Author: Stacy Horn

This picture is from yesterday. I’ve since taken the scarf off. That fog on the left is from the humidifier that is on 24/7 in my apartment.

So Buddy didn’t really eat much tonight. I’ll see if he eats more when I get home. I’d rather he had eaten well, but I’m not going to panic. Or at the very least not appear like I’m panicking. I didn’t break down and give him babyfood because the oncologist felt it was time he ate catfood again. He loved the Hills I/D yesterday and this morning, but not tonight.

I’ll pick up a selection of different catfoods tomorrow, focusing on whatever looks irresistible and is probably crap. I’ll get some tuna too. And some chicken to cook. (Always fun for a vegetarian.)

Tonight is choir practice and we’re working on Brahms Requiem. I’m just so glad I’ll be able to sing about death without it feeling so imminent. Even though it is, but you know what I mean. If it weren’t for this optimistic oncologist I’d be fighting tears all rehearsal long and thinking, “Buddy’s going to die, Buddy’s going to die,” and “the last time I sang this Veets died.” Something that is usually so uplifting would have been filled with doom.

Karen counters with a female downy woodpecker. She is gorgeous! You guys are killing me. Since I had to move my feeder I can’t even see my pigeons anymore! Oh well. I will bird watch vicariously through you guys.

Anyhow, I got 100 on my census test!! 100!! Every question right!! Woo-hoo!! Okay, it wasn’t exactly a hard test, but it was tricky. I think it was designed to weed out the kind of people who aren’t careful and misspell names, misfile, figure out people’s year of birth incorrectly, etc.

So look out people of New York City!! Soon I may be counting you!

Betsy sent me pictures of the pileated woodpeckers at the feeder in her father’s driveway in Queensbury NY.  AMAZING!  Now I am jealous of Betsy and her father.  They look huge.  I’ve never seen anything like them, outside of a cartoon!

I’m applying for a job as a census worker and I’m taking a test in a couple of hours.  It may sound strange, but it sounds like a fun job to me.  I am so nervous about this test though.  The problem is, you have to take the test in under 30 minutes, and even though the questions are all easy, they are also easy to get wrong if you don’t read the question very carefully.  And I’m not as fast as I used to be.  But if I get the job, I think I might be assigned to my neighborhood. That would be great if it were true. I’d meet most of my neighbors for the first time.

Once again, I am SO jealous of Karen and her bird feeders.  She recently sent me  picture of this bluebird at her feeder.  Even her finches are more colorful than mine.

The vets put that scarf on him. I didn’t do that!

It’s the best possible news on every level.  He’s got the low-grade lymphoma and according to the vet, cats can live a good quality of life for many years with this. She said I should think of it as a chronic, but manageable disease.

She put him on the chlorambucil (aka leukeran) which is, as Melissa said, a very mild chemotherapy drug, AND it’s not expensive, AND I only need to bring him next month, then for another ultrasound in 2-3 months, so I won’t be going completely broke in order to pay for visits and medicine.

Aside from “this has all been a big mistake, he’s fine” this is the best news she could have given me. I am SO happy.  I am just so freaking happy.