Happy New Year!

 

May your year be filled with new adventures, health and well being.

Thanks for your presence and continued interest. 

I'll return on January 1.

Lukas Update

 Because he was his usual charming self, the newer lady vet at his practice did not see or find anything more to worry over than Lukas already has to deal with. He has one working kidney and chronic kidney disease and nausea comes with the territory. He did not throw up from afternoon Friday until this morning and had it been another issue such as food, that would be more frequent. He is going to the bathroom with greater regularity, thanks to medication, so the vomiting that sometimes signals constipation in kidney cats was likewise ruled out. For now, take note of any further episodes for frequency and address the issue with medication and possible addition of another medicine which works a bit differently in controlling nausea.

He was given fluids, fed, pilled and sent home happy and is currently enjoying a peaceful post prandial nap. 

It is that kind of Monday

 Yep. just above freezing, the sun is poking through the clouds and I've had to don three masks and sequester myself in a closed room from my pet sitter who was kind enough and forward thinking enough to call and advise that she has laryngitis and establish whether she should still pick up Lukas and whether we could work out a plan for me to keep a greater distance from her. She is always masked and offered to sanitize the handle of the carrier and the door knob and wear gloves.

I am currently triple masked and awaiting a call from the vet as Lukas was to be seen in addition to getting his fluids. After a great weekend, he threw up a bit this morning and stubbornly refused all meds, so I thought it best to carry on and have him seen. He is otherwise acting himself but I remain concerned about apparent nausea. I'll see what vet lady suggests.

Stay Warm.

Christmas

 

Wishing all bloggers a happy holiday, in whatever tradition you celebrate and a healthy New Year!

Thanks for your comments and interest through the years and may you all be well.

Space heater and heating pads

 Lukas is happily nestled in his favorite chair with a small heating pad beneath him and I have the same on the small sofa, or when needed in my bed. The temperatures here may get down in the 30s the next few nights. I borrowed a space heater for the bedroom and will see how that does in terms of heating. The seventies builders of this place put in minimal insulation and single paned windows largely due to geography and different codes and I believe, costs. The central heating works, so can be used if the place gets too chilly or becomes cold. At this point, Lukas's back legs can sound like eggshells cracking due to crepitus and arthritis so the plan is to keep the heating pad on low and keep an eye out so he does not get too hot as recommended by the vet.

It has been several years since I've had need of thermals, so no longer have them but do have pants, socks and jackets. I've slept in a shirt and thin hoodie the last couple of nights under flannel sheets and blankets and been fine but plan on wearing more layers as required. I haven't needed a coat in many years here so will see if my jackets are sufficient. 

In the meantime, I'm making soup, enjoying the sunset and lighting the menorah.

Happy solstice. 

Creaky

It was in the low fifties when Lukas went for his Monday appointment. The abode had chilled overnight to about 68 which is actually a bit warmer than my poorly insulated walls, single pained windows and wonky doors usually get. I realize that that is quite mild and even balmy to those of you in more northern climes but when you awaken to see your elderly cat wobbling on his pins due to arthritis, and you find yourself in some stiffness and pain. it is time to find a space heater and your heating pads.

He who was returned promptly and wisely went off for some beauty rest is now eating an early supper.  I have had hot cereal, banana and milk and homemade lentil vegetable soup today. As this is second night for Chanukah, when friends and family traditionally enjoy a festive meal, my leftovers, though warming, leave me thinking of times past when I would gladly bring a dish and a hostess gift to share with friends around the table. This year, those friends have two of three sons in another state and plan a dinner for themselves and another couple. I have left good wishes and thanks for the gift of a book left on the doorstep yesterday. Watching a beautiful sunset from my front window and enjoying the glow of my lighted menorah are simple, restorative pleasures in this season. 

The kitchen question

 The abode is a small one, just under 750 square feet. Of its four rooms, the bathroom, which has no window, is the most cave like with a roll in shower at the back and a galley sink and toilet.

The front room is rectangular, the sole bedroom a square and the kitchen not quite miniscule. A six foot person might be able to lie down at the edge of the sink and touch the back wall. Designed in a classic L, it is the largest kitchen I have ever had. I can get around in it in my wheelchair without bumping cabinets or scuffing corners or walls but I have seen larger closets. I ruined it five years ago with an attempted update which was an epic failure simply because I stupidly hired the wrong, licensed person for the job. My stove, which is apartment sized and slide in, is not flush with the wall as it is intended to be, the cabinets are poorly fitted and I have a piece of ledger board showing along the back wall next to my stacked washer and dryer. The roll under sink was shoddily put together and though functional, left an actual plumber laughing. You have no idea how many times I have fantasized about changing all of this, but COVID put paid to that quickly.

I cook in there often and see every flaw, scratch from  counter sides left unfinished, the dirt in the floor grout left unsealed and gaps in between the LVT and the wall in my living room, one at least 4 inches wide. It isn't the flooring but the install, according to flooring contractors.

So, despite its small size and aesthetic difficulties, this kitchen is the largest I have had as an adult. The other was a narrow galley kitchen with refrigerator, stove, sink and cabinets all along one wall and a window on the other side. My entire living space was less than 500 square feet and I lived there happily for eight years until moving to the abode. I doubt I could get this chair in that tinier kitchen or bathroom, and I'm glad I own what I have now.

2017 roll under sink

1999-2017

2017-present

Stormy day

 The abode has been dark all day. even with the blinds open. Sheets of rain so intense poured down that it looked as if buildings and trees were shrouded in fog. Lightening and thunder cracked the sky and just as suddenly, the rain stopped. There is no sign of the sun,

It is a soup day here. I will finish the cards and tidy the work space. My reward is a book in bed and a cup of tea.

What are you up to?

Seasonal Greetings

 One my favorite parts of this season is the sending of cards, a practice begun largely by the Victorians after the queen herself sent the first. This was followed by commercial production of cards which people could purchase to send Christmas greetings to family and friends. Perusal within Google assures me that now widespread, the sending of seasonal good wishes is far from dying out as I had unfortunately assumed. 

When I was a kid, the sending of cards was always accompanied by a letter highlighting the events of the passing year and hopes for the one ahead. These were considered an important part of staying connected to relatives and friends far a field from where we lived and in some cases the letters of several pages were the longest sent during the year and so were prized by the recipients. With long distance calls being expensive, mobile phone non-existent and computers and the Internet a matter of science fiction, putting pen to paper or typing out and copying a letter to send with cards was labor intensive and often begun at our Thanksgiving holiday.

My own approach is a small, hand written note simply letting the individual or family know they are thought about. I am still written to by a longstanding friend from childhood, a former blogger and neighbors long gone from this locality. among others. Remaining family, not so much.

What about you? Any interesting card traditions?

Christmas card circa 1870 courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Images

3 AM

 I've been up for two hours after sleeping for four and being awakened. So far, I've checked mail, made two trips to the dumpster, made and put away a pot of matzoh ball soup, cleaned and mopped the tiny kitchen, changed the litter box and fed the cat.  watched an episode of Masterpiece Theatre. and now will take another nap until my alarm goes off in another four hours. I think I have earned it. My goodness, what a routine!

Outside it is a cool 58 degrees, the perfect weather for moongazing. I think I'll take that up as a new pastime. It beats tossing and turning. My matzoh balls are better than the product depicted and courtesy of  blogger  Mrs. Moon, I doubled the number of matzoh balls and broth, reserving a portion of the liquid as the base for chicken stew or soup which while not something I regularly eat, I have been desirous of since seeing her creation a couple of days ago.

Cheers!

This and that

 Our day has been a bit upside down since Lukas likes his early mornings/late nights. I often get up to change his box or re-fill his water or give him his blood pressure medication which must be given every twelve hours. After breakfast, I frequently find my way back to bed for a nap which powers me through a long day.

Being Saturday, Lukas had no appointments, so I slept from about 4:30 AM until he awakened me just before lunch. He's taken to strolling the length of my person and sitting on my chest to meow his demands for attention. He got his midday meal and camped out in his favorite chair while I made my own.

Once that was done, I sorted laundry, made a couple of calls and taking a look  around, realized the table, my desk and the shelves in the front room needed a good tidying, as did the kitchen and refrigerator. The kitchen took longer than anticipated because I wiped down all I could reach, went through the fridge and wiped that out. Luckily, there was only one item to be discarded since I have become adept at meal planning and always eat leftovers before making anything additional, I also now only cook once weekly for the entire week which means less use of the stove and oven. Tomorrow I will make two soups, a casserole and a pasta dish. Salad and some streamed vegetables as well as some fruit will see me through the next five to seven days. Lukas got food on Thursday so he is set as well.

Apart from this, there were two surprises yesterday. The wayward nuts, originally ordered on 27 November finally arrived on 9 December after making their way from Florida to Maine and back down again. They were in a plastic mailer and the bottom of the can was crushed. I'm not even going to speculate why they were routed that way or what may have happened. When I discovered that USPS was involved, despite coming via Amazon, I truly did not expect to see them at all. 

The second surprise was a  Chanukah gift from a cousin. The box arrived by USPS with a hole in the top. which looked as though someone had had put their hand through it. The address label, made by a pack and ship place in this cousin's neighborhood, had the wrong apartment number but the correct zip or postal code so someone got it to the right door. Because of the condition of the box, I went ahead and opened it, discovering eight individually wrapped items, one per night, along with a beautiful card. She even sent a gift for Lukas. That made my day. When she called me panicked because she could not track the package, I was able to assuage her concern with praise for the time and effort as well as kindness, she took in sending the package. and the fact that it arrived.

What made your day??

Happy day

 One of you commented on the cat blanket in the earlier post. It came home with Lukas from a recent hospital stay and is his favorite thing to curl up on for naps in his chair.

At present he is blissfully asleep in our bed. The vet saw him today and I'm relieved to say there is nothing awry in his belly and both breakfast and medication have gone down well.

I am tired from our late nights and when I dragged myself into the kitchen in search of sustenance, the thing that made me smile was a small bunch of sunflowers, fully opened. 

What brings a smile to you today?

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Freidrich Bohringer, 2008

Oh but to sleep

 It is 3:15 AM and the moon is beautiful, one of the only upsides of being awakened by the bathroom habits of my aging feline. The slight breeze from the front room window is a balmy 63 degrees as our place is aired out after a change of litter. I wonder as I do most nights if I will get back to sleep before my alarm goes off just after 7 AM and another early to-the-vet day begins.

Change of plan and peaceful day

 Lukas was up several times late night/early morning. so yours truly was awake as well, I changed the litter twice and dumped the trash and we were back in bed at 4:30 AM. When the alarm went off at 7, he had eaten breakfast, taken his pills and done his business. No sign of the previous day's nausea or vomiting and it was decided after conferring with the vets to  see him on Friday when he returns there for his fluids appointment.

Both vomiting and nausea can signal the onset of constipation. among other things, in cats with chronic kidney disease, hence the vet check tomorrow. Fingers crossed that we have a sweet night and a good report in the morning.

Cheers!

Off to the vets...again

 Lukas has had a rough day despite getting his fluids early this morning. He refused his medication until late afternoon. and has had nausea and vomiting after attempting to eat. so his pet sitter will drop him at the vets in the morning and we will see what they have to say.

He's curled up in bed and I hope having sweet dreams.

The nuts are finally sorted. I hope

 Have you ever had the experience of speaking to a customer service person with the sinking feeling that they did not quite know what they were doing? The representative who assisted me this evening regarding the refund for the wayward nuts was just such a person. Upon explaining the situation, he kept needing to speak with someone and come back to me, ultimately telling me that I would receive less than I paid for the item due to shipping fees. He left the conversation four times during the 35 minutes it took to sort out that this was a prime order and what I paid was what I was owed for the nuts. He also asked twice how I would prefer the refund and was given the same answer both times. I'm checking my payment diligently in the next two weeks to be sure it appears. This transaction should have taken just minutes but I'm glad I persisted.

Cheers!

Have Fruitcake, Will Travel

 So, in my further misadventures with Amazon, I spent the afternoon chasing fruit cake and ultimately cancelled an original gift order which was to have been delivered today but was re-scheduled to be delivered between 8 and 16 December.  The new order will be delivered tomorrow by 10 PM, according to Amazon. My original can of nuts, ordered on November 27 has never appeared.

This concludes my holiday shopping and I'll finally be able to turn my attention to end of year cards and a couple of letters. Fingers crossed my recipient gets this in time to enjoy it!

Clip art of fruit cake courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, 2022 and

<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fruit_cake_clip_art.png">Smart Servier</a>, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons

Final portrait

This is Lukas in final portrait and ready to hang. I am pleased and so were those who received this as a gift.
 

Just Nuts

 Amazon frequents my address with extreme regularity sending everything from 25 pound bags of cat litter to cleaning supplies to weekly groceries to my doorstep. Generally, their packaging and delivery is second to none. However, when either fails, dealing with their customer service can be an exercise in futility. 

Last week, I ordered several items which were shipped together. I typically avoid third party sellers in favor of prime orders and so was surprised when one prime item, a can of Planters Nuts, was shipped separately via USPS. The order was made on November 27 and yesterday I received an email telling me that I could request a refund because of the delay. After speaking with two customer service representatives and a supervisor, I now have to wait past December 6 to get any refund if the nuts, which by now have travelled circuitously from just outside Lakeland to Satellite Beach to the Southern Maine Distribution Center. courtesy of the tracking information provided by Amazon. fail to appear.

 

Curiously, I was able to order more of the same nuts also via Amazon prime this morning and they landed on the doorstep within three hours. I have no idea why the first can had to go north or why USPS had to be involved at all. If they manage to arrive, I'll have enough for the next year, so there is a bit of a silver lining I suppose.