Twizzlers

Remember Twizzlers? Those yummy, chocolate, gummy-like shoe laces? I haven't had a Twizzler in 30 or more years. Last week, I was in the grocery store and walked down the candy aisle, which I usually avoid. And there they were. And they called out to me and jumped into my cart. And today, late on a Friday afternoon, stuck in my cubicle when it was gloriously warm and sunny outside and I didn't want to be in that cubicle, I revisited my childhood. The photo says it all.

Pet Therapy Appreciation Party

April 28, 2012, community hospital appreciation party for Pet Therapy program. Missing: about 10 or 12 teams, including the therapy cat, ponies, and miniature donkeys. Yes, cat. Yes, ponies, who once a month give rides to the ambulatory children in pediatrics.

The second photo is of 4 of the 6 golden or golden mixes in the program (missing: Sunshine and her owner, and Dorado, who was preparing for leg surgery but whose owner took this photo).

Nope, no woofs of complaint while we were lining up, no high jinks while waiting for the photo (even from Tall Boy).

And then, we paraded through the hospital. It was a blast. I just wish we could do this during the week when departments were open and more people were there, so we could advertise what therapy animals do to a wider audience.

Requiescat in Pace, My Sweet Lana

My sweet little Lana died yesterday. I adopted her when she was 8, after my neighbors abandoned her and her two cat companions. I adopted all three. Lana was attacked by two neighbor dogs shortly after she was abandoned. They ripped open her chest, broke ribs, and punctured her lung. She fought back. A year later, she threw a blood clot that gave her a permanent limp in her left back leg. She fought back. She then developed chronic kidney failure and lived with that and all it's unpleasant side effects. She fought back. She developed megacolon. She fought back. She was diagnosed with cancer in November. She was given a series of enemas that made her lose weight and left her bedridden. She fought back. In January, she was given another enema that sucked the life out of her. But she fought back.

She went for a colon evacuation two weeks ago, which she had been throuh before with no problems, came home, lay down to rest and recuperate, and stopped walking. She was alert, but couldn't eat, had no energy, couldn't stand, couldn't even drink water or pee on her own. She tried to fight back. You could see it in her eyes. She was determined.

This weekend, the cat who took four years to utter her first meow, started crying. I took her to see her acupuncture vet yesterday morning, and decided it was time for her to rest. She now joins her beloved Georgie the Russian blue cat and my beloved Pupgirl on the Big Patio in the Sky, where there's a big wicker chair with a soft green cushion in the sun, just for her.

kitty bunk beds--now reunited

 

Good thing she liked the dog bed the dogs didn't like

Lana's tuffet

Lana and her adorable crocheted sweater

Lana's favorite place--a lap

More photos to come.

What Month Is It?

My Christmas cactus, which normally blooms in December and January, bloomed the first two weeks of April. Last weekend, it was 62 degrees Farenheit. Today, it was 100 degrees Farenheit (that's 38 degrees Celcius). Where is this nature craziness coming from?

Where Did My Chin Go?

I was looking at those photos of DoodleMonster and I that I posted, and realized that middle age is starting to take a more rapid and widespread toll.

First, my chest slid down.
Then, my middle expanded.
Thirdly, white hairs started appearing on my head (thank goodness they're still curly!).
Now, my chin has disappeared.

What's next?

National Craft Month

March was National Craft Month, a deliberate design by manufacturers to get susceptible people like me out to buy more yarn. But I fooled them this year. I did not buy any yarn. I used up bits and bobs from my stash to participate in Ravelry's International/National Crochet Month Scavenger Hunt challenge. Crocheters were given 14 or so tasks to fulfill, and while I didn't complete all of them, I did have fun writing a limerick and lyrics for an ode to my yarn stash (no, I will not submit you to them here; your ears are safe). And I crocheted, quite a bit, actually. One challenge was to make something for charity, which is just too easy a challenge for someone who almost exclusively crochets and knits for charity. Here are the fleeces edged with three different borders (picot, granite stitch, and fans), and two blankets completed for the challenge. And just for fun--we had to pick an unusual holiday in March and crochet something for it, so I chose Pi Day and made a pi. We also had to make a 4-leaf clover in lieu of a shamrock. The challenge was a lot of fun, and I look forward to it next year.

Totally Cool Wednesday Science Geek Love Fact

This week's Weird Wednesday Science Fact:

Photo in today's Nature article about the newly-identified feathered dinosaur found in China. Feather fossils! One hundred and twenty-five million years old!  Total science geek love.