That went very well....

I took a prednisone last night and went ot visit my parents today. And it went beautifully - other recent visits have been ended, even if they were close to ending, because my allergies couldn't be ignored any more. Today? Today I held cats, petted cats, brushed out Babe (who was shedding like a champ - it was quite humorous) - and no allergy grief at all. Oh, my eyes watered and my nose tickled toward the end of brushing Babe out, but I washed my hands and wiped my face with a clean cloth and it was fine.

It was a great visit. They are doing pretty well and the birds at the birdfeeders are insane. The lilac is just coming into bloom (the white lilac, the purple is in full swing) and mother offered me some, but none were fully blooming yet so I just chose to smell them - love that scent. Also am allergic to it, though not so much as many other things, including cats. No reaction.

I enjoyed the visit; I hope my parents did as well. Good to see them again and touch base. I came away with another book - Todd McCaffrey's Pern book, which title I have already forgotten - which I'll have to find time to read at some point. :) And I brought cat toys, as I usually do - in this case, some balls which were basically ignored, and some plastic-based 'bobble' toys that created much hilarity as Babe tossed them about. The theory is, the cat hits it and it wobbles. The theory was clearly invented by someone used to kittens no older than perhaps six weeks...if that. Full-grown cats hit it and it slides, wobbling at the far end. But Babe was grabbing them in her teeth and tossing them, and clearly enjoying it mightily.

I still felt fine when I got home! Took a shower and changed clothes anyway - no sense increasing exposure for nothing - but I didn't really feel like that was needed, which was great.

Photos!

I have uploaded some photos from my visit to my parents' house today; most are from their house but some are from the drive there or back. As usual, I took tons of photos on the hope that some would turn out; several cooperated. The photos are on Flickr. Some interesting ones:

Their cat Babe, with one of the toys I brought over.

Basta, a cat that I actually got many years ago and who has stayed with them, looking very relaxed.

The two cats in (almost) twin poses.

And, for one that isn't cats, a barn from the drive home.

Pant, pant, pant, mutter, power tools.

I cannot say, as I hoped to post, that the second bookshelf is assembled and attached to the wall. But I came bloody close. I hauled it (50 pounds if I remember the package warning right) up the stairs in pieces, put it together in the bedroom (only floor space open that has enough room right now), hauled it down the hall, and it is in the corner ready to go against the wall almost. I have to complete opening a hole for the electrical outlet behind it (yes, I know, but it was the only way to get a bookshelf in that corner, so life goes on) and then actually attach it to the wall.

The power tools have decided they have no power. As they have a three-hour recharger and I have no intention of attaching bookshelves to the wall post-midnight, this will not be happening tonight. But it may be happening tomorrow night - there's not a lot of work left to do to get it in there, it just all requires the power tools to, you know, do something indicative of having actual power instead of whirr faintly and far off, not unlike the groan of a teenager who wants to sleep through first period instead of getting up.

When I got home from my parents' house, Scott had cleaned up quite a bit in the computer room - it looked really good. So I moved stuff around, vacuumed, and figured, hey, I oughta do it before I start piling stuff up again.... (I am the one who starts most of these piles - Scott definitely contributes once they're there, but he is by nature a much tidier person than I am, he's just tolerant of my piles and inclined to fall into dropping things in them once they are there.)

I've already confirmed it will fit, let the power cords get where they need to (with modifications), let the closet doors (which it is very close to) open, and not run into the desk on the other side of it. For once, my measurements and such appear to be right on the mark. Just...need...more...power. Hehe.