Yesterday we tripped our way to the vet – again.

Jenner spent the night for a kidney/liver/urinary check. He’s good. Healthy and happy… thank GOD!

Aggie went with us. 6 months ago, for her yearly check, it was actually cheaper to get a “package” deal than to separate everything out. This included 2 vet checks. So we went – it was already paid for. Besides, she’d been limping for a good week; hobbling on three legs sometimes.

It turns out that she’s torn her ACL in her right leg. I’m thinking she actually did this 2 years ago when she slid on some ice, but recently torn it up again.

Surgeries to repair ACLs run between $800 to $1600 or so. Impossible for me right now. Not to mention that I live where stairs are unavoidable. Not good for knee surgery recipients.

She’s doing better this week. I’m making her slow down to walks in the park. But yesterday her hind end collapsed twice. Once on the stairs to the basement level and once leaping into the truck.

I’m looking at more supplements for joints and ligaments. But the vet tells me that her other ACL will probably go.

My poor girl. 

… I’m listening to their self-titled album right now and waiting for their newest album 11:11, which I requested the library to purchase. I hope they do because I totally love this music.

I wish I could play the guitar.

One of my new favorite shows (which actually started last year) is CASTLE on ABC. It’s about a mystery writer that is “consulting” with the police. Actually he’s just using his pull with the mayor’s office to follow a detective to use her as a model for his new book character.

I really like this show; it’s so much fun and it brings back one of my favorite actors Nathan Fillion, who played Mal in FIREFLY. Another show that I really, really loved: Space cowboys! How could you go wrong?

Last night was the Halloween episode and was pretty fun. Castle even dressed in FIREFLY Mal’s costume; trying out the space-cowboy idea for Halloween. It was great to see that again.

The Halloweed episode centered on vampires, of course. What else is hot this year?

Castle is a murder mystery, so it is always sad, but this series is great with the light-hearted comedy.

There was a great segment on “To the Best of Our Knowledge”, on NPR today. It’s very imforative about how outsiders see Christian Rock music. I also liked that Radosh seemed to really enjoy the Cornerstone Festival.

Here’s the blurb from the TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE website: Daniel Radosh is the author of “Rapture Ready!: Adventures in the Parallel Universe of Christian Pop Culture.” Radosh, a liberal New York secular Jew, is married to a woman whose family is born-again Christian. They took Radosh to a Christian rock festival and introduced him the world of Christian pop culture.

I also liked that there are differences in styles in different cultures, but similarities too. Recognizable and connectable similarities.

At the end of the interview, Radosh recognized the positives that Christian rock artists can teach mainstream America. The Christian aspects and beliefs that change peoples lives!

www.solardecathlon.org

I heard the competition from the Department of Energy had ended, this morning. It’s pretty cool. I look forward to having a house off the grid some day.

The one thing for me is, I’m not big into modern/contemporary architecture. I understand about needing certain designs for efficiency’s sake. But to me, contemporary designs tend to be cold and blank and boring. There has to be a balance between designing a HOME and sustainable-efficiency.

If anything, I think most of these “houses” look more like summer cottages and less like homes.

Still, the fusion of technology is very, very cool!

I woke up this morning with my heart pounding from a bad, bad dream:

I dreamt that I was getting my hair trimmed of dead ends, but the girl cut off 3 inches and charged me $200.

It was awful!

It’s Wednesday and Jenner is much, much better – so far.

Sunday I would have sworn we were on our way back to the vet  on Monday – possibly for the last time. I was very worried and unhappy about it, but just tried leaving the whole thing to God. I couldn’t handle it, at all.

Peggy helped alot that afternoon, when we spoke on the phone. I was very grateful to just talk it out with her.

But then on Monday, Jenner was so much better – playing and eating. He still needs to drink more and more water, but I think his antibiotics started to really work about that time.

He’s been like that for 3 days now. I’m very happy to see him so affectionate and back to wrestling with Aggie. It just wouldn’t have been the same without him around to lord over the dog and demand attention from me.

I have to say that I LOVE the new(ish) Brad Paisley song “Welcome to the Future” from is American Saturday Night album.

Usually this type of song – the ones that look into our general, collective pasts and futures – are nostolgic and melancholy; wishing for the “good ol’ days”. As if those days will always be the most we can hope to obtain.

I don’t mind looking back with general fondness, but just because things are different doesn’t mean they are bad. And this song shows the optimism of that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nas01dmkekU&feature=player_embedded

“Welcome to the Future” is awesome and actually what I’ve come to expect from Brad Paisley. I enjoy all his music – I can’t think of a single song that I dislike, unlike most artists, where I usually have a few songs that I don’t listen to…

Brad Paisley and Keith Urban, the only two mainstream artists that I have all of their music. I don’t even like U2 as much as these two.

Songs like Tim McGraw’s “Back When”, Bucky Covington’s “A Different World”, Rascal Flatts’ “Mayberry”, and even REM’s “End of the World as We Know It”, are all to dark for me to listen too. I don’t like looking back as if it was soooo much better back then.

But this song – “Welcome to the Future” -  it’s just so good! and upbeat and positive.

My poor Jenner-cat spent last weekend in the “hospital”. He had a “blocked urethra” which basically means he couldn’t pee.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_urinary_blockage.html

This is really, really bad.

With the urethra blocked, the bladder fills and can’t be released. Which in turn stops the kidneys from working. Obviously this is very bad and is a cruel way to die.

And not cheap.

He spent the weekend catheterized to flush his system and came home Monday. It was a quiet, empty house that Aggie and I came home to on Sunday (we went to the parents’ once the vet said that Jenner was safe).

But the next few weeks are dangerous because he is most likely to relapse within this time. And he will have to be continually watched for this condition the rest of his life, and have special – read ‘expensive’ - food.

 One of the difficulties is getting Jenner to drink more water. Just like kidney stones in humans are mostly prevented by drinking lots of water, it helps cats for these blockages of mucus and crystals as well.

I’ve acquired saline to inject under his skin for the next week, from the vet; as well as antibiotics. Jenner’s body will absorb the saline and that will help until I figure out how to trick him into drinking more. Sticking a needle under his skin and getting a cat to hold still as a bubble of saline forms, is not easy.

I bought a drinking fountain, that filters water and is supposed to attract cats because it’s fresh and more interesting than a bowl… Yeah, Jenner’s very suspicious of it and was down right scared of it the first night.

He finally checked it out after 3 days, but it’s not “safe” yet.

It’s funny that my beast of a cat is frightened by a little trickle of water.

But I need him to drink and drink and drink.

If he doesn’t and becomes blocked again, I’m afraid I’ll be out of options.

Last night Scottish folk singer Jim Malcom was in town. I first heard him singing with the group Old Blind Dogs, a scottish group that sings celtic folk, but with jazz, blues and rock influences; a group I love.

And Jim has a beautiful voice. Most people describe it as velvet – and that’s very accurate.

Jim was in town last year and I didn’t go to the concert, but I swore I would go next time he was in town. So I did!

www.jimmalcom.com

My brother surprised me by going with me. I’ve never noticed that he particularly enjoys celtic music, but he had a good time anyway. I don’t think he’d been to something that small before.

The concert was very small. There were 30-40 people, I guess. And people brought brownies and cookies and things. These small concerts, at least the ones I’ve been too, often have people in the audiences to bring the snackies.

Jim Malcom was very funny and great entertainment. The second half of the show he dressed in 18th century clothes and “played” Robert Burns (both acting and music). He was fantastic!

If ever you hear Jim Malcom is singing someplace near you, you should definately check it out. And buy some cds too!