Three Beautiful Things 11-03-2025: Copper's Well-Being is Stable, Christy's and Debbie's Illnesses Are Weakening, A Tomato-Okra-Corn Dinner

 1. As Copper moves deeper into old age, I take her into the vet every six months for an exam and bloodwork. I will hear from Dr. Cook later about Copper's bloodwork, but upon examining Copper, Dr. Cook didn't discover anything much different from the six months ago. Copper continues to shrink. Despite eating heartily twice a day, Copper continues to lose small amounts of weight. I knew this was true from petting him and feeling his spine and other bones moving closer to the surface of his body. 

Everything else, however, is great: heart, lungs, joints, the works. I told Dr. Cook that Copper's behavior is stable, that he has no trouble jumping up on the bed, and that his routines remain in place. 

We'll see if anything comes up in the bloodwork. 

2. Christy's health report sounded better today. She told Carol and me that the headache she's had since falling ill was much better, as was her upset digestive system. On Sunday, I brought Christy four cans of Progresso chicken noodle soup. It turned out that over the years, Christy had never eaten Progresso soup. She enjoyed her first foray into Progresso world a lot. I felt very happy that it worked for her and that she might enjoy more Progresso soup in the future -- full well knowing that hers, Carol's, and my homemade soups are better! 

One of the children at the get together of members of Debbie's family about ten days ago in Roscoe, IL had a powerful cold and Debbie caught it. As of today, thank goodness, the virus has weakened and Debbie, too, is recovering from her illness. 

3.  We tend to have cans of tomato, okra, and corn on hand and I warmed up a can tonight and added a can of garbanzo beans to the vegetables and fixed a pot of jasmine rice. It's a great combination that I enhance with Bragg's Liquid Amino. Overall, I prefer not eating canned goods (with the exception of tomatoes and beans), but I have no hesitation about popping open a can of tomato, okra, and corn and enjoying it the way I did this evening.