Weavils? Carpet beatles? BUGS!

I can't quite get back into the rhythm of things yet. Vacation was great but I need another one to recoup. I barely made it to Saturday and just rested and knit all day. Didn't really do much of anything but didn't nap which was unexpected. Sunday I went over to a friends and helped remove wall paper for a new nursery. We got one wall done. There are four walls. But I won't go into her problems this post is about mine. So here's the low down:



1. Got back Sunday night (a week ago) and went to work every day but was tired and a bit jet lagged (maybe - not ever sure what jet lag feels like versus just being tired from seeing sites). I'm still not sure what I did last week at work - a bit of a fog.



2. Somehow ended up with a week filled with three doctor visits which ate into my work week.

a. My dermatology appointment I was running late and then found out I couldn't see the doctor for the mole removal since my company just switched insurance and now I'm on an HMO which means I need to get a new referral even though one is on file. Frustrating and a waste of time. Not dealing with that one for awhile.



b. Vet visit for Winston - not his favorite thing. See previous posting. It's only gotten worse each time. Now I know to split them up and not try to bring both cats in at the same time. At least his bowels were in good shape although he's scheduled for some dental work this week.



c. Speaking of dental, I got squeezed in by my dentist to look at my recent filling that was starting to cause some serious pain. The word root canal was thrown about some but the visit readjusted my bite and I might be ok. Fingers crossed.



3. Another vet visit Saturday for Walter which warrants his own number in the list of misery. He's a great guy going to the vet and is the opposite of his brother. He snuggled in my arms the whole visit and was scared but good. Near the end I noticed as the vet was lifting him to put him on the scale something on his inner thigh. We investigate and he's chewed off all his fur and there's this massive rash. She thinks it's allergies which she was already diagnosing moments earlier from his throwing up and poop issues (which he's had his whole life, but the poops got worse while I was gone). In the end I left with steroids and the special hyper-allergen cat food for him to try out - he's a picky eater and feeling like a terrible parent for not noticing the whole week I was back. But we were snuggling mostly – not grooming. Next time I’ll know to do a quick inspection upon my return. But the fact that he’s been allergic to his food his whole time is also not great. The doctor said it can get worse as time goes along. Of course the food isn’t cheap. But he doesn’t eat much, just need to keep in away from his brother. Which brings me to the second to last point…



4. This morning I bring a bowl of the new dry cat food upstairs to the loft for Walter to eat and go to remove the old food that’s giving him allergies. I immediately notice a place where it looks like he threw up but has all these “things” around it. Upon closer investigation, they are skins of small worms. No worms though. But a lot – like 30 or so. I start to clean up and go to get his food and notice more and they’re moving. Mostly next to the food not in it. And there Walter was so happy I was visiting the loft and completely oblivious to the infestation. Just rolling around. Hopefully he hasn’t been eating them. I just did some googling but don’t know what I’m looking for and didn’t spend too much time studying them this morning. I'm putting my money on carpet beatles. Of course it’s 90s and humid this week so will love spending my evening cleaning. I think I’ll need to go through everything up there to make sure I get rid of them all. I remember seeing one of the skins months ago over by the bed, so think they aren’t associated with the food – just finally discovered it. Right now it looks like I’ll do a thorough cleaning including renting a steam cleaner and I’m inclined to replace the mattress up there. It’s up off the floor, but still.



5. And finally, on my drive out to my friends yesterday, everybody and their neighbor could hear me coming. My poor car is in need of a serious muffler change and the brakes were soft and the driving was wobbly. It is an old car – 13 years, and I’ve been thinking the time will come to say good-bye.



Man, when it rains it pours. All these things have serious cha ching implications and I don’t like heat. So here I am at work, trying to get ready for a big meeting tomorrow, seriously behind because of the jet lag last week, thinking about the bugs at home eating my house, while trying to figure out exactly how much money I have for cat dental work and an allergic cat (it seems like that should be an oxymoron) as well as a new-used car. At least work has AC so I’m not suffering yet from the weather and I like my current knitting project. It’s Rossan by Debbie Bliss, knit up in sunflower yellow yarn (forgot the name so will have to add it later). Of course I really should be casting on for the four babies due this year.




P.S. I was going to get some pictures to post but realized they would just be of bugs and Walter’s rash so have an excuse this time for a picture free post.