Breathing easier with healthy kitties

I took the munchkins, aka kittens to their first veterinary appointment today. There, I learned that we have two boys and a girl. My assumption that the little shy one was female turned out to be bunk. She is a he. So I can't call her Pippi as in Pippi Longstocking, so I'll call him Pip as in Pip Sqeak. Pip Squeak Todd-Niederpruem. What do you think of that?

They are also younger than I guessed, six-eight weeks according to the vet. They got poked, prodded and fondled today, most of which they tolerated well (though that fecal test makes me squirm just to watch). Anyway, they are healthy, with the small one on the skinny side but otherwise OK. To give you an idea of their sizes, the biggest weighed in at 1.6 lbs. Next, #2, tipped the scales at 1.3 lbs. The bitty Pipster barely registered at half a pound! None of them would have made it at the local humane society. Any cats admitted there under two pounds are immediately axed. Did I mention that before? Now, how humane is that? How could I rescue them, only to have them offed by the cat police?

The doctor gave me some serious meds yesterday to smash my asthma symptoms and get me functioning again. They are so potent that I can only take them for three days without swelling up like a balloon, hallucinating and growing a pair, if you know what I mean. They're working, but I can feel the hair sprouting from my chest as I type this. I haven't coughed in over an hour,which has been oh, so nice. Maybe becoming a baritone is a small price to pay for a little air.

Ron picked all the ripe coffee cherry he could find today. That's what you see in his hands above. The gooey fruit part surrounding the bean/seed is actually sweet. The skin is bitter. We'll probably plant these.

Comments

Born and bred

The creature stared at me, wide-eyed through the florescent glare, Saran Wrap stretched tight across its broad back. Alone in the seafood cooler, he was the only one of his kind, there among the farmed, color-added Atlantic salmon and mud-flavored tilapia, perched on a blue foam tray, legs tucked 'round him like a comfy kitten. He didn't blink. He was dead, red, cooked and chilled, ready to eat. Such a find is rare in the City Market fish department in Gunnison, Colorado. What if nobody takes him home? I thought. This beautiful animal will have died needlessly, ripped from his home, family and friends (Dory, Nemo, Crush and Gill?) only to be tossed in the trash when his expiration date came and went. I lifted him for closer inspection, checked that date, felt the heft of him, scanned his surface for cracks and blemishes. The creature was perfect. I lowered him back into the cooler, nodded farewell, turned to walk away, took one step, and stopped. Shoppers strolled past, stud

Fruity booty

It was a long drive from Glenwood to the northern tip of the island -- three hours -- so for sustenance, we stopped at Baker Tom's for malasadas on the way. My pal Kathy and I were headed to Kapa'au for a hike, one we'd read about in the local newspaper. The couple who run Baker Tom's (not sure if the husband is actually Tom or not) are delightful, with enduring stamina. They're as old as radio, yet they're always on duty, ready to serve behind the counter, as they have for many years, frying, baking, brewing and smiling, there in Papaikou , gateway to the Hamakua Coast. The malasadas are enormous, cheap and delicious, the coffee OK, the tourists all happy to have discovered this place, buzzing with sugar and caffeine. They make a killer pumpkin cheesecake at Baker Tom's, too. It's always a pleasant stop. Ahapua'a . It's a Hawaiian land division, usually a strip or wedge, stretching from mountain to sea. Hawaiians lived in villages wit

On Tennis and Writing and Being Too Nice

I've recently been recruited to play tennis for a local 4.0 ladies tennis league team, referred to as either "Team Debbie" for the nice woman who manages us, or "Have Fun," which is our pre-match chant. We're still looking for a proper name. But we do have fun, despite getting creamed most outings. Last Saturday, we played in the Edith Kanakaole Tennis Stadium in Hilo. Good thing, too, since outside it was pouring, complete with thunder and lightning. It's a substantial structure, covered, yet open all around, most famous for hosting the annual Merrie Monarch Hula Festival in April. It was about 85 degrees outside and 100 percent humidity, air so thick it took three sucks of my albuterol inhaler just to breath. Several of us arrived early to warm up, but after twenty minutes' steady rallying with my teammate, Keiko, the human backboard, I was drenched. I played doubles with a nice, extremely fit and excellent ground-stroker named Cynthia from Pahoa.

Mountains and Islands

Search This Blog