tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77730982322990376322024-02-20T13:26:14.654-08:00Life Lessons LearnedAndreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05496262155619540960noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7773098232299037632.post-35267974863652050852012-04-22T09:23:00.001-07:002012-04-22T09:23:20.978-07:00How I became a crazy cat lady – Part 3<i>Tigger's Turn</i><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">My story about Tigger is really more Hubby’s story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was really his cat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not so much by his choice but very much by hers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, since hubby doesn’t blog and he seemed to appreciate the tale (haa haa) of Shadow, he has entrusted me to tell the story of this crazy, possessive, jealous, beautiful Maine Coon kitty.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It was all my own fault, really.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We were owned by Shadow for about a year when we realized that perhaps she was lonely all day when we were both at work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Granted, she probably slept most of that time, but still, there is nothing better to clear a sleepy head than a good solid ass kicking provided to another family member.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yep, she was something of an alpha cat and she obviously needed to keep something in line because a lot of her training was lost on us.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, I started looking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worked in a mall and during my lunch breaks I would walk down to Olga’s Kitchen (which I really miss by the way), passing the pet shop along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day, I peered into the pet shop window (this was back in the day where buying animals from these stores was still socially acceptable) and saw some adorable kittens playing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found the nearest payphone (I know, right? How quaint) and called the hubster. (We weren’t married yet, but it’s just easier to call him that then go back and forth between boyfriend, fiancée and hubby. We’re gonna stick with the end result.)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I probably went on about how cute these kitties were for about 10 minutes until hubster mentioned that we had to both get back to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hung up, then continued my shift at Kauffmann’s until it was time to head home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When I opened up the door to our little brick oven apartment that night, the hubby was there to greet me – with a big honkin’ smile on his face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had a surprise to show me – but it was hidden under our bed, so I had to go take a look.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, Shadow is hanging around two feet away from the bed, randomly hissing at something that is hidden under it… I get down on my hands and knees and take a peek under the bedspread – and there is this rather large guinea pig thing looking back out at me. I aks him – “What the hell is that?” </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">He responds, “That is the kitty you were telling me about on the phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went to the pet store and bought her to surprise you.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Being the ungrateful bitch that I am, I tell him that isn’t the kitty I was talking about and the critter under the bed looks like an overgrown hamster with cowlicks. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he tells me what happened when he went to the pet store.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Apparently, he went in and asked the salesperson about the kitties he saw in the window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sales person hands him this big fluff ball and as soon as hubster picks her up, she snuggles into him, digs her claws into his sweater, looks up at him and starts purring… loudly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looks at the sales person and says, “I guess I’m taking this one.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After he tells me this, I give him a great big hug and tell him, “Of course you had to bring her home.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think I could have resisted that kind of snuggle manipulation either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We then decide to give her a bath to get the pet store smell off of her (and check for fleas and the like) and towel her dry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was pretty good about the whole getting a bath thing – much more so than her older adopted sister.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">From then on, Tom belonged to Tigger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She followed him everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he was sitting at his desk, she was either on the desk behind him or on the roll out shelf that was part of his desk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he was busy doing homework, she would insist on climbing up on his lap and snuggling in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We started calling her “Tom’s familiar.” She rarely tolerated anyone picking her up outside of Tom or me and I am fairly certain she just barely tolerated me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">She also had a nasty jealous streak when it came to her human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whenever I tried to snuggle up to him, she would insist on getting in between us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was especially noticeable when we went to bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I tried to spoon Tom for warmth in the winter, she would walk up the bed, onto the pillow and position herself between our heads, purring loudly, until I moved away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she would get between us to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we were sitting on the couch, same thing – she always had to be between us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She would sometimes hiss or swat at the other cats that were looking for his attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Other than her possessive streak, and her penchant for having litter box issues, she was a sweet kitty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a tiny squeaky voice that was amusing coming from a cat of such girth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she did have the best purr I have ever heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There had been more than one occasion where it would lull one (or both of us) to sleep.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But sadly, after 18 years, the day came where we had to make the difficult decision to put her to sleep. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her kidneys were shutting down, she had lost a tremendous amount of weight and she was weak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was hardest on Tom, because she was his baby and he knew how much he would miss her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also felt like he was betraying her trust with this last act, even though it was the necessary choice.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">When we took her to the vets that day, they took her away to put in the IV line for the euthanasia drugs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When they brought her back, they gave her to Tom so he could hold her to say goodbye. When he picks her up, she snuggles into him, digs her claws into his sweater, looks up at him and starts purring… loudly.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And on that sunny August day, she said goodbye in the same manner as how she said hello. And less than two minutes later, she was gone.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We miss you, Tigs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your human, Tom, misses you most of all.</div>Andreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05496262155619540960noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7773098232299037632.post-57221417197191372502012-02-18T09:24:00.001-08:002012-02-18T09:24:40.165-08:00how I got sucked into being a crazy cat lady - Part 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:RelyOnVML/> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:DoNotShowRevisions/> <w:DoNotPrintRevisions/> <w:DoNotShowMarkup/> <w:DoNotShowComments/> <w:DoNotShowInsertionsAndDeletions/> <w:DoNotShowPropertyChanges/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="MsoNormal">Most of our days together passed semi-quietly, with the notable exception of her singing her little semi-Siamese heart out at 3 AM or tormenting her adopted sisters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then one day, we noticed that the little monster was losing weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was already plenty skinny, so it’s not like she could afford to do so (unlike her pleasantly plump siblings).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took her to the vet (which is always a delight – not) and they performed all sorts of tests on her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The news wasn’t good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a tumor on her thyroid and it wasn’t something they could just remove via an operation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were given three options:</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Do nothing, which in effect, meant she would eventually starve to death. (So, not happening.)</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Pill her every day, which in effect meant she would probably kill us in our sleep. (Also not a realistic option.)</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Nuke her, which in effect meant her going to a place that specialized in radiation treatment for cats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">The last option was the most expensive option, but she was my baby, she was only 12, and I was not about to let her go yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hubster resigned himself on coughing up over $1,000 dollars and off she went.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was there for two weeks until she reached a minimum safe radioactivity level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(At this point, I wished I had purchased a Geiger counter just so I could see it go off when I pointed at her- but it was a little expensive just for a few weeks of fun.)</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">There were conditions that we had to agree to before we brought her home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I was trying to get all in the parental way at the time, I could not go near her for a month (which just killed me.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to hang on to her dirty litter for two weeks (which makes me wonder how much radiation I absorbed with it hanging out in the house all that time.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And neither one of us could play with her for more than two minutes at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she was alive, and on her way to better health – so we agreed.</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><br />
</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">She was fine for a while after that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we realized she was gaining too much weight and sleeping on top of the heat registers in the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back to the vets she went and we found out that they had totally nuked her thyroid completely, so now it was non-functioning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had two options: </div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Do nothing, which in effect, meant she would eventually go into a coma and die. (So, not happening.)</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Pill her every day, which in effect meant she would probably kill us in our sleep. (Now a more realistic option.)</div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">We opted for the second choice, and at first she was pretty good about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she started fighting us, and then we started hiding it in her favorite food – shrimp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An expensive taste is what that one had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Life returned to semi-normal after that, until one night, I was lying in bed about to drop off to sleep when I heard this thumping noise which sounded exactly like a cat falling down the stairs from the attic. I ran out of bed to discover that was precisely what it was and at the bottom of the steps was my poor little black kitty twitching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I screamed for the hubster (he was up in the attic, at his computer with his headphones on.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought she was dead, but she was still twitching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I grabbed the phone to call the emergency animal hospital service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were telling me that it would be 200 dollars just to bring her in and then suddenly, in the middle of the phone call, Shadow stopped twitching, stood up and started walking around in circles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I knew she had experienced a seizure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Back to the vet’s we went.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I was right, the vet agreed that she had a seizure and there was no need for any more expensive tests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said that Shadow most likely had a tumor on her brain and there was nothing that could be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loaded me up with meds for the kitty, to keep her comfortable and to lessen the frequency of the seizures, and I brought her home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We gave her as much love as we could, spoiled her rotten with shrimp and tuna, and let her continue to rule the roost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had seizures still, and they started getting closer and closer together and lasting longer and longer, until one inevitable yet dreadful night, she had one that she never seemed to recover from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">Tom and I held her, scritched her, rocked her and loved her until we took her to the vets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was nothing more that could be done, and we made the heartbreaking decision that it was time to let her go. We talked to her while they injected her with the sedatives, then the euthanasia medicine, we told her we loved her and I told her that she was now free to go chase those bats. Then, on that cold day of January 19, 2009, we said good-bye.</div></div>Andreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05496262155619540960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7773098232299037632.post-70190146776969979182012-02-11T13:54:00.000-08:002012-02-11T13:54:14.934-08:00Never own a pet if you don’t want your heart broken<!--aka: [if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:donotshowrevisions/> <w:donotprintrevisions/> <w:donotshowmarkup/> <w:donotshowcomments/> <w:donotshowinsertionsanddeletions/> <w:donotshowpropertychanges/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> 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<w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif][if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:200%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">I’ve wanted to do this for a very long time. I just never knew how to start the story of how Tom and I wound up being cat people.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And I never knew how to really end the stories of the three kitties in such a way that people could honestly understand why we take their passing so hard.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is due to selfishness that I write this entry.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is to ensure that neither one of us forget of how our lives were so enriched by the wee beasties (or otherwise known as “little shits” – a term that we use most affectionately.) It is also to let our friends know about their different personalities and how special each and every pet we own (or as in these three cases, are owned by) is to us.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This will be a multi-part series as there is much to tell. Particularly of the first cat to enter our lives – Shadow.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They had been friends for a long, long while but decided on the crazy idea of dating.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Not long after implementing this plan, boy moved out of his parents’ house and rented an apartment with a friend.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Girl spend as much time over there as possible, mainly to get away from her parents (because moving back in with them after four years of freedom was not the best idea in the world and caused much consternation among all those involved.)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Boy and girl discussed many things during these heady months of a new romance – one of which was pet ownership.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Boy never had a real pet (because, let’s face it, fish are not snuggly and hamsters are too high strung to stay still for very long) and girl had two dogs while she was growing up.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Boy spoke often of wanting a pet, but realized that dog ownership wasn’t really in the cards as long as he was an apartment dweller.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Girl often spoke of wanting a cat but couldn’t have one because her grandmother was irrationally terrified of them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(Grandmother’s words, not girl’s.)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>One day, about a year after they had met, boy surprised girl with some news.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>His sister’s boyfriend’s cat had a litter of kittens, and would she be interested in adopting one.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Girl could have not been more ecstatic.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Not long after, boy and girl went to that other guy’s house to pick out which adorable fuzzball would come home with them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Girl sat in a small room, among the kittens and waited.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One tiny little black ball of fur wandered over to her, and attacked her hand.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It sunk its little needle like claws and teeth into her fingers and girl instantly scooped it up and said “This one!”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(Apparently, girl is a little bit of a masochist.) And with that declaration, boy and girl put the kitten in a box and drove it home. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Boy had mentioned at one point that he had always wanted a black cat and he wanted to name this one Spectre.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Girl couldn’t think of a better name and was so grateful for finally getting a kitty, that she went with it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>However, boy’s idiot friend decided that Spectre sounded too much link sphincter so boy and girl changed the cat’s name to Shadow.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Shadow was a troublemaker from day one.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She would climb pretty much anything she could, including curtains and boy’s mother’s pants whenever she came over.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Boy set up empty beer cases along one of the walls in the apartment as a staircase, so Shadow could run up and down them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Usually, she’d run up to the top and just perch there like a vulture (which soon became her nickname) for hours on end.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She would climb Christmas trees and knock them over; she would climb bookcases and furniture and just stare at everyone from the top, looking down upon us all as the peons that we were to her.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>But boy and girl were so enamored by this little fur beastie, they took her everywhere with them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Girl would often go and pick Shadow up at the apartment and take her back to her parents’ house, where the little monster would spend all her time inspecting the porch, pouncing on bugs and causing general mayhem.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Boy and girl took the silly thing to their cabin up in the Adirondacks where she would chase snakes, climb trees and watch the ducks.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One could almost smell the smoke of her thinking about how to catch the ducks without actually getting wet.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Boy eventually got his own apartment and girl eventually moved in with him.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After about a year of being adopted by Shadow, girl saw a little kitty looking for a home at a pet store close to her place of employment.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She told boy and boy went out and brought a kitty home from said pet store.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It wasn’t the cat that girl had spied earlier that day – as a matter of fact, she said that this kitty looked more like a giant nappy guinea pig.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Shadow was not pleased with the new interloper either.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She spent the first two days hissing at the new kitty and keeping it confined to the dark recesses under the bed. Not long after that, girl called boy from work again, talking about yet another wee fur face that was in dire need of a good home.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This time they went to the pet store together and brought home the second interloper.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(Which Shadow and Tigger tormented together.)<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was decided at this point that girl could no longer walk by the pet store, because they were teetering on the edge of being “cat people.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Then things got really serious between boy and girl and they decided to get married and buy a house (though not in that order.) After moving into the new residence with the three cats in tow, Shadow went missing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Boy and girl spent much time searching the new house to figure out where she could have gone.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They could hear her meowing, but could not figure out where it was coming from.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Eventually they figured out that she had climbed up the stack of the house, into the drop ceiling of the basement.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They figured she would come down eventually, at least to eat.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Until then, they couldn’t block off the only way she could get in and out of that area. Then, late one night when they were watching TV, a ceiling tile came crashing down on the dryer, and the cat along with it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Girl captured the wily critter and locked her away until boy blocked off her ceiling express lane.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Life went about its business and Shadow spent much of her time jumping up on things, singing through the night and getting into things she shouldn’t have been able to get into.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If anyone opened a cupboard, she would run in and hide when they were not looking.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There were many times that someone would be in the kitchen and the drawers would start getting pushed out from behind. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Then early one morning, girl woke up to a new sound.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was 5 AM and there was the pitter patter of four little feet running above their heads, but it didn’t sound like the kitties chasing each other.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was run run run, thump, run run run run, thump.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Girl decided to get up and investigate – and there she was, Shadow, running back in forth in the attic, chasing a bat.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And that became one of girl’s very first blog entries. 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mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoPlainText"><span style="font-family:"Courier New"">Or(aka)Where is Ozzy when you need him?<br /><br />Much to my amazement, there was a bat in my belfry this morning.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>No, seriously... well, ok... attic is probably a more appropriate description.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Now, this is not the first time I have ever seen a bat, but it was the first time I had ever seen one so close... and most certainly the first time I have ever seen my prim and proper but dysfunctional part Siamese cat chasing one.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But I guess since a bat is just a mouse with wings, she was just heeding her call to of the wild.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Which is fine, except I don't want to have to be the one cleaning up the mess if she ever actually caught it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Nor would I want to clean up the guano from some obscure hard to reach corner.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Nor would I want to have to find it by following my nose to some teeny crack in the drywall after it started decomposing... so the choice seemed very simple to me...<br /><br />wake up the hubster, and make him take care of it...<br /><br />Now, mind you, I am not one of those helpless female types that goes screaming everytime an uninvited guest happens into our happy home... I kill my own spiders, thank you very much, but since men are born as the hunter/gatherers of the tribe, I felt it was his job to corral or kill the offending party.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>To be honest though, neither one of us were big on killing the helpless little creature, because it may not have known the rules.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He might have not taken the left turn at Albuquerque like he should have, but by no means does that warrant the death penalty.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>(besides, we have more offensive invited guests... and we haven't killed any of them... yet... but none of them are worthy of us spending jail time on anyway.)<br /><br />Hubster was still half asleep when I exclaimed that our petite kitty was chasing a bat, and jumping around like a lunatic to try to catch it (which was the whole reason I even investigated the attic) and he thought that I was being delusional... it was, after all 5 AM in the morning.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But once he verified the supposed sighting, he got dressed and shut himself and kitty in the attic with our little rodent guest.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He said he just wanted to catch it and let it loose outside and I did agree with him... but... what if the damn thing had rabies?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Is the little guy worth getting a series of shots in the stomach? (Do they even do that anymore?) And at that point, the critter would have to be killed anyway.<br />So, after knocking the poor thing senseless with one of my dress shoes (trust me, you could take out a grown man with one of my shoes) and then losing it for a few minutes, my husband called down to me to come up with a flashlight and help him look for it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><br />I got dressed<br />grabbed the flashlight<br />went up the stairs, and spotted it right away.<br />In the darkest corner, behind the cat toys.<br />I pointed it out to him and he kept saying<br />"No, that is just the toy mouse they keep hiding.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You bought it and gave it to them."<br />"Yes, and I am telling you right now that you cannot confuse one of the toys with a bat.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They don't have wings, and they are all plaid... this one is brown."<br />he pushed the object in question with a piece of packing foam rubber, and it turned and started making this indescribable noise.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Hubster turned and looked at his rather smug wife at this point, then picked up a 2 x 4.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Well, we all know the end of this story... poor little guy...<br />We both feel really bad about it<br />But the cat was rather arrogant the rest of the morning<br /></span></p> End of Part 1Andreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05496262155619540960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7773098232299037632.post-29137059457818656832012-01-15T08:38:00.000-08:002012-01-15T08:38:40.549-08:00Lesson 2: Never Leave Your Porch Windows Open During a Wind Storm<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">aka: How I embrace my inner white trash. ;)<br />
<br />
Let me just start off saying - I love my house. Well, I love some parts of it more than others. Over 16 years ago, the fiancee wanted to buy a house so we could start building equity. It was a sound idea in theory, even though to this day, I am still not sure why it is so important to get yourself into massive amounts of debt to build this mysterious thing called equity. Does something like this reflect well on your permanent record? At the time, I was hesitant about the whole prospect as a house means a bigger space, more to clean and ... urg... yardwork.<br />
But I abhorred the apartment that we were living in which was like an easy bake oven in the summer and a walk in freezer in the winter and smallish for two adults and three cats, so I gave in. <br />
<br />
I had some grand ideas of what a first house should look like but as our budget was meager and my salary wouldn't count towards in the mortgage application process (I was a contract, therefore an unreliable income: remember, this was back in the day where banks were far more careful about the money they were handing out), so I was bitch slapped by reality on what we could afford. Although I did stick with my main point - no ranches. I grew up in a ranch house and I hated how the kitchen was on the same floor as the bedrooms. I would wake up any time someone passed by my door to either the kitchen or the bathroom. The house was too damned small and it was really impossible to get away from everyone in it. In hind site, my loathing of ranches was pure stupidity on my part, because now I get to lug laundry up and down two flights of stairs instead of just one.<br />
<br />
After we had looked at least 30 houses (and nearly got killed by the realtor, who had a seizure while driving while we were in the car), we found a fairly nice looking 1928 colonial that had been reduced enough in price that we could afford it. I hated the kitchen and bathroom on sight, which considering the problems we have had with both was probably my sixth sense warning me (a story for another day), but the basement and attic were both mostly finished, which was perfect for our office area and entertainment center plans. Plus, the yard was small, which was perfect for my lackadaisical plans for gardening. It also had the cutest little porch with windows we could open or close for cross breeze (and cigarette smoking) purposes. (We both smoked at the time and made a promise to each other that we weren't going to do it in the house.) <br />
<br />
Well, though a series of stupid moves, I had restarted smoking about a year or year and a 1/2 ago. About Three weeks ago, during one of the balmier December nights, I had left the porch windows open to air it out. I had forgotten to close them the next morning and during the workday, the wind picked up - enough so that it started slamming the windows open and closed until one of them shattered, leaving glass all over my porch and a jaggedy chunk still in the pane. It has since been covered over by plastic to prevent the wind and snow from coming in. I feel like my next step should be to get some cement blocks and put my car up on them in the front yard. I know absolutely next to nothing about replacing that pane of glass, because of the way the porch was put together. Hubby says that there is only a little caulk holding the rest of the glass in place and I am not sure who to contact to fix it. In the meantime, it billows nicely in the breeze and adds a little more character to a home that is already brimming with it. <br />
<br />
It also reminds me that I need to quit smoking again. (I'm working on it...)<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Andreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05496262155619540960noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7773098232299037632.post-77580806398348747592012-01-12T14:39:00.000-08:002012-01-12T15:26:29.965-08:00Lesson 1: Never Tweeze Your Eyebrows After Three Cups of Coffee<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Well, I have done it again. Created yet another blog that no one will read and I will probably ditch after several postings. Doesn't matter, as I have had the blogging bug lately and a little non-school writing may do me a world of good. Normally, I would say creative writing, but I am not all together certain how creative I will be.<br />
<br />
So, let me introduce meself - Name is Andrea, work at a technology company, I am in touch with my inner geek, but I prefer my inner baker at this point in time. I'm married and am owned by 1 cat. (Not the one in the picture - she passed some time ago.) I am currently involved in earning my Masters in Information Systems. I just finished going through two Element K tutorials on Data Communications (in regards to networking and yadda yadda yadda) and am at the point that I want to stab my eyes out. The information itself is fairly interesting, but the narrator - God, why could they not have picked some sexy voiced gentleman with a British (or Irish or Scottish or Australian) accent? This guy sounds like the uncool teacher you had in high school which everyone dreaded. (And yes, I realize grammar is not my strong suite - pppfffttt - whatever. Heck, at this point, just be glad I am not posting something in text speak.)<br />
<br />
Anyway - today's Public Service Announcement:<br />
<br />
If you are a Nutella Junkie like me (and I know many of you are) and you have been scouring the web like I have for delicious new nutella tasty treats, may I steer you away from making these:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://feistycook.com/WP/2010/01/23/self-frosting-nutella-cupcakes/">Nutella Self Frosting Cupcakes</a><br />
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Now, I am not saying that they are bad, nor am I saying that the lovely lady who posted those tempting instructions doesn't know what she is talking about. Considering she has been around the web a lot longer and far more consistently and appears to be a very reputable site, I know she knows what she is talking about. I am not trying to besmirch her baking character. However, I made them twice - yes, twice, and I am still not impressed. Now, in fairness, the first time I made them, I screwed up. I measured the flour, then sifted. One is supposed to sift, then measure. Most things I bake don't require sifting or sometimes I laugh at the concept. Ha! Sift? I'm a sifting non-conformist! I'm a baking rebel! Which, in this case, forced me to choke down a very dry dense rock like muffin - totally my fault.<br />
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So, last night I tried again. I followed the directions precisely and found pretty much the same result. The muffins (because honestly, these weren't cupcake consistency) were much more moist then the first batch, but the vanilla part still is lacking any AHA! flavor. And trying to stir the nutella into the cake - what a nightmare! The cupcake cups were crinkling and wrinkling - it was a total mess. That was totally not my fault. Although it did give me the excuse to start licking nutella off my fingers once I was done. I think that if I try making a "self frosting nutella cupcake" again, I will actually try and make yellow cake batter... or oooohhh.... maybe a white cake batter. Maybe if I find a combination I like better, I will post pictures.<br />
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That being said, if you want a nutella baked treat that requires little time (and no frustration) - let me point you in this <a href="http://picky-palate.com/2010/11/08/nutella-mallow-pillow-pockets/">direction.</a><br />
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Oh my oooohy gooey goodness. I won't mention how many times I have burned the roof of my mouth on these things - it's just embarrassing. <br />
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</div>Andreahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05496262155619540960noreply@blogger.com2