Random Thoughts

I’m feeling very out-of-focus this week. Maybe because:

  • I had to say goodbye to another cat Monday morning. Smudge had cancer that had metastasized. She was our mighty huntress, bringing in gifts she’d caught on the deck … moths, cicadas, praying mantes and the occasional bat.

(Lousy picture, I know. I lost a lot of photos when my hard drive crashed a few years ago.)

  • Smudge’s sister, Belette, is in the hospital. We had to take her in the same night I said goodbye to Smudge. We were afraid we’d lose her, too, because cancer runs in families. But the doctor said she didn’t have it and thinks he’s figured out the problem: hyperthyroidism. He’s now trying to get her stabilized. The poor old girl (around 13½ years old) hasn’t spent a night away from home in about 13 years and not only has to contend with that but the undignified position of having IV tubes in her (she’s torn them out twice).
  • I haven’t been sleeping well these last few days and I think I figured out why. It’s the first time in probably 30 years that when I’m home, there hasn’t been a cat in my bed at night. Maks & Misha are too young & rambunctious at this point to bring them in – I’d get even less sleep! (I already do. Maks has figured out how to turn my clock radio on. As soon as Pete leaves for work, meaning no other distractions, Maks climbs onto the bedside table & sits on the ‘on’ button.)
  • The storms yesterday across the Southeast were bad. I’m super weather-sensitive and a regular ol’ thunderstorm presses down on me, much less the terrible storms that are still pounding their way up the coast. I had to turn the television off this morning – all the news coverage of the devastation in Alabama and northwest Georgia is just too much to handle.
  • I can’t wait for the weekend. That means The Royal Wedding (must capitalize it, you know) will finally be over. Unlike many of my friends on this side of the pond, I’m not that interested and the US news stations have been devoting an inordinate amount of coverage to it. I really don’t care that Prince William played football/soccer yesterday. I do want to see what Kate’s dress looks like. I’m hoping it’s not as terrible as Di’s was elegant and understated, which is my favorite look. But a photograph would do me just fine.

And just a tidbit of information: Saturday, 30 April, is another Drug Take-Back Day here in the US. Probably one of the better ideas the Drug Enforcement Administration has come up with. First fact: prescription drugs can not only lose their potency over time, they can actually change chemical composition. Outdated prescriptions can become harmful. Second fact: if you throw your drugs in the trash, they’ll end up in a landfill and decompose there, getting into the groundwater. If you flush them, they’ll end up in the water system. Analysis has shown antibiotics and other drugs in our drinking water, which is one of the reasons antibiotics aren’t working as well as they used to and we now have drug-resistant strains of bacteria. If you have outdated or unused prescription drugs, please go here to find out where you can drop yours off and then do so. They’ll be properly disposed of.

The storms have passed and it’s shaping up to be a nice weekend. I’m going to get out into the garden and let the plants help my mood.