Musings on a Small Life

And I'm not sorry to see you go, even though winter's apparently sticking around for yet another month. Source: http://behappy.me/dear-winter-eff-you-26831 Comments are off. Have a good weekend, everyone, no matter what climate you live in!

I don't want to see anyone's photos of their green grass and budding flowers. I don't want yet another email from my father with the weather update from the mild west coast. This is our view this morning, as we're stuck in the third polar vortex in this winter from hell, having our seventy millionth snow storm.   I. Can't. Stand. It. *** The new bed: I never did post a pic, not that you can see anything but how high it is, and the old comforter that doesn't fit properly. Snapshot from February 17th (before Derry got sick). The headboard will be delivered on Saturday sometime, and they'll be swapping out the high box spring for a lower one, thank goodness. I'm looking forward to that, even more than getting the headboard! *** The boys: Seem to be doing better, I'll do a post shortly on the Fuzzy Tales site, so won't bother updating here. Purrs from them and peace from me.

The boys both got steam therapy again this morning, as they're still congested and sneezing. Nicki sneezed so violently all afternoon yesterday that he was sneezing blood (broken blood vessels, I presume). His cough has returned as well, so I did give him a dose of Prednisolone last evening, will do so again today. The homeopathic remedy I ordered has cleared Customs now (I just checked), hope it will arrive shortly. I just didn't want Mr. Nick Man dealing with both the URI and asthma-related cough right now. Derry took a year or two off my life this AM...He'd been in the litter box at 1AM (the upstairs one is in the room next to mine), and when I got up for a bio break, he made a bee-line for downstairs, probably thinking I'd scoop him up and take him into the bathroom. When I got up for good around 3AM, Nicki sneezed his way up the stairs to greet me, but no Derry. I went downstairs, no sign of him. Checked the basement, nothing. By that point I was thinking he h...

[I'm doing the update here, as the cat blog doesn't need yet another update at the moment.] Not much sleep last night, with Derry cuddled up next to me and doing that awful, noisy, pathetic and frightening mouth breathing. He didn't eat much this AM, either, no wonder. A little bit of his canned, warmed up and liberally sprinkled with FortiFlora to entice him through his stuffiness, three Temptations and 1.67 of his two Lysine treats. He got another steam "bath" around 11:30PM, for about 10 minutes, and I took him into the shower around 5AM today for another 20 minutes or so. (Not literally in the shower, of course. In any case, he's frightened of the sound of the water, so I have to steam up the room and shut it off before taking him in.) He's NOT a happy camper, is just so pathetic. I left him this morning, still with mouth gaping wide. But he did start sneezing a bit more this morning too, and shaking his head, which I hope is a good sign. ...

I wanted to do a quick post here, will post another time on the cats' blog. Nicki's still eating, thank goodness, but oh-so sneezy and sniffly; huge, violent sneezes and pathetic sniffles. Still sneezing clear, though, nothing gross. Lots of head-shaking too. But knock on wood, no more mouth-breathing. We're off to his regular clinic for 2:30PM today and I hope they'll have something for his stuffed-up head. Wish us luck, not only at the appointment, but just getting there. It's snowing again and I pre-booked a taxi, but they can't guarantee one will show up on time. And please cross your fingers we don't get stranded at the clinic again afterwards, assuming we make it there in the first place. *** My own cold has flared up, no surprise, with all the stress of this past weekend. Let's hope Derry stays healthy. *** I've booked duct-cleaning for March 5th, the earliest available date. I shudder at how rapidly I'm sinking further an...

Snagged last night from Mollie and Alfie's blog . It's 6:30PM on Sunday as I type this and per my Fuzzy Tales post, Nicki actually came down and asked for food just over an hour ago. At the moment he's sleeping in the humidifier box, which I still have on the area rug in the living area. I hope for an uneventful night and Monday, I hope he'll improve on his own and not need the ER vet. Fingers crossed, and of course I'll keep everyone updated.

"Love" the Universe's sense of cosmic humour, that these things happen on long, holiday weekends. He's too stuffy to even eat his meager portion of kibble this morning. Somehow I don't think we'll make it through to Tuesday without another visit the to the ER vet. The Otrivin drops that the ER staff person suggested don't seem to help...and certainly don't go over well! Continued purrs and purrayers would be appreciated, greatly. Thanks.

Nicki's had a lot of cycles of open-mouthed breathing today, though his respiratory rate so far has remained low. (Full inhales/exhales while sleeping at 20 - 21.) I got a humidifier, though after a few hours it's still reading only 33% humidity (started at 29%). He breathes normally for a couple of hours, then has a sneezing, stuffy nose episode and does the open-mouthed thing for a bit, then is okay again. I called his regular vet clinic (no vets on staff Saturday, just someone to answer phones, dole out meds and food, etc.). She suggested going to the sister clinic on the other side of the city, but I've not done that. Too late now, anyway. What else could do they have done, but the same things the ER vet did last night? With the same result? And more stress to Nicki? However, I made an appt at his regular clinic for Tuesday afternoon, in case it's needed. (Monday is a holiday.) Hope I'll be able to cancel it. The slow-witted part comes in because so...

(With apologies to Bellen, as I'm doing a copy and paste here of part my email reply to him, in order to update folks on Nicki.) I ended up taking Nicki to the emerg clinic last night -- I had left work mid-afternoon and called my regular vet, had a 3:45PM Friday appt at his regular clinic for a check (for my own peace of mind), but could NOT get a cab to save my soul. The night taxi driver told me all the cab companies were swamped in the afternoon (we have 3) with the university and college students heading home for reading week. Duh. I knew that...but forgot they'd all be taking taxis. Heaven knows the bus I caught was filled with kids heading to the train station...guess the rest of them wanted cabs instead! Anyway, I took Nicki because he had a huge sneezing fit around 9:30PM and then seemed to have to breathe through his mouth a bit ( no panting or distress, just me being super -paranoid). Needless to say it was a waste of $200 plus $34 cab fare because he ...

We have a long weekend coming up, with Monday being "Family Day." Of course that means the family next door will be around. (It's also the little girl's 8th birthday, I believe. Can't wait for the party.) However, on the "plus" side, my mattress will be delivered on Saturday. They called Tuesday afternoon, after I had last posted and was home, to tell me it's in. They don't deliver in-city every day, so my options were Saturday, Sunday or Monday. So Saturday it will be. The headboard will come in another week, presumably. Nicki versus the snowbank. The snowbank's winning. Nicki is doing fine so far, knock on wood. He's so good about taking the Prednisolone--probably because it's chicken-flavoured and he knows he's going to get treats right after. I hardly even have to hold his head for the syringe, more to just steady him and make sure my aim is good. I've actually not heard him cough at all in a week, which ...

I've done oh, about 2 purchase orders in my 13+ years here, and only one with our new system. Which might be why I currently have a big red X in the upper right hand corner of the one I'm trying to put through, beside the word "pending."  I figure that's a sign to just step away from the keyboard. And email for help! *** No word from the mattress store re: bed delivery yet. I realized that I'm attached to the outcome--i.e. having it delivered this Saturday (it'll be two weeks, after all), so that means it likely won't show up. *** And as a "hurrah, finally!", I finished painting the guest room closet on Sunday. Just shy of 6 weeks from starting on the room, back on New Year's Day. I am so sick of painting, I can't even tell you how sick. And there's still so much to do, so much fiddly stuff (doors and old trim) that I'm just going to stick my head in the proverbial sand and ignore it all. As I've done f...

I went back to Mattress Mart yesterday and bought a head board anyway. Not expensive at all, but the best (for me) of what they sell. I want something that enables me to sit up and read in bed comfortably, so nothing metal, no "rails" or gaps. Photo from their web site In for a penny, in for a pound. Whatever. At this stage of the game, spending a bit more isn't going to make much of a difference in the overall debt load. So, fingers crossed the new bed gets delivered next weekend (oh, please!) and then the head board will come in a week or so after that. I wish they stocked these locally, but at least there will be no delivery charge (for either the bed or head board). I've been keeping my eye out for a new comforter or bed spread or duvet cover, but haven't seen anything that screams "Kim" and is the right colour scheme...and the right price. No rush, and no "need" either. Something new and fresh will come along eventually. ...

The window guy showed up at 8AM, finished around 10:45AM. Quick snap of one of the old windows. I should have used the flash, but you can see how drafty the old one was (both were). Not nearly as bad as it could get. Mind you, it was only minus 11C today.  I'm surprised the entire frame wasn't rotten through.      New window #1  New window #2 How to caulk from the inside. :-) The new windows in. The only disappointment for me is that they were a "retrofit" and so the inside frames were not replaced. They're in crappy shape and dirty too from cat hair sticking to the double-sided sticky tape I've had around them over various winters (for the plastic film that you can put over your windows to keep drafts out.) So, eventually, the frames will have to be sanded down and painted. Sigh. Another chore I'll never get to. BTW, the installer asked me who laid the floors upstairs, wanted to know what the "funny gaps" were (pre...

Based on something our soon-to-be-retired staff member said to me yesterday. This now is printed out and is posted up right beside my "Fukitol" graphic. Inside my cube walls, of course. I'm crazy, not stupid. BTW, my "new" boss breezed in this AM, said good morning to another co-worker whose office is across from my cube, and didn't even turn her head to acknowledge my presence. Nice. Biteme.

Two posts in one day...not without precedent, but still rare. Bad : Made my way downtown on foot at lunch time to renew that bus pass. Good : Must have burned 2000 calories* doing it. Bad : Far worse conditions after work (hard to imagine); made my way on foot again up to a main street. Good : Probably burned 6000 calories* for that one kilometer walk. Good : Late-running bus, which I managed to catch! Bad : Another walk (about 1.25 km) from the bus stop to my home. Good : Surely I burned off 18,000 calories* there. (Or at least the fattening chocolate chunk cookie I had in the afternoon, from the cafeteria.) Bad : The driveway was completely filled in, snowplow leftovers + drifts almost up to my waist at the bottom. Good : I'm short. Good : Burned 1,000,000 calories* shoveling. Good : Neighbour across the street, complete with stogie in his mouth, came over to help me finish (I had done the difficult half). He earned brownie points and my repeated thanks! Bad : De...

So, yesterday I had blood work first thing in the AM, walked to the lab and then to work. You need to know this to understand my stupidity this morning.  Yesterday, going home, I boarded the bus and swiped my monthly bus pass, which gave me an error message of "insufficient funds." Huh? It's a monthly pass. Unlimited ridership. (You see where this is going.) The driver told me not to worry, the card reader had been giving him problems. Okay, fine. This morning I walked part way to work (in the snowstorm we're having) and picked up the express bus. I swiped my card, but got the "insufficient funds" error again. I explained it had happened yesterday going home too, on another express bus. This morning's driver asked me if I had taken any other buses yesterday and I automatically replied that I had, routes #X and #Y and it was only the express bus card readers that seemed to be giving me problems. So I went and sat down...and five minutes later...

I've been keeping the contractor in the loop re: my icy back space, not accessible via the frozen gate right now. Apparently, however, the window installer just did townhouse (upper floor) windows yesterday and was able to access everything from inside the house. Not sure how he can caulk from inside, but I guess I'll find out. So now we're scheduled for Friday morning. As it turns out, I'll be off on Friday anyway, as Nicki's vet appointment (usual anal glands and an x-ray re: his lifelong, chronic cough) are for 1:15PM that day. (Had been the AM, but I just called to change it, as I prefer to be home while the installer is there.) I'm not putting yet another note on the neighbours' mailbox, but I did email the property management company's admin person and give her a heads up, just in case anyone from next door wants to complain about the noise. I almost would enjoy that--go ahead and give me a reason to send all those audio files off to F...

I have no regrets yet about buying the bed, so I guess it's a sound investment.  :-) I went back to Target yesterday and got another set of flannel sheets. I hemmed and hawed over them, because they're not cute like the first set and aren't in my colour scheme (sheets have burgundy, turquoise and grey stripes), but then I gave myself a mental shake and told myself to stop being foolish, that I won't find another $9 sheet set again anytime soon. Nicki checks them out. I also found a bed skirt, something I've never even had for the current queen bed.  I'm going all out for this new bed, apparently. I might even look for a headboard, if I can find one I like (I'm pretty fussy re: style and colour) for a good deal. If I had any talent as a DIY-er, I could make one with a sheet of plywood, some thick foam, glue, fabric and a staple gun. However, I've learned what happens when I attempt some project like that: a big FAIL is what happens. So ...

I bought a double bed today. (Mattress, box spring, metal frame; I don't have a head board or foot board, never have had as an adult.) That is, I willfully incurred further debt to buy a much-needed bed.   I got up this morning and decided that I'm tired of sleeping on my futon. Sure, it's much better than my saggy old mattress (currently in the guest room), but it's not the best for long-term sleeping when you have back and hip issues. (Been 3 or 4 years sleeping on the futon now.) And I'm tired of increasing my debt load substantially every year with nothing-- nothing --to show for it. So, what the hell. We only go around once, and in three years (or maybe sooner, if at all possible), I'll be able to renew the mortgage and clear the debt yet again. I knew it was a good omen to go to Giant Tiger (discount store) this morning and find 600-thread count sheets (double/full) for $30. Yep. That's a bargain here, for that thread count. (Cost is $60 a...

Fudlers Hall, Essex, England:   http://www.ngs.org.uk/gardens/gardenfinder/garden.aspx?id=14778 "Description: An award winning, romantic 2 acre garden surrounding C17 farmhouse with lovely pastoral views. Old walls divide garden into many rooms, each having a different character, featuring long herbaceous borders, ropes and pergolas festooned with rambling old fashioned roses. Enjoy the vibrant hot border in late summer. Yew hedged kitchen garden. Ample seating." Of course I had to Google, when I saw today's calendar page. More snow tomorrow, possibly mixed with freezing rain and perhaps changing over to rain late in the day. Gonna be another mess. I am so living in the wrong-for-me country, climate-wise. (And yes I know the garden wouldn't look like this at the end of January!) On a good (work) note: I finished the big project yesterday (my time-consuming, fiddly piece of it) and got everything emailed out to the relevant departments. Yippee...