Dear Cat Ladies,

I'd like to thank you for providing Britney with her nightly snack. At first it was easy for me to keep her away from the plates of fragrant wet cat food placed in the woods, but tonight, you made it a game - piles of dry food scattered in small piles along the road. Now, as I try to walk and enjoy the peace and beauty of the evening, everything just smells like a well-used litter box. I realize that you're trying to take care of the poor kitties, but are you aware you are also attracting cute raccoons, possums, and skunks? Oh yeah - they love cat food. It wasn't enough that y'all felt the need to trespass in my back yard (at previous residence) to try to take care of the kitties, now you're dumping food just at random? I tried to go over to my other spot to let her run and play, but lo and behold - food left out there, as well!!! At least the little fur balls provide great entertainment - Britney loves to have something to chase, and this way, you're helping to provide great playmates for her. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

PS - I'm not a cat hater. I actually like them. For the record, is all I'm sayin'. But if you're going to take the time to feed them, please also take the time to get them fixed and vaccinated!!! Rabies is not a friend of any animal.

Vet Report

I just got home from the vet, where I got Britney's "spot" checked. He said he felt it was a hystio-something or other. Basically, while it is a tumor, it will go away on it's own in 3-4 months. He said it will literally be there one day, and gone the next. I have to watch it for growth and for excessive bleeding, but otherwise, she'll be ok. Everyone at once: WHEW. I am SOOO relieved. He was extremely pleased with her weight loss. He had wanted her 75-85 lbs, and she's actually at 69.5. WOW. He said if I kept her there, she would be fantastically healthy, and much better on her poor knees and hips. They are so good out there. Anyone in this area, Bedford Animal Hospital. I can't recommend them enough!!!! Thank you everyone for your well wishes for my baby girl!!!

Pouting

This is what happens when I decide to leave for the day. I get this mutt laying wherever I'm getting ready, and then this look . . .

Help with spot

Ok, so I'm reaching out to my blogger friends. Britney has this spot on her ear. Been there going into the 3rd week now. I have a friend who gave me some Animax to put on it (this is the 3rd day of treatment) Any ideas what else it might be or what to do about it? I really, REALLY cannot afford a vet visit right now, so any suggestions would be appreciated! There's no heat in it, and although she shakes her ears a lot, it doesn't seem to itch or cause her pain. She's ok with me fooling with it, until she just gets aggravated and wants to play. Suggestions, please!

Happy Puppy

The best part of going home is knowing that I'm going to find this!

Ah, the Joys

Of the river. See what I mean? It's hard to be in a bad mood after 30 minutes of this:

Tues that feels like Monday

Good evening! Ah, had a spectacular weekend doing just about nothing, and I needed it! Saturday I did laundry and cleaned some, but then took the afternoon off and got my toes done with K. and L. L. picked out my polish, and for a 5 year old, she's got GREAT taste! A nice, bright pink without being too girl-y. Watched a couple of movies, and called it a night. Sunday I spent out watching Co. 11 and Co. 2 burn the house that we tried to do last week. This week was a marginally better success (pics at MySpace) I even got to slide in with a couple of them and take pics/vid of the fire - not a big deal for the seasoned guys, but it was exciting for me. Hey, come on. Haven't you figured out yet that it doesn't take much? Anyway, Monday I got up and took Britney to Bedford to pick up her meds. Found out that she is a solid 80.1 lbs of good lovin'. And, that's GREAT news. The vet had wanted her about 80 lbs, so that's about as close as I can get!!! She's still struggling on that back leg, but I'm still thinking she hasn't torn it completely. Worked today, and let me tell you. It's almost not worth being off on Monday's, because all the problems seem to be worse on the following Tuesday! Mostly because people don't seem to remember that it was a Federal Holiday. That, and "business" day seems to confuse people. Came home tonight to find out that somehow, my trash can got squooshed, but that was made better by the flowers left on my doorstep! And, these are some of the best kind, cause it's a potted plant! Now, the trick will be to see if I can keep from killing it! Any suggestions?

TGIF, and stuff

Whew. Normally, I don't much care either way if it's Friday or not, but I have to say, I'm looking forward to this one! Nothing in particular, it'll just be nice to get "life" straightnd back out. This past weekend kinda threw me for a loop, and I'm trying to get my feet back under me. Ok, so maybe that makes no sense to anyone else but me, but . . . that's alright. I got up this morning and made Pioneer Woman's Orange muffins for the girls at work. Simple, easy, but NOT lo-cal. You have to admit, any recipie that starts with "two sticks softened butter" isn't gonna be easy on the hips. However, everyone here seemed to really enjoy them. I love to cook, and I'm pretty daggone good at it, too. I just HATE, hate, HATE to do the dishes! That, and I'm not a fan of leftovers, either. When I was a kid, I grew up with the idea of "clean your plate". If we didn't, then it would be leftovers for us for breakfast the next day. HORRIBLE. So, now, I have issues with leftovers. Oh, and my wonderful roommate, Msh, has managed to get food poisoning 3 times now, so I've inherited her fear of old food. I remember in college, we would eat pizza that was a couple of days old without even flinching. I think tonight it's going to be meatloaf and then those amazingly delicious looking roasted garlic mashed potatoes from PW. Happiness, I tell you.

Couple of people have asked: No, Britney's knee isn't doing much better, but it's not as bad as when she blew out the right one, so . . . keep your fingers crossed!!! I have a lovely bruise on the top of my right foot where she keeps bringing her "Fire Hydrant" toy into me and dropping it for me to refill with a treat. I guess she figures that my ignoring her means that I wasn't aware of the toy, so she picks it up and drops it again. Over and over, on my foot, until I break down and fill it up for her. Yup, I can be trained.