Sunday evening. The 4th of July. Fireworks popping and banging away outside. Hispanics firing guns into the air. It is 10 PM, and Czarina is in her heated window sill bed, two feet from me, quietly resting. Silver is on my bed, noting the noise outside. Max rests in lonely grandeur on top of his condo, waiting for me to walk by and reassure him yet again on how much I love him. Yup, Max is no longer hiding under the bed at the loud noises.

But Fluffy is. I have talked to her several times, trying to reassure her, but she is under the bed and refuses to come out. And I will not force her, of course. Poor thing.

Cash flow is still a problem, but I had a big break last week. On Tuesday I saw the eye doctor, and he pronounced the operation a 100% success. He did say that I also have a cataract starting up in the left eye, but that it is a long way from being a problem. In any case, I was measured for a new set of prescribed glasses. And now the good news. Blue Cross-Blue Shield does not normally pay for new glasses, either frames or lenses. But since the new prescription was the result of my covered surgery, this time they will take up most of the tab. My copayment was only $104.

My paycheck of 2 July mostly went to rent, Chapter 13 payment, and daily living expenses. But, with the next paycheck of 16 July, I should be able to squeeze out the $250 needed for Czarina’s vet visit, and I have already booked her for Monday 19 July. That $250 is what I saved from having Blue Cross pay for much of the eyeglasses.

(For those coming in late on this soap opera, Czarina was adopted a year ago. Now age 15, she is on a K/D diet for her weak kidneys. She also gets fluid injections once a week. Her last such session was last Wednesday, 30 June, and she hated it. Hissed and yowled and tried to bite the hand putting the needle in and out. She also swiped at me and connected hard, but she has been declawed, so no damage was done. When we got home, I let her out of the carrier and went to my bed to lie down and relax. She followed, got up on my chest, and purred away as I gave her a dose of heavy petting. She is such a sweet cat, and never holds a grudge.)

While all this has been going on, one of my AA friends has insisted that I treat myself, even in Chapter 13. Her idea is for me to buy a ring to celebrate my 20 years of sobriety. A ring of Amethyst, the traditional gemstone of recovery and serenity. I have held amethyst before. I am not superstitious, yet I do feel a calmness flowing in and a healing power flowing out. If I can squeeze out $25/month, I will have $300 in a year, so in addition it will celebrate the end of my Chapter 13. With the help of ASM, I have decided it will be worn on my left ring finger, to show my commitment to sobriety.

O yes, almost forgot. Am I being patriotic today? I’m not sure. I was in the US NAVY for ten years. Honorable Discharge. Over a year ago I joined The American Legion, but soon realized that this sort of ultra-patriotism was uncomfortable for me. I’ve let my membership lapse.

:catclock:

Early Wednesday Afternoon:

Thanks to Margaret of CRITTER COMPANIONS, who paid for it, Czarina had her annual checkup this morning. We started with the thermometer up her <ahem>, which she objected to strongly. After that, further indignities were performed on Her Majesty. Verdict: all is well. In fact, the vet said the K/D diet was working so well, we could discontinue the weekly injection of fluids. He called that dry K/D food "the anti-Atkins diet".

Now before you all fall over yourselves trying to tell me what a wonderful Cat Daddy I am, you need to know that other opinions do exist. Remember Molly aka Hestia? The vet for TLC Adoptions who yanked her from my home (and refused to pay me the costs of Molly’s vet bills) has put her up for adoption, minus a few pounds.

Those of you who want to track it down in www.petfinders.org (http://www.petfinders.org/) will note her comments about her former owner who dared to use a SHOCK COLLAR! to help her lose weight. She also ranted about dry food diets, insisting that only meat was appropriate. I assume this also means the "meat by-products" which is in most canned foods. She got one thing right, Molly DOES need to be an only cat to make a diet work.

Lesson learned. I will never again adopt a senior cat that needs a weight loss program. It is just too much of a hassle in a multi-cat harem. I assume I am now on TLC’s black list and will never be allowed to adopt another cat from them. This limits my future choices to the couple of dozen other adoption agencies with their hundreds of senior cats awaiting homes. Not to mention the Los Angeles County Pounds, one of which is 5 minutes from this apartment.

But right now, Czarina is back in her heated window sill cup, a couple of feet from where I sit at this computer, napping, like a Queen should. Fluffy is napping in the living room window, Silver is napping on my bed, and Max is napping in his condo. Even living paycheck to paycheck, with occasional macaroni and cheese dinners, life is good.

The noonday sun shines,

And warms the Queen of this home,

For they are equals.

"

Andrew (imported) wrote: Thu Jul 08, 2004 10:58 am Thanks to Margaret of CRITTER COMPANIONS, who paid for it, Czarina had her annual checkup this morning. We started with the thermometer up her <ahem>, which she objected to strongly.

"

Sounds like a feta worse than death!

heheheheh

Glad to hear all is working out and the afternoon is nice.

tal

...celebrate my 20 years of sobriety.

Congradulations, Andrew!

May your Higher Power love and keep you in sobriety with your help and effort one day at a time, and may your sobriety help and strengthen others to likewise maintain their sobriety.

A-1

A-1 (imported) wrote: Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:52 pm Congradulations, Andrew!

May your Higher Power love and keep you in sobriety with your help and effort one day at a time, and may your sobriety help and strengthen others to likewise maintain their sobriety.

A-1

21 July 2004, Wednesday Afternoon:

Sometimes I wonder at my stupidity. Bad enough to be swindled and forced into Chapter 13. But taking on four senior cats and their vet bills? Yet many in ASM, RASFF, and The Place have urged me to spend some "mad money" on myself, no matter how small the amount, as a way of mental health.

Well, I have had no major problems with the cats since Czarina’s vet visit. Despite the vet’s evaluation that Czarina was a healthy, happy, 15 year old Russian Blue; Czarina reminds me every time I eat that the vet was wrong to say she weighed 13 pounds. She is, in fact, still starving to death, mostly a bag of skin and bones, and I really need to share my food with her before she plops over from malnutrition.

Poor Max is still the timid, shy cat I picked up over a year ago. I get the impression he still hasn’t recovered from his previous abandonment, and is totally lacking in self-confidence.

Fluffy and Silver have settled in, and are now my shadows. If I am in bed, they are likely to be there also. If I am awake, they may come to my pillow to be petted, or remain out of reach, just comfortable to be with me. If I am in the living room or kitchen, they flop down near me. NOT to be petted, but just to be near me. If they want to be petted, they come to me. Otherwise, they just flop down and relax in my presence.

Back to "Mad Money". I had about $40 left in my checking account last Thursday night, a few hours before being paid. So I stopped by http://www.mineralminers.com/ (http://www.mineralminers.com/) and ordered two items. One was a 36-inch necklace of amethyst baroque beads. The other was an amethyst power bead bracelet. Total cost with shipping and sales tax was $37.27, and they arrived today. I am not sure what my coworkers will think of a man wearing amethyst jewelry, but I find it strangely healing and relaxing. And it is supposed to provide protection from addiction.

O yes, got a notice that I am called for 5 days of Jury Duty, 2-6 August. I need to look up "Jury Nullification" again. But yesterday, to get ready for it, I had my first haircut in six months, and had a complete shave. Everyone at work says I look years younger without the facial hair. Maybe, but daily shaving is such a bother, so I’ll let it grow out again. After all, the beard only grows at one-fifth of its former rate now that I am without testosterone.

Soon it will be 1 PM. Cats love routines and rituals, so the ritual is that at 1 PM, I replenish the food and water bowls (I actually do this three times a day), followed by my scooping out the eight litter boxes. (I also scoop shortly after I get back home at midnight.) After that I take my daily bath. By the time I leave for work, Fluffy and Silver will be on my bed, cuddled together. Czarina will be in The Loft, seven feet up over my bedroom door. Max will be on or in his cat condo. And I have to go to work…sigh.

Just a question, Andrew--

Is there something analogous to a HMO for cats, which would allow you to get standard veterinarian services for them for a reasonable annual fee? If Czarina has had kdney trouble, she may require more extensive tests than other cats, but $250 seems to me like a lot for a cat's checkup. For some dog breeds, you can get a purebred puppy with all the AKC papers for less than that.

24 July 2004, Saturday Afternoon:

I get paid twice a month, and deduct $300 per paycheck for the Chapter 13 Trustee, send the Cashier’s Cheque for $600 towards the end of the month, to make sure it gets there by the eighth. When I get home at midnight, the first thing I want to do is stop by the Trustee’s website to see if the payment has arrived and been posted.

Of course, what I want tends to collide with what the cats want when I get home, so the first half-hour is mostly heavy petting. Fluffy will be on watch in the heated cat bed on the living room windowsill, looking down into the courtyard. I see her and whistle the 4 note them that Elgar used in the Enigma Variations to describe himself coming home. Fluffy and Silver will greet me near the door.

Being deaf, Czarina will only realize I am home when the kitchen light goes on. She comes over for petting. Max tends to stay in the background and beg for me to come to him when I have the time. After the cats are happy

Andrew (imported) wrote: Thu Jul 22, 2004 11:32 pm , I replenish the food and water

dishes, scoop out the eight litter boxes, and FINALLY have time for myself.

So at 1 AM this morning I was able to log on and confirm that payment #25 of 36 monthly payments had arrived and been posted. So far, so good. Then off to bed, where Czarina, Silver, and Fluffy stopped by for some more adoration before they would let me sleep.

So now it is early afternoon, and I have just scrubbed out one of the litter boxes and refilled it with new, clean litter. I paid off some medical bills not covered by Blue Cross, and now have $175 in my checking account to last me until next Friday, and that should be enough, unless an unexpected vet bill or medical problem crops up. Gasoline prices have fallen to $2.10/gallon, and that helps.

I am still scheduled for Jury Duty 2-6 August, so decided to get a haircut and shave, my first in six months. Yes, I was a bit shaggy, and yes it is cooler without the facial fungus. Speaking of which, I see Donna, my Physician, next October fifth, the day after I turn 60. "60 isn’t old if you’re a tree". We need to discuss if the time has come for me to withdraw from Premarin. I could swear my gynecomastia has increased to the point where I am now halfway between B and C cups.

No fuss at work from the men about my amethyst jewelry, but plenty of good comments from the women, many of who know of my alcoholism and the value of amethyst for this condition. I do feel more…"in tune"?…when wearing it. Could I by any chance be a closet Wiccan and/or Pagan?

O yes, got another gas bill, and it seems that my turning off the pilot light of the apartment gas heater is saving me $4/month. My monthly gas bill went down from $13 to $9.

But now it is time for my daily bath before going to work. Oddly enough, when I use MY liter box, Fluffy and Silver will come in to rub against my legs while I am sitting down, rub the fixtures, and want to be petted. But when there is WATER in the tub, and I am actually IN THE WATER, they refuse to come in, even though the bathroom door is wide open.

In short, life is good, and I wish the same for you.