Today, I woke up to the sound of the phone ringing - it was the car service people following up with a customer satisfaction survey. I let it go to the answering machine, but decided to get up as the alarm would be going off in a few minutes, anyway. I had a cup of coffee, checked blog comments, and flea combed Dancer, as I saw he was scratching himself. Eek! Let's just say he'll be getting flea combed at least twice a day for the next few days! I actually combed him 4 times, today! Poor kitty submitted to it all with good grace, meowing occasionally, when I pulled too hard at his fur! He didn't have any fleas when I combed him last week! I guess a new batch of eggs must have hatched! He received his last flea treatment less than two weeks ago, so, it's too soon to give him another treatment. In the meantime, I removed the sheets I use as chair covers on the family room sofas, sprayed the sofas with flea spray, put new sheets to cover the sofas (white, so I can see if there are any unwelcome critters), and washed the old sheets in hot water and bleach! By this time, it was already noon.
Then, I put away yesterday's laundry, hung up today's laundry to dry, emptied the dishwasher, had a sandwich for brunch, and sorted through some paperwork.
Later in the afternoon, I went to the Auto Club to hand in my mileage verification for my auto insurance renewal (I get a mileage verification discount), and, since they have a DMV counter in the Auto Club, I renewed my car registration, as well. On the way back, I stopped to buy cat food. The store was having yogurt on sale for $.50 each, so I bought six. I will consider that as coming from the August grocery budget!
After I came home, I brought in the trash cans, had a cup of tea, watered the front garden with the garden hose and the back garden with the sprinklers, watered the houseplants, cooked the ground beef, changed the sheets on my bed, and video chatted with my daughter.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Flea combs!
- Dancer letting me comb him
- Getting today's main errands done (car registration renewal and mileage verification)
- Washing machines
- Water for the garden
Tuesday's To Do List:
- Put away the laundry - DONE
- Do another load (sofa dust sheets) - DONE
- Empty the dishwasher - DONE
- Paperwork/pay bills - STARTED
- Cook the ground beef - DONE
- Bring in the trash cans - DONE
- Water the house plants - DONE
- Water the garden (front & back) - DONE
- Renew the car registration - DONE
- Turn in mileage verification - DONE
- Change my bed sheets - DONE
I am happy with what I was able to accomplish today. Tomorrow will be a day at home, I think.
Wednesday's To Do List:
- Put away laundry
- Do another load (my bed sheets)
- Vacuum the house
- Flea comb Dancer
- Continue with paperwork/bill paying
- Go for a walk
How was your Tuesday? What did you do on the last day of July? What are your plans for Wednesday?
I've started thinking about this but not put it into action yet. I'm still deciding on my categories - so far I have health, exercise & fitness, home, garden, social, relationships. I know there is something else quite significant in my life but can quite pin down what it is I want to focus on, if that makes sense. I'll either start it in September after my holiday, or after the major part of the home improvements have been completed.
ReplyDeleteThat's great that you are thinking of the categories you'd like, Eileen. Perhaps the missing category is leisure activities or hobbies or self-care/pampering? The categories don't have to be set in stone, either - you can start with what you have and add, delete, or change, as you like.
DeleteI didn't realise cats could still get fleas if they have been treated. Would it be worth trying a different kind of flea treatment? I hope you manage to get on top of the problem. At least Dancer is happy to be combed in the meantime. X
ReplyDeleteThe way this flea medication works is - you apply it and it gets absorbed through the skin; it stays effective for approximately 30 days. In the meantime, if a flea jumps on them and bites them, then, they ingest the medication and die. In theory, at least. I suppose they need to ingest a certain amount of the medicine in order for it to be effective. In the meantime, they lay eggs, which hatch and a new cycle begins! It doesn't help that it is hot (they are most active when it is hot) and there are all those stray/feral cats in my garden (because I am a softie and I feed them) and they are not treated for fleas. So, every time I go outside and come back in, I am probably bringing in flea eggs on my shoes and worse, a hitch hiking flea or two! *shudder* I might try a different brand of flea medication and see if that works better. Sometimes, fleas develop resistance and then, it's harder to get rid of them. Dancer is not exactly happy to be combed, but he's tolerating it in small doses. When he starts swiping at my hand and tries to bite, I know it is time to stop!
DeleteMy cats like the flea comb. I haven't had fleas in years, but they still occasionally like to be combed with it. Hope Dancer adjusts soon, or more importantly, the fleas will be gone, so you don't have to use it on him.
ReplyDeleteDancer is tolerating it. He was more patient with me yesterday than this morning! Thank you; I, too, hope that the fleas will be gone, soon!
DeleteI haven't been able to completely get rid of the fleas (I see one one in a while) but I never did apply any chemicals to the house at all. I just keep on putting the Advantage II Multi on them every month and they haven't been scratching in a while. I think they still have a few, but they're not jumping on us, we don't get bitten, and the kitties look fine so I'm not stressing about it. It'll probably get worse again when the weather cools off? I don't know. Good luck with Dancer!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nathalie. I had been wondering if you were still dealing with fleas at your house.
DeleteI used to apply Advantage II, but then, I bought Frontline because that was what was available at the pet supply store. I should probably try Advantage, again.
I combed him again, today, vacuumed the house, sprayed the sofas and area rugs, and am washing what I can! I need to buy another drying rack! The one I have isn't enough for when I need to wash the quilts! I think the fleas multiply more during hot weather - the cold weather kills them (but it rarely gets that cold, here).
The one I use now is Advantage Multi. I guess I was calling it Advantage II Multi by mistake! It's not sold at the pet stores, I don't think. They do sell Advantage II at the pet stores. The Multi one is more expensive and it supposedly prevents fleas, ear mites and 2 kinds of worms. My cats are strictly indoors but the vet still recommended switching them to this one when I told her the Frontline wasn't working. As I said, it hasn't killed all the fleas but the cats haven't been scratching for weeks now and I haven't seen any fleas on my socks! It could also be because I haven't been sitting outside and we haven't been hiking?
DeleteIf you have an IKEA nearby, you should get the drying rack that Pixel recommended to me. I bought two and they're large and great for blankets, etc. You can buy it online but shipping might be expensive.
Thank you for the information on the flea meds, Nathalie. I have received a reminder for an appointment with the vet, for Dancer; I will ask what they recommend. Dancer, too, is strictly indoors, but, I just discovered that there seems to be a flea infestation outside (due to the garden cats, no doubt), and I've probably been bringing some in every time I go outside and come back in! Eeek!
DeleteI do have an IKEA nearby (they opened a huge store that I haven't been to, yet!) I have a similar drying rack and want to get a second one like that - that way, I can keep them side by side to spread a queen sized quilt over them. Need to add "trip to IKEA" on my to do list!
I sympathize with poor Dancer as I have one or two mosquito bites and it is not fun to be itchy! At least the mosquitoes and other flies don't seem too bad this summer. I think the heat helped. I was very happy to see a Phoebe, one of the fly catching birds, darting around the yard feeding on winged insects. We may hate them but many birds really enjoy them!
ReplyDeleteI discovered another empty monarch chrysalis this morning so I guess that's another butterfly flown from our milkweed nursery.
Dancer says thank you for the sympathy! Didn't you have a Phoebe nesting in your shed, earlier? Maybe it's that same one! Yay for another successfully hatched butterfly! Monarch butterflies have one of the most complex life cycles, don't they?
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