*Edited to add: We’ve received over $2,950 in donations in less than two days! That’s more than enough to pay for the surgeries for ALL of these kittens, thank you all so much! You’re the best!!! I have news about the kittens! And that’s all this entry is going to be about today, so if … Continue reading “8/27/09 – Thursday”
*Edited to add: We’ve received over $2,950 in donations in less than two days! That’s more than enough to pay for the surgeries for ALL of these kittens, thank you all so much! You’re the best!!!
I have news about the kittens! And that’s all this entry is going to be about today, so if you’re one of those readers who care not about sweet bebbe kittens and have no desire to help them, you just move along, Heartless McGee.
The vet consulted extensively with an ophthalmologist (I can never spell that right, I always have to ask Google how it’s spelled!) who practices in Birmingham, and there is a way to correct the kittens’ eye problem. What they do is, they take a bit of lip from the corner of the kitten’s mouth and graft it onto the eyelid. The kitten would have sutures both on his/ her eyelid and their mouth, poor thing.
The really good part is that I won’t have to put the kittens through the trauma of driving them down to Birmingham (a 2-ish hour drive each way), because the vet is confident that she can perform the surgery herself.
Since Bill, Hoyt & Sam are all over two pounds and big enough to be neutered, they have an appointment to be neutered tomorrow, and the vet is likely going to perform the eye surgery on at least one of the boys at that time, if not all three of them. Once the first surgery is down, she’ll have a better feel for exactly how long each surgery will take, and then she can determine whether the rest of the boys should have their eyes done at that time, or wait until a later date.
Sookie, the only girl, will be spayed, and since that’s a more extensive surgery than neutering, she’ll have to have two separate surgeries. And since Terry has to have his hernia repaired in addition to being neutered, he’ll have to have his eyes repaired in a separate surgery, also, since the neutering plus the hernia repair plus the eye surgery would have him under for too long.
So we have our solution and we’re ready to move ahead!
I don’t have a sum yet as to what the surgeries will cost – the vet is working on that and I should have a number later today – but I know that it’s not going to be inexpensive to reconstruct the eyelids (or part of the eyelids) for six tiny cats, and I know that the surgeries will strain the shelter budget quite a bit.
That’s where you come in (you knew that was coming, right?). If you can spare some money to help pay the vet who will be reconstructing the eyelids of these kittens so that they won’t suffer eye damage as they grow up, it would be very much appreciated.
Challenger’s House accepts donations by mail (check or money order), by phone (Mastercard/VISA), or select the button below to donate through PayPal. (Make sure you make a note to let Susan know that the donation is meant for the True Blood Kittens’ surgeries!)
Challenger’s House
112 Tristian Rd.
Toney, AL 35773
Phone: 256-420-5995
Please help spread the word – feel free to steal either of the banners below, or create your own. Link to the permanent page about the kittens. Every little bit of help for these kittens is very much appreciated.
“But… I don’t WANNA go be tutored and have my eyeballs messed with!”
Bill thinks perhaps having good eyesight is overrated.
Snuggly Terry.
Got all six of them in one picture for once! Even looking in the same general direction!
I was waving a feather toy over my head to get their attention, and it makes me laugh that Terry (on the back of the chair) thinks perhaps if he stands up on two legs, he can reach the toy.
Bill in silhouette.
Bowl full o’ Sookie.
Terry keeps warm in the sun.
Upside down cat beds are far more comfortable than right-side-up, apparently.
Previously 2008: “Huh” is very versatile, no?
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry. 2004: I think our cats are as antisocial as we are. 2003: Damn PMS Fairy. 2002: You know, I don’t believe that once you become a parent, every bit of you has to be absorbed into that role. 2001: Dumbass, thy name is Robyn.
2000: No entry.
I am without my car today and tomorrow – it’s off being serviced – and it’s kind of disconcerting. OMG, what if I need to go get groceries (I don’t, I got them yesterday) or pick up a bag of cat food (I don’t, we’re completely stocked up) or emergency-run a cat to the vet … Continue reading “8/26/09 – Wednesday”
I am without my car today and tomorrow – it’s off being serviced – and it’s kind of disconcerting. OMG, what if I need to go get groceries (I don’t, I got them yesterday) or pick up a bag of cat food (I don’t, we’re completely stocked up) or emergency-run a cat to the vet (I’ve never had to before, why start today?)?! Even if the car wasn’t off being serviced, if it was parked in the driveway, I have nowhere pressing to be today or tomorrow, it’s just knowing that if I WANTED to go somewhere I couldn’t that’s annoying me a little.
And I shouldn’t even be annoyed – if I truly wanted/ needed to go somewhere, I could use the truck. I don’t know where the keys are, but I suspect if I called Fred and said “Where are the keys to the truck?” he’d likely tell me. I don’t like to drive the truck, though. In fact, I don’t like to drive anything but my own car. I guess I’m a creature of habit. Or I’m looking for something to complain about. WHATEVER. I don’t even like my stupid car that much.
Hey – now that I think of it, I could take a page from the book of the old man who lives down the road, who drives his riding lawn mower to the post office every day. I kid you not. And he goes pretty damn fast in that thing.
I will likely be kicked out of the Huntsville area or divorced by my husband when I confess this to you, but it must be said: I think Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ sauce is good, but I’ve found one that’s even better. When we first visited a certain restaurant in the Lawrenceburg, TN area on our way to Amish country, I liked the BBQ sauce on the table so much that I made Fred buy a bottle of it before we left.
My trip to the doctor went just fine yesterday – and boy HOWDY do they have a nice office! She totally remembered me (or at least pretended to), and I was in and out of there pretty quickly. She ordered bloodwork to test my this level and that level, but I have to go to the lab another day, because I’d eaten breakfast before I went to my appointment and I need to be fasting for the blood work to be done.
That mole on the back of my hand is not anything to be concerned about at all, it’s not skin cancer. In fact, it’s so much not skin cancer that she barely glanced at it before she said “Well, it’s due to aging…” When I told Fred later on, he said “DO YOU HAVE A LIVER SPOT?” Fucker.
My elbow? Not elbow cancer. Not a tumah. Tendinitis.
My thyroid? Still there.
I got a prescription for thyroid medication and a prescription for pain patches for my elbow, a hug from my doctor, and I was out of there.
What’s disconcerting is that I discovered that my doctor is the same age as I am – in fact, a little younger. She turned 41 recently. My gastroenterologist is a few days younger than I am. This means that when I’m old and doddering, they’ll be old and doddering too. Who the hell is going to be my doctor when we’re all old and doddering?!
Fred says I’ve now hit the age where when I get a new doctor for something, they’ll be younger than me.
Over the weekend, I started letting the kittens have more room to roam. For the first day, I put up baby gates across the hallway – one stacked on top of the other – but the hallway is wide enough to make the gates barely reach, and though the kittens didn’t attempt climbing them, it was only a matter of time, and the weight of a couple of kittens would surely have brought them down.
I talked to Fred, who thought about it, and ended up building something that was sturdier and couldn’t be climbed – basically it’s a light piece of plywood, cut to fit across the hallway with hooks on either side. We call it “the wall”, it’s temporary and can be moved out of the way in the evening. It’s not gorgeous, but it works really well.
In addition to their room, the kittens now have the bathroom to run around with (complete with a big-cat litter box! Kittens, I have found, are just like little kids. You know when you’ve just potty-trained a child and they get to where every time they see a bathroom they have to try it out? Kittens are totally like “Hey! New litter box! Time to kick some litter around, WHEE!”) as well as my bedroom. Like all kittens, they’ve particularly taken to my bed, and most of the time when they pile up for a nap, it’s on my bed.
I let them roam for most of the day (I put the “wall” up at the end of the hallway around 7 am, and then herd them into the kitten room around 9 pm), and go up often during the day to visit and snuggle. Sometimes when they’re upstairs racing around and I’m downstairs, they sound like a herd of elephants.
Sam the charmer.
Tell me it doesn’t look EXACTLY like Bill’s sharing a particularly juicy secret.
“Heyyyy, good-lookin’!”
Hoyt adores laying on his back and having his belly rubbed.
I share this picture not only because you can see Terry’s little pink hernia bulging out (down toward his back legs), but because you can see the wonkiness of his paw.
See? He’s got three pink pads, each one belonging to a “finger”, and then over to the side (toward the top of the picture), he’s got two “thumbs.” It’s unbearably cute.
It looks wet around Bill’s eyes because I’d just put gel in them. It seems to have the effect of making them lick their lips for some reason, and then clean their faces.
Stinkerbelle kinda LOOKS like she’s looking at me, but really she’s looking past me. It’s very subtle, but if you look you can see she’s not really looking at me. She’d never lower herself to look AT me. Brat.
Previously 2008: I don’t know why he can’t just call it Demer0l or whatever the fuck other people call it.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry. 2004: I sure do hate the hell out of housework. 2003: When I think of Judge Roy Moore, the phrase “Getting too big for his britches” comes to mind. 2002: If he didn’t do that creepy, over-intense stare all the time, he wouldn’t be so (you guessed it) creepy, but he does, so he is.
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.
The funny thing about the whole entry yesterday, regarding the boat, is that as we were driving toward Joe Wheeler state park, I turned and looked suspiciously at Fred. “How much cash do you have on you?” I asked. “Uh… twenty dollars, I think,” he said. “Why?” “Because you spent all morning talking about that … Continue reading “8/25/09 – Tuesday”
The funny thing about the whole entry yesterday, regarding the boat, is that as we were driving toward Joe Wheeler state park, I turned and looked suspiciously at Fred.
“How much cash do you have on you?” I asked.
“Uh… twenty dollars, I think,” he said. “Why?”
“Because you spent all morning talking about that boat you saw on Craigslist, and I was just making sure you weren’t going to SURPRISE me with it or anything.”
Kathy came and visited for a bit yesterday! She had to be in the area for work, so stopped by and bought some eggs and a couple of chickens.
(No, Kathy and Dreamguy are not starting their own flock, these chickens were from the freezer.)
And damnit, after she left I remembered that I meant to offer her some cherry tomatoes and a bell pepper and completely forgot! Sorry about that, Kathy.
She got to meet Jake and Elwood, and the True Blood kittens, and they all looked at her like “Yeah, and? You are…?” like the rude little brats they are.
At least they didn’t run and hide like Sugarbutt, Kara… pretty much ALL the big cats, except for Miz Poo, really.
We sat out on the front porch and watched the traffic go by and chatted (and watched the hummingbirds flitting around making a big liar out of me because I’d claimed I’d only seen a hummingbird for a brief instant recently, and suddenly they were all over the place). I don’t get a lot of visitors ’round here on a regular basis, so it was nice to take time out of my regular day and visit and I always enjoy visiting with Kathy!
I have an appointment later this morning for a physical, and I’m dreading it. Not because I don’t like my doctor – I do (unless she’s changed a lot in the past two years) – but because I haven’t been to the doctor in two years at least. I haven’t had anything wrong with me, and now I have a whole list of whiny complaints, and I’m afraid I’ll forget to mention one of them.
Yes, I have written down a list, but what makes you think I’m going to remember to bring it with me? Okay yes, I put it in my purse, but what makes you think I’ll remember I have it with me?
Perhaps I should mention the potential early-onset Alzheimer’s first.
I’ve probably talked about this before (see above about early-onset Alzheimer’s), but this doctor I’m going to see used to be with another practice, and then she left and started her own practice (coincidentally, with another doctor who left the exact same practice a few years earlier. Who was MY doctor until she left, then I moved on to Dr. Cindy. Who then left. Perhaps they left to get away from ME. HA on them – I found ’em!) and I’m pleased as punch that she’s now in a location about fifteen minutes closer to me. I don’t think it’s going to take me longer than 10 minutes to get there AND she’s located near the grocery store. After I have to sit around and tell the doctor all my woes (“Does this mole look funny to you? My elbow hurts. Is this rosacea? Sometimes my shoulder hurts.”) I can then run over and get groceries. Whatta bargain.
I know I said that I’d watch every episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 no matter how much I think they should probably stop filming in the interest of their childrens’ mental health and all, but man – is it just me, or has that show gotten mighty fucking boring? Oh, let’s watch Kate take the kids to the beach. Let’s watch Jon pretend to know something about remodeling the kitchen. Let’s watch Jon mumble and slump and act like a bratty teenager.
(Seriously? 20 year-olds are fighting over HIM? Are they aware they could get boys way younger and way cuter, with way less baggage who don’t act like they need to be smacked upside the head REALLY REALLY HARD?)
Also, Kate is on my nerves. Give us a LITTLE of the ol’ bitch, Kate. Please? This Happy Shiny Kate isn’t doing it for me.
I mean, I’ll probably keep WATCHING it, but I’ll be flipping through magazines while I do so. Snoresville.
I’d like to see Kate and Jon in a slapfight. Is that too much to ask? You KNOW she’d kick his ass.
And speaking of TV – Real Housewives of Atlanta? Zzzzzzzzz. The only excitement is watching the show to see if Kim gets so excited that her face almost moves.
I weighed the kittens over the weekend – three of them are a few ounces over 2 pounds, one of them (Terry) is exactly 2 pounds, and Sookie and Lafayette are just under 2 pounds. So there’ll be no spaying or neutering this week – I want to have all of them at least three or four ounces over 2 pounds before I take them off to be spayed and neutered, because I don’t completely trust my weighing method (I put a bowl on a kitchen scale and then lower each kitten into the bowl. They don’t want to be on the bowl unless it’s on their OWN terms, so they hop out of the bowl as quickly as possible, so I only have a split second to determine how much they weigh. I really need to invest in a decent small animal scale, I think.)
So – next week or the week after, perhaps. Honestly, I’m in no hurry except that I’d like to have Terry’s hernia taken care of. Not because it’s a problem or because it bothers him, but it kind of ooks me out. And yet, at the same time it’s kinda cute. Go figure.
“Spanky to base. I repeat – SPANKY TO BASE. I have located the sun square and will soak up as many sun particles through my super fluffy sun-absorbing outer coating before I return to base and save the universe. Please confirm.”
Previously 2008: “I’m trying to recall the many houses we’ve driven by and seen Mennonite children scrubbing down the pigs and cows. Thinking… thinking…”
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry. 2004: I haaaaaaaaaate having to deal with strangers. 2003: I guess when your boss (the Supreme Court) tells you to do something and you tell him to go fuck himself, shit tends to fly.
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry. 2000: The thrills and chills around here just never stop, folks.
Holy COW, we had Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups for breakfast yesterday morning, and they were fabulous. I highly, highly recommend them! You could, of course, make them a little healthier by using whole wheat bread and turkey bacon – not that I did that, you understand – and I accidentally left off the cheese, … Continue reading “8/24/09 – Monday”
Holy COW, we had Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups for breakfast yesterday morning, and they were fabulous. I highly, highly recommend them!
You could, of course, make them a little healthier by using whole wheat bread and turkey bacon – not that I did that, you understand – and I accidentally left off the cheese, and don’t feel like I missed out on anything.
Had I made the bread myself, it would have been a completely Crooked Acres-produced meal.
I haven’t tried reheating leftovers, so I can’t say how they’d be (I’ll be reheating one for breakfast in a while, though) – but I suspect it’ll be pretty damn good.
I declared to Fred yesterday, after breakfast, that I think Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups are going to become a Sunday tradition for us!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Bessie,” Fred said, late yesterday morning. “I’m bored. Let’s go for a drive!”
I considered, decided I had nothing pressing to do, and agreed. I grabbed my purse, slid into my sneakers, and followed him out the door. We stopped at the dollar store, looked around, and then left. Fred had talked about heading toward Decatur and taking a walk by the river, but changed his mind and we ended up driving toward Rogersville, where there are many bodies of water and a state park.
We made a wrong turn, then backtracked, and got going in the right direction. Along the way there were boats sitting by the side of the road for sale, and we took turns pointing them out to each other. Finally, we turned into Joe Wheeler state park and drove for miles down the road.
Along the way, we saw deer.
Finally, we arrived at the marina. I figured we’d just drive around the marina and then head home, but Fred parked the car.
“Want to go for a walk?”
It was a beautiful day – Saturday and Sunday were very cool and had not nearly the humidity you’d expect for August in Alabama – so I agreed to walk around the marina and look at the boats. We walked out to the end of a dock that had a pontoon boat tied at it, and watched the boats go by. We walked back to solid ground and continued walking along the water. When we arrived at the next dock, the walkway was blocked off by a gate and a sign was posted on the gate that read “Slip owners only.” I was disappointed, because there were some beautiful boats, and I’d wanted to walk along very slowly and eyeball what I could see of the inside of the boats.
My inner Mrs. Kravitz thwarted again, damnit.
We passed another dock and another – each dock had bigger and fancier boats. The third dock we passed had boats that were big enough to live comfortably on, and I was REALLY disappointed not to be able to see what they looked like close-up. We reached the last dock (the one with SATELLITE DISHES attached to each slip), and then turned around.
As we approached one of the dock we’d passed earlier, Fred looked around.
“Come on!” he whispered, pushing through the gate.
“What are you doing!” I whisper-yelled. “It says slip owners only! They’re going to throw us out!”
He pshawed. “So we get kicked out of the marina. Big whoop!”
His logic seemed infallible, so I followed along behind him and tried to look like I belonged.
We approached the first boat, a sailboat. Fred stopped and regarded it.
“Pretty, isn’t it?” he said.
I shrugged. “I guess.” I, personally, had my eye on a big-ass boat parked a few piers down. One that was so big it had a small motor boat parked ON TOP of it. This one:
And then I gawped at Fred as he stepped onto the boat.
“WHAT. THE. FUCK,” I growled. “Stop it! Get back here! Have you LOST YOUR MIND!” From down the pier, an older gentleman, busy washing his deck, stopped and glanced over at us, then waved and went back to what he was doing.
“Come ON!” he said, beckoning me. “There’s no one here!” He disappeared through the doorway, then popped his head back out, grinning.
I was in the midst of a panic attack, sure that at any moment the cops were going to come running at us and shoot me just for shits and giggles.
Fred waved to me again.
“Fuck NO,” I said. “You get your ass arrested, I’m staying here!”
He disappeared again, then again his head popped back out. He was a regular fucking Pop Goes the Weasel.
“Look!” he said. He waved a hand at me and I thought I was going to pass out. “Keys!”
Once again he disappeared, and a moment later I heard the boat’s engine start. I began backing away from the boat. Clearly my husband, the rule-followingest law-abidingest man I’d ever met, had taken leave of his senses completely.
“Let’s take it out for a cruise!” I heard him holler.
“I’m leaving!” I said, and began to do so.
“Bessie!” he called. “Wait!” I stopped and turned around. He walked onto the deck and held out both his arms. “HAPPY THIRTEEN YEARS IN ALABAMA!”
I stared at him.
“And I bet you thought I forgot!” He had an ear to ear grin on his face.
“Say hello to the Stanley B!”
People. Please. You really think my husband would really remember an anniversary?
(Besides, if he went out and bought a sailboat without talking to me about it first, I’d be writing about it from his funeral. And I don’t WANT a sailboat. Neither does he.)
SKIMMERS, READ THIS, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU’RE SKIMMING THROUGH THE REST OF THIS ENTRY TO LEAVE ME AN “OMG” MESSAGE.
Fred did not surprise me with a freakin’ sailboat. Please. We can’t afford that shit.
(He also didn’t board the boat. In fact, we didn’t really walk down the dock to the boat, because we are sickeningly rules-abiding folks.)
We can, however, afford this shit:
Nah, he didn’t buy me a paddle boat, either. In fact, he didn’t surprise me with anything this weekend.
Fucker.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jake and Elwood are neutered and have their vaccinations (they have to go back in September for their booster shots), and they are doing well. Fred let them out Saturday morning, and there’s been very little in the way of hissing and smacking. The big cats, for the most part, sniff them and then ignore them. Kara doesn’t care for them, but as long as they don’t get up in her grill, she mostly leaves them alone.
At this point, we’re keeping them out during the day and just putting them in the guest bedroom at night. I don’t expect we’ll need to do that much longer, though – they’re pretty quiet little things and mostly interested in playing (and snuggling) with each other.
Jake’s a talker and likes to walk through the house howling for no apparent reason, and they’re both pretty cuddly. They’re both fond of hanging out in Fred’s bedroom, and spent most of the day yesterday in there. They also like to hang out on their cat tree in the guest bedroom.
I think having the run of the whole house makes them a little nervous; unexpected noises startle them, and they go flying. I’m sure as they get more comfortable having all this space, they’ll calm down.
Or maybe not – they are kittens, after all.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Wild thang. They LOVE to jump from the top of this little pyramid/ condo to the cat tree.
“Dear lord, please let me catch the laser light, it’s all I want in this world, thank you. Amen.”
Can’t decide which toy to play with…
“Whatchoo doin’ down there?”
“Nothin’. Whatchoo doin’ up there?”
“Nothin’.”
“I think you’re doin’ somethin’ down there and just not telling me about it.”
“Nope. Just watching the birds.”
“I was not messing with the lens cap. Nope! Not me!”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Previously
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry. 2004: SqueeSqueeSQUEESQUEE! the bird squealed.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry. 2001: My computer is getting so freakin’ slow that it’s driving me absolutely batshit, and I’m spending way too much time swearing at it.
2000: No entry.
I don’t understand the question. Why do they keep asking me how many cats I have? What makes them think I have a lot of cats?? Ha. That’s eight 40-pound containers of Fresh Step kitty litter weighing down the back of my car. Also known as 320 pounds of litter. We were down to less … Continue reading “9/21/09 – Friday”
I don’t understand the question.
Why do they keep asking me how many cats I have?
What makes them think I have a lot of cats??
Ha.
That’s eight 40-pound containers of Fresh Step kitty litter weighing down the back of my car. Also known as 320 pounds of litter.
We were down to less than two 40-pound containers of litter, so I decided that a trip to Sam’s was in order, and I stocked UP. Needless to say, I didn’t get away with spending less than $100 at Sam’s this time around – but we’ve got enough litter for at least a couple of months (we don’t go through litter as quickly as you might think, really).
Then I stopped by Target and stocked up on canned cat food. And then I stopped by Publix and stocked up on baby food (which the fosters lovelovelove). Between the litter and the cat food, I should be all set for a while.
Unless someone dumps 30 more kittens on the doorstep. (That is not an invitation, Universe.)
With all that litter and cat food buying, I fully expected someone to give what I was buying The Look and then give me The Look and then say “How many cats do you HAVE?”, and I had a response all ready to go. Actually, I had two.
I was either going to put on my confused face and say “I don’t have any cats.”
OR
I was going to say “Just the one. But she poops a lot!”
But no one asked. Damnit.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Look what Aly made! It makes me laugh – I very well might have to use that picture to link to Jake and Elwood in the sidebar (whenever I get around to making them their own page, that is!)
Thanks, Aly!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Speaking of swooning, have you watched “Hung” on HBO yet? How is it possible that I have been unaware of Thomas Jane’s existence up until now? I sort of knew he was Patricia Arquette’s husband, but ho-ly crap! That man is SMOKING hot! I don’t even care that his umm…appendage may not measure up to his character’s (although a girl can dream).
I haven’t seen Hung, ’cause we no longer have HBO (we got rid of it because eventually all HBO shows end up on DVD, and we can sit and watch the shows to our hearts’ content), but it’s certainly on my future to-watch list!
I love Thomas Jane. He’s adorable!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Is it just me, or do the kitten’s eyes seem to be improving? I wonder if they could actually sort of “grow out of that?” They certainly look happy and healthy!
Their eyes do look a lot better since they’re not infected and goopy any more – but they’re not going to grow out of their eye issues, they’re all missing at least part of their upper eyelids. I suspect that they won’t all require extensive surgery (still waiting to hear back from the vet about that), but at least some of them will.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Wait, what? I’ve read some of the books that Bones is based on and I’m so sure she was never in a foster home. Did they veer pretty far away from the character from the books, then? (I saw 15 minutes of one episode, and that was all I could take. There were maggots. Apparently I can read about maggots but can’t bear to look at them.)
I read the first couple of Kathy Reichs’ Temperance Brennan novels, but I don’t really remember much about her personal history. In the show, her parents went missing and she and her brother ended up in the foster care system for a short period of time until her grandparents (I think) found out and rescued them. I don’t know why they felt the need to add that into the storyline, unless they thought maybe it added a darker, more tortured edge to the character (though you’d think that having her parents disappear would have been enough…)
Several people have recommended Google Chrome as an alternative browser to Firefox. I’m having such issues with Firefox lately that I think I’m going to give Google Chrome a try. I’ll report back on how it works for me!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Never realized how cool grey cats are. Those boys are adorable together. Wish I could see the intro to the general population. I’m sure you’ve done this in the past. Is there much growling, puffing up and hissing? That would be amusing to watch.
There’ll be lots of growling and hissing on the older cats’ part, I’m sure. It’s all going to depend on how submissive Jake and Elwood (I keep wanting to call him “Elroy”) are to the big cats. If they roll over and submit when the big cats get all hissy and smacky, things will probably go more smoothly than if they fight back.
I’ll see if I can’t get a picture or two of the new guys facing off with the big cats. It’ll certainly be an entertaining weekend!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“We had several hours of good, steady rain yesterday (I’m not complaining – we really needed it)” WOW! After all the rain you had this year, I never thought I’d hear you say that.
I never thought I’d have to say it either! But after that spring/ early summer of rain rain rain, we got a long stretch of no rain at all, so at this point we’ve needed the rain we’ve gotten this week. I’m never happy, you know – either I want it to stop raining, or it to rain!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I had trouble with my cat “Snickers” chewing on my lamp and telephone cords. I read somewhere on the net that to cure him of the habit to rub Ivory dish soap on the cord. I did that and he hasn’t been back to chew again.
That’s an excellent suggestion – I’m going to pick up some Ivory dish soap later this morning, and treat all the cords with it. With the new guys about to be running wild, I don’t want to lose any more cords to chewing! Fred lost a phone a few months ago because the kittens (Beulah and her siblings) chewed through the cord.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
While I adore the show Bones (David Boreanz!!), I cannot stand Dr. Brennan. She’s gotten better through the seasons (the first two were really sort of awful), but I find her character so annoying I just want to bitch slap her and her wide-eyed, socially retarded self. Because, seriously, how can someone who supposedly knows so little about regular people and how to interact with them accessorize so well? Her nerd-like, research driven, self would NEVER know how to put together the necklaces and earrings she wears.
I never even thought of the accessorizing angle – that’s a really good point!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
You’ve actually given me a boy name to consider – our son’s name is Jackson, and we have another player that needs to be given a name… Samuel perhaps?
I ADORE the name Jack (the only reason George and Gracie aren’t Jack and Diane is because Fred’s stepfather’s name is Jack!), and i ADORE the name Sam.
Now, can I interest you in “Bitchypoo” as a potential middle name, perhaps?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Unless Larry and/or Erica are over 6 ft. tall, I doubt either one of them will respond to Dad. I had to look at “>the pic a lonnnnnggg time to even find the note!
The picture doesn’t really show it, but the post-it is pretty eye-catching. I’m only 5’5″, and it caught my eye immediately as I walked to the post office door.
Maybe I should take some post-its to the post office and write “Larry! Erica! Read this!” and post it at eye level, then draw arrows on a couple more post-its leading up to the note!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Life is too goddamn short to sit in the drive-thru for 20 minutes, especially when you’ve got shit to do and kittens at home that need some love.” I read this as “Life is too gd short to sit in the drive-thru for 20 minutes, esp. when you’ve got to shit.” Heh. Thought you were getting a bit personal there.
You are not the first person to misread my “shit to do” as “need to take a shit.”
PEOPLE. I do not discuss my bowel issues, I promise, and further I would not put it in such a rude and crass way. I might primly allude to having to go to the bathroom, but as for details, well, those are better left to the imagination, I think.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hooray! All kinds of great name suggestions in the comments. I was wondering, though, were the kittens just loose in your yard? Were they just hanging around the cat food? They obviously knew somehow to stay put and wait for their entrance into Cat Nirvana!
One of them was curled up on the door mat, and the other was playing with something under the steps. As we approached the stoop, whoever was under the steps ran out to greet us, and the kitten on the door mat stood up and stretched and came over to greet us. We were concerned that perhaps there were more than just the two, but we didn’t see any more of them in the vicinity, and no more have shown up (thank god).
You’d think they would have put the kittens in a box, wouldn’t you? We’re pretty close to a busy road, and Jake and Elwood are young – they could have gotten seriously hurt!
Now I’m getting pissed off again, just thinking about it.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Robyn – Forgot to give my own suggestion for a podcast to listen to. One of my favorites is called How Much Do We Love – its about 2 BFF’s who talk about things they love. Ive found so many great things I like just from hearing these 2 talk about them.
It just so happened that I got this comment at the perfect time – when I had time to go check out the website and download a few podcasts – and I like it a lot! I’m slowly working my way through the archives (I think I’m up to show #15), and it’s the perfect podcast to listen to when I’m doing housework or driving somewhere.
Thanks for the recommendation!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
We went to see Julie and Julia this weekend. It is about a blogger who decides to cook everyone one of Julia Child’s cookbook recipe in one year. This is her first time blogging and I thought about you when she was starting her blog. Did you get crazy or kinda freaked out when you got your first comment?
Way back in the dark ages of 1999, I don’t believe there were such a thing as comments on journaling sites, though some people had forums to encourage discussion of posts. I’m pretty sure that a few weeks after I started my site, I asked if anyone was reading (though I knew there WERE some people reading – I kept an eagle eye on my stats via Sitemeter) and got two or three emails from readers. And I was THRILLED.
I read every comment I get, and I still love getting comments. I’m not so great at responding to them, because I suck, but I love getting them!
Plus, have you ever tried ‘Chicken Poop Lip Balm?” Google it, I think it is funny.
The only thing that really surprised me about things you could compost was urine. I had no idea! I don’t know that I’m going to start collecting my urine in a jar to toss on the compost pile or anything, but it’s certainly interesting.
Have you watched A&E’s new series, Hoarders? If not you can see it on their website. There is a woman who hoards food, if you wanna get into “should I eat this” I really really encourage you to watch. It’s a trainwreck!
I haven’t – A&E is another channel we no longer get – but I’m definitely going to check it out! It sounds like my kinda show.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Looky looky who’s about to go be tested, vaccinated and neutered!
Look at that smile and those long monkey toes!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Craaaazy kittens!
Bath time for Sammy.
I don’t know which I love more – the folded-back ears on the kitten in the back (Bill, I think), or Sam’s thrown up “I surrender!” paws.
Annoyed Sam.
Wild Hoyt.
Is it wrong to love it when they fight?
Kitten in a bowl!
Lafayette’s all “I’m trapped! I’m in prison! I can’t get out of here!” and Terry’s all “Hold on, brudder! I’ll break you out!”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Spanky does not approve of this business where he’s inside and his people are outside. He sits at the door and watches us, and occasionally he howls his displeasure.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Previously 2008: I am SO PISSED at myself, because I do fumble-fingered shit like that all the damn time.
2007: No entry. 2006: Pictures, you ask? Why of COURSE I have pictures.
2005: No entry.
2004: No entry. 2003: You say tomato, I say fuck you. 2002: “Cats don’t have lips, you freak.” 2001: “…and we’re willing to give this to you – coupons worth two HUNDRED and twenty-five DOLLARS! – for only $19.95!” he said, aflutter with the thrill of it all. 2000: Does the phrase “Through a lovely laxative effect” strike fear into your heart?
Look who’s turning 18 today! (From 3 1/2 years ago – still makes me laugh every time I look at it.) (From this past Christmas.) Happy birthday, Brian – not that you’re hovering around your old auntie Rah-bah’s web page or anything. I hope you’ve got better things to do. 🙂 * * * * … Continue reading “August 20, 2009 – Thursday”
Look who’s turning 18 today!
(From 3 1/2 years ago – still makes me laugh every time I look at it.)
(From this past Christmas.)
Happy birthday, Brian – not that you’re hovering around your old auntie Rah-bah’s web page or anything. I hope you’ve got better things to do. 🙂
One of the newest adds to my online reading list is the LiveJournal community Can I Eat This?
Sometimes when someone posts something like “This yogurt is a little green, it’s past the date by three months, should I chance it?” I want to say “Do it! DO IT!”
Maybe someone should start a community, call it “I’m Going to Eat This”, then post about the nasty-ass stuff in their fridge they’re going to eat, then post again to report how sick it made them (if at all).
We had a special visitor yesterday here at Crooked Acres. Katherine (who I’ve mentioned many times before as the one who adopted Kara’s babies River and Inara, who are now Nate and Dora – and hey, look at that! It’s been a year since she first met them!) stopped by to see the garden and meet the large number of new kittens we have on the premises.
She didn’t come empty-handed though, she brought a picture for the kitten room!
Before she showed me the picture, she said “Do NOT feel like you have to take this if you don’t like it!”, and so I promised not to feel obligated.
Then she showed it to me, and for a few moments I was like… “Do I like this?” and a few more moments went by and I was like… “Hey. I like this!” and then the day passed and by the time evening came around, I was like… “I REALLY like this!”
I think it’s adorable, and even Fred said “I’ve seen uglier pictures”, which coming from him is high praise, indeed.
(Not the whole picture, because I was too lazy to get up and walk across the room to get a shot of the whole picture.)
I think it’s perfect for the kitten room – and I’ve got the perfect wallspace for it. Did I mention I’m going to whip that kitten room into shape?
She had the picture hanging in her daughter’s room, but apparently her daughter was not so attached to it, and in fact her mother didn’t like it either. Katherine and I might well be the only two people on earth who love it.
She met Jake and Elwood (this was me: “I… think this is Jake. No… wait, yes. Yes it is. And that’s Elwood. Unless this is Jake. I just call them the Blues.”), who didn’t embarrass themselves too terribly. Then I took her upstairs to see the True Blood kittens, who sniffed wildly at her shoes and her pants and her shirt, and then raced around like the wild things they are.
And she agreed that they’re the cutest kittens on earth. Or maybe I just heard it that way. Heh.
I don’t know how they do it – that cat bed Sookie’s laying on, which is flipped upside down, must weigh as much as two kittens. Every time I walk into the room, it’s upside down (and someone’s laying on top of it). I flip it over so it’s the right way, then the next time I come into the room, they’ve flipped it over again. They must work together to get it flipped – I can’t imagine one little kitten flipping it alone!
“Wah! Make him stop messing with my taaaaaaaaail!”
Happy Sookie.
“Pardon me, Madame, might I have a snuggle?” (Sam)
For a brief moment in time, the cat bed is right-side-up, and Sam lounges in it.
They hate to get in the bowl to be weighed (I put it on a kitchen scale), but when the bowl is just sitting in the middle of the floor, they can’t WAIT to jump into it.
They are obsessed – OBSESSED – with the hem of my shirt. They take turns sniffing it, smacking at it, and fighting with it. Doesn’t matter what shirt I’m wearing, something about the hem amazes them.
Every evening, we let Sugarbutt out of his two-collar system for a while.
He licks himself.
And then he rolls around.
And then he licks himself some more.
He’s been behaving himself for longer and longer periods of time, but inevitably he starts licking his bad toes (“His Bad Toes” would be an excellent band name), which means it’s time to collar him up.
I wish his friggin’ toes would HEAL already, and I wish he’d leave them the hell alone and I wish we could EXPLAIN to him that if he left his toes alone we’d let him stay out of the collars, but he will not be reasoned with. Grrrr.
Previously 2008: So Fred said “Well, they can’t ALL be your favorite, and besides we agreed we wouldn’t be keeping any of them.” 2007: HAPPY BARFDAY, BRIAN!!!!
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry. 2004: While your average man might have grown frightened, apparently it wasn’t the first time that morning Mike’d heard Satan’s voice howling his name. 2003: It’s kind of like a samba. 2002: I saved someone’s life this morning! 2001: Thus the reason we never get telemarketing calls.
2000: No entry.
Confession: I adore stories that talk about what a pain in the ass Gwyneth Paltrow is, and I always cackle when Dlisted refers to her as “Fishsticks Paltrow.” * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * … Continue reading “8/19/09 – Wednesday”
Confession: I adore stories that talk about what a pain in the ass Gwyneth Paltrow is, and I always cackle when Dlisted refers to her as “Fishsticks Paltrow.”
We’re working our way through Season 2 of Bones, and I have to say that I am getting MIGHTY FUCKING TIRED of Bones and her “I was a foster kid! I was in the system! I feel your pain!” shtick.
She was in the fucking system for what, two days before her grandparents (or aunt or whothefuckever) found out and came to rescue her? I mean, I know that must be terrifying for a kid, but TWO DAYS is not YEARS AND YEARS, Bones.
I much prefer Bones when she acts like Chloe from 24.
The other day Fred said something to me, and I said “I don’t understand” and he laughed and told me I sounded like Bones.
Someone HELP ME PLEASE. I upgraded to the latest version of Firefox, and now RANDOMLY, for no reason I can discern, sometimes when I open something in a new tab, it will OPEN in a new tab and then reopen SUDDENLY AND RANDOMLY WHEN I HAVE DONE NOTHING AT ALL in a new window. Now. If I wanted the goddamn thing to open in a new WINDOW, I wouldn’t have opened it in a new TAB, would I?
NO I WOULD NOT HAVE.
Is anyone else having this issue? Anyone know how to MAKE IT STOP? Because it doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s like my computer is all “Oh, you need to have this open in its own window LET ME DO THAT FOR YOU WHETHER YOU WANT IT OR NOT!” and it makes me feel like stabbing something. Repeatedly.
After spending the last month and a half collecting all the decent, unblemished big tomatoes that came from the garden, putting them in a bag and sticking them in the freezer, I finally had enough to make a batch of tomato sauce. I ran them through the food mill, tossed the puree into a big pot, and let it simmer all day long.
I ended up with about 10 cups of tomato sauce.
I’ve got another couple of big bags of tomatoes to run through the food mill, and that might give me another five cups or thereabouts.
I guess this weekend I’ll be canning tomato sauce!
(And it’s just straight tomato sauce, no spices or veggies added. I can add that stuff to it when I need to, I figure.)
We’re practically at the end of the summer, and I highly suspect that three quarts of tomato sauce is about as much as I’m going to get this year.
Have I mentioned it hasn’t been a great year, tomato-wise? The chickens, turkeys, and pigs are making out like bandits, though, with all the half-rotted and split tomatoes we toss their way.
Remember the chair I got at the yard sale for $15, to put in the foster kitten room? Sure you do.
The kittens, as suspected, really liked the fringe around the bottom of the chair.
However, I didn’t foresee that they’d pull the fringe strings off and try to EAT them. The day I walked into the room and saw Sam with a fringe string hanging out of his mouth is the day that fringe went bye-bye.
I can’t say removing the fringe helped make the chair any better looking, but at least I don’t have to worry about the brats swallowing strings and getting their intestines in a bind.
(And still – $15 for a chair that’s in decent shape. Can’t beat that!)
We had several hours of good, steady rain yesterday (I’m not complaining – we really needed it), and since Fred couldn’t work in the garden, I requested his presence inside, doing a few things that needed to be done.
He put a hook in the back of my bedroom door, a hook in the back of the guest bedroom door, and put up the lamp in the kitten room.
I like the lamp, it’s exactly what I wanted for that room. The only problem is that kittens just ADORE chewing on cords and even though there’s a hook in the wall holding the cord up out of the way, there’s still a cord there, so I had to find something to cover the cord, preferably hold it against the wall at the same time, and after some Googling around, found the perfect solution.
My next step in the kitten room will be to get shades for the windows and have Fred put them up. Anyone who walks or drives by the house at night and cares to glance up can see any number of kittens hanging off the cat tree by one claw, squealing angrily and swatting at each other.
(I half suspect that’s the reason we now have two more permanent cats, because someone saw all the kittens coming through the foster room and realized we’re cat lovers.)
Slowly but surely, I’m whipping that kitten room into shape!
I love the way Terry’s standing, staring up at that stick like “What is THIS happy horseshit?!”
“I needs a snuggle!” (Hoyt)
Plastic packing strap: best cat toy ever!
I love it when kittens get annoyed and stomp around with their ears back.
“I wanted to play on the cat tree, and Lafayette pushed me OFF and he said I can’t play with the BOYS because I’m a GIRL and girls are STINKY and it’s not FAIR, he’s always so MEAN to me!”
:::Slurrrrrrp:: (Bill)
“Ah, my adversary, it appears that with each of us holding the other at arms’ length, we have reached an impasse.”
“I is the boss, Teddy! I chomps on your nose and I kicks your butt and you will bow down before my superior strength!”
“I was just kiddin’, Teddy. You’s my best friend. You still wubs me, right?”
Previously 2008: Or… is that how learning curves work?
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry. 2005: she’s got the skank lines rolling off her, doesn’t she? 2004: Fred is just amazed that one portly cat can have so many health issues. 2003: ::Sproing!:: he went, leaping at least a foot in the air, and I watched, impressed that he’d contained that much energy in his dry and dead-looking little body. 2002: “TUBBY GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!” I ordered, and grudgingly he did.
2001: No entry. 2000: Being completely, one-hundred percent useless in the slightest emergency, I slapped my hands to my cheeks and let out a horrified scream.
I think I’ve killed 300 flies in the past three weeks. You know, if the fucking things didn’t insist on congregating on the windows right by my monitor, I wouldn’t get so annoyed by them, and they’d probably live a longer life. Well, that’s not true. Flies in the kitchen drive me absolutely nuts, too, … Continue reading “8/18/09 – Tuesday”
I think I’ve killed 300 flies in the past three weeks. You know, if the fucking things didn’t insist on congregating on the windows right by my monitor, I wouldn’t get so annoyed by them, and they’d probably live a longer life.
Well, that’s not true. Flies in the kitchen drive me absolutely nuts, too, and I go after them as soon as I see them.
This post-it has been stuck to the post office door for at least a week and a half now.
I’m surprised that it’s actually lasted there this long, that no asshole has come along and pulled it down.
I’m very curious whether Larry and Erica did, in fact, let him know where they are. Or if they’ve even seen the post-it. I’d like to know what the story is, there.
Thanks, you guys, for your name suggestions for the new guys. I really liked Loki and Bart, but Fred did not. I am very enamored of the names Ham and Egg, but Fred is not.
Since they’re really his boys (he really does call them “My boys”, but then I always say “I’m going to hang with my homies” when I’m headed upstairs to hang out with the foster kittens. I’m not sure what my point is here. Maybe that I’m a freakin’ dork.), I gave him final say on their names (as long as I don’t HATE them – he wanted Remus and Romulus, but I nixed that right quick). I thought we should just give them the same name, or similar names that could have the same nickname, because I cannot tell the two of them apart.
He suggested Grey’s Anatomy names, then said we could name one of them McDreamy, and I said we could name the other McSteamy and call them both “Mick.”
I also really like Bubba and Gump, but Fred doesn’t (odd, since that’s his favorite movie). I suggested George and Lenny (Of Mice and Men), Stu and Larry (The Stand), Fred suggested Javert and Valjean (Les Mis) or Jesus and Judas (heh).
He did suggest Frick and Frack, which I kinda liked.
Lisa suggested Thing 1 and Thing 2 in my comments, which I liked a LOT, but Fred did not.
What I really really REALLY liked and couldn’t convince Fred of, was that Samuel and Jackson would be EXCELLENT names. Sam and Jack! How perfect is that?
But, last night, we found names that we could agree upon, at least for the time being. (It took a long time before Mister Boogers’ name came to be. He started out as “Stanley”, became “The Bean” for a while, turned into Mr. Boogers before he finally became Mister Boogers. I don’t know that the names we’ve given these two will stick, but we’ll see.)
The kittens are doing well. They recognize the sound of me walking down the hall toward the kitten room, and when I open the door all six of them are lined up waiting for me, and begin howling for attention. A couple of them invariably make a run out the door, but I have a fireplace screen across the door (I call it “the airlock” so they don’t get far.
Today marks two weeks since they came here, they’re all very good about using the litter boxes, and the diarrhea appears to be almost completely gone. I very well may begin to allow them the run of the upstairs in the next few days.
Have I mentioned that Sam is a back climber? He’s the only one who consistently climbs up my back, sinking his needle-sharp claws into the skin of my back, and then perches there (as I lean forward so he won’t tumble off). Sometimes he chews on my hair.
He likes to sit in my lap, too. I guess what I’m saying is that Sam is a people person.
:::slurrrrp:::
For a few days, Lafayette would get up on top of the cat tree and then cry and cry and cry for me to come rescue him. He figured out how to get down on his own, finally, and now he races up and down that cat tree faster than you’d think a little kitten could move.
Previously 2008: YES THAT’S RIGHT I SAID SIX-THIRTY DON’T JUDGE ME.
2007: No entry. 2006: He truly amazes me. 2005: If I insert a brillo pad into my ear, will it eventually get to my brain and scrub that song out, or is that an urban myth? 2004: You know, I’m getting PRETTY FRICKIN’ TIRED of finding cricket legs all over the damn place. 2003: “Mother,” said the spud, “That is an excellent idea, for I am going to melt into a motherfucking puddle of goo in about 10 seconds.”
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry. 2000: In the future, the spud will be cleaning her own bedroom, since I took one look at her room and said “Fuck THIS.”
On Saturday, Fred and I went up to Tennessee to Amish country. I have a cabinet in my bathroom where I keep my assorted bathroom crap (I know I’ve put up a picture of it in the past, but I’m too lazy to go look for it). The problem is that I have the tendency … Continue reading “8/17/09 – Monday”
On Saturday, Fred and I went up to Tennessee to Amish country. I have a cabinet in my bathroom where I keep my assorted bathroom crap (I know I’ve put up a picture of it in the past, but I’m too lazy to go look for it). The problem is that I have the tendency to just shove stuff in there because I don’t want to dig through the various organizational baskets I’ve put in there, and then of course I can’t find anything.
I did some looking around online and found this storage etagere at JC Penney.
I thought about it and considered it and babbled at Fred about it, and then I came up with a better idea. Why not go up to Amish country and ask the man who built our pantry (still out in the garage, partially stained, waiting for cooler weather before Fred polyurethanes it) how much he’d charge to build something similar? That way I’d have, basically, the same thing – only it’d be a nice, solid version made of real wood and built to stand the tests of time.
We went to Lowe’s and found some baskets to use on the shelves, and then Fred drew up a rough sketch of what we wanted, and what the measurements for each shelf should be.
We got to Amish country late morning, Fred talked to the furniture builder, placed our order, we stopped at a few places for cabbage and cantaloupe and watermelon, and then we headed home. I’m pretty excited about having another solid piece of Amish-built furniture in the house, and I’ve promised that on this one, I’ll do the staining and polyurethaning.
At home, we each grabbed stuff out of the car and headed for the side stoop.
And there we found a mystery comprised of three parts (though it seems that probably two of the parts go together):
1. Egg cartons:
2. A Cool Whip container of cat food:
3. These guys:
No note. No “Please take good care of my kittens”, just kittens, egg cartons, and cat food.
(I haven’t the slightest idea whether the egg cartons and kittens/ kitten food came from the same person. Maybe, maybe not. It’s a mystery!)
The fact that several weeks after our favorite little gray cat died, two little gray kittens have shown up on our side stoop, well, kinda seems like a sign, doesn’t it?
They are both boys. They both weigh right around 2 1/2 pounds, so I’m guesstimating their ages at about 9 or 10 weeks. One was friendlier than the other, right off the bat. He’s also got a lot of sass and charisma. The other one took a little time to warm up, but he’s coming around too. Less than two days after we brought them into the house, they both come running over to greet us when we walk into the guest bedroom (where they’re currently staying). They both seemed super healthy at first, but after the first few hours we realized that they both had diarrhea (SIGH), both sneezed a few times, and both have semi-watery eyes. We’re treating the diarrhea and keeping an eye on the sneezing.
I emailed the Challenger’s House shelter manager to see if they could become shelter cats, since we’re willing to foster them. She was perfectly fine with that, but I have to say that given Fred’s behavior in the last few days, those kittens aren’t going anywhere. Fred’s sister expressed some interest in adopting one of them, but I suspect she’d have a fight on her hands if she tried to take one of them.
I could be wrong – but I don’t think I am. I think we’ve got two new kittens.
As far as names, we first talked about giving them good old-fashioned biblical names (I was pushing for Ezekiel and Zebediah – Zeke and Zeb!), but Fred doesn’t seem to care for that idea any more. Then we talked about giving them demon names, but don’t really like any of the ones we’ve seen. Maybe angel names? Right now, we’re calling them “Scabby” (because the little Mister Boogers lookalike has a scab on the back of his neck) and “NonScabby”, and I’d really prefer it if those names didn’t stick.
(Fred wants to name them Lieutenant Dann and Boo Radley. I say they need to at least come from the same ERA. In fact, we should probably just give them both the same name since no doubt we’ll always be mistaking one for the other.)
I spent Sunday cleaning the house, which I haven’t done in far too long (and by “cleaning the house”, of course I mean that I scrubbed the bathrooms, vacuumed, and puttered around putting stuff away. Did I dust? Did I clean the floors? Are you crazy??).
I really really need to clean the bathrooms on a semi-regular basis instead of waiting until the tubs are ready to stand up and stomp out of the house in search of a home where they’ll be cleaned more than every other month.
(That’s only a slight exaggeration.)
The last time I cleaned Fred’s bathroom, I scolded him. His tub gets way dirtier than mine does in the same amount of time because he showers at least twice a day, due to the fact that when he gets home he goes out and works in the garden and/ or cuts grass and/ or deals with the chickens/ pigs/ turkeys. He gets grimier than I do, so of course his tub gets grimier than mine does.
Makes sense.
Anyway, I scolded him the last time I cleaned his tub because it was WAY past needing to be scrubbed. I told him that before it got to that state, he needed to let me know because that was just NASTAY and there’s no reason for a tub to look like that.
(Aside from my innate laziness, of course.)
“Why don’t you set a regular time to clean the bathrooms and then it wouldn’t get into that state,” he said, all reasonable-like.
Yes, yes, because of course the three million times in the past I’ve set a cleaning schedule for myself has worked out SO VERY WELL. Monday, clean kitchen. Tuesday, clean bathrooms. Wednesday, vacuum. And so forth. Usually I get about halfway into Monday’s task and then I either get distracted by something shiny, or I think “It’s clean enough. FUCK THIS.” and go off to do something I’d rather be doing.
I guess mine is just not meant to be a spotless house.
I had to go to the credit union on Friday to deposit a check, and as I pulled up to the drive-thru, there were at least four cars in each line, and I know from experience this means at least 20 minutes of sitting in the drive-thru.
Life is too goddamn short to sit in the drive-thru for 20 minutes, especially when you’ve got shit to do and kittens at home that need some love.
I pulled out of the drive-thru line with the intention of just leaving, and then I decided to park and go inside and see how bad the line there was.
I walked in, deposited my check, and walked back out in LESS THAN sixty seconds.
I will never sit in the freakin’ drive-thru again, so help me god.
Thanks, you guys, for your concern regarding the True Blood kittens. Still waiting to hear what the next step is, but these kittens are not suffering, believe me. I put drops in the eyes that need it twice a day, and while that’s not particularly any fun, they manage to shake it off and go jump on another kitten or chase a ball or race around like their tails are on fire.
(And when I say I’m putting “drops” in their eyes, the stuff I’m actually using is an ointment meant for severely dry eyes. The vet recommended it, it’s called “Gen-Teal”, it’s a gel and I imagine it works a lot better than trying to put actual drops in their eyes. I can’t imagine how THAT would go!)
I weighed them this weekend, hoping that they’d all gained half a pound in the past week so I could have them spayed and neutered. Not that I’m so desperate to spay and neuter them, but when Terry is neutered, he’ll have his hernia fixed at the same time and I’ve got to confess, his hernia is FREAKIN’ ME OUT, MAN. It doesn’t bother him in the slightest, he’ll let me pick him up and hold him with my palm over his stomach to encourage the hernia to go back from whence it came, but it always slithers back out into a bulge. I guess that hernia’s got places to go and things to do, and staying where it outta be isn’t one of those things it wants to be doing.
(For the record, it just looks and feels like a little bulge of fat sitting there on his tummy. And the vet did look at it and said that it could wait until he was neutered, rather than put him through a separate operation.)
I had a brief time of worry this weekend wherein I decided that all the kittens were deaf – because wouldn’t that be the CAPPER? I am a worrywart, and apparently felt I didn’t have enough to worry about with these guys – but as it turns out, they were just ignoring me. I guess if you baby-talk kittens for long enough, they’re not so impressed by it anymore.
All six in one picture! That rarely happens, as you can imagine.
He looks more cross-eyed sometimes and less cross-eyed other times. But at ALL times he is adorable!
Sookie’s playing hard to get.
Oh, Sammy-Sam.
I love how it looks like Terry is scolding the plastic ring (which, you’ll note, is mid-air). He says “Plastic ring, you said you would play with me, and now you’re not playing with me, and that is MEAN! I’m gonna tell my Mommy on you!”
Previously
2008: No entry. 2007: “Muff the magic pussy, lived by the cheeeeeeks!” 2006: I also thought my brother made up the word “fart” when I was a kid, so apparently I think he’s a real trend-setter. 2005: You know who really just completely repulses me? 2004: The only way it’d be better is if we could call and vote on who’s the most annoying.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry. 2001: Wouldn’t it have been ironic if I’d made assurances to the spud that we would probably all live for a long, long time, then promptly tripped over the cat, fallen down the stairs, broken my neck, and died? 2000: Man, I’m so unmotivated today (nothing new there).
I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one with a secret Two and a Half Men lurve going on. The show cracks me up every time – and is it just me, or is that the dirtiest show on TV? I’m constantly surprised at what they get away with on prime time. * … Continue reading “8/14/09 – Friday”
I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one with a secret Two and a Half Men lurve going on. The show cracks me up every time – and is it just me, or is that the dirtiest show on TV? I’m constantly surprised at what they get away with on prime time.
Hey Robyn – for those of us who listen to podcasts can you share the suggestions you were given? Maybe the rest of us out here would like to find new ones to listen to as well. Maybe you need a link to a podcast list or something.
I believe this is a complete list of all the podcasts y’all suggested (if I missed any, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list).
Hey Robyn, where did you end up finding your ceiling swag lamp you mentioned yesterday? I’ve been looking for something like that for a while now, and a google search didn’t yield anything as inexpensive as you mentioned.
On eBay, of course! The one I got looks a lot like this one (that link may not be good for long – just go on eBay and search on “hanging lamp swag”).
Come to read the antics almost every day. We use a product called Blue Coat. We get it at the Hen Yard (our local feed store). It has multiple uses including ring worm of all things. I use it on the horses, chickens, cats and sometimes on the humans in our house. Does the trick almost every time. They also make a Red Coat . . . but I haven’t tried that one yet!!
We use Blue Kote on our chickens, but it specifically says not to use it on dogs or cats – is there a kind that’s okay for use on dogs and cats?
I made Fred call the vet yesterday to ask what the blue stuff they used on Sugarbutt’s toes was, and found out it’s called Methylene Blue. Applying it to bloody, scabby toes is apparently an off-label use for the stuff – they asked us to let them know whether it helps his toes or not. So far, it seems to be doing well!
Given that the majority of your wildly adorable group of fosters (and I’m more than happy to join you in the squeezin’ of the stuffins) have some sort of physical issue, is it possible they might be the result of… um… how to say this delicately? An “unwholesome familial relationship” perhaps? Is anything about their parentage known?
As far as I know, there’s nothing known about their parentage, and god only knows if they’re the product of inbreeding (I certainly wouldn’t be surprised). For more information about what’s going on with their eyes, scroll on down to the foster kitten section.
I have a chicken question please. With larger livestock, manure is always an issue. My sister has horses and “shit shoveling” is just one more routine chore around the farm. What about chicken shit? Does it have to be cleaned up? Or does it just lay there and degrade? Does it build up? Thanks!
The stuff that ends up on the ground around the coop and through the chicken yard basically stays there and degrades – it starts off pretty dry to begin with, so it doesn’t take much time until it’s turned to dust. In the coop, Fred keeps a thick layer of shavings on the floor. The chickens kick the shavings around, so most of the time the chicken poop ends up mixed in with the shavings and the smell isn’t terribly bad. A couple of times a year, Fred cleans out the chicken coop, puts the shavings and chicken poop on the compost heap, and puts down fresh shavings.
With all that chicken poop around, you’d expect it to smell worse than it does, but honestly it’s not so bad. The flies that it attracts is annoying, and I bought some diatomaceous earth to sprinkle around the coop to help get rid of the fly population, but I haven’t done that yet (and we haven’t tried it in the past, so I can’t say for sure whether it’ll really help or not. I’d like to think it is, but diatomaceous earth is one of those miracle things that supposedly cures all ills, so I’ve got a healthy dose of skepticism going on as far as it’s concerned).
I’m wondering what cat food you guys use and also what’s served at snackin’ time. Love the fosters.
We have two large plastic storage containers where we store cat food. In one of the storage containers is Taste of the Wild cat food. That gets scooped into two food bowls (there are a total of four filled food bowls in the laundry room area at all times). In the other storage container is a mix of Purina U/R (I think that’s the name of it) – it’s a urinary tract health food. I mix that with Nutro Natural Choice Complete Care for Seniors. That mixture gets scooped into the other two bowls.
We give them the Purina U/R because of Joe Bob and his weird bladder issues, but the Taste of the Wild and the Nutro, they get solely because I think it’s a fairly good quality food and they like the taste of it.
At Snackin’! Time! I used to give them Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys, two cans split between them all. That got to be a little more than I wanted to spend, so we’ve tried several different kinds, and are currently bouncing back and forth between Nine Lives and Friskies, one can split between them all (the Friskies and Nine Lives cans are much larger than the Fancy Feast cans. In case you were worried that I’m starving the little bastards.) They all seem to like the Nine Lives and Friskies, so we’ll probably stick with those for now.
I listen to KATG because of you. Have you shared the pictures of the foster kitten namesakes with them? The “Brother Love” cat sniffing the other cat’s (Patrice, I think) butt cracks me up.
I emailed them when I had the first bunch of KATG kittens, but I’m sure they get a ton of emails a day, and I never heard back. I didn’t email them when I had the second bunch, but in retrospect I’m thinking (since I named some of the kittens after regular forum post-ers) I should have posted something in the forum!
Is this the picture you’re thinking of?
That’s Brolo and Chemda, I believe. Speaking of Patrice (the kitten), Nance totally fell in love with her, and still occasionally mentions her from time to time!
I have bats that move into my attic space every May to have their babies. And move out in October. So at least once a summer there has to be a bat rescue. Best piece of advice I ever received… Bats need to be up off the ground to take off… so what ever I’ve captured them in goes up on the ladder outside… Wind beneath their wings and all that I suppose !
I had no idea – but it makes sense! I’ll keep that in mind for next time (while hoping and praying that there will BE no next time!).
Does the black chicken meat taste different from other chicken meat? I’ve seen them in Asian markets but never bought one. Can you disguise the color in some kind of sauce, like cacciatore?
and
That meat looks completely bruised! How does it taste?
We haven’t eaten it yet – I have to get up the nerve to cook it, it’s currently sitting in the freezer. I’m told by Fred (who was told by people on a forum he frequents) that it doesn’t taste any different from other chicken. But we shall see!
And yeah, I’ll likely cook it in a way where the color of the meat is covered by some sort of sauce.
Just an FYI, I was recently told (after a dog attack) that if a pet animal has EVER had a rabies shot, that the likelihood that they will ever contract rabies is damn near zero percent. We overvaccinate to be on the safe side, and it’s important to keep the vaccinations up-to-date, but yeah, they won’t get rabies. 🙂 This is just to set your mind at ease the next time the cats get into some critter. 🙂
I recently read that too, but I cannot for the life of me remember where I read it. Alabama law decrees that cats have to have rabies shots every year, but since other states allow once every three years, I was just making sure all our cats had gotten theirs in the last three years (and they had!).
Fred didn’t touch the bat with bare hands, did he? I ask because a close friend had to go through rabies shots earlier this year when she accidentally touched (just touched with her hand) a bat who was hanging out the outside of a cereal boxes on top of her fridge. The bat didn’t bite, but she was told that rabies can sometimes be transmitted through skin contact, not just a bite or scratch. I never knew that before that happened to her.
I didn’t think he did, but I double-checked with him, and he says no. I think he was using a stick or the edge of the bucket to move that bat around.
J’s first day of school was today – I have a 4th grader and a 4yr old Pre-K kidling. Made me wonder, how’s the Spud and her studies?
She’s doing fine – is working full time and taking two or three classes at a time. She likes some classes more than others (don’t we all!), and is thinking of going into social work.
Does Mr. Wonky Paws (Terry) have 4 toes and a dew claw or 5 toes and a dew claw? If it’s the later, he is polydactyl and that’s just plain cool. I always wanted a polydactyl kitty – I was a “polydactyl” baby. I had 6 fingers in each hand when I was born. In humans isn’t not called polydactyl, but I want to be just like a cat so call me Ms. Polydactyl.
I think actually what he has is three toes and two dew claws – that’s what it looks like to me.
I must hear more about the 6 fingers on each hand! Were they real fingers, or just little finger nubbins that couldn’t really be moved like regular fingers? Did they remove the 6th fingers immediately, or did they wait ’til you were older? (I’m assuming they were removed.) Man, I could use a couple of extra fingers. I bet I’d be the fastest typist EVER.
Have you and Fred ever watched the series Freaks and Geeks? Jason Segel is one of the stars, and it was such a great show. This is one of my favorite DVD series ever!
We actually tried watching Freaks and Geeks, but it didn’t click with us. Don’t take that personally – sometimes it takes repeated viewing of the first episode of a show before we fall in love with it. I know we had to try The Office a few times before we even thought it was funny, and now we adore it. We’ll give Freaks and Geeks a few more years, then give it another try! We did watch (and like) Undeclared, which is where we first saw Jason Segel and immediately liked him.
Okay, so. These kittens. After a few days of putting Terramycin in their eyes, and the goopiness going away, I came to realize that there was something odd going on with their upper eyelids. It’s hard to describe, but they kind of looked like there were pieces missing – like something had taken chunks out of their upper eyelids, or they’d gotten torn – but their lower eyelids were just fine. I made an appointment with the vet on Monday and took them in.
As it turns out, they all have something called “Eyelid Dysgenesis”, which basically means that their upper eyelids began forming correctly*, but at a certain point they stopped – so where it looks like there’s a chunk of eyelid missing, there’s no eyelid, just fur growing down to the very edge. They all have it, some more severe than others. Terry’s the worst of the bunch – he can’t actually close his right eye all the way, which isn’t good for the eye; it gets dry and you can see that already his corneas are cloudy. There’s obviously some sort of damage to his vision at this point, but he still manages to get around pretty well. Bill’s the second worst, then Sam – and then the other three have much milder cases.
Right now, I’m not sure what’s going to happen next. The vet is going to consult with an ophthalmologist and see where we need to go from here; possibly there’ll be surgery for some if not all of them. For now, I have to put artificial tears in all their eyes to be sure that their eyes stay moist.
So, that’s what’s going on with these kittens and their eyes. Poor little Terry is just a mess, between the hernia, the wonky paw, and the eyes, but he is just the sweetest little guy on earth, and I do believe that all it’s going to take is someone to spend a few minutes with him and fall in love.
*FYI, “Eyelid Agenesis” would have if they had no eyelids at all.
Lafayette’s right eye is normal, but he’s got a spot on his left upper eyelid, if you look closely.
Hoyt’s left eye is pretty normal, but if you look at his right eye, you can see about halfway across, the fur grows right down to the edge; there’s no eyelid on that half. Here’s a really good closeup picture, if you want to see detail.
Bill’s got it pretty bad in both eyes. Add to that that he’s pretty cross-eyed, and he’s a mess. He’s a sweet little lovebug, though.
You can see how bad Terry’s got it, too (you can see this picture large if you really want to see the detail). He’s the sweetest boy on earth, though.
Sookie’s got it on her left eye, but her right eye is pretty normal. Is she not adorable?
I managed to not get a closeup of Sam, but he’s got it on both eyes – not nearly as badly as Terry and Bill, though.
And to hear the sad and demanding way Terry howls at me when I’m petting him:
Previously 2008: (Upon looking at Alan Cumming’s Internet Movie Database profile, I read this interesting fact: Has his own cologne called “Cumming.” and snickered like a 12 year-old boy.) 2007: I said “I’d find their plight more interesting if they weren’t quite so ugly.” 2006: DON’T YOU HATE IT WHEN A JOURNALER SAYS THAT?
2005: No entry.
2004: No entry. 2003: “Motherfucker!” was Fred’s response. 2002: Why yes, it IS a rough life, thanks for asking.
2001: No entry. 2000: Because I was so overworked over the summer, you know.
