- Mood:
Busy, busy, busy day. I finally can cross a couple of items off my "Need to do one of these days" list.
#1 - Got a safe deposit box at the bank. It's not like I need a place to keep the Crown Jewels, but I thought it would good for important documents and such.
#2 - My mom and I picked out a headstone for the joint cemetery plot she has with my dad. Right now we still just have the temporary marker there. We had been planning to get one the spring after my dad passed away, but that's when she started having some medical problems which led to her surgery, so the stone got put on the back burner. Plus, for a while we couldn't really agree on the color of granite to get. I really dislike the type she and her siblings chose for their parents, and that's what she originally was talking about getting. I did not want to have to look at that for the rest of my life. I don't think my dad would have liked it either. Ninety-nine percent of the time his taste ran the same as mine, so I sort of felt like I was his advocate for this decision. The past few times we've visited the cemeteries we've made it a point to look at the various stones to see what we liked, so we had a general idea of what we wanted when we went to the memorial place today. We ended up choosing a granite that we both thought was very pretty, and the lady sketched out a rough drawing of what we talked about. Now they'll create an actual-size drawing and mail it to us, so we can look at it and decide if we like it and it's definitely what we want before they hit the granite with the sandblaster. Hopefully we'll be pleased with it.
After finishing all that, my mom and I headed over to play the slots. I found the nickel machine I won on twice before, and within about a half hour I cashed out $67.00 ahead. I felt like that was the best I was going to do today, so, following Jeanie C's example, I quit while I was ahead, especially since I lost the last time I was there. My mom wasn't having any luck at all, so after a little while we went to have something to eat. I guess you'd consider it "linner" because it was really too late for lunch and too early for dinner. Afterwards my mom was still kind of bummmed that she hadn't won anything, so she played a couple more machines. She had a last minute rally and ended up breaking even for the day. She was happy with that.
I can't believe my vacation is almost over. 
Why does it go by so fast?
Mom and I hit the road today and went to the beach. We walked the boardwalk, ate some yummy foods, and played a little skee-ball. It was a gorgeous day there with temps in the mid-80s and virtually no humidity. We didn't even use the air conditioner in the car, open windows were enough. Of course the breeze caused my hair to tangle and knot. I did manage to brush it before I looked like Amy Winehouse though. Yeah, I could pull it back in a ponytail (and I did for part of the day) but that gives me a headache if I leave it in too long. The trials and tribulations of long hair. 
- Mood:
Today my mom and I went on our usual weekly grocery shopping trip. I found a bottle of strawberry daiquiri mix on sale. That's one of my favorite drinks, but I've never made one myself until this afternoon. Voila!
Cheers! 
- Mood:
Thanks for the nice comments about my brood. Yeah, I'm a proud mama. Sorry, Afton, but you struck out identifying my kitties. You did remember all their names though, so points for that! 
From left to right, Oscar is the orange cat (named after the Sesame Street character 
because he was found covered in filth and apparently living out of an interstate rest stop dumpster), Isabella is the gray tabby (named just because I always liked the name Isabella Rossellini), and Atticus is orange and white (named for the "To Kill a Mockingbird" character, because he was long and angular and reminded me of Gregory Peck). Isabella and Atticus are supposed to be from the same litter. Hard to believe, huh?
No dentures for Sebastian, Sissy. He's going to have to make due with the bottom ones he has left. I figure if my pop-pop could manage with the one that he had, so can he! LOL Actually, Sebastian seems to be getting along rather well with his recovery.
We're having a chat tonight on Bonanza World in honor of David Canary's (Candy's) birthday. Stop on in if you can! 
- Mood:
Veterinary check-up, tests, vaccinations, and medications: 1 week's salaryEchocardiogram, teeth extractions, dental cleaning, and medications: 1 month's salarySebastian, stoned out of his mind, but home where he belongs: Priceless
Thanks for all the nice comments, folks. I picked up Sebastian at the hospital around 11:00 this morning. While I was waiting for them to put him in the carrier, I made friends with Dexter, a cute 3-month-old kitten, in the waiting area. He was up for adoption. No, I didn't bring him home too; I was strong. LOL Although, I'm pretty sure if didn't already have my herd, I would have. Hopefully a nice person will take him soon.
Sebastian was still pretty medicated, but happy to see me and break out of the joint, I think. As soon as we got home and I set the carrier down to unlock the door, he started pushing on the carrier's door to get out. Once I let him out inside, he tried to take off at full speed, but those drugs must have been pretty potent and still in his system because he went about 3 feet before his back legs gave out and he decided that would be a fine place to lie down for a bit. Poor guy. The vet tech said they had tried to get him to eat a little something this morning, and he seemed interested, but he didn't want any of their food. So I offered him a little of his usual canned grub, and he licked the bowl clean. He also drank some water and used the litter box I placed nearby for him, all good signs I think. Since then he's pretty much just been snoozing here and there. The other cats have been keeping away, watching him from a safe distance. They obviously know something is up with him.
Aww...speak of the devil...he just stumbled in and tried to jump up on the futon couch with me. After a little help up from me, I got my first hug of the day.
So sweet.
Now that I'm 
I'm thinking of holding my own telethon on Labor Day weekend to help "Francine's kids."
What do you think? 
- Mood:
My poor, oldest kitty, Sebastian, is spending the night at the animal hospital. A couple of weeks ago I found one of his canine teeth on the floor. At first I thought it was a shark's tooth, but since I don't have a shark... Since he's 12 years old and hadn't had a vet visit in quite a while, I figured I'd better have his mouth checked out. The regular vet said she couldn't really tell if part of the tooth was still in the gum, and she doesn't have dental x-rays in her office, so she referred me to the local animal hospital where they could anesthetize him for x-rays and a dental cleaning all at once. She also figured at least one other tooth would need to be extracted. In the meantime she did blood work and other tests on him and all those checked out A-OK. That didn't surprise me at all because Sebastian seems as strong and healthy as ever, and if I hadn't found the tooth, I would have never known that anything was wrong.
So today, after being on antibiotics for about 10 days, Sebastian had his appointment for the procedure. He's a pampered indoor kitty and he hates going out. He kept crying, "Noooo," from his carrier in the back of the car on the drive to the hospital. I dropped him off around 7:30 this morning and he looked so sad and scared it broke my heart. 
The doctor called me later in the morning to tell me that he had pretty bad gum disease and that she heard a heart murmur and suspected that he also had some form of heart disease, probably caused by some of the bacteria from the gums traveling into the heart valves. 
She said that would make it a greater risk for him under the anesthesia, but he really needed the dental work done. She recommended a scan of his heart to get a better idea of what was going on with it before the dental procedure so she could choose the types of drugs accordingly and then plan any possible follow-up care. So I went with that.
I was quite worried for several hours until I finally heard back from the doc. The cardiologist had been tied up with an emergency, so that's why it took so long. At least it was better news this time. The cardiologist couldn't find anything wrong with Sebastian's heart. Apparently it's just a bit larger than normal because he's a larger than normal kitty. I prefer to think that his heart is large because it's filled with love for me. 
So the doc went ahead with the dental work and called me this evening to tell me it was over and Sebastian was doing OK in recovery. He did end up losing all his upper teeth, I think, but he was able to keep some of the lower. She said the lower teeth looked like they were from a different cat. LOL She wanted to keep him on the IV pain medication tonight, so he's staying over. I have tomorrow off from work, and I'm hoping I can go get him fairly early. The doc said she'd call me after she makes her morning rounds.
Even though I still have my 3 younger kitties here, the house still seems empty without the big guy. He's my bedtime cuddler too, so sleeping without him next to me is going to be strange. I wish I could be with him tonight. He and I have made it through a lot together.
Here's a pic that was taken just a couple days after I got him from the SPCA. Little did I know that he came with a sinus infection that almost developed into pneumonia a couple of days later. I rushed him to the vet when he was having problems breathing, got him antibiotics, and stayed up all night with him until he hocked up a loogey and could breathe easily again.
This is him about 8 years ago when he was very sick with a high fever. I had come home from work to find him barely able to walk on shaking hind legs. I ran him right over to the vet. They put him on antibiotics but they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. I slept on the sofa with him cradled in my arm, so his shaking leg would have some support and could relax. His fever finally broke after a couple days. He ended up seeing a couple different docs during that episode, and they never could figure out what caused the symptoms. It wasn't until about a week later that I had him flipped over on his back and saw that the inside area of his hind leg was bruised or blackish colored under all his white fur. I think it was a spider bite, but will never know for sure.
- Mood:
Yesterday morning I was involved in a bicycle race. Of course, I was in my car at the time. 
Actually, I found out later that it was one leg of a triathlon that was going on in the area. I didn't know the cyclists were going to be traveling past my development or I certainly would have turned right instead of left when I went out. Because I didn't, I ended up in the pack. The bad thing is that it's a winding single-lane road that goes up and downhill. There's no shoulder or bike path, just gravel , grass, and deep drainage ditches on the side of the road. So the bikers were in the road and there were only a couple of safe areas to pass them when I could see oncoming traffic. I pretty much had to drive at their pace of around 10 - 15 mph for 2 1/2 miles. It was kind of funny to be in the middle of it all, but also a little nerve-wracking as one would make a move to pass one of their competitors right in front of my car. I really don't know that the road was the best choice for their course. Today I noticed all the water bottles and cups strewn along the side of the road. Nice. I wonder who's going to clean all that up. 
I did manage to catch some of the Olympics last week. I saw Michael Phelps' nearly miraculous fingernail finish to win his seventh gold medal, and his eighth win as part of the relay. I was so hoping the relay team would win, not just for Phelps to beat Mark Spitz's record, but because of the amount of pressure the other 3 guys on the relay team must have been feeling, especially anchor man, Jason Lezak. I had heard that a day or two before that Lezak told Phelps' mom not to worry, that he'd be ready for that race. What a guy! 
I was also both happy and sad to see 41-year-old Dara Torres win the silver medal for the 50-meter freestyle. She lost the gold by only one-hundredth of a second. Brutal. Then she went right on to help the US relay team win a silver. I thought she showed nice sportsmanship the other day when she notified an official and delayed the start of the semifinals so that her Swedish competitor could change out of a torn swimsuit and not miss the event. When she was asked about it later, she replied that in the water the women are her competitors, but outside the water they're her friends.
Last night's women's vault final was pretty disheartening though when Alicia Sacramone placed fourth. It was kind of surprising, considering that the girl from China landed on her knees and was given a higher score than Alicia. I saw an interview with Bela Karolyi afterwards and he seemed so upset by it all. He said Alicia was "ripped off." What can ya do? 
Is it me or do the medal presentation ceremonies seem rather lackluster and jammed in between events? It stinks for the folks who have to run to compete in another event right afterwards. Were they always done that way? It seems like it would make more sense to award the medals after all the events are over each day.
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and landed in your neck of the woods. Nice place you have here. Will visit again soon. Wishing you a spiffy Tuesday! 
Happy New Year AD. 
Merry Christmas, Francine. 
(only the frozen kind 
It's a scary job, but somebody has to do it. 
I ate my share for dinner. Sooo yummy! 
They were really good, but I think they were each about a half-pound of meat. Their fries were quite tasty as well. I'd definitely go back there. 
It makes me wonder if any kids ended up on the wrong bus. College is back in session next week. That means thousands will be moving back on and around campus this weekend. Joy. 
Perhaps it glows in the dark and will now be easier for the cops to locate at night. 
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