Re: What are you doing today?

by MesaMouse Thu 10 Nov 2016, 7:26 pm

On the upside, I contacted a contractor a neighbor had used to re-do her bathrooms to see about having a step-through cut into my tub. He came over and determined that my tub is porcelain over cast iron, making the job for a one-man operation almost impossible; however, he did remove the sliding doors and 2" high track from the tub. This will be a big help for my arthritic hips and knees, making climbing into the tub to shower a little bit less of an adventure every time. He also removed the pop-up drain from the tub, cleaned up everything beautifully and also fixed the latch on my screen door -- all for the amazing fee of $45 (his hourly rate)! Next week, I'm going to call two local agents that do these step-through cuts/caps as both indicate they'll tackle fiberglass, porcelain, steel and cast iron although the $995 cost they both cite is most likely for easy fiberglass -- I'll bet tackling cast iron will be about $1500. If that turns out to be the case, the contractor, Mike, suggested that I have everything pulled out and a full shower put in: a team he works with frequently will charge around $1500 to install a full marble shower and should be able to help him remove the cast iron tub for about another $300. I'd prefer a full shower vs the step-through tub so we'll see what everyone's quotes are next week.

On the downside, Dr. Danner is coming tomorrow at 5:30 to euthanize the BooDog. She hasn't eaten food for 24 hours or drunk water for about 18 hours. To induce her to eat and drink, I offered her "people food" tonight and she happily took pieces from my hand, following it up with a nice long drink of water. Silly to worry about her starving or dehydrating when she has less than 24 hours to go but moms do worry about such things. I'll call the pet mortuary tomorrow and arrange for them to get her on Saturday morning for cremation. I'm sad but she's miserable so we'll both be glad to have peace.

by Peachy Thu 10 Nov 2016, 8:42 pm

Cool news with the tub/shower! We had our bathroom remodeled a few years ago. I wished we would have opted for a shower (we have one in the basement and I love it!) but since we ended up with a kiddo I guess a tub was meant to be. lol

I'm sorry to hear about your puppy. My best to both of you. Hug

by Artistwolf Mon 14 Nov 2016, 8:50 pm

Just got to watch my DeviantArt friend Kilairney draw this amazing peice of work: What are you doing today? - Page 22 Img_8411

It's the dragon form of Max from In Fear, which is a movie. Smile

It was a lot of fun getting to chat in real time and see the creative process Smile

by MesaMouse Thu 17 Nov 2016, 7:18 pm

Had a belated birthday lunch with my friend Rainey (the pharmacist with whom I used to work). As usual, we met at Wildflower Bread Company, had enormous V12 salads (lots of assorted baby greens, roasted Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, eggplant, red peppers, red onion, tomato, carrots, jimaca, zucchini, peas, sweet corn, feta cheese, sunflower seeds, chicken breast and fresh sourdough bread), and yakked for 2+ hours. It was a good visit and lots of ground to cover -- our stomachs were full and our tongues tired Giggle

.

Afterward, I picked up the BooDog's cremains, neatly bagged and placed in a smoky plastic temporary urn. When I was handed the urn in a beautiful dark blue velvet drawstring bag with "Until we meet over the Rainbow Bridge" inscribed in gold thread, it was all I could do to keep from losing it. As I was leaving, David, one of the owners, said "But you'll get another animal. No matter how much it hurts when we lose a beloved pet, we'll always get another. It's that unconditional love that gets us every time." He's so right and I ended up telling him about an 8 year old female red tabby cat I've been keeping an eye on on Animal Control's website. She's still there tonight (they closed at 6:00) so I'm going to go over there after my museum shift tomorrow to meet her. I even dug out an old carrier tonight in case she's "the one."

by Peachy Thu 17 Nov 2016, 9:27 pm

That sounds like an awesome salad!! lol Have fun checking out the kitties tomorrow.
Cat3

by scaredymouse Fri 18 Nov 2016, 2:32 am

Did you meet the kitty?

by MesaMouse Fri 18 Nov 2016, 9:14 am

scaredymouse wrote:Did you meet the kitty?

Not yet -- I've been monitoring the Animal Control website to make sure she's still there each evening so I've only seen her face in a "mug shot" (making slit eyes so I don't even know what color her eyes are). They open at 11:00 (it's only 8:12am now) so I'll go over at 1:00 after my docent shift. Today is only a week since the BooDog's passing so I still feel somewhat disloyal in considering a cat so soon but, as one of my friends reminded me, the Boo liked cats and would be pleased that Mom would have a new friend to keep her company.

by MouseLover Fri 18 Nov 2016, 4:58 pm

You shouldn't feel at all disloyal MesaMouse - dogs are pack animals, so she would certainly understand the need for company!

by MesaMouse Fri 18 Nov 2016, 5:08 pm

Thanks, MouseLover. I know that a new animal doesn't mean I love the Boo any less but it just feels weird.

And the new cat is here! She's not the one I'd been watching (dental issues and long fur which would be a bear for me to try to groom) but was in the neighboring kennel and had been there since October 14th. She's a thin 10 year old Tortoiseshell with a hearty purr. More to follow in a separate topic!

by scaredymouse Fri 18 Nov 2016, 9:04 pm

Yay for the new kitty! Isn't is silly the guilt trips we put ourselves through after our pets pass? I always get new pets *in honor* of my pets past. It makes me feel better when I think of it this way.

I started doing that after Honeybun died. She was my first sick animal and she needed a home so bad. And when she died, it left a huge hole in my heart and also an empty tank. And I thought the best way to honor her would be to take in another animal who desperately needed a home, just like she did.

by MesaMouse Fri 18 Nov 2016, 9:46 pm

scaredymouse wrote:Yay for the new kitty! Isn't is silly the guilt trips we put ourselves through after our pets pass? I always get new pets *in honor* of my pets past. It makes me feel better when I think of it this way.

I started doing that after Honeybun died. She was my first sick animal and she needed a home so bad. And when she died, it left a huge hole in my heart and also an empty tank. And I thought the best way to honor her would be to take in another animal who desperately needed a home, just like she did.

That's a really nice way of thinking about it, scaredymouse: "in honor" of those who have passed on, another life is being saved. This poor Tortie was owner surrendered at age 10 and even came with a name ("Tiger", but that's gonna change asap); I really hope that her real owner either passed on or moved to an assisted-living facility where pets are not allowed and a family member had to decide what to do with her because I just can't get my head around older cats (and dogs) just being dumped at the pound by their families. There were owner surrendered cats that were 13, 14 and 19 years old!!! She's soooo sweet, a head-butter, and a weave-around-the-legs girl but she's terribly thin, just all skin and bones. As soon as I opened the carrier, she immediately started exploring the house (Imogene's room is closed off for now) examining everything, rubbing her marks, poking around with her tail in the air. When you pet her (oh, those bones!), she purrs, flops down, rolls on her back, flips to her side, stretches and gets up to do it again. At her age, she still likes toys as she's been playing with a little feather-ribbon-stretchy legged thingie. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some pics of this little waif -- my last two cats, the Russian Blue brothers, were enormous and weighed close to 20lbs so this petite featherweight kitty seems weird to me with her tiny feet and small face. She also needs a scratching post as she was shedding nails into my scrub pants while "making biscuits" in my lap.

by Peachy Fri 18 Nov 2016, 10:13 pm

My 9th birthday present was a kitten, and then a couple years later she passed so we adopted Sunflower. I always considered it two lives saved, Sunflower's and whoever got Sunflower's spot at the shelter. Razz

Tiger sounds like a sweet girl! I tried to play with Missy once, but she growled at every toy that came close to her. Laughing

by scaredymouse Sat 19 Nov 2016, 2:08 am

Aw Peachy, that's so true... Saving two lives ❤

Mesa, your kitty sounds perfect! Maybe she's skinny from being depressed. When I got Kevin, he was pretty thin but now he is so meaty! I love a hearty cat.

by CallaLily Sat 19 Nov 2016, 7:44 am

Congrats on the new kitty. I look forward to seeing pics.

by MesaMouse Sat 19 Nov 2016, 11:50 am

scaredymouse wrote:Mesa, your kitty sounds perfect! Maybe she's skinny from being depressed. When I got Kevin, he was pretty thin but now he is so meaty! I love a hearty cat.

The adoption paperwork entitles you to have the new animal given a wellness exam at specific veterinary offices but, of course, the VCA practice I use isn't on the list. We're going to visit Dr. Danner on Tuesday for a general exam so hopefully temporary depression is the answer and not -- god forbid! -- diabetes or kidney disease. She has a bit of a wet nose, a tad drippy, so please let that be only a cold! So far, she's eating her crunchy food well, drinking well, urinating and pooping well, all of which is very encouraging. According to the paperwork from Animal Control, after she was there for about 12-14 days, she developed diarrhea, was vomiting a bit and was fairly hostile. The illness passed after a few days and she apparently settled into the sweet lady she normally is but her body condition (3/5 being ideal) was 2/5 and I swear she's even thinner now -- at that point they were feeding her twice daily to try bulk her up. All of my cats have been free-feeders so she'll have plenty of crunchies at her disposal. I've even going the extra distance and picking up some good wet food today. And "Tiger" has a new name: Miss Pussens, evocative of her delicate little frame and calm demeanor.

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