Toby - Tragedy Averted

Last Thursday was an emotional roller coaster. We nearly lost Toby., not in the Oh-I-can't-find-him way, but in the we'll-have-to-put-him-down way. You see, it started with Toby straining to pee on every soft thing in sight. He is the peemister, so I did not think much of it (except to shoo him off and tell him "bad kitty") until he started to make a terrible meowing-groaning kind of sound. He loves to eat plastic so I thought he was simply constipated and started to research how to deal with that (1 tea. pureed pumpkin a day helps keep cats regular, by the way.)

By the time Larr and Ethan returned home from work Toby had progressed to making terrible barking burping noises that could be heard all the way upstairs, even with the door shut. We had been planning to leave for Salida, but that was clearly out of the question.

Larr and I decided to take Toby to the emergency vet. I called around and found one that was open. In the meantime, Ethan phoned our friend, Natali (who is a vet.)and discussed the problem with her. She thought he had crystals that form in male cat's urine that was blocking his ability to pee. She could tell this because Ethan could feel Toby's bladder which was rock hard and about the size of a lemon. The vet we visited took xrays (because we thought it might be plastic stuck in his intestines) and those confirmed what Natali had diagnosed. That vet said it would be about $1,600 to help Toby by keeping him over night and giving him a catheter as well as running blood work. We simply could not afford that. She came back with two more ideas, both would result in at least $900 by the time it was all said and done. When it was clear that we could not afford that either, she started to talk with us about euthanizing Toby. As you might imagine, we were very upset by this. Who wakes up and expects to have to decide to put down their sweet, loving usually healthy three year old kitty?

Putting him down would be about $100. If we wanted to be with him while they did that, it would be an additional $28. If we wanted the ashes back, that would be more money, too. I was beside myself. Larr was upset. We informed the kids that it might be grim and then we made phone calls (thank God for the cell phone!) Karen H. had a vet that dealt with it another way. We called Natali back and she had another idea. In the end we took our poor, in extreme pain kitty home and waited for Natali to come over. Out of the goodness of her own heart she suggested that she could come over, remove some of the urine and help Toby get through the night. With Ethan's help, this plan worked. The next morning we took Toby to Planned Pethood and had Natali perform the same surgery, keeping Toby until Tuesday, and with new prescription food, back home for about $225. Larr stayed home instead of going to Salida, just incase there were complications. We are so thankful for Natali's and Planned Pethood's help. Without them, we would have had to euthanize our lovely kitty. I brought him home on Tuesday. He was very happy to be home. When I picked him up from the vet's office he started meowing for me even before he could see me. He was sleepy on Tuesday and fine on Wednesday, until Larr got home. Larr went to sit next to Toby while holding a clipboard. The clipboard made Toby extremely upset. In fact, it had to be removed to the next room. When he saw the clipboard he would do that terrible meowing sound and hide. It was both funny, and alarming. For a while we wondered if Toby was still not well. In the end we decided that his must simply be pretty mad that this whole event ever occurred. I think he blames the clipboard that all of that pain.

Thanks to a supportive friend and Planned Pethood, we still have our lovely Toby!

Salida Stage Race - A Bit of Racing, Rain and a Really Fun Time

This past weekend Ethan, Ellie and I headed to Salida for the Salida Omnium, one of our favorite races of the year. Larr was all set to go, but ended up staying home just incase there was a serious development with Toby (our cat) who had a very serious emergency. I will dedicate a posting to his trauma tomorrow. It was hard to leave Larr at home since this weekend each year is sort of like a mini-vacation, though I totally understood why he felt compelled to stay home.

Here's one of the sights that takes my breath away every time. It is the Collegiate Peaks just out side of Buena Vista. I did Outward Bound there the year before Ethan was born.


First up was the time trial. It started to pour while the kids raced. Both Ellie and Anna slipped during the race. She came in second, just nine seconds behind Anna.

Ethan opted not to do these races. Instead, he spent his time with Tom, who came along for the fun of it. They boys explored all kinds of areas just outside of town, but quickly found that being in full camo on a 98 degree day is tiresome. They spent the nights at the Salida Cafe. One night it was a Blue Grass concert. The next night it was a folk concert.

We had the Rathbun family stay with us. They were going to camp, but the sheets of rain made my offer of a dry, warm house very appealing. We had a blast hanging out for three days. Rhys just returned from a 6 week North American bike racing tour. I think getting a chance to hang out together was a nice, unexpected surprise.

We all stayed in the house that is so generously lent to us by George and Joan. It is a fun, little place to stay.


On Saturday the back yard was home to a parade of animals including five cats and a doe with her twin fawns. They did not seem to mind us at all.






Ellie and Laurel had a great and giggly time together. Laurel raced in the Women's Cat. 4, winning the road race and TT, while placing second in the criterium. Ellie won the JW 13-14 Road Race. Laurel also brought along Lola, who cries when Laurel is not there. Lola decided that my family members were reasonable substitutes when there was no Laurel to be found.




Tom loves to help the kids and work on the bikes. That was a real bonus for Ellie. Mike and I can talk forever. We even managed to make great meals. For example, Saturday night was had marinated rib eye steak, Romane, Fennel and Grapefruit Salad and a Pesto Pasta salad. We rounded it out with a second night of Klondike bars. We discovered that the Oreo is an awesome flavor.



Even though we had fun, this is always a welcome sight. It means we are on the way home. Isn't it beautiful?

New Quilted Summer Runner Kitty Seal of Approval

I have always loved the Fresh Produce line of clothing and I was smitten when I found a Fresh Produce dress at the thrift store. However, the Size 0 was a bit problematic. I bought it for the beauty of the fabric. I decided that I would cut it up and make some quilted item. I went back to the thrift store to look for compatible fabrics and had an easy time of it. In the end I spent $7 and got four things. One will be transformed into a skirt (I hope) and the others became this runner. I like the feel of it as it is soft since the clothing had already been worn and washed. These all remind me of summer. Moxy gives it the Kitty Seal of Approval.

Of Bikes, Boats, Birthdays and Bouncing

Sunday and Monday were a whirlwind of fun.
Sunday began with the Scott Kornfield Classic Criterium, a course on smooth and wonderful roads. Ellie placed 4th. I think she might have still be tired from the long hill climb on Saturday.




The boats were very cool. The rowing looked hard, but fun.

Newbies can take rowing lessons and compete on Sunday afternoon. I think that might be fun to do.


I also enjoyed the various tents with displays. I thought the Chinese and Korean tents were the most interesting.





They also had several stages with lots of activities going on. I loved the dancing. One had traditional dances, another had hip-hop and step up dancing.


I hurried home just in time to go to Karen H's birthday BBQ. The food was great, especially the edible arrangements. Who knew that chocolate covered grapes could be so tasty! Her yard and pond were inviting. The company was interesting. It is nice when we get to visit with new people in a relaxed atmosphere.

Monday we met Laurel and her mother, Mike, at Jump Street. It looked like a blast. The girls jumped for a few hours. Mike and I talked. We then spent a ton of time at Park Meadows mall where the girls shopped and we talked. We had lunch in the food court and dinner at The Counter. The burgers were the best I've ever eaten in a restaurant I'd go there again, happily, as long as I had plenty of time to wait for slow, forgetful waitresses. Even after visiting for about 9 hours, we still had more to say. It was great to have a day like that.


I spent part of the afternoon at the Dragon Boat Festival. I have always wanted to go to this event but we are usually in Salida during this festival. The races were pretty cool to see, but the festival was too crowded. (I'm finding that I like crowds less and less as I get older.)

Flowers in My Garden

I've been taking photos of my flowers for a few week. Actually, these have been taken over the last five weeks. I find it refreshing and invigorating to notice the beauty of each on individually. I hope you enjoy it, too.


Artemisia is one of my absolute favorites. I love the way it feels when I run my hand over it.

This little campanula is a real surprise. I love the nearly neon glow of the color combination.

The foxgloves remind me of ladies in their ballgowns - such delicate beauty, but a bit fussy, too. They want to be the prema Donnas of my garden, usually demanding that they MUST BE WATERED FIRST!

I'm a foliage girl and hostas have a special place in my heart. This year, the year of the new automatic sprinkler system, have helped my hosta garden take off like never before.

The mock orange bush is glorious in its prime.

The old fashion roses have their time to shine, too. For a few weeks Ellie and I had small glass vases by our beds, in the dinning room and kitchen, full of these long blooming beauties.

Oh, peonies. I love everything about them, except their short flowering season. They are so lush and fragrant. This makes me long for the peony scented lotion.

The purple iris smell like grape koolaid, which transforms me to another more carefree time.

Finally, just one of the many varieties of salvia that I have planted in my garden.

Thanks for taking a garden tour with me. The vegetable garden will have its turn soon, too.

Bikes, Boys, Bubble and Some Weird Dos

Saturday was a kid centered day that started with the Bob Cooke Memorial Mount Evans Hill Climb Colorado State Championship. I think something like 1,500 people raced.
I was a volunteer so Ellie and I had to be there by 6:30 a.m. That meant that we got up at 5:15 a.m.


Ellie placed fourth in her division and was happy with that.

After that even Stephen and Davis came over to attend the Dragonboat Festival and hang out. It turned out to be too crowded for them, so they came home and made their own fun. It started out with making large bubbles and taking turns with the swing. That grew into a bubble fight - such silly fun!



We had a nice grilled dinner. Grandpa Don joined us and had fun, too. Somehow that led into giving each person a funny hair do or two:


Davis was up first. His was pretty tame and actually looked pretty good.



Stephen was next and his was a tad bit more wild.


The boys went all out with Ellie's hair. I imagine that the gel slicked hair slung across her chin felt a bit funky.


That gave way to roasting marshmallows and trying to make s'mores. We've decided that there must be some sort of trick to knowing how to make the chocolate melt and the whole thing to come together properly.


Somehow that led to hair do round 2. This was the giggliest session.

Craft Room ReOrganization - After All of These Years

I have a lot of interests, which means I have a lot of stuff, especially in my craft room. I have thought about how to better organize it for years. Yesterday I finally put my ideas into action. Here's what I came up with:

This got most of the stuff off of my desk and into the fun buckets that I got on the dollar spot at Target earlier in the summer. They hang from a towel rack that I found Home Depot. I had intended to hang them with colored caribeaners, but they did not work out. I was not thrilled with the "S" hook as the buckets could slip off. In the end I am very happy with the fun ribbon. I think it is the best option.


The big deal here is the new wire basket system. I have longed for one of these for a few years. I had wanted an Elfa system, but it was too expensive for me. The one I wanted was about $400. Imagine my joy when I found an amazingly similar system at Home Depot. This one is by ClosetMaid and was about $110. They have a ton of options that allowed me to get just exactly what I wanted.