Re-Cooper-ation

You know those "staycations" people are always taking?  The ones where they stay home and either get a bunch of stuff done that they don't have time to do during their regular lives or else they have fun--reading and watching TV and playing tourist in their own town?  I've been having one of those the last week and a half, but not because I have time to take a vacation.  I'm having one because I just had a fairly major surgery, and I'm not allowed to go back to work for two weeks.  I'm re-Cooper-ating.

Consequently, I've been doing some reading.  Okay, a LOT of reading, and watching a smattering of TV.  

But mostly, I've been protecting my belly area from cat high jinks.  I've discovered that a decorative pillow works nicely, and Sean was kind enough to buy me one of those trays people use for breakfast in bed.  I tried it one night, and Cooper just saw it as a challenge.  "How can I get under this thing...I know!  I'll dig through her pajamas!"

One of the many things I've learned from my first surgery is that Murphy's Law says if a lizard can somehow make it in to the house from the screened-in porch--in February--it will.  And both Cooper and Lionel will decide to trap it behind the television console.  And I--not two days out from being sawed upon and rooted-around-in to remove an organ--will have to crawl on my hands and knees to rescue said lizard from said pursuers.  I will even have to transport a cat off the porch once one of them (no names) (okay, Cooper) grabs the lizard in his mouth and runs back out to the porch to play with it there.  (I'm pretty sure Cooper weighs less than a milk jug, right?)

The good news is that the lizard probably lived to fight another day.  I got him outside at least.  And Cooper didn't end up having the allergic reaction that he normally does after such an endeavor.  So, along with not having ripped out my stitches in the effort, all was well that ended well.

The rest of the belly-protecting has just involved making sure that when Lionel jumps on me to ask for some loving, he's doing it with a significant layer between me and his very pointy feet.  So far, that's been manageable.  And when he has a pillow between him and me, it's even been enjoyable.  Boy, can that cat ever give kisses:

And even Cooper, who's not really a cuddler on a regular basis, has offered his nursing services:

I'm so lucky to have such doting attention while I re-Cooper-ate.