Tough Day
Today I made a tough decision along with my DH. Sam the cat who adopted us some eight years ago, I think, but who really didn't become my cat (because he belonged to the neighbor) until about seven years ago or so, had been losing weight and he had lost about a third of his total weight. It really didn't matter how much we fed him, and in the past couple of days he wouldn't really eat, even when I offered him tunafish. So we brought him to the vet, and had to deal with whether or not he should be put down. I know that the former owners of the house had gotten him before they built our house, so that put Sam in his 20s.
If he were a younger cat, I might have considered putting them through tests and other treatments, but the reality was we could probably gain may be a year's worth of time. While that is somewhat beneficial, I was concerned about his quality of life. He sort of helped me make the decision when I was petting him and he started growling at me. Then, he took my hand in his mouth as a threat to bite. His hips hurt. His shoulders hurt. The vet said he had one atrophied kidney. We suspected he was hyperthyroid. And he was refusing to eat. I finally made the heart-wrenching decision with my DH to put Sam down. It was something I expected, but then you never really do expect to have to make a decision that isn't exactly clear cut.
A New Addition
The way to the vet, we had to stop briefly to pick up a baby buckling goat. Basically, this woman out in Plains was selling mini LaManchas and the price for this buckling was right. She was also in the area and so she brought the little guy for us to pick up. He's a little young to be away from mom and putting him in with the herd was a little traumatic for him, but in time, I have the feeling he'll do just fine. My current buck, Oreo, has bred my does for three years. I have his daughters who have no suitable boyfriends. So I need new genetics. This little guy is actually three quarters full size LaMancha and one quarter Nigerian dwarf. He may be a little bit on the small side when he grows up, but given the fact he'll be breeding full-size goats, I suspect he won't throw too many small goats. The little guy is about six weeks old and not quite weaned, but close enough. I gave him a bottle, and he drank about half. I gave him some hay and brought him inside for the evening. The herd is just a little too overwhelming right now. When he gets used to them, he can stay out with them at night.
Freelance Work
When I got home, I pretty much crashed out because we got up so early. I was able to score some assignments that I need to get done, even though they are somewhat low-paying. Depending on the assignments from content mills, you can make anywhere from maybe around five dollars an assignment all the way up to more than $100 an assignment. Most of it has to do with word count. Some places won't pay you much. Others pay all right but there is usually a fair amount of research that goes into it.
I look at work in terms of how much time it takes me to get the job done. If I'm wasting a lot of time for a small job, it's not worth it to me. Likewise, if the big job doesn't pay anything, I don't go after it. So tomorrow, I'll be taking a look at what I have on my plate and see if I can split it up into something that will work for me and give an idea as to what kind of work I've been doing.
If he were a younger cat, I might have considered putting them through tests and other treatments, but the reality was we could probably gain may be a year's worth of time. While that is somewhat beneficial, I was concerned about his quality of life. He sort of helped me make the decision when I was petting him and he started growling at me. Then, he took my hand in his mouth as a threat to bite. His hips hurt. His shoulders hurt. The vet said he had one atrophied kidney. We suspected he was hyperthyroid. And he was refusing to eat. I finally made the heart-wrenching decision with my DH to put Sam down. It was something I expected, but then you never really do expect to have to make a decision that isn't exactly clear cut.
A New Addition
The way to the vet, we had to stop briefly to pick up a baby buckling goat. Basically, this woman out in Plains was selling mini LaManchas and the price for this buckling was right. She was also in the area and so she brought the little guy for us to pick up. He's a little young to be away from mom and putting him in with the herd was a little traumatic for him, but in time, I have the feeling he'll do just fine. My current buck, Oreo, has bred my does for three years. I have his daughters who have no suitable boyfriends. So I need new genetics. This little guy is actually three quarters full size LaMancha and one quarter Nigerian dwarf. He may be a little bit on the small side when he grows up, but given the fact he'll be breeding full-size goats, I suspect he won't throw too many small goats. The little guy is about six weeks old and not quite weaned, but close enough. I gave him a bottle, and he drank about half. I gave him some hay and brought him inside for the evening. The herd is just a little too overwhelming right now. When he gets used to them, he can stay out with them at night.
Freelance Work
When I got home, I pretty much crashed out because we got up so early. I was able to score some assignments that I need to get done, even though they are somewhat low-paying. Depending on the assignments from content mills, you can make anywhere from maybe around five dollars an assignment all the way up to more than $100 an assignment. Most of it has to do with word count. Some places won't pay you much. Others pay all right but there is usually a fair amount of research that goes into it.
I look at work in terms of how much time it takes me to get the job done. If I'm wasting a lot of time for a small job, it's not worth it to me. Likewise, if the big job doesn't pay anything, I don't go after it. So tomorrow, I'll be taking a look at what I have on my plate and see if I can split it up into something that will work for me and give an idea as to what kind of work I've been doing.