How To Know You Are Pathetic

Spend two hours deleting feline photographs from your files.

And still be only half done.

Sadness.

Thor sez: Oh, but she uses this one. If I had thumbs, what I would post!

Party On.

Yesterday evening someone in this picture had a 40th birthday party.

It was a perfect evening beside Charleston harbor, overlooking the bridge,

watching the dolphins and pelicans play, sipping drinks and having fun with a great group of people!

Thor sez: I wanted to see a dolphin.

Loki Sunday

Loki loves to strike a pose.



Note the perfectly touching back toesies here ^

Loki sez: Ppphhffft.

Rain! Rain! Rain!

Oh, is there any sight as beautiful as puddles of pollen knocked out of the air by glorious rain?

More, please.

And I've got about a week's worth of errands and house work to get done today.

Thor sez: I've got a week's worth of napping to catch up on, so keep the vacuuming to a minimum, kthnxbye.

TGIF

I love driving home on a morning like this with the white flowers of the dogwood and Bradford pear trees glowing pink in the rising sun and sea foam green baby oak leaves shimmering against blue sky.

The boyz say: And kittens waiting in the window, right?

Thor's Day!

Thor's human servant is very tired after a long night, followed by a longer staff meeting. (Meetings are the number one reason I could never be a regular person or be in management, my personality type does not do well with such things.)

So, random Thor:

Tuesday Tidbits

The boyz love each other again.


It took a little longer for the reconciliation because I couldn't even begin until the giant economy sized dehumidifier and the three industrial strength fans were moved out of the kitchen.

Thor had to stay on that side of the house because he wasn't afraid of all the noise.

Thor sez: Yep, I'm brave.

Poor dessicated little thing.

Loki sez: Yum, tastes like cat jerky!

But the restoration people came yesterday and all the moisture is gone from the floor and the little bit from the back wall under the sink. They are making up a estimate for repair. The insurance adjuster is coming this morning. Joy.

The boyz say: Another stranger is coming to the house?

Monday Morning Moment

When the man-child was a wee young lad, nothing would annoy him more than when I would tell him, or in some cases, actually sing to him, "you can't always get what you want".

Never mind my off key murderation of the tune, I think this little melody from across the pond should be America's "guest anthem" for a while.

Last night on the news, I watched a story about a woman who was going to lose her home to foreclosure. She was very earnest and explained how she had provided the mortgage company will all her financial information and they had told her that she could have x-amount on a house.

So she spent x-amount on a house. Funny thing was, her monthly payment was $500 more than her total take home pay.

But she thought she would make up the difference by having someone move in with her.

Okay, I know I suck at math and I'm no financial whiz kid, but here's my take on it. If your monthly mortgage payment alone is more than your income, YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT.

Yes, the bank failed this woman by giving her a loan that they knew she couldn't afford. But she signed the papers on something she knew she wouldn't be able to pay. Send her to bankruptcy, send the bank to out of business land.

Here's a good "old fashioned" American value we need to restore: Your first house cannot be a mansion. You buy small and modest, earn equity over several years, buy a slightly larger house, earn more equity over several years.....see how it works?

Thor sez: I always get what I want, just meow like this for six hours.

Loki Sunday

Stark raving Loki!

Thank God It's Not Thursday Anymore

All that time wondering how poor Thor would feel being left alone, I never considered how Loki would feel about going to the vet.

Which was not enthusiastic.

As I tried to shove him into the cat carrier, he went ballistic and starting hissing and growling. I was just backing off to let him calm down when like Streaky the Super Cat, came Thor over my shoulder.

Cat fight ensues. Oh, WAIT, my arms are still in there.

Jump up, yell at double sided Tasmanian devil hair ball that is rolling across the kitchen floor, manage to break up the fight, Loki goes behind cat tree, Thor half under sofzilla.

Grab Thor, carry him to spare bedroom, while noticing that blood is running like a river out of my right wrist.

Go to kitchen sink, begin rinsing off wounds. Almost throw up/faint at the one on my wrist. Have a brief panic attack that the vein has been sliced through.

Call vet, tell them that I most certainly won't be there for my appointment. Call my doc, get told to bring myself to her right now. Call Jason, be hysterical. Go to doc.

Get medicines. Get fretted over. Await decision as to whether a plastics guy should sew up my wrist or just slap a steri-strip over it so it can still be somewhat open. Somewhat open wins. Receive stern lecture about wounds around the joint of my right pinky finger. If it even begins to think about looking funny, I am to go directly to the hand surgeon.

Ask if I can still go to work that night. Get laughed at, handed a work excuse slip and be told, "I wouldn't let you pick up my baby."

Interlude: pharmacy for medications (10 days of antibiotics), ointments, second litter pan for the separation room.

Back at home. Thor given food, water, litter box on his side of the house. Sit down on couch to try to soothe Loki.

What is that sound? That sound that sounds like water leaking coming from UNDERNEATH THE HOUSE??

Oh, it's water, leaking off the sub flooring under the sink. Call plumber guy, call restoration/repair guy, call insurance guy.

Have major anxiety attack.

Plumber guy fixes problem quickly and cheaply! (A connection under there had malfunctioned and the water was slowly running down the pipe, down under cabinet. Which is why we hadn't noticed, there wasn't water on the cabinet under the sink, it was going past that to the flooring beneath.

Insurance guy says I'm covered for the water damage.

Restoration guy comes and checks stuff and digs up a whole ton of my floor. Puts a dehumidifier and some fans in there to start drying it out.

Good news: The sub flooring is fine. It is only an area of approximately four by three feet in front of the sink, and the three by two area directly under the sink cabinet. So they'll dry it out. Then replace the plywood or whatever it is over the sub flooring and rip out all the rest of the vinyl and replace all the flooring. Which, Mr. Super Nice Restoration Guy told me, because I asked, if it was in the replacement budget to put down the same vinyl wood strips that I used in the back room, they could.

That's all.

Loki sez: Please don't make me stay in the hissy fit room! I'll be good!

Thor's Day!

I wonder how Thor will feel when I take Loki to the vet today, leaving him alone for the first time in his life.

Will he be mad?

Will he be afraid?

Will he be bored?

Will he catch up on his reading?

Whatever Wednesday

Bad news - the bluebirds never returned to their house this spring.
(Edit: Poor observation on my part, I've just been watching Mamma and Poppa Bluebird flying up to their house and feeding the babies!)
Good news - I saw a male Downy Woodpecker, so I guess Ms. Downy Woodpecker has found a fellow.

Ms. Downy Woodpecker.

Bad news - Loki is going to take the 40 mile round trip ride to our most awesome vet tomorrow. He has a giant nipple. I've never had a cat with a giant nipple before, unless it was a kitty-momma breastfeeding (why, when seeing baby kittens or puppies breast feeding, we say, "ahhh, how cute", but when we see a baby human breast feeding, some of us get "outraged"?).

Good news - it's sunny and warm and I've got weeds to pull and pine straw to spread.

Loki sez: I've got 20 sharp pointy parts that say you'll never get me into the carrier, human!

Oh, Boo Hoo!

I've been bombarded in the past month or so with the sobbing horror stories of Hollywood conservatives who feel all out of sorts because they are a minority and have to endure listening to the "other side" talk smack.

Welcome to my freaking world for the last 30 years. For Pete's sake. If your religious, political, social views are in the minority, guess what? You aren't going to hear a lot of public support for them.

I have had to listen to a medical professional sneer, "Thank you liberals for wasting our time" each and every time we do the safety time-out in the OR. You know, that little wait a minute moment where we all confirm what we are doing. Seems pretty stupid when you only do one procedure, but one I'd dare say most of us would like our busy surgeons who perform many different procedures a day to take the time to complete.

I've had to listen to every conspiracy theory about liberals and have heard myself referred to as a "demoCRAP". I've had to listen to the most vile, hate filled speech on a regular basis. I get sick to my stomach on the bitterness in people's voices.

So deal with it big shot Hollywood person. You are not unique. There are many people in your shoes, cast as a minority in far more ways than you. We just don't get to have interviews in national magazines to whine about it.

Thor sez: It's dangerous out there, take this.

Madness!

What else do you call awaking at the very crack of dawn only to not eat anything or have any coffee so you can drive to the place where a very nice lady will pierce your flesh with a sharp needle?

Good thing - I left so early I was the first person there and was home so quickly Jason thought I'd changed my mind.

Last check up, my bad cholesterol levels were up. Way up. So up that my doc is talking about medication.

I'm not very receptive to the idea of medication.

My diet is very good.

I've lost six pounds.

I'm working out with the yoga.

If the cholesterol levels aren't down this time, I'm going to bargain for four more months.

Now, I've got to go to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned.

Glutton for punishment this morning, aren't I?

Thor sez: Don't forget you were going to take Loki to the vet too!

Loki Sunday

Lok-a-tude.

For the Birds

Mr. Cardinal

Tufted Titmouse

Carolina Wren


Thor sez: Tasty!

Where'd Thursday Go?

Ugh. I've been feeling bad since Wednesday with a major headache I attributed to caring for two babies under phototherapy lights. Sometime around one a.m. on Thursday, I started feeling seriously not right.

Came home, tried to eat, barfed my guts up. Called out sick, laid down for "a little while" and next thing I know it's 10 a.m. on Friday. I have a vague memory of watching TV with Jason and talking to my mom on the phone, but I might as well have been in a coma the rest of the time.

Still feel like I'll yark like a cat if I eat anything. But at least my temperature is UP, yes, up, when I got home Thursday morning, I was so chilled and cold I thought for sure I had a fever, but my temperature was 95.6. I took it four times.

Loki sez: That does not excuse the fact that we received no breakfast this morning.

Thor's Day!

Random Thor:

Bunny!

I took down the seed bar that the squirrels were risking life and limb to get at yesterday. This afternoon, I noticed it had been moved.

I thought the raccoons had come and taken it away, but no, it was Bunny.



Thor sez: Can I come outside?

Monday Mish-Mosh

I was very excited last week to get the original art work that I purchased from a new artist, Tina Christophillis.

Isn't it gorgeous on my green wall?

Every bird feeder having person knows that squirrels are the smartest, most athletic creatures on the planet.

Check out that hanging by a single toe action going on there!

The boyz love this water fountain.


We went to see Watchmen (or is it The Watchmen?) yesterday. What a great movie! A bit violent, as those movies tend to be, I had to look away a couple of times. But a great script, beautifully filmed, and a fantastic sound track.

And I've got a mountain of laundry awaiting me. And I still need a place to have a birthday party, any suggestions?

Loki sez: No parties here, it will disturb my napping schedule.

Loki Sunday

Random Loki.

I went to the first four photo files (say that four times, fast) and got the first Loki picture: