Keeping On

 I'm mostly over the inflammation issue I experienced from hoisting the Christmas tree up into the rafters.

Oddly, my brother in Idaho told me his wife's father injured himself putting away a fake Christmas tree too.  In taking it down some stairs into a basement he tripped and fell down the stairs.  He hurt his leg, thought he'd broken it, couldn't put weight on it or get up, and didn't have a cell phone on him.  This was at a relative's house he was helping.   He dragged himself, using his elbows for propulsion, outside, and down an alley to his house for help.   He's awesome and extremely tough.   He refused to go to the ER, and is ok after a few days of rest.  No broken bones.

Next year I vow to put it away the way I intended to in the first place this year.  Throw a rope up over the rafters, tie one end to the bottom of the tree, and hoist it back up that way.  I'm very happy the big maples are gone, relieving me of the nightmarish feet thick leaf carpet atop the cat yard wire issue.  Trying to remove the mounds of leaves each fall left my neck and shoulders and body inflamed for weeks at a time then.

The last days, since the fire at Vivians' place, I break into sobbing just suddenly.  I can play with the kittens in the bathroom, then suddenly break out crying.  They've found 8 cats alive now, which is a small solace for Vivian I hope.  One fundraiser alone has netted over $32 thousand dollars.  I am happy about that.  Vivian is someone who would rather give money to a good cause than keep anything she doesn't need for herself, but now she does need help.  I wish that fundraiser would net over a million.  She and the cats of our area, because that's what she'd spend it on, deserve it.  The losses the family incurred, including the house and belongings were valued at over $700,000.   Their insurance won't cover the entire costs of rebuilding and replacing all their belongings.  Never even comes close.  The same items they had cost way more now and so does rebuilding.  I don't know what they'll do.   I can't imagine the horror of trying to figure out what to do even and also doing that in advancing age, when they're both supposed to be retired and enjoying life.  And all the paperwork and lost records that make it even harder.

I'm so grateful to everyone who has donated to help them out.

My nephew, his wife and their child, are down in Brazil visiting his wife's family.   Now there's unrest in Brazil, I saw on the news, something like the January 6 insurrection here, where people charged the capital intent on destoying democracy I guess because the election didn't go the way they and their savior lord and master (Trump) wanted.  I hope my nephew and his extended family there will be ok.  His wife's sisters in Brazil really like cats.  I've only met one of the sisters briefly when she came up for the wedding.  I know I'd like both of them.  

Zippy and Silly are having so much fun now in the bathroom.  I have to be sure to leave them alone so they will sleep because otherwise they just play constantly.   Darn happy kittens anyhow.   Make me laugh and laugh.

They're leaving Friday morning early, with the colony caretakers adult daughter and her husband, for the FCCO, where hopefully they will get accepted into the FCCO's life saving Kitten Caboose program and move on to loving homes where they will be cherished.