...avoiding doggy laringitis

it's almost 10:30 PM here in Mudville...
it's much quieter outside than earlier...
although when we went outside for a last bathroom break...
there was still a bit of activity afoot on the All Hallows Eve...

much earlier... it became abundantly clear...
even to my still drug shrouded brain...
that Mollie would go absolutely batso...
with all the noise & trick or treaters out there...

so about 5:30...

I did something that resulted in this...



[you know they're really pissed when they huddle...]


I allowed THE DOG in the inner sanctum...



she came in and hopped up on my bed....
quiet as could be...
the din from the costumed looters outside...
being accompanied by the occasional menacing growl of the "P-Oed Piglet"...

after about an hour of "togetherness"...
I went to make some toast & peanut butter...
and get some more Sprite...
there was another "stop" too..use your imagination...

I also used this moment to put down more cat food...
since Miz Vacuumouth was safely sequestered...
and when I returned to the bedroom...
the first thing I saw was their cat food dish...
on the floor...empty...
[it had been on the dresser...with some food...]

Molly was still on the bed...
trying to attain plausible deniability...
as I "informed" her of her transgression...



attempting to look ashamed...
she stayed on the bed for a while longer...
but soon moved to the floor...
until I got up to take her out one last time...

upon our return...
her disappointment at not going for a walk...
quickly turned to other venues...
as she attempted a quick slurp of cat food...

after a few more admonitions from me...
and a few "subtle" reminders that she has her own food...
she scarfed it down quickly...had a drink...
and is now laying here...
keeping her eye on the cat food...

I'm going to put the cat food in the microwave...
and then go to bed...
because every part of me hurts...
& the instructions say "no aspirin" for 10 days...

they lied to me...

actually, I asked about...
no aspirin for 10 days before...
no problem... they said...
but...
they didn't tell me it was for 10 days after...
that I was going to have to go "cold turkey"...
[no Advil either...]

and, of course... I have NO Tylenol...
except with the buffered aspirin in the Excedrin...

maybe tomorrow...

unless I can't sleep tonight...

...alive ... but sleeping

still trying to wake up after my "adventure" this morning...
the doctor discovered a "peanut sized" polyp, which they removed...
he said that he thought it was benign...
but I'll know the results for sure in a week...

I think the suppository laxative was overkill...
it didn't do anything before the procedure...

but...

since I've been home...
as soon as I ate something...
it's been like yesterday...
[without all the water...]

I ate a banana & some "red box" mac 'n cheese...
which has gone right through me with little warning...

so as much as I'd like to be doing this...



all I feel like doing is...




before I drift off again...
I'd like to thank Square Peg for being my "designated Mommy"...
driving me to and fro & checking up on me, "later"...
and Miz Minka, who came to spend some quality time with Molly...
giving her the nice brisk walk & play I wasn't up to...
and staying a while to visit & pay attention to the kitties...

thanks so much... I really appreciate you both...

...boo, humcat !

question : what do 5 black cats mean to me ?

answer : MJ, Frick, Frack, Rex & Scout...
all looked alike [short black hair...]



[this is MJ (Midnight,Jr...named for his daddy...]

for days before & after Halloween...I had to keep them "in"...
just to be safe...

even Piglet, who is black & white came to me just before Halloween...
abused and near death because she was mostly black...



the evilest thing MJ would ever be guilty of...
might involve a jack o'lantern...

there are evil cats...



well...NO...not that kind of evil...
just selfish... narcissistic...vane...
in other words..."feline"...

I've always resented the way stupid people...
attribute all sorts of human foibles to felines...



I often would be a cat, if I had to wear a costume...
I have a "cat hat"...someday... you may see it...


of course... some people "project" themselves...
and their interests on their cats...



not only dressing them for the season...
but as someone they would like to be...
[Harry Pottybox ?]

I think that cats & Halloween should be taken in "moderation"...



something like this... festive...decorative...
and not likely to give some moron the notion...
that injuring a cat is a "seasonal activity"...

...ooo...look what came in the mail today !

it always amazes me what God does to provide me with "resources"...
I opened my mail today...and found this...
[I'm not at all sure who it came from either...]



like most of us...I get the "class action" information...
and then forget about it...
until a check for $.07 arrives, months later...
so opening this made the liquid laxative I just took...
easier to swallow...

that stuff tastes like stagnant seawater....
salty, nasty & vile...

I just can't wait for it to start working...

...waiting

it's very still outside today...
there is a breeze that's more of an occasional sigh...
in the breath of the air...
than a wind...

but still... the leaves move...
and are starting to fall...
some even without turning...
fluttering to earth...



we're all waiting for the rain that's been predicted...
4 days of showers...so who knows...



but at this point...
we all seem to be holding our collective breaths...



even the sun only peeks through today...
as clouds scud by...
an ever changing kaleidoscope...
of grays & light...

on my day of waiting...
I went out to mow the lawn...
had a massive sneezing attack...
and now I have a sinus headache...

the weather is probably related to the headache too...

while I was mowing the lawn...
I looked up to see someone else, waiting...
on the cat "shelf"...



I've seen her in some funny places...
and am learning that there are NO places she can't get to...
[I've been stashing uneaten cat food in the microwave...]

so once the lawn was done...

I put away the mower...
and anything else I didn't want to get wet...
also cutting up a couple of cardboard boxes for recycling...

then I went in to check the laundry...
do e-mail... and write this post...
I have some house work [dishes... floors...]
to keep me busy inside while I drink water...
[and, yes ...I now totally slosh when I walk...]
and do the rest of the prep stuff...

and then...the games began...



here we have Molly [Miz Catfood Junkie...canned, that is...]
attempting to convince me that she cares nada...
that MJ is scarfing down catfood...
right in front of her....



she even goes so far...
as to nonchalantly stroll over to the hall...
where she waits, just out of my sight[she thinks...]
for her chance to score some kittyvittles...



Thomas has taken MJ's spot, however...
so she has to bide her time...
and wait...



which brings out the "pitiful puppy" face....
and more waiting...



finally...the long, wistful glances...
become too pitiful for me to stand...



and since the "catfood café has ceased to attract customers...
back it goes ...to the microwave...
until a cat is hungry again...
so I give Molly a pig's ear...her 2nd favorite snack...

and as I go into the LR/DR to "clean & tidy up"...
I notice that all's well with the kitties...
having taken possession again of their shelf...
AND gotten to eat their own food...



Murphy, Frick & Mattie...ready to snooze away the afternoon...

so I look for Molly...and don't need to look far...



she's in her snuggy nest [I moved it...]
chomping on that pig's ear...

now all we need is the first fire of the season...
and the rain we've all been waiting for...

...to boldly go...where the sun doesn't shine

starting at 8 AM today...I'll be having a lot of these...

followed by a few of these...



I'm following the "prep" regime for the colonoscopy I'll do tomorrow...
I've already delved too deep into that subject ["Oh Goodie"post...]
so I won't reiterate that all here...

I'm on a 24 hour clear liquid "fast"[black coffee is OK...Sprite...]
and of course...H2O... in copious amounts...
I'm also working at finishing the chores...
that I've been letting slide...
'cause I know I won't be worth shooting...
for quite a while... after the anesthetic...
if my previous experience is any indication...

so I'll be swilling water...
and doing chores...
until it's time for...



the laxatives...
[oh, be still my heart...]

once that starts...along with MORE water...
I'll be spending even MORE time...
well...HERE...



which is pretty dicey since mine isn't really secured to the floor...
[that was the whole reason for the bath redo...
that hasn't happened yet...]
I just hope there are no earthquakes...
or things could get ugly... and quick !

"it will be a good feeling when this is all behind me..."
[wait...that didn't come out quite right...
hmmmmm... hold on... no...I'd never !...I mean...
what kind of person wants to be the butt...[*snort*]
uuh...I mean...the point of their own joke ?]

not me...

I would never stoop to "bathroom humor"...

just for a post...

so what I meant to say was...

"I'll be glad to put an end to all this..."
[oh crap...that's worse...]

OK...OK... I got it now...

here it is...

"I'm actually looking forward [clever, huh?]to next Tuesday...
[I KNOW it's Election Day...I don't care...
I vote by mail...& have already done my duty... *sigh*]
when I get to go to the dentist for a crown prep..."



[see how I shifted your focus, up... to my mouth...?
sometimes...I amaze even me...]

I think it involves a post implant...
[and the 6 Advil days that will follow it...]
I know I'll get a "temp"...
[that will probably fall off at some point...
causing an 8 Advil moment...]
and need to return in 10 days or so...
for my gold crown to be fitted...
[just so we can wake that nerve back up...]
that's costing me nearly $800.00...
and I'm sure there will be at least one anxiety attack...
[hmmm... maybe this is almost as bad...]

what a pain in the butt...

oh, wait... that's the other one...


"...say goodnight, Gracie"...

"goodnight, Gracie..."


postscript...

I just found out that my dentist's appointment is Monday....
NOT Tuesday... as I had thought...
11 AM to boot...

I am just SOOO frick'en thrilled...

...fence, à complete

this morning...it still looked like this...
around 8:30...I heard stirrings...
but very little noise...

however...



when I looked out around 10:30... voilà...



he had re-enforced the bottom on my side...
to prohibit doggy digging...



the pressure treated posts were evident against the redwood...



all in all ... a nice job...

...silly kitties...treat balls are for...

regular readers will remember the kitty treat ball...
which came to my "herd" by way of Miz Minka...
when Minka, who had received it from L'il Sis...
wouldn't deign to play with it...

my kitties loved it and just yesterday...
were enjoying rolling it around...
scarfing down the treats that fell out...

I suspected doggy deceitfulness this AM...
when I found the empty ball...in Molly's bed...

I re-filled the treat ball and rolled it for the kitties...
who soon had had enough...and retreated for naptime...
[an activity they pursue about 23.5 hours a day...]
but I still heard the rattle of the ball...
rolling on the wood floors...

and when I looked...
I saw this...



"silly kitties... treat balls are for dogs..."

...another busy day [for me, anyway...]

no workmen yet today...
so there it sits...2/3 done...

this morning I had a "help" email from DD...
re "music POP"[permanently out of print]...
so I went to the church to make some totally legal copies...
[when something is POP, all "bets" are off...]
and send them on their way to Warsaw...

it sidetracked me from the chores I needed to do here...
and I was glad to be sidetracked...

the chiropractor session yesterday really worked...
and as always, the day "after"...
the burning grip of that pain goes...
[especially if I've had it for days...]
I'm tired and very sleepy...

so after Molly & I went to the church...
[delighting Square Peg by meeting Molly..]
making the copies and visiting a bit...
we came home...

I left Molly to "guard & protect" the felines...
[she is SOOOOO funny about "protecting"...]
I have a cat tree by the door...
with a cat bed on the lowest shelf...
about 18" off the floor...
looking right out the French door window...

I often see Molly sitting in it
when I am unlocking the front door...
after being gone...

it's a good sized cat bed...
but still too small for her to do more than sit in...
it is, however, her catbird seat...
and it's really funny to see her hop into & out of it...
in her excitement to see my return...

so I went to mail my package for DD, mail my "ballot"...
and stop by Discount Pet on the way home...

I had bought 2 cases of canned food for Molly...
on Oct.2... that she won't eat now...
she ate the first can...
but has since made it clear...
she really doesn't like it...
[of course...cat food is SOOO much tastier...]

E let me return it, even though I didn't have a receipt...

smart man...

I left with 3 20lb bags of dry cat food...
1 40lb bag of dry dog food...
3 flats of canned cat food...in smaller cans...
[I'm smarter than I might appear...
no left-overs... less chance for Molly to scarf it...]
a large [55 lbs] plastic storage bin for dog food...
3 bags of cat treats...
[the others have disappeared, mysteriously...]
and a bag of pig's ears...

Mom used to not want to give her dogs pigs ears...
because they would immediately chew them up...
I used to say,"Mom...that's what they're for...
to chew up"...

she still didn't like it...
I think she wanted them to "save" them...
and savor them...
like she used to do with candy...
driving her brother crazy...
because he always ate his...
while she saved hers...

for all the "dog" person traits she possessed...
that... was her most feline quality...
and for some reason, as much as she liked dogs...
she never got that about them...
that most are greedy gulpers where food is involved...

anyway...

having returned home with my stash...
I unloaded the car...and brought it inside...
such fun...carrying a 40 lb bag with kitties in your way...
and a happy dog "greeting" you...

so I set up the dog food storage canister & filled it...
mixing the old with the new bag...
[same formula, smaller bits...they were out of her regular...]
and adding in the left-over puppy formula from the first night...
mixing it together & putting some in the dish...
[Molly hasn't touched it, but Thomas had some...]

then I carried in the dry cat food...
[Adult,indoor & Senior]
mixed them together, filled cat dishes...
it's taken 2 hours for Thomas to be interested...

then brought in the flats of smaller cans...
and the kitty treats...
to refill the treat ball...

which inspired this video...
[notice who crashes...]
Mattie's the "palomino"one...
Frick & MJ are doing the Halloween Black Cat thing...
they are always black...
they just get their "15 mins" now...

because they are smart enough to figure out the treat ball...
[Chinese design too much for most American cats...hee,hee]
and because it's almost All Hallows' Eve...




just returned from another "quick trip" to the church...
music for MizYBee & an excuse for her to meet Molly...

no fence activity today...

it's late...so I better get busy...
or I'll be sorry tomorrow...

or maybe I'll just take a nap..

decisions, decisions...

"en garde" [aka..."let the fencing commence..."]

a week ago...



there was this...

and then...



this...

today there is ...



this... halfway completed...

they started this morning...
next to my garage...



with the "free" fence...
[it appears to be redwood, as is the rest...]

then on down the line...



past the dogwood tree that is rapidly "turning"...

and on to the north...
passing the redwood tree...
& the baby "Silk Oak"...
towards the pomegranate tree...



and termination at the garage corner...



at the rate they were moving today...
they'll be done by noon tomorrow...

I love it when a plan is executed with precision...
especially when I don't have to pay for it...

God is good...

...a happy, "legal" dog

Molly's a pretty happy dog these days...
especially when I forget and leave canned cat food...
in a place that she can reach...
which is just about anyplace...

[hmmmmmmm... I'm going to have to work on that...]

but today she has even more to be happy about...
[besides her "unplanned" snack, that is...]

I went to Mudville Animal Control and got her licensed...



here she is sporting the 3 tags[license, chip tag & rabies...]
it took a while for me to get all 3 on the ring...
and then the collar...

she got real excited when I put it on her...
[in retrospect...she was just probably glad that I hadn't yet noticed...
the "licked clean" cat food plate on the floor...]

as depressing as the visit to MAC was...
[you DON'T want to know...]
it was really cool that the renewal of the licenses...
for Piglet & Fluff...
AND new licenses for Sneaky Pie & Molly...
cost me only $25.00 !
[anyone over 55 gets a break as do owners of neutered animals...
so it was only $6.25 each... !]

I stopped at the dry cleaners to retrieve my down comforter...
it cost $27.75...

I guess the critters "warm" a different place...
than the comforter does...

but they are both "good things"...


so today...like everyday...
Molly has thanked me profusely...
for her bed & board... kitties to herd...
cat food to sneak... toys to chew...
walks to take at all hours...
a house to guard...& a person to love...
who loves her back...
[cat food breath & all...]



and she would also like to thank...
her God Mom & Dad...
Miz Minka & Mr Greenthumb...
for keeping her from ending up in a place...
like the one I visited today...

thanks guys...
from both of us...