I guess it was Justice at work...

Current Mood : Joyful !

I had today all planned out. While Beloved Hubby attended class and Dearest Son still slept, I was gonna strip the bed, fix a torn sheet, and bundle both sheets, the quilt, a pillow, and some other laundry off to the Laundromat. That was planned out for me, after Oliver yarked on the quilt and one of my pillows this morning. Poor sick kitty seems fine now - you should have seen him run !

But Beloved needed Starlight today, and I'm just not confident about driving Diesel Venus, his large truck. So I amended it to going out when he got back and traded Starlight for Venus, after lunch. Instead, his plans changed, and we ended up in FormerTown, bidding a job, then Big City for another. I rode along for fun - and a promise to visit Hobby Lobby.

I also got to go to ToysRUs and Mal-Wart, both in FormerTown ! Nothin', though. Not even the new fashions. I only want one, Toralei's, and that's mostly because I wanna see how awesome those vintage 3D glasses look on Ghoulia. Saw more Sweet 1600 (no Clawd) and Skull Shores (no DracuLaura or Gil) at TRU, and the car, but they really didn't have much. SS Ghoulia was tempting, but at $19., not all that tempting.

Mal-Wart was even worse. Three Cleo vanities, two cars, and a couple Sweet 1600 Clawdeens, with some Electro-Pets and two dress-up sets. That one was even sold out of the Valentine's mailbox set, but they did have two boxes of the lenticular ones on post-season markdown. The candy, at 2pm, was long gone.

So I sighed, figuring that today was not the day Operetta was gonna spring out at me. We visited Hobby Lobby, and I didn't see anything I really wanted, but Beloved finally found the art portfolio he was destined to enjoy. We walked past the Justice store where I'd been lucky enough to find Abbey, and Beloved asked if I'd like to check. Well...Justice normally doesn't carry dolls past Christmas, but five minutes wouldn't hurt...

Three minutes later, I had two Operettas in my hot little hands, trying to figure out which was more beautiful. Well, I kind of already knew, but wanted to get his opinion. Her shirt was neatly tucked in, her 'note' mask fit flush against her face, and she was just that lovely. I also found the hard-to-locate Nefera, and at least three Skull Shores DracuLauras, all of which I left behind. No Gils, I noticed. The cashier said she was surprised when they got that last box in, since she also figured the dolls were just a holiday special, but she was glad I was so happy ! Hmmm...it may be the greed talking - and the small Want for a 'real' Ghoulia swimsuit - yet, I can't help thinking that, since they're all 40% off, I may go back for that SShores Ghoulia...

Maybe later. For now, I got Operetta ! And I deboxed her today, a rare event. Especially when you remember I just got Cupid ! My already sagging shelf is gonna collapse if this keeps up !

I love September !

Current Mood : Excited !

 

Yaaay, September ! I think things started to turn around when Dearest Son made me that sweet 'Get Well Soon' card last night - but read on and make your own conclusions ! 

Today started off great - I woke up at 2am, kicking off the sheet I'd curled under, and found that...most of the plasma leaks had stopped ! And the worst spot of the infection had begun to heal itself ! And all I'd done is cover it and go to sleep. Well, if that's all it took to get this fixed up, I can handle it ! Whew. And I'd been in such worry and gloom all week. Grabbed some fruit juice from the fridge and toasted to hope. Then went back to sleep. 

I was a little disappointed yesterday when Mattel Store updated their Monster High section, but my sole remaining wish-list doll, 'Lagoona 2.0', wasn't there. Surprise ! She was there today, and thanks to another LiveJournal contributor, I got to use a 15% off code, which made the already lower-than-Target-and-TRU price even lower. So even with shipping, she's less expensive than the other six (!) I got this year. 

Beloved Hubby's relieved - no TRU runs this weekend ! And she should be here sometime next Tuesday or Wednesday, she's already shipped ! While I'm curious about Abbey, I'm pretty much done for MH dolls this year. I'm actually gonna start seeking new homes for at least three dolls I already own this month, so it's past time for me to be a bit more selective of what I burn and yearn for. About the only thing left to want - that I know about ! -  are the new fashion packs, and while I'd love all four, if I just got one, I'd be happiest with Ghoulia's. So I think I'm getting better at decreasing my Want. 

That said, ya'll are gonna laugh. Late Tuesday night, I was reading a doll blog that mentioned that one of the new Frankie dolls seemed to have new hands. Of course, this was one I've turned down acquiring several times. A couple fans said the hands shown must've been bent in the box, a few murmured they had some like that already, others said they were all-new. Well, darn. I started to Want...but did my research first. Turns out, some of the new dolls have 'Gloom Beach' Frankie's hands - and I already have her ! They're a bit more gently posed than DracuLaura's GB hands, but much the same. How funny ! I was all set to start hunting for 'the one that got away' when it turned out, I already had her ! 

It was so gorgeous this morning that we opened the doors and turned off the air conditioning. Oliver-kitten saw this as his perfect chance to go exploring, and he's been in and out, along with DC, several times. We finally had to turn the AC back on at noon, but the kitties wanted to stay outside, so we're keeping our eyes open for them. Dearest Son's very worried, but is starting to accept that this is best for everyone. 

Wow. I hope your September started well, too ! I feel like my 'hope' supplies just trebled !

Icky mostly-medical subject matter - you may wanna skip this one !

Current Mood : Crappy

Hard to believe it's nearly the end of August. I'm really waffling about today's topic, which is why it's so late. Fact is, if I wanna get fully healthy again, we gotta do something we really hate, so everyone's sorta draggin' our heels about it. Plus, I hate to admit defeat and panic, but I'm out of options.

What it boils down to is that Oliver-kitten is either going to have to find a new home, or he'll have to be an indoor/outdoor kitty like DC. (sigh) Which really isn't fair to either cat. DC has treasured his independence since before we moved here, and it works for him. He's a solid cat, and he reminds me so much of my beloved childhood kitty - heck, even getting him 'fixed' (I hate that euphemism) didn't change his lifestyle. We kind of expect the same with DC. 

However, Oliver's been brought up inside, more or less, yet his aggressive nature hasn't dialed down yet. He's almost Siamese-touchy, and I really don't need to fear a feline's mood swings. Still, here's the real issue - I'm wheezing constantly now, even with the filters and a weekend-long housecleaning, still can't have him anywhere near my face or our bedding, and (deep breath) a scratch he 'playfully' administered a few days after his arrival has gone infected, and it's pretty bad. I admit to having a full-scale panic yesterday, since my body's doing what it can to protect me, but it's alien, since I've never really had a bad infection before. Even when my tummy split open after the cyst surgery, it never got infected at all. Now I have what was this little two-inch scratch - that was treated with rubbing alcohol and first aid basics when it happened - that's developed into a crater on the back of my leg, and my system is dousing it in plasma, 24-7. Not even gonna tell ya'll how icky that gets. Thank Everything I can get away with knee-length house-gowns most days. 

As for the scratch site, I fully admit to yesterday's panic and the ensuing three hours of wound research...that didn't amount to much besides 'keep it clean, keep it dry / keep it moist, see a doctor if the site streaks yellow'. Which it isn't. It's not even slightly warmer than adjacent skin, but it kinda hurts randomly, usually as if someone's stuck a long pin in it. And all this plasma means I have to be careful where I sit or even stand, there's that much of it. Yet other body 'systems' are unaffected. I'd be more concerned if I wasn't feeling better, or had other issues. 

So I'm giving it a few more days, and if it's not improved any at all, we'll see an urgent care physician, if mine can't do much. (sigh) This crap always happens on Rent Week, ya know ? (grin) We're talking to Dearest Son about it, who predictably ain't happy, but eventually it'll get down to 'momma or the cat', and I'll try not to act hurt when he chooses Oliver, or waffles a lot.

Flappin' through Friday...

Current Mood : Hopeful still

Current Image Notes : I really like this image, for so many reasons...

Until last night, I thought the perfect kitten toy was loose airsoft pellets. They're cheap, they're everywhere if you have an airsoft fan in the house, and they're unpredictable - move a shirt to the laundry pile, and you just unleashed 20 or more ! And you'll be hearing that skittering bounce-and-roll for days.

It's good, but there's something better. Got three of 'em in last night. And Oliver-kitten went nutz. Truly the best cat-toy anywhere has to be a flight of half-dead, semi-suicidal Junebugs, attracted to oblivion by the steady thread of your porch-light as you wait for Beloved Hubby to come home. The poor brown husks were already a memory by the time DC stopped in this morning for a snack and kitten-lesson, but Oliver really enjoyed them. That may be why I found all three in a single cardboard box, one that'd been used to ship a product evaluation here last month. I really need to clean this place...

If Junebugs are the day's thrill, you can imagine the rest of the hours. One interesting bit - I'd forgotten to put ice water in the freezer last night, so ended up drinking soda. I'd much rather have the half-frozen ice and water combo, but... anyway, it's been days since I had actual caffeine soda, but after a lifetime addiction, I didn't think much of helping m'self to a half-glass late this afternoon. Until my ankles started to swell up and get a bit painful. And that's hours after I took my daily diuretics ! Weird. They're still a bit puffy, so I think I'll go back to ice water, and trust that fat ankles will remind me to keep that going !

Someone on LiveJournal reposted photos she'd seen on FaceBook of the new 'Classroom / locker' dolls that I yearn so much for. So they're on the way - hopefully we'll have money by the time they get here, we still don't have half the new ones that were out weeks ago everywhere else. Haven't mentioned them to Beloved Hubby yet, he's already stressed and doesn't need my tugging at his sleeves right now. I already know it's a quiet home weekend, and that's fine with me. I got tons of housework, and I miss my sewing so much, I took apart an old doll dress without thinking about it at about 5am this morning. Hey - new material !

Anyway, the Classroom Assortment - that seems to be the most 'official' name for them so far - packaging is amazing. I really want. These are the boxes that get hung up for display ! Much as I whined and complained about the packaging changing when we got to see that first hotly debated look at the prototype Spectra, I can see how the new design works better for the whole line. I still miss the original, especially when I see my box lineup so far, but I'm not gonna quibble about cardboard (much) when the dolls are this imaginative. 

Noble efforts, blah, blah, bleh.

Current Mood : I'm sort of with Spider-Man...

Well, the Great Bed Rearrangement Experiment was a failure, but at least I got it remade and looking pretty again. And since it only takes a few minutes maintenance a day to keep it inviting, I'll keep it up as long as I can. I've already started banning Oliver-kitten from our room, day and night, to keep dander and just plain 'presence' down.

Of course, he's a kitten, so that means he's either on my desk all night, or claws me up 'playfully' during a 3am bathroom visit. (sigh) Learned the hard way Tuesday night to start storing my keyboard and mouse in a drawer if I'm leaving it alone and unattended - he'd started some restore /restart process for at least two programs by accident, and the only reason they didn't complete is that they were waiting on a "Enter your code sequence to continue" response from me.

Surprisingly, DC-kitty has been home more than before. Not sure if it's due to the ridiculous heat, the tasty Meow Mix, the big bowl of cold water, or the new kitten to boss around. They had a merry game of tag going on last night, and I could swear DC leads him on with his tail. When Oliver attacks, DC retaliates, and the game is on again. They even eat together, with minimal yowling. Beloved Hubby thinks DC is training an indoor-outdoor companion kitty, but we shall see.

Not a lot else going on, I'm still dazed and barely sleeping, but that's been status quo since almost the end of May, so I hesitate to even mention it. I'm mostly keeping up with the laundry and dishes we need, but not exactly getting ahead on it. It's a 'no money weekend' coming up, and I'm relieved. I don't even want to go anywhere. I miss sewing like crazy, but each time I start to think about trying again, I darn near fall over walking, so...

Next week, I'll make an appointment to see my doctor for my annual visit. I'm starting to think she'll just tell me 'You're middle-aged, what do you think is happening ? Have you considered Prozac and hormone replacement therapy ?', since some symptoms dovetail. And let's face it, darn near anything can give a girl headaches, insomnia, and restlessness !

Because those Monster High dolls just weren't expensive enough for my Universal Empress self, that's why !

Current Mood : Rest-desperate

Evidently, Oliver-kitten likes Ghoulia, too - when I found her this morning, she'd been knocked off her tuffet - great word for that, Crimson­­_Deity ! - her glasses were off, her Brain Puffs were on the other side of my desk, and her hand had moved from her mouth to her eyes. Darn cat. As if in solidarity, DracuLaura had slipped from her sofa perch behind Ghoulia and flipped over, thus giving Oliver a solid Fearleader uniform mooning. Original Cleo had one leg straight out, as if some feline butt-kicking had been administered in the night. All I know for sure is, he hasn't been on my desk all day. On the plus side, those hard-to-reach dusty areas behind my monitor are nice and clean now...cat butt = Endust ?

Didn't sleep much last night or this early morning, but I slept 'til I couldn't anymore. About three whole hours today. Beloved Hubby's aware of the whole thing, and just wants me to take care of m'self, so if I need a nap from noon 'til 3pm, long as Dearest Son is inside and safe, he's fine with it. I'll just be glad when all this is over. I don't even like the taste of Dr. Pepper or colas anymore - I've been reaching for water and lemonade instead. Just seems like the sodas add to the gunk in my throat, and I already hate hacking that up as it is. And I don't eat even half what I used to, it's more like a third. Still plump as a Christmas pigeon, though.

Naah, today was one of those days you get when you're trying to recover. I fell asleep this morning about 5am, off and on around the alarm clock, and woke when Beloved left for work at 8. Slept 'til 9:30, then got up and did some housework and general puttering 'til nearly noon. Ate a late combined breakfast/lunch, and got sleepy, so I lay down about 11:30 - and Beloved called at 12:30. Our much-anticipated air conditioning repair guy would be here within the hour, at pretty much any time. Dragged m'self awake, finished some quick tidy work to the living room and hallway, got redressed, took out the rest of the trash and cleared some other clutter spots...just in time for him to arrive at 1:30.

He was impressed by Beloved's cleaning, and said a freon leak had created some problems, so he got it charged up and the leak patched. The main coil needs replacing and soon, or we'll have the same issue next year. It's a little cooler in here, but when it's 106 degrees outside, you still feel very sorry for that poor AC unit. An hour later, he was gone. Whew ! I'm glad I don't have to worry about that anymore !

But by now, I was wide awake again, so I just stayed up. Beloved and Dearest were home at a bit after 5pm, so I didn't get a lot of a break before they let me know they were hungry for dinner. I had it on the various surfaces at 6:38. Not too bad.

Just means I didn't get crap else done, not even the special project for Beloved. And I'm probably gonna sew tomorrow, no matter what. Right now, though, I'm hoping for some sleep, I could really use it...Now, today's image, a $10,000. sleep 'Transport' by Alberto Frias, would probably do the trick ! It's a temperature-controlled waterbed with LED lights connected to a sound system. Only problem is, once I'm in there, good luck ever getting me out again ! 

Things get better every day !

Still not sleeping much, but I've developed my own methods and schedule that get me the rest I need, and leaves me most of the afternoon to get housework and some fun done. It's not what I really want, but it's working for now, so I'm going with it !

Would you laugh if I told you I fell asleep with 'Dead Tired' Ghoulia on my chest this morning ? (grin)

Woke with Beloved Hubby, and spent some semi-coherent time with him before I fell asleep again. Got up, got Oliver-kitty bathed, which he accepted with little resistance. I think he has the idea that a cool home with steady food means putting up with baths, so he's meeting me about as halfway as a cat can. We hope to find some dander-reducing shampoo next time we go grocery shopping. I figure bathing him early will help both of us recover quicker, so wish us luck ! When Dearest Son is back from his grandparents', he gets to learn The Art of Litter Box Maintenance ! He's too young to do the bath part, but he's already managing the cat food and water levels for both DC and Oliver, so I think I can shift this job to him. DC's been around the past few nights, and I think he enjoys being 'big cat in the house' to Oliver.

With that done, I poured a tall glass of cold water and took a break. Kept smelling onions. So I washed our huge hand-made quilt bedspread, which desperately needed it- our whole bedroom smelled funky. But even as it danced through the rinse cycle, the smell still lingered. So I grabbed a trash bag and repaired much of the holiday laziness from the living room...better, but still... By now, the quilt was in the dryer, and I was ready to start a new wash load, so I tossed in my old house-blouse with some towels and living room laundry cast-offs, dumped them in the washer and took out some trash. Ah ! Reason I kept smelling fried onions is that I must've gotten some of Beloved's onion rings on my old shirt - once that was in the wash, I didn't smell it anywhere anymore.

Got some tidy work and trash out, and darn near passed out in my computer chair. Felt good to get some work done ! A short while later, Beloved called - he was on the way towards home, but had to run an errand first, would I like to ride along ? Sure - always good to have some extra time with him and get out of the house for a bit. Even got my special cherry-shot lemonade for the trip. Didn't finish it all, the rest's in the fridge for later. Leftovers and Netflix for dinner, always fun. I have a special project planned for tomorrow, for Beloved Hubby, so wish me luck !

I should get some sleep tonight, I'm exhausted ! But I've said that every night, it seems, for weeks...

Meet Oliver !

Current Mood : Concerned and wary...

Gave things some thought, and perhaps I'm as guilty as intolerance as anyone else involved with the insanity that seems to be part and parcel of Monster High fandom, so I'm gonna apologize to anyone I upset, and back away from the scene anyway. Either way, sewing will be much better for me than waiting to pounce on new stuff for sale.

Guilty secret : I kind of want to see Abbey Bominable 'in person', so to speak. I like the photos I've seen and the diaries I've read, I just don't know if she'll fit in here. I'm sure I'll find one sooner or later, and go from there.

OK. You're probably here about the kitten. And why I freaked out yesterday. So, here ya go. Dearest Son found a starveling kitten under a car in his grandparents' driveway during his visit this weekend. The little faded-orange sherbet feline actually 'belonged' across the street, to a kid not much older than Dearest. He'd brought the cat home without remembering his mother is epi-pen allergic. If you're unfamiliar with epi pens, they're like one med step above inhalers, and maybe a half-step below adrenaline straight in your heart. My inhaler is a scooter. An epi pen is a tank. Not something to be trifled with. So the poor little thing was still mostly homeless.

But quite clever. He'd found the one place perhaps on the whole street that'd find him a forever inside home - preferably with Dearest. I wasn't too sure, but I gave it a tentative OK, so kitty came home with him yesterday. He wasn't inside 30 seconds before he was out of the pet carrier and in my lap - what a sweetie ! DFIL had other errands to run, so he didn't stay long. Ah, well. I was contentedly petting 'Simba' when a small spot on his brow moved. Horrified, I pulled him off my chest and really looked at this three ounces of kitten...

Who was being eaten alive by fleas. Hundreds of them ! Oh EMmmm GEEEEEE ! We had fleas at our previous address, and it was torture until we got rid of them...I was not going through that again ! I yelled for Dearest to grab the Dawn dishwashing detergent and any bowl he could grab - his cat was getting a bath, NOW !

Three soapings and about six dozen scratches and bites to my hands and arms later, an exhausted Simba was too tired to even protest vocally...but despite the 70 or so fleas that went down the drain, he was still full of them, clinging hard to his belly, legs, shoulders...I vibrated in horror again, grabbed the rinse bowl, added a drop of Dawn to some hot water in it, and took Simba, the carrier, a comb and everything else out to the front porch.

Poor exhausted kitty almost fell asleep as I hand-picked as many fleas as I could. Most were still alive, others clung tight even stunned or dead. Fleas are unique parasites that, even dead, still draw for future flea generations - nasty ! So we had to eradicate every one. I also learned that, once dry, Simba seemed to be at least half longhair. This was not looking good.

Let him recover, with full dishes of water and Meow Mix outside for a while, but when I went to check on him, he was panting hard. Surprisingly, DC was keeping him company outside the carrier. Gave him another short bath followed by more picking - and earned more scratches. He was clearly feeling better. And I'd pulled 43 more, with who knows how many down the drain. (shudddddder)

By now, I'd let Simba go, I was exhausted and it wasn't so hot outside, so we sort of visited. He and DC seemed to get along without the carrier between them. DC had to establish some boundaries, but it was mostly done in yowls instead of claws-out cuffs. Beloved Hubby came home, gave Simba another rinse, and together, we pulled another 20 or 30. There were surely some that got away, but his inside legs and belly weren't black with them anymore, so we brought him inside.

He really is a clever kitty. I showed him the litter box, using the classic front-paws 'raking' technique, and darn if he didn't dig a hole himself when I let go, and used it then and there. Several times more since, poor thing. When he first got here, we couldn't quite tell his gender, he was so small - especially next to DC. Three more bowls of Meow Mix (small ones) and our suspicions were confirmed - Mazel tov, it's a boy ! He quite literally 'dropped' yesterday, in between baths.

So far, I don't seem to be reacting to him, but that may be due to the baths. So we shall see - but he's a sweet and playful kitten, who follows Dearest around adoringly. I got about another dozen off him today, and clearly he's feeling more alert and happy. He purrs at the drop of a caress, but will gently attack feet if they move provokingly. At least he doesn't bite. Just runs up, launches his attack, then runs off.

Oh, and stand by for a potential name-change. We watched Oliver and Company scenes on YouTube this afternoon, so 'Simba' may become 'Oliver'. Whatever Dearest decides on, it becomes final Friday !