Rest In Peace Phantom, My Beautiful Boy

Today I lost my cat, Phantom after a long battle with cancer. He will be greatly missed! I still  can't believe he's gone. My heart is broken. I love him so much. The day I brought him home life got better for my son and me. I can't imagine my life without seeing that sweet face everyday.

I feel like I failed him. He depended on me to help him make the cancer go away and I couldn't. He endured all the vet visits, chemo, pills, nasty tasting holistic concoctions, trusting me that I would help him and nothing worked.

I am sooooo sorry Phantom. So very sorry. I feel like I failed you.

Click below to go to Phantom's blog to read about our last days together.

http://phantomtuxedocat.blogspot.com/2015/02/today-i-lost-good-fight-and-had-to-say.html

Some Serious Purring

Today I feel compelled to do a post on my sick kitty, Phantom. Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that the majority of my posts involved kitties until Phantom decided to start his own blog (Here).

Phantom was diagnosed with liver cancer last June and heart disease last March. It has been a year since he first started showing signs of his illness and it has been a long, hard journey.  He has been to at least 4 local vets as we have moved from Birmingham, Alabama, to Pensacola Beach, Florida and finally to the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

 He has also been to two different oncologist starting with Auburn University small animal clinic and finally Bluepearl in Tampa and Clearwater. All have been excellent and very supportive and I appreciate every one of them for taking care of Phantom even when there was very little hope and his prognosis was poor.

We've tried two different chemotherapy drugs as well as some holistic herbal things. These have prolonged his life and given him a great quality of life for several months. He was very, very sick last June, but until this past week he has been doing really good. Eating, playing, bullying the other cats, catching dragonflies, monitoring the food situation - just being normal Phantom.

He has been very brave throughout the journey with all the vet visits, blood work, medications, but now we may be nearing the end of the journey.

I still have hope, but the vets say there is nothing left to do. His liver is failing, if not already not working. He has had to have subcutaneous fluids given almost daily since Friday and I'm having to syringe feed him.

He is still being very brave, but his poor little body is so weak.

This blog post is for him. I am so very thankful he has been a part of our lives these past 9 years. He has been the best kitty for my son and me.  Phantom has missed the boy since he went away to college three years ago. Maybe this is his way of saying, "I've done my job for the boy, now I have to go."

Cadence will miss him too. He and Phantom have been together since they were both kittens. Cadence and our other cat, Ed seem to know that something is wrong. They haven't been eating much the past three days either.

I am still hoping and praying for a miracle, but now I don't think it's going to happen so I have to be prepared too.

We are just going to love Phantom and keep him comfortable until it's time for him to go.

He's beautiful and the best cat ever!

Letting Go Of Fear

This morning one of my favorite autism mom bloggers, Inner Aspie, wrote a blog post that hit home with me. It was about letting go of your fears. I have started going to a Christian counselor to help me deal with my anxieties and the stress of moving and major life changes, including dealing with a family pet who is dying of cancer.

Inner Aspie has a friend, Heather, who developed lung cancer -mesothelioma. Eight years ago she had the lung removed and has been cancer free ever since.  On the anniversary of her lung removal, she and her family celebrate Lung Leaving Day by writing their biggest fears on plates and smashing them in the fire. This process helps her deal with her fears of the cancer coming back and some other fears she has by writing them down and letting them go.

Just last Friday as I was at my counseling appointment, we were discussing letting go. Letting go of my fears and all the other things I try to hold on to too tightly and control. This goes back a long way with me. One of the many examples was I held on to tight to my son, who has Aspergers Syndrome and tried to control too much. I didn't have enough faith that he would be all right if I stepped back and gave him some breathing room. He struggled though school I was overwhelmed with the idea that it was up to me to get him through school and to graduation. I felt it was my responsibility and if I didn't then I was a failure.


Now that my son is in college he is doing so much better. I "let go" when he was a freshman and hired a tutor to help him. This allowed me to back off a little and it forced him to take responsibility for his own journey and he's doing just fine. Believe me, I needed this for my own mental health as well! Letting other people help took so much of the burden off of me.

Right now I've discovered I'm doing the same thing with my sick cat. Holding on too tight. My fear of losing this cat, who is my son's cat, has kept me hanging on too much. I realized I have to "let go and let God". When we hang on too tight to something then God can't do his work. Nothing in this world belongs to us. Everything belongs to him including my son, my cat, my husband, the clothes on my back. I have nothing so why hang on that tight?

My counselor told me when I have fear, I can't have faith. Fear is the opposite of faith. It is so great when we can let go of our fears and have faith that God will take care of everything. It takes so much of the burden off. I wish I had realized this when my son was younger and struggling. Then I could have helped him much better without those feeling of failure and fear that I had back then.

I went to Heather's web site today and wrote down my biggest fear on a paper plate and threw it in the fire. You can do the same by clicking on Heather's site here.

St. Pete Beach Sunsets, Toasted Monkeys, And Weird Moon Pictures

I thought this maxi dress was going to be perfect to wear as we transition from Summer to Fall (yeah, Fall at the beach. Really!), but I've been wearing it so much all summer that I'm probably going to be sick of it by the time Fall arrives. For sure it will be in threads by next summer. I love it that much!

Our trip to St. Pete Beach was FUN! The sunsets were AMAZING! And living in Pensacola Beach, I am very spoiled when it comes to amazing sunsets. St. Pete Beach faces west so the sunsets are right over the Gulf of Mexico, which is amazing on an entirely different scale than Pensacola Beach where the beach faces South and we get the sunset going down over the bay and the Santa Rosa Sound. Totally different and amazing as well.

There were many cool beach bars within walking distance of our hotel and we frequented as many as we could fit in in the short time we were at St. Pete Beach. I loved the name of this one - Toasted Monkey.

Very fitting since we saw several people who were indeed toasted and acting like monkeys. In a nice way though.

Of course, we took Phantom with us since he has to have his cancer and heart medications and special foods. The first day while I was doing a 3 mile run, I bought this new snappy red harness for him so he can go outside with us without running off. He didn't like it much at first (still doesn't) and did this dead possum pose where he would lay there dead weight and refuse to budge even if I poked at him and tried to bribed him to get up.

When I finally gave up and said, "Okay, lay there! But I'm going outside!" and then I would go outside and stand by the door, he caught on quick and popped right up. Even Phantom can overlook a little indignity if it means getting outside for a while.

The people who worked at the hotel were very impressed at the way we had "trained" Phantom to walk on a leash. Trained! Ha!

In this creepy looking picture we were trying to capture the moon behind us so the camera flash was turned off. Right after sunset, before all the stars came out, there was only the crescent moon with a very bright star next to it that we are pretty sure was a planet. There was several debates on which planet it was. I say Venus because isn't that one called the "evening star'"? Or is Venus the "morning star"? My second guess is Jupiter.

The Murph thinks it was Venus too. Below is a little better. It doesn't look like fairies are about to land on the Murph's head like the above picture does.

We got several pictures like the last one. Our camera's not high tech and neither are we. A couple from Germany had a high powered super camera that was taking some amazing pictures of this. The Murph offered for them to swap cameras with us, but they weren't interested. They got a good laugh at our poor camera's expense though.

Anyway all they got are silly moon and planet pictures and who even knows for sure if it even was a planet for real. We got an entire light show!

Traveling South In Florida

 Here's the reason why I haven't posted anything for a couple of days. I'm at the beach. Not the beach I live on, but another beach further south in Florida. Thursday we packed up Phantom and drove down to the Tampa/St Pete area because the Murph had a job interview. The drive took up about 7 hours from Pensacola Beach, but Phantom and I handled it very well. I did better because I drove 2 1/2 hours of the drive. That was the part where the Murph didn't do very well.

He was glad to take over the wheel again.

Phantom slept most of it. I let him out of his crate twice to use his litter box and stretch his legs by jumping into the way back area of the SUV where I couldn't get to him. He was very cooperative though and came to me when I called him because he thought he was getting out of the car. He is a very good traveler and a sweet kitty.

While I was running yesterday in St. Pete,  I went into two different pet boutiques and purchased this cool backpack, rolling carrier for Phantom. I also purchased a bigger halter that actually fits him so we can take him outside with us without him running off. He loves being outside, but can hide inside the backpack if he gets scared.

I put him on my back and went to the hotel's out door grill for lunch while we were waiting for the Murph to get back from his job interview. Phantom would go from "wanting to explore and attack the birds" to "I'm scared! I better hide!" The backpack was his "safe" spot.

He did really well with the new halter. Much better than the other halter I have for him. I didn't get any good pictures of it though. Just a bunch of strange looks from the other tourists. I guess they've never seen a cat on a leash before.

Good news is...

1. The Murph got a job offer so it looks like we might be moving down here. Good news because he got a job, but bad news we have to leave Pensacola Beach. We LOVE it there, but we can love Tampa/St. Pete too. The beaches are HUGE!! Like on steroids huge!

2. I found not one, but two vets who specialize in holistic medicine down here and have called and emailed them to see if they can help Phantom fight his cancer holistically. I am very, very exited about this because I found zero vets in Alabama or the pan handle of Florida that does holistic stuff.

I stopped the Palladia after he threw up the last pills. I think they helped stop the cancer spread, but now I'm looking for holistic stuff that will take over where the Palladia left off.

In October we go to Miami for the half ironman triathlon. I feel like I've suddenly become a total beach bum, taking a tour of many different beaches! Florida beaches this time. It reminds me of when I went to visit a dear friend in Tortolla and her husband took us on a tour of all the beaches on the island. We circled the entire island and hit all the best spots. I was amazed at the difference in all the beaches on that small island. Some rocky, some smooth and crystal clear, some with huge surfing waves. It was so fun!

What are some of your favorite beaches?

That's all for now because I have to get a work out in and then hit the beach!

Sorry To Neglect You Konabarbie Blog!

Today when I got on this blog I realized I haven't done a blog post since Tuesday. Apparently my half ironman training isn't the only thing getting neglected around here!

What can I say except it's been a really busy summer. I don't know exactly why it's been so busy, but it has been and it's flown by so fast. Tomorrow will be September already! Maybe I'll even do a new September yoga kitty pose blog post because it seems that I missed Ms. August's pose entirely.

I think.

Friday was yesterday so there's no fashion Friday this week. I totally missed it again! This is as much fashion as I can handle these days. As I was washing clothes the other day it seemed like everything was either work out wear or lounge wear, not really pj's, but close. Nothing I would wear in a public setting.

Thursday we went out to meet some friends who drove over from Daphne for dinner. I wore this Free People maxi dress that I love. I don't know how long it will last before either I wear it to threads or my cat, Cadence does a number to it with his paws. He is very talented at pulling threads with those sharp talons of his.

Dress:  Free People;  Purse: Coach; Necklace: purchased at an art show several years ago; Bracelet: old

It was a very pleasant evening. I tried a new drink similar to an Orange Julius. It was a delicious frozen concoction that tasted just like those orange and white dreamsicles. So delicious that I didn't even have time to get a picture before it disappeared. It was so rich and delectable that I decided I better not get sa second one so I chose the Chipotle Pineapple Mojoto.

Pineapple with a little bite and almost gone before I remembered to get a photo.

I also got a Strawberry Mango Mojito, but no photos because our friends had arrived and I don't know if they would understand the weirdness of taking food and drink photos that we bloggers tend to do. It was bad enough they had to suffer through cat stories. Luckily, they are cat people too and have four of their own so they understand. They even had their own cat stories. We shared photos of our four legged babies. Well at least I did. She had left her phone in the car so no photos.

I also didn't get a photo of the food, but I got the shrimp and grits and they got grouper sandwiches. The Murph chose very ice cold beer and lots of it! He got take out later at his favorite sports bar down the road.

Our view from the restaurant...

Phantom is doing good with all the chemo and holistic things he's on. He even has his own blog now. He just begged me for one so how could I resist? Click Here for his latest post about the Boy's visit.

We had to come to Birmingham this weekend and of course Phantom has to come too. He LOVES it because he is the "only"cat while we are here for the weekend and he gets ALL the attention. He's at my feet right this very minute as I'm typing this post listening to the jazz CD that the Murph has playing. Somebody named Paul Desmond who played with Dave Brubeck in "Take Five". Something I'm suppose to remember because I've heard it before, but I don't. The Murph rolls his eyes and says my cat has better taste in music than I do. I'm sure I would remember it if I heard it again. I hear jazz every single night so it's no wonder I'm confused about which CD is "Take Five".

The one we are listening to now is a very nice CD. Phantom loves the saxophone. Now if we could just get him to eat! He only eats when the other cats are around so they can't get any.

Another Song Stuck In My Head

Oh well, at least it's not that Nicki Minaj song! This one is definitely getting replays over and over on my ipod. A great running song too!

This is going to be a short post tonight. I had a long drive back home after going to Birmingham this weekend to do another open house. We now have three different families that are interested, but have houses that they need to sell too.

Phantom went with us and enjoyed all the people that he thought were coming just to see him. He got lots of attention from them and from us all weekend. He decided to jump on the bed at 5a.m. every morning purring loudly in our face, ready to be petted. I almost died when Phantom climbed on the Murph's chest and started making biscuits with his paws while his face was right in the Murph's face. And he was purring very, very loud and sounded like a bumble bee on steroids.

While this is so NOT cool with my husband who doesn't really approve of cats on the bed, he gave Phantom a pass since the poor kitty has cancer. I am just so happy that Phantom seems to be feeling better and purring!

We are still giving him the Palladia every other day or so (I don't give it to him if it falls on a travel day) and the Advanced Immunity Restoration Protocol when I can get it down him. He doesn't like it and I haven't mastered the syringe yet. The syringe keeps sticking and something gets all screwy with the suction. I end up getting the concoction everywhere but in Phantom's mouth. I've tried sprinkling a little on a pill pocket and mashing it in and that works, but I can't get the full dosage in even three of those pill pockets. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the stuff down him.

Any suggestions?

The Celloquent is a power and he has to take 3/4 tsp and the vital pet lipids are liquid and he takes 1/4 tsp. I've been mixing it all together with a tiny bit of water and trying to syringe it in his mouth. It would work if the syringe was a little more friendly.

Phantom and all the other cats are eating only organic food with Nu Pet Granular super food  and some milk thistle drops sprinkled in it and drinking filtered or distilled water. I also give Phantom a few drops of Life Gold Cancer drops a day in a tiny bit of cat milk. He's still on the Atenolol and lasix for his heart too and seems to be doing fine there.

It's a lot of work and time, but it seems to be working.

And then, of course, there's prayer. Always prayer! None of the above things would ever work without it.

Accommodations, Appointments And An Open House

This week has been a bit hectic. Since the Boy is away at school most of the time, I'm just not use to it anymore. I can barely remember those crazy days when I was a single mom trying to get the Boy to school on time and me to work on time.

Rarely happened! I still patted myself on the back every single day that we made it to where we were suppose to go. It didn't matter if we were a little late, a little wrinkled and more than a little stressed out.

My bar was set low. How else could I be successful! A bar too set to high back in those days and I would have failed miserably.

It all started Saturday. We made our biweekly trip to Birmingham with the sick cat. Our mission this time was:

1.  To do an Open House on Sunday in hopes to find a buyer for our Birmingham house.

2.  Meet with AL Rehab with the Boy regarding his accommodations for Fall semester.

3.  Appointment with the Boy's doctor to go over ADD med and anxiety meds before Fall semester.

4.  Take Phantom to Auburn University on the way back to Pensacola for another round of blood testing to make sure the chemo was doing what it is suppose to and not doing anything it's not suppose too.

The open house went well. Lots of people came by, including coincidentally, the AL Rehab counselor that we were meeting with the very next day. She had no idea it was our house until she came inside and the Murph recognized her name. I overheard from the office/man cave and came out. She's downsizing too so our house was a little too much. It's a family house. It's too much for us now that the "kids" are grown. Her kids are grown too.

It's strange, but we get several empty nesters who want to "downsize" come look at our house. I guess downsizing is relative.

Phantom was very happy to be back. I started Phantom on the Advanced Immunity Protocol and it worked wonders overnight. It's a three part system that has so many different immunity building things in it that it blows my mind. All I know is after one dose, I got my Phantom back. Purring and happy and spending time with us instead of under the bed.

The meeting with AL Rehab went well. They provide some of the Boy's college financing and make sure he gets the accommodations he needs, such as extended test taking time, taking his tests in another room or at the Special Student Services building if needed. He can have a recorder, his laptop, etc. The Special Student Svcs Counselor provides a letter for him to give to all of his professors every semester. I have to get the letter or the list of accommodations to AL Rehab so they will continue to provide support. They will also transition him from college to the work force if needed.

The only snag came because the apartment the Boy lives in will no longer be billed through the university so the only way AL Rehab will provide a portion of the rent is if the management fills out a vendor application. That way AL Rehab will pay them directly. They never give the money directly to the students. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to get in touch with the apartment management!

I think it was finally taken care of after many phone calls, emails and faxing and refaxing, but I really don't know yet because they never answer the phone. Now that the Boy is back, he can go by the office in person and make sure it's done.

The doctor appointment was fast and basically we just got another 1/2 years worth of prescriptions. I'm hoping the Boy weans off the anxiety meds and starts something more holistic. The doctor said there isn't anything as good as the conventional meds. It has made a tremendous difference on the Boy's entire attitude so I'm good with him taking them for now.

The Boy didn't stress me out one single time. He has matured so much! No more meowing, biting me, poking me, getting all in my personal space until I just want to scream! We actually had adult like conversations and I really enjoyed being around him. He got a new car and his dad taught him how to drive a stick shift in one day. I rode with him most of the way back to school because he was nervous about driving with the manual transmission. Also, he hasn't driven in almost a year!

My job was to keep him relaxed, he said. He also warned me that it was going to be a bumpy ride.

He did great! We all made it safely home and the Boy is ready to start another school year. This Fall he actually has a paid internship. This is one reason why he needed a car.

Because of all the things going on with the Boy, we had to reschedule the trip to Auburn for Phantom. Instead I made an appointment with a local vet in Pensacola to do the blood work. They will fax it to Auburn. I have conflicted feelings about giving Phantom the chemo type drug, Palladia. He seems to be doing great on it, but I have concerns about long term use. His appointment with the local vet is tomorrow so I will decide then if I am keeping him on it or going entirely holistic.

It's a tough call. I hope I do the right thing!

It's Me! Remember?

image from shareinspirequotes.blogspot.com

Hello.

Remember me?

The one who has sadly been neglecting her blog, her half ironman training and just about everything else as she does anything and everything possible to save a sick kitty. I've purchased new and miraculous herbal concoctions which Phantom, the sick kitty, hates. I have become a creative genius in hiding it in tuna, cat food, cat milk, etc to get him to eat it. When all else fails I get someone to hold him down (that would be my reluctant husband) while I syringe the awful tasting stuff down his throat.

He's been a good sport! Bless his heart! And his coat has become shinier and glossier than ever. He's the plushest he's ever been!

Our entire house smells of dead fish, probably something called "krill oil".

My husband is concerned by my sudden interest in potion mixtures and energy healing and has been calling me a "witch". How could he not when he sees me with all my vials of stinky liquid goodness. One of the concoctions has krill oil in it. I'm not sure what krill is, but I know it stinks and it is almost impossible to get the stinkiness off your hands when you accidentally touch it or squirt it across the room or all over your clothing or in the face of your spouse.

This is me. This is the part of me that being an autism parent has created over the years of being told "no", of being told something was impossible. Basically, being told to just give up. Don't even try.

Impossible.

NEVER TELL AN AUTISM PARENT THAT SOMETHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.

This applies to autism cat parents as well.

If I had listened to all the negativity, my son may not have graduated with a regular high school diploma. He may not have gotten into college or done all the things he's done over the years.

If I had listened to all the negativity, I would never have thought I could finish an Ironman, much less two.

If I had listened to all the negativity, who knows what condition my family pet might be in right now. Probably not purring and begging for food or chilling out to his favorite jazz cds.

Yes, the Murph has figured out all Phantom's favorite jazz cds and plays them in the evening just for Phantom's listening pleasure.

Who knows what the future holds, but never listen to the negativity. Think positive thoughts only, no matter what!

We've even called on an energy healer that we met at a restaurant in Pensacola Beach a couple of years ago. She "healed" the Murph's chronic shoulder problem and helps patient's who are dealing with pain and cancer among other things. She has worked miracles with people, so why not pets?

There's also the chemo drug, Palladia that I am still giving to Phantom every other day. He's become very adept at hiding the pills and spitting them out when I'm not watching. He's a sneaky one!

The yellow spot on his paw gave him away the other day.

We couldn't figure out where the spot came from until I took a closer look at his mouth. His entire tongue and mouth were stained yellow as well as his teeth from the yellow chemo pill. He had somehow hidden it in his mouth even as I was giving him the blue pill. Then he went into his bedroom, spit out what was left of the pill (about half) and came smugly back into the family room.

He was busted by the paw stain!

At the moment he is doing great! A huge turnaround from a couple of weeks ago. In a couple of days we take him back to Auburn for more blood tests. The Murph and I will probably have to kill time visiting an arboretum or something while Phantom gets poked and prodded again. As long as he keeps getting better, I'm all for a "tour of Auburn". We'll probably be exhausted as usual when we get home. Those museums and arboretums can really take it out of you. Wine and vodka helps.

One day we will be back to normal. One day our house will smell all floral like again. One day I'll get my 5k time under 23 minutes, do a 50 mile bike ride and swim a couple of laps in the pool and be ready for my upcoming Fall triathlons. One day I'll wear fashionable clothing that doesn't have krill oil stains, take some pictures and Friday will be Fashion Friday again. One day, fingers crossed, our cat will kick cancer's butt.

But for right now, this autism parent is on a mission....

Christmas In July

Maybe it's the general delirium I'm in from getting very little sleep due to worrying about a sick cat, who, by the way, seems to be doing a little better from the chemo, but I'm doing a Christmas in July post before July is over and August is here. Maybe it's because I've been praying that Phantom would still be here and healed of cancer by Christmas so Christmas has been on my mind. Maybe I just want presents and to sit on Santa's lap again. Who knows. When I get my sanity back I will let you know.

I'm posting one of my favorites in the Rudolph the Red nose reindeer movie. I've even been listening to an occasional Christmas song on my Iphone when I'm running. Mainly because I don't have any playlists set up on my phone and don't know how to set them up or even if that is possible so I'm at the mercy of whichever song randomly comes up. Not even in any order necessarily.

This may be due to lack of sleep as well.

I apologize for my disappearance act on the blog and then reappearing suddenly with a lame youtube of my favorite Rudolph song. I hope you like it as much as I do. You'll probably remember it anyway.

Here's another favorite and one I can relate to! Yes, it's kind of lame too!

I'll try to do better next time. When I get caught up on sleep.

Update

image from fergieonfilm.com

I know I haven't kept up with blogging very well this week. Travel weeks are not good weeks for me these days! I'm ready for the Birmingham house to be sold or rented so we don't have to keep going back and forth there every other week. Now we have to detour through Auburn, Alabama for Phantom on the way back and next time we go we'll be adding a trip to get the Boy, which adds another hour and 1/2 to the overall trip.

It's an endless merry-go-round from hell around here these days!

Phantom looking hungry after the appetite stimulant I gave him.

On a positive note:  Phantom's calcium levels are down so that means the Palladia pills are helping him. The vet said it would not cure him, but if he handles the pills well it might prevent the spread of the cancer to other organs. Right now it is in 90% of his liver so prognosis is not good. I'm going to stay positive though. He's eating, drinking and doesn't seem to be in any kind of pain. At the end of this month he will get to see his boy again when we take both of them back to the ham with us.

The Boy has a doctor appointment to see if he needs to stay on the lexapro (he does!) or some other kind of medication for anxiety and we have our annual appointment with AL Rehab to go over his accommodations for this coming school year. It just so happened to all come together for him because he's finished with his summer internship program and starts his new internship for fall when he gets back to school. Both are paying positions which is good. He needs the money especially since his apartment is more expensive than the dorm, but less depressing for him. He was very isolated when he was in the dorm his freshman year.

Phantom will be very happy to see the Boy and vice versa.

We have to get Phantom's blood tested again that week as well and I may see if I can take him to his regular vet which is nearby, instead of Auburn where he has to be in the car an extra two hours. When we took him Wednesday for a blood test, I thought it would only take an hour, but we got there at 8 am and didn't leave until 12. The Murph and I had another "tour" of Auburn which included breakfast at Chappy's and a trip to Chewacla state park, about 15 minutes away.

Pretty waterfall at Chewacla State Park

We found the park by typing in "attractions' on the GPS. If you are following me on Instagram, you probably saw some of the above waterfall pictures. It was fun climbing around on the rocks although I kept my eyes open for snakes. I'm not fond of water moccasins.

We had already done the fine art museum and Pebble Hill and we're running out of "attractions" to visit in order to kill time as we are waiting for Phantom.

An arboretum came up on the attractions list, but neither the Murph nor I knew exactly what an arboretum was. At first I thought it might involve birds, but that is called an aviary.

image from agadams.co.uk

Now I know it's a botanical garden with trees and stuff.

image from facebook.com

Someone also suggested getting a lemonade at Toomer's Corners. Those are on our "to do" list for next time. After his next blood test in two weeks, Phantom won't have to go back for 4 to 6 weeks.

Next time I'm going to find a vet hospital in Vegas, baby. More things to do to kill time!

Just joking, of course! Auburn Veterinarian hospital is a great place to take your pets. I just wish my cat was healthy and didn't have to go there, but if they can't help Phantom nobody can. Besides, I don't think Phantom would appreciate the plane ride to Vegas any more than the car rides to Auburn although he is a much better traveler than I am. At the moment, he's not very happy with me shoving pills and nasty drops down his throat. The Boy says Phantom would really appreciate what I'm doing for him if he understood. I'll take the Boy's word for it. It's his cat after all.