Stassi is My Friend

Hi there. It's Alice again. Stassi is still not up to writing. The keeper took him to the vet tonight to have his ears checked, and the regular vet wasn't there, but the other vet decided that he didn't have an abcess, but did have infected ears. But the vet was more concerned about his intestines and his weight loss. So he had x rays and blood and tissue sampled from his stomach. they are concerned he may have a serious disease. He came home, got out of his cat carrier, ate some of the stinky cheap food the keeper bought to entice him to eat, and then wanted to go out. He sat in the light rain on the deck staring at us. Then he came back in and settled into his favorite spot over the heating vents. We hope he is going to get better. He is so feisty, but right now he looks tired. I will stop picking on him for a while until he gets better. He keeps reminding us that he is 15, and that's 105 in people years.

Remembering Calvin

The picture above is a pretty good one of our old friend Calvin. He lived next door outside, but in the last year of his life he adopted us, and actually lived partly inside with us. He was really old, and had lung disease from sleeping up in the asbestos insulation in the neighbors' rafters. But he became quite adorable toward the end, and would wait patiently on the front steps for the keeper to come home every day. In 2008, on the feast of the Epiphany, he asked to go outside, and he never returned. The keeper looked for him for days. His owners believed he wanted to go out into the forest and sleep for good. Maybe he did. But we waited for him to return to us for over a month. Eventually we became accustomed to a day without his little -impaired lung mews and his matted coat. But somedays, like today, we remember him fondly and hope he is doing well in cat heaven with all of our other friends. We know we will see him again.

True Nature is Never Spent

OK, the keeper snuck outside when we went out this afternoon. She thought she had lost the whole application and needed a break. So she explored the gardens with us. The daphne is almost ready, the new shoots are blasting through the brown leaf ground cover like green flames, and the birds are singing. And we marked the territory. Stassi sat reflectively in the leaves. He's feeling a wee bit better. She put oil in his ear. He didn't like it much. The keeper couldn't resist weeding. And then she went back to face the computer. The grant will be done by tomorrow. That's what she says, at least.

Cat Heaven, Keeper Toil

Here we are. It's another afternoon in paradise. When Stassi isn't feeling well, we feast on tuna and chicken and cheap catfood that has flavor. And we nap in the den. Meanwhile the keeper sat all day at her computer in the den trying to finish a grant proposal. She also did laundry as a relief, and some cleaning. It didn't seem like paradise.

Stassi at (Sick) Bay II

Hi from Alice. I am writing for Stassi. He is not feeling well again and has been sleeping on the heat vents. He is cranky, and won't play. But he goes out and comes back in quickly. The keeper is feeding him tuna to keep him interested in eating. He won't tell her what is wrong. She won't let me eat his tuna. She thinks he may have some tooth problems. I am guessing he may have to go and visit Dr. Smalley, but please don't tell him. I want him to get well so we can play again.

Repose--4th Sunday of Ordinary Time

It was a beautiful Sunday evening and the sun was slipping into Elliott Bay before 5:30 Mass at the Cathedral.

Hot Water!

The wonderful FAST water heater man came and built a wall and made our cellar earthquake proof and gave us a new water heater that fits the new zoning code. They didn't actually give it to us--the keeper tells me that it cost plenty! But we have hot water now! The keeper is happier when we have hot water.