In a field until Monday evening. Little to no signal.
Will catch up if and when I can.

Had an unexpected out of town house guest last week--an old gaming buddy from up North that I haven't seen in almost 20 years.

It's take me all this week to do the things I didn't do while he was here, including getting caught up on my posting.

A week and a half before that, our dog died. He was old, 15 years, and his sight and hearing had diminished, but he was still alert and active. He went downhill fast over the weekend and died that Wednesday. We still miss him... still see him in the places he used to hang out... expect him to be waiting for us whenever we come back.

We still have two small putt-putt dogs and two cats; they help. It's not like the house is empty without him.

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 517):

Hugs x

Sad news, my little girl has crossed the rainbow bridge to be with her sisters.
Tillie spent the last few days mostly sleeping on my chest or shoulder.

I'm either going to be useless for a few days or need a distraction like on here.

In reply to Tealon Holdron (msg # 519):

I am sorry.

In reply to Korkas (msg # 520):

Thank you

Sorry to here about Tillie, Tealon.

There were three cats in the house when I moved in... well, two, as Jake the black cat had died shortly before then. He was Vince's dad's cat anyway; didn't take to others.

In 2016... don't remember exactly when now... Miss Kitty, the gray tabby, died. She'd been friendly with everyone. She just laid down in the entryway and died in her sleep.

Ralphie, the gray and white cat, died the following year on July 4th. He laid down in the litter box and passed overnight.

Neither of them had appeared to be in any discomfort of pain. It must have just been their time to go. Miss Kitty and Ralphie had been acting differently for a week before hand, which we'd interpreted as them looking for a place to die.

So now we were without any cats, though we still had Rusty. He clearly missed his pals.

Since Vince's mom died the day before Thanksgiving in 2017, I got this notion that she'd sent us Dodger, a butterscotch tabby kitten we rescued from the middle of the street on December 7th. He turned out to be a little holy terror, though not maliciously. We think it's because he'd just barely been weaned from his mom when we got him and he hadn't fully socialized with his siblings.

Then, about the middle of last year, Vince rescued a stray cat from his work place out in the Everglades. He named her Pantha because she was panther bait. We took her to the vet and found out she was pregnant, but when he was leaving the vet, she got spooked by a loud truck passing by and jumped out of his arms... and disappeared. Haven't seen her since, but at least she's not in the Everglades any more.

A week later, we think her sister showed up at his work place. So he rescued her, too! We were worried she might be pregnant, too, but she wasn't.

Rather than also naming her Pantha or Pantha Two, I suggested we name her Samantha... only because it rhymed with Pantha. I asked her if that was okay with her, and she said it was. Well, let's just say she didn't seem to object. She's a gray-and-white with a bandit-like mask... and cute as heck.

It's taken a while for Dodger to get used to her, but he's finally mellowed out as when he gets too rough with her, she lets him know it!

She's turned into an absolute sweetheart, though she's still a bit skittish. She likes me best!

So, we have two cats again, and Pattie's two putt-putts--chihuahuas Amir and Cooper. Seems like every time I sit down to post, I've got one or two critters in my lap first!

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 522):

Animal Therapy.
Cheers GM

We have just got the boys now that we got in November, Ronnie and Reggie, Emma (gf) is a BIG Kray's fan.

I've been under the weather for the past two weeks with insufficient mental energy to post, and then Thursday morning the AC went out so I've been melting in 90-degree heat for the past 4 days. Tech finally got here yesterday and the AC was working fine when he left, but now it's out again! Aaargh!

take care of yourself we will be here.

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 524):

We haven't gone anywhere, take care. 2eks ago I was just finishes 2.5wks of COVID, don't worry.

Everyone please note, I will be away for Beltane from next Thursday until Monday camping, if I get a signal and thing of it, I'll post

In reply to Tealon Holdron (msg # 527):

Enjoy your trip and holiday.

Thank you

The Mead will be flowing, that will make it more enjoyable :-)

AC is finally fixed. Took two weeks and the company had to send out a master tech to fix the screw ups that the other three techs made. It was Easter weekend, so that accounted for some of it.

Now I just need to find a master tech to fix ME!

Or a bomb to blast the bad bits away to be replaced "We can rebuild him"

So apparently it was my turn to get Covid, although a weaker strain. Culminated Monday night when I fell getting out of bed because I got dizzy and my legs were so weak they couldn't support me. After friends helped me get into a chair, called an ambulance to take me to the hospital for evaluation and testing. Everything else was clear but the test came back positive for Covid. Put some fluids in me, gave me a few prescriptions for me cough, and sent me home.

According to the doctor, I have had it for a few days, so Monday was the worst of it. Getting better, but I still feel like crap and a bit unsteady on my feet.

At least this explains why I've been feeling so crappy for awhile now.

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 532):

Get well soon and send Aunty Rona away.

Probably should apologize for not posting an update here, but brain's been too tired to even think of doing that.

Getting better. Just slow.

Just letting us know you are still alive helps :-)
Be careful and good to you.

Just been announced, Queen Elizabeth II died this afternoon in her sleep.

I was just starting to get caught up...

As you may have heard, Southwest Florida where I  live got clobbered by Hurricane Ian. Once again, we've lost power. With Irma, we lost it for 10 days. It could be longer this time as a couple of substations got trashed and there's almost a million people without power now across the six counties.

Currently using my friend's hot spot from his phone, but there's still the problem of charging up my computer and his cell phone.

So, not sure how much I'll be able to post before we get power back. No gas stations are operable because their pumps are electrical and they don't have power either. Most stores were closed today, but a few restaurants managed to open to feed the people that can't cook at home now.

Lots of trees down, and some damage to houses and yards. Six houses on our block lost their back porches. Our fence barely survived, but it's leaning because the ground got so soaked. Lost a few solar panels. But other than that, made it through without any damage to the house (except the back porch (the lanai) is 50% gone) and we're all intact--people, cats and dogs.

In reply to GM StarMaster (msg # 537):

Stay safe. Hope things recovery quickly.

My dad lives in Stuart on the East Coast of Florida, think he's missed it whilst on holiday in mainland Europe.

Best check on my Mum #3 though, she's in Miami.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:08, Fri 30 Sept 2022.

Yea! Power's back as of Friday afternoon. Internet came back late Friday night. We thought it'd take long because we're at the tail end of a line and the telephone pole and transformer at the other end of the block were both lying on the ground because the pole had snapped in half!

Spent yesterday cleaning up, picking up the pieces, putting things back in place, and making sure nothing got burnt out. We'd unplugged the TVs and shut off the AC at the circuit box, so we seem to be okay.

Our two house cats keep wanting to go out on the back porch like they used to, but it's half gone, so that's not going to be an option for awhile.

Anyway, expect to get caught up on my games today.