Winter Break begins

School is out for the winter break. This is good. I'm hoping that we can catch up on sleep and relax for a bit. That's probably delusional.

Three family members got new glasses last week.

A family cat has been diagnosed with feline hyperthyroidism.

The roads are icy, the temperatures are low, and the wind is wicked. We haven't had snow for a few days, but there's some in tomorrow's forecast.

Even though we are taking a break from school and music lessons, our social schedule is still heavily booked. People keep heading off to sleepovers and parties. It's fun but not good for catching up on sleep. We're still in the throes of various school-transmitted viruses.

We've added an electric ice cream maker to our household appliance collection. It doesn't require salt and ice. The bowl goes into the freezer for a day or so. Then, one takes the bowl out of the freezer and puts it in the machine, fills the bowl with ingredients, and turns on the machine. Twenty to thirty minutes later, a semi-frozen concoction is the result. One can either eat it immediately or let it harden in the freezer for a bit.

Our initial results were very acceptable. The machine makes about one to one and a half quarts at a time. We made a basic vanilla ice cream. There were no leftovers. It took less time to eat than to make.

We have grand plans for mango or raspberry sorbet, green tea or chai ice cream, and many other interesting flavors. No doubt we'll post the successful recipes to this blog.

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The cat thing is going to be interesting. Apparently, the best treatment for hyperthyroidism is an injection of radioactive iodine. It destroys the over-active parts of the thyroid while leaving the rest of the thyroid untouched. The cat stays at the vet for a few days and then comes home after its radioactivity levels have fallen.

We are told that we'll be needing to use a special cat litter for a week or two and that we'll flush the results. I don't think that will work with our septic tank. I wonder what the other options are?

We also have to be careful about how much time we spend with the cat for a week or two as the radioactive iodine continues to decay. It's OK if the cat spends time with other cats, though.

I hope that the treatment is successful. From what I've found on the internet, it works as a cure 90-95% of the time.

Here is a photo of our cats. The one with the thyroid problems is the black one. They're both around 6-7 years old now. We got them from a local animal shelter a few years ago.