Random Thursday Musings

They are having an estate sale down the street. I'm puzzled by this because, frankly, don't you always think of an estate sale as what happens when the nice old lady down the street finally dies, and nobody wants to sort thru her heaps of stuff and find homes for her cats? No? Really? Because I totally do. Anyway, the people that I saw coming and going out of this particular house weren't old, I don't recall ever even talking to them as they weren't into neighborhood fun and always skipped the block party. Really the only reason that I paid any attention to them at all is because of the color they chose to paint their house. Picture a cross between sea foam green and aqua. Yep. Hideous. I mean really? We can only hope that the next people to move in have better taste in exterior paint.

Vacation. Or Something LIke It

We are back from our second jaunt to our vacation house in the western North Carolina mountains. The only problem with a vacation house is that it is still your house. Which means that you are still cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and tidying up..... you are just doing it in a less convenient spot. Usually NC is worth it because we can escape the near paralyzing Florida heat and humidity. Mother Nature, however, was apparently PMSing, and decided that it could be hot and muggy up there too. So sitting out on the deck with a book became far less pleasurable. We cranked up the window unit a/c, but that truly has a limited ability to cool an entire house, not to mention that it was not unlike sleeping with a Boeing 747 revving its engine in the bedroom with us. That sucker is LOUD. I'm thankful that we have it..... I just hated that we needed to use it.

Still, even with all my grousing about it, there really isn't anywhere else quite like that. It's secluded, 30 minutes to the nearest grocery store or restaurant, and there is no need to get dressed up or wear makeup. Which, to me, is Heaven. We've had some people go up there who decided that it was closer to Hell however, since they had in mind shopping, going out to eat and whatnot. All of which you CAN do up there, you just have to drive a bit to accomplish it.

So I've gotten home, and the house has been cleaned up, the mail and newspapers sorted, the groceries bought and put away, the cats loved on and cuddled with. Life is good.

Ssssscat Device

Scccat is a motion sensitive device that sprays a stream of air when it senses something moving nearby. Somecat is peeing where somecat ought not pee here at Casa Wodrich. I haven't caught the culprit yet, but there are a couple of spots that get hit on a regular
basis, so I bought two of those Sssscat things. First time I set one
off it scared the beejeezus out of me let me tell ya!! It's quite ..... exuberant!

So far I have seen Worm, Taft and Goat fleeing after being Ssssscat-ed. Last night,
however, I had one placed in front of the door to the bathroom where
the foster kittens are. Apparently HRH Princess Lizzie wanted to enter
their room. The device sprayed at her. She flattened her ears, but
held her ground. She moved forward and it sprayed her again. That was
it. She lifted a Royal Paw and shot putted the Ssssscat clear across
the room! The, head held high, she fluffed in and hissed at the
kittens. I was howling with laughter. There is nothing quite as
fearless as a female Scottish Fold to begin with, but Lizzie takes the
cake!!!

I've Been Naked for Two Days

Okay, not really. Not TOTALLY. I have been doing the rounds of doctors and mammogram ladies so I really HAVE been mostly undressed. Tomorrow I refuse to take off any articles of my clothing for any reason at all. So there. I have a new gynecologist and I really like her. She was very gentle and understanding and really seems to take her time. Of course I immediately became less fond of her when she told me I need surgery and that they can't knock me out with a 2x4 before inserting that damnable IV. While I realize that it is totally insane to be more afraid of having the pre surgery blood work and the IV inserted than I am of the actual procedure that's just how I roll. I guess that everyone has something that they are terrified of. I have a couple (snakes and airplane travel come to mind), but the IV, blood test one tops the list. It actually has stopped me from going to the doctor at times when I knew I needed to, it's debilitating, it's embarrassing, and most people just don't "get" how I can be so scared of it. I had to have blood drawn for the recent round of What's Up With My Uterus, and I wasn't even able to sleep the night before.

Yesterday's fun events included a sonogram where they threaded a catheter thru my cervix and into my uterus in order to fill it with saline solution. It's not really as much fun as it sounds, and it does tend to the messy. Even *I* could see the polyp in there (they have thoughtfully provided a flat screen, HD full color screen for the patient's viewing pleasure), so I guess it must be a doozy. The polyp has joined forces with the fibroids that the last sonograms showed. I have the best filmed uterus in the South these days I swear. The insurance company must be scratching their heads and thinking, WTF?? Anyway, I am having a hysteroscopy with a D&C done -- minimally invasive out patient procedure with a short recovery period. Not sure just when, but it will be soon. We are supposed to go back up to NC next week, but Mike says the surgery takes precedence, and I guess it should. This will get rid of the polyps and the fibroids that likely have caused all the problems. I think it's pretty rotten of my uterus to act up like this. I mean you go along for 51 years taking care of your uterus as best one can, and then it goes all postal on ya. Internal organs. Can't shoot 'em, can't live without 'em.

Fun With Medicine

I hate having blood drawn, I'm about 300 miles past needle phobic if it involves a vein. I totally fall apart, shaking, crying, fainting... it's quite a show really. The two other people who wandered into the lab this morning certainly got THEIR money's worth. I've got some stuff going on, and while I can usually wheedle my way out of having bloodwork done, it really was necessary this time. So I girded my loins. I did NOT want to get there at a busy time, so I waited until 9:30 to leave the house, and was happy to see that there was nobody else there. The lady vampire had me fill out the forms, and found a safe place to put my Diet Coke (needed it for afterwards... the caffeine and sugar help). I could see her thinking WHY ME as she watched my entire body shake, but she was very gracious about the whole thing and let me get into the reclining chair where she could hoist my hind paws up over my head. I immediately burst into tears. You know, like you do. At this point another woman wandered into the lab and, looking at my shaking, sobbing, pathetic-ness, thought briefly about turning tail and leaving. Now I have a problem. If I look to my right I can see the vampiress taking blood, if I look to my left I can see the other woman having HER blood taken. Shit. While I was puzzling this out, the vampiress struck...... and..... I barely felt it. She was GOOD! Okay, I can do this I thought. I have no idea why I have such a hard time with such a simple procedure. I hoot every time I hear an ad on tv for some kind of medication that "requires simple blood tests". Simple my left foot! Not simple for everyone bucko. So, it's over for this time. I fully intend to wear my band-aid all day so people will know the trauma I have suffered and feel appropriate sorrow for me. Hand me a tissue would you?

Ha! Thought I'd Died Didn't You?

Jeez I haven't blogged in forever and three days -- I sincerely hope someone noticed. DID someone notice? I just haven't felt like I had anything to say that anyone cared about. I'm sitting here waiting for the maids. It is now 3:44:40. They are supposed to get here between 12:30 and 2:30. I'd say they are late. When they get here I'd ask 'em where the Sam hill they've been -- but since between the two of them they don't know more than about five words of English that would probably not work out. I find it disconcerting that I don't know what they are talking about. They chatter constantly, and I can (using my long dormant high school Spanish - thank you Mr. Midori) sometimes catch a word or two ..... sometimes there is mucho trabajo. Sometimes they talk about the gatos. Anyway... I'm waiting and I'm bored so here I am.

Who has had something with actual excitement value happen to them? Discuss.

New Years Resolution Time

Yep. It's that time again. Time when everyone in the entire world resolves to do something they will never follow through on. I was ruminating on the whole resolution thing one night while I was unable to fall asleep and made a bold decision. Yep. THIS year. I am NOT going to 1) lose 100 pounds, 2) become an exercise fanatic, 3) save the whales, or 4) stop global warming. Nope. THIS year I am going to resolve to do something that I have a shot in hell of actually DOING. To that end, here are my 2009 Resolutions. Prepare to be amazed.

I am going to send birthday cards to all our family and good friend. In the mail, actual cards with stamps. United States Postal Service mail. I mean really, how much personal mail does anyone actually get anymore? You get bills, magazines, catalogs and junk right? So wouldn't it be a cool surprise to get a birthday card in the mail? Second I'm going to be more mindful of my carbon footprint. I'm re-using plastic bags, making sure everything gets into the recycling bin, and making more careful choices in the store. I'm using my own grocery bags instead of paper OR plastic. Little things, but little things that would add up if more people did them.

So we'll see. So far so good, I've sent 3 birthday cards in time for them to arrive on the correct date, and as we speak I have plastic bags drying on the rack. Maybe at the end of this year I will look back and say WOW! I kept my resolutions!