C.J. Cherryh's Blog, page 137

Re our friends with difficulties…

I wish comfort to everyone sad today.

So many have sadness going on with pets…

Let me share a little something that is, however crazy, at least true in the way I look at the universe. Jane and I have always said that our kittehs' nine lives—and I'm sure doggies have something the same—is their way of keeping up with our long human lifespan. And when a kitteh is getting ready to leave us, somewhere a kitten or cat or other four-foot is getting an extra life, not maybe apparent, but so there, one will.

So when Efanor left us, I showed Jane pix of black kittens I'd found on the interwebs, and most were meh, nice, but—

And one of them just reached out and grabbed her. We were and we weren't going to get him—and finally did; and it was just instant. He hit Jane's lap and stayed there, all during a 50 mile drive home, and never cried, which was very odd for such a tiny kitten. His mannerisms are sometimes like Efanor, but oh, now and again he resonates with that Prince of Cats, Elrond, that Jane lost in OKC. So we're sure we nabbed a couple of spare lives that so needed to come home.

I nearly lost Ysabel this summer, too; and she's had her off and on crises—dangerous, since Eushu was such a handful—he'd hit her like a ton of furry bricks.

To protect Ysabel from Demonkitten, we decided we needed a kitten. We planned on it. I looked. And then I saw Seishi's picture, and I couldn't stop looking at it. I read the body language in that photo, and I just was hooked. An adult cat. I'd never planned on an adult tomcat. We went to get him, with Shu in tow, to see if they could possibly get along. Seishi was a whole year old, and a little more. But strong enough to stand up to Shu's rowdy antics. To our relief, that part worked. They love each other. And Ysabel gets to have her naps secure in the knowledge she won't be landed on.

But the spooky part. I'm getting to that. When I got Ysabel, it was because I'd lost my dear old Khym, right along with Elrond; and Khym was so special I declared I wouldn't get another Persian. I couldn't. I'd get a kitteh as different as possible, and start over. Well—I found Ysabel—quite by accident. The kitten I'd agreed to buy for had gotten sold, right before I arrived to pick him up, and here I had a female I hadn't planned on, who turned out to have allergies and every strike against her.

Except two. She had me. And Jane. And she was our kitten, our odd little we-don't-know-how-we-got-her kitten, Who reminds me most of my streetwise Tabby, who was the kitty that started all my kittehs, when I was about 6—independent. Self-willed. I had no idea what her name was. But on the way home in the car, she informed me her name was Ysabel. With a Y. No reason. No figuring. Peaches, Queen of the Universe. And I have loved her every step of the way, and she does remind me most of long-lost Tabby. She brought up Efanor. She lost him, and nearly pined away. And then, poor old dear, she took on Eushu, tried to teach him manners—and needed help.

Well, so we got Seishi. He was shy. A little standoffish. But the hour I got him to trust me, he couldn't contain himself, just wanting to be held. And I realized suddenly what I'd seen in that photo. That was Khym's look. That was absolutely Khym's look, the one I thought I'd never find the like of again.

I still have Ysabel, thank goodness. I'm lucky. She's taking care of the household and keeping the boys in line, being the matriarch, She Who Must Be Obeyed. But every morning, once I've given Her Furry Grace her brushing, and her kibble, and her fresh water, and her respect as head of household, here's Sei, sweet and shy, and so wanting to be held and petted for a little while, not in Ysabel's Chair, but in the one I work in.

I think they find us. I don't know where Sei got his extra life, or if he was born with it. I'm not a superstitious sort, but that's my Halloween cat story, for October, and that's what I'll say about Seishi.

The flu shot had its moment today…

Jane's reacted yesterday: aches, sleepiness for a few hours. Mine got me today: aches, really horrid aches, and drowsiness. Lasted about 4 hours. It's really, as Jane pointed out, amusing: it's the Fast H1N1 Flu. It comes on a few days after the flu shot, and runs you through the entire course of the flu in 4 hours.

Which sure beats the 2-week version. The achy bit is killer. I'd hate to feel like that for 2 weeks.

We scoped out the damage to Fergusons and The Milk Bottle today—The Milk Bottle looks hardly touched, but Fergusons is a mess, with a boarded front window and lots of blackened superstructure. We had lunch in the Garland Sandwich Shop about 2 blocks away, and that was a do-again…they do good food. And the misfortune to the other two restaurants has them extending their hours.

The fishes are at 54 degrees, and getting slower…Autumn is on us.

The trees are still green, but starting to turn, the waterlily is blooming, but our fishes have grown lethargic, so I risked an icy bath and went in quest of the pond thermometer, which registered, yes, 54 degrees.

Fishy digestion, of course dependent on chemistry, slows as it cools, and therefore we now go off our high-protein summer food and onto the fishy equivalent of Cheerios, which they don't mind either, actually; and let their gut empty while the sun shines enough to warm them and let them digest. They're under their winter cover, now, a floating circle of hose and greenhouse shade fabric, which protects them and does a little bit to collect heat. I'm thinking of doing one out of swimming pool bubble cover, which would help even more, and might keep the leaves out of the water—but one has to be careful not to restrict gas exchange with the atmosphere: it's why you keep that one hole open in the ice when it freezes.

So the trees and flowers will go to autumn soon. And we will break out the snowblower, since this is La Nina's winter again.

You've seen the word count meter stall. Yours truly has to do some thinking, which requires calm and quiet, so that's what I'm up to.

Spokane lost a couple of landmarks yesterday.

We live within a mile or so walking distance of Garland District, a quaint little 1930′s strip of shops, a movie theater which shows movies that are already on DVD, but on the big screen, a little live theater, clock repair, fish store, vet, second hand stores (several), guitar repair, several taverns and two notable restaurants, next to each other, Fergusons, an authentic 1940′s soda fountain which used to have the best walnut/blueberry pancakes this side of heaven (but sold to another owner and has slipped a little) and The Milk Bottle, a kitschy little place with great malts: both the latter have been sets in movies such as Benny and Joon (Johnny Depp), and several others.

Never have eaten at The Milk Bottle. Almost did, Jane and I, and opted for the pancake place due to the early hour. Well, fate stepped in. That night, Fergusons and The Milk Bottle burned. They're the hub of the Garland District, two big draws—I mean, people will drive clear across Spokane for breakfast there.

It's a huge shock to the city. Cyrus o'Leary's pies shut down for good yesterday, too. I mean, bummer!

One of our people has a crisis situation: kittehs in need. Can you help?

"Somebody to love

Two neutered male cats, about 7 years old. Both loving, well-tempered, and litter-box compliant (no spraying). Feral rescues as kittens, they are probably half-siblings. They have lived together their whole lives, and I'd like to place them together. They previously lived with a small dog, other cats, and toddlers, and have been mostly indoor cats. They have their claws.

They were raised with a big bowl of kibble handy. You will be informed if they can see the bottom of the bowl (even if they've just eaten a hole in a full bowl!). I feed them a quarter-can each of wet food in the evenings.

Golden-eyed gray and white Chaplin (aka "Cowboy") is about 13 pounds, likes high places, claiming hidey holes, and watching squirrels. He is inquisitive, laid back, likes to know where you are but doesn't need you. You should be there when he wants you, though.

Black and white Loosefur is both less outgoing and more affectionate at a sleek 11 pounds. He'll find a corner to hang out in while you work, or hang all over you when you slow down. (Books were obviously made to be cat beds. What's your problem?) His green eyes really reflect one aspect of his personality – he loves to be the center of your attention.

I recently discovered that my beloved boys are a cause of severe respiratory distress. Medication (for me) and vigorous grooming (for them) haven't alleviated the problem. (Both have an especially plush undercoat that wonderful to pet but a wellspring of dander.) I can't tell you how it grieves me to give up my guys, but it's crucial that I get them another home.

They come with three litter boxes, two carriers, the big kibble bowl, plenty of dinner bowls, a large scratching post and as many cat toys as I can dig out from under the furniture

They haven't travelled much but I'm willing to go up to a half-day drive from the Cleveland, Ohio area. Chaplin and Loosefur will enrich your lives, amuse you, and give back your love tripled. So if you have a stable home with a minimum of other pets, and have some kitteh-love to share, please email me!"

CJ's NOTE: I will put you in touch: just let me know if you can help.

Fall is falling…front blew through.

Jane and I decided to reward ourselves for our walking with a visit to the new sandwich shop in Garland district—but they weren't open on weekends. The only thing left was a couple of fast-food no-ways and the Pancakes R Us, aka Waffles Plus. WHich is really good, a mile downhill and over. So…

We were bad. But bad doesn't always pay off. When we got out, a wind was up.

Now, I'd coughed my way all the way downhill—couldn't figure out why; but by the time we started back, the dust was evident: a duststorm obscured not only the mountains outside town, but the taller buildings, and all about, with about a 30 mph wind. Now, being an Oklahoman by origin if not birth—can I tell wind? I can tell wind. The official weather bureau statement is a steady 26 with gusts to 34. I honestly think a few of those went a little higher as I was coming up the road where it's just carved into the hillside, with the wind coming full in my face.

Jane is younger by 10 years and wants a little more exercise, so after offering to go ahead home and get the car (half a mile away) and me saying no, I'd tough it out—she took off up the steeper fork of the walk, to go around the block and meet me the other side of Joan's. That's a harder route. A little longer. I went up the more direct and gradual slope, into the wind and dust all the wy, taking two pauses to rest on the low retaining wall. I got to the intersection before Jane, walked back on the side street to meet her, and we walked home in the dust storm…

We were pretty wiped. But we got cooled down—walking's a good way to get overheated, which I was—and saw to the koi pond, which needed a filter cleaning.

The temperature is dropping. We're going to have a high of 76 today, cooler tonight, and tomorrow, and some prospect of rain, which is good. I'm still coughing and wheezing from the dust. Mudpies, anyone? They say 40% chance of rain tomorrow, and I'm good with that.

Since the traction business, my upper back is moving far more freely, and actually getting some sensation beyond constant pain. I've been off pain pills for 2-3 days. This is good.

A new generation of electronics…and attendant woes…

Our old telly was of a vintage that just wasn't coping well with the changes in broadcasting…so…back before Jane got sick, and in a kind of a Christmas moment, we had gotten a modern system, a nice modern system that has some wireless built in, so it links the cable input with things that communicate wirelessly. The center of this wizardry is a nice [but slow] LG blu-ray player, which serves as a kind of hub. It's all tapped into our antique [electronically speaking] household network router, so for whatever it's worth, the entertainment DVD knows our laptops exist and can display what they display.

As a wireless 'hub' connected to the telly, it receives network 'streaming', which we like a lot: Netflix in this mode suits us fine. We're phasing out the old DVD du jour service—in favor of as many of these as we want per night—a lot of anime and old movies. The device will actually play our digital home movies of Eushu and Sei off our computers. Not perfectly, but really, I'm amazed.

This LG unit behaves like a computer. And updates itself. Often. And just occasionally, well, there's an update that doesn't play nicely. Remember our antique router? Last night one decided to reach out and touch Jane's computer in some mysterious way, since she was linked to it at the time of upgrade. We're not real sure what happened, but for a while her computer itself was totally iffy, and would not answer to System Restore. We think we've gotten it ironed out now. It was a sweaty moment. So the brave new world of entertainment still has some bugs in it. We are finally going for a newer (N class) router in hopes it will answer the household internet slowdown and the mysterious LG glitch, and various other manifestations.

Computers. They're everywhere. In your microwave. Now in your entertainment system. And they talk to each other. I'm beginning to eye that LG unit with some suspicion, as in, I'd like to know what it's planning.

Welcome to our new members…

I'm vastly curtailing my Facebook appearances, due to the changes in Facebook, which are going all-out for 'tracking' their users. There is also a bill up that would ban this, but since the business concept of these people seems to be less providing a service that involves your clicking on a few pages with ads—and more the ability to market your personal information to interested parties…I no longer believe that if you push the buttons to 'restrict' your private information from some users, it will also 'restrict' it from Facebook itself gathering the names of all your contacts, their locations, preferences, shopping habits, likes (you're not allowed to dislike: that might offend certain list-buyers, after all) and political affiliations and anything else you've given them—and selling them locally, nationally or internationally. I am told a smartphone can give them a raft of information even when it is shut off, so if you post using one, you could be compromised: fact or fear, I don't know, but I don't want to find out. They're also posting their 'tracking' online, so there's every opportunity for gross abuse, the ability for criminals to know when you're not home, the ability for stalkers and predators to know where you or your children are. This is damned scary, and this part is quite, unfortunately, implemented.

You also cannot 'close' a Facebook site: this should have warned me. Once there, it's there. So I'll go up now and again to be sure nothing truly outrageous is happening—or more outrageous than originally done. And invite any of my 'friends' there to come here, which is still and always has been my favorite place.

I think it would be hysterical if the bulk of FB users retaliated by starting to creatively and humorously screw with the data in the most outrageous claims of relationship and occupation, I'm the sib of Lady Gaga and a Zoroastrian by religion, and I'm actually a 16 year old guy, it would serve them right. If I go out really mad, beyond the highly incensed I am at the moment, I may just trash all my connections and remove all my friends, who don't ask to be 'tracked,' thank you.

Light barrier broken?

Some new evidence.