Week 50 - Finding Christmas Spirit

The week started out with me fighting tears but did get better. It had to.

I had been OK with Pie's death when I was home alone but at work on Monday people were being nice to me. That's always a problem when I'm feeling emotional and this was no exception. It got easier as the day went along though and after another round of niceness at knitting, I was fine by Tuesday. There was definitely a change in my household's dynamic but we'd adjust.

I finished my Christmas shopping for good on Tuesday with errands at lunch. Check that off. Then the work gang went to Union Bank's holiday open house on Wednesday, which has quite a spread. By the time Thursday night came around, I was ready to put up my tree. I was finally getting some Christmas spirit. My tree was a bit wonky but looks great, if I do say so, once decorated.

I had a busy weekend ahead so forced myself to swim on Friday and then ran some errands, which meant I got home pretty late. After eating a quick supper, I baked cookies until after 9:00 pm so that I wouldn't have that hanging over my head. I then went all adult and cleaned up the entire kitchen Saturday morning before heading to a holiday party and cookie swap with my spinning group. It was at Danielle's house, which is lovely, and she went above and beyond with the food. We all had fun and were home before dark. I finished neatizing and got the bar cleared because it was time to start wrapping.

After making a nice breakfast Sunday morning and getting the laundry going, I pulled out wrapping paper and presents and got It's a Wonderful Life on the TV. I had a lovely afternoon of wrapping and had 3 packages ready to ship on Monday. I was in the home stretch on holiday prep and feeling good about things. It was quite a contrast from last year when all my holiday deadlines were early because of my Norway trip. How nice to have such a stress free December. I hope all your holiday prep is going swimmingly. Just ten days until Christmas and fix until I fly east. Where has December gone?

Week 49 - Goodbye to Pie

The week started out great and went seriously downhill from there. The worst it can get pretty much.

I was in holiday clear out mode after my super productive Thanksgiving break so started the week with a get rid of everything lunch hour. I dropped 9 charity hats off for the School of Natural Resources adopt Clinton School campaign, then dropped the soap from UAAD's recent drive in a People's City Mission drop box and finally got rid of the Tokyo cage I'd had since last winter when I had Jay, the sick campus cat, in my spare bedroom. It was in my yard for months and then rattling in the backseat of my car for a week or more. Goodbye! Then I brought apple pie to knitting and Donna gave me a huge bag of lemons from her brother's tree in California. Nice day, right?

And Tuesday started out nice too. I went to Trader Joe's at lunch and bought mini poinsettias for everyone in the office along with lots of Christmas goodies. Stockings were almost done. But when I got home that night, it was clear that Pie's rally from Thanksgiving weekend was over. She had stopped eating again and the end was coming. I woke up at 3:00 a.m. that night to check on her and she was fading fast. But not fast enough because this was only the first Pie check in the wee hours.

The door decorating contest judging and party was at 2:00 on Wednesday. Since our door was not only festive but automated with a Rube Goldberg machine that turned on lights and music, I thought for sure we'd win. Nope. Everyone voted for their own door so the 2 offices with the most employees – Accounting and AP/Payroll – won. Lame! Union Bank provided lots of cookies so that was fun. It was a gorgeous day so we took a walk outside to enjoy it and then I went to swimming, which I'm so not into these days, and the instructor didn't show up. Seriously? We did our own thing and left a bit early. I went home for Survivor and a Pie check. Still alive and worse than the morning so I messaged the cleaning lady to warn her that a dying cat might be on the rug by the back door and to just ignore that entire corner of the room.

Pie was even weaker in the morning and I headed to work sure she wouldn't make it through the day, which was a quick one because I trained for 3 hours in the afternoon. Well, when I got home I went immediately to check on Pie and she must have been freaked out by the cleaning lady because she bolted down the basement stairs. Since she hadn't moved in more than 24 hours, I was shocked. I also couldn't find her so went to book club thinking I'd be crawling around looking for her when I got back. But when I got back she was back on her rug by the slider. Until she saw me and bolted down the stairs again. Clearly she'd had a traumatic day, which was sad.

When I got up in the wee hours to check for her, she was at the top of the stairs and unable to move. I picked her up and put her on the heating pad and she was still there in the morning. But when I opened the door to let the other cats out, she ran out too – across the deck and into the garage. I should mention that the temp had plummeted overnight and it was freezing outside. I called and called her but she didn't come and when I checked her favorite spot in the garage, there she was. She had somehow pulled herself up onto the cushions on the table and was sitting pretty. I figured she had gone to her happy place to die and left for work, not knowing where these bursts of energy were coming from. At the end of the day, I skipped swimming to go straight home and check on her. She was in the exact same spot and cold but still alive. Shocking. I picked her up (there was still some fight in her) and took her inside to her spot on the heating pad. I turned it up to medium and she flung herself off after awhile but it appeared she was done. I went to bed sure I'd find her dead the next morning.

OMG! She was still alive Saturday morning! She couldn't move and her breathing was labored but still alive. Such a will to live! She was sleeping in the sun on her heating pad with Pixel right next to her, which confirmed my decision to let her die at home instead of traumatizing her with a trip to the vet. But I could not face the thought of watching her die so when Andrea suggested an Omaha run, I jumped at the chance. I thought we'd only be gone for a few hours but her dinner plans had fallen through so we made a long day of it. My goal was to hit World Market for stocking stuffers and get milk at Aldi but we thrifted all over Omaha beforehand, including New Life Thrift. They have a seasonal store that I haven't been to in years and it was fun. By the time I dropped Andrea and got home, it was after 9:00 p.m. And yes, Pie was still alive. I could not believe it. All I could do was love on her and go to bed.

Pie was dead when I woke up Sunday morning. It had been a grueling week and as long as it took her to go, I questioned my decision to let her die at home. I had dug a hole in my side garden before I left for Omaha on Saturday so waited for it to warm up outside and then buried her. My plan had been to put my Christmas tree up but I wasn't feeling it. I had done one load of laundry and hung it out on Saturday (it was a damp mess when I got home so late – whatever) but did 2 more loads on Sunday. That's all I managed to get done. I didn't even knit much. I don't know what I did all day. Grieved I guess. But it was a blessing. Now to move on and get some Christmas spirit. Here's a picture of her from happier, healthier times. She was the most beautiful cat I've ever had. I called her my calendar kitty.

Week 48 - Mishap and Thanksgiving

So it was a three day work week (nothing not to like there) and the weather was gorgeous but would be going downhill for the break so I took advantage of a gorgeous afternoon and left Monday at noon to finish prepping my yard for winter. A two and a half day week - even better!

I ran a few errands on the way home, including buying my 2 Christmas trees and a wreath, then I got busy as soon as I got home. While I had done a bunch of work on Sunday, there was still plenty more. I started in the driveway, clearing out all the pots in the wheelbarrow (sorted between trash, save and recycle) then started dumping pots into the newly empty wheelbarrow. When the driveway was cleared and swept, I went around and did the same on the deck. 

As the sun was going down and it was getting chilly, the last thing I did was set up the deck tree. The purple leaf winter creeper that has gotten out of control at the corner of my deck needed some trimming so it wouldn't interfere with the tree. Alas, in cutting that back, I also cut through my phone line. Luckily it was only part way so I still had internet but my landline was dead. Barrelin' Marilyn strikes again! I ended the day on the phone with Windstream and scheduled an appointment for the end of the day Wednesday, when I hoped to be home after being let out of work early.

Windstream has the absolute best tech ever in the Wahoo area. He went out first thing Tuesday, called me at work to discuss the issue and then called back to say he'd fixed it and had called and gotten my answering machine to test the line. Not only that but he'd cut back the winter creeper! Now that's customer service.

Wednesday sped by. Cindy and I worked on decorating our door for the Financial Services door decorating contest, I had lunch with Darla and then they let us out at 3:00. It was a snow sky and I made a beeline home. I had no plans to leave the house again until Monday morning. Heaven! Especially because the weather had turned and it was going to be raw, blustery and snowing on and off for the whole 4 days.

Alas, Pie, my old cat, had been failing. She'd stopped eating and was only licking the juice off of wet food for a week or more. She was super skinny - fur stretched over a skeleton. After getting the turkey in the oven late Thursday morning, I boiled the guts and she ate some of the liver. I then made it my mission to get her eating again. She ate treats and more wet food so I did leave the house on Friday afternoon just to run to the vet for kitty crack cat food - Hill's Prescription Urgent Care. At almost $3/can it's pricey but I knew she would eat it, which she did. I also set up a heating pad on the rug she sleeps on in front of the slider. She seemed to perk up a bit and I spent as much time loving on her as I could over the break.

Having 4 days off with no plans was an absolute treat. Between bouts of sitting, knitting and streaming with Pie on my lap, I managed to get lots done. Literally every single thing on my to do list. So by the end of the day Sunday, surfaces were clear, the fridge was full of food (mostly turkey leftovers but also soup, which I'd made with the carcass that I had in the crockpot overnight on Thanksgiving), I'd made pie for knitting and all the paper was gone through and in the recycling pile. I had loaded the car with things to get out of my house and had organized all of my Christmas stuff. And since Sunday was December 1st, I cast on new socks, which always makes me happy. 

I hope you all had as nice a Thanksgiving as I did. Now on to Christmas! My inside tree is waiting in a bucket of water in the laundry room and the naked wreath I hung on the door is mocking me but it'll all get done. Having spent most of last December in Norway and then going straight to Rhode Island from there, this year feels leisurely. I'll take it!