California is shutting down again, sort of. My county is on the "watch list" and has to close most businesses. Fortunately the county where I shop and have my workout is not on the list. I see that Walmart will require masks starting Monday -- about time!!
This has been a bad year for our cats. We lost one a few months ago. We have an old one who is on his last legs with bad kidneys and what I think is congestive heart failure, since he has to catch his breath when he moves a few steps. We are hoping he can die at home since the stress of the trip to the vet would be very hard on him. And one of the younger ones, Marley, whom we inherited about 5 years ago when our son was stationed in Korea, has a mass under his tongue that is most likely squamous cell cancer. The biopsy was inconclusive but the pathologist felt there was a high probability that's what it is. He is having trouble eating and is getting quite skinny. We've tried every shape and consistency of food we can think of. It's hard to euthanize such a young one, especially when they have so much personality, but we'll have to do it in a month or so. I hope I'll know when it's the right time. Sorry for all these sad stories. The dogs are doing great, and we have three healthy cats.
Sunday and Monday will be my first backpacking overnight trip of the season. I'm going with a woman I've never backpacked with before (although I've met her). She hasn't backpacked in over 10 years and doesn't do much exercise, so I'm a little apprehensive. I tried to talk her into a location which would require a fairly short easy hike in, but she wants to go to Mosquito Lakes in Mineral King. It's only about a 3.5 mile hike, but the trail is pretty steep and we'll be at high altitude (10000 feet). Stay tuned for the report
Florida doesn't have mandatory masks, but our county does, so we wear them whenever we go inside a public space.
I'm sorry about your kitties! Do you know a vet who makes house calls? That's how we had one of our cats euthanized. It was still so hard, but not so hard for the cat.
In my opinion it's better that our animals not suffer any longer than need be. I know different people feel differently.
Our last cat had squamous cell cancer in his mouth. We found that he would eat the meat baby foods, such as the Gerber 2nd foods beef and gravy, ham and gravy, chicken and gravy, and turkey and gravy in the glass jars. We kept him going on these for a while, but I think he was in pain a lot of the time. That wasn't his only problem, either, and finally one day we felt he had suffered enough. He was a strong, vibrant cat, but he had lost 8 pounds and things were not going to improve for him. I guess my suggestion would be, don't wait too long.
Your backpacking trip sounds perhaps too optimistic. I would try again to talk your friend into an easier trip. But, perhaps she's young?
We are doing not much here. Lots of Zoom courses. I think I have to get off of Facebook for a while, though. People are taking out their frustration on anyone who doesn't agree with them, and I don't need that.
Thanks for the advice about our cat, JayEll. So far Marley is still eating some of the canned food, some tuna, some roast chicken, and drinking some milk. I think he's lost about 5 pounds so far, I will heed your words about not waiting too long. Unfortunately we live about 50 miles from the towns, and I don't know any vet who would drive that far. One of my nieces is a vet but she lives down in the LA area.
The woman I'm backpacking with is in her early 50s. I think she will be struggling. I have low expectations except that I want to enjoy being outside on the trail.
Here's a great tool for assessing risk of group gatherings by county. I used it to see how risky an upcoming wedding in Texas might be. In their county, the risk of one infected person in a group of 100 is 97%. In a group of 50 it is 84%. I'm trying to convince my DH it is completely foolhardy to go, especially when he would be driving for hours in a car with several other attendees including two from the Phoenix area. Sometimes I think my DH is determined to become a statistic.
Here's a great tool for assessing risk of group gatherings by county. I used it to see how risky an upcoming wedding in Texas might be. In their county, the risk of one infected person in a group of 100 is 97%. In a group of 50 it is 84%. I'm trying to convince my DH it is completely foolhardy to go, especially when he would be driving for hours in a car with several other attendees including two from the Phoenix area. Sometimes I think my DH is determined to become a statistic.
Various health authorities in different countries agree that the most likely way to get the virus is through close contact indoors or in a confined space with a group of persons over a period of hours. That sounds exactly like the scenario your DH would be in. This virus can have permanent health consequences, unlike other flus or viral infections. Tell your DH he is also putting you at risk for having health problems for the rest of your life.
My DH and I have agreed on a number of protocols and situations in which we will go out. We are in total agreement and if one of us suddenly changes their mind the other will accept it. There is no way to quarantine completely from each other in our small house so we're determined to do all we can to prevent either of us (thus both of us) from getting COVID. He and I are also doing some activities alone and we are taking precautions and also "debugging" when we come home. It's not perfect but then this is all new and we have to learn to live in a new way probably for a couple of years.
Off to the first "pandemic" sleepover. 4 days with 4 pets. I'm realizing a life-long dream of living right on the lake. The couch in the living room faces a wall of glass doors that give me the lake view. The pets and I will be spending a bunch of time in that room.
We have haircuts today. The months are starting to run together.
I wonder how HowlinAtTheMoon's backpacking trip went.
Are there any other Maintainers out there? Haven't heard from some folks in a long time.
Shannon started a Fb group for weight loss and she and Michelle post there almost daily. Now Becky has joined too. I lurk a lot but mostly still post here as I'm much more about maintenance.
I found getting my hair cut to be a real boost for my morale. I hope your experience today is positive too JayEll!
JayEll, that FB group is called Fitness & Food Check-In & Chatter. Shannon's full name is Shannon Mobley Cate. I think you can find the group and request an invite.
My overnight trip went well! My friend got a blister within the first half-mile, but she applied moleskin and soldiered on. We stopped a few times but still managed to get to the camping spot by 5. It was a wonderful location about 100 feet above a pristine lake, and we had the place all to ourselves. The mosquitos weren't bad. The weather couldn't have been better - high in the 60s and nighttime low of about 50 at our elevation. I slept over 9 hours! At home I've been averaging about 6. In the morning my friend didn't want to dayhike to the upper lakes (we were at #2 and there are three more) because her feet hurt, but that was okay by me because I've been there several times. She resolved to buy new hiking shoes. The ones she wore were from over 10 years ago and I gathered they hurt even back then.
I got home Monday and Monday night our old cat Stormy finally died. He had been barely hanging on for a couple of weeks. My step-daughter and 4 grandkids are here, so we had a little service for Stormy and buried him in a new place we've reserved for a pet cemetery. The girls did a fabulous job painting a round river rock as a headstone for him. The young cat Marley with the mouth cancer is managing to eat a goodly amount. I discovered it I stand there and keep mounding up the canned food on the dish as he eats it, he can eat most of a small can at a time. It's just when the food mashed down that he can't pick it up.;
Next week I'm hoping to do a 2 night trip, but it still depends on several things like the weather and DH's golfing schedule.
Looks like my DH is going to lose his job - no fault of his but a combination of things. SIGH. I was going to dive into the cookies but decided against it. Going to go to bed at 8:30 p.m. instead.
Dagmar, I'm sorry to hear about you DH's job. Hope he can find another soon.
Well, my next backpacking trip is on hold because I'm having some nerve problems in my left leg. Probably from continued spinal deterioration. The skin on the outside of the leg is partially numb from my butt all the way down to my foot. The outside of my foot is numb. My calf aches and gets pretty bad if I walk too fast. The numbness alone wouldn't keep me home, but I doubt if I can walk fast enough to get where I want to go. Geesh, it's always something. I had a televisit with the family doctor - she ordered an xray of the lower spine and called in an Rx for meloxicam (NSAID). If it's like the other problems I've had, it will resolve itself over time. At least this time, it is not keeping me awake at night.
Ouch for the leg issues, Alice. Share your hope that it"it will resolve itself over time." Congrats for getting satisfaction from a doctor's televisit.
Dagmar, I do hope things work out with your DH. Hard times we're having.
We continue to survive here. No problems of great concern - only the steady cancellation of everything that we normally do. I've found that my desire to read certain books that I thought I'd be jumping for has also diminished. Looking forward to the magic resolution of the whole situation.
Had a really nasty bout of something starting in the wee hours of Monday morning. Had to cancel the day at work to stay close to my bathroom. I had quite a bit of work booked so that was really unfortunate.I think that's the first time in 25 years that I've been off sick more than once in any given year. I hope my run of bad fortune ends with this. SIGH.
And I have about 100 pics of the view!
I had a televisit with the family doctor - she ordered an xray of the lower spine and called in an Rx for meloxicam (NSAID). If it's like the other problems I've had, it will resolve itself over time. At least this time, it is not keeping me awake at night.
