Just a catchup on my absence from the group. Things have been rough
lately; but are soon to get much better. I am now planning a series of
posts about pets I meet in my job of home health care.

We had spring-like weather for a few weeks and then cold weather
rolled in Friday two weeks ago. Of course, it was my turn to work the
weekend. But it wasn't too bad until Monday morning. When I left home,
there was freezing fog. As i traveled west I started seeing a dusting
of snow and more frost on the trees. I was going cross country on dirt
roads for awhile (it saves me 20 miles) when the office paged me. So I
pulled over and the car slid on the pavement i had just arrived at. So
i called and they said I-25 was closed due to black ice and a 15 car
pileup, along with lots of other accidents. So my office cancelled the
woman I was going to see. It would be too dangerous driving roller
coaster roads with black ice. So I turn the car south to go to Hwy 24
to go to the office in the city. When i get to the hwy I flag a car
down and ask him about the road. He said it was terribly slick with
lots of accidents. So I called the office and then headed for home.
Nice to have an extra day off. Tuesday was just the same. Wednesday
warmed up finally. I certainly don't want to use all my PTO for
weather days. I want to take a short vacation in early March, so I
will need my PTO for that.

Shasta's allergies have finally worn down to a minor level and her
hair has grown back where she scratched it off. But she seems to have
a problem with her ear. It has a bit of gook in it and iches a bit. So
we are doing Oti-cleanse for it. She goes tomorrow to get her toenails
clipped. Sheba still tries to convince me she is starving. But I don't
fall for it. Her flanks are slender enough; but she still has enough
flesh over her ribs that I can't feel them individually and she looks
like a barrel when she sits. I feed the cats Nutro food. And they just
came out with a line of Complete Care for indoor cats. So I got some
dry and some canned. They seem to like the dry but not the canned. But
Sheba still has her Diabetic dry food. I think the new canned food has
too much carbs in it, so I only fed her a small amount alternating
with her regular canned food. But then she got to where she wouldn't
eat the new stuff at all. But she would carefully pick out and eat all
the pieces of dry food I sprinkled in the bowl with it! I am returning
the rest of the cans for a refund.

I sleep with my cieling fan on high. I really like cool air for
sleeping but lots of covers for my body. Djoser has always liked a
nest. He will wait until I am settled and then walk up my body to my
shoulder and get some petting while purring. then he will step down by
my face and start pawing the fluffy bedspreaad. He knows just how to
do it. He pulls it up and back a bit and then crawls under and turns
around so only his face is exposed. he will cuddle like that for
hours. I have a blanket on top of the spread to keep cat hair on it
instead of the spread. And under the spread is 3 blankets. But there
is something about the underside of the spread he likes. It is loose
woven fabric with padding inside. During the day when the bed is
unmade, as usual, he goes through all kinds of maneuvering and
contortions to make his nest with the bedspread making a tent. It is
not good enough for him to be under a blanket; it must be the spread.
Silly cat.

Robin has been active even while kept inside. He has an active
imagination. He can make a game or a toy out of anything. Sometimes he
palys ambush with Djoser. He sure has grown a lot since we got him a
year and a half ago. He still likes to curl up agaist my shoulder but
he is really heavy now. I need to sit down in an arm chair so i can
prop the arm that holds him. He is such a lovebug. He nuzzles under my
chin and puts his paws on either side of my neck. and purrs. I had to
retire the crocheted belt to my bathrobe; Robin kept attacking it,
especially when i was trying to tie it. Now I fasten my robe with a
safety pin. But he still watches for a glimpse of the elusive thin
ties for the inside of the robe. Yesterday evening he untied my shoes.
At night I have to turn my shoes upside down to hide the laces from
him. Life is interesting with Robin.

Purrs, CATherine