Paracentesis, Snow and Pictures

Let’s just say yesterday was NOT one of my better mornings. They’d been calling for snow, but I refused to take it seriously. The weather forecasters in these parts are like soothsayers predicting fortunes from chicken entrails. Yeah, they get it right once in a while, but then again, if you guess often enough eventually you’ll win a round of roulette too. I think that in my next incarnation I want to be a weather forecaster. Who else gets paid big bucks to wear nice clothes on television and be wrong all the time?

OK, OK … Rush Limbaugh doesn’t count.

Anyhow, it turns out that the forecasters actually got it right.

The drive to the hospital took me nearly two and a half hours – double what it usually takes me. While I didn’t see any accidents along the way, the radio was full of alarming reports about accidents mere streets away from where I was driving. I barely made it to the hospital on time for my appointment, and they were rather surprised to see me when I got there. Evidentally I was the only paracentesis patient who made it in that day. The nurses were laughing among themselves that two of the other patients, who were “big, brawny men” and lived only ten minutes away from the hospital, had cancelled. I suspect they may be teased a bit when they do make it in for their appointments.

This time twelve days had elapsed from my last paracentesis, and they got seven liters even out of me. My rate of retention is going up quickly, and my kidneys are becoming refractive to the diuretics, which means they are so used to being dosed with those medicines that they no longer really respond to them. My doctor did say he could try me on a third diuretic to try to get my kidneys to respond again, but then he started in on the potential of kidney damage and I told him I’d rather wait until we had no other options. I don’t feel like ending up waiting for some donor kidneys as well! It’s hard enough making up liver transplant songs.

The trip home was much better, with the major roads finally clear and far fewer idiots to deal with. When I got home I found The Socialist digging our cars out of the snow banks the plows so thoughtfully left behind in our parking lot. He actually seemed to be having a good time shoveling snow, though I didn’t press to get him to admit it. His classes were cancelled, and I suspect he was happy to be doodling around the apartment, getting some work done and playing with the cats. Yes, Cattitude did get to go out in the snow, but she spied two young girls building a snowman across the lot from us and decided she wanted back in NOW! I tried to take both The Kitten and The O’Beast out, since both were begging for their chance as well. When the big moment came though, Kitten refused to budge through the door, and the O’Beast cowered as if he had never been in such a threatening situation his entire life. Cats … there’s no satisfying them.

We got nearly eight inches of the white stuff Friday. I hear they’re calling for perhaps another four inches tomorrow. I think the fun is nearly gone out of snow for this season.

Here’s the little snowman the neighbor’s girls built in the parking lot. It lasted a couple of hours, until the next plow made its pass and obliterated it.

And here’s the pile of snow The Socialist generated when he dug our cars out. I’m not going to see my poor garden until next July!

And here’s poor O’Beast, before he got his chance to explore the great white parking lot. He still thinks he wants to go out at this point, and is looking for some way to pry the door open. There’s no satisfying some creatures; the moment he got out he dropped and would not move. I had to pick him up and bring him back inside.

Later on, both the O’Beast and The Kitten went upstairs to the window sill lounger. Kitten watched the crazy people in the parking lot fooling around in the white stuff, while O’Beast took advantage of the opportunity to bask in the sun.

A close-up of Kitten at the window. She’s really turned into a gorgeous cat, although that space between her ears is still all kitten. She drives the O’Beast insane some times, but he’s never been so playful as he has since Kitten was introduced to the household. I guess kids have a way of making you young all over again.

Finally, a few leftover shots from Christmas that I never got around to updating to my diary:

The den at my younger sister’s, with a real fire, and real snow falling out the window on Christmas day. Definitely a Hallmark moment.

And the Living Room. I’m not sure anyone actually uses this, with it’s white furniture and white carpeting. It does decorate nicely though.

And finally, that Troll house with its two trolls that gave me such conniptions to locate. I think she was more thrilled with that than with the diamond necklace I got her!

I’ve more to write; with luck there will be an update tonight yet. But now I’d best get on with my day.