(no subject)

I spent more time than perhaps i should have trying to identify the remains of the crab (strongly suspect Pugettia gracilis) and sea urchin (not sure but i'd guess Strongylocentrotus sp) in a series of still life photos i took on the beach at the beginning of the month. It's a pleasure, though, as is curating my growing collection of notes about birds and blossoms such as the ones on the Northern Shoveler and coastal bush lupine.

The early evening - as i started the workday at 7:30, i ended before 5, with a hurrah for a boundary - was pleasant. Christine and i walked, and then did needlework together on the deck. We moved inside and she tested our app on my phone (resolution not quite right, but the animation in the splash page is dear). She's appreciative of the palette i developed some months ago in her design work, and i'm delighted it's working so well.

It was roughly ten years ago when we first went TV free for a month. We put the set in the closet and haven't missed it (with perhaps some exceptions around sporting events) since. We are so adapted to streaming entertainment now, though, that i think another month of interrupting the sit-and-watch habit will do us well. Last night was unintentionally a night of no video: i think we'll just continue through the end of November (all bets off when my parents visit).

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Mr M went to the vet for a follow up visit yesterday. He's lost another pound, and the expectation is that it's some sort of pancreatic failure. He is at least 16 years old, which is a good age for a senior cat. He's still visiting us with his rumbling base purr, and he's more demanding of his spot on the bed or in the chair than ever. He's definitely slowing down with arthritis for the past couple years and various GI issues as well. At the moment, he is an adorable little old man of a grey cat, and his rituals are woven up into our morning.

I ask Christine a question about the prognosis, and she'll follow up at the vet today. She weeps. I know my tears will come.

Now, though, he may be much lighter than he was in his prime, but his presence is strong. His coat is plush, and he sits with an attentive gaze on the world.