Incoherent Scribblings

It’s a dilemma: Should I post the picture of the stitching happy dance that I had tonight or a picture of something that happened at my house that is rarer than a dodo in captivity?

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I wish I had a digital picture to share of my three-legged orange tabby cat Olee because she was quite a kitty. She came into my life in the summer of 1992 as a please-don’t-break-up-with-me-because-you-are-going-away-to-college present from my then boyfriend.

Right from the start Olee was an itty bitty kitty with a big attitude. When she was about three months old, on the day that I was packing up my grandpa’s pick-up truck to head to my first day of college, she came out of the field next to the house dragging her back-end behind her. Upon closer examination I discovered that one of her back legs was torn up and bloody. She had been caught by a mower.

My dad offered to “take care of her,” and for those of you who grew up or live in the country, you know what that means. On the farm animals may be pets but they aren’t necessarily something one gets attached to because unforeseen things can and do happen all the time. I balked at Dad’s offer and instead put moving day on hold for a few hours and called my local veterinarian.

A couple of hours and a consultation later it was decided: Olee’s leg was torn up too badly to save. Unless I wanted to take Dad up on his offer, her leg would have to be amputated.

And so Olee became a terror on three legs. We called her “Hop Along Cassidy” and “Tripod.” She stayed at home while I was away at college and became Mom’s baby. Although we tried to keep her inside, she would not be confined. She moved to town with Mom after her divorce from my dad and loved to climb the trees in her new front yard. Soon after the move, the little three-legged fiend caught a bird in one of the neighbor’s trees and was thereafter considered a menace to the neighborhood. Olee bullied my mom’s other cats into submission and was undoubtedly the three-legged, four-pound queen of the house.

Sadly age began to catch up with Olee and her health started to decline. She had a stroke over the weekend and this afternoon she crossed over The Rainbow Bridge. Rest in peace Olee. You will be missed.

*Warning! This post contains discussion of cat poop. Continue reading at your own risk.*

I have been having a problem with Scooter and inappropriate elimination.

I don’t really understand it either. There have been times in the past when he has urinated where he isn’t supposed to, but every time that has happened he was stressed about something.

But this time it is different. Over the past few weeks he has started defecating outside the litterbox for no obvious reason. He isn’t doing it all the time so the first thing I thought was that I was lax in changing said box. However, last week he did it on the same day that I changed the litter so I eliminated that explanation.

He is eating and drinking fine and doesn’t seem sick. His “deposits” are the right color and consistency; he is just leaving them where he isn’t supposed to. I suppose it could be medical, but he has never had urinary problems like a lot of neutered male cats. He is getting older though so I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to take him to the vet.

However, I suspect it is behavioral. I just wish I knew what set him off…

I’d like to start this post by thanking Dawn and Kathryn who nominated me for the “I ♥ Your Blog Award.” I really appreciate the fact that there are still people out there who not only read my blog, but even go so far as to ♥ it. Of course, I know the “rules” for receiving such an award, but I’ m afraid the buck stops here. It isn’t that I don’t ♥ lots of blogs, but like memes that get passed around I feel these things border on chain letters.

Anyway, I am sure my five loyal readers are wondering what the heck I have been up to lately. Have I been stitching? Have I been reading? Have I been faithfully serving my feline masters? Have I been sitting around on my duff all day pretending to work? Well, the answer is yes on all accounts.

I have actually been stitching some. In fact, I even have some progress to show as soon as I get off my duff and take some pictures. Maybe I will even spoil you with two posts in one day and show it later tonight… then again, don’t count on it.

I have also been reading. A lot. I am taking another class this semester and this one is called “The Literature of Dissent,” which means we are reading “social protest literature.” This is an American Literature class and we are covering materials published between 1853 and 1940.

I just finished reading Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle for class this week. If you haven’t read this book, I would recommend it. However, given the nature of the story, I would also recommend that you skip dinner if you are planning on reading it. (Anyone who has read it will know what I mean!) Once I got past the repulsive descriptions of the meat-packing industry in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century, I actually began to appreciate this book. In fact, I think I will probably write my critical analysis paper on it.

I have also spent quite a bit of time at the vet’s office the past few weeks. First Scooter had an ear infection. When I took him to the vet to get some antibiotics, the vet recommended that he get his teeth cleaned. I knew that the vet would say this because Scooter has a history of chronic gingivitis, so I wasn’t unprepared. Later that week he got his teeth cleaned. Of course since he is 13 years old, I also had the vet do “geriatric” blood work to make sure all his organs are working fine and that I wouldn’t have another case of feline hyperthyroidism on my hands. A week later, Mouse had to go to the vet to get her blood drawn and her thyroid pills refilled. They are both fine, but two vet visits sure put a crimp in my budget this month!

The fact that it is early in the semester also means that I have spent a lot of time working. And not just Monday through Friday 8-5 (or in my case 8:30-ish to 5:30-ish) either. I have been keeping very busy and even putting in a good amount of “overtime” (which in my case equals comp time.) I want to blab a bit more about work, but I will save that for another day.

And finally, I alluded all summer to a social life and if you have noticed the tags on my password-protected posts, you have probably realized that I have become involved with a man. In order to protect his privacy I won’t discuss that any further here, but I will mention that I have been writing a great deal concerning this development in my life. However, most of this writing is not fit for public consumption… even as password-protected posts.

Nevertheless, this development in my life has also prompted me to do something that I had been contemplating for many months. I have finally officially filed for divorce from A. I have to admit that in a way I was using the fact that I was technically still married as a way to prevent myself from becoming too attached to anyone. While I did not actually file for divorce because of my involvement with the new man, getting involved with him made me realize that I was ready to be free of the remnants of my marriage and move on.

If you have reached the end of this post, I congratulate you and as a result, nominate you for a new award that I made up at this very moment: The “I ♥ You for Reading My Blog!” Award

Mouse and Molly
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian

I have SAT progress to show, but can’t be bothered to upload the pictures right now. Look for that post tomorrow.

Instead, today enjoy what looks like a scene of innocent tranquility, but in reality is a fragile peace accord that could snap at any moment!

P.S. Please ignore my ugly chair… it is thrift shop chic!