The Last Few Weeks

A summary of the last few weeks

Sick Cat. Sasha was in and out of the vet for about a week. He began vomiting, and I don't know why. So, there were blood tests and medicine. Nothing appeared to be wrong according to the blood tests. His kidney numbers had increased from a month ago (taken during his checkup), but that could've been because of the excessive vomiting. Did a urine test the next day. No indication of renal failure, but there was blood in his urine. He seems to be doing okay when he began vomiting again a week later. Took him back in. We tried a different medicine. Then he began to hide and have, shall we say, littler box issues. Not good. During this time the vet I normally take him to was out with the flu, but she was back, and she wanted to see him and do some xrays to check for kidney stones or something else. Nothing was wrong other than some arthritis. For now he's on antibiotics because we are treating it as an infection of unknown origins.

Snow. We had some snow. We didn't have a lot where I live, but I am right along the water. Other areas farther inland had anywhere from eight to eighteen inches. But then we got the cold Canadian winds. See, we get the kind of snow that the Midwest gets in April. Normal Midwest snow is that light fluffy stuff, but as temps go up, the snow gets heavy and sloppy. That's what we get. And then we get these crazy winds out of the Fraser River Valley in Canada. The valley serves as a funnel for all these arctic winds and they come barreling out of the north and freeze the sloppy wet snow into a solid chunk of ice. And since no one, and I mean NO ONE, in this town shovels their sidewalks, trying to get anywhere, whether in a car or on foot, becomes very dangerous. And the wind is cold. Honestly, I can handle the cold. I mean, yeah, it's cold, but I can deal with it. Did they cancel classes or close the university? Of course not. But they did issue a warning to be careful and to remind us to take off our traction footwear when entering a building because that could be dangerous. Bite me.

Driving in the snow. You know, I grew up driving in the snow. I didn't like it, but it was just something you did. As I got older, I developed more anxieties about driving in the snow. This is what I learned: Front wheel drive will get you most places you need to be. As long as you are careful and take it slow ad don't make any sudden movements (or stop while going up a hill) you'll probably be okay. But it's been seven years since I've had to regularly drive in snow. And I lived in a very flat place. Now I don't. And I had to pick up some friends at the train station last weekend. In the snow. I live on a hill. And the driveway is very steep with a slight curve. I was worried. Did I make it? Yup. I was picking up someone who is not familiar with snow, and every time there was a slight skid, I could hear her suck in her breath. Each time I told her we were fine, because we were. We got a little hung up at the very top of the very steep driveway, but we kept moving... slowly. Did let out a "woo-hoo" after I parked my car? Hell, yes. I was very proud of myself.

Packers. The Packers lost to the Giants in Lambeau. Honestly, I wasn't that upset. They played so poorly they deserved to lose that game. They looked like a team that hadn't played in weeks. And in some ways they hadn't. They were the healthiest they had been in weeks, but that means they had people playing who hadn't played since mid-season. Rodgers didn't play during the last game of the regular season and with the first week bye, he hadn't played in three weeks. This is the way I see it: I know the goal is to win the Super Bowl, but they had a great season and the kept me more than entertained during the last four months. For that I thank them. Now it's time to make plans for next season.