The pic is of "Bird Cat" and it was one of many purchases I made at the 4 Bridges Art Festival. For those of you who know that I have a bird phobia and are wondering why I bought it, I just imagine that the cat is about to eat the bird. A little sick, but it works.

I had a little too much financial fun there, though. Oh, well, it was all so pretty! How was I to resist? The only thing that could have made it even better would have been a shoe vendor. Maybe next year...

This week at work has been crazy! I've been department hopping, project juggling, going to a funeral, and setting up a blind date - but not for me!

The funeral was for my aunt T's mother. She died Saturday night from cancer - she was very ill and in pain so her passing was a blessing in that respect. T has lost a lot of weight caring for her mother and is just exhausted. No matter that it was a blessing - I still cannot imagine losing my mother. It literally makes me tear up just thinking about it. And to stand at the front of the room at the funeral home and have to greet and talk to all of the people - I would just want to scream, "You don't understand! She was MY mother!" I know many of you have lost your mothers and I cannot understand how you function. Even the thought nearly paralyzes me. We all have to go but I do not have to like it or accept it gracefully! I didn't do that when Maggie died and I have not plans to change now! Tirade against death now over.

On a much better note (maybe I should have put this before the death rant but at least I'm ending on a good note!), I have set up my first blind date! My friend J is meeting a guy I work with, M, on Sat for drinks. I am more excited than they are - they are just nervous while I am completely giddy! My self esteem isn't on the line! Why should I be nervous? I'm going as a "date facilitator" and if it goes well, I'll leave. If it bombs, we'll drink a few beers, dump him, and have a good girls' night.

Now, I'm working on getting myself a date! I'm working on it and will report fully when it happens!

And I have not given up on the socks - I am waiting for my brother to give me his foot measurement. Very rude of him to keep me waiting, I think.

So the Bailey story. She has had this sneezy-thing for a few months that then progressed to coughing and pushed me over the edge when she began mouth-breathing. Have you ever seen a cat mouth-breathe?? It is soo creepy looking! Cats are not meant to breathe out of their mouths! So off to the vet she went again. One liver panel, one set of xrays, one thyroid panel, one new antibiotic prescription, one new food, and one $237 bill later, and I have a very traumatized cat. Thank god my mom took her!! (Side note: Mom dropped something off at my apartment two days later and all she saw of Bailey was her butt as she ran under the bed!)

So here is where the sudifed comes in. Bailey had lost 11 oz (which is a lot for a cat that barely tops 7 lbs) and so I told the vet that I thought part of the issue was that she couldn't smell and Dr. L agreed but they don't make a decongestant for cats - strange, huh? Dr. L told me to get children's sudifed and give her 1/4 of the smallest dose. So off I go to CVS and sign away my life and dna and called my mom to cosign, etc... and home I go to dose the cat. Cats do not like getting medicine period. They really, really, really do not like getting GRAPE flavored medicine. She looked like she had rabies - foaming at the mouth, panting, hacking... it was gory. Of course, through all this taste bud misery, she still cannot breathe through her nose. Spit went everywhere!

But, next day, she was breathing through her nose a little - lots of sneezing which was good. She ate and beat up on the other cats a little. All good signs. This morning, she ate half a can of food, beat up on all three of the cats, and didn't breathe through her mouth once! The sudifed was a total success!! Dr. L ROCKS! Grape flavored medicine, not so much.

So due to the financial strain Bailey has caused, we are on a ramon noodle diet this week. The one week I decide that it is o.k. to spend $100 at Target on new pants, the cat's health crashes. Everyone assures me this is how it always works so that makes me feel a little better. What made me feel the best was my mom floating me $137 until tonight. God Bless Mothers!

The heel has been turned! I am on the downward decrease of sock #1! That is, sock #1 of the second attempt to make socks for my brother. Attempt 1 ended in the garbage on fire - but the fire part was not intentional. You think you've blown out a match and you can be so, so very wrong. But now (new yarn that is not cut and has not been chewed on by a cat) I am rollin' right along! As they just got 15" of snow, he might still be able to wear these before they thaw out for their 3 days of summer. Now how loudly will I be whining this summer when we are simmering at around 100 degrees and they are sweltering at 80 degrees? Very, very loudly. I am honest enough to admit it.

As for work, I feel like the new kid in day care - I am catching every damn disease that comes through that place! First, I catch the "digestive upset" that wiped out half the shop. Now, I have a head cold. My nose and my lips are chapped and I can't breathe. I called my mom just to whine about being sick - I don't feel that I received that appropriate amount of sympathy but it was better than nothing. (I just had to stop typing to go sneeze and blow my nose - any sympathy yet??) And my ears won't pop. I'm taking my deaf, itchy, sneezing self to bed - after a brief stop over at Robotusin Land. Good sleep tonight!!!

And Bailey had to go to the vet - I'll write about that tomorrow or Friday night. But here is a teaser - I am dosing my cat with grape flavored children's Sudafed. So we're both drugged up on cold meds. Needless to say, this is a very happy and relaxed apartment.