Poor Wendy -- Stupid Me

Some days I will never learn.  I know Wendy can't handle beef, canned food, or kibble, so I got her some pheasant (frozen commercial raw food) and fed it to her 2 meals in a row.  She spent most of the afternoon curled up, not active, slightly miserable.  So, I need to add commercial raw to the Wendy Food Caution List, with the note for only one meal...

To be honest, I don't know what part of the food caused the problem.  The two leading candidates are:

1. The sudden switch in food caused her tummy to be upset.  While pheasant is probably close to chicken (at least closer than say beef), it is different and would require slightly different enzymes and bacteria to digest it.  The food is also HPP (high pressure pasteurized) which does effect the proteins. If it effects the proteins enough, or if my nuking it effected them, the food may actually be semi-raw. (Raw vs. cooked food in my opinion is handled by a cat's digestion in different ways -- I can't yet prove this, but I've seen results.)
2. The food lacks enough fiber so she's mildly constipated.  Wendy was 'diagnosed' as having the beginnings of megacolon.  Her pooping has never been normal and small changes will effect it.  Even though I put psyllium in the homemade raw, with Wendy, I still have to add a teaspoon of pumpkin also.  I'm thinking between the lack of fiber and water in the food, she may be slightly plugged up.

So I wait...  I did get my homemade cat food made with extra fiber for her and she did eat some, which is good.  But it's so sad to see Wendy not my happy little girl.

Wendy 

Book Review: Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi by Cindy Neuschwander, illustrated by Wayne Geehan
ISBN:  9781570911668

One of King Arthur's knights, Sir Cumference, is turned into a dragon and the knight's son, Radius, must find the right potion and proportion to turn his father back to human, before the dragon is killed. This children's book for grades 2-5 explains the relationship between the number pi (3.14159...), the diameter of a circle, and it's circumference.

While the writing is find, the math is find, and the illustrations are okay, I did not care for this book. It was very tightyly focused on one fact about pi and it's a fact that would lack spark to many students.  There are many other facts about pi that could have been introduced. Unlike Sir Cumference and the First Round Table, the illustrations are just there but not especially helpful at clarifying the relationship.  Additionally, the entertaining puns were sadly absent.  

This is the second in a series of children's math books by Cindy Neuschwander, called A Math Adventure.  While I had intended to buy all of six plus some of her other books, this one is making me rethink that.  I really would like to see the others before I blindly buy more.  What a pity -- could use more fun math children's books.

Book Review: Sir Cumference and the First Round Table

Sir Cumference and the First Round Table by Cindy Neuschwander, illustrated by Wayne Geehan
ISBN: 9781570911521

King Arthur is convening his knights for the first time, but there is a problem -- the table.  Sir Cumference takes it upon himself to solve the problem. 

This children's book helps children in grades 2-5 see the connections between various polygons and a circle. The properties of each polygon are used in the story. Mathematically it is sound and the author does explain the material in a very nice child-friendly manner. Adults will enjoy the plethora of puns. 

My only complaint is the colors in the illustrations is a bit too wild -- tone down some of the contrasts would help the appearance. ( )

As a high school math teacher, I do use this book to reinforce the properties of various polygons, because it is accurate and because even teenagers like to be read to.  I also show it to students a good example of a math book for children and then I assign them the project to make their own story book on a math topic.  While it is easy to create simple and engaging counting books for lower grades, my students begin to appreciate for much work and thought goes into presenting high school math while entertaining an audience.

3 Glorious Days!

It's the weekend and a 3-day one at that!!!  Yipee!  I can really use this extra day off to get stuff done and to work on other things.  Having Monday as a postal holiday is a bit of a nuisance, since I will have to get dressed and run into town this morning to mail a package.

So what do I have to do today:

• mail 2 packages at the post office
• buy and make cat food (because we had to open the mackerel this morning -- emergency supply)
• grade geometry quizzes and finish their grades
• clean up some of the 'stuff' I have left around here so I can vacuum and carpet/clean tomorrow

Well, if I get all that done, I'll be a happy camper.

Of course, the list of "I want to" do is much longer:

• snuggles kitties
• read
• review a couple of books
• start in earnest on the cross-stitch
• watch a couple of episodes of Numb3rs
• take more photos of my cats
• go shopping for a skirt and blouse
• etc.

I hope I can get a few of these done -- especially the snuggle part.  But I'm not going to get anything done sitting here -- I need my breakfast, more coffee, and to get moving!

Cats: A Health Survey of the Herd

Continuing on what I was saying about my cats and their health...

About every 6 months, I sit down and think about how my cats are doing individually and as a member of the herd.  It's a time to put my prejudices away and really think carefully about them.  I do this in part so I can adjust supplements, including herbs and nutricals.  There's no sense in using something on a cat for years just because it is a routine -- it wastes money, it may lose it's effectiveness, or it may actually harm the cat from long-term use.  But with herbs and nutritional supplements, I can't see the effectiveness of something in 2 or 3 weeks -- usually these products are slow to work.  So, each 6 months is a good time to reassess things.

So let's look at a couple of the cats:

Isabel taking a nap

Isabel -- She's my silver chinchilla Persian and about 4.5 years old.  To most people and vets, she's perfectly healthy.  I have a slightly less rosy opinion.

I did have to shave her this fall because her coat got terribly matted.  The reason it was matted was in the Spring of last year, she had a UTI and/or a large bladder stone.  The vet tried to get a urine sample by flipping her upside down, holding her down, and sticking a needle in her bladder.  It didn't work (and one vet tech has scares to prove it).  It did make her impossible to groom, especially on her tummy.  Eventually, she was so matted, I shaved her.  Since then, I have been working patiently with her to get her to trust me to groom her tummy and back legs.  That has gone very well, and she's back to trusting me.

On the down side, I know she has nose problems.  My vet says "It's just a Persian thing" but I disagree.  when she was antibiotics for the UTI, her nose improved.  I also know that with high doses of lysine, her nose and eyes improve.  (Her eyes water and stain her pretty face.)  So, it is a problem that can be fixed.  Lysine alone helps, but I have been giving her echinacea extract, off and on, for a couple of months, and this seems to hold it at bay.  But I'd like something more permanent, so I'm considering Chinese herbs, Immunoplex, and/or goldenseal nasal drops.  The last one may stain her fur yellow and is a fix for her nose, but not her immune system.  It would work to knock any infection down and then build the immune system to prevent it from coming back.

Her ears also have a lot of brown wax.  I'm not sure why, as she shows no sign of mites or food issues.  I'll thoroughly clean them this week and see what happens over a couple of weeks.  I do wonder if it's from the treats or the commercial food which hubby slips her when he feeds Clarissa lunch.

Psychologically, she's quiet and likes to be left alone.  Unfortunately, she's in the bedroom with Clarissa, the Tortie Monster.  While she has made great strides in trust since I've had her (she had spent the first 6 months under the bed), I'm wondering about trying some Bach flower essences.

I know I need to keep the lysine in her food (and at 150% the recommended level when she is have problems).  I'm going to try the Immunoplex for long-term immune building, the echinacea for another cycle, and maybe try just plain saline nose drops, which she will love (or not).

And then there is:

Robbie

Robbie -- He's a 10-12 year old Maine Coon/Persian cross.  He nearly died of liver failure when I got him ~6 years ago but has been basically healthy since then.  He did develop an intolerance to poultry products, so he get beef, rabbit, lamb, pork, and venison, plus some fish occasionally   When we got ringworm and ear mites, he did get both pretty bad and he got an allergic reaction to both.

Physically, I worry about him.  He has seemed 'off' for a year or so, but blood-work shows nothing and I can't point directly to anything.  He is thinner than he had been, and he has itchy skin in spots.  There is also a tendency towards constipation followed by a drop or two of blood.  But I can't say, "Look at this."  So to most vets, this would just be an over-anxious owner.  To my homeopathic vet, ... she does take what I say seriously, but can't figure out anything.

Psychologically, he's more timid, more likely to strike out in fear-aggression, and less snugly   I'm not looking the combination because it says to me he feels vulnerable.

I really think with him the problem is his immune system being overactive.  The allergies and skin sensitivity all indicate that.  I have tried various things, with minimal improvement.  He has eaten more enthusiastically since I have been adding commercial raw food to his diet, which is where the venison, rabbit, and lamb come from.  I feel kind of lost as to what to do.  If I knew more about acupressure, I would try it.  I know there are a couple of Chinese herbal combinations with mushrooms that might help, so I'll poke around the Internet and see what I can find.

So, two cats looked, more to go....

But my whole point is I don't wait for clinical problems to appear before I tweak their care.  There is what is ideal health for a cat in general and then there is normal for a cat.  My goal is to move my cats' 'normal' closer to the ideal.

Cats: What is a Healthy Cat?

I got thinking about my cats, their health, and what I need to do to improve their health.  This then led to me pondering what is a healthy cat.

See, if I loaded the herd up and took them to a traditionally trained vet, I would guess only Clancy and Dante would be considered unhealthy by a vet.  Clancy has advanced CRF, so any bloodwork would come back pretty bad.  Dante, who is 20-21 years old, probably would have bad bloodwork too from CRF.  The rest, most vets would think are basically healthy.

I look at them and I don't see totally healthy cats. Tolstoy is healthy.  The rest, well, the rest I don't see as truly healthy.

It's not that I'm looking for sick cats -- I would love to have totally healthy cats -- but I have an idea of what a healthy cat is like and how it acts.  Yes, acts.  I don't like the traditional western medicine approach of only dealing with the physical situation because with a cat so much of their being is psychological.  I also view health and illness as a continuum, with no clear lines.

So, why do I consider Tolstoy healthy?

• His body is lean and muscular with a nice feel to it.
• He has no observable health issues.
• He eats/digests food without problems.
• His ears and teeth are clean.
• He eats just about everything.
• He is neither too aggressive or too timid.
• He recovers quickly from stress.

My other cats fail on one or more points.  For example, most people and vets would consider Olivia to be healthy.  While her body is great and her digestion is fine, she apparently has a tendency towards UTIs.  This is not huge as many cats do have the same tendency, but I look at it differently.  A cat should not get a bladder infection from being upset!  Her bladder and her immune system are off.  Furthmore, this flaw arises from her tendency to become very stressed.  A healthy, well-balanced cat should not have either of these 'problems'.  The good news is with some work, I think I can 'fix' it so she doesn't get a UTI after every bath.  It will involve both her physically and mentally.

I'm not saying a cat has to be perfect to be healthy -- just that when I look at the entire animal, I see the physical condition, the physical tendencies, and the mental conditions all to be part of health.

Higher Geometry

In an effort to improve my mind, I had started on Modern Geometries by James R. Smart.  It is a college level geometry book, so it's a step or two up from what I teach.  And I'm finding it a challenge.

I fear my brain is mush.  I don't know if this is from growing old, being tired, not doing serious math for a year.  Whatever the cause, this book is harder than I thought it would be.

Then again, it's fun.  Okay, I'm only on chapter 1 which deals with finite geometries.  These are geometries that have a limited number of points and lines and a very simple axiomatic system.  The first of these has only 3 points.  It's sounds very limited (and it is) but it is fascinating to see how much can be done and proven with this.  Another interesting part of this is Gino Fano was the first to study these 'miniature' geometries in the 1890's.  I would have thought this had been studied earlier.

A couple of people, teachers actually, have asked me why I bother to work on this higher geometry.  I told them, "Because it was there."  They just roll their eyes and leave it.  They wouldn't understand if I did explain why.  See, what I find interesting is that many high school teachers are not curious about their subjects.  I don't know why, because I do like math.

So, why bother?

• It is interesting in itself.
• Because a lot of geometry is abstract reasoning, this is a challenge for me since I tend towards computational things.
• The more I know about geometry and it's development, the more I can challenge some of my very bright students.
• The higher geometry links various other areas of math together.

A New Idea on FIP

FIP (feline infectious peritonitis) is a horrible disease in cats.  Most cats are exposed to a simple corona-virus and recover.  Some go on to be carriers.  A few of the carriers have the virus mutate so that it becomes deadly.  This deadly form, actual FIP, comes in two forms -- wet and dry.  With wet, the internal organs turn to liquid.  With dry, organs cease to function.  The wet kills in days to weeks, the dry in weeks to months.  The prognosis is 100% fatal.

So, when I was ready in Pets at Risk by Alfred J. Pelchner, DVM with Martin Zucker, I was stunned when I came across this quote:

All the FIP cats I test have the adrenal defect and the deregulated immune systems that cannot distinguish between the virus and the host. So the immune system attacks the body as well as the virus... The antibiotics are involved for the short term, the cortisone and thyroid for the long term. Using this approach I have been able to save about 70 percent of the sick FIP cats I treat. pg. 47

Now, Pelchner is a western-medicine, UC-Davis trained vet, and not some website vet trying to sell you something.  His explanations are reasonable. While there doesn't seem to be other vets confirming this, it is something to think about since the only option offered by vets is a quick death by injection.

This is one of those disease I do dread.  There aren't many diseases or conditions that scare me, but this one does because it is considered fatal.  If he is right, there is hope.  I just wonder if it's true and how long before his methods become well known by vets.

Cats, UTIs, and Herbal Treatment

Note to readers:  Somehow I had envisioned me discussing grand, eloquent discussions on weighty topics, but looking over the recent posts, I'm settling for less grand, basically readable, and fairly random posts.  And I'm not sure I care!

Today's topic is: Cats, UTIs, and herbal treatment

For those that don't know what a UTI is, it is short for urinary tract infection.  This can be from bacteria alone or from bacteria relating to bladder stones or crystals.  The cat will go from one box to another, peeing tiny amounts or just drops.  In males, if the inflammation or crystals get too much, the urethra can block and the cat can be dead within 12-24 hours.  (This is an emergency situation and I would take the boy to a vet, even on an emergency call.)  In females, the chances of blocking is slim.

So, Monday as I was getting ready to go to work, I noticed Olivia visiting several boxes, one after another, and peeing only drops.  She has done this before, I've had other cats do this, so I knew what it was and, of course, I went into panic-mode!  (Anyone who thinks I remain calm when my cats are ill doesn't know me.)

I knew I couldn't get her to a vet that night after work and I was out of antibiotics, so grabbed what I could figure out and tried it.  I gave her 1/2 a cranberry tablet, 1/2 a 500mg VitC, and 4 drops of echinacea glycerate.  And then did a whole lot of worrying the whole day.  Hubby reported good things at lunch -- no frequent trips to the box.

So, I've given this combination to her (echinacea in food, VitC and cranberry as pills) since Monday and she now is showing no symptoms at all.

I am so relieved.  And before anyone worries, I did mooch some antibiotics from a friend just in case.

My big concern is why this happened again.  I suspect it is stress related.  She's had UTIs 2 other times -- each near the time she got a bath.  I know she takes the blow drying, but maybe I'm underestimating the amount of stress it causes.  Or maybe her system is slightly 'down' -- a friend has recommended Immunoplex for a couple of months, to help build her immune system.  I'm also thinking of Cosequin to help strengthen the bladder.

I know, this is the part where I say, "I'll be sure to ask my vet.  And don't you try any of this without asking your vet."  Honestly, I may eventually mention it to my vet next time we chat, but I won't be making a special trip up there for her to tell me this is a great treatment.

Juggling

I really should be in a circus as a juggler.  Why?  That's what I seem to do all day.  Juggle the needs of students, the class activities, the curriculum pacing.  And when I get home, I juggle feeding my cats, medicating several, and grooming them.  If I have time, then I juggle Persian-Cats.com, Facebook, and this blog.

It does create a bid of chaos, which unfortunately, I'm used to.  I would rather have a more peaceful life.  I know I could cut out or cut down the computer time.  It's not like I don't have other things to do.  But I do enjoy all three.

Persian-Cats.com -- This is a wonderful site for information and support when it comes to owning and caring for a Persian cat.  I have learned a lot of things over the years.  But I have cut way down on the time I spend there, especially at night, because of the other two and because I can access the site during the day.

Facebook -- I only recently discovered this site and it's fun.  I've been able to chat in real time with several friends.  And I've made some real good new friends.  The chatting does take up time but it's wonderful to have real-time chats.  What's hilarious is that almost half my friends are non-Americans....

This Blog -- I do think sitting here and writing and reflecting has helped me be calm and less stressed.  I don't think it has really helped me sort anything out, but it's fun.

So, I'm not sure what to give up to make my life simpler....  For the moment (and I'm chatting on Facebook as I type) I will continue to juggle all three....

Do I Say Something or Not?

Today was the first day of school after a 2 week break.  It was rough!  I wasn't ready, the kids didn't want to do much, and my kitties missed.  But I made it through...

Now, the one nice thing about living an hour away is the commute.  Yes, I know it eats up a lot of my free time, but it does give me the time to think about things or to listen to audio books.  

And today's thinking topic was: What do I say?  Or don't I say anything?

Often in a cat group, a question will come up and various people will answer it.  Sometimes the advice is good and sometimes the advice is not so good.  For example, in a non-cat group, someone asked about treating kidney problems.  The standard treatment is low-protein diets.  This is what most vets, not all, will say.  I know from personal experience, low-protein diets don't work and I feed my kidney cats raw diets with about 65% protein.  My cats seem to have few of the common side-effects so I'm convinced this approach is right, although it is not widely accepted.  So here's the problem:

• If I say something, some people may attack me.  True, alot depends on how I phrase my reply, because I do tend to say things without thinking.  This leads people to feel attacked (understandable to some degree), it really is only my bluntness.  I don't have a lot of time to write, edit, think, re-edit.  And even when I do that, my posts sometimes are misunderstood.  I have never figured it out.
• If I don't say anything, the cat may be hurt.  If a person knows something that might save someone from pain or even death, there is a moral obligation to say something.  This should extend to a cat.

Do I say something or not?
How do I say something that is effective and not off-putting?
When shouldn't I say something?

These are questions that I struggle with and to which I have no answer.

Book Review: The Hindu-Arabic Numerals

The Hindu-Arabic Numerals by David Eugene Smith and Louis Charles Karpinski
ISBN: 0-486-43913-5

The Hindu-Arabic Numerals attempts to trace the origin of our present numbers from either the Arabs, the Hindus, or the Chinese. David E. Smith collects much of the, then known, sources for the early development in a thin scholarly tome. This is a reprint of the 1911 book.

In terms of writing, the book is, as one would expect from a 19th-century educated scholar, written with care, without flowery sentences, and with appropriate footnotes. (One note -- Smith does assume a working knowledge of Latin, French, and German and is happy to quote long passages in these languages mainly in his footnotes.) Smith has included many reproductions of early numbers and references to texts, both printed and manuscript, to justify his conclusions. Anyone wishing to study the history of numbers could easily draw up a long reading list from his footnotes. This is THE book to start with, if one wants a scholarly treatment.

There were two 'problems' I had with this book. First, it was published in 1911, so much of the secondary material referred to was published in the 1890's or earlier. I do wonder what, if any, new work has been done in this field.

Second, I had assumed that this book would trace the Hindu-Arabic numerals from their origin to their present form. Smith does as good a job as can be done in defending his theory of their origin. He traces the numerals to about the 12th century and then skims over any later development. I understand that history from the 13th century onward is a bit out of his normal period, but I was hoping of a bit better treatment.

Overall, this is a great starting point for studying where the numerals we use came from. I wish I had read this several years ago!(  )

Last Day....

Tomorrow it's back to school.  I guess there is little point in whining about that -- I have to go back to work to get a paycheck to support my cats.  <sigh>  If only they would get jobs....

I actually had a pretty good day yesterday, considering my own stupidity.  I had ordered a rug cleaner and I saw on the FedEx site that it was "on truck for delivery".  They have delivered things on Saturday, so I thought it would come yesterday.  So, I waited... and waited... and nothing.  I finally went back to their tracking page and read the whole page, including the fine print "on truck for delivery on the next business day".  <pout>  It would have been nice to have it today so I could use it.

Another disappointed is the local fabric/craft store did not have the cross-stitch material I wanted.  Off-white 14-count Aida is not unusual, but they didn't have any.  So, my options are:

• wait and hope they get more in
• drive down the hill and see if Micheal's or Joan Fabrics has it
• order it online
• go to Wal-Mart (not a real option to me since I hate the company so much)

I think I'll probably order it online, since I'll be sure to get what I want.  But then I'll also end up ordering more, because I can't just order the one thing.  LOL!  It would get here this week.  But I'm still a bit annoyed that I can't get started on it today.

Lucky for me <note sarcasm >, I have some things to do.

• Haircut
• Buy furnace filters
• Groceries
• Make cat food
• Figure out lesson plans

I suppose there are lots of other things I should do too, but if I get these 5 items done, I'll be okay for this week.  I do want time for snuggles and grooming and reading.

Feeling Better

Well, I'm feeling better emotionally after a bit of a pity party last night.  Talked to one of my best friends and she sorted me out!  It is nice when friends care enough to verbally slap you back to your senses.

I have a few things on my list of 'should do', but, you know what?  Forget it.  If I haven't done it by now, it wasn't really that important!

Besides, I've finally settled on what 'fun' thing I should do in all my spare time -- cross stitch.  If I do smaller pieces, I can sit here and work so I won't have to re-arrange everything in my studio.  (This does not mean that my studio doesn't need a good re-arranging and de-junking regardless -- just that it won't get done now.)  I have a number of books with great cat designs so I've selected several, picked one to start on, and will get the material today.

It's been so long since I started a cross-stitch from a pattern that I had to look up how to determine the fabric size.  Several sites, which seemed to have copied each other, said to follow the pattern directions.  Oh so not helpful!  The directions for the pattern I'm using give the stitch count and the size of the image and nothing more.  I finally found a website that said round up, then add 2 inches to each side (or 4 inches to the dimensions).  The image is 4.5 x 6.875 inches, which rounds to 5 x 7, add 4 inches to get 9 x 11.  This seems like an awful big piece of material, but when I think about how to stretch it to frame, I suppose it's right.

Now the big question is do I have the fabric?  and the colors?  I'm going to have to go digging in the closet to see.  I had purchased some sale cross stitch material, but it's 18 count and not 14.  I don't want to make the design smaller, so I need the 14 count.  I know I used to have, but where is it?  (This is one reason I really want to clean up, clean out my house -- so I can find what I have!)  At least I know where the floss is, so that will be easy to check.  I'll check the floss and give myself 15 minutes to find the 14-count aida, before I head into town.

Oh, and before anyone asks what the design is (other than something with a cat), it's a secret.  Shhh...  I'm giving it to a friend, who I don't think knows about this blog, but still, I don't want to risk it!

Cats: Picky Eaters

I am somewhat shocked by the number of people that have cats who are described as picky eaters.  I feed mine a variety of meats and they quickly eat their portions (and look to steal food from other cats).  Once I get a cat transitioned to raw and barring a medical/psychological problem (like Clancy's mouth or Isabel being hand-fed for a while), I've never had this problem in ~20 years of feeding raw. My cats eat all their raw quickly, with no hesitation.  I only have one cat, Anya, who doesn't eat with gusto and there are other issues with her. 

So, I got to wondering -- why?  What do I do that these other owners do not do?  Or vice versa.

I think they have ignored a few basic ideas:

1. Cats prefer kibble because of the crunch. If they have access to kibble, they will gravitate to it instead of raw. James and Tolstoy grew up on raw but they go nuts over kibble as a treat. So when owners try raw and kibble, eventually the raw loses because it's not crunchy. Most raw feeders I know feed only raw with occasional treats of crunchies.
2. Cats like stability. If you present a cat with a new food every day or two, the cat gets confused. By constantly changing food, the cat learns that a new food may appear in a day, so if it is not fond of the first food, wait a day and it's a different food.
3. Cats need time to adjust to new food. It does take 5-14 days for a cat to fully adjust to a new food. If the owner gives a new food and then replaces this food before the cat is adjusted to it, the cat's body never fully adapts to any one food. When a cat’s body is not adjusted to the food, the cat is not comfortable and so comes to associate food and being uncomfortable.
4. Cats' appetites vary for a variety of reason. A cat will not eat the same amount each and every day. If a cat doesn't eat everything for one day, so what? In the wild, cats do not eat 2 meals a day, every day. It’s not uncommon for small cats to miss meals for 1-2 days, yet domestic cats are ‘required’ to eat constantly by owners.
5. Specifically with raw, cats will overeat raw when first introduced. This I believe is a response to the nutrient-rich nature of the raw and the nutrient-deficient state a cat is in when put on raw. The cat's body discovers the raw has all the nutrients the old food did not, so it eats more to catch-up. After a while, once the deficits are filled, the cat resumes eating a more normal amount. But then the owner panics because the cat is eating less. (This nutrient-deficiency may also be related to cats going from one food obsession to another -- when the shortage becomes severe enough, the cat refuses to eat it, knowing it will get something else, which hopefully will solve that shortage.)
6. Cats take months to years to break the grazing habit. With grazing, a cat never develops an appetite because it never is hungry. Many cats will eat out of boredom. When transiting a cat, breaking the grazing habit is the hardest -- much harder than kibble to raw actually. It takes firmness from the owner not to sneak extra treats or small snacks or only leave the bowl of kibble out at times.
7. Cats do pick up on owner’s anxiety about food.

So, you take 2 or more of these, do it to a cat for a while, and you get a picky eater. I know some owners don't want to accept this, but I've seen it in newly adopted cats and I've seen it in cats owned by people I have helped with their finicky eaters.  A lot of the problem is what the owner does.  It's not hard once you understand the 'rules'.  I've taken in cats which I was told only will eat Brand X food or starve to death. Guess what? 6 months later, they are on raw and eating fine with gusto.

Now, I have had cats who are picky eaters because of energy imbalances. (Yes, I know it sounds New Age, but western medicine sure doesn't have all the answers for cat care.) I have used homeopathy to remedy energy imbalances. It may take months or even a year, but usually I have had success and in the process, it also got rid of other issues and the cat becomes more eager to eat.  But I believe these cats are few and far between.

Last Day Of Break

It's Friday -- the last official day of my Christmas Holiday Break.  Saturday and Sunday don't count because I have those off anyway.  So,...

Let's get it out and over with -- wahhhhh!

There... all the whining done.  Actually, I wrote a long and whiny post and just deleted it.  I hate hearing myself whine.  Whining doesn't help -- doesn't solve any problems, but it does help me dwell long and hard on all the negative things.  So,

NO WHINING!!!

I did have a lovely morning -- called a friend in Ireland and chatted.  Then got to make cat food.  And I just had to take a photo of my fuzzy bowl cleaners!

Tolstoy (orange), Spencer (fluffy B&W), James (not fluffy B&W), and Dante (brown tabby)

After breakfast, I had a nice chat with another friend, I read some posts, and I snuggled Anya a bit.

Now I need to figure out what, if anything, I should do to relax when I have time.  I don't have a lot of time and it comes here and there.  This limits my options.  I can't do something that takes 30 minutes to get started or to clean up (no painting in oils) or something that requires daily work (no learning partial differential equations).  So, I need something that is quick to stop/start, this can be left for days to weeks, and can be done in here.  (The latter is because of Clarissa, my ever so helpful tortie tot!)

Clarissa, my tortoiseshell Persian

I've got it narrowed down to 4 possibilities:

1. Quilting --  I do the hand-piecing of quilt tops.  I have a couple started and would like to finish them.
2. Sewing vests -- They are quick and easy to do with lots of room to embellish them.
3. Cross-stitching -- If I can find a place to sit and still see well in here, I have some lovely kits to do.
4. Making cards -- I have bought some stamps and I would like to use them.

Each option comes with advantages and disadvantages, so I need to 'try them on' for a while.  I really am trying not to overthink this!

I Survived!!!

8:12am power out
3:23pm power on

Boy did it get chilling in here!  And boring once my laptop battery died...  But we survived!  I got some excellent warm snuggles from Spencer and Wendy that helped me endure this hardship.

Actually, it wasn't so bad until 3pm when it didn't come on.  I did find things to do -- although I couldn't do a couple of things because I hadn't prepared.  I forgot a pattern I wanted was in the closet and the closet is dark without a light.  Of course, the flashlight was dead.  I got a bit worried about it not coming on tonight.  I love my house, but it has almost no insulation.  And I couldn't figure out what to feel the cats, since I need to grind chicken.

And now, off to a hot cup of cocoa and to grind the chicken...

Back to the Dark Ages

Today is going to be interesting.  Southern California Edison will be shutting off the power from 8am to 3pm today.  I have no clue as to how wide this black out is or what it is for exactly, but....

It still means:

• no heat
• no more coffee
• no tea
• no microwave
• no vacuuming (not a bad thing)
• no watching DVDs (unless I use my laptop)
• no... lots of things

See, the moment the power goes out, I will suddenly think of all the things I want to do if the power was on. I can use my laptop for a while -- batteries -- but that is limited.  It's just that I had plans to do a bit of sewing today.

Well, I had better go get the rest of my coffee and make some toast. 

8 minutes until darkness...

I Went Shopping...

I was going to write a bit this morning, but... well, I ordered some stuff online.  Cat stuff.  About $180 worth.    Clicked 'place order' and.....

Nada, zippo, nothing...

Did one of those online chats with a customer service person and he could not tell me if I had placed an order or not, because "it may take upto 24 hours for the system to process".  Huh?  It's a computer!!! Not a little old man with a clipboard in a huge warehouse.

Besides, and this is the 'fun' part, I was using a 15% off coupon which expires tonight, so tomorrow it's too late.  And 15% of $180 is $27, which is, well, the gallon of Urine Off for free.  (Yes, there is trouble in Kitty Land!)

So, rather than sit and stew over this, and because Clarissa was out of cat food, I went shopping at 'her' pet store in Redlands.  About 75 miles away.  Yes, I drive all the way over there for her food.  Why?  Because they also sell frozen raw food, they are nice people, and I almost killed Clarissa with a can of food from a national chain because they had never heard of rotating stock.  (I'll get to that story someday.)  And also because hubby wanted to go to a bookstore.

Okay, I also wanted to go to a huge craft store there to find an album cover for Maggie's pages.  They had lots of stuff, but nothing fit her, the pages, or my tastes, so I will probably end-up making something.  Actually ended up depressed because there was all that fun stuff and I have so little time to do anything really.  But I'm more in awe of what my friend did for me -- looking at all the bits and pieces she put on the pages and the papers and the die-cutters and ... wow!

One last thing -- the order did go through... Order at 7:30am, confirmed at 2:17pm.  Gotta luv computers!

My Other Special Present

As I said earlier today, I did receive two extraordinary presents this year.  Neither technically were Christmas presents, but both came from special people and both really touched my heart.

The second one was this quilt my friend had made for me.  It's a simple design -- just squares -- made out of flannel.  Some of the fabric is plain, other fabric has cats.  Many of the plain blank squares are embroidered with cat sayings or images.  But what makes it so very special is that it has the names of almost all my cats on it -- living and dead.  (She really can't be expected to know all the cats I've had from over 10 years before I met here!)  I know it sounds totally ridiculous, but laying under this blanket makes me feel like I'm snuggling to all my kitties, even though some are no longer her.

  

2013 Resolutions

Like I said last night, I thought about where I was in 2012, where I want to be, and what to do about it in 2013.  The long and short of it is I don't like who I am -- I'm fat, mean at times, selfish, boring, and getting stupider.  I don't want to be like that, so I need to stop the slide and do something.

I have a few simple resolutions which should help.  I used to make long lists of complicated resolutions which I always failed to keep.  Now, being older and wiser, I keep it short and simple.

So, here are my resolutions for 2013:
For my mind:  I will work through a book on advanced geometry.
For my body:  I will exercise daily, if only for 10-15 minutes of yoga or tai chi.
For my spirit:  I will blog daily or as close to that as I can.
For my cats:  I will make sure to have homemade food for them and not get lazy.
For my husband:  I will limit internet usage so I can spend more time talking to him.
For my career:  I will praise my students more.
For my house:  I will clean 1 hr per day when I have days off.
For my friends:  I will be more generous.

I actually have another set of resolutions, which I'm stilling thinking about, all about my body.  The problem is I'm turning 50 this year, I'm fat (could lose 30lbs and still be overweight), and I feel like I'm falling apart.  If not for me, then I have to at least stay healthy for hubby and my cats.  But if I can get the above resolutions going, then working on my body more will be easier.

Looking Back at 2012

2012 was filled with sorry and joy.

The biggest event, and worst event, was the passing of Miss Maggie Moo.  She had been adopted, after being dumped.  I nursed her back to health, she had one eye removed, surgeries on the other, and for a while she did well.  She learned to play and bat toys around.  Every night, she would snuggle to me in bed.  Then a tumor in her mouth grew and spread.  Eventually she had to be put to sleep while I held her.  I have had many cats and loved each of them, but she was a special little being -- she was my soul kitty.  And to this day, I don't know how I survived her death.

 But they say when one door closes another opens.

So, Anya came into my life.  Someone posted something about a 13 year old cat, with one eye (Maggie had one eye too), a tumor, an URI, possible kidney failure, but terribly sweet.  This person, however, left her at the shelter.  When I called the Los Angeles shelter, the lady said, "If the animal control officer comes in with 3 cats, she will be put down."  I couldn't sit around and not do anything, so Anya came to live with us.  She quirky, but oh so loving!  She also has no kidney problems.  The tumor is a fatty tumor and benign.  And the URI is related to herpes and is fairly easy to control with lysine.  I am very glad I got her.

And I should mention Clarissa also came into my life.  My little tortie tot has been a source of joy and laughter with her wildness, and of great pride when she won some ribbons as a cat show.  She's cute and adorable, but like all my cats, she has problems.  She was bred as a miniature and so has problems with her digestive system.  But she makes me laugh.

In terms of work, mixed blessings.  I got rehired, but I also got 6 classes, 3 different subjects, 40+ kids per class, 1/5 of which are either special ed or English language learners.  Not easy for any teacher, but insane for a second year teacher.  Supposedly this shows how much confidence they have in me, and I'm hoping this is true.

Personally,... well, I'm healthy and that's all I can say.  I didn't gain weight  but I didn't lose it either.  I was cranky most of the year from the pressure of teaching.  I have little time to relax or workout when teaching.  And when I'm not teaching, I either am bored, or sleep, or play on the internet doing nothing.  While I know I did not have much time for things and I know doing nothing sometimes is exactly what I needed, I'm very disappointed in myself.  There were things I could have done that would have improved me or my house or my cats' lives, and I didn't do them.


One important discovery came late in the year -- I received 2 very special presents.  One was a scrapbook of photos of Maggie, which I have written about.  The other is a handmade quilt with the names of all my cats.  (I'll write about it at a later date.)  Both of these presents were unexpected and have forced me to reconsider some of the things I think about myself -- namely, that I'm unlikable.


So, I have a few hours before 2013 comes and I'm planning on thinking about things and figuring out where I go from here.  In the meantime,

Happy New Year!!!

Book Review: Arctic Wargame

Arctic Wargame by Ethan Jones
ISBN:  978146815229

Arctic Wargame is an action filled thriller from a new author, Ethan Jones. The story is set in northern Canada where 2 mysteries icebreakers are seen and then vanish. The Canadian government send Justin Hall to investigate. In the process of solving the mystery, he and his team are stranded, then steal U.S. helicopters, and help repel an invasion.

The action is fast-paced and well written. The plot has several interesting turns, not the least of which is who is behind the plot. The writing itself is crisp, with enough details on military weapons to lend credence to the writing, but not too much as to bore the average reader.

Perhaps the only minor flaw is the characters do lack some depth. They are interesting people, but the author does not expand greatly on their backgrounds. Perhaps in the second book in this series? Then again, for a thriller, it's the action that counts and Jones has that down.

Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. And I'm looking forward to buying the next book in the series!   

Always Something

It seems like no matter what I do to get caught up, there's always something new that comes along.  <sigh>  I know, this is just how life is, but at some point I would like a week off of new surprises, usually of the unpleasant kind.

Just so no one worries -- nothing new today.  Yet.

I'm still in a bit of a shock over Bertie.  I love him.  And I'm worried about me having to go through the kidney failure stuff with him, Clancy, maybe Dante, and maybe Robbie, all at once.  I just need not to worry about what might happen and focus on the present.

So, the present.  Those lists I made the other day are actually proving useful.  Here's today's 'really would like to get done and is realistic' list:

• do more laundry
• write a book review
• clean eyes and ears on all the cats
• order my carpet cleaner
• reflect on 2012 and plan for 2013

I'm also contemplating getting some quilting stuff out.  I really would like to have a hobby other than playing around on the internet or reading.  But this hobby has to be something I can stop for days and start again with no problems, and something that is not to mentally taxing for when I'm tired, and something I can do without endangering my fuzzy helpers.  I have a couple of quilts started and could work on them in here with Anya.  

Then again, I look at the Maggie scrapbook pages and think they are sooo beautiful that maybe I could so something for my other kitties, angels and present ones.  But to do that, I would have to buy lots of bits and pieces to make them look good, and I'm not sure I want more stuff right now...

Stuff to think about as I do laundry....  More later.

Poor Bertie...

Not a happy day here.

I discovered that Bertie had huge hard mats on his haunches and some on his tummy, so I am giving him a lioncut, one area at a time.  He hates sitting still in the best of times -- he's feline ADHD -- and with clippers going, he especially doesn't want to sit still.  Apparently, I had only been combing above the mats...

But that's not the worst of it.

For some time, I've noticed he drinks a lot and pees a lot.  His coat is oily.  And today, while he was complaining about being shaved, I noticed he had a small mouth ulcer.  I've wondered and the ulcer basically confirms it -- I'm fairly sure he has PKD.  PKD is polycystic kidney disease.  Cysts grow in the kidneys and eventually damage the kidneys so much that they stop functioning and the cat dies of kidney failure.  Basically it is the same as chronic kidney failure (CRF), but mechanical in nature and not old age.  It's associated with Persians, but not always.  Bertie probably has some British shorthair in him and that breed has Persian stock in it, so PKD isn't a surprise.

The bad part is Bertie isn't old.  He's only about 4 or 5 years old.  For him to show symptoms at this age probably means the cysts are already good sized.  And there's nothing I can do to stop them growing.

Poor baby....  He's a beautiful cat, although a bit strange.  He's like I said, feline ADHD and is always on the move.  He wants to be petted twice and then walks off.  He squeaks instead of meows.  He loves to eat paper.  And he has a mildly deformed backbone so he has a hump.

Unfortunately, he doesn't get along with James so we have to keep them separated most of the time.  And that's why I feel especially bad about this turn of events.  I've been working on getting him more integrated with the others so he can be loved on more...

Just not something I wanted to deal with....

Weird Day

This was just a strange day.  Not sure I liked, but not sure I disliked it.  It seemed to be filled with minor, temporary problems.

Problem 1:  Clarissa, my tortoiseshell Persian, didn't want to eat breakfast.  What?!  She always wants to eat. Instead, she let me hold her which is also strange.  So, no breakfast.  She did eat some lunch but not enthusiastically.  But by supper, she was starving as usual.  What happened?  Hairball is my guess, but since she comes from inbred lines, she does have the potential for serious problems, so I was fairly worried.

Problem 2:  The weather went from warm and sunny at lunch, to cloudy and misting at 4pm, to clear tonight. I suppose we are having a storm front move through, which doesn't thrill me because of #3.

Problem 3:  Anya, my lilac point Himalayan  has a snotty nose.  She normally is snorty, but this has real snot.  I've got her on echinacea but if this doesn't clear up by Monday, she's going to a vet.

Problem 4: Not really a problem, but weird -- got an email from a cousin wondering if I'm the Linda H from Iowa.  I really don't know how to respond to it.  On the one hand, I have not reason to be nasty to him.  On the other hand, I do have issues with my childhood and I have no idea what he wants.

Problem 5: I didn't get much done.  I spent the morning chatting with friends on Facebook and the afternoon snuggled to Wendy.  I had planned on going into town but between Clarissa and the weather, that didn't happen.  Tomorrow I need to get going on doing things I want to do!

Speaking of which, I did get Olivia bathed yesterday.

She's not the most cooperative of cats.  The bathing part was okay -- a few half-hearted escape attempts, but nothing serious and no blood.  The blood came when I was blow drying her.  Since she's a Persian with long hair, I have to blow dry her or it would take 4-8 hours for her to dry.  And while the house is warm, she would get very cold by the time she was dry.  So, I blow dry her.

And she doesn't like it.  She got me a couple times with her claws, despite being trimmed.  It still took over an hour to get her reasonably dry.  But the end results were worth it -- a clean, soft, nice smelling cat!

Back to Normal

I think Wendy is almost back to normal, or will be shortly.  Yah!!!  She had quite a poop over night -- long, dry and black at one end.  This, to those non-poopologists who are reading along, means that the 'bad' food has finally passed out (that was the black part).  So, she should be back to eating and pooping like normal, or at least what passes for normal for her.

And Clancy was hungry this morning.  He was hesitant to eat last night, so I crushed a treat and put that on his snack.  He then ate it all.  So, this morning, I added a tiny bit, maybe 1/4 teaspoon, of canned food on top of his ground chicken, and he quickly ate everything.  I know cats aren't suppose to get bored with food, but he sort of acts that way.

I know this is silly to many, but if my cats are okay, I'm okay.  They are my emotional anchors.  No matter how awful a day I have at school or how upset I feel, all that melts away when I hug or groom one of my cats.  To me, they are special little people that love unconditionally.

Well, enough soppy stuff and now to figure out what to do today.  Last night I was sure I would go to Palm Desert, but this morning, that seems a lot harder to do.  I'm lazy.  Another problem is a trip down there will mean I get little else done -- it's ~1 hour each way.  I also discovered 20 loads of laundry in the closet while looking for something.  I should do some laundry before I run off and play.  Maybe go into town and see what the fabric/craft store has for scrapbooking?  I know I have to go somewhere -- I need lysine for Anya's eye (she has herpes and the lysine stops it from doing damage).

Updates

Despite my worries, things for the most turned out okay.

Wendy seems to be doing well.  She's still not back to regular pooping, but she's not throwing up either.  I'm hoping that over night we will have results.  (Yes, a cat mom looks forward to poo sometimes.)  She's just a precious girl.

I got several things done from my lists.

• bought groceries
• cleaned windows 
• vacuumed and swept floors
• wrote one review

Not too bad, considering my energy level is 0 and Facebook chatting is a major time consumer.  But about the chatting, it's nice to talk with people on different continents, so it's well worth the time.

There is a bit of bad news.  Clancy, my conundrum kitty, is having one of his spells.  He didn't want lunch and was drooling a bit.  He seemed to want supper but didn't eat it.  I think he has a mouth sore from the phosphorus build up.  (He has chronic kidney failure.)  I gave him some Maalox to help the stomach acid, so maybe by bedtime, he will eat.  He was doing well until someone didn't make food for a week... 

Assuming tomorrow's weather is okay, I think I might head down the hill to Palm Desert and buy what I need to bind Maggie's scrapbook pages.  I worry that they will be damaged laying around.  And I have my list of stamping things to buy also.  I might also stop and shop for clothes, if I have to go all the way into Palm Desert, instead of just on the edge.

Review: Jack Shadow

Jack Shadow by Graeme Smith
ISBN:  978-1-927476-70-3

Jack Shadow is a very interesting and surprisingly complex novel. I'm not sure even how to describe it, but to say it was about a man named Jack whose job it was to nudge history according to the plans of someone. But when Jack cheats, the future gets, well, complicated.

The writing is a delight to read, if you like quirkiness. The plot is, well, not sure what to think. Like Graeme Smith's other book A Comedy of Terrors, it started off light. Then it got very complex in spots but I only noticed the complexity after it got complex so I did get a bit lost.  The characters are not the warm and fuzzy type, but each is interesting in their own way.

I will have to re-read this sometime and honestly, it is good enough to take the time to re-read it. (  )

What to do?

Now that I'm all rested, I need to do something useful so that at the end of my break I don't hate myself for not doing anything.  But the problem is what to do?  I have so many things I can/want/need to do, I'm not sure where to start.

Well, they always say a list is good.

Things I need to do:

• groom/bath Olivia
• buy some late Christmas presents
• vacuum/sweep the floors
• buy groceries
• do laundry
• get the oil changed in my truck

Things I should do:

• groom/bath Clarissa and Isabel
• get lesson plans ready for school
• buy some clothes
• buy some shoes
• write a couple of reviews
• add more books to LibraryThing
• clean my truck

Things I want to do:

• clean the window in the bedroom
• bind Maggie's scrapbook

See, my 'need to' and my 'should' lists are a lot longer than my 'want to' list in large part because I've forgotten how to have fun?  Or I've re-invented myself so many times I don't know who I am? Or I'm depressed?  Or all of the above and then some?

I do feel pathetic.  I have time off and money to buy/do things.  But when someone asks "what do you want to do for fun?", I have no answer.  I think I should have an answer.  I think most people do have answers.  Maybe others don't either -- I don't know.  Maybe that's why places like Facebook are so popular -- it is a great distraction from actually living a life.  And this may fall in the same category, but I do hope me writing does help to clarify things for me, so maybe not.

Well, off to do a bit of cleaning -- get the window cleaned and vacuum.  Then maybe the stores will be open.

Almost Over...

Well, another holiday season has come and is almost gone.  Sorry, but -- YIPEE!

I know I don't have the proper holiday spirit.  I think it has to do with me working until a few days before the big day, being so tired I can barely function, getting sick, and not finding chicken thighs at the store.

Okay, maybe the last one is not earth shattering to some, but since I make the kitties' food using chicken thighs, it is a major problem.  If you don't think so, read the previous post about Wendy.  Anyway, in an effort to make room for the hams and whole turkeys, they don't stock chicken thighs.  So I had to make due with the chicken 'Griller Pack', which had 3 legs and 2 breasts.  With cat food, the muscle meat to bone ratio is very important and chicken thighs are almost perfect in that respect.  This 'Griller Pack' probably is off, and if it was a matter of life-or-death, I'd calculate the ratios, but it is close enough for a few days.

Fingers crossed for Wendy...

Speaking of her, she had a good day.  No more vomiting, but then no poos either.

Anyway, back to the holidays... I guess I get tired of the sales and the faux cheer people have.  Christmas in its non-religious version should be about giving special present to special friends.  It's not a contest as to who gave whom the most or the best.  I want my presents to be special to the people that I give them to.

And therein lies my problem.  I barely had time to pick out a few nice presents for a couple of dear friends.  Two of my closest friends will have to wait a bit for their presents.  (I'm shooting for the Eastern Orthodox Christmas!)  It's all rush, rush, and rush.  I'm a slow person I guess...

So, maybe once the holiday madness leaves, I can finally finish my Christmas shopping for this year.

Wendy's Food

I was hoping to wake-up this morning, feed the cats, have a nice breakfast, and then relax before doing something moderately useful.  My plans never work out...

I went to let Wendy out only to find she had thrown up food last night.  Sigh...

Maybe I should explain.  Wendy is my white Persian who was scheduled to die at the shelter 21 Dec 2011.  I adopted her the day before.  She came home, thin, with persistent diarrhea and a pink tail.

Wendy on her first day home, with her pink dyed tail.

She could not keep food down and if she did, she had diarrhea.  A trip to the vet showed she had no blockage (good) but had signs of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (bad) and the beginnings of megacolon (very bad).  The prescription food didn't work either, so I put her on raw food that I make myself.  I also discovered that she's allergic/intolerant of beef, lamb, rabbit, or any non-poultry meat except salmon.

And for the last year, she has thrived.

Wendy all healthy and relaxing on the table.

Until someone got terribly busy and skimped on the food.  Okay, it was me, and I'm terribly annoyed at me.  The last week of school before Christmas break was a nightmare -- I was sick, I had major tests to give, the students were crazy, and the world was ending.  So, I fed her some canned food and some plain raw turkey, with no supplements except for pumpkin.  (The pumpkin helps her keep regular in the poo department.)

Graphic Details Forthcoming

Well, with Wendy, if she doesn't get the right food, she has issues.  Since what she threw up was undigested food and it happened 3-4 hours after dinner, I think this is an owner created mess.  The issues I created this time is I think she's somewhat backed-up in her intestines.  Her poos have been larger in diameter than normal, which means the megacolon is lurking.  She's also not pooing daily, which means things are moving slowly.

The alternatives of her developing another food issue is unthinkable.  But honestly, if it had been a food issue,  the food would have reappeared earlier -- not 4+ hours later.  Fingers crossed!

Wendy has become my snuggle kitty.  There is something magical about her -- if I just look at her, and I really mean look, not glance, I feel happy and get teary-eyed about how precious she is.  I almost wonder if she's a gift from another special kitty I had....

Wendy after a bath -- all sparkly white!

A Very Special Gift

A very dear friend of mine created a scrapbook of one of my cats.

Miss Maggie Moo was a rescue Persian.  She had been used as a breeding queen and then literally dumped.  When I adopted her, she weighed 3 lbs, had huge cuts on her skin, and an infected uterus.  She then lost an eye to herpes, and had to have 2 corneal grafts on the other eye to save it.  She lived with me for 16 months, but in the end, her body was too damaged to survive.  She died in my arms.

And despite all the abuse she had suffered and all the pain she went through to save her eye, she never stopped loving me.  The night before she died, she curled up to me as if to say goodbye.

Maggie was very special.  And Cynthia captured that in the pages she created.

If you would like to see all the pages, plus more of Cynthia's outstanding work, she has a blog at:
http://cynthiascardcreations.blogspot.co.nz/

Back, Again

Seems like every year, I start blogging and then stop, only to restart again next year.  Well, I can't break the tradition, now can I?

Actually, this year has been very stressful and I do need to find a way to relax.  I'm hoping that writing here will help.  I do find it therapeutic to write as it forces me to really understand my feelings and the 'why' behind them.  I wish I could do this in the morning before I go off to work, but I'm not getting up any earlier.  So, I'll try to write when I can.

Where have I been? Part 2

Well, the long and short of it is I got a teaching job at a high school an hour away, so I haven't had much time for reading, blogging, painting, or anything else.  I love the school and students, so I'm not complaining too much.

Okay, I do complain, but I think I've finally found a balance between work and home.  This balance consists of only trying to do so much and eliminating the rest.  For now, that means taking care of my cats and working on cataloging my library.  I would like to do math or some painting, but since I may have an extra hour one day and none for the next three days, I lose continuity.  The cats I HAVE to do or they get extremely matted.  And the library stuff is just something fun.

Book Review: The Pilgrim Glass

The Pilgrim Glass by Julie K. Rose
ISBN:  9780557810741

A piece of 12-th century stained glass is found in the crypt of a medieval cathedral in France. Jonas, a high-skilled and troubled stained glass artist, is hired to restore it. Once he arrives in Vezelay, he meets several locals, including ex-pat Meredith, whom he falls for. She, however, begins to have strange experiences related to this piece of glass. Jonas, Meredith, and others must piece together the mystery surrounding this glass and Meredith's experiences.

This is a finely written and researched novel. The author has a gift for capturing small details, such as how Jonas works on the glass, which add immensely to the novel. The scenes in France are richly detailed, leaving the reader with a clear impression of the French village, for example. The historical references are accurate and unobtrusive. The characters are interesting, mainly because they are all flawed with common problems. For example, Jonas had a troubling childhood which he is trying desperately to escape. The plot builds to an interesting and, to me, unexpected climax. While there is some channeling of a 12th-century pilgrim, which could have easily been over the top, it is done in a subtle and suitable manner which seems natural for this story.

My main complaint is that occasionally the story moved too fast and I had to re-read small sections (one or two sentences) to be sure I understood what exactly was happening. Another minor complaint is that I would have liked a bit more narrative. Not only would it have helped with clarifying the situation in spots, but I greatly enjoyed the author's attention to details and wanted more!

Overall, I was very happy to have read this and will gladly recommend it to others. More importantly, I will be looking for the next novel by Julie K. Rose! (  )