A little steam therapy to help Nicki

I hope a little steam therapy helps Nicki, because he had another asthma attack this morning, just before 4AM. Who knows how many he's having during the day when I'm not around.

Anyway, I'm going to double his evening dose now, till the cold and dry weather is over and the humidity is in a normal range (40-50%).

And I bought another humidifier while out running errands, a small one (though it claims to be meant for "medium" sized rooms, whatever that's supposed to be--no square footage listed).

 

You should be able to see the steam, if you look closely. Maybe if I stick my face in the vapour (not too close!), it will plump up my dry, aging skin. Ha.

I already have a cool mist one, but find it essentially useless, even though I run it constantly. But maybe this one will help a bit more. I intend to use it in my bedroom at nights, for ME (for a change). I won't run it and leave it unattended, not with that water going at full boil and with at least one overly-nosy cat in the house.

I emailed someone I know who is severely asthmatic and she told me that this isn't something I can aggressively treat and then all will be fine, that of course Nicki will have triggers and that I will have to adjust his dose accordingly. I guess I was being naive in thinking that once he was stable on a particular dose, that would be it.

As for other cat-related purchases, I also bought a new litter box from Amazon.ca this week.

 

My two favourite (deep) ones are old, old, old, from the days of Chumley and Annie. One is being held together around the rim by packing tape. I do have a variety of other litter boxes for the boys, and use Rubbermaid containers too, but find they don't suit, mostly because Nicki is messy and pees on the inside of the plastic at the front left corner, then kicks the litter out of all the boxes when he's covering it up. So I was intrigued by this one because of the rim.

So far Nicki is the only one who has used it (Derry likes to go outside when there's actual dirt, or failing that, prefers the box upstairs). It's lower at the front and so I have a block of wood underneath it, to raise the front up (it's stable). And so far, it's helping to keep most of Nicki's mess contained. If it works well over time, I probably will order another ($29 plus tax CDN). I wish the 14-year old ones still were being made!

And something for me for a change: 

It's scheduled for delivery next week, from Ikea.ca. I know I shouldn't have ordered it (budget-wise), but I've been eying it for months and I have three possible locations in mind for it. Of course I have to donate something in exchange. I'm trying to scale down, not accumulate more, so another piece of furniture has to go to the garage to wait for the next pick up!

Finally, a nod to Leonard Nimoy, who passed away yesterday morning at the age of 83. 

Like so many millions, I grew up watching the original Star Trek series and carried my love of Star Trek right through to the end of Deep Space Nine. I've been lucky enough to have seen James Doohan and George Takei, among others, in person at conventions (many years ago now), but I never was fortunate enough to see and hear Mr. Nimoy in person. I know he was a multi-talented man and did so much more in his life than this iconic role, but in my heart, as in the heart of everyone else, he forever will be remembered as Mr. Spock.

Godspeed, Sir. Thank you and may your spirit live long and prosper.

Peace.