Eagles Over the Kennebec

We picked up Mozart's ashes today.

Then, we went for a ride.  Not a long ride; only to Augusta.  We walked around Lowe's and did our bit for morale by asking a passing Lowe-worker where the roof-rakes might be found.  Not one to be had in the store, we were told, in-between gasps of laughter.  Possibly not one to be had in greater New England.

After we had sowed our seeds of merriment, we went to Best Buy, where I finally succumbed and purchased the Shiny, the Canon PowerShot SX700HS 30X with the Bundled Goodies.  It's about half as thick as my venerable PowerShot 120IS 10X, and weighs just about the same.  The challenge here is going to be remembering not to just stick it into a pocket and forget it's there.

In theory, it does all kinds of sweet things, none of which I've figured out, yet, including sending pictures via wifi.  What an age we live in.

Stopped at the grocery on the way home, because we are once again about to go under a -- wait for it! -- Winter Storm Watch.  The theory is that we may received from 5-11 inches of snow from Wednesday afternoon until Thursday afternoon.

After that, we won't have to deal with any more snow until Saturday night into Sunday.

My plan for the rest of the week is to take the laptop, and retire with it and Alliance of Equals to the couch and do nothing else -- except shovel snow, of course  (and tomorrow's my turn to make dinner, but that'll be meatballs (already made) and rotinis, with gravy.  Easy-peasy.).  The Kid Coons aren't entirely sure that they Approve of the laptop, which takes up precious lap-space that could more fruitfully be occupied by a coon cat.  Sprite, in particular, believes that she can too fit in the space between me and the keyboard.

Just for the record?

She can't.

For those who were breathlessly awaiting my impression of Jupiter Ascending -- I had a good time with it.  Mind you, I don't get to see many movies, so that probably pre-disposes me to being amused and pleased by those I do see, but to my way of thinking, I had three winners in a row:  Guardians of the Galaxy, Big Hero6, and Jupiter Ascending.

What did you do today that was exciting?

We let Mozart go today.  He was just shy of his 18th birthday, and had shared 11 of those years with us.  He was a good friend, gentle, and interested in all things, even That Reading Thing, which he had to learn to care about.

The house is very quiet tonight.

I will ask people not to post the Rainbow Bridge poem.  We've read it many times, by now.

So, this morning, we got up early so I could make an appointment to get Mozart in to see the vet.  He'd started sneezing, explosively, in addition to becoming increasingly unsteady on his feet.  We got an appointment for 2:30.

Then, I called my doctor, and nailed an 11:30 appointment, from which I emerged with a second order for antibiotics, since the first run did not completely drive a stake through the heart of the sinus infection.

In between my appointment and Mozart's, Steve and I got the prescription (partially) filled, did some lightning grocery shopping, and had leftover meat loaf and mashed potatoes for lunch.

Mozart. . .has lost three pounds since the last time the vet saw him.  The good news is that the sneezing isn't a respiratory infection, but seems more related to the dry winter air that makes everybody sneeze.  He was given a tablet to increase his appetite, and we were given a talk about old cats who are on the downward slope of their lives.  We are to observe his appetite and his mobility and give the vet a call on Thursday.

I should mention that these multiple trips to town were made in a really nasty little snowstorm that the weatherbeans wouldn't even admit was happening, and that Steve is a Hero of the Revolution, for doing all the driving.

That being all the news that's fit to print -- except that Mozart has come into my office to yell at me because the pill made him hungry -- I'm going to -- feed Mozart, obviously, and do the dishes.

Hope everybody's well and happy.

First of all, Varekai was Totally Worth everything it cost!  I hope, very much, that the performers revel in their powers.  For those who haven't seen the show, it's (apparently -- Cirque performances, in my experience (which until last night consisted entirely of watching them on video) aren't really long on narrative) the story of (an) Icarus, who tumbles out of the sky, to earth, and then (perhaps) below it, to a strange land populated (possibly) by sentient plants and insect-y things (note that it's equally possible that this all takes place on another planet, where sentient plants and insect-y things are the order of the day and Icari are quite uncommon.  Your choice.).

In any case, the flyer breaks a leg in the fall, and his wings are stolen while he lies helpless on the ground.  He quickly falls in love with a yellow insect-y girl, who, despite being insect-y, seems very nice.  The girl is also stolen away, Icarus grieves, finds the strength to stand on his own two feet, and his love returns, transformed into a golden-haired girl dressed entirely in white glue and glitter, they marry and (one assumes) live happily ever after.

Interspersed with all this are trapeze acts, tumbling acts, wild dancing, swings, juggling, live music, clowns, and a dance-duel between the semi-comic villain who stole the Icarus' wings and a blue dancer on crutches that has to be seen to be believed.  I loved every minute of it except the part where the ground-spot for the juggler was shining directly into my (and Steve's) eyes.

It was a little louder than I had anticipated; and -- having never been in the Cross Insurance Event Center before -- I didn't realize that the seats rise from the main floor. . .precipitously, with the result that I walked off of the main hall into the short entrance to Section 108, and found myself, so it seemed, on the edge of a cliff, looking 'waaaaaaay down, and about to topple.  The vertigo passed in a few minutes, but it was a surprise.

Our show was the Bangor opener, and it did not play to a full house.  I find this astounding.  Tonight's show...may be a challenge for people arriving from out of town.  Not only is the Cirque on, but, just a couple blocks up the road, Willy Nelson will be playing at the Bangor Waterfront.

Bearing in mind that I'm not a mother, I didn't really think this was a show that little children would much care for -- and one that might seem to a small person. . .somewhat threatening.

But, me?  I loved it to bits, and am so glad we cast restraint to the wind and decided to do this thing.

* * *

We had stayed the night in Bangor, at Hollywood Slots, across the street from the Cross Center (yes, we played the slot machines. Steve won; I lost.  It was ever thus.).  This morning, we got up, breakfasted at Governor's on Broadway, then headed home via Belfast, since I had business at Coyote Moon.  The day was sunny and warm, but deliciously breezy.  I had a good time driving Kineo, and WKIT obliged by playing a fine mix of classic rock.  I shopped at Coyote Moon; Steve shopped at the Good Table; we walked down to the public landing, and then headed home, where. . .

. . .we found Mozart in a state of rather extreme disarray.

We packed him up and took him to the vet's, where he was hydrated, and had a blood sample taken, upon which tests were performed.  Apparently, he has pancreatitis.  We have meds, and some new therapeutic food that none of us actually think he'll eat, and the suggestion that we blend the food he does eat, so that he'll possibly be getting more nutrients.  He seems happy at the moment, sleeping in his hammock and taking the breeze.

. . .and that, I think, catches us all up.

How was your yesterday?  Did you miss me?

Today, we celebrate the sixteenth anniversary of the birth of Kennebec Mozart.  He's celebrating by sleeping in his special corner in my office, with his back pressed firmly against the radiator.   A little later in the day, Steve and I will toast his good health and long years on-station here at the Cat Farm with vanilla ice cream.

Since we're right in the middle of the Major Morning Nap, I'm not going to disturb him for a photo op.  Here's a picture from October:

There was a call, down in another thread, for the "stories" of Trooper and Sprite.

There's really not much to tell, here.

Socks' death left a big hole, not only in the lives of Cat Farm Management, but also in Mozart and (though she would never admit such a thing) Scrabble's lives.  We had initially decided to wait until November to take on a new crew member, since we knew we had some traveling coming up, what with the BEA and the book tour.  We changed our mind when Mozart seemed to still be expecting us to be bringing Socks home This Time, every time we went away.

Here's Socks:

So, we went looking for an older -- i.e. Not a Kitten -- Maine Coon, to keep Mozart company.

We deliberately kept our search within New England; indeed, within Maine and New Hampshire, and no more than a day's drive from the Cat Farm.

Which search led us, in the fullness of time, to Kelimcoons, where the decision to retire Trooper from Show Business had only recently been taken.  Here's a link to the show cat page at Kelimcoons.  Scroll down a little, and you'll find Trooper.  After a lengthy discussion and many questions asked on both sides, it was decided that Steve and I  could drive down to New Hampshire, meet Trooper, and put the question to him in person.

We did that at the end of June; the reply was in the affirmative, and we brought him home with us.

Trooper has been a joy from the start; he's a sweet-natured, and genuinely kind cat, interested in the doings, and respectful of the elder cats.  We worry that he's a little serious, but then he'll perform an unsubtle and, to him, hilarious, Maine Coon gag and put it all in perspective.

Bringing Trooper into the house demonstrated really clearly the difference between a four year old cat and an Elder Statescat.  Trooper wanted to play -- and, having come from a house full of cats, he wanted to play with somebody.  He tempted Mozart with springs and ping-pong balls and Turtle and. . .Mozart wanted to sleep.  Which was OK; Trooper likes to sleep, and he's perfectly fine, sleeping with the Old Guy.

Just not, yanno, all the time.

So, we realized that, yes, we were going to have to get a cat for our cat.  As frequent readers will recall, we made an attempt to bring in local talent to fill the position, but the talent had a different vision and we quickly, and amicably, parted ways.

Even knowing that they didn't expect to retire any other adults until late fall, I did it -- I hoped over to Kelimcoons, and. . .there was Sprite. She had lost her first litter of kittens and rather than put her, and themselves, through the trauma of attempting another litter, the family had decided to spay her and put her up for adoption.

I was immediately drawn -- that face!  And, then I was convinced, because, as it happens, Trooper had sired only one single litter, and Sprite?  Was from that litter.

She was 15 months old, a little younger than we had wanted, but -- Trooper's daughter!  And Trooper's such a doll.

By this time the book tour was breathing down our necks, and we didn't want to bring a new cat into the house while we were away, and. . .

I wrote the email anyway.  And Kelimcoons very kindly agreed to hold Sprite for us until we returned from the book tour.

Which is why two days after the end of the tour, Steve drove down to New Hampshire and came home with a young lady cat, who immediately hid in the cellar until she realized that Upstairs was where the action was.  She has spent her time since ascending attempting to Conquer this territory.

If Trooper is a little too serious, Sprite is a little too goofy.  Until she collapses in your arms, and turns on her twin-engine purr-box.  Then, she's perfect.

So -- there you have it.

As I write this, Mozart is at the animal hospital in Waterville, undergoing evaluation.

After his last vet visit, before the new year, we had seen some improvement in his appetite due to the vet's Magic Pills.  Unfortunately, he did not continue to rally, but stopped eating the vet-sent food altogether, then stopped eating chicken baby food, then refused turkey baby food...beef and ham baby food were still acceptable, but he really wasn't interested to eating much of either.  Occasionally, he would take a crunchy or two, and a sip of water.  Mostly, he wanted to lie in His Corner in my office, kind of stretched on his side, with his eyes open -- not sleeping, and not at all restful-seeming.

So, I made an early call, the vet said to bring him in, and so we did, braving the -8F/-22C temperatures, and the small drift of flakes out of the sky, which one set of weatherbeans seem to think is going to become a blizzard by this afternoon.

The hope at this point is that the x-rays and a repeat blood test will give us some idea of what's going on, and if he's in pain.  He had actually gained some weight since Monday.  Given that he hasn't actually been eating that much, the vet is concerned that this is fluid retention, which might indicate something new, and not good, going on with his kidneys.

So, on hold here at the Cat Farm.

Slow-moving morning, here at the Cat Farm.

Mozart is dozing on the blanket-covered box at the kitchen-end of the hall.  Scrabble has mounted a watch in the window, and she's keeping a Very Close Eye on the bird feeders.  Especially the woodpecker block, which has been the center of a number of antics this morning.

Bird discursion:

I mean, I know woodpeckers aren't terribly bright.  By my observation, this usually works for them, because they don't tend to notice scary stuff.  But this morning, we have a visitor who can't figure out the chain from which the woodpecker feeder is suspended, and it's distracting him something terrible.  He'd come in, start whacking at the seeds, see the chain, and forget to eat, as he looked at This Strange (and Shiny) Device, first from one eye, then from the other.  It was sad, in an amusing sort of way.

He has finally seemed to have figured out that, if he hangs upside down from the bottom of the feeder-cage, he doesn't have to see the chain, and he can eat in peace.  Which is what he's doing now.

In publishing news. . .

For those who do not tweet, last evening it was Revealed that Carousel Sun (the sequel to Carousel Tides) will be published in early-ish 2014.

So!  This is what we now know about the Lee/Miller and Lee publication schedules for the next little while:

Liaden Universe® Constellation Volume I:  July 2013
Dragon Ship mass market: August 2013
Dragonwriter: A Tribute to Anne McCaffrey & Pern: August 2013
Trade Secret: November 2013
Liaden Universe® Constellation Volume II: January 2014
Carousel Sun: Early-ish 2014

From the hey, that's cool pile. . .

We hear from Madame the Agent, who gets her Locus before we get ours, that Necessity's Child has hit the Locus Bestselling Hardcover list at Number Two.  Not too shabby -- and you did it yourselves!  Well done, and thank you.

And! Under the topic Discussions Worth Having:

Kyle Cassidy, photographer extraordinaire, muses on pockets and women's clothes, here

. . .and there's a follow-up, here

This is a useful and thought-provoking discussion about what pockets (or the lack of pockets) says about autonomy.  Really worth a read.

Eye Candy:

Really interesting series of pictures of the remains of plane wrecks (all wrecks depicted are non-fatal) in remote places, right here.

In writing news:

Today! Is the day! That I will break 50K.  I know this because I'm only 172 words short of the goal as I start my work day.  It's nice to occasionally have some certainty in life.

* * *

Progress on Carousel Seas

49,828/100,000 words OR 49.83% complete

"You kill that shark?"

She raised disdainful eyebrows.  "Must you ask?"

"In fact, I don't have to ask.  I'm curious about your motivation."

Today, March 1, 2012, is Kennebec Mozart’s fourteenth birthday. You see him pictured below, on the co-pilot’s chair in my office. The piece of quilting that he adorns came to him from Max! and was made by Sheila Viehl.

Mozart on the morning of his 14th birthday

Originally published at Sharon Lee, Writer. You can comment here or there.