time flies

by jenblossom on November 8, 2009

7:30 a.m. I went from bleary-eyed to full-blown panic in a heartbeat as Mike started awake and asked “Where’s Kirby?” then raced to the window where the expanding flap on the air conditioner was gaping open. He pulled aside the curtain and there you were, sitting outside, on top of the air conditioner. The air conditioner in our second floor window. I threw on shoes and my bathrobe and ran downstairs and outside, as Mike first tried to get a firm grip on you and bring you inside, then decided you were squirming so much it was safer to try to talk you back indoors. By the time I got to the yard you were safely back inside, having climbed in on your own.

tuckered out

Our first year with you has been interesting, to say the least, and if your adventure this morning is any indication, you’ll be keeping us on our toes through year two. Happy Gotcha Day, buddy. We love you and are so happy you’re a part of our lives.

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Cinnamon Girl

by jenblossom on October 23, 2009

cozy

We took Kali to the vet yesterday, after a week in which she had about 4 “peeing outside of the box” incidents. She wasn’t her usual sassy self, and we noticed that she had lost some weight, but we had no idea how scary things were going to get at the vet’s office.

Her abdomen was extremely firm on examination, and the vet noticed that she looked anemic. X-rays showed that the firm abdomen was caused by a pretty extreme case of constipation (which Kali has had off and on for years), and once that was dealt with everything looked pretty clear. But the cause of the anemia was still a mystery. She wasn’t running a fever, but her heart and spleen were slightly enlarged. And the weight loss was troublesome. The vet ran a full range of blood and urine tests, and we brought Kali home for the night with some medications. And we waited.

The news we got this morning was better than I think either of us was expecting. Her blood work came back with no signs of thyroid trouble, kidney problems or leukemia. Her urine was a little dilute but otherwise normal. The vet told us to up her dosage of the Prednisolone we started her on yesterday, and continue with the course of antibiotics and the Laxulone she was prescribed. She’ll go back for a recheck next week and we’ll see where we stand.

Those of you who remember Kali’s litter-mate/brother Dub may also recall that he suffered from Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia for most of his life – anemia which came on when he was just 11 months old, with no apparent trigger. It took a while but we got it under control, and as far as we know it wasn’t a contributing factor to his early death. So I’m hopeful, I guess, that if we can just get Kali’s blood count back up and get her eating, her prognosis is good. But what scares me is that we are in such a bad position financially. I can’t tell you how devastated we will be if we have to make a hard decision because we can’t afford more intensive or aggressive treatment, or if she takes a turn for the worse. She’s eight years old – middle-aged. She should – and hopefully does – have a lot of life left in her, but I’ve learned that things don’t always go as you expect or hope they will. We’ll just do the best we can.

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August 7, 2009

As someone who was a teenage girl once, and who has watched John Hughes’ films over and over again, this really struck a chord.
RIP, John, and thank you for writing for us.

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So.

July 24, 2009

I should really update here more.  Life is moving at breakneck speed, and it would be nice to take some time, slow down, and record it all for posterity.
For now, though, I give you kitten belly.

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One year ago…

April 22, 2009

It’s pretty astounding to think that one year ago today, we closed the door to our apartment in Bushwick for the last time, and moved ourselves, two cats, and all our worldly possessions into a lovely little carriage house in Providence. At times it feels like just yesterday; other times it feels like we’ve [...]

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I carry you in my heart

April 3, 2009
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flux

March 27, 2009

There’s a lot going on. Decisions to be made, plans, strategies to be worked out. It’s a stressful time for many reasons, and while I should be over here writing it all out, I just haven’t been able to make myself do it. I’m doing that thing I do where I realize [...]

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48/365

March 8, 2009

This little guy gave us the scare of our lives today.
He was so manic starting at 4 a.m. that we put him in his carrier for a few hours until we were ready to wake up. We let him out and went on with our usual morning activities.
Mike went downstairs and got [...]

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Day One

January 20, 2009

I don’t have anything profound to say today, but I do have to say that I just can’t get over how huge this all feels. History is happening, and I am so very proud of my country right now.
I have carried this stone with me for ten years now. I have [...]

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Goodbye/Hello

January 1, 2009

I could not have imagined just how our year would play out when we began 2008. At this time last year, our plans to say goodbye to New York City were already in motion, but we never dreamed our dear Dub wouldn’t be making the trip with us, making an already bittersweet goodbye that [...]

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