Right Now

I dislike all my cats.

Each one of them does something annoying:
Lillie never shuts up, Finn scratches the furniture - in spite of a vast array of scratching posts (horizontal and vertical) in every damn room, and Oscar tears holes in sheets and blankets. Just now I found a triangular tear in my silk comforter. Errrrrgggghhhhhhh!

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In other news, I FINALLY have an appointment with Kathryn at Dogstar Tattoo. In April.
I just threw away copies of Scandinavian knot work - the curse of the purger. I have to have a raven on my right shoulder blade because of a dream. I wrote about the dream in a post on my other blog, but I can't find it now.
Wait...here it is, from July 2011, further back than I remembered.

Every since I was a young whippersnapper, I wished I'd find a baby crow or raven so I could raise it. It turns out that it's my birth month totem.
Get out!

Weekly Roundup

First, let me 'splain about the whole email blog post thingy.

Following me does not mean you will get the posts, it just means you like me and I like that. It makes me happy to see all those little square faces to my left. And it's important to keep The Sock Monkey Hat happy!

To get the posts automatically you have to do one (only one) of these things (starting with biggest pain in ass factor):
- Bookmark the site and remember to check it every day (okay, every week), 
- Sell your soul one more time Sign up for Google Reader and add this blog to your subscriptions
- Add your email address in the space marked "Email address" under the title of the blog (see it? very faint gray writing in a white box), then click the SUBMIT button alllllll the way to the right of the white box.

Hope this helps.

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Oscar spotted him a Yellow Shafted Flicker this morning.

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Two people I know had their appendixes out last week and both of them had a bit of a scare because of it.
My darling niece was medi-vacced from Juneau to Seattle because of hers. They are both on the mend now though. Whew!

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Invited into the inner Drag Queen circle last night (which was our first anniversary of volunteering). We were asked to join The Queens for a drink after Drag Bingo. Seriously exciting.

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I had a norovirus (milder version, but still ewwww) on Tuesday and lost 6 lbs. in one day. Thanks for helping me over that plateau  I'd been hovering on for weeks. Haven't wanted to eat anything but tuna salad since. Weird.

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Doctor, Doctor

So after being on Atkins for five months, I've lost 35 pounds.

Here are other stats:

Total cholesterol: down 16 points
LDL: down 28 points
Triglycerides: down 11 points
HDL: up 14 points
Blood sugar: down 8 points
Blood pressure: down 12 points

A ways to go yet, but moving in the right direction.

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Sundays

Are supposed to be a day of rest. Would someone PLEASE tell my cats that?!

At 07:00 Lillie had already been at it (it being meowing in my face) for a half hour. At 07:30 Finn was hanging from the curtains. Oscar was jumping on and off the bed. Finn was knocking stuff off the night stand and skittering whatever it was down the hallway while Lillie watched and meowed her approval (or disapproval perhaps). Finn was kneading the pillow - the one my head was using. Oscar was jumping on and off the bed. Finn was scratching - THE CHAIR. Lillie was trying to get under the covers and getting right back out.

I've already used the "f" word twelve times today. As in - shut the "f" up and get the "f" off of that.

In other cat news, Oscar spent all day Thursday at the vet on account of not peeing. Rather, peeing a lot, but in really small amounts. The good news - no crystals and no blood in his urine. The probable diagnosis is sterile cystitis. He came home all doped up, (and with clipped toe nails - yay!), with meds to carry him through the weekend.
He appears to be getting better, meaning his trips to the litter box are less and his urine more.

Oscar - feeling no pain

They don't eat much dry food, which appears to be a culprit in causing the sterile cystitis. Other causes are being overweight (as both boys are) and stress.
When I say they don't eat much dry food, I mean Oscar and Lillie, because Mr. McCool LOVES him some kitty crack. It's going to be hard weaning him.

He loves his crack so much, this morning he was in the bowl with his portion (much diminished on account of the weaning).

Is this it?!

Wet food is regarded by him as an obligatory appetizer to be dispatched post-haste. Then he runs to sit by the dish [he's standing in above] and look pitiful (and quite adorable I have to confess).

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The Sundays Here's Where The Story Ends

Good Grief

In this article on grief in The Guardian, the following sentence jumped out at me: "After a month had passed by, I had the distinct feeling that I was supposed to "muscle through it" and move on, as if I were recovering from flu rather than mourning the passing of my mother."


That's how I feel. Stunned that seven weeks along, I have the damn nerve to tear up as I pass a Captain D's we ate at, or want to avoid the petite section in Kohl's because it makes me sad.
It's been seven weeks - I should be over it! She was gone a long time before she actually died. [I tell myself]
Still...

I miss her. 

Last night as I watched 50/50, the only part that made me cry was when the main character, Joe, told his demented father he loved him. Great heaping sobs. 

I still have not called the hospice group, but they send a letter every month with "tips" on grieving. 

Myrtle's daughter invited me to the CB support group on Thursday nights. 
And didn't go, even though I could have.

Maybe you have some insight she said. I got nothing, I said. 



To the people who find out that she died and get all apologetic like they shouldn't have asked - it's okay. You didn't know. I feel like I should say it some other way than - she died in December. Which is the truth, but they get so shocked and want to take back the - how is your Mom - question.
I feel bad, like I should be making it easier for them.  

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Here's another article - on introverts (not grief). I like the definition of shy vs. introverted:  "Shyness and introversion are not the same thing. Shy people fear negative judgment, while introverts simply prefer less stimulation; shyness is inherently painful, and introversion is not."

Maybe they should base insurance rates on whether one is introverted or extroverted:  "...[introverts] are less likely to take dangerous risks. Extroverts are more likely than introverts to get into car accidents, participate in extreme sports and to place large financial bets."

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For all us introverts, and my friend GA Boy, (who is a self-proclaimed Djork) here's It's Oh So Quiet:

A Tinge of Melancholy

Doesn't that title just make you want to read on?!

Could be the cold and drizzly weather. I even rearranged the furniture yesterday and it didn't help at all.

Some things I've been thinking about:

- Where's MY tax stuff?! I know where Mom's is, but not mine. Crap.

- The captain of the Costa Concordia. Every time he opens his mouth it gets worse - I tripped and landed in the lifeboat?? - what are you, ten?! As the daughter of a Coast Guard "lifer", I know this - the captain stays with the ship. The end.

- This story has haunted me. I wept when it happened, followed anything about it, and am still thinking about her.

- These chocolate bars from Trader Joe's.
If you are near a TJ's and like chocolate, run, don't walk, there and pick up one a few. They're only $1.99! And frankly, better than many of the more expensive bars I've had.
The salt, the gooey caramel - my gill slits are salivating.
Serving size - half the bar. Half!
Yeah, not exactly what the Doctor [Atkins] ordered, but sometimes you just have to ignore him.

This may be breakfast. Isn't chocolate good for depression/melancholy?

No Netflix Tonight

So you're stuck with me. That's really too bad for you, because I got nothing.

Eating some Bull Street Chicken Salad with cranberries and almonds from Bull Street Gourmet & Market. 

Doing some laundry.

Have a dentist appointment at 8 AM tomorrow. Nice way to start the day.

How's that for excitement? 

OH! Seeing Paula Poundstone Friday night - that should be fun. 

Hey, where are we eating beforehand? Better check...

Ohhh maybe Toast. 

That's it. You are so lucky!