This was a week of pushing to finally (really) finish the publishing project and to help Tasha cat feel better; those things, along with doing work they pay me to do, made for a full week indeed.
The document and image files finally got off to the printers. There was discovery of an omission –one of the worst two kinds of errors one can make in an annual guide– and a couple of last-minute corrections. Overall, though, when the account rep showed me the full-color proofs, I'm pretty happy with it and think the thing will look great in print! He said we may have the finished product by March 19. This year's project has been so cranky, though, I won't be surprised if we hit another bump in the road before publication. You can see what the project actually looks like if you click here!
Tasha was our other big focus. The regular bathing was giving her relief from a nasty skin problem but the relief was temporary and, it seemed, was needed more frequently to achieve results. So, with Dr. B. back in the office, we set an appointment for Thursday afternoon and took the cat in. Dr. B. had thought, despite lack of direct evidence, that the problem with kitty's skin might be mites. His opinion changed, however, when the Revolution anti-parasite medication didn't help while an antibiotic administered in January did. So Tasha got two injections on this visit: Dexamethasone (a potent, long-acting antihistamine) and Convenia (a long-acting antibiotic). The antihistamine produced relief almost immediately and Tasha was obviously more comfortable by Friday morning. The antibiotic is intended to help cure the presumed bacterial infection that was causing the extreme itching. Today, Saturday, Tasha is behaving more like the cat we know: bird watching, moving around the house, etc. She still has the odd skritch or two but it isn't the compulsive licking, scratching, and biting that produced raw, bare patches in her coat. I think we're on the right track now and that Tasha's going to be alright. It's good to have our cat back.
PhotonStopper 
The calendar looks great and is huge!So good to hear Tasha is doing better. She certainly looks fine!
Glad you got your project finished and that your cat is doing better. I know how horrible it can be when a pet continually scratches and licks. Our dogs has done some of that and we had to do the baths and medication. Good to see your cat back watching the birds out the window!! A very good sign 😉
Thanks! The Calendar is the biggest we've published — more events and more pages than ever. Whew! Tasha isn't quite back to normal but she's way better off than she was. If you saw her in person, you'd see the "divots" in her coat where she removed patches. Sad to see. — JG
I'm sure you know about pets compulsively scratching themselves and, as a caring person, to be in agony over your animal's torment. We're hoping the current treatments will fix this problem — kitty really was suffering. — JG
I hope that she gets better soon!