My sister's friend's relatives live in a very rich town and own what amounts to a large mansion with a huge lawn and backyard. And this year, they've invited me and my sister for Thanksgiving dinner.

I'm looking forward to dining in style, so to speak. And I know that my sister is looking forward to it as well. She used to prepare turkey and all of the vegetables and whatnot when my dad was alive, but now that he's gone, it's a different story. Anyway, the interior of that mansion looks as though it came right out of the pages of magazines that cater to the rich. I was even more impressed that it stayed clean even though its owners have three cats.

If I can only get through one little thing, I'll be fine. The lady of the house likes to prepare and eat exotic treats before dinner and really went overboard on Christmas day. I sampled a few of those treats in spite of my misgivings --- my gut is super-sensitive --- and I wound up taking an emergency trip to the toilet.

This Thanksgiving, I'm planning to abstain from eating that food if I can, knowing what the consequences will be later on. Beverages like wine don't really faze me, unless I drink too much. The regular dinner though is to die for. I had a good time last year at the mansion. The owners are really nice "everyday" people who enjoy the finer things in life, but don't look down on anyone. They also love animals, especially cats.

For the past two weeks, I've been battling a rather heavy cold. In the beginning, I was unable to talk and more recently, I'm trying to get rid of a cough.

In the meantime, I've considered buying one of those cold remedies, but didn't. Those remedies cost serious money and don't do a lot to bring relief. I've even confirmed this by researching at the library today and finding a book on home remedies. One of its suggestions was drinking hot liquids and eating chicken soup. Both suggestions do work and are way less expensive than commercial cold remedies.

I'm a great tea drinker, so I add a teaspoon or more of honey to hot tea. It's really soothing and does help to loosen up the mucus (mine has turned green,by the way). Another great remedy is chicken soup. This soup is really soothing for the throat and feels good going down.

In addition to the cold, I have problems with my sinuses, especially when I try to sleep at night.

So having a cold is never any fun, but from my experiences in having a lot of heavy colds, I've learned to avoid cough syrups and the like, as they really don't help. I drink a LOT of tea with honey, eat a LOT of soup, and try to avoid going outdoors if I can help it.

I'm proud to say that I'm almost feeling up to my old self. Of course, had the sinus infection reached my eyes as it did quite a few years ago, then I would have gone to see a doctor. That and a loss of appetite are definitely bad signs. So I thank God for my ever so gradual recovery and vow to eat a healthier diet. It's the little things that count and should not be overlooked in dealing with something as annoying and energy-consuming as a heavy cold.

My, how quickly time has passed! I've been working hard to catch up on my work and at least made a dent in the amount of work to be done. But there's only so much time.

One of the difficult jobs I'll have to tackle is burying Columbus. I'm planning to plant him in the ground between my garage and a large fir bush. A lot of leaves have to be cleared out before the digging can begin. I hate to do it and keep procrastinating about doing it because it's a heartbreak job. The tears make it hard to see what I'm doing.

Part of the reason why I haven't tackled that chore yet is because I'm recovering from a heavy cold. My sinuses really acted up and I couldn't stop coughing or blowing my nose. Couldn't really talk very well either. I've dealt with it all by taking it easy and getting plenty of rest AND drinking plenty of liquids. My only regret is that I didn't buy honey to put in some hot tea. But I did remember to buy chicken soup.

The whole key to feeling better, for me, was to keep things positive. I've done some of that by paying the property tax in person and paying a whopping electric bill in full.

I think I've found another way of getting another income stream going, which is going to really pay well if I can make it happen soon. I've learned from crappy job experiences in the past --- losing a single --and only -- crappy job is the worst. However, if that crappy job's income was only one of many income streams, then losing that job isn't the end of the world. There's still some income coming in. So far, I've got about three income streams. If I lose one of those, I'll still have the other two.

So yesterday afternoon, I picked up Adolfo from the shelter. I bought my own carrier and placed a rag in it for him, in preparation for the long bus ride home.

While waiting for the volunteers to capture Adolfo and place him in the carrier, I decided to become a "foster" parent for Cookie, a spayed female whose owner had passed away. Cookie had obviously been well cared for and loved, but her owner's family members and friends refused to take her in and surrendered her at the shelter. So now, my ten dollars a month will help provide for her food and care.

Since the cost of sponsoring a shelter cat is so reasonable, I'm considering sponsoring the two adult orange cats that both look like Morris as well.

Later on, dealing with the long bus ride home was next. Fortunately, Adolfo settled down and relaxed in the furthest corner of the carrier. And fortunately, there weren't a lot of people, especially school kids, boarding either of the two buses. I tried to relax as well, in spite of a howling kid whose guardian or parent sat right in front of us. The kid's howling soon had Adolfo yowling for a minute or two. My embarrassment grew as I noticed other passengers looking in my direction.

Long story short, Adolfo and I got home safe and sound, if not a little wet from the steady rain outside once we were off the bus.

Next in line will be a period of adjustment. So far, Mimi isn't adjusting very well to Adolfo's presence and I'm sorry about that. I'm giving her extra attention in spite of her snapping at me as well.

I went to the shelter today to personally deliver a $250-dollar donation in memory of Columbus.

Then I wandered over to where the cats were housed.

BIG MISTAKE!

I saw two adorable orange tabby maie cats, one called Simon. I saw a lovely female whose owner had died. There were also a few very cute kittens and two other calico cats. Then out of the blue, this long-haired, light gray male cat walked out from seemingly nowhere and headed in my direction. He let me pet him and rubbed against my legs. He was gorgeous.

We clicked instantly. I looked for a tag that included his name and any other useful information about him. About two hours passed before I finally located someone who was able to get that information for me. She told me that the cat's name was Adolfo and that Adolfo was about 5 years old. Adolfo had all his shots and was spayed, and best of all, had no known health issues. And as a plus, a comment that he was very sweet was written in his records. That settled it.

So I made a commitment to adopt Adolfo. It was rather late, so I explained that I would be back with the 90-dollar "donation"/fee and my driver's license. I will probably pick him up sometime tomorrow afternoon.

I figured that I'd wind up bringing a cat home. But Adolfo, like Columbus, was irresistable. I look forward to giving him a good life and enjoying his company.