update on monkey ~ and a little distraction

Thank you all so much for your loving, kind, supportive comments on my previous post about Monkey. He's still hanging in there. I've had some super busy and stressful days with medication problems and making his final arrangements, entailing numerous phone calls and emails. That part seems to be behind me now, so...we wait.

One of the hardest parts is going through all the ups and downs of the day. Prednisolone is keeping him comfortable and I have Gabapentin on standby if he needs it for pain. With this nasal tumor partially obstructing his nose and throat, he breathes through his mouth, as you can see below. He's also started sneezing a lot and making choking sounds, which is horrible to hear. Sometimes he eats all his food, other times he eats only a little bit. I have to sit on the floor over the course of half hour+, coaxing him to eat off a spoon. Sometimes I add chicken or turkey baby food to his wet food to entice him. There's been a couple of scary times where he wouldn't touch his food. That was when he was on a compounded transdermal Prednisolone gel that I was rubbing in his ears. Little did I know it wasn't working very well, so he wasn't feeling good...

Back story: the internal medicine vet who did all the tests on Monkey and diagnosed him with the nasal tumor, sent him home with liquid Prednisolone. It was impossible to give it to him. It was like trying to wrestle a wild tiger. Most of the medication would be on the bathroom walls and floor and my arms were scratched. I called my regular vet who said the compounding pharmacy could make it into a transdermal gel. Problem was - as I later found out from the internal medicine vet - the transdermal gel isn't as strong or effective as the liquid or tablet. Poor Monkey! But I wondered how in the world I'd be able to give him a tablet. The internal medicine vet suggested trying pill pockets. Can you believe I'd never heard of those? My regular vet had never, in all these years of having cats, told me about these. 😠

I found Greenie pet pill pockets for cats at PetCo. They're soft and moldable. All you do is pop the tablet (or capsule) into the middle of the treat and mold it around the pill. The cat will hopefully eat the entire treat in one swallow. Monkey did not. I think it's too big for him to eat with the having the tumor. So now I'm crushing up the tablet and mixing it into his wet food.

Poor Clementine is afraid of Monkey right now. I'm sure she doesn't like the way he sounds and acts. Yesterday when Monkey wasn't feeling well and hiding under the guest room bed, Clem was nearby on the heating vent, just staring over at him. Cats are so intuitive...I wonder if she knows he's dying? 

There's times we see the "old" Monkey and it makes our hearts soar...like when he comes into the kitchen when he knows it's feeding time. Or when he crawls up into Brian's lap when he's relaxing on the couch in the evening. Tonight he even jumped up onto the kitchen table when we were eating dinner and tried to get into my food! Normally, I would make him get off the table, but tonight I let him stay up there. 😻

On a totally different note, Brian and I had the chance to escape for a few hours last weekend to a nearby town for some shopping and walking around.

I've mentioned the town of Woodstock (IL) on my blog before. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the town square offers an array of unique shops. But you might recognize it most for the famous gazebo - coming up!

It was bitter cold, so we walked quickly. And then stopped for hot tea at Ethereal Confections. Their chocolate is the best I've ever had. It's bean to bar, sourced from Central and South America and processed and molded in-house. I treat myself to a few truffles each time I'm there (which isn't often) and make them last by savoring just one every few days day.

The historic opera house, where I've seen a few concerts and a play.

OK, here's the famous gazebo. Recognize it? 

It's the gazebo from the movie, Groundhog Day with Bill Murray.

The main reason we went to Woodstock was because Brian had bought me a shirt for Christmas from one of my favorite shops. It didn't fit, so I wanted to exchange it for a different size. Turned out, they didn't have the shirts in stock anymore.

I got a store credit and one of the things I chose was this beautiful handmade Tremundo art journal.

Almost too pretty to use!

Thank you, again for your supportive and gracious comments. I appreciate them all.

buncha random

Some new things for the house...

A large wine rack from Amazon that takes up less space than the two small wine racks I had before.

The two empty spaces on bottom were filled today with a Malbec and red blend I found at Trader Joe's. I love crisp, white wines and roses (ugh, that's not roses as in the flower...it's "rohzays"...I don't know how to get the foreign accent marks in Blogger!) in the warmer months and then heavier reds in the cold months.

Last Friday, I took a drive out to Woodstock, IL ~ the town famous for the filming of the movie, Groundhog Day. It was a beautiful day, I wanted a little escape all by myself, and the town square is a beautiful place to take a walk and stop in some independent shops. Besides, a few of the shops were participating in a Vintage Shop Hop.

Recognize this gazebo in the town square from the movie?

I came home with a couple of small things ~ this tin bird bath...

and a vintage bowl in one of my favorite colors.

I follow a young woman on Instagram that I used to know from when she was a teenager and we went to the same church. She's now married with a baby and living in the Portland, Oregon area. I've been enthralled by her macrame work ~ she's so talented! ~ and she's now selling it through her Instagram account. I finally decided on this piece for my guest room wall. So pretty, right? She uses driftwood that she finds on the beach.

If you're old enough to remember, macrame was all the rage in the 70's. I took a class with my mom and made plant hangers and even a purse with a Lucite handle. 

I love supporting independent artists, too. If you're interested, her Instagram account is @heatherswebbs. 

Some freebies for the house...

An elderly woman down the street recently passed away. At least, that's what I'm assuming because I haven't seen her and her house is up for sale. A few days ago, Brian and I were taking a walk and there was a Dumpster in front of the woman's house. It was filled to the brim with relics of her life: old-fashioned lamps and torn lampshades, rusty toolboxes, a huge stereo console, a couch that looked like it was from the 1960's with that stiff, brushed polyester finish, lots of junky odds and ends, and ooh, some old ladders.

I also found a huge, vintage pottery crock. The only marking on the bottom is "USA". It has a couple of small chips on the back, but I don't mind. (I found a vintage bean pot too, but it's currently in the dishwasher so it hasn't been photographed yet.)

I guess I officially Dumpster dived! Though I didn't go INTO the Dumpster. Ick. These items were on top. Made me kind of sad though to think this lady lived her life in this house all these years and had all this furniture and things that made her house a home and perhaps made her happy, just like we all do. And then she's gone and all her stuff is relegated to a Dumpster and hauled away. She's gone, her stuff is gone. Like nothing ever mattered. I silently promised the elderly lady that I would take care of her few things and thanked her for them.

My sweet Clementine...

She was diagnosed with kidney disease a few years ago. It's unfortunately very common in cats, especially as they get older. She was young to be diagnosed - only eight or nine years old at the time. She's been doing pretty well since the diagnosis and has been on medicine for high blood pressure which helps the kidneys and a prescription diet. But her latest blood tests show that certain levels are climbing. It's time for subcutaneous fluids. The vet said she needed them one - three times a week to start out. I panicked because of the time and money involved. Long story short, I talked to the vet and we agreed she could start with one treatment per week. From what I've read about and heard from other cat owners, you can get the supplies from the vet and do the IV fluids yourself at home. That way you don't have to keep taking the cat to the vet plus, of course, it's much cheaper to do it yourself at home.

That's all fine and dandy except that IV needles ~ and the thought of sticking them into the cat's skin ~ totally freaks me out. I honestly don't know if I could handle that. Last night as I was lying in bed, I was picturing the whole set up at home and trying to insert the needle into Clementine's skin between her shoulder blades. And it actually made me feel like I was going to vomit. My anxiety was skyrocketing and I couldn't fall asleep. Brian said he couldn't do this either. So I don't know what we're going to do. We certainly can't afford anymore than one treatment per week through the vet. But as she progresses with her kidney disease, she's going to need more treatments. Has anyone out there been through this with their cat?

Gorgeous weather...

We've been blessed with a warm-up in temperatures, plenty of sunshine and brilliant blue skies. As I do every year, I photograph the maple tree across the street almost every day. It's amazing how quickly it changes. This photo was taken today in the late afternoon. 

"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days."
(John Burroughs)

Brian had the day off work yesterday and we went for an afternoon hike in the State Park. We are so lucky to have this gem close to our house.

If you look closely, you can see a sandhill crane taking off out of the water.

Getting ready for the new couch...

Last month, I told you that we finally bought a new couch from Crate and Barrel after looking for one for over a year. It had to be built - they didn't have the couch we wanted in stock - and it will finally be here on Friday. I'm so excited! The other day when our furnace tune-up guy was here (the son of a friend), he helped Brian move our old couch out to the curb. Luckily, it was snatched up within a few hours.

Our old couch was up against the wall where you see the now-blank space. I packed up the books and pottery from the black shelves, took the two big pictures off the walls and we moved the black shelves and the white table into the basement. Our plan for the new couch is to put it on an angle with the back facing the corner. If that arrangement doesn't work out, we will put the couch in the same place the old one was. 

I love this coffee table. It was my grandma's and it's made by Lane. It's a high-quality, solid (heavy!) piece of furniture. It's too big for our small living room though. Eventually, I want to move this coffee table downstairs into the family room and find a smaller coffee table for the living room. There's other plans I have for the living room too, but one step at a time.

Enjoy the rest of your week. Stay safe and healthy and wear your mask!

💓

christmas prep ~ and my version of a bar cart

I'm mostly ready for Christmas. You might notice from the photo below that I added some sparkly garland and faux pine branches to the window to jazz it up a little. I still have to wrap every single present. I hate wrapping, so I procrastinate until the last moment. You'd think that after all these years I'd have learned my lesson by now. But nooo, the torture continues year after year. My saving grace is gift bags. Put the present in the bag with some tissue paper and it's done. If I do have to wrap a present with actual wrapping paper, it ends up looking like a five-year old had free reign with the scissors and paper. Don't even talk to me about any kind of fancy ribbons or bows. Give me a to/from sticker and I'm good to go. But hey, it's all about what's inside the package, right? No, I didn't wrap those boxes with the pretty blue bows in front of the window. That was done by a talented clerk at a local shop.

I did most of my shopping online ahead of time, so that gave us a chance to leisurely pick up a couple of gifts in a nearby town that has some beautiful independent shops. I've mentioned the Woodstock Square on my blog in the past. Woodstock is the town where they filmed the movie, Groundhog Day. Last week, our weather had been unseasonably warm and rainy. On this particular day when I stepped outside of a store and saw the trees and the Opera House in the background shrouded in fog, I had to snap a pic. I thought it was breathtakingly beautiful.

One of the stores we stopped in had a display of humorous cards. Do you like to read random greeting cards when you see a display? I do. This one made me laugh out loud.

Speaking of drinks...I see everywhere that bar carts are the new thing. I'm assuming this was brought on by Mad Men. We're not big drinkers (heck, we're barely small drinkers) nor do I entertain a lot, so I'm not about to go out and buy a bar cart. However, I did have bottles of accumulated booze from over the years sitting in a cabinet in the basement, plus I had my grandma's cocktail pitcher and a couple of glasses in the cabinet, which are really too pretty to be stored away. So, I brought everything out and arranged it on the console table in the basement family room. The wine rack had already been on the console table. 

Here's the cocktail pitcher (at least that's what I think it is - if I'm incorrect or it has some kind of official name, let me know) and glasses that belonged to my grandma. I don't think she ever used them. She had a lot of pretty stuff that accumulated in her china cabinet. And before you think we drink crappy liquor like Wild Turkey (see the bottle in the background?) ~ that was left here by one of Tim's friends last year. I told Tim he needs to take it back to his place next time he comes here. I asked him if anyone would drink it when he has a party. He said, "Are you kidding, Mom? College kids will drink anything." Sadly true.

The one drink we do like is Moscow Mules. It's our traditional family drink when Tim comes home for a visit. You're supposed to drink Moscow Mules from a copper mug, but we only have one. So we had our MMs out of our regular water glasses last time Tim was here. We keep it classy. ;-)  Well, lo and behold, I was in Goodwill the other day and found these three pretty glasses that I thought would be perfect for our Moscow Mules - at least until I can find two more copper mugs at a decent price. In the meantime, can't beat it for 50 cents each for pretty cocktail glasses.

Happy weekend! I hope that you're done with all your Christmas prep so that you can finally relax (with a drink?) ~ or perhaps you need one. Feel free to stop by...Wild Turkey is up for grabs.

the start of november

 We take a walk around the neighborhood most every late afternoon, marveling and relishing in the unusual warm weather we're having for the beginning of November. We pass kids wearing t-shirts and shorts, chasing soccer balls and riding bikes. Adults are in their yards, raking the seemingly-tons of fallen leaves, cleaning out roof gutters, and painting door trim. This is it - the last chance to finish outdoor work before next spring.

 By the time we're almost home, the sun is starting to set. With the time change, it gets dark at 5:00 now. I hate it. The evenings are so long and drawn out. I look at the clock, thinking it's almost bedtime and it's only 8:00.

With most of the trees bare now, you can clearly see the bird's nests nestled in the branches.

 Remember the movie, Groundhog Day? It was filmed in Woodstock, Illinois ~ a nearby suburb. While I was there today, I walked around the Square and took some photos. It was another beautiful day in the high 60's and the sun was trying so hard to poke through the clouds and fog.

The Woodstock Square is a charming place year-round, not only because of its beautiful park setting, but there's an independent bookstore, an upscale chocolate and coffee place, a small vegetarian restaurant that specializes in Middle-Eastern food, the Opera House, and a nice array of one-of-a-kind shops. Of course, there's also a Starbucks. Isn't there one on every street corner in America?

 

This is the famous gazebo in the Groundhog Day movie. Looks like the parks department was smart and hung the Christmas lights before it's too darn cold. I was amazed at all the color that was still on the bushes and in the surrounding trees.

The Woodstock Opera House is a historical venue for the performing arts. I've only been to a couple of performances here: a classical music (Mozart) concert and a bluegrass concert. Both fantastic. 

 

I know these warm days are fleeting and before we know it, we'll be wearing winter coats and making plans for Thanksgiving. I'm in no hurry.

  

"The month of November makes me feel that life is passing more quickly. In an effort to slow it down, I try to fill the hours more meaningfully." (Henry Rollins)