Just Jot It January, Combo

Last one.

So I’ve gotten behind on Jusjoing. Other things needed to be blogged, too.

My solution is to write a meander between the three I missed.

My dog is on my mind 24/7. She is having so many problems. And yet with age, some things are better. She used to shake and run around. She made me nervous. So much for being my support canine. I became hers.

But we could exercise outside. I couldn’t take walks with her for being afraid of the big dogs she’d challenge. But most walks were okay.

Between doggy Alzheimers, bad eyes and hips, and icy snow, those walks ended.

I picked up a treadmill. It’s still scary with her as she is turning circles or bumping into things, even the treadmill.

My husband has become my watch-person, to make sure Kali doesn’t hurt herself on the treadmill or cause me to fall while trying to achieve my 1.23 miles. Whatever works, right?

I don’t quite understand how the programs work. I started out just hitting start and then the + or – as my body, breath, and legs needed.

I learned to name the speeds. 1 was the annoying slow people in the mall. I always need to go faster than that. 2 was a crowded mall. Everyone is moving in concert, but still not fast enough to get the errands done. 3 seems the speed my body likes best. My heart rate goes down. It’s the Goldilocks speed for me.

Ah, but 4. That’s late for the bus but you don’t want the cool kids to see you running. It’s pushing me. If I get winded, the heart rate seems too high, or Kali is too close, I slow it down.

One day I got curious. What are these programs? So I hit the button. Program 1 was mostly the slow mall workers. I found I could + or – as my body chooses I found the first program boring so I got brave and hit 2.

Oh. Here was the challenge. It fools you with a 1 at first. Gradually it changes to 2. Then when you’re bored it becomes 3. But get ready. 4 comes. At first I couldn’t and minused it. Soon I could handle the first round of 4. But then it happens again. 1, 2, 3, then a LONG 4! Oh, boy! That about killed me at first! I remembered to hit the + or – as needed.

Guess what? I can now handle program 2 without changing it. I’m tired and sweaty but feeling proud. I have snuck to a 5 once in a while. I’m naming it, I see the bus. Better get there now!

My daughter and sons jog. They are my inspiration. I throw out dreams to the universe of marathons. But really just doing the half hour daily is okay for now.

I picture my son’s girlfriend who has helped inspire me also. This reminds me of Rizza.🤗

Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #JusJoJan, Throw in the Towel

Your prompt for #JusJoJan the 28th and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “throw in the towel.” Use the phrase “throw in the towel” somewhere in your post. Enjoy!

The piddle cleaning solution says to soak up said piddle with a towel before applying product.

Wall-to-wall piddle pads don’t prevent all piddles. And so at said piddles we throw in the towel.

Alas. Love the old gal. We’ll miss her when she’s gone, but towels will live another day for being thrown.

It Has Been a Month

Since I blogged about the beautiful snow. I’m not so excited anymore. That snow is still here. It hasn’t gotten warm enough to melt. And we’ve had a couple snows since. And another storm coming on the weekend. Had anyone told the weather that it’s not winter yet?

Poor Kali hasn’t wanted to go outside for a month. It’s too deep and icy for her aged body.

Ah so let’s see. I’ve shared my finished socks. My other socks aren’t progressing as fast.

Oh! I know! I haven’t shown sunflower progress.

Maybe I’ll be finished tomorrow.

And I guess I should give the final word count for Reflexions.

That’s where I was a couple nights ago. On the 30th I hit 33,003 and called it good. Teddy’s character is fun. I hope I can get all the bits to fit together like a real story. I reset a goal of 17,000 for December. I’m starting this first part reviewing all I’ve written so I can figure out where and when it is happening.

Hope you all are staying warm. Thank goodness we are!

Mister Golden Eyes

He came to us by way of Garden Grove on a long drive to Reno. Kieu was loading her car for the trip to see her boyfriend. It was three in the morning. Suddenly this little tiger kitten hopped in the car.

Kieu bought a disposable kitty litter and a small amount of food and water for the kitten’s first car trip. The kitty sat on Kieu’s shoulder as co-pilot, or Argh the cat.

It was too late to do a door-to-door search for a missing cat. Kieu did her due diligence the next morning by calling her mother to see if their neighbors were missing a kitten. No.

So Kieu asked if we wanted the kitten. Of course.

It was love at first sight. Mister Golden Eyes. Tiger Eyes. Dragon Eyes. Names ran through my head. Nothing quite did the job. I looked over at our tuxedo cat, Panda. OH! We have a Panda Bear. How about a Teddy Bear to make the team?

And he was a cuddly Teddy Bear. When not cuddling, he was energy-plus. He could rocket through a room, flying for places only a bird could. He kept me busy. He kept me company while my husband worked nights, and I felt so alone for a while.

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I was in pain. Teddy could figure out where I hurt the most. He would climb on me and curl up. Then he would purr the pain away. I called him the magical kitty.

Teddy slept with me. If it was cold, he would crawl under the covers with me.

There was only one problem. Everything we owned soon smelled like Teddy. He scratched and sprayed everything. I still have things I can’t repair or eliminate the scent. But he was mature enough to get neutered. That problem was easily fixed. Now my little buddy was at his best.

Teddy was happy if I read to him, if I sang and played the piano, or if I needed to chat. He was there.

One day, Teddy slipped out of the apartment. He just disappeared. I thought it was months. I missed him so much. I cried in worry that he would be hit by a car or someone awful would hurt him.

Chris says it was about a week that we got a phone call. The lady said that she had a cat on her bed whose tags said Teddy and had this phone number. He had just wandered into this apartment that looked like all the others in our complex. He had just wandered in like he lived there.

I was in a lot of pain. Emotionally and physically. I couldn’t leave the house. Chris went to the lady’s place to get him.

Oh, my goodness, he was skinny and dirty. He looked like he’d been living under cars this whole time. Now that he was back, I was going to make sure he didn’t get out again. It was time to fatten him up and clean him up. It took a while.

We were at our weekly writer’s meet when we got a call. Panda had been playing and suddenly dropped dead. We were told it was either a heart attack or a stroke. That was sad for all of us. Panda was a gorgeous cat. He has a story of his own.

Okay, let me take the side trip. When we lived in Riverside, we found a kitten howling in the mall parking lot. My daughter and I looked everywhere and found this little guy in a wheel well of a car. He had a little white mark that made him look like a priest. My daughter named him Limey. Don’t ask why. I have no idea.

Limey would play fetch. He was a smart little guy. We all loved him. The kids were getting ready to move out into their own lives. The cat that raised them, as second mom, Kimberlina (Kimbie), was quite ill. She was very old. We think about twenty years old. Limey gave us a bright spot in the day.

But it was near Halloween. Limey was a black cat. Suddenly he disappeared. We didn’t know where. We put out ads. Suddenly there was a call. This lady said she knew she didn’t have our kitten. But this was a black cat that looked to be dipped in white paint. He had been on the lady’s roof for days as he was afraid of her dogs. Would we take him instead?

Well, yes. Never got Limey back. Never sure what happened. But Panda was now a part of our household. Kimbie passed about that same time.

So back to the moment. Panda passed of a heart attack, and Teddy was the only bear. He seemed lonely. So for the first time, we pursued getting a cat. In our lives, cats appear, and we grow together. But Teddy needed a furball friend. So we found Rosey at the shelter. She fell in love with Chris. She is his cat. But she was a friend for Teddy.

And so when we moved from Reno to Christmas Valley, Teddy and Rosey were on leashes and loved the trip. They loved their new home with h more room than that tiny apartment. Teddy had me. Rosey had Chris. Then a new dog came to live with us. Teddy thought I had betrayed him, and he stopped coming to me. He stayed with Rosey and Chris while I learned to bond with Kali, who seemed to be in need of a service person.

These last few years together. Teddy and Kali cuddled close to each other to keep warm. They seemed to watch out for each other. And both kept me warm and feeling loved.

Just midnight, when Chris woke me, Teddy was no longer with us. I can’t stop crying, but I am glad we didn’t have to take him for that hour-and-a-half ride to the vet. That is a hard ride for all of us. But he chose to go in his sleep. He is no longer in pain. But gosh, I miss him. My little buddy. I didn’t know I had so many tears in me.

In dedication to him, I will have a ginger boy in the NaNoWriMo I’m writing who is a curious, adventurous, but a lovable boy. His name will be Teddy. At least Mr. Golden Eyes will live little longer in fun and action!

Things Learned

Just 7 inches from the toes. I’m so excited to have learned to divide for the heel, then turn heel, then I shaped the gusset and now it’s stockinette (straight knitting) until the toes. Wah hoo! And I’m ready with yarn and more Double pointed needles for the fiancés socks.

My bathroom is nearly done. I’ll probably have to shower at least once in the guys’ restroom. Ugh! I’ve hated being so scattered, my stuff is everywhere and I had to schlep between my room and their restroom work bags of stuff.

And our poor kitty, Teddy has been having troubles, teeth and blood sugars so my husband has taken the trip through the mountains to the vet to take care of him.

Not to mention, Kali is still getting older and having a hard time with all of it. So lack of sleep is playing hard against ambition.

So I’m trying to be kind to myself for being about a day behind on NaNoWriMo, Reflexion about the Pensées family. So the word count

I need to spend a couple days catching up.

Finishing Friday

As I promised the finished hat, now in the charity bag.

ChiaoGoo circular needles made this easy.

Heels are happening now.

Kali is helping me pose the picture but I couldn’t reach the other sock due to the puppers. In fact, the CinDWood fine-gauge loom has half the heel done.

Shoot. I can’t show you the other double pointed needle socks that are also at heel stage. I need my tutoring session to learn how to ‘turn a heel’.

Okay Word Count calls. Currently at 5,441 so I still need lots more before bedtime. See ya tomorrow!

One-Liner Wednesday

How many of you crab climb out of the recliner so as not to disturb the dog?

Me.

One-Liner Wednesday is Linda’s prompt. Follow the above link to join the fun.

Finishing Friday

I’m grateful for my new laptop but have to admit my frustrations of starting over. All my writing in yWriter7 and WriteItNow and Scrivener are stuck in RTF form and tons of work awaits to bring them back to life. So that’s my time lately in a nutshell.

Sadly I have to report I didn’t get but half my word count goal this month. But I had a marvelous time with family and friends, so not really complaining. Just reporting.

Purple waterfall is nearly finished. Front lit.

Back lit

These charms are finished on both sides. I still need to apply sealant and then figure how to make the mobile out of them.

This is the next hand-held charm to work on. These are great for times when you don’t want to bend over the bigger pictures.

Barely made any headway on these. They are almost finished!

Started another pair of cotton spa slippers. I love this yarn my friend gifted me.

Today our three furries had a vet appointment. These two seem none the worse for the wear. Three hours in the non-AC truck can with all windows open. But their prognoses (is that plural?), Rosey, the black one is old but healthiest of the bunch. Not even considered overweight. Her seizures to be watched, nothing more to be done. Teddy, the ginger, has cancer sores in his mouth and had to get a steroid shot. And drops to take. He hates that.

Kali is old and has arthritis, is deaf, with cataracts. Nothing we can do but give pain meds. She is meandering as is her habit. That’s why the picture is blurry. It’s probably time for her meds . Poor babies.

While my brother and husband did the vet run. My son and I cleaned. He worked on the out of control mud room. I shampooed the carpets. It was nice not to have furballs in the way. We were successful in our ventures. Now I need to finish cleaning out the shampooer. Yuck!

Furry Friday

When I first got to my friend’s house, her cat, Stormagedden-dark lady of all, was afraid of me. I spent a lot of time with treats and toys. I think, now that it’s time to go home, she’s starting to accept me.

The fishing pole with bell and green worm is her favorite. Even though she’s feigning nonchalance.

She can’t fool me.

Gotcha!

She’s waiting for treats.

The heart got some diamonds. Just didn’t have the back for it. My floor sleeping skills are getting better, but not quite as strong as when I was younger.

Meanwhile, I’m told that Kali sits in my recliner at home howling. It makes me sad and feel like I’m cheating in my pup with Storm. 😢

This was taken a few months ago.

It’s been fun.

Tuesday Tidbits

So I took a nap with Kali. After I got up the cats joined Kali. Like they couldn’t wait for me to let them have THEIR bed!

That’s Kali on the left, Teddy to the right. (At least they don’t take over my pillows.)

Here’s Rosey at the end of the bed.

I almost forgot to share our moment of spring. The mesquite is in bloom. Today was hot enough for shorts. Next week summer.

My natural life in motion.