2008-01-04

Our day, though excellent, was pervaded by our kitty, Chloe’s, illness. She had been coughing yesterday and Mick had taken her to the vet. He diagnosed a virus and gave her antibiotics. She seemed better. She and I had a good snuggle this morning. However, later in the morning Gary found her lying on the kitchen rug panting for all she was worth and not very responsive. Mick again took her to Dr. Bishop, our vet, and he diagnosed asthma.

He put her in their oxygen cage for several hours, but she did not get much better and at 5 PM, he suggested that Mick take her to the animal hospital for oxygen overnight and more tests. This, he did. That vet said it was either asthma or congestive heart failure, and only more tests would tell. So our poor little Inkspot is spending her first night away from home, and we are missing her dreadfully. She is the sweetest little kitty in Christendom except when food is involved or when she meets someone she does not like, when she becomes a growler.

I worked on the last of Chapter 9 again, but was unable to finish the section to my own satisfaction. I’ll hit it again tomorrow. Likewise, in the afternoon I worked on editing a channeling from last summer, one which Gary had requested on The Purgative Way, which had been transcribed last week. However I did not get far, for I also had a doctor’s appointment to keep, my visit to Dr. Brown, the otolaryngologist. That’s an ear and throat specialist, in English!

His news was dismal. The fluid is gone from my ears. However, they are swollen shut, not just the right but the left side to an extent now, which is why the symptoms are persisting. He made an appointment next Tuesday for me to have a CT scan of the right ear. Either only the Eustachian tube is involved or the bone behind it is also involved. This test will tell him which situation prevails. No matter which diagnosis is right, the solutions are not simple or sure. Swell! I just have to remember Holly’s advice to me this morning: “Greet each seeming problem and woe with thanksgiving and gratitude and watch challenges turn into gifts.” I'll try, Holly!

Mick and I celebrated the end of his mowing season tonight with a visit to Artemisia, one of our favorite restaurants in town. We had a scrumptious dinner and listened to some pleasant, bluesy live music. I never did find out who the musicians were, as they never got on the mike and introduced themselves. We toasted the amazing year of 2007 – amazing for a lawn man, that is! He was triumphant despite draught and record setting heat that lasted for months. Well done, Saint James!!! You're the best! See my buttons bursting with pride? I adore that man!

We shared the Gaia Meditation’s prayer tonight at the restaurant, praying for the planet and for peace in the world. "Send forth your spirit, and we shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth."

Which reminds me, AL Gore's acceptance speech at the Nobel Prize ceremony is worth reading. It's easy to find on his site. Just Google his name.