Stop the World, I wanna get off!!

So the governing board has come and gone and the meetings went off without a hitch. Our public policy forum has ended and the reception/open house I threw at our office for 160 folks went smoothly. After this all ended I finally decided to go to a doctor about my shoulder that has been bothering me off and on for the last couple of months. I think it started after I lunged after a cat outside that had caught a bird. I misjudged and fell on my open hand jarring my right shoulder badly. After the initial pain and soreness went away I thought it was fine. Then every once in a while it would bother me like it was just wasn't right in its socket. Then after the snow in February and the subsequent shoveling the shoulder pain got worse and every time I bent over an intense pain would go down my arm like someone was squeezing my muscles. Then about two weeks ago my thumb and index finger of my right hand started tingling and going numb whenever I bent over. Finally went to an orthopedic doctor that after about 4 xrays and tests and questions decided I must have pinched a nerve in my neck. He gave me a prescription for pain meds and physical therapy 3 times a week for six weeks. I can already tell after just two sessions that it feels ever so slightly better.



This past Friday I had a pt session at noon. Since I need to go to Silver Spring for my appointments and the their offices are close to home, I decided to take the afternoon off. So what if it was storming with high winds and a cold rain all day. I thought I would go to my therapy session, treat myself to lunch and come home to take a well deserved nap. The session went well and I had a nice lunch at Eggspectations, a chain that has opened up in Silver Spring. I even ordered a slice of cake to go. The cake was called Heaven and Hell. It consisted of two layers of angel food cake, with a layer of devils food cake, a layer of peanut butter mousse and a rich dark chocolate frosting. I pull into my driveway just when the rain has changed to sleet. Ah, perfect, I thought. I get in the house and go into the bedroom to find that Butterball, who has been sick with a respiratory infection, has thrown up about three times with blood in the vomit (sorry if this makes you queasy!). So I quickly call the vet and he said he could see Butterball around 4:30. It was already around 3:00, so that gave me some time to clean up the bedroom. Oh, I also realized that I had brought my cat crate over to my neighbor's house after I dropped off one of her cats that had escaped. I called and, of course, she wasn't home. I had to dig around my junk drawer to find her keys, bundle myself up and run across to her house in the wind and sleet, get in her house and rummage around her basement until I found my crate. By the time I had gotten back home, it was time to load up Butterball and be on our way. I love my vet but his offices are in the 4 corners area of Silver Spring, a VERY congested area, the crossroads of two very busy roads (Colesville and University Boulevard) where the beltway has an on and off ramp. Great, need to drive to 4 corners during rush hour ... on a Friday ... during a sleet storm ... with a wailing cat. So much for my quiet afternoon!!

The vet was concerned because he could hear that Butterball's lungs were very congested. He felt around his abdomen and feeling nothing unusual, decided Butterball was throwing up because of the congestion but took some blood for tests to make sure and put him on an antibiotic.

Since then Butterball has perked up really well. He is still congested but no more throwing up and basically his same old sweet self. That is a big relief. At 14 years old Butterball is the oldest of my herd and the patriarch. I call him the Ghandi of cats as he has never reacted meanly or violently to anything I have ever done. Even when I have to tell him NO, you CAN'T go in the basement, he just flops down and I have to walk over and pick up his limp body and take him away from the basement steps (see, that is his passive resistance).

"I haven't been feeling well lately, might I have a bite of that cake?"

A PSA from NWF

I received a reminder from the National Wildlife Federation (my old employer) to make sure that I'm feeding the birds.

According to NWF, March is the hardest month for birds. Their natural foods of seeds, fruits, berries, insect eggs and larvae is at the lowest level all year and March is too early for a new crop.

If you are not already feeding the birds, March is the best time to start! Birds will come more readily to feeders now than at any other time of the year. It is interesting that our natural inclination is to start really putting out more seed in the fall when their natural food is at a year-time high.

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Arthur Anthony

February 28, 1920 - May 24, 1984

This is a photo of my dad fishing with two of his brothers, my Uncle Andy and Uncle Dicky. My dad is the one perched on the rock. I don't know for sure how old he was, he looks about 12? So that would make this photo date back to around 1932.

A Little Wintery Mix???

I hear it from all the weather forecasters around here, "the DC area is very hard to predict." They say it is because of our close proximity to the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. We are always on the line of weather systems that could go "either way." Even so, they have been warning of a wintery mix for today. Mostly rain with some sleet and freezing rain mixed in, turning into all rain by the afternoon.


Here is a photo I took at 2:00 pm today from my front porch


Beautiful as it is, it did take us all by surprise. I needed to go out and do my food and pet shopping for the week. The roads were horrible. The county was counting on a freezing mix so they just put down a salt mixture. When I went out around11:30 absolutely no roads had been plowed yet and it was a very wet heavy snow. It took me over an hour to get home from a shopping center that is usually a 15-20 minute drive. Luckily driving my little Element I had no problem, but I had to keep turning around because smaller cars were spinning out and blocking roads.



And yet, there is beauty to be found






I did let some of the cats out when I was shoveling and they LOVED the snow! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me then. I shall try and remember next time.


I'll leave you with a photo of Jelly. She is a 7 pound ball of fire. She came over from my neighbor's house after breaking out several times (she literally pushed out the screens on my neighbor's windows). I tried many, many times to make her an indoor only cat. After all, I took Sweet Pea and Woody, both strays, and made them indoor cats. But Jelly refuses to be tamed. I wanted to change her name to Kate in honor of Katherine Hepburn after she died, because of her feistiness and independence, but it didn't stick. Jelly will come in to sleep only when it gets below freezing and even then she jumps on me at night and will hang on the shutters trying to get out.

Let me out NOW!!!!!

Cats, Cats and a visitor (maybe a relative?)

Okay, I said this wasn't going to be a blog on just cats and if you look through the few posts you will note that I haven't focused on them at ALL. So I think we are due. Ah, too bad--I was going to include a couple of videos, but I tried to upload them like I do photos and it didn't work :(

What do cats do when they are trapped inside the house all day and night because of cold weather?

Figgy and Chloe playing tug of war with my old tennis shoes.

Then Figgy gets bored with that. What's on the Tele?

Figaro is the only cat I know that actually watches television. Since I watch so many nature programs there are usually great sounds and running animals. He has actually jumped on the tv and looked behind it to see where a bobcat went!!

Then I was ready to close up and go to bed last night with the winds howling with gusts up to 55 mph, I found this little friend looking for a snack

My namesake

Have a great weekend everyone. I'll be heading to a Home and Garden show tomorrow with my sister. I really need some inspiration to get my bathroom remodeled and get someone to work on the vacant-lot of a backyard.

Time for dinner. Looks like it will be the last scraps of the bowl of my chocolate chili and a beer. Whowee do I lead an excitin life!!

Resurrection by Vladimir Holan

Is it true that after this life of ours
we shall one day be awakened by a
terrifying clamour of trumpets?

Forgive me, God,
but I console myself that the beginning
and resurrection of all of us dead
will simply be announced
by the crowing of a cock

After that we will remain
lying down a while
The first to get up
will be mother

We'll hear her, quietly
laying the fire, quietly putting
the kettle on the stove and
cosily taking the teapot out of the cupboard.

We'll be home once more.

The Ice Storm Cometh

Things are pretty messy around here today. Our office is on the same schedule as the Federal Government that is 2-hour delay opening with liberal leave. I've decided as a Valentine's gift to myself to take liberal leave! My boss is in Istanbul and things are in pretty good shape at work so why not? The weather folks said things will be deteriorating this afternoon with lower temps and winds up to 40 mph.

The photo was taken as I was leaving for work yesterday when the ice storm was just starting. House sparrows! The bane of my bird feeding existence!

At least today I have a group of cute song and white throated sparrows also looking for seed. What a nice Valentine's Day. An unexpected day off surrounded by happy and snoring kitties and munching Dove chocolate hearts. The only fly in the ointment is having to finally get dressed and shovel the walk before the winds do pick up. Maybe I'll walk to the Co op and see what strikes my fancy for food tonight.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!