The Jets are up to their usual antics, so no football thread. Some cool pet pics, though.
Shawn and I were sitting on the porch like two country bumpkins (it’s funny, when I was a kid, I used to think old people like to sit on their porch a lot), when Steve spotted a cat in the neighbor’s yard:
The grass is still green, and if you look at the second picture, you can see sunflowers that were actually leftovers from the bird feeder that we just let go. They finally bloomed.
Despite the green, the temps have dropped around here, and we are in that crappy phase (for me) where my sinuses readjust and the creaky joints start to ache a little bit more. In a couple of weeks I will be adjusted and feel better.
I have noticed that since I quit drinking, I get chilly a lot more often, so I am already in heavy bathrobe (I have different ones for different seasons) and wool sock mode even though it is not yet October. I’m not the only one, and sometimes during the day I walk by my bedroom and see this:
Despite being a little dog with very little mass, when she looks all cozy like that she has the gravitational pull of the Death Star, and more often than I would like to admit I go join her for a nap. The piglets always know the most comfortable spots in the house.
Oh, and Rosie is behind the recliner in full on bitch mode and snarls at me every time I try to take her picture.
Pogonip
Man, that’s one big hairy critter!
Steve seems quite furry, as well.
gogol's wife
I see Steve has gotten over his trauma.
Karen in GA
Happy to see Steve home safe.
Back from London with a head cold and amazing memories of two Kate Bush concerts. Cuddling up on the couch with Iggy the Wonder Schnauzer, and dreading going back to work tomorrow.
Svensker
The Jets are dissing themselves enough, they don’t need your help. Thank yew very much.
srv
Your neighbor takes much better care of his back yard.
raven
Fuck the Jets GO BEARS!!!!
Steeplejack
I thought the Jets were supposed to be three-point favorites. And they’re down 17-3.
I love it when pets do that “formidable standing” thing. Like “Yeah, cat in yard next door, good thing you’re not over here or I’d kick your ass!” Meanwhile not making a move to actually do anything at all.
Violet
Lily! Such a sweetheart. Awww…..
Love the second Steve pic where he’s all Mr. Tough Guy inspecting his domain. Guessing he’s recovered?
If you’re cold, get your thyroid checked. DO NOT take the doctor’s word for it that your thyroid is normal. Make sure your TSH is below 3.0 at least. Below 2.0 is better and closer to 1.0 is preferred these days. Labs can be woefully out of date and if your doctor isn’t paying attention the lab result shows “normal” and doesn’t raise any flags so you don’t get told. Oh, and ALWAYS get copies of your medical records, lab results, etc. That way you can check for yourself. Yes, doctors miss things. And yes, men can have thyroid problems too. It’s not just women.
John Cole +0
@Violet: I’m cold because a week ago it was 80 and now it is 59 and breezy. My goodness, is everyone here a hypochondriac? We need to have a denial of service attack on WebMD stat.
Shakezula
Our heat came on weekend before last and we’re right outside of D.C. If you think WVa is cold now, you’ll need to break out the union suit before the month ends.
I love watching cats when they see other cats. It’s like “Wow! There’s another cat. That’s so awesome! I’m gonna … chase it off for daring to infringe on my awesomeness!”
raven
Even though it’s only been a low in the lower 60’s the kudzu is starting to die. We saw a coyote at lunch that was carrying something into the underbrush. The feral cat population has diminished lately and I think it’s the coyotes.
raven
@John Cole +0: You bring out the mommy in a lot of people.
JPL
@John Cole +0: Your photos are so much better than they were in the olden days, just sayin. I think Steve is saying, rest tight big boy, I got this.
rikyrah
Lily looks so sweet. Steve is huge, but also sweet.
Glad that he is home. I am icing my knee and ankle, hoping to avert catastrophe.
JPL
Oh, no.. CBS is reporting that we are bombing ISIS in Syria. I’m shocked, just shocked. Now back to watching Scorpion.
raven
@efgoldman: And you don’t see me giving him all kinds of advice either.
Violet
@John Cole +0: I was screwed over on my thyroid by more than one doctor. Went for several years feeling like crap and was told it couldn’t be my thyroid. Someone on an internet forum diagnosed me and probably saved my life. For real. Personal experience. It’s woefully under diagnosed so if someone shows signs that could be thyroid related I make sure to mention it. If it doesn’t apply too you, no big deal. At least I’ve said something.
Anne Laurie
Heh, Cole, the more pictures you post of Lily, the more I’m convinced she’s at least 80% “standard Chihuahua”*. Small dogs, big cats — add the mandatory hat & tote bag, and you’ll be full-court Crazy Old Lady!
* No such breed, but a mall-petshop assistant once defended the grossly oversized Chi puppy in the window as “a standard Chihuahua, not one of those minis you see everywhere.” Puppy-mill toy dogs tend to be oversized for their breed standard, because larger bitches have better hope of surviving when they’re “free whelping” every six months in a rabbit hutch.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@efgoldman: Jesus fuck – give a gal a spew warning first will ya? That cracked my ass up. I’ll note that raven hasn’t provided much advice…
ETA
@raven: I was correct!
Jinx
When I was in High School, we had a Maine Coon that my mom named “Rudy” after Rudolph Valentino the last of the red hot lovers : ) He was my Dad’s favorite thing on the planet. Dad described him as “aggressively friendly”. Seems as though Steve is true to the type. Our Rudy was just a hoss. We’d see him out in the yard hunting and just laugh. He looked like a bear rug out there to us from our vantage point. Well… let’s just say he was a pretty methodical predator. He caught quite a few. Steve looks exactly like ol’ Rudy. It seems Maine Coons all do. Glad he’s back. I love your pets like my own. That being said, lay a smooch on Lily for me. I’m just really partial to that little one : )
raven
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): Not to Cole, we have too many similar experiences although I only injure myself now and then.
kc
Steve looks humongous! So glad hd came home.
raven
“Disrespectfully addressing and official”. And no football thread. Ha.
max
@Steeplejack: I love it when pets do that “formidable standing” thing. Like “Yeah, cat in yard next door, good thing you’re not over here or I’d kick your ass!” Meanwhile not making a move to actually do anything at all.
Matthew and the cat from across the way have a faceoff and slow runaway thing going. They were having one this afternoon – the cat from across the way creeping slowly away back to his house and Matthew slowly creeping along about 5 foot behind him. The other cat is bigger than Matthew but doesn’t wanna fight, whereas Matthew wouldn’t mind fighting. So – a slow motion chase.
Breaking:
max
[‘Finally started on the interdiction mission. Yay.’]
mdblanche
Jim Sillars is the Chris McDaniel of Scotland.
cckids
@John Cole +0:
That sounds so nice. Here in NV it is still 95+ every day. I’m soooooo tired of the goddamn sun.
ETA: on the other hand, it gives me a great excuse to still be drinking my summer drink: homemade lemonade with blackberry moonshine. With huge fresh blackberries. Great for hot weather.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@efgoldman: No, no; not at all. You just caught me off guard, mid-equinox celebratory sip.
raven
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q): OK, DVR set now beddie bye.
eta I don’t know what the fuck Cole is talking about, the Jets may take the lead before the half.
beltane
@Violet: This will sound nuts, but my arthritis has almost disappeared since having my thyroid removed due to a tumor. It’s great to not be in constant pain anymore but I feel like I lost six years of my life for no good reason.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@max: Fuck.
SatanicPanic
Bombing Syria? Well, that’s disappointing
Eric U.
a few weeks at 70 would have been nice before we went into fall temps
Pogonip
Google a cattery called Muse Coons and you’ll see an amusing picture of a lady holding a Maine Coon that appears to outweigh her.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Interjection or imperative?
Mnemosyne
So if anybody needs a Scared Straight moment for their sobriety, my retired boss’s adult niece was found dead yesterday morning. They’re doing an autopsy, but we’re pretty sure the fact that she was an active alcoholic and prescription drug addict had more than a little to do with it. It would be quite unusual for an alcoholic/drug addict in their late 30s to drop dead of completely unrelated causes.
Today pretty much sucked, in other words.
Comrade Luke
Can I just say how happy I am that Roger Goodell’s clusterfuck of a press conference was engineered by Frank Luntz?
Mike J
Cold? I went swimming this weekend. Sailed up to Seward Park, pulled up the centerboard and beached the Hunter 170. An awesome day at 47° North.
Bill E Pilgrim
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
Is that what you kids are calling it these days.
If your interjection lasts longer than two syllables, consult a thesaurus.
WaterGirl
I adore Lily.
Violet
@beltane: Not nuts at all. All sorts of things can affect health, even when they’re seemingly unrelated.
A friend’s niece suffered with general exhaustion and crippling aches and pains. She had terrible teeth problems but not enough money to get them worked on. Finally she got dental insurance, had some teeth removed and amazingly her aches and pains went away and she had a ton more energy.
Glad you are feeling better. It totally sucks to lose years to like that when you know something is wrong but you can’t figure out what. My favorite it when the doctor patted my hand and told me I was depressed. No, I wasn’t. My thyroid was at critical levels and depression is a common sign of thyroid problems. So’s high cholesterol–had that too. It’s kind of amazing I was able to walk around. Which I could only barely do.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Mike J: Speaking of Hunters, I have a friend who is looking at boats and he has his eye in a “low mileage” Hunter 27. Nice boat?
Steeplejack
@Eric U.:
Can’t complain here in NoVA: highs in the 70s for the next 10 days, with a little spike around 80° on Saturday and Sunday. Although the high of 75° today occurred just after midnight last night. Been getting cooler since then, going down to 49° overnight. Beautiful (early) fall weather.
Violet
@Mnemosyne: Ugh. That sucks. Am I remembering correctly that you really liked this boss and he retired relatively recently? Had something similar happen to one of my family members. It really sucks. Sorry for her family.
gian
@Comrade Luke:
There was no good way to do that conference and keep his job.
If he told the truth “owners wanted me to make it go away” with a lie … I can’t justify it or continue it. I quit. Don’t beat or rape women and children
That presser would give him immortality
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
Woo hoo! I’m not ready to start the Kickstarter yet but it’s going to happen and it’s almost certainly going to be a success. My parents just told me that they’re going to kick in enough money to basically pay for the editing portion, which is about 80-85% of the amount that I set to declare the whole thing a success. It greatly increases the chances that I’ll end up raising enough money to do more than just the bare minimum and actually produce a quality book rather than just a quality story.
So I’m pretty psyched right now.
Roger Moore
@Bill E Pilgrim:
Excellent!
The only problem is that seems backward to me. It seems to me that thesaurus is likely to be the cause of, not the solution to, interjections lasting longer than three syllables. Ask your editor if thesaurus is right for you.
Violet
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): Congratulations! That’s excellent!
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): @Violet: Excellent indeed.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@cckids: Hockey season starts in 11 days around these parts.
lamh36
US “Partner allies”:
Steeplejack
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):
Congratulations!
Tommy
My cat on my lap.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/webranding/9607089314/
When people say they don’t like cats I often think if you could live with mine for a day or so you might change your mind.
Geeno
OMFG – Look at the Lily Pup!!!
She is totally a blackhole of cuteness.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Tommy: Some people who don’t like cats have cat allergies. OTOH some are also allergic to dogs and horses but are willing to put up with it because they like those animals and, to be fair, the cat allergy is more severe.
Bill E Pilgrim
@Roger Moore: Well if you were using too-long words, a thesaurus could help, but mostly I’m too tired and that was too tossed off for it to stand up that level of scrutiny, so you’re probably right.
Violet
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Some people like cats but have cat allergies. I had a friend who was like that. Sucked for him. He couldn’t have cats.
srv
@SatanicPanic: I know, I lost $50 here to Oxfam because Obama wouldn’t Courtesy Bomb last December. Nobody listens to President McCain until it’s too late.
@lamh36: Funny, there’s a NATO ally missing there.
Steeplejack
@max:
They are good judges of nuance. I have had cats who have done that whole routine. One cat is slowly walking away sideways but giving attitude like “I may still kick your ass!” Other cat slowly advancing—“Yeah, you’d better move it, buddy!”—but if the first cat stops for any reason then second cat is suddenly like “Hey, did I leave the catnip out in the living room? Maybe I should go check that.” And they go back and forth and back and forth.
Unfixed male cats on the prowl—different story.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Violet: Cats like me. I suspect that the cats know about the allergies and want to fuck with me.
GregB
@srv:
Gobble, gobble, gobble.
Violet
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Oh yeah. They can pick you out of a crowd. You’re not the only cat-allergic person that has had that happen.
Tommy
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Oh I get why some people don’t like cats. I dislike I can’t take her outside and toss a ball with her. Take her for a run. But in the house she might be more active than I like. She engages me 24/7.
lamh36
@srv: I swear I heard MSNBC say something about Turkey saying it will discuss what they are going to do tomorrow at UN? But I can’t find the link
Tommy
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): If my cat knew she could make you sick I am pretty sure she’d seek you out just to fuck with you. I like to think I am the smartest animal in the household but not totally sure many days.
Scamp Dog
@Karen in GA: So that’s why we haven’t had an Iggy update in a while. I hope you have some good conversations with him soon!
Mike J
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
Yes. Not a speedster, but speedsters tend to be a pain in the ass to sail. Hunter tends to make family friendly boats. Easy to rig, easy to handle. At 27′ I wouldn’t want to take it across an ocean, but you can do a week of overnights coastal cruising (you can go out for dinner and even hit a laundry mat in town if you need to.)
WaterGirl
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): First the short story is published and now this news. I’m excited for you! And it’s nice to see you feeling happy.
dedc79
This made me physically ill:
Tommy
@dedc79: I say over and over here I live in a rural area. Guns everywhere. The lady that lives behind me has a dog that can’t stand me. Can jump her fence in a second if she wants. I’ve never thought hey I will put a bullet in this dogs head because she comes after me. Into my yard.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Mike J: Thanks. He’s been sailing dinghies and is looking for a first proper sailboat. Something sailable by one or two people but big enough to be more than a daysailer. On Lake Michigan.
Sourmash
I’m a lurker here, but read everyday. I come now for comfort and solace. My dear dog James, my son’s best friend and the guy who filled in the spaces in our family and made us whole, was run over yesterday morning and died in the afternoon. We’re all devastated to lose him. He was the best part of our family and we didn’t realize how important he was to us until now. He was the happiest, friendliest, kindest and most generous one in our family. And he certainly didn’t deserve to have this happen to him. I’m full of bitter self-recrimination and anger at myself. Right now, my only memory is him with his head up as we opened the oxygen chamber, looking at me like “Why did this happen?” I want to throw up. I’m so, so sad.
John Cole +0
@Violet: Sorry, that was rude.
mdblanche
New Brunswick is the Florida of Canada.
danielx
Enjoying perfect fall weather….70 degrees and crystalline blue sky, down to 50 at night. On the other hand, it’s kind of like getting tuned up for four months of truly bad weather, if last year is anything to go by.
In other news, a local gun dealer qualifies himself to have his Federal license pulled on grounds of general stupidity. What kind of dumb fuck leaves a trailer loaded with fully automatic weapons and 20,000 rounds of ammunition sitting outside behind his store, overnight and unattended?
Did I mention the sixteen suppressors (aka silencers, which is inaccurate) that were also included in this load of lethality, along with shotguns and high grade handguns?
I am truly reassured that local gun stores have a firm hand on inventory control.
Svensker
@Sourmash:
So sorry. That’s just awful. Big condolences.
aimai
@Sourmash: I’m terribly sorry for your loss. You don’t always know how any member of a family, human or pet, can be the glue that holds the entire thing together. What a tragic day for you.
danielx
@Sourmash:
Aw, man….truly sorry for your loss. It gets better with time, but there is a hole that can never be filled.
Violet
@John Cole +0: No worries. I wanted to mention it because you said you get chilly more often since quitting drinking. Stopping drinking will have an effect on your whole body. Your thyroid might be adjusting to the new reality. It could just be the temperature change like you said. But if you think you’re cold when you shouldn’t be, or if you’re having trouble with body temp regulation in general, go get checked out. Can’t hurt anything. If I can save even one person from having to go through what I did, it’s all to the good.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
As I understand it there’s an explanation for that that doesn’t boil down to the cat just wanting to fuck with you. Among cats it’s rude to look another cat right in the eyes. When a cat is dropped into a room with a bunch of strange people it will gravitate to the one that acts politely, namely by not looking her in the eyes. Of course, since the body language is backwards among humans, the people that are trying to get the cat’s attention are all looking right at it while you’re the one trying to avoid it’s gaze. So it comes to you.
Mike J
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): I wrote what I told you based on just Hunter in general. They have a very good rep, and their boats tend to be well thought of up and down the size range, provided you want a fun family boat and not something to compete with Larry Ellison, in speed or luxury.
Violet
@Sourmash: Very sorry for your loss. Pets are family members and they leave such big paw prints. Tragic day.
Sourmash
@aimai: and Svensker: thank you. I hope this gets easier, but the last 36 hours have just gotten worse and worse. We’re all like zombies here, and all I can do is miss him. What really hurts so much now is that we have so little video of him, and no audio of his barks, his inquiring half-growls, his sighs, his joy when we returned. I never took two or three hours just to get pictures of him around the house. For all you animal lovers, take the time, make an extended video once a year or so, spend time taking a hundred pictures. Pose the pup in all kinds of places and then get him on camera for 30 minutes straight. get him being him. I wish I had done it.
Violet
DirecTV sent me an email with the subject line “A war is coming.” Apparently it’s about ‘The Blacklist’ but WTF? We’re bombing Syria and that’s the email they send?
Amir Khalid
@Sourmash:
Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place. {{{hugs}}}
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Sourmash: My condolences. I still vividly remember the night about 30 years ago when my childhood dog had to be put down. I was working a second shift summer job and, as I came home that night from work (I knew the poor guy’s kidneys were failing and he was in doggy hospital – I had even given my unbelievably reluctant assent to saying yeas if the vet said it needed to be done) I saw that the lights were still on at 2am. I knew my dad was staying up to tell me. I almost goosed the throttle on my motorcycle to delay it a little longer, but I figured I owed the little guy the respect of facing it. I still have his picture displayed.
tl/dr version: It sucks, big time. Remember the good times and the love.
Mike J
@mdblanche: The magic number of politics rears its head, within a few points:
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Mike J: Sounds like it should do for him assuming the boat is sound.
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): Great, they fuck with because I am polite.
Sourmash
Thanks Amir and Omnes. It means a lot to hear the stories. He was our little guy and we didn’t even realize it. Normally about now he’d come walking into the dining room and sit at my feet and sleep until I went upstairs. I have no idea how I’m going to get along without him, and my poor wife has gone to pieces. So very sad.
Violet
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Maybe you should stare down the cat the next time you’re around one. Test the hypothesis. Maybe it’ll leave you alone.
ruemara
@Sourmash: I’m so sorry. That’s just awful. My heart goes out to you and remember that you gave him a loving, wonderful life.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Violet: Nah, the cat will take it as a come on.
trollhattan
@Sourmash:
Oh crud, am so very sorry. Poor little guy, my condolences to you and your family.
Tenar Darell
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): @Violet: Heh.
It’s the fact that you don’t stare at them. Because if you stare at a kitty you will want to pet it, and hug it, and squeeze it. Then you will touch your face before you remember to wash your hands and then you are doomed to a massive allergy attack because you couldn’t help yourself. Basically you don’t actually look closely at the pretty kitty cat, but cats like that! So they come over because you are acting just like an okay cat.
rikyrah
@Violet:
Violet , that is me. I didn’t know that I was allergic to cats until I did a sleepover in middle school and work up with a rash and swollen eyes. I am much more a cat person than a dog person.
Origuy
@danielx:
You’re in central Indiana, right? That wouldn’t be Don of Don’s Guns, would it? The guy who advertises that he “loves to sell guns.” I see those commercials when I visit the family at Christmas.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
Unrelated to the current topics: Bardot is much better in color than in black and white. Bacall, OTOH, was magnificent in B&W. Audrey Hepburn did equally well in both. YMMV.
trollhattan
@lamh36:
The Beeb is being a little more circumspect on the “who?”
cckids
@Sourmash: I’m so, so sorry. That is a horribly rough thing to get through. Condolences to you & your family.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
And ruemara is putting together some animation. So hopefully I’ll have a video soon.
And with the commitment I’ve got, I’ll even pay able to pay her. Woo hoo!
dww44
@Violet: And I for one appreciate your earlier post as I wanted to know what a good thyroid reading is so that I can check my lab work going forward. I’ve always been told it’s normal but didn’t know how to check to see if that really was true in my case.
srv
It’s Blue Dawn in Syria:
A Sky Full Of Drones… raven, give us a poem.
Even the reddit Civil-Drone Liberties crowd has their Wagner albums on.
Mike J
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Oh it’s good, good, good, like Brigitte Bardot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STy8FWhQPwU
Violet
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name): Okay, maybe you should chase the cat around the room. Just kidding.
@Tenar Darell: I have a friend who is kind of neutral on cats but damn if they can’t pick him out of a crowd and come right over. He doesn’t dislike cats but in a group of people he’s maybe the least excited to see and pet the cat. So the cat comes right over to him, walks around his ankles or hops on his lap if he’s sitting down. Everyone else wants the cat to come over, but noooo…the cat is completely transfixed by the one person who doesn’t really want him there.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@trollhattan: Sure, but it isn’t as simple as saying that it’s an act of war to bomb Syria without its consent. If someone is suing your territory to attack another country, as IS is using its parts of Syria to attack Iraq, it means that you are not exercising sovereignty there and the country being attacked, and its allies, may legally attack in those areas that you do not control and are being used as a base. So it may or may not be a good idea to bomb inside Syria but it isn’t really much of an escalation and Syria isn’t in a position to complain about it.
Besides which, I suspect that Assad’s complaints are pretty much pro forma and he’s actually perfectly happy to have us bombing his enemies even if he act like he objects.
Violet
@srv: Well, it’s not a poem, but here you go: Red Skies.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Mike J: The moment I saw that TCM was doing a tribute to her tonight, that song became an earworm. One of the better ones – I recently had Boom, Clap – the singer is quite lovely, but…..
Origuy
@Origuy: I see now that it wasn’t Don’s Guns. Looks suspiciously like insurance fraud.
Yatsuno
@Sourmash: I wish we could welcome you in better circumstances. I only wish I had better words to console you.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): Yes, if a government does not really have control (an element of sovereignty) over a region, it is not an act of war to launch attacks at enemies within the region. For example, once the US and its allies recognized DeGaulle as the head of the French government, the D-Day invasion was not an act of war against France.
Edited slightly for some clarity. YMMV.
dww44
@Sourmash: I’m so sorry for your loss. Truly sorry.
Violet
@dww44: You’re welcome. There are a whole bunch of thyroid tests. TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) is the basic one that a GP will test. A good Endocrinologist will test a bunch of other things, including various forms of T3 and T4 and, at least initially, anti-thyroid antibodies. You can get an idea of where you stand from TSH, though.
Sadly, a lot of labs still have the normal range as anything from 0.5 to 5.5, although some have narrowed that range so the top number is 3.0. Current research is showing that 3.0 is still too high for TSH for most people. Under 2.0 is where you want to be and there is more research showing that a better level is closer to 1.0. Of course there’s lab variance as well, so keep that in mind.
My Endocrinologist keeps my TSH near 1.0 (I’m on medication for it), but he also runs the entire thyroid panel every time I see him because he monitors all the levels. We do a metabolic panel as well from time to time because he checks other things as well, especially Vitamin D.
Once I started seeing him and his micromanaging ways (I’m on a crazy weird thyroid medication schedule, he micromanages it so closely), I started feeling a lot better. I still get copies of all my lab results after every blood draw. I have caught a bunch of things that doctors have missed, or have seen things to ask about next visit.
Hope that helps!
Tenar Darell
@Violet: Oh, cats really love me. (I was describing myself, of course). My allergist was like “with this reactivity scale, you absolutely cannot have cats; you could tolerate a dog…” So I don’t have pets because I have horrible allergies and neither the schedule or the apartment for a dog. Someday…sigh. In the meantime the Internet provides vicarious cats (and dogs) galore.
gbear
One of my coworkers loves siamese cats and had been trying to intriduce a second siamese into the house. They basically had to keep them in seperate rooms and the new cat alawys wanted to go after the little old cat who was going blind. although the liittle blind cat was taking care of herself against the younger cat just fine, they decided that the new cat jjust wasn’s working out and they returned it to the shelter. This weekend their vet called them up to let them know that they had a siamese who became homeless after a house fire and they thought it would be a agreat match for their home. The new cat is 20 lbs and very overweight so she doedn’t get around much and can’t make it up the stairs. This is actually very good because the old blind cat hangs out upstairs, so they can bring her food and bowl up to her and not have to worry about it interfering wiith the new porker’s diet. My coworker said that the new cat has great personality so he’s really hoping that the new cat and the old cat will find a way to be buddies
I’, still hanging in as a one cat family although I comfess to checking out the MN AHS’s website to see if they have any russian blue kitties. I think my old Tort is a bit lonely as an only cat but she still likes it better than having to share and interrelate with another cat, so we’re at an imperfect impass. I’ve also consideded (ffor moments) adoption a pair of littermate kittens to add to the mix, but I really don’t feel like I’m ready for that and it could be a horrid torture for Halley. I’m kind of sick of trying options and havng them not turn out.
trollhattan
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):
Perhaps. Am riffing on the BBC’s not naming countries they can’t verify, while our media have no such restraints. “Hey, who’s got an air force in the region–I want names in ten, people!”
Anne Laurie
@Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name):
Also, you’re the only person in the room sitting back & being a proper buttwarmer. All the self-proclaimed “cat people” are jigging around, making silly noises, and cats hate that.
Knew somebody who swore you could tell cats were a recent addition to the human household because so many more people’s immune systems overreact to cats than to dogs or horses. I’m mildly allergic to both cats & dogs, but fortunately there’s drugs for that, and besides, my immune system eventually “acclimatizes” when we bring in a new housemate. Dog shows, even the outdoor ones, are a trial for me in more than one sense of the term!
Anne Laurie
@Sourmash:
I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope the good memories of your time together will soon outweigh the horror of his passing!
Ana
A bit late to this party, but you’ve lost quite a bit of weight since you quit drinking, yes? I lost a whole lot of weight several years ago, and the only downside has been a hugely increased sensitivity to cold. This is incredibly common, and may, along with the change in weather, be part of the explanation. Sub-65F or so is when the chill kicks in for me.
Amir Khalid
@danielx:
What appalls me is that all those weapons, all that ammo, was for retail sale.
WaterGirl
@Sourmash: My heart is breaking for you and your family. If you just keep plodding through, day by day, it will get less shocking, but it’s still a terrible loss.
Five years ago I lost my kitty soulmate and I had never even thought to get video. Oh, how I wanted to see my kitty’s jaunty little walk again! At some point I stumbled on a few-second video of my boy, apparently taken by accident after I had gotten my new phone and didn’t know how to use the camera. I wish the same for you.
Quiver was my first kitty. You may find, as I did, that you are missing two things. I was missing my beloved kitty soulmate in particular but I was also missing kitty energy, just having a kitty in the house. For me it’s the same with my beloved dog. I miss Bailey terribly, but I also missed just having a dog in the house, and I hope you know that missing the energy of a dog or a cat isn’t a betrayal of the beloved pet you are missing.
So I now have Willow and Bear (my kitties) and Tucker (my pup) but of course I still miss my beloved guys who have gone on before me. When you guys are ready, just know that if you get a new dog, it’s not a betrayal of the guy you loved and lost. You have hearts filled with love and there are other dogs who would be happy to share your life and your house and that love with you, whether it’s a week or a month or a year or 5 years from now.
I am so sorry for your loss.
Sourmash
Checking in again after a hard night. Thank you to all those who wrote and are thinking about us. I appreciate it more than I can say. Thanks for sharing your stories, and thanks for your advice as well. We will take it day by day and cherish his memory. Thank you all.