High Anxiety

I am going on a ski trip.
If you know me, you will realize that I have maintained a firm commitment to not slide down hills, especially on wooden planks. However, I am going to give it a whirl. It is actually a youth group ski trip, so as an adult chaperon, it would be well within my rights to sit in the lodge, and wait the whole thing out, but I am going to actually take a ski lesson. On actual skis. After that, we'll see. Will I make it to the ski lift? If I make to the ski lift will I be able to get on? More importantly, get off the ski lift? If I get off the ski lift,will I be able to make it back down to the bottom of the bunny slope? In less than 3 hours? In one piece?
Wish me luck!

Dream a little dream

Well not many people read this blog, but one person dreamed about it.

I certainly hope that Kelly is the girl with all the answers, because I have plenty of questions.

For example, why does it seem that more people drive home from work on Friday afternoon than drove into work on Friday morning?

Why do we put more effort into preventing terrorists from hijacking planes than into preventing automobile accidents, which kill far more people than terrorists ever have?

What does the check engine light really mean?

And why are all my questions car-related?

Saints Alive!

This afternoon, Speed Racer and I went to the funeral of an old family friend. This lady was a close friend of my mother's, as well as being Second Son's godmother. She was someone who dedicated her life to reaching out to people, especially the dying. She raised five children with her husband, was a lay Eucharistic Minister at our church, and really tried to practice Christianity. Not the kind of Christianity which seems to be all about judging other people and telling them that they are doing something wrong, but the kind of Christianity that is about loving each person exactly who and how they are at the moment. That kind of Christianity is hard work!

The church was packed -- Speed Racer said they had print additional copies of the service leaflet four times. During the service, I thought of all the ways this lady had touched my life, and realized that it was likely that everyone in the church had a similar experience with her.

I don't know exactly how old she was - I would guess about 86. Those years were well-spent. I don't know what a real saint would look like, but I think she was pretty darn close.

Abscess makes the heart grow fonder, part deux

or should I say abscess of malice....

As I previously reported, the Cats have nasty habit of biting each other, and developing expensive abscesses.

I have not previously reported (on this blog anyway) that once the Devil Cat bit me, which resulted in a large abscess on my hand. I spent four days in the hospital on IV antibiotics, and had to have the abscess incised and drained in the OR, which is even more expensive for people than it is for Cats. At the time he bit me, Devil Cat was getting himself all riled up and ready to have a fight with the three-leggedy Cat. I unwisely tried to separate them, and he bit me instead of his arch-enemy.

Now, I flatter myself with the opinion that I am reasonably intelligent. This is actually not the case, as demonstrated by the fact that a little more than a week ago, I got between Devil Cat and his other arch-enemy and my hand ended up in his mouth again.....

See, you would think I had learned not to let my hand get in his mouth. But obviously, I hadn't learned that lesson and needed to take the remedial class.

This time, I knew that I needed antibiotics immediately, so I made poor Speed Racer take me to the ER, where I got the bite cleaned, got a tetanus shot, and got Augmentin. The ER reported Devil Cat to the State Health department, so I guess now he has a rap sheet.

Thirty-six hours later, my whole hand was red and swollen. The Augmentin clearly wasn't up to the task. Back to the ER, and this time I was admitted for IV antibiotics. I am glad to say they worked amazingly fast -- I could almost see the infection recede. Now my hand is fine, and I swear I will never again get in Devil Cat's way when he has malice in his heart towards another Cat.

This blog is not dead

It's just sleeping.
I have been remiss, but I will attempt to amend my non-blogging ways.
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
I have played Spider Solitaire, when I could have been sharing my innermost thoughts with the world.
I have watched American Idol.
I have surfed the web, vainly seeking Lost spoilers.
All of these things have stood between me and my blog. No more! I will blog, even if I have nothing to say!