Life Goes On,

Again it's been a while since I made an entry.   Guess I've been distracted by events at home.  My sister died a few days ago.  She was 74 years old and usually in good health until about 3 weeks before her death.  I like to think she is now with our parents.  She was a good person, good sister and I miss her so much already.  I guess in time the pain will decrease as I remember  happy times rather than dwelling on the sadness.    Her name was Joan,  she had 3 grown children all in very successful
careers.  They will miss her, this I know, and wish I could help ease their pain of loss as I deal with my own. Her husband survives her, and I know it will take time for him to come to a place of acceptance and peace.  She also has about 3 grandchildren who love her very much and will miss her, and the good times that children are supposed to have with their grandparents.  I never had grandparents -  all were deceased by the time I was 2 years old except for one and I do not remember him - my mother's father. Although I remember some of the stories she told me about her parents and the early years of marriage to my father.  I always had lots of questions, and I think it made her a bit anxious trying to remember things.  My only regret is that I didn't write those stories in a note book to keep them.  What memories remain with me are scattered and incomplete, but they're something I'm at least glad to have.   Now I will treasure my sister's memories and perhaps write some of them here in future entries.    For now I'd like to encourage everyone to write what memories you have of your parents and other family members and friends too.  You will be glad you did, and others such as sisters and family friends will most likely also appreciate them very much.  Now make sure you call your moms, siblings and dad too just to talk and take notes.

Been quite a while between posts.  Although I have been busy writing some letters,  playing with my cats and trying to keep my house clean.  The kitties are cute and such company.  I wish I could take one for a walk without a leash on him or her, but they won't walk on a leash and it's far too dangerous to walk without one.  Cats don't respond to verbal commands the way some dogs do (no response is the usual).

 On another topic I have been losing things more than I usually do.  I put something down and can't find it an hour later.  I have always been that way.  The nuns who  taught in my elementary  and high school  were always punishing me which didn't help at all. In fact it made my anxiety increase and I got more forgetful.  I always hoped I'd grow out of this losing thing, but no such luck.  I do think it might have improved a little, but certainly it's not gone. I love the idea of a place for everything and everything in its place, but I was never able to manage that.  My cats don't mind  though unless I lose their food which doesn't happen - ever or their toys which does happen sometimes.

Animals are good for us.  They keep us company, warn us sometimes, share our meals and sleep on the bed with us.  While cats are not quite as demonstrative or obedient as dogs (or kids either for that matter) they are company and often one of them will have to sit right near me, purring loudly. Of
course when that happens I have to pet them and kiss them and talk to them and they seem to like most of it, but they don't like being picked up except for one, Seamus.  They tolerate it a little and then squirm a bit until I let them go.  But their most important job is simply being here and keeping me company every day and entertain me with their antics sometimes.  The telephone is my other tool for relieving boredom or loneliness and taking a one mile run around the neighborhood at least once each day.  I think I should find something more interesting to do..












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Good Thing I'm a Nurse

My little diabetic kitty who is actually somewhat large is doing fine.  He's sweet and gentle as always.  He is on insulin twice a day and several other meds.  I never knew the cost of insulin until I bought his first vial - more than $300.00 for a bottle of about a teaspoon of insulin. I'm not sure, but I think that makes it more expensive than gold.  It does last several weeks  Then there are syringes, and trips to the vet for blood checks.  He's a mellow cat and that helps.  He never resists the injections just looks at me with a puzzled expression.  He seems to trust me which is good.  He purrs when I pick him up and since being on the insulin he seems to have lost some weight which is good for him.  He was a little pudgy which could have contributed to the diabetes.  I know he needs more exercise, but I'm not too good at that.  I run a mile every day for myself and would be  happy to include the kitty, but he objects to that, ie he lies down and I have to carry him.  I run in the house with a string to entice him to run.  He looks at me as though I'v lost my mind.  He's probably right now, that I think about it.  He is getting older -  I think he's about 11 years old now which means that he likes to sleep all day and get little exercise.  I do have to work on that. Even though I have 3 other cats they don't play with each other.  They are all olympic level sleepers. If  I'm not careful they'll all end up as diabetic  -  what a horrible thought.  One is really enough. So if anyone reading this has cats with illnesses or unusual behaviors write to me and I'll post some of the letters.  It always feels better to share problems with someone so I might post segments of the letters.  Thanks for reading my cat-centered  blog.

My diabetic kitty

Things have been OK with my special kitty.  His diabetes has been handled by me with guidence from my veterinarian and he's doing well.  I do worry about him though.  I give him insulin twice each day and 4 pills in the morning. I hate pushing them into his mouth and trying to get him to swallow before freeing him from my clenched hands.  He's a mellow, sweet, gentle kitty and so much more than that.  I'm trying hard to keep his meds on time and watch him for any problems relating to the insulin.  I also have pills to give him which I do in the morning and then at least those are done.  He objects more to the pills than to the insulin.  He's good though, so gentle and sweet.  He doesn't seem to hold a grudge either.

When I do give him the meds etc he often looks at me with a surprised expression, as though he can't believe I did that.  He is a lovable kitty - so gentle and trusting.  I'm sorry he has this problem and sometimes I feel responsible because I didn't watch his weight closely enough.  Animals are subject to so many of the same diseases as humans are subject to, and often the causes are the same ie not enough exercise & poor diet and sometimes heredity which can  lead to obesity which then  may lead to diabetes, CHF, sleep apnea and more, not to mention wardrobe problems as well.   To some extent I think it is easier to control a pets diet than my own or a child's, husband, elderly parent etc.  Most parents don't like to be controlled by their adult offsprings. My daughter is in FL and I am in New England so it's not much of an issue, though she does try to manage me from a distance thanks to the invention of that amazing thing called a telephone.  So take some advice from me ie keep your weight within normal limits,  eat a healthy diet with lots of veggies and some protein and little or no sweets, limit coffee or tea to one or 2 cups a day and alcohol  should be limited but check with your physician about this last item.  I'm inclined to think that even a small amount of alcohol could cause some problems especially as one ages or already is diabetic.  All alcoholic beverages contain high levels of sugar even if they don't taste sweet.

Where I live   (southern New England)  winter is slowing down and the sun is shining, but it's still rather cool outside.  Hat, coat, jeans or slacks, and gloves are mandatory  for maybe another month.
But better days are just ahead.  It's been hard trying to get my daily run in during these cold days. I need to buy one of those exercise machines to put in the basement, but I hate to spend the money.
An eliptical or treadmill might be great and I could avoid the freezing winter days in CT. I'll have to watch for sales and bargins on Craigs list.   I don't have statistics, but I would bet that a lot of people buy these machines and don't use them as much as planned so eventually they sell them.  I just wish they were more compact.  That would be helpful for people with small rooms in small houses.  I guess a jumprope would work but I'm not sure I'd have the energy for it.  I guess I should give it a trial before I spend a large amount of money.   Currently I just try to run up and  down the stairs 4-5 times and when it's sunny and warmish running around the block works pretty well.  I'd welcome some ideas about exercise machines, and running and anything related to exercise.  In the mean time stay healthy and get some exercise.

By the way, I'm open to sugestions related to different topics.  I'm running out of ideas.