Tuesday, March 17, 2009

stressed out

Some things happening -- or possibly happening -- right now in my life which could work out really well for me. But these things require a lot of decisions and changes -- many of them difficult and affecting (sometimes not positively) other people. I'm not good at this kind of shit and I'm totally stressed out right now.

When it shakes out -- whatever the result -- I'll most likely blog about it.

Monday, March 16, 2009

eekie returns!!!

Sorry for disappearing on y'all, but a few days after last posting I got the flu. I have felt worse before, but this damned thing knocked me out for most of a week. I was hardly out of bed for three days and then I was just so very tired for several days after that I still slept for 12 or more hours each day and didn't do much when I was awake. And I've been trying to catch up with all the crap I let slide when I was sick. More on some of those things later in this post...but first the Zeke and Oscar news. Actually Denise already knows this because she emailed me asking about them -- if much of this post looks familiar Denise, it's because I lifted it from the email I wrote to you. Yeah I'm lazy, but I figure it's about the only way I'll get a blog written right now. And I have soooo much catching up with everyone else's blogs too.

I do have news on both now -- Zeke apparently does not have cancer! Yay!! They aren't quite sure what it is, but it could be a just bit of scar tissue. We are going to check him every two to three months for a while though, just to make absolutely sure the bump isn't growing. And Zeke loves going to the vet -- he isn't real fond of the exam he'll be getting, but as soon as it's over he forgets it and loves all the attention he gets. You gotta love the innocence of dogs -- they seem so much more forgiving than cats. It's often a battle to get the cats in the carrier to take them to the vet (although most of my current ones aren't bad about that), but Zeke is overjoyed when I get his lead and take him out to the car. The only place I take him it the car is to the vet, and yet he still thinks it's the greatest thing ever! And Heelers are supposed to be among the smartest of dog breeds too. Damn, I'd hate to see the really dumb dog breeds.

Now Oscar...he does have hyperthyroidism. My vet called and said "Oscar is the most normal-acting super high hyperthyroid cat I have ever seen." I had to laugh at that. Max, who also had hyperthyroidism, was spaz cat, but Oscar is just active. And he's always been active, so that's not a big change for him. Then again, he is about 13, so he is probably a bit more active than usual. The vet also said Oscar might be a good candidate for radioactive iodine treatment. Although the upfront costs are high with this, it actually cures it and if the cat lives more than a few more years is less expensive than pills and tests etc. Since Oscar's generally in good health I do expect him to live for several more years. He's now on medication -- pills, which he's taking wonderfully (cats are usually hell to medicate). His being ravenous much of the time does have it's benefits -- I tuck the pill (only a quarter of a small tablet twice a day right now) into a little bit of canned cat food and he scarfs it right down. Then I give him the rest of his portion.

So the animals are ok which is quite a relief. An expensive relief, but less expensive than they could have been.

Now for some of the things I've been trying to catch up with. The printing...I'm not as comfortable with it as I'd hoped to be yet because being sick just pushed everything back. Still, I'm glad I bought it and will be getting back to figuring out how to do everything in the next few weeks.

Steve sent a big batch of new paintings -- 13 of them this time. I had him send them in two tubes because I suddenly had this bit of panic that it would be just our luck that they would get lost if they were all in one tube. They made it here in perfect shape though, so that was a relief. These pieces are for an exhibition of SK's stuff in Pittsburgh next month. There will be 19 or 20 pieces total, and he may also be sending music and spoken word pieces to go with the artwork.

I was delighted with how cohesive Steve's exhibition last year was -- I thought he did a great job -- but this one should prove to be more of a "real" exhibit and that is very exciting. Also very exciting for me is that once I frame and deliver the paintings, most of my work is done! Of course, I will publicise it as much as possible and help as much as I can to make it a success, but organising the actual exhibit and opening reception, etc., won't be my problem. There are people who are great at that kind of thing, but I'm not really one of them. Anyway, so far it seems to be working out really well. And being in Pittsburgh, it's close enough that I can go see it when it's all up. It should also get his work seen by people interested in art, but not necessarily familiar with him or his music or art, so it could gain him some new fans/customers. I'm going to have info on the exhibit up on the SK art site soon, so I'll let you know when to look.

My sister's coming into town later today, so I have to try to get this house in a bit better order. I'm a LOT more casual about housekeeping than she is, so when she gets here she tends to clean, which drives me bonkers. Seriously, once I vacuumed the carpet just before she arrived and within a couple of hours she had the vacuum out and was going to town. Wow, that really made me feel good. I think that's what family is for -- to drive you out of your fucking mind. Or maybe that's just my family.

Anyway, I might have some interesting news after she goes home. Piqued your interest, didn't I? :-)

And another bit of news that I can only hint at right now -- Steve told me something about the new Church album that should be interesting. Maybe it won't be interesting to anyone but me though...although it should be! :p

It does look as if they are planning on touring here, so I'm excited about that. Hoping to see at least a few shows. Ideally I would like to see several shows, but we will have to see how the year progresses. I still think they should schedule at least a half dozen shows in Ohio. :-)


It's a good thing I have spellcheck -- I fucked up a LOT of words today. Guess I need some sleep.