Redundant

Today is a copy of many previous days. I am tired. I am in pain. And, damn it, I have a dentist appointment this morning. I hate the dentist. This is actually the periodontist who is aggravated with me because the insurance company screwed up and they still haven't been paid for my last appointment in January. (Don't blame me, blame the insurance company.)

I should go to the gym. But I don't think it will happen. I could go back to sleep right now... but then I would sleep through the dentist. This is my life.

I didn't even do that much yesterday. I took the cat to the vet, went to my knitting group, and then picked the cat up from the vet.

My life is redundant, either that or I am stuck in a vicious 'Groundhog Day' rerun.

What Do You Do When You Don't Feel Well?

I guess on the short term when I don't feel well I stay in bed or on the couch. I sit around doing a lot of nothing. And eat and drink what I want. Or what I feel will make me feel better...

If I don't feel better I call my doctor eventually... If I think its that important. I hate calling the doctor. I will not go to the ER unless I am (literally) dripping blood.

I often pretend I am feeling well when I may not be. Because if I didn't do that I would spend entirely too much time sitting around.

But today I am not feeling that bad. Even though I painted part of the living room yesterday. I mean I am tired and soon I will get my act together and take a shower and get dressed. I have nothing on my calendar until 1 pm today. So I can be lazy for a bit.

However, one cat is not feeling well. I am not sure what to do because he can't tell me what is wrong. He clearly is not feeling well because he isn't walking much, he's moping, he's not eating, he's not drinking much, and he's just sitting.

He went out Tuesday night (to my displeasure). He did not appear until yesterday late afternoon. He came out and walked around a little bit and went back to sleep near the foundation of the house. I went inside and made him a quiet little space with his food dish, water bowl, litter box, and favorite pillows. Under protest, I brought him in and put him in there. He immediately jumped up on the table so I put his pillows there. He stayed there for a few hours and used his litter box. Then he came back out to the living room and slept on the sofa for a while.

This morning he was sleeping downstairs on the futon. I brought him some water which he didn't appreciate. He did come upstairs to eat a little and then has been sleeping again. He doesn't want attention. He protests when I pat him. He insisted on going back out - I hoped he was going to be a bit more energetic but he's not. He sitting back by the foundation again.

Damn. I think he needs to go to the vet. But at least its not me going to the doctor. He clearly is not feeling well.

Life in the new house

We are adapting to the new house. I really like having a lot of my life on one floor and fewer reasons to go up and down stairs. My body likes that as well. On the other hand, it means I am closer to the kitchen and other noise sources (what did you think I meant - midnight snacking?). When my husband stays up later than me or gets up earlier - both frequent occurrences - there isn't a flight of stairs protecting me from kitchen clean up or breakfast making sounds.

On the other hand, the cats like having us closer to their food dishes. They can hear us in our bedroom from anywhere on the first floor which means they come and beg for food as soon as they think its breakfast time. Or if I get up in the middle of the night, it must mean time for a snack - because I am on the same floor as the kitchen.

Overall its a good place for all of us. We aren't quite ready to entertain yet but are getting closer. The unpacking fairy hasn't shown up in the middle of the night to help us when we weren't looking so we have a ways to go. But I can now find most of my clothes and am getting my craft room/office set up the way I want it. I have also reconnected with my kitchen stuff - I have made bread in my bread maker, found the cuinsinart parts, and the crockpot. Tonight I making pulled pork for dinner (with homemade barbecue sauce, cornbread, and braised cabbage on the side) - this make me happy.

If you see the unpacking fairy, please send her our way. Thanks.

Now I can relax

The past few weeks have been horribly stressful for me. I have been sick basically since mid-December. We did not really celebrate Christmas and New Years. And the move was very stressful as well between the lawyers, realtors, and bankers and numerous delays. Anything that could have gone wrong seems to have. Finally we got moved into to our new house.

Before his big adventure

But we were short one cat. Our cat, Boots, got out while at the cat sitter last week. I have looked for him numerous times, put up signs, notified animal control, shelters and rescue league. This morning I had a few minutes and was near our old house and wanted to see if maybe he had made his way back there. But the new owners were having appliances delivered in big trucks which would scare him too much so I left.

Then I had a doctor appointment and decided to make one more trip down to the cat sitter's neighborhood. I called Boots and he came running. I grabbed him and put him in the car. I had a can of cat food and the cat carrier with me so I could feed him if I found him. I also gave him water.

After his big adventure

He is skinny. He is a little more skittish. And he is exhausted. I need to check his paws to make sure they are okay but otherwise he seems fine.

I was extremely stressed about him being gone. I did not want to give up on him but was also concerned about what if we never found him. I could not forgive myself for that.

Stress is hard on me. I can't sleep when stressed. I have enough problems sleeping with insomnia and pain I had started skipping meals because of stress. I am happy to lose a few pounds but that's not a good way to do it.

Now I can relax and focus on unpacking and taking care of me again. I know I just posted this all on FB so if you read it there already you can ignore this whole post. This just shows how stressed I was.

One heck of a week

I haven't been blogging because I've been a little busy, to say the least. Yes I still have a cold. It keeps lingering which doesn't help anything. And it means I can't go to the gym and work off the stress.

During this week we have had all kinds of fun:

• The buyer of our old house's lender wanted documentation that doesn't exist. We had to jump through hoops to get a letter from the town on something that no one has ever asked for, ever. Our broker came through on this. But it cause a lot of stress, starting New Year's Eve.
• The buyer of our old house's broker is an idiot. They didn't understand there was any reason to do anything helpful, or have someone keep on top of things while they went out of the country for the holidays.
• The seller of our new house's broker is also an idiot. Although the seller was legally required to ensure that the house was maintained and snow removal was taken care of after they moved out a month ago, nothing was done. The broker blamed the seller for not making plans and then dumped it all on the seller's attorney to get it taken care of. I met her and I could tell she was more concerned with how she looked than actually touching anything. She never even tried to call a plow service, she made the attorney make the calls. And the attorney bitched about it at the closing.
  Because we had a storm last week which snowed and switched to rain and sat on the driveway untouched, it turned into a glacier that my husband spent hours salting, sanding, and chopping yesterday until a plow finally showed up. I told them we would go to the closing but not sign anything until we had proof the driveway was clear (so the movers could get into the driveway today). We were late to the closing because we needed to go see the plowed driveway ourselves.
• Finally, we took our cats to a cat sitter for the duration of the transition. One of our cats, Boots, got out some how. We found out yesterday morning that he has been missing since Wednesday afternoon. While my husband was shoveling snow yesterday, I was walking around near the cat sitter looking for him. I am going to head out this morning to go look for him in another neighborhood near by where there might have been a sighting. 

But finally we own a new house and are moving in today. The POD will be dropped off this morning by 10. The movers are coming between 8-830. Verizon is coming between 11-2 and the hutch we purchased will be delivered between 330-4. But I need to go find the cat.

Oh, my lymphedema arm is not happy with all this moving business. I might have actually carried things and am feeling it in my arm. And all my sleeves are packed so I have to wait until I can unpack to find one. but I have been doing my exercises which helps.

And my cold is still hanging in there. Yes I will go to the doctor if I am still sick on Monday.

Life with the new cats

Last April our 20 year old, much loved cat died, basically of old age. We were very sad and got new cats in late May, who have been settling in nicely, and us with them.

Boots is the very nice, if somewhat skittish, cat who needs a lot of attention. He is gray and white with 'boots'. He has warmed up to me, and after being gone for a week he really wants to snuggle. And have his ears scratched.

The other cat has had a variety of names. He came to us called Penguin, as he looked all black with a bit of white on his chest. But he had very thin fur and the white was his skin showing through. We started calling him Peanut because he was so small. And his fur grew in and he is really a black and dark brown tabby. Then my husband said he looked like a cat from his childhood which his mother had named Zdpot (which is what you take for the 'ackers'). He is a lot less cuddly and has a tendency to bite.

Our cat/house sitter didn't put up with his crap and smacks his nose when he tries to bite her. She also calls him TD for 'The Devil'.

 

Yes that is clean laundry he is sitting on. Can you see it in his eyes? He as a tendency to leave us little gifts and came with ear mites which he shared with Boots. Both came out of foster situations, but they show signs they will be friends, or frenemies, as cat are. They chase each other around an then smack each other and the sleep in a pile of paws and tails.

 

And they are a nice welcoming committee when we come through the door. What I need often.