susandennis

Several years ago, Costco was selling these really nice heavy wool ruanas. I got one - a grey and white plaid with red on the other side - reversible. Because it has no curves, it folds completely flat so it made the perfect car blanket. But I never used it. So I brought it inside and put it in the closet and still never used it and forgot about it. Finally in my closet reorgs this year I found it again. I hung it on a hook by the front door and have already worn it out several times. It's just a great weight to throw on for a quick errand.

Today I wore it to the store in the next block and it was great. But, I thought on the way home, it would be so much greater with pockets. So I came home and found some nice red wool fabric that matched perfectly. It had been a blanket I bought at Goodwill to use for lining of a vest that never made. It still had the nice blanket edge which I used for the top of giant Captain Kangaroo pockets. Now it is just perfect! And back on the hook ready for the next errand.

I cleaned out the yarn project bin finally. And finished my audiobook. And took the Amazon return back and went to the store down the street because they have a pop up hand made soap shop this week. I wanted and got a nice, big bar of lavender soap which is exactly what I wanted.

Now I am home and the house is tidy and the cats are knocked out one on top of the other and the collar is still on.



My next audiobook - the new Michael Connelly is out today and now downloaded onto my phone for starting tonight.

All is nice and fine.

This morning I woke up to both cats sitting up at attention next to me on the bed like they did this time last week before all the mayhem. Last night there was nothing I could do to prevent their running up and down the hallway and generally rough housing around. Twice now Biggie's managed to get his collar off. The first time it was the collar that I made so I thought maybe the elastic stopper was just not strong enough to hold. Nope. This morning it was the one I bought on Amazon. He can flat out wriggle out if he works hard enough. Hopefully, he'll forget. I'm out of drugs in two days. But, they don't seem to be having much effect anyway.

And this morning they are back at it. This was the beginning before they really got into it.



We have 8 more days of this. It's going to be a long 8 more days for sure.

Today my hair is screaming CUT ME!!! So that's the first order of business this morning. I need to return a package to Amazon and that might morph into a trip to Grocery Outlet or the bagel shop for a lunch sandwich.

I want to fill out my November ballot - it's long and has a big voters guide that goes with it and I want to get it off my dining room table. So I might as well just vote and be done with it.

And, I never did get to that yarn project stash. Today. For sure.

Also the house cleaner comes tomorrow. But things are in order so really nothing needs to be done for that.

So. The usual. But, as usual, I think I'll get dressed first.

The good news is that feline things seem to be calm at the moment.

It's been a trauma free day which is nice. Only once did I catch The Smalls almost getting to Biggie's stitches. He wasn't really clawing but grooming and perilously close to the actual stitches. I gave him a little 'me' time and he was fine. Mostly they've been sleeping and doing a little wandering around.

I made Biggie a new pillow collar. I actually made a pattern and then tested out the pattern. It works ok. I caught him with a foot out of the Amazon one. My bad, I did not tighten up the neck part enough. And I figured out how he could lick the bottom of his shaved area. The one I made has a nice hide food and cat hair top cover. And is a little fatter than the Amazon one.



The in between naps is the challenge. Right now Biggie is trying to walk all over this keyboard. Luckily The Smalls is still asleep.

I started to tackle my yarn stash. I have a lot of unfinished projects and samples that just need to go to the recycling bin. I was going to add the current sweater I was working on. It's one made out of very cheap but very soft yarn but it's a pattern that I've kind of made up as I went along so I was sure it wasn't going to work. But, I got to the point yesterday where I could try it on and decide and damn if isn't totally fine. And so soft. So I worked on finishing it up. I have the bottom half of the sleeves yet to go.

I just remembered that I'm out of breakfast burritos. Time to make some more. I pulled spaghetti out of the freezer last night and there's enough for dinner tonight so I thought I was done cooking for the day but nope.

In Biggie's discharge papers, there's info about something that can go wrong and show up 3-6 days after surgery. So between now and Wednesday. So, of course, I'm constantly on the lookout. Sometimes, when he sleeps, he's like dead. I could pick him up by tail and he would not wake up. Last night I had to move him after he was asleep and it was a dead sleep so, of course, I think could not get to sleep because I thought it was dying. Then he snuggled under the covers right next to me. It was way too hot but I didn't care, I could at least know he wasn't dead.

Before bed, The Smalls was going nuts. He so wants to wrestle and rough house or do something and, honestly, Biggie is willing. But... I'm not. So I got out the laser pointer and we played Nursing Home Laser. Slow, and easy. It worked. They were both distracted from the rough stuff and no stitches were pulled out in the game.

Now that we are about out of drugs, I've totally gotten the hang of administering them. Those pill pockets are really the trick. I was surprised since he's not that into treats. He does push it around a lot and I worry that The Smalls is going to rush in and grab it but eventually, he gobbles it up.

And he's fine, really. And they apparently did not get into trouble while I was at the pool.

He did get food on his pillow collar so I'm glad I got a backup and this morning I'll be reverse engineering it to make a pattern for making another one.

In non-cat news... crickets. Nah.

Yesterday, Frank texted that he wanted a walk and did I want to meet for coffee. Well, yes I did! We had a great visit. It was good to get out and stretch my legs a bit, too.

Also, a few weeks ago, I found a nice raincoat at Goodwill for really cheap. It needed some minor repairs which I did. I tried it out for the first time yesterday and it's great. Exactly the right weight. It's also got room for adding layers under. Good pockets. A front zipper and snaps. The hood is a little problematic but I think I can fix that. An excellent use of $5!

I think a lot of today could be tied up in keeping The Smalls from activating Biggie. and probably a lot of Nursing Home Laser. In hopes they will go back to this.

We all slept well for a while. The cats first got restless about 3ish so I got up and got them some food. They came back to bed when they were done. Then we dozed and mitigated until 8. They would be fine, then Biggie would send taunting cat signals and The Smalls would attack or they would start to play and get too rough. Then I'd grab one and put them under the blanket next to me and we'd doze some more and then do it all again and the other would be next to me. All in all, it was a really lovely early morning nap.

I'm still giving Biggie the pills. Every 12 hours 'for pain and to help with confinement' but I can't help but feel he really doesn't need them. The vet said that the syringes of liquid were as needed and they aren't so they are sitting on the shelf. He's doing great.

The new collar lets him eat, drink and cuddle with far more ease. I had to take the top off the litter box and keep the shower curtain open so he can climb up on the bathtub ledge to hop in. It's working fine.

Upon closer inspection of the new collar, I think I can make one just like it easily. I ordered a second one but I may use it for measurement and then return it with the rest. I've got all the stuff needed to make one. So far it's not getting wet when he drinks or dirty when he eats so he might not even need a second one.

I just saw on Twitter that there has been a power failure and "crews have worked throughout the night to restore power near Centurylink Field, including the Event Center. This extensive system requires testing cables a section at a time. The current restoration timeframe is 11:14 a.m." Since I live just across the street, I am amazed and delighted to have dodged that bullet but I'm guessing those 'crews' are under a bit of pressure since the game is at 1 and there are usually lots of pregame activities in the event center. There are likely multiple someones not having a good morning.

I've got nothing planned. I think I need to stay close to the cats to make sure they don't get into trouble at least one more day. Tomorrow I'll go back to the pool and maybe even run an errand or two. I should get on the treadmill today and maybe, hopefully, I will. Otherwise, TV and knitting and just hanging with the kitties.

This is them right this minute.



Biggie has 3 shaved spots one big and then one each on two legs. He really does not even try to get to them now so hopefully they will heal and the hair will grow back quickly.



When I saw this photo, it looked to me like one side of his incision was red/inflamed, I just rolled him a little to get a closer look and 1. nope the pink is photo, not real life and 2. he did not even wake up when I rolled him over and touched the incision to see the whole thing. I do not think he's in much pain if any.

Ok. I think I'll wash the breakfast dishes.

Mostly, they've been behaving themselves. Just hanging out next to me here on the couch like this:



But a bit ago, Biggie got frisky and started picking on The Smalls who, with all justification, jumped on Biggie's stomach to stop him. I had to break them up - more than once.



That's the kind of thing that makes me twitchy about leaving them alone for any length of time. I've taken stuff down to the dumpster and went to check the mail but that's it.

I still don't think Biggie is in any pain. Amazon says my delivery is the driver's next stop so his new collar should be here any minute.

And... it is here now! I think we got it in one with this one. It's exactly his size. he can't get it off and I can still get two fingers easily between the collar and his neck. He actually didn't even try too hard to get rid of it. He's now using it for a pillow. Yeah Amazon. I canceled the other order and ordered a second one of these assuming this one is going to get grubby and will need washing. I sure feel better about it.





His incision still looks fine and he does not mind my checking on it. It's not even feverish like it was yesterday. He had a couple of minorly matted places on his back and tail. I got out a comb and went over him thoroughly and he seemed to enjoy that. Plus now he's back to clean.

We have TV to watch and I think we'll just get right on that now.

This morning has, so far, been dedicated to getting my shit back in order. Last night, when it was clear that Biggie could not get to his food with his collar on, and he was starving, I hauled out every dish in the house to try and stacked up books and moved stuff around and made a huge mess.

Then he kept knocking stuff over trying to maneuver around with it so I just flung shit around to clear a path. And the cat carrier was still by the front door and on and on.

Now everything is tidied up and back in place or put somewhere that makes sense.

The Smalls, in last night's mayhem, lost the bells on his collar. I am not used to cats who move silently so I got those sewn back on. I'll fix Biggie up with some bells later. For right now, they are both sacked out on the bed which is why I can't make it up but I'm ok with that.



And, then I went shopping. On Amazon. There's gotta be a better collar situation. And, of course, there are many. I ordered one that will be here today - THANK YOU Amazon! And then I went back and ordered 3 other different kinds that will be here Monday. All were listed as 'free returns' so I'll just take back the ones that don't work or don't work as well. So, hang in, buddy. We'll get rid of that clunky thing.

The door to the terrace is closed because it's cold out but even with the door closed I can hear the playoff excitement outside. The Sounders 11th playoff season starts in about 5 minutes.

Me? I think I'm going to kick back with my knitting needles and catch up on TiVo.

Wellll all is excellent here. Except for the cone. The cone still sucks. We all slept last night - good and hard and 4 hours longer than normal even for a Saturday!

The first time I woke up in the night, I looked over and The Smalls was fully spooning Biggie it was soooo sweet. They both slept on the yellow blanket next to me all night.

Biggie really does not seem in any pain at all except when I try to give him his pain medicine! The pill is tiny and the cone helps me get it to the back of his tongue. But the injection liquid is pretty much a fail so far. So good thing about the no pain.

He's eating like crazy. Fighting the cone the whole time but winning. I'm hesitant to take the cone off for eating because putting it back on would be a nightmare, I'm sure.

I discovered this morning that he cannot maneuver the water fountain so he has a bowl of water now that works fine.

He comes in for snuggles from me and from The Smalls regularly. I think we're going to be ok.

The vet who checked me out at the emergency clinic was finally one who had met a cat. She gave me a set of written out instructions and told me what would really happen and how to deal with it.

Ice packs for 15 minutes 3-5 times a day. Said the instructions.

If he'll tolerate it at all, it would be great but probably he won't. Said the vet.

Keep him isolated from all other pets. Said the instructions.

I'll bet his brother will be excited to have him for snuggling tonight! Said the vet.

Etc.

He had only licked food when they discharged him. She said to feed him anything he would eat. So when we got home, I put some Whiskas in a dish and put it on the carpet by the kitchen. I turned around to get some Friskies and planned to scramble him an egg but, he had jumped up to the usual spot on the counter and was eating anything and everything he could get past that dumb cone. He practically hoovered the entire counter - kibbles and wet food.

He does not seem to be in any pain except the Pain of That Fucking Cone. Which he has to wear until October 30. She said that I could take it off for short periods as long as I had him controlled. She said she had one cat who was ok with that and another for whom the on/off thing was just too stressful so she left it on him always.

Anyway, he's home. And The Smalls has not left his side. The only thing he can reach with is tongue is his tail so he's cleaning the bejesus out of it.





I think he's trying to get that hospital stink off of him. He has not stopped moving since they brought him out. He spent the entire trip home trying to get out of the carrier and now he's just walking around, cleaning his tail, eating some more, walking around cleaning his tail, eating some more.

OH and when I went to settle the bill, I got $700 back! How wild is that?

And I have two drugs for him - a pill and a liquid in a syringe that I shoot into his mouth. They are supposed to calm him down. He's going to need it - he's now chasing The Smalls at high speed. I'm sure that's not good.

Biggie can come home today!!!

They want me to come get him at 5 pm. Rush fucking hour. Google says that I should leave about 3:40 for the normally 30 minute drive. Great... and getting home will likely be even worse. Although it's actually a reverse commute, coming into Seattle always has worse traffic than leaving.

Sigh.

Oh well. Maybe what I'll do is leave here about 3 or even earlier and kill any extra time getting an early dinner (NOT at Chick-fil-a) and maybe a walk through The Dollar Store or Safeway. Oh I think there's a St. Vicent de Paul's charity store near there. Yep. Totally doable.

But, the headline... Biggie's coming home!