Grandpa Trooper Health Report

What went before ONE: So, Trooper’s home, after having had many sorts of tests. Possibly there’s some very tiny bit of fluid in front of his heart. Maybe? Lungs clear; bloodwork magnificent; not dehydrated; not noticeably anxious at the vet’s; just quietly grumpy. He feasted on chicken baby food while he was there, and was given a long-term steroid shot (since I can’t get him to take prednisone from the plunger — he’s (still) big and strong and doesn’t care who he hurts, while management is down the second pair of hands that used to make this a non-issue).

The soft diagnosis is that he’s just sort of melting away from old cat to no cat. Possibly, we have some dementia, but, again, not acute. The steroid shot is because I observed him to be crying less when he was taking the prednisone, and it’s not impossible that he actually has some joint pain, which is making him fretful and weepy, given his age.

So, that’s the Trooper Health Update. I’ll be taking on some baby food when I’m out tomorrow.

What went before TWO: I got some work done today, but not as much as I wanted. However, I am not working late into the night, but knocking off now, as I am of the opinion that having a more or less regular schedule is, ahem, beneficial.

I will have from tomorrow afternoon through Monday afternoon to work, which is a lovely large wodge of time.

Everybody stay safe; I’ll see you tomorrow.

Err — what?

Hmm. Facebook may have made an improvement that actually, yanno, Improves Something. They’ve inserted a step between Write and Post, which doesn’t seem convenient, but it looks like it will allow me to share, say, my Morning Check-Ins with All the Liaden Groups, which might be beneficial.

I’ll explore that further tomorrow, too.

G’nite.

#

Friday. Sunny and already as warm as it’s supposed to get on the day, with an Bonus! high wind advisory.

Rookie got locked in the closet this morning. I had no idea he had even been in the room when I opened the door to get my shoes.

Breakfast was cream cheese on rice cakes, with a side of cherries. Kettle’s on for second cup of tea. Lunch may be a salad. Or it may be fish and a side salad. Something like that.

Mid-morning appointment with the chiropractor, and a stop at the grocery before I get home to take on baby food for Grandpa Trooper.

I’ve been trying to figure out a whale/puffin watch expedition, which is of course an ocean voyage. This means you need to leave from the coast, about 50 miles ThatAWay from the Cat Farm. There’s a very well-regarded tour service — Cap’n Fish by name — based in Boothbay — which is your standard “about an hour” by car.

Cap’n Fish has an Extremely Tempting combined puffin/whale cruise which leaves at 1 in the afternoon and is +/- 4 hours on the water, which means we’re docking 5/5:30. It is summer and the light’s with me, so now I need to think about stamina (and my budget; let’s not forget that). Route 27 is a pretty easy drive, but it’ll be, at the earliest, July and God She knows what the Summer People will be getting up to. Assuming we have any Summer People, of course.

Well. Something to noodle on in-between story bits.

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to next Tuesday. I have a date with visiting family to make glass in Belfast in the morning, when it is predicted to be — technical term — Stupid Hot. I’m hoping for a mediation of weather patterns over the weekend, but the ‘beans seem very certain of themselves on this one.

Other than All of That, I am planning a Writing Weekend, and hoping to move the book along in a forwarder direction.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Cat census:

Sun is cold and rain is hard

What went before ONE: Wednesday. Cool, cloudy, damp. Heading for warm and humid.

Off to the chiropractor in a few, then back home for a bit before going to lunch.

Not much else to report, save that the guy who takes care of the neighbor’s lawn is out there doing his thing. I’d’ve said it was too damp for that. OTOH, I’m not driving the lawn mower.

What’re y’all doing today?

What went before TWO: The Langlais exhibit downtown was fun.Bernard Langlais, “Lion’s Head,” 1970. Painted wood and wire

What went before THREE: So, knocking off for the day. I’ve finished proofreading the material intended for the 2025 chapbook.

Need to get up early tomorrow to take Trooper to the vet for his tests.

G’nite.

Everybody stay safe; I’ll see you tomorrow.

#

Thursday. Cloudy, damp, and warm.

Breakfast was a cup of raspberry skyr and a mug of tea. Second mug of tea to hand.

Trooper is at the vet’s. They’ll call me after they’ve administered and scored the tests.

Stopped at Hannaford on the way home. Prices continue to rise, though cherries were, relatively, cheap. Bought cherries. It was a small list, but I still scored over $100.

I got Trooper into the carrier, put them both in what I like to call “the foyer” and went out to open the car door. When I came back in, the grandkids were surrounding the box. The girls left when I stepped forward, but Rook stayed stretched out in front of the door until I picked the carrier up.

Trooper was very good and quiet on the ride across town, which is not at all like his usual car trip manners.

I’m going to finish my tea, then get the cat litter delivery in from the garage, and try to get some writing done while I wait for the vet to call, and weigh whether the better part of valor is to put the big yellow rose bush into the actual ground in the front garden.

What’s everybody else doing today?

Somebody took my deck plantings in dislike:

Today’s blog post title via Creedance Clearwater Revival, “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”