I also noticed I had two growths on two adjacent fingers. Warts, I guess. (That word is so disgusting.) Nothing took them away, not over-the-counter topical stuff (that just burned the skin off), not eating coconut oil or applying it topically, not tea tree oil. But a few weeks ago I started taking probiotics, just one a day with my evening meal. (I had tried taking them three times a day several months ago but ran into difficulties with that recommended dose after four days, so discontinued taking them.) Anyway, after watching a recent episode of Steven and Chris , wherein a nutritionist was reviewing which vitamins and supplements were good to take and which really were a waste of money, I started taking the probiotics again. But just the one per day. Last week I happened to notice that the growths on my fingers were gone. Well, one is gone, o...

Happy whatever-you-celebrate! Personally, I celebrate the arrival of chocolate. And Spring, of course. I even managed to save a chocolate caramel egg for today. (I can hear Old Kitty "eeewwwing" at the chocolate and caramel combo. LOL.) Glorious moon, snapped this AM from my bedroom window. Easter card from Mom After all my energetic cleaning and purging on Friday, and some errands yesterday, I've been lazing about today, reading and eating. Let's not forget about all the eating.  :-) Happy day, everyone. If you're lucky enough to have Monday off, enjoy. It's back to the cube farm for me! Universal Blessings, Light and Mercy to All Beings.

Alternatively titled, "You call this a day off?" Because I don't call being up at 3:30AM and doing 6 loads of laundry (including winter coats, curtains and bedding), steam-mopping floors, vacuuming, and purging 5 boxes of household goods and books plus 2 large garbage bags filled with clothes and old blankets restful. Especially considering it all entailed going up and down the stairs, upstairs to basement, 12,036 times. And that's not even getting any dusting done or cleaning the bathroom. Right now the boys are flaked out on my bed, poor things (said sarcastically). They didn't get to sleep the morning away because they were too busy "helping" me. Well, one was "helping" and the other was running away from the crazy lady toting all sorts of scary things around the house and out to the garage. I, too, would be flaked out on my bed right now, except my favourite daytime show (okay, it's the only one I watch) will be on in a hou...

I had a physio appointment at 7:40AM today, and when I got to the office around 9AM, I found these on my desk, along with a little milk chocolate peanut butter cup. Much thanks to the lovely woman who sits in the cubicle next to mine, who somehow remembered that I love marzipan, and who "assisted" the Easter Bunny with some deliveries. Alas, both are gone, eaten already. I expect another sugar hangover tomorrow. At least Good Friday is a holiday, though, so I won't have to drag myself out of the house. And I'm happy to relate that there is no more chocolate in this house. For the moment. Universal Blessings, Light and Mercy to All Beings.

It was NOT a good idea to eat a Cadbury Easter egg yesterday afternoon, plus an Aero dark chocolate bar, then go home and have a frozen "probiotic" yogurt bar (covered in chocolate), and top it off later with a glass of white wine with my (healthy) fish and veggie supper. I've had three Excedrin Migraine tablets in the span of three hours this morning (courtesy of someone who works on this floor--she had picked some up while shopping in the U.S., as it's not available in Canada) and half a Gravol (anti-nausea tablet). I'd like to blame it all on hormones, but in fact I'm just a pig with a terrible sugar addiction. Alas, it's misery of the self-inflicted kind. Please at least let me be an example of what not to eat, how not to treat your body. LOL. I'll leave you with a couple of pretty floral snapshots, though. I took these yesterday--someone here has them on her desk. Universal Blessings, Light and Mercy to All Beings.

I so seldom think of my childhood ponies, Lady and Jessica (mare and her filly), that I just realized Jessica would have been 36 years old today.  Pics likely taken winter 1977 and spring 1978. I wonder what the equivalent would be in human years.  :-) Anyway, things have been fairly quiet next door, relatively speaking, since Saturday. I hope that trend continues but won't hold my breath. And the work week is, so far, uneventful. Knock on wood. A short week, with Friday being the holiday, of course. We do work Monday, and while I toyed with the idea of taking the 9th off, I decided not to. It is a school holiday, so the "fleas" next door will be home. Even with a greater understanding of the situation, I don't want to unnecessarily subject myself to hearing tantrums all day. Especially if they travel to the grandmother's for Easter--returning home will be sure to set him off, poor kid. I might take the 10th off, though, the Tuesday, if th...