Week 6 - Focus on Workshop

With this being the last week before our Business Operations Workshop, work was all about slamming through PowerPoints and handout. So many things! It certainly made the week go quickly so there was that. And Cindy was ever so grateful. There was no way she could have done it all on her own.

On the Jay front, he turned a corner on Tuesday and was clearly feeling much better. I had to dose him with awful tasting liquid antibiotics every night and as the week progressed, it was getting harder and harder as he gained strength. My plan was to let him free in the spare room after his last dose Friday night and that’s what I did. 

I always pinned him on the bed to get the syringe down his throat and when I gave him that last dose, I just let him go. He was under the bed in seconds. I then took down the cage and set his litter box, bed and bowls around the room. This didn’t work because he still went back to where things were in the cage (yes, there was poop where the litter box used to be!) so I had to put things back in their cage spots Saturday morning. After a couple of days, I put them in better spots and he adjusted. He was sleeping under the bed on top of a box of yarn with his head among the springs. He’ll be there for another couple of weeks until he’s gained some weight and his fur has grown back some. I will most likely have to take the bed apart to get him out of there but I’m prepared for that and am just glad he’s back to normal. All good.

My final birthday event was Saturday - Helen was coming over. Or so I thought. We had messaged back and forth earlier in the week but she’d missed a message I sent and I didn’t notice that she hadn’t responded specifically to that part so when I called Saturday morning, I wasn’t in her plan because she thought I hadn’t responded. Talking is so much more accurate than texting! Call me old but… Anyway, she was busy feeding horses but said she’d come over when she was done. She got there in the late afternoon and we sat chatting and knitting for hours. I was starving by the time she left but it was so close to bedtime that I had a bowl of cereal and called it good. I had been dieting all week and this wasn’t on the list but who eats meat and veg at 8:30 pm? Not I.

So with only laundry and chores on Sunday, that was my week. Pretty ordinary and I that was fine by me. The next week would be super busy at work so ending this week with some veg time just to restock my reserves was a bonus.

Week 5 - My Birthday Week

My week was a roller coaster with many highs centered around my birthday but also some lows with Jay. At least the weather broke for the weekend, which added to my gift to myself.

Jay was hating the cone on is head and I came home Monday to find fur and rope bits all over his cage where he'd clearly been digging at it. But he seemed perky otherwise and when I left for work Tuesday, my biggest concern was that I'd need to get a wet facecloth on his face to clean up the snot, which at least was old and dried so the antibiotic shot had done its work.

Tuesday was going to be the first of my birthday celebrations. Since Cindy has French class Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I already had lunch with Dodie on Thursday, the work gang was going to lunch for my birthday at Honest Abe's - best burgers in Lincoln. With the winter workshop 2 weeks away, everyone was slamming on their presentations so when Cindy said we needed to go down to the conference room to get Lacey, Dawn and Lana out of their planning meeting, I was completely taken in. When we opened the door, everyone was in there for a Rhode Island hot wiener surprise party! I was floored. I had shown Cindy the video of the Olneyville New York System restaurant with the guy making the hot wieners and had even given her a packet of meat sauce mix but that was last summer. Well, she'd coordinated the whole thing and we all enjoyed wienies for lunch. Cindy even made homemade lemon meringue pies - the first of her life. Delish! I work with the BEST PEOPLE! I had literally said that to Cindy in the ladies room right before the party started as part of a "I have a great life" talk. It's so true.

To top off this wonderful day, I went home to find that Jay had gotten the cone off and he was much happier. He was eating and seemed like a completely new cat. The bonus was he had cleaned off his face so no facecloth cleaning was needed. And he wasn't bothering his incision at all. Nice. I had a relaxing night at home, feeling good about life in general. We had a food day on Wednesday so I made cottage cheese dip and cranberry cole slaw before going to bed early to read. Perfect.

The food day was fun, with Cheryl and Susan (2 recent retirees) coming back for it so it was fun to visit with them. It was an eating day because after swimming I was going out for dinner at Piedmont Bistro with Anne and Rene. It was bitter cold, and had been all week, but we had a nice dinner. I got home after 9:00 so was planning on going right to bed. Until I checked on Jay.

Clearly something had gone drastically wrong. He had trashed the cage, even pulling up the plastic underneath it, and I found him sprawled on the floor. He was weak and clearly not doing well. I cleaned up the cage and got him settled into his bed but then didn't sleep much that night between worry and getting up over and over to check on him. When I got up for good at 4:30, he was doing no better so I called the vet before 7:00 and they agreed to take him. I warmed up the car, threw on some clothes and headed to Lincoln. I dropped him off and headed to work, exhausted and worried.

I got a call from the vet before I'd made it across town to my desk. It was going to cost $300 to do some blood tests to see what was wrong. His body temp was low, which explained the shaking, so I said to go ahead, planning to pay that bill as a birthday present to myself. When they called to say his white blood count was high but they had no idea what was wrong and suspected there might be something neurological going on because of something weird with his eyes. They needed to put in an IV for fluids and an antibiotic, which would raise the day's bill to $800. At that point, I sent an email to the Husker Cats board to get their input. While I was waiting for that, the vet called back with a cheaper option of non-IV rehydration and oral meds, which would mean $600 instead of $800. With several people agreeing to donate, we went with that option. At least it gave me some hope.

I was fighting tears all day from worry and running on empty after so little sleep but had book club after work so went home to the last of the cauliflower and ham and was at the library at 7:00 to discuss The Grapes of Wrath. I was not fully engaged but we had a good discussion and I went right to bed when I got home. I slept great because I was exhausted and didn't have Jay to check on. I was hoping for good news on Friday, which would be the best birthday gift I could get.

I went to work Friday to find treats on my desk - my favorite donut from Jennifer and a bag full of Nora's bear sticks, which are my favorite and she hadn't made them at Christmas. Mary brought me chocolate and then the vet called to say Jay was in much better condition and I could pick him up that afternoon. I put 2 hours of vacation time in and went to a nice lunch with Layton at Green Gateau, where I got a piece of Italian lemon cream cake so I had actual cake on my birthday. I had planned to make myself a decadent chocolate cake but couldn't muster the energy after book club so had whipped up a batch of puppy chow before work, which is yummy but not cake. I ate a bit of it after lunch but left at 3:00 to get Jay. He was more alert but still not what he'd been before whatever happened on Wednesday, which I was beginning to think was a seizure. I had oral meds to give him for the next week but at least he'd be home and was alive. I set the cage back up and got him settled with a heating pad in his bed to keep him warm. There was nothing else I could do.

My last birthday celebration was that night at BW's in Ashland with Andrea and Lori. Lori had originally suggested going to her house on Omaha but my present to myself was a weekend at home so we'd decided to meet Friday after work instead at BW's, where I'd get more Brussels sprouts (I had them at Piedmont Bistro on Wednesday too) and loaded tots with my favorite Vanilla Bean Blonde beer. Since I was in Wahoo, Andrea drove and we met up for a fun night of food and friends. Lori gave me a beautiful nesting plant pot set that she got at her part-time job at Mulhall's - the fanciest garden center in Omaha. Andrea bought me fabric and sock yarn. I do have the best friends! When we got home after 9:00, I went right to bed, happy with all the birthday fun I'd had all week and thrilled to have no obligations for the weekend. The weather was even cooperating with a 50 degree increase in temperature.

Guess what I did Saturday morning? Sat in my chair and knitted while drinking coffee. The only thing missing was sunshine but it was in the 40's and everything was melting. Being home felt so good that even doing laundry felt like a treat. Despite it being damp and dreary, I hung sheets on the line. They didn't dry completely so ended up in the dryer but it still felt right. I got 3 lots of yarn prepped and into the mailbox took down all my outside Christmas decorations in just a t-shirt. It was that warm. Once I was done outside, I went it to get the kitchen cleaned up and had some quality knitting/streaming time on Saturday night. Such a treat! 

I got a few long overdue things done on Sunday, including cleaning up my bedroom (the only room that didn't matter for Connie's visit) and catching up on blogging. I felt great when I sat down to to start season 3 of Victoria while ignoring the Super Bowl. It had been the perfect weekend of catching up and recharging. Between prepping for Norway, then coming home and getting sick followed by prepping for Connie's visit, I hadn't had a weekend like this since November. Heaven! Jay seemed a bit better too - eating a little more and using his box, which I was progress since his "episode" but not as good as he was before then. I guess it's just a waiting game at his point.

So after the roller coaster week, the weekend was a balm for my soul. I was going to start a rotation on Monday, which is long overdue. I'm feeling fat and crappy so am hoping to drop some of the weight I've gained in the past two years. Wish me luck on that and on Jay. I can use all the positive thoughts I can get. 

Week 4 - Connie and Jay

Monday started with clearing and cleaning. I must have made a dozen trips up and down the stairs between putting stuff away (throwing stuff in the basement, really) and doing load after load of laundry. Then the actual cleaning started – dusting, floors, etc. I even put down the new rugs that I'd bought for the front room and hallway. By the time I went to knitting, the spare room was spotless and the door was shut to keep the cats out. Mission accomplished!

There was more winter weather on the way so I got up early on Tuesday and was drinking coffee when I got an email that UNL was closed. Knock me over with a feather! That was amazing news because I’d spent all weekend working and was exhausted. I happily sat in my chair, drinking coffee and watching the snow fall. We only got an inch of snow so I didn’t even bother to shovel. Apparently Lincoln got more, which is why everything in Lincoln was closed. I drove over the snow and headed to work Wednesday, happy that I’d had the extra day off. And who doesn’t love a 3 day week?

And the days flew by. I went to Notes @ Noon on Wednesday, which is usually music but this time was dance. Interesting. I swam after work that night and then finished the last cleaning (bathroom and a few pots & pans) on Thursday after work. Connie would get to Lincoln Friday morning but would be hanging with Rachele and then would come to swimming, which felt like old times. Connie and I started swimming together 12 years ago right before she left UNL and moved to Peru State. After water aerobics, we met Rachele at Toast for dinner and then Connie and I headed home. We’d be back in Lincoln on Saturday morning for more shopping and eating.

When I got home, I found a message that Jay, one of my Love cats, had been picked up by Animal Control earlier in the week and was at the Humane Society ready for pick up. This explained why I hadn’t seen Jay all week, which was unusual. I shoveled out the entrance to the storm drain on Wednesday morning and then dug a bigger hole on Thursday but still hadn’t seen him. Apparently he’d gotten lost in the storm drains and come up blocks from where he lives. Anyway, the Humane Society was open from noon to 4:00 on Saturday so that worked to pick him up.

Connie and I had yogurt for breakfast and chatted over coffee, which was wonderful. We headed to meet Rachele at Trader Joe’s in Lincoln and from there went to Bed, Bath and Beyond before hitting Noodles for lunch. We split up from there – Rachele to her house to drop off groceries and Connie and I to get the cat then head home. Rachele would meet us in Wahoo to hang out and have something easy for dinner. That was the plan anyway.

First stop was to pick up Jay and drop him back on campus but when we got to the Humane Society, they said that he wasn’t healthy like when he’d arrived and now had a blazing upper respiratory infection. I called Belinda, who told me which vet would be open and made a 2:30 appointment to get him a shot before dropping him back on campus. But that didn’t quite work out.

When I got to the vet, the tech immediately recognized Jay as a Love Library cat because he goes to UNL. When the vet came in, he helped convince him that Jay was more than a normal feral and wasn’t a health risk. This was crucial because when they took him out of the cage and flipped him over, the snot nose took a back seat. Jay had a ruptured abscess on his stomach and had licked all the fur off of his stomach, which explained why he had mats all over his sides and back for the first time in his life. He’d spent all his grooming time on his stomach. The vet took one look and said Jay needed surgery. OMG! I told him to go ahead with the surgery and left him there. Being a 7 day/week vet, I would be picking him up Sunday afternoon.

Connie and I headed home, calling Rachele to say we were on our way. We watched Solo (the Star Wars movie) and had cheese and crackers for dinner rather than cook. When the movie was over, we just sat and talked for hours. It’s always wonderful when Connie visits. She would be leaving early on Sunday because she had to pick up her co-worker in Sioux Falls and then drive all the way home from there. We went to bed relatively early so she’d be well rested for her drive.

After a quick cup of coffee, Connie was off by 8:00. I had been looking forward to a day at home but now had to drive to Lincoln to pick up Jay and borrow a big cage for him to recuperate in. I did get to enjoy the morning and then headed south right after lunch, stopping at Belinda’s to borrow the cage and at the market for kitty litter and wet food for Jay. When I picked him up, he had a cone on! The vet said it had gone well and I had 4 days of an anti-inflammatory to give him but could mix it into his food. He was a dream in the car, not making a peep. I set up the cage and got Jay set up. 

I did a single load of laundry to get me though the next week and spent the evening incessantly checking on Jay. The cone was in the way of his eating so I had to put his food into 50’s insulated plastic sundae cups so the cone could go around it. I figured it out and he ate some. He was totally freaked out but he still wasn’t making any noise so I was able to sleep well Sunday night. I had hopes that he’d be back on campus in a week.

Week 3 - Preparing for Connie

It was a relatively normal week that started out with an interesting work task that definitely qualified as “other duties as assigned” and ended with winter weather.

When I got back from lunch at Noodles with Darla on Monday, Mary gave me a fun project with a busy deadline. Mary and Nora were leaving for KU at 3:00 and were 2 mugs short for thank you gifts. Now the mugs were old and discontinued Nebraska mugs made from corn plastic so my mission was to see if I could find more. I spent an hour and a half calling everyone I could think of but came up empty. Mary had given me money to buy 2 different mugs if I couldn’t find any so I gave up at 2:45 and ran over to the bookstore. But it was only the 2^nd week of classes so the line was huge. I ran back to Canfield and begged 2 mugs from Research, delivering them just before they were leaving. What a frantic but fun afternoon!

Tuesday was the State of the University speech and since it was in honor of the U’s 150^th year, I actually went in person. It was a wonderful speech and we all left excited for Charter Week festivities. With no swimming or knitting, I went right home that night and got caught up and made dinner. That always feels like a treat since it only happens once in most weeks. I had intended to swim on Wednesday but Nora called me as I was walking to my car and by the time I hung up, it was too late to swim so I got to go home a 2^nd night in a row. And then I got to go straight home Thursday too. This was a banner week for time at home. Gotta love that.

There was winter weather coming on Friday and by shortly after noon, the drizzle that had been falling started to freeze. With snow due for drive time, it was going to be dangerous. The Vice Chancellor came by at 3:00 to say that the U wasn’t closing but we should do what we thought was safe. Everyone was out the door within minutes but I stayed until 3:30 to finish up what I was working on. The ride home was slow going but it still felt like a win to be home early on a Friday.

This was my weekend to clean before Connie’s visit but when we woke up Saturday, the ice and snow, which we’d gotten way less of in Wahoo than Lincoln, was nearly gone so Andrea and I headed to Fremont for spinning. Fremont had gotten absolutely no ice so it was fine up there. After spinning, we did our usual errands and this time we got to go to the new Aldi, which is big and beautiful. I bought all kinds of clearance Christmas goodies and got a huge gift basket for $10 that will go as a door prize to the Wine & Dine. We ended the night at Todd’s in Cedar Bluffs and while I was happy with the tots, my favorite beer was off so we sent it back to the bar. It’s on tap so there must have been something wrong in the line. We got something else but it wasn’t as good, of course. We didn’t get home until almost 9:00 so I put the groceries away and went to bed.

Sunday was chores and starting the big spare room clear out for Connie’s visit. It wasn’t in horrible condition but in order to give her some floor space, I cleared out a lot of the yarn totes, moving them to the front room. I binned up most of the clothes that were stacked on the bed. I wasn’t completely done but had Monday, MLK Day, to finish up. All in all, it had been a good week.