Home Again

             I was out of town last week. Where? Well, it was my usual November trip but a little later this year. 

            We usually attend the Baron Mutual Fund Conference in New York City, and it tends to be right after Halloween. That means we can spend Halloween with our grandsons in Indiana on the way. But the meeting was later than usual this year, so although we visited our family in Indiana it was after Halloween. 

            The trip to NYC was enjoyable as always. First, we went to see Drag, the Musical, because we know a couple of people involved with it. I was curious about it but didn’t expect to really enjoy it—but I did! It was well done, with interesting characters and songs and plot. I’d recommend it to anyone else visiting NYC. 

            I also got to see my Harlequin editor while I was there, which was definitely fun. 

            And the Baron Conference? Well, the first part as always involved having some executives of of companies they invest in speak, and that was interesting as it generally is. But the main reason I like to attend is because of the free, surprise entertainment. We chose Broadway as our theme for our lunchtime entertainment, and it consisted of some of the cast of the musical Suffs, about the women’s suffrage movement at the beginning of the last century. It was really well done, and I’d like to see the rest of the show sometime. 

            The surprise afternoon entertainment? That was Michael Buble’! It was especially enjoyable to watch him and hear him sing a variety of songs. 

            I’m home now, with our pups, who were well cared for while we were gone by our wonderful pet sitter. But it’s hard to sit down at the computer now without being requested by our younger pup, Roxie, to throw one of her toys!

Farewell

 

 What a few days!  We thought that Buttercup had rallied after her treatment at the Vet, but as soon as the shot and hydration they gave her wore off, she started to go downhill very  quickly.  I looked at a picture of her on Saturday and she looked like her normal cat self.  But by Monday, she was barely able to drag herself around the house.

It seemed like this change was a mystery to her and she tried to do her normal things.  It took great effort, but, she got herself to her usual spots.  She sat in the window, and cuddled next to my husband in her usual spot in his chair.  But it was like her body was too big for her spirit to move.  She has never been able to meow, but she managed some purrs.

She was lighter than air and while she hung near her water bowl and I tried every variation of presenting her water, she couldn't drink.  

All I know about her history is that she was rescued from a cat hoarder who had fifty cats. Her long hair was white and butterscotch color.  By the time she moved in with us, she was about six.  She has always been most attached to my son and husband so the downfall of her health was hardest on them.

By now in my life, I have said goodbye to something around 14 pets, along with close family and friends.  It's not that it gets easier, but I have learned how to deal. It has always been my M.O. to take care of others, so all my efforts went to help them handle the situation. I had to be the one to tell my son that it was time to let Buttercup go and make peace with the decision.

In the end, we let her go in the most humane way so that she didn't have to suffer. Vets now have a whole protocol that  considers the animal and the owner. 

 It only got harder when my son had to tell Jakey.  Buttercup has been around his whole life.   He immediately got concerned about Kitten, who despite her name is around 10 and has also been around Jakey for his whole life too. The truth is that Kitten is a sturdier cat than Buttercup ever was.  She was always all hair and a fragile body.  The photo is from better days.

But it's all part of life.

Social Media and Writing

             I decided to write about social media a bit this week because I don’t know what to say! I’ve always said how untechie I am, although I do okay using computers to write with, and watching and communicating with the world over texts and emails and elsewhere on the internet. 

            But social media? Well, I am active on Facebook and am happy that I’ve been able to post pictures of myself and my dogs on my home page and also occasionally other times. I also add posts about things I like or that are important to me, such as what a particular day is known for—like, National Authors’ Day and National Chocolate Day and even National Love Your Red Hair Day. 

            I once was slightly active on Twitter, when it was still Twitter, and received emails for a while containing posts by some of my contacts, although that’s stopped. But those are pretty much the extent of my social media stuff. I know it would be better to put some of my books out there more on other sites, such as Instagram. Maybe someday. If I can figure out how to get more techie, post more pictures and videos and such. 

            Meanwhile, I’ll just keep on writing, and taking advantage of some of my other online means, such as being active on Writerspace.

Late

 Oops.  I just realized that I didn't write my blog.  I have a time when I usually write it, but between another day of Santa Ana winds, finding out the prognosis for one of the cats, and trying to rework the order of things at the end of my manuscript away from my computer, forgot.

The wind has stopped and hopefully the bad kind of ions are gone.  The election is over and at least there will be no more of the endless ads.

And now to finally finish my manuscript.