If I tried to tell you how much I love my cats, you wouldn't believe me - unless your heart is also meow-shaped and covered in stray fur. -- Lexie Saige

I was getting a pedicure the other day.  A lady walked by outside.  The dress she was wearing reminded me of a nightgown my granny made for me when I was 2 or 3 years old.  I don’t remember it, but my mom said it was striped.  Granny had some left over material, but only enough for something my size.  The stripes didn’t go up and down, they went around.  Mom said I looked like a little worm.  I could picture it and it made me laugh.

The stripes on the lady’s dress went around. So much for my fashion news.

Last month we decided to take a couple of days and go up to Idyllwild.  It’s in the mountains a couple of hours away.  Actually the idea occurred to us when my sister asked us to help her get something shipped to her.  The item she bought was in Hemet, which is only about 45 minutes from Idyllwild.

Our plan was to go to Hemet, pick up the item, take it to UPS, with the packaging box she sent to me, ship it and then go up to Idyllwild.

When the time we planned to go was near, Ellie was diagnosed with diabetes.  She started her insulin on Friday, July 5.  We were going to Idyllwild on Tuesday and Wednesday the following week. 

Instead of taking Ellie to the vet to stay or have our petsitter take care of her, we decided it was best to take Ellie with us.  She was just starting on insulin and we felt better giving it to her ouselves.  We also took Jonesie and Jackson.  Sheila was boarded since she is not a real good traveler.  Pets are allowed at the cabin.  We have been going there for 10 years. 

The last time we were there was not long after Taz died, October 2010.  We took Jason, Kaci and Sheila with us.

We packed up the cats that morning and headed out.  It was hot, 106 degrees, in Hemet, a desert town.  The cats were patient in their kennels, Ellie in one and Jackson and Jonesie in the other.

We picked up the item and took it to UPS to be shipped.  There was a little delay in the process when UPS said the box exceeded size limits that they could ship.

While I was in UPS talking to them, Charlie stayed in the car with the A/C running.  I went out to tell him about the shipping problem.  He went in to talk to them.  Then I stayed in the car with the cats.

After awhile he came back.  It was all taken care of.  I had called my sister and told her about the shipping problem and she said, “If it fits, ship it!”  Her and her husband were enroute home from a trip themselves.

So now we could get the cats up to Idyllwild.  We got to the cabin, set up food, water and litter boxes for the cats and after hiding under the bed for awhile, they were all settled in.

Cottage in the Woods

The cabin is set back away from the other rentals.  It’s very cute.  There are birds, squirrels and rabbits all around.  We’ve seen raccoons there at night.  There are windows all along one side.

Jonesie and Jackson

Jonesie and Jackson had a ball sitting in the windows watching the birds.  We were so relaxed just being there.  Ellie did very well too.  She had a good appetite and took her meds well.  We brought her pre-filled syringes, which worked very well.

Cool cat, Miss Ellie

It was warm and Ellie, being the smart one, found a cool place to lay on the tiles in the shower.
 

Ellie was very tolerant of the youngsters, Jonesie and Jackson, for a change, so I know she enjoyed our mini vacation as much as we did.  It was good for all of us to get away from the routine for a couple of days.


Stay tuned.......
My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D _^..^_ 

You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats.-- Colonial American Proverb

Calico and Siamese don't mix, and when you add a worried Dad and an anxious Mom, things can and did get out of hand.

Jezibel, looks are deceiving

Jezibel is the matriarch of the family. She is our oldest cat at 14 years. She's a calico with brilliant orange, black, and white markings. The top of her head is divided like a straight razor between black and orange. She brought nine kittens into the world when she was barely six months old.  Two of them were too weak and we lost them within the first week.  That left seven.  We kept five of them, two girls and three boys.  The other two boys were given to close friends.  That was over 13 years ago. 

Three of Jezibel’s “kittens” have passed on, two of our boys, Grady and Toby, and our friend’s boy, Pinto.  The three we still have with us deal with various age related maladies: asthma, diabetes, thyroid conditions, high blood pressure, neuropathy, and endemic congestion. Jezibel is slightly asthmatic, but other than that remains in good health.

Jezibel became attached to Charlie during her pregnancy. She is domineering, irascible, and fairly and equally hates the rest of the cats in the house.  They know it and give her a wide berth. Underneath that bullying exterior, though, she is a sweet cat who likes attention, but doesn't want you to know it. Of course, Charlie sees her that way.  He may have a biased opinion about that.  She and I have this relationship that I call “a mother/daughter thing”. 

Since Taz was my cat and Jezibel was Charlie’s, there was forever a jealous rivalry going on between the two of them.  They both were alpha and both ran the house.

Buffy, outside before we brought him in

About five months ago, a stray cat scaled the seven foot fence that surrounds our back yard and took up residence on the concrete of our unfinished, soon to be enclosed patio. We could not get within thirty feet of him before he would swiftly depart, but he kept coming back. Since some of our cats have back yard privileges and do not leave the yard, we were worried about contact with that stray.

Our fears proved founded when 13 year old, Mr. Creme, one of Jezibel’s “kitten” was seen chasing the stray across our yard. Mr Creme is pretty spry when he wants to be, but the stray managed to get away.  It looked like he was saying, “You young whipper-snapper, get out of my yard!”

We couldn't let that continue, though, and decided we would have to catch him, fix him, get his shots, and then release him where he could no longer worry us.

Of course, we had to keep him for a few days after his surgery to make sure everything was all right.  He was 100% feral.  I would swear that no human had ever touched him.  When we first put him in a large crate right after we caught him, he practically destroyed it trying to get out.  I don’t think he had ever been confined before.  Despite our long history of working with cats, we were a little intimidated at what he might do in his effort to get free.

We soon discovered, however, that the little guy was mostly just bravado. He was actually timid and frightened. That didn't mean he was any less feral. The vet said he was about two years old. We named him Buffy. He had a lot of Siamese in him and I could tell (having once raised my own Siamese cat) that his Siamese markings would get more distinct over time and with good food. We thought someone might want him if we could get him to that point of domesticity.

We contacted a friend who knew a friend who worked with feral cats. We thought we could give Buffy a better chance for adoption if someone could tame him down. The short of it, though, was that the friend of a friend said she wanted to help, but was going on vacation and would let us know when she returned in a couple of weeks.   While we waited, we worked with him ourselves. Good thing we did because the friend of a friend finally said she couldn't take him. 

Over months of effort, Buffy, who clearly wanted to have a home, worked as hard as we did to learn how to be a domesticated cat. Since Charlie worked with him the most, and since Siamese tend to connect strongly with just one person, Buffy became attached to him.

I fed him and tried to pet him, but for some reason, he didn’t trust me like he did Charlie.  He would slap me and if his claws were out, he really nailed me good.  I bruise easily anyway and he left some nasty bruises on my hand or wrist.  That’s when we decided that if we were going to keep Buffy, we should have him declawed like our other cats.  We have found that when declawed, temprament changes.  Charlie was hesitant, but he realized that it would make a difference in the taming process and Buffy would be calmer. 

Other than slapping me, with other cats, Buffy is one of the least aggressive cats we have ever owned. He creates few problems and avoids confrontation. Unfortunately, when confrontation comes to him, all he knows to do is run. We have a theory about how and why Buffy ended up with us. We think he belonged to a local feral colony, but because of his nature, he was eventually driven off by more aggressive cats, and went in search of a new colony and since our cats are in the yard during the day, he found us.

Everything was going along fine, until the first time Jezibel saw Buffy. Not only was Buffy a new cat in the house, he was horning in on Jezibel's territory -- Charlie. Jezibel had no intention of sharing. Jezibel attacked, and Buffy ran.

The first time it happened Charlie separated Jezibel from Buffy and things went ok for awhile. A couple of days later, she attacked him again, and this time it got serious. Jezibel would not back down, continuing a furious chase and attack. Buffy just wanted to get away, but if truly cornered, he could strike back at Jezibel. Neither have front claws, but Buffy is young and very strong. He could hurt her out of fear.

Charlie separated them again.  Jezibel, trying to get at Buffy, bit Charlie’s hand.  

Charlie’s hand was swollen the next day after Jezibel bit him.  He went to the doctor.  They gave him a tetanus shot and penicillin to fight the infection. His hand was so swollen, he couldn’t make a fist. Maybe a good thing for Jezibel!  Lol Two of his fingers were so sore he couldn’t use his hand for a few days. 

We now monitor the two of them and make sure there is always separation between them so Jezibel can't get at Buffy.  Buffy stays on the “catio” and it's off limits to Jezibel.

I'm hoping that over time, with Charlie spending a lot of time with each of them so they don't feel slighted, they might one day be able to pass each other without a fight.

But, if they manage to get at each other again, I know we’ll wade right in. We couldn't bear to see either get hurt.

Stay tuned.......
My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D =^..^= 

At nighttime, they roam around the house, searching for a new hiding place. At dawn, they yawn and stretch, pretending they slept all night. At noon, they bask in the sunshine that streams through windows. In the evening, they settle down in their favorite chairs. It's just another day in the life of a cat.

So much has happened that I don’t know where to begin.  But, I will try to catch up on things.

I’m still working at the acupuncture clinic and I don’t know how much longer it will be.  I have so many things to do at home now that I really don’t feel like I can spare that one day a week away. 

Mr. Creme is doing fine.  His weight is good and for now he is stabilized on his insulin intake.
He’s so used to getting his injections that he waits for it after he eats.  The Zobalin B12 pills are working well to keep his legs strong too.  For a 13 year old cat, he looks good.

Ellie still has that congestion.  The Veraflox we tried didn’t work.  Then we started her on Doxycyline.  In a few days, the congestion improved.  We gave her the Doxy twice a day for 10 days.  Then just a few days later, the congestion was back.  Mucous in her nose, etc.  The doctor said we could put her back on Doxy.  This time for 20 days, twice a day.  She improved, but not like the first time.

She was losing weight so we took her to the vet to have a blood panel done.  The vet called and gave us the news, she has diabetes, like her brother, Mr. Creme.  That was last Friday, July 5.  We started her on 2 units of insulin.  She also gets the Zobalin for her legs.  If they were to get worse than they are now, she’d not be walking at all.

So far, in just a week, she seems to be improving.  Her appetite is very good.  She’s still on the Doxycyline too. 

The doctor also said that Ellie’s heartbeat seems arrhythmic, like three heartbeats.  She thought the Terbutaline may have caused it since it can cause a fast heartbeat.  We were to keep her off of the Terbutaline for a few days and bring her back to the vet.  But, Ellie was so congested one night that she wouldn’t eat.  We couldn’t give her insulin unless she ate.  So we decided to give the Terbutaline since that’s the only thing that opens her passages so she can smell her food.  Hopefully the Doxycyline will keep the congestion at bay and we won’t have to use the Terbutaline.  We’re also hoping that it is not a heart condition.  We won’t know until we take Ellie back to the vet.

One morning I was on the cat patio cleaning and checking things.  I noticed some drops of blood on the floor.  Charlie went around to each cat to see if he could find out which cat had blood on them.  We thought maybe someone had cut a paw.  He found Lexi and she had a bloody nose.  He brought her in and her nose was still dripping.  We called the vet and had to wait for them to call us back.  While we waited, we cleaned her nose and tried to get the bleeding stopped.  It stopped.  We took her to the vet the next day.  They did some tests.  The doctor called back and said that Lexi had high blood pressure.  It was 230.  A cat’s BP is similar in numbers to a person’s.  They only use the bottom number though. 

The doctor wanted to get Lexi on blood pressure meds as soon as we could.  It was Amlodipine.  She called the prescription in to the drug store and I picked it up on my way home from work.  The pills are tiny and she gets 1/4 in the evening.

After a few days, we took Lexi back to have BP checked.  It was down to 140, an improvement obviously.  Tests showed that Lexi’s thyroid was still fine on the medication she’s on.  That medication is supposed to help keep her blood pressure down too, but it doesn’t so we will keep Lexi on meds for now.  We’ll also ask the doctor if the Veraflox that Lexi was on, could cause the high blood pressure.  She’s not on it now.

Stay tuned.......
My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D =^..^= 

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it is that makes cats and our relationships to cats so special. Yes, they are extraordinary in their wisdom and their independence and their beauty. Yes, they provide comfort and company and, of course, fun. But it’s more than that. I think cats provide permanence. Cats don’t change. –Peter Gethers

Ellie has been on Veraflox for about 3 days.  So far we see no really big improvement in her condition.  She is still very congested.  Last night I gave her a dose of Terbutaline, hoping it would help her breathing.  I held her for awhile, holding the Vick’s© inhaler near her nose.  That did seem to help her breathe better.  She managed to take deep breaths, which made me breathe better too!

I feel so bad for this little cat, who struggles to breathe and walk.  But, she does keep moving and she gets impatient if we hold her for too long.  She’s very strong-willed and knows where she wants to be and it’s not usually on a lap.  Sometimes she will come over to Charlie and “ask” to sit on his lap.  He has to pick her up because she can’t jump up.  She stays for a few minutes, enjoying the petting, and sometimes she even sleeps for a while.  Then when it’s time to get down, she wastes no time expressing her displeasure.  But, I think Ellie knows that we are trying to help her and make her comfortable.  In her mind, she has no disability at all.

If, after a week of Veraflox for her cold, she doesn’t show improvement, we will take her back to the vet.  This is so frustrating, having two cats, Lexi and Ellie, with respiratory problems.  We think Lexi’s problem is allergy related, but Ellie has gotten much worse with her asthma and she is very susceptible to colds now.

Lexi is also going through another two weeks with Veraflox.  The first time we did that, it really helped her congestion.  I was hoping that it was gone.  But, after a few days, the congestion was back.  The vet said we couldn’t keep her on it because it is an antibiotic and won’t work if it is used too much.

Buffy continues to improve and get used to his new surroundings.  We are hoping to be able to let him roam freely on the big “cat-io” in a few months.  With our last feral cat, Kiki, we left the kennel door open for her to come and go.  If Kiki got startled, she had the safety of her kennel to go to, which she did.  After snooping around for awhile, she usually went to her cat tree in the kennel and went to sleep.  That’s what we want Buffy to feel like he can do one day.  

Stay tuned.......
My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D =^..^= 

It is indeed remarkable how much these animals can be taught if taken in kittenhood and treated gently. Even as soon as their eyes open, they can be made to understand many things. –Godey’s Lady’s Book, May 1895

Ellie

Ellie’s asthma has gotten worse.  She has more congestion and it never completely goes away.  The Turbutaline that we give her now doesn’t seem to help her as much.  We used to give her a 1/4 pill and within an hour she felt better and could eat.  Now we’re giving her 2 (1/4) pills a day and although she usually will eat and drink water, her breathing is still labored.

Charlie took her to the vet last week for a steroid shot.  She has had shots before, but the vet said this steroid should help her for a couple of months.

We noticed the next day that she seemed to feel better, but is still congested. 

It was really warm yesterday and she didn’t have an appetite.  I gave her a pill earlier.  When I went to check on her before bedtime, I was shocked to see that both nostrils were blocked with mucous. 

I brought her downstairs and gave her to Charlie to hold while I got a warm, wet washcloth to clean her nose.  After I cleaned her nose, Ellie was still breathing through her mouth.  We decided to take her to the emergency hospital because we were afraid she was not getting enough oxygen.

At the hospital, they took her in right away.  Then after a while, the doctor came out.  We hadn’t had the chance to give Ellie’s medical background about her neuropathy in her legs or her constant trembling. 

When the doctor heard that these were chronic conditions with her, she was a little relieved I think.  There were just too many variables to deal with in an emergency.

They gave Ellie “pass by” oxygen, meaning they let the oxygen flow past her nose and not directly into her nose. 

When we were taken to a room and they brought Ellie in, she looked better, though she was still congested. 

The doctor said that Ellie had sneezed in the exam room and quite a bit of mucous came out.  We have never seen that before. 

The vet mentioned antibiotics, but really preferred that we take Ellie in to her regular vet for more follow-up.  We agreed.  We brought Ellie home and by 2:00 a.m., we were all in bed.

The next morning we made an appointment with our vet for Ellie.  Her exam showed that she has a cold! 

The medication that she has to take for a week is Veraflox, the same med that Lexi takes for her allergy. 

We had actually called the vet when Ellie continued to be congested, and asked if Veraflox would help her since it had helped Lexi.  The vet said no, in fact it might harm her.  But, since Ellie has a cold and it’s not congestion from her asthma, but from her cold, she can take Veraflox.  Go figure.

We are really careful about giving our cats meds not prescribed for them, but in this case, we would have been right.

Ellie checked out fine otherwise.  She weights 8 lbs. which surprised me.  I would have guessed 6 lbs. 

Last night when we saw Miss Ellie breathing with an open mouth, it scared us.  We thought of two years ago when her brother, Toby, was doing the same thing.  We took him to the emergency hospital and he didn’t make it. So, we thought Ellie also might be close to the last of her 9 lives, but she pulled out of it and we’re very happy about that!  Long live Miss Ellie.

A few weeks ago we noticed a little cat who was coming into our yard.  He was lying on the new patio (before it was enclosed).  A couple of our cats were watching him from inside the house. 

We didn’t know if this little cat belonged to anyone.  I had seen him in the neighborhood a few weeks before.  Once I saw him down on the corner of our street.  Another time I saw him across the cul-de-sac, walking along the sidewalk.  Then one morning I saw him in our front yard.  When I went to the window, he ran away.

Since our cats go outside, we didn’t want this cat in our backyard, but he seemed to want to be there, maybe because of the cats, who he didn’t seem to be afraid of.

But, one afternoon, I looked out and Mr. Creme was chasing him, (as well as he could) through the yard.  The little cat jumped up on the fence and struggled to get over and made it.  I was afraid he would get his leg caught on the lattice, but he seemed to be okay.

We decided we would catch the little cat and take him to the vet, get him fixed, vaccinated and release him.  He didn't have a collar, so we figured he was a stray.

Charlie called to make an appointment with our vet for the next day.  We set the trap out that afternoon and within minutes, we trapped the cat.

We moved him to a crate on the open patio.  We didn’t want him in the house because we didn’t know if he had anything contagious and didn’t want him near our cats.  He was feral.  Very afraid of us.  We don’t think he had ever been close to a human or touched.

At the vet, he was checked out for feline leukemia and was negative, which was good.  He received his rabies, FVRCP-PN, FeLV shots and was neutered.  The vet said he was about 2 years old.

He was at the vet for one day.  We brought him home and set him up in my computer room in our biggest dog crate and planned to keep him a few days until he healed from the surgery.

After a few days of good food, we noticed his coloring started to change.  He was cream colored, with orange ears, nose, tail, paws, and beautiful light blue eyes.

I went to Petsmart to meet with one of the animal rescue representatives from where we had adopted Jonesie a couple of years ago.  While I was waiting, I looked at the cats that were up for adoption.  There was a cat there who looked like the cat we had just taken in.  He was called a Flame Point, a mix of Siamese. 

I gave her the information on him, who we now were calling “Buffy”.  I was looking for someone who worked with feral cats, and might want to foster him and try to tame him, but was told, frankly, that they had more luck with people fostering feral kittens.  Buffy was already grown and probably no one would be interested in working with him.

Charlie and I watched him and saw how frightened he was, but at the same time, it was hard not to feel compassion for this little cat who had come into our yard for some reason.  I mean, when we went out and he saw us, he had run and struggled to climb that 7' fence, but then later he kept coming back.  We had not been leaving food outside, I have to admit, after  he started coming into the yard, I started putting some dry food on the other side of the house.

I was going out to the back patio one evening, just about dark.  As I opened the patio door, Buffy was getting ready to go under the glider there and get into the cat bed and settle for the night.  He saw me and ran away.  I felt bad, but at that point I didn’t know what to do.

We talked to a friend, who had a friend, who said she might be interested in fostering, but she had to check with her husband.  They had a trip planned and were going to be out of town for a couple of weeks.  We decided to start working with Buffy in the meantime until we found out if she would be able to help.

Charlie did some research on working with feral cats.  He started playing with Buffy and offering him treats.  Pretty soon, he was able to pet Buffy while he ate his food.

There were times when Buffy just couldn’t bring himself to trust and would shrink back into his corner, but for the most part, we could see that Buffy just had such a fear of us and he just couldn’t bring himself to trust us.

I have to say that he seemed to trust Charlie more than he trusted me.  I got nailed by his hard hitting paws a couple of times and he gave me some nasty bruises.  I bruise easy, but his hits really hurt.  I got a little disenchanted with trying to make friends with Buffy.  It wasn’t that I didn’t like Buffy, I just don’t think he cared for me and maybe I was trying too hard.

But, Charlie was progressing pretty well with Buffy.  He gave Buffy his breakfast and would come in to say, “I petted Buffy while he was eating!”  Good news.

When we finally had the enclosed patio completed, we decided to move Buffy to a 4x4x6' kennel.  We were surprised that the transition to this larger enclosure seemed more traumatic to him than when we had first put him in the smaller crate.

But, after a couple of days, he settled down.  When the cats walked by, he “talked” to them.  They hissed back at him, but it didn’t seem to discourage him.  He still talked.

We didn’t expect Buffy to touch our hearts the way he has, but I have to say, we never planned or expected that we would spend our time rescuing cats like we have.  It just happened. 

Buffy is a work in progress, but it looks like he’s our next project.  Charlie is emotionally connected to him.  He reminds Charlie of a little cat who he rescued many years ago in a barn in Cleveland, Ohio.  A feral little orange and white kitten who Charlie named “ET”, because of the way he stretched his little head up to look around. 

Like “ET”, Buffy has the innocent and fearful look of a cat who has never been handled by humans.  His trust has to be earned.  He has that look on his face like, “You’re not going to hurt me, are you?” 

No, no one is going to hurt you, Buffy.  You're safe as can be at the “Bell Haven”.

Buffy

He was coming to understand that...he was really and truly safe. They did not love him for his glossy tiger coat, nor for his white shirt front and white paws...they loved him because he was himself. –May Sarton, The Fur Person

Lexi and Mr. Creme’s vet visit went well.  The doctor was happy with Lexi’s improvement.  Seems the combination of the allergy pills and the new antibiotic, Veraflox, finally helped the congestion.  We still need to give the allergy pills each day and we have the Veraflox to give “as needed”.  Since it's an antibiotic, it shouldn't be given continuously because it could lose it effectiveness.

Mr. Creme is feeling pretty good about himself

Mr. Creme had blood drawn to make sure the bladder infection had cleared up.  The results were good.  His infection was gone.  Doctor gave us kudos for noticing a difference in Mr. Creme’s behavior.  That was why we took him in.  We know him and we can tell when something is different.  Since we caught it early, we were able to clear it up.  We’re happy that his blood glucose is good too.  We love our Mr. Creme.  He was 13 years old on March 22.  Hard to believe.  We’ve known him since he was born.

Old patio 9'x12'

New patio 12'x22'

A few weeks ago we decided we wanted to replace the enclosed “cat patio” with a larger one.  We have had that patio since we moved back here from Virginia in 2004.  It has been nice to have because we were able to have a place for cats who didn't do so well in the house with the other cats. 

Lexi and Jezibel didn’t get along well with others, so we put Jezibel in one 4x4x6' kennel and Lexi in the other.  They were there only at night and were in the yard during the day. 

Then we rescued Kiki, so Jezibel was “promoted” to Charlie’s work room upstairs.  That was fine since she likes being near him.  Kiki took over Jezibel’s kennel.

But, the patio had always had problems–it had a leak in the roof which we could never get repaired.  It was built around a chimney and was not properly flashed.  The people who installed the patio came out several times to try to stop the leaks.  We never knew the leaks weren’t fixed until the next rains came.  We’d call them again and they finally stopped returning our calls.  We knew they couldn’t help anyway.  So we called our roofer.  I think he came out three or four times.  He thought he had it fixed, but as soon as it rained, the leak was still there.  He didn’t charge us for the work after the first failure.  He was determined to fix it, but just couldn’t. 

We gave up trying to get it fixed and kept a plastic pail nearby if it rained.  It was awful.  But, the cats stayed dry since they were not near the leak.

Because we were getting a bigger patio, we had to have the sprinklers and water faucet moved.  Our yard maintenance guy came to move the sprinklers that were near the old patio and he would wait until the new slab was laid to put the new ones in.  He also moved some bushes that were near the old patio.

The plumber came over and re-routed the faucet and added a new faucet near the other end of the patio.   

All of these were expenses in addition to what we were paying for the patio installation.  It was adding up!

When it was time to demolish the old patio, we had to clear everything from it.  We moved Kiki’s 4x4 kennel to the garage.  Lexi was moved to my work room.  Everyone has adjusted.

Old patio slab almost gone!

New patio footprint

The patio was taken down and the concrete floor slab was broken up.  A new floor was poured.  The old patio–9'x12', would be replaced by a 12'x22' patio.

New patio slab

5 cats and an incomplete patio

After the new slab was poured, it took a few days for it to dry enough to walk on.  It was going to be another couple of weeks before the patio structure would be installed because all of the materials were not in yet.  It was nice to walk out on the open patio and see the whole yard for a change.

Our yard guy came over and finished the sprinkler system.  When the sprinklers came on, the outside edges of the floor were wet and we noticed that it was also wet next to the house.  I thought since we had fog and some drizzle overnight, it was probably due to that.  The sprinklers would have to be adjusted because I didn’t want the water hitting the outside of our new patio.  Plus the water would make spots on the glass windows!  Can't have that.

On that Tuesday, the day before the new patio was to be installed, the sprinklers were due to come on early that morning.  Later, I noticed that the patio was wet again.  But, it hadn’t been foggy or misty.  The day was sunny, so everything dried.

The next day, Wednesday, the guys came to install the patio structure.  They were done by that Friday.  It looked great.  Because of the tools and materials in the yard, we had not had the sprinklers on since early Tuesday morning.  They were due to come back on Sunday.

When I got up Sunday morning, I went out to the new patio and was horrified to see that the floor was wet in the spot next to the house.  I called our yard guy and told him, but didn’t ask that he come over since it was his day off.  He came right over. 

He found the problem, worked on it, adjusted the other sprinklers and left.  We thought it would be fine....until Tuesday, when the sprinklers came on again.  Sure enough, the floor was wet in the same place. 

The yard guy came back and realized the leak was from a different area.  This time he got it.  But, he will have to come again and route a sprinkler to a couple of spots that lost coverage. 

A finished wall & a promise of no leaks!

Kaci checking out her new digs

So having the patio is great, but not without a few problems and extra expenses along the way.  We expect to have the floor sealed next week and when all of that dries, we can start using it.  The floor will be shiny and will look like tile.  Also, supposedly easy to keep clean!

Inquiring minds want to know:  Who's Buffy?

Stay tuned.......
My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D =^..^= 

"Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday." ~Napoleon Hill

OK, it’s been more than a “few hours”, but I have finally made myself write again. 

Our solar panels were activated February 20 and we received our first electric bill on March 6. There were only partial savings from the solar since it had not been working for the full billing period, but it was significant.  Of course, now we get a separate bill for gas, but with the combination, it still will be much lower. 

With solar, we would not be required to pay the electric portion of the bill monthly if we didn’t want to.  The entire year’s bill would be due in February 2014.  But, we will pay it each month, as always.  They do require that the gas bill be paid monthly.   

We can monitor on the computer how much energy the panels are producing each day.  The graph shows the hours of sunlight and also the diagram of the panels.  When they are blue, they are working. 

Last month we took a “day off” and went up to Simi Valley to visit the Reagan Presidential Library.  It was on a Friday.  We left home at 10:00 a.m.  Our ticket time was 1:45-2:00 p.m., but it’s a three hour drive and being Friday, we had to allow for traffic.  It was sometimes slow, but not that bad. 

I was looking forward to seeing the Air Force One exhibit.  Going through the plane, I did expect it to be much bigger.  Of course, that particular plane had been used in a couple of previous administrations and was upgraded to the 747 used today, after Reagan left office in 1990. 

Another highlight of the Library was the replica of the Oval Office.  It was set up the way it was when Reagan was there.  There were some items that had actually been in the office then.  Even though it wasn’t real, there was a certain feeling to it that made it seem so. 

Our last stop (after the gift shop!) was outside to the gardens.  It was landscaped to look like the South lawn at the White House in D.C.  There is a beautiful view of the hills and orchards below.  The day was clear, so we could see the ocean in the distance.

President Reagan’s gravesite is on the grounds.  It is very simple, but beautiful and peaceful.  We left the Library after three hours of touring and it was a very nice visit.

Updates on the cats:

Mr. Creme had blood work done a couple of weeks ago.  They did a full panel as well as a fructosamine test for his glucose levels.  The doctor called and said that MC had a bladder infection!  We had no idea, although I had noticed that he was not eating as well as he should and that was why we had the tests done, but we thought it was something to do with his diabetes.  She wanted to put him on antibiotics ASAP because she didn’t want the infection moving to his kidneys.  I took him into the clinic and he received an antibiotic injection to get into his system and some Clavomox pills to take for 10 days.

Lexi’s congestion was just not getting any better.  I was giving her the allergy pills, but they didn’t seem to have any king of effect.  We took her back to the vet, hoping that she could suggest something else.  We were getting to the point of considering taking her to the Veterinary Specialty Hospital to see a specialist for help.

The doctor listened to Lexi’s breathing and determined that her chest was clear and the congestion seemed to be just in her nose.  She said to continue giving the allergy pills and gave us some liquid to try.  It’s called Veraflox and it’s new.  We gave it once a day for about 10 days.  There was noticeable improvement after a few days.  By the time she had her last dose, her breathing was almost clear.  Definitely a difference we hadn’t seen in a long time. 

Mr. Creme and Lexi will go back to the vet tomorrow for a recheck.  We will find out if the Veraflox is something we can use as needed or if it is something that Lexi will have to have regularly.  We also don’t know if there will be any changes in Mr. Creme’s insulin dosage.  Dr. didn’t go over the blood glucose test two weeks ago because she was more concerned about Mr. Creme’s bladder infection.  I suspect there is something that will change though.