A year ago, I was losing the ability to walk, and had resigned myself to having — at the minimum — an incurable disease (MS), and was trying to come to terms with possibly having one that would have been terminal (ALS).

I was rapidly becoming unable to take care of my home, my cat, and of myself. I could not drive, I couldn't do simple household chores, I could barely prepare meals for myself. I was on a medication regime that was having only the slightest positive effect, while the side effects were making life fairly miserable. (Maybe you've seen that asthma medication ad where the guy says "I couldn't take the steroids any more." Preach it, brother.)

I was facing the probable loss of home, career... everything. Into this breach stepped Mom.

Though my diagnosis ultimately shifted to something rather less severe than originally expected, I was nonetheless in a steep decline. But where I was unable to take care of myself, she gamely managed it all.

She drove me to doctor appointments.

She did the cooking. I've never in my life eaten so healthily.

She did the household chores.

She fed the cat.

She kept up with the neighborhood friends with whom I was unable to go out to chat.

When I was cranky and crabby after tests and surgery (just try not being a grouch after a spinal tap or having a hole drilled in your head) (on second thought, just take my word for it) she was understanding and patient.

When I fell, she was there to help me up.

In every sense including the literal, Mom was a life saver. No 45-year-old adult wants to be "taken care of by Mommy," but without her I probably wouldn't be able to tell the tale, or any tale.

Words are inadequate to tell how thankful I am for her.

Love ya, Mom.

... another trip to the vet.

Today is Mycah's turn. She's a good deal harder to wrangle than are the lads, if for no other reason than she's on to me.

She can tell when I'm trying to get her set to go to the vet. She can tell when the Prisoner Transport Unit is intended for actual transportation.

The fact that the Nice Lady Doctor always treats her very well means nothing to her. She simply doesn't want to go.

Her appointment is for 2pm... I'd better start herding her now if I plan on getting her there on time.

"You want me to go where?!?!?

"Certainly you jest."

Don't miss the Friday Ark at The Modulator.

The Carnival of the Cats this week will be hosted by a pack of Bad Kitty Cats.

And as always, for your every day cat needs, a visit to the Cat Blogosphere is recommended.

The best thing about yesterday's NC primary elections?

No more Obamessiah or Hillary! ads.

At least, no more until October, I figure.

Kismet had his followup at the vet yesterday. As you may recall, he developed an upper respiratory infection, with what appeared to be a swollen lymph node under his armpit.

Though he's still a tiny bit wheezy, the antibiotics seem to be doing their job. Kismet struggles against being pilled, like every cat I've ever tried it with, but once the pill is in he swallows it right down, accompanied by a round of tummy rubbing and repeated "good boy."

The vet did not, however, like the armpit lump, which appears to have expanded. It looks like it's within the loose skin, and doesn't seem to be causing the lad any discomfort, but it's grown rather a lot in the past week.

We have another followup on Monday next. The vet will perform a biopsy to try to figure out just what we're dealing with here.

I knew that taking on two new cats would inevitably lead to veterinary issues. I just wasn't expecting them quite so soon.

He's such a sweet little cat; always poking his nose into everything, playing with Packet, curious about Mycah (who is still a bit stand-offish), chatting constantly, and very affectionate. I sure hope that whatever it is under his arm isn't too serious.

Iron Man
^{(Directed by Jon Favreau, starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard)}

Wait... terrorists and their enablers, and not the US military, are the bad guys? I can't imagine why anyone would like this.

(Hollywood lefties, are you taking notes?)

4½ stars

So, yesterday I did something I haven't been able to do in over a year: I went and sat in a theater to watch a movie.

It's been a long time since I've seen a movie that I wished hadn't ended so soon. I could have sat through two more hours.

If all of Downey's past problems had happened for the sole purpose of bringing him to the point of making this movie, then they were worth it. He's absolutely superb in the role.

Paltrow is gorgeous, in a smokin' hot librarian sort of way.

Be sure to sit all the way through the credits.

I'm glad I went, and though there are few things as pathetic as going to the movies alone, I'll continue doing so, as long as there's decent fare... which, given the tidal wave of sheer crap coming out of the movie studios these days, it might be another two years before I'm willing to sit in a theater again. I hope not, though — it's good to get out of the house.

In theory — not my theory, but that of the gun control crowd — firearms are best left in the hands of the professionals.

Oh, really?

I expected that last post to generate a bit more by way of discussion. Perhaps I should have held it for a weekday instead of posting it on Saturday.

If there's one thing I've learned recently, it's that if you want a lot of visits and comments, put up a picture of a cat. Fortunately, I now have three of the furballs to photograph, and they are photogenic... but not every day is Cat Day here.

Oddly, however, this week is Cat Week for me, as all three are making trips to the vet, on three separate days. Mycah has followup blood work to be done, Packet has his first checkup with our vet (the amazing Dr. Jennifer Hodge of the Cat Clinic of Cary — if you're in the area, I recommend them highly), and Kismet, who went in for his checkup last week, has a followup for his upper respiratory infection.

Kismet had weepy eyes and was a bit sneezy last week; when he emptied his snotlocker on my shirt one afternoon, I decided to get him checked out a bit earlier than originally scheduled. Along with the respiratory symptoms, what appeared to be a swollen (perhaps infected) lymph node was found in his armpit. As a result, he's been on a twice-daily regimen of a broad-spectrum antibiotic.

Further, blood was taken for lab work, and the results show that he's got antibodies for corona virus, but it doesn't look like an active infection, but rather a past exposure. I informed the folks at the adoption center, just in case.

In any event, he seems pretty well. He's less sneezy, but the lump in his armpit hasn't gone away. We'll be getting that checked out at the followup visit tomorrow.

All that said, here's your daily dose of cat: Mycah taking her turn on the Gizzy quilt.

While covering the news last night on FNC's Red Eye (you are DVRing it nightly, are you not?) Fox Business Network reporter Tracy Byrnes defended cheerleading as a "sport."

Utter nonsense.

Cheerleading, Ice Dancing, and Synchronized Swimming may all be competitive endeavours requiring athletic ability, but they aren't sports.

Here are two simple rules of thumb by which you can tell if the activity in which you are engaged is a sport, when victory is determined by your score:

• If a score is awarded based on judges' arbitrary opinion of the quality of your performance, it's not a sport.
• If the score is determined solely by the completion of a specific task, it is a sport.

Discuss.

Having recently won the Cat Friends Helping Friends raffle for a "Gizzy" quilt, I was eager to see how any or all of the cats would like it.

It arrived in the mail on Wednesday; Kismet wasted no time making himself comfortable.

I'll try to find a sunnier spot for it. The upstairs hallway at the top of the stairs may not be quite the best place. Can you say "trip hazard?"

Don't miss the Friday Ark at The Modulator.

The Carnival of the Cats this week is hosted by Grace and Kittens.

And for your every day cat needs, a visit to the Cat Blogosphere is always recommended.

I recently got tagged by my long-time friend Beth, but sadly the "tag" was buried under an avalanche of recent comments. Anyway, here goes:

The Rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to the original post if possible so we can track it as travels across the blogosphere.
4. Tag at least five more blogs with links.
5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Six words? Hmm....

Disabled, nerdy veteran, hermit. Blessed, nonetheless.

(I'll take a pass on the followup tagging, though.)