"And the beat goes on"

Regardless of the song's meaning, for me it means the same you-know-what, different week. I have two more working weeks after this, then I'm on vacation from 4 PM Friday September 30 to 8 AM Tuesday October 10 (after our Thanksgiving holiday). I'll have a few vacation days left after that, but am hanging on to them for vet appointments/other. Or the sheer, desperate need to get away from the office for an extra day, whichever comes first. 

We had a young robin visiting a couple of weeks ago.

Sorry, Tabbies. Okay, I'm not sorry, I'm not sorry at all.*

[*Has anyone in Canada seen that Midas TV commercial with the "possessed" car? It's enormously stupid, I know it's stupid, but it makes me laugh every time I see/hear it. Maybe it's the voice of the car. "I'm sorry, Cheryl. No, I'm not, I'm not sorry at all." For some reason that cracks me up--every time.]

I'll be heading to visit friends while I'm off, just an overnight trip. It turns out that the pet sitter I'd had for my jaunts in May and July was dismissed, so the boys will have someone new yet again. This will be the third pet sitter in less than two years. I'll meet her for the first time the day before I head out, and I can only hope she's more attentive to detail and instruction than the previous sitter was. (I didn't register a complaint with the company owner, but now I wish I had.) What I need (the boys need) is to have one trusted and well-liked sitter, but it seems to be a business that has a high staff turnover. I can understand why, given that their time isn't their own, they pretty much have to be available 24/7 and I'm sure wages are at minimum or perhaps only slightly above. Certainly not a job for anyone who needs to support themselves.

The roses of Sharon still abound.

Nicki had some tunnel fun on the weekend.

Derry did more observing, as usual.

Bus stop kitty is around just about every morning.

I missed the full moon on the 6th, but did get a few shots of its waning, including this

one very early on the 10th. I know I say it every time, but I love that old Fuji p&s!

Oh, I found out today that my uncle's wife (they live in Italy) had a mastectomy this morning. Heavens! No one even bothered to tell me she had breast cancer. I did meet her once, some years back, not long after she and my uncle were married. My uncle sent a brief email letting family members know that the surgery went well and that they expected she'd be home in a couple of days. This was the first news I'd had -- can you tell we're a "close-knit" family? Jeepers. Anyway, I'm wishing her a speedy recovery and a clean bill of health.

From June 2010

There are other things going on, but they relate to work, and so either aren't really worth putting down here, or aren't appropriate. 

Otherwise, the beat does, indeed, go on.

Peace.