I Get Knocked Down, but I Get Up Again...

Campanula & Phlox
I love this color combo together!

Sunday and Monday were a bit intense, and it knocked me down a bit.  My very good friend emailed me Saturday night that she wasn't feeling well at all, and as she lives alone with several special needs' animals, she wanted me to check on her in the morning. I called right away to check on her and found she was very nauseated and vomiting and having chest pain but refused to go to the doctor.  She did end up driving herself to the emergency room later, and let me know at 3:30 AM that she was home and had had a heart attack.  I was too worried about her to sleep that night.  She's okay and will be seeing a cardiologist, but Sunday was rough.  No sleep, a headache, and feeling scared for my friend made for a long day.

Nasturtium flower

Monday started with bad news on the employment front.  Enrollments are down in colleges, so that means they'll be cancelling the some of my lower-enrolled classes.  That completely tanked my day--it was the worst-possible scenario.  I've adjusted to the news and the likelihood that the rest of the year is going to be increasingly tough, but we'll find a way to survive it.  I'm feeling a little better about life today.  Yesterday I was so sour, I skipped my workout, which ultimately just makes me feel even worse.  We worked out today, so now I'm rewarding myself with some delicious dark-chocolate mousse (avocado based). The creamy, decadent chocolate is a good way to end my day's food intake.

Pasha

Pasha

Pasha kitty should be here within the next 20 minutes or so for our hour of cuddle time.  She showed up last summer and stayed in our garage over fall and winter. She was already ear tipped. We keep heat lamps and heated beds in the garage so the animals have a nice shelter.  She lived in our garage and showed up each morning and evening asking for food but wouldn't have anything to do with me until 2-3 months ago.  We slowly worked up to a point where I could touch her while she ate.  I've gone out to sit with her for an hour every evening since she let me touch her, and now I can do anything to her. I can pick her up, pull burrs out of her fur, and she loves to lie on her back while I scratch her belly like a dog.  She's not yet comfortable coming into the house (the nine cats and dogs don't thrill her), and she is afraid of every other human.  It would be nice if she'd let me bring her in at least for the winter, but if she's happier outside and in the garage, I won't force making her an indoor cat.

The two young raccoons who come to eat nightly here often join Pasha and I during our cuddle time.  They've grown so used to me that they've started climbing on me and touching and sniffing me.  While I love that and would like to continue to make friends with them, I've been trying to go in when they come. I don't have the heart to be scary and mean, but I don't want them becoming any more comfortable with me than they already are.  Humans are not safe. It breaks my heart to have to put that wall up, but it's for their own good.  I know how weird people can get when raccoons or other wild animals approach them, and I don't want these precious babies hurt because of me!