Lame knitting first: I'm still plugging away at the blue baby blanket; I'm down to three skeins of the Shine Sport left. Just one more for the body and the last two for the edging. It's still too uninteresting to photograph. The blanket has been dunked in a glass of wine at the True Colors concert, dragged through the sand in Hawaii, and nuzzled by the orange boy (so it's thoroughly cat-hairy). It's lived a lot and it's not even finished. Luckily, it will wash, and it's going to a home with three cats--so I haven't fouled it beyond redemption.
I'm desperate to start something new, or get going on the colorwork sweaters for this fall, or even pick up another WIP, but with the limited knitting time I have lately, I feel like I have to get the blanket done. I've got another proofreading side project that's fun but time-consuming, and the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory hawk-watching season has started up. 
My first shift is this Thursday. I should be spending evenings reviewing field guides, but I can't until I finish this freelance project next weekend.
We're feeding the family of feral kitties so much that they leave some of the food. They're getting bigger, they look a little healthier, and they're less fearful of us. The orange boy knows they're there, but so far he hasn't taken revenge by spraying. I haven't tried to catch the grizzled old patriarch lately; I figure I can just let him eat in peace with his pride.
More than a week after my wisdom teeth came out, I'm still having pain, so I've been popping Advil and I've been a regular in the oral surgeon's office. Dry socket is not a fun experience, but I've been able to control it with over-the-counter painkillers, and it should go away within a week. I'm kind of a cheap date--Advil P.M. does as much for me as Vicodin.
Josie, aka Missy J, aka the J-Dog, has not been doing so well.
She has had arthritis 
since she came to us at a year and a half old; she's 14 now, and the arthritis has gotten progressively worse. It has degraded her spine and spinal cord, so she 's unsteady on her feet and can't lift her back legs easily. She can't always control what's going on with her back end, so sometimes she has accidents—and the stairs from our front and back doors make getting outside to go difficult and unpleasant for her. We decided awhile ago that we needed to make the stairs easier for her with a ramp. I was in favor of buying one, since we are not very handy. My neighbor the contractor was going to help us out, but he got busy, so we decided to try building it ourselves. We've gotten it constructed and covered with carpet, but it's still too steep and slick for her. We're going to try putting footholds and a guard rail on it, and then be patient in trying to train her to use it. So far we haven't had much luck--she ended up sliding down it on her butt (when her back legs give out, she ends up sitting down with her legs out in front of her). Of course
Tina, aka Tina Beans, aka She-Butt, aka Spasmodica scampered right up and down it (with a few cat food bribes). Of course, she's a agility veteran, and we did all kinds of climbing up ramps in agility training. 
Tina is 12 and has a stiff shoulder, so it won't be very long before she'll need the ramp herself. Until we can perfect the ramp for Josie, we have to help her up and down the steps. Usually lifting her back end (by looping her leash under her belly) gives her enough support to get up the stairs, but it doesn't help with going down. It's a good thing I can lift her when necessary.
