Archive for August, 2009
My pick: The Best Little Highchair!
As a new mom-to-be, I was confounded by all of the choices among much of the baby furniture on the market, particularly the high chair. Not really knowing what features would actually help in making my and my child’s life a little easier, I was drawn by style alone. When it comes to furnishings, I’m a gal who dreams of George Nakashima and Hans Wegner, so in setting about shopping for kids furniture, I was drawn to the well crafted and beautiful, i.e. The Svan. Not quite being able to justify the high price tag, and dissuaded by the not-great reviews, I did not swing for it, nor did I put it (or any high chair) on my registry. I was happily surprised instead by the Graco Contempo Highchair
Then, when he was about 11 months old, we went on our first family vacation, and among the gear that I purchased for the trip was Phil & Ted’s MeToo! Travel Highchair
- it’s lightweight and folds flat, making it easy not only to pack in a suitcase, but it also fit in my diaper bag.
- it’s sturdy enough to easily hold a wriggly one year old.
- it’s quick to attach to a table; the clamp screws tight to many table widths and the rubber backing prevents damage to the table top.
- It sits him right up to the edge of the table, so he is close to eye level with any adults.
- It was great not just for eating at restaurants, but also in lounging — it can fit to most sturdy tables; not just dining, but also coffee tables, and most importantly, the counters affixed to the beach palapas.
We received so many positive remarks on the chair almost everywhere we used it…….”where did you get that”? “Where can I get one”? In fact, we liked it so well that as soon as we got home, this became our every day highchair. Because we used it so extensively for so long, I can also offer a few caveats: the Little One is very active, and by the time he got to be about 18 months or so, we had to move him out of the chair for daily use, and back to the Graco. His movements became such that he would actually loosen the clamps and move the chair little by little over a period of time. So though the weight restriction is 40 lbs as a travel chair, after about 25 pounds or so, I wouldn’t recommend it for everyday use with a wriggly kid. Also, the cleanability factor is not great — it can sponge clean OK, but in order to fully clean it, I would have to soak the entire chair, frame and all, in the kitchen sink.
Despite these couple of things, I cannot recommend the Me Too chair enough, especially for kids that can sit up fairly well, but aren’t quite running around yet. It gets them right up to the table and they can easily be part of the action while being securely fastened in. It’s the most versatile, and overall one of the best pieces of baby furniture that we invested in.
Caring for the cat with Chronic Renal Disease
Chronic Renal disease, or chronic kidney insufficiency, is something that most cats will develop if they live long enough. It’s an unfortunate fact that cats have a shorter life span than we do. So as cat owners and lovers, we must shepherd them through this disease. And it ain’t as easy as it sounds. In the last 10 years, I have shepherded three such cats, and I offer my experiences with each, so that those of you out there who are also caring for one such kitty, be they newly diagnosed, or managing, may gain insight from my steps and missteps. A brief story of each, then a list of what lessons I’ve taken away at the end:
Kizzo
A cat that I inherited from my husband when we moved in together in 1998. In about 2000, his blood tests began to reveal kidney insufficiency (indicated at that time primarily by elevated Blood Uria Nitrogen, or BUN, numbers). At the vet’s recommendation, we switched his diet to dry Prescription Hill’s K/D, as putting him on a protein-restricted diet was the conventional wisdom of the time. Because we also had two younger cats, we also mixed in some cans of Fancy Feast to keep everyone happy. Kizzo ate well from both the K/D and Fancy Feast bowls, but he did start to drink an awful lot of water. We monitored his blood levels every 6mo-year. When they began to climb further, I began reading about further treatment, including subcutaneous fluid injections. Curious to see if it would help, I began taking him to the vet for an occasional fluid treatment. The vet administered about 150 cc of fluid from a conventional IV drip bag by sticking a small needle under his neck skin (but above the muscle). It took just a few minutes (but we had to kind of restrain him so that he’d stay still), and his mobility and mood always seemed to improve temporarily, so I was pleased. Despite this, his weight went down, an already skinny cat, he became emaciated, but his appetite was OK, and he continued to drink a lot of water. I just didn’t know what else to do, and the vet hadn’t given me a clear path of treatment to follow, beyond the diet change. Come 2004, I took him for fluid treatments every few weeks or so, but he was declining. His blood levels showed very high BUN, and he had begun to stumble a lot. It was clear that something had to be done, so I took him to the local emergency vet, which is part of the University here, so he was in very competent hands. It was too late, though – despite their best efforts, Kizzo’s condition had become acute, and his body didn’t have the energy left to respond to treatment that they offered (IV drip, phosphorus binder, among several others). He had begun seizing, and we elected to euthanize. Although sudden, it wasn’t a difficult decision, because he was in so much physical pain. We didn’t really know how old Kizzo was, as my husband had also inherited him from a friend, but some piecing together of shared memories with friends and a little math revealed that he was 18 when first diagnosed with CRD, and 22 when he passed away.
Bart
On the other hand, I knew exactly how old Bart was, as I adopted him as a 6mo old kitten in 1989. When Kizzo passed away, Bart became the resident “old Man” at 15, and equipped with the knowledge I’d gained from Kizzo’s experience, I aimed to combat CRD head on. Within a year or two, Bart’s kidneys also revealed an elevated BUN number, but I had also changed vets, and was coached instead to pay closer attention to the creatinine level, which was a more dependable reflection of kidney function. again, he went on the K/D diet, as Kizzo had done, as it was still the conventional wisdom. Because I felt guilty that I hadn’t done enough to treat Kizzo, I watched Bart like a hawk. I learned about the availability of home fluid treatments; that is, giving fluids subcutaneously at home, rather than dragging the cat in to the vet. Our vet gladly trained me in her office, and from then on I bought the supplies to give fluid treatments at home several times a week. Believe me, it took some getting used to. Bart was a sensitive cat, and never took to the routine well, but I continued with them every few days, then every other, then every day, as his kidney levels increased. If you are interested in this option, most vets will provide training and supplies. Though Bart hated the process, it was clear that he felt significantly better after each treatment.
As his health declined, and he showed anything like an acute problem (stumbling, vomiting) I would cart him off to the emergency vet. He would stay on with continuous IV treatment for a few days, and come home with better kidney values. Because the emergency vet was also a teaching institution, they provided him with a whole host of pharmaceuticals to combat the effects of CRD: famotedine for his gastritis, ACE Inhibitor, something else to prevent his spilling protein in his urine. He developed anemia as well, which responded to injections of Epogen. Poor Bart, almost as much as he hated the fluid treatments, he hated pills. And I hated giving them to him. But I continued, because I loved him and I wanted to do anything in my power to keep him comfortable. I also felt pressure from the emergency vet, as they insisted that this was the best course of action.
Because Kizzo’s decline had been so acute and sudden, we really didn’t know how long to carry out Bart’s treatment. This was certainly the hardest part of caring for the CRD cat; knowing when it’s time to let him/her make a graceful exit. Bart, normally a friendly, vocal, and happy cat grew quiet and withdrawn. Eventually, he declined to the point that he was nearly immobile, and could not bend down to the food bowls to eat properly. We knew then that it was time to say goodbye. He was 19.
Cap’n
Close on Bart’s heels was Cap’n (adopted in 1992 at just five weeks old), who even by the time of Bart’s passing had developed CRD and was getting fluid treatments at home. Luckily, Cap’n was much more amenable to the needle; barely acknowledging the initial prick, as if it were a bug bite. Because of Kizzo and Bart, Cap’n had been on a protein restricted diet by default for at least five years, so we kept it up. He had also developed hyperthyroidism a couple of years previously, and received twice daily medication to manage it.
As time went on I grew to regret some of the decisions that I’d made about Bart’s treatment, believing more and more that I prolonged his suffering and put him through a daily ritual that he dreaded. Truth is, he was my baby and I was really scared of losing him. But it shouldn’t have been about me. Knowing this about Cap’n, I vowed not to cart him to the emergency vet, and to keep his treatment to a minimum of fluid injections and his hyperthyroid medication. He seemed to thrive for a year or so, then declined fast. It was then that I stumbled upon the book mentioned in my previous post, “Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life
A word about all of the treatments
I have gone into detail about my experience with each cat without once mentioning cost. This is a highly important consideration as well. Maintenance for a CRD cat involves at least a periodic blood test to check kidney values, and it’s no small price tag — about $100 a pop at my local vet. Giving fluids at home is relatively inexpensive; the bags are about $10-15 and contain 1000cc of fluid (150 is usually given in a single treatment). The costs for the emergency vet, though, were through the roof. I spent many thousands on Bart’s treatment; he was hospitalized three different times, each with a price tag of around $2k. Oof.
- pay closer attention to the creatinine level, rather than BUN, which is a more dependable reflection of kidney function
- if you have the capability, giving subcutaneous fluids at home provides some comfort and relief to the kidneys, and helps to prolong kidney function.
- cats are very stoic about their discomfort, so the pursuit of treatment is a very personal and difficult decision. There are no right answers.
- as it turns, out protein-restricted diets are not the way to go in managing CRD; rather, phosphorus-restricted is far better. Barring that, phosphorus binders can be given to help the phosphorus pass quickly through the system.
- In arriving at a treatment plan for your cat, consider the advice of your vet, the cost, the overall investment and think realistically about what you are willing to do. Do not beat yourself up for not trying to do everything. In my experience, I don’t think doing everything is a wise treatment plan (see Bart, above).
Top Chef Masters Finale
Yes, this post is late; I’ve only just watched the finale last night, almost a week after it first aired………..but it compelled me to post anyway. Spoiler alerts abound for anyone out there who hasn’t watched the episode…..
For me, watching it was agony and ecstasy — Ecstasy at the perfect challenge for the final three chefs: An autobiographical meal. Wow. For these chefs, this was truly the perfect device for them to tell the story of their lives and careers and relationship with food. Watching all three meet this challenge was better tv than an entire season of Top Chef. I was positively glued to it. The courses to be prepared were as follows:
- First course: First food memory
- The second: The dish that made you want to become a chef
- The third: A dish related to the opening of your first restaurant
- The fourth: The future, and where it is/you are going
Now, the usual element in Top Chef challenges is to take a chef out of his/her comfort zone in some way; as if to say “yeah, you’re good, but what about with one hand tied behind your back“? (insert evil laugh). This was entirely different. So geared was it towards actually allowing these professionals to naturally shine, they actually delivered each contenstant’s personal sous chef to the set to help prepare the meals.
Here’s the agony: how the hell do you judge this thing? The panel of food critics were the same as the entire season, but no matter how well developed your palette is or how well you can articulate your critiques of food, there is just no clear way to judge the meals that the chefs created. Seriously, these weren’t just standalone dishes, these were exceptionally well told stories. I’m not sure the judges handled the food-as-narrative approach as best they could. The teacher in me wanted a rubric. In any case, I’m fairly certain that in this finale, the chefs outperformed the critics. I could not listen to anything that James Oseland had to say about the food without breaking out into laughter. His singular ability to pick apart dishes was utterly contrary to the mood that the challenge had set, and he had to go to such ridiculous lengths to criticize the food that it was truly comical. “Beautiful presentation, but the individual dishes were a little further apart from each other on the plate than I would have liked….”. (not actually said, but offered to illustrate my point).
So one guy walked away a winner, which meant that his designated charity received a 100k donation. But it felt all wrong this time, liking picking the best scientist from a lineup of Newton, Einstein, and Curie. This is where the show stumbled big for the first time. As an avid watcher of the show, my vote rests squarely on more time devoted to the stories behind the dishes in this challenge, making it less about who wins, because in this case, each chef was truly a winner.
Before you spring for the Dyson……
It is a certain kind of misery to have a vacuum cleaner that underperforms. Despite your best efforts, you have a floor that’s always a little dirtier than you’d like. And if you have a budget, you’re stuck with the lower cost options among the new vacuum cleaners. I had such a frustrating stretch a couple of years ago; it seemed as though every vacuum cleaner that I bought just wore out within a matter of months. Dirt Devil upright required constant changing of the belt (then just petered out); smaller Dirt Devil powerstick was excessively loud and the filter always seemed to clog within minutes of vacuuming. In the meantime, my carpets had more cat hair than I liked, and floors just didn’t totally clean up. If a vacuum worked well on carpet, it didn’t on bare floors, and vice versa.
At the time, the only vacuum that performed consistently well was my grandmother’s circa 1965 Kenmore. It was packed with power, did well on all flooring surfaces, but it was so heavy that using it was a full workout. In desperation, I cruised the ads for the high priced vacuums, dreaming of a Dyson, that would transport me to a swanky world of near-effortlessly clean floors. But I couldn’t justify the price tag.
Instead, I cruised the product reviews and learned all I could from others’ experiences with vacuums, rather than just carting off to Target to set myself up for the next disappointment/waste of money. Thank goodness I did, because I found him: Eureka 3670G Boss Mighty Mite Canister Vacuum Cleaner
The only drawback is that the canister bags are not readily available, so I need to order them online, but that is a small price to pay for the peace of mind in knowing that I finally have the right tool for the job. So glad am I that I did not spring for the $500 Dyson, I settled on a name for my little champ: Tyson.
Art at Auction: an update
One down, two to go: with the Aug. 7 Barridoff Galleries auction over, my eyes are squarely on James D. Julia‘s four day run, Aug 25-29, to give a report on the state of the secondary American Art market.
Results on the Barridoff auction appear mixed, with no clear message about the market, save for this: the market for 20th century Photography continues to flourish. Despite what was an impressive pre-auction buzz, there were a fair amount of buy-ins (when the bidding fails to reach the level of the painting’s reserve, or lowest selling price) at the sale, which isn’t unusual even in times of non-recession. But of the 15 lots that consisted of original photographs, 13 sold, with a few over their auction estimates. The top seller in the category was lot 81, Ansel Adams’s (1902-1984) “Reflections”, at $10,920.
The stunner of the sale, though, was a 44″ x 34″ oil on canvas entitled “Two Nudes” by Marguerite Zorach (1887-1968), estimated at 60-90k, it brought 264k. Yowza!
An Open Letter to President Obama
Yes, the honeymoon is over. The tide of optimism that swelled with your inauguration has dwindled into the usual political bickering, which is kind of sweet, because that means one thing’s official: You’re Our President. Really and truly.
But I’ve gotta tell you. The stack of Esquire magazines in my bathroom got re-arranged, and, unbeknownst to me, I was looking at the cover headlines from an Oct 2006 copy: “Think the Middle East is a Mess Now? Wait Till Egypt Blows”. What? I thought. Cognitive dissonance. What could go wrong with Egypt that Our President couldn’t head off at the pass? Didn’t he just choose Egypt as the venue for his major speech to the Muslim world? Wouldn’t that be the base, then, for his attempts to reach out and begin to smooth all of the fissures of our last administration? In fact, isn’t the Egyptian president visiting the White House tomorrow?
Then I saw the next headline: “Keys to the ’06 and ’08 Elections”. Ohhhhhhhh………sigh of relief as I realized the issue was an older one. But it brought back the old familiar awful frustration of having a leader for this country that does not do a decent job of representing the people in it, and isn’t really even trying. And pinning so much hope on the future, so that in those ’06 and ’08 elections, this wrong might be righted, if only we could find the person for the job.
So here we are, Mr. President. Finally having met that future exactly the way so very many of us had hoped, rendering the ominous headlines like the ones on Esquire Oct. 2006 nugatory. Thank you, Mr. President, for taking the job, and thank you as well for ruling with your very sharply attuned brain, and not your bloated and hard-of-hearing “gut”. I am proud to have you as President, and further, I am also proud that you are the Little One’s president as well. Talk about hope for the future.
Very Sincerely,
Erin Nieto
Garage Sale Friday
In lieu of today’s haul, I offer the following Golden Rule of garage sale-ing:
Never Buy Something Just Because It’s Cheap
I’ve seen it play over and over: Two ladies at a garage sale, one hold up a widget and says “Look at this, Janet!”. Janet looks and mutters “Umm hmmm…..but what are you going to do with it, Betty”? Betty shrugs and says “……..but it’s only a dollar“!! Janet shrugs, Betty buys the widget.
This is a slippery slope, my friends, and one that I have sailed down myself. Paying only a dollar for something is not a reason in itself to buy it. At a garage sale, or anywhere. This is how pack rats are made. I have seen many an estate sale of people who filled their basements with these garage sale finds, unopened boxes of things bought on the Shopping Channels, stuff with 10 year old tags still on it. Cheap stuff, that’s unneccessary and unused, becomes a burden. And you become poorer for it, albeit little by little.
Picks from my Ebay Watchlist
First of all, a hearty congratulations to the new owner of the fantastic Guy Pene duBois oil that was on my last list — at 2627, it was a magnificent bargain!
This time, I’ve got a couple more that have hit my appraiser’s sweet spot:
- Walter Krawiec Art Sketch Circus Drawing Horse Clown I have a weak spot for Walter Krawiec, and for that matter, most early 20th century circus artists. Because he is an Illinois artist, I do see his work on a fairly regular basis, and have watched his prices rise over the last 10 or so years, as his appeal is crossover (that is, collected by two different groups: collectors of 20th century American art, and collectors of circus memoribilia). $150 for this piece, which because it is a circus subject is premier for the artist, is very very reasonable.
- Indiana Gyberson- Portrait of a nude – Signed Another artist I have a weakness for. Sigh. Another Illinois artist that I see with regularity. In fact, this is a painting that I’ve seen with regularity over the last five years. It sold at a Chicago auction house in 2004 for a jaw droppingly low $800. I actually was there to watch. Oh, why didn’t I bid?! She re-appeared again in 2005 at a Boston auction house with an estimate of 3-5k, but failed to sell. I’m sure because all of the serious bidders knew from sales records that it had sold for only 800 the previous year. But even so, that was then. Since 2005, Gyberson’s prices have been climbing, bringing a sales record of 11k for a painting of similar size and subject matter last year. It could be that this particular painting has suffered from too much exposure in the art marketplace these last years, but Gyberson is a definite buy.
Let me count the ways………..to a more sustainable way of life
Stumbled upon the following website link today, which has a very helpful list of 100 things that you can do to help protect the environment — at work, at home, in your yard, ways to produce less waste. There are always so very many things that we can do that often don’t even occur to us. I learned a great number of things just by reading through the list (case in point, number 11: “Use a microwave whenever you can instead of a conventional oven or stove“. It does make sense, but just hadn’t occurred to me. Presto!), and although several on it are already close to my heart, I will leave you with number 100: “Buy used furniture – there is a surplus of it, and it is much cheaper than new furniture“. And probably better quality, as well.
An unexpected cure for headaches?
Like many women, I have chronic headaches. I know my triggers: bright sunlight, squinting, certain smells…….but really the nasty ones come on when my hormones are in flux, and as this happens monthly, I’ve just come to accept it as inevitable. They’re pretty mean, and even ibuprofen doesn’t seem to help. In fact, I had never really encountered anything that offered lasting relief. Until……..
I keep trail mix in my car. It’s great to have as a snack so that I’m not forced into the emergency bag of Doritos at the gas station. It’s filling and, given that it’s good quality stuff, nutritious. I usually just buy it bulk at the natural food store, but I’ve grown a little tired of their offerings, so tried something totally new: Navitas Naturals Trail Power
I don’t know which ingredient is responsible for this, or whether it’s in the combination, but I have tested this effect several times, so I know that it’s definitely something in this mix. After trying everything (ok, everything save for the stuff from Big Pharma) for most of my adult life, I completely stumbled on this by accident. Maybe it will do the same for you!
11/09/09 Edited to add: A fellow blogger who suffers from debilitating migraines gave the trail mix a shot; unfortunately to no avail. Still holding out hope that it works for someone! Please drop me a line if you’ve given it a try: esnieto(at)earthlink(dot)net
