Updates

Yawn... I was awake half the night as this head congestion and swollen throat only became worse.  I would fall asleep only to wake up gasping, not able to breath very well.  I thought about moving to the living room sofa but didn't want to leave my comfy bed... a compromise was created.

I brought one of the large, paisley pillows from the sofa and placed it under my sleeping pillow to prop my head up.  It did work a little, enough to get some sleep before giving up and turning the coffee pot on.  This malady has been going around for awhile now and I expect being around lots of people in various places last week was all I needed to catch it.

The sore throat gave me an opportunity to try the new Celestial Seasonings' Sleepytime Throat Tamer tea.  I highly recommend it, it did help my throat and it has a pleasant taste.  However, check the medical warnings on the box as it is not for children and not recommended for people on certain medications.  (It does have medicinal herbs, which is why it works.) 

As I'm finished whining now (at least to you), I can update what is going on in the family.

No baby, yet... still waiting.  I've noticed a certain crankiness in the responses to my texts, which is usually just the word... baby?  :)

Miss Victoria was transferred from her sweet veterinarian's clinic to the emergency vet's clinic "in town" on Friday night.  She needed 24/7 monitoring and our vet is open only a few hours on Saturday.  In one of those "God things" we love, the veterinarian on call at the clinic Friday night was a cat specialist.

When we called Saturday morning, it was unclear if we could bring her home that evening.  However, by late afternoon she was much better and they let us bring her home where she had been missed.  Her illness was caused by a combination of fleas and and a chronic internal inflammation.  By the time we took her to the vet, she was already very dehydrated (our decision to take her was due to her not being able to keep food or water down).

We will give her two more flea treatments this summer and then start her on preventative treatments next spring.  We never had these challenges with our other kitties.  Sasha had long hair but nothing like a Maine Coon.  We now know any flea infestation will set off the chronic inflammation.  We assumed since she didn't go outside, she could not get fleas again.  However, her vet says they can come in on our shoes!

She has been receiving the royal treatment as she slowly returns to her spunky self.  I knew she was beginning to feel much better this morning when she jumped on the back of the living room sofa to her usual snooping position... paws stretched out, eyes narrowed, and nose up against the porch window. 

Now that she has had a taste of the outside world again (albeit in a kitty carrier), she thinks she should be allowed outside at will.  Ummm... not.  Another sign her spunkiness has returned.

Christopher had a lot of fun with his friend this weekend and was home in time for dinner Sunday Evening.  He was talking about the difference in atmosphere between a Christian college and a large university with 40,000+ students.  He enjoyed the fellowship and Bible study there (which was led by an older gentlemen who is the head of their Old Testament Dept.).

I think that is all there is that needs updating.  Like much of the eastern half of the country, we are having record breaking high temperatures.  Good for my garden, not so pleasant for the average human (at least one who does not live by a swimming pool).  :)