A bit late in the day

It's almost 3 pm, but I haven't seen Disco yet.  I called her (she lives in the basement apt, but I don't like yelling down the stairwell) a little while ago because "her" cat seemed to be lost in the master bathroom.  And that seems as good a point as any at which to tell you about the aftereffects of boarding this 16 year old cat at the vet.  He was there for a week, during which we asked them to be sure and socialize with him daily--he craves love & attention.  When Plaidman & Disco went to get him back, the vet tech couldn't remove him from his cage without dire bodily harm.  Poor beastie was growling (!! never heard before!!) and slashing at the tech.  Disco had to go back to the cage, calling him softly.  As soon as she got to the front of the cage, he started howling and pressed himself against the bars.  Disco opened the cage, and he pressed his little head against her hand.  She was able to get him from the cage to his carrier without much fuss, but of course he howled the whole way home (all of about 3 miles).  The scary thing was the panting -- he would sit and howl, then pant like an exhausted dog, then howl some more.  Just stressed to the max, and the only thing that relieved him at all was being held, either in arms or on a lap.  At one point he got so stressed that he "caged" himself in a cabinet in the hall bathroom vanity.  And then howled to be let out!  I went in, and opened one of the cabinet doors and spoke to him, and he got quieter.  It took him about 10 minutes to figure out he could leave.  The panting was just an occasional thing the next day, and disappeared the next, but he kept on howling whenever he wasn't being loved & attended to.  I thought about getting some Feliway, so we went to the pet store.  We found a calming collar with pheromones and some soothing scent, and since he wears a collar anyway we figured we'd try it.  It took about a day for us to notice a difference in his neediness, and now he's almost back to his laid back self.  But I'm not going to board him again!  We've decided to try a pet sitter next time we travel, so he can stay at home.  Hopefully, we can find someone who'll be willing to put in the time to get to know him.
Yesterday's account of the weekend in Portage ended with Mike & Atha showing up for the wedding feast.  Mike & Terry talked, and Mike offered us the use of Atha's scooter for our day trip into Chicago!  It can be mostly taken apart and folded to fit in the trunk of a car, so the two old guys spent some time disassembling & reassembling it (while Atha was seated at the table having a bite).  After the shelter was cleaned up, we Plaid Patrolers went back to the hotel -- I needed a nap, Disco & Plaidman needed to wash clothes.  Sunday we went back to the newlyweds' home for a big turkey dinner, had all the sibs there except Mike but his daughter Beverly came by to "represent" her DOD.
We gathered out on the deck, everybody taking it easy, lots of talk & laughter.  I have some pictures, maybe the computer will let me have the edited versions but no guarantees:
Kim, a friend of the family (I think she's related to Danny), was one of the amateur photographers at the wedding; she's a bit of a pill but has a good heart.  She came by just to drop off an entire album with CDs of the wedding & feast, must have stayed up all night Saturday to have it done by Sunday!
Karen & Melodee studying this album:

Left to right: Erin aka Disco Dame, Laura, and Cindy.  Erin has the album open to pictures of Mike, Ellen and Terry at the event. 

 Left to right: Terry, Mel & Karen.  Everybody's got cellphones, we're all so well-connected.

Left to right: Laura, Cindy, Beverly!!!, Ellen.  Behind Cindy's head is a little mini-deck enclosure built out of a window, so the indoor cats can get a taste of outdoor life.  The gazebo was bought already built, and transported to the yard.  It's all screened, probably nice on warm nights. 

Left to right: Terry, a nice photo of the bride & groom courtesy Kim, Cindy on the phone, Melodee in her sweater (it got a bit chilly), and lo & behold the man of the hour, the tower of power, Danny!  He's got the album; we all expressed amazed admiration of the effort that went into it. 

Left to right: Erin's foot, Cindy in a beautiful coat she crocheted herself -- love the colors!, and Mel.  Cindy's thing is crochet; I did try to bring her over to the dark side (knitting) but she wouldn't bite. 

Here's my chickadee, Miss Erin looking crafty and just eating up all the talk.  I know she was hoping to hear another of her Uncle Danny's stories.  We're calling him the Turtle Whisperer now. 

The beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!

Well, we stayed so long that we actually ate turkey again; the first time was like a late lunch.  We were planning to go into Chicago on Monday, so before it got dark we cruised over to Mike's to pick up the scooter.  Erin helped break down the thing, and it fit neatly in our trunk.  I think I know what I want for Christmas.  Just sayin'!  That thing was so cool, and made it possible for me to see a lot more of the Art Institute than I would have had I been walking.  And we still did not see all of it.  But this is a good stopping point, pretty much the end of the family time part of the visit.  Monday's tale is for another day.  Stay tuned.