It Was Probably Inevitable...

...and is oddly satisfying:

http://www.kroma.no/2008/bushgame/

It's nearly Christmas And We Have Snow!!!

Which you would think would be almost a given in Idaho, but Boise usually doesn't have snow on the ground. It will snow overnight or in the morning, everyone crashes into each other on the drive to work because they can't remember what driving in snow is like from year to year, then it melts off by afternoon. But it snowed this weekend and yesterday and it's still around. I have to admit, I'm thrilled. Not having to drive in it much helps, but it just never seems like Christmas without snow.

Of course, I always manage to forget that in order for the snow to stay on the ground it has to be really cold. Yesterday I finally relented and agreed that 66 degrees in the house is not really adequate when it's 19 degrees outside. Geez, just because Andy can't type with mittens on....

Kitty Rehab, Day 20

So, tomorrow is the three-week mark in the fun experiment called "kitty in a cast," and the days are getting longer. Theo is now aware that casts come off, and we are now aware that Theo can pull casts off, so it has become a pretty constant battle of wills. On our side we have control of drugs, control of food, and control of the doors. On Theo's side, he has control of sleep and the fact that at least one of us is a big freaking softie where her pets are concerned. So far, I'd say Theo is pretty much winning.

New Lessons Learned Today

1. While Valium is in general a sedative, for certain cats it has the completely opposite effect.

2. Three hours of a mad injured kitty on speed can really suck the life right out of you.

We Have Regressed

Yesterday morning our injured kitty, Theo, surprised us by pulling the cast off his foot entirely. Just two weeks after the surgery, there were lots of kitty screams going on--matched scream for scream by Yours Truly as I tried to keep a very angry cat from chewing up his own leg and causing a few thousands of dollars more in damage. Andy came running like the faithful husband he is, and we got him to the closest vet.

Today we're back to this:
Even with the new kitty pain killers (which mercifully cause serious drowsiness), Theo is now aware that the bandages come off and keeps trying to chew on it. The Elizabethan collar, the poodle-do--I can't say I really blame him for being angry. That's why we got kitty valium.

I wish I had known that helping him use the litter box might have been the high point of this whole process.......

December Hopefulness

December--specifically Thanksgiving day to Christmas day--is the only time I listen to normal radio. The other times of the year it's audio books or Public Radio International, but in from Thanksgiving to Christmas, one of our radio stations plays nothing but Christmas music, which is fun and much easier than continually changing cds.

Since this is my one dose a year of normal radio, I might just be a little overly-sensitive to advertisements, but does Christmas in any way make you think of dental work? I guess I could see after Christmas when a filling or two has been removed by Grandmother's homemade toffee, but leading up to Christmas, I just can't say that I would be at all swayed by a special on tooth caps. Is it just me? Have fillings really become an impulse item?

The Good News & The Bad News

Yesterday was the 2-week mark in Kitty Convalescence, and Theo got a festive new cast for the holidays:
The bad news is, the vet mentioned 6 more weeks--not 4. And of course, all 6 weeks involve keeping Theo quiet & inactive. Do you think this vet has ever encountered a cat that wasn't sedated? Granted, cats sleep around 18 hours a day, but it's those remaining 6 hours that can really get you.

Today is relatively easy as there is something different about this cast versus the old one, so Theo can't move as fast with this one, but that's only a matter of time. To add insult to injury, they didn't give me any sedatives--either for the cat or for me. Maybe it's time to introduce Theo to the world of white chocolate martinis.......

White Chocolate Martinis

In a martini shaker, mix:

6 oz. vanilla vodka
3 oz. clear creme de cacao
3 oz. Godiva white chocolate liqueur

Add ice & shake until chilled. Serves 2