Musings on a Small Life

Just wishing everyone who celebrates Halloween/All Hallow's Eve a fun day and evening! Image courtesy of TheHolidaySpot.com I don't celebrate Halloween myself, but I do recall the best thing about the night being the mini chocolate bars. :-) For the origins and traditions of All Hallow's Eve, you can check ReligiousTolerance.org here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/hallo_cu.htm . Enjoy!

1. Being paid this weekend (monthly) meant a lot of exhausting weekend errands on bus, by foot and yes, taxi for the huge stock-up of goods. I am getting too old for this. Unlike that 100-year old man who ran the Toronto marathon the other weekend, I'm not in great shape. Snapped on campus on Friday while waiting for the bus. 2. Don't buy a cheap mattress topper from the Evil Empire (Wal-Mart) because though it might claim to be queen-sized, and thus 56 inches wide, it probably will turn out to be only 51 inches and have to be returned the next day. 3. Apparently no one in this city carries decorative litter box covers. The manager-on-duty at PetSmart wasn't even aware anything like that existed. The store did have a few types of very cool litter boxes, but nothing suitable for my main living area. Certainly Wal-Mart and Zellers have nothing. I can't wait till Zellers becomes a Target. I hope the selection of pet merchandise improves greatly. (Our Wal-Mart is worse...

For those of you out there who enjoy photography, either just by trying to take good snapshots as I do, or by striving to elevate it to an art, as a few of you do, here's a great, short article from Digital Photography School .  Camera Therapy: How Photography Gave Me Hope Again I subscribe to DPS and get their weekly e-newsletter. I'm sure a number of you already are very familiar with the site, but if not, do check it out. They offer much to learn, no matter what your skill level. ****** As for other things, the week continues to roll along just fine. A couple of new work projects on the go, one well in hand (knock on wood), another coming along. A few work bumps along the way, but some dark chocolate (and a gluten-free beer this evening) are my therapy. The high today was 3C (that's 37F, I think), so I admit I certainly wasn't in the mood to indulge in any camera therapy. If this cooling trend keeps up, I'll be in long johns again before you know it. ****** W...

It's a lovely day, sunshine, reasonably warm out at 11C/52F. The boys are napping and I've done that, as well as some reading and some cooking. Other than a 4 km walk to and from the grocery store first thing, I've not been out today. Definitely an "easy like Sunday" day. Snapped yesterday, along Days Road. I had much-needed hi-lites and a trim yesterday, so I'm set for another few months, at least for colour. I'll have to find another stylist, though, for the winter, as mine is due with her first child on December 25th. I have an appointment on December 17th for a trim and while she kept saying she'll make it, I don't think she will. LOL. But I've had bad dreams about someone else touching my hair! Anyway. There wasn't much remarkable about the past week. I realize I've not posted since last Monday, but there's not been much to say. A cold (or possibly allergies) making me feel lousy overall, and definitely an un-comfy belly t...

No, no, don't say the "C" holiday word to me yet. Though Rona (home and garden store) already has their "C" trees up and decorations out. I just can't get into it before, oh, Advent. And even then....! But right now it surely looks a lot like autumn. We had high winds and heavy rain on Saturday and a lot of the leaves have blown off, leaving bare or partially bare branches. I snapped a few obligatory swamp shots yesterday morning, while walking up to Rona. Because it wouldn't be another fall without the same shots...year after year after year. Snapped with the little Canon Elph in "foliage" mode. BTW, I'm so stiff and sore today from all the bending over to prime the pieces of the buffet yesterday. Embarrassing, considering a 100 year old man ran his umpteenth marathon yesterday, in Toronto. I first heard of him eight years ago when he ran the Toronto marathon at 92. Apparently he took up running at 89, to help with depression after his...

Truly. Primer coat # 1 is on all the pieces of the buffet I started to stain last weekend. Two hour dry time before re-coating, so if I still feel motivated, I'll do coat #2 later. I picked up paint chips from Rona this morning, would like to do a nice, cheerful shade of green--apple or pear or something like that. At least if I don't like the colour I eventually choose, I can repaint easily enough. BTW, this morning was the second time a bus driver heading for his route (and currently out of service) stopped to pick me up and insisted that route #7 doesn't start till 8:45AM on Sundays. The second time we've gone back and forth, me insisting the route starts at 8:15AM, the driver insisting it doesn't. The second time a driver has called dispatch to check, only to find out I was right. Somehow they don't seem too impressed to have the clueless, dumb passenger (my interpretation of what they think) correct after all.  :-) Happy Sunday! Universal Blessings, Lig...

Our "Indian summer" has ended and it's chilly, with howling wind and driving rain. Brrr! So I made a big pot of veggie soup, just broth and tomatoes, carrots, onion, celery, mushrooms, chickpeas and some spices. It's pretty good, actually, having now cooked for a couple of hours. I'm longing for a warm biscuit, dripping with butter, to go with it! In the pot, ready to simmer for a couple of hours. And I'm trying a new President's Choice black tea, chocolate mint. I'm actually not a fan of mint with chocolate, but it was on sale, so I thought what the heck. I can't really taste much, to be honest. Maybe because of my lack of ability to smell. But it's warm and soothing, and on a day like today, that's pretty much all that matters. The boys are curled up and after my favourite comedy radio/TV show ( CBC's The Debaters ), I hope to be curled up snoozing too! Cat pics snapped today. Wishing everyone a cosy Saturday. Universal Blessing...

Not the "eye candy" of old, when I still was doing those posts. I lost interest or perhaps ran out of gorgeous men, after the rugby players . Who could top them anyway?  :-P So it's Friday Fungi today, from my little jaunt to the Cat. Cemetery this past holiday Monday. I'm happy to have made it to the end of the work week. Somehow the short weeks always seem more chaotic. But it's hard to wrap my head around the fact that our next holiday will be Christmas. I can't go there yet, it's scary. I'm also happy that Derry made a nice pee clump this AM (finally, after about 13 hours!) so things are okay on that front for the moment. No one was cupboard-climbing in my presence today. I'd like to request purrayers, purrs, good vibes, whatever for a neighbour and good friend of my mom's--Ron has bladder cancer and after several procedures and more tests, soon will be facing a choice of bladder removal (possibly removal of one kidney as well) or doin...

I'd just like to say thanks to Ms. Rye for putting me in my "happy place" this afternoon. One shot is all that was needed--I'm truly not much of a drinker. Probably a good thing. Definitely a good thing. But after the business with Derry today, yeah, I needed more than my dark chocolate. How do those of you with half a dozen...or thirteen...cats (or any other species of fur "child") possibly manage? Just to explain, it did seem that Derry was relapsing into another bout of cystitis this morning, after his first bout two weeks ago. He might or might not have made a decent clump in the litter box around 6AM, as I was getting set to leave for work--someone did, and Nicki had done so earlier in the morning. But I'll never know for certain. Derry did, however, make an "okay" clump this afternoon around 1PM. Meaning that at least he's not blocked and doesn't require another vet visit today . And yes, I left work at noon and came home to ch...

Finally I have the opportunity to write a few words about Peaches, or rather, really his human. I met Peaches last Thursday morning, at the vet clinic, when I took Nicki in for his check. He was out of his carrier in his human's arms and had a death grip around her neck, his face buried in her neck. Nicki's "warrior song," a.k.a. cowardly yeowling, didn't help Peaches' stress level. Peaches came to his human as an adult, and one look at his long, scraggily, peach-coloured fur would explain his name. He was at the clinic for annual vaccinations, and his human mentioned that she had to bring him in for grooming and shaving periodically, as his fur would mat up so badly and he hated being brushed. That was shades of my "angel" Chumley.  :-) But it was Peaches' human who really caught my attention. The vet clinic I go to is in the north end of the city, and as in most cities, I suspect, the north end typically is poor, with a lot of welfare and d...

The neighbour just came to apologize for her two crazy dogs barking almost ceaselessly Saturday afternoon, evening and well into the night. I had put a note on her door at 10:15PM, indicating they were upset and wondering if they had run out of food and water. Turns out she was away in Ottawa and her 29-year old cousin (old enough to be responsible) was supposed to have spent the afternoon/evening with them (i.e. the dogs), but of course didn't. So while we were chatting on my front step--and I can only think it must have been terrible for her to even knock on my door, given that we're not chummy neighbours--I asked if Niko had gone to "cat heaven," because I hadn't seen him since Thursday morning. No, no, Niko's okay--he's in her basement, having 6 days of dewormer meds. *Whew*! I really was leaning to her having had him put down, but I'm so glad he's fine, and I mentally apologize for thinking that she could be that callous. Presumably I'...

Back in June, when Dad was here, I bought an unfinished pine buffet that was on sale at Jysk for $90 (plus tax). I hesitated, because I know how I am when it comes to home projects (Ms. Super Slacker), but decided for that price I couldn't go wrong. Ha. Well, after all these months, with the unopened box still in the garage, I was in the mood to stain all the pieces. So out everything came this morning, I hauled it all into my back space, got everything set up, and set to work doing the pre-stain treatment. Now, the Home Depot guy assured me, back in July, that the small cans of pre-stain and stain would be more than enough for the size of the buffet, given how many square meters both cans cover. Right. I ran out of pre-stain treatment after just barely managing to cover one side of each piece. Then I thought I'd better test out the stain colour--it was a very dark "bombay" shade, that looks espresso brown on the can. Uh huh. I tested it on one side of a smal...

It's a glorious Thanksgiving weekend here, absolutely perfect weather. I love these "soft" autumn days before the harsh cold sets in. I walked home after work yesterday, all the way for a change, and enjoyed every single moment , even carrying groceries. On cat-related topics, Derry continues to be okay, knock on wood. I was checking his blood work and comparing it to his previous ones, because his WBC count (white blood cell) was below the normal range. But previous blood tests show that he runs low normal, borderline, so I'm not too worried. I looked at Nicki's previous blood work from November 2009 and saw that his ALT was smack-dab in the middle. The upper range at my clinic's lab is "130," so I think that the vet meant his current value came back at 125 -- so not above the normal high, but close. I'm going to take him back in a couple of months and have his blood work run again. He doesn't need to make an appointment or see a vet for...

So you know my morning, at the vet with Nicki. Oh, that reminds me, one the values that was a bit high was his ALT--liver--value. The top value is either 125 or 130 and he was one or the other. So either at high normal or just above high normal--I think just above high normal. That can happen with fatty liver disease, which he doesn't have, hyper-t (not likely as he's only 5), with liver cancer, ingesting some meds (none) and some other liver disease. The vet noted it and said we probably should follow up in a year, but didn't seem overly concerned. I don't have a copy of the blood work yet, but if anyone knows of a "normal" (i.e. non-life-threatening) reason for that, do let me know. How many things I can I be paranoid about? I'm still measuring Derry's pee clumps, so one thing at a time. Anyway, that was the morning. This afternoon I was at my desk when the former co-worker showed up and stopped in front of my cubicle. (Do I have to explain who th...

Nicki went to the vet this morning for a routine check, blood work and urine analysis. Brought my total vet bill in the past seven days to just over $730. Brings my total spent at the vet in 2.5 years to about $7730 or so. Plus well over $1000 in taxi charges. Yippee! (Sarcasm) Oh, and the Cosequin that's so readily available from so many suppliers in the States costs $42 and change plus tax at my vet. Costs $30 plus tax and shipping (from a California company, mind you) when I look at Amazon. ca . Costs $12.75 U.S. when I look at Amazon. com . We Canadians are getting shafted, big time , on pet meds and supplements. BTW, Nicki's fine, a few slightly higher than normal values, maybe something to recheck in a year, but nothing to be concerned about. I'm not going to worry, at any rate. There's only so much worrying I can do before my brain explodes. I did, however, have the presence of mind to ask for a few days' worth of pain meds for Derry, just in case he has ...

Niko got another bird today! At least he ate the head this time, so I had no doubt the poor thing was quite dead before I scooped it up into yet another plastic bag and tossed it into my garage. But I really do have to wonder how dumb the birds are. He's declawed , for heaven's sake! I guess he's just a hunter-extraordinaire. ****** Derry's vet called this afternoon. As expected, the culture and sensitivity test came back negative. So there's nothing further to be done except finish off his pain meds. Which mostly have been ending up on my hand or on the counter anyway. I'm going to ask about Cosequin (for both boys, actually) when I'm there with Nicki on Thursday morning. Derry's still peeing normally, but obviously this will be a "one day at a time" thing. I really hope he doesn't have another bout, but if he does, I'll be calling the vet pronto and we'll go from there. ****** Still lots of pics from Halifax, these were snapped...

So I got home and found that Niko, the neighbour's declawed mighty hunter, had caught another bird and left it, uneaten, on the ground by my shrub. This is what, the fourth or fifth bird now? Plus that one rodent he had for breakfast by my welcome mat one morning in the late spring or early summer, leaving the entrails for me. I debated leaving the bird for him to gnaw on at his leisure, but then realized it would attract vermin.  Off I went to fetch a plastic bag, and I scooped it up, a bit disturbed by the vibration from the bag. Gaaggh , I thought, was it still alive? But the neck looked broken. I put the bag down on the step, crossed my fingers the poor bird truly was dead, then opened up the garage door. Picked up the bag...and heard a buzzing, felt another vibration.  OMG, I freaked out! Screamed my fool head off, at the top of my lungs, and threw the bag up in the air and away from me, to have it land half way down my little driveway. Two big flies flew out of the ...