Sad News But Hopeful Report

I wasn't sure how to label this, then 'cry for help' seemed to fit, as in the form of a request for prayers and well wishes. Today SO and I visited brother and sis-in-law at their daughter's hospital bedside. She had a serious car accident on her way home to Oxford. Care-flight brought her to Dayton and her parents drove down from Akron.

We don't even know yet what caused her to drive off the road. The rescue team spent nearly an hour cutting her out of the vehicle.

That said, her injuries could be much, much worse. It was still horrible seeing her sedated yet intermittently scared and in some pain. I can only try to be there for her parents much as possible and pray she recovers well as caregivers expect. Feeling her squeeze my hand brought a torrent of tears.
 
This bright young woman was set to graduate from college next month and had an exciting fall language teaching internship lined up. Her mom, desperate for some positive focus, contacted professors and all are more than happy to work with her through the recovery. That comforted me to no small degree considering all her hard work.

Isn't that nice of her present and future associated professors?

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Excited? Or Neurological Condition?

I’ve noticed in Jezebel an increasing oddity. Usually it happens when she’s looking out a window, so we are assuming she vibrates out of excitement.

Have you ever seen an animal act like this?

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A Sad Bit of Irony

After I posted about the birthday of favored guitarist John 5 my big brother called with difficult news. Our mother, who endured a long battle with sickening health and declining cognitive faculties, did not survive her latest surgery repairing a PICC line insertion.

This is almost a relief, I’m blessed to say. I can’t remember when she felt well. She is survived by her husband and four kids, as well as more loving friends than I dare name.

I even heard from an old acquaintance I couldn’t resist contacting. My first love seemed deserving of the knowledge and sent email lavishing her with praise.

Thank you, Dad, for doing the best you could. And to all those who provided therapy, care, and support – bless you.

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Antics of an Aging Cat

I don’t know what has gotten into our ‘Silly’ Tilly lately. She’s acting sillier than usual splashing water all around. Having hyperthyroidism and taking twice daily pills for the condition, she may need a trip to the vet. It wouldn’t hurt to check her thyroid levels and kidney condition.

In the meantime, I am trying to solve the issue of filthy water bowls and wet flooring as she continues dunking paws in the drinking water put out for her and Jezebel. Thinking the taller bowls we’ve used for years might be irritating her whiskers I found the shallowest thing possible.

I put out a serving tray centered on a storage bin lid to prevent spills leaking into the basement. As you can see, the results are underwhelming.

This is a Foot Bath, Right?

She really got into paddling away a moment later, too. At least the lid contained the water.

Do any of you fellow cat caregivers have any suggestions as to why this behavior would appear overnight? In the meantime, I guess I’ll call my local veterinarian’s office.

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I Need Professional Help

I am not tech savvy. It’s not a secret. My forte is writing fiction. It’s my passion and calling.

That said, I enjoy blogging as a way to connect with folks. And thank you to the many people who patiently tutor me on learning related computer processes. I don’t have the will or patience to take courses, even online.

But can someone please explain to me why the formatting is so difficult with Blogger? I thought I had everything down pat, then I go into preview mode and the text formatting is all wrong.

So I copy and past the proper HTML to correct that and find video missing. I swear I feel my blood pressure rise every time. Am I the only one?

Maybe I should use a different blogging platform. What do you think?

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The Luddite Chronicles

Anyone the least bit familiar with me probably knows that technology and I don’t get along terribly well. Lately I’m even having trouble with chip reading credit card machines.

At my doctor’s office the receptionist finally had to put my Visa through for me. Then at the grocery store weeks later I suffered the same indignity trying to charge a purchase to my credit union chipped debit card.

“You cancelled the transaction,” the frustrated clerk kept saying.

“No. I followed the instructions and then the machine just blanked out.”

“Here. Let me see.”

At least the keypad accepted my numeric password. I was starting to wonder.

It’s insane. I can’t help recalling how digital watches never lasted long on my wrist either. They always kept slow time or stopped altogether.

A longstanding joke in my home is that if something happens to my tech savvy partner all is lost. Every gadget in the house will gradually seize up and moss will grow over everything. The cats and I will go feral.

What do you think? Could I perhaps have a wonky electric field emanating from my body?

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Kitty Call

Thanks to the April A to Z Blog Challenge, I've met several super nice bloggers the last two springs. Today I'd like to promote one of them for a very special reason. You see, she helps rescue needy felines in the Portland, Oregon region.

She officially calls herself a cat woman and goes by the name of Strayer. You may well recognize that moniker from friendly posts on this humble little blog. Strayer had a very successful endeavor recently and now there are some sweet animals up for adoption.

Look at this Friendly Little Doll! Photo Credit Belongs to Strayer

If you are in the area, you can meet Cayenne at the Heartland Humane in the city of Corvalis, Oregon. And here you can read about Kiki, Elton and Lucky and Strayer's heroic efforts.

Wherever you live, if you have room in your heart and home for a pet, please consider adopting from a local shelter. And always be responsible in getting your pets neutered as well as providing them a safe environment with plenty of healthy food and fresh water. The rewards are worth the investment.

What about you? Any furry members already in your family? And if you have both dogs and cats, I'm curious to know how you keep each from eating the wrong food. It's astonishing how different are there dietary requirements.

Thank you Strayer, for all your efforts. You are a blessing upon this world.

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I is for Insomnia - A Scourge of the Modern Age

Sleeplessness is the state in which many of these A-Z topics were conceived. For some reason I woke at 3am and could not shut down my brain. Fortunately, this is rare for me.

My partner, however, rations out a prescription drug that does not always do a darn thing. As a result, this household has no typical set schedule. Sometimes, I feel exasperated. I’m half tempted to slip some valerian root into my partner’s evening cup of tea or something.

Circadian rhythm is quite important to health and even sanity. Unfortunately, classic suggestions like daily exercise and set nighttime rituals fall on deaf ears.

I hope that you enjoy healthy, natural sleep like me. And if not, maybe one of us can find something workable and share it.

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Microsoft Word Help

No matter where I am, on my office computer or at home, both my old 2003 version of Word and the newer one at work have increasingly stopped capitalizing the first word of a sentence.  It's not every time, and the auto correct is set to capitalize them.  These sentence openings are not following anything but average sentences previously, either.

With a neurotic tendency to fix this as soon as it comes up, usually before beginning the next sentence - which is capitalized almost 100% of the time - I really don't want to be dealing with this problem during NaNoWriMo.  I'm nearly ready to pull my hair out.  The only time in the past few years that this didn't plague me is when I first got my laptop.  Then, once the problem settled in it has become more insidious every day.

I'm about ready to try different software.  The only reason I haven't is because sometimes the problem is less intrusive.  Well, that and I'm just used to MSWord.  At this point, though, I'll gladly learn new word processing software just to make this stop.

Nothing online has given me any help.  My partner, a computer guru, thinks I'm crazy and doesn't know how to make it go away.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

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PS Dilo Keith found a resource that may have solved the problem.  The excluded words option under AutoCorrect was stopping a huge list of items from allowing the capitalization of the following sentence!  I hope that turning off this automatic function and deleting items off the list will work.

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