The latest

So...on Tuesday Miguel and I went to Cancun and with baited breath opened the package from the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City. And there it was, stuck inside his passport - the approved visa for multiple entries into Canada for the next 5 years. Thank you! We don't have to do that paperwork again for 5 years, and maybe by then the silly rule will be reversed. Off to Canada we go, via Westjet - inexpensive flights, and direct to Toronto.

We'll be attending Jen's dance company showcase, babysitting Kyle, going to a family BBQ in Toronto, and maybe visiting a sick uncle in Peterborough. We only have 5 full days, and full they will be...


Last week Luna went 2.5 days without passing urine. It didn't seem to bother her but after the last time when Delfino expressed her bladder and she seemed sore, I decided to take her outside to see what she'd do. Remember, she is more of an outdoor cat anyway, and she doesn't like to use the litter box. She conceded to use it when she was very sick, and I thought maybe since she was feeling better she was holding it until she could get outside.

I put her down in our garden but she promptly slipped through the cat hole in the hedge and crossed the street into the neighbor's empty lot. She plopped herself down and boy did she release her bladder. Then she walked a bit more and found a piece of cardboard to sharpen her claws.

Since then I've taken her out every day to empty her bladder. She does her thing and finds a piece of wood or cardboard to sharpen her claws. She doesn't have much strength so it's pretty funny watching her trying to get her claws into the material, but it makes her happy. She is getting stronger every day.

Yesterday morning at 5 am Luna was up and sitting in front of the patio door, looking out. I put her down in the kitchen and she checked all the food dishes, but then decided nothing appealed. I bought some Whiskas dried food, which she loves but isn't good for cats (bladder stones). She immediately sat and ate 1.5 little pieces, trying to figure out how to make her mouth work (I think after almost 7 weeks of not eating she doesn't remember, or maybe her muscles are weak). Later that afternoon I saw that she'd been into the dish again, so in total she ate about 5 pieces. She is starting to resist the syringe feeding, but until she eats enough to keep her liver going, I have to syringe-feed her - right now it's 5-6 times a day, along with a couple of ml of diluted Pedialyte to finish each feeding.

Despite an xray that indicates she has spots on her liver and lung, she improves every day. So we are going with how she is feeling, and continuing the treatments (liver regeneration meds and B vitamins). Delfino sees her almost every day and is pleased that her jaundice is clearing. Today when I took her out she actually did a little roll in the sand before walking out into the field. Her behavior tells us she is feeling more and more like a normal cat. So we'll see, not sure what the long-term prognosis is, but we're going with the day to day clues.

My bathroom wall decided to let some tiles fall off, so last week we had one of Miguel's workers fixing all the loose areas. We didn't have enough yellow tiles (some broke) so he used some of our other tiles from my pretty ledge upstairs, which actually brought life to that bathroom. Why didn't I do that in the first place? Well, I remember when I went to buy the tile - I had no idea how I wanted to do the bathroom and I was beyond tired of the construction and out of money and just wanted to buy something and get it done. I would do a much better job of it now - and when we have some spare cash, we'll redo the bathroom to make it really pretty.

Since the worker doesn't have any other work, we found another project for him - put a ledge in my kitchen (under the counter), and tile the bottom and sides. Finally I will have a kitchen that can be properly cleaned. Only problem, the worker went on a drinking binge, so we were stuck with material and no worker. Along came another worker that Miguel really likes, he also doesn't have work...so he is doing the project. My kitchen is full of dust, we are forced to eat our meals out (don't mind that!), but all will be done and nice for next week when Charlotte and Jim come to visit.

And my work is picking up...thank you, Greg - I really needed it. I love what I'm doing and that I can do it from my living room couch. Life is getting better bit by bit.