Back to work...

I'm back to work. After Washington DC, C2 spent a few days with us in Seattle.

C2 is sometimes an odd bird. He's a loud house guest. I think that he's lived alone in Afghanistan and Iraq  for so long that he doesn't think about how he carries himself when he's alone, but others are nearby. His footsteps are heavy. He closes doors loudly. He regularly moans, groans and makes load sighing sounds.

It was good to spend time with him though.

DC

I'm in Washington DC for a week. It's a wonderful city. So much to see. I will come back.

 

I'm reminded how new the places I've lived are. Here the history is real and thick. Many buildings are very old. The museums have much art from centuries gone by. Of course the National Archive has the original U.S. Constitution.

 

I've been to the Lincoln memorial three times. It's always crowded, late at night, early in the morning. Hundreds of people climb the steps.

 

Green paint was sprayed on Lincoln while I was here. News says the vandal was a mentally ill homeless woman.

 

Lincoln's great speeches are on the side of the memorial.  People walk right up to the statue of Lincoln and take many photos of him.  But people stay away from the speeches and take fewer photos.  We joked that this is because Americans are ignorant of lincoln's words.  I think the reality is that pictures of the words just aren't that photographic.  Especially when compared to the statue of Lincoln.

 

I wanted to meditate at the memorial.  I've read so much about its profound effects on people.  But the memorial is crowded and loud.  Not the place where one can sit and think.

 

At the national gallery of art there are many wonderful paintings.  I want to gush here.

 

C2 is here.  He is back from Afghanistan and now working in Washington.  He may be dating someone.  If it doesn't work out he said he will head off to Syria.

 

 

 

 

Outside...

RO and I have slept outside in a tent in our back yard for the past 4 days. Its very dark, cool and quiet outside. Perfect for sleeping.

summer weather

has been perfect. RO and I have started sleeping outside in a tent. RO suffers from insomnia. It goes away when he sleeps outside. Confidentially, I think it's because when he wakes up, he can't get up and watch TV or play with the computer. The bedroom has half a dozen blinking LED'S

 

The 4th

For the 4th C&J invited us to Everett for dinner and to watch the fireworks.

C&J's house is incredibly well decorated and very clean. I haven't had a chance to talk to RO about it, but I'm sure he'll bring it up. I don't know how they have the time.

home...

I went home for a family reunion. It was great to see everyone. Uncles, Aunts, cousins and their kids came from all over the place.

Some of the first generation is getting very old and falling into decline. I can't help but wonder if what they are going through is a sneak preview of what I will go through.

I have a cousin, a woman, who is proudly single. She has woman friends and she travels around. She also seems to be fairly liberal. I always wonder if she's a lesbian, but I never bother bringing it up. She works for a very conservative school. Her parents, are even more conservative than mine. It's easier if we don't know.

The brothers seem to be doing well. The middle brother is on his fourth marriage. This time, she's a good, normal person. The four of their kids result in a *very* blended family.

The younger brother is... I think he's doing well. Not sure. He hasn't yet discovered the difference between being right, and making things better. He says he listens to forty hours of podcasts a week. His wife says that as a result, facts are always popping out of him. I almost think his love of facts is away for him to declare his space, his value, in what is a very weird home life.

Weird home life... He and his wife are fine. But they live in "The Compound" A huge house with the wife's mother, the wife's mother's other children, their spouses, and those children. It's crazy. Right now one of the other couples are going through marital problems. It's stressful for everyone.

The weather has been perfect lately. A little too warm in the sun. A little too cool in the shade. With a wonderful breeze blowing from the forest, making the temperature perfect and the air so fresh.

 

It's annual review time at work. I heard through the grapevine that my review went well. I don't know what that means. if I get my hopes up, I'm sure they will be crushed.

 

My brother was in town for a few days. It was good to see him. We did the touristy Seattle things that I haven't gone to in years-- the Space Needle, the Aquarium, the Museum of Flight and a dinner cruise of the Sound.

We did this trip in lieu of a week long motorcycle trip. We originally planned to do a longer trip, but then he lost his job.

He has since found a new job.

C&M got married today. Not only does this state now recognize gay marriage, but their church just sanctioned it as well. So, they had a traditional wedding in the church. Good for them.

 

They've already been together for 25 years, so there were many Shotgun and "This wedding was so hasty jokes."

 

 

 

 

MS passed away last night.

 

MS built my house back in the 1950s. She raised her family here. When she was in her 70's, this house become too much for her to take care of, so she sold it and bought a small home half a block away. She often looked over this place to make sure it was well taken care of.

 

Her health had been declining for some time. We haven't seen her as often since she rarely left her home for the last year.

 

Rest in peace.

 

One of the reasons I write this blog is to record things I want to remember.  Maybe I should write more about work, to double check that I am learning, and making progress.

 

Last night RO and I went out dancing with a few other couples. We had a great time. The clubs were fun. I was surprised how packed the streets of Capital Hill were. With the warm weather, the city has come alive.

 

We closed the clubs. One of the men with us was pulled over for a sobriety test. Fortunately, he passed. Still, it ended the evening on a sour note.

 

I got to bed at about 4am and woke up at 8am. I feel draggy today. Now I remember why I don't do this more often. It's a fun lesson to relearn every now and then.

 

 

RO and I went east of the mountains for a few days. The weather was wonderful. Sunny and warm.

 

We drank some good and some bad wine. We met the guy who runs the oldest family run winery and who signed the AVA paperwork for the Columbia wine region.

 

The waiting is over. Our cat has passed away.

 

RO wanted to bring her to the vet one last time. Maybe put her on another course of antibiotics. Maybe a 3rd vet could find something new. After this visit he wanted to give the cat one more week to see if she'd improve.

 

This vet did find something new. Tumors around her liver. After that everything went so quickly. RO asked about putting her down at home. The vet said it was possible, but would take a few days to schedule the appointment.

 

RO suggested we should put her down there. The speed of this decision caught me by surprise.

 

We stayed with our cat as the vet first injected her with a narcotic to put her to sleep, and then another drug to stop her heart. Both of us cried. Even the vet sobbed a little.

 

We brought her home and buried her in our back yard.

 

We went to see Anne and Nancy Wilson, Heart, last night. They are joining the rock and roll hall of fame next week, so they had a show in their home town to celebrate.

They played many songs that they wrote in recent years, not the songs that made them famous. I wanted to be irritated at them for this, for not playing my favorite Heart songs, but damn there new songs are good and they are awesome singers and musicians. These are not musicians who are resting on their laurels and milking their past fame.

My father is farmer. When I told him about our sick cat, of course he had a very simple solution-- a shovel. He is strongly against spending hundreds of dollars on an animal that will die in a few years anyways. Let the end of her life come quick and painlessly. Don't drag it out.

 

The cat isn't getting better or worse. She just sits there. She tolerates the force feedings. Then she stares out to the road. Sometimes she responds when we pet here. But mostly she ignores us.

All day the cat just sits on the front porch. A week ago her head was always down and she slept most of the time. Today she keeps her head up. She will also walk away if you harass her enough. She wants to be left alone.

We took her to the vet twice. They are out of options, unless we want to pay the big bucks for a radiologist to investigate. That's a tough decision, but I can't justify spending a thousand bucks treating a cat.

Recently my parents talked to me about how they want to die. Dad has a strong do-not-resuscitate request. Mom asked us to fight a little for her, but still didn't want to be a vegetable.  We didn't cover that grey area where they slowly get more and more sick over time. What then? If you were awake but always very drowsy and if you had to be tube fed for a long time, would you want to live?

The can't still won't eat or drink. Maybe a nibble or lick here and there, but never a meal, and never enough. We've taken to tube feeding her regularly. We also feed her some meds-- antibiotic and some appetite stimulants.

But still, she just sits there. I can't tell if she's suffering. I can't tell if she will recover. This waiting sucks.

FW:

 Vet says the cat is anemic and probably has either kidney failure, cancer or a virus. We'll get the results of the blood test in a day or two. Till then, she's on an apatite increaser, antibiotics and I'm syringe feeding her a special cat food.

 

 

The cat is very sick. She hasn't ate or drank in days. She just lays and sleeps on the front porch. The vet couldn't find anything obvious wring with her.

Get well soon.

 

why can I play a simple mindless game for hours, but when I have to fill out a form, I keep putting the task off for weeks. Is a catchy tune and achievements all that we need to unleash the next wave of human productivity?  

For the first time in weeks, I am healthy. No cold. No sore muscles.

 

The cold was very contagious. Many people at work caught it.