Musings on a Small Life

So I had my "little" meltdown last night, on the living room floor, because of the stress and worry (mostly) over Ms. Annie Bananie. Bless her, when I was curled up on the living room carpet, she came over and lay down beside me. The boys are clueless when I'm upset (typical males), but Annie always knows and comes to comfort me. This morning she didn't come downstairs for a bit, but finally decided she'd grace us with her presence. She ate most of the 1/3 of a can Fancy Feast with the FortiFlori in it, played a bit with the laser light, has been outside a couple of times. And has gone back for more food (of course I put more out) twice. Maybe she's eaten half a can or so now. I know it's her preference to have a few bites here and there throughout the day. Seeing her eat certainly brings a sense of relief, but I'll feel better once she's checked out on Monday. In the meantime, I really think I'm going to have a pyjama day. I seldom stay ho...

Old Kitty joked she looked like the Michelin Man's wife , sporting her outdoor layers. But trust me, I can out-Michelin almost anyone, as you can see by the photo below. Yep, that's me, coming into our building today. Ran into our former co-worker, the one who has 4 cats and who has fostered as well, and had her quickly snap this pic. To go along with my sexy snow boots. Turns out we had 17 cms of snow yesterday, then 15 cms today, which is 9 inches total. Hmm, it seemed like more. I'm achy from all the shovelling and from slogging on foot over the un-plowed sidewalks. Great workout, though. I actually walked the 5kms home yesterday, in the storm, because I knew the buses would be running very late and that I could walk it in an hour. Very glad I did, as there wasn't a single bus up or down Princess Street, between downtown and Kingston Centre. Today I plodded through the snow for some snapshots at lunch time, will post them on another day. I'll just leave ...

Sheilah, no one really knows if there's any kind of existence beyond this one, though many have staunch personal beliefs about that. Wherever you are, whatever you are--stardust, pure consciousness, spirit--I hope your soul is at peace, is dwelling in joy and love.

Let's see...Annie nibbled this morning, I have no idea if she ate during the day of course, she had a bit of kibble when I got home, and maybe-- maybe --some "juice" from one of her canned foods, and that's it. She's holed up under the futon in the guest room now. You know, there's only so much worry I can carry in a day. Seriously. There's nothing in her blood work to indicate she's at death's door, though she's making too-small clumps and so still must be uncomfortable with the bladder infection. Same deal today as both previous days: one basically normal-sized clump during the day, then tiny clumps when I'm home. I've had a headache all day, I'm mentally and emotionally exhausted and I've just had enough . Bedtime--and some Valerian--can't come soon enough. Anyway. A few more shots from last week's walk downtown. And now I'm going back to my knitting.  :-) P.S. As soon as I hit "publish," ...

I debated taking my camera today, because with the falling snow I knew everything would be lovely, but finally decided not to. I had no room in my already-stuffed and heavy knapsack and no time to take pics. But now, oh, I wish I had taken it anyway, and gone out with it at lunch time! The snow was falling then and the campus looked like a magical winter wonderland. Now, not so much. I did take a few snapshots from my upstairs windows when I got home. Zoomed out and snapped a few shots of some kids playing. It was the girl's red jacket that caught my eye. The other snapshots I'll use for Thursday's "garden" post on the cat blog. It's our first significant snowfall of the winter season, and somehow that first one still holds appeal. Walking, however, already has become a bit more challenging, as there is a layer of ice underneath the snow. I'll be sporting my ice grippers on the soles of my boots tomorrow. Would diamonds work better? "...People ...

Mom's friend, Sheilagh, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the latter part of October or early November, died this morning. Her daughter, Bonnie, called Mom this afternoon to tell her. Sheilagh died at home and has donated her body to Dalhousie University for medical research. Bonnie is not having a funeral or memorial service. I'm glad Sheilagh passed quietly and quickly and without any suffering (she was well-drugged), but I'm so sorry for Mom that she wasn't allowed to say goodbye. Mom had left several messages for Bonnie over the past month; none was returned. I know we all deal with death in our own way, but I personally feel it unspeakably cruel and selfish to have denied Mom the chance to say goodbye, just kiss her cheek or even touch her hand. And denied Sheilagh the same. But it's moot now. And there was another very recent passing, a woman who used to work for our department before I was hired on. Three of my co-workers knew her, two worke...

It's the same deal every year: the holiday zooms by and the next thing you know, it's back to the office. I'll be up around 4AM, as usual, but actually getting dressed and out by 6:30AM at the latest will be challenging. I'm grateful to have the job, I truly am. I've been lucky with it, knock on wood. But 8 hours sitting at a desk in front of a computer is tedious. Mind-numbing. Having one of your co-workers (one step down from the boss), in a typical last-minute panic, be telling you to do "X" with a file, while your boss is telling you to do "Y" with the same file, then telling you to "shut up" when you express confusion is not appreciated. That happened a week before the holidays and while I won't let it affect my interaction with this person, I won't forget it, either. He's a lot closer to retirement than I am, thank goodness. More to the point, he's not my boss! And yes, I thought about talking to my boss about it...

Happy new year, everyone! I hope those who partied did so responsibly. ("Yes, Mom!") You can see I made a very daring start to the new year by deliberately putting the fitted flannel sheet and two of my comforters on the "wrong" way--pattern down, away from the head of the bed. Oh. My. God. I'm waiting for the world to stop turning on its axis now, because for the first time in my life, at 46 going on 47, I intentionally made my bed incorrectly. Are you reading this, Mom? I've gone wild and crazy. Who knows what this bodes for 2011?

A couple of bloggers have done a year in review via photos, so, lacking creativity, I thought I'd cheat and steal the idea. This means you have to look at pics you've already seen, of course. January: From a dumping of snow at the beginning of the month, to very little by the end of it. Winter 2010 was a non-event for us. Would that it would be the same in 2011! February: Still barely any snow, and open house at our City's greenhouse! March: An early Spring and some funky roots at Lemoine Point. April: Spring in full glory! May: Cute bunnies and an abundance of trilliums. June: Roses and of course the summer Solstice. July: Budding hostas in my garden and walks downtown at lunch time, along the Lake. August: The Poker Run and Dad's week-long visit. September: Fort Henry Hill (looking toward part of the Royal Military College) and many more nature walks. October: Cute critters and changing colours. November: Mild temperatures and a time for reflection. December: Moody ...