Stanley It Is in Everyday Ramblings

She’s still here. The tabby cat. I am calling her Stanley. If my fierce little protective gang girl Stella was still with us, she would be long gone. To say Stella was territorial would be a bit of an understatement. Sam is not happy, the birds are not happy. I gave Sammy lots of attention yesterday. I am not happy about having another obligation no matter how fleeting.

I walked over the big hill and talked to the closest vet clinic yesterday afternoon. They will scan her for a chip for free if I bring her in. I haven’t heard a cough since that first encounter but they helped me understand how to wash to keep Sammy safe in case it is kennel cough. She let me touch her yesterday so she definitely has the domestic cat gene. I am feeding her as far away from the birds as I can.

And so it goes.

My private student fell while hiking in the Gorge on Thursday and thought she was okay Friday so she came to class. She gets bonus points for that. She is bruised and battered but somewhat functional. But as soon as we started doing simple movements in a chair and I got her down on the mat her back started cinching up and had some spasms. Wow. I put a blanket between her legs and had her roll onto her side and then on her back but there wasn’t much we could do.

But with all that last night she attempted the naked bike ride. She had wanted to do it forever (at least since she first heard about it) and this year she wasn’t going to let the opportunity slip by. She texted me from the start line to tell me she was all drugged up and ready to go.

Needless to say, she is not coming to class today.

I am still going to go over to the studio today for class just in case anyone else shows up. She was telling me on Friday that someday in the not too distant future I will remember these one on one classes fondly because everyone will want to come to my classes. The word on the cancer unit they tell me is that I am awesome! That is what my coordinator told me this last week.

I could be so much better. I am working on that. :) And now I have some general idea of how to deal and what to do when a student starts having back spasms in class and what to do with her when she comes back at the end of the week. Gently, ever so gently. We sure do have design flaws, us humans. A work in progress we are.

The garden above is a few blocks from here. I went out with the camera yesterday afternoon to get in the last of my activity before settling down to watch True Blood. The show has diverged so much from the books now my guess is that it will end differently than the books. I am just along for the creative ride.

Tonight I am going to read my new poem at the local open mic and see some long lost friends. That will help buoy me up I am sure.