Hi All,
Not a lot to write about... Work is s..l..o..w... I'm broke and getting broker, and still have to pay for the Israel trip. Actually, I have money set aside for that, but somehow will have to be creative when it's time to pay my mortgage!

Shayna is perfect and adorable. I think that the Energizer company should trade in the bunny for Shayna! I tell you, she could beat that Energizer bunny up! Which is a good segue for this: she likes to beat up her toys. She has a little stuffed Elmo (the Sesame Street character) and a little stuffed lion, and she beats them both up on a regular basis. It's really funny to watch. Tonight a friend came over, and she could not stop laughing at Shayna playing and racing around nonstop. Pretty hard to be sad around her!

Unfortunately, Monaco doesn't feel the same way. Ever since that awful vet appointment, Monaco has been unhappy. She's a delicate, "special needs" cat to begin with, and then add to that grieving for Indy, my absence during Christmas, getting Shayna shortly after my return, and then that debilitating vet visit, at which she was found to have ear mites. So I had to use a mild antibiotic in her ears, as well as use an earwash. She despised them both; could barely walk without falling down. After about 12 days of this, she's a wreck. Won't eat or drink, is skin and bones, won't move, groom herself, or even use the litterbox. It's disastrous. So I've had to take very careful care of her to get her out of this depression. If I talk with her softly and pet her for about 35 minutes, several times a day, I've found that she will eat and drink a bit. If she hasn't dramatically improved by Monday, I'm taking her to the (ie. Angel's expensive and private) vet on Monday. It just isn't worth risking kidney failure, or worse.

All these vet problems have me asking myself if I am a candidate for Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome!!! (sorry, blogger's hyperlink system is choosing not to cooperate-- below is the full link, if you're curious!)
Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome

Could I be that messed up?? But fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, all of the veterinary problems in my household are real, and none of them were caused by me. Let's see... Truffle really did have 2 major surgeries, Indy had advanced heart disease, Angel had a cough that went away after a course of antibiotics, Shayna had the biggest abscess that I've ever seen, and now Monaco has ear mites... and depression. I didn't imagine any of these ailments! Though I almost wish I had, so that the animals didn't have to suffer through them, and I wouldn't have to pay the vet bills or provide 'round-the-clock care.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: I'm just sick of feeling like I live in a veterinary office!! (Though I did just finish FOUR books by James Herriot, so I'm not sure about the truthfulness of that last statement...)

A final sad note: it turns out that the kitten I found in the Virgin Islands died. I'm glad he was in good hands, literally and figuratively, but they could never get him to eat. :(


I wish I had more uplifting things to post. I'm looking forward to brighter days-- when I don't have a cold, and my pets (and I) are all healthy at the same time.

Oh, there is a little good news: tomorrow night I'm hosting a dinner party in my home, so I got the house looking all spiffy. Our neighborhood supper club is focusing on "Authentic Italian" cuisine this month (my choice :)), so I'll make an Insalata Caprese as an appetizer, and chicken Marsala as the entree. The "guests" (participants?) provide the rest. Promises to be a good time...

A Trip to the Vet

Shayna's new-found pleasures:

*Attacking the cursor on my laptop
*Pouncing
*Following Monaco everywhere
*Attempting to eat Angel's kibble (which Angel allows)
*Playing some serious soccer
*Jumping around the bathtub while meowing (?)
*Climbing curtains and tapestries

It's been an adventure!
She's just so adorable, and her little spirit soars.

Yesterday was a very not fun time at the vet. This is in large part because for some reason I insist on taking my cats to the vet at an SPCA facility, in contrast to the very cushy vet who sees Angel. I'll try to explain this apparent discrepancy some other time. In any case, taking pets to the SPCA facility is comparable to a human going for an appointment at a public health clinic. Ever been to one of those? I didn't think so. Trust me, they're good places to steer clear of if at all possible.

So there we were, in "Pet Welfare Central." It was horrific, with all the barking, yelling and whatnot. I was mortified for Monaco, as she has quite the delicate and shy disposition. She responded to it all by becoming comatose. The kitten is a lot more gregarious, so she fared okay emotionally (I think).

I had to wait outside the office, because the racket inside after 15 minutes was bordering on outright cruelty--ironic, since it's the Society for the PREVENTION of Cruelty to Animals, but whatever...

We got in to see the vet, a Korean woman named Dr. Kim. She was thorough and expressive, but understanding her through her thick accent was something else altogether. She had something of an extreme hands-on approach with my kitties; I've never met such a direct vet in my life. I had given Monaco a very small amount of sedative prior to leaving the house, and Dr. Kim said "This cat: Not Okay! Too calm! Do not care when I handle! How much Ace [Acepromazine] you give?!"

What I wanted to respond was: Well Dr. Kim, 2 mg. of a sedative was the least I could do for her, considering you are prodding every part of her body, removing the tartar on her teeth with your fingernails (seriously!), giving her 2 kinds of ear wash and 2 shots, all in one visit! You're just lucky she didn't go into cardiac arrest!

What I DID respond was: "I think she's pretty grateful for those 2 mg. of Acepromazine about now..."

Shayna received a clean bill of health, though she has to go back twice more to complete her kitten shots.

As we were leaving, a Husky entered the reception area. And promptly had a grand mal epileptic seizure, right in front of me. I was yelling "Help! Get a vet!" It was awful; at first I thought he was dying. Foaming at the mouth, urine everywhere, jerking around uncontrollably on the floor. Beyond scary, and sad. I made sure the vet techs would mention it to the vet(because the family kept saying "Oh, he just gets nervous when he goes to new places.") Anyway, it was a jarring ending to a difficult appointment. We're all glad it's over. I was so shook up that I had a glass of wine to calm my nerves.

Shayna had a fever last night --from the massive amount of vaccinations, no doubt-- But she recovered to regale us all with her antics at around 3 a.m.

Monaco on the other hand is faring poorly. The eardrops have caused her to be unsteady on her feet and she keeps losing her balance. She can barely even jump up onto the sofa without tipping over. Actually, she does fall over, as soon as she gets on the couch or anywhere else. Pitiful. I left a message for the pleasant Dr. Kim..

Assorted tidbits

In case you're wondering, the kitten still doesn't have a name. I can't decide between Shayna, Cali and Cami. Tomorrow is her vet appointment, so maybe I'll have some breakthrough by then.

She is growing so fast! Her latest hobby is jumping on Angel-- from chairs, sofa, bed, whatever. Angel doesn't mind at all.

I'm excited to finally have my website and advertisement up! These two things have taken a lot of time (not to mention money), and they had better be fruitful, since I need to be saving, not spending!! The ad will run in a local magazine, and my web address is www.jshomesforsale.com, if you're curious. :) Feel free to leave me a comment on it!

Speaking of spending, I'm going to Israel on May 3rd for 2-3 weeks. Mom and I will come with one of those (hopefully not too obnoxious) tour groups, and go everywhere, even including Eilat and Petra. Hopefully my great-uncle will also join us. Then I plan to stay a week, whether with or without my family, to scope out some communities.

I'd like to visit Zichron Yaakov, Netanya, Ra'anana, Herzliya, and suburbs of Haifa. I found a nice Realtor named Jeffrey in the Netanya area, and I'd like to meet the Realtor named Liuara, with whom I collaborated last summer during the war-- but I think she mainly covers the Jerusalem area. (If you know of anyone who needs an agent in Jerusalem, I highly recommend her!)

I think that about covers it for now.

Cute Kitten Photos :)

Yesterday I drove around the neighborhood, trying in vain to find the kitten's family. Finally some other neighbors told me to stop looking for her family, and go home and make her part of mine instead. Okay.

Monaco is doing a bit better with her. And the kitten is no longer afraid of Angel.
Here are some pictures:


Here is no-name kitten looking fetching atop my vanity.

Here is Angel, intently watching the kitten play.

Here she is, sitting on my dresser.

Here she's playing her favorite game, hiding under the ottoman.

And playing "footsie" with me from under the ottoman.

She might need a name. Any ideas?

Meme: Six Weird Things About the Kitten

I couldn' resist. These are all the things I know about her:

1. Her fur can't decide if it's orange tiger-striped or gray tabby, and her tail is a mixture of both. Some have said this is called calico, since she also has white paws, but it's not like any calico I've ever seen!

2. Her ears looked like they had been dirty for years, yet she's only about 9 weeks old.

3. She had a camel hump, even though she's not a dromedary.

4. She chases the balls I throw for Angel. (Doesn't she know she's not a dog?)

5. She seems to eat her weight in food every day.

6. She scares the *%$# out of Monaco, and constantly steals her food.

I could go on, but the meme said "6 Things."

BTW: She will be going to the vet on Wednesday for an exam and shots. And she still doesn't have a name. when the vet's office asked for her name, I said "orphan," but they didn't like that, so I said they could call her kitty. And when asked for her color, I said "strange."

Shabbat Shalom!

Big News in Yaakova's World

Hi All,
Well, here's the thing. As I was in Ft. Lauderdale on a layover last week, I got a phone call. My neighbors had found an 8 week old kitten, and would I be interested in having it? So when I returned to Orlando, I went to visit the kitten. He/She, I didn't know which at the time, was a little, unattractive, flea-infested, dirty-eared, sharp-clawed mess with a camel hump on it's back. I declined., Partly because of the kitten, and partly because I don't feel ready yet, and because I plan to adopt an older cat in Israel in May, and on and on.

Fast forward a few days, and my friend called again. The kitten is tired of living in her bathroom. Sure, she can stay with me until we can find a home.

Big mistake. I've gotten rid of the fleas, cleaned the ears, discovered "it" is a "she," gotten rid of the camel hump (which turned out to be the most disgusting abscess EVER, and erupted, and I'll spare you the truly gruesome details! Suffice to say, she's now on antibiotics...), clipped her dagger-sharp claws (much to her chagrin), and fallen in love.

I told my friend that I'd try to find a home for the kitten (who still has no name), but truth be told, I haven't tried very hard. She's a cute and very lively kitten, but she's got the most unattractive markings and coloring that I've ever seen! But is that a reason to send her to a shelter? I don't think so. A bigger concern is that Monaco despises her so far, though the kitten seems to view Monaco (my cat) as a motherly figure. On the other hand, the kitten is afraid of Angel (my dog), but Angel clearly thinks the kitten is her own baby! Actually, kitten and Angel seem to be getting closer all the time.

Here are pictures of the little rascal:

Better Late than Never

Wow, I can't believe I've been back from vacation for a whole week! It feels like I just returned yesterday.

There's so much to blog about, but for the moment I'll simply keep my promise to post pictures from the St. Thomas synagogue, and other Virgin Islands pictures as Blogger allows.

As I said before, though the synagogue is still lovely and historic, it was more beautiful prior to their recent renovation. My pictures are a bit dark- hope you can see all the beautiful carved mahogany!

The front of the synagogue:


From the inside, looking out the entrance:


The bimah and hanukkiah:


The ark, housing 6 Torah scrolls:


Looking across the synagogue, to the rear:

I'm sorry to say that I can't remember the name of this type of wall. Perhaps it's called a wall of remembrance? You can see the yahrzeit candles lit. I'm sure there are many precious memories represented. (If it's disrespectful to have this photo posted, please let me know and I'll remove it. I'm unsure whether there are specific rules about this.)

If you are interested in learning more about this historic synagogue or some of the very interesting history of Virgin Islands Jewry, here's a great site:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/stthomas.html

Enjoy!