Week 42

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  Well, we got the rain we've been asking for which is nice, but it was also a bit too much all at once. In some areas especially those with recent burn scars it created flooding and mudslides plus downed trees and a lot od car accidents. We just can't seem to win.  Hopefully, with this early start it means we'll have a good winter season with decent snow pack to get us back on track.  We got more rain in one day this week and we had in the entire past year! True to form we're in full on fall mode now as we approach the end of October.  Our weather always seems to flip that switch right around the week of Halloween.

Take a look at last week's picture to see how it all unfolded:

Day 291- Monday, 10/18/21

Looking out our side window I noticed that a low lying ground sprout from one of our trees that had this nice arched string of heart shaped leaves in various stages of turning color.  Then at work a bubble flaw on the front of this glass cat I recently got was bothering me so I was trying to figure out what to do about it when I discovered that the back side had this cute tail in the shape of heart.  Problem solved--I love it so much more facing tail out.

Day 292- Tuesday, 10/19/21

Speaking of cats, I'm super happy to have my morning critter friend back in good working condition and doing all the normal cat things he usually does.  It's just him and me in those early morning hours.  Later, I made some pumpkin bread for the masses.  I'll be sending some to Justin in a fall-themed care package, giving some to Tyler the next time he stops by, and enjoying some with Brandon as an after school snack.  John is not a fan, but that's ok because more for us ;0)

Day 293- Wednesday, 10/20/21

Wednesday at work I'm getting ready to swap my fall jacket out for my lab coat so I can get started on a huge sero-prevalence study involving 1200+ samples.  There are a lot of rain clouds outside so it's dark and moody here.  At home the sun was shining and Rusty found his sweet spot to soak it all up.  That shadow with those cute pointy ears is just too darling.

Day 294- Thursday, 10/21/21

We've had spotty rain on and off most of the week but not really enough to amount to anything significant just yet.  Apparently the big storm is coming soon.  This is perfect soup and sandwhich weather.  Grilled cheese and tomato is my favorite.

 Day 295- Friday, 10/22/21

Seems like over night all the neighborhood trees lining the street turned  a beautiful shade of yellow.  There have been hints of the color turn over the past couple weeks and now it's full on gorgeous.  Our Friday night movie was the new DUNE remake (part 1 anyway).  I saw the original in the movie theaters back in the day but only remember small visual details and not really the story line.  I might have to go back to watch and compare before seeing part 2 when it's released.  We watched at home on HBOmax while Tyler and Lupe saw it the theater.  Nice to have the option.

Day 296- Saturday, 10/23/21

Finally!  After his SAT and ACT test dates were cancelled 3 times each due to COVID this ACT test stuck so Brandon spent 1/2 his day taking a test.  Afterward we went out for lunch at In-N-Out.  Later back at home, John was planning on a motorcycle ride but decided that with the expected rain it was best to stay home, relax, and make some margaritas to go with our steak fajita dinner.  Wise choice as it got crazy out there real quick.

Day 297- Sunday, 10/24/21

Here we go breaking rainfall records today that were set back during goldrush times. The high winds and non-stop rain were the result of a "bomb cyclone" producing an atmospheric river that dumped a whole lot of rain in a short amount of time.  It was truly wet and wild--the perfect day to stay in, enjoy a nice big pancake breakfast, and hunker down for a nap while watching football.  

That's it!  We went out with a bang this week and we'll see you next week as we prepare to enter a new month.

Week 41

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  There was all kinds of fall goodness happening last week as you will see. We're excited for this new season especially since it looks like it will bring that much needed rain. We have a nice string of systems lined up off the coast ready to head our way.  Bring it!

Until then, take a look at last week's pictures:

Day 284- Monday, 10/11/21

Our new pumpkins look great out by the front door.  I picked that multi-colored one and Brandon picked the bumpy one.  We also hung the giant spider that never made it out last year and are happy to have it back.

Day 285- Tuesday, 10/12/21

I am so glad this emerging adult is still a big kid at heart.  I usually buy these fun themed cereals this time of year but hadn't even thought of it until Brandon asked--it's the little things.  He's enjoying childish cereal while I'm ordering his senior portraits and graduation regalia.  Stay young at heart as long as you can kiddo. 

Day 286- Wednesday, 10/13/12

It was super windy all day making our pool a hot mess full of fall leaves and debris.  At least its also the perfect weather for a nice warm spaghetti dinner.

Day 287- Thursday, 10/14/21

I had to pulled out the winter clothes this morning and I'm feeling all those good fall vibes today at work.  Back at home it was cold enough for Rusty to want to snuggle.  He's off all his medications now and still doing well.  We're so happy he's back to normal but do still  need to be careful and watch for signs of future episodes.

Day 288- Friday, 10/15/21

TGIF!  John went to Costco today on a normal run and brought me back this wine advent calendar.   I told him to be on the look-out because I know they sell out quickly.  How fun for us!  Today I also noticed more and more fall color in the leaves.  The colder temps are helping make the change.  It was a beautiful, non-windy day and perfect for football homecoming.  I had to work the snack bar again so was happy it was nice out.

Day 289- Saturday, 10/16/21

Today we took some new friends to Bogle winery since they had never been and wanted to give it a try.  He works with John and and they ride bikes together on occasion so it was nice to hang out with him and his lovely wife on this perfect fall day.  In the evening, while watching some recorded shows, I tried out a new lit-up glass pumpkin I found at Bed, Bath & Beyond--love it!

Day 290- Sunday, 10/17/21

Yay for Sunday night dinner with the family.  We had chicken wings with salad and fries plus I made a warm fall dessert--apple crisp.  Great way to end the week.

That's it!  Thanks for stopping by.

Week 40

Hello and welcome back.  Last week was another nerve-racking week with Rusty, but I'm happy to report that he's sooo much better and pretty much back to himself.  We've experienced too many ups and downs with him making it hard to focus and get other things done, but we made it to the other side and can now just enjoy him again.

Here's a look at some of the other things that happened last week besides just catering to a sick kitty:

Day 277- Monday, 10/4/21

They said, "Get him a water fountain."  He said, "What do I do with that?"  He eventually decided it wasn't such a bad place to get a drink from.

Day 278- Tuesday, 10/5/21

For the love of pumpkin!  Hopefully next week I'll get around to making some bread, but these will do for now.

Day 279- Wednesday, 10/6/21

Over the weekend the fall decoration boxes were brought down, but the pumpkin box accidentally got left behind so I'm just now getting around to putting my pumpkin collection out.  Later, I almost forgot about the monthly Booster meeting at the end of my trying and rough cat-care day, but somehow managed to scarf down my dinner and log in on time.

Day 280- Thursday, 10/7/21

The past two days have not been good for me or the cat.  He's regressing again plus super stressed and angry about having to be caught and medicated 3 times a day.  He hates me right now and is in a lot of pain because he won't even let me look at him let alone approach him to give meds. I'm at my wits' end. Thankfully, I had a good call with a very understanding veterinarian who is great at thinking outside the box and found some alterative medications with cat loving flavors we can give in Rusty's food.  I picked some up this afternoon so we'll try it tonight.  Fingers crossed! If this doesn't work we're looking at a drastic surgery that I don't think he'll recover from. 😟

Day 281- Friday, 10/8/21

Cat update- he didn't come out of his blanket last night to eat until we went to bed, but by morning he had both medications down and I saw a glimmer of improvement in his behavior.  Hopefully once we get a couple more doses in we'll be back on track.  In other news, it is cold out, for us anyway, so Brandon is all cozy in his sweatshirt and blanket enjoying video games after finishing mid-terms this week. Also, John is a happy boy because the Giants are starting a series of games with the Dodgers in this playoff season.

Day 282- Saturday, 10/9/21

Yay!😀  The new cat meds are working beautifully.  Rusty eats them in his food with no problems, is using his box again, drinking well, no longer hates me so he's showing affection and even playing!  We haven't seen him play in over 2 weeks.  All great signs. 🐈 I feel like we finally have our cat back and can be hopeful about his future when just 2 days ago I was worried about him not having one.  It's amazing what the right meds can do. The key was an anti-inflammatory pain medicine with no-contact delivery that he only needs once a day.  What a rollercoaster we have been on that I'm happy to leave behind.  Other things that happened today--Brandon summited college applications to 5 Cal-State schools.  He'll apply to a couple UC's next weekend.  Later Bella and I went out on a nice long fall walk during the golden hour.  The dropping sun really lit up this neighborhood tree.  Those yellow looking leaves are actually still green but look golden from the sunrays shining through them--nature's twinkle lights. 🍂

Day 283- Sunday, 10/10/21

This nice fall morning we headed to the local pumpkin patch before it got too hot and crowded.  We each picked out a pumpkin to our liking that we'll decorate the house entry with until we can carve them for Halloween.  In the afternoon we headed out to catch the new Bond movie.  I was surprised to learn that none of the kids have seen a Bond movie before so some of the repeated themes were lost on them, but they liked how action packed it was.

That's all for now.  See you next week.

Week 39

Happy Tuesday!  Last week was quite a week mostly consumed with pet care.  Rusty ended up back in emergency and had to stay for 3 nights with an overly complicated UTI.  Ugh!  Thankfully they found something that worked to help him heal so he's back home recovering and hopefully here to stay although it is a bit touch and go.  That combined with much needed fall goodness pretty much summed up our week last week.

Take a look at how it all went down:

Day 270- Monday, 9/27/21

We started the week with some cooler days and some great clouds that felt like the start of a real fall season.  I know it won't last but I'm happy to soak it up anytime I can get it.  What a great day to be outside.  It's hard to see but there is actually a kite flying up there in the those clouds.  Can you spot it?  I also noticed this alien looking seed pod growing on one of the trees we passed coming home from the park. I've never seen these before and was surprised find out they are from a magnolia tree.

Day 271- Tuesday, 9/28/21

The lab urine results came back informing us that Rusty's UTI is not bacterial which means it's most likely stress related which of course is harder to treat.  Now that we know though we can better target his treatment and plan for preventing more episodes.  After work I picked up more prescribed meds and food required as a special diet he'll need for the rest of his life--the joys of having older pets.

Day 272- Wednesday, 9/29/21

Unfortunately, Rusty took a turn for the worse sometime overnight.  There was blood in his urine, he was in extreme pain, and he could no longer pee so back to emergency we went.  I sat in the car for 2 hours while they checked him out and took x-rays waiting for a plan before I could leave.  He does not have a stone blockage but does have a large blood clot and some cellular-debris sediment blocking him so they decided to put a catheter in and keep him for 48hrs to try and flush everything out.  It's so hard to leave him, but I know it's the only way he'll get better.

Day 273- Thursday, 9/30/21

I'm working from home today and love the slow and relaxing start of remote work. Normally this would be my commute time and you can count on the fact that I don't miss the commute.  Traffic has been a nightmare lately even at the odd early hours I'm on the road. What I am missing this morning is my kitty.  He's usually my morning bud.  Sadly his bladder is so inflamed and angry that he's still not doing well even with a catheter so now the plan is to inject an infusion of something that is supposed to help repair and heal the lining of his bladder. He'll need 2-3 doses of that but  they only have one on hand so had to ordered more.  They'll start the 1st dose today and plan to give another tomorrow morning.  If it works he can come home Friday afternoon and if not we're looking at bladder surgery.  It's a lot to process and he's in a lot of pain even with some good pain meds which break my heart to hear.  Thankfully the new season of some of favorites show have started to help me keep my mind off the what-if's surrounding our cat.

Day 274- Friday, 10/1/21

Happy Friday and happy new month!  Welcome to October.  Bella was more than happy to pose with the monthly marker for a treat, of course.  Afterward, on our walk after, we intentionally looked for signs of fall.  It's a little early for color here, but we spotted some so that's a start at least.  Not a bad way to end the week.  Rusty update: The first infusion worked wonders and he's doing much better but the delivery of the second dose was delayed until this afternoon so since they got started so late they decided it would be best to keep him for one more night.  

Day 275- Saturday, 10/2/21

He's finally home and doing so much better peeing on his own with no more blood and using a box.  We still need to continue some pain meds for the next week but then he should be mostly back to normal.  In other news, now that it's October, Brandon helped John pull down the Halloween decorations from the attic, and we also got the fall candy dish filled and ready to set out.

Day 276- Sunday, 10/3/21

I have my own personal biker doing wine picks for me.  It gives him an excuse to go out and ride his bike plus helps us keep the wine fridge full.  He normally wouldn't be wearing his helmet in the house but had to unload and head right back out.  LOL!  After the week we had, having a full wine fridge is not a bad idea.

That's it for this week.  Hope to see you next week with better news about Rusty.