missouri meowers' mom here:

yes, i live, still coughing, draggled-tailed, and worn but alive and so far not in the horse-pistal, as nels says. anyway, i wanted to steal a moment to say thanks to all of you kitties and beans, and bless you for your well-wishes, purrayers, and purrs. i feel SO warm and cherished, which is the most cosy feeling in the world, and energized - a big help when i felt like it was almost too much effort to walk to the kitchen! sadly, the computer is one room farther away, and unheated, to boot, so not much visiting there. the one time i had almost unlimited time to surf and blog, and too sick to care; how unfair is that?!?

it seems that every cough, cold, and sniffle that i get now refuses to go away without more extensive and expensive medicines being thrown at it, and it takes me longer and longer to recuperate. i useta be able to take some aspirin and a sudafed and keep on truckin'. not so, when your body begins to rebel. bah. getting old is not for sissies, as my 90 year old mother keeps telling me. i hear ya, ma; i hear ya like never before!

as those sneaky years keep creeping up on me, i find that i don't bounce back quite so quickly and that it's actually difficult to regain lost ground. a shoulder injury from june of 2005 has finally progressed to the "well, i guess that's as good as it gets" stage.

a bruise that the chocolate buffalo (cocoa the dog) gifted me with on my lower right shin and ankle 3 weeks ago has finally stopped being touchy--but is still lividly evident. cocoa was comin' in at full speed, head down, intent on knocking xena - the elderly labrador - off her pins. unfortunately, i moved at the wrong time and got the brunt of the assault. i don't know which part of her hit me--shoulder, chest, head, foot, all equally hard and unyielding. spun me around like a weathervane, although weathervanes don't usually go arse over teacup unless there's a tornado passing through. well, come to think of it, that's a pretty good metaphor for cocoa. she's just a force of nature, unaware and uncaring of the havoc she wreaks. not a mean bone in her, but they're all made of concrete & rebar. when she hits ya, y'stay hit.

anyway, i hope to encourage the kitties to blog a bit this weekend, since i have returned to work and can now stay upright for most of a day with no need a full-time catblanket (that doesn't mean i don't want one, just that i don't need one). it's possible they will object, however, because it'll mean losing their warm, lumpy recliner/bed accessory. i'll keep the stove stoked and point the fans in the direction of the computer room, and put a poufy throw on the chair--the rest will be up to them!

thanks again, effuryone!! you are ALL my darlings!!