Monday, November 27, 2006

On the plus side...

Well, I don't have to worry about working off those Thanksgiving pounds. If you don't actually have Thanksgiving dinner, it's not a problem. Long story short, my family didn't come to town and I spent Thanksgiving alone, eating beans out of a can. (Boy, that sounds pathetic, doesn't it?) The decision was very last-minute, so I didn't have time to make other plans. My mother tried to get me to "call a friend." Is she insane? You can't invite yourself to Thanksgiving dinner ON Thanksgiving Day. Particularly not when you have special dietary needs. "I'll be there in about an hour, and would you mind whipping up something vegetarian for me?" I think not.

Friday I took myself to a movie, and picked up some yummy takeout from a favorite restaurant. I thought the weekend was going to be okay, but then noticed that one of my cats hadn't moved from her spot the whole time I was out. And she hadn't wanted breakfast. Hmmm...I started watching her more closely and realized she seemed a bit under the weather. By Friday evening I was pretty worried, and started her on some Pepcid and force-fed baby food. Saturday morning, when she still hadn't moved, I realized she really was sick. Of course. It's a holiday weekend, the vet is closed...of course she's sick. I HATE the animal emergency room, so I shamelessly called the younger of my vets on his cellphone. (Hey, he's the one who gave the number to me.) He is a truly nice guy, and he agreed to meet me at the clinic. Turns out she had a fever--we don't really know why. Sometimes cats just get fevers--they call them FUOs--Fever of Unknown Origin. At any rate, she got fluids and antibiotics and finally yesterday morning she ate a little on her own. Today she's moving about fairly normally, so hopefully she's well on the road to recovery. Fingers crossed. I could NOT take another pet death this year.

Saturday evening I went out with a friend who just moved back to town after several years away. We had some great sushi, and a few drinks. She does those Slumber Parties--kind of like Tupperware parties, only with sex toys and creams, etc.--and was handing out business cards all night. At one point we were next to a table of women who were obviously having a girls night out. One of the women quipped to a man who walked up that he couldn't sit down with them because he "didn't have a vagina." "There's your magic word," I said. She walked over and said brightly "I believe I just heard you say vagina!" and started passing out the business cards. Pretty funny.

Sunday morning, when I realized my prayers had been answered and Stella was actually eating, I got my butt in gear and actually made it to church. Stopped at the grocery store on the way home, and that was it for the long holiday weekend. Whoo hoo!

Yeah, it really sucked, for the most part. Even worse than being alone and not hanging with the family was that there was NO PIE! I realized that, say what you will about family, Thanksgiving is really all about the pie.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, Liz, that REALLY sucks! How totally, totally lousy. :( I think you deserve your very own pie after your crummy weekend. That is hilarious, however, about your friend passing out the cards.

-R- said...

I am glad your cat seems to be feeling better!

Sorry about the crummy weekend. Maybe pumpkin pies will be on sale and you can get one for yourself? =)

lizgwiz said...

One way or another, I will have pie before the week is out. And my mother has already promised an extra-special Christmas to make up for it. Guilt is a beautiful thing. Hee.

Stefanie said...

Sorry about your Thanksgiving. I can deal with not hanging with family, but pie (and, more importantly, mashed potatoes) is a must.

Did the vet really call it a FUO--fever of unknown origin? I had no idea vets had such a sense of humor with their lack of precise terminology. A friend of mine recently took her cat to the vet and they told her the cat had "Jungle Pouch." That is the most precise and scientific word they chose to assign for the little saggy cat gut. Odd.

lizgwiz said...

I'd heard "lion's pouch."

Vets LOVE acronyms. There's FUO. ADR--for "ain't doin' right," when the owner can't really come up with specific symptoms, but knows something is off. HBC--"hit by car." And you'll actually see those written in the charts. And they don't abbreviate it, but you'll also see "fan belt kitty"--sadly self-explanatory.