The cat came back

The reason for the catchy title is that this week has been one of feline issues. Stanley (seen here on the left) had a problem with his 'waterworks' and had to go to the vet. When I came home from work after a day shift I found him asleep in the litter box, he hissed when I took him out, skulked around the house hissing, growled at Gary when his buddy was concerned about him, protested when picked up and hid in back of the headboard of the bed. It was too late to call the vet so I made arrangements for the boy wonder to take him in to be seen in the a.m., wrote a note of his signs and symptoms, unearthed the cat carrier and hesitantly went to bed. At some point during the night I awoke to both cats sleeping on the bed so realized all was well. When I found Stanley in the livingroom in the morning he was sleeping on the mat, purring and wanting his belly rubbed but I didn't fall for that as the arrangements had been made. I headed off to work and called the vet when they opened thinking that perhaps Stanley had a stoppage of urine and needed to be catherized. They said to bring him right in so I relayed that message to the boy. Stanley got to spend the day (and night) at the vet's but it turns out he had an infection so doesn't need special food, has antibiotics and inflammatories and the bill was only $113 so I actually felt relieved. So you can see he's in good form and able to drive the dog out of her own bed.

So, to backtrack on the week....I did get to the writing group afternoon and enjoyed myself thoroughly. The weather was sort of drizzly and as the time for leaving approached I thought 'well, I can sit around here or go accomplish something' so I whipped up a batch of biscuits, grabbed my MacBook Air and took off. The host has a fabulous property of gardens which have won awards and there was a group of nine who thoroughly enjoyed the exercises, chatting and eating. Got some exercises for my 'stash' for the next cruise ship speaking gig as well as starting some memoir stories.

The shore captain left for meetings in Cape Cod on Monday morning and so left his truck home as I ran him to the highway to meet his travelmates. On my way home from work that evening the check engine light came on in my ancient car. I asked the boy to check the oil for me but that took two days to get done so in the meantime I decided to drive the truck. I find it almost empty of gas and no gas card to fill it up. My call to his nibs Stateside was short and to the point! I stopped and put in $20 on my way home just as an incredible hailstorm struck the area.

I head in for my third LD - almost guaranteed to finish me off - and it erupts into pandemonium. By noontime the boss has sent me home to return for a LN as there is a sick call and no one to replace. There are worse things than doing the turnaround and that would have been staying the way things were going on that shift. I eat my BBQ lunch, go pick up my parcel at the post office, retrieve Stanley who is relieved to see me, skittish and freaked out all at the same time and head home. When we arrive, although it's only been 24 hours, Gary decides this is a foreign cat and threatens him. Poor Stanley. The only way to get the thug to back off was to show him the cat carrier - he ran. As if he'd fit in one that size! So much for cats missing each other.

So two very busy LNs and a beautiful day slept away in between and I am finally finished my set of shifts. Just in time to welcome back the shore captain from his self described "painfully dragging on meetings" and do a first aid course Friday evening and Saturday after not enough sleep. Small but well behaved crowd so got through in good time. Came home to find the shore captain was doing double duty as a farmer and had planted the front containers with the New Guinea impatients I'd had delivered to my vehicle at work from a  staff member who runs a garden center and something yellow he'd found at the store and he even pulled a few weeds. A quick sit in the sun, dogwalk, BBQ for supper with sangria and everything seems much better.

Have invited the first of the returning summer neighbours over for supper tomorrow so that will be a good chance to catch up. And speaking of travels and luggage:

http://bit.ly/MyPbjz

Now if I had a few more minutes in the day to read I might read the book Drive as review here:

The New York Times bestseller that gives readers a paradigm—shattering new way to think about motivation.
Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That's a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink in Drive. In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret to high performance and satisfaction-at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.
Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of life. He examines the three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose-and offers smart and surprising techniques for putting these into action in a unique book that will change how we think and transform how we live our lives

There was a bit of disappointment in this household tonight as the shore captain learned he had yet again not been sucessful in the moose draw. For those who unsure of how to draw for a moose - it is a government lottery held each fall where 10,000 resident Nova Scotians apply for 345 licenses. The man has applied every year since this lottery has been in existence and has yet to win so this isn't really a surprise. Now if the physician at my workplace who applied this year for the first time is successful....that will be another matter.