Quick Update
1- The beginning of this week was very hard, what with Siggy dying. But as the days passed I (mostly) got over it. At this point, more time has passed since he died than the amount of time he was with us here. I'm 99% better.
2- On Sunday, I'm scheduled to adopt Siggy's sibling, a stripey cat whose sex is not known to us. Right now, Sibling is living on the street, but is being fed by Liza's friend Yuval and his girlfriend, Ira. Yuval and Ira have been terrific, feeding Sibling formula after the kittens were abandoned by their mother, and now solid food. But Sibling hasn't seen a vet and isn't being socialized to be a true indoor/outdoor pet. So we decided to bring him here ASAP, so he can be checked out by Dr. Doni (our new vet) and taught to be our cat. I just really, really hope he is a sturdy creature and won't die on us like his brother did. At least this time I'm prepared for the possibility.
3- Another reason the week got better: I finished a work project which had been hanging over me for a long, long time. Now that it's done, I actually have almost no work to do. Obviously that's not good, but, you know what? It's good. I need some time to do all the things I couldn't do when I was teaching and writing like a maniac. And indeed I've gotten many important things taken care of in the last couple of days.
4- I've started taking an online course with Mediabistro on Health and Medical Writing. A bit of professional tuning-up, getting past the plateau, jump-start, etc. It just started yesterday and will continue for eight weeks. If I like it I plan to take the Travel Writing Boot Camp course.
Cheers.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
To My Readers in Florida
A person who is very dear to me, Eric Draper, is running for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture. He is currently the Deputy Director of the Florida office of the National Audubon Society, and has been active with Preservation 2000, Florida Forever, the Council of Sustainable Florida, the Florida Soil and Water Conservation Council, and the Democratic Party.
Eric is an expert in environmental and agricultural issues, and is a highly intelligent, humble, respected man who sincerely wants to serve the people. He is extremely talented at building consensus and helping others to work together.
If you live in Florida, please go to Eric Draper's website to learn more about him and/or support his campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture.
A person who is very dear to me, Eric Draper, is running for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture. He is currently the Deputy Director of the Florida office of the National Audubon Society, and has been active with Preservation 2000, Florida Forever, the Council of Sustainable Florida, the Florida Soil and Water Conservation Council, and the Democratic Party.
Eric is an expert in environmental and agricultural issues, and is a highly intelligent, humble, respected man who sincerely wants to serve the people. He is extremely talented at building consensus and helping others to work together.
If you live in Florida, please go to Eric Draper's website to learn more about him and/or support his campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
RIP Siggy
Last night he seemed to be doing so much better. He took bites of his new food a few times walked around the apartment a little. We thought he'd turned the corner.
This morning at 3 am Liza found Sigmund lying several meters from his little shoe-box bed, drenched (with sweat? Didn't smell like anything else in particular . . . ), and making an eerie noise. She immediately woke me up and told me he's dying. When she put him in my arms he was completely limp.
For two hours I sat in the salon holding Siggy, petting him and rocking him and willing him to die quickly, and crying. It was terrible. Every so often his head would move a little and he'd open his mouth and make a noise that sounded a little like a scream, like he was crying far away. He sounded like a ghost cat.
At around 4:30 his eyes got glassy and his nose started turning blue. I could tell he wasn't aware of anything any more, even though he was breathing a little and his heart was beating pretty quickly. At 5 I tucked him into his bed, took a shower, and went to sleep.
At 7:30 he was still alive. I petted him a little so that maybe he'd know I was there, and I read him the last few paragraphs of Watership Down, through my tears. He licked his lips a little.
By 9:30 he was gone. Maybe now he's in a place where he has the energy to play with his toys, and everything is made of salmon and warm spots.
:'-(
Goodbye, Siggy. I'm glad we could make your last days a little more comfortable.
Liza and I have decided that we might take in Siggy's sibling, but only 3 weeks from now, since then the kitten will be 2 months old already -- and therefore more likely to live long-term, says the vet. We don't want to go through this again right now, watching a sweet little kitten take hours to die.
:'-(
Last night he seemed to be doing so much better. He took bites of his new food a few times walked around the apartment a little. We thought he'd turned the corner.
This morning at 3 am Liza found Sigmund lying several meters from his little shoe-box bed, drenched (with sweat? Didn't smell like anything else in particular . . . ), and making an eerie noise. She immediately woke me up and told me he's dying. When she put him in my arms he was completely limp.
For two hours I sat in the salon holding Siggy, petting him and rocking him and willing him to die quickly, and crying. It was terrible. Every so often his head would move a little and he'd open his mouth and make a noise that sounded a little like a scream, like he was crying far away. He sounded like a ghost cat.
At around 4:30 his eyes got glassy and his nose started turning blue. I could tell he wasn't aware of anything any more, even though he was breathing a little and his heart was beating pretty quickly. At 5 I tucked him into his bed, took a shower, and went to sleep.
At 7:30 he was still alive. I petted him a little so that maybe he'd know I was there, and I read him the last few paragraphs of Watership Down, through my tears. He licked his lips a little.
By 9:30 he was gone. Maybe now he's in a place where he has the energy to play with his toys, and everything is made of salmon and warm spots.
:'-(
Goodbye, Siggy. I'm glad we could make your last days a little more comfortable.
Liza and I have decided that we might take in Siggy's sibling, but only 3 weeks from now, since then the kitten will be 2 months old already -- and therefore more likely to live long-term, says the vet. We don't want to go through this again right now, watching a sweet little kitten take hours to die.
:'-(
Friday, June 12, 2009
Sigmund is Sick
Siggy didn't eat for 24 hours so I took him to the vet again this morning. Diagnosis: infection in the GI tract. Prognosis: Not good. Siggy is very little and very sick. Not a promising combination.
His energy level has dwindled over the last day or two, and now he is sleeping almost all the time. The only positive indication we've had lately is that we did manage to get him to eat something at the vet's, and he had a few small bites just now.
The vet gave him an infusion against dehydration, and said that it's not uncommon for young street cats to simply be too fragile to withstand being abandoned by their mother; only when they've lived for 2 months can you be reasonably sure that this is a sturdy cat. He said to keep giving him small amounts to eat (of his special new sick-kitty food, mixed with a teeny bit of water) every few hours, and hope for the best. If he makes it for another few days, it will be a good sign.
:'-(
Siggy didn't eat for 24 hours so I took him to the vet again this morning. Diagnosis: infection in the GI tract. Prognosis: Not good. Siggy is very little and very sick. Not a promising combination.
His energy level has dwindled over the last day or two, and now he is sleeping almost all the time. The only positive indication we've had lately is that we did manage to get him to eat something at the vet's, and he had a few small bites just now.
The vet gave him an infusion against dehydration, and said that it's not uncommon for young street cats to simply be too fragile to withstand being abandoned by their mother; only when they've lived for 2 months can you be reasonably sure that this is a sturdy cat. He said to keep giving him small amounts to eat (of his special new sick-kitty food, mixed with a teeny bit of water) every few hours, and hope for the best. If he makes it for another few days, it will be a good sign.
:'-(
Reader RivkA M. asked for a photo of Siggy with a reference object. Here he is with my paperback copy of the Hercule Poirot mystery Cat Among the Pigeons.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
1,001st post!
Siggy got sick today. Apparently he hadn't been eating much because he wasn't quite ready for solid food. Tomorrow he goes back to formula. Meanwhile he's drinking lots of water from the bottle, which is so cute.
A few pics from today:
Siggy nodding off next to fridge.
Yes, he is this small.
Liza's friend Naomi giving Siggy some TLC. Siggy loves it. Good thing, because Naomi will be babysitting Siggy when I go to the States at the end of August.
Siggy eating up the attention. You can see that he's got some skin problems and is quite scraggly, a result of being a street cat. When he starts eating regularly he'll get some medicine for that in his food.
Siggy got sick today. Apparently he hadn't been eating much because he wasn't quite ready for solid food. Tomorrow he goes back to formula. Meanwhile he's drinking lots of water from the bottle, which is so cute.
A few pics from today:
Siggy nodding off next to fridge.
Yes, he is this small.
Liza's friend Naomi giving Siggy some TLC. Siggy loves it. Good thing, because Naomi will be babysitting Siggy when I go to the States at the end of August.
Siggy eating up the attention. You can see that he's got some skin problems and is quite scraggly, a result of being a street cat. When he starts eating regularly he'll get some medicine for that in his food.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
This post may be filled with typos
because I'm trying to write it while a kitten sleeps peacefully in the crook of my left elbow.
I have named him Sigmund. A nice, distinguished, slightly ironic name, which can be shortened to Siggy at appropriate moments of utter cuteness.
Sigmund seems to have two needs in life: sleep, and proximity to a warm human. If he is not sleeping, he's begging to be picked up. much like a human baby, actually. However, unlike a human baby, Sigmund does not seem to need food. In the last 24 hours he's eaten about 5 tiny bites of cat food and a few sips of egg yolk. This concerns me because his medicine is in the tuna and therefore he's not getting the proper dosage. He's also not drinking. My local cat gurus are telling me not to worry about it, that he'll eat when he's hungry.
Meanwhile, am I a Jewish mother or what? Putting food in front of his face and begging "please eat, please eat"?
Sigmund also has a habit of climbing up onto my shoulder, therefrom to better view the world at large while I walk around. Very cute, but I'm working on breaking him of the habit so that I won't have a huge, heavy cat later who thinks my shoulder is a nice perch.
Also, Siggy hates being washed with a damp cloth, but he'll have to deal because he's a rescue kitten and really filthy. With every wash we remove another layer of grime. (also it doesn't help that he gets himself covered with tuna and egg yolk. Not so dexterous yet, that Sigmund)
OK, gotta go. But if you want something fun to surf, click here for the new blog of my friend Miriam. She's hilarious.
because I'm trying to write it while a kitten sleeps peacefully in the crook of my left elbow.
I have named him Sigmund. A nice, distinguished, slightly ironic name, which can be shortened to Siggy at appropriate moments of utter cuteness.
Sigmund seems to have two needs in life: sleep, and proximity to a warm human. If he is not sleeping, he's begging to be picked up. much like a human baby, actually. However, unlike a human baby, Sigmund does not seem to need food. In the last 24 hours he's eaten about 5 tiny bites of cat food and a few sips of egg yolk. This concerns me because his medicine is in the tuna and therefore he's not getting the proper dosage. He's also not drinking. My local cat gurus are telling me not to worry about it, that he'll eat when he's hungry.
Meanwhile, am I a Jewish mother or what? Putting food in front of his face and begging "please eat, please eat"?
Sigmund also has a habit of climbing up onto my shoulder, therefrom to better view the world at large while I walk around. Very cute, but I'm working on breaking him of the habit so that I won't have a huge, heavy cat later who thinks my shoulder is a nice perch.
Also, Siggy hates being washed with a damp cloth, but he'll have to deal because he's a rescue kitten and really filthy. With every wash we remove another layer of grime. (also it doesn't help that he gets himself covered with tuna and egg yolk. Not so dexterous yet, that Sigmund)
OK, gotta go. But if you want something fun to surf, click here for the new blog of my friend Miriam. She's hilarious.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Cat!
On Friday, Liza got an IM from her friend Yuval: "Are you lonely?"
Liza responded "Um, what?"
Yuval: "Because if you are, maybe you want to adopt one of the abandoned kittens I rescued."
Apparently, something about the kittens' story tugged at Liza's heartstrings -- probably Yuval's description of them as fitting in the palm of his hand -- because out of the blue she -- she, who has repeatedly rebuffed my suggestions that we get a pet -- asked if I want to adopt a kitten.
So, now I have a kitten. It is *my* kitten, but Liza's enjoys the benefits of his yummy little ways. Last night, his first with us, he fell asleep in my hand.
I have small hands!
The plan was to name him Yuval, after his savior, but Yuval the Human wasn't keen on that so now I'm not sure. I'm also not sure that he is a "he." We're going to the vet today, so perhaps that will become more clear. :-)
There are more pictures and video at my Facebook page, which I made available to "friends of friends." (If you are not a friend or a a friend of a friend, sorry.)
On Friday, Liza got an IM from her friend Yuval: "Are you lonely?"
Liza responded "Um, what?"
Yuval: "Because if you are, maybe you want to adopt one of the abandoned kittens I rescued."
Apparently, something about the kittens' story tugged at Liza's heartstrings -- probably Yuval's description of them as fitting in the palm of his hand -- because out of the blue she -- she, who has repeatedly rebuffed my suggestions that we get a pet -- asked if I want to adopt a kitten.
So, now I have a kitten. It is *my* kitten, but Liza's enjoys the benefits of his yummy little ways. Last night, his first with us, he fell asleep in my hand.
I have small hands!
The plan was to name him Yuval, after his savior, but Yuval the Human wasn't keen on that so now I'm not sure. I'm also not sure that he is a "he." We're going to the vet today, so perhaps that will become more clear. :-)
There are more pictures and video at my Facebook page, which I made available to "friends of friends." (If you are not a friend or a a friend of a friend, sorry.)
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Friday Update
1- My nephew's surgery went fine. He is hearing and sleeping better already and is pretty much back to his usual self.
2- Grading papers is a b*tch.
3- I'm in one of those situations, familiar to freelancers, wherein I have several clients who each owe me a LOT of money, but none of it has come in yet, so as far as the bank and credit card companies are concerned, I'm destitute. I'm expecting, literally, many many thousands of shekels to come in during the next few weeks, but meanwhile I literally do not have bus money in my wallet. Crud.
4- The weather here in Jerusalem has been GORGEOUS lately. Wish you were here!
5- My roommate made chocolate-almond macaroons, held together by chocolate ganache, from scratch last night. I love my roommate!
Nothing else to report. May all those of you who celebrate Shabbat have a shalom one. :-)
1- My nephew's surgery went fine. He is hearing and sleeping better already and is pretty much back to his usual self.
2- Grading papers is a b*tch.
3- I'm in one of those situations, familiar to freelancers, wherein I have several clients who each owe me a LOT of money, but none of it has come in yet, so as far as the bank and credit card companies are concerned, I'm destitute. I'm expecting, literally, many many thousands of shekels to come in during the next few weeks, but meanwhile I literally do not have bus money in my wallet. Crud.
4- The weather here in Jerusalem has been GORGEOUS lately. Wish you were here!
5- My roommate made chocolate-almond macaroons, held together by chocolate ganache, from scratch last night. I love my roommate!
Nothing else to report. May all those of you who celebrate Shabbat have a shalom one. :-)
Thursday, May 07, 2009
No
I have not dropped off the face of the earth.
Plenty to say, no time to say it.
Quick update: My teaching responsibilities have run away from me. Teaching five classes, with all the lesson planning and grading involved, is more than I can keep up with while also staying on top of my journalism work. Next year I'll have to give up something; I can't teach in two programs AND write for a living. Live and learn.
Yom Haatzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) was nice, low-key. I went to a traditional barbecue at the home of my friends C and M; R, G, and E were there also. 'Twas fun to be with friends.
This past week has been an emotional low point. :-( No other details forthcoming on a public blog.
Wish a refuah shelaimah (complete recovery) to my little nephew David, 3, who is having his adenoids removed next week! Poor little guy!
I have not dropped off the face of the earth.
Plenty to say, no time to say it.
Quick update: My teaching responsibilities have run away from me. Teaching five classes, with all the lesson planning and grading involved, is more than I can keep up with while also staying on top of my journalism work. Next year I'll have to give up something; I can't teach in two programs AND write for a living. Live and learn.
Yom Haatzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) was nice, low-key. I went to a traditional barbecue at the home of my friends C and M; R, G, and E were there also. 'Twas fun to be with friends.
This past week has been an emotional low point. :-( No other details forthcoming on a public blog.
Wish a refuah shelaimah (complete recovery) to my little nephew David, 3, who is having his adenoids removed next week! Poor little guy!
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