Floofatonic (floofinition) – An animal’s marked lack of movement, activity, or expression.
In use: “Sleeping in shade on a day hot enough to blister paint, the floofs were admirably floofatonic. Chris wished he could get as floofatonic as them.”
Thursday’s Theme Music
Welcome to Thursday, September 8, 2022. It’s a cool morning. Sunrise gushed over the trees and houses in a gold rimmed splash at 6:43 AM. The other end comes at 7:33 PM. Temperature is 20 C with a 90 F high in the mid-afternoon. Our air is a lime green 27 on Purple, which makes it good to moderate for breathing. Fires are all still burning but containment is growing. It’s the weather patterns saving us from smoke in our valley.
That Ziopatch is already a frustrating addition. Trimming the house Ficus yesterday drew some sweating. That Zio was instantly ready to abandon my chest. Had to stop, dry off, press it back on, again, again. Wife ended up reinforcing it with skin tape for me. I’m considering staples.
Local rumors are circulating that a bobcat is eating cats in another neighborhood about half a mile away. Wasn’t enough that a cougar was said to be going after them on the north end of town, nor that bears and their cubs are all over the place, and people are complaining about aggressive deer. Now the bobcats are getting in on the action. At least the coyotes, wolves, and foxes are staying mellow. With all this going on, the raccoons and skunks are laying low.
Mom’s condition remains bad. Not a ruptured appendix but a lacerated one. No surgery because of other issues. Abdominal pain and bloated belly from retaining fluids. How much is from COVID and other? The doctors and nurses don’t know. She’s struggling to stand, walk, and breath. Three sisters live in Pittsburgh, where Mom resides. One can’t go to the hospital because she is COVID positive, so the other two take turns staying with Mom, talking with the medical staff and providing updates to the rest of us. I’ve decided to fly there tomorrow.
Flying there tomorrow needs there are some things I’ll need to do today. The Ziopatch’s presence means I need to do these things while it’s cool, which means this morning. So, my writing day is upended. Selfish of me to think of it that way. Those who write will understand the turmoil this change causes, upending my writing routine, which has already been upended for vacations this year. Yeah, poor, poor pity poor me. But I need to drop writing down the priority ladder, reorient, and move on.
Perversely, The Neuros have “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” by Leo Sayer from, what, 1976, going round and round and round in my morning mental music stream. Equally perversely, they immediately started “Round and Round” by Ratt (1984) in my head when I typed that last sentence.
Neurons. What are you gonna do?
Stay positive and test negative. Need to chug some coffee so I can make some decisions, finalize plans, and move into action. Here’s the music. Hope it doesn’t get stuck in a loop in your head. Blame The Neurons if it does. Cheers
The Writing Moment
The greatest aspect of writing fiction is that it’s full of potential of where it can go and what it can become.
The Ziopatch
Well, Day one begins.
A Ziopatch was applied to my chest this morning. This was an option my medico presented to me after I’d commented during a meeting earlier this year that I sometimes have heart palpitations. Fact of it is that I’ve experienced these since I was at least a teenager. I actually thought that everyone had them. I mentioned them to another who replied, “I’ve never had that. You should go see a doctor.”
That was in my twenties. Now that I’m in my sixties, I felt time had ripened enough to check it out.
The Zio is just a little thing. Applying it took five minutes. Longest part of that was shaving me. I’m a hairy beast. Don’t know which parento I owe for that. After the left side was shaved above my nip, my skin was lightly abraded so the Z’s adhesive can find purchase. Then it was taped on and explained. Done.
I’ll wear the booger for fourteen days, in theory. The tech and the intertubes both hold that might be a challenge. Getting the Z’s adhesive wet by sweat or water causes the device to come away. One guy on the net said that he’d been told, “excessive sweat might cause that.” He learned that ‘excessive sweat’ is any visible sweat.
Meanwhile, it feels like there’s something on my chest. I have an urge to swat it off, like, “WTH is on my chest?” It also feels a little itchy, as others said they experienced.
Once it is removed, I throw the Z into the air. It spreads its wings and flies off to the factory where it’ll be dissected. Not really! They gave me a box in which to mail it off so its contents can be revealed.
We’ll see how it goes. I’ll let you know when I take it off. Cheers
Wednesday’s Wandering Thought
He heard a character on a commercial say, “I’ll need a lot of duct tape. The sticky kind.”
That put him on a path of wonder, is there ‘non-sticky’ duct tape? Is this something he should google?
Haifloof #89
The thunder rumbles
He finds me and stays close by
Looking for safety
Wednesday’s Theme Music
6:20 AM. It was about twenty-two minutes before sunrise. I was in front of my house, talking to Papi, the floof is who also hailed as the Ginger Prince and the Slender Blade. My house front faces west. Clouds were rolling in over the western horizon. They surprised me because they were contrary to expectations.
Rain began. Big, fat diamond drops. Wow, cool, I thought. 6:21, the rain stopped.
Although the day grew lighter with the sun’s presence, I couldn’t see it. It was already 22 C at that point heralding that the forecasts that we’ll strike 100 F today are probably right. Air is fresh and clean and in the green.
8:08 AM. The Slender Blade and I were in the backyard speaking with the other house floof, Tucker, the black and white fella also known as Your Lordship. Sunshine cracked in between spaces shaped by a roof and a tree. Rain showered down for ten furious seconds and then stopped. Seems like Wednesday, September 7. 2022, will be an interesting day.
Mom is in the hospital, taken in yesterday afternoon after falling at home, all COVID related. Word this morning is that she ruptured her appendix. She was also severely dehydrated. Fingers crossed that she and the medicos work their way through these issues.
While I was floof visiting and noting the weather this morning, I looked to the south and reflected, it’s been a long time since we’ve gone south, i.e., into California. Wildfires and COVID, of course. Plus, expensive.
But The Neurons heard me saying something about traveling south in my head. Right away, they plugged a song by Alice in Chains, “I Stay Away” (1993), into the morning mental music stream.
Here’s the music. I’ve had my coffee. Heading to an appointment to have a Ziopatch applied. Stay positive, test negative, and so on. Cheers
Tuesday’s Wandering Thought
After the server walked away, he turned to his partner. “Did you notice that she has glitter on her eyes?”
His partner’s expression widened in shock. “She has blood on her face?”
The shock was now his. “No, not blood, glitter. GLITTER.”
But he kept wondering, did he say blood? He thought he said glitter. Yes, he had to wonder.
