Mama Cat Brimsley is Sick

She went MIA for a day. We know cats do that sometimes. We started to worry when she wasn't back the next day. Sweetie eventually found her hiding behind the water tank. With Miggy they managed to get her to come out by giving her a treat. 

While waiting for an available schedule with the vet, Miggy fed her by hand. She ate very little. Luckily, Miggy got a schedule and they brought Brimsely to the vet today. She had a 40.2'C fever and was dehydrated. Blood test results showed she had an infection. The vet still needs to do additional tests to determine the type of infection.

We left Brimsley with the vet. She'll do additional tests and they will put an IV for meds and nutrition. She hasn't been going out of their area, but we saw her the other day go out. She must've eaten something outside. The vet noted that her stomach is also bloated. 

I hope she'll be better soon. Her kittens eagerly await her homecoming. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

A Year Ago in Paradise

Ahh, Google Photos reminded me that it's been a year since we visited a beautiful resort in Sipalay. I'm sure more people know about the resort now since a news anchor featured it in her vlog. We managed to visit Manami Resort before it officially opened, thanks to a friend who made the arrangements. 

If I were to describe our experience in one word, I'd say it was "peaceful". There was only a handful of people in the resort. We enjoyed the place with our friends minus the crowds. The resort is secluded so don't expect to see other commercial establishments. You eat, sleep and enjoy within their premises. If you're a bit adventurous you can go island hopping too. 

We were happy just staying in the resort for 4 days. I especially enjoyed just sitting on the balcony and watching the sea, birds flying and waiting for sunset. We certainly enjoyed swimming and basking under the sun. At night we used the mini pool in our villa. I got to nap a lot of times too. That's my kind of vacation, doing nothing. I think I've had enough adventures in my life, so just lounging around is my kind of thing now. 

I would have probably gone back by now, but I'm currently avoiding the airport since they announced they have electrical issues. I cannot risk being exposed to heat in case their a/c doesn't work. Well, there are other places to explore. :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

How to Beat Heat Exhaustion

I've experienced heat exhaustion a number of times already. I'm prone to it because of my medical condition. Even just a few seconds of heat can ruin my entire day. That's the reason why we have a constant quest to cool down our home. 

I asked a friend who is into construction if putting sprinklers on your roof helps. I saw a news clip about a technician who installed sprinklers on his roof. It automatically goes on at a certain temperature. He claimed it reduced the temperature in his house. I asked my friend if that's effective and if it won't cause your roof to have algae. He told me it's better to install double insulation on your roof. 

Well, installing double insulation on one's roof is an expensive and complicated process. Another friend suggested using an ice pack. Wrap it in a small towel and insert it on your armpit and other pulse areas. That will help quickly stabilize your temperature. I should have done this when I had heat exhaustion before. We have reusable ice packs in our freezer which we use as cold compress for bruises or swelling. So knowing we can use it as first aid for heat exhaustion is good information. 

Of course, stay hydrated all day. Don't wait until you get thirsty before you drink. Don't bother to go out as well since it's really, really hot. I've switched back to purchasing groceries online since it's too risky for me to go out. I'm a vampire for now and just step outside when the sun has set. I also moved all my potted plants under the bamboo trees to protect them from the sun. Some of my herbs were starting to fry even though we watered them regularly. If things get worse I'll set up a net for them. 

Oh well, take care everyone!

And, happy, happy birthday to my FIL, Dad! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Eagerly Awaiting my Updated Craft Room

There was one last thing that needed to be done in our basement, the flooring. We should have had it done last year before the cabinets were installed, but our contractor said it was still okay. The tile issue spread already, so we decided to have it replaced as a precaution.

My craft (a.k.a. maker room/sewing room) has changed a lot in the past 30 months. Here's how it's changed -

The work will probably be done in the next few days. I have to figure out how best to re-arrange my stuff. I probably need to sort and categorize everything before I put them back in the shelves and drawers. Lots to do! 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Summer Spruce Up

Our house used to be the newest on our street. Not anymore since our neighbors had their homes renovated after we moved in. The construction, the dust and the noise that comes with it have been challenging for us. Good thing our homeowners association has been very efficient and kind. They came to our rescue a couple of times already. 

It's been almost 2.5 years since we moved to our current home. Since we're having the flooring fixed in our family room, I thought it would be a good idea to do some improvements outdoors. Took the opportunity to have some things re-painted. I think it's been five years since the house was renovated, so it's about time to re-paint.  

We recently changed some outdoor lighting fixtures. It's smaller than the old one, so the gate post needed to be fixed. I found an old photo of my childhood home and the post lamp looks a lot like what we have just installed. Sweet! We like the new lamp better than the old box one. We kept the old one for future use (maybe for Mom's garden?). 

The cats had also scratched out part of our front wall, so we had that repaired too. What needs to be fixed though is our front lawn. The Bermuda grass is almost dead. Annoying weeds that have been hard to remove have taken over. The bamboo though is still very healthy, but hard to manage. I'll probably work on that later this year when it's cooler.

Since there's a heat wave, any outdoor work is only done early in the morning. Gary and Marvin move to indoor work by mid-morning to make sure they don't get heat exhaustion. We also remind them also to stay hydrated. My target is for them to gain 5 pounds by the time they finish the work (hehe).

#BeKind #StaySafe 

Busy Sunday

It was a busy day today. The boys brought Meredith to the vet for grooming. We noticed she was scratching too much. The vet said last week she didn't have ticks, fleas or mites. Her blood and skin was checked, but there were no issues too. The vet recommended to have her washed with medicated shampoo. Since we've never bathed a cat we thought it was better to have the vet's groomers do it. 

Meredith had her first appointment today. She was quite anxious on the way to her appointment. The groomers said she would eventually get used to it. She came back smelling really good. Her fur was so smooth and bright. She is scheduled to do weekly grooming for 4 weeks. I hope that would help with her scratching. 

I myself got busy sorting another box of Mom's bead supplies. I was so surprised to find it. I think she brought it to our home without us knowing because it was my first time to see the box. I finally found some beading materials I've been looking for in the other boxes I sorted. That's how I knew this was a box she had brought to our house in one of her visits. 

Sorting one box of bead stuff takes so long. I thought I'd finish it today, but I need another day to finish it. I've been transferring the beads to uniform ziplock bags since most of the old holders are quite dusty already. I didn't know Mom had bought a lot of beads. When I left my bead boxes with her before I left for Singapore she told me she wasn't really into beading. Haha. She got hooked because she more than doubled my collection. 

I hope I'll finish sorting the box tomorrow so I can move on with decluttering. We want to really finish organizing our home so we can have friends over. Mom said it will take time and it's really taking time. I have suspended any sewing projects for now so I could focus on decluttering and fixing our home. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Adjusting for the Cats

Eversince feral cats decided to "adopt" us, we realized it required a lot of adjustments. Sweetie recently put together a video showing some things that could get affected in your home (outdoors) when you have cats. Luckily, we only have feral cats and they prefer to be outdoors. They've taken residence in our laundry area. We can't have them indoors because of my health and our home isn't pet (and child) friendly. 

Here's the video:

And here's a list of other things we've had to adjust:

• Garden and plants - biggest adjustment we had to make was with our side garden. It was the best place to grow veggies since it would get morning sun. Unfortunately, the kittens had been sitting on the pots (see photo above). RIP my veggies. I have since removed all my potted plants from the area. We also had to put spikes on the planter to keep the cats from using it as a litter box. 

• Goodbye vertical garden - I really wanted to grow veggies so I had a vertical garden installed. I would find my pots on the ground and soon realized they were using the grids as a ladder to reach the roof. I had it uninstalled last week. 
• Spiked water tank (and washing machine) - since we removed the vertical garden, the kittens have been using the water tank as a jumping board to get to the roof! We're afraid they might damage the pump and the pipes, so Sweetie had to put spikes on top of the water tank to prevent them from going on it. 
• 
  Helmeted faucet - we thought there was a ghost using the water since we hear the water pump working even without any of us using it. The kittens have been jumping on the faucet and have accidentally turned it on many times! Sweetie put a box on it when I was in the hospital, but I suggested to use a water bottle so it's waterproof. It looks like a helmet now, haha. 
• Fortified walls - Kaley Boo had been hanging out on top of our front wall. No harm about it, we thought. Apparently, she scratched off the top of the wall and exposed a pipe. Of course, we're having it fixed. 
• Dressed up car - the cats absolutely love hiding under the car. Good thing we decided to add on a cover for the engine. We wanted to make sure cats/kittens won't be able to hide in the engine area. Well, they like hanging out on top of the car. After some surveillance, we finally saw who was going on top of the car, Meredith and sometimes the Intruder. Sweetie found a cover on Lazada and this has helped keep them away. That's also why I got Meredith a cot, so she can enjoy being on higher ground without having to go on top of the car. 

We love the cats even with the adjustments we had to make. They give us so much joy and love. I just 

remind them to stay out of my pocket garden since they already own the side garden (haha). 

#BeKind #StaySafe