P.A.W.S. Wakefield, an animal rescue shelter in Wakefield, Massachusetts, just rescued eight mothers and thirty-five kittens from one house (let me repeat: FROM ONE HOUSE) in Melrose, MA. They desperately need funds to get the cats spayed/ neutered and cared for,
and if there’s anyone out there in the Melrose-Wakefield, Massachusetts area, I’m sure they could use more foster homes, or adoptive homes for kitties! Their website is here.
Y’all help out if you can, and help spread the word, please?
Paula sent me the link to this page yesterday – Louis vs. Rick – and it made me cackle. He hasn’t posted anything since November 2009, but that certainly didn’t stop me from adding him to my Google Reader.
So, recently I was laying in bed and wasn’t ready to go to sleep just yet, so I looked on my iPod to see what TV shows I had to watch. I went ahead and bought this season of Gossip Girl on iTunes, but I wasn’t in a Gossip Girl mood. I did have an episode of Private Practice – the one where Charlotte is, y’know. I don’t want to say, so as not to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen this season.
I don’t watch Private Practice, but I’d read somewhere that that episode was a pretty powerful one, so I bought it, and then it sat on my iPod for lo these many months.
I blather these fascinating details to you so that I can then say that whatsherface, the surgeon who is McDreamy’s sister, mentioned to another character that she’d been drinking “a little too much” lately. And in an expository manner, it was revealed (though I’m sure that those of you who watch the show already knew this) that she is a recovering drug addict.
Which is when I was all, hold the phone here. Is it truly okay – an accepted practice – for a recovering drug addict to drink? I mean, to me it seems obvious that if I’ve got an addiction to drugs, I might fairly easily transfer that addiction to alcohol annnnd that could be a problem. No? What am I missing here?
I didn’t drive the sweeper around the back forty yesterday morning because something bit me in the armpit when I was working in the garden on Sunday (some sort of bug, I mean – not like a rabid skunk ran up and bit me. Though that would be an excellent entry, wouldn’t it?), and wearing a bra is annoying because the strap rubs right on the swollen, bitten part, and also I took one step out the back door at 6:30 and it was already hot and muggy out, and I thought “I do believe I’m going to take this armpit-bite as an excuse to not do any outdoor work today.”
So I didn’t.
Which means now I gotta. Well, I don’t HAVE to, but I want to get it done and over with, so today’s the day. I’ll probably only do it for a couple of hours, though, since it’s supposed to get super hot again today and there’s no shade in the back forty. Since the back forty’s a decent distance from the neighbor’s house, I’m going to get started at about 7:00, I think. They shouldn’t be able to hear the lawnmower, but if someone stumbles out the back door and gives me a dirty look, I’ll wait ’til 9:00.
“You SEE what I have to put up with?”
Fergus Simon’s goofy little face makes me laugh every day.
“Why, it’s AMAZIN’!”
“Yes, I’m wearing my tiny hat. What of it?” (Macushla)
“Howdy, pardner.” (Ciara)
::thlurrrp:: Miss Cori.
“Hello, I am beautiful.”
I love it when they smile.
Rough life, ain’t it?
We bought a cat tree for the foster room, and the girls really like it. At some point in the future, we’re planning on doing a kind of built-in tree with platforms attached to the wall and such, in which case we’ll move this tree somewhere else in the house. Kittens need cat trees, is what I think, and this one will do nicely for the time being.
What’s funnier than a tiny cat on a little kitten? Nothing, that’s what.
“I’m wearing my cowboy hat and you are not!”
“I’m a cowgiiiiiiiirl!”
Alice, on the cement pad in the back yard.
Previously
2010: Fred pointed out yesterday that the kittens are always free, but the puppies never are.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: Needless to say, Maxi’s persona non grata when the chickens are present in the back yard from now on.
2006: The discerning decorator always considers that cats are decor accessories as well as beloved, spoiled-rotten pets and takes into account the decor of their home before adopting said animals.
2005: “If I can make four percoset get me high for the next year, you just might.”
2004: (Don’t lecture me, I KNOW. I swear I’ll wear sunscreen from now on okay, MOTHER?)
2003: No entry.
2002: Hell. O. Dolly. God in heaven, they were SO DAMN GOOD.
2001: Plus I’m taking this newfangled thing they call “pen and paper.”
2000: No entry.
“What’s funnier than a tiny cat on a little kitten? Nothing, that’s what.”
HA! “Tiny cat on a little kitten!”
That I would LOVE to see.
Louis vs Rick made me laugh out loud. Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Tiny hats on kittens or humans is always funny! 😀
I guffawed at Maclushla’s picture. Oh, the EYES!
Have you tried the receipt trick? Take a (preferably fresh) grocery store or similar receipt and rub it briskly a few times on your cat’s fur, then let go. The static electricity will be enough to make the receipt cling in place, but not enough to give anyone a shock. Depending on the cat, they will (a) ignore it completely, (b) start twitching as they try to figure out WHAT’S TOUCHING ME, or (c) go into GETITOFFGETITOFF mode and begin spinning in circles. The receipt will only cling for a few seconds if the cat’s moving around at all, so it’s a very brief game, but amusing. (I thought for a moment about doing it with balloons, but then decided that was cruel and was totally ashamed of myself, so I won’t. But if anyone else does, post video.)
I have a slightly different opinion on the drugs/alcohol crossover – I think it depends on the individual. I mean, generally, yeah, it seems like someone who has a problem with intoxicating substance A should also then stay away from intoxicating substances B, C, D, E, etc. On the other hand, to use someone with whom I shared a home for five years, Substance A doesn’t always affect a person the way SubB does. This person I lived with could have one or two mixed drinks, and stop. He could have one shot of whiskey or tequila, and stop. He could have one glass of wine or champagne, and stop. But if it was beer, he could NOT stop, and would drink to blackout almost every time. I mean, even if we went to dinner and he ordered a beer with dinner – he’d have to stop on the way home and pick up a case. It seemed physically impossible for him to have only one or two beers, even though other alcoholic beverages – including those with a higher alcohol content – were fine.
I have known someone with a history of painkiller addiction who would have a glass of wine once every two or three weeks, whenever he and his wife went to dinner – just the one glass, because his wife enjoyed having a glass or two of wine but felt uncomfortable “drinking in front of him” if he wasn’t drinking. He never had a problem with wanting more, never drank to intoxication (never had, really; it was just the pain pills), and had no cravings or desire for it himself. It was like two years into his recovery before he realized that his wife had stopped having her customary glass of wine and asked her why; it’s not as dysfunctional a situation as it seems. He just wasn’t into alcohol; it did nothing for him.
In the situation you’re describing, it does sound like the character is using alcohol as a substitute for the high of the drugs, and that’s not cool, and I would say that it’s probably not a good idea for a newly straight/sober person to go, “Oh, well my problem is with beer, so I can have all the whiskey I want.” But I personally think that the AA/etc model of “total abstinence from everything* for everyone” is a bit too cookie-cutter. Everyone’s different, which means everyone’s addictions are different. Probably the MAJORITY of people should abstain entirely, but I do believe there are people who have a SubA problem but are totally fine with SubB or SubC.
I also believe it’s possible for SOME, few, maybe even rare, alcoholics to resume drinking in moderation once they have a few years of recovery under their belts and have rerouted their coping techniques and dealt with their underlying issues. I would never SUGGEST that to anyone who’s recovering – “hey, don’t worry, you can drink again in a few years” – because I think those people are rare, but if I knew someone who had a history of alcoholism and saw that they had, say, a champagne toast at a relative’s wedding or something, I wouldn’t think twice about it.
Emphasizing that the above is my OPINION, and that although I have/have had relationships (by blood, marriage, and other) with several alcoholics/addicts, I’ve been spared that nightmare myself, so no one should take me as being authoritative on anything other than my opinion. But I really do think that it has to be “what works for you,” the individual, not a “one size (or twelve steps) fit(s) all” approach.
I think my comment is longer than your post… sorry!
*everything except cigarettes, which baffles me.
How old are the McMaos now? I find myself caring for a stray kitten that we found in our yard last Thursday (brief story & pictures here) and I think he’s about the same size. Poor thing was tortured a little — someone shaved the hair off his back and clipped his whiskers — but he’s the most loving little purr box you’ve ever seen. I’m trying to find a home for him (anyone in SW Virginia want a new baby?) but I suspect he’s going to become a permanent resident.
McDreamie’s sister isn’t supposed to be drinking. She relapsed. I won’t say more for those who hasn’t watched it yet.
LOVE the tiny hats lolol
I couldn’t get on your page this morning for my daily dose of kittehs to start my day! So I just got here now and OH with the HATS!! Dying!!
Most of the people I know with drug problems were cross addicted and do not drink at all today. They ARE in AA and/or NA and DO follow the total sobriety mode of recovery. I know a few alcoholics who stopped drinking on their own and some of them have an occasional drink without terrible consequences. I have seen others have one and go back on a huge bender. I think Elayne is right-it varies with the individual.
I am a mental health counselor and one of my “specialties” so to speak is addiction. I’m somewhat of a purist in this realm and DO try to educate clients that a “DRUG IS A DRUG IS A DRUG”. It’s not recommended to drink if you are an addict; nor is it recommended to begin drugging if you are an alcoholic. The amygdala (pleasure and addiction center in the brain) cannot differentiate between substances. But using one keeps the switch turned on, so to speak, so that addiction center is always hovering, on guard, ready to return to the out of control usage by abusing the new one, or returning to the old one. I agree some can do it, but not usually. And I’m one who rarely drinks. I get peer pressure constantly, like I’m a teenager. “You’re not drinking? Why?” “Come on, what’s your problem? Why are you drinking water.” I’m not an alcoholic, I just really don’t enjoy it all that much. Amazes me how much peer pressure there is surrounding this no matter what the age. I’m going to be 50 in August.