I'm Down To Nine Cats, Now

 Ziva, one of my black cats, passed away overnight last night. I found her this morning on the floor of the TV room. I knew it was coming. She was getting worse and worse as days passed. She was so thin. I kept buying canned food to encourage her to eat more. She'd eat dry food, but liked canned food much better. What cat doesn't? How old was she? I don't know. I've had so many cats and my memory is deteriorating so that keeping track is something I can't do mentally. A while back I created a list on my computer of all the cats I accepted responsibility for, including some strays and ferals. That list now has more dead and/or missing cats listed than live cats. A while back I got so sick of myself for what almost amounted to cat-hoarding that I vowed never to "adopt" another cat. And I haven't. Ziva was always a small cat and, in 2018 or 2019, gave birth to three sons, one of which was killed when he wandered into the neighbor's backyard full of dogs. I still have the other two.

Ziva in 2016

Although some would argue, I feel I've always been a responsible pet owner. I've taken all my pets to be spayed/neutered and vaccinated. I take the dogs in annually, but the cats not so much. I only take them to the vet when they're sick or injured. I feel bad about that, but I can't afford to take all the pets in for an annual exam, etc. (Which is another reason I'm not taking in any more cats.) My cats were indoor cats until a few years ago when I put in a doggie door so the dogs could go outside to poo whenever they needed too, and I wouldn't have to make a mad dash home at lunchtime to let them out. I still feel that cats should be indoor, only. That makes me a hypocrite, I know. 

As I do with all of my pets, I'll take Ziva to be cremated and I'll keep her ashes. I hope to have all my pet cremains interred with me when it's my time. I'll find a place where that's allowed. I think it's allowed in most places now, but I want to be interred in a veterans cemetery. 

Not much else going on. I'm just trying to avoid the horrible heat that is Texas in the summer. And procrastinating the thing that I keep telling myself I actually want to do. And I suppose, way back in the corners of my mind I do want to do them (exercise, clean, etc.).

I started an Etsy shop because I realized there were things I could sell that I could create on my computer and offer for downloading. Things like printable stationery, some forms, and even a little artwork. Visit me and buy something (so I can pay for Ziva's cremation). I'm here: Suze Stationery. I plan to add more stuff, but again I procrastinate. If there's something you might want that I could create, let me know.

My shower floor is falling down. I have no better way to describe it. The last time I showered I notice the floor was detaching from the wall on one side. So I've stopped showering and called my insurance company. If they don't pay to fix it I'm going to have to take baths from now on. They've assigned me a case number which, I think, means they're going to pay for it.

UPDATE: June 23, 20222

My insurance will not pay for my damaged shower. They didn't even send out an inspector to see what the problem was. They told me it was mold and and old leak, but there's no fucking way they could know that. I'm going to contact someone more important than my agent and complain forcefully. 

The good news, maybe, is that I checked the paperwork for my home appliance insurance and it does say something in there about covering indoor plumbing and damage. So I've submitted a claim but haven't heard from them. I'm going to wait a few days and resubmit.

Cheers,

Sue

Worst Month

I am having what could be one of the worst months of my life. And you know what? I'm not going to go into detail about it. At least, not all of it. No matter how much you beg!

Due to some serious financial non-planning, my cell phone provider cut me off because they couldn't withdraw my monthly payment. Not a big deal, but still a pain in the ass.

About a week ago my home phone line (and DSL) was not working at all. No calls in, no calls out. This went on for about 12 hours. I called the phone company, who scheduled a repair person to come out and see what was wrong, but the phone line came back before the person showed up, so I called and canceled the appointment. This happens frequently, but has never lasted so long.

Due to the same serious financial non-planning, the city came and turned off my water WITHOUT ANY WARNING!!!!!!!! This is the city of Gatesville, Texas. They did this early on Monday morning before I got to take my shower, and I was pretty stinky. So, instead of calling and saying, "Your check bounced. Please come in and pay us or we'll turn your water off," they just shut my water off. No shower. No toilet flushing. No hand washing. No teeth brushing. Nothing. BASTARDS!!!! By the way, I should point out that I have lived here and paid property taxes for SIXTEEN YEARS!!! (I wrote an angry letter to the city manager and I'm waiting for his response.)

Fortunately, a friend who lives very close by let me come over to her house and take a shower so that I could go out in public without offending too many people (although it did occur to me to get as stinky as possible before showing up in person to pay the water bill). (Thank you, Donna.)

My lawn mower has quit working, so the grass (and weeds, mostly) in my front lawn is way, way too high. If I can't get the mower to work (it worked for about 30 minutes two weeks ago), I'll have to pay someone to mow the lawn, which I can't afford this month! The city loves to send out little notices if they think your grass is too high. I'm expecting on at any moment.

I've also developed a new medical problem. This is where I won't go into detail, because it's a little personal. (More personal than serious financial non-planning.) I looked this up on the Internet and found that it's either caused by stress or cancer. I'm rooting for stress! Yes, of course I'm going to go see the doctor. I called for an appointment and was told that I need to "walk in," and that walk-in hours are 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. If you know me, and/or if you've been reading my blog, you know that getting out of bed is the hardest thing I do every day. So I will get in to see the doctor, but it's going to be a chore. An afternoon appointment would be much better. (In case you've noticed that I'm making this post at about 6:45 a.m. and you're wondering why I don't go today, I can only say that there is a reason I can't go today. I can't say any more.)

Add to all this the continuing stress of planning a move, and figuring out what I'm going to do with my cats and my house. And a couple of other smaller problems that I haven't discussed here. I think I could really use some Valium. (Do they still give that stuff out?)

Really, this doesn't sound like much to complain about. I mean, these problems are miniscule compared to what's going on in the world, and in other peoples' lives. But I'm not the world, and I'm not other people.

I feel a little bit like Job.  But I keep telling God that I love Him. I do love Him. And I know He's not responsible in any way for this sh*t that's raining down upon my head.

The one thing that keeps my head up is that I am going to move to Oregon with mom, and that will help a great deal. Call it a fresh start. I'm excited about it and I'm looking forward to it. I'd say, "it can't happen soon enough," but that would be a lie. I'm a horrible procrastinator, and I'll need a few months to actually get ready for the move. I need to get rid of a lot of stuff, either by giving it away or selling it. I need to find a real estate agent who is willing to help me sell a home that can only be politely described as a "fixer-upper." I've already mentioned dealing with the cats. (Mom says they're welcome, but that really wouldn't be fair to her. I'm used to them. Mom isn't. I'm sure they'd stress her out.)

Anyway, except for that, life is good. And that's about all I've got to write about for now. Please don't forget about the "donate" button over there in the right hand column!! ;-)

Getting Clean

Does anyone else out there hate taking a shower? I like to be clean, and I know I need to be clean, so I do shower before I go out in public. But I hate the process. I'm not sure why. I think I just want a faster way to get clean. I mean, if I'm only going out to pick up a few things, it seems like taking a shower is a lot of bother for a short "mission." Every time I shower I wash my hair, which adds time and effort. But my hair will smell bad just like my body would if I didn't wash it. I want one of those sonic showers like they had on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I don't know how they worked, but I think they were faster! I think that, getting ready for an event should take less time than the actual event, even just going out to pick up a few things.