Winston is now home after his ordeal at the vet. The doctor says the surgery could not have gone better and he was a staff favourite!
He does have seven staples in his tummy, is on medicine and is not quite himself yet. He’s very cuddly, but he does tend to hide and he’s not as vocal as he was before he got sick.
We’re hoping his recovery goes as well as his surgery. For now he’s getting a lot of attention and head-rubs!
Kate
Our cat, Winston, underwent surgery today. The little guy was diagnosed with a bladder stone a few weeks ago.
He was put on antibiotics and medicine to dissolve the stone, but it stuck around.
Winston was then in the dangerous position where the stone could move and cause a life-threatening blockage. The vet did more tests to see if our little buddy could hand the surgery and if he had another health issues.
That’s when we had a difficult choice. The surgery was not cheap and the vet said he understood that for some people it’s really a choice between treatment or euthanasia.
I really feel for people who have to make the latter choice. Winston is our buddy and I don’t think I could face having to put him down just because we couldn’t afford treatment.
The Farley Foundation helps seniors and people with disabilities pay vet bills. I’m so glad something like this exists. It’s so sad when people have to put down their pets.
I’m making a donation to the Farley Foundation in honour of Winston. I encourage you to do the same.
Kate
Every now and again, I get a “forward” to my inbox from a well-meaning person trying to alert me to valuable information he or she presumes could save my life.
One such “forward” talked about a secret mechanism on ATM’s that would contact police if I were being robbed. The email claimed all I had to do was enter my PIN backwards and police would be summoned without the criminal knowing. By the time I handed over the cash, an officer would be there to help.
It sounds like a great feature, if it actually existed. It doesn’t. If you tried to do that, you would just get an error that could anger the person trying to rob you and could lead to a very dangerous situation.
I did a little investigating and found a patent on the technology exists, but ATM thefts, while alarming, are not costing people enough money to warrant implementing the expensive software.
Frankly, anyone who forwards that email is an idiot. If such technology were widely used why would banks and police keep it secret?
Today’s email was about 5 things I never knew my cellphone could do. Some were partially right. Other tips were just amusing.
I cannot open my car by sending a signal through my cellphone. I have in the past used it to call my roommate to bring me my spare keys. (Thanks again, Sherry)
The other four were equally useless. There is no secret number you can dial to get emergency services. The only three digit number that can do that is 911. Of course if you find yourself in the middle of a Simpson’s episode and you are a Stonecutter you can try 912. If not, and your phone has no signal, start running.
Yes you can enter a code into your phone to get your serial number. But if my phone gets stolen I’m certain Rogers won’t ask for it, despite what the “forward” said. They will just cancel my account.
My phone does not have hidden battery power. When the battery is dead, I have to use a pay phone.
Yes, I can dial an 800 number to get free 411 service. But you can do that from any phone. My cell is nothing special.
It’s a nice thought that someone would look out for my safety by sending “helpful” information my way. I’m truly touched.
Kate
The new Canadian Community Health survey by Statistics Canada shows 54.6 per cent of people living in Waterloo Region are overweight or obese. The national average is 48.5.
Overweight is defined as having a body mass index of over 25. Obese is having a body mass index of more than 30.
We’re fat! Sorry I didn’t sugar coat that statement but by the looks of those numbers, we get enough sugar!
I’m going to be honest and say I am in the other 45.4 per cent. You could argue I don’t understand what I’m talking about but I do have a frame of reference. When I was younger, I had a BMI of 30.
I made all the excuses from saying I was big boned to blaming it on a slow metabolism. I was lying to myself. I was fat because I was lazy and ate too much.
There’s a lot of talk in the media these days about body mass index, but there’s another number that doesn’t get as much attention as it should: Basal Metabolic Rate.
Calculating your BMR is not an exact science, but there’s a few websites you can Google that will give you an idea of what your BMR is. I can tell you, it will be an eye opener.
Your BMR is how many calories you need in a day if you do nothing. Most people guess their’s is about 2000. WRONG! That’s an average and takes into account people who are physically active and have a fair bit of muscle to maintain. Muscle takes more calories that fat to maintain when at rest.
My BMR is a pitiful 1400. That’s all I’m allowed in a day. That will keep me at my current BMI of 21. Anymore and I gain weight. Any less and I lose weight. Of course physical activity increases the number of calories you can have, but be honest, how may kilometres are you running in a day?
Now if you need to lose weight, here’s another number to keep in mind: 500. That’s the daily calorie deficit commonly believed to be needed to burn one pound a week.
I challenge you to calculate your BMI and your BMR tonight and see how you measure up to today’s survey results.
Kate
When I first moved to Waterloo Region several years ago, I immediately noticed that people here were friendlier than I was used to.
Keep in mind I was coming from Toronto but still, there seemed to be a small town neighbourliness about the place.
While that was a nice thing to get used to, I had yet to encounter a situation that would truly test a store’s customer service. Until the dress.
I’m a bridesmaid in a wedding and had to order a dress from a local bridal store. When I got measured for the dress I thought to myself: “there’s no way you put on that much weight.” But the young girl working at the store assured me I needed the size she was recommending and I chalked my reaction up to vanity.
Well the dress came in, and it was far too big. It wasn’t a matter of needing a few alterations which we expected. It needed to be a smaller dress.
I tried it on for the bride, who was shocked. I’d already priced the alterations needed to make the dress two sizes smaller, and it was nearly what the thing cost.
The bride, who is the nicest person you’ll ever meet, has a natural grace in dealing with people. She called the store owner, explained the situation, and the store owner agreed to look at the dress to evaluate if her employee had made a mistake.
We went in one Saturday afternoon and were surprised to find the store owner to be apologetic and not the least bit defensive. Sure enough, I’d been measured incorrectly and had been ordered a dress that was two sizes too big.
The store owner agreed to pay for the alterations and apologized for the mistake.
Now I know that in the wedding business thing go wrong from time to time. I didn’t expect the dress order to be flawless. And even though the store made a mistake, it’s how the store owner handled the situation that will make me a return customer.
She kept an open mind and made things right. I plan to recommend the place to every bride-to-be I encounter.
Kate
Yesterday raised one of those moral dilemmas we sometimes face in the news business.
A judge released the video tape of a jailhouse interview with Paul Bernardo.
Part of me said we shouldn’t give this murderous psycho a second of air time. But the other side said, the people have a right to hear him deny involvement in the murder of Elizabeth Bain and come to their own conclusions.
We played one clip during the news and posted 3 minutes of the 31 minute video on our website.
Frankly, Bernardo comes off as pompous and evasive. Does it confirm Robert Baltovich’s innocence? Not conclusively.
Does it deepen my hatred for Bernardo? Most definitely.
Kate
I just got back from a week off during which I discovered a new passion!
My boyfriend is an avid mountain biker and introduced me to the sport while we went up north in the Bruce.
There is a Mountain Bike Adventure Park a few kilometres north of Wiarton that looked like fun so we decided to check it out.
It was a blast! We went through some very challenging trails and I even attempted a little jump without hurting myself. Considering I hadn’t really been on any form of bike since I was a kid, I thought it went well.
So well, in fact I may upgrade my cheap bike for something better suited to more aggressive riding.
Here’s hoping I don’t end up in traction!
Kate