…diagnosis, minor UTI infection, possibly surfaced due to stress and long trip confined, but now under treatment and much happier kitty. The other was willing to cross the room and sniff my hand this morning, still not inviting touch, but trying to assess who I am. This is progress.
We are still sleeping at 8pm until 6:30 Am, just worn out. We watch telly and just crash. But so far all is well: the boxes shipped made it here: the whole house is awash in packing tissue—and we are still sorting.
This is good. New felines sound like they’re adjusting.
ETA: Took car in for service this morning: the seal on the engine oil pan needed to be replaced. Next big repair: ball joints, as their rubber (or synthetic?) bits are going and they’re starting to lose grease (not really noticeable, yet). The service guy says it’s good for years yet – they’ve had the rechargeable batteries, the other big-ticket item, go past 200K miles.
Male kitties, I’m sure you know, have a higher risk for urinary tract troubles as they age, whether crystals or stones passing in their urine, narrowing at the key points along the path from the kidneys to the bladder to the outside world, shall we say, or whatever other issues, chemical and anatomical, and dietary there may be. This, despite good diet and water and whether they do or do not like dairy.
I’m going to be watching out for my younger kitty, now over 8, as he seems more at risk than the older guy, who’s over 11 now. The younger one is the street rescue as a kitten, stunted his whole life from gestation up through his first six to eight weeks when he was rescued and given to me. He is much like Shu, from your descriptions, but he is short, small, and tries to fit what would probably be a normal-sized kitty weight into that small body. So he is, um, we shall say he tends toward portly. He’s too overweight, but not as much so as he was headed for a while. I am still known to say he’s a butterball, though. He’s also the one who doesn’t know how to stop eating. — I recently was in the bathroom when he used the litterbox to pee, and well, that’s not entirely atypical for a male cat who’s older, but it told me I need to be more aware of how the little guy is doing in that department, so he doesn’t develop a problem, so I can catch it and have it treated if one does start, whatever issue could happen.
The other guy is long and lanky and has natural appetite control. It’s as if when he was neutered, he got stuck on permanent “lanky teenager” body type. Heh. Or maybe he has a little Siamese in there under the black and white tuxedo. From his build, it does seem possible. Or maybe it’s just alley cat. 🙂 But so far, he doesn’t seem to have any issues developing, and this is good for a cat over 11. if he makes it to 13 and over, he will have outlived any of my previous cats. I hope both of these guys can.
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I’ll bet the new old kitty is much happier with things getting easier in that department. Being male, I have a certain built-in sympathy there. Heh. But nobody likes having a problem in that department. — I have seen some cat food that advertises cranberries as an ingredient, touting these for urinary tract health. I know that’s supposed to help both women and men of the human persuasion, so I don’t know how good it is for cats. But whatever will help your now four guys is of use.
Good that the other little guy is beginning to think you and Jane are good people worth knowing, if not quite sure about that yet. Heh. Cats being cats, they’ll decide this on their own terms, but generally definitive about it once they do. 🙂
Gah, packing and unpacking! My sympathies. I want my stuff out of storage, but much of it will have to go, because there’s not room in the apartment for that much and to live freely, casually, unencumbered. — If I somehow got a roommate and/or significant other (neither seems likely at present) that would mean a further winnowing down of at least the other bedroom. Unless, er, hey, it was the significant other, in which case, this would not be so much of an issue. Maybe. Heh. … Yeah, I wish. At this point in life, I would be astonished if it happens. I don’t know where my Mr. Right went, looks or age or whatever else, but…well, I wish I’d been more comfortable with myself a lot earlier on. Dang, I wish I’d wised up before college or during. But, well, I’m just me. My life turned out how it is, and I have no access to a time machine to convince my younger self otherwise. So, well, it’s me and the cats, and likely to stay that way. Unless Mr. Right somehow crosses my path and we take one look at each other and know. Yeah, I guess I’m still that sappy romantic I was back then, just a big less uptight…maybe. Hope so.
Anyway, here’s hoping that unpacking goes well and Jane and you get to feeling better, less tired as well as easier of mind. I know that will take time for Jane. Please give her a big hug. I’m sure she needs it. One or two from me for you both for spares. 🙂
My two cats are busy being cats, napping on the bed and a favored box that needs to be unpacked. But hmm, something will need to replace that box to continue the favored sleeping spot it has become. Why it’s so preferred, I don’t know, but something about it meets the kitty seal of approval for a good sitting and sleeping spot, and both cats share it. So I’m in favor of them being in favor, I guess I’m saying. Heheh.
Please take care of yourselves.
I watched a 2016 or 2017 documentary from Netflix and Time Magazine, entitled, The Mars Generation. It features high school kids attending Space Camp, being bright and articulate and very much in favor of an expanded, manned space program and going to Mars; as well as NASA scientists, plus Bill Nye the Science Guy, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Dr. Michio Kaku, all being very enthusiastic about space exploration. There is a brief summary section on the history of NASA’s space program to date, including criticism of the current situation. There is video of the teens doing science and technology experiments for camp, physical training, and generally acting like normal teens. This is very much like seeing half-grown, real live space cadets in training. With the added zinger that these same teens and others like them, will likely be the astronauts and technical folks around when and if we do make it to Mars by around 2030. Seeing these kids, being reminded they are halfway between “kid” and “adult” in that awkward but promising mid to late teen stage, where they are getting more toward young adult than young kid, and seeing their enthusiasm and intelligence, seeing them as our closest equivalent to space cadets, was really heartening.
if you get a chance, watch this. I only found it on Netflix, though it might be on Amazon. It does not show up on iTunes. Whether it aired on one of the cable channels, I don’t know.
But this was really encouraging, and I couldn’t help but think of these as the closest thing we have to young spacers. These teens show a lot of promise. I really hope they get the chance to go into space and to contribute as scientists, engineers, astronauts, artists, heck, traders and business people, authors, anything that keeps that spark alive.
One caveat: They focused a lot on one of the young guys, more so that another one of the guys, and gave time later in the documentary to a couple of the young ladies. I would’ve liked to have seen a more balanced view and more from the other teens. That said, the four or five teens they interviewed, along with showing all the campers doing activities, did present a good case for those of us who are already prone to be in favor of space, and maybe will inspire some parents and teachers and some students to push for kids to learn about and enter space. The camp looked, yes, geared to the self-described “space nerds.” That is fine. As a teen, I was more the science fiction geek and general computer and liberal arts sort of geek, heavy on the language geek, more so than consumed by wanting to be an astronaut. This might have been my natural bent, combined with my eyesight making me not good at sight or sports and unable to drive. But — I would’ve been very much in favor of Space Camp.
I liked the documentary and intend to rewatch it.
So if you and Jane want something heartening to watch, please do.
Please also feel free to grumble along with the folks on screen about the current state of our American space program. That said, the documentary also did a decent job of explaining why we needed to set aside the shuttle program and develop newer, better reusable ground-to-orbit rockets and shuttles and cargo transport, and why we badly need to refocus on getting past orbit and out to Mars. it did not sugar-coat this or the early history of the US and Russian space programs, or the current compromise. But if the current situation gets the US and Russia more willing cooperate with each other and the other space programs and private business, toward getting beyond Earth orbit, or toward getting along on the planet, well, then that would be a good step. It would be an improvement.
And…some of those teens and others like them just might end up working on space technology here on Earth, or as astronauts in space. They are likely to be among the top of their classes in college. Or I would hope so. Also, they were funny and typical and personable. If they end up as astronauts, or space technology folks, that would be great.
Note also, when I tried a Wikipedia lookup and then Google, it seems that one of the young ladies, who didn’t get much screen time, is actually a strong and vocal proponent for The Mars Generation as a project and non-profit org, and she works toward space interest online: Abby H. (I didn’t retain her last name and will need to look it up.) But online, she’s known as “Astronaut Abby.”
So, a neat documentary, an easy hour and some minutes, maybe an hour and a half, a single episode.
Agree with BCS’ assessment of Mars Generation. It was good fun to watch, although I started to feel a little left behind when I compared myself at that age to the articulate, intelligent kids of Space Camp. Then I remind myself that if I wanted a computer at that age, I would have had to build it myself and teach myself programming to make it go. OTOH at that age I could name every plant and weed in the immediate area, and give you an idea if it could be used for medicine or eating or (like poison ivy) stay away.
This morning, I had a new problem, called in to the apt. mgr’s. office. There was some kind of short affecting the circuit for my microwave and refrigerator, so they were going on and off every couple of seconds, beeping, and the fridge light was not turning on. Nothing else seems affected. And then about an hour after calling it in, it might be back to normal. But I’m still eager for them to come by and check it, since it indicates some weakness or fault there, a short or other problem. Best estimate, maybe this afternoon. They claimed it’d be given emergency priority. OK, maybe. Dicey whether it’ll go out again. At least the fridge and microwave do not appear to have been fried, but I’m not convinced they’ll stay on or the circuit will stay safe. My other thought is more worrisome: The water leak from around Christmas and New Year’s. Really hope that’s not back, between the walls or the floor and ceiling between the upstairs or neighboring apartment. Sigh. So…well, I also called a friend to see if they can pick up an Igloo cooler, in case, or maybe a dorm fridge (those half-size, half-functional small refrigerators). Meanwhile, with luck, I’ll get to the grocery store Friday.
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Yup, I agree with Chondrite. Kinda makes a guy or girl feel a little outclassed, seeing those kids so very, very accomplished so early. I was a smart kid, but likely so were most of the other fans here. Advanced classes, almost all A’s and B’s, top 10% of my class, college-bound, tested out moderately well in math and science, extra well in verbal and language and liberal arts. But I was not in Calculus yet in high school, and Physics, I just didn’t do well at. (I had it as a senior in high school and then an attempt in college. I always add a force where it doesn’t belong or forget one where it does. Oh, I might be able to pilot a starship if I had to, but really, you’d want a hot pilot, not me. Com/Comp, maybe, if I were aboard a starship.
By comparison, I had a computer camp course one summer as a sophomore with other blind and handicapped kids, the first test class they offered, and as a high school senior, also in the first test class for computers, taught by one of the teachers who’d had a programming course in college. He was learning the material the night before he taught us. Enough TRS-80’s for half a class, enough Commodor 64’s for half a class in another room. We managed to learn a little about Pascal and FORTRAN and COBOL. At home, I got an Apple IIe and was pretty happy with it. But then the first Mac came out a year later. Hah. And Compaq’s new 386 PC’s, before Windows. So in college, I learned (old) C, Pascal, and Fortran in an intro computer class, two semesters. Aced that but was lucky to pull a D in Data Structures. (But that was when I had an internal problem, not dealing with being gay. … I remember trying to read one chapter in that textbook, going back over it, because I was looping so bad at the time over my personal issues, I couldn’t retain the chapter material. It was a weed-out course too.)
So by comparison, the kids in that Space Camp are pretty sharp, maybe the top 5%, but at least the top 10%, I would guess. Or highly motivated, passionate for space. Either way, absorbing everything they can about it. Motivated.
Excellent for them and great to see. — And they’re also still obviously typical teens. — I had to laugh at one of the boys declaring something about the “hydro-popo” being in there. Meaning the hydroponics room, probably. In this very cavalier and serious and swagger-filled way that only a teen can pull off in quite that style. 😀 (Also, haha, big hair on a couple of those kids, everything from a super petite girl to a lanky tall boy who hadn’t filled out yet. So, great kids.
With both you and Jane being wise in the way of kitties, I’m sure you will win friends and influence kitties to amalgamate into a more blended household but like anything worth doing, it will take time and patience. Hope you have headed the kitty UTI off at the pass, and the little guy will get well fast.
I don’t know which is worse, packing stuff or unpacking it. They’re both time consuming and tiring. Good that you are able to sleep. Take care of yourselves and each other.
The chemo drug I had the bad reaction to last month was not the one they thought it was. It was the one I’d already gotten four doses of, and when I got my fifth dose of it Monday week ago, I broke out in the same old rash I had before, plus a new one of a different kind. The skin reaction is ongoing and I was spectacularly red and splotchy when I showed up for knitting group Tuesday night. The one bright spot in this veil of tears is that the rash doesn’t itch. Now they are going to have to totally rethink my chemo regimen and fall back to one of the older drugs, all of which are just generally more toxic and harder on the body than the one they were giving me. Sigh!
On a more positive note: At the moment, I’m having a raspberry jam sandwich. The jam is delicious, but Bon Maman neglected to strain out the seeds before she made the jam, so needless to say, it is a bit crunchier than I’m used to — though no less tasty. The steroids have me craving sweets and I figured the jam was a wiser food choice than Häagen-Dazs or Blue Bell Cherry Vanilla.
Oh, I can vouch for Blue Bell Cherry Vanilla. 😀 — I can’t seem to find Black Cherry preserves / jelly, darn it. I will look again for regular Cherry. I like the extra depth or tartness of Black Cherry, although I admit, it might be just my imagination going. — Blue Bell ice cream is still a hit here, but I tend to buy pints, so I can store two or three flavors and not take up freezer space, and act like I’m controlling portions. Confession: I ought to get back to half a pint per serving. Er, I had gotten in a bad habit of eating a full pint at a time. This, from a guy who weight all of 135 pounds soaking wet at high school graduation. However, in my defense (rationalization, barganing) I’m only about 185 now, may have lost a little, and I weigh a good bit less than either of my parents did my age. — I’m now about the age my dad was when I was 16. I am still not used to being 52 and I am not ready to be “middle-aged” or “senior” yet. (AARP sent me a letter inviting me to join, the other day. At least they offer good benefits, though, which softened the blow. Heheh.) Oddest of all is thinking, you know, my grandmother made it to 102, I just might have around 50 more years. With a bit of luck, we might have reached Mars by then, or maybe in half that time.
Sorry to hear about the bad reaction to the chemo, WOL; I hope it recedes without itching, and that they sort it out before the next application.
How about a nice slice of bread or toast with dark chocolate sprinkles, for when you have a chocolate craving and don’t want to eat too much fatty chocolate?
I think this is a Dutch habit other countries find strange, eating chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag) on bread for breakfast or lunch, but it works very well for me as an occasional in-between snack. A nice slice of bread (or toast, if it’s that soft tasteless storebought kind of American bread), some butter or peanutbutter* to stick on the sprinkles, and then a nice layer of dark or semi-sweet sprinkles.
The bread helps satisfy the sense of being full, and good brown or multigrain bread doesn’t give such an all-at-once peak in bloodsugar but more of a slow release of satisfying carbs (my tummy really likes carbs); the strong taste of many bites of good dark or semi-sweet chocolate will appease the chocolate craving with much less weight of chocolate eaten than if I start by taking one piece, then another, and can’t stop until I’ve eaten half a chocolate bar (50 grams or so), if I’ve got a real craving.
* I prefer sticking on the chocolate with a very thin layer of peanutbutter (instead of butter), as I love peanut-and-chocolate “rocks” sweets.
Oh WOL, indeed I hope the rash dissapears and (as, perhaps?) your knitting grows in length and beauty. I also hope they can find another, less harsh chemo treatment for you.
Hanneke’s idea of chocolate on a nice, hefty bread/toast certainly sounds good to me!
Lately I’ve been favoring cinnamon toast, oatmeal or cereal with almond milk (lactose intolerant) for breakfast.
I have one of those old metal shakers with a screw on lid from the 1950’s, which I think may have either originally been intended for flour (to thicken gravy and roll dough with) or powdered sugar. However, I have it filled with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. I make toast with my substantial English Toasting bread, thinly margarine it, and then sprinkle on a dusting of the cinnamon/sugar mix that is heavy on the cinnamon, which I love. That’s a kick start breakfast for me.
I find that instead of having distinct meals organized with several foods and separated by several hours (as in the traditional three meals), I am grazing throughout the day (I’m pretty stay-at-home anyway, and more so lately, so this works well. Wouldn’t work for someone who worked outside the home or did a bunch of running around). I’ll eat one thing, then maybe an hour and a half later, I’ll eat another thing — a can of crushed pineapple, a few crackers and some cheese, or a plate with some cantaloupe, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes and some Ranch to dunk. I may have a can of soup and a couple pieces of toast. There are two set times when I have to eat — breakfast and something in the evening — because the medication I take has to be taken with food. But foodwise, the rest of the day is really unstructured. I find I don’t have that post lunch slump and desire to nap, and my energy and concentration level is better.
For the tea lovers, I’ve found a new thing. It’s called a London Fog. It’s Earl Grey tea with milk and vanilla. There are recipes on line, but as I am not a milk drinker — I love cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. I just don’t like milk. — I use almond milk instead, which you can get with vanilla already in. The London Fog is on the order of a chai latte in terms of proportion, and I’ve seen a recipe where you make the tea with hot milk like you’re supposed to make chai latte. I make the tea with water and add the vanilla almond milk, putting in enough to lighten the tea to a chai latte shade. It’s great hot, but it’s also great poured into a pitcher or carafe and refrigerated. Thought I’d pass it along.
Have you ever tried Earl Grey Cream? It’s Earl Grey with an admixture of something vanilla-ish that lightens it up from standard Earl Grey; I’ve seen it usually with flecks of dried cornflower that distinguish it from the regular.
That’s probably lavender buds, not cornflower.
https://www.spiceandtea.com/earl-grey-cr-me-tea.html
You can get Earl Grey Cream with lavender as well, but the ones I normally get have cornflower accents.
Not bad enough they put Bergamot in a good black tea, sorry Jean Luc, but then they flower it up with lavender? Or was it really bad tea floor sweepings to begin with? Make your tea with loose tea!
It’s something like half a teaspoon of lavender buds brewed with the tea, in the recipe I found. I’m willing to try it, but I don’t guarantee enjoying it. (One cup strong Earl Grey with lavender, 1/2 cup steamed (or at least very hot) milk of any kind, 1 tablespoon sugar or equivalent, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract; strain the lavender out of the tea before adding the other stuff.)
Have you tried “Lady Grey”? It has much less bergamot and is easier to handle for a lot of people.
I’ve tried Earl Grey tea twice, two boxes. I didn’t like one of the tastes, apparently the oil of bergamot, the only thing I could guess was off for me. It wasn’t an allergy, just a taste preference. However, most teas, I like.
WOL, I hope your skin reaction eases up soon and your chemo regimen is something you can handle OK. You could try a really awesome hat, or rock the bald look, go for your fierce punk alternative side. Personally, I wish we would all get better about that for girls and women. People are more sensitive to it now, but still lagging behind. But then, I’m in favor of a smart and assertive lady, whether quite traditional or quite alternative. That preference runs in the family. 🙂
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The maintenance guy was by and checked the breaker, but did not also check the outlet(s) nearby. His recommendation? He says the breaker’s fine but might be weak if there’s heavy usage. He said if the power goes out again, call the office so they can send him/someone over then. Well, OK, but darn it. — So it’s OK for now, but I would’ve liked a more thorough checkup.
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My friend had time today, so I took my chance while the gettin’ was good, and went for groceries. Yay! Oh, I’m fairly sure I left out something I’m not thinking of, but I got what I needed most and a couple of extras, so I’m good with it. — Darn it, no pints of Blue Bell Cherry Vanilla, but I did get ice cream along with necessities. Yay, I have milk again too. 🙂
His daughter is already thinking about where she wants to go to college and what she wants to study. Cool! I was surprised: it seems three of her teachers went to Texas A&M, and so she wants to go there to study to be a choir and music teacher. I didn’t know they have a good music program. However, I was a maverick among all the engineering and vet. science and ag. students: I was an English major, with much French and some computer science going on. So I had the very nice chance to talk about some things she and her mom and dad could look into while making their decision and getting ready for her college. She’s a high school freshman, so she has a few years to get ready. I talked about what was available for incoming freshmen and prospective students to tour the campus and orientation programs and so on. (I just recalled a couple of points I should also tell her dad.) Plus, I made a few suggestions of other things available, in case her interests run that way. — I mostly loved going there, and if I had only been able to work out my personal hangup at the time and come out, I think I might have been able to pull out of the nosedive I did, and I might have graduated from there, instead of the longer, stranger route I took. (Oh, my transcript is definitely one of those “non-traditional student pathways,” haha. Enough for a couple of minors, likely, but not enough coursework in either of two or three majors for the bachelor’s degree. I have an associate’s degree with honors, but the degree isn’t great.) My friend’s daughter is very into choir and swimming, and so she wants to teach music and choir. I pointed out that she has a good chance to learn instruments and the tech. side of audio/voice/sound engineering, since she’s thinking about it this early. I suggested AV club and volunteering with the theater kids to learn sound work and broaden her interests and contacts and friends, and said there may be high school classwork she can get for audio/sound engineering, using computers and audio equipment and instruments together to make music. And if she’s interested in singing professionally, hey, get with other kids or try out for local bands. Austin is more known for that, but there are opportunities here in town and there at A&M, either bands starting up, or bands who are touring and making a name for themselves. — He was really happy to hear my input, and I might get the chance to visit the campus again sometime this year. That would be cool. — I also pointed out the Galveston campus, but he didn’t know if she has much of any interest in their specialty programs there with ocean tech. engineering or marine sciences, sea cadet programs, and so on. But it would be an option. Military service runs in his family, but he doesn’t know if she’s going to be interested. I talked a little about what I knew of that, in case. (My opinion was that a young woman would have a better chance in the Navy or Air Force, but I have the idea she’ll go as a civilian student. I gave a little of what I knew of the process, and I ought to tell him what else I know towards becoming a cadet there. I believe they make a choice in their sophomore year whether to continue on a path towards becoming an officer, or simply staying in the Corps but not seeking a commission or a military career. However, it is the real deal. They can be graduated as commissioned officers if they meet the requirements in the process.)
So I was encouraged today, and I’m curious what A&M’s music program is like. — I had a couple of other suggestions, since I’ve done amateur voice work for SF&F fan drama podcasts in Star Trek fandom. So there are some fun things she could get into early on, and I’m curious, since it relates to my own interests, to look into a few things more. I felt like I did my good deed for the day.
I had forgotten to say that she can meet with the dean of her department / college or other professors, to see what she thinks and to get tips on prep studies, and to make contact with folks in the department. When I went, it was also common for individual upperclassmen or grad students to give a one-on-one tour of the campus, answer questions, and go over traditions, popular places, whatever the prospective student might be interested in. This was, I think, better than a tour guide herding a mass of twenty or more high school students around campus. And, well, I may have ended up a non-traditional student, but I’m the kind who likes learning and academia, even so. — I’ve met his daughter briefly twice, and she’s a typical mid-teen, but polite and bright, and so if it helps her start a good, successful college education and turns out a smart, take-charge young woman eager to sing and teach, awesome. I’m convinced we need lots of arts to be balanced, educated human beings and for personal enrichment. I’m still convinced it is as needed for a well-rounded, educated person, as the sciences are. I think everyone needs a little of both sides in today’s world. I’ve known plenty of tech folks, and nearly all of them have some hobbies and interests in some arts and music and such things, and I think someone in the liberal arts is better if they know some technical skills too.
I had some advice towards, hey, earning a living and paying the bills, while working towards that dream of success in an arts field. With a mom who had a degree in English and was a professional artist, and had a good mind for business also, and a dad who was an engineer and who loved history and appreciated the arts, well, I grew up hearing you need both and you need business skills to support yourself, if you’re going to make the arts your professional life goal.
Heheh, I should get down off my liberal arts soapbox. 😀 But I’m happy to know his daughter might want a career in teaching and in music in some way. (Teaching and ministry also run in my family, so I’m in favor.) And goodness knows, the world needs all the help it can get these days to get better instead of worse.
I get non-traditional – my brother was in a non-traditional program for a year or so, and he got his PhD without actually getting the master’s – the people overseeing his doctorate agreed he’d done the work. I have an AA and a total of 300-some quarter units of not-bachelor’s (dropped out three classes short, but they were three I had no chance of passing; also money).
Lately, I am doing two or three meals and a snack or two throughout the day/night. My portions are maybe a little smaller. This differs from the grazing habit I was in for a while, similar to what WOL describes. I am not sure anything has affected my weight much. I might have lost a little, but it’s hard to tell.
Still no electrician or maintenance guy, but there’s a bright spot: around 10:30am yesterday, the electrical circuit stopped glitching and has stayed steady for now, so my refrigerator and microwave are not out permanently, and so I did not lose my food. (Yay!) If a maintenance guy doesn’t show up today, I will be calling again tomorrow, _after_ my planned, needed trip to the grocery store, to get them moving on it. If there’s a weakness in that circuit, a switch or outlet, whatever, I want it fixed. Don’t want to have a bad surprise at some point from my refrigerator, for sure.
I had an inspiration, the seed of an idea for what’s likely a short story. At this point, I’d be surprised and happy if I could get it far enough and with plot enough for a novella or novel. But I like the seed, it’s clever and cute and I can’t recall an SF story that’s really used it. So I’m giving it a shot as an exercise or test at this point, to see if I can get it into a completed story. I am going to make myself outline first instead of diving in and writing, as stream of consciousness has only been getting me so far and not enough. The seed, though, needs fleshing out with a plot and more toward the characters. World-building, I think will work itself out, but likely won’t be quite what I have for other stories in the old virtual file drawer. So this should keep me busy a while. When I get going on an idea, I can do ten or twenty pages of rough draft in a day. Great, but not necessarily quality, just draft. So, y’know, I have some education towards how to write and literary criticism, work experience with editing, amateur experience with editing amateur web fiction, and a small number of things on my site, plus a fair-sized quantity in that virtual file drawer of half-baked stuff. So…how come I don’t have finished stories lately? And I wish personal life / issues would stop intruding into my writing. So, well, I have a goal to get this and one other story completed. I’m going to set this one first, during the summer, and I’m telling myself the other, whichever it ends up being, before the end of the year. If I get going better on writing, I’d be very pleased, but baby steps first. I want to get something done towards writing, just to satisfy myself, at this point. If I can get that far, then I’ll have fulfilled a major goal, and I can progress toward more shorts and try towards a novel or an anthology. I keep thinking an anthology of shorts in the same story-universe could work just as well as a novel, at least for an indie publication. I’ve scaled back on the goal toward pro publication until I can prove to myself that I can get a short and a novella or novel from start to finish. But it’s a goal still. I feel OK with my world-building. I keep getting ideas, but often only in pieces, a character or a situation or chapters, but not necessarily a full plot. So I’m still inching toward it. I feel like I have some sort of block, a plateau to get past, and then maybe I’ll do better at this. Dang it, if those new indie writers can self-publish amateur to professional level stuff, I should be able to also. At least I’m happy with the new idea, and I want to return to a few others and see what I can do with them.
My stories come in disconnected scenes, without actual plots showing up. It’s annoying.
I’ve dreamed whole stories — plots and all — awakened and scribbled frantically to get them all down in a spiral notebook with a ball point tucked into the spiral I keep in my night stand drawer for obvious reasons. Not more than one or two, but wow. My dreams, when I remember them, are typically kind of random and collage-like, but now and again I have one that has characters and a plot and all the bells, lights and whistles. Really freaks me out.
I had one like that, got it written down after I woke up, and it’s a reasonably coherent short story. (I did have to change the names before letting it out, even though they were “noms-de-web”.)
The story has a sketch of characters, but so far, doesn’t seem to want to find a plot. Yet the hook seems good. I’d wanted to outline it, but now I think I need to write something to get a direction going, then step back and outline and write. It is being more difficult than I think it should be to get it going.
Then last night, I sat down to write something, and was greatly surprised by what came out, something very dark-fic in SF. The odd thing is, it’s proceeding, so I wrote until I reached a stopping point and intend to write more on it, to see what it does. I anticipate it would need further editing or drafts. I don’t know yet what to make of it. Not usual for me to go anywhere in that direction. So, :: shrugs :: I don’t know yet what to think of that one, but I’m willing to keep it going to see how I do and what happens, since it seems to want to keep going.
If I can get through creating a whole plot that I don’t think I’ve seen before, on some story draft or other, I will be very glad, as this seems to be the big hurdle for me.
I get the impression maybe I’ll find it easier to write villains or people doing bad things. Somehow, I have a problem doing this. (I had one story where I was trying to write something, and yet the two characters ended up stopping with a long, talky break which amounted to both apologizing to each other, when, uh, there wasn’t supposed to be anything to apologize for, from their story POV. Heh, I ended up tossing that one in frustration, and I know I should be able to write better villains or mixed-motive or other such dubious / ambiguous characters. But apparently, I’m still figuring out how to separate my own personality and voice from story-characters. So…still learning, still feel like a newbie.)
But it’s danged fun trying!
I just pre-ordered Alliance Rising. Hurray!
Speaking of kitties, Zorro started doing the frantic grooming dance about a month ago. I assumed fleas, but after 3 weeks, 2 squeeze-on treatments, and one outright flea bath with no joy, off to the vet she went. It seems she has developed a food allergy and the vet has to order Hill’s z/d special canned food for her. Meanwhile, I have her on a ‘novel proteins’ diet: quail with carrot, rabbit with sweet potato, etc. The side effect is that she has the Smokey Scarfs and actively shoves Junior off his food dish, gobbling the food she isn’t supposed to have. I have to feed her in the computer room and close the door, or she will come hunting for more food. I’ve even caught her up on the kitchen counters; last time, she managed to knock over the cover I had on Junior’s food container and did a faceplant in the can! Bad cat!
CJ & Jane, you have my sympathies on the loss of your sister. It’s a hard road, one I’ve traveled, and exhausting … I hope you can continue to get rest as you can. Bless you for taking such loving care of the elder kitties.
WOL, I hope your rash improves; glad it’s not itchy at least. We have a dear relative who got a similar sounding odd rash while on a chemo drug test trial … he was the “study case” … looked awful but also didn’t itch.
Hanneke, we learned the joys of SPRINKLES (especially the dark chocolate kind!) on a lovely journey through Netherlands. We brought little boxes back in every corner of our suitcases for the grandson. Managed to find sources here in the US, and they are a family favorite, often in Christmas stockings. Grandson considers them an essential food group lol, and “NEEDS” them on his breakfast toast. On Nutella if he can get away with it, more likely on sunflower butter (peanut allergy) or even just butter. A few years ago, camping in a cabin in Michigan, we hit the flower bulbs store with the big room of Dutch foods, and bought way too many almond paste cakes and boxes of sprinkles for 2 people old enough to know better. The next morning, sitting outside, I noticed the cute family in the cabin next door … 2 very tall parents, 4 little blond children, chattering in “not English”. A bit of chatting later, my husband came back over and said they were from the Netherlands, here on vacation. ALL the cakes and the BIG box of sprinkles promptly went over to the children. In a few minutes, each one, in turn came over to shyly whisper their “Thank You” in perfect English … adorable. Their mom said the thing they were most missing was their sprinkles for breakfast.
Hope you don’t mind my chiming in … I’m very new here, but have been reading and lurking happily for a long time.
Glad to hear from you, Cathy!
Also, good to hear there are sources of dark chocolate sprinkles in the USA, as I agree with your grandson: it’s a necessary food group.
Well, she gets style points for weird table manners, aka the faceplant. And for tenacity, persistence, and sneakiness. (I have never had a cat who liked any of the Hill’s Science Diet foods.)
My cat story contribution and neighbor not-quite-meeting story for the week:
Well, I almost met the neighbors with the mom/wife who often calls for her son or husband (some relative) by a specific name. … And yet I somehow didn’t. I’m a little perplexed by that, but OK, I’m going to consider it the human version of the way cats can be standoffish without meaning to be rude.
Late this afternoon, I started hearing a kitten meowing, calling for someone. When this kept up, I went outside twice and looked around and called and didn’t see the kitten, and only heard him/her once while outside. So I went back in. Probably a stray, or maybe in another apartment and I was mistaking what I was hearing, I thought.
Nope, the kitten started up again. By then, it had been around an hour or two, and it was dark out.
So I went out again. Nope, not on the balcony above me. Aha, I heard the kitten. Under a car or in the car? Under, I decided. And calling and not wanting to come out. OK, little guy or girl, you want mama or your person or littermates.
Well, heck. By now, much calling going on. I have no idea whose car it is and don’t want to be messing with any neighbor’s car and have them think I’m trying to vandalize it, etc. (Esp. not since one apt. dweller somewhere nearby is a big guy with a bad, violent temper who has twice gone after his spouse/girlfriend or (I sure hope) his ex and not current.)
Hmm. But this fool kitten keeps meowing, and nothing good is going to happen if he/she doesn’t get help. So naturally, being the blame-fool sentimental goofball I am, I park myself by the car and start calling to the kitten, sure any neighbors, adult or kid, male or female, are likely to think, well, he’s a bit off, isn’t he, talking to a car and an imaginary kitten like that? 😀 So I’m feeling rather self-conscious, but I figure the kitten needs help. So I try talking, calling, cat noises, etc. As one does when dealing with stubborn, skittish, unknown cats.
I was out there a few minutes, with one person who walked by, confused or amused at my antics, likely. 😀 And then, aha, another neighbor’s door opened, and the mother and a daughter came out. So I look over to them (can’t see them too well in the dark, my vision’s pretty bad these days). The mom and the girl talk a moment, they hear the kitten, and the girl decides she’ll try to coax the kitten out too. The mom went back inside, without saying hello or introducing herself. (I know her voice but not her name. Dismay, here.)
So for a while there, the daughter and I are both sitting by this car, trying to coax out this kitten, who only wants to call for mama or whoever, but won’t come out. But then the kitten moved, so the girl saw the kitten. Good! Now we knew the kitten wasn’t stuck, just scared.
More sitting and calling to the kitten. I said hello and said my name, thinking hey, I really should’ve already introduced myself again. … And got no answer from the girl. But I am chalking this up to, either she was busy concerned about the kitten, or maybe she didn’t quite hear me. — We continued trying to get the kitten to come out. OK, I figure it’s a start, and maybe not too different from the kitten side of things, with the human neighbors.
And after this has gone on a bit more, aha, a stray cat shows up and calls. Well, how ’bout that! it is apparently mama, finally back to check on her baby. (And mama apparently checked on me and on the girl, and didn’t seem too afraid of us, just wanted to hiss to get across that this is her kitten and not ours. Which seems perfectly reasonable to me.)
So we withdrew a little, and then the girl and I decided to go in. I’d said something else, thinking being nice in parting would at least not go amiss. Didn’t really get an answer then either. Well, gee, OK, kid, but a little more of a goodbye than, I’m going in, would’ve been appropriate.
I went in, trusting that mama would coax her baby out and take the kitten back to their den, wherever they live. — And I think / hope that’s what happened. I didn’t hear the kitten after that.
I went in, and of course, my two cats were extremely interested in the goings-on, with me having been just outside the door calling for another cat, a kitten, they could likely hear it all just fine. And no new cat for them to meet and greet, be friendly or not. Two disappointed felines, who were then very eager to make sure I knew they wanted my attention, because (clearly) I belong to them and not some cute new kitten who goes around hiding under cars, no matter how nice the cars might be. Heh.
Smokey later had to paw frantically at the window, so I presume mama or another stray cat around the complex may have been by.
I’m not sure whether I’m relieved or disappointed, not to have rescued a stray kitten, but if mama is around to claim her kitten, then the kitten plainly belongs with mama. So I’m counting this as good enough. (Though it would be far better if mama and kitten and any siblings had a real home, and not wherever mama is holing up.)
And so I don’t know that neighboring family any more than I already did, except now I know that’s the apartment where that woman’s voice belongs, and the other family members, at least a daughter and who I’m still assuming is a teenage son, plus a possible other boy, and presumably a dad, or maybe not. Exactly how the person the wife/mom calls for is related, her son, maybe, I am not sure, because I realized, I hear her calling for him during school hours too. So possibly the teen with the scratchy voice is not the one being called for, as I’d thought. And this is all I know about them, after all this time. I keep missing meeting them.
And then I almost halfway met them tonight, but no introductions! And because of the night, I don’t know what either the mom or the young daughter look like, beyond a general impression of size and voice. Which, uh, is disconcerting. I would’ve liked to introduce ourselves. — But OK, I’m not taking this too badly, just, it seems unusual to me, but is fine.
So possibly, I’ll have a better chance to meet them tomorrow or over the weekend. I think they’re nice, I think the mom at least cares where her family are, if maybe a little insecure or needy about that, but then, I don’t know her reasons. I get the feeling though that they are nice and stick together and care about each other. So I have the feeling that, even though I still(!) don’t know them, they’re nice folks. — But I’ll admit, I’m perplexed and dismayed. I would’ve thought that the mom, seeing me and knowing her daughter was going to try to help the kitten, they both would’ve said hello and introduced themselves and gotten a name from me. So…there are different manners going on there, but not exactly rude either. (The mom didn’t mind her daughter being around to check on the kitten, a key point.) — But that doesn’t feel usual for a Latino family, where courtesy with neighbors is important and a little more careful to be cautious and courteous simultaneously, than Anglos tend to be. — At least, though, it was not dismissal or hostility, and the daughter got to help look for the kitten.
So, skittish humans, skittish cats, a chance to get to know both. — I’m not sure, but I might have scored points with the mama cat for being concerned about her kitten. But not expecting particularly to see mama or kitten again, either.
All’s well that ends well, and surely there’s at least a beginning now with that neighbor family. It would be nice if it turns out we get to know each other and make friends, but hmm, I guess it’s slow going for now.
So…it has been an interesting, eventful, and maybe productive evening. My cats are happy to have me. The mama and kitten are happy to be reunited and safe, and the neighbor family are a bit skittish, but perhaps as nice as the feline family. I am going with that theory. I wonder what they think of me, too. Did you see that crazy dude sitting by the car for 20 minutes or more, trying to get that stray kitten out? 😀 Well, not a bad first meeting, I guess.
Smokey has decided if I wasn’t going to bring in a new kitten for him to pester, then he’ll just try to sleep on my arm to make sure I get the idea I belong to him, haha. Oh, cats and people are so weird. But these kinds of weird, I like.
Here’s hoping your neighbors, human and feline, are doing fine and have better relations.
My condolences on the death of Jane’s sister. Losing family and friends is not an easy life transition, at all!
Best of luck with your two new kitties, too!
One of our male kitties developed crystals in his urine. He’s now on the Royal Canin Urinary SO diet (he prefers the dry to the canned), and only distilled water. Our well water contains a rather high concentration of calcium and magnesium (much, much more than in municipal water that would be considered “hard”), so changing to distilled water definitely helps. He’s had no problems since that change.
@BlueCatShip okay, this was 30-odd years ago, but two very good musicians from my high school in Ohio ended up going to North Texas State, now University of North Texas. They both ended up teaching high school music–one in OK and the other in IN. Another excellent school for choral performance and education is Westminster in NJ.
Thanks, Melita, I’ll pass that along. I think my friend’s daughter is set on going to Texas A&M, but it might help them to know of others.