Fun with Felines

>>  written March 18, 2020 -- how COVID-19 interrupts everyday life  <<

We were supposed to be in Chicago this weekend (Thursday - Sunday) taking care of P and J’s cats while they were away on their respective bachelor/bachelorette weekends.

P and their two cats

Yes, you read that right.  Me taking care of a cat. 

Several weeks ago P called and asked for a favor.  I said “Don’t ask us to babysit your cats.”  Ha!  Little did I know.

Early January one of the cats, Bella, was diagnosed with diabetes.  They changed the food and had to give Bella insulin shots twice a day.  I knew JB would be able to handle the shots, and I figured I’d be able to observe.  Then P said it was really a two-person job: usually he held the cat and comforted her and J would do the injection.  That made me double-think.  But …..

I’m getting a little excited thinking about eating breakfast/lunch out in their neighborhood.  I took a look at Google Maps and spotted several potential restaurants.  I started thinking of easy suppers I could prepare for us and what foods I would need to tote along.

JB said he could occupy his time watching March Madness.  I knew I could either sit in a chair that does not entice a cat to want to sit with me, or I could hole up in the guest bedroom.  P said they’d move the litter box out of the guest bedroom closet.  Ya think?

I went to the library on Friday (instead of Saturday which had precipitation forecasted) and borrowed a couple books.  A custodian told me they’d likely shut down the library.  So JB and I went back Saturday morning during slushy snowfall so he could get books and I could find a couple DVDs.  If we’d waited for nicer weather, the library would have been closed.

I was excited to find Amadeus on the shelf.  I’ve been wanting to see that again for a long time -- it’s never on TV.  I also borrowed Suffragette.  I know nothing about it, but Meryl Streep is in it, and I like her.

Then, things changed.

I was getting a bit antsy about needing to “shelter in place.”  In other words, people really shouldn’t be traveling around no matter how safe they think it is or that they feel o.k.  It just seemed like being a good citizen required JB and me to not go.  But I didn’t want to screw up P and J’s plans.

I needed to put a vacation hold on our mail and newspaper deliveries.  So Sunday morning I asked P if the weekend was still going on.  He had previously told me that Bella had improved and wasn’t taking insulin shots at the moment.  Since this was a “vacation” for us, we still planned on watching the cats.  But on Sunday P was concerned that his elderly parents shouldn’t travel into the big city, and he said they would get friends to stop in a couple times a day to check on the cats.

Then the next day he said their weekend plans were canceled, too.  Wise decision.

So, I don’t get to watch Amadeus.  And we wouldn’t have been able to eat out at restaurants with all of them closed.  I get to “shelter in place” all that I want.

Meanwhile, their wedding has been postponed and they are considering their options for a future date.

Update: March 20, P texted that their other cat Jack had been lethargic and weak lately.  They took him to the vet, and it sounded like he has liver cancer.  Then the next day, P said Jack died the night before.  So very sad for them.  But as it turns out, this happened the weekend P and J were supposed to be out of town.  So, even though it was very stressful for them, at least they were home with Jack when he died.

Jack in February

Hoping to Achieve Nothing

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Pritzker’s stay-at-home order went into effect Saturday at 5 p.m. All residents were directed not to leave their houses except to conduct essential business, and all non-essential businesses to stop operations.

The order came as the Illinois Department of Public Health announced 163 new confirmed cases of the disease and one additional death, bringing the total, as of Friday afternoon, to 585 cases in 25 counties and five related deaths. The C-U Public Health District announced on Saturday that two University of Illinois employees tested positive for the virus.

While the order is in effect, people will be allowed to leave their home for a wide range of ordinary functions such as seeking medical attention and to acquire necessary supplies and services, including groceries, medicines and supplies that enable them to work from home. They also will be allowed to leave home for outdoor activities such as walking, jogging, running or walking their dog, provided they maintain at least a six-foot distance from others. Per the order, bars and restaurants will still be allowed to offer carryout, curbside pickup and delivery, and mail and shipping operations will continue as well.

Dr. Emily Landon, lead epidemiologist at University of Chicago Medicine, described the measures as necessary and indicated they might remain in place beyond April 7. “In short, without taking drastic measures, the healthy and optimistic among us will doom the vulnerable,” she said. “We have to fight this fire before it grows too high.”

“These extreme restrictions may seem, in the end, a little anticlimactic,” she continued, “because it’s really hard to feel like you’re saving the world when you’re watching Netflix from your couch. But if we do this right, nothing happens. Yeah, a successful shelter-in-place means that you’re going to feel like it was all for nothing. And you’d be right. Because nothing means that nothing happened to your family. And that’s what we’re going for here.”

License Plates Art

In 1987, the 200th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, Mike Wilkins, an artist from North Carolina, requested a vanity license plate from each of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia to piece together the first lines of a famous document. These license plates mean very little on their own, but when they are organized alphabetically by state name and read phonetically with a little creativity, they form the preamble to the Constitution.

It begins with six plates across the top row, from Alabama to Colorado: “WE TH  P PUL  OF TH  U NI  DIDD  ST8S,” and so on from there.

This wonderfully colorful and creative piece of art can now be found in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, hanging in an out-of-the-way hallway by the gift shops.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Mario Day

Today is Mario Day!!!

MAR10    >>    MARIO

Smile

Smiling is infectious. You catch it like the flu. When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too. I walked around the corner And someone saw me grin. When he smiled I realized I had passed it on to him. I thought about the smile, And then realized its worth. A single smile, just like mine, Could travel ‘round the earth. So, if you feel a smile begin, Don't leave it undetected. Let's start an epidemic quick, And get the world infected!

Spring Forward

Once again, it is the time of year to set the clocks forward one hour.  And now it begins:

I got up at 6:00, but I thought "It's really 5 a.m."  We'll have lunch around 1:00, and I'll think "It's really noon."  Then it will still be light out at 7:00, and I'll say, "It's really 6:00."  Bedtime around 9:30, but really at 8:30.

I told J. lunch would be ready around 1 p.m. -- our usual time for the Sunday meal for umpteen years. He came wandering into the kitchen around 2:10.  Apparently he was following the clock on the computer which, for an unknown reason, had not reset itself.  Sorry, Charlie, your dinner is cold.

It is not unusual for J. to show up for Sunday lunch well past 1:00.  Sometimes I've already cleaned up and put things away, and they become MY leftovers for MY next meal.  Sunday lunch has been around 1 p.m. for many, many years.  He sees me fixing the meal and/or hears me banging pots and pans.  Too bad if he's late.  I have taken to telling him mid-morning "Lunch will be around 1:00," but that doesn't seem to make a difference.  If he's o.k. with cold meals, that's his choice.

Today's Sunday meal:

Fighting Illini Basketball Game

University of Illinois basketball has struggled over the last few years. Last year their record was 12-21. They’ve not played in an NCAA tournament game since 2013. But starting in January this year they won 7 in a row. Things were looking up, and people were becoming interested. Patrick obtained two tickets for the Indiana game on March 1. Then in February the Fighting Illini lost 4 in a row. Since then they have bounced back and now have a 4-game winning streak. Their next game is tonight against Ohio State.

Before Patrick departed Chicago on Saturday I reminded him, “Don’t forget to bring the tickets.” “Not a problem,” he replied. “They’re digital, they’re on my phone.”

P. arrived home Saturday afternoon. I treated him to hambingers for supper. I'd made him a treat to take home with him,Cinnamon Pecan Bars. I made them without the cinnamon chips because I did not have any. They ended up tasting like butterscotch bars. Yum.

We planned Sunday lunch at a restaurant before the game. I suggested Everyday Kitchen which is fairly new, and their menu looked a little atypical. They’re also located within walking distance (albeit not close) to the basketball arena. We drove two cars so that I could return back home while P. and J. went over to the game. Turns out two cars was not necessary. P. had left his phone plugged in back at the house, and the digital tickets were on the phone!

We enjoyed our lunches. P. chose the Dixie Benedict which was basically sausage gravy over biscuits. I liked the Shrimp & Grits. I did think the tomato-okra stew made the whole thing look more like a soup. J. stayed safe with a Breakfast Burger. It was really "tall" topped with a fried egg, and he ate it with a knife and fork. I don't think he could have eaten it in the traditional burger fashion.

Then we went our separate ways. A couple minutes before 1:00, P. texted me “Dad brought a f---ing knife to the game.” His frustrated language was because he thought J. wanted to take the knife back to the car, and they’d already been delayed with having to drive home to retrieve his phone. As it turned out, J. walked outside and put his knife down in an obscure place. The knife was still there when they left, and all was o.k.

I saw the last 6 seconds of the game. Things could have gone either way, but Illinois beat Indiana 67-66.

Patrick was a senior in high school when these t-shirts were purchased

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cinnamon Pecan Bars Prep time:             10 minutes Bake time:            25 minutes Makes:                  2 dozen 1 box butter pecan cake mix (regular size) 1/2 C. packed dark brown sugar 2 large eggs, room temperature 1/2 C. butter, melted 1/2 C. chopped pecans 1/2 C. cinnamon baking chips Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and brown sugar. Add eggs and melted butter; mix well. Stir in pecans and baking chips. Spread into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Affordable Eats / Taste of Home, c2019