I bet y'all didn't know that my father has a vlog. He invited me onto his show ostensibly to talk about my book release, though we, in many ways, ended up chatting more about Sherry Turkle's Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in the Digital Age and other ways that the Internet has changed conversation and thinking. 

I would normally embed the video here, but that option has been restricted. Regardless, if you're curious what my dad looks like and/or want to otherwise check out  our rambling conversation (and the thumbnail that makes me look like a wanted criminal) you can follow the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjSix3rLWF0

Otherwise, it is reading Wednesday and I have very little to report, although I did just finish a manga called Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand by Komori Yoko, which I enjoyed tremendously. It's the kind of story that I'd call fantasy-adjacent, as there are a lot of fantastical elements, though most of them end up being metaphorical or allegorical. I described it on my manga blog as a sophisticated slow burn slice-of-life about the kind of grief that nearly all young kids experience--that moment when you realize that your parents are human beings, riddled with faults of their own. The story begins as the middle school-aged heroine is relocating to a small seaside town because her parents are divorcing (due to her mother's infidelity) and ends in a place of acceptance, at least the acceptance for now. It's a very grown-up book, honestly.  Surprisingly PROFOUND. (Which is why the review, if you go off to read it, starts with a rant about frustrated I am that the gross pedophiles of the world have ruined anime and manga for so many mundanes.) People should read this book!

Anyway.

I am up at the a$$-crack of dawn because I just took our family friend, John, to the airport, so that he could catch a flight for home. He was staying with us for a few days on his annual Midwestern tour to see his mother (in Iowa.) He's always a very easy houseguest, basically family, so it was lovely to have him while he was here. 

I'm pretty sure my dad has a secret identity--as Leonard Nemoy. The older Leonard Nemoy gets the more he looks like my father. Seperated at birth? Maybe, but I can tell you this for a fact: I've never seen my dad and Leonard Nemoy in the same room at the same time.

At any rate, since Mason was still away at Audubon overnight camp last night, Shawn and I hit a matinee showing of Star Trek: Into Darkness.

As I said on Facebook, my first impression was: WHEEEEEEEEE! and then, afterwards, Shawn and I sat down with the io9 spoiler FAQ , which we'd bookmarked just for this moment, and laughed our asses off. Because, as I told my friend empty_mirrors, ST:ID the kind of movie that really only works with your brain turned fully off, and you just sit back and enjoy the show.

Because it is quite the show. And there's nothing wrong with that.

It had been so long since Shawn was in a movie theatre, she couldn't get over the concession prices. She asked me during the previews, "Are you sure this is the right size popcorn?? For TEN DOLLARS??" Since, at matinee prices, that meant we paid more for popcorn than we did to see the movie.

It was interesting to see the movie with other people. Some people clearly didn't know the big spoiler of who Benedict Cumberbatch is playing that's been around the Internet for ages, and there were audible gasps when he revealed it. I found several laugh-out-loud moments no one else in the theatre seemed to find funny, but then I'm easily amused. (I will admit to laughing at a serious moment, and I apologize to my fellow theatre goers, but COME ON!)

A couple of other things I can talk about outside of the spoiler cut, is that I left the theatre asking Shawn what happened to the warp drive in this alternate universe. (BTW, I kind of love that ST movies have become their own fanfic, as the reboots can clearly be labeled: AU.) It used to be in OT (Old Trek, for the fandom newbies,) there were degrees of warp. "Drop us down to warp 2, Mr. Sulu." Now the warp engines are either on or off. Frankly, that makes slightly more sense than imagining a space ship hurtling through... well, time at that point, really, at NINE TIMES the speed of light. But, it's one of those things I missed, though I will say that the special effects of warp is COOL.


So, okay, building on what io9 says about the cheap shots of using old Star Trek tropes, I will say one thing that is starting to not work for me is seeing the Enterprise (nearly) destroyed. The first time it happened, I balled like a baby. Because this was OUR Enterprise that we'd been with through nearly a hundred episodes and several movies. But, AU Enterprise is nothing to me. I don't know these people yet, not really. They have the names of beloved characters, but entirely different back-stories. The same is true for this Enterprise. But seeing NCC-1701 in flames still hits me where it hurts, because LOYALTY, you know?

As io9 also points out Kirk seems to have to go though the same character arc. What would have been a good moment to prove that AU-Kirk is becoming OT-Kirk might have been after, during the year time skip, if there had been a montage of funeral after funeral after funeral until we get to Pike's. Just a close-up on Kirk's concerned face, as he hands out YET ANOTHER folded up UN flag. Because OT-Kirk was always telling his enemies, "There's 423 [or however many] souls aboard that ship" and he always knew the EXACT number, and you got the feeling that, even though it became its own trope, he gave a shit every time a red shirt bit it. And to see the captain of the ship going to petty officer Jo/Jane-schmoo's funeral is a powerful thing. I SAYS something about the character of the man. Something we instinctively ASSUME about AU-Kirk, but never get to really see.

Now, to defend ST:IN for a moment. The biggest caveat should be a reminder that all my comments/criticisms are post-high let down. I really enjoyed the hell out of this movie. io9 went on at great length about 'teh stupid' of the opening sequence. I LOVED THAT PART BEST. Why? Because it's such a beautiful homage to OT. All teh stupid was AT LEAST as ridiculous as some of the crap OT-Kirk pulled for THREE SEASONS and I loved those old shows to pieces. The irony of Spock worrying about the Prime Directive when he apparently (I'm thinking, drunkenly,) signed on to the plan that involved Kirk and McCoy stealing a sacred relic is CLASSIC FUCKING TREK. So, bite me, io9. That was the best damn part of the movie, IMHO. It does not bear nit-picking, but a person could make a career out of tearing apart all the stupid, non-science, poor planning of every single episode of OT.

Shawn was saying in the car ride into work this morning that the first scene was like the entire crew of the AU-Enterprise was like a floating frat house from the Academy. Their 'plan' seemed totally hatched after too many beers and bongs, you know? "Dude, I know, I know--let's get everyone away from the earth-killing volacano by running. Cuz, you know, no one will stay behind, and we can totally get far enough if we really haul ass. And I see NO FLAWS in this, do you?"

Makes more sense if you imagine that's how it went.

Shawn also thinks I'll start Cumberbatch-Fail if I say this, but, while I ADORE him in Sherlock, I thought Cumberbatch over-emoted every single line he had as Khan. What was up with his lips? Why so many close-ups on them? Not attractive. He actually often works for me as Sherlock, but maybe that's because with better writing and directing, Cumberbatch gives Sherlock some lovable vulnerablity. And, invulnerable Khan was a bad fit, IMHO.

Okay, YET no one has made much of the other fact that among the twist-ups of this AU is the fact that Star Fleet is now canonly evil. Khan is attempting, thoughout the whole thing, to STOP STAR FLEET FROM PROVOKING WAR WITH THE KLINGONS. Maybe we're suppose to think that turns out to be a front for him trying to rescue his crew, but he does seem to be acting the role of a peace-maker. He saves Kirk when he doesn't need to (during the blast through space.) He could have taken the Dreadnaught (btw, fan sqee! I remember the Dreadnaught in my Technical Manual,) on his own. Presumably, he was thinking "hostage," but he still would have had Scotty and Carol what's-her-name.)

Also, the time-skip kind of glossed over the fall-out from the fact that Kirk was complicit in treason against the commander of Star Fleet, but that's par for the course.

One last ramble-y thought: when I first heard the spoiler that Cumberbatch was playing Khan, I thought that maybe we'd finally see the Eugenics War. The Eugenics War is one of several OT throw-away 'historical' moments that has been fodder for my plot bunnies since I was in high school. Like, before we got the animated show, what the mysterious references to The Clone War were in the original triology of Star Wars. I was kind of disappointed that JJ Abrams missed the opportunity to start that war. What's fun about AUs is that you can mess with time lines and play 'what-ifs.' What if the Eugenics War starts later? What if Kirk and crew are a live to fight in it?

But, as usual, they didn't ask me. I could have helped. Clearly.

Okay, lots to report. First of all, for those of you following along on the "all that crap" keyword, (aka, my father's lingering struggle with a number of health issues), there is FINALLY good news to report. He is at the recovery wing of the nursing home again, having been given a clean bill of health from the doctors at the hospital. Though they're still not entirely sure what what caused his mini-strokes (TIA), they think it has to do with heart arthythmia that he developed after the hip replacement surgery. Also, I need to post a correction: apparently, he (thankfully!) only suffered TWO mini-strokes, the first one that had everyone worried because it lasted several hours, and a second that lasted no more than a minute or so. At any rate, the good news is the docs sent him on for recovery and now he only has to focus on re-learning how to walk after six months of near-inactivity (though they always worked to keep his leg strength up during his previous nursing home stays.)

Secondly, I attended a "breaking" workshop at KSW. I failed to break my board. I was one of only two adults unable to do it. I suspect, considering the bruises that have developed and where they are on my hand, my technique was off. (Also, huge mental block: I kept thinking -- I have no health insurance; if I do this wrong and break a knuckle, no only have I messed up my writing career, I have bankrupted my family.) This experience has made me convinced that I was a T-Rex in a past life: I'm viscious, but have _zero_ upper body strength. ;-)

I should also say, I had no problem breaking the practice boards. Just confronted with a solid piece of wood freaked me out.

Everyone was so very sweet and concerned for my ego at the workshop. Though my hand is bruised, my ego is not, my friends. Master Barry Harmon (Kwan Jang Nim) made a point of pulling me aside and telling me that a) I had a lot to work on, and b) that he was proud that I never gave up. I said something self-depricating at the time, but I wish I'd told him what I said to Nicki (Jo Kyo Nim) when she asked me to consider why I do Kuk Sool Wan, and that is, "I do this because it's fun, Master, and giving up *isn't* fun."

The other news is that my psuedonym continues to be successful as all get out. Tate can report that you can now not only pre-order the mass-market paperback edition of Tall, Dark & Dead via Amazon.com, but also the third, and final novel in the vampire princess of St. Paul series, Almost Everything.

So, I guess that's all I got for now. I have to run off to volunteer because it's Thursday!

You know the Jewish tradition where, when someone is gravely ill, you give them a new name, so that the Angel of Death will walk by when he comes looking for them? Well, my dad has always gone by a nickname, "Mort." I'm really starting to believe that the angel of death keeps showing up asking for "Richard Morehouse" and, only finding this "Mort" guy, leaves.

I got a call yesterday morning that my dad had a stroke.

Yes, this after successfully surviving sepsis, c-def, and months in the recovery wing of the nursing home while waiting for a hip replacement. My mom had been worried, starting Saturday, because my dad was having a really difficult time recovering from the surgery. It went into overtime by several hours, and, while my dad is clearly a really tough bird, it really seemed to have knocked him back. She said he was confused at one point and thought he was still getting ready to go into surgery. This freaked me out, but all the other signs seemed okay, so I tried to put it out of my mind.

Then, on Sunday, after I took Shawn to the airport (she's off on a work trip to a conference in Washington, D.C.), I got home to the message. I'd left my cell charging because it had run out of battery unexpectedly the night before. (For some reason it's stopped giving me the warning beeps when it's low.) Anyway, there were three fairly frantic messages from my mom. I finally was able to call her back and find out what was going on.

He'd had a stroke. The doctors said they think it was a kind of stroke called a transient ischemic attack. They'd know more in 48 hours. (Now having read the wikipedia article, I know why. Apparently the effects are reversable if they last as long as 24 hours, but fewer than 72.)

I'm still not entirely clear WHY this happened to my dad. The surgery he underwent was pretty routine, even if it did go into overtime. He's been through a LOT in the last six months, but he was in fairly good shape when they checked him in before the procedure. Though, he has had problems with blood clots in the past, it's not clear that's what caused this. The multitude of theories my mom has heard from various doctors include the absorption rate of the anesthesia during the long procedure to something messed up in his brain stem... none of which are very clear to me or make a whole lot of sense.

The important thing is that he's regained his speech as of this morning, and strength has returned to his right side. Right now, as long as things continue to be stable, the doctors are predicting a full recovery.

I tell you though, this has been a serious emotional ride for me (as I'm sure it has been ten times that for my mom and my dad's sister, Mary Ann, who has been a trouper by showing up every day during this entire saga.) Last night, I had the craziest nightmare that I know is related. I had one of those dreams where someone is trying to get into the house. I'm trying to avoid being see by this shadowy figure -- ducking down before reaching up to lock windows, avoiding answering the door. I'm in the upstairs bathroom with Shawn and I'm telling her, "for god's sake, don't tell anyone it's okay to come in," when I realize it's too late. The shadowy figure is at the landing of the stairs. I'm completely impotent against it. I try to throw a recipie book I'm holding at it, but it bounces of (or passes through, at any rate, it's useless). I'm trying to tell it that I can see it and it should go away, but my mouth won't work, I've got something stuck in my throat. I can't breathe. That moment freaks me out so much that I wake up. My heart is pounding.

I actually go up to make sure no one was on the landing, of course. And I took my asthma medicine in case I really WAS having trouble breathing, but as I laid in bed thinking about that dream. I knew it was the angel of death. I was trying, subconsciously, to keep the "wolves" from the door.

Maybe it worked. Fingers crossed.

I need to stay focused on writing the WiP, but I wanted to take a few moments to update the blog a bit.

Tonight I head down to LaCrosse again. My father has been FINALLY been dubbed infection free, so, with any luck, they will be scheduling his hip replacement surgery. Regardless, I will be down on Wedendsday to help my mom get furniture moved around in anticipation of the long awaited home coming. Hooray!

While I'm NOT looking forward to the shuttle bus ride down (see previous blog regarding this experience,) I can't wait for the train ride home. I really love taking the train, and last time, thanks to the fact that there's no WiFi on the train, I got a LOT of writing done. Watch: this time I'll fall asleep or something and not get a single word down.

I'm currently hanging out at a new downtown coffee shop called Claddaugh. It's LOVELY. If you are on 7th Avenue (near the Day By Day Cafe,) you should totally check it out. They make an awesome meil, which they call a Black and Tan -- which, if you know me, you understand that I have some trouble ordering by name because of their history in Ireland. I also have to resist singing "Come out ye, Black and Tans" under my breath. But, the coffee is AWESOME as is the decor. You should see this place! Exposed brick, chadeliers, hard wood floors! And, you know, I'll take Irish in whatever form it comes.

I need to pack up soon, alas, because I told Shawn I'd give her a ride to a meeting. Of course, it's absolutely gorgeous out now, but it was raining when I agreed to this. :-)

In other news, I continue to enjoy my WiP, which probably spells its utter doom. Thanks to advice given by my mom one of the last times I was down in LaCrosse, I'm writing like I'm 15 again. That is to say, I'm just letting whatever cool idea occurs to me find a place in the book. Why not, eh?

I'm also recoverding VERY SLOWLY from a nasty cold -- mostly chest congestion, which has been particularly brutal because of my asthma. Normally, I don't suffer unless I excercise, but the congestion has caused me to rely on my inhaler much more than I normally would. I did kuk sool wan last night, and, weirdly, I think that actually cleared me up for a bit. However, this morning I woke up nearly choking on all the phlegm. Gross! I can't wait for this to pass.

Hope you all are well. If I get a chance, I'll write from LaCrosse.

This weekend was Mason's birthday. He turned eight, which I can hardly believe. For some reason, this birthday, Shawn and I were very much reminded of all the things that happened on his very FIRST birthday... which made him seem that much older.

We'd planned a party for the kids through a place in Edina called Adventure Peak. For the people who'd never been, I described it as "a McDonald's Playland without the McDonald's and a LOT bigger." There's also, though, an attached "Great Hall," which is a big gym with places to play basketball, scoot scooters around, and jump in a castle bouncey-house. Mason invited a bunch of kids this time from all his various activities, including some kids from the Montessouri side of his school who are in his advanced readers' group. Also, some of our friends from kuk sool wan. We tried to encourage Mason to pick a number of people from each "non-classmate" group so that no one would show up not knowing anyone besides Mason, and that actually turned out well. The one kid that ended up coming from KSW made friends pretty easily because he'd brought along his DS and there are a number of game-enthusists among Mason's buddies.

I think it was a success for the kids, certainly. Even though we had the party at noon, we didn't end up serving lunch. I let the parents know that they should bring their kids pre-fed, but we did serve lots of cake, fruit and juice. We also brought along a bunch of water bottles that got consumed very readily. In fact, if we do this again, we've determined to bring MORE water, and possibly colored rubber bands or a Sharpie so that kids can mark their water bottles as to whose was whose.

But we were very laisez fair about the whole thing once we were set up. We let kids run off and play right away, gathered them briefly for treats, and then sent them off again with the understanding that they could come back for cake or fruit or juice or water at any time. Shawn staffed the tables to make sure food and drink stayed at the table. We also decided not to do one of those (IMHO) awkward present-opening moments, if only because it seemed a shame to make kids sit still to watch Mason, when slides and bouncey-houses awaited.

Plus, those things can be awkward because some presents delight more than others, and then you have to spend time making sure no feelings get hurt and Mason behaves with decorum.... (which he SHOULD, but it much easier to do in private rather than public, you know?)

Anyway, it was very fun. I think we may even do it again next year.

We came home an Skyped grandma and grandpa Morehouse (which we got to work. I used Shawn's iTouch and Gramma and Gramps called the test center and did a bit of adjusting too.) It was a bit hard to focus the tiny screen on Mason as he moved around, but I think that went pretty well too. Mason still has very little patience for phone conversations, especially when presents were opened and there were LEGOs and whatnot to put together, but I think he did pretty well given all the distractions.

Today... today I'm coming down from all that. I'm feeling a bit old, prickly, and tenacously grumpy. I guess it's Monday for me. I'm looking forward to getting back to KSW tonight. We missed all last week due to the extreme heat, so my muscles are tight and creaky. In fact, last night I had a very strange dream involving KSW that was a play on a reoccuring dream I have about being an understudy who gets called to perfrom, only somehow I never learned the play, etc., etc. In this one, I turned up at KSW to discover I was supposed to be part of a complicated demo...

...also I had another Neil Gaiman dream. Only this time, it involved his house. Except, of course, it wasn't his real house, but the one I imagine in my dreams. I dreamed that Shawn and I were driving by his house, which was situated on a hill, and discovered that the city was cutting down all the trees that had blocked it from view. We were scandalized to discover that it was completely falling apart!

Mr. Gaiman is often a stand-in for "fame" in my dreams, so if I were to play Dr. Freud with myself, I would say that some part of me is afraid that, if the things that shield me in my public life were stripped away, everyone would discover a broken shell underneath.

Not surprisingly, I'm feeling a bit paranoid about my career today. ;-)

I just noticed that I have failed to update my blog since my dad went into surgery last Wednesday. The trip home on the train that night was absolutely lovely. The train was on time, and, thanks to the flooding in the Dakotas, St. Paul is its terminal stop. I walked home from the Amtrack station, which is six (LONG) blocks from my house. It's a bit of a hike, but it was a lovely night and I had traveled lightly (one backpack). It's always so strange to walk alone at night and I enjoyed the hushed, almost voyeristic sensation of dark streets and bright indoor lights.

My dad seems to be doing well. Today will be his first day out of the hospital, and he's returning to the Bethany Riverside nursing home to continue his recovery. He had hoped to finally be going home, but they need to continue an IV drip of antibiotics to fight off this tenacious infection. If they get this thing beat (and the doctor, the last I heard at any rate, seemed confident they would,) they'll be able to schedule his real-and-for-true hip replacement. That should be some time in September if everything stays positive. If not, my understanding is that they will just have to pospone things until the infection *is* finally cleared up.

My life, meanwhile, continues apace. On the train ride home last Wednesday, I had a kind of breakthrough moment with the newest novel and I like it a lot better. When I like a novel, it writes faster, so that's a very good thing. In fact, just today, while Shawn hung out with a fellow laid-off state employee, I managed to write nearly a thousand words in about an hour. That's my usual pace for a deadline novel.

I also FINALLY had the ceremony in which I received my yellow belt. (I'd tested earlier, but they've moved the ceremony to a later time now.) Turns out, the ceremony is now: "promotion and demo." I didn't know about that last part, so I was taken aback when asked to perform the white belt form in front of an audience. I think I did pretty well, and I was glad I wasn't all alone (an instructor and the blue belt candidate did it with me). Still, the whole time I was thinking, "ah, crap. I didn't take my inhaler because I thought I'd just be standing around" and it was like 103 and humid in the building.) But I didn't need it, even though later I also had to do a cartwheel AND a roll. I was pleased that I was able to do a "flying roll" (really, just a roll from a dead run onto a mat,) because, in all honesty, I like those better than having to start from kneeling or a crouch.

Mason, alas, was in charge of the camera, so, while he took a LOT of pictures, the quality on many of them is dubious. It's a really big shame that Shawn wasn't there with her telephoto lens skillz, because I would have LOVED to have seen myself "in action," as it were. Given how round I am in the one pretty good picture he got, I suspect I look a LOT like Kung Fu Panda.

... and realizes there's a government shutdown.

Shawn was terribly sick last week, so that, even though the MN State government was shutdown last week, she didn't really notice. She mostly just slept, coughed and blew her nose a lot. It was more like being out sick than being laid-off.

This morning, she's finally feeling better... and she remembered.

After the storm woke us up, she was awake much of the night worrying about everything. Shawn is a natural worrier, but, well, this situation is particularly worrisome.

Meanwhile, I'm getting ready for a trip down to LaCrosse. I'm going to hang out with my mom on Wednesday while my dad has the first of his hip replacement surgeries. The doctors did find more infection, so this is step one of a two step process. Since Mason is back at school, I've made plans to take a shuttle down to LaCrosse and the AMTRACK back. It should be quite the adventure. I'm most looking forward to the train ride, honestly, because trains are fun. The shuttle is a bus ride, so that should just be the usual yuckiness of a long bus ride. At least the bus offers WiFi.

I hope to get some writing on the stupid novel done. Wish me luck.

Since I was feeling so sick yesterday, I took the day off as a day of rest. I may do the same today because sleeping seems to have done wonders. My nose is still drippy, but I feel quite a bit recovered. Mason is still low energy, which is very disconcerting for a boy who usually talks a mile a minute while dancing the entire time. He's in the other room streaming episodes of "Shaun the Sheep" from Netflix, and he seems to be giggling a bit more like normal, thank goodness.

One thing I managed to do yesterday is talk to the CONvergence folks. I had thought I was going to be out of town this weekend, so I cancelled all my appearances some time ago. I emailed them asking about day passes, and, they very kindly (as I am a confirmed guest for next year) offered to print out a badge for me to pick up at registration any time. They also, quite AMAZINGLY, even said they could find programming for me, if I'd like, but I declined. I mean, CONvergence is seriously imminent and that seemed a bit too demanding diva, even for me. Besides, I'd like the freedom to just come and go as I please. I can't remember the last time I just attended a con, so it might make a nice change.

So maybe I'll see some of you there?

With any luck, I will be a yellow belt when next you see me -- although the test is later in the evening on Saturday, so maybe not.

In other news, the saga of my father's illness continues. He's been making slow and steady progress conquering the c-def and getting rid of the edema. But he was still have so much trouble with his hip that my folks finally requested a doctor's visit for an x-ray. Guess what? My dad's hip wasn't arthritic at all; it was BROKEN. Probably, the doctors figure it was broken some time ago before all this started, though the physical therapy did NOT do it any good.

Irony anyone?

At any rate, he's going to be scheduled for a hip replacement surgery at some point in the near future (fingers crossed, next week.) But first they have to take a culture of his hip to make sure that there's no sepis virus lingering there. That, unfortunately, takes a week to grow (or not.)

So my poor dad is stuck at the nursing home for at least another week. To say that my parents are getting sick of that place is probably the understatement of the year. Plus, without the physical therapy, there's just not a lot for my dad to _do_. They're working his upper body and one good leg, but this has really become a waiting for the hip replacement game. I'm going to be sending white light in their direction hoping that the sepis virus is not lurking anywhere and that this operation can happen ASAP. The silver lining is that there's a really good indication that my dad will be able to have a "weight-bearing" deal, which means that he can do his remaining recovery at HOME.

That would be awesome.

Anyway, if you have spare "positive energy" or inclined to pray, send thoughts, etc., I'd sure appreciate some of them winging in the direction of my dad. This has been one seriously LONG recovery.

I'm having one of those days when I just want to eat cookies and spend all day surfing sites like this one.

Instead, I have a ton of stuff on my "to do" list. I did get a couple of things ta-done. I went to PetCo this morning and invested in some stuff recommended by our vet to help our cat, Inky, overcome his recent litter box issues. He's a young(ish) cat, and the doctor tested for infections, etc. And not finding anything conclusive -- there was a bit of blood in the urine, but that could have been from the procedure -- she suggested a couple of medical options (a one time asprin for any possible inflammation and some cosquine which, in addition to being good for old cat joints, apparently helps rebuild the bladder's lining) as well as the usual things like the Felaway aromatherapy, but also some new, softer litter and a "bubbler." Apparently one issue that Inky most certainly has is concentrated urine. She really wants him to drink more, and since he loves running faucets, I found a electric water fountain on sale. He went right to it the instant it was plugged in and running, so that's a hit. He also made a bee-line for the new litter, so apparently softer IS his preferrence.

Fingers crossed that this will be a solution.

Otherwise, if he continues to have problems, the doc suggested kitty prozac, which seems a bit drastic, don't you think? Though if the other option is putting him up for adoption, no, not so much.

Also, we are hiring Friendly Face Pet Services to watch over the cats while we are off to Indiana to visit Grandma Rounds in Indiana. So Katherine, the owner, stopped by the place and I introduced her to all the various pets (including the fish and gerbils), and showed her all the sneaky places we stash cat food, cat medicine, paper towel tubes for the gerbils, etc.

But I need to take off in a little bit to take Shawn to the doctor and then I'm off to "folder" again at Mason's school. At some point, I need to change the fish tanks so we are ready to leave them behind in Katherine's capable hands. The car, too, is in desperate need of an oil change, especially after all this driving back and forth to LaCrosse.

Speaking of LaCrosse, my father continues to improve. I've been checking in every day and it sounds like they're working him quite hard with the physical therapy, which is good. No time for lazing about! I told him that once the edema weight comes off, he's going to be like the character in Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron and FLY!

As an aside - The cool part of the above story is that my dad actually introduced me to that story when he gave me a copy of the Junior Great Books. In that same collection was Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt." I feel like there was a lot of other science ficiton in that sampler too, but those two stories really stuck in my head, regardless.

I may still have my original copy of that in the basement. I should dig it out and see if it's something Mason might some time.