The Cliffs of Insanity

I've been dealing with a serious writer's block, and I still am. It's taken me several days just get up the gumption to make this post, but make it I must because, if I stop writing altogether, and I'm very close to that already, I may never start again. Other steps I'm taking not to lose my writing mojo are rehashing my outline for The Blood Crown and listening to Crown almost exclusively. Now, yesterday, I didn't do any of that. I took a break yesterday and vegged out in front of the TV watching the Alien movies. Today, it's back to work holding on to the threads of my Vampire story.

Also on hold is the Femme Joker story. gunslingaaahhh and I need to get our arses in gear regarding this tale and just write it already! It shouldn't be this difficult. It shouldn't be such a task. It's supposed to be fun. I keep telling myself this and I will believe it or die trying. Harrumph!

One thing I know that's bothering me is something I thought would have been over by now is still drifting around in limbo and I'm wanting it done and part of my past. (vague much, Tin?) I'm sick to death of the whole thing, of the petty politics, and the superficialities I've forced myself to tolerate far beyond the limits of my patience and temper. When I realised that my interest had waned to the point of being nonexistent, I knew then that my association with this situation had stretched far beyond my comfort zone.

Shmoop disappeared last week. This, after Motley, Norvus, Barney, and Spectre all disappeared, and Smidgen returned to us with her side torn out. Some sort of vicious thing is stalking my feline friends and I hate it. It bothers me that I can't let Steve in because of how he behaves toward Smidgen and Aloysius. But Steve is a wily beast, so I don't think he's going to become yet another "Dead Steve." Smidgen and Al are almost exclusively house cats now, thank the Mighties.

A lawyer has taken my disability case. Well, not just any lawyer...the premiere disability lawyer in the Upstate of South Carolina. So that heartens me somewhat since I know that lawyers typically don't take on cases unless they're pretty sure they'll win. So another several-month waiting period is in store, then we'll see what happens. In the meantime, I'm just gonna keep on keeping on...

Steve and Shmoop are currently indoors taking a nap together. I had to get a picture of them because Steve appears to be clutching his head as though he is suffering from a feline migraine.



That Steve, he's a one of a kind cat, bless him.

My latest tacky attempt at turning one of my cat pals into a LOL-Cat.



This is pretty much my favourite picture of Shmoop. She looks like such a drunkard in this photie! And, O! How happy she is. You can tell by the shit-eating, beer-drinking grin on her silly face. I loves me some Shmoop.

Two days after losing my beloved Lynx, there arrived on my doorstep two wee kittens, one ginger and one light tabby. The ginger kitten spits at you if you blink your eyes. I think he's a boy. I've named him Spiteful, and he's a real cutie. The other, smaller, kitten is a girl and much friendlier. She comes across as being very prim and proper, so I've named her Miss Marple. Both of them have eye problems. Aunt Tudi's written a note to call Dr. Patch and order a bottle of Amoxil Drops. I'll pick them up after work on Monday. I doubt I'll be able to treat Spiteful as he's feral down to the bone, but I will be able to get some meds into Miss Marple 'cos she's already letting me pick her up and love on her.

So I lost one cat, but gained two. The great cycle continues to spin.

Shmoop's eye is much better today. The eye goo Doc gave me seems to be doing the trick. Damn conjunctivitis! Damn it all to hell!

Aunt Tudi and I went to Lyman to run some errands, get meds, and go to the local Ace Hardware store for some caulk. We need the caulk to apply to the stripping around the screen we're replacing where Foley broke and entered our home in the dead of night. Anyway, we got our caulk and was heading up front to pay when I saw a slush machine. It had two flavours: grape and blue raspberry. The slush looked an awful lot like Slurpee mix, so I bought a cup of the grape. OH.....MY.....GAWD. This is the closest thing to a Slurpee I've had since I was out in California where they have 7-11s. I told the old lady at the register that she'd be seeing more of me. It's not exactly like the Mythic Slurpee, but it's so close, I was prepared to weep with glee until brain freeze kicked in.

Before we went to town, Aunt Tudi called Morrisons in Asheville to see if they were still open. They've extended their time to 13 May instead of 6 May. Aunt Tudi started talking about how she wanted to go back and pick up more doo-dads, so I had to tell her that we couldn't go spend as much as we had the past three times we went up there, because I didn't have much money left and I thought it would be wise if we had some fundage for England. This floored her. I was hoping to keep the financial situation from her because she worries so much, but she's also a Mad Shopper from Hell, and she'd never stop until I came clean about our shortage of money. So she started freaking out and worrying and so on and so forth, but I told her that things would work out. We're out of debt, we're stocked on food and non-perishables. And I've started actively looking for a job, even just a rinky-dink job. Something that will bring in enough money for groceries and gas. That's all that's needed. I assured her that things would work out, all is well.

I don't think she really believed me, because Aunt Tudi isn't inclined to be laid back about such things. But, when we got back from Lyman, I had to messages on our answering machine from two companies with whom I applied. They're wanting to interview me and probably hire me. Even if they don't hire me, I'm still quite optimistic about finding something. It's like I told Aunt Tudi: we may have a skinny month after returning from England, but then I'll start pulling in money, a lot of which we can save. This eased her mind somewhat.

On the way back home, we stopped by the local fruit and veggie stand to pick up some tomatoes. The old dude also had freshly picked strawberries (like picked this morning) for $8.00 a gallon, so we got a gallon of those too. I've always loved strawberries and Aunt Tudi has grown quite fond of them over the past year, so they definitely won't go to waste. There was one berry in the lot that was fairly alarming, being the conjoined triplets of the berry world.

( Freak Berry )

So far, it's been a really good day. I feel good about the future and even better about mutant berries that fascinate my cat friends. ::firm nods:: Everything is gonna be alllllll right.

When Aunt Tudi and I got home, we found a bathtub full of Shmoop Poop! She's still doing it, which means it's the food. I took pictures of the sorry situation to show to Dr. Patch tomorrow when I see him. I'm sure he'll suggest an expensive food that we can't feed everyone, so the outdoor prides will have to be converted from free feeders to being fed once or twice a day under supervision so Shmoop won't join in. Oy....the problems this entails. ::hits head on the nearest hard surface::

I'm including a picture of the horror to which we came home. Mind, this bathtub is almost 40 years old and is cast iron; thus the dark splotches. Except for all the shite, our bathtub is quite clean! GAH!!!

( shmoop poop everywhere everywhere EVERYWHERE! )

Oh, she left a couple of butt stains on my bed too, so I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight. I don't mind sleeping on the couch; in fact, I prefer it. But it cramps Aunt Tudi's style, so there's that. We've already cleaned up the bath room. The tub looks wonderful, thanks to Aunt Tudi. I've redone the litter pan and did all the leg work the clean-up required. Now, we're both just sitting here, stymied.

Tomorrow: laundry (lots of it), vet visit for Motley, picking up the dogs, the last half of diabetes education for Aunt Tudi, and a visit to Llew.

Tonight: the occasional whimper just prior to passing the fuck out.

Aunt Tudi, Diane, and I went to Asheville yesterday and things didn't go exactly as expected. Aunt Tudi took a bit of a tumble and busted her lip and knee, and strained her neck, shoulders, and back pretty badly. So I've been hovering over her like a schizophrenic mother hen. To top that off, Shmoop began to suffer some serious diarrhea, so much so that she couldn't make it to the litter box during the night. I got pooped on and my bedclothes got pooped on, and I've had very little sleep as a result of the poop. Shit happened all over the place. I'm thinking she may have contracted a hook worm, but I'm not certain, so off she went to Dr. Patch's office this morning before I took Aunt Tudi to her doctor later in the morning. Oh, I also took a stool sample entitled "Shmoop Poop" on the jar. Heh. I'm waiting to hear back from Dr. Patch, but I'm expecting Shmoop may be spending the night in the hospital because Wednesday is Doc's surgery day, so everything goes rather slowly on this day. In the meantime, I'm gonna try to catch up online and do some laundry in between nursing Aunt Tudi back to health. She's looped out on pain meds right now, so I'm able to have a wee tad of time for myself.

I'm going to write about yesterday in increments, making separate posts for each major occurrence. One post with all the information would be too long and I don't think I'll have the time to write that much in one sitting. The first post will be about Aunt Tudi's fall. For now, I'll post a couple of pics of the miserable little lady. I just ache for her.

( Aunt Tudi's visible injuries )

I'm trying to bide my time until Battlestar Galactica comes on tonight. So here I am here to torment the masses.

Earlier today, I spent over two hours on the phone and talked to 17 different people at Capital One trying to find out where the hell my car title is. I was finally informed that it was mailed out on 12/28, so I should get it any day now. Having to deal with so many idiots in such a short period of time gave me serious flashbacks to The Pit and I was literally in tears there for a brief period of time. They weren't girly oh-my-feelings-are-being-mooshed tears. They were ohmigawd-I'm-gonna-rip-somebody's-skin-off tears. It wasn't a pleasant experience. In fact, it gave me a headache and the desire never to pick up another phone for the duration of my existence here on Earth.

Sven came to dinner last night. He allowed me to step out in the back yard with him and take some glamour shots. Here's the result.

( ain't he cute? )

I just adore his little hands.

Now behold the candle that falkenna sent to me. In case you can't make it out, it says "Nemesis Now." How cool is that?

( candle )

I took some pics of Aunt Tudi and myself at the doctor's office on Wednesday. It's obvious we don't feel well.

( unwell )

After having experienced a hot flash, I am now down to a tee shirt and my hot pink boob pants. I just put the flannel shirt back on because I've been outside trying to get Shmoop to come home. It's after 7 and she's not home yet. This is highly irregular. HIGHLY. And I'm worried.

A good name for a band would be Knuckletoe. I thought about that when my the knuckle on my left big toe popped like a firecracker. Ow, fucking ow.

Thanks to luminita, I have registered with Catster. Over the next few days I'll be working on creating a webpage for Smidgen, Shmoop, and Motley. They deserve all the publicity they can get because they're the coolest cats around.

I stepped out to the front porch to get a breath of fresh air and spied Smidgen and Shmoop playing tag in the front yard. Of course, I wobbled back into the house to get my camera.

( at play )

I came back in and Smidgen came with me. As I sat in my sinus-y stupour, Smidgen jumped up on the couch arm to say "howdy!"

( Smidgen )

Everyone is in and snuggled for the evening. I'm waiting on Aunt Tudi to wake up from her nap so we can tend to Motley's needs and let her explore the house a little. She's still a little sick baby and, BOY, does she stink! Her poop is the worst smelling thing I've had the misfortune to encounter in a very long time.