Happiness is a warm. . .

Happiness is a warm. . ., originally uploaded by Hotash.

best friend.

Poor Douina is sick again...or maybe still? In January she had a strange bout of pain and lameness. The vet can't figure out what...probably her heart.

Things go along ok until about a week and a half ago...then one day Douina is sitting in her basket and her tongue is sticking out, she's hot and a bit of drooling. Of course it's late, no vets...so I get a cool wash cloth and wipe her face and she is really hot. I giver her some rescue remedy and hope for the best. The next day she seems fine, eating, drinking, all is well.

Until yesterday evening. I notice her tongue is sticking out again. I pick her up and she has drool and her chin is obviously swollen, not to mention the awful smell from her mouth. I realize she has an abscessed tooth. Once again, it's too late to call the vet.

By later on in the night she is no where to be found-very unlike her. Even when she was sick in January she was right in the living room with us. Well, we search and search and she finally appears in the house. I catch her and look inside her mouth. It's obviously infected and very nasty puss and blood drool is on her mouth and neck.


"What is she going to do to me?"

I clean her up a bit and have Chris mix up a warm water and sea salt mixture. I wrap her poor painful self up in a towel and take her into the bathroom, into the dry tub we sit. I take a baster of sorts and rinse out gobs of infection and pure nastiness from her mouth. I used a cool cloth to wipe her mouth up and then moved her basket into the bathroom with a big fresh bowl of clean cold water.

She wouldn't settle down and I don't want her running outside or hiding (before I can get her to vet in the am) so I talked Jester into hanging out with her in the bathroom. We all hung out for awhile, then I left and they are still quietly happy.

Douina has never cared for people much...she doesn't like to be touched by human hands and will spend great amounts of time 'cleaning you' off of her. I always feel so bad for her because she doesn't want to be loved on, but I respect that and leave her be...

I hope the vet can get us in tomorrow and at least get the tooth? that is abscessed out and maybe give us an idea what may be going wrong with Douina. She is still a young kitty...


The ever cautious Douina keeps an eye on me

The Famous Douina

Rock love

Rock love, originally uploaded by Hotash.

The newest addition to the family...

Ok,
I have to introduce you all to Grandma Earlane

For the past many months, I mean many months, I have been receiving emails from this nice lady named Earlane. She sent me an awesome chocolate cake recipe, a sweet Holiday greeting and more. I just figured somewhere in the world we had an email contact in common and I ended up on her mailing list...

Then one day recently I opened my email and there was an email that said, "Hi Ann, happy birthday, we love you Grandma Earlane..." as blond as I am it took this email for me to realize that I had no idea who Grandma Earlane was and she did not know me!!!

So her granddaughter would not continue to think her grandma didn't write her or love her, I sent off a quick email to Grandma Earlane and explained I wasn't Ann, but I appreciated all the past emails, and of course wouldn't mind another Grandma...

She wrote me back!! Said "Oh no, I'm not taking you off my friends list, welcome to the family! Love Grandma Earlane" "ps- I live in MI and have a myspace page"

So I tell her I only use myspace for family and I have one other friend on myspace, but she is invited. The next day she tells me..."So, how do you know Josh? (the one friend) We know him and his sister" and "we used to live in in the same town years ago!"

Can you all believe this? A total accident how she ended up confusing her granddaughter's email address with mine (they both have the same word in them) and to find out we have a friend in common?

Meant to be I tell you, meant to be.

This rock...is also a new addition to the family...washed up in the Russian River below our house ;)