Brain currently booting in Safe Mode

We had to say goodbye to Sheldon today.

I thought he was going to get better, but he was steadily going downhill since I posted last. He could no longer stand, was throwing up old blood, and couldn't regulate his temperature. It was time.



He was a good soft boi. Very orange, much fluffy, purred easily, but never caught the red dot. He tried and yet it eluded him his entire life. I will miss him, and I will even miss the constant need to be perched on my shoulder like an unintentional parrot. I will not miss his stinky poops, though.

January is almost over. Another day and a half (or thereabouts) and it will be over. Yay.

So, some updates:

Sheldon - We had to take him back to the vet for more testing at the beginning of the month because the anti-nausea shot had worn off and he had started puking two or three times a day again. This time, it was blood work and urinalysis. I declined the abdominal ultrasound; he is old and it's expensive. We got some anti-nausea pills that day and then some painkillers the next day. In the end, between two vet visits and another scrip of PukesBeGone, I've spent about $1100. And for what? A flare up of pancreatitis. He has an upset tumtum, and I have a massive vet bill. UGH. (Yes, I know it's more than that, but the end result - too much puking - is the same.)

The kid is in exam week, but has no final exams. Because of the weather, exams have been postponed by two days, so the new term doesn't start until Wednesday of next week. The only good thing about this is that I won't have to get him out of school for his next orthodontic appointment.

Depression is kicking my ass. Often, this is a symptom of my meds not working as efficiently as they should. Because of a recent upping of the dosage last year having the required effect (quelling the hot flash anxiety spikes), and me able to do stuff, my guess is it's a reaction to everything else. As much as I like to know what's happening in the world around me, I don't think it's doing my mental health any favours. Time for a news diet, I think. And more Bob Ross. Happy little trees and happy accidents, here I come.

The microwave overheated last night when I was getting dinner sorted. This...does not fill me with joy. I unplugged it, cleaned the inside, wiped down the outside, and gave the cubby it sits in a once over. The cubby was the worst of it, which is impressive, considering how disgusting the insides of microwaves can get. Anyhoodle, plugged it into a plug that's on its own breaker, and it turned back on again. So yay? I put everything back, but declined to plug it in again. I have a healthy amount of paranoia regarding kitchen appliances spontaneously setting themselves on fire. If I need it, I will plug it in. If I do not, then it can stay unplugged.

I am still reading and writing. See above regarding depression for why everything is stalled or meh. The same is true of my crochet and knitting projects. Thanks brain, I hate it.

For those who don't follow the news, it has been confirmed, in stomach churning detail, what a massive dirt bag Neil Gaiman is. I was gutted and continue to be gutted, and now I have to figure out what I'm going to do with the MASSIVE AMOUNT OF BOOKS, COMICS, MOVIES, AND OTHER EPHEMERA that I've collected over the years. I know I won't be able to enjoy any of it until he's dead and buried, and so much of it was formative and meant so much to my younger self. I have two small shelves on a narrow bookcase jammed packed with my physical TBR pile. I think tomorrow I'm going to unpack it, dust the shelves, and pack as much Gaiman stuff as I can on them and move my TBR somewhere else. If I have to cover them so I don't have to look at his name on the spines, I have more than enough fabric for the job. I just don't feel good knowing that it's visible, you know?

( Putting this behind a cut because it's menstrual TMI. )

Okay. That's enough rambling. My lunch is ready (a Greek style omelette - eggs, fries, cheese - that I first had on Crete *mumblesomething* years ago) and I'm hungry.

Last night, a friend popped by to pick something up.

We chatted for a few minutes at the open door. No big deal, right? Except Sheldon kept trying to ES-CA-PAY into the hallway (and up the stairs, because that's what he does). At one point, I moved my foot to discourage it and kicked my possibly broken toe into the door.

It hurt, yo, and then....

After the friend left, I noticed that my toe was feeling not great, but better somehow, more normal. I think I might have just realigned the bones or fixed a dislocation or SOMETHING. Hurraughhhhhh?

Bodies are so fucking WEIRD.

Yesterday was hella busy. Today is not.

Let's see. Sheldon went to the vet for dental work first thing. He needed a cleaning at the very least and possibly extractions. Tooth resorption is a very common things in cats, and he needed seven removed. He's okay now, but he's still not in any great shape. Eating is not a thing that he enjoys at the moment, and getting pain medication into him is a trial.

Once the cat was a the vet and the kid at school, we headed to my mom's to help her with some tarps over the grape arbour. She uses it as a temporary carport. This is all well and good, but putting up tarps when it's cold and windy is NOT FUN. At least we got the top tarps in place before we had to leave. The top tarps are the WORST. I'm in cahoots with my sister to find another, less frustrating solution for next year, even if that means we (and by we I am referring to my sister, her spouse, myself and mine) do the work and use Declan as a distraction for grandma at Thanksgiving or a weekend in November or something. I do NOT want to repeat yesterday's tomfoolery.

I had an appointment for some specialized diagnostics at the vascular lab. My left foot has been swelling more than normal and staying swollen. In the summer, my feet swell and have done since I was pregnant with Shannon. At night, I go to bed with balloons attached to my ankles and wake up with feet. My left foot has decided that it rather likes being a swollen balloon and I am not here for it. So I went to the doc and was given a req for blood work and another for the vasc lab. Blood work is done, the veins in my legs were given an ultrasound, and yesterday was my arteries (looking, of course, for some kind of heart disease or diabetes or something). I'm hoping they didn't find anything outside of the varicose veins that I inherited from my paternal grandmother that have been visible and knobbly since I was 18.

By that point, it was 12:30, and we were cold and hungry (I couldn't eat for four hours before the diagnostic). We ran a couple of quick errands (one for more Christmas lights from Crappy Tire because our old ones are getting really finicky and I can't deal with that anymore, another for some needed foodstuffs), then came home.

Yesterday was busy, and full of people and things. Dinner was frozen pizza (that my kid loves) because it was on sale and I could not even. Today, I'm reading a Regency romance, with some enemies-to-lovers catnip and some amnesia. It's fluffy. And today is going to be easy.

I have reduced the news to, "What fresh hell is this?" I am finding that it is necessary for what little sanity I have left given what is going on in the world right now.

Yesterday, Sheldon ate some half-dead cat grass. Then, without warning, he yarked it up (with some used dry food) on my side of the bed. I got to do three loads of laundry yesterday. UGH.

I recently finished reading Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. The next, Harrow the Ninth, is not even out yet and I am already making grabby hands. If lesbian necromancers in space doesn't interest you, then I don't know what to say. It is a seriously good bit of swords-and-spacecraft speculative fiction and I would be remiss if I didn't get others to read it, too.

And my computer did something weird when I was trying to wake it from sleep a few minutes ago, so, wisely (or paranoid-ly? Both apply) I am making a backup of my files. I would rather be overly cautious than not nearly cautious enough here.

Giving my brain a bit of a break from lesbian necromancers (and having already read a fluffy modern romance between a female teacher and male stripper), I was pointed at some military analysis of the Siege of Gondor. From there, I ventured into a bit about War Elephants. Both are insightful and incredibly interesting. I understand that historic military discussion can be a bit of a bore, but it took me a while to finish the treatise on War Elephants because I had to stop and squee at regular intervals. It's an odd thing to enjoy, but I do recommend them. And there's a page of links for world building.

We got a kitten yesterday. Drizzle has been gone three weeks and Sheldon was stress-losing fluff because he is Not Good at being an only cat. It was time.

Here he is. We did change his name to Sunny, partially because I wanted to name a black cat Sunny (I am easily amused) and Declan wanted that name, so Sunny it is. He even has a white marking on his chest a little like a sun bear. And his butt has been shaved (he was fixed last week on Wednesday), which is the funniest and most adorable thing I have seen. I need to get a picture for posterity. *heh*

Declan. Is. Smitten.

Sunny doesn't back away or freak out when Declan lays on the floor and puts his face right in his. They have bonded. And as this is the only cat that Declan really connected with yesterday. Paul suggested a family outing yesterday, since I wasn't gaming and I think it was a successful one.

Sheldon is still unsure, but Sunny is, too. There's only been two hissing incidents (both Sunny, adorably puffed up, Hallowe'en-style), however they've been short. Last night, Sunny slept between our pillows and wasn't set upon by Sheldon. Sunny also chirps (purr-WHEE!), which Sheldon really responds to. They do gravitate towards each other. Sheldon does make the move to swat him, but I've been stopping it when I see it.

Did I mention that Sunny is smol? It says May 28 (ignore the year - so wrong), but he's teeny tiny for 12 weeks. If I had to guess, based solely on his size, I would say that Sunny is only 6 weeks old.

We have a kitten. :D