Author: Julie M. McKinnon

Wellness Reboot

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Every year, I resolve to exercise more and eat healthier. Keep in mind the same “to do” list has graced my fridge for several years – including a reminder to refinish a medicine cabinet stowed in my basement so I can finally have a bathroom mirror again – and I routinely eat high-fat cheeses, cured meats and stuffed olives along with my fruits and veggies. When it comes to inertia, I’m typically consistent.

This year will be different. Here are just a few reasons why.

  • Machu Picchu: In little more than two years, at least one friend and I are going to celebrate turning 50 by hiking the Inca Trail and exploring the mysterious city. My usual weekend walks are great, but they will not be enough to get ready for a four-day climb.
  • Healthy Lucas County: I do marketing communications for a community health improvement collaborative that encourages people to be healthy by – you guessed it – exercising more, eating healthier and the like. I must practice the advice I give daily.
  • Counting Steps: I bought one of those seemingly ubiquitous fitness bracelets so I can really track how many calories I’m consuming and burning. It tells me that with just moderate changes I can reach a far healthier weight by late summer. I love a challenge.

Now excuse me while I shun the savory goodies and get active. Maybe soon I’ll even grasp that refinishing a medicine cabinet can count as exercise. Fingers crossed.

Kitty Dialysis

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Gigi

Gigi, shown here taunting a furry guest while lounging in his bed, has always been a tad spoiled.

Every few days, I hang an IV bag on a twisted metal coat hanger from an open kitchen cabinet door. I change the rather big needle on the bag’s tubing and spread an old pink bath towel on the countertop.

That’s the setup for what I call kitty dialysis, a process that requires me to inject fluid under the skin on the back of my beloved cat’s neck for 10 minutes or so. Gigi is in kidney failure as older cats commonly are, and the fluids help her stay hydrated and flush out waste products.

As anyone who adores cats knows or can imagine, administering kitty dialysis is not an easy task. Once I pick up Gigi and she spots that dreaded towel, she twists and hides her face in my shoulder. I try to soothe her, and since the needle doesn’t seem to hurt, I’m pretty sure she is more uncomfortable than anything from being wrapped in a towel to stay still on the counter and by the fluid temporarily pooling under her skin until absorbed.

Not everyone opts to give their cats kitty dialysis once they find out they are in kidney failure, which in Gigi’s case was signaled by vomiting and refusing to eat. I decided to give the fluids a try, and since Gigi isn’t nearly as sick as she was nine months ago when her symptoms first appeared, I’m definitely continuing.

Here are a few suggestions I have for those with cats in kidney failure:

  • Try a specialized commercial canned cat food if your cat won’t touch anything the vet prescribes. Gigi likes some of the Friskies Special Diet flavors, which are lower in magnesium and other categories than some common commercial options.
  • If your vet suggests using Pepcid AC, grind it up and mix it into canned cat food. There is absolutely no way Gigi would let me give her even half a pill as the vet advised.
  • Stock up on disposable wipes and carpet cleaner. Gigi still gets sick quite a bit, but the vet says that is normal.
  • Keep tuna on hand for when all else fails. I try to use it sparingly by spreading a few flakes and juice on top of her canned food, but Gigi knows a mournful look will earn her more.
  • Use your air conditioning as soon as it starts to get warm and keep it on for the season. You may feel like a crazy cat lady, but if you’re like me, it won’t be the first time.

Collecting Postcards

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I've long loved Victorian postcards, especially those from Halloween and Christmas.

I’ve long loved Victorian postcards, especially those from Halloween, Easter and Christmas.

I’ll never forget how excited I was going through the postcards my Mom had picked up at a garage sale. They were stored in one of those gold plastic hospital wash basins, and they told stories of people visiting far-flung places or sending loved ones touching greetings. I was 10 at most, and I enjoyed reading the handwritten notes on the back of the postcards as much as admiring the photos or illustrations on the front.

That wash basin was the start of my first real collection, one I have expanded on in the decades since. Mom and Dad often went to auctions, antique stores and junk shops, so they liked that I had something to look for and buy with my allowance. Even today, all but the rarest postcards are fairly cheap.

Victorian holiday postcards, especially for Christmas, Easter and Halloween, have always been among my favorites. I also liked postcards from where I grew up and other places where I have lived:

Linen postcard with Our Lady of Consolation statue from my hometown of Carey, Ohio.

Linen postcard with Our Lady of Consolation statue from my hometown of Carey, Ohio.

Relatives and friends have helped me add to my postcard collection through the years. My oldest sibling, Carol, goes way out of her way to try and make sure I have postcards from every country she visits on vacation, and she has also picked up vintage postcards for me. This historic postcard was in a shoe box with cards Carol bought at a garage sale:

Jack Dempsey Knocks Out Jess Willard: Postcard commemorating the "Champion of the World" fight held in Toledo on July 4, 1919.

Jack Dempsey Knocks Out Jess Willard: Postcard commemorating the “Champion of the World” fight held in Toledo on July 4, 1919.

Antique or vintage postcards are favored souvenirs when I travel. Poking through dusty antique shops and markets beats souvenir shops any day, although I do buy and send my share of new postcards. I’ve found fantastic old postcards at postage stamp markets in Madrid and Paris, including this one:

I picked up this Eiffel Tower postcard at a postage stamp market in Paris.

I picked up this Eiffel Tower postcard at a postage stamp market in Paris.

At first I felt guilty about reading people’s notes on postcards, but I quickly got over that. Nosiness prevailed because postcards contain real stories in a very appealing package.