Updating the update

Well I took Bismark to a neurologist in Lynnwood today...recommended by the eye specialist yesterday. He has "Optic Neuritis" an inflammation of the optic nerve. It can be somewhat reversable with Prednisolone treatment but the problem is that it is probably caused by Lymphoma...sigh. So here is the ultimate question to treat or not to treat? The Prednisolone treatment might make everything shrink and give him more months possibly even more years. Or the cancer could figure out how to overcome that drug and come back.

Then there is chemo which could give him 2 to 4 more years but we all know what chemo does...it makes people and cats very sick. The thing this disease probably will eventually get him but which way do we go? He has already had x rays, blood tests, urinalysis, MRI, spinal tap. This would entail a needle biopsy of his eye and a sonograph of his body plus more blood test then chemo. He's the 4000.00 kitty but really Mark has lots it's not an issue. So what do we do?

Bismarck Update

Well ater al that we thought he was much better. Eating, drinking and all that but last night we noticed his pupils were different sizes and he was kind of staggering around. So after another vet appointment we now know that Bismarck is blind. I have no idea how or why but we will see a kitty opthamologist tomorrow.

My father was blind. So I'm pretty mellow about this news. I know people can be fine blind and animals do much better than we do. My only concern is that we are remodeling and things change around here daily. I don't think that is a good environment for a blind cat. I think we should give him back to his mother...sadly.

Sigh.....

Yikes!!

As you can see our icicles have turned from beautiful to kind of menacing:) It's like they are trying to get in and get us

I cannot get this video to post so here is the you tube link:)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXfkMGV3FdM&feature=channel_page#

The view out our new bedroom window this morning. This is my backyard:)

Lola the Snow Dog

Tuscan White Bean Soup with Prosciutto

So this is what I made tonight and I had an idea...for those of you who cook I'd love to see some recipes on your blog of things that worked well (this was ok not too noteworthy) or maybe even a common blog where contributors can post recipes or take recipes. I'm sure this is done somewhere but I've read a few of you talk about what you've made and I really would love to trade:)

Neo I did read it but your blog won't take comments :)

Mocha in

Baby it's Cold Inside!

So as you know we are remodeling the house. Mark needed to move the propane tanks. so he called the propane company and told them to stop delivering so we could use up what was in the tanks and move them. Well they kept trying to deliver. Fortunately the first two times he was here and sent the driver away. Unfortunately the last time they showed up when we weren't here and filled the tanks. They wouldn't take it back (not even sure if that's possible) so we had to use it up again.

Well we did and he called a new company to come out and refill the moved tanks. That was a couple weeks ago and they are scheduled to come today. The thing is it's 19 degrees and they've been low for about three days. So we've had to huddle in one half of the house and use these little electric heaters.

I stayed home today to wait for the propane delivery. I'm so bored! I should be doing things but I can't seem to bring myself to move from the heater. It's 47 inside. I need to shower, clean the bathroom, do dishes...it's 47 inside! Mark very sweetly brought me home new slippers last night...it's 47 inside!

Okay enough of that but one other thing. I never really thought cats were all that trainable. Not dumb just not like dogs. But after about three time the cats now will run from whatever room he's in when the little heater starts up and plant himself in front of it until his fur is hot, funny.

Holy Crap!

Mark and I are sitting here watching Wall-e (really good btw) when Lola explodes and I hea a knock on our back slider. Not the front door, the back door. I went out into the kitchen to see a man in his forties standing on our back deck. he says "Hi, I used your driveway t turn around and got stuck, sorry" Okay no biggie anyone who has seen our driveway knows it's pretty steep. So we get our shoes on and go out in the snow.

The man had come down our driveway, narrowly missed my car and almost drove straight off the cliff behind our house. It's snowing and he was obviously drunk. Mark pulled him out with the Tahoe. I asked if he was ok to drive, he said yes "I only had two beers" and drove away. I wrote down his license plate number and immediately called 911. I hope if he is caught he isn't a vengeful man (or he has no idea where he was) but all I could think about was how horrible I would have felt had I heard about a drunk driving wreck tonight. I maybe should have tried harder to convince him he shouldn't drive but it all happened so fast. I hope I did the right thing.

Snow!!

I'm A dog person Damnit!

Okay kitty update...it isn't renal failure! Whee! but.... it could be cancer. A weight loss of a pound in two months in a 8 pound cat is still severe and needs to be looked into.

Since I am effectively unemployed until the new year I spent today doctoring the cat. I got no love:( At the vet last night we got an appetite stimulant, antibiotics and a force feeding syringe. The appetite suppressant is in pill form so no pill pockets damn it. You can't hide it in food if it's to make them eat!

He ate like a hog last night but again not this morning. So since dehydration is all of our worst enemy I started there. He is allergic to cows milk so he gets goats milk. So every time I went upstairs to where he was I took a small bowl of milk and the syringe. The first time was pretty easy because it was a sneak attack. He never knew what hit him. Mark is a proponent of slow, letting them sniff everything and check it all out. Me I do the sneak attack and get it over with. So I sat down, threw my robe over him (claws...not a fan) cranked his mouth open an squirted in a load of milk.

He was mad and sputtering and making that low menacing growl all you cat folks know about. First time I heard it kind of scared me:) So I managed to get two more syringes in over the next couple of hours until I was cut... I pushed it.

There also was this thing you load the pill in it and then push a plunger to rocket the pill down the hatch. That took both of us. Then Mark worried that I had shot the pill down his wind pipe, pussy :) Then the antibiotic, in and then sprayed out all over the bed. Hopefully this won't be an everyday occurrence forever. I'm not that brave

Bismarck

Ok so one last kitty post (ok maybe not forever) This is my familiar and he isn't doing well. We just got back from the vet and he may be in renal failure....sigh. I've been through that before with a friend's cat and it isn't fun.

About 6 months ago I noticed he had total ass breath. Mark called it "kitty breath" but as far as I was concerned it wasn't normal. It took some convincing but Mark finally took the cat to the vet....

Side thought... isn't it funny how different some are about their critters? There are those (like me) who go at the drop of a hat and those who are more "wait and see". I can't call one wrong and one right because I've met so many of both kinds.

So he went and the cats teeth were bad, very bad, and needed cleaning and extractions to the tune of 975.00...gulp but being a good cat dad he made the appointment. So the blood work came back and he also had an abnormal thyroid to the tune of 925.00!!

Oh crap.

So here's the deal he and his ex-girlfriend share custody of the three cats. It seems to work out she has them six months and then he has them six months. In the past it has seemed to work fine. Okay except for the time when we went out of town and she got pissed, broke in and stole them....along with furniture....and went through my drawers....ummm okay well anyway that's a year ago and it has been working fine. So he was going to take the cat into the thyroid appointment and pay. She would pick him up and take him home (he would be radioactive and we have no doors to segregate him) take him to the dentist and pay. Fine amost even split. Then her brother gets a heart valve virus.

Oh crap.

So the cat comes back to us. So we wait for her to take him (actually all of them back for her six months) back and to the kitty dentist. Nope she doesn't. Meanwhile he loses a pound in two months a lot for a 8 pound creature. So we take him to the vet tonight after we realize his food intake is almost nothing, not really moving, drinking, using the litter box...well you get it. We hoped it was just the teeth pain was causing all his symptoms but no it's probably renal failure.

Oh crap.

Another 475.00 and the beast is ready to kill. Stalking around glaring and eating like a HOG! He was given an appetite stimulant, sub q fluids, xrays, antibiotics and looks raring to go. But I'm afraid of whats to come. The sticking of needles in this sweet (ok really he's an evil killer) cats back. The pain and discomfort. I prolonged a life about twenty years ago snickers

He had congestive heart failure. Coughed like a duck, fainted (funny story there) went to a doggie heart specialist. I loved this dog so much and wanted to put him to sleep but the family didn't agree. I moved out rather than watch his demise...sad. He finally did us the favor of dying in his dog house.

So the teeth are on our plate..again. As well as this latest bill as well as whatever is to come because she is refusing to help pay. I personally think she forfeits her rights to the cats. However I'm against dropping this bomb while her brother is sick at this time of year. I will get behind giving her a chance to say she will help.

What do you think?

So we went round and round this week about the color of our new rooms...the dining room and above the bedroom. He choose taupe...sigh...ahem....groan... I frankly wasn't having it. He painted the bedroom all... taupe. We fought. Now I try really hard to choose my battles in life and let some things go but this one? I couldn't do it. I called it baby poop brown and frankly wasn't spoken to for half a day:) Then I went to Lowe's and after 2 hours and lots of friendly retired lady help came up with four options. This is what he chose for the dining room. I spent all day painting it. The bedroom is green but bluer. He wanted the whole house the same color... I wanted all different colors. The compromise is varying shades of green to match the outside. I think it looks good with the wainscoting and wood ceilings. So the house house will be green except for the bathrooms and a bee yellow room.

Oh and a gratuitous Mt. Si pic :)

My Favorite Things

Did you see the movie "City of Angels' with Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan? It's totally cheesy but one of my favortie movies. The romance of him giving up eternity just to be with her makes my 14 year old self go all tingly.

The premise is that we all have sort of guardian angels that are with us all throughout our lives and then they help with the transition into the afterlife. Nicholas Cages character asks his charges what their favorite thing about life was.

So what's yours? Mine would be...in no particular order.

• The first blush of romance, before sex. The pitty pat of your heart when you see your significant other. The long sessions of kissing on the couch. The longing you feel.
• Clothes (or blankets) freshly taken out of the dryer. There is nothing like curling up on the couch with a warm blanket.
• A freshly washed dog.
• A good gossip magazine
• Singing loudly in the car when you know no one will catch you
• Pizza when you are at you target weight and you have no guilt
• Rain on the roof
• Laugh attacks until you cry

Aknot

I can't seem to think of an interesting topic lately so here is another cat video. Hopefully I will be back at it soon:)