Having decided that it is time I gave more attention to the family of the man who is probably my REAL great grandfather rather than my legitimate great grandfather I entered his name into my Family Tree Maker program and suddenly I have about 25 of his descendants showing up in my own family tree. That is great and, considering the dearth of information on historical data here in Western Australia, saves me a lot of work - although there is no information on my (half?) great uncle's eldest son.
The cats are recovering from their ordeal and Parsifal has been no problem except that he is supposed to be on a soft diet after losing one tooth and he likes soft food which is usually given as a treat. Poppy, who now has no teeth is on a soft diet and pain killers as well but seems to be very happy. If her teeth were that bad they were probably giving her quite a bit of grief. She had five teeth removed, the same number as this time last year so she has obviously lost a few in the interim since I am sure that she started with more than ten teeth.
Her sore finger is due to osteo-arthritis in the metacarpo-phalangeal joint of her fourth finger if you count her dew claw as her thumb. I still need to clip the claw and will still muzzle her although she no longer has the wherewithal to bite me when I do so. She seems resigned to the muzzle and lets me put it on without a struggle. She shared my bed with me last night and kept me awake for ages as I was restless and reluctant to disturb her by tossing and turning and she spent today back sleeping in her 'little soft place' which is the pile of pillows on my bed.
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Friday, March 18, 2016
Endentuous . . .
The word used by the medical officer at the hospital where I worked to describe the toothless.
Poppy, after visiting the Vet today for a dental checkup is endentuous except for her two bottom canine teeth which were firm and unwobbly and have been left in situ so that her tongue doesn't stick out.
She has a condition in which the roots of the teeth are reabsorbed and is prevalent among Oriental breeds. Poppy seems to have it in spades but at least tooth scaling will be a thing of the past for her.
Parsifal lost one more tooth and is very chirpy about it - all bright-eyed and bushy tailed but at least he is leaving Poppy alone in her misery. Actually she is not too bad, all things considered and very happy to be home again - ate her tea, used the litter tray and is re-marking all her face rubs on the door jambs.
The Vet Clinic decided to retain the kitty carriage and keep the cats there in familiar territory and from what they said it worked well and there was much less of a problem with the two of them
Today on Ancestry.com.au I contacted someone who used to be a half-second cousin and whom I think is actually a full second cousin since I suspect strongly that my grandfather and his twin brother were born on the wrong side of the blanket and although legally legitimate they, and their mother were disinherited by their legal father. Anyway my now-second cousin was happy to hear from me and interested in the state of affairs. She has sent me her phone number and we will talk. I actually met her many years ago when my grandmother came to Perth to visit. She stayed at the Karrakatta Club - very posh and decidedly lacking in comfort - and was shocked to the core when my cousin visited her wearing jeans!
Poppy, after visiting the Vet today for a dental checkup is endentuous except for her two bottom canine teeth which were firm and unwobbly and have been left in situ so that her tongue doesn't stick out.
She has a condition in which the roots of the teeth are reabsorbed and is prevalent among Oriental breeds. Poppy seems to have it in spades but at least tooth scaling will be a thing of the past for her.
Parsifal lost one more tooth and is very chirpy about it - all bright-eyed and bushy tailed but at least he is leaving Poppy alone in her misery. Actually she is not too bad, all things considered and very happy to be home again - ate her tea, used the litter tray and is re-marking all her face rubs on the door jambs.
The Vet Clinic decided to retain the kitty carriage and keep the cats there in familiar territory and from what they said it worked well and there was much less of a problem with the two of them
Today on Ancestry.com.au I contacted someone who used to be a half-second cousin and whom I think is actually a full second cousin since I suspect strongly that my grandfather and his twin brother were born on the wrong side of the blanket and although legally legitimate they, and their mother were disinherited by their legal father. Anyway my now-second cousin was happy to hear from me and interested in the state of affairs. She has sent me her phone number and we will talk. I actually met her many years ago when my grandmother came to Perth to visit. She stayed at the Karrakatta Club - very posh and decidedly lacking in comfort - and was shocked to the core when my cousin visited her wearing jeans!
Thursday, March 17, 2016
We are all fasting today
Thursday is always one of my 'fast days' because I spend morning and into the early afternoon at the computer lounge or travelling to and from there so there is little temptation to eat. By the time I start to get really hungry it is my yoga time and that takes away my appetite so I manage from about 10.30 pm to 6.30pm - about 20 hours with only coffee and a dash of skim milk.
The cats, on the other hand, have food on tap at all times and are not taking kindly to being deprived this evening. They are having their teeth scaled tomorrow and that needs a general anaesthetic so fasting from 8.00pm this evening is in order. They are to be admitted to the Vet hospital at about 9.00 tomorrow morning. Hopefully they will be resigned to their deprived state by then because they are both pacing at the moment.
I am concerned for them because both of my last pair died after tooth extractions and although they were both quite old when it happened it is still a concern to me.
I have almost finished the second sleeve of the kimono sweater which I am knitting and then it is just the sewing up. It is not in my colours but is gorgeous and if the pattern turns out well I will use it again. It will be loose, warm and comfortable.
A couple of days ago I had to attend an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Owners Committee to discuss the erection of two pergolas over on the north side of this building. We sat and waited for 45 minutes before we were able to field a quorum and then found that we were obliged to 'vote without dissent' on the two motions which meant that we could vote for the pergolas but not against. Anyone with objections has 28 days to submit their reasons to the inner circle. By this stage I was getting very confused about it all and I THINK that we agreed to one of them but not the other - that one to be attached to a dividing wall. The problem seemed to be security but anyone able to get over the wall should be able to do so from the pool area whether or not there is a pergola on the other side.
The meeting was supposed to be attended by the owners from both Apartment Blocks just in case anyone in Block A wanted to build a similar pergola - but since we were dealing exclusively with two particular pergolas in Block B it all seemed a bit much. However, it was decided that any new pergolas would be of a particular design built by a particular company so I suppose that something was achieved for all the Claremont Residences. And now we wait for 28 days to find out if the pergolas are to be allowed. Since the areas are huge and open to the summer sun they are unusable during the daytime in summer and I think that the requests are reasonable but, of course, it doesn't affect me or my apartment.
The cats, on the other hand, have food on tap at all times and are not taking kindly to being deprived this evening. They are having their teeth scaled tomorrow and that needs a general anaesthetic so fasting from 8.00pm this evening is in order. They are to be admitted to the Vet hospital at about 9.00 tomorrow morning. Hopefully they will be resigned to their deprived state by then because they are both pacing at the moment.
I am concerned for them because both of my last pair died after tooth extractions and although they were both quite old when it happened it is still a concern to me.
I have almost finished the second sleeve of the kimono sweater which I am knitting and then it is just the sewing up. It is not in my colours but is gorgeous and if the pattern turns out well I will use it again. It will be loose, warm and comfortable.
A couple of days ago I had to attend an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Owners Committee to discuss the erection of two pergolas over on the north side of this building. We sat and waited for 45 minutes before we were able to field a quorum and then found that we were obliged to 'vote without dissent' on the two motions which meant that we could vote for the pergolas but not against. Anyone with objections has 28 days to submit their reasons to the inner circle. By this stage I was getting very confused about it all and I THINK that we agreed to one of them but not the other - that one to be attached to a dividing wall. The problem seemed to be security but anyone able to get over the wall should be able to do so from the pool area whether or not there is a pergola on the other side.
The meeting was supposed to be attended by the owners from both Apartment Blocks just in case anyone in Block A wanted to build a similar pergola - but since we were dealing exclusively with two particular pergolas in Block B it all seemed a bit much. However, it was decided that any new pergolas would be of a particular design built by a particular company so I suppose that something was achieved for all the Claremont Residences. And now we wait for 28 days to find out if the pergolas are to be allowed. Since the areas are huge and open to the summer sun they are unusable during the daytime in summer and I think that the requests are reasonable but, of course, it doesn't affect me or my apartment.
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Bollywood Burn
A week or so ago I decided that I was getting a bit bored with my Yoga DVDs and maybe needed a couple of new ones so I went online to see what I could find. There were no new routines as far as I could see but there were two Bollywood DVDs. D1 does Bollywood dancing and finds it great fun and good exercise so I ordered the DVDs which arrived a few days ago. One is a 50 minute routine which I haven't explored yet but the other one has three 15 minute workouts which I figured was about my tolerance and went for that one.
The first day I didn't make it to the end and retired out of breath so I decided that I would master that one before I tried the other two. I have just about managed it to the end now but need to keep up to speed a bit better as it is quite fast and a brilliant aerobic workout ... but I have been so stiff that I could hardly move a couple of days ago. That is gradually subsiding and the stretches from my yoga are helping as well.
There was an article in the newspaper a few days ago which said that research has shown that people who dance are 40% less likely to have a heart attack so if I keep it up on a regular basis I should be good to go and it appears that the makers of the DVDs also produce yoga discs so I need to investigate them; Bollywood in the morning and yoga in the evening.
I have decided that spinning less and knitting more is the way to go as I am accumulating quite a lot of yarn - and faster than I can knit it - so I spent this afternoon with my current audio book knitting instead of spinning and will do that more often. Autumn is starting to show itself in cold mornings and warm days so the sooner I finish the sweater I am currently working on the sooner I can wear it, terracotta being the new black for this season.
My "Windows 10 Bible" arrived yesterday after a bit of chasing around the suburbs. The courier tried to deliver it while I was at COTA and then left it at a drop-off place which would have entailed a train ride, a bus ride and then a fairly hefty hike. I phoned the drop-off place and the courier service and asked for a re-delivery and the owner of the drop-off place, a pharmacy in another suburb, sent the courier on his way and refused to accept the package - so it arrived in good order yesterday morning.
I realise that Windows 10 is constantly morphing but the book seems to be good for basics so I need to sit down at this computer and work my way through it to at least get an overall picture of all its little quirks and differences as I am still trying to find my way around some of the stuff and all my clients at the moment have 10 so I need to be able to at least teach the simple stuff.
The first day I didn't make it to the end and retired out of breath so I decided that I would master that one before I tried the other two. I have just about managed it to the end now but need to keep up to speed a bit better as it is quite fast and a brilliant aerobic workout ... but I have been so stiff that I could hardly move a couple of days ago. That is gradually subsiding and the stretches from my yoga are helping as well.
There was an article in the newspaper a few days ago which said that research has shown that people who dance are 40% less likely to have a heart attack so if I keep it up on a regular basis I should be good to go and it appears that the makers of the DVDs also produce yoga discs so I need to investigate them; Bollywood in the morning and yoga in the evening.
I have decided that spinning less and knitting more is the way to go as I am accumulating quite a lot of yarn - and faster than I can knit it - so I spent this afternoon with my current audio book knitting instead of spinning and will do that more often. Autumn is starting to show itself in cold mornings and warm days so the sooner I finish the sweater I am currently working on the sooner I can wear it, terracotta being the new black for this season.
My "Windows 10 Bible" arrived yesterday after a bit of chasing around the suburbs. The courier tried to deliver it while I was at COTA and then left it at a drop-off place which would have entailed a train ride, a bus ride and then a fairly hefty hike. I phoned the drop-off place and the courier service and asked for a re-delivery and the owner of the drop-off place, a pharmacy in another suburb, sent the courier on his way and refused to accept the package - so it arrived in good order yesterday morning.
I realise that Windows 10 is constantly morphing but the book seems to be good for basics so I need to sit down at this computer and work my way through it to at least get an overall picture of all its little quirks and differences as I am still trying to find my way around some of the stuff and all my clients at the moment have 10 so I need to be able to at least teach the simple stuff.
Sunday, February 28, 2016
I Asked Microsoft to Marry Me
Microsoft sent me a "Happy Leap Day" email so I replied with 'Will you marry me?" but so far I haven't had an answer from them.
People forget what Leap Year means for women; it is the one day when women were allowed to propose to men and if they were refused the man had to present the woman with a pair of white gloves. I can remember a Leap Year when I was at University - a friend of mine proposed to a man who had six sisters and who, after he had finished his medical degree was intending to spend the rest of his life at Australia's Antarctic Base (no women down there in those days). He refused her offer but presented her with a pair of white baby mittens in the true spirit of the occasion. For that he endeared himself to me and it is what I most remember about him except that he was stunningly good looking ... and his name which was pretty awful.
Poppy has suddenly come out of her sulks and has become a lapcat again, even forgiving me for muzzling her and clipping her claws. Parsifal has also become very cuddly and purrs in my lap instead of beating up Poppy; although he is still intent on swinging the pictures and I intend to move them into my bedroom and replace them with a couple of unglazed oil paintings which will not shatter if they fall. They will not look as good but will give me peace of mind and they are in the right spirit - the painter always draws the rear view of a tomcat on the back of all his paintings.
Ancestry.com has destroyed Family Tree Maker - it not just no longer supports it but it has removed the files from my computer and left me with a basic tree which is interactive but limited. It is really annoying because I spent years researching my family and now I have to pay Ancestry.com for the privilege of accessing it. I gather that another Ancestry.com program will be replacing FTM but it has not yet been released and I have put my name down for a half-price special offer - more money out for my years of research. When you consider the number of people who have been forced to contribute their family research to a money-making operation it is staggering.
I have been very tired and have not done any yoga for several days but am feeling much better and will get back to it tonight. I think that my 'sleep deprivation' regimen, although it has helped my insomnia, has caught up with me and I just needed to sleep in for a couple of days.
People forget what Leap Year means for women; it is the one day when women were allowed to propose to men and if they were refused the man had to present the woman with a pair of white gloves. I can remember a Leap Year when I was at University - a friend of mine proposed to a man who had six sisters and who, after he had finished his medical degree was intending to spend the rest of his life at Australia's Antarctic Base (no women down there in those days). He refused her offer but presented her with a pair of white baby mittens in the true spirit of the occasion. For that he endeared himself to me and it is what I most remember about him except that he was stunningly good looking ... and his name which was pretty awful.
Poppy has suddenly come out of her sulks and has become a lapcat again, even forgiving me for muzzling her and clipping her claws. Parsifal has also become very cuddly and purrs in my lap instead of beating up Poppy; although he is still intent on swinging the pictures and I intend to move them into my bedroom and replace them with a couple of unglazed oil paintings which will not shatter if they fall. They will not look as good but will give me peace of mind and they are in the right spirit - the painter always draws the rear view of a tomcat on the back of all his paintings.
Ancestry.com has destroyed Family Tree Maker - it not just no longer supports it but it has removed the files from my computer and left me with a basic tree which is interactive but limited. It is really annoying because I spent years researching my family and now I have to pay Ancestry.com for the privilege of accessing it. I gather that another Ancestry.com program will be replacing FTM but it has not yet been released and I have put my name down for a half-price special offer - more money out for my years of research. When you consider the number of people who have been forced to contribute their family research to a money-making operation it is staggering.
I have been very tired and have not done any yoga for several days but am feeling much better and will get back to it tonight. I think that my 'sleep deprivation' regimen, although it has helped my insomnia, has caught up with me and I just needed to sleep in for a couple of days.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Ouch!
I wheeled the cats over to the Vet for their annual vaccination and general health check. Hah!!
Parsifal hissed and growled all the time and especially when he was having his teeth checked. Unfortunately he has some tartar build-up and gingivitis again so he is going to need his teeth scaled and, if necessary, removed. Wisely, the vet decided not to attempt to take his temperature.
Poppy was altogether more difficult. She started out yowling, hissing and growling before I had even taken her out of the kitty carriage and it got worse from there. I had to muzzle her (luckily I had thought that the muzzle might be needed and took it along with us) before she could even be weighed and even with the muzzle I had to hold her by the scruff while she had her vaccinations and had her teeth checked. She has a mild build up of tartar and very mild gingivitis but it is inevitable that she will need to have her teeth attended to at some time in the future so they are both going in together with a late admission so that they will not have to wait around for too long.
As they need to be fasted from 8.00pm the evening beforehand I am going to have two hungry, angry cats to deal with. I will turn on the happy juice and hope that it will settle them a bit but I can see that every visit is going to be worse than the last one so not a good time will be had by anyone.
The Clinic is being taken over at the end of this month and the nurse suggested that I wait until after 29th February before I book them in to have their teeth done. I just hope that the new lot are good or I will have to return to the Cottesloe Animal Hospital and either buy a new car or take them in an 'animal friendly' taxi.
They didn't used to be like this in the olden days when Parsifal's pica was at its height although he had to be sedated for his untrasounds. Poppy has never had anything so traumatic to set her off. Oh, well ...
Parsifal hissed and growled all the time and especially when he was having his teeth checked. Unfortunately he has some tartar build-up and gingivitis again so he is going to need his teeth scaled and, if necessary, removed. Wisely, the vet decided not to attempt to take his temperature.
Poppy was altogether more difficult. She started out yowling, hissing and growling before I had even taken her out of the kitty carriage and it got worse from there. I had to muzzle her (luckily I had thought that the muzzle might be needed and took it along with us) before she could even be weighed and even with the muzzle I had to hold her by the scruff while she had her vaccinations and had her teeth checked. She has a mild build up of tartar and very mild gingivitis but it is inevitable that she will need to have her teeth attended to at some time in the future so they are both going in together with a late admission so that they will not have to wait around for too long.
As they need to be fasted from 8.00pm the evening beforehand I am going to have two hungry, angry cats to deal with. I will turn on the happy juice and hope that it will settle them a bit but I can see that every visit is going to be worse than the last one so not a good time will be had by anyone.
The Clinic is being taken over at the end of this month and the nurse suggested that I wait until after 29th February before I book them in to have their teeth done. I just hope that the new lot are good or I will have to return to the Cottesloe Animal Hospital and either buy a new car or take them in an 'animal friendly' taxi.
They didn't used to be like this in the olden days when Parsifal's pica was at its height although he had to be sedated for his untrasounds. Poppy has never had anything so traumatic to set her off. Oh, well ...
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
From the Sublime to the Ridiculous
My first COTA client tomorrow wants to learn Windows 7 and my second one thinks that she needs Windows 10. I have been warned that changing the computer from Win 7 to Win 10 will take a long time so I will, as I had intended anyway, take in my two tablets and my hotspot. I had hoped that I would not have to tote two computers to COTA every week now that the computers have been rebuilt but, ah, well ...
The babies are going to the vet on Friday (day after tomorrow) to have their vaccinations and a general health check. I have clipped their claws in the hope that they will not need an anaesthetic to have more teeth out (my rationale being that if they need a GA then I would have their claws clipped while they were anaesthetised).
While Poppy bites when she has her claws clipped and I muzzle her to do that it will not stop Parsifal biting anyone who dares to take his temperature. And so a good time will be had by all and I will be glad to get it over. And speaking of temperatures - we are into our fourth day of over 40 degree heat but Friday is predicted to be down to 32 degrees - hence the Friday appointment to venture out in the Kitty Carriage.
Apropos the SAD Lamp Saga, Amazon is repaying my postage by giving me credit for the exact amount so I have been looking at books and have put two on my wish list for when the credit comes through in about a week when the lamp gets back to America. It is very nice of them and they have made it so easy after all the hassles I had returning it the first time. That was to the supplier of the lamps; Amazon is the selling agent and has bent over backwards to set things straight for me. Thank you, Amazon.com
The babies are going to the vet on Friday (day after tomorrow) to have their vaccinations and a general health check. I have clipped their claws in the hope that they will not need an anaesthetic to have more teeth out (my rationale being that if they need a GA then I would have their claws clipped while they were anaesthetised).
While Poppy bites when she has her claws clipped and I muzzle her to do that it will not stop Parsifal biting anyone who dares to take his temperature. And so a good time will be had by all and I will be glad to get it over. And speaking of temperatures - we are into our fourth day of over 40 degree heat but Friday is predicted to be down to 32 degrees - hence the Friday appointment to venture out in the Kitty Carriage.
Apropos the SAD Lamp Saga, Amazon is repaying my postage by giving me credit for the exact amount so I have been looking at books and have put two on my wish list for when the credit comes through in about a week when the lamp gets back to America. It is very nice of them and they have made it so easy after all the hassles I had returning it the first time. That was to the supplier of the lamps; Amazon is the selling agent and has bent over backwards to set things straight for me. Thank you, Amazon.com
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