The Big Dig

There's got to be a morning after 

If we can hold on through the night 

We have a chance to find the sunshine 

Let's keep on looking for the light 

"The Morning After", theme from The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

Because there was so much blowing and drifting of snow, it was hard to get an exact measure of how much snow dropped. I measured 16 inches of snow. I think the official snow total from the weather watcher in town was 18 inches. Some areas along the North Shore, Boston, South Shore, and Cape Cod saw 2 feet or more of snow.

The weather dudes were saying this was a light, fluffy snow, but a pound of feathers still weighs a pound.

Snowdrift up the sun room slider door. Somebody needs to shovel a path to the bird feeder. That may have to wait until the temperature gets above freezing. The slider and the sun room windows were frozen shut.

The greenhouse survived.

The Frozen Tundra

The Angel who plowed the driveway on Saturday could not finish the plowing because he was in the hospital with appendicitis. 😱All the snow plow drivers were busy. And then? And then? Along came D, Himself's brother and his trusty snowblower. The kitties loved watching D 

The driveway all cleared.

Clearing the snow from Moose

By the twilight's last gleaming, our mailbox still stands!

Crossing the Alps without elephants for a cup of tea and some Ibuprofen.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

A dusting

A few inches of snow earlier in the week, a preview of things to come

Quill watching me sweep the snow from the walk

The moon was gliding in and out of the clouds, but I didn't catch it.

On the way home, a gorgeous sunset

The bunny trail

Will the greenhouse survive the storm?

Checking the solar arrays. If the electricity goes out, the solar battery will keep us going for 24 hours. After that snow will have to be scraped off a few of the solar panels.

The mailbox standing in trepidation before the storm.

From the street to the garage, approximately 75 feet. The car is in snow position

On the morning of the big storm, snowing and 17 oF. outside with a feels like temperature of 84 oF.  I love you weather station. You have my soul. Perhaps, temperature is just a state of mind.

View from the kitchen window

It will be hard to tell how much snow we will get as there was so much blowing and drifting. The snow was blown off the front steps.

First pass of the Angel with the Plow

A true New Englander, Calli is not phased by the snow.

How does  your garden grow?

We Had Us A Week

 

Calli had her ultrasound Friday morning. All they could see in the area was inflammation, but no surgery was required. They said the inflammation could be from one of two scenarios. The first, she ate something she shouldn't have and either it worked its way out or is working its way out. (my guess). The second guess, she had parasites or worms. I really don't believe this one. She was treated for worms/parasites as part of the adoption process. Where would she pick them up from? She doesn't go outside and now the ground is covered so we couldn't even bring in stuff on our shoes. 

Calli was sent home with anti-nausea medication, pain killer, and parasite med. They said the parasite meds wouldn't hurt her if she didn't have parasites. The pain killer and parasite stuff are in syringes to be squirted in the corner of her mouth. That will be a fun method to try. Not.

I asked if she had parasites, would it be contagious and would Quill have them, too. The doctor said it would be a good idea to treat Quill, too. She said I had to get the meds from my vet (though she used the term primary care)! After spending a bajillion dollars at the veterinary hospital, I was surprised she wouldn't even give me samples which I'm sure drug reps leave! 

The vet the kitties see is not too far from Tufts. Before going to pick up Calli, we started driving there as they close early on Fri. I called from the car. Asked them about meds for Quill. They were stunned that Tufts didn't give me anything for him. They had the meds and instructions when we rolled in minutes later.

We were home almost 2 hours, and the veterinary hospital was supposed to email me a discharge report along with written instructions about the meds. I don't know when her last dose of pain med was. The anti-nausea is once a day and they already gave that to her, so I know to start that med today. Now, Saturday morning and still no report.

Anyway, she's home a little worse for wear. Poor baby, they shaved her forearm almost to the bone and it looks very sore with needle marks from IVs and blood tests. They shaved her belly for the ultrasound and her belly hair had just grown back from the spay surgery.  It was a relief we could being her home

before the big storm. I'm a little nervous, because if something does happen, we won't be able to get to the vet until Monday. Though if the snow totals keep going up, maybe not until Tuesday. I hope the weather dudes are just hyping this storm.

The news channel Himself listens to in the car was comparing this storm with the Blizzard of '78. That storm shut Massachusetts down for an entire week! The only difference is this storm happening on a weekend, there won't be thousands of people stranded on the highway. In 1978 the storm happened on a weekday afternoon.. Businesses let their workers go home mid-afternoon so the highways were jammed. The snow fell at a fast rate and the plows couldn't get through because the roads were blocked with cars stuck in snow. 

But we're home. Safe and sound for now. I baked brownies and the rest of the storm prep is done, though I might fill up a couple of more buckets as I only did a few. I have a meal kit dinner I'll make for Saturday. It's a macaroni and ground beef thing, so worse case, it can be eaten cold if we lose electricity.

Thank you all for your concern about Calli.

The Friday Five Good Things

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. We noticed Calli's right eye was closed and looked a little red. If she was a human child, I would have suspected conjunctivitis. A call to the vet to see about an appointment. He asked for a photo and then he could squeeze her in.

 Her third eyelid was a little inflamed. Possibly from rough housing with Quill getting a little out of hand. No damage to the cornea. We got sent home with an eye drop antibiotic.

2. Quill has enjoyed being an only kitty, but he is missing his playmate and cuddle buddy

3. The mattress company finally picked up the old mattress after a month!

4. Prognosis for Calli is hopeful. No surgical intervention will be needed, but we won't know definitely until the ultrasound is done

5. Hopefully, Calli will be able to come home this afternoon, well before the storm hits

How was your week?

Health Update on Calli

Calli had a set back Wednesday and couldn't keep her food down. Another trip to the vet for observation and a 3rd x-ray. The blockage was still in the same place and hadn't moved on down the line. He ordered an ultrasound and had us bring Calli to the veterinary school hospital for the test.

I couldn't go to the hospital with her because I had to teach my class last night. The Young One (to carry the carrier) went with Himself (to carry the credit card) and then texted me updates. They arrived at the hospital at 4:30 pm. The Young One said it was very busy with lots of people coming in with animals. The last text update she sent at 7:45 pm:

So they checked the x-rays the vet sent over. They don't think she has an obstruction at least not a major emergency one. They're going to give her fluids and anti-nausea meds overnight. See how she does in the AM. If she's still having problems tomorrow AM, they'll do the ultrasound and see what what's going on. So far her problem is being considered non specific gastroenteritis. You'll be getting an email with the e$stimate for the co$t of care.

The Young One said the hospital would call between 10 AM and Noon with an update. Fingers crossed 🤞

Whatcha Doin?

 

I'm monitoring this little girl. Calli got into something she shouldn't have or else choked her food down. Whatever it was caused her to vomit. She spent Tuesday with the vet having x-rays, anti-nausea medication, and IV fluids as she had stopped eating and drinking. 

The good news is the vet thinks whatever is stuck is smaller than what showed up in the first x-ray, and it is moving and will hopefully make it's way out.  An ultrasound and exploratory surgery are not necessary.

Tuesday night when Calli got home, she had a few sips of water. This morning she had a little bit of her food and so far seems to be holding it down. Hopefully, a day of rest without another trip to the vet will have Calli feeling like her old self.

Whatcha doin?

T Stands for No Flies on Me

Some little bugs have invaded the Peace Lily. They are small no-seeums like fruit flies or gnats. They don't bite, but are very annoying as they dive bomb at your face. Albert had recommended treating the plant weekly with Neem Oil. Neem Oil is a safe pesticide used on plants that reduces or kills pests. I've been treating the Lily once a week and the number of bugs has decreased but there are still some around.

Besides using the Neem oil, I've also found the bugs are attracted to my tea. They must like the Stevia I use to sweeten it.

I left my teacup out overnight and caught 8 of the little bas buggers. The method may not be high tech, but it is effective. I just have to remember to look into the teacup before I take a sip if it's been sitting for a bit. No flies on me.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s blog to find out what the rest of the T gang is up to. If you want to play, include a beverage or beverage container in your post. Don’t forget to link your blog from Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s page.

Neurographic Drawing

I stumbled across Neurographic Drawing. It's a way to reduce stress using art. Developed by Pavel Piskarev, a psychologist. Neurographica is way of consciously tapping into your subconscious. The technique was meant to help one with solving personal problems, but it can also be a pure art form.

You begin by drawing or tracing shapes on your paper. With a permanent marker like a Pigma pen or a Sharpie, you make lines through the objects. I started with circles and ovals. Where lines intersect, you round off corners and color in these areas with your permanent marker.

You can use any kind of media to color in the shapes. I used Tombow Dual Brush Markers. You can use as few or as many colors as you choose. The process is very meditative. I watched Neurographic Drawing Art Lesson 

I'm not finished as the process is not meant to be done quickly. I'm trying to thicken some lines to add depth and shadow. I don't think I'll color in all the shapes. As suggested in the video, this is a visual representation of neurons and synapses. 

Have you heard of Neurographic Drawing?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

A potential snow avalanche from the solar array

The moon and snow flurries which didn't show up

The Watchers

Rotrow, the spring to the new storm door came loose

A warm day with temps. well above freezing, and the avalanche fell

Too cold for me to run outside to see if the solar panels are covered with snow. Happily there's an app to monitor them. The black rectangles are the solar panels that covered with snow. Happily, we are producing some electricity, not enough to run the house just yet. That will happen in March or April when the sun is once again high in the sky.

How does your garden grow?

Saturday Morning at the Library

When I was 5 years old, I was forced to take dancing lessons while the Brother was forced to take accordion lessons. I hated dancing class. The Knights of Columbus Hall where the classes were given had no heat or it wasn't turned on. I hated wearing the pink beginner tights. I liked clacking around in the tap shoes, but Ma wouldn't let me practice inside the house on the wood floors. I spent most of my time in class being miserable and crying. Eventually, I was taken out of class.

While the Brother still had to endure accordion lessons, Dad took me to the library. He would leave me upstairs in the children's library where I could look at the books and choose to take some books home with my own library card. As I got older, I would go downstairs to the adult library and wander among the stacks enjoying the scent of the books before going to find Dad in the reference area consulting the law books and catching up on his work.

So for the next several weeks, a list of my favorite books, some I have read as a child, others as an adult and some  I have read more than once.

This week, The Once and Future King by T. H. White. From the cover, "This classic novel about the court of King Arthur that was the basis for the famous motion picture Camelot

If you haven't read this book, you may be able to find it at your library or favorite bookstore. 

The Friday Five Good Things

Photo by Tina Nord from Pexels

 Five good things that happened this week.

1. While I was washing the dishes and looking out the window, I couldn't see the cardinal but I could  hear him singing: Purty, purty, purty.

2. Himself's second carpal tunnel surgery on his left hand went well.

3. Ordered a humidifier on Sunday

4. and it was delivered the next day, on the holiday!

5. An expected package was delivered to a house down the street. They brought the package to us.

How was your week?

Throwback Thursday - Five M&Ms

 

In case you don't know, Himself and I grew up next door to each other. He was the oldest in his family and as a child I was always over his house playing with him and his two sisters and two brothers.

His mother loved M&M candies. Candy coated chocolate that "melt in your mouth but not in your hand". Whenever she would dole out the treat, each kid got 5 candies. The rest were hers. 

She loved the candy so much that one night while Himself and I were dating, I was over the house and we were all watching  Duel in the Sun

In the middle of the movie, his mother got a craving for M&Ms, and she gave Himself money and asked him to drive to the store to get a bag. When we got back she opened the treat and gave us each 5 M& Ms. 

So now the joke whenever M&Ms or other small candies are in the house, and I ask Himself if he'd like some, I always give him 5 candies just like his mother did. The rest are mine. 😉

Whatcha Doin?

 

I'm making templates and examples of small books for a bookbinding class I'll be teaching this Spring.

Whatcha doin?

T Stands for Better Living Through Chemistry

The predicted snow left a couple two or three inches of snow on the ground before turning to rain and ending in a slushy mess

The slush was on top of an icy pack that extended forever down the walkway, stairs, and end of the driveway.

Ever vigilant, Quill watched to make sure the food source didn't fall on the ice and break her neck

And what is the reward for scraping snow and slush from the walkway and stairs, and breaking down the Slush Alps at the end of the driveway?

The reward is two ibuprofen (better living through chemistry) washed down with water, five M&M candies, and a seat in the rocking chair with a heating pad fur baby.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s blog to find out what the rest of the T gang is up to. If you want to play, include a beverage or beverage container in your post. Don’t forget to link your blog from Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s page.