Winter's Back!

This entire week has been cold and today is the second day of cloudy sleepy weather.



We were letting Stumpy stay in the basement and sadly he began spraying. We bring him in for brief periods of time now but there's only so much cleanup in us. So now we are sad to see him out there and try to take out special food, etc. for the kitties. It was just disheartening to see more unknown cats showing up in the alley and we are at a bit of an impass. What do we do now? We don't want to draw additional cats here by sitting out food and honestly, we can't afford to spay and neuter all the cats. We take such good care of our housecats and can't imagine how people just neglect them.

Mid-Winter Spring Cleaning Bug

Winter in the midwest is dirty. Sand, salt, moisture, wind - dirty, dirty, dirty! Today we are getting a break in the cold and ice has mostly melted leaving behind piles of debris. Not shipwreck-style debris - but little piles sand and bits everywhere. Our cars are all dismally covered with residue. There were long lines at car washes today. I chose to wash my car at home - I pulled it out of the garage and was struck by how filthy the garage was. I moved hose and hooked it up - unhooked so pipes wouldn't freeze - and started washing. I then dried it with a chamois cloth - using it to rub off other dirt I hadn't gotten off it with my washing. It will take another washing to get it clean. I will probably take it to one of those places where I can spray it with warm soapy water. I swept out the garage and then the slab to the alley. That could use another hour or two of cleaning as well! ARGH!

It got me looking around and EVERYWHERE is dirty - from the outdoors to what we drag inside. I am hell-bent on cleaning. BUT having MS thwarts me - I am forced to take more breaks than I find acceptable to a good pace of cleaning. I fell flat on my back - and got covered in - yes - dirty water. I slipped on some of the remaining ice. I was very unhappy but unhurt. I just continued to work - wet and dirty because I knew if I cleaned up, I was done working. Tomorrow I'll clean the inside of my car and try to formulate a plan for getting the property in good shape when spring really comes. I saw Mae West, limping along. She looked pretty ragged. It might just be the dirt.

Dee and I are going out for Mexican food and beer!

Fear of a Wormy Household

Vegas has roundworms. I'm sure Laura Ingalls does too (having seen one) on her. That probably means that Margeaux has them and perhaps even Daisy. I blame Daisy and perhaps Stumpy for bringing in the worms although our cats don't really go near Stumpy on those few times he has come indoors. They share water with the dog. I don't know how to have a separate cat water bowl and keep them from the dog water dish.

I've had worms as a kid and I hate them. I don't want to get worms from these infested pets! So, we'll worm them and I'm going to try to figure out how to prevent them... ugh!

Even though the worms that infested Fry on Futurama made him mentally and physically better, I don't want to chance it with this household! Once more, I say UGH!!!

The Daisy Exercise Program

I noted that today Daisy went and stood on the treadmill three times. She waited for me to come over and turn it on. Amazing! I let her walk on it the second and third time at a little slower pace - not knowing a dog's physiologic limits on a treadmill. She walked about 10 minutes each time. I stopped the program - she would have continued but again, I want to make sure to keep her liking the treadmill and it to be a healthy thing.

I admire Daisy for her dog-smarts - it is a good idea to walk on the treadmill several times a day at a non-frantic pace. I should take a lesson from her. 5 minutes a couple times a day shouldn't be too hard to fit in, should it?