It's a day off...

Yes, today is a national holiday celebrating freedom and liberty and all that. And yes, freedom isn't free, land of the free because of the brave, I totally agree with all of that (I think I have a pretty good perspective of it, considering). But I can't say that I am a fan of the method of celebrating. In other words, I hate fireworks. I have a fear of uncontrollable, unpredictable things like electricity (fuseboxes, bare wires, stuff like that), out-of-control fires, and things that explode. I don't think it's irrational at all, and I don't have panic attacks or anything, I just get rather uncomfortable when exposed to these types of things at close range. I'll ooooh and aaaah with the best of 'em at a fancy fireworks show from several blocks away, but when it's right outside my door I get a bit edgy. So I'm glad that the hoodlums down the street have apparently gone somewhere else for the holiday... but unfortunately our drunk old-fart neighbors behind us are havin' a good ol' time with their Natty Lights & mortars! Greg's already missing a couple of fingers for pete's sake, you'd think he'd be more concerned about the ones he has left! Jake, the cats and I are taking cover in the house.

Otherwise it's been a good day off. I puttered in the gardens a bit, killed the hotter part of the day by re-vamping my myspace page, bought a sewing machine (go ahead, you can call me Susie Homemaker now, I don't mind! But for your information I'm making cornhole bags with it out of old Army pants!), finished a book, and helped B burn all our firewood so we can clean out & paint the fire bowl.

Tomorrow we're going to a movie, and sometime this weekend we'll finish stripping the nasty green wallpaper out of my craft room and maybe even get a coat of primer up.

I still have cat fur in my nose

I had to take both cats to the vet tonight, and it was not an enjoyable experience! I can always tell when Lily is having gland problems, because Gyro just beats the shit out of her & won't leave her alone because she smells like "girly cat". But Gyro has been smelling funky lately too, so I figured he had the same issue. I never have a problem getting them into their carriers, and Lily is always quiet in the car (she slept almost the whole way from Cleveland to Toledo when we moved) but Gyro is another story. The 2 hour trip when we moved was a living hell... he yowled, he cried, he drooled, and he peed. He was miserable, and I was freaking out too! And ever since he's been like that in the car no matter how short the ride. However when you compare their behavior at the vet, it's just the opposite... Gyro is usually well-behaved, but Lily is a holy terror.

But tonight, neither one of them was happy about it.

Last time Lily had to go to the vet, she had to stay all day so they could get a urine sample to test for an infection. When I went to pick her up that evening, the vet tech was like, maybe you'd better come back and see if she'll let you put her in her crate, because she won't let any of us near her! I was dubious, but I went back to her cage and sure enough, she was all frizzed out, yowling and hissing at anybody that walked past her door. I went over and she hissed and yowled for a second until I said her name, then she was like "Oh, thank GOD it's you!!" and practically jumped into my arms. It was kind of funny, but the techs and doctors were obviously a bit freaked out by her and glad to be sending her home!

So she must have a pretty good memory, because I swear she remembered the vet tech and started hissing as soon as she walked in the door. The girl was like, "Oh... Hi Lily...." and you could see she was thinking "Shit, not HER again!" Lily threw a holy fit the whole time, but the fur literally flew when she had her glands evacuated. If you have pets, you may have gone through this before... but imagine a frigging Tazmanian Devil having its butt squeezed and you'll have an idea of Lily's attitude towards it.

It didn't help Gyro out either. He was quiet when they took his temperature and looked at his inflamed eye, but when they went to do his glands he also turned into an absolute hellcat. He's strong too, and I could see the tech straining to keep him from shredding the countertop!
They both bolted back into their carriers, and Gyro was still a whiny little wuss in the car on the way home but noticeably quieter than on the way there. They both got special canned food dinners when they got home and I think I'm back in their good graces, but I might sleep with one eye open tonight!