Oh, my stars and garters!

Leafy greens

You will be shocked to read this, but sometimes I do things besides fret about my sick pets.

Today, for instance, I did all sorts of things. I took a walk. I showered. I made artichoke dip. I went to work. I ate lunch. I blinked and breathed. And I started what I hope will be some successful leaf prints.

I have been wanting to do these for years but only just now got around to it. Like the old post I linked to says, I first heard about them in 2006 when Vickie sent me a link about Binh Danh, who uses film negatives and photosynthesis to make images on leaves. Eric, Dan, and I went to see him speak at UT not too long after that, and we got all excited and rounded up a bunch of transparencies and clamps and glass plates and...never did a goddamn thing with them.

Until today!

 

Here is an office plant with giant leaves in front of an east window.

Here is a transparency printout of a polar bear, the most contrasty thing I could think of.

And here we have one of the polar bear images affixed to a southern-facing leaf.

I did three, hoping to increase my chances of a clean image a little bit.

In theory, the black spots will block the light and cause those parts of the leaf to yellow while the transparent parts will stay green. I probably should have reversed the image, but I think this will still work ok.

And now I just have to wait for science and luck to do their things.

Little tragedy

Oh, no. Sweetloaf the cat has heart disease. We learned this because we took him to the emergency vet Saturday night after finding him sprawled on the floor, panting and yowling, his hind legs dragging and next to useless.

The vet said his heart is enlarged and threw a saddle thrombus, a blood clot that blocked the blood flow to the back half of his body; it was crazy luck that the clot broke up and his legs regained strength after they pumped him full of blood thinner and fluids. Usually cats don't survive that, at least not with the use of their back legs. But Sweetloaf is fine now after a weekend at the kitty hospital. Great, even, jumping up on tables and windowsills as though nothing happened.

We're told he won't live very long with an enlarged heart like that--it will almost certainly generate another clot within the next few months. We could do a bunch of stuff with scans and needles and medicines and blood draws, all guaranteed to annoy the shit out of him and drain our bank account without improving his chances very much. With our regular vet's guidance, it wasn't hard to decide to just put him on a tiny dose of aspirin and enjoy him while we can.

It was a horrible weekend. I'm heartbroken that our sweet, dumb, beautiful, healthy-looking boy is so sick and won't be around much longer. And I'm glad he is home, purring and eating kibble when he's not hiding under the bed. 

Engagement

So I went to the pool meeting. It was the first meeting where the public could submit their priorities and contribute suggestions for the design for an $8 million pool in a district park. Bond money was set aside in 2006 for a new pool, and the current pool--which was always packed--has been closed for two summers now because the soil shifted and the diving well is in danger of caving in.

There were five people at this meeting who weren't with the city parks department. FIVE. (Plus one cameraman from KEYE, who was probably really wishing he hadn't bothered.) I know not everyone swims, but this is a big public project and is going to be a major amenity for this part of town.

Five?

I am not particularly active myself, and I know there are lots of very good reasons people can't or won't attend something like this. I'm not complaining so much as surprised and a little dismayed. I also can't help but wonder how many people would have shown up to a similar meeting about Northwest Pool? Big Stacy?

So the next time I hear someone from East Austin say something about Why do we always get the (rehab centers, landfills, abattoirs); they would never put that stuff over in Westlake, or How come we never get the (potholes fixed, good bus routes, nice things); they wouldn't put up with that for a second in Northwest Hills...well, there are a lot of reasons, but I think no one showing up to say something about it might be one of them.

Updata

So as not to leave you hanging, the pup got better and everything was great until the courses of medication and super dog yogurt ended. Then the poop factory cranked up again, albeit a little halfheartedly and hopefully temporarily because this is getting really stupid. But other than that, some annoying and persistent nipping, and an uneasy relationship with the cats, we are delighted to watch her grow larger and smarter and sweeter every day.

Also, I went to the Woodcraft store late last week to get a sharpening stone for my woodcutting tools. I like Woodcraft. It is full of grouchy, self-respecting old men, elegant hand tools, and gleaming, expensive machines. Also it smells wonderful, like spicy wood and varnish, and if you want to learn how to make furniture or cunning little boxes or whatever, they have a bunch of classes there.

Now that I have sharper tools I am very slowly learning how to turn splintery wood into splintery images. Nothing to show for it yet, but progress has been made. Speaking of progress, now I am going to comb my hair and walk over to a meeting about the new public swimming pool they're building a few miles away. I plan to agitate for lots and lots of lap lanes.

Needs to be sharper

I have started trying to make woodcuts, but so far the operative word is "trying." I'm not cutting the wood so much as shredding it.

I want to be able to do this. I can see the possibilities in the woodgrain as I tear and gouge, but so far all I have for my efforts is a small stack of spoiled wood and a sore wrist. We'll see what happens when I get the right stone to sharpen my tools. They seemed pretty blunt to begin with, so I'm hoping that's the problem.

Another, more serious source of frustration right now is Willa the dog. Every night for over a week, starting around seven o'clock, she starts crapping once an hour until sunrise. Eric and I--mostly Eric, since he stays up later--have been sleeping on the couch to let her out when she whines. Usually we get her outside in time, but not always.

This awful schedule is taking a toll on us and the dog. Willa is exhausted and completely without a routine, so she sleeps all day, and when she is up, it's hard for her to focus. She gets agitated and nippy far too easily, and the bit of puppy training we've been doing seems to take longer and longer to sink in.

Your suggestions are welcome. We've had the vet out once already and have been talking to him every couple of days. She tested negative for worms and parasites, and we have tried Immodium and every diet modification/supplement we can think of. I do know she is very enamored with chewing on sticks and leaves, which we try to keep her away from, but it's fall; there are sticks and leaves everywhere right now, and anyway, the vet doesn't think a little extra fiber would cause quite this big of a problem.

He's bringing us special doggie yogurt and ultra-bland food tomorrow to try before we start the tiers of expensive tests and procedures. I hope it doesn't come to that, but nothing so far has made a lick of difference.

It's kind of breaking my heart, because she is such a great little pup. During the day she's fine. Like I said, she's a little grouchy but otherwise sweet and lively and funny as hell. I just want us all to enjoy her puppyhood, but in addition to fetching and snuggles, we're spending way too much time wielding a box of disinfectant wipes and grimly hustling the poor thing out to the fence line in the chilly dark. Maybe she'll grow out of it?