Musings on a Small Life

Just back after Derry's LONG vet visit--going and coming, traffic, etc. Bottom line: I'm taking him in for dental on Wednesday, the estimate (based on 6 extractions) being just over $800. ("Holy Geezus Krist!" I swore, when I saw it, swore out loud right there.) He doesn't have tartar, but the gingivitis is bad and she could feel neck lesions which indicate there are cavities that have gone through the tooth. The vet just won't know what's going on until he's under anaesthetic and she's probing around. He could need fewer extractions, he could need more. I can't let it go, it would only get worse and there's no way I want my baby to suffer. She also gave me some antibiotic ointment for his left eye, which always has oozed a bit of green and always has been a bit red in the corner. L-Lysine isn't going to help with that, not with a bacterial infection. I'd like to know why the two vets I've asked about that issue before cou...

Or just a longer weekend. :-) I really think Derry's mouth should be checked--he's had gingivitis from the get-go, but lately I've seen him make the same "clacking" motion with his jaw when he yawns as Nicki started doing last fall. No issues with chewing, not that I can see. And he doesn't make the motion when I scratch under his chin. But still, after Nicki's two deep pockets of infection and eight extractions back in November, I want to get Derry in sooner than later, particularly if he does need a dental cleaning. I'll call the clinic tomorrow AM and see when I can get him in. Would an antibiotic shot hurt, does anyone know? I don't mean "hurt" as in cause him pain, but "hurt" as in cause any problems even if he doesn't have an infection. Handyman #1, Gary, called me earlier this afternoon to let me know he had emailed me a quote. He's given me a quote for 27 sheets of the corrugated PVC material, plus nuts and ...

So I took Annie in to the vet today, to have her blood work. Figured I'd take her on a Saturday morning, so I didn't have to take off from work. I also took Nicki along, to have his nails clipped and his Advantage applied--which you would think would be easy, but isn't. He totally freaks as soon as he gets a whiff; last year I had him shut up in an 8x10 room with no where to hide and he was literally up the walls trying to get away. I had a hell of a time catching him--seriously--and had to sit on him to apply it. He hid from me for 2 - 3 days afterward. So I thought I'd make it easy on me this time and have the tech do it, plus get his nails trimmed at the same time. And Nicki was fine, except for his incessant yeowling as soon as I put him in the carrier. He cried ceaselessly until he got home. Other than that, he was a good boy. It was Annie....Annie who always is difficult at the vet. In fact, I could hear her this morning, in the back, and it wasn't pretty....

Just heard back from handyman #1, Gary, and he says Virola plywood is weather-proof, and that he was thinking of pressure-treating it, anyway. He'd need a few more sheet if I want to go up high (i.e. 8 feet), will send a quote later. It'll be more than the just-under-$700 he emailed me the other day, of course. I would need to go to Home Depot and check this stuff out for myself, before I said definitely that Nicki could not get his claws into it. Besides, any wood is not going to stand up to the elements indefinitely and would require maintenance to keep it in good condition, yes? So now I wait to see what Kevin comes up, and perhaps Steve next week. After all this, it'll be a waste of time all round if I don't go with one of the options. But nope, I don't feel pressured (haha, no pun intended) to hire anyone. I have to feel that Nicki will be safely contained, because I don't want to waste my money!

In truth, I almost forgot about the Friday eye candy feature, my head is so filled with fence issues. This week it's Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd, who (whom?) I remember from "Horatio Hornblower" in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I haven't seen him in anything else, can't even think why/how he popped into my mind. But yummy he certainly is, IMO, so he's this week's eye candy. Happy Friday!

Okay, Kevin was just here. Fifty-something, pleasant looking, has a 2-year old beagle, not familiar with cats. But certainly thought plexi-glass was the way to go, that you couldn't use something like plywood (as Gary had suggested via email this AM). I told Kevin $100 per sheet wasn't in my budget (that's what Gary had indicated the cost at Home Depot was), but he said he used to work in sales for electrical fittings or some such, and it depends on whether you get the stuff directly from the manufacturer. It might be possible to get it for $50-$60 per sheet. He wants to go home and think about it for a day or two, over a glass (or more) of wine. Hmm, I think he has the right idea. What I understand is that the existing mess of lattice and netting would come down, of course, 2x4s would be added horizontally across the fence for support, and plexi-glass (or something similar) would be put directly on the fence, and also angled up at 45 degrees with stronger supports. I thi...

Okay, maybe not "widely," except in relation to my butt, but at least somewhat known in my neighbourhood. I was walking to Kingston Centre this AM, camera in hand, and stopped to take a few pics of roses now in bloom along someone's driveway. An older woman lives in the house, nice lady, I've chatted with her once before a couple of years ago, though she wouldn't remember. Well, I was kneeling on the ground, camera in close for macro shots, and I heard her door open. Looked up and said hi, that I hoped she didn't mind. Of course not. But apparently people on the street are aware of my photo-taking and have asked her about me. Why her in particular, I have no idea. Yikes , was my thought! I'm usually doing this early in the AM or after work and it never occurred to me that people would take notice. But apparently they have. This lady asked me if I was a student. (I carry a fairly large backpack and I was some distance away from her, otherwise she'...

It's 5:23PM as I type this, waiting for one of the handyman guys to (I hope) show up around 6PM. No show and no call? No second chance. Another "no" here is that I have no air conditioning. It's 90F outside right now (32C), with a humidex of 102F (39C). None of the cats has any energy, which in Nicki's case is a good thing. I certainly don't have any energy! This is not typical May weather, but I get a feeling we're in for a scorcher of a summer. Maybe I'll blow up the air mattress and bunk in the basement.  :-) I haven't taken any pics in the last few days, so I'll leave you with a few poppy pics from last week. Oh, and in a choice between melting heat and sub-zero temps and ice and snow? I'll take the heat. Really.

You probably all recall that my brat, Nicki, got over the fence at the end of February . Which he manages to do at least once a year, in spite of all my modifications to the top of it. And that I asked one of my regular bus drivers for a recommendation and he suggested one of their supervisors and he could do it . That was the beginning of March. And that I had to tack up some leftover privacy lattice to prevent Nicki from jumping from the step to the top of the fence, an easy jump for such an agile cat. And also add cut-up vinyl flooring as a temporary measure to keep Nicki from jumping up and clinging to the fence and pushing his way underneath the netting, where it's cable-tied on. So last week, finally, Danny said he and Mack could come take a look after work on Thursday. Great. Except they were no shows. Stood up, no phone call. I was steaming mad and got a call from Mack next morning at work (because Danny asked me Friday AM if Mack had been in touch and I said no)....

It's a holiday in Canada today, the start of tourist season, the start of cottage season. It's been a glorious sunny weekend, couldn't ask for better weather. I briefly toyed with the idea of taking my camera and going for a walk in the nearby cemetery, but went back to bed at 7AM instead. (I'm up around 3:30AM these days, because the cats want out and there's no ignoring them, open or closed bedroom door.) So the most I've done today is finish the bedroom touch-ups, do a few touch-ups in another room, a bit more filling of nail holes, cleaning up, vacuuming and dishes, dishes, dishes. Oh, and of course play servant to the fur kids, plus spend time with the neighbour's cat Nikko/Nico. (He gives the occasional kitty kiss now and talks up a storm when I go out. He'll come when called and will follow me around to the back of the fence, when I go out with my camera to take sunrise pics. He's such a sweetie, even if he does get over-stimulated sometime...

In my bedroom. Not my own photos. I already have a number of my favourite floral snapshots printed out and framed and hung in my downstairs hallway, gallery style. Not that they are "art," just that those are the ones I particularly like. I'll attempt to remain open, not become so focused on one style that I overlook something else. I'm beat. Not quite finished the touch-ups, but boy, I did a fabulous job reorganizing my closet. It's so roomy now, so organized. (Cue Bill Shatner's bad acting, "But...for...how long, Spock? For....how...long?") Okay, I'm so tired I'm punchy. Or is the one beer I'm having now (yes, Sara, I finally bought some beer, hallelujah)--first beer since early March. Woohoo, do I know how to party!  :-) Anyway, as I am behind now in sky and floral snapshots, here are three of the evening sky on May 20th and three of the morning sky on the 21st. Only very subtle differences among each in the two sets, though.

I'd already be finished the bedroom, except that I put three gigantic holes in the drywall yesterday, trying to get the new curtain rod up. I used a too-large drill bit to drill the hole for the anchor (the huge, honkin' wall-grippers) and the drywall swallowed them whole. What a mess. So I have to patch, sand, patch, sand, patch, sand, prime and then touch up. Again. But it's only one small area. And I still have to get all my clothes back into the closet, will take the opportunity to sort through things, toss and reorganize. I thought I'd almost need traction today, because it's been a few years since I've done work like this in the house, but I feel okay. Not so great in the middle of the night, when I could  barely roll over and then only with a great of difficulty and discomfort. LOL. And before I did the painting yesterday, I popped out (early, as in 7:15AM early) to hunt for a new curtain rod. Don't come home without a new one , I told myself. Loo...

I took the afternoon off yesterday (by the way, Monday's a holiday here, Victoria Day, in celebration of Queen Victoria's "birthday") and picked up a can of paint on my way home. Finally stopped waffling about painting the bedroom--new colour all over versus to paint out the one darker wall I've had for a few years plus do the interior of the closet. So I'm just painting out the one wall, doing touch-ups, and painting the closet. I thought I'd do the prep work yesterday afternoon, do the painting today and tomorrow. Because that one darker wall probably will need 3 coats. And I have touch-ups over big holes I made trying to put up my curtain rod, move it, etc. Lots of filler, sanding, more filler, more sanding and priming needed there! That's still in the works. But I did manage to get the first coat on the wall yesterday anyway, and start to cut in inside the closet. Oh, how I hate cutting in! And the prep work! The actual painting (roller) is fin...

I confess I went to IMDB to find this week's eye candy. (And yes, I still have a few of Jacqueline's suggestions, I haven't forgotten them.) I clicked on a couple of popular shows that I've never seen and found Shemar Moore. Googled his name and found a fan site, from which I snagged all these photos: http://www.shemarmoore.org/gallery/index.php. And then got deliciously sidetracked looking through the photos, long after I had plenty for the post! How is it I've never heard of this man, this yummy, hot , fine man? Excuse me while I wipe the drool up off the keyboard. And check out his awesome tattoos, which must be more recent. *Lusty sigh* Happy Friday to all; enjoy!  :-)