Castle Retreat, Real Estate Co-op and Shriveled Toes

I'm in the kitchen in the house I grew up in. But I'm an adult.

I take off my socks and notice that a few of my toes are different. I have six toes on one foot, and two are shriveled. And on the other foot, the second toe is also shriveled down, raisin-like. I massage the toe and make it a bit bigger. It's completely numb. I need to call my doctor, but it's evening. I realize I'll reach the on-call doctor, not my real doctor. I think to myself that it's a shame I left my socks on during my wellness exam a few weeks ago. We might've seen this.

I'm in a large room with stone walls with a group of people. There are tables and chairs, so it's like a library or an art room. A young woman is talking to us about the history of the place. I see that she is reading from handwritten pages in a notebook. I wonder if she invented the history she's telling us. It looks to me like she just wrote some fantasy in pencil and is now reading it off to us. Someone asks a detailed question about trolls, and I look at the walls again, wondering if a troll is pretending to be a wall. The walls are amazingly tall, several stories high, and there are a paintings hung, separated by about ten feet in height. She then tells us to write a word on a piece of artwork. The artwork is some posterboard that someone painted a design on. I notice everyone is writing nouns lightly in pencil, as if the words will be erased. I have a wax pencil. All I can think of are adjectives. I'm not sure if I should use pencil and if I have to also write a noun. I'm trying to think of an engineering-related word because I think the woman will use the words in a story that she'll write, and I want to influence it. Finally I choose "formula." I see myself write the "FOR" in thick, greasy marks.

I arrive at an outdoor location where a group of people are meeting. It's my first time there. The female leader is announcing that people need to have a will or something else will be used instead. Another woman doesn't have the will, so she hands back a large piece of paper that's the alternative. As I listen, it appears that the group is about to purchase some land. They ask if I want to own the land, too. I think it's not a good idea, being that I've only just arrived to check the group out, and I don't know what's going on. I say as much, but the woman is very friendly and inviting. I walk with them to see the land they're purchasing. We have to cross the street. Or perhaps it's just a long driveway because there isn't any traffic. Also, it's winter, and some parts that we walk across are slippery with snow and ice and slush. We all walk abreast holding hands. I'm supporting a woman on my left and another on my right, keeping my arms high and rigid, in case either of them fall. And I'm jokingly asking them to make sure I don't fall.

Shadow Shot Sunday Snake

I took this two years ago when our daughter was still interested in playgrounds:



Yesterday while out for a walk, I came across a rooftop with shadows on it. But alas, I did not have a camera with me. Harriet would've enjoyed the feature, I think.

Wednesday Weigh-In 20090812

I've been thinking of creating a "Wednesday Weigh-In" button to encourage others to measure and post their stats every Wednesday. Even if you're at your goal weight, it's a good idea to monitor it.

And we can have a club, like "Body Part Wednesday" that The Blogger Who Calls Herself Square Peg Person just started four weeks ago. Or like "Shadow Shot Sunday" that I just joined on Sunday.

What do you think? Would you join the Wednesday Weigh-In party?

Waist = 36.75"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.

Your Choice: Rocks, or a Dull Blade

"Would you rather die by having your head struck by rocks, or by having your head cut off with a dull blade?" asked my wife.

This was in response to my asking which was worse: her pain, or the nausea caused by the pain med.

She had suffered from nausea since May 29. We only recently figured out that the nausea was a side effect of the opioid that she started in February, an opioid that brought pain down from 6 - 8 to 1. After multiple visits to her primary care doctor, and referrals to a rheumatologist, an endocrinologist, and a gastroenterologist, each one involving either a blood draw or an endoscopy (and a one-week wait plus a co-pay), the answer was to simply stop taking a medication.

Yet it's not so simple. Now off the pain med, her nausea was indeed gone, but the pain was back. And the Pain Management doctor was away on vacation with no backup.

To me, it seemed a no-brainer -- I'd endure nausea to get rid of that much pain. But apparently the nausea is severe enough even to wake her from a deep sleep.

"Rocks" I answered, thinking that a severed neck was just too invasive for me at this time in my life.

"Well, that's the pain that I have to experience for the rest of my life."

"Maybe you could go back on the nauseating med just until the doctor comes back. It probably won't make you nauseous right away."

"And that Dickwad of a doctor went on vacation leaving me without enough pain meds."

It is said that there are times when it's important to just listen and not try to offer solutions. This was definitely one of them.

Shadow Shot Sunday Family Portrait

Inspired by Ribbon's latest Shadow Shot Sunday post, here is my family portrait:



I'm the big goofball in the center. And actually, our daughter's friend is included in the shot, on the far left.

Something different. Thanks, Ribbon. I like Shadows, too!

Is Three a Crowd?

One calm Friday morning in the Spring, my wife was reading one of those little newspapers that feature just classified ads. One ad caught her eye. It was for a kitty that needed a home.

This was about three weeks after we got another companion for our first cat, to replace the one that died during our vacation. Well, not replace, exactly, but you know what I mean.

My wife could tell that our favorite shelter placed the ad. Usually that means the cat is so hard to place, they're willing to forgo the "donation" fee in order to find a home for the cat.

My wife could also tell that it was the same cat she asked about when we got our first cat about 18 months ago. But the owner of the shelter dissuaded us from adopting him saying that he was an aggressive cat.

So she cooed to me across the breakfast table, "No one wants him. We have to adopt him!"

To which I replied, "Oh yes, we must do so. Call right away!!!"

And she did call, completely failing to hear the sarcasm in my reply.

Within just 15 minutes, the arrangements were made -- when I get home from work, there would be a third cat to trip over.

The cat was in a foster home. He'd be driven first to the vet to get his claws trimmed. Usually, the shelter trims claws, but they couldn't do his because he was too aggressive. Then the cat would be dropped off here. We were told that he was neutered recently, so we must not pet him for at least one week, and we should not pick him up for two months.

"What are we getting into?" I wondered. We had such a good arrangement with our two cats. They'd each get a half of a 3oz can of Fancy Feast food with some dry food mixed in. We'd have to get yet another litter box. We'd have to go through the process of keeping the cats segregated and them slowly introducing them.

I drove home from work with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. I always love meeting a cat for the first time. (I wish I could say that about people, but some how I lack that gene.) But I was concerned about the effect an aggressive cat would have on the other pets, especially the dog. Our Golden is a gentle angel who once was frightened away from a baby possum because it squeaked at him! I couldn't stand to think what damage an aggressive cat would do to the big lug. I started to regret this.

But I was met with the most amazing site when I walked in. The new cat, which was considered too aggressive to be at the shelter, and which should have been segregated, was sitting in the middle of the kitchen with the other cats milling about somewhat nonchalantly.

Is this the new, aggressive cat, I wondered, almost disappointed?

Well, we were trying to not pet him, fearing that our hands might get raked by Deadly Daggers of Death. Yet he was consistently rubbing against our legs, showing more affection than the other two cats (whom we have fed and fawned over far longer than this new one).

So, I figured that I'd just sort of bend over while the cat was rubbing against my leg, and I'd just sort of let my hand hang down loosely next to my leg, and I'd sort of let the hand get between my leg and the cat. And then it happened. I pet the little fellow. And then he wandered away.

Very Dramatic.

I picked him up the next day. Aside from being rather heavy, he posed no danger to anyone.

He did show the typical feline dislike of the dog. At first he hissed at the dog whenever he saw him, no matter how far apart they were. Then a week later he hissed whenever they were in the same room together. Then he'd hiss only if the dog directly approached within two feet. But lately, I haven't heard a hiss. And I witnessed him sniffing the dog's feet and flirting with them.

I've trimmed this cat's claws twice so far without too much trouble. He does need to be very drowsy, which means there's a narrow window of opportunity in which to do it, like from an hour after breakfast to within a few hours of supper.

He is a bit domineering. But he's really just a softee whom we have plenty of room for!

Here he is, front and center, the Leader of the Pack:

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2019-07-29 SPG Replaced link from https://www.fourpaws.org/pages/adopting_pages/introducing_cats.html to https://catsofeverywhere.com/maine-coon-kitten/introduction-to-cats-how-to-bring-home-a-new-cat-when-you-have-other-pets/

Wednesday Weigh-In 20090806

Sorry for forgetting to post yesterday! I've been more hungry and eating more. I think this is due to lack of sleep, which my body tries to compensate for by getting me to eat more.

Waist = 37.0"
Height = 5' 9"

References:

1. Wikipedia BMI page
2. Tanita Scale with Body Fat monitor
3. Javascript must be enabled to view the data.