The latest on Nathan is not good. He had a good weekend at home last weekend and went back for sedation, examination, x-rays of the sinus cavities, and teeth cleaning on Monday. They did all that, but with no results as to the cause of his problems. They kept him overnight Monday to get him strengthened a little bit more and set an appointment with the specialist on Thursday. He came home Tuesday and was much happier and healthier. His breath is no longer bad and he isn't bleeding anymore. He seems much more energetic and happy and is eating a lot. He is weak and hesitates before jumping up to the loving wall. That is maybe his only symptom at all.

We took him to the specialty clinic Thursday morning. The doctor lady was very nice and told us everything it could possibly be... some that are treatable and then lymphoma, which isn't really. They tested his blood again because they were surprised how healthy he appeared, but the blood counts of red cells, white cells, and platelets were all still incredibly low. They gave us about 10 minutes with him before they took him in for the bone biopsy. We loved him and cried and cried. It is just heart-wrenching to know that these could be our lost moments with our sweet cat. They did the tests and we may have the results Monday, but when Mark talked to the doctor Thursday afternoon she had looked at the slides herself and said it didn't look good.

This morning I finally looked up feline lymphoma on the computer and read the prognosis. With chemo, some cats may live a couple more years, some only 4 to 6 months. Without treatment, only 4 to 6 weeks after diagnosis. That just broke my heart again and I cried and cried. Just one more month with Nathan and that would be with him not feeling well? These last few months of the year represent death and sickness too much to me already.

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Okay, but otherwise. There is still other life going on, like Mark going to Snyder and eating last night at Allen's in Sweetwater. He said it wasn't quite up to their usual standard, but he'll go to the "real" Allen's (not the buffet) tomorrow and I hope it is better for him.

My workspace at work is so nice. I put up pictures on the cubicle walls and am beginning to fill the drawers and have my things there. I love it. I took on Bluegrass this week and have lots of work to do. It hasn't been done for a while at all and I need to figure out the current bluegrass music and get it in and figure out some categories and clocks. I listened to a lot on Thursday and made some headway. I need to get some record service pronto. I went out to the Cat with the kids from work yesterday. I enjoy that, but we just don't have much to really talk about. I wish I had a couple of drinking friends my age. I guess I have Frenchy, but she's been busy this week. And I don't need to be out drinking anyway, I have a bad headache this morning (2 Dos Equis did it, I think).

The news of the week has been David Letterman's blackmail. I am hoping there doesn't become a big scandal from all of this because I do like him so much. Yes, it is deplorable that he had these affairs with women that worked for him during the time that he had a "real" girlfriend (articles say he and his wife have been together since 1986, though they only got married in March). The reports seem to have been before his son was born, too. And they seem to have been consensual. As long as all of that stays true, I think his honesty about it on TV Thursday will serve him well. If it comes out that he was an office lecher and women felt pressured, then there will be problems. Maybe this is part of the reason he has resisted marriage all these years and with good reason. Maybe he knew he wasn't going to resist affairs. It's all very weird.

I have a lot of housecleaning to do before the family and the Dutch brothers come on Monday. I cleaned out the pantry and the pan/baking supplies cabinet last night. I'm sure that will be the first thing they inspect when they get here. No, it didn't need to be done now, but I'm glad I got it done. Today I will tackle everything else, but I do want to clean out the bathroom supply closet and make it look organized and clean and only have good towels in it. I am promising myself that I will work on this office today, too. I have really, again, let it turn into a big mess. I don't know how that happens so fast except that every letter and piece of paper that comes into the house ends up here and then I move them all into piles and then start a new pile. I will work on this office when football is on at 230. I will go work on the bathroom and living room and maybe our bedroom and bath until that time. That's the plan.