1 life down; 8 to go

Stupid cat. Lucky cat. REALLY lucky cat.
'Our' outdoor cat (and I use the term loosely-he is a stray that I paid to have neutered and we feed him in the mornings) disappeared while I was in the hospital. We figured he'd found greener pastures or met his demise out in the wilds of TX. Fast forward to today.

Yesterday, Ian told me he heard a cat crying in our next door neighbors yard. Uh huh, whatever honey, that's nice. Today, he comes to me again, certain it's Blackie but he can't see him and asks me to come outside and see what I think.

I go outside and yes, there is a cat crying. It is coming from the neighbors. I look through their fence and no cat anywhere. Just an empty backyard and shed. I ring the doorbell, no answer. I let myself into the backyard because some cat, Blackie or not, is in distress and I'm a sucker. I determine to yowling is coming from the shed. There is no cat in the window or visible. Now I realize it is coming from UNDER the shed (which was built on a concrete slab) but I can find no way in or out.
I send Ian for a screwdriver and take off a vent cover. Lo and behold there is the cat but the hole is too small for him to get out of. He must have gotten under there just as they were finishing up the shed and was sealed in when they put the final baseboards around the outside.

We fed him and watered him and eventually I was able to pull him out with some maneuvering and finding the largest vent opening-which, of course, was the last one I tried. He is fine and now I have to watch for the neighbors to explain the footprints through the sand in and out of their gate. Thankfully, B. and M. are super kind people who, I am sure, will just be grateful that they were spared a rotting cat carcass under their brand new shed and there was no damage to their shed at all.

Update on me: I'm doing well. I get tired very easily. Ridiculously easy even for a pregnant woman. Heart still gets tachy but not too bad and I've been good and cut out caffeine. I see the OB tomorrow and will have a CBC to see if I am still anemic and I debrief with the GP on Wednesday. I made it to Mass yesterday for the first time since the beginning of October. WOW! It exhausted me but it was wonderful to be able to go again. We are weaning me off my Zofran pump. I've stopped the dosage where it is now for a few days at least, the nausea is breaking through and I'm afraid if I go much lower I'll start heaving again. For the record, I'm 16 weeks and change.

It's a crazy week here as our Reader's Theater performance is Friday evening. Katie and Jack both have major roles and a lot of responsibilty but I hear they are both quite good. I haven't been able to stay at rehearsals for three main reasons: Ben, Lucy and Bob the Bean.
My uncle comes on Thursday. The kids are thrilled someone from the family will be able to see their RT performance. RT is a pretty big part of their lives. Katie, Jack, Ian, Grace and Emma all participate.