Down in your sea of pens and feathers

What went before ONE: Back from the vet. Trooper was a Very Good cat, and spoke not one angry word to me on either side of the trip, and purred the whole time the doctor was examining him. He has lost more than the home scale had indicated, and right now the only thing we can do is ... guess.

So! We're guessing that he's not in pain. We're guessing that maybe? the steroids helped last time. And we're guessing that maybe? there's a low-lying infection that the antibiotic will root out.

Otherwise, he has Fading Old Cat Syndrome.

Thanks to everyone who has made suggestions for food. It's not that he's not hungry; it's that he forgets what food is halfway through eating it. And he absolutely refuses dry food (aka crunchies) which, if he has a tooth infection (and no, neither the vet nor I want to sedate him at this point), the antibiotic will nail it.

In short. We're doing what we can. And may I say that the medical literature for cats is really ... sparse.

Cat census below. Tali's fan club, and Rook's, will be interested to see that she takes up considerably less room on top of the supply dresser than he does.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What went before TWO: The chapter-by-chapter is complete. Tomorrow, I map holes and make notes. The WIP is, roughly, half-written. Deadline is April 2026.

Onward.

Trooper ate a whole! can! of Fancy Feast! Which is something like 3.2 ounces, but hey.

Sarah arrives early tomorrow, so I'll do a little bit of picking up before Happy Hour and my dinner.

Everybody stay safe; I'll see you tomorrow.

Friday. Sunny and cool-so-far. Windows are open.

Sarah messages that a family emergency keeps her from making our date to have her clean this morning. Sigh.

Trooper has had about a can and a half of Fancy Feast; he has not thrown up, and is now sleeping/snoring in the copilot's chair, so something's working. Fingers crossed.

Since Sarah will not be coming by, I'll deploy some vacuum cleaners and throw in a load of laundry (which I was going to do anyway), empty the dishwasher (ditto), and get to work. I need to bake some pork chops, so I'll be heating up the oven.

Onward.

Trooper as reported is in the copilot's chair; Tali is on the supply dresser, nose to the open window; Firefly's gone downstairs, I believe, and Rook is taking advantage of Conditions.

How's everybody doing this morning?

Today's blog post title brought to you by Counting Crows, "Rain King."

Friday in Reverse

Facebook free association:

ONE:  Oh, look! Somebody who wants me to pay them to write a guest blog on sharonleewriter.com.

Um, no. But thanks for thinking of me, Sandra.

Sheesh.

Trooper has probably eaten more today than he had in the last week. Fingers continued to be crossed, which makes it kind of hard to sort laundry.

Second load of laundry washing, because -- why not? First load drying. Vacuuming ongoing. Hard boiled eggs on the make. Time to unload the dishwasher.

TWO:  Well. Pork chops. Tuna fish. Hardboiled eggs. Rice.

I've got enough food for days...

THREE:  Oh. I've had one kind and two kinda miffed queries on this, so!

The reason the book-in-progress isn't due until next April is because the rush to get Diviner's Bow out "on time," kinda fried me. I don't write well with a fried brain, and since I'm the only writing brain presently on the premises, we must be protective of my health.

That's why the turn-in date for the next book is April 2026.

Yes, that does mean it will be a subjectively "long time" between books, for some folks. One upon a time, there was ten years between books; so a couple months is nothing. No, really; it's nothing.

Also, yanno, other people are writing books that are entirely readable, or! if you're in the mood for Korval Shenanigans, particularly, you can re-read the 27 books that have already been published.

It's not that I'm unsympathetic, but killing writers is not the way to get new books.

Other questions?

FOUR:  So, I've identified a couple holes. I am peeved to find that I still haven't completely fixed the vexed timing issue, but! I'm getting closer. I think I need to do something else for a bit and let the pieces shake themselves up.

I am tomorrow taking at least a partial Writer's Day Off to go to the Designing Women Craft Fair in Winthrop. In addition to being a craft fair -- already a win -- it's being hosted by Longfellow's Greenhouses, so I really don't see how I can go wrong with this plan.

Trooper has eaten another half can of Fancy Feast, and coon cat happy hour is coming up in about an hour. The house is vacuumed, the laundry done, and, as previously reported, I've got food made ahead in the fridge. Oh, and the dishes are done.

So, yanno, a productive sort of day, though not entirely in the direction I had expected.

Everybody stay safe; I'll check in as can.

Oh, hey, have some art:

Self-Portrait with a Cat, 1910
Frida Konstantin
(Austrian/Hungarian, 1884–1918)
Oil on canvas