Well, that was a summer I wish I could forget!

 Has it really been 9 months since I last blogged? Holy moly, time flies! A shit ton of things have happened here.

From my last post in February to May, nothing much. On May 9th, just after 7 p.m., I got a knock on my door and a nervous young lady from the rental agency was at my door. She handed my a letter and said I had to be out of the building by 8 a.m. the next morning, orders from the city. I could hear doors opening up and down the hall as other people were getting served with the same notice to evacuate. It was chaos!

That building has 18 huge steel posts that run from the roof into the ground in the parkade on the ground level. It was built in the early 1960s and not once in those 60+ years had those posts been inspected, because there were no regulations to do so, and because they were encased in plaster (to not be bare steel eyesores). One of the plaster coverings had been found with a big crack and they assumed someone had driven into it, so they hired an engineering firm to come in and check it out to make sure it was not damaged. They removed the plaster (hello, asbestos!) and the exposed post looked okay but they decided to dig down to the concrete footing that it was sitting on to make sure it hadn't been knocked crooked.

Well. Let me tell you, the shit hit the fan when they found the buried section of that post was severely rusted. They then dug around all the other posts and found all of them to have severe to very severe corrosion, and a few of them were starting to buckle, The engineer was legally obligated to inform the city's engineers, who deemed the building unsafe for occupancy due to risk of imminent collapse. So hence the evacuation notices given to every tenant. Trying to clear out 171 suites with only 2 elevators was a nightmare!! Some people managed to rent trucks to move their furniture and get all their stuff out, but I was not able to do that. I got the important stuff. Perishables from the fridge and freezer, my meds, important documents, laptop, original artwork, clothes, the cats' food, meds, beds and one litter box.

My sister was my saviour. Without hesitation, she came over right away and helped me sort and pack up what I could take. We loaded up my car and hers, and she called friends who lived close who had a pickup truck, and they came and took boxes as well. I spend 52 days living with my sister and brother-in-law. The cats were confined to the bedroom I was using because her old decrepit dog (who was the sweetest old girl) was terrified of cats, and my three didn't know about dogs. Well, that's not quite true. Lila had lived with a couple dogs in her younger years but still not a fan. So they bounced off the walls in that one 9x10 room for the whole 52 days, and I didn't get a full night's sleep that entire time, because I have not allowed the cats in my bedroom for years.

I had already given my notice to move before the evacuation happened, as I had found a new apartment, but was not able to move into it until near the end of June, because they were do some renovations after the previous tenant moved out on May 31st. So when I did move in the last weekend of June, it was with borrowed furniture and kitchen things, as we still were not allowed in to the old building. But I had my new place and some things to tide me over.

I was able to get into the old building in early August to start packing up my stuff. The building was still not habitable but they were allowing certain numbers of tenants in at a time to pack and move out, those who didn't want to wait for the building to be repaired. Originally they were giving us only 4 days to pack and then arrange for movers to get everything out. Well, considering I had to do the packing on my own as it was weekdays 9 - 5 only, no evenings, no weekends, that was almost impossible. They did change the time to 11 - 8 and allowed Saturdays after the first week, so I just kept going and packing every day, loading up my car and taking what I could each day. I did arrange for mover for the furniture after 9 days of packing boxes and moving stuff. So on August 14th, I was finally out of that building and could wash my hands of the while debacle. There are still people who want to move back in because they have been there for decades, and all their friends lived there also, so they are living in hotels, waiting for the building repairs to be completed.

I did that entire move with no a/c, in a building that faced south, and the curtains had been open and the windows closed the entire time I was away. It was an oven. Even with the windows open, it was so hot! It was hot outside, with bright sun and daytime temps reaching over 30C. It was humid too, and often felt like close to 40C, so some days I only lasted 4 hours. Not at all healthy!

The company that owns that building had an emergency meeting the day we were out of the building, explaining what had happened. Since that time, they have made absolutely no effort to talk to the tenants except through emails that gave brief updates on the repairs. They have been absolutely mum to the many requests for comments and interviews from the press. Just no repsonse. The only thing they did was refund the balance of May's rent, plus our security deposits. And when those who chose to move out handed their keys in, they gave us each a cheque for $1000. My movers cost me over $900. All the people have been put up in hotels while either trying to find a new place (and it is expensive in most places here for people on a fixed income; a lot of the tenants were seniors on pensions) or waiting to move back in. First the Red Cross was paying for those hotel rooms, plus money for food, then the city took over, and now the provincial government has been footing the bill. Not the owner of the building. Who also owns some hotels in the city. Who didn't offer to house those tenants who needed a hotel because they did not have family or friends to stay with. While the repairs for that building must be massively expensive, that company is a multimillion dollar real estate development and construction company. I honestly hope the province and city somehow recoup at least some of their costs from them.

In that rushed move, I buggered up my right shoulder and have been going to physio for the past 6 weeks. 2 weeks ago, I had a steroid shot in the AC joint (where the collar bone join the shoulder blade) because that was one area that was sore, but that wasn't the main area of pain, as I have discovered, because that shot didn't work. So I am going back to see the sports medicine doc to have another untrasound and probably another steroid injection. I still have boxes piled around because it is hard to unpack things when your should screams at you.

The cats are happy to have room, but were much more happy now that they have their cat trees back. We live right on the ground floor and there are trees right outside the windows, so there are squirrels and birds everywhere. Live kitty entertainment! Much more fascinating than living on the 5th floor, far away from the trees.

What can I say? Life goes on.

Another spin

 Sunday was my birthday and I have a hard time believing I am now 66 and yet, my mind thinks it is in my mid 30s. My body, on the other hand, has days where it is 103! But whatever, right? Onward we go, as time relentlessly marches on, whether we try to keep up or not.

My sister and brother-in-law took me out for supper to a local restaurant. I knew it was SuperBowl Sunday but not being a football fan (of either the CFL or NFL), I had pretty much forgotten that fact. The restaurant, however, was determined that no one would forget it and every single tv in the bar and the dining room was tuned to the game. With the sound turned up, and the bass blasting!! It was annoying as hell. But we ate, talked loudly and enjoyed the food. The game was in the latter part of the 2nd quarter when we finished up and left. Am I disappointed I didn't get to see Usher perform? Oh hell no! Not my kind of music and I am sure it would have been way too loud.

But all the same, it was a nice day for my birthday. My sister and I visited an antiques store in the afternoon. I was looking for something to use as a door stop for my balcony door (it is a regular hinged swing-out type) because when it is open and the windows are open, it often slams shut from the breeze. And I don't want a cat getting caught in that action because... no. Too risky for injuries. Ideally the door stop would be one of those cast iron statue thingies (like the little Scottie dogs) but they had nothing like that. They did, however, have numerous old cast iron clothes irons. You know, the kind you had a little stand for that nestled over the coals in the fire, or on top of the wood stove. It's got a coating of rust and the handle is missing so when it gets nicer out (it is below freezing here in the Great White (although not so white this year as there has been much less snow than usual) North, I will take it outside and clean it off with my Dremel and wire brush attachment. I have a friend who welds, so I might talk to him about making it a handle. The little sucker is heavy (which is required for a door stop) so being able to pick it up via a handle would be advantageous. It looks like this one (the base part).

After that we went to a little cafe for some lunch. They had these breakfast buns that were excellent! The bun was made with yams and had fresh rosemary in the dough. There was cheese, a fried egg, thick cut bacon and tomato on it. Very yummy! We got cinnamon buns and little blueberry carrot cakes to take home, which I ate the next day. The cinnamon bun was sticky goodness but the carrot cake really didn't have much flavour. I was disappointed. Even the cream cheese icing on it was meh.

On the kitty front, Lila has "inflammatory allergic airway disease" (similar to asthma in humans) and is now on steroids for 2 weeks and a steroid puffer twice a day. I have been training her with treats when using the puffer. She is keen to eat the treats but not so keen to have a mask over her face for 20 - 30 seconds or so. But she will get used to it given time. She is almost 15 (birthday is late April) and she's had an occasional cough for a long time. I'm talking years. But it was just that... occasional... so I attributed it to hairballs, seeing as she is a long haired cat (although in recent years she sports a lion cut most of the time). but over the past couple of months, the cough has increased drastically. So it was a trip to the vet, chest xrays (sent to a vet radiologist to be thorough) and blood pressures. The chest xrays confirmed the diagnosis. Her blood pressure was normal. I also changed cat litters, as the clay stuff is quite dusty and that is what I had been using. Now I am using stuff made from grass seed. It is almost dust-free but I will have to see how Andi does with it, because he is Mr. Itchmeister.

Andi is going for an ultrasound of his thyroid and kidneys at the end of the month. See if he has nodules on his thyroid, and see what his kidneys are doing because his last urinalysis showed changes outside of normal. He will have repeat bloodwork and urine tests done then also. You'd never know there was anything wrong with the boy, as he is playful, runs around like a maniac (as young cats are wont to do... he will be 5 in April), eats well and is very affectionate. (He truly is a "slobber puss" as he drools like crazy when happy and purring.) He might need a thyroidectomy but the kidney issue is the one that is concerning. He is on medication to bring his thyroid levels down, and he could stay on that for years if need be as it is effective, inexpensive, and has no side effects. The kidneys are something you can't live without (unless you are a human and go on dialysis... and no, I would not do that to my cat!). So time will tell. Given his issues, I try to make his life as comfortable as possible. Because that is my job as a pet guardian... to safeguard my cats in all aspects of their lives.

Thankfully, Aska has no issues, other than a propensity for eating dust bunnies (ew) and bolting at every unusual sound or movement. (I have scars on my legs from her launching herself to safety from my lap when something startles her. *sigh*)

I continue to work one or two days a week, which is definitely helping to pay for those ongoing vet bills, plus put a little extra in the bank. I'd rather not work but since I have yet to win the lottery, my career continues.

9

So I shoved a swab into the deep dark recesses of my sinuses again today, still came up covid positive... on Day 9. This is getting pretty repetitive, that's for sure. I am down to a bit of a stuffy nose, the occasional sneeze to clear said nose, and random coughs here and there. Not much of anything. I never did hit the high temps with a fever, no aches and pains, no feeling like I was on death's doorstep. I just had a cold. And a positive covid test to go along with it.

Since I am not up on the hospital's policy of workers and covid infections, I messaged my boss to get the lowdown. Apparently the hospital does not care about your covid status, as long as you have been at least 24 hours without a fever, and wear a mask at work while you still have symptoms. Alrighty then!

Back to work for me on Wednesday, testing be damned! And just to be extra thorough, I checked my temperature today. If anything, I am a little on the cool side. 36.2C or 97.3F. Actually, that isn't chilly, it is within normal limits. So no fever. Yay.

I will continue to use my nasal rinse bottle to see if I can clear up the stuffiness. It does help. Sometimes it is amazing what comes out of there!! On Wednesday, I will head into work, wearing a mask and armed with lozenges and kleenex. I honestly hope this is the one and only time I have covid, but if I do ever catch it again, having it masquerade as a cold isn't bad. It's annoying, but not too bad. There are lots of people out there who get it much worse that what I've had.

So keep yourselves safe! Even if you just have a cold, and not covid, please stay home, look after yourselves, and wear a mask if you have to go out! You do not need to share any of your germs with others, because that is just plain rude.

Damn.

 So I got my nursing registration reinstated and started working last week. Had a shift on Tuesday, which was super busy with all day clinics, seeing patients, on my feet, talk talk talk. Wednesday morning, everything hurt (lower back, knees and feet) and my throat was scratchy! Having spent many months just chitchatting with the cats and the occasional person, my voicebox was not at all used to the verbal calisthenics to which it was subjected.

My second shift was Friday, which is a catch up on paperwork day, and prep charts for clinics in the weeks ahead. Not too busy, no patients to see, so much more relaxed. I did have to go up and down in the elevator getting my swipe card from security to be able to get into the unit, paperwork from my boss, etc. Saturday afternoon I started to cough. Sunday I tested positive for covid.

I managed to work through the whole damn pandemic without catching it!!!! But hospital policy is now you only have to wear a mask when doing direct patient care. So I didn't wear a mask in the elevator that was relatively full of other workers and visitors.

Luckily I have 6 covid vaccinations under my belt (or, in my arm, actually) so it is more like a cold. I have a barky cough so I am sure my neighbours think a seal has moved in. I am sneezing (but not stuffed up), and because this seems to be concentrated in my upper airway, each achoo tries to rip out my throat. Owie!! And I don't have much of a voice. I freaked out Aska when I talked to her because my voice was low and gravelly. She was horrified and ran away! I now have to whisper to her, which she is fine with. Goofy cat. My sister kindly picked up some things for me, including a couple of packets of losenges. That definitely helps reduce the coughing fits. No fever, no fatigue, I can still smell and taste. Mild headache yesterday, but that may have been from coughing and sneezing.

I will test every day and hopefully by Thursday I will be negative again, as I have another shift booked. This working for a living is bad for your health!

Trudging along

 I am still waiting to get my nursing license reinstated. It is a long drawn out process, with paperwork submitted to various agencies, then waiting on their processing of same. But yesterday, I finally submitted the last of the required paperwork and am now at the mercy of the College of Registered Nurses and however slow their process of approval is. Hopefully not long, as I would like to be working before the month is out. At least I know that I have a job to go to when all is said and done.

I had the Calico Kids in to the vet in October for their annual checkups and vaccinations. Andi had bloodwork and urine done to see where he's at with his health. He is a complicated little guy, that is for sure! Turns out he has hyperthyroidism, which is more often seen in senior cats. He is only 4! But the vet said it can cause overgrooming, so hopefully that is his issue with all the scratching and licking. He is now on a daily medication to bring his thyroid levels down and goes for repeat bloodwork in December. He seems to be less itchy now and, fingers crossed, that is all it is!! He is getting tired of eating rabbit every meal, as he sniffs his bowl and looks at me like "I want what they're having!", but he will eat once I pet him and stir it up a bit. I have started giving him some canned tuna (catfood) once a day when the girls get it, and that makes him very happy. He just wants some variety!! The medication is very inexpensive ($19/120 days) which is waaayyy less than the rabbit ($250/month). I would like them all to eat the same foods. Makes my life a lot easier, and the cats happier.

It is definitely the beginning of winter here. It is only about -1C (30F) but it snowed last night and today on the radio they equated it to driving through mashed potatoes. Yup, been there done that. And it is very slippery underneath. A lot of the rural highways are like skating rinks, lots of school closures, and just the advice to stay home if you don't really have to go out! So that is what I am doing. I have nothing pressing to do today so I am hunkered down inside with some hot cocoa, a good book, and cats on my lap.

Had my annual flu shot last week, the quad shot ~ 4 times the strength of the regular one. If you are over 65, it is definitely something to think about. I also got the pneumoncoccal pneumonia shot, also recommended for those 65 and up. Protects against a number of pneumonia strains. Us seniors are more susceptible to respiratory illnesses, so I am a firm believer in getting vaccinated. I am also due next month for my next covid booster. I got one in the summer prior to going to Iceland and I am quite willing to get jabbed every 6 months if that is what it takes to avoid catching that nastiness.

It's nice to see some of the US states doing things right. And I hope That Giant Tangerine Turd digs himself a hole so deep no one can toss him a rope to climb out (not that he would be able to haul his fat ass up a rope without a crane anyway...). That does not need to get into office again. I saw a clip of Hillary Clinton saying she can't imagine what the US would look like if that happens. I still think she would make a fantastic president.