Life with Emmi

Took Emmi to the vet yesterday and none too soon. The poor thing has a cold- probably a virus- that she picked up at the shelter. She is a tiny little snuffleupagus, sneezing and hacking all the time. Just breathing she sounds like a grown man snoring. We're giving her a liquid antibiotic twice a day to prevent secondary infection. Some of you may not be familiar with cats, but imagine dosing a scared and miserable yet strong little thing with 4 scimitars at the end of each fast and flexible extremity... yeah, we bought band-aids. We are perfecting our technique, but then so is she. Just hoping she doesn't hold a grudge.

Meanwhile, she and Vali are still getting to know one another. The other night, (before Emmi's cold was so bad) while Vali was resting on her chair we settled the sleepy and cuddling kitty next to the big strong dog. Vali's body was suddenly inhabited by a chicken and she was shaking so much it felt like someone had dropped a quarter in the chair and pushed the vibrate button! We held her in place while Emmi snuggled in next to her housemate. Poor Vali, the kitty was purring and snoozing away, obviously plotting nefarious tortures in her dreams. Vali eventually resigned to her fate and calmed down just a bit and we could let go of her. She has been calmer around Emmi since then and has even invited her to play on occasion. Unfortunately Emmi's cold has her focused mostly on breathing, so playing is not on the agenda. But we are on the way to a happier pet family, for which we are grateful.

This past weekend was so warm; 67 degrees on Saturday, that we were able to do our outside stuff without even a sweater. Seems nice, but the plant life is confused. Lots of northern plants need a winter freeze for their seasonal cycle, others kick into springtime mode once it warms up a little. We have been eagerly anticipating the Spring so that we can see what is planted and where in our very carefully landscaped yard. The previous owner spent lots of love and time in her yard, planting and tending a wide variety of shrubs, flowers, ivy and grasses. Now a lovely ornamental shrub is budding and blooming lovely red flowers, which will be frozen off once the cold weather actually arrives. So I cut some of the branches to bring in to enjoy while we have them. I'll get out later today and more fully investigate what else may be pushing up early.

Today is colder and sunny and beautiful. We are supposed to have temperatures closer to the norm for January next week. We have bought snow boots and snow pants, so once it does snow we are prepared. It's terrific to have a legitimate reason to cook cold-weather foods like soups and stews and we're baking more breads, rolls and muffins. Many evenings we have hot cocoa and a fire in the fireplace. Once it gets really cold I'll make the hot-spiced tea for which I bought the ingredients in early December. It must be truely cold for that tea- yum! In the meantime I'm curling up with a kitty in my lap and a good book when the opportunity arises; my happy place!