Declaring blog amnesty

Thank you all for being patient and understanding my inactivity of late. I've got several major projects in the works and a little lady who requires my undivided attention much of the time.

For these reasons I am declaring blog amnesty until sometime after Christmas. I hope to see issues of the most personal nature resolve enough, and life in general calm down enough, to resume regular blogging sometime very soon.

For now, Caitrin has four new teeth that sprouted on Thanksgiving, fights me like the devil most of the time when I try to get her to eat, has learned a new word this week: "me," and is still not walking but crawls so fast I can't catch her.

The rest of the news is all sad: my father-in-law had to say goodbye over the weekend to his much-loved 11-year old German Shepherd, Maddie. I miss her, so I can only imagine how he must be feeling. Our Cassy kitty is very sick at the moment. Her vet thinks she has an autoimmune disease called pemphigus foliaceus, whereby her immune system attacks her skin cells. She had a biopsy this morning that will most likely confirm the diagnosis. We are optimistic that it can be brought into remission by heavy doses of methylprednisolone and clindamycin. She is not eating terribly well right now, though she does enjoy the canned food into which I mash up her steroid pill and the milk I mix with her antibiotic drops. She's still her friendly self but I can't wait for the return of the Dark Side of her personality: The Diva. Not much gets to me like the thought of an animal suffering and as such I have spent much of the past several days in tears. Your prayers for Cassy would be much appreciated.

Here's hoping I have happier news in the new year. God bless you and yours this Christmas.