John and I headed to Lake Tahoe this past weekend. It was our first time there, and well, the place made a good impression but boy, it sure was dead. something about it being the “shoulder” season?? I don’t know: the weather was great (60s to 70s) but oddly enough, most everything was shut down. And I was prepping myself for some serious shit too, like the ziplines and gondola rides and kayaking. Nope. All of it closed. Damn resort towns.

We stayed at the Marriott Timber Lodge. Marriott never disappoints. Of course the evening temps dipped down to the 30s but leave it to Marriott to maintain the monster heated pool PLUS four hot tubs. Having had my community pool shut down after October 15, I was thrilled to have water access again. John and I didn’t do too much: we walked along the beach in South Lake Tahoe and then did a couple of short hikes around Emerald Bay and Lower Echo Lakes. I sure wish the pups got to come along: they would have loved the cool temps and outdoor adventures.

On Monday, we hit the town of Placerville on the way home. Had a tasty quiche for lunch at Sweetie Pies. We had gone there hoping to get a pie for take-home. Little did we know, their homemade pies have to be ordered days in advance. Total bummer. To get our sweet fix, we hit the Candy Strike shop downtown. Saw candies I hadn’t seen in years. Seriously folks. All kinds of licorice plus Now and Laters. Holy shit, right? Now and Laters bring me WAY back to Clover Hill in Frederick, Maryland. Like concession stands and the Little League ball game. Crazy. There were also taffies, atomic fireballs, banana split chewys… a lot of shit I thought was long banned or deemed dangerous for consumption. Nope, still available apparently in specialty shops. The shopkeeper rang us up, and we were totally done and then he offered us some samples of his homemade fudge. That was our Achilles heel. Ended up ordering a box of fudge and suddenly, our receipt was double. Oh well, that dark Rocky Road fudge was delish!

As much as I am a control freak, I’m learning some tough lessons in life this year. John and I were pet sitting our friend’s two cats, including the one prized savannah kitten. Oscar was a real jewel; I mean aside from his striking ocelot-like coat, he had a wonderful personality for a cat. In fact, he behaved more like a dog. At nine months, he relished the company of people. He cuddled, he walked well on a leash, and they took him everywhere.

Recently, they had noticed he was acting calmer, less rambunctious. They thought maybe he had crossed that threshold from kiddie to adolescence. But then he grew increasingly lethargic and he ran a fever. They took him to the vet on Monday; she thought he had just an infection. She put him on Zithromax. We cat sat starting on Tuesday. He ate, seemed to play a bit, then on Thursday, he was noticeably weak and his breathing was labored. We took him to the emergency vet that night. On Friday morning, I went to transfer him out of the emergency vet and into a specialist’s care. I spoke in person with the vet at 7:40. Oscar was doing better. I went next door to fill out paperwork at the specialist’s office and at 8:15, he was gone.

Honestly, I hadn’t spent that much time with Oscar, but upon hearing the news, I just lost it. Pyothorax they say. Shock, confusion, self-doubt, pity… Our friend is the one with stage IV cancer. He is devastated. Oscar was his best pet ever, his best friend, the one thing he loved most in this world. And he’s gone now.

It’s weird. I think of how lucky Oscar was to be in a loving home, to be taken care of in his short nine months. So many people in the world never experience that luxury. Certainly so many animals never experience that luxury. And yet, when I think of his lifeless body lying there on the examination table, I ache for his pain and suffering. I wish he could have told us there was something seriously wrong. I suppose all this time, despite being a veteran pet owner, I’ve been naive. I mean, what could possibly be wrong with indoor pets? They have shelter, protection, food, love… sure, my dog might limp around (as in Remy’s case) some days, or she might appear a little sluggish. Big deal– humans have our sick days too. But I guess what I’m learning is that animals are not like humans. They hide their weaknesses until they can hide them no longer. Poor Oscar. He tried to hang on, but we failed him. As guardians of our animals, we try to be vigilant but sometimes we tell ourselves we’re overreacting and then shit just happens. They say pyothorax can be caused by a simple bite or puncture to the body. Sometimes by the time the lethargy is apparent, the external wound has already healed but inside the infection grows. The vet removed 100+ mL of pus from his pleural space. They found no wound on the exterior. Our friends never noticed any blood. I don’t know. It’s tough just not knowing how the hell he got pyothorax.

I read that dogs too can get pyothorax, usually from breathing in some plant debris through the nose that then gets into the chest cavity and causes an infection. Wtf? Freak accidents. Sometimes life really is just a goddamn a roll of the dice.

Since John was totally useless in learning the trade secrets from our last professional home cleaning (the ants are at bay now), I decided to stay home today for the visit from our cleaning crew. I thought for sure there was some new wonder gadget or super solvent that would clean like magic. Nadda. Zippo. Zilch. Plain old Comet, Soft Scrub, Pledge, Mrs. Meyers, a floor sponge mop, and a shitload of rags. 100% manual labor. There is no goddamn secret. What a frickin’ buzzkill. But damn my house is clean. The cleaning army is awesome, and I’m cutting our cable to feed my newest addiction: a clean house.

Oh man, it’s 1 a.m. and I can’t sleep. I had a Board presentation this evening (around 8 p.m.) and I’m still totally wired. Of course, like all my other presentations, I obsessed to the point of reciting the talk in my sleep… that’s how I roll: complete OCD. I can’t help it. The good news is that I rocked it, or so they say. I made multiple attempts to add humor, and for the most part, I pulled them off successfully.

So let’s see: what else is happening. Well, a couple Sundays ago, some friends came over for dumplings and football. Yes, you read it right: definitely a random combination but you know what? Who cares. My friend’s fiance is a walking ESPN channel, so he was happy to watch football on HDtv. Meanwhile, my friend and her other friend helped me wrap dumplings, and we had the operation cranking out dumplings at warp speed. Probably folded like 120 dumplings in under one hour. Gotta love the manual laborers. And our little morsels came out beautifully. Super tasty.

In other news, the home projects are continuing. I cleaned up our back patio a bit– disassembled the cheapie plastic chair and tables, made some room for the potted plants and the lazy dogs to sunbathe. I made some additional changes to our dining room. I finally decided to remove our cotton Ikea rugs (which we purchased almost three years ago in Shanghai) and put down something a little less ghetto. I found a cool bamboo rug on Craigslist for $30, and then I accented that with a couple jute rugs from WorldMarket. Yes, my friend Tina has created a monster. And our cheapie Target silverware started flaking, so I splurged on some 18/10 stainless steel silverware from Overstock. Bargain shopping full speed ahead, I tell you. Oh and I just installed a retractable clothes drying line indoors. Yup, can’t take the Shanghai out of me. Like the showerhead, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this sooner, but shit, I found a 20′ line off Amazon. Mounted that sucker in the upstairs hallway, and that shit is like magic. And with the wetter, damper winter weather around the corner, this thing is gonna work wonders. Retractable. You gotta get yourself one.

As you can see, I’ve got the shopping bug again. It really does come and go, and right now, I’m in the mood. Last Saturday, John worked most of the day so I hit the local TJ Maxx (it’s my namesake after all) and Ross in search of baby gear for the first-ever baby shower I’m attending this coming Saturday. Man, being a part of the public affairs department at work has made me all crazy about themed gifts. So I spent like 2 hours going through the baby department in search of the right gift. Finally settled on a doggie theme, and now I have the big headache of wrapping the gift still carrying that theme. Sigh. It’s exhausting. Of course the good news is, after I was done with the baby shopping, I got to do a bit of browsing for myself. Picked up some cute clothes and a few placemats (I know, can you believe I would ever drop a dime on that kind of shit?). I think our dining room is actually done now!? Well at least it’s as good as it’s going to get. Who wants to come over for dinner to see?

So Sunday, John and I hit downtown SF. Caught an awesome, awesome show at the comedy club (hurray for Goldstar Events– again!). Seriously, John laughed so fucking hard, he was in tears. Twice. Lavelle Crawford is the man. And the opening act was smooth as butter. A beebop dude named J. Lamont. I swear, in my second life I want to be a performer. I’m just totally enthralled with talent and dedication and polish. These peeps are really amazing. I’m such a wannabe. Sigh.

Bow down to Rachel Ray folks. Seriously. Anyone who can make me look and feel like I know what the hell I’m doing in the kitchen deserves crazy props. Today I got home a bit earlier than normal, so I was determined to have a home-cooked meal ready for Bubbey when he came home. Yes, me and my self-imposed challenges. I’m like in a game show all by myself. Anyway, another winner, I tell you. Leeky Linguine with Shrimp. That’s right: I’m not making your standard grilled chicken dinner; I’m kicking it up a notch with some seafood! All class. 🙂 And can you fucking believe? Another tasty meal! Rachel Ray is the woman! She is like 7 for 7.

Thankfully, my plan is working. Just as I had hoped, these small victories are quickly building my confidence. Could it be that I am beginning to derive some small pleasure from cooking? True, I didn’t really think this was ever possible. But it’s happening! I find myself combing through recipes, preparing extensive grocery lists, psyching myself up to get home and start cooking. 30 minutes, go! And a half hour later, the result is like magic. Hmph! Eating out is so… pedestrian.