life with a chronic disease and a really big yarn stash
A Break in Routine: Oxygen, Snow and Bad Cats
So much snow! Last Friday night the rain started just as I was heading to bed, and in the morning there was already several inches of snow on the ground. It just poured snow for the next 24 hours, and even though there was a lot of melting (thankfully on the sidewalks and streets), it really piled up on the lawns and in the trees. When it was over I had over a foot of heavy compacted snow on the deck and lawn.
Sadly the snow hit just as many of the ornamental trees were in full bloom. This tree, which might have been a crab apple, really got socked in snow.
Trees all over town lost branches as the weight of the snow became too much for them. Ever an opportunist, I brought some of the blooms from broken branches into the house.
They smell great too!
The blooms were a happy addition to a basically unhappy house. Last Friday just as the storm was getting ready to break I got a call from the pulmonologist’s office; my test results were back and she was ordering supplemental oxygen for me to use overnight. It was kind of a shock as I’d convinced myself that my lungs weren’t that bad. Less than two hours later the machine had arrived and was set up for me to use.
Here’s the oxygen condenser that I need to use while I’m sleeping. It buzzes, vibrates, and makes other noises that scare Yellow Boy. Cat harmony is definitely not being maintained. I’m getting used to it pretty quickly; it is kind of like sleeping in an airplane. 🙂 Now that I am getting more oxygen during the night I’ve noticed that my morning chest pain is gone. That’s is a good thing! Sorry Yellow Boy, the machine stays.
You never saw such unhappy cats. Between the snow and the machine they were just miserable.
Here they are anxiously waiting at the back door to be let out first thing in the morning. MacKenzie is just awful about this. He starts meowing (yowling!!) and scratching at the wood at 6am. He doesn’t come upstairs to wake me up because, well, machine… Finally I crawl out of bed to let them out. Silly cats, there is snow!! I had to shovel them a path on the deck they were so heartbroken by the state of backyard affairs. Here they are three days after the storm and do they look appreciative? No. They are cats!! They don’t do appreciative…Cats do sulky outrage. MacKenzie especially has been a pill all week. He was all over stuff when I tried to work at the computer. He demanded endless treats. He followed me from room to room and participated in all crafting ventures. If I stopped paying attention to him the paw (with attached claws) came out.He took to lurking in the “launch tube” part of his cat tree at the back door. Every time I opened the door he streaked out before I could stop him. We had some scary moments when he got past me into the garage and the electric door was closing. Truly, he was a handful all week.Tonight it has been a week since the scary machine and the snow arrived, and things are almost back to normal in the cat world. Here he is purring on my lap and posing for a selfie. What a sweet boy. Ha!
This weekend is going to be nice and the last of the snow should melt. The cats are slowly adjusting to the new machine and this morning we slept in a little. All is once again right in the cat world.
I weave, knit and read in Aurora, Colorado where my garden lives. I have 2 sons, a knitting daughter-in-law, a grandson and two exceptionally spoiled kittens. In 2014 I was diagnosed with a serious rare autoimmune disease called systemic sclerosis along with Sjogren's Disease and fibromyalgia.
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15 thoughts on “A Break in Routine: Oxygen, Snow and Bad Cats”
They won’t believe you about the thunderstorms anyway. They’ll just think you’re lying to them, until it starts. Then they’ll think the world is ending.
Oh dear, what a week! I’m sorry you’ve had to go on the oxygen but glad that it’s helping you 🙂 The poor cats must have wondered whatever was happening to their world, lets hope the thunderstorms don’t upset them as much! I hope you have a happy weekend. x
I’m glad to hear the oxygen is helping! Your cats’ antics never cease to amuse. I especially love getting glimpses of MacKenzie’s personality. He’s such a beauty!
Yarn, Books & Roses 
Someone up there’s having a laugh
No doubt. 🙂
Glad to hear the oxygen is helping! The cats will get used to it eventually!! 🐈🐈🐈
MacKenzie is there, but it will take Yellow Boy much lknger. His name refers to more than the color of his coat…
They won’t believe you about the thunderstorms anyway. They’ll just think you’re lying to them, until it starts. Then they’ll think the world is ending.
Boy, isn’t that the truth!
Glad your morning chest pain is gone. Your Mackenzie looks much like our Squib, at least when he’s sleeping;-). Pretty cats.
He is a handsome cat. Long on personality, too. I hope Squib is better behaved!
Of course not, he wouldn’t have earned the name Squib if he was behaved or a cat;-)
MacKenzie sounds like one of my cats, always demanding attention and sitting on anything that I am working on. It’s very cute though!
He certainly is Mr. Personality! I got Yellow Boy to be a pet/companion for him, and I think he would like a dog, too. He really is a great cat. 🙂
Oh dear, what a week! I’m sorry you’ve had to go on the oxygen but glad that it’s helping you 🙂 The poor cats must have wondered whatever was happening to their world, lets hope the thunderstorms don’t upset them as much! I hope you have a happy weekend. x
Today it is warm and sunny outside, and the cats are out playing in the yard. Happy cats.
I’m glad to hear the oxygen is helping! Your cats’ antics never cease to amuse. I especially love getting glimpses of MacKenzie’s personality. He’s such a beauty!
Oh, and he knows it!