Off the hook

Weather: Sunny and windy, warm

Archers: Me and M, four youngsters around 10

Shot: Three arrows at thity metres

Points: None, Sight unadjusted

Lost: An arrowhead...

T and E were very keen to scratch through the earth after my missing arrowhead, until I explained to them that no, it's gone, you won't find it, and we all want to shoot our next round. M and I picked up some broken arrows before we left. With some luck one of those heads will fit.

M-d informed us that a neighbour of his had the Corona-infection. It was unclear from his story, though, if it was a confirmed case, or just ambulance nurses playing it safe.

I just ate way too much ice-cream. It is actually possible.

Tomorrow is archery at the medieval fair in Kälen. I still don't have a costume, but I have had my sewing machine repaired, so perhaps next year. (I assure you, it's a medieval sewing machine)

I have a terrible cough. It's showing signs of last stage, but that still usually lasts a couple of weeks.

Loffe appears to be happy, despite the lamp he's still wearing on his head. We had the tube taken from his face today, and now the black hole that was there has turned into a red hole. That is as it should be, I understand: the dead skin has fallen off, and left an open wound.

Once the wound starts closing, it should heal quickly.

Cough.

And here I was thinking that we would skip the cough this time. There has been almost half a week when the cold has been almost over and done with, then it started tonight. There's a spot just inside my breastbone that *hurts*, and it's time to go to bed.

I hope it's better tomorrow.

I made an appointment with the vet next week.

Byzans is going to have the usual shot, but Loffe probably won't, since his stomach seems to be a little out of order. It may be nothing other than a sensitive stomach, and the nurse I spoke to had several suggestion about food we could try. I pointed out that since I drive from Ånge (more than an hour), there's no real point to go there only to buy food, and come back some other day with the cats.

I have started to feed him a little at a time, hoping that will make him less prone to throw up. Perhaps next step will be to see if wet food makes any difference.

Yesterday didn't start well. I expected breakfast at the usual hour, Matte put some down for Byzans, and then she took me into the bathroom. I had to wait until she finished her shower, before I could get out. At that point, Byzans had finished her food.

I didn't get to take my walk either, and I got no comebackin treats. Eventually, Matte took a cage and put me inside it. Then I heard her give Byzans more food!

So, was this the vet? Sometomes vets say you can't have any food. Matte eats anyway, of course.

It turned out I was right. It was the vet, and it was a long trip, as it usually is. The first thing we met on arrival was a big nasty dog, but Matte took me to a different spot without dogs, to wait.

The examination room was nice. There was a window in one end, but the windowsill was too narrow to sit on. I tried the window in the other end instead, but I couldn't look out of it. Before i had found anything else to look out of, the nurse arrived. She actually put a stick up my behind! I told her I don't do that kind of thing, but she didn't listen.

I must have gained rank, because I got two vets this time. They took a very long time to prod my head, my tummy and my tail, and finished by splashing something in my eye. The nurse came back, and splashed some more. The last splash wasn't so bad, I suppose...

It was after that the real humiliation started. The nurse took off the the fur on a part of my tail! Now I have a ridiculous little rat tail, with a tiny tuft at the end. I would have left there and then, if Matte hadn't been holding me. I have told her that I don't like being held, but she forgets sometimes.

The vet prodded some more, and the nurse soaked my tail. Then it sounded like we were finally going home, but no, not until they had put a lamp on my head. It almost didn't fit in the cage. I finally managed to take it off, but Matte put it back as soon as we were home.

I don't know when I will be able to show myself outside. Not with the lamp, that's obvious. The bullfinches won't let me hear the end of it. I wonder what the mice will say about the tail?

Yesterday, I took the cats to the vet in Sundsvall. This was necessary for Byzans, who needed her checkup and vaccination, and merely desireable for Loffe, who has been coughing. Last time coughing happened, it may have been worms, but I thought it best to ask.

The car drive went better than I had feared: both cats were quite calm. When we arrived, we were shown into an examination room, and I let them out to check the surroundings.

Byzans was fine, precisely as expected, but Loffe seems to be a slightly different matter. How different I don't really know. It seems that he has some kind of heart condition. That is all that can be said for the moment. This meant that the visit, instead of half an hour, took all of three hours, and included blood tests, x-ray and ECG. The only conclusion in the end was that his heart beats wery arythmically, but only sometimes, for some unknown reason.

This was completely unexpected. I had not noticed anything, and I still don't notice anything, that suggests anything serious to me. But for all I know, it may prove not to be serious. We'll have to wait and see.

I called the vet's to ask about a prescription for Mips (her kidneys aren't what they used to be), and talked to a merry-sounding nurse. She referred to Mips as "lilljänta", which can be translated as "little lass", and which I found totally charming.