Wisdom of Meerkats

Back before I downgraded my satellite service I used to watch Meerkat Manor on Animal Plant. Very often I would call my mother on Friday nights and we would share our take on Flower's daily dramas. So it was only a little surprising to find the book Wisdom of Meerkats in the package my mom sent me this week. Nestled between two Styrofoam boxes containing new pieces for my Irish Nativity was this little book full of meerkat photos and inspiring quotes from a vast array of people--Mother Theresa, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Tori Amos, William Shakespeare, etc. Here are some that stood out to me: "Sleep is the best mediation."--Dalai Lama "Always do right--this will gratify some and astonish the rest."--Mark Twain "Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was." --Dag Hammarskjöld "Minds are like parachutes; they only function when open." --Thomas Dewar "A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart."--Goethe "The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character." --Margaret Chase Smith "Waste not fresh tears over old griefs."--Euripides (The picture in this post is one I took at the Memphis Zoo during my birthday trip this summer.)

One and Only

A devil-eyed Daly, an indifferent O'Malley and a wonderful view of the inside of my nose. Is this really destined to be our Christmas photo for 2008? It just might be.

Just Another Day in the South

Thankfully the heat of August is fading away and I no longer need to fear the 100* weather. Even though we are still hitting 90* most days, I'm ready for the fall. I can't wait until I can wear a light sweater to work and smell the neighborhood fireplaces when I come home. I will also be happy when the Palmetto bugs stop thinking that my back room is a fine and dandy place to hang out. Daly helps out some, but she would rather play than kill. Why, oh why, couldn't I get a killer kitty? At least she does something and lets me know when I need to come by with a sneaker to flatten and flush the buggers. O'Malley won't give them the time of day. Little do the critters know that I have a plan. The lovely guys at Terminix are coming over tomorrow for the annual indoor spraying. Take that! As for my diet, things are going well. I've eaten more lettuce in the 18 days since starting Nutrisystem then I had in all of 2008 previously. I promise that it's not all lettuce and rabbit food. I get good entrees that take little to no effort and it's just the sides (salads, fruit, veggies & dairy/protein) that I need to worry about. I've not once gone hungry and some of their desserts are quite good. As cliche as it sounds, I feel better, too. Since starting I've lost 4 pounds (according to the lines I squint at to read on my non-digital scale) and have worked out (and yes, walking the Botanic Gardens with my mom for an hour and a half in 90*+ weather IS working out) three times. Now if I can convince myself to exercise tonight I'll be on a roll.

Bugger!

I consider myself an animal lover. Until last night the only animal that I could not stand was the ferret. This distaste is directly linked to the fact that a ferret did me wrong when I was very young. My mother took me to visit her then boss and I was allowed to hold the weasel like creature. It wasn't long before the beast bit my face and would not let go. I don't remember how we got it to let go, but I do remember that is the day I discovered ferrets are evil. Last night I realized that the red wasp is evil, too. After dropping some tickets off at LadyBoyd's house, a flying insect came up from behind to admire my hair. It was flapping it's wings around my ear and I could see something big out of the corner of my right eye. I tried to swat it away, but that only lead to more flapping and then a sharp sting on my head just above my ear. It felt like I'd been hit in the head with a brick. (Tangent alert: my father has always said that Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick" should be my theme song.) I got some Tylnol and advise from the Boyds. By all accounts the red wasp does not have a powerful sting and therefore would wear off shortly. But since things can never be easy, that was not the case. I can only assume that I have a non-life threatening allergy to the red wasp. By the time I picked up my parents from the airport (about 30 minutes later) I had a huge lump on the side of my head and had such sharp pains that my father had to drive home. During the drive I found myself punching the arm rest to get my focus off of the pain. It wasn't until 11p--6 hours after the sting and 2 hours after the hydrocortisone cream application--that I started to feel some relief. I was literally crying out in pain when Mom was moving my hair to apply the hydrocortisone cream and tea tree oil to the sting last night. I also was unable to sleep on my right side due to the tenderness of the area. This morning things are a little better. I no longer have the searing pain that was coming from the sting site. However, there is redness, swelling, and itching on the side of my face around my ear and the general area around the sting is tender to the touch. Hopefully the Allegra and ibuprofen I took this morning will start to help. Consider yourself warned: Red Wasps and Ferrets are evil creatures!