Just to let everyone know that I’m still doing okay. The doc gave me some prescription strength painkillers and a script for xrays if the pain doesn’t subside before next week. I already feel like it’s a little bit better, but I have to be careful about sitting still for too long and getting stiff!
Haiti
If you are like me, you are completely heartbroken by the recent disaster in Haiti.
You are probably hearing requests for donations from every direction, as well. But if you still are looking for a place where your contribution is really going to mean a lot, please check out Partners in Health. They have been providing health care clinics to the poor in Haiti for a long time, they already have doctors on the ground there and (of course) they have been overwhelmed by dire need for assistance this week.
On a more personal note, I have a friend who works for PIH, who is at a clinic in Nepal but is working tirelessly to try to help coordinate the response in Haiti by email and phone. He asked me to please pass along this information to anyone I could!
100 Sales
Wow, a landmark 100 sales! I don’t even know what to say about this, expect to thank everyone who has been so supportive of my business!
This calls for….more pictures of beautiful tropical beaches! (Wish I was back there…)
Update
Thanks for the advice about my kitty! Jelly seems to be a little perkier today, and quite enjoying the extra attention and petting. She only threw up once today (right in the middle of our dinner….yuck!). Right now she is doing her usual driving-me-nuts-thing where she rubs her head incessantly against my laptop and closes the screen. That’s a lot more active than she was yesterday, and we even spied her over by the food bowls eating!
She is ten years old, by far the oldest of my three crazy felines. Frankly, all of them have been in perfect health for the past five or six years – I shouldn’t be surprised that one of them finally got a little sick. I’m going to make her a vet appointment for next week (earlier, if things take a turn for the worse) and try switching her to some wet food. I’ve heard that as cats get older, they sometimes have trouble digesting the kibbles.
Since the day she crawled off the street and through my bathroom window, looking for a place to give birth, Jelly has had a pretty cushy life. All the food she can eat and plenty of stacks of paper to sleep on (her favorite!). We got through a difficult delivery (she almost needed a $3,000 kitty c-section) and have moved to three or four apartments together. It’s probably about time for her to slow down, spend more time getting hair all over my fleece blankets, and enjoy her twilight years. If this illness turns out to be a sign of something more serious, at least I’ve given her many years to enjoy being warm and getting fat…
Sick kitty?
Oh my, I had a crazy week! Full of complicated articles to write (on deadline, of course), class assignments, pre-holiday events and general running around.
Then, on top of things, my cat started vomiting. Didn’t think much off it at first, but she’s been vomiting. And vomiting. Maybe twice a day for the last two or three days, when I can’t count on two hands the times she’s done it in the past six years. She’s also acting moody and very sensitive to the touch – I tried to pet her hind-quarters and got a clear “don’t-you-dare” nip. On the good side, I watched her drink a bunch of water this evening and she’s holding it down. I don’t think she’s in any immediate danger of dehydration.
I really can’t afford the weekend emergency vet fees, so I hope she’ll be okay until Monday….?
Thanks
I hope everyone had a chance to see family and be thankful this season! I’m so happy that I had a chance recently to visit my dear friends in Jersey City and spend some time with the new addition to their family, Carolina. I’m just in love with her! (I’m going to make a nice print of this photo as an early Christmas present for them…)
I was also lucky because the rain clouds parted and I got to spend most the holiday weekend outside, enjoying the sunshine and chilly air. On Saturday, D. and I hiked along the cliffs of Ralph Stover State Park. We climbed rocks, watched the stream below and enjoyed an actual day off together. I couldn’t ask for more!
Update
After a very sleepless night looking up building code regulations, D. and I decided we just weren’t comfortable with the state of the apartment we had intended to move into. Even if the landlord agreed to fix visible problems in our unit, it left us with a lot of concerns about the wiring throughout the building – and fixing the problem to our satisfaction would be, we figured, a massive investment of time and money on the landlord’s part.
So we met with him, were upfront with our feelings about the situation and reached a mutual agreement to end the lease.
On the good side, my current (two bedroom) apartment was still available, and my landlords agreed to let D. move in and were happy to keep us there.
We have a little readjusting to do, but I’d say overall we’re both really pleased and relieved with this outcome, and with the money we’re saving we’re ready to make the old place a home we can both be happy in for the coming year.
Thanks for the comments and support – the blog should be back in full swing next week!
Gah
Long hours at work, plus trying to pack boxes and get rid of things I don’t need …I’ll try to post again when I find some time!
Packing
Hoo boy, getting ready for a move is tough.
I tried to go through just one closet tonight and throw out junk I don’t want… it’s harder than it first appears. Sure, the old 2008 calendar is an easy decision. But what about the perfectly good but garishly colored bedsheet, an unidentified computer hard-drive or your mom’s antique, hand-woven but worn rug that you no long longer have room for?
Still, I managed to take out about 10 garbage bags full of trash (I swear it reproduces in dark corners), so I still feel ahead of the game. A little less than a month to go….
In the Night Kitchen 