Long Time, No See
Wow. It has been a while since I wrote anything here. Either I've been busy or simply uninspired. Actually, I've been writing a lot--primarily for work and for the railroad museum newsletter. I'm not getting a lot in the way of articles or contributions for the newsletter, so I've been struggling to come up with decent and interesting content. The problem is that the material is interesting to *me*, not necessarily interesting to everyone else.
July marks the Southern Railway's 120th anniversary--something my NMRA calendar completely failed to note. This oversight is ironic considering where NMRA's headquarters are located and what ACTIVE steam locomotives are based in their town.... 100 lashes for abject failure to note the obvious.
Rasta 'Ra Fu
Poor Kiera had to be taken to the emergency animal clinic Sunday night. We noticed that she had not come down to eat for a day or two--normally, she is right with the other kitties at feeding time. My sweetie also noticed that there was a bad smell in our room that turned out to be Kiera... My sweetie was able to corral Kiera with no trouble at all and we discovered her fur was all matted--kitty dreadlocks--and we tried to comb the tangles out. It was quite evident she had not been grooming, and she had a really bad rotten cheese smell. The fact she wasn't trying to escape our clutches was very telling.
So...off to the animal clinic with a whiny Kiera we went. The vet said Kiera was running a temperature, but hadn't really lost weight since her last checkup. They shaved her tangles off and cleaned her up. A vitamin B shot, and some sort of appetite stimulant, and she was ready to come back home. She is much perkier, eating, and getting the You smell like vet--I hate you treatment from the other cats.
Integration Fu
Keiichi seems to be fully integrated into the family. He loves playing with Ignatius--who good-naturedly lets K-1 pummel him a little before rolling over and pinning the kitten in place. Kiera let K-1 groom her a bit, and K-1 tries to play with AElfgifu. Josie tolerates him, but there is no hissing, biting, or fighting amongst them. Feline equilibrium has been achieved!
Second Stage
Ealdercote is undergoing the second stage of its transformation. My sweetie is demanding change, so it is time to pull up the carpet. This is a bigger job than before because we don't have much room to shift things around. We've started by clearing the bookshelves and re-arranging the "spare" room that has served as a secondary junk room. Watching commercials for Hoarders convinced us it is time to let stuff go. One great thing is getting rid of the vintage computer books that have been taking up space. I also found a couple of places where we can trade in old books, CDs, DVDs, VHS, games, etc. Even at a 4-1 reduction, we can feel good about not wasting stuff and we can get a few new-to-us things.
Somewhere in all of this, painting and repainting will occur. I am dreading the stairwell....
July marks the Southern Railway's 120th anniversary--something my NMRA calendar completely failed to note. This oversight is ironic considering where NMRA's headquarters are located and what ACTIVE steam locomotives are based in their town.... 100 lashes for abject failure to note the obvious.
Rasta 'Ra Fu
Poor Kiera had to be taken to the emergency animal clinic Sunday night. We noticed that she had not come down to eat for a day or two--normally, she is right with the other kitties at feeding time. My sweetie also noticed that there was a bad smell in our room that turned out to be Kiera... My sweetie was able to corral Kiera with no trouble at all and we discovered her fur was all matted--kitty dreadlocks--and we tried to comb the tangles out. It was quite evident she had not been grooming, and she had a really bad rotten cheese smell. The fact she wasn't trying to escape our clutches was very telling.
So...off to the animal clinic with a whiny Kiera we went. The vet said Kiera was running a temperature, but hadn't really lost weight since her last checkup. They shaved her tangles off and cleaned her up. A vitamin B shot, and some sort of appetite stimulant, and she was ready to come back home. She is much perkier, eating, and getting the You smell like vet--I hate you treatment from the other cats.
Integration Fu
Keiichi seems to be fully integrated into the family. He loves playing with Ignatius--who good-naturedly lets K-1 pummel him a little before rolling over and pinning the kitten in place. Kiera let K-1 groom her a bit, and K-1 tries to play with AElfgifu. Josie tolerates him, but there is no hissing, biting, or fighting amongst them. Feline equilibrium has been achieved!
Second Stage
Ealdercote is undergoing the second stage of its transformation. My sweetie is demanding change, so it is time to pull up the carpet. This is a bigger job than before because we don't have much room to shift things around. We've started by clearing the bookshelves and re-arranging the "spare" room that has served as a secondary junk room. Watching commercials for Hoarders convinced us it is time to let stuff go. One great thing is getting rid of the vintage computer books that have been taking up space. I also found a couple of places where we can trade in old books, CDs, DVDs, VHS, games, etc. Even at a 4-1 reduction, we can feel good about not wasting stuff and we can get a few new-to-us things.
Somewhere in all of this, painting and repainting will occur. I am dreading the stairwell....