Greetings from Happy Meadows! Mike had coffee with his friend Rev. Larry yesterday. There really is nothing like friendship. So, Rev. Larry mentioned that he had not seen one of my posts for a long time, and Mike told me that my fans are longing to hear from me—mostly about how I am doing, but also about what else is going on in Happy Meadows. I am doing just fine, thank you very much. Same for the people in the family. Mike remains in remission, I do believe. He had blood work this past week. I looked at the numbers, and they all looked good, but why should you trust my judgment? He has an appointment with the PA next week. He will ask her about traveling. He and Judy are planning to go to Texas for a convention in July. I hope they get to go. Michelle will cat-sit while they are gone. He and Judy are getting out more, masked as appropriate. In fact they are going out to a fancy restaurant tonight to celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary. This sounds like a long time to me, even from the perspective of having nine lives. Michelle came over yesterday to help with the celebration. She always has a little treat for me, such a sweet person. We all went to the Smith-Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw, not too far from Happy Meadows. They let me run around on the grounds, but there is a butterfly house that I was wrongly barred from. That’s okay. I will jump at butterflies in my own yard!
On the way home we stopped at the DQ for a treat. As Mike was eating his soft ice cream cone he felt something hard in his mouth. Maybe I am telling this part of the story out of order. So—A tooth that had a root canal filling done at least 10 years ago developed an infection a couple of months ago and had to be removed. Mike then went to an oral surgeon who installed a post in his jaw for the placement of a crown. This was accomplished about 4 weeks ago. Mike is supposed to wait 3 months to let the bone grow around the post, and then have the crown made. So, the hard thing that was in his mouth was—you guessed it—the post. Dental emergencies usually occur on Friday afternoon, late, but sometimes not until Saturday. This waited until Saturday, but to be fair, it isn’t an emergency because there is no pain. Mike will call tomorrow and see what the next step is. He already has a major financial investment in this project, and I hope it doesn’t mean the cats are all going to be condemned to Brand X kibble for the next year or more.
Speaking of the other cats, Shayna’s fluid administration is not going that well, and Mike is ready to take her to the Extreme Vet once a week to get it done there. Magi continues to be aggressive towards the other cats at times, and Mike and Judy may have to give him some medication to calm him down. He also has hissed and scratched at Judy, which is totally unacceptable. He has better sense than to mess with me, and for that matter, he never messes with Mike either. He is two years old now, so he should be calming down and out of his adolescent playful stage soon. We all hope so, anyway. There are times when he is very sweet.
Mike’s book project creeps forward, but I think this is par for the course in publishing. If the book is supposed to come out, it will come out. At least the process has not ground to a halt. Progress is progress.
We have some nice new neighbors across the street, but they don’t seem to have any pets. They do have an adorable baby that they take on walks at least twice per day. Come to think of it, that is a lot like having a dog.
The yard is nice again this year. We are now enjoying the day lilies, lantana, and butterfly bushes. The hosta are also in bloom. On the down side, for the first time we are afflicted with boxwood blight. Mike has been spraying a few places every week. For the most part , the boxwood still looks good. It is the original planting from almost 40 years ago when Mike and all bought the house.
Before I go I should say more about the weather, because isn’t that what people talk about? People Mike’s age also talk a lot about their bowel movements, but happily, Mike hasn’t gotten into that rut yet. Oh yes, the weather. Hot and miserable. And, politics. I am banned from making strong political statements on this blog, so what I will say, in the most non-political way possible, is that our democratic system is under the greatest threat since the Civil War, and I couldn’t be more upset about it.
Well, that’s all the news from Happy Meadows for now. I will try to be more regular in my pronouncements from now on. Be well, be at peace, and be nice to your cats and dogs. I love you all!