Friday, July 6, 2018

Blowing the popsicle stand

How fortunate I have little to do and all day to do it. I was at the post office yesterday and forgot to put in my stop mail order. I calculated out this morning to get to the post office and back in time to deliver the cat to the kennel and get to my PT session by eleven.

Ha.

I couldn't cross the bridge with all the beautiful flower boxes because the railroad crossing gates  were stuck down. I spent ten minutes waiting, then turned around and detoured the fifteen miles on Riverview to the next bridge and back. Events like bicycle tours, art festivals and railroad gate malfunctions surely can disrupt small town life. The cat was rescheduled to tonight's drop off slot.



Back from the session, I had everything to do except laundry. I ate lunch, and passed out until Laura announced supper. Today was all calisthenics, plus pain left over from a CT scan yesterday. 

I'm ticking off the protocol for shoulder surgery, and yesterday was a CT scan that would be integrated into the minimally invasive shoulder replacement. But, lying on the table, the tech walked by, and without warning flipped my arm from my safe palm down to complete palm up. With warning, I could have managed it. As a complete shock, I levitated. 

Tonight's trip with the cat was amusing; we are on the route to Blossom Music Center. On a good concert night we can get from A to B because every intersection's lights are manually operated by a person in radio contact with every other intersection for miles around. 

Traffic tonight was twice as heavy, I think, because last night's show was cancelled due to electrical storms and heavy rain. I'm sure the festival grounds are as wet as my garden.

When Toby was boarded in June, for South Carolina, I arranged for a haircut. The groomer was reluctant, and put him down for a lion cut. I said if she must, but the cat truly is a complete woos, and if they could just give him a trim with the number 8 clippers, he might give over the daily hairball hack, and still maintain his dignity.

Tonight, as we put him on the counter, he encountered two old friends. The groomer, and the kennel owner, who happened in on him as he was being clipped down. "Is that cat drugged?" the owner inquired of the grooming. "No, he's just a placid cat," said the disbelieving groomer.

I will have Toby clipped again, maybe the number 6 clippers next time. But no lion cut. He does have a standard.



So, off for a week in Wisconsin. Taliesin and a Dells boat tour. And definitely hitting a couple of St. Vinney's for front button shirts.


28 comments:

  1. Have a wonderful, wonderful time. And take photos please.
    Toby looks totally 'laxed as only a cat can manage.

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  2. Hari OM
    OMC Toby... thank heaven you escaped the lion cut!!! You get mama Jo to take an 'after' pickshur for us all to see you in your short-worty furs, won't you??? and tell her and Laura to have a swell time in Wisconsin! Hugs and whiskeries, YAM-aunty xxx

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    1. PS Joanne, re the shoulder... oucheroonies... xxx

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  3. The cat looks a bit angry in the picture. But very comfortable.

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  4. Have you tried the Fussy Cat brand grain free dry food labelled "improved digestion and hairball control"? I fed it to Angel and now to Lola, haven't seen a hairball in years. This particular flavour is Chicken with Turkey and Cranberry. The other grain free flavour is Salmon, Whitefish, and Olive Oil, for skin and coat conditioning. I buy the big 2.5kg bags and mix a few scoops of each in a big bowl with a lid so Lola gets a bit of each flavour with each serve.

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  5. Lol. That cat is priceless Joanne.

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  6. Toby is a fabulous cat. I have a long haired cat and so far so good with hair balls. I've never considered getting a cat clipped. It might help with the daily burr extraction during certain times of the year. -Jenn

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  7. Your garden is looking wonderful! I am angry that the tech was not more skillful at your CT scan. He should know better. Your cat has great presence. And last, I wish you well during your trip to Wisconsin. The dells are so beautiful. I haven't been there since 1978, but I'm sure they are still great.

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  8. Never thought cats would need grooming and a haircut so to speak. He does look magnificent though! Safe travels!

    betty

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  9. I wish I could see Taliesin. Saw FLW in a film recently. Strange man. Have fun.

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  10. You shear your cat? I've never heard of that before.

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  11. That's an awesome looking cat as well as his temperament.

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  12. Enjoy your vacation! Should be beautiful.

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  13. Toby is a fine-looking cat. Enjoy your time away. x

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  14. i hope you spoke up and "educated" the Tech that almost everyone he/she meets will be in pain somewhere. It's totally unacceptable and ignorant to manhandle someone without warning.

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  15. "As a complete shock, I levitated"... I know this wasn't funny, but it certainly made me laugh.
    As for Toby, he really is a good looking cat!

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  16. Welcome to Wisconsin! We live 40 minutes from the Dells, you're going to have a good time. Taliesen is good, but House On The Rock is amazing.

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  17. I love your blog posts. They always make me laugh. You have a way with words even when describing torture/physio sessions.

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  18. Have a wonderful trip. Please post lots of photos. And next time, you can stop your mail via online. :) Love Toby.

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  19. your garden looks beautiful. and that picture of Toby...before or after the cut? I'd have Emma's fur cut but she would have to be sedated. you can scratch all around her head, stroke down her back but anywhere else is off limits and she still has part of her thick winter coat and matted clumps. I have to sneak up on her while she is asleep. and you'd think the tech would have had better sense knowing you were in for a CT scan on your shoulder.

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  20. A 15 mile detour! You must have been keen to keep to your schedule....

    I've never heard of cats having haircuts either.

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  21. Dear Joanne, I hope your Wisconsin trip is going well and that you are enjoying the freedom of it. I want to thank you for laughter because when you wrote that Toby "has standards," I just broke up. That so describes the attitude of cats. What a joy to live with them.

    I so hope the shoulder surgery goes well. I had it done--but there was no talk of "least invasive" at the time--back in 2010 and remember it well. Peace.

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  22. Did you know you can stop your mail online? I always stop and restart mine that way. Hope you have a good trip.

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  23. It seems as I age there are more days like that... OH well....

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