Blog – Page 308 – Sharon Lee, Writer

Socks update: The numbers are in

. . .and the numbers are Not Good.

Socks is in acute kidney failure*. This obviously means that our plan of treatment has been radically changed.

We’re going to be concentrating on keeping him comfortable, hydrated, and fed. I’ll be taking a tutorial on how to administer subcutaneous liquids to cats, so we don’t have to distress Socks with a ride to the vet every couple days. The vet did say that she has never seen a cat with such high numbers who was still eating and drinking and enjoying life, which is a testament to Socks’ good nature and can-do attitude.

The ultrasound image is. . .inconclusive. There was some concern about were or weren’t the kidneys polycystic — to my mind, that’s a technical detail. The vet wants to diagnose correctly, and to that end, she’s seeking guidance from her colleagues. The best she could tell me when we spoke this morning is that the kidneys are “not normal.” Apparently in normal kidneys, the ultrasound will show the structure of the organ in perfect clarity. If the kidneys are polycystic, the cysts are very visible and impossible to miss. In Sock’s case, the kidney structure is. . .not what it should be, but if there’s a cyst tell, it isn’t obvious.

. . .as I said, for us, and for Socks — a side issue.

The other question — how long will we have him with us? We don’t know. We’ll treasure each day that we do have him with us.

Steve and I want to thank everyone who donated to defray Socks’ medical expenses, and everyone who were Standing Ready. At this point, there’s really no sense in accumulating a Socks Defense Fund; this isn’t something that money — or anything else — can fix.

We’ll continue updates as seems reasonable.

Here’s a picture of Socks this morning, as Steve and I were eating breakfast. He was full of smiles and purrs. His position on the bench (on newspapers! Socks loves him some newspapers!) is strategic: the cat water fountain is directly to his left, where he can keep a close eye on it.

__________

*Kidney function is measured in units of BUN/UREA and CREA. The normal range for BUN/UREA is between 15 – 34 mg/dl; 0.8 – 2.3 mg/dl for CREA. Socks’ numbers are BUN/UREA: 180 mg/dl; CREA 8.3 mg/dl.

Socks update; waiting is

Socks is home; hydrated, and a-glow with the received adoration of his fan club at the vet’s office. What we’re waiting for are the results of blood work and ultrasound, which will help us decide what will need to happen, going forward.

Hopefully, we’ll have all the results in one place tomorrow, and will know exactly what we’re looking at.

Thank you all for your care.

Socks Update

. . .this is not the Socks update I thought I’d be making this morning. Then, I thought that I would be saying that Socks has been going on pretty well; a little grumpy, maybe, since his last emergency trip to the vet, on March 7. His sneezing had increased and we had reported that to his vet, who thought that maybe the Baytril he’d been on had stopped working and had put him on Clindamycin, to see if that made a difference.

That was what I would have typed, if I had written the report this morning.

Now. . .

I’m sorry to report that Socks started to throw up and showed some other distress. We called the vet (there is a snowstorm going on, though at the time of the call, and the subsequent travel, the snow had slowed considerably), and debated whether or not to take him in; since we weren’t sure there was a problem, but with his known problems did we want to take a risk. . .and, long story short, we wound up inching our way down to Waterville in the snow. Steve drove, and it was a good thing that he did; I would have been a weeping wreck by the time we reached the vet.

Anyhow, there was a room ready when we arrived and Socks saw the lead vet in the practice, who said that, since this was a new manifestation, the best thing to do was to have Socks under observation, so. . .Socks is overnighting at the hospital, and we’ll have a report tomorrow.

We then inched back to our house in the country, the snow having picked up, and roads virtually empty, saving us, and the occasional plow truck.

. . .and that’s the Socks Update.

An overfed, long-haired, leaping gnome

Last evening, Steve and I went comet hunting — and we bagged one! Speaking for myself, I’m always pleased when I can see anything through binoculars (Steve had brought the Big Telescope, but we decided not to get it out since the astronomical binoculars were sufficient unto the task). The crescent moon was just brilliant — and I saw Jupiter, too, sitting right next to it. Steve also saw three Jovian moons, but I’m not that good.

We finally left our vantage point on the ridge clearcut because we were freezing, and because the comet had traveled out of our line of sight, and came home to celebratory grilled cheese sammiches.

This morning was the morning that I was going to take my car to the Subaru Dealer in Augusta and spend (so said my pessimism, which is rarely wrong) thousands of dollars getting the ABS brakes fixed-or-replaced.

This mission was made somewhat more complex by the fact that the (brand! new! in August) battery was stone cold dead and not even a click could be gotten out of it when I turned the key in the ignition.

I went back into the house, and called AAA, which promised a truck within the next 45 minutes, and then I called the garage, explained the whole business and asked if I was taking the car to Augusta or bringing it down to him. He said to bring it to him and he’d figure out what was going on.

Which he did.

The (brand! new! in August) alternator was stone cold dead — and, no, we don’t know why. However, the mechanic declared it defective and put another in, free of charge. So, yay! I saved thousands of dollars, but still got to worry.

In other news, my credit card was (according to BOA) “compromised” via a “third party vendor,” and they sent me a new one (credit card, not third-party vendor, though come to think of it, I might need one of those, too…) Which has the damn chip embedded. They didn’t even ask this time.

Carousel Seas, meanwhile, informs me that it must be a bifurcated narrative, instead of All Kate All the Time. This troubles me, but the reasons given are compelling, and the book itself is adamant, so there we have it.

Now that I’ve accepted the inevitable, I need to rewrite a piece-already-written, and work out how the two threads will shadow each other. Mozart will be pleased — this will require some serious couch time with pen and paper.

For those playing along at home — you thought we’d had the last snow of the year, didn’t you? Yeah, so did I. Fooled us both, they did.

We currently reside beneath a Winter Storm Warning, with 10-14 inches of heavy, wet snow expected to fall between early Tuesday morning and midnight. Yes, Wednesday is the first day of Spring; what’s your point?

. . .I do believe that catches us up.

If you need more, I’ll be on the couch with Mozart.

Sufficient unto the day is the excitement thereof

So, let’s see…

Early today, we discovered that Agent of Change was now available, DRM-free, from the Baen Free Library, which means it’s also available for free download from Amazon, because that’s how the Big River rolls. Since the purpose of giving the first one away for free is to ~~addict~~ acquaint new readers with the Liaden Universe®, we ask that you please point out Agent’s availability to your friends, coworkers, family members, strangers chance-met on the street. . . and, if you’re able, to boost the signal, by mentioning Agent’s free-to-download goodness in your blog, on Twitter, or Facebook, or wherever readers congregate online. Also? The Kindle edition needs reader reviews, to help curious newbies decide whether or not they want to read this book.

As of this writing, the free edition of Agent of Change has a bestseller rank of 632, which puts it at #1 in Kindle Space Opera, and #62 in Kindle Science Fiction and Fantasy. For whatever that’s worth — of which more in a moment.

OK, so that was the morning shift.

This afternoon, we learned that Dragon Ship by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller was the Number One Best Read of 2012, according to those who voted in SFSite’s Best SF and Fantasy Books of 2012: Reader’s Choice, where it is one of an amazing six Baen titles on the list.

Speaking of Amazon bestsellers (see how I did that? Smooth, right?), I came across this article, in which a new author is stunned by the financial rewards of his chosen profession.

Then there’s this article, which talks about the challenges of lipreading — if you read nothing else tonight, read this article; it’s fascinating.

And, apropos of nothing much, except that I was inside Steve’s camera earlier and found this — for your viewing pleasure, here is a picture of part of our living room. The part with the Yule tree (which is still up), the Skylark Award sporting it’s classy! cover! that was kindly created for it by Kat Ayers Mannix.

In-between the Skylark and the tree is the Prism Award, recklessly unshrouded. Directly before the Skylark are the extra Skylark Shrouds Kat also made. And, yes, that is a red metallic cloth covering the top of the old radio on which all of this is arranged.

Yule Tree, Skylark, Prism, Cover Art by David Mattingly

Hook a friend on Liad

Back in February 1988, Del Rey Books published as a paperback original a space opera that asked the musical question, Can a rich boy with a severe personality disorder, and a brother who is a giant sentient turtle, find true love and lasting happiness with a tough-talking retired mercenary soldier on the run from the Mob? The title of this odd little novel was Agent of Change, from first-time novelists Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

This! is the novel that set up the Liaden Universe®, now sixteen books strong. And now? You can download it for free from these sources, DRM-free:

The Baen Free Library (in all ebook formats known to man)

Amazon (kindle)

Please share this news with all your friends, and especially with your friends who need the Liaden Universe® in their lives.

In other news, it snowed last night.

Cat Farm in the snow
Photo by Steve Miller

I can climb the highest mountain; I can cross the wildest sea

Today, it was back to the Winslow Library, which despite being smaller and consisting of one really big room (the Winslow Library lives in a converted roller rink — in what was conceived as a temp location until a proper library could be built, oh…I’m gonna say ten, twelve years ago. Despite the fact that it was never supposed to house the collection forever, it’s well-maintained and very easy on the nerves, and holds up extremely well to the old library building, which was, I believe, a former church. When the congregation outgrew the building, it somehow came to house the town library. It was old, it was tiny, it was cold. Oh, and it was on a flood plain. Every spring, the librarian would put out a sign up sheet for those folks who would be available at any hour of the day or night (I’m not kidding here) to move the books out, if the river crested above a certain number of feet. Good times.) — is much quieter than the Waterville Library. Also closer.

Edited to Add: I have a lousy memory; here’s a quick history and current news on the old library

Anyhow, I’d slept late, and so got a late start. The day was sunny and cold, and I noticed as I drove down the Garland Road that there are, like, a zillion maple trees on tap — more than I’ve ever seen. I’m wondering if this because this March is displaying some arcane signs of being the Best Sap Year EVER, or if I’m seeing desperation. Gotta make money, and there’s good money in maple syrup. Not necessarily in comparison to the labor involved, but having something to do is better than having nothing to do.

At the library, I realized that Number Ten Ox, the laptop was only half-charged, and that there seem to be no public plugs in the library. Note to self: Remember to recharge Ox every time you come home from a writing shift away.

Got about 1100 words down on Chapter Five before I needed to shut down for lack of power, whereupon I went into town to perform various errands.

It was then that I noticed the ABS light was now lit on Binjali’s dashboard. The ABS light has to do with the anti-lock braking system. Seems that, if the light is on, the anti-lock brakes are off, though, somehow, “regular” braking is still in force (oh, rly?). The cure for this is to — all together now — take the car to a Subaru dealer. Yanno? I’ll deal with that next week.

Errands accomplished, I stopped to pick up lunch at the Red Barn’s Winslow satellite; and Steve and I feasted on fried chicken nuggets and potato salad. Excellent lunch!

I have now finished writing Very Substantial Checks to the IRS and the Maine State Treasurer — and there’s still money in the checkbook! (this, children, is why, when we get a check in, no matter how small, no matter how much needed, we take the taxes out first. Learn from our mistake; do this. It’s painful, and depressing to see how little is left of a royalty check after 33% has been deducted, but it’s even more depressing to find out on Income Tax Settling Day that you owe more than you have.

I’ve also finished Chapter Five in rough draft, and now it’s too late to go to bed early, so I guess I’ll settle for going to bed.

Who’s got Big Plans for the weekend?

Progress on Carousel Seas:

8,510/100,000 OR 8.50% complete

“I don’t bear any particular fondness for Arbitrary and Cruel, but they are my employer, so I gotta be careful, here,” she said, slowly.

Mozart, After; plus bonus pics!

Mozart is home from his ordeal and is of course exhausted. Here, he observes the gooshy food that ought to be his, except that his sub-intelligent and unfeeling minion has instead given to Socks.

Here’s Socks, trying not to look too smug:

Socks, being not very smug — Socks, being not *very* smug

Scrabble stole a march on everyone by sneaking into my ~~Mozart’s~~ her rocking chair while the Silly Fluffs argued over food.

…this has been your Thursday afternoon cat report from the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory.

You’re welcome.

Today’s theme is! Errands, with a side of chores

Today, Mozart goes to the hairdresser for his summer do. It’s a little early, but Mozart had obviously planned for a Cold Maine Winter, Just Like Grandpa Used to Have. I think he fails to understand that Grandpa tended to exaggerate when he was into the nip.

Anyhow, here’s Mozart being prepared for winter:

I’m sure he’ll be just as annoyed in the After shot.

So, first thing is hairdresser. Then back to the house to cook and eat supper; the chicken already marinating because I am mighty!; then out in the opposite direction to ransom the income taxes from the accountant. Then back home, to check over the paperwork and doubtless to write checks to the IRS and the Treasurer of the State of Maine. Possibly I’ll get some writing done, if no more chores or errands mount up while I’m slaying the ones already in-queue.

Speaking of checks — several kind people sent money via the Splinter Universe PayPal button, to help with the repair of my car. Thank you so very much; I’m surprised, but grateful.

I did yesterday get to the library for a writing shift, after picking said car up from the garage, which was good. I’m liking this getting out to a new room; varying from the Same Old seems to be sharpening up the writer brain. The writing goal is 2,000 words a day on Carousel Seas. The plan is to get to the point where I can juggle one ball, and then add in another for later in the day. This may or may not work, but if you don’t try, you never learn.

Or something.

And I see by the clock on the wall that it’s time to find a cat and insert him into a cat carrier.

See y’all later.

Progress on Carousel Seas:

6,004/100,000 words OR 6% completed

“Kate,” I said, bending over to pick up the Journal-Trib, “you lack vision.”

I believe it may be Tuesday

I managed, for the first time since last Monday, to get out of the house for my morning writing shift. Today, I sampled the Waterville Library, which may be up for some award for the Noisiest Library in the State of Maine. Initially, I went upstairs to the Maine History Room, where I had been as alone as a writer could wish to be on a previous occasion. Today, the History Room was empty, but there was an Intervention of some sort going on in the room directly across the hall, and both of the women involved sport Hearty Farm Girl lungs.

I really didn’t want to hear the personal business of the woman being counseled, so I went down one flight, to Non-fiction, and set up on a table by an air shaft/skylight. This seemed ideal, except that the air shaft went right down into the librarians’ office, and they were having a gossipfest.

I finally wound up writing on one of the low pillowed window seats between Maps and Non-fiction.

The bitter irony here is that I knew I didn’t want to go to Winslow today, because they have a morning story hour, and Winslow is one, big, open concept library. Waterville, I reasoned, would be quieter, because it’s split up among four floors.

Hah.

Note to self: put earplugs into work bag.

Despite it all, I did get some work done — 2,174 by the time the dust settled during evening revisions.

My plan had been to hit a library again early tomorrow, but on the way home (cue sinister music) the muffler went kaplooie (or, more accurately, it went brumrumRUMrumrum). I arrived home and asked Steve if he would follow me back into town, to the garage. He said he would, but he had some things to take care of first, so while he was taking care of things, I decided to upgrade the LibreOffice on my desktop.

This is a relatively simple operation, but it became fraught, because of Chrome misnaming a file with a .torrent at the end, which, as you may imagine threw Windows into a screaming tizzy. It wouldn’t let me install the file, the LibreOffice site does not make it easy to find 3.6.5 now that 4.0 has been released, and it was all just Much Harder than it needed to be.

Then someone was wrong on the internet. Sigh.

So, Steve and I ate lunch, and motored out to the garage, dropped Binjali off, hit Staples for a laptop mouse to replace mine that had died months ago, but I just remembered it today at the library, and then picked up a couple of vanilla milkshakes, because it had suddenly become That Kind of Day.

We returned home to questions from the accountant in re our tax information; someone was still wrong on the internet; and I finally got my editing done. I have notes for the next scene, so that’s ready for expansion tomorrow, which I will do, if I have to sit on the damn porch in the rain.

. . .Public Service Announcements Below

I’m not if this will work, but David Mattingly posted a video of Times Square on Saturday night. Here’s the link which may or may not work

* * *

Also, Waterville and nearby Maine folk take note! There will be a Steampunk Tea, sponsored by the Waterville Public Library and Cirque du Geek cordially invite you to attend a Steampunk Tea Party at Selah Tea Cafe on Maine Street in Waterville. The festivities will include a costume contest, Steampunk games, and more!

Join us for tea, cookies, and some Steampunk fun! Attending in costume is encouraged, but not required.

Another link that may or may not work, to Cirque du Geek’s facebook page

And here’s Selah Tea’s webpage

* * *

Last but not least, please give if you can: Bangor Women’s Shelter Matching Fund

Progress on Carousel Seas: 4,003/100,000 OR 4% completed

By ways unseen, she came to the sea.