Productive Sunday

~ Guy Hall

Honestly, I had a great Sunday. Got up early enough to do my morning routine, followed by assembling the cart I bought from Fleet Farm, the lawn mower I bought from Menard’s, and building a compost pen out of fence posts and chicken wire. After that it was mowing up the leaves (We are surrounded by trees!) which required an extensive amounts of emptying the bag on the mower. After that Tina grilled up some pork steaks and we enjoyed an evening meal sitting on the deck and enjoying our hard work.

However, there are still many projects left for us to work on. Off to the side from the garage is a pile of logs, sticks, and boards that is quite the eye sore. It is destined to be dismantled, with much of it going to the compost pen, and others to the fire pit (the one I want to buy once I figure out what’s allowed). In addition to the pile, the rest of the area along side of the garage still needs cleaning up. There are flower beds, a collapsed rock wall, and various plants growing that may or may not be survivors of what appears to have been a few years of neglect.

Now, though, it’s time for me to go out for a run. You all have a great start to your week, Monday not withstanding.

Good Morning!

~ Guy Hall

Just dropping a quick post shouting out to the few readers of this humble blog before I go for a run. Hope you all have a beautiful day.

New Plug In

~ Guy Hall

It appears WordPress is going to roll out a major change in the coming weeks. It’s new editor is called Gutenberg. So, in preparation for this change I installed a new plug in to see if my site will still work. I’ve also switched to a theme that appears to be Gutenberg ready. Hopefully the transition goes smoothly for my blog.

Just a Treat

~ Guy Hall

I was late giving Kang an afternoon treat. Usually treat time is 4:00 PM. Anyway, I finally remembered at 5:00. I called him down, dispensing the treat into a stainless steel bowl. Kang looked at the bowl, then looked around. I realized he was looking for Cinnamon. He wouldn’t eat the treat. It was then I started crying. I walked into the living room, sat on the Love Seat, and continued crying. Kang followed me. I picked him up and he purred while I cried and petted him.

And yes, I will still get another kitten for Kang. And for me.

She’s Gone

~ Guy Hall

She was my faithful companion for close to 15 years. The longest significant relationship I’ve ever had outside of my family. Today I had to put her to sleep. She had bone cancer. Aggressive bone cancer. Last month when I took her in and learned she had hyperthyroidism they also took x-rays of her leg because she was limping. Then there was only a small amount of swelling. It could have been a sprained ligament. It wasn’t possible to tell. Today, when I took her in the vet could feel hard masses up and down her left hind leg. She was unable to tolerate any touch to her paw.

Cinnamon was not your typical rescue cat. I didn’t rescue her. She chose me. I was working one Saturday morning back in 2003 at Cochran Center when I heard this forlorn yowling. It was a beautiful, sunny summer day, with blue skies and just a hint of a breeze. I was finishing up some progress reports when I first heard it, off in the distance. Over time it became louder and more insistent.

My office was on the second floor in the stairwell of the building. So I made my way downstairs to investigate, stepping out the door. I didn’t even get my foot down to the front step, and she jumped on it. I was smitten.

“How cute.” I thought to myself, reaching down to pet her. My hand hadn’t even gotten below my knee when she jumped up into it. I was surprised and went to lift her up to pet her. Again, I don’t think I managed to get her much past my waist when she lunged right up onto my shoulder and started rubbing against my chin. I was now way past smitten.

She was a dark, reddish brown color. There was a patch right below her neck running along her spine for a few inches that was the color of cinnamon. Hence the name. She was with me from then on except for a six month period when I was staying with my sister in Grantsburg while I saved up money for a place of my own.

I’ve finished crying for the moment. No doubt I’ll have more tears as the day and the weekend progresses. I will miss her. And I will never forget her.

It’s Raining

~ Guy Hall

For the second time in April, it’s raining. Our first rain was Friday. Now today. The showers were bookends for the weekend. I had a rough week last week. I ended up feeling under the weather (like what I did there?). In fact, I stayed home for two days; Wednesday and Thursday. I still wasn’t feeling the best on Friday, but I didn’t want to use up all my Personal Time. I’m not yet up to stuff. As usual, I have acquired a sinus infection. I was warned by my Ears, Nose, & Throat specialist to expect a sinus infection after I catch any other illness. This past week it started out as a stomach bug but morphed into a mild respiratory disease. But the aches and pains were more than moderate. Now, of course, the post nasal drip and headache of the sinus infection.

It sucks getting old. As we get older, we are less prone to vomiting when we get the stomach bug. I did vomit a little on Wednesday morning. I spent the rest of the two days exhausted, sleeping most of the time. In my youth (though I thought of it as adulthood back then) I would vomit gallons of fluids up, once threatening to cause the toilet to self-flush. So, that’s one thing I don’t miss.

Snow Blower

~ Guy Hall

Finally was able to use my new snow blower. Great improvement over using a shovel. However, I’ve got my fingers crossed that it will be the first and last time I use it this season.

Update on Cinnamon

~ Guy Hall

Well, it’s not broken, nor is it her hip. Her right rear leg has either a sprained tendon or bone cancer. I’m pretty sure is a sprain. However, she has lost 7 pounds since last she was weighed in 2012.  She eats and drinks up a ton. So, it has to be a thyroid problem. The blood tests ruled out kidney and liver problems. Anyway, I am much more relieved. I tell you, I was getting an upset stomach worrying about the worse case scenarios.

Cinnamon

~ Guy Hall

Something is wrong with Cinnamon’s right rear leg. It’s not that she is in pain. She just seems to not have control over it. When she stretches she can’t straighten it out like she can the others. I have an appointment for her to see the vet at 9:00 AM. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.

Found!

~ Guy Hall

Yesterday I could not find my magnetic key badge for work. I must have torn the house apart 3 times, looking in every conceivable spot, and even searching my car a few times, all to no avail. Well, this morning I went out to the car again to give it an even more thorough search. Within seconds I found it hiding between the passenger’s seat and the center compartment. It had been pushed down so I could not see the badge itself. And with both the badge reel and my seats being black, I didn’t notice it until I caught a glint of the aluminum clip.

Calamity diverted. I did not relish the idea of having to email the office manager and report I’d lost my badge. Just thinking about it causes a shutter to run down my spine.