Now that the busy week is behind us, we can relax. And here’s an old friend to greet us, courtesy of reader Glenna M., who shares this news:
I thought I would update my last post and let your readers know that I did end up foster failing with my senior foster kitty, Grandalf. I love this cat more than words can say and just had to make him an official part of the family. At a recent vet visit, his vet said it wouldn’t surprise her if he was 20+ years old. We had a bit of scare last week when he had a brief seizure, but it seems to have been an isolated incident. The vet ran a full blood workup and she said, “Overall, he looks fantastic on paper, especially for his age, but really most any cat!”
Actually, he wouldn’t look more fantastic without the hat. I am amazed that a cat could look so , well, fantastic in a hat. And his grumpy acceptance of wearing the hat is hilarious. Congrats on taking this wonder cat into your life!
Congrats on the fail and such a handsome boy. I’m been tempted a few times but with my frequent travel, I decided it wouldn’t be fair to them. In fact me and hubby are playing tourist in Los Angeles this long weekend. Been on the Universal and Warner studio tours, probably visit the Reagan Library today. Next trip might be to Japan. Hubby is going there for work in Jan, and I’m seeing if I can get the time off work. Happy weekend everyone!
I hope you get to go. I’ve been three or four times because I have a rich friend who goes to Japan all the time and is generous. I LOVE Japan.
I truly envy you!
Lucky you! It’s been on my list of places to visit for a long long long time. All I have to do is pay for airfare since hotel costs will be paid for by the company. And of course any touristy things I do. So worth the money though.
What a sweet senior kitty! He looks a bit grumpy but at his age, he’s earned the right.
Earlier today on my morning walk I saw something that totally made my day: a senior collie (with some substantial health issues) wearing not only a beautiful plaid jacket but underneath, a onesie. A ONESIE!!!!! I mean, I’ve seen much smaller dogs wearing onesies but never a dog this big. Could not have been cuter. 😍😍😍😍😍
Your cat looks like he has a long, white beard! But I’m assuming its the longer hair on his chest? Glad you’ve made him “yours”.☺️ Amazing he is so healthy at his advanced age!
Sorry, Grandalf, but the hat is fantastic.
I have an eye doctor appointment this afternoon, which gives me an excuse to go to the mall (didn’t think about what weekend it was when I made the appointment…and I usually avoid the mall at all costs on a normal day). Want to see if Nordstrom has a pair of shoes I was looking at online a few weeks back (since the ones I ordered from Kohls don’t fit right. Grr). Also got a sale flier thing from Ulta the other day and the leave-in conditioner spray I recently discovered and really like (way more than I would usually spend on something like that but I had an electronic Target gift card sitting on my account for over a year so I decided to use it on that and a S’well stainless steel travel mug) is half off and also there’s a coupon in there so I’ll try to use that.
Have a few things I’ll need to return to Kohls and DSW but I don’t think I’ll do that this weekend. Maybe wait and do it after work one night next week.
Don’t worry, Gandalf, you look very handsome in that hat!
A finial Lily Nosevember celebration!
Boop
Another boop to a beatific kitty.
So sweet!!
She’s only 2 months old in that picture and the nose is still Boop-able! She’s dreaming of devilry already though, I can tell!
It’s Saturday! Hubby is home for two days, and we are going out to blow all our accumulated shopping points this morning. Close to three hundred dollars worth of FREE stuff.
Hubby wants me to go back to university next fall and try to finish the last four courses for my English Major. I can get a study grant for it. I don’t know if I’ll actually use the education, but he says he doesn’t want the incomplete thing hanging over my head.
I made Santa cry yesterday. I think I’ve mentioned that the mall Santa here seems to know me, but I can’t figure out how. Last year, I told him about my eye and lung situation, and he made me promise to come back this year if I could and let him know how I’m doing. So I went in at the end of his morning shift yesterday, after letting all the kids go first, and told him I’ve been taken off the terminal list. And he cried.
Peeps, I’m going to admit something here, something I haven’t told anyone at home. Last week, when I mentioned my health situation, some of you picked up on my underlying emotions. In all honesty, I’m not truly happy about not being terminal. Because I can’t work and have no income, I frequently feel like a burden to my husband. I was okay with the original diagnosis because it meant that he wouldn’t be stuck with me for decades. We’d be very happy loving for the time I had left, and then I’d be gone before he could no longer look after me. But now that’s changed, and I’m frankly a little terrified.
He says I’m not a burden, and I want to believe him. But I’m the one who looks after the finances, and I can see how bad things get.
However, right now, Christmas is coming, and it is all paid for. So I’m going to try to be optimistic for the next month, and maybe I can find my HOPE again this year.
Grandalf looks absolutely perfect in that hat. I should make one and see if Duckie would wear it.
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.
PS found this
https://www.allfreesewing.com/Sewn-Toys/Colorful-and-Easy-Axolotl-Plushies
Well, now you made me cry, too. ❤
For what it’s worth, I think your feelings are very normal.
If you make that hat for little Ducky, be sure to send pictures.
Axolotls seem to be coming up a lot lately. I was listening to the Herpetology (study of reptiles and amphibians) episode of the Ologies podcast and they mentioned them, too.
Hi Duckie,
I get where you are coming from about not being terminal. We are taught in this world that we only have value if we make money or “carry our own weight.”
But that misses one of the key factors of life: money comes and goes and is forgotten except as a tool, but a human being, just as a human being alone, is utterly irreplaceable. There is only one you. There will never be another.
It is easy to feel that our existence on earth can be considered a burden. But being cared for is also a gift, both for the person cared for and for the one who cares. People need people, far more than they need money. Be a blessing by being you. That’s enough.
This is beautiful, Squiddy…something I think we all can take to heart this holiday season.
👍🏼💕💙💕 Wow! Beautifully said! 😊
Yes. Beautifully said.
Squiddy, you are so right. Kisses to Bertie and Cheshire.
Dearest Duckie,
Your note made me wonder if you are experiencing something similar to post-partum. I am not a psychologist, or any kind of brain doc, but I just wonder. You’ve been preparing yourself for one outcome, and now the table has done a total 180 in about 2 seconds. I can imagine it is dizzying and emotionally roiling. Just know we are all here, sending you buoying thoughts and reaching out helping hands to keep you upright. We’re here for you, everyday. xoxo
Duckie, I’m so sorry you feel that way. It’s understandable but I’m guessing your husband doesn’t see you as a burden You said he was very happy. I’ll bet because you know him well and because of your guilt feelings you would have been able to sense any reservations he had, and you didn’t. There’s nothing more important than to be with someone you love and trust, and he has that, and you have that. You’re both lucky, really.
Duckie, your idea to go back and finish your degree may be just the ticket. A degree may make your more “marketable” but think outside the box when it comes to “jobs”. You could help other students write and edit papers, or work with ESL students as a conversation partner, or simply hire yourself out as an English tutor. You could offer your services at a price, or volunteer through some sort of community center. Some schools even have tutoring programs for athletes and they pay their tutors well!
Duckie, Squiddy is so right…there’s only one you. It doesn’t sound like your husband is willing to let that go no matter what. Yes it may sound like a burden, but one he is certainly willing to bear!! You’ve been given a very precious gift – open it and enjoy it to the fullest!! I am not trying to diminish what you’re feelings by any means…just a different point of view? Hugs Duckie.
Hi, all, another semi-crazy week with Yoofi the hyperactive greyhound. She really is something else again!
Duckie, my husband and I had a serious talk last week about your conflicted feelings about being a burden. I completely understand where you’re coming from; although my health issues aren’t of the terminal variety, they leave me feeling like a burden all the time because I am so limited in what I can do. He told me point blank that I’m never a burden to him, and I really am just putting those feelings on myself because he doesn’t feel that way, ever. So I hope this is food for thought for you. I suspect if you told your husband how you feel, he would answer exactly the way mine did. In the meantime, I’m going to try to not feel like a burden, too, and accept that for some reason he loves me just the way I am, health limitations and all.
We had a quiet Thanksgiving since my husband spent several hours with Sebastian, our cocker spaniel, at a nursing home he visits regularly. Sebastian is a big favorite with the residents there, especially one 98-year-old lady. So we just had a quiet dinner at home. Sebastian has a very busy schedule of therapy visits, which keeps him busy and happy.
Have a great week, everyone! And Gandalf is adorable! Such a sweet grumpy face!
Grandalf looks amazing in his hat! I just finished listening to The Hobbit and think this guy’s namesake would approve.
Duckie and Laura, it’s hard to imagine anyone feeling that you’re burdensome in any way. You have so much love in your lives, it’s beautiful. Thanks for sharing your husbands’ thoughts here—like Dumbledore, I enjoy knowing there’s more love in the world.
Must get out and shovel today—my shoveler came yesterday and got the worst ice and accumulated snow yesterday, then it snowed some more! We’ve had more snow in the last week than we had all last winter!
I’m taking a break from candymaking today because very little has turned out well. I’m off my game this weekend and have thrown out as many batches as I’ve stored to give away. Maybe yarn needs my attention instead.
Yarn always needs attention. And perhaps we should all recall Mr. Rogers’ message: “i like you just the way you are.” That’s the best way to think, anyway!
I will be saving this date as a permanent link. I am truly blessed to know all of you. Everything you’ve said here is a HUGE help. Thank you.
I don’t usually comment to air my personal business, but I thought I’d chime in with some perspective from a fellow cancer survivor (rare aggressive breast cancer, late stage 3).I too thought I’d be dead because the medical stats aren’t on my side. Yet here I am.
As you know by now, tv versions of cancer and real life cancer don’t align at all.
You will be discriminated against in the workplace if you reveal your illness. Unless you want a job related to cancer patients, keep quiet about your illness and the follow up scans. I’ve regretted every person I’ve told, and had my judgment and mental health called into question. The gaslighting is incredibly condescending and infuriating.
Go back to school to get your degree. Outside of lying on your resume, school is the best way to make an employment gap go away and maintain the same salary you had before cancer.
As trite as it is to say, you handle it one day at a time. Add in some nice long walks if and when you can. Best of luck to you in your recovery – health-wise and job-wise. 🙂
Kermit, it is so sad that you had people like that in your life at such a difficult time. I truly hope that is a unique situation. Personally, and thankfully, I have not experienced this in any workplace.
It’s not unique at all. They’ve done studies on what happens to people’s personal relationships and careers after a cancer diagnosis and it’s not pretty. Divorce, bankruptcy, etc. are the norm more than the exception.
One patient who was there for blood transfusions lied about where she was to everyone who called her. Others scheduled their radiation treatment during lunch so that they wouldn’t miss work, and they too lied about where they were.
Everyone rallying around you, supporting you and keeping your job warm – that’s the exception, not the norm.
Which is very, very sad.
Same with mental illness. So many of my bosses and many coworkers were so cruel to me at work. They saw me as a malingerer. My boss even thought one of my letters from the psychiatrist was fake and a joke. Very disheartening and destructive.
Oh yes Faye. Now that is one scenario I HAVE seen. Regrettably. In spite of recent movements to change those ludicrous Philistine attitudes, which have made inroads, it is changing only very slowly. I do see changes in management and administrative levels because the law forces them to comply. But the understanding of co-workers is another story.
Hang in there Faye. Tell your story if you are able. At least some people will listen and understand!
🥰
Duckie, I have been trying to think of what to say to you, but everyone has said it better than I could.
No one likes a loved one to die, unless its truly a relief for that person. (My mom died of stage 4 pancreatic cancer 3 years ago, and it was a blessing when she finally passed)
I do like the idea of you going back to school and finishing your degree.
I will continue to think about you and say prayers for you.
Bless you!💙💜💚
So I went and did my donation to the B&N book drive. I always have a theme and since 2012 I have made a game of trying to get as close to $100 as I can without going over (before that I would usually donate 3-5 books each year). This year I asked for theme ideas from the employee facebook group and someone mentioned Project LIT so last night I looked up all the books on this year’s list on B&N’s website to see what the store near me might have in stock, and the prices, then calculated what they would be with my discount and tax. Then I went searching for as many as I could find (starting with the lower-priced ones/paperbacks) until I hit $100. I got 14 books and spent $101.55 (my math never adds up; my running tally came to $100.33 and then I took a calculator and added them all up and came to $102 and change). 📚
Good on ya!💙😊 Books are ALWAYS the best gifts,📚
The best part is when I tell the cashier they can all go in the box and they go, “wait, what?”
😋😁
Yissss! You rock Allein. 🤛 That’s a fist bump btw…that looks like a chunk of cheese.
mmm, cheese…
So since I was at the mall for the eye doctor I did some shopping while I was there (thankfully not for new glasses!). Finally used an Old Navy gift card I think I got last Christmas (got two very soft sweaters for half price). My pricey, recently-discovered leave-in conditioner was half off at Ulta so I got the big bottle (though my coupon didn’t apply but that’s okay).
Then I discovered that the space that used to be a pet store, then was turned into an adoption center by the county SPCA, which left last year, has now been taken over by a dog rescue organization called Pick Your Paw (they said they’ve been there about a year which tells you how long it’s been since I went to the mall). They had a bake sale table to raise money (I just put a dollar in their jar but didn’t buy anything) and there was a woman sitting next to the table holding a little brindle puppy, and I got to pet him. 🙂 They had some other puppies in other parts of the space; they all seemed to be having a pretty chill day, just lounging in their beds. I wished I could curl up with them but I figured they wouldn’t allow that.
And then I just found this on facebook.
https://catlov.com/cat-library-allows-people-to-check-out-homeless-kitties
Awwww
Can I just add that this group is really feeling like a family these days? I love the fact that we can be so open and honest with each other. That’s a real rarity online these days; if there have ever been trolls, Mike has made them disappear so efficiently that they might as well not exist. But in the meantime, the sharing here this week in particular has been SO powerful! I know I’ve gotten a lot from all of you to take away and practice in my own life. Thank you all so much for being you!
I think the only real “trolls” I’ve seen here have been the occasional “Dear Spambot” posts. 😉
So glad you shared. 😍
What Laura said. We all ragnarokaquokka.
I have to admit that I’m drawing a blank on the origin or meaning of “ragnarokaquokka.” Is it perchance any relation to “covfefe”? 😀
I think it’s related to the first link on this post.
Ah, thank you! I had accepted a job that I thought was short for over the holiday long weekend, and discovered yesterday that it was about twice as long as I’d been told it would be. Oops! I guess procrastinating taught me a good lesson. Not that I’ll learn it, mind you; I’m far too dedicated a procrastinator for that to happen.
But anyway, the ol’ brain is filled with obscure terms having to do with, of all things, fracking, and I’m having enough trouble remembering the day of the week these days, let along a strange term that I’d only seen once! So thanks for the memory boost. Apparently fracking takes up more space in my brain than I’d expected. ….grumble grumble….
Hello All. Two beautiful kitties!
Duckie your husband seems very wise. I would use his words and directions as a guide until you can catch up with him emotionally and cognitively. The “burden” you are envisioning becoming may not be exactly what comes about. You are putting a great deal of energy into the “future” and “ruining” the present. Believe me. I get stuck in the past and anxiously preworry about so much. Try to become your own best friend and go easy on yourself.
I am thrilled to report that the time table for my art studio setup has moved up to January! Beginning to reorganize for four weeks. Then furniture needs moving as first step.
I hope you’ll post pictures of the results.
Sure will Dubravkamcvmd! Once everyone’s else’s stuff is out. I will document.
Okay, it’s officially December, so here are some Christmas cookies…
Those are terrific! It would be hard to bite into that cute boid.
I want him as an ornament or a cross-stitch or something.
They look yummy, but too cute to eat!
Exactly what I was thinking!
Mike, how is Teddy Bear?
He’s doing well, sleeping all day like usual. He’s always been a low-energy cat for as long as I’ve known him.
Sleeping contentedly is good!