“Fly free and happy beyond birthdays and across forever, and we'll meet now and then when we wish, in the midst of the one celebration that never can end.” -- Richard Bach

Last week I had a couple of errands to run.  I stopped by our tax preparer’s house and picked up our 2011 tax returns.  Then I made my way over to the Bonita post office to mail something.  While over in that area, I stopped at Von’s to get a few things and then I headed back towards home.  But, I had one more stop to make at Kmart. 

It took about 10 minutes or so to drive from Vons to Kmart.  I pulled into the parking lot, parked and reached over to get my purse.  You can imagine my shock when I saw that my purse wasn’t there.  Yes, I did it again!  I left my purse in the shopping cart at Von’s!  Only this time, I was much farther away than I was the last THREE times that I’ve done that. 

I started the car and tried frantically to get out of the crowded parking lot and back to the street so I could break all kinds of speed limits to get back to Von’s where I was hoping that my purse still was.  All exits allowed only right turns onto the street, so I had to go through the Costco parking lot.  It was so full of slow drivers and speed bumps.  It was just plain torture getting through and finally to the light, that lasted forever, before I could turn left onto H Street and head back to Otay Lakes Road.

I think every light I approached was red and every car I was behind went 10 miles an hour!  I mean, I was in pure panic mode by this time.

I finally got to Von’s and for what seemed forever, waited to make my left turn into the parking lot.  A million cars were coming from the opposite direction.  Then, I couldn’t find a parking space near the store.  What happened?  Did everyone decide to come to this Von’s all of a sudden?

I went into the store, dreading the answer to my question: “Did anyone turn in a purse?”  A nice young man who worked there, said, “A brown one?”  Yes!!!! 

He said he walked out of the store and saw what he thought was a purse in the shopping cart, which was in the cart stall, right where I had pushed it. 

I was so happy and relieved to have my purse back.  I just can’t let this happen again.  From now on, I will push my cart to the car, unlock the door, put my purse in the car and then unload my groceries. 

Charlie took Mr. Creme and Jezibel to the vet Tuesday.  Mr. Creme had a fructosamine test and also a blood glucose test.  Jezibel got her vaccines for FeLV and FVRCP-PN.

Since Jezibel had a severe reaction to the shots last year, we kept an eye on her for any problems.  The appointment was at 4:00pm.  She ate her dinner okay. Then we noticed that she was twitching a little.  She got very belligerent, (more so than normal).. :)... and seemed angry.  But, then she would just sit and stare.  We began to get more concerned when she started nipping at her paws.  It was not as bad as last time, but similar to what she did then.

Charlie was in his computer room with her, so he checked on her.  She just wasn’t normal though.  We were about ready to take her to the emergency hospital, but she seemed to calm down when Charlie held her on his lap and rubbed her.

He stayed up with her all night.  He said she didn’t sleep at all.  She just sat on the floor and stared. 

When I got up the next morning, Charlie was lying on the couch.  He had stayed up watching movies all night with Jezibel.  He said Jezibel finally settled down, but didn’t sleep. 

She did seem better even though she wouldn’t eat breakfast or drink water.  Later in the morning she did go to the bathroom sink for water.  By dinnertime, she was fine.  The effects of the vaccines had worn off.

We have decided that we are not going to subject Jezibel to this again.  She will be 13 this year.  Her rabies shot from last year will be the last one she will get too.  That is good for a couple of years anyway.

The vet called about Mr. Creme’s tests.  It was all good news.  His blood sugar was within good range and his fructosamine levels were also good.  We can now stay on 7 units of insulin per day.  The doctor said that unless there were problems, we could wait 6 months to bring him back for testing.  That would be nice, but I think we’ll get him checked before then.

I’m still considering a home testing kit, but haven’t talked to the vet about it.  From what I see online, the tester is the same as the ones they advertise on TV.  I might even be able to get a free one!  

Today is Jezibel’s babies’ birthday!  They are 12 years old. 

Happy Birthday to ours, Lexi, Mr. Creme and Ellie... to Kim’s “Pinto”... and Minerva’s “Panda”. 

We will always miss their brothers, Grady and Toby.   

Ellie had one of her asthma attacks tonight.  I usually wrap her in a blanket and hold her.  She trembles and coughs and seems to feel better when held.  Maybe I feel better because I like holding her and rocking her. 

Tonight I was thinking of this night 12 years ago.  I had brought home 9 kittens to feed and Charlie was in Japan.  Jezibel was still at the hospital recuperating from her C-section and wouldn’t be home until the next day.

Ellie

While I was holding Ellie, she purred and then looked up at me with those big eyes.  It reminded me of how she looked when I fed her with a bottle when we were helping to supplement Jezibel’s milk. 

Ellie was my best eater.  She sucked on that bottle and her little eyes would tear up when she tasted that warm formula.  While she nursed on the bottle, her ears moved up and down.  I’ll never forget how much we enjoyed taking care of Jezibel’s babies.  Hard to believe they are 12 today.

More later..........