What I get for thinking things are good

[bill_schubert]

A couple of weeks back I thought that our financial issues had stableized enough that I could look to investing and rebuilding our dwindling savings. My fault for doubting entropy.  Today we paid $550 for an x-ray, blood tests, exams and drugs for both dogs who have a respiratory illness I'm hoping will be fixed with antibiotics.  Both dogs are coughing.  Toby is more sick.  Children, you know?

Toby picked my office to have diarrhea in so I got to break out the carpet cleaner at 7 this morning.  

Finger's crossed it will all be better in a couple of days.  I think they got sick in October with a kennel cough at the vet hotel and it morphed into respiratory.  The xray was to be sure Toby didn't have pneumonia which he does not.  Whew.  

I did put Dana's SS payment into the investment account and am determined to try to live day to day without it.  We're not doing much of anything, going much of anywhere, buying much beyond food.  Dana is onboard with thrift living for a while.  We'll be OK but I'd sure like to get our finanancial padding up where it was.  We can not forever live with the current decay.

On the bright side, Walmart had a great quarter and a while back I bought some of their stock.  It has done pretty well over time.

Otherwise the market kind of sucks but I'm long term optimistic.  Not much going in the savings rate department so its the only game in town.

Today we had our monthly, not really every month, lunch with the three networking friends I have left from when I was in business.  They are all three having their best year ever.  I hang out with successful people.

Today I started watching chickens for my friends who are out of town for a few days.  The clouds rolled in and the automatic door on their coop shut leaving to of the chickens outside.  I opened it again and they went in just about the time the bottom fell out and it started pouring rain.  A little good fortune there for me and the chickens.

Watching the chickens and the cats is pretty easy and fun.  It is a nice little house with a nice field behind it.  The deer come up for food.  Very pastoral.  Going over there a couple of times a day is not much of a chore.  

PB tomorrow morning.  I need to move around some.  Early night to sleep tonight, I think.  The dogs have been keeping us up some and I feel like I'm behind.

Comments

Beaux and Toby

[maisydaisy]

All good wishes for both of them to recover well.

[siglinde999]

Pet bills are the worst! So far this month, it has been about $1400 for Milo (who turned out to have nothing really wrong beyond a tummy ache for a few days), and an estimated $3700 for Fancy, who has/had a sinus infection from food stuck in her teeth and now needs a sinus flush to make sure there is nothing stuck in there. My daughter’s cat Mango had exactly the same checks as Milo after she started throwing up. She was worried Mango had eaten part of a Christmas decoration, but silly cat has no blockages. She must have had something though, as she is on multiple antibiotics.

[bill_schubert]

Well, I do feel a bit better after hearing those numbers.

Vet costs are getting more than a bit out of control. Big companies own nearly all of them. No more of the All Creatures Great and Small stuff. The soft melody is replaced by a cha-ching sound.

[maisydaisy]

Same in the UK and as someone who volunteers in a cat rescue i see more and more sick cats dumped.

[siglinde999]

Those big companies are starting to invade Canada too. Mine are still independent, but I hear it is definitely a trend.