It is hard to believe that Catty NKA Snickers has been a member of the family since late 2009. I really can't imagine not having her as part of the family.
She really has grown on me. I can also say that my cat allergy or my allergy to her, has waned significantly. Either the near daily exposure to her for 3 years or perhaps me finally getting my health issues in check, has meant less trauma to my immune system and has lead to a significant change in household protocol.
Snickers comes in now.
In the early months with us, she never tried and we never offered. This continued until last fall. In part the reason we kept her out was my allergies and my mother's allergies. If mom was to come spend her last days here, there could be no indoor cat action.
Over the winter, mild as it was, Snickers seemed to want in more and more. To sleep. She just wants to curl up, with all of us around and sleep.
The other day, I swear she was passed out on a dinning room chair like a frat brother after a weekend long kegger. I clocked the sleep time at roughly 5 hours.
I really do want to keep her off the soft furniture and out of the newly remodeled family room. I also think the basement and the first floor are domain enough for her, no being on the second floor. So far she has gravitated to the morning room and the dinning room. She seems to like the big windows and the sun light. She loves to jump up on a dinning room chair and hide under the table or be in the corner. In the morning room, she favors a corner, under the plant stand, near the register.
This is not at all to say that she isn't testing those boundaries. This past weekend she hid in both of the children's closets on two separate occasions. When she burst out of E's closet, she scared me to death.
I think once we put the patio furniture on the deck, she may stay out there more, as she can hide on a chair under the table, which seems to suit her just fine. Last week our neighbor and L's BFF took care of the food and water patrol and predictably Snickers got huffy and ran off, as we were not home. I suspect she would have returned on her own, but the storm Friday might well have gotten her in a state of affairs. She also is minus a bit of fur and her collar.
On Saturday, I dispatched L and her BFF and H to a house up the road a bit. For whatever reason, after storms, she hangs on this family's deck. It is possible, that that house used to be her home or she just goes there when she has lost her way. I theorize that perhaps she did live there, because that house changed hands at about the same time we acquired Snickers. Maybe they didn't want her making the move or perhaps she ran off and they never found her. Either way she favors this house. H carried her home and other than some loud meows and haughty stares, she allowed the in arms transport. Happy to be home, but reminded H not to make a habit of this transport method, thank you very much.
Snickers is one of the most social, pack minded cats I have ever known. When we are outside, she is right there with us. She often "stands guard." I will joke that she is our vicious attack cat. I am only half kidding. I think if she thought someone was threatening us, especially the children, she would do her worst to protect us.
This was St. Patrick's Day. I was watching the kids ride their bikes, while waiting on my BFF to come over for dinner. Snickers was one part protecting me and keeping a close eye on her small charges.
Look at that determined face. I wouldn't cross her in a dark alley.
We are in the season, where the spring flowers have faded, died off, been cleared away. Now we are in what I call the green season. The bright summer flowers aren't quiet ready to appear and the abundance of rain we have had, has left us with lush, lush greenness. I suppose this is why annuals are so popular. They give you color through the entire season, but then summer is over, they are gone. It is a trade off, but I like steady dependability of perennials, so that is what we mostly plant. There are some bursts of color in the sea of green. Their bright colors make me happy, even on a cloudy day.
We seem to have suffered some deer damage, so I am posting this picture of our fierce attack cat, who apparently is sleeping on the job...
Snickers is such a dog. No really, she follows you around the yard, she will stand guard as you do whatever it is you are doing, she really is very friendly. She is partial to L, but very friendly with all of us. She is a great addition to the family.
We moved this from our other house, it is spreading nicely, and stays yellow until late July. I have no idea what it is called. The bees also love it.
These daisies volunteered. I planed some on the other side of the flower bed and the dear at them roots and all last year, but these appeared this year. Daisies are my favorite, I think their cheery yellow faces.
Our hostas are ready to bloom. H split them last year and I think they need split again. If you are local and want some, let me know, when we split them in the fall, they are all yours.
We have a lovely bunch of squash and pumpkins growing in the garden and in the compost pile. Some years we get fruit and others we don't but the leaves are great cover for all the kitchen waste.
Hopefully soon, we have blooms... and listen up deer, our cat has some made hunting skills, munchers beware...
I was inspired by a few of the posts on By Night, and thought I would make one of my own. About weekly she features photos from I presume, around her yarden. All of her wonderful flower/yarden posts are titled balade au jardin.
So Monday, I walked L to school and then came home, grabbed my camera and took a walk around our yarden. Snickers was also very gung ho for the little walk about.
Snickers with her nose to the ground, pointing out the flowers that match her collar bling. We have a ton of violets. My mom gave us a few starter plants and now they dot the flower beds. If anyone wants some, stop on over, they transplant well and are easy to grow. Deer also eat them, which is fine as long as they leave my other stuff alone.
These lilacs are almost ready to bloom. I love them. They smell so good. These bushes are from H's mom. We moved them from Cleveland, to our house in Clintonville, to their current location at the edge of our yarden. This weekend I will cut a few. I might send some to school with L for teacher appreciation week. Each year the blossoms become more numerous.
Snickers engaged in a battle with the short branches and leaves and I am afraid to say, the branches won.
The bleeding heart is very lush this year and the blossoms on Monday were near perfect. I love this plant and its burst of early spring color. It is also very near the spot we buried Bundles, our beloved nutbrown, Netherland loop rabbit. She was our first pet and was with us for 8 years.
Lily of the Valley. H's favorite flower. His mother gave us this, dug it up from her yard, brought it to me in newspaper and I hurried to replant it. It took a few years but it is going strong now. I should be able to pick some tomorrow and have it in the house for the weekend.
In the fall H split these guys, even though you can hardly tell. All around the yarden are new little hosttas. They are so versatile and pretty. This bed used to have a crab apple tree, which I had taken down, as it made a mess on the deck and was good for a wandering toddler. In its place, I replanted these hosstas, some black eyed Susan's and other late summer flowering plants.
I have no idea what this plant is called (the purple is myrtle) but the long thin green leafed plant, will produce lovely yellow flowers in mid summer. I bought three tiny plants at Lowe's on super markdown, and lo and behold, it has morphed into this sea of green. This side of the house is FULL sun and finding plants who can take the beating sun all day has been a challenge.
My Peony plants. I should have glorious blooms by Memorial Day for sure. I think the white flowering things is a weed, but it is pretty enough, so I am letting it be. Some "weeds" are pretty enough to be flowers.
This is the first year in many, where our tulips have not been munched completely to the ground. We had always thought it was the deer, but perhaps it wasn't. Perhaps our vicious attack cat has scared off the rodent type vermin and that is the reason, I have been able to enjoy these lovely tulips. We covered them with chicken wire when we planed the bulbs, which keeps the bulbs in the ground. But... every year something munches them to the quick. Not this year.
These came from a live flower arrangement H got me for my birthday on year.
The tulips swim in a sea of lamb's ear. My mother gave us the start of this also. It has spread and that is a blessing. Out front is blazing sun most of the day and the soil is not fantastic and nothing has really wanted to grow.
Policing the yarden is tiring but important business.
And lest you think Snickers is sleeping on the job, here is a reminder that she always has her eye on the prize.
And when she is taking a nap, her new friends Hedgy and Edgy are on the job...
After our walk about, Snickers settled into one of her favorite spots and I went inside for some ice tea...
Does anyone else remember QUBE? I remember going to a neighbors to watch MTV. This was one of those first videos. I am quiet certain it was popular at sporting events and dance classes too. The song is an anthem of the 80s.
I remember Rocky running to the song in one of those movies.
Now I hear it in bars on the juke box and sometimes I feel a punch of nostalgia in my gut or I get annoyed. Depends on the day.
I have been thinking about this song every time I look at our goldfish, Frankie. Frankie nearly died this week and now she is back swimming around that bowl like a champ. I guess it was only a near knock out, she pulled it out at the last second.
H was taking E to school and L was running around doing whatever it is she does in the morning and I was upstairs considering what I was going to wear, when I hear L yelling, "Mommy where is the fish?"
I responded that she was in her bowl.
Only she wasn't. She was laying on the counter, next to her bowl near the candle.
Not breathing. H, who had just gotten back, scooped her up and put her in the bowl, then she did this weird twitching thing, lay on her side and kinda floated near the bottom. I decided it was only going to be a matter of time.
We were sad, H took L to school and I lamented to friends via Facebook and Twitter that the fish was dead. I was sad. I know it is just a fish, but she is no ordinary fish. She is really aware of her surroundings and she is friendly. I eat lunch at the breakfast bar and we bond. You would be surprised how good a listener a fish can be. Also let's face it, I am not allergic to her. This is a key detail. I can love my fish with no nasal or skin reactions.
I never really had pets growing up.
Early in our marriage H toyed with going to flight school in Arizona. We got a bunny. Some bunny to keep me company. She was so cute. We got her from a breeder, before we knew about rabbit rescue. H picked her out. I was all about a Rex with rusty satiny fur, but H fell for the little lop and we took her home.
Bundles was amazing fun. She was cute and cuddly and was a great pet. She had the run of part of our basement. As she got older, we decided to get her a friend. This time through the Ohio House Rabbit Society. Reuben had been a rescue from in Cleveland. Poor guy had been abandoned at a construction site.
It was not love at first site and Bundles and Reuben did not bond right away but just as I thought we were going to have to send Reuben back north, they reached an understanding. Reuben basically decided the food was good here and if the price of good food was letting the smaller female bunny be in charge, well so be it. Beats getting eaten or run over by a backhoe.
I loved these bunnies. Reuben passed when L was a newborn. I am not sure I was paying as close as attention to him as I should have been, with a new baby and all, and he got a fatal ear infection. Having him put to sleep was so hard. I cried. I loved his gentle personality and his stand offish ways.
Bundles lived until L was almost 2, which made Bundles 10 years old. She slept most of the time towards the end. She did still like her outside time, was totally afraid of the loud squealing human who yelled - "I love you bunny" into her hutch and she passed peacefully in her sleep. L loved that rabbit and H and I dodged the death question by saying Bundles had taken a long trip. This came back to haunt us a few times. Ever so often, L would ask, if Bundles had gone on a trip, why hadn't she written a postcards. Then when my MIL passed away, L called us on our crap, "Hey did Bundles take the same trip Oma is taking. Is that why she hasn't written any post cards."
I grieved for these bunnies and I told H no more pets. I just cannot emotionally deal with the lose. I try like crazy not to bond with these creatures.
Long story short, we watched a friend's fish and we ended up with 2 fish and a snail, which died. Bless H for dealing with this. Then a neighbor is moving cross country and gives us Frankie, who is an amazingly hearty fish it would seem.
So hearty that she basically came back to life. I swear that fish was not breathing on the counter. After we put her back in the bowl and she had basically a couple minutes of what looked like seizures, I decided the smart money was on her being dead in a few hours.
Not so. She is merrily swimming around that bowl, like nothing happened. She was still for a few hours and then back to splashing us and eating like a pig.
On Facebook I posted this and I mean every word:
The fish is now swimming around the bowl, after "playing dead." Is it wrong to be annoyed - be dead or not... I cannot cope with fish who pretend to be dead.
So while I am glad our fish is a Survivor. Made of some pretty tough stuff, I am also reminded why it is hard for me to be a pet owner. The near death drama on Wednesday was really upsetting.
Just as last month I struggled with Snickers being gone. She disappeared during that monster snow storm and it was almost 5 days before we found her. I was so sure that cat was going to be dead. I could not fathom why she would run away, especially since she picked us. She showed up and wouldn't leave and no one else would take her despite my best efforts. I would have her in the house in a second. I love that cat. She is spunky, has an amazing cat-in-ality and is fun. She also makes me sneeze like no one's business and I get a skin rash in all of 5 seconds after I touch her. She too is a survivor. She was near deaths door when she arrived at our house. She was hungry and full of worms.
I had begun to give up hope until our neighbor posted on the neighbor association's Google Group, that they had her and had provided her some shelter during the wicked cold temperatures.
So in the span of two months our pets, pets I swore we weren't going to have, have managed to cause us much shock and dismay and I suppose, if we look for the silver lining, inspiration. The will to survive is strong, in bother Snickers and Frankie.
I still say, playing dead, as a fish is dangerous business. It almost earned her a one way flush.
Yep I know I have not been around much. Been busy, you know, so here is a bit of a random update for those of you who might or might not be curious.
Christmas Cards.
Right I know you got none. No it was not a mailing error. I decided, it is silly to send all these cards. It is a costly and time consuming task. It is not that I do not care about you. I just had so little time this year and postage is seriously expensive. Seriously.
I was torn, make no mistake. I do like writing cards. So I decided, I was not going to be a lemming, but rather, more proactive about writing random cards through out the year and less inclined to add to the Christmas madness.
MBA School
I have officially 4 weeks and 6 days left. Do I have senioritis. Hell yes I do. I just want to be done. February 8th, I am a free lady. I will have completed my masters degree. Now seeing as I officially started this process before L was born, it has literally taken years, but I am done. UOP is an efficient way to go.
I am thinking of trying to teach once I am done. It would be a good fit for my life and I think it suits me.
Speaking of working...
I am now working at Indie House Collective on Wednesdays and hopefully expanding that to Fridays once school is over. I like the energy there. I like the creative buzz and I find I am very productive. No piles of laundry. It is not home. While I do love my home office, I am sitting in it now, I also find real value not working at home. There is a balance to the process of going to work.
Upset Tummy Troubles
As many people who follow the blog know, I have really struggled with my gut for much of the year. After an agonizing glutening in April of 2009, I have struggled mightily to get back to center. My weight has been crazy weird and the gluten caused me jump nearly a dress size, even thought he scale hardly budged. Then the scale budged and I languished. On top of that - I just felt genuinely bad.
In the last 6 weeks, my weight and frankly my hormones I think, have shifted. I have lost about 6 pounds. Rapidly. My blood pressure has bottomed out a bit off and on and I have been really trying to find that gut balance point. While the weight loss is welcomed, the other issues have been a challenge. I mean a challenge.
We might be there. I am now back at my normal weight and the waist band of my pants reflect that. This is a recent development. I have to be the only person in America to lose 4 plus pounds the week of Xmas and New Years. Without even trying. I will even admit to splurging on some chocolate...
I also have moved forward with new doctor and had a serious amount of blood drawn, in order to under go some testing, in an effort to pinpoint exactly what is the trouble with my gut. Let's hope 2010 is about putting the gut issue to bed for good.
Subtraction
So for those of you, who are math challenged and childless - be happy. Be very happy. L is learning double digit subtraction with regrouping. (Like 41-29)
Now let's just say that there is no memorizing jack. It is an intuitive approach and they teach the kiddos like 7 different ways to look at adding and subtracting - then they throw the regrouping idea at them. Seriously. Then they wonder why the kiddos are confused.
I am really decent at math. I have been working extra with her. We are slowly getting there. Between this and them wanting her to finish the 2nd grade reading at least the 4th grade level, I actually wonder exactly what 3rd grade has in store for us.
Cancer Live
Mom is in a 2nd Level Chemo trial at the James. So far so good, but I have to say, they expect alot out of a woman, with cancer. Lots of appointments and running around. The side effects are manageable, but my bro and I are circling the wagons. It is very exhausting. She is in amazing hands, but it is still a long road...
Snickers
Our cat is fab. She loves us and we love her. The kids are still, 3 months in, being very responsible about her care and she has mastered the cat door. I still am convinced it was fate. She was sent to us for a reason.
This blog
I am not sure if I will continue blogging here or not. I find I have less and less time and my creative energy has been taking me in different directions of late. Needless to say, I do not want this blog to be stale and only updated once in a while. That said, nor do I want it to be filled with mindless drivel.
I am unresolved on this point. How much is enough for it to remain relevant? Useful. To what end is it.
So we shall see. I am thinking it over and will get back to ya'all!
Catty missed her vet appointment yesterday because she was freaked out about the lawn mowing and leaf blowing at the neighbors house. So she got to go today, with E and I. The good news is, she is not chipped, she does not have FIV or any other horrible cat disease, she is about 2 years old, has clear ears and great teeth. She now has her rabies vaccine and her FIV vaccine and something else.
The so-so news is she has a birth defect in her eye, the inner lid is fused to her retina causing her to be nearly blind in her right eye, so what I thought was infection, was actually what might have landed her out. It is not expensive to fix (relatively speaking) but it likely meant she was unsalable or less than perfect (hell aren't we all.)The Vet thinks a few snips and she will be fine and likely regain the sight in that eye. Not treating it is an option, but she would likely develop an infection or loose the eye altogether. She has some round worms, easy to treat or at least treatable and not a problem for the kids. She also likely is not spayed and there is a chance she might be newly preggers. So I am having her spayed tomorrow and I have no issues, that she might be with kitten. We are keeping her, because there are clearly too many kittens running around Central Ohio.
So I have dropped more money that I imagined I could but I think it will have a decent outcome. He said she likely will be with us for a long while. Strays who adopt a family, tend to stay and are loyal and happy to have a place. She has a pleasing personality and is well mannered.
They gave me some outdoor cat keeping tips and assured me that all would be well.
