Blood Letting...

 

You donated blood, Jim?

Not willingly.  We had a vet appointment for Stella this morning - they thought she might be anemic after her spay surgery.  She is not.  But, to maintain an income flow, they (the vet) recommended with have this blood test done.  10:00 appointment this morning.

At 9:30, we started to corral her to put her in her carrier.  It did not go well...

 

That image above is one of 4 wounds she inflicted on me.  I did not get her in the carrier.  I got her to the carrier before she escaped again.  After running all around the house, she finally went into the bathroom.  Joan grabbed a small kitty blanket, went into the bathroom, and shut the door.  The screams that came from that room sounded like a much bigger animal.  Murphy and I stood on the other side of the door; Murph looked very concerned.  Joan eventually came out with something bundled in the blanket.  And put that something in the carrier.

We were 5 minutes early for the appointment - that included 20 minutes of getting Stella in the carrier.  Even though we had an appointment card, the woman at the front desk had no record of us having an appointment.  I said, "It is an absolute that this cat isn't anemic, based on her physical activity since her surgery.  If you don't have time for this today, we'll just take her home.  They weren't going to miss out on the $71 for the blood test.  They took her in back.  We waited.  About 15 minutes later, I got a phone call from the vet: "Stella's test is fine - she is not anemic."

"Great," I said, "Can we have our cat back?  We are still sitting in your waiting room."  Disorganized.  The vet brought Stella out to us.

Back home, it took more wrangling to get the bandage off Stella's back leg...

 All the kitties in this household are good for the next 11 1/2 months.

Wednesday Morning Smackdown!

 

You're watching wrestling, Jim?

Yes, but it isn't a network production; it is live in our living room.

Joan smacked you down?

Funny.  Not.

Of course, I am talking about the family felines.  Stella is comfortable in her place in the family.  She doesn't just growl whenever Murphy gets close.  She is more often the instigator in their "play time."  And by "play time," I mean: she jumps on him.  "And, they're off!"

Murphy has much more stamina.  So, the wrestling generally ends when Stella is tired.  Or, when Murphy puts her in a headlock.  

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"How's your equilibrium?"  That's Joan asking me.

"Seems good right now.  Why?"

"I was thinking about taking the scoot out for a ride."  That's Joan telling me.

"I would love to give that a try, if you'd like some company."

I gave the kitties a slightly early lunch, and we geared up.  Before heading out, I checked tires and oil on both scoots.  Good to go.

Along the way, I stopped for gas in the Burgman.  84 miles per gallon on that last tank.  On to the twisties!

I took the lead, keeping speeds moderate, but entertaining.  At the top of the mountain, we stopped to take a drink of water.  "Is this clearing your head?  You doing OK?"]

"I am good.  Tired, but good.  How's my riding?"

"You are doing fine."

A lady walking by said, "It's good to see people wearing all the proper riding gear."

I said, "That's how we roll," and then asked if she would mind taking a photo for us...

 The ride was good.  Just what I needed.  I am not 100%, but this was my first day where I truly felt better.  We had talked about taking the scoots somewhere for lunch after riding the mountain, but Joan suggested heading for home, then getting the car to go to lunch.  Yeah, a good call.  And the ride: good for the soul.

 

Worn Out...

 

Cold still got you down, Jim?  Yes, but this is something that wears me out, just from watching.

Of course, I am talking about Murphy and Stella.  She is healed and more rambunctious than ever.  I gotta give it to her - she will go after Murphy (who is more than twice her size).  He is gentle and patient, to a point.  And when he reaches that point, fur may fly.

I find myself being the unpaid referee... "Take down, Murphy, two points"... "Escape and reversal, Stella, two points"...  it goes on.  And on.  It isn't just wrestling - there is also a component of steeplechase.  And MMA.

Murph looking down from his tower...

 Stella looking up...

 More than half the time these days, she is the instigator.  Like this...

 "I couldn't help it - his tail was just asking for it!"  Situations like this lead to me refereeing.  I can send them to their separate corners, but one of them always sneaks out.  Joan and I take turns: "I have to go to the bathroom, you're on."

"I don't want to be on."

Eventually, they both wear out.  After lunch, nap time.  A temporary peace.

 

More of the same...

 

Yes, I am aware that over the counter cold meds don't "cure" a cold; at best, they lessen some of the symptoms.  I'm OK with that - slow down the flowing snot and ease the lung congestion, thank you very much.

A cold becomes a complication for someone with asthma.  I'm not playing up the "man cold" schtick - it gets in my lungs and kicks my butt.  I had to do a breathing treatment yesterday to help ease a coughing fit.  I mentioned that to my buddy Mark when he and I were coordinating music get-togethers for the month.  I told him I'm hoping to be better for next week, but to not schedule me for anything this week.

A "breathing treatment" uses asthma meds in a nebulizer which converts it to a mist - you inhale it through a tube, so it gets into your lungs and helps break up the congestion.  It doesn't get rid of the congestion, it thins it enough so you can, hopefully, cough it out on your own.

 

Consider it to be like an asthma inhaler that you breathe in for 15 to 20 minutes.  It isn't uncomfortable and it does provide relief for lung congestion, especially after you cough out the nasty stuff.  Better to get on it right away rather than let that congestion sit in there and turn into an infection.  OK, TMI once again.

So, a week into this crappy cold.  According to everything I read, I am beyond the being contagious stage, but I still have to cough frequently to keep my airways clear.  Joan's rule: if you are coughing, no going out in public.  I am sure it is not because she doesn't want to be seen with me in public.  Probably.  I get that: I remember the death stares given to anyone who coughed in public during Covid.

Asthma primarily makes it harder to breathe out due to the inflamed, narrowed airways and excess mucus - this is part of why I cough.  Or exhale sharply, which sounds like a sigh.  While exhaling is usually the main issue, the narrowed airways also make it difficult to breathe in, resulting in overall shortness of breath.

Today is the first day that I feel better than the day before, since the start of this cold.  I probably should not have written that - the "cold fairy" may bite me in the ass.  In the meantime, I am also doing the "tried and true": drinking plenty of liquids, taking naps, and having chicken noodle or turkey noodle soup.

 

Full Snow Moon...

 

Not much of a guess needed on how this full moon got its name.

 The explanation behind February’s Full Moon name is a fairly straightforward one: it’s known as the Snow Moon due to the typically heavy snowfall that occurs in February. On average, February is the United States’ snowiest month, according to data from the National Weather Service. 

Another theme of this month’s Moon names is scarcity. The Cherokee names of Month of the Bony Moon and Hungry Moon give evidence to the fact that food was hard to come by at this time. 

And how the full moon looked here in Phoenix...

 No snow here in the Phoenix area; it was 63º at 9:30 pm when I took this photo.  There is snow in Arizona this time of year, but you have to go into the mountains to the north and east part of the state to find it.  No, we're not looking to find it.  ;-)

For those interested in the specifics: full manual, f8 @ 1/1250th sec, ISO 200; telephoto zoom lens; Sony a6700 mirrorless camera.

 

A Rager...

 

informal•North American English

a wild party, typically involving the consumption of alcohol.

 

No, Joan and I did not have a party last night.  Judging by what I saw when I got up this morning, the cats did.  Beer cans and booze bottles strewn about.  Confetti everywhere.  Disco lights.

 

OK, I may be making that up.  Murphy's tower was tipped over.  The pad on the 4th level of the catio had been knocked down to the lowest level.  The cats had been rowdy during the night.

 

I think we'll all need a nap this afternoon.

 

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Getting Nekkid...

 

I've explained the difference between "naked" and "nekkid" before, but here it is again, in case you missed it: naked means you are unclothed; nekkid means you are unclothed and up to something.  Today is day ten since Stella's spay surgery; time for the pink onesie (surgical recovery suit) to come off...

 

 There is a lot of fur in need of being bathed.  Joan thinks she looks bigger now, without the pink onesie; still seems pretty scrawny to me, though she has filled out since she first came to live with us.

 

A Scream!

 

You know what they say about kids playing in the park?  Yeah, even though they're all making noise, you can tell when your kid screams. 

This morning, after getting up a second time - I'll get back to this thought, but I got up, fed the cats, did my morning routine, then took Murphy out in the yard.  Back inside, Joan made me a breakfast sandwich... and I went back to bed.  And, now back to getting up a second time. 

I was in the bathroom cleaning up, when I heard a cat scream coming from the living room.  It was definitely Stella - my first thought was: Murphy is hurting her! Looking into the living room, Stella was on top of her tower (we call them his and hers towers, but they can both use whichever one they want), screaming and hissing - no one around her!

Joan got there first.  Stella had somehow managed to get her leg tangled up in a ribbon that has been wrapped around the top perch on the tower for several cats.  She has chewed it and pulled it... it is kinda mangled.  But now, she got her leg caught between wraps - and the more she pulled, the tighter it got.

Joan was trying to untie the ribbon and said to me, "Bring me some scissors!"  I was almost in my underwear (not to sick to share TMI) as I went for the drawer with the scissors; but the time I got them, she had the ribbon untied.

Joan was soothing Stella.  And in a sweet move, Murphy jumped up on the tower and put his nose up on Stella... not in a threatening way.  I know this because I have seen him move on her in a threatening way. 

Crisis averted, no harm done.  Joan removed the ribbon from the tower.

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"My house is back!"

Time for us to bring the catio back.  Stella's incision is healing nicely.  We appreciate Steph and Dan loaning us the large crate they have for Dicha... they will be needing that back: Dicha goes in to get spayed next week.

So, today, Joan cleaned the crate and the catio and brought the catio back into the house (it has been in the shed, so it wasn't out in the weather).  It has 4 levels - more fun for an active cat, but the crate was better to keep Stella from jumping when she was recuperating.  She seemed excited to have the catio back...

 Yes she is still in her pink onesie; a few more days for that.  The vet recommended 10 days to two weeks, so we're getting close.