…who think that photos of my cats are cool. Yep, that’s me, the crazy cat lady. I am such a cliché!

[Insert wry smile because I know this is truly lame.] My life is ruled by my appetite and need for sleep. Any artwork I want to do isn’t getting done. However, my gardens have been weeded and watered — that’s a daily activity, for certain. I’ve been walking, too, and getting groceries, etc. Not working does make time seem to expand, but I often fritter it away. I’m simply not feeling exceptionally creative. I’d rather be outside. It must be this glorious California air.

I did, however, discover 43 Things. I suppose that may be where the time went? I’ve got new photos up on Flickr, too.

I have returned to the blissfully cool yet crowded Silicon Valley. I had a wonderful, nourishing visit to Austin. I am buried under unopened mail, the gardens need weeding, and the larder is empty. It will be a few days yet ’til I get back into a rhythm of posting and reading blogs. As I haven’t read blogs for over ten days, I have quite a bit to catch up on!

It’s not a bad life to be serenaded by birds and church bells.

–Alexandra Stoddard

And I am fortunate to enjoy both daily!

When I brought Sophie home at the age of six weeks, Stella adopted her. Stella had been a momma at least once, so she knew what to do. She carried Sophie around by the scruff of Sophie’s fuzzy neck. Sophie would suckle at Stella’s belly, even though there was no milk. While she comforted herself this way, Stella would clean her thoroughly. The only time Sophie ever purrs is when she is being scoured by Stella’s tongue. They were sitting next to me as I wrote my previous entry, and I happened to have the camera next to me…

While I was out this evening, playing with children (and earning money at the same time!), the veterinarian called. My husband talked with her, and here’s the news: Sophie’s tumor was benign. Hurrah! Considering its size, location, and the odds, this is luck, or grace. She still has a heart murmur, but since she behaves as usual I’m content to leave that alone. The doctor said we just need to bring her in annually for shots and the exam. My husband ruefully said, “Looks like the little rat will still be with us awhile.” (Sophie is not a cuddle-up cat; she’s playful but aloof, runs when pursued, squirms when she’s picked up, and generally likes only me (to a limit) and Stella (the other cat). So my guy tolerates her, and she him, but that’s the extent of the relationship between them.)

By the way, I am impressed with this veterinarian. Dr. Carole Jo Larsen is earthy, unpretentious, and not pushy. She doesn’t operate by guilting people into buying treatment; she respects the fact that people have different philosophies regarding the medial treatment of animal companions. She answers questions honestly and when she doesn’t know, she finds out. Although the center is closed on weekends, Dr. Larsen called on Saturday evening so I wouldn’t have to wait until Tuesday for the results. If you need a veterinarian in Santa Clara, CA (or Silicon Valley), I highly recommend her — she runs the Animal Health Center in Mervyn’s Plaza.

Sophie did fine during the surgery. They removed two masses, the larger one being 2 centimeters by 4 centimeters (about .75 by 1.5 inches). That’s quite a lump for a cat weighing in at 8.5 pounds. They let me see it; it was fatty and looked a bit like a chicken gizzard. Now I just need to keep her from chewing the stitches, which come out in ten days. I brought her home and she is in her usual after-vet-visit, pissy mood. Hissing and glaring. I don’t blame her, poor girl. She’s had three tummy surgeries in five years.

On Thursday or Friday we’ll have the lab results that will answer the question of malignancy. From research I’ve done, 90-96% of mammary tumors in cats are malignant. I’m not thinking about it. There’s no point. We’ll know what we know when we know it, and then we’ll deal with that.

I’m just happy that her heart held up during the surgery!

For a couple days I was technology-free, as my husband installed Mac OS X Tiger on my laptop. Now I can play with the nifty features.

During the installation, I’ve whiled away time by meeting friends for drinks after work yesterday, tending my garden, reading, and napping.

When action grows unprofitable, gather information. When information grows unprofitable, sleep.

–Ursula K. LeGuin, The Left Hand of Darkness, 1969

The photo below, taken after our wedding ceremony, is the one I chose to print as a 5 x 7 inch photo for our mantle. It sits in a handsome pewter frame with a Celtic design around the edge, a gift from my brother and sister-in-law, who were our attendants. I think my brother took this shot — it’s sweet, and captures the essence of the day. My husband is private and camera-shy; I’m only posting this photo because he’s not facing the camera!

A few weeks ago I gathered my W-2, business records from my now-defunct practice, and other tax-related documents into a folder. Usually I’ve filed long before but this year life carried me away. I distinctly remember putting these items into a green folder with pockets.

I made an appointment to see an accountant today — it’s for my husband as well as me. We gathered his paperwork tonight, and I looked for mine to add to the pile. Nowhere can I find it. I’ve looked in all the logical places, then the unlikely spots, and I cannot unearth it. I’m usually sharp about such things, but lately my brain must be flaking on me.

I’ve looked and gone away, thinking an idea might come to me, then returned to look again. It is nowhere, or rather, it’s somewhere about which I am clueless.

Oy, I wonder how I’ll figure this out?

Update, 10:03 a.m.: I found it! It was in a drawer where I’d put the California tax form packets. Relief. I knew it was here somewhere.

My apologies for infrequent posting and lack of original content.

I’ve been busy at the bookstore and was offered a job yesterday as an academic coach. Life has been very full, volunteering with the Centre for Living With Dying and also getting a new coaching client. This has all emerged in the past two weeks. I was also coordinating our wedding and preparing for Christmas. I love this holiday. I love the lights, the tree, the symbolism, the colors. We were expecting my brother and sister-in-law for Christmas, our first here in California in this lovely little rental house.

But tonight we have received calamitous news. My fiancé’s father, who has been battling lymphoma since February and just entered remission, was hospitalized last night. We have just learned tonight that he has brain cancer. So my world has turned inside-out, upside-down, and over.

I will not be writing or posting here for awhile. I’m sorry. I can be reached by email at kathryn@pobox.com, and I do plan to return to sharing A Mindful Life at some point. Please stop by now and then to see when I’m back.

May you know peace and love.