Happy New Year! I think of you both often. Have made the transition to vegetarianism. Maybe vegan one day. It’s a process. I love the challenge to be creative and the health benefits as well. Come to Austin and visit me sometime.
Karen
Okay, so I am coming to this way late, but I just wanted to commiserate on the Money Pit situation. We are considering selling our house next year just to avoid putting in a new roof and furnace. I know I don’t want to stay in this house for another five or so years, so I know we’d never get our money back (we’d have to finance those repairs). Well, there are other reasons why we want to sell but those are big ones. As it stands now we have a huge To Do list just to get the house ready to show. Ugh.
GREAT letter! But I was shocked to see the notebook paper with FIVE HOLES! At a Catholic school? No wonder you Mount Saint Joe’s/Joe Paradox chicks were completely out of control!
I would still love to do a little “wax on wax off” with Ralph Macchio.
Ever since my Granny’s house was torn down - it just hasn’t been the same when I visit my relatives. I visualize every detail - details that they have no recollection of or attachment to ... sad. :(
I had no idea your AC was out!!!
And I’m so glad we get to share the GLEE obsession together!!
I feel the exact same way about my grandparent’s house and it has been 3 or more years since it was sold. I still can’t drive by because I don’t want to see it without the milk tin on the front porch.
That is an excellent point. Wheat and soy-based ingredients are so prevalent in vegan cuisine, so to take those out of the mix could seem daunting. And, it’s a competition, so I’m betting nerves played a part, as well.
Ok, how awesome is Rick Bayless’ restaurant to be so accomodating? That says a lot about his leadership as the owner, and about his philosophy of feeding people.
What you’re saying about fake meat products is so true. From time to time, we overuse them for protein, because they cook up fast and are easy to add to one-pot meals. The most delicious meals are the ones which feature one key, flavorful ingredient, or those that require a bit more creativity than just opening a package.
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About Me
vegan. teacher. opinionated. loves books, shoes, hanson, ‘the amazing race’, the 80s, ‘waiting for guffman’, mid-afternoon naps, musicals and breakfast cereal. four cats. one redhead. hi.
I don’t think I can say it enough. I love Ikea. With the exception of about three things, our entire house is has been furnished by the good company of Sweden. Some of my favorite new purchases include this lamp and these chairs. In red, of course.
I bought this book: Beginning CSS Web Development: From Novice to Professional by Simon Collison with a gift card over the summer. It’s fantastic! I am a complete novice with this sort of thing, but I’m learning quickly thanks to this book. Thanks to Collison, I’ll never forget to top center my background image again.
If you like playing with color and color palettes, you’ll love this site - Colour Lovers. I’m playing with a blog redesign right now and it’s the perfect place to create a palette. Fun!
Simon’s name has evolved into Mr. Smoochy. He’s still Simon, but he’s Mr. Smoochy, too.
Mr. Smoochy has managed to give me more than a few new gray hairs. About a month ago, we took him to the vet because he had a swollen lymph node and slight fever. After a week on antibiotics, he still had a fever, and the lymph node had gone down only slightly. Blood was drawn. More antibiotics were prescribed. He was negative for FIV and Feline Leukemia, but positive for coronavirus, which is the virus that can cause FIP, a deadly disease. Unfortunately, the coronavirus has to mutate in order to actually cause FIP, so there’s no way of telling if the coronavirus he carries will or won’t mutate into the FIPV unless it actually does. Apparently most cats are exposed to this virus and few get sick, but the fact that the potential is there makes me a nervous living wreck. Not to mention that he has most certainly exposed the other three cats to it, too.
I’ve been watching his breathing, and we take his temperature every few days, checking to make sure his fever is down, which it has been since his last round of antibiotics. He’s happy and hungry and playful and energetic and every bit a kitten. Still, every little thing he does or doesn’t do worries me. It hasn’t been that long since we lost Linus and I can’t bear the idea of losing another cat right now. Not to mention that six years ago I lost Linus’ brother, Milo, to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and that ordeal still seems like yesterday to me. I’m trying to take Tony’s advice to take every day as it comes. None of this is within my control, and all I can do is give this little guy a happy life for as long as he’s going to be with us, whether that’s eight months or eighteen years.
Thank goodness for hair dye. I’m going to need some.
do you know how he would have been exposed to that himself? and why it wouldn’t have been caught earlier? i’m sorry, i know how stressful this health scare stuff is. :(
Coronaviruses are extrmely prevelant and don’t always cause symptoms. All coronaviruses cross-react with the FIP test which is why it is a virtually worthless test. Truly, all cats have been exposed to a coronavirus at some point in their lives. All the cats could be in separate homes and still test positive - it’s not that he brought it in and infected them. It’s not a matter of catching it early...like the flu virus, herpes virus, or parvovirus, there is no treatment except for supportive care. It is impossible to firmly diagnose - it is something you back into after you’ve ruled out every other disease known to kittykind.
do you know how he would have been exposed to that himself? and why it wouldn’t have been caught earlier? i’m sorry, i know how stressful this health scare stuff is. :(
Coronaviruses are extrmely prevelant and don’t always cause symptoms. All coronaviruses cross-react with the FIP test which is why it is a virtually worthless test. Truly, all cats have been exposed to a coronavirus at some point in their lives. All the cats could be in separate homes and still test positive - it’s not that he brought it in and infected them. It’s not a matter of catching it early...like the flu virus, herpes virus, or parvovirus, there is no treatment except for supportive care. It is impossible to firmly diagnose - it is something you back into after you’ve ruled out every other disease known to kittykind.
Look, silly: