August 2022 Update

Time flies. I can’t believe we’re already at the end of August. Time flies so I guess I must be having fun… There were good things and there were bad things. The heat and drought in Europe could be the worst in 500 years. It almost makes me long for the winter. Jimi seems to enjoy these warm and hot days. He refused 3 times to come inside in the evening and spent the night outside, while I was laying awake worrying about him.

Jimi’s birthday is coming up later this week. He turns 4! The next day he’s scheduled for the yearly checkup with his vet. I requested a home visit because Jimi doesn’t like the car rides and I’ll spare you from the nasty details.

But I’ve got also some sad news for you. Jos, the cat from my dear friends got wounded in a fight with another animal and needed surgery. Unfortunately they had to amputate his tail. Jos has recovered well and is doing okay right now.

My neighbours were away for 2 weeks and asked me to take care of a stray cat living in their garden. After a few days the cat was already waiting for me and we almost became friends.

So let’s enjoy this summer and don’t think too much about autumn or all the bad things in the world. And the bloodiness barbaric inhuman Russian army. Enjoy all the little things around you and cherish your family and close friends. Invite them over for a drink. And ice cream.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Once a Year

This is not my beautiful house! (Reprise) Jimi was due for his second annual checkup today. Just like last year, all went well and Jimi’s in top condition. But unfortunately, Jimi was so, so stressed… I have mentioned before how Mr. Bowie enjoyed the car rides. What a contrast compared with Jimi, he’s so scared inside the car. Glad we’re back home and enjoying our treats in the garden on this warm summer day.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

This Is Not My Beautiful House!

Jimi’s check-up visit. Medical care is as essential for your cat as it is for you. It’s a good idea to get a checkup for your cat once a year. Jimi was due for his first annual checkup today. All went well. Jimi is in top condition – though the vet told me I got to keep an eye on his weight.

For many cats, a veterinary visit is a stressful experience. Mr. Bowie was always relaxed and enjoyed the car rides. But Jimi was so stressed, the poor boy. He was so happy to be back home.

And you may find yourself
In another part of the world
And you may find yourself
Behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may ask yourself, well
How did I get here?

“Once In A Lifetime” – Talking Heads

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Poor Poor Pitiful Jimi

Oh no…!! I had to take Jimi to the veterinarian hospital, this afternoon. Last Saturday, I noticed he was suffering a bit from a swelling under a healed wound on his right paw. Today he stopped playing and wanted to be left alone. Just to be sure, I called for an appointment at the hospital.

Jimi doesn’t like the car rides as Mr. Bowie did. Bowie always enjoyed the car rides, even if it meant an irritating medical check up. Jimi’s medical check up all went well. It seems he was suffering from an infected wound. Jimi was treated with appropriate medication after they cleaned and disinfected the wound and the abscess. All should be well and healed very soon.

Afterwards, back home, Jimi needed to take some time to relax and recover from this first stressful event with his new human. I needed time to relax too. No espresso please, I’ll go for some dark chocolate…

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Good Feeling Part 2

Okay Mr. Bowie… you can relax now. Yesterday, Mr. Bowie had a medical check-up concerning his ear and eye problems. Thank goodness we got very good lab results; he’s in a good condition and no problems found with his heart, thyroid gland or kidneys. Unfortunately, there’s a slight drop in Mr. Bowie’s blood pressure but it’s still a little bit too high. It looks like the new hypoallergenic dietary food had no real effect on Mr. B’s blood pressure. There’s also the possibility that stress and anxiety is causing this high blood pressure. He had a hard time during collecting his blood samples a few months ago… We will follow up this issue the next months.

Mr. Bowie also lost 1 kg of weight because he doesn’t like his new diet food. I’m going to switch gradually back to his favourite food. And of course, he deserves some extra treats at the end of the year… Next medical check-up is planned April next year. We’re going to enjoy the Holidays, my furry friend!

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Good Feeling

I had a good feeling about this. Last Friday, Mr. Bowie had his medical check-up concerning his ear infection and high blood pressure. The lab test results, concerning his ear, were very good. We were all very happy! It looks like all the stubborn bacteria of the ear infection are killed and gone, again. I can stop the treatment next Wednesday but we’ll keep our attention on this issue.

However, Mr. Bowie’s blood pressure was still a little bit too high and the doctor performed two blood tests. Mr. Bowie was not amused and displayed aggressive behaviour from hissing and growling to scratching. But hey, he was well within his rights to react this way. A lot of people (and cats) have a needle phobia too… I got the lab results later in the evening and everything was good. Thank goodness! No problems found with his thyroid gland, or a kidney disease. The doctor suggested to use a new complete, hypoallergenic dietary food for adult cats with insufficient kidney function. The product is based on one animal protein source (venison) and one carbohydrate source (rice) and is therefore also suited for adult cats with food hypersensitivity, like Mr. Bowie. It also should help to bring the high blood pressure down.

As always, I want to thank you for all the support and concern. That is very kind of you. Mr. Bowie says “Meow!” 

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding. 

Bad Feeling

I had a bad feeling about this. Have you ever had a bad feeling about something and been right? I had a feeling something was wrong with Mr. Bowie. 

Today, Mr. Bowie had his medical check-up concerning his ear and eye problems from last year. The lab test results were not good. Unfortunately, the doctor noticed Mr. Bowie needs medical treatment for another ear infection. Bummer! He needs ear drops twice a day for two weeks. Also, Mr. Bowie’s arterial blood pressure was higher than normal. Maybe it had to do with the stress situation of the examination, the car ride or the news about Amy Schumer getting arrested for protesting Supreme Court nominee goon Brett Kavanaugh. We have to follow up on this high blood pressure situation and try to found out why the stubborn bacteria returned in Mr. Bowie’s ear. 

Blood pressure on tail

Once again, I want to thank you for all the support and concern. That is very kind of you. Mr. Bowie says “Meow!”

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Newsflash #32

They say life is like a road. They say it has bumps, cracks and obstacles, but in the end, it gets you somewhere. Last months, I had to bounce back from bumps in the road and focus on emphasizing the positive. But don’t worry. I am okay. Mr. Bowie is okay.

In fact, Mr. Bowie is doing very well. Today, Mr. Bowie had his medical check-up concerning his ear (and eye) condition after his surgery from months ago. And again, thank goodness, the lab results were very good, no signs of those stubborn bacteria. Mr. Bowie was treated a second time for tick prevention because we live in a place with the highest tick population in Europe. 

If the forecasters are correct , a widespread, long-lasting heat wave will spread across much of Europe. Weather forecasts for the next two weeks predict temperature highs between 26 and 31 degrees Celsius. May was a very dry month, and June has also been terribly dry. The situation for the time being is normal, but in ten days will be considered dry to extremely dry. Home-owners are advised not to waste valuable water on things like watering a lawn. So Mr. Bowie, don’t spoil the fresh tap water and understand the value of water! And now if you’ll excuse me, I have to buy some ice cream…

As always, I want to thank you for all the support and concern. That is very kind of you. Mr. Bowie says “Meow!”

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Newsflash #30

Control. Yesterday, Mr. Bowie had his medical check-up concerning his ear (and eye) condition after his surgery from 2 months ago. And again, the lab results were very good, no signs of those stubborn bacteria. There is no reason to look so angry or sad, Mr. Bowie. We’re going to reduce the antibiotic medication even further. Let’s hope we can give up the medication soon…

Afterwards, Mr. Bowie took the rest of the day off. I’m so happy right now.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

 

A Day in the Studio

Musical update. Recently, I created a new customised work area in my recording studio. I’m working more ‘in the box’ instead of using my hardware equipment and analog synths. I bought a controller keyboard from Arturia, the KeyLab Essential 61. It gives me seamlessly integration with virtual instruments and DAW software. Right now I’m working on various contemporary orchestral songs using the great libraries from Spitfire Audio and Sound Dust.

Mr. Bowie, the studio technician, likes my new way of working. But when everything is up and running he prefers to take a break in the bathroom.

Mr. Bowie is still on his special weekend antibiotic medication. It looks like he’s alright and the situation is under control. Next month we’re going back to the hospital for a medical check-up.

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Newsflash #13

Little sick boy. This evening, I rushed to Venhei, a Veterinary Hospital. An occasional episode of vomiting is normal in most cats, but Mr. Bowie kept vomiting for several hours. Mr. Bowie got a medical check-up by Sarah, another experienced and brilliant vet working at Venhei. Our little sick boy needed medicines to fight the nausea and his fever. The problem was probably caused by eating something strange in the garden, a bug or another insect. I got to keep an eye on the patient for the next 24 hours. Get well soon, Mr. Bowie!

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Medical Check Up 2016

Doctor doctor, gimme the news. Today, I took Mr. Bowie for an annual medical check-up to Renate, his favourite and brilliant vet working at Venhei, a Veterinary Hospital. Just like last year, she performed some medical tests for Mr. Bowie’s comprehensive medical check-up concerning his ear problem. Renate ensured me that Mr. Bowie’s health is on track, just like his body weight.

Due to some misunderstanding we had to wait for one hour before we could see the vet. This afternoon, Mr. Bowie had to take time to recover from the stress after this traumatic event. Thank goodness he still enjoys the car rides. Vanilla ice cream, Mr. Bowie?

Enjoy this beautiful day, my friends, wherever you are. Peace, love and understanding.

Are You Kidding Me?

Seriously?! It’s amusing to see the confused, disgusted look on Mr. Bowie’s face. I told him it’s time for his twice-a-year medical check-up. We still need to follow-up his ear problem and it’s also possible we need to adjust his medication.

Medical Check Up 2014

I’m okay! Today, I took Mr. Bowie for an annual medical check-up to Frédéric, an experienced and brilliant vet working at Venhei, a Veterinary Hospital. He also performed some medical tests for Mr. Bowie’s comprehensive medical check-up concerning his ear problem. Frédéric ensured me that Mr. Bowie’s health is on track. Replacing Mr. Bowie’s food 6 months ago with a hypoallergenic food seems to have solved the ear problem.

Vanilla ice cream for Mr. Bowie!

Mr. Bowie’s first ride out with my new car.

 

Mr. Bowie recovering from the car ride.