Home today

I'm taking a day off work today, not for myself, but because Rick is having some medical testing done under sedation and will need me to take care of him. He's a very low-maintenance guy and doesn't really want to be fussed-over when he's ill, so I'm expecting to be able to get a few things accomplished.

First on the agenda is going back to bed after the kids get on the bus.

While I'm sitting at the clinic, I'm going to be reading my statistics book. Cat-free this time, of course. I actually love kitty-cats and I would probably have a couple even now IF I didn't have people close to me who are highly allergic to them. My dad can't stand cats, so I never really had one as a kid. When I was really really little, like 2 or 3, we did have an ill-tempered Siamese cat, aptly named Jezebel. I don't really remember her, however; I only know of her because of a couple of pictures and from the notorious stories of my pre-teen aunt Patti tossing the cat at my dad (her brother-in-law) so it would scratch him.

No wonder Jezebel was ill-tempered, eh? I would be, too.

My favorite kitty was one we had back in the mid-90s. I had discovered her as a kitten, near a church in Blossom, Texas, where I was teaching Vacation Bible School. She was trapped by her long fur in a blackberry bramble and was mewing pitifully. I untangled her carefully and took her to the vet, where it was discovered that she had a big grub-like skin parasite. He removed it carefully and held it up. It looked exactly like a miniature version of a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine creature called Dax. So that's what I named her -- Dax. She was a tuxedo long-haired beauty with a sweet, vivacious personality. She spent time indoors and outdoors, and one day she disappeared. I know she must've been swiped, because she was not one to leave for long periods of time. She was an unusual cat, too, in that even though she was a longhaired cat, she wasn't much of a shedder. I wish we could still have her; she'd be about twelve now and a grand old ladycat.

Gotta round the kids up; time to start the day.