Two months after tax day and halfway to Christmas

The week has been more subdued and fraught with bouts of fretting as youngest cat, Buster, has been fighting off a nasty internal infection. He appeared last week looking like he had been in a fight and spent most of the week indoors. By Monday he was not looking well and was off his food, so I trundled him off to the vet. All week he's been on antibiotics and IV fluids, but he's also been eating and doing the box thing despite a fever of 104 F. Yesterday he showed signs of turning around and today the fever had broken. An ultrasound and testing of internal fluid turned up peritonitis from possibly a ruptured bowel. So it could be possible that he had gotten into a fight, got kicked very hard and tore some intestine in the process. Who knows? There are no signs of obstructions or objects that could have torn him from the inside. It's a mystery. But he is getting better and hopefully will be coming home tomorrow. The bill will definitely put me on a yarn diet though for some time. Not like I don't have anything else to do.

The time spent focused on Studboy took away some of the foofarah of my impending 45th anniversary of my appearance in the world. But it was a real birthday gift to get good news about him. The gang at the office decorated my cubicle and I have more animals added to the flock from my friend Linda, so I did have a nice birthday. It goes with the sweet messages from my siblings including "Well, you're 45 and going down hill...but you still haven't caught up with the rest of us," from my brother who will be turning 60 this year. (Gawd! Sixty!) Love you too Grant. Mwah!

It's also Pride weekend in Portland. I won't be marching with the lesbians in the Dyke March this year. Some day I'll do it again, knitting my way down the downtown Portland streets and garnering stares. "OMG! She's KNITTING!" Instead I'll be joining my fellow choristers to attend the Portland Gay Men's Chorus's performance at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Saturday evening. Sunday I'll be covering the booth while Confluence Chorus marches in the Pride parade. It's going to be a fun weekend.

Next weekend will be the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene. This is my first foray to this event, which I've been told is larger than the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. I won't be there until Sunday as the class I'm taking for spinning wheel maintenance and plying lessons isn't until the afternoon. I don't expect to find much but you never know. I may score a last minute deal with someone who doesn't want to haul the merchandise home. My spending money will be severely limited this time around but my hope is to score some roving to play with on Suzie and Goody Baynes.