The Litterbox

Odds and ends and bits and pieces, all bundled together with flushable clay.

Friday, January 25, 2008 , terribly early in the morning

Let’s try to get back to normal now

My head cold shows remarkable reticence to completely leave the building.

Just a quick update to show you that while I have been spending tons of time blowing my nose, I’ve also done some other things:  Dobby has now been spayed, Phoenix is finally back on thyroid meds (that’s a good thing), and Spiderman had eye surgery!  He needed to have his big blue/cataract-covered eye completely removed, but his other eye looks really clear.  And he seems quite happy.  It was so nice to see him (we went to pick him up after surgery) that I got a bit teary-eyes when I was hugging him.  I miss the big cuddlebug, but I know he’s got a great home.  And he finally doesn’t have a headache!

During my illness, I read, “To Kill a Mockingbird”.  I’ve got a stack of Americana that I want to become acquainted with, so that was a good start.  Next, I’ll work on “Catcher in the Rye”.  I’ve read every Canadian and British “novel of significance”, but I had no educational exposure to American literature.

I know this is a baby-step, but I’ll try to get back to posting at least three or four times a week now.  Even if I need to have a Kleenex in my hand!  When I’m not around, the spammy comments start to creep in, and I won’t have that.  And besides, I’ve missed you!!!

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 01/25 at 04:35 AM
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Tuesday, January 15, 2008 , terribly early in the morning

I’m not dead yet

I’ve had days where I wish I was dead, but I ain’t.  This cold just keeps going and going and going, although it changes up the symptoms each day to keep things interesting.  I do the minimum amount of work I need to do each day to keep the household functioning, and then I just crash.  I really miss blogging but haven’t had the energy, but I’m afraid I’ll lose you all if I don’t at least let you know I’m trying hard to come back.  I’ve got a partial post written about my Christmas vacation, so that’s a start.  The only pet news around here is that Dobby was spayed today, and I gave blood in the process of catching her.  Too much excitement… time for Sudafed and a nap!

P.S.  I miss you all.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 01/15 at 03:49 AM
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Saturday, January 05, 2008 , terribly early in the morning

My sinuses are 42 years old today

My sinus cavities (and the rest of me) are 42 years old today.  Sadly, my sinuses feel every bit their age, as they moan and groan and struggle with the dragging virus I picked up on my travels.  I bought my first “neti pot” today as a last resort, to try to clean out my nasal nooks and crannies, but the cleansing only made me feel worse.  Maybe I used too much of the saline solution, I don’t know—I just know that I ended up with a sinus headache and an irritated, runny nose.  This seems to be a very rare reaction, so I want to try again, but I hate the thought of dealing with all that discomfort if it doesn’t work out right.  My sinuses may not be agreeable with the neti.

The virus started about two weeks ago with a sore throat, then moved to a bit of a dry cough and almost laryngitis, and now I’ve got a runny nose, bubbling ears, and swollen lymph nodes in my neck.  I want it to go away so I can enjoy my free sushi from Todai today!  If it could just leave me alone today, I’ll happily let it bother me on the 6th again—I’m nothing if not fair.  I do hope I’ll be back to some more detailed blog entries soon, too.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 01/05 at 03:27 AM
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Friday, January 04, 2008 , the wee hours

The fates conspire

I’ve been stricken for the past week with both a slight chest cold and nagging sore throat, and yesterday I started to be hit with what feels like a head cold as well.  I’ve been drinking that damn “Airborne” stuff since December 23rd, too.  I will write about my travels as soon as I sleep away my misery.  This is all WestJet‘s fault.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 01/04 at 01:57 AM
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Thursday, January 03, 2008 , the wee hours

Things Canadians are good at

If it involves cold, ice, drinking, and daredevils, Canadians are right there on the cutting edge:  Crashed Ice 2007

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 01/03 at 01:26 AM
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Tuesday, January 01, 2008 , early evening

I’m home, after my first North American tour

Well, I’m finally back in Las Vegas, after an impromptu air tour of Canada.  On December 31st I woke up in Ottawa, Ontario, and by 10pm I’d been in Toronto, Calgary, and Las Vegas.  What did YOU do on December 31st that earned you so many air miles?!?!  It will take me days to get settled (and to read the 360 messages in my inbox), but I wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year.  I’m aiming for this year to be a good one, and I won’t settle for anything less!

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 01/01 at 06:46 PM
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Sunday, December 30, 2007 , evening

Hello from Canada

I’ve been taking a vacation from everything while in Canada (everything but my mother’s baking).  I’m going to try to get back on track starting January 1st, and I hope I’ll still have someone reading.  A belated Merry Christmas, (a really belated Happy Hanukkah), and a slightly early Happy New Year from Ottawa!

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 12/30 at 09:55 AM
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Thursday, December 20, 2007 , the wee hours

Cricket’s pancreatitis

We thought we had Cricket’s mild pancreatitis almost cleared up, but today it flared up with a vengeance.  She was absolutely frantic by this evening (the dog version of “hysterical"), and was continuously vomiting/retching, as well as refusing to eat.  We thought there was an all-night emergency clinic just down the street from us, but it turns out they stopped offering the emergency service a few years ago.  Cricket was in such bad shape, we figured we should take her to Vegas’ most-reputable emergency clinic, which is about 15 miles away.

The vet at the clinic felt that Cricket was having a pain flare-up, and that’s what was causing her shaking, the vomiting, etc.  They’re now keeping her overnight on IV fluids, but in the morning at 7:30 (in about six hours), we can pick her up and take her to our regular vet.  She already looked better when we saw here in the treatment cage when we went to give her a goodnight air kiss, but it’s probably for the best she stays there under a watchful eye for a few hours.  I’d love to get her pancreatitis under control!

Sadly, the money issue raises its ugly head again, as this visit cost us a fortune.  Best, cheapest case scenario for Cricket’s 9 hours at the vet tonight is about $623 - that’s how much I had to leave as a deposit.  Worst case scenario, we’re looking at about $1500, just for one evening of treatment.  After today, I’ll have maxed out my Care Credit card again, much to my chagrin.  It’s like the pets choose to get some terrible illness whenever they know I’ve got available credit.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 12/20 at 12:50 AM
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007 , terribly early in the morning

Messages from Your Animal Companion cards

The lovely Von Krankipantzen just gave me a plug for the Messages from Your Animal Companion Cards on her blog.  So, I wanted to put up a link to the website where they can be purchased, in case anyone would like to order a box as a holiday gift (or even for themselves).  I’d use that line, “Makes a great stocking stuffer!”, because the box would fit in a stocking, but I think a “stocking stuffer” should cost just a buck or two.  I hate those Tiffany’s ads where they show a $2500 tennis bracelet with a caption, “Makes a great stocking stuffer!”, but I digress. 

If you want to buy a deck of the cards, pop over to AnimalCompanionCards.com.  All proceeds, now and forever, go to the Wee Paws Animal Sanctuary fund for wayward beasts and cute cats.  If you’re sending the cards as a gift, let me know and I’ll even wrap them and include a gift tag, so they can be sent directly to the recipient.

I want to use this moment to give a plug to Kranki’s project, the “Iconic Women by Yoshi” calendar.  I received a copy and it’s both beautiful and hilarious, with profits going to the British Columbia SPCA.  Shipping is from Canada, but my calendar arrived very quickly.  Maybe you can still order in time for Christmas, or it can be a New Year’s gift.  It could even be a nice way to honour me on my birthday, January 5th… give a gift of the Animal Companion Cards to a friend, and then toast me with a brevé latte.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 12/12 at 03:25 AM
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Why do they always get sick around Christmas?

Our pets have a notable history of getting very ill during the holidays.  This is significant because it’s the time of year when we have less money than any other time of year.  We’re scrimping and saving to try to buy gifts for a few family members (at the same time that our contract work is in short supply), and then the pets go and need bladder stone surgery, or need knee surgery, or die (a shout-out to a cat I really miss, Sweet Pea), and it’s getting so bad that soon I will dread Christmas because it means scary visits to the vet’s office.

The good news is that Carlo does not seem to have any heart problems.  It cost us $350 to find that out, but peace of mind is pretty much priceless.  The other good news is that Bunny seems to have responded well to her heart meds, because she’s been acting like a wild and crazy kitten for the past few days.  She’ll have blood work done on Sunday, to make sure the Lasix isn’t damaging her kidneys, but she sure seems to be in good health right now.  The bad news is that we still have eight other sick cats with upper respiratory infections, two of whom also have bad eye infections.  We had to pick up antibiotic ointment for their eyes yesterday (I bet you can guess how much cats like ointment being put into their eyes twice daily).  The other bad news is that in the midst of all this, Cricket the dog seems to have developed pancreatitis.  She’s been eating Stella and Chewy’s brand of raw food since mid-September, but we finally ran out, and there’s no place around here to buy it.  So, we picked up some good canned food, like Spot’s Stew, and figured that would suffice until we could figure out how to affordably get the dogs back on raw again.  After just a couple of days on cooked canned food, Cricket started to throw up and act as if she was in severe pain.  We thought she was perhaps constipated, but after taking her to the vet (and treating her for constipation), x-rays and blood work indicated pancreatitis.  She’s doing a bit better now that she’s got pain meds, but eating is still uncomfortable for her, and today she was throwing up again.  Tomorrow we have to go in and get some anti-nausea meds for her, as well as a refill of her pain meds.  Cricket is a typical yappy and easily agitated small dog, so it’s easy to tell that she’s not her normal self.  To be honest, I don’t miss the constant yapping, but I’d still rather have a happy, bouncy, annoying Cricket than the sickly one we’ve got now.

I really need the pets to be in good health for when I go to Canada, because I don’t want Flippy to be burdened with anything on top of the usual household chores.  She wanted me to try to have Greg and Spiderman gone before I went away, and I accomplished that, but I replaced them with the Beanie Boys, one of whom is still a bit sickly.  I spend a large part of my day tending for the pets in one way or another, and I’m already feeling guilty about the workload.  It’s just going to be worse if she has to be worrying about sick animals, too!  I thought I could do something like make all the pet food up ahead of time, so Flippy would just have to defrost it, but when I envision how much food that would be, I think it would mean we’d need to buy a new freezer.  Despite all the obstacles, I really do have to go home for Christmas for once.  Of course I miss my family, but I’ve been gone so long that I just deal with it.  My mother, on the other hand, has convinced herself that having so many animals means I’ll never be able to travel again.  I want to make this trip just to prove her wrong (I hope Flippy won’t need to be hospitalized for mental and physical breakdowns when I get back).

After posting once or more each day during Nablopomo, I went a week without saying a peep here.  I think the Bunny news burned me out, because I spent most of that week in bed, sleeping.  I felt so great after taking the Medrol pack last month, but the stress has undone all that good work, and I’m back to square one again.  I’ve found a new companion in my battle to ease stress and to relax, though:  he’s my new boyfriend, Glenn Harrold.  He sleeps with me every night now, (which makes the bed really crowded, as we’ve also got Frank, Bunny, Carlo, and sometimes a few others in there, too).  I found Glenn at Audible.com, after reading that many fibromyalgia patients have had success battling pain and stress by using hypnosis and meditation audio recordings.  At Audible, I found “Deep Sleep Every Night”, and “Heal Your Body by Using Your Mind”, both written and read by Glenn, who is a graduate of the British School of Clinical Hypnotherapy.  At first, I wanted to giggle a bit because the concept of laying in bed and being “hypnotized” by someone with a cockney accent was quite silly.  One I actually started to listen, however, the recordings actually worked.  I’ve fallen asleep to one of them every night for the past week, usually in under fifteen minutes.  I’ve never heard either of them in their entirety because I can’t stay awake.  This is quite good for me, because although I suffer from a lot of fatigue, I also have trouble falling asleep at night.  I’ve been using some form of sleep aid since 1999.  Now I’m sleeping without the sleep aid because of these recordings.  I can’t say that I’m being “hypnotized”, especially because I’m not awake for very long to get the full effect, but something sure makes me relaxed and drowsy.  I’m also someone who likes to sleep in complete silence, so it’s a 180 degree turn for me to be falling asleep to talking/music while wearing earbuds.  If you’re looking for some sort of stress-buster or sleep-inducer, I encourage you to give one of these titles a try.  I can’t vouch for the more “active” titles (the ones that are supposed to make you want to exercise or do work), but the relaxation titles are very good at what they do.  Try and listen to a sample before you buy, so you’ll know that the speaker’s voice doesn’t annoy you.  Glenn Harrold is very compatible with my ears, but some people find his accent too unusual to be comfortable.  A woman named Lynda Hudson has a relaxation title which was well-reviewed and recommended, but when I heard her say “Relaaaaaax” on the sample, it sounded like she was telling a ghost story.  It made me giggle, which is normally a good thing, but not when you’re trying to fall asleep.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 12/12 at 01:52 AM
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