Never a dull moment; or I am Summer's flooded apartment

Life continues to be interesting, with my apartment flooding yesterday and more water issues today. Plus some Ella news. With a health update at the end.

Yesterday morning: minor flooding in my bathroom, kitchen, bedroom closet. No leak found, water vacuumed.

Yesterday afternoon: more flooding in bathroom, living room, bedroom, kitchen. Mass furniture migration. Kitchen wall opened, leak found, leak patched overnight. More water vacuumed.

Lake Living Room

This morning: ceiling rain in the shower, drain pipe repair, snow, hysterical laughter.

This didn't inspire confidence

The shower's drop ceiling was leaky last night and the sheetrock had some give. This morning it was positively squishy. I poked holes and voila streams of water.

Ella didn't approve 

By noon today: the drain pipe, perforated by aggressive snaking Thurs morning, was repaired. Temporary plastic was applied.

New shower ceiling

One of a kind kitchen

The point when I broke:

11:09 am

There's water damage to more walls in the bathroom, which maintenance will fix next week. I don't know how extensive the repairs will be. I am not confident that one day will be enough.

The good news: the floors are fine, just dirty. No furniture was damaged. The apartment is livable. The sun came out in the afternoon. And I have the weekend to rest.


Ella: Ella saw the vet Tuesday for an exam. She's almost 13yo so they ran blood work and the vet called Wednesday with the news that she has chronic kidney disease. Monday I take her back to check blood pressure and talk dietary management options. They were quite charmed by Ella, and shocked that she'd been a feral kitten, so that at least made me feel good.


Health update: insurance approved Enbrel in late Jan, I took three doses in Feb, but had such a bad reaction to it that I had to quit. It increased fatigue, cognitive issues, and joint pain, caused dizziness, hot and cold flashes, and overall made me feel awful.

I saw my rheumatologist two weeks ago. I'm to recover from Enbrel and start triple drug therapy (Plaquenil, methotrexate, and sulfasalazine). We'll talk next steps in two months.

I started weekly acupuncture in January, and that helped with temperature issues in spite of Enbrel. The goal is to help balance my body systems, and now that I'm recovering from Enbrel I am optimistic that acupuncture's benefits will be more noticeable. It makes for a busier week, though.

Grief Salad

Jake was put to sleep on Sunday at home. Holding his limp sedated body then watching the pink leave his nose was so hard. I'm going to miss my fluffy buddy for a long time

I made a big bowl of bean salad on Saturday so I'd have something easy to eat this week. When my head or heart are full I forget to eat or can't be bothered. This salad doesn't even need heating.

Grief Salad

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans, ditto
1/4c couscous, rehydrated in 3/8c boiling water
3/8c white wine vinegar
~1/8c olive oil
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 ears fresh corn, sliced off the cob, or frozen white corn
chopped cilantro to taste
salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste
Optional: juice of half a lime (reduce vinegar accordingly)

Serve over arugula if desired. The flavors meld overnight and it's even better the next day. If you have extra vinegar at the bottom of the bowl try adding 1/4c more rehydrated couscous.

Nothing in this recipe is hard or fast. I used frozen corn this time and kept adding until it looked like a good amount. If you've been too sparing on salt and hot sauce it will taste sad and bland and you may begin to question your life choices. Do not fear, continue seasoning and all will be well.

Love and Loss

Part of caring is having to grieve losses. Jake saw the vet two weeks ago for what turned out to be lymphoma. While he's still doing well on prednisolone I know it's only a matter of time. I'm alternating between enjoying normal time with him and worrying about the other shoe dropping. He's still breathing and eating well though. There was some trouble when he discovered the bitter reality lurking at the center of pill pockets. But we've successfully weathered that speed bump*.

To balance this out, things continue well with my sweetie: it's been observed that I am twitterpated. I half jokingly expressed concern that I've developed an unhealthy attachment to him, because I will be sad if he's gone. He replied that he's not going anywhere. And this is a man whose words and actions match!

I've also been having a small autoimmune flare, with increased joint and muscle pain and costochondritis. Yesterday was infusion day so hopefully that kicks in soon. I've had an intercostal muscle spasm since last Tuesday and would very much like for that to stop. It makes breathing hurt.

Jake's always had expressive ears

* I gave him a few empty pill pockets to break the mental link between them and nasty bitter tastes. He still gets pred in a pill pocket. But the gabapentin capsules are pill pocketed then he's forced to swallow. That's not his favorite but it's easier than forcing the plain capsule on him. And better than him crunching down on the capsule--blech!

Jake Update

Jake is doing better! Prednisolone is magic: it shrunk the nasty thing growing in his nasal passage and throat. His breathing sounds almost unobstructed and he got his squeak back :) It's also boosted his appetite so he's gained weight. All the treats he's getting certainly help!

More treats pls

I don't know how much time steroids will buy him but I'll take it. Last weekend I thought he had about one good week left. Now it may be more like weeks. I'm taking advantage of that time by doing perfectly wonderfully average things with Jake.

I knit a sweater

During the International Games of Sportsing Endeavor (please don't sue me IOC) knitters knit. I joined in again this year with grand plans and high hopes. I stumbled a couple times but recovered to finished this sweater--poorly photographed by me.

The sweater

Jake helped

❤️ Jake Break: Jake is doing very well on prednisolone! (the only corticosteroid I didn't have on-hand ;) A brief Friday night breathing obstruction had me worried enough to contact the at-home vet about euthanasia. But tweaking the steroid dose has him doing better than a week ago. Go Jake! ❤️

My brain has been only halfway functional due to kitty-related sadness and stress. But my treat-dispensing abilities remain intact which is what matters.

The sweater is linen which is unfun to knit with. But will feel great in hot weather, once I break it in. Which is a euphemism for beating the snot out of it until it stops being able to stand on its own. I'm not thrilled with the hem ribbing and may reknit it...someday.

Oh sweetie

Two friends said that yesterday when they learned Jake is dying. He has aggressive lymphoma and a few weeks left. Prednisone has perked him up and improved his obstructed breathing, which is a relief. I'm aggressive about palliative care, and won't let him suffer or linger.

But to have people who care about me and offer help is amazing. When I was at my sickest I couldn't imagine this much improvement. I couldn't imagine rebuilding my social life. But I have. I no longer feel fragile: I am ready for what life throws at me.

Baby Jake with Elwood

Jake (the cat) is sick

Jake, my big dumb sweetie

I've had Jake since he was 8 weeks old; he turned 14yo this year. We went to the vet yesterday because I thought he had an upper respiratory infection. He'd lost weight earlier this year but the vet found nothing suspicious. It seemed due to Ella being a food bully. He gained 2 lbs back after I started to police meal times.

Ella denies being a big meanie. If you disagree she'll eat you.

At the vet yesterday we discovered Jake has an apricot-sized abdominal mass. It's not clear in which organ. Plus something not good going on in his sinuses and larynx. And more weight loss, so he's now smaller than he was this spring. The vet took samples of the mass and I'll get the pathology results in a couple days.

The vet is scary

Jake is an official Scaredy Cat and I believe in minimizing treatment for my pets. I said no to nasal and laryngeal scopes, which would have required another visit plus sedation. If the mass is something treatable with pills I will consider that. But no surgery or treatment with more-than-minimal side effects. It's all about his quality of life. Prednisone has eased his breathing a little, which is a relief. He seems pretty happy today. He was definitely glad to be home yesterday!

I'm doing ok, and have good friend support. Maybe I'm too good at dealing with bad medical news. I suspect grief will hit when I know what we're dealing with.

Total Project Success

The felted cat bed is an unqualified success:

Who couldn't love this face?

Jake also loves the cat bed, though he juuuust fits in it.  I've decided to make a second, since it's obviously the best cat seat in the house.  When I knit I hope that the finished item is loved and used.  I only dream of a reception this positive. 

Morning Routine

Each morning I wake to an alarm, even when I don't need to get up early.  Chronic pain often makes sleep unrestorative, which means I feel more exhausted when I wake then when I go to bed.  This does wear off but not quickly.  My Ella kitty takes the alarm as her signal that I'm ready to get up!  She starts calling to me, or whining, depending how sleepy you are.  Soemtimes she'll snuggle with me for a snooze or two, other times she's very insistent.

Once I do get up, open the blinds, use the bathroom, brush my teeth, open the other blinds and turn up the heat, she continues letting me know that she's been watiting all night for me.  Only when I finally walk into the kitchen, feed her, and kneel on the floor to pet her does she calm down.  Even though I do the exact same things every morning.  Then I take my meds and plop on the couch to check email and connect with online friends, and she takes up her usual spot on my lap.  And promptly goes back to sleep ;)

Summer Has Arrived (and Kitties!)

It is summertime in Seattle!  The clouds and rain and cold have gone, blue skies and 70+F for days or even weeks at a time are here.  Every year it seems like miracle--I actually forgot that sunshine can feel hot!

I'm knitting another shawl like this, for gift or sale.  Since watching knitting is about as fun as paint drying I give you cute kitties:

Ella, snuggly on my lap

Jake, belly up for maximum heat dispersal,
sleeping with one eye open

Kitty :)

I have a fun housewarming party to attend tonight.  First, however, I'm hanging out with a warm snuggly Ella cat in my lap :)  I needed some time alone and kitty snuggles.  It will be good to be around friends, too, after holding myself together the last few days for one friend's memorial service and another's funeral.

A Funny

I have a new top and added twill tape waist ties, and last time I wore it they were stiff.  Only the bottom half of each, mind, and I couldn't think what had caused this.  Stain spray? no.  It had been hanging in the closet, so I had no idea.

Then I'm in the bathroom on Sat, happen to look over, and there's my cat chewing on the ties!  No wonder they're stiff and funky feeling!  I rinsed them off, washed them a little, but cat spit apparently works better than starch.  At least I solved the mystery ;)

Ella, caught in the act!

Almost Sewing

I did get some jumper fitting done (yay!) and think I've nailed the problems.  Except that I was all set up to resew the bust dart, removed the pins, and the machine jammed.  Then the bobbin was out of thread.  So by the time I basted it by hand the seam came out wrong.  At that point I was done for the day.

Maybe tomorrow I can pin myself into the beast (I really should put a zip up the center!) and pin the dart correctly.  It's looking good, the parts I can see, so hopefully it's even better in photos :)   Meanwhile I'm in pain so spending the evening in with the cute Ella cat.

ETA: I just realized that this is my 108th post!  I'd like to do a pattern giveaway to thank my readers.  Please let me know if there's a type of pattern you'd prefer (vintage, dresses, men's, etc).  I have some 41" bust Mail Order 1950s patterns if anyone likes them.

Cats and company

This weekend I had overnight guests: a cousin on Thursday and a friend on Friday.  We had fun, hung out for a couple days, caught up, all that good stuff.  But my Jake cat was not happy.  He hid in the closet most of the time.  He seemed ok once everyone had left, though.

Then last night he whined and repeatedly woke me up for half the night.  My cat is vindictive!  Even spraying water at him didn't help.  Let's hope he's forgiven me and lets me sleep tonight!

Kittehs

I stopped at the pet store today for cat food and saw this potentially awesome thing:

I was sold, in spite of the misspelled alliteration, by the catnip reservoirs at the base of the combs.  If my cats love anything it's catnip.  I bought it, brought it home where it sat on the floor (it's been a long day)...

I just noticed Ella rubbing her face on the box!  Guess it's time to give the kitties some satisfaction :)  Hopefully Ella plays nice and I don't have to buy one for each of them.  (this is a real concern)

Edit: How much does Ella love catnip?  While I installed the comber she started rolling around in the shrink wrapping!  Jake's about to get in on the action too.

Meet the Family

Now that I have a few posts knocked out it seems time to introduce my supporting cast.  There's my Handsome Man, the very supportive and wonderful boyfriend.  He puts up with a lot and just smiles, saying "I love you."  He is the best part of my life. [edited 1/2011]

My two kitty companions: Ella the feral kitten-turned lap cat.  She loves catnip, laser pointers and snuggling with me.  Jake is happy-go-lucky and loves hiding under the covers, purring whenever I come near.  They are great company on bad days.  Also hard to capture on camera unless they're asleep ;)

Jake, in his basket

Ella