In memoriam

We put Spaz down today. He was 12 years old and a dear friend. Here are some pictures to remember his life and the joy he brought to our family.

Andrea has a more complete photo memorial on her Facebook page.

Spaz as a kitten in 1997.

Spaz liked to be up high. Winter 2004.

He liked baskets, boxes, bags... anything his size to curl up in. Spring 2004.

Enjoying a fresh decorating job on the master bedroom. Spring 2006.

Chief inspector on all our building projects. Summer 2007.

One of the few with whom LE was willing to share her toys. Summer 2009, just before the accident.

After being struck by a car in early summer, 2009. While on pain medication, Spaz didn't mind sharing space with a baby.

He couldn't go outdoors after the accident, which was hard for him. He had to settle for a potted plant.

 

Pet care

So if you didn’t already know, our pet cat, Spaz, was hit by a car back in June. The right side of his pelvis was crushed. His recovery has been rocky and challenging for everyone. He had to be confined to a pet crate for the better part of two months, he cannot jump, and he will never go outside again. LE cannot play with him since the risk of re-injury is too great, and it’s hard to keep an inquisitive toddler away from a furry kitty.

 

Catching up

So I haven’t posted for a while; thought I’d just put something up so the blog doesn’t look abandoned or something.

So what’s happened in the last month or so? A bunch of projects, among other things.

 

Christmas in August

Yeah, baby!

Ever since we borrowed a miter saw to build our deck a couple years ago, I have been quietly pining away for one. Specifically a Makita LS1013 dual-bevel slider. It can cross-cut a 4×12, weighs only 46 pounds so one could conceive of it as “portable”, and is legendary for its accuracy and smooth action. It’s a really nice saw. It also costs at least $500, which is far more than I could imagine spending on a single tool.

Well, Makita decided to retire the LS1013 and replace it with a new model. I discovered this on a routine shopping trip to the Home Depot, where I saw they had been marked down to $299. They had an open box left, and the display model. I thought, “Gee, it’s almost affordable, but still more money than I have. And it’s big, so where would I put it?” I let it go.

 

I have a sickness…

Homemade teardrop trailers

Stayed up late last night to feed Ian and stumbled upon something that has captured my imagination: do-it-yourself teardrop camping trailers! They are just so cool, they’re better than Tumbleweeds!

So I am presently addicted to browsing forums, personal construction odysseys, and photo galleries of how ordinary folks built their own replicas of 1930s and 1940s miniature travel trailers. Oh, and you can camp with them, too!

 

Crises Come in Threes

Last week was rather eventful. There were three major crises, one after another.

Crisis #1: Baby Ian has been in and out of doctors’ offices while we try to diagnose his tummy issues. He has been in a lot of discomfort and pain. We think we’ve figured it out, though, that it’s severe acid reflux. So the doctors have prescribed a variety of medications to help keep things flowing smoothly and relatively painlessly.

Crisis #2: Just as we were beginning to resolve Ian’s medical problems, Wifey got the call for her outpatient surgery. So she went in on Friday. It went well and she’s doing fine now, but the timing wasn’t ideal. We had arranged respite care for Ian but our respite provider came down with the flu, so I had to pick him up before mommy’s recovery was over.

Crisis #3: As we were heading out the door Saturday morning for another of Ian’s doctor visits, our 12-year-old kitty, Spaz, practically knocked me over trying to get inside. It took me a minute to realize he wasn’t moving his hind legs. Apparently he had been hit by a car. I had to take him and LE to the emergency vet while Andrea took Ian to his appointment. Spaz had a fractured pelvis, a fairly typical injury for an auto accident. Surgery was recommended but would cost over $3000, and as much as we love our kitty we can’t justify that let alone afford it. He has a very good chance to recover on his own, so we got kitty pain meds and a pet crate. He will remain in the crate (with a few outings for lap time) for the next eight weeks while he heals up.

Things are a little more settled now. Ian is feeling much better, mommy is feeling much better (though still sleep-deprived), and Spaz is pooping (which is a great thing if you are a geriatric cat with a fractured pelvis).

 

Another Change in Plans

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, this might come as a bit of a shocker.

We aren’t going to build our homestead in Benson after all.

At least not for a while. A while being like ten years or more.

It was a really hard decision to make. We’ve invested a lot already and it’s hard to switch paths in the middle. And we were this close (visualize my thumb and index finger almost touching) to getting a building permit. But we know sticking around our home in Tucson is the right thing to do.

 

An Inconvenient Talk

I stumbled on this article today and…wow.

It’s long but well worth reading. It is thorough, well-written, and balanced.

To sum up: there’s good news and bad news.

The good news is that climate change is probably not as big a deal as we might believe.

The bad news is the reason why. We are using fossil fuels so fast and in such great quantities that it will become less and less economically viable to extract them starting, well, about now… with the likelihood that demand will outstrip supply around 2030. There aren’t enough fossil fuels left to destroy the planet with CO2 emissions.

If you think last year’s gas prices were bad, hang on. It’s all downhill from here.

 

Mobile Homes Finally Go Green

Okay I’ve always wanted to build my own house, but I have to admit this is cool.

 

First fruits

First harvest, 2009... sorta

Our first harvest… sort of. We have a gallon freezer bag full of beans and we’ve been picking green cayenne peppers here and there, but this is the first harvest of our “big” veggies: eggplant, squash, Hatch chilies, the first red-ripe cayenne, and a wee cherry tomato.

Yummy!