Surprise, Surprise...

I went to Austin to visit my kids for four days.  My son performed in a show some friends of his put together, and he wrote and performed a rap song...in gold lame pants and spray-painted blue shoes!  It was fun and interesting...I got tired just watching them run around the stage.

While I was there, the temperature, with the heat index, was somewhere around 105 degrees.  My daughter doesn't like to use her air conditioner, mostly because it runs up the electric bill, but also because she's used to the heat.  My son, who shares the house, finally decided he needed an A/C for his room, so we went to Lowe's and bought one.  I'll let them work it out.  They're good at compromising with each other, and Dan is willing to pay extra to stay cool.  On my last evening, my daughter finally relented and turned on the A/C.  I think my red, sweaty face convinced her that I'd have heatstroke if she didn't cool things down!

I almost made the trip home Sunday in six hours.  Usually, I get home six hours to the minute, and that includes a gas/potty break.  But I hit the Kountry Korner store in Marquez at a late shift change and had to wait 10 minutes to buy a Coke.  That put me home about 15 or twenty minutes later than usual, but I was in the door by 5:30pm.

My inside cat greeted me with strident meows.  She followed me around all night, even climbing in bed with me, which she hardly ever does.  But I figured she would have her kittens soon, and she did--between my knees, under the coverlet on my new bed!  I slept through the whole thing.  I'm just grateful I didn't roll over on them. 

When I was in junior high school, our family dog, Lady, had her puppies in bed with me.  I slept through that, too!  I had to sleep on the sofa until she moved the babies. 

The four kittens are beautiful, and, as I hoped, one of them looks like Buddy, the tomcat who disappeared about a month ago.  So, I have a replica of him, though nothing will replace him.  My awful neighbor gave Buddy to me--the only remotely "nice" thing she's done since she moved in.  He was my "puppy cat" and followed me around.  A sweet tomcat.  I miss him.

I'll take a picture and post it as soon as things calm down. 

Sixteen Tons, again!

I worked at the bookstore for four hours today and managed to pack about 27 boxes of books to send back to publishers. Most of the boxes were small, around 10 pounds or so, but I managed to clear most of a bay of books. So, I got some work done.

Then I went to the grocery store. On my list I had "Coffee, cat food, toilet paper." So how did I spend $64? Well, I decided I needed bird food for my cockatiel, and for the wild birds (they really like black-oiled sunflower seeds, and I can't find them in the town where I live); I bought marjoram (I ran across a recipe that uses it); I bought six Lean Cuisine dinners (they were on sale--six for $10--a good deal); and, of course, I needed ice cream and a cheese grater (I can't find the one I had), and then I bought some Cheez-Its.

Do you see a connection between any of this? I don't, and I can't figure out how my brain works. It never takes me to the beer or wine aisles; I totally avoided the vegetable section and the canned goods' section. I had a list. So how did all the rest of this stuff end up in my basket? It's a mystery to me. But at least I have a good balance between the "diet food" and the junk food; I also have tomatoes and squash from the garden and a stockpile of frozen veggies to go with anything I choose to cook.

Besides reading student papers (a given), I have a few other projects to work on (Norton Oral History Project, Fall courses, mowing the grass at some point, weeding the garden), and I'll be working at the bookstore on Monday (8am to 5pm--a whole day--yikes!). I won't be idle on my "vacation," that's for sure!

I hope all of my students have a relaxing break! I've tried not to load them down with too much work!

Update on the Budster: We (the vet and I) think Buddy may have gotten into rat poison--what's called a "rodenticide anticoagulant." It's a poison that thins out the rat's blood and eventually kills it. If Buddy ate a rat that had eaten poison, or eaten some of the poison, that could have caused the "spontaneous" bleeding. The vitamin K pills seem to be working. Bud's doing fine, except when I have to give him his medicine. I have to wrap him in a towel to give him the meds so he doesn't scratch the hell out of me. He goes back to the vet in the morning to have his stitches removed. Hooray!

Cat Tails/Tales?

Well, I should find out tomorrow, but I'm thinking the sparrow's head is in Buddy's stomach. He threw up blood Thursday afternoon, so I took him to the emergency vet in Shreveport (my second round trip of the day!), where I paid almost $500 to have the vet tell me that Buddy had a blockage. Duh! So, at 1am, I was driving the highway homeward. I went to bed around 2am Friday, got up around 7:30am, and took Buddy to the local vet. I taught my class, went to lunch with a former student, then drove back to the vet's office.

I like Dr. Anderson. He's a large and small animal vet, which means he deals with horses, sheep, cows, as well as dogs and cats. I love sitting in a vet's office--I've met some wonderful animals and their owners in the last two days. At Dr. Jeff's (that's Dr. A's first name--that's what everyone calls him), I met a Rat Terrier named "Shorty" who was in for a toenail clipping (which Dr. Jeff did himself), a cat named "Lucy," (an orange-striped tabby), a lab named Jojo, who loves to have her head scratched, and a Jack Russell puppy named "Gigi," and her human, who's name is "Daisy." Last night/early this morning, I met a Cocker Spaniel named "Petunia," a Rat Terrier named "Abby," a miniature Shnauzer named "Abbie," a lab named "Hunter," and a lab named "May." No other cats, though.

Dr. Jeff took the time to talk to me about Buddy--is he prone to eating hair scrunchies, rubber bands; does he throw up often? Answer to both questions: No. Buddy likes to play with scrunchies, rubber bands, and yarn (yeah, he's such a typical cat), but he knows the difference between toys and food. He and Bubba will tear the hell out of a catnip mouse, but they won't eat it. I told Dr. Jeff about the sparrow and the missing head. He said he checked the x-rays from the emergency clinic and said he planned to do an exploratory surgery on Buddy and keep him overnight. I expected the doc to call, but he might have had a large-animal emergency. (And I found out that, at night, he only deals with large animals. So he doesn't come in for small animal emergencies.)

I trust him--even though he seems to be rather youngish (but how do I know?). Dr. Jeff is personable, asks interesting questions, and seems to know the animals he cares for quite well. He wants to know and he treated my concerns seriously, even the money question. How much? About $150, unless he has to resect a bowel! Next time, I'll just wait for Dr. Jeff's office to open to take in a sick animal. But now I have a local vet to vaccinate my cats and treat them when they swallow birds' heads whole!

But the question that's plaguing me now is "How much is an animal worth?" If I had to choose between paying $1,000 to save my cat or $1,000 to save my child, of course, the answer is obvious. But my children are grown; my cats are my companions. They share my life and complete my home; I couldn't imagine living without them. I think that, because I lost Judas to the dogs, I'm particularly vulnerable right now. I've raised Buddy--he wasn't more than six week's old when my neighbor handed him to me. He's my puppy-cat and follows me around. I would hate to lose him, especially when I can do something to prevent it.

I can't wait to get him home. But I think I won't let him go outside for a while!