If you’re in Maine and are looking for a cat, please let me know and I’ll pass your email along to the people looking for a home for her. She’s about 1 1/2 years old, has a very sweet temperament, and is a blue-eyed Siamese mix. (Sorry, no pics at the moment – but I’m sure there’ll be some available soon!) She’s spayed and has had her rabies shot.
Attention, those of you in the North Alabama/ Tennessee area: the North Alabama Spay Neuter Clinic is having a fundraiser this weekend in the form of a Plea Market (they had one last year, you might recall.) They’re looking for donations (which are tax deductible!) – you can go here to read more about what they’re looking for, when and where you can drop off your donations, and when the Plea Market will be open to the public.
This event is sponsored by 13 animal welfare groups in the area. The money raised will be used to buy a transport vehicle to assist people in rural areas to get their animals spayed/neutered. Volunteers will be needed on Thursday & Friday (12/18-19) to help set up and also on Saturday, the day of the sale. Donations of saleable items will be accepted both days at the Jaycees Building on Airport Road.
The North Alabama Spay Neuter Clinic charges $35 for feline neuters, $45 for feline spays, $55 for canine neuters, and $65 for canine spays. The only cost above the basic charge is $10 for the rabies vaccination if you cannot provide proof that your animal has been vaccinated in the past 12 months.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ANYONE CAN USE THE SPAY AND NEUTER CLINIC. You do NOT have to qualify! There is no extra charge for weight or if the cat/ dog is in heat.
Sights from around Crooked Acres.
The back forty.
Rooster. He’d like you to know he’s a great big stud.
Miss Gray. She’s the only chicken we’ve had that’s this particular color and pattern. I think she’s beeeeeautiful. I secretly call her Meredith. Get it? Meredith Grey? No?
Momma hen and her babies.
I went out to the back forty to open the big coop door (so the coop could air out) yesterday morning, and George and Gracie were out cold. I stood there and took pictures of them, and waited for them to sense my presence, but they didn’t. Finally, I got worried that perhaps they’d been poisoned and were laying there dead, so I said “Puppies!” and they jerked awake.
“I was restin’ my eyes, lady.”
So, in the guest bedroom (which also doubles as an extra foster room, as you probably know), we used to have a little set of stairs so that any little fosters could climb on them, and ultimately get up onto the bed in there. You can see them in the background of this picture:
As you can see, they were covered in carpet (or carpet-like material), and after they’d been vomited on a million times, I couldn’t stand the way they looked. I said to Fred “Can’t you make me a set of stairs out of wood that I could paint or polyurethane and so when they’re vomited upon, I can just wipe them off?”
He said that he could, and that was about six months ago.
The weekend before last, I finally got pushy about getting him to make the steps for me – I have no idea why, it’s not like any of the kittens aren’t big enough to climb up on the bed without the assistance of stairs, I just WANTED them – and he did.
The kittens approved! So I took them out to the garage and painted them with a stain/ polyurethane combo. Honestly, if I had it to do all over again, I’d have just used a clear polyurethane, because the combo ended up being so drippy (and I so uncoordinated) that there are parts of the stairs that look terrible. I complained to Fred about it, and he pointed out that he was pretty sure the kittens weren’t going to care, which is true, but I’m making a mental note not to do that again.
(Please note that I am NOT giving you a close-up view!)
I think they’ll work quite nicely.
AND, since we were going to the store to buy wood for the stairs, we bought more wood. See, in a corner of the computer room I put a carrier with a pad in it, and I called it the Spanky Cave (or the Sugarbutt Cave, or Whoever-was-in-it Cave) and the cats liked it quite a bit. But it sits under a chair, and the cats were using it to climb up onto the chair, which was making the top collapse downward permanently.
So we made a box about the same size of the carrier, from wood. I stain/ polyurethaned that as well, but since it was a simple box, there was less of the dripping problem that I had when I did the stairs.
Miz Poo approves.
Which is why, when I saw this over at Modern Cat, I said “Hey! Great minds think alike!”
When I was looking for the picture above that showed the old cat steps, I ran across these, and I think I might have fainted from the sheer stunning cute.
That’s Hydrox from the Cookies, by the way. He was such a little character!
The Crooked Acres House Tour, continued.
From the bottom of the stairs, looking up toward the landing.
The curtains on the window at the landing. I love these curtains (I don’t know if you can tell or not, but they have daisies on them).
Looking out the window at the driveway.
From the landing looking downward. That doorway leads to the guest bedroom.
Annnnd from the landing looking upward.
Top of the stairs, looking down at the landing. This is exciting, no?
At the top of the stairs, to the left, is Fred’s bedroom.
For the uninformed, yes – Fred and I sleep in separate bedrooms. And if you’re all spluttering condescendingly like Dr. Phil was on his recent show where someone asked him whether sleeping in separate beds was a bad idea, and he tried to pretend that if it worked for the couple, then it was fine with him, except that he made it SUPER CLEAR that in his opinion it was a bad idea, then please feel free to bite me. We don’t sleep well in the same bed. We sleep very well in separate beds. I can sleep through cats tromping all over me; Fred cannot, and once he’s awakened in the middle of the night (by, say, a cat balancing on his head) he has a hard time getting back to sleep. We lay down and talk and cuddle every night for half an hour or more, then Fred goes off to his bedroom and I stay in mine. He usually goes right to sleep; I stay up and read or watch TV and turn in at a more reasonable (ten-thirty! Am party animal!) hour.
In conclusion, let me tell you that there are three women (I am no longer in contact with, for the record) who come to mind who, in the past, had an absolute screaming cow about the fact that we sleep in separate rooms. Oh, they couldn’t BELIEEEEEEEEVE that we didn’t sleep all curled up together in sweet marital bliss. Oh, what a TRAVESTY, what a SHAME, they were SO SORRY that our marriage was in such dire shape, did we need HELP with attorneys fees for the DIVORCE, would we perhaps like some ADVICE on how to fix our SHAM of a marriage?
Would you like to take a guess about how many of those three marriages are still standing? Did you smugly guess that NOT ONE of those “I could never sleep separately from MAH MAN!” bitches is still married?
In. Your. FACE.
(Who, me? Chip on my shoulder about this topic? Why, I’d never!)
“Jake’s trying to sleep here, lady. Go ‘way.”
A note of interest: this was actually originally going to be the foster room. But Fred doesn’t sleep well when wakened in the middle of the night, and the room that is now the foster room (that was originally supposed to be Fred’s room) is on the front of the house, facing the road, and occasionally loud motorcycles or cars or people walking go by. That room is better suited to being a foster room, anyway – it gets lots of sun, and the closet’s a great size to keep litter boxes and cat supplies in. You can see the foster room door at the other end of the hallway.
My room. You can see the closet door on the left, but you can’t actually see that there’s a second closet on the right – the door is next to the recliner. I like having all that closet space, but it makes it hard to place the bed. I don’t like blocking part of one of the windows, but whatcha gonna do? I had the bed kitty-corner originally, but then there was no room on the wall for my bedside table. I sleep on the left side (if you’re facing the bed).
From the recliner, looking over toward the door. The white bookcase (which you can’t see much of) holds my books (duh). The armoire type piece of furniture straight ahead holds the clothes that are out of season – I just got out all my Fall/ Winter clothes yesterday, so all my lighter shirts and shorts are in there now. Please note Starsky on the bed.
Standing next to the bed, looking toward the opposite corner. You can see the other closet door now. Next to the bookcase is the Poo Cave.
“I yam Poo, and this are my Cave.”
I don’t know if you’re dying to see in my closets, but if I were you I’d want to know what the hell’s going on in all that closet space.
This is the closet with the white door. Mostly shipping supplies for jams/ jellies/ hot sauces – boxes, bubble wrap, foam peanuts.
Other end of the closet.
Now, true confession time: until two weeks ago, this closet was STUFFED with boxes. I must have saved every damn box I got for the past year DESPITE the fact that I didn’t need them. Finally, I got my shit together, hauled almost all of those boxes out of there, and took them to the recycling center. I didn’t want y’all to think I was a dirty rotten box hoarder. (Nevermind those boxes on the shelves. Shaddup.)
The other closet – it’s cedar lined, but ever so much more boring than the other closet, if you ask me.
There’s a second row of clothes hanging behind this row.
And that’s it for the tour this week! Next week, the upstairs bathroom and foster room. Then the week after that, the garage! Woohoo!
Starsky and Tommy.
Hutch and Rhyme.
It’s too bad these little guys can’t seem to find anyone willing to snuggle with them, isn’t it? So sad.
Smug little monkey.
They’re getting so leggy.
Sooooo…. guess who’s going to their new home tomorrow?
“…ME?”
That’s right. But not just Starsky. Hutch, too. They’re both being adopted by the same family!!!
I won’t say anymore, though. I don’t want to jinx it! But I am very excited, to say the least!
The garbage can (which has never been used to hold garbage, by the way) in the back yard has become THE place to be. Sugarbutt gets it when it’s sunny – and when it’s raining out, Tommy hangs out in it (Tommy LOVES to be outside when it’s raining. I think he’s part otter – although, he doesn’t particularly care for getting wet). Sometimes the Bookworms sneak in and hang out there for a little while, but it’s usually the domain of Suggie or Tom.
Previously
2009: No entry.
2008: I was going to spend the day shopping today, but due to the onset of PMS rage, I think it’s best that I spend as little time in public as possible.
2007: Brudderly love.
2006: No entry.
2005: Apparently I’ve got the Jaws of Doom.
2004: Reader questions.
2003: Of course, my immediate response is “Are you on drugs???”
2002: I think that everyone there had a little cartoon question mark over their head, ’cause I sure as shit did.
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.
1999: No entry.
dear box “collector”, those boxes could have been worth something someday!
I know! I coulda sold ’em for a pretty penny! What am I gonna live on now that they done took my boxes away!
I would love for the hubs and I to have separate bedrooms! our marriage is very secure but sleeping iwht another person is just a form of torture! Lucy and Ricky had separate bed, and Fred and Wilma! Maybe they were on to something. Why is it a “law” that married couples must sleep in the same bed? My husband snores terribly and it keeps me up half the night. He also tends to take the blankets roll over and then tuck them underneath him leaving me shivering with no blanket.
I get up to go to the bathroom at least twice a night and it wakes him up every time. He also works varying schedules and either I’m disturbing him in the morning getting ready for work when he’s trying to sleep or he’s waking me up at midnight when he gets home.
yeah, separate bedrooms sound perfect to me!
Yay for Starsky and Hutch!!! Guest bedroom downstairs – is that a ghost or two?????
A ghost or two, or the sun shining through the windows onto the floor. You choose.
Oh how I dream of having my own bedroom. But my husband is like those women who were afraid of our marriage being at risk were we to sleep separately. God! When I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, he pops up with a “What happened?!!!!” Cripes!
Well, I’ll share with you that my husband and I sleep in seperate rooms. We have been doing it for about 3 years now, we are married 18. I’ve had issues with insomnia and he is always sick with something and now he is starting to snore. I am such a light sleeper I just need my peace. He also complains our bed is too mushy and the guest bed is harder and better for his back. He does get all girly too saying it’s not good for the marriage, blah blah blah, but I just keep telling him it’s all good! We do like you guys, we spend time in his room each evening, he goes to bed atleast an hr before me anyway, then I go to my room and read then go bed. It works for us. Oh and he likes 2 fans blowing on him so it’s like winter in the room and I hate having the fan on my face.
I tell you who NEEDS to have separate bedrooms — that hubby on the program, “Medium.” For the love of God, the wife is always having these dreams/visison, waking up and screaming (she sees dead people)…and the hubby is like, “What…what the he…” This goes on repeatedly and it gets almost comical at times! LOL Don’t know if you’ve ever seen that or not!
My late husband was beginning to snore badly, and we were definitely thinking of having separate bedrooms – and had to sleep separately when one or the other was sick with a cold/flu/whatever. He nearly always had a persistent cough after any cold, and neither one of us could get any sleep.
Another nod for separate bedrooms! Have been sleeping that way for about five years (out of 29)… husband snores, and likes to stay up late. I am the opposite.
I read somewhere recently that the trend in new homes now is to have two master bedrooms, because more and more couples are wanting separate spaces.
The second one of the kids move out hubby and I will be heading for separate bed rooms, whoot! We BOTH snore so you can imagine how fun that is
Plus I like to read before I go to bed and OMG he claims he cannot sleep when I do that (which is why him passing out in front of the tube is so perplexing..) Anyway, power to you and Fred. If we had the room we would do the same.
I am so loving the house tour!! Now I feel like I should throw together some kind of cave-like object for my cats. I know they would love it.
One of my other bloggy friends had a discussion about separate bedrooms when she found out her dad and step-mom have them. You’d be happy to know that the vast majority of comments were 100% in support. In fact, many (like me) were jealous that you guys have enough bedrooms to make that an option!! I jokingly say that the reason I still have not moved in with or married the boyfriend of over 10 years is that I don’t have enough bedrooms
One of my boys needs to move out first. He snores. I’m the one (like Fred) with light sleeping issues & the inability to go back to sleep consistently. Cats don’t wake me, but snoring does. Also, he likes to watch tv & fall asleep & I like to read. Our morning routines are vastly different too. I can handle it when he stays over for one night now & then, but after the occasional full week with him here I am ready to run away and leave everyone to fend for themselves because I’ve lost too much sleep.
I sometimes wish for the separate beds thing. These are the times when I find myself waking up in the middle of the night and thinking, “If you get up or down one more fucking time I will SMOTHER YOU IN YOUR SLEEP.”
LOL!! That reminds me of one night when Hubby and I stayed at a hotel for a ‘romantic weekend’. King bed. I could NOT sleep with all of the freaking snoring he was doing and swear I barely got a wink. After one bout of shoving him to no avail I remember saying “I am going to FUCKING KILL YOU!!” Repeat and rinse several times. Bastard. I was thisclose to sleeping in the tub. (And I tried smothering him but he woke up.)I think on our next ‘romantic weekend’ we should get separate rooms.
Yay for Starsky & Hutch. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it all goes well.
Now I have a question – I have two cats that I am “keeping” temporarily for a friend who hit some hard times. They are small cats, esp in comparison to my 2 huge boys. They eat well, drink well, everything works – except they are vomit comets. I have had to change the sheets in the guest room 3 times in the last week because they like to vomit on the bed (and the carpet). I know I should have gotten wise after the first time and put some plastic over the bedding, but I am slow sometimes. But really I want to keep them from vomiting at all – any hints? They mostly eat dry (Purina indoor cat) food and occasionally some wet if the other cats let them.
Dr. Phil? FFS, who on God’s planet would take the marital advice of a man who needs his wifezilla to accompany him to WORK every day. Talk about co-dependent.
Yeah, I’ve been married 21 years and I could have my own bedroom and be happy. It’d be great to be able to spread out in bed like a swastika.
I don’t know who the wonderful folks are who are adopting Starsky and Hutch, but I love them. How fab that the brothers get to spend their lives together.
Both of your bedrooms are such a pretty blue. And those kitty steps are adorable – great idea.
And, SQUEE!! at George and Gracie jumping up to come when you call “Puppies!”. Much too cutes!!
The color on the fall leaves is killing me! So beautiful.
I totally hear ya on the separate bedrooms. My husband snores like a freight train and is also one of those people who are asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow, damn him. He’s also a morning person. I am a night person, I stay up later and I am a light sleeper to boot. It takes me forever to get to sleep sometimes and any little thing wakes me up. We don’t have enough room for another bed in our house, so my husband and I alternate nights, one of us in the bed and one of us on the couch. I am so lucky that my husband is willing to do this. We’re both in our 30s, so this plan probably won’t work when we’re old and creaky, but for now I am grateful for being able to get a decent nights’ sleep. It’s silly to think that sleeping apart is “bad for the marriage.” Not getting any sleep and wanting to punch the snorer is much worse for the marriage!
I wrote a post once where I mentioned how my husband and I had a lengthy discussion on which was worse, a sore throat or a persistent cough. I jokingly wrote that after 13 years of marriage we’re clearly scraping the bottom of the conversation barrel. A woman commented that she and her boyfriend NEVER EVER run out of things to talk about. Guess who broke up a short time later? She did! Hee, hee!
I’m going to miss the Starsky and Hutch pictures, but I’m glad they’re being adopted together!
The sleeping arrangements in a marriage are totally the couple’s business. I had a co-worker predict twenty-five years ago that I would be divorced soon. Three years later my husband was best man at her husband’s second wedding. We met through our husbands. I used to bitch about my husband at work sometimes-we were in a bit of a rough patch and I was young but you can’t and shouldn’t predict the future of someone else’s relationship. I am no longer in touch with her and her ex is divorced again. I heard she’s remarried too but I felt pretty smug back when her big mouth proved her so wrong.
This has nothing to do with anything today but don’t you think that Corbie looks alot like a California Spangled cat and Rhyme looks like an Egyptian Mau? Maybe their momma was a wayward showcat?
I am happy, too that the kittens have a home together, but will miss seeing their pictures!!!I guess because it was just the two of them that they seem so special!!!
Another vote for separate bedrooms. My dh and I haven’t slept in the same bed for about 4-5 years. He snores like a freight train and I’m a light sleeper plus his snoring makes it hard for me to fall asleep! His bedroom’s downstairs and mines upstairs and I can still hear him snoring if he really gets going!
And yeah for Starsky and Hutch going together!
Looks like you’re getting puh-lenty of validation on the separate bedrooms issue, but I’ll still put in my two cents’ worth.
I would have no problem whatsoEVAH if my sweet husband and I slept in separate rooms. I have wicked insomnia, even with medication, and he snores like a friggin’ chain saw. Before he got his c-pap, I would frequently gather up my pillow and stomp off to the guest room, all the while considering the various methods I could employ to kill him without getting caught. I’m not even kidding. When you’re lying there, wide awake, and your mate is snoring loudly enough to be heard from the other side of the house, trust me: sleeping together is not contributing to marital bliss. In the guest room, I would sleep like a baby until he woke up and realized I wasn’t there and came looking for me. I don’t know if he thought I’d been abducted by aliens, or if I’d quietly packed up and left, right after cleaning out all the bank accounts. Hard to say which would concern him most.
I think sleeping in separate rooms is only a problem if the couple isn’t connected on a physical and emotional level, and if they aren’t making efforts to maintain that connection. I do NOT think that’s a problem for you and Fred, so I strongly encourage you to tell all the pearl-clutchers to suck it.
Seeing the pictures of Hydrox made me remember how much I loved that little guy…guess he’s a big guy by now! Wish I could see a picture of him now (hint to the human who shares living space with him!).
My mom and step-dad have separate rooms and have for years. I say whatever works for you is what you should do.
And thanks for all the kitty pics. The more kitty pics the better. I just got a new kitty and put pics of him on my blog. He’s adorable!
That whole “In your face” thing?
Is why I still read your blog going on 8 years now.