Happy Get Day II

Happy 2nd Get Day to Sidney!!!

I caught him waking up while he was up on the perch. The perch has become his regular afternoon napping spot, often with the toe beans hanging over the edge!!!

Pictures was kind enough to make a collage of the day we got him!!! Every picture from the post when we got him was included in the collage!!!

Back when I had my broken foot, I wasn't taking showers at first, so I had moved a chair into the bathroom to sponge bath myself. Of course, Sid was sure it was meant to be a new napping spot for himself.

He's still very much a people cat, and very friendly and playful. He's not much of a lap cat, though, with one exception. Whenever I'm sitting in the bathroom, he gets up on my lap!!! Always starts out snuggly and lovey, with lots of purrs and licks. But almost always, the licks progress to nibbles and bites, and grabbing on with his fore paws!!! He's considerate with his grabbing on, though, it's always with his claws retracted, and he's always purring while he play fights. Bites are one of his love languages!!!

ReDecorating

I had made mention of a couple of items recently. One was that I would likely be replacing my printer in the near future. The other was the lack of content I've had recently.

Well, I took care of both of them today!!! I was going to try and scan a form the other day, and I couldn't get my printer to get past the “Print Head Not Installed” portion. I messed with it for a few minutes, then called it, and ordered a new one!!!

I stuck with Canon, since I've been happy with the one I had, present experience excluded. Got a Canon Pixima G6020, another all in one with print, scan, and copy functions. Since it's a much newer model, it's also wirelessly connected, and since ink has been a major expense with my previous printer, this one is an ink tank model with big reservoirs. Oh yea, I can also scan and print from my phone now, as well.

As a side note, I had long ago mentioned the artwork on my file cabinet upon which my desktop computer tower and printer have always sat. Never had an actual picture here, only a link to a page on a long gone Geocities site. When we were living in Long Beach, my wife had saved up and bought a set of chairs and a love seat that were black with blue and maroon pattern shapes all over them, and when I got a 2-drawer file cabinet, I painted it black, and hand painted similar blue and maroon pattern shapes to match. The chairs and love seat are long gone, but the file cabinet remains, so I've included it in the picture here!!!

A little over 12 years ago, I had painted the bathroom in a black and white theme. My dad made up the custom painted toilet seat that has been the base for many of the pictures posted on this blog, and when I'd painted it up, I picked up three black 5”x7” picture frames, with the idea that I could rotate in various black and white pictures. (The only picture that actually shows much of the black and white was the third on this post) The first three, I printed out pictures of Mochi sleeping on the top of the cat tree, Leo relaxing in the sink, and a vertical picture of both their paws. I'd added the picture frame effect in Paint Shop Pro, and had them printed at WalMart. Well, those pictures have stayed there since that day, until today!!!

After setting up my new printer and printing the test page and a test picture, I printed out these pictures to replace the old ones. The first two are from out Texas trip from a few years ago, both taken in Galveston. The first was looking out from the window of the Best Western (second picture from the end of this post). The next was on the beach on the Gulf of America (the final picture on this post). When I saw both of these pictures, I knew they'd work great for the theme I was using in there!!!

For the third, I kept with the theme of having a cat picture. I used Sid's X-ray showing the repair!!! Hey, it cost me a lot of money!!!

Sid's Tube

Cat toys are always hit and miss. You may see something you think your cat will love, and they all but ignore it. You can have some trash you're throwing away, and they'll pull it out and have the time of their lives!!! But sometimes, you'll get something they'll love!!!

Some time ago, my wife ordered a collapsible fabric tube, about cat-sized diameter by around 2 feet long. He loves his tube!!! Every time someone would come into the room, he'd race over to it and stick his front into it!!!

So when she located this one, it was a no-brainier. It's the same idea, spring loaded rings around cat-sized, but it's about 8 feet long with a S-bend to it. It also has a couple of windows cut out of the sides.

Predictably, he loves this one, too!!! Once again, whenever anyone comes into the room, he heads for his tube, and sticks his front end in.

I'll put my foot into the other end, and move it around a little. He'll do the cat butt wiggle, then launch himself into the tube like a spring loaded Tigger!!! Sometimes he'll collapse the tube to around half it's length!!!

He'll also reach out the side windows and bat and claw at you. It's great to see our boy having fun!!! I don't think I'd mentioned, but before he broke his leg, it seemed like he was growing out of his kittenhood, but after he got out of the cage, I feel like he had the mindset that he's going to play like a kitten every day!!!

The Pet Cemetery

While we were vacationing in Avalon, on the hike up to Mount Ada, this was on the walk up, The Catalina Pet Cemetery.

We had to stop in and take a look around. There was quite a variety, from the basic and humble memorial to the grand gesture.

One dog had a full on statue, and a marble plaque.

There were a couple of logs with seats cut into them.

A large monolith of driftwood.

A duck (or maybe a turkey? Looks more duck, but with the tail of a turkey to me) statue.

And a tiny replica of the Casino.

Fixed It!!!

We've been doing a lot of going back and forth to the vet's with Sidney's leg.

I'd thought they wouldn't take a follow up X-ray until his 4 week follow up, I know I'd heard that anyway. But on one of the many trips, my wife got them to send these X-rays!!! Nice though, apparently after 4 weeks, he'll no longer have to have his leg wrapped!!!

Every week they want to check up on his progress, so that's what some of the back and forth has been, just taking him over to get checked out. They sedate him, check him, and re wrap the legs, so it's one trip to drop him off, then pick him up a couple hours (minimum) later, so two trips each time. Twice they've failed to wrap his other foot well enough, and he's kicked the splint off, resulting in follow up trips the next day.

So there's the repair!!! They put a rod down the length of the bone, and screwed a plate on the outside. Design notes from a tooling designer, I think they should have radiused the edges of the plate, and I think it should have been moved up a little, it looks like of all the screws they put in, only 2 made it into the unbroken upper part of the bone, and short ones at that. Not sure, but it looks like the longer ones may be poking through the far side. Hope that isn't an issue.

Hadn't mentioned that I never knew that the bony elbow portion of a cat's leg is actually a portion of the leg bone that runs long!!!

And there he is, being his friendly self!!! Still has the licks and nibbles for us, and reaches out from his cage for us. Just trying to get a picture, and he comes right up into the camera!!!

My wife and my cat now both have titanium bone reenforcements!!! For this post I added a new label that I could go back and add to several other posts!!! What is the cost of all of this?? If I hadn't recently bought the Sky, it would be more than I've ever spent on any of my cars!!!

Happy Get Day

One year ago today was the day Sidney came into our lives. He's a beloved animal companion member of the family.

Sad that he's got a busted leg for the big day, but he's on the mend it appears, and seems like he's doing well. The follow up to the previous post, I took him to a veterinary surgical center a week ago on my day off. I'd had a dentist appointment that day, and had been hoping to get him scheduled for surgery and be back in time for that. It didn't work out like that, it was pretty far on in the day by the time they examined him. They said he was a little dehydrated and had a little fever, so they would like to keep him until Wednesday to get him stabilized, then do the surgery on Wednesday. I was fine with that, as he's not the best patient.

They said to come pick him up on Thursday, the 4th of July, in the morning. OK, we'll do that. Our plan had been to go down to my mom's and eat and swim, but my wife was concerned about leaving Sid alone, so she stayed home, and we went to Long Beach. A couple of the younger's friends came down, too. My wife's car had the change oil light on, and I did that on her flat driveway with all lifting equipment right there in the garage.

They put a rod and a plate on the break. Don't know if they're going to do X-rays when he has his check up this week, but I'd like to see them!!! When we got him back, he had another splint on his leg. It didn't last.

The surgery center said to come back on Friday and they'd put another on. I didn't think it would take, either, (and I was working that day, so my wife and the younger did it) but what they did this time was to splint the leg, then wrap the other hind leg so he can't kick it off!!! It's worked out good, and he's not complaining at all!!! The other thing the vet said to do is try and find a large cage and confine him. We were able to borrow a cage from some friends, and he likes it fine!!! They say 10 weeks for the recovery. Wow.

So, in addition to the medical update, here's a few pictures from the past year. Firstly, the first two pictures feature the half shaved cat butt. Love the way his pattern goes to the skin!!!

The younger mentioned that we now have enough splints to put one on each leg!!! A few of the other pictures are a little blurry, but I just love the one of him on top of the claw post (one of his favorite spots to sit) reaching out his paw. Sleeping in a pizza box.

And the one time he found Mochi's catnip sardine behind the couch!!!

Ouch

Yesterday my wife was up getting ready while I was still in bed, resting, maybe a little snoozing when I hear a ruckus. Cat howling noises, and my wife loudly talking to the boy. What the heck???

Turns out the boy was up on the counter (he knows he's not supposed to be up there) and when he went to jump down, one of the drawers was just a little open. His back foot went in, and there he went. I don't know if he was hanging by his leg or what, but my wife got all clawed up on her hands.

He's favoring his leg, hopping around 3 legged. We manage to get him in his carrier, and off to the vet's we go. We had to wait quite a while, but they'd put us in an exam room. We let him out, and he was exploring the room. They had a little container of treats, and he had a few of those. He didn't seem that bad, other than favoring his leg.

When the doctor finally makes it in, they say they are going to give him some pain killer and sedate him to take X-rays and see what's going on. I had to get home for work, and they say they'll call.

The first two X-rays it looks broken, but not terrible. (I like the way his tail X-ray looks!!!) The third... yeah it looks bad.

We arrive back at the vets, they bring his carrier out, and have us waiting for he pain meds, when the boy lets out some shrieks and howls for a few moments. My wife thought it was because someone had brought a dog in. We get set up and take him home, let him out of the carrier, and lo and behold, he's gotten the splint off!!!

Packed him back up, and took him back. They apologize, and say they'll sedate him again and re splint him. Give them a couple hours. This has been a long day, so I head home and lay back. They give me a call, and I head back, pick him up and bring him home again. Let him out of the carrier, and he hobbles out dragging his leg, obviously none too pleased with the splint. He relaxes for a couple minutes, then flips out again and kicks the splint off his leg. Back in the carrier, and start heading back. My wife calls, and they say don't bother. The doctor says some cats just will not tolerate a splint, and it's really looking like he's one!!! Put him in a room where he won't jump up on stuff, with his food and a litter box they say. I make some room in the laundry room and set him up. He's still limping and 3-legging, but mostly he's got a pretty good attitude about it.

More to come...

The Happy Day After 512 Day Random Post

Yesterday, of course, was 512 day. In honor, here's my latest 512 shirt!!!

I've had the concept of Mystery 512 for a long, long time, with the idea to have it on a shirt. It was something of a time consuming process the last time I made up a 512 shirt. I recently heard of StickerMule, where they print stickers and T-shirts from your design. I took a little time in Paint Shop Pro and made up the design, pretty much freehand, so the proportions aren't exact, but it came out good enough. Of course, as with anything you are having made, the more you buy the cheaper the unit price, so I bought four!!! Gave one to the boy. I'm very pleased with the results!!!

Haven't posted about Sidney the Kidney in a while, maybe since we got him!!! He's awesome, a real people cat, and a welcome member to the family. His love language is licks, but don't be too flattered if he gives you licks, here he is being a weirdo licking my son's dumbbell!!!

The boy has been doing workouts regularly for several months now. During the stupid times, I packed on several pounds, and outgrew several of my T-shirts. I picked up a couple of Sky T-shirts, one that has a yellow Redline on a black background, the other has a basic profile drawing on a yellow shirt.

This type of thing probably doesn't help, but we went back to the Charley's Phillies I'd mentioned before, and actually got a picture of the cheesesteak this time!!!

At the beginning of April I took a week off and had a little vacation. We headed down to Carlsbad with no particular plan on what we would do once we got there. Stayed at a place that looked like nothing but a concrete block from the outside, but it had some really great rooms inside!!! Very spacious!!! We soaked in the hot tub and swam in the pool. They had outside barbecues and a fireplace that I would have liked to have enjoyed a little, but that didn't happen.

Ended up going to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and it was pretty excellent. As we were leaving we were looking around for somewhere to have dinner. Came across Seoul Cord Dog & Fried Chicken, and I've gotta try that!!! We got corn dogs with crunchy sweet rice puffs all over the outside, and sausage and cheese stick on the inside. Wow!!!

There was a boba place on the other side (it was in a pretty decent mall) and I got myself a honeydew drink that was really good as well. Afterwards, my son wanted the same thing, so I got another, and of course my credit card company questioned the double charge for the same amount!!!

Last week was my in office week. Had two real nice weather days where I was able to drive the Sky with the top down. Third day I had to take the Matrix to do the “Will It Fit: Matrix Edition” featuring several pieces of 8-foot 2 x 4's!!! I feel like I could have gone up to 9 feet, or even 10 feet if it was up to the corner of the windshield.

One of the posts I've been meaning to do, but haven't (naturally), is an overview of the work I've done on the cars of late. Sometime at the end of last year I took the Sky to my tint shop and had the limo tint removed from the front windows, and replaced with a barely there tint. Came out great and makes it much better driving with the top up, especially at night. I'd had my wife following to give me a ride back while it was being worked on, but by the time she arrived they were pretty close to having the job done. I asked if they could get the Matrix done as well (it came with limo tint on the front windows as well, and I've been wanting to get it taken care of since we got it). Ended up waiting until the Sky was done, and left the Matrix there to get the same level of tint. I like it much better as well.

Well, for a 512 day wrap up, we were driving in the Matrix in the Fast Track lanes, moving right along, and here come the fuzz!!! Pulled me over for speeding, but after checking my license and registration, came back and just tagged me for an equipment violation for the front windows having tint on them!!! Thanks, officer!!! Now I've got to get the tint removed and signed off on, then more than likely put back on. I'm fine with that!!!

Here's your one picture of a giraffe from the Safari Park, looking a little derpy.

I had to go take a look at this, also at the corn dog mall!!! They put you in a harness and you get to grab your prize. We didn't do it. According to the sign, we all exceed the weight limit.

Cat Tale

We had been out and about shopping and such today. We bought a big frozen pizza at the store for lunch, and put it in when we got home. Just a little after, my wife gets a call. A friend had been out, and came across a kitten!!!

It followed her, and she couldn't locate the mother. She has a dog, so there's no way she could keep it. She knew we had lost our cat at the beginning of the year, and had fostered a little ginger. We agreed to take it. We went over and got it.

We think it's another tom cat, but we've been wrong before!!! Anyway, it's a good looking kitten, with no eye gloop, and no sneezing. He's eating and drinking well.

It mostly slept when we got it home. It climbed up on my son's neck and slept. It climbed my wife's neck and slept. It climbed my neck and slept.

It seems to like being a shoulder cat. I like the idea of a cat that rides your shoulder like a parrot.

It's tentatively named Sidney, a good name that can go for either gender. When it gets rowdy while playing, we can call it Sid Vicious!!!

Sidney. Sidney HowsYerPie.

Ginger Foster

Last weekend was Memorial Day. On Monday we went to a picnic with a bunch of friends. Very shortly after we arrived, the sister of one of my son's friends calls us over, and bundled up in a blanket, she has this little ginger kitten!!!

There was a cargo storage container there, and apparently there was a litter of them under there, crying out. This was the only one they were able to get out, as it's eyes were gooped shut. She was able to get one cleaned and open. She also said that the others were spooky feral, but this one was glad to be rescued!!! When we first met him (she says he's a tomcat, but from previous experience, it can be tricky with kittens!!!) she had named him Frankincense, or Frank for short, which is also her brother's name. It was a rather cool day out, and the little guy was shivering. Later on, she'd changed his name to Colby. Colby Jack. I rather like that much better!!! Around the time everybody was getting ready to leave, she asks us if we could take him “for a few days, while I work on my mom”. I don't mind, even though, who knows, it could turn into a permanent situation.

He's a spooky little guy, but that's to be expected. We took him home wrapped in the blanket, and kept him like that for a while. We unwrapped him, and he pretty quick found the secluded area below the drawers on my desk. He did come out after a while for some food that we had laid out for him. The next day, he was still under there while I was working, and since he was somewhat trapped by me being there working, I eventually pulled the drawer out and extracted him, and put him in the kitchen. He's mostly taken up residence in the corner behind the refrigerator, but he's been getting out a little bit more as he's gotten used to it. I made up a box bed for him, and he got in it once. I left the blanket in the corner, thinking he may like it since he had some history with it. He logged on it, but has since figured out what a litter box is for. A couple of times (once, in the midst of writing this up), I've been able to get some pets in, and he does head snuggles, purrs, kneads a little, and rolls over on his back, I'm not sure if he's looking for belly rubs, or if he wants to play. Oh, and he's VERY vocal, especially when someone comes into the room. My wife and son have taken to calling him Gloopy, as his eyes still have some discharge, even though they are better. Now there's a unique name for a cat!!!