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August 30, 2007
hot backhoe action
the infamous beeping backhoe.
Posted by lisa at 06:35 PM
August 29, 2007
and on a lighter note, witchy shoes!
it's the time of year when people start putting their witchy fleuvogs up on ebay.
there are two eye-catching auctions right now...
these are in my size, but i am sure they will go for more than i want to spend right now:
these are not even remotely my size, but they are so cool:
but i'm really hoping that someone will post a pair in this family (i lost an auction for a pair of flats in this family, and i still regret it, years later):
Posted by lisa at 09:47 PM
peel the bandaid off slowly
last night i went out and read parts of felinecrf.org. it's a great site and i'm happy to give her more google juice with this link, but it was also overwhelming and upsetting.
i don't want either of the friends who sent me the url to feel bad about doing so, because ultimately the information on that site will allow me to better help him, and that's what really matters.
a lot of feline detail to follow, probably not of interest to everyone, or possibly upsetting to some.
MORE...Posted by lisa at 09:05 PM
August 28, 2007
world of BEEP
the beeping continues on into the night. yes, they are out there excavating with a backhoe (?) at 9:30pm. i checked.
the person running the backhoe must either be the owner or a close relative to put in these kinds of hours.
:|:
in other news, the pendulum swings now toward selling the convertible right away, for the greatest bang for my financial buck (so to speak), getting the van running, and getting it painted at maaco so it can live in my driveway rather than in a rental space. and also so i can go camping in it this fall with the boy and the dog.
:|:
i am watching a terrible tv movie that's a testament to the fact that good actors cannot save a bad script, direction, and a low budget. it's called "the worst witch", and the combined talents of fairuza balk, diana rigg, and tim curry cannot save it. tim curry hasn't shown up yet, which is just criminal-- if you have tim curry, by god, use him!
i can't stop watching. yet.
Posted by lisa at 09:28 PM
August 27, 2007
beep beep beep beep beep
it looks like someone bought the rental unit on the corner, catty-corner from me. i noticed that the new folks going in and out of the place were a lot friendlier than previous residents-- hopefully that means they're going to reside there. the house has always been one of the more disappointing on the block so it could use some enthusiastic new people living there.
and enthusiastic they are, it would seem. friday while i was home, there was this incessant beeping sound that i couldn't pinpoint. finally, i went out the front door, and realized it was coming from their yard, where a piece of very large machinery was digging up the yard.
the beeping went on all day saturday (gaaaaah!) and continued this morning and this evening until it was pretty much dark. i also saw a truck from a waterproofing company pull up this morning. so i'm guessing there's grading, waterproofing and landscaping going on.
:|:
i stayed home alone with mo this weekend and i have to admit, i started feeling pretty down. the highlight was going to see mm, who is stuck at home after knee surgery, and playing Clue. she's sick of tv by now so i figured a board game would be a welcome diversion.
today sarah came over right after work and we gave mo his fluids. i don't know if it was seeing sarah, or being home, or just doing something to help mo, but my mood finally lifted and after she left, i really felt like doing something.
i decided to see if i could cut back the marjoram. earlier in the season, my well-established marjoram plant put forth a ton of flowers. at first, it was mostly honeybees that visited and that was pretty cool. but more recently, there have been a lot of wasps and hornets loving on the marjoram, plus the flower stalks had grown so long that they were hanging off the raised bed and on the ground and all over some other plants. it was really an unpleasant mess, and i had to water the rest of the garden rather warily, afraid i might piss off the stingers.
well, it turns out that it's true that wasps return home in the evening, something i had heard but never put to the test. the marjoram plant was completely free of any insects, and sunset was only just starting. i pruned the marjoram back and put the flower stalks on the compost pile.
and then i decided, what the hell? and i mowed the grass. it wasn't that hot, and the skeeters weren't out yet, and it really needed it.
after that, i felt a lot better.
:|:
i've started giving serious thought to selling the westy. it has now been over a year since i last worked on it. it's hanging over me, going camping in it seems like a faraway dream, and i could use the money.
of course, it's not as simple as just selling it because it's mostly bare metal. and, as always with this project, i'm overcome with indecision. take it to maaco just to get a finish on it? make one last push to get the paint off and put the clear coating on it as i planned, then sell it? try to sell it as-is?
i'm also thinking about selling the convertible, which is a much simpler proposition. the idea of getting the money i'd get for both of them, plus also getting rid of two monthly fees (the car payment on the convertible, and the rent on the garage) is really appealing right now.
it dovetails with everything i've been reading lately about being organized, being rid of clutter, and not letting your stuff own you. and truth be told, if i really wanted to go camping in a camper with the boy and the puppy, a newer or at least more reliable vanagon or eurovan would be a better setup, probably.
well, i don't know what i'm going to do, really, but it's definitely been on my mind.
:|:
as for mo, he's still doing pretty good. if things stay the same all week, i'm going to take him up to virginia with me this weekend.
in fact, he's giving himself the most complete wash i think i've seen him have in years. he's really gotten into washing again lately, i'm not sure why, but it's nice. his fur is so nice again, and it's just good to see him take care of himself again.
Posted by lisa at 08:35 PM
August 24, 2007
not what we hoped for.
although moses is doing better in a lot of ways, the blood work still indicates that this is a case of chronic kidney failure. getting him to eat and doing the fluids helps a lot of the numbers, but the number that really indicates how the kidneys are functioning has not really improved the way it would have if this was acute failure due to a drug he was on.
so i will continue to manage the situation as best as possible with care at home and who knows how much longer he will be with me. days, weeks, months, there is no way to know.
Posted by lisa at 12:09 PM
August 23, 2007
We're getting along nicely here
I HAS A LEAF.
A CATNIP LEAF.
Moses goes in for testing tomorrow. Here's hoping he passes! We're cramming tonight. This involves eating a lot and taking naps. He'll be ready.
Posted by lisa at 09:28 PM
August 22, 2007
welcome to my crap pile
interesting items found in the crap pile tonight:
a vintage dictating machine that has never worked...
a "solid state" tape recorder that defies any current definition of the term "solid state"...
do you want an inflatable black widow spider?
a bell that makes a beautiful sound, which i shall keep...
Posted by lisa at 11:05 PM
August 21, 2007
it's official...
...i am hopeful. there are little things every day that tell me that moses is getting better. his appetite never falters, and he pretty much acts like his normal self.
d & s came over tonight to help me administer fluids. he's a lot stronger than he was on saturday, he nearly got away from me, and i had to keep him scruffed the entire time. it was fortunate that we had three people because d. was able to keep him scruffed while i got the needle in and s. handled the flow device.
i have done some reading, and it is actually plausible that he has acute, reversible renal failure caused by an antibiotic that he was on. the vet has mentioned this twice as a possibility, i just didn't think it was a serious one until this week, because he couldn't find any reports of this particular drug causing kidney problems in cats.
anyway. i may be disappointed when we do the tests again later this week, but i live with the cat every day and i feel it in my gut that he's getting better.
Posted by lisa at 08:43 PM
August 20, 2007
moses spits in the face of your dire predictions
this morning moses sat on my head. when that wasn't effective in getting me up, he went out in the hall and started meowing loudly.
he is now nose down in a revolting mixture of baby food and cat food.
Posted by lisa at 07:57 AM
August 19, 2007
no news is good news
he's doing great today. he's scooting around the house, not sleeping much at all, going in the kitchen and eating, using the box like normal, getting up on the furniture.
he's also suddenly totally spoiled. he wants me to bring him food when he sits in his chair in the living room, and then he likes it if i make the food move (one of the things i did to stimulate him to eat when his appetite was low). and the baby food, oh he loves the baby food.
feline TMI behind the link, don't read if you don't want details :)
MORE...Posted by lisa at 06:20 PM
August 18, 2007
happy cat
moses is doing surprisingly well. he sleeps a lot, but otherwise usually seems pretty normal. i do bring food to him and make sure he eats, plus he's getting spoiled with all kinds of fun treats like baby food and chicken stock and whatnot.
today, J and i administered subcutaneous fluids to him at home. right in the living room in the sleepin' chair i've set up for him. it's a little more difficult than giving an insulin injection, but it went okay and i think it really helps him feel better.
one interesting effect of the fluids is that i think it hydrates his skin really well. the purpose of the fluids is to flush toxins out of his body-- kind of like dialysis. but his fur is also softer than i've felt it in a long time.
he's also washing. i haven't seen him wash in a long time. it's not a thorough full-body wash, but he's definitely reaching areas he hasn't reached in years. i'm fairly sure he's truly grooming himself, and not licking areas that are in pain. i think this is due to two things: first, his weight is down to 14.5 lbs which is close to ideal for his size. of course, the reason his weight has dropped so much is because he's sick. but it has some positive side effects. second, i think the hydration from the fluids means his skin is more elastic and it doesn't hurt to stretch as much as it did.
the positive effect of the fluids are so pronounced that i wish it were reasonable to administer them to pets who are simply old and have painfully dry skin. it would make them so much more comfortable. but of course, the process of administering the fluids is not comfortable at all so i doubt this would really be a reasonable thing to do.
anyway, he is fed, clean and soft and sleeping on his comfortable chair on many layers of blankets and towels while J and I watch tv. we've moved the mattress into the living room so we can sleep near him without having him try to get up on the bed.
Posted by lisa at 07:36 PM
August 17, 2007
sleeping on cat time
thanks everyone who has written with their support. it means a lot to me.
i woke on cat time this morning. not for any reason that i could find. i was just awake at 5am.
he was sleeping in the hall when i went to look for him. well, not sleeping, he was awake, but that's where he spent the night. he followed me back into the living room, where i'm sleeping now, and climbed on the sofa with me, and start gnawing my hand.
which is moses for, "i'm hungry."
we did subcutaneous fluids yesterday which is probably why his appetite has rebounded. dr. c said that getting him to eat is the most important thing right now. all day yesterday i brought him tempting things-- chicken stock, baby food, and wet cat food. he consumed everything i brought him. he loves baby food. and i think it helps if he doesn't have to expend the energy to get to the food.
mom is coming by this morning with dan. i was supposed to be joining them and going to atlanta, but of course i won't be doing that now. they are going to pick up a few things to take to stuart in his new place, and say goodbye to moses.
J is coming tonight. the puppy will be staying the weekend at the puppy spa so moses can have peace and quiet and have his house to himself. i would love to have reese here, but J and i both agree that that's probably not what the moses needs right now.
Posted by lisa at 05:50 AM
August 16, 2007
a very sad moses day
moses is still with me, but probably not for much longer. he has kidney failure that has come on very fast and will probably progress very fast.
i know a lot of people who care about moses and me read this blog, so i am posting this here to let everyone know at once.
Posted by lisa at 11:29 AM
August 15, 2007
when a recovered hoarder finds an old hoard...
(moses is a lot better this morning, by the way... moving about the house, eating, and sleeping real sleep. no insulin this morning and we'll be cutting way back for a few days.)
i think my transition from hoarder to non-hoarder has been so gradual that i never truly thought of myself as a hoarder until yesterday. a pack rat, one with low standards when it came to organization and cleanliness, a reluctance to add to landfills... sure, i would think of my past self in that way. but not as a bona-fide hoarder.
so yesterday i was cleaning out the drawer in my desk at work where i'd stashed office supplies. i used to be an administrative assistant-- someone who wielded the power to order anything from the office supply catalog. exotic hot pink post-its? sure, i could get those for you, or i knew someone who could. that special kind of pen you like? let me whip out a purchase order form.
but then, after a while, i wasn't an admin any more, and i lost that power. and apparently, that's when i started hoarding pens.
pens are small. you can hoard a lot of them without really noticing. i would say that i pulled a couple hundred out of my desk, most of them functional. tested each one and decided if i was keeping it or not. and i really had to convince myself that it was okay to not have a big stash of pens in my desk. i've had those pens for years... i've never needed them in all this time... and i work in a big office, i'm never going to not be able to find a pen.
because that's why i had them. what if i need a pen, and can't get one? WTF? there's no logic there. only hoarder logic.
Posted by lisa at 01:17 PM
lesson learned
when your gut tells you not to give the cat insulin, go with your gut.
he's not passed out or anything, but has seemed close, and i finally wound up rubbing corn syrup in his mouth, which is what you're supposed to do when their blood sugar gets too low.
tomorrow we skip the insulin until i talk with the doc.
poor little guy.
Posted by lisa at 01:08 AM
August 14, 2007
overdose
i think we're overdosing moses again. he's definitely not right.
feline diabetes is the pits. i wish i had gone with my gut instinct and reduced or withheld his insulin tonight. i should have; he's barely eaten.
sorry, no happy moses story tonight, i guess.
Posted by lisa at 10:01 PM
August 12, 2007
goodbye duct tape phone.
the phone on which i talked for hours and hours as a teenager.
i thought i'd have a keepsake of it before it goes to goodwill.
ETA: after posting this, i've reconsidered. i want to try to rehab the phone.
Posted by lisa at 11:34 PM
i travel with my posse
met up with georg and sarah at tonali last night; in one of those perfect timing things, s & d called just before i left to see if i wanted to get dinner, so i brought them along.
which turned out to be a smooth move, because besides the lively dinner conversation (and as always tasty food), they invited us all back to their place after dinner to attack the top of their wedding cake, which they had no interest in keeping for their anniversary.
i love wedding cake. i love cake.
:|:
this morning the moses allowed me to sleep in. i was dimly aware of him coming and going several times through the night, but i never fully became conscious until 9:30 this morning, which was nice.
when i opened the back door to enjoy the cool morning air and gaze upon yesterday's handiwork, i realized there was an odd but familiar sound coming from my neighbors' yard. not the terrible neighbors next door who yell and treat their dog in a questionable manner and never mow their yard. no, the folks on the other side of them, who just moved in late last year.
so i stood on the porch and realized that the sound was the sound of a push mower-- the kind with no engine, just a reel of blades-- and that my neighbor must do this every weekend in the morning while the air is cool. and it turns out that she does it in a pajamas. which i found both amusing and adorable, and made me wish we could pinch the house between us out of existence and send all of its miserable residents along to a happier place where they have enough bedrooms, and a properly fenced yard with a dog house.
Posted by lisa at 09:56 AM
August 11, 2007
in his box
the moses decided we'd get up early this morning, which for a change was amenable to me. the heat has broken. it's very nice today.
took him for an arthritis shot and then decided to go through the mickey death drive-thru afterwards. moses was in his carrier on the passenger seat.
when the young woman at the window handed me my change, she giggled and said, "little cat sitting in his box!" i smiled and giggled too.
i don't think anyone (besides me) has called moses little in a very long time.
after making a couple of stops after the vet, i guess the little cat decided that we were going on a long trip in the car, perhaps to see J, so he rolled over on his side to sleep, but couldn't, because there were too many bumps and too many interesting smells to smell out the window.
he seemed quite surprised when we arrived home, like, "wha? i thought we were going to J's house?"
the various medications seem to be doing their job; his breathing is quieter, his coat looks better, he's drinking less and i saw him washing one of his hind feet the other day, although the arthritis still seems pretty bad. i'm tempted to put little dabs of yogurt on parts of his body to see what he can reach. i suspect he could wash most of his body if he really wanted to; maybe he just needs a little reminder. it would also be a safe way to get him to stretch.
Posted by lisa at 09:37 AM
August 09, 2007
Cameras and projectors
I've accumulated many cameras and projectors over the years. It would be a stretch to say that I need, much less have any use for, most of them. Some of them have emotional significance but I am trying not to dwell on that too much as I decide which ones to get rid of.
still cameras:
video camcorders:
8mm and Super-8 movie cameras:
8mm and Super-8 projectors:
Posted by lisa at 09:19 PM
house hunters drinking game
- if suzanne whang announces both the city and state, and it's the state you live in, take a drink
- if one of the house hunters is pregnant, take a drink. take two if she's further along than seven months.
- every time someone describes a room, closet, or back yard as "a little small", and it's bigger than yours, take a drink.
- every time someone says, "it needs work" or "i'll have to update it", and the room in question is similar to or better than yours, take a drink
- take a drink every time someone says, "ooh, GRANITE!"
- take a drink every time someone complains that the appliances aren't stainless
- take a drink every time someone complains about the color of a room
- take a drink every time a realtor says that something is "easy to change"
- take two drinks if it's not actually that easy to change (like installing a hardwood floor)
- take a drink when suzanne whang says, "the house was theirs!"
what else?
Posted by lisa at 06:51 PM
August 08, 2007
it's all about stuff
low hanging fruit
not one of my favorite phrases (always reminds me of the song "strange fruit"), but appropriate. i've got cleaning out, cleaning up, and organizing on the brain. progress at the house seems slow, but i am blowing through seventeen years of detritus in my office like it's nothing.
the course notes from the first programming course i ever took? uh, no i don't need those. handwritten notes from every meeting i attended in the 90's? no. and so on.
my manager is not only supportive of this effort, he's arranged to get a trash cart brought to the hall on Monday so he can get everyone else to clean up and clean out.
my new crack
my new crack is blogs about organizing. some of it is entirely laughable. "Every minute counts! Clean out your medicine cabinet while you brush your teeth!" A lot of it is useful. How to approach-- mentally-- the task of dealing with the belongings of someone who has passed away. This is helpful to me even in dealing with the things from my grandparents' houses that came my way years ago.
Every time I think i've made a step forward in the back bedroom, I wind up with boxes of stuff from someone's house-- last time, it was my stuff, from my mom's attic. I can't complain, of course, but reading these sites has helped me realize it's no damn wonder i can't get anywhere with that room. receiving, for whatever reason, a load of stuff, really puts a monkey wrench in your organizational plans.
i have the smallest closet in america
okay, i know this is not actually true, and those of you who live in manhattan can calm down now because i know you don't even have a closet, and i was just using a hyperbole for effect.
but my closet is damn small. my other crack is "house hunters", the tv show. i love the real estate pr0n. it slays me every time i watch that show and a woman walks into a closet twice the size of mine and complains, "it's a little small. my stuff probably won't fit in here." and then she walks into a vast walk-in closet and she, her husband, and the realtor all have a chuckle when she says, "okay, this is good for my stuff, but where will you put yours, honey? tee hee!"
i'll admit that a) i'm proud of making my closet work (i've been working on it lately) and b) i've been shopping for a piece of furniture that will give me more hanging space (like a wardrobe sort of thing). my lack of clothing storage has forced me to form a good habit of culling my clothes and, yes, shoes twice a year as i move the out of season items up to the attic, so i'm hopeful that having more hanging space will simply mean that i store my clothes in a better way, not that i'll accumulate more clothes.
shock! surprise! startlementiness!
i've been surprised at how satisfying it is to find a good, new home for an item. like, giving records to friends who are excited about them, and may even play them on the air.
i was startled to see a "star trek barbie and ken" set on the company bulletin board. seriously, if no one buys that thing soon, i am going to cave. but it will live in my office at work where i can see it every day, and laugh.
i think next i am going to bring together all the cameras and film projectors in the house, and photograph them all together (of course), and decide what to do with them. i started making a mental list of them and was shocked at how many i own. in fact, i believe i have a matching set of cool looking 8mm projectors that i may make into table lamps.
Posted by lisa at 06:24 PM
August 06, 2007
we did
we worked in the house together on friday, made sandwiches. went to the bulls game, a party for friends who had been married that afternoon by the justis o' the peace.
we slept late on saturday, made sticky buns for breakfast. mistake. i crashed, suddenly and bad. recovered, walked the dog in the heat. so hot. changed and put on dressy clothes for the first time together. went to the real reception for the just married friends. a fine time was had. delicious food; michael jackson gets everyone on the dance floor.
sunday, slept really late. tried to go to piedmont for brunch, but they are closed. went to the former le coco, now eno something something something. a decent breakfast, good coffee, good bacon. enlisted boyfriend assistance in procuring a large trunk for storage on the back porch. looked for a laundry basket for him but none met the criteria (must have price tag, cloth liner must not have "laundry" embroidered on it, handle must be woven in not tied on). bought a collapsible water bowl for the puppeh.
walked the puppeh at northgate park, visited the dinosaur. reese packs his own and our water now, courtesy of a smart red dog pack. so long as the pack is balanced, he doesn't mind.
went out looking for a pastrami sandwich and failed. well, you know all about that already.
after j and the puppy left i gave moses a sponge bath using a very mild vinegar solution. he enjoyed it and he's much cleaner now. tonight we work on the ears. the joys of an old animal.
Posted by lisa at 08:21 AM
August 05, 2007
pastrami quest: failure!
we had one weekend to find a pastrami on rye (kosher not required). while we got good advice from many, ultimately, no pastrami sandwich was consumed.
- Piedmont: this would have probably been great, but they only serve lunch on weekdays, only serve the pastrami at lunch-- and they're closed for a month. So that was a no-go.
- The Food Factory seemed like our next best bet, but it's a half hour drive away, and by the time we could get over there, it was too short of a time before J had to go. So that was a no-go.
- Nosh seemed like a sure bet. It's close to my house and according to citysearch, they'd be open all day Sunday. Googling did not reveal that they have their own web site. Well, we got there and it turns out that they now close at 3pm on Sunday, which was too late for us. But I was able to get their web site URL from their locked door.
So we went over to Tyler's Taproom, where I've been meaning to take J for a long time anyway, because they have hard cider on tap. Which he enjoyed so it was all good anyway.
Thanks everyone for the pastrami advice!
Posted by lisa at 08:46 PM
August 04, 2007
15 pounds of fury
moses met this morning with his arch nemesis, Dr. C.
good news: he's down to 15lbs, now just 2lbs away from a reasonable weight. this is the lightest he's been in years. this will be good for both his arthritis and the diabetes, and just for his overall health.
eh news: his sinus infection is back. we're going to hit it with a different antibiotic. dr. c said that if the breathing noises and congestion were being caused by a tumor, he'd be all but dead now. so at least we've pretty much ruled out Fatal Cancer, which was, of course, my big fear. the root cause could be a viral infection, and if so, that can be treated with lysene.
also in eh news, i got him to walk around in front of dr. c who agreed that the arthritis is a lot worse and we should try some drugs again. so we're doing adequan for two weeks, and if that doesn't cut it we'll escalate to something stronger but slightly riskier in terms of kidney damage. (but still very safe.)
less good news: his blood sugar was very high, so we need to up the insulin again. this could mean that he's going to be one of those cats who are difficult or impossible to stabilize... but we won't worry about that too much yet. we haven't even begun to exhaust the dibetes-fighting arsenal. i'm not even feeding him the diabetes food exclusively; he's still mainly on a higher-carb food that we think is helping him lose weight.
there was a teenaged volunteer there today and when i told her how old he is, she was amazed-- "he's older than me!" i said he was 17 but i think he might be 16. i can't keep track anymore. we think he was born in May of 1991, so you do the math :)
Posted by lisa at 04:33 PM
August 02, 2007
pastrami on rye
is there a place around here where one could get a good pastrami on rye sandwich?
(looks in the general direction of the mondo mundo lounge )
Posted by lisa at 07:41 AM
August 01, 2007
things i have photographed recently
after several full-house searches, i have located the drivers for my digital camera. along the way i also completely cleaned out and organized all of my software, but that's neither here nor there. you're really here for the pictures, right? to celebrate finding the disc, i am going to post a lot of them.
driving home from work on friday the 13th, i passed a car on fire. it was so hot that i could feel the heat on my face across four lanes of highway.
J and I tried the newly re-opened Blue Star diner... well, i wrote about that before. Here are the pictures of the sparkling clean interior, cool vintage neon sign, and authentic diner exterior.
I love taking people to the Krispy Kreme for the first time. It's fun to watch the donuts being made, and they taste so different and soooo good when they're hot. I was having dinner with m & b the other night and it came up that they'd never been. we had to go that evening.
the endless fascination of the icing curtain...
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... donuts....
Posted by lisa at 10:24 PM