Before and After

Customer Service

I got haggled with on a daily basis over charges on bills back at my old job that I still have part-time, and I never wanted to be like those people.

Get a service, pay the bill.

On Thursday Itty was injected with water under his skin because he was dehydrated. This morning, Saturday, is the first attempt he's made at drinking water. That tells me he's on the mend, but he has gone a long time without hydration. So, MFH took him back to the vet today. They injected him with more water, but said the dehydration was not as bad today as it was on Thursday when they treated him. I am saddened that they didn't ask us to bring him back in for another look after medicating. They just said if we are concerned to call. Well, of course I am concerned, and because I've never cared for a 1.5 pound animal before, I don't know how long is too long to wait. His nose is all boogered up, and his eyes look better but still leak, and his breathing is labored.

After they treated him, they charged again for another office call and the water treatment.

MFH objected. He reminded them that this is the third time they've seen him for the same illness in a week. They knocked off the office visit.

If you don't ask, it's an automatic no.

Christmas kitten

We adopted Itty from one of those homeless animal centers on December 22. He is only about six weeks old. He was isolated in a cage with his three siblings, all of whom were adopted that same day, and his mother.

I was leary of bringing home such a baby, but naturally I couldn't leave him there. It was such a sad place, and I feel really bad for his mother who was left there alone. She was abandoned on the doorstep in a box with the babies.

They had a "sick room" with some cats infected with respiratory virus. She told me what to look for, and to bring Itty back for medication if we saw any symptoms.

We got one free vet check (our regular vet clinic participates in this program) within three days of adopting him. He got a clean bill of health.

And then he started sneezing.

And then there was discharge from his eyes and nose.

Back to the vet for medication to the tune of a $100 bill. I just couldn't take him back to the shelter. He's worth every penny.

I hope he feels better soon.

We still look for Boots.

(Itty is short for Itty Bitty Kitty.)

From our home to yours.......

Merry Christmas!

A step in the right direction

MFH has a buy-sell on our old property in his hot little hands.

The house has been on the market a little more than six months.

We accepted quite a bit less than our initial asking price, but the guy is single with just enough money gifted from his grandmother to be able get into the house.

We were happy to help him out because somebody did the same thing for us 16 years ago when we bought that same house.

When we were there last weekend, we stopped by to get some things out of the shop and we did a walk through. That house was sad. It needs to be filled with sounds.

It will be nice to put this behind us.

My bad

On Saturday we drove back to our old hometown to attend my company's Christmas party.

Not the Burger Corp., but the one that I can't seem to quit because they can't seem to replace me.

It was nice seeing everyone again, but I really shouldn't have gone. It made me homesick for all the familiarity and security of my old job. So on the way home, MFH suggested that I once again approach the owner about giving me my old job back. Yes, quit the Burger Corp. and work from home, traveling to them once a month.

I did. I feel an obligation to them, and inventory reconciliation is coming up, as well as year end, which are two functions that only I know how to handle.

Basically my suggestion was met with the same lack of enthusiasm as before. I guess I expected that time and the inability to hire anyone might change his mind.

I even thought that maybe I was doing him a favor - with year end fast approaching and me having a full-time job elsewhere, there is very little I'll be able to do to help them out. Certainly I won't be able to spend any time up there.

But, no, he's not interested.

So I've decided to do things on my own terms. I am tired of working ALL THE TIME. I'll do things when I feel like it, if I feel like it.

Today I got an email from him asking how soon I can have the numbers ready for November as he is meeting with the accountant. He needs the info ASAP.

His bad.

Innocence lost

Last night we were cleaning the table after dinner and I absently looked at the patio doors, I guess hoping to see a little black and white face peering in at me, like I've done a million times in the past week. I made a comment, and I wish I could remember what it was because The Boy looked at me in a panic and said, "Boots might not be coming home?" And then tears.

I took him to the living room and sat with him and explained how Boots would come home because he loves us and would never want to be away from us........IF he could.

But there is a chance that he can't come home.

There is a chance that he is no longer alive.

It's been a week, and that's a long time for a seven month old kitten to be on his own.

We cried.

I am getting another kitten. Not because I didn't love Boots, but because I did.

And we're still hoping that he's able to come home.

Can you hear me now?

The Boy came home one day last week and told us he had his ears checked that day. Ah, yes, the hearing screening. I asked how it was, and he showed us how they had him raise his hand for whichever ear heard the sound, etc.

I said, "Did you pass?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed.

Two days later we got a letter stating he has moderate hearing loss and that we need to see a doctor because it appears to be medically related.

Yesterday we saw an ENT. There is fluid trapped in the inner ear, but it is not infected. His tonsils almost touch together - this is something I noticed long ago, and brought to our ped's attention when he gagged on food alot as a small toddler - and his adenoids are large. These two conditions make it difficult for his ears to drain.

So, not only do they want to put tubes in his ears, they also want to take out the tonsils and adenoids.

It just seems so invasive.

I want to do the tubes now, and wait to see if he grows into the tonsils and adenoids. But, I also understand the surgery would be less complicated (if there is such a thing) if we do it now as a child rather than later as a teenager or adult.

Boots is still missing. Day 6. Poor kitty. Just like when we lost Puppy Coal, The Boy has offered to be my kitty.

Mother's intuition

The Boy has been taking his antibiotic therapy for that latent TB scare for 150 days. He has 120 days left.

Or, until he gets a clear chest x-ray according to the label on the prescription bottle, which is funny since he had a clear chest x-ray to begin with.

I've been ordering the medication from our old town since they have his script on file, and they keep the medication on hand.

I ordered a two month supply two weeks ago. He takes two 100mg tablets, and they are very tiny. The pills I got are HUGE. The label and instructions were the same, so we continued as usual for four days.

Until Friday, when I got a weird feeling. I examined the tablets and saw "300" on them (which is no small feat since my close vision sucks). Saturday I took both bottles into W.algreens. Sure enough, the new bottle contained 300 mg tablets. We had been giving him 600 mg a day for four days.

We called the pharmacy and left a message. The called back in a panic. We were told to discontinue the meds for this week and they will send out the correct dosage. We destroyed the old pills.

Thank goodness for a mother's intuition.

Boots is still missing. Day 4.

Still missing

Boots has now been gone three days.

MFH combed the acreage surrounding our house, about 20 in all, and did not find the kitty or any sign that there had been a struggle. That gives me hope.

We have an ad in the paper starting tomorrow, and we checked with all the local shelters today to no avail. Our neighbors know he's missing, and said they'll be on the lookout for him. We are doing all we can do.

I refuse to give up on him.

Thanks for your kind thoughts.

MIA

Boots is missing.

He's been gone a day and a half.

Initially we got him for The Boy, but he spent a lot of time with me when I was home. To make things worse, he slept on my pillow at night, curled up by my head or, most of the time, in the crook of my neck.

I miss him.

Speaking of ornaments....

isn't this one precious?

(two puppies and a kitten - not sure why I even bothered to decorate a tree this year.....)

Ornament Exchange

My in-laws moved to their small farming community about 30 miles away from the city in 1992. At that time, my MIL was able to quit working and befriended many of the women there. They started a tradition of getting together one Saturday in December to have an ornament exchange. It began with handmade ornaments, but a few years ago they changed the rules to include store bought ornaments.

Thank heavens for that, because this year I was invited.

I was anxious to attend because my good friend was included several years ago and she said she'd never go again. She called them "a bunch of snooty old women" and said she felt that her ornament wasn't good enough and she was embarrassed.

Because of that and even though I know most of these women, I was a little apprehensive. I chose my ornament with care. Even so, I second guessed myself for the past two weeks as to whether it was good enough and kept searching for another.

The exchange was Saturday. My friend went with me even though she said she'd never go again. We had a lovely afternoon of conversation and wine. The person who got my ornament loved it.

I got napkin rings.

Even The Boy was confused by that.

Drought

I have mentioned before that we live in the sticks. The boondocks. Outside the city limits.

Therefore, we do not have certain city services.

One of the big ma bell providers can get us phone service, but not high speed internet access. One of the big cable television providers doesn't provide services out this far. In fact, they are no farther out than they were 20 years ago when I left this city.

We do not have city sewer services. Instead we have a septic tank.

And, we have our water hauled. No city water. Water is a precious commodity. That equates to saying that our water is friggin' expensive.

So we conserve.

And we diligently measure the tanks to see where we sit so we don't run out.

Last Friday we were okay. We called on Saturday to have water delivered on Monday. I did laundry, ran the dishwasher, and did more laundry. On Monday I didn't see a bill where they usually put it, but that has happened before so I had MFH dip the tank.

It was almost empty. They forgot to come.

I ran out of water on my morning shower. I was not happy.

A positive side of this is that we are teaching The Boy that water is not to be wasted. One day he was at Grandma's for the day. Grandma lives in the city limits and has city services. The Boy wanted to play in the sink with some water toys. Grandma was running the water, when The Boy shut it off. He turned to her and said, "Grandma, do you have to have your water hauled here?"

Good boy.