Wednesday, November 24, 2021

a long overdue hello

Hey there, friends! I've missed the blogging community and writing and sharing photos, but sometimes life gets a little hectic and blogging falls to the back burner.

After being gone so long, it's hard to know where to start. I've been uploading photos and writing, but the post was too long. The delete key has been my friend and so I'm sticking with a generalization for now.

Clementine and Monkey news: Clem is still hanging in there with her CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease). You'd never know she's sick, as energetic and feisty as she still is. She eats well, too, especially for a tiny girl. I finally got brave enough to learn how to do her subcutaneous IV fluids at home, which I now do every other day. Brian and I make a good team: he sets everything up, and I'm the one who does the injection. We had a few mishaps the first few weeks; it was definitely a learning process. But so worth it in order not to be having to run to the vet all the time, not to mention the expense!


Unfortunately, Clem still has chronic skin chewing/barbering issues and they've gotten worse over time. She now has missing fur on her belly, legs and sides where she constantly chews. We have tried every medication possible for her, including ones from a vet dermatologist. We've changed her food, too. Nothing has helped. The vet is trying one last medication and then we're through with our options. 

In the meantime, I had Monkey at the vet this morning. He was born with the herpes virus and to-date, it's only shown up in his eyes...he gets eye "gunk" which flares up from time to time. About five days ago, I noticed he was congested and his purring sounds were coming from the sides of his mouth. The vet said even though my cats are indoor cats, Monkey can still get a cold since he has the herpes virus. So he's now on Amoxicillin and a probiotic. I'm telling you, sometimes having pets is like having little kids all over again!


This introvert has been quite social this summer and fall...seems I'm spending more time doing things with friends and family, and Brian and I have taken a few day trips. One positive thing about living in northeast Illinois is that we experience all four seasons. I know I complain about winter; it's my least-favorite season. And fall always makes me melancholy, though I try to find the beauty in the season through the beautiful colors and moody sky. Hope you don't mind a fall photo dump! This is what happens when I haven't talked to you all in a long time. 















Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we'll gather at my mom's house. It's sounding like we'll have enough food to feed an army, but there's nothing better than Thanksgiving leftovers! Wishing you all a happy and blessed holiday and thanking you for your friendship and hanging in there with me. πŸ’“

10 comments:

  1. Happy Thanksgiving to you too! I have missed you in blogland. I see you occasionally on Instagram, but I am not in that space much. I said goodbye to Facebook and Instagram during the election and height of the pandemic. Everything was just weird in those spaces. After breaking free, I really don't have much of a desire to go back much at all. Glad that your Clem and Monkey are hanging in there. You are becoming a good "Vet's assistant." It is good that you can do some of the treatments at home. Vets can get very expensive. I love your fall pictures. I like living somewhere that has four seasons as well, especially after 16 years in Arizona where we just went from hot to not quite as hot and then back to unbearably hot. I enjoy the fall colors, and even some snow from time to time. We haven't had the snow yet. Glad you have a festive family Thanksgiving planned. I hope you will check into blogland again soon. Take care.

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  2. Happy Thanksgiving to you and family Melanie. We’re here in Arizona with a huge number of Bob’s. family - always fun. Love your photos.
    MaryπŸ’žπŸŒ΅πŸ¦ƒ

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  4. Your photos are beautiful!
    Our dog Ducky has scratching and licking issues but he now takes a prescription pill once a day and it works amazingly. Hope your kitty’s meds work as good.

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  5. Glad to see your post! I am sorry to hear about your cats issues. It is like having kids! Fall pictures were very pretty.

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  6. Happy Thanksgiving, Melanie. It's nice to see you here:) I'm definitely a Fall person, and I didn't realize until this year -- because ours has stretched out for so long -- how many of my friends have a hard time with the season. Especially those Summer folks! We're all so different, aren't we. Your pictures are lovely. Good for you for takings such good care of Clementine. I remember when you were considering that and how it would be hard for you. I admire you for doing it, it would be tough for me, too. Love your new header!

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  7. Hi Melanie, you were very brave to learn to give the fluids and I'm so glad it worked for you and that Clementine is doing so well on them. I know how precious both she and Monkey are to you. I hope your Thanksgiving was lovely. I'm still resting up from ours but it was wonderful. Your fall pictures are great and I always love seeing pictures of the water fowl on the lake near you. We've only had mallards on the pond for several months now and I miss the geese so much. Glad to see you back at Comfy House! I hope to take a day soon and start catching up too.

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  8. It's so nice to see your blog in my feed again. :)

    I especially like the picture with the cloudy sky and the blue sky peeking through in almost a perfect circle.

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  9. Your kitties look so content . . . that's the perfect sign of a good home :)
    Thank you for sharing all the beautiful Midwestern seasonal colors with us. With covid, I don't know if I'll ever get back to see them again. I do miss my Indiana roots.

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  10. Glad to see you blogging again! And it was fun to visit autumn colors again, I miss them already. Your poor kitties sure seem to have no end of health issues.

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