Taking deep breaths

I'm flying out to Halifax early Wednesday morning, for a few days with Mom. Some of you know that I don't fly well at all (I have Ativan for this trip) and right now I can feel my anxiety levels rising off the charts. The plane out of our city seats only 18, and just the thought of it makes me want to hyperventilate. It doesn't help that every time you turn on the news there's a plane being diverted for one reason or another, or a plane crash. Aacckk!

Of course the pet sitter will be taking care of them; she's stopping by after work today so I can go over everything with her and give her the four pages of notes. Four pages for three days away...That's reasonable, right?  :-D

Nicki's improved on the Prednisolone and is back to eating. I have no clue what the root cause of the fluid in his ear is. Viral? When I get a cold it almost invariably goes to my right ear (like now), but I've not heard of that happening with cats. I'm sure it's possible to have symptoms of a virus pretty much anywhere, though.

A long shot: Is it related to some ingredient in the newer, grain-free kibble? I had gradually switched them over a couple of months to PetValu's Performatrin Ultra Grain-Free turkey + whatever and am on my first bag of it on its own, not mixed with the old. (As an aside, Nicki prefers the old kibble I was getting from PetSmart, with its larger pieces, and Derry prefers the new, with its smaller pieces!)

I wish we could speak each other's language!

I realize I might never know the cause, so I'll see how he does after he's weaned off the Pred in 2 - 3 weeks.

I turned my outdoor holiday lights on last night (via timer). Seasonal decor always makes me feel cheery, cosy and homey. If I weren't going to be away, I'd have put my little tree up this weekend too, but that will have to wait till I'm back. I did pick up a small string of cute snowflake lights, and put them up in my kitchen, underneath the upper cupboards. They look pretty when the other lights are off.

Mom doesn't have wi-fi and her old computer is ultra-slow, so I likely won't have much of a connection while I'm gone. That's not a bad thing, as FaceBook might drive me to disconnect completely. Ha. (It must be my introverted nature, wanting only a few deep and meaningful connections, not a barrage of--let's be honest--90% crap.)

Anyway, everyone please take good care and cross your fingers that the boys are fine while I'm gone...and that I get there and home safe and sound, alive and well!

Peace.