Irene Who?

There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat. ~Tay Hohoff

We were so very lucky at my place yesterday -- while we got VERY high winds, they weren't that bad. We got buckets of rain, but not for lengthy periods of time. Our lights flickered a few times, and my internet bounced up and down like crazy, but we never lost power altogether. I was a bit amazed at this because my SIL who lives very close, just a few streets over, lost power early in the morning and still wasn't on last night when we checked. Of course, she has above ground powerlines in her neighborhood, so her outage was probably local to her. We have underground utilities (which I think should be mandatory -- would save a TON of money and time with all the trees we have here).

In any case, though there were nearly 200,000 people in NH without power, we weren't one of them. I feel truly blessed.

In other news, Breeann (my cat) is very sick again. She started vomiting yesterday morning, and continued every few hours throughout the day. The vet warned me that her health would be cyclical -- good days, then a series like we had: vomiting, off her food, lethargic and then back again, until the bad days outnumbered the good.

DD and I talked at length last night about how long we'd let Breeann feel lousy before we finally agreed it wasn't fair to her to try to keep her with us. It's a hard, hard conversation to have. Breeann is HER baby. She loves that cat more than she's loved any pet, and she's distraught.

We agreed we'd try one more cycle to see how she does. So today, she'll get fluids. No food, to let her tummy settle. Tomorrow, we'll do fluids and force-feeding again and see if she'll perk up after a bit. It took a week last time, so we'll give it a week this time. But if she doesn't recover, then we'll have to face facts.

And it breaks my heart.

Pet ownership is full of so much joy, but also so much heartache. I suppose that's true of love in general, no matter what kind.

===============

Technically today is DD's first day of school, though it's actually an orientation this afternoon. She'll meet her home room teacher (who she already knows), the kids in her class, get to set up her locker and tour the rooms so she knows where to go.

Then tomorrow it starts for real.

We're both nervous. And excited. But right now? Mostly nervous.

=================

Beginnings Inspire You

You are independent and original. You are highly inventive and creative. You love undertaking new and interesting projects. You have lots of ideas. You have a delightful and colorful inner world. People would be stunned if they could see inside your head. You aren't afraid of failure. Tomorrow is always another beginning.

The Sky Inspiration Test

Yep!

===================

A Little Weird-ness

Nothing much going on here ... just prep for the hurricane which is tracking pretty much right over my house. I'm hoping it's all an awful lie.

Otherwise, my friend, Michele and I were discussing Weird Al today (don't ask). A million years ago, I actually met the man. My friend, Cathy, had won backstage passes to the pool party for the Monkees "Pool It" tour, and Weird Al was their opening act.

I was a huge Monkees fan from way back and couldn't WAIT to meet them (Mike Nesmith wasn't there, of course, but the other three were). I was so disappointed.

Davy Jones was a snob. Mickey wasn't much better. Peter Tork was sweet but distracted. But then... there was Weird Al. What an AWESOME guy. He took time to talk to everyone like he was just people, yanno? Nice, well-spoken, interesting. The guy's a genius (seriously... he has a ridiculously high IQ) but so nice.

In his honor, I give you the video for the song that started it all this morning, "Like A Surgeon".



Enjoy.

Have a wonderful weekend! Hopefully I'll be back on Monday declaring that Irene fizzled and went out to sea. Monday is DD's first day at school, and we'd really like it to go smoothly...

===========

You Are Driven

You prefer to be around others, both when working and while relaxing. You are very socially oriented. You are disciplined. You don't let yourself lose focus and get distracted. You couldn't be someone else even if you tried! You're simply you - and thank goodness for that. You are a born idealist, with more pet causes than you can count. You are determined to change the world.

The Lighthouse Test

About 50/50...

===================

Go East, Irene

"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail." — Benjamin Fanklin

Looks like Hurricane Irene is tracking just right to hit us head on... granted it will only be a "1" hurricane, but even so, they're predicting high winds and 6 - 12" of rain. That's a LOT of water.

We'll be fine. We have no trees close enough to the house to hit us, save one. We have a generator. Plenty of food and water. But I'd really prefer NOT to lose power.

*sigh*

Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Tornadoes.

God is really displeased with the northeast right now.

==============

Yesterday, when we returned from the movies (LOVE Regal Family Film Festival) to find what looked like an exploded dog in the room with Dakota. There were piles of fur everywhere!!

I took her outside to spray more hot spot stuff on her, lifted her head and her throat was totally naked and bright red. So ... off to the vet we went.

She has bare spots on her head, her throat, her back legs ... rash is pretty much 100%. She has an ear infection from the scratching, too. So, she got a steroid shot and ear ointment.

She's feeling better today. Not well, but better. A little.

Now we just need a good, hard frost.

=========================

You Are Quiet

You focus on fantasy more than reality. You have your head in the clouds. You're incredibly introverted and introspective. You live inside your head, and it's a pretty comfortable place to be. You may seem quiet and withdrawn, but you're paying attention to every single thing around you. You are secretly sensitive, but you often put up a front. Shy and private, you yearn for security.

The Single Flower Test

Um ... maybe 50/50...

====================

Just Two More

It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment? For the moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone. That is where the writer scores over his fellows: he catches the changes of his mind on the hop. ~Vita Sackville-West

Two more scenes.

That's all I need to finish for the sequel to "Kitchen Matches" to be complete. More, I've already sent it through a couple of CPs for crits on what was there and polished it up.

Two more.

Why is that so hard?

*sigh*

=================

My dog is going to peel her skin off. This morning, she couldn't even walk to the door, her back legs were twitching with each step in the need to scratch. We gave her a bath with medicated shampoo and two kinds of soothing leave on spray and it helped for a while. Last night, though, she woke me up several times scratching. And she has a big, red welt on her shoulder.

I've never wanted it to freeze early before, but I'm kinda pulling for one good hard freeze. Then in can warm up again.

==================

No, I didn't feel the earthquake yesterday -- we were driving, and I expect that hid it from us. My SIL felt it pretty significantly, as did others around here. Poor folks down in that area! Hurricane Irene is supposed to come through, too. God's not pleased with that area right now.

Of course, Irene is supposed to hit US, too. So if I'm offline, it's cuz I lost power folks. We're pretty far inland, though, so hopefully it'll just be heavy rain and a little wind.

Whee.

==================

You Are a Pretzel

You are reliable and dependable. You can be counted on, through thick and thin. You enjoy relaxation and quiet. You don't have a need to make things exciting. You are comforting and stable. You know what you do best, and you stick to it. You prefer a steady life, but you have been known to add some spice when things get routine.

What Baseball Park Snack Are You?

That's about right!

==================