Not so ♪ many drops, hey♫, not so many drops♪!

I've written a little tune I purr when I'm outside chasing leaves and stuff..."Not so♪ many drops, hey♫, not so many drops♪! I'm so♫ much better now♫, don't need♫ so many♪ drops!" Mom has backed off on the groovy drops and I'm still feelin' good. Lessee...why was she giving me drops? Oh, well, can't remember, don't care.

Mom made about 1000 trips up the flimsy, creaky, pull down stairway to the room at the top of the house I've never been in (Heck, I'M not getting on that thing!) and brought down all those bins and boxes that are sooooo much fun to play on. Pretty soon the house was a wreck and then things started changing. That tree thingy went up. Then she covered it in lights. THEN she started hanging all those things on it that light up, make noise, look like food and most importantly - dangle right in front of my face. I took that tree thingy down one year - climbed up to the top and it started heading towards the floor with the rest of it following. I rode it about halfway down and then decided to bail. I've been good this year though - I've swatted at a couple of the hanging things, but someone always hears me and chases me away. Well, why put it there if I can't play with it? Silly humans. Here's a picture of me contemplating that little chimey thing that makes pretty sounds.

She put stuff in every room of the house, including lights in the tree in that huge pot that stays outside until it gets cold. The house looks great - even the guy in the front room seems to like it this year. I think everything looks sparkly and festive. I'm a cat, so you know I have excellent taste. Oh, yeah, speaking of, guess I'd better head for the ol' food bowl and see if it has miraculously refilled itself. Later...

Time to completely change the look of the house

The roommate and I had a nice Thanksgiving. I roasted a chicken instead of a turkey, made a pumpkin-ginger soup that turned out to be killer, had some more than al dente/less than mush green beans, some crescent rolls (in honor of my mother - she always made those), some beaujolais and some chardonnay, and wow, we were full to the brim.

During the day on Thanksgiving I went up into the attic and started tossing/handing Christmas boxes/bins down to the roomie, including the tree I've had for about 14 years, and between making dinner I started putting the tree together. Finished it today and it does look good, despite it's age.


I love Christmas. It's the one time of the year you can change the entire look of your house, both inside and out, and get away with it. The house is a wreck right now, but I'm still in the middle of 'decorating'. Jypsy has taken all the changes in stride, including jumping from bin to box, leaping around on the furniture in new positions and batting down the fifth ornament I put on the tree. She had a lot of fun, but felt the need for a break from supervising, as you can see...



I'm close to being done, then again, not really. I've got all the clean up afterwards. I do have one silly thing I do every year; don't ask me why - I'm not really sure myself. During his first stay at my house, the roomie bought this -



...so it gets pulled out every Christmas as well.

Like I said, it's the one time of year to change the look of the house. Welcome to the holiday season!

99%

My 99% is different from what most people are identifying with right now. My percentages deal with how close Jypsy is to being normal....and that means being herself.

I told my friend Jan in Oregon I would consider her healed when Jypsy started coming into my room and getting on my bed again. She has begun to do that. She came in on Friday, Saturday and today in the early morning to wake me up. This afternoon I was watching a great movie the room mate rented called 'Bottle Shock' in my room. I highly recommend it - it's a movie depicting the 70's and how California joined the wine makers revolution. Anyway, Jypsy came in, jumped up on my bed, nosed around and then crawled in my lap to snooze through the movie. This is, wow, I can't say how important this is to me. This is major. I still can't count her at 100% because she still has this thing about black shoes, but...OMG...we are soooooo close to being back to normal!!

Check this out...

Birthdays...gotta love 'em

I mean, really, what's the alternative? I face a big milestone tomorrow. I never thought I would be this old. I don't know what I figured would happen...you know...you either keep having birthdays and get older...or you don't.

Gotta say, I'm still glad to be here and to keep having birthdays. My friend Elsa sent me a birthday card that says "When you get to be (mumble age) your interests tend towards staying warm, taking lots of naps, and bird watching. So, basically, you turn into a cat." I thought I could see Jypsy snickering over to the side as I read it out loud to the roommate. Uh huh. Thanks, kitty. I've been coldnatured all my life, take very few naps, but will admit I have bird feeders in the back yard. I love to see cardinals come in to the feeder, despite the fact St. Louis beat the Rangers. C'est la vie. Never have been a sports fan, but not sure if that's part of the getting older thing.

Still feel young, body just doesn't want to cooperate sometimes. Fighting hard to stay in shape...got a trainer now who is trying his best. Hate the expense, but can't seem to do it on my own - just cut out some other things that were a little superfluous. Amazing how things change their importance as you get older. As a youngster, swore I'd never wear anything but Levi jeans. Still love 'em, but can't afford 'em. I can get pretty durable jeans at a discount store for $10. Don't go out much because there's not anything that really appeals to me. The things that do strike my fancy, I do. I visit with friends, go to the occasional movie that looks interesting, still buy way too many clothes off the discounted/clearance racks (Vera Wang shirt - $12!), and prefer good wine over cheap wine. Well, come on, you gotta have SOME priorities!

My sweet kitty is about 98% back. She still has this thing about black shoes, but I just keep those in the closet. She's playful, vocal (I wanna go out...NOW!), social and loveable. Can't complain.

Bring on the Birthday!

Ah. Fall!

So, the weather here has turned a little nippy. It's been fun to zoom around outside and enjoy the invigorating air. I've been on a rampage killing all kinds of leaves, and sticks and, when I can find them, bugs. Well, I don't really kill the bugs, mainly because they move too fast or just fly away, but you know, the intent is there.

I'm feeling MUCH better. Mom is still using those groovy drops on my head, and I was able to walk up to a pair of dark colored shoes the other day and not see them as something I HAD to wrangle with. I think being outside a lot lately is helping too...even though I went out when it was really, really hot, it wasn't such a good thing to do and might just have aggravated whatever was wrong with me. Mentally, that is. We know what caused the physical, and well, a lady just doesn't talk about stuff like that. I've rediscovered the railing around the back deck and was running back and forth across it the other day. There's this big, and I mean big, plant/tree thingy Mom keeps back there in good weather - sucker must be over 5' tall. Its branches hang over the railing out into the yard. I was running down the railing and barreling through the tree thingy branches to one end, and then turning around and carooming back to the other end, getting on the handrail for the steps, turning around (difficult at best - it's kinda tiny), sharpening my nails on the wood (which mom was NOT happy about), and then jumping back up to start the run through the tree thingy again. FUN!



Mom dug out some stuff this morning 'cos she said she gets to dress up for work tomorrow since it's Halloween. I'm not certain what that is, but she pulled out a pair of really ragged, holey jeans, a tapestry looking top with these big angel sleeves, and a black curly wig. Said she's going as a hippie mystic. Fine with me, just so long as she doesn't try to get me in some kind of silly clothing. I might have to put my paw down at that and run hide somewhere. Prolly not, she does know I'm not overly fond of clothing. Seriously...why do I need to hide how beautiful I am? Besides - I already have this gorgeous fur coat!

Lulled by the rain

Someone posted on Facebook that friends coming down from the North had brought the rain with them. I don't care how it happened, but it's been raining since about 8pm last night and I'm very grateful. When I chanced to wake up a couple of times during the night, I heard the soft drip of rain and slipped right back into cozy sleep. There's just something about sleeping to the sound of the rain, isn't there? I'm sure the trees are relishing this little bit of moisture - even my lawn already looks greener. (Probably just my imagination, but hey...) This won't end our drought, of course, but we so needed this.

Jypsy has not squawked once about going outside. Usually by now she's bugging me to let her out. Instead she's snoozing in a new box she's adopted as her 'bed du jour'. (I'd take a picture, but the box is on it's side on the floor and is more like a cave with her way at the back on some bubble wrap...doubt it would produce anything but a black hole...) I should follow suit, but I have too much to do today. None of which I've started. Something about the rain has slowed me down too. Kinda nice.

I'm Baaackk!

Well, maybe let's just say I'm feeling better. I still have days when I don't care much for the staff people here, but I do have to admit they have been very kind to me. See, I had this...um...problem, and, well, it sort of affected my mind. Oh, shoot, let's admit it, I went crazy. And I'm still a little crazy....Mom's flip flops just send me over the edge and I want to, you know, like, fight them. To the death, as far as you can kill flip flops...

She's been putting these drops on me that make me feel pretty groovy. Although yesterday morning she picked me up right after I had eaten breakfast, and....whoa....she was puttin' the drops on my head when...well, I needed to puke up what I had just eaten, ya know? I knocked the bottle out of her hands as I went leaping to the floor and it spilled all over her and the couch. She just sighed and said, "Well, maybe I'll have a stress-free day...." She had to go buy more drops today. (Ooops!)


(That's me, guarding the backyard gate from intruders today. Can't be too careful, you know...)

Today I re-discovered, and started playing with, Mousie again, dragging him from the tv room, where he's been for a coupla months now, into the kitchen. The staff people seemed pretty excited about it. And this morning I climbed up the carpet Mom nailed to the doorway leading into the laundry porch. She seemed pretty overjoyed at that too. Hmm. Guess they've been a little worried about me. I'm feeling much better, but I don't think I'm 100% yet. Kinda comes and goes, ya know. Anyway, wanted to let all my fans know I think I'm on the mend. Kinda. Sorta. Thanks for all the concern! You all made my Mom feel much better and she took good care of me, so I feel better too. Keep those good thoughts coming! Oh, I think I hear her coming...must be time for more drops...oh, okay, I haven't eaten in a bit so should be smooth sailin'...

O......M......G.......! It's raining

If you don't live in Texas, you won't understand the unbelievable joy of listening to the rain outside right now. We've been through a terrible summer, with incredible temperatures. We've had 70 days of over 100 degree temps, and the last month or so it's been like 105, 107, even 108. Even the trees are suffering. We are in a severe drought, and it's not supposed to end anytime soon. Tonight though, it started raining. And it's STILL raining. It's been a marvel, fer sure. I'd almost forgotten how rain smelled.

The kitty had another breakthrough today. The roommate called to let me know he started looking for her and couldn't find her. She had not only ventured into a room she hasn't been in for a couple of months, but she jumped up on the back of a chair and settled down in a little ball and went to sleep. He said he virtually walked by her several times, since she hasn't been in there in weeks, but the third time he walked by she gave a little meow, like she was saying, "Dude. Do you HAVE to keep walking by and waking me up?" And this morning she not only came in my room, she stuck her head under the dust ruffle of the bed for a few seconds. I know I seem to be gushing over little things, but these are huge things, considering. Thank you so much, Jan, for the info on the flower essences!

BTW, I've been so focused on the cat, I haven't mentioned I was asked to remain in my temporary position with the State office I've been with since November. There were 4 of us; now there's only two, and one is a lawyer. The bad part is I'm the only one doing all the things two other people plus myself were doing; the good part is I'm busy and even more importantly - employed until next August. I was kinda, sorta hoping I could go back on unemployment and get the book out....money trumps, however. I have finished editing the book; just need to figure out a way to get it online.

I would also like to mention - I have a young friend (who, hopefully, sometime soon, will be family since my nephew and her sister are, in old speak, an 'item') who has made a giant step and transplanted herself to the Dominican Republic. She is working there as a library coordinator, and, truthfully, I envy her very much. Please check out her blog here.
Best wishes Miranda! Show those kids the amazing wonders of where you can go when you get lost in a book!

Better

Well, good news at last. The Jypster is doing better. She's not 100% by any stretch of the imagination, but she improves a little bit each day - one tiny little step at a time.

Last Monday, Labor Day, she came all the way into my room at 5:15am, meowed, jumped up on the bed and let me pet her. It's been over two months since she's done that. Then she plopped down next to me for a long while. I had this huge grin on my face - it felt like it was Christmas or something. And in a way it was - I could not have asked for a better present. Her paranoia seems to be gradually fading. She goes in and out the back door almost normally now, not taking a step and then hesitating for a long time before she takes another. She would not go completely into any room that leads off the living room, dining room or kitchen - she would sit down at the threshold and not venture further. She now will come a few feet in. And she's taken up sitting in the window of the laundry porch; something she also hasn't done in several months.

The weather has cooled off here, finally. We had fall-like temperatures last weekend and she spent a lot of time outdoors while I was doing some yard work. She was zipping all over the yard, chasing bugs, pouncing on leaves and acting, well, acting like normal. We had a follow-up appointment with the vet on Friday, and I told him about the 'drops' I had been using. He just looked at me and asked if they were working. I gave him an unqualified yes. He nodded and said, as a vet in Texas, he cannot prescribe anything like that due to state regulations. I nodded. He said, "You did NOT hear this from me, but you should continue to use those drops until long after the symptoms have disappeared." He's a good man.

Jypsy spent the morning outside with me again and is now crashed in her spot of the week.


She's still pretty quiet, but has begun to get more vocal. Once she decides to get chatty, I'll occasionally give the keyboard over to her again.

In other news, I got a little mini-vacation at the end of August/first few days of September. I flew to Florida so I could turn around and drive back to Texas with Marian, a long time friend of mine, and her cat Murray. We had a great time. No, really! It was fun and I enjoyed it. We also were just ahead of Tropical Storm Lee, who was leaving 10-20" of rain where we had been just hours before. My only regret is that Lee didn't follow us all the way into Texas and relieve some of this drought. Rain dances accepted on our behalf, anytime.

In for a long healing process I'm thinking

We have our good days and our bad days. I was despairing there for a while - it seemed we'd take one step forward and then four steps back.

I've been using a particularly smelly skin lotion at night before I go to bed and for some reason it seemed to interest Jypsy and entice her into playing just a bit. It started me thinking of my friend Jan up in Oregon who was having some problems with her two kitties. Her vet suggested some homeopathic smelly stuff and it seemed to work for her cats. I found out what it was and searched out a store reasonably close that sold it. It's just a bottle of drops that have some flower essences distilled into them and are supposed to relax cats that are stressed out. I've been using them for about 4 days now and it's like I see improvement almost every day. Small improvements, but improvements none the less. She has flashes of her old self and plays and runs and meows between her paranoid and sleep phases. Tonight she seemed 'almost normal' for most of the evening. Well, let's just say she's been more herself. She still has this absolute terror of flip-flops which I can't quite figure out, and probably never will. I've learned to put all shoes either in the closet and keep the door closed or put them up where she can't see them.

Keep your fingers crossed! Hopefully she'll soon be well enough to come steal the computer away from me again. I'm sure she's going to have a lot to talk about...

On the mend...hopefully

So, I've had a sick kitty for a while now. When it finally registered with me she was, um, shall we say, 'not herself', I got her in to the vet's as quickly as I could. I won't go into the really gross details, but turns out she was having some 'gland' problems. The vet and assistant vet spent quite a bit of time with us, and she wound up having to take some antibiotic medications for a while. Ever try and give a cat a pill? They even gave me this little pill thing so I could keep my hands out of the way of her sharp teeth. All in all, it was a horrible experience for both of us. The worst part however, was that she just didn't seem to be herself, even after she'd had a week of the medicines. She was paranoid - scared of things she's been around all her life (like my shoes) - and she slept even more than usual. She didn't play. She didn't come in my room, or the roommates room. She was skittish going out the back door to the backyard. Once outside she would just plop down on the deck and not go exploring like she usually does. I was very worried. When I took her back to the vet for a followup appointment I talked with him about it and he said it does happen that animals have psychological problems, just as humans do, and suggested we put her on 'mood altering drugs'. I was uncomfortable with it, but bought them and brought them home.

I tossed and turned that night. I want her to enjoy her life, and I know that she isn't acting normally right now. After looking at all the pros and cons, I elected not to give her the pills. She's very sensitive to any medication and I decided to wait until all the antibiotics had made their way through her system. She's been a sick kitty for a while now, and I didn't realize it, and I think part of her problem was she just flat didn't feel well. Both the roommate and I have noticed she seems to be doing better. She actually sat in the doorway to my room this morning and meowed loudly to wake me up and let me know her food bowl was empty! She hasn't done that in quite a while. Friends came over last night and she didn't hide (like she did the night before when the plumber came over!), but came right over and sniffed their feet. Needless to say I'm much happier. I think she's happier. She's not fully recovered, but she seems much better than even 4 days ago.

Hopefully, she'll continue to improve. I'll keep all her friends posted...

Where is Summer going so quickly?

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of July - especially considering it's so hot here. Something about it - the first of July seems to usher in the real days of Summer, the last day of July ushers in 'Back to School'. Of course, I'm a long way gone from school, but it seems like such a short time! As just a wee child I thought Summer seemed to stretch on forever. My, my, how getting old changes things.

The weather folks were hoping we'd break our 28-day streak of 100+ temps since Hurricane Don moved ashore yesterday, but it looks like Don went further South than they were expecting. We didn't get nuttin', and the temp currently sits at 99. With the hottest part of the day remaining, I'm thinking the streak is gonna hold.

Looks like my job is not going to be extended. Can't say for sure of course, because no one's bothered to mention it to us. I've already started applying for jobs again; got my first rejection letter yesterday! I'd say 'whoohoo', but it's a job I'm perfectly capable of excelling at...alas and oh well. There was a job I was going to apply for in the office I'm currently temping at - got the notice on Friday, went in on Saturday morning to apply for it and it wouldn't let me. Called the Texas Workforce Commission, who handles the applications for the State, and found out the job had already reached the target number of applicants the State is accepting. So, they shut down the post. Huh. And here I already know so much about that office. Again, alas and oh well.

Lots of friends are on the move. My friend Marian is moving back to Texas (now THAT deserves a huge whoohoo!), and I'm hoping I can zip over to Florida and help her drive back. Call it my mini-vacation, if you will. Oh, and a heck of a lot of fun as well. My friends Cecil and Rosalia and their bee-u-ti-ful daughter Nisa are moving to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Hate to see them go, but hopefully we will keep in touch. Lastly, but certainly not anywhere close to being least, my friend Jan in Portland, OR is selling her house and purchasing a more manageable house in a retirement community in Tigard, OR. Like wow, man! Now she can just kick back and not have to do anything she doesn't want to do. Like any upkeep on the yard. ☺

Jypsy is still her cute-as-a-button self, but seems a little off kilter today. I'm hoping it's just the incessant heat, but if she doesn't perk up by tomorrow, I'll be taking her to the vet. Yes, my vet is open on Sunday - how cool is that?

No real tales to tell, nothing extremely eventful, and certainly nothing worth hashing over. Some things I've learned to just keep to myself. Meanwhile, I'm actually hoping August zips by so we can get into some cooler weather. Maybe my car radio will start working again.

Think I'll go join Jypsy in a nap...

hot. just hot

I've been moving kinda slow lately. I'm okay when I'm in the house under one of those twirly things and the cool air is blowing. Staff person is keeping the shades down and it stays sort of dark in here, but sure makes it feel cooler.

But I just love to go outside, ya know? I put up a pretty good fuss this morning, it being a day my prime staff person was home and didn't go rushing off, and finally she gave up and let me out the back door. She had her breakfast and mug o' tea and came out to sit on the deck. She said something like, 'Jeez Louise, it's already 82 at 7:30," but stayed for a while. Truthfully, when I got outside I lost all interest in the yard. I sat on the deck for a while watching a squirrel taunt me from the big tree limb hanging close to the deck, but couldn't even muster up a 'ke-ke-ke' or butt wiggle. I did check out the plants on the deck and they seemed fine, but then she waters them every night. Finally I wandered over to the deck steps, but couldn't quite bring myself to go down into the yard where the sun was shining. I plopped down at the head of the steps and after a few more minutes staff person sort of laughed and said, "Come on, let's go in the house." Sounded good to me, so I got up and headed for the door. She opened it, we both came in, and I collapsed on the cool wood floor, asking myself, "Why did I want to go out again?" and couldn't remember. Earlier in the week staff person remarked we still had about two months of this over temperature thingy. Not sure what a month is, but it sounded like a long time. I just wish I could go out and not melt and not freeze my little pads off. Is that too much to ask??

Happy July 4th!

Got some cold watermelon in the fridge, an invite to the neighbors for hamburgers and hot dogs, potatoes are cooked for potato salad and it's Independence Day!

I hope everyone has a very happy and safe Fourth of July, filled with fun, food and family. I'd add fireworks to that, but Texas is so dry right now I'm thinking there won't be many fireworks here. If you get to see them, enjoy them. I'll just be chillin' here....

Gasp...wheeze.....

Here it is June and we've already broken into triple digits. I live in Texas. I know it gets hot. I just wasn't expecting it to do it this soon.

A.C.'s been running a lot lately, even using ceiling fans and box fans to help it seem cooler. Somehow one of the box fans from last year has disappeared - not in the house, not in the attic, and I can't seem to find it buried in the garage either. So, I've spent part of this morning looking online for a fan. I wanted to see what was available at the closest stores. Here's the interesting thing - when you find something online at one of the big box stores or home improvement stores, the very one you want is 1.) Out of Stock, 2.) Only sold online, 3.) If you do buy it online it takes 2-3 weeks to ship. Found a really nice dark blue fan I coveted, then read the estimated arrival time and it's sometime in mid-July. I could die of heatstroke by then! Well, not really of course, but you get my point. So, I guess I'm just heading to one of the local places and buy one of the common box fan varieties - grey box, white grid, white blades. So much for creativity...

Another interesting problem is the sound has begun it's hot weather trick and goes in and out on my car audio system. It started last summer, but would fade in and out. This summer it goes off and stays off for a couple of days and then I'll get back in the car, turn the key and suddenly the radio starts up again. I've called around to several places, explained what it does, ("As soon as it hits high 90's-100's, and I hit any type of bump in the street the sound disappears....) and gotten a half dozen explanations. The radio is still operating - I can see what song is playing - just can't hear anything. I've also gotten varying repair costs, or no cost at all until they 'see it and make sure what it is.' One place wanted to charge around $300, telling me the problem was actually inside the radio and they would have to pull the system out to work on it. Might as well get a new sound system installed for that amount of money. So, I guess I'll wait until the weather cools down in September to listen to uninterrupted music.

Hot weather. Gotta love it.

um..okay...ready for fall

All of a sudden it's, like, 99 degrees outside. I keep forgetting and start begging to go outside...until someone laughs and lets me out. I try and put up a good front, you know, like pretending the heat doesn't bother me, me with a fur coat 'n all ya know, but the first time someone says, "Ready to go back inside?" I just zip up on the deck and stand by the door until it opens and I can slip back inside where it's cool. Don't understand why it goes from pleasant to hot, hot to pleasant and then pleasant to cold and icy. All within just a few months. Seems like we just had all that slick stuff on the ground, then it got really nice for a couple days; now it's miserably hot. Jeez.

Not so much road construction anymore, so even if I do go out it's not so loud. I still keep an escape path handy to the deck and can slide under the glider in a flash because the occasional earth moving machine comes roaring by. Wish they'd get done and leave us alone.

Here's a picture of me after being outside for a while...just trying to cool off you understand...

It's About to Be Summer

We've had a lot of rain recently, but I think it's about to 'burst' into Summer. It was nice to have 60 and 70 degree days, but right now it's 93. The high temperature for the rest of the week looks even higher. The hot weather is upon us; I'm just praying the air conditioner doesn't go out again this summer. Can't afford a new one so have to try and keep the old one working.

Didn't get the job at the office I thought I might. Instead they hired a woman who knows nothing about what's going on so has to be trained to even log into the computer. Interviewed for another job at another site, but let's just say I'm not holding my breath. I'm thinking I really would like to follow Jypsy's suggestion and work through August when the contract expires and then just try and get the book edited. I so want to do something with this. Just have to bide my time until I can have enough time (in big enough blocks) to finalize it.

No other news. A little envious of my brother and sister-in-law who are heading soon to the coolness of the Oregon coast for the summer. Must be really nice. I figure I'll never be able to retire and do something like that due to my unemployment situation for the last three years that's pretty much run me out of money. I'm assuming at some point you'll be able to spot me at the front doors of Walmart welcoming people as a Walmart Greeter. Unless, of course, I can do something with this dang book....and the other one I'm already 115 pages into.....Jeez.

Not much else going on here in the Lone Star State. Don't even have a recent picture of the cat - although she's done so many hysterical things lately. Hope the few who follow are enjoying the beginnings of Summer. Til next time, amigos and amoureux des chats!

Gonna have to do something about my grumpy Staff person

Sheesh. Staff person has been, like, a bear to live with. She's cranky when she gets up and, truthfully, she doesn't get much better as the day progresses. I know she's tried really hard at the place where she's working, but some of the stuff I overhear makes me glad I get to stay home and sleep all day. People have been really rude to her and the job she applied for? Even though she's been there 6 months and feels like she's learned a lot of the things she needs to know, they hired someone from outside who doesn't know anything and will have to be trained from scratch. Staff person decided it was their loss and not hers (YAY MOM!), and when her contract ends in August she's hoping to be able to finish editing her book and maybe get it published. She used to sit at the computer a LOT and write - like for hours at a time - but has done very little of that lately. She's tired when she gets home and growls and is obviously not a happy camper. Not to mention she's put on a coupla pounds too. (Don't tell her I said that! She'll KILL me!)

She also lost another friend. The person she would meet at the gym and then go out for coffee with got laid off and left today to move back to Seattle. She's bummed. I kinda don't even like being around her - I've spent a lot of time in the front room with the guy who's staying there. I think she thinks I've abandoned her, but she's just so...GRUMPY all the time.

I'd like for her to either get the darn book finished or find a place where she can work and be happy. Staff person 'happy' is a totally different person from staff person 'not happy'. Wish I could meow enuff to convince someone to hire her. Although, if truth be known, I'd rather have her right here, banging away on the computer.

What's a kitty to do? I said a little prayer for her the other day. Hopefully someone was listening.

Losing Friends

It's hard to lose a friend. Doesn't matter if it's someone you've known for most of your life (that one really hurt) or someone you met just a few short months ago.

Oh, I'm not talking about someone moving on to their heavenly rewards, no, not at all. I'm talking about having a friend, enjoying them almost every single day, and then for whatever reason, they move on and leave your life. I count friends as one of the major benefits of my life and they're pretty important to me.

I met a young man several months ago who was a temp in the office I'm currently working in. Politically he's on the 'other side of the fence' from me. He has that capability however, to converse in calm and measured tones, and to make sense about what he's saying, because, in reality, he's not that different...only he is. Does that make any sense?

He's a very unique human being in a lot of ways. He's done more in his short life (much shorter than mine anyway) than I can ever hope to accomplish. His main focus is music, and it's quite amusing that his name is a European form of 'music', but he's more into Country music than I am. He's passed around some sample country cd's he's been associated with, and while I like them and listen to them, I still consider myself an old rock and roller. He's worked for country music stations, designing programs they've eventually asked him to host on air because he's the best man for the job. He's produced country music videos. He knows everyone that's anyone in Texas country music. For pete's sake, he has WILLIE NELSON on his cell phone message telling you to "... call back and, maybe you'll get Willie, but probably you'll get (my country music producing friend's name here) so just leave a message." Gah!

I can call him a 'good kid' because he seems really young. I thought he was about 27; turns out he just turned 42, but in my life that counts as a young whippersnapper. He's got his head on straight. Things have been pretty difficult for him lately and he made the decision to quit his temp job and move to a ranch where he has steady work for a few months and an inexpensive place to live. It will allow him to corral his finances and make some money while he figures out his next step. It makes perfect sense to me and is an excellent decision, but I admit I'm going to miss him. A lot. His amazing sense of humor and unbelievable intelligence have made work interesting. He makes more sense than anyone I've met lately, about everything. "In America we read left to right and top to bottom." I'm not explaining that; let's just say he willingly took the blow for that one against a wall of umbrage.

One of the other temps and I gave him an 'exit interview' last week. We met for happy hour at a local watering hole. We got his opinion on every single person in the place, (well, except for us, but I think we had immunity since we were buying him drinks) and we were laughing so hard I thought Donna was going to spit in her margarita. We talked about tv, music, mexican food and the weather. Several other topics were analyzed; some while trying to drink without snorting and some with all due seriousness. I must add I think he had started on the adult beverages without us, but that's okay too.

So, John. Please stay in touch. And of course I have your number with Willie telling me to leave a message; if I leave a message you or Willie damn sure better call back. And if you ever get to town, you are under threat of death to let me know so I can at least take you out for a beer or a margarita or something alcoholic. Gonna miss you, dude.

p.s. Borrowed your FB pic, hope you don't mind. If you do, hey, too bad!

Finally!

Ah. The temperatures outside are almost perfect. It's wonderful to stretch out in the grass and just watch over my dominion - which is, of course, the backyard. It did get a little nippy a few days ago, but only in the mornings. Afternoons are wonderful.

Well, with one exception. There seems to be an awful lot of loud noises on the other side of the fence. Now, I'm no scaredy cat, but I learned from my early days on the streets that if something is making a whole lotta noise, it's usually much bigger than you are and your chances for winning a fight with it are next to none. The noises start up early in the morning and go until late afternoon. I'm not so much on venturing out since I never know if whatever is making that horrible noise is going to jump the fence and chase me. Sooooo....I just stay inside where I know I'm safe. Oh, well, I guess I should say, I'll go out if staff person or the guy in the front room goes out with me. NOT that I need protection or anything, but they go in and out the door and I can always slip back inside. Or get under the chair they're sitting in.

I guess staff person is going to continue to be gone during the days. She's sometimes just a wee bit irritable when she gets home, moaning about how much she has to do and not enough time to do it in, but I just do what I do best...I fall over and stretch so she can reach down and rub my belly and she starts laughing. Shortly after she gets home the noise stops and she and I go outside for a bit. It's nice. I think it lets her relax a little, and of course, I'M outside so I sure don't mind. Sometimes it relaxes me as well, and I just have to take a little nap. And if I'm under that seated swingy thing that staff person is sitting on, all the better. You know, even bricks make a good pillow sometimes....

Boy, time flies when you have to get up and leave the house early, get home exhausted and veg on the sofa so that you have to spend your weekend doing all the things you used to do during the week.

I know. Whine, whine, whine. I'm very grateful to have money coming every single week. It's great to be able to pay bills without creative financing. I'm still sort of in 'eek I have no money' mode, which is actually a good thing. I've been able to keep some of what's in my bank account, but am leery of spending much of anything.

Of course, the best laid plans...

I did have some eye surgery back on February 10. It's amazing to be able to see again out of my right eye - the cataract had gotten so bad I could see nothing but a gray fog. I did this through the poverty clinic and they did a better job than the surgery on my left eye I had back when I was employed AND had insurance. Didn't cost as much either.

To do laundry in my house currently takes about 4 hours or more to do three loads. I have a clogged pipe that prevents the washing machine from draining, so take a book back and when the machine goes into the spin cycle you watch the top of the drain pipe and lift the lid just before the pipe overflows and floods the room. Then you read for a while until the drain pipe quits gurgling and put the lid back down until the pipe almost overflows and ......well. You get the picture. Then you do that with the rinse cycle as well. The plumber is hesitant to roto the pipe again, so wants to run a new pipe to a different drain. The cousin has started part of it so it will be all set up when the plumber gets here sometime this week. Got to happen - don't want to do another load of clothes that way. So there are two economic drains on my wallet. But I'm able to handle them, which a year ago I wouldn't have been.

Jypsy's been very good and I only have just a wee bit of kitty news. The city is fixing the next street over and has piled several small mountains of gravel and dirt on the cross street next to my house. Jypsy is not so much for big machines that make a lot of loud noise, so has been pretty much staying inside unless someone can go out with her. That makes her feel a little braver, but if there's a loud clank she's up on the deck next to the door. Smart cat. Here's a picture of her 'incognito' look, but she's making sure to keep an eye on those machines out the window....

Crummy Cold Stuff

'Member when I was complai...er...talking about how hot it was last summer? 'K, I take all that back.

There has been some REALLY cold weather lately, not to mention there's been that white powdery stuff all over the ground for a while that makes my paws feel frozen. Oh, and the deck? Covered with this clear, slick coating that made it really hard to walk on. The worst was the cold. Staff person left the water dripping in the sinks (no complaints there - made it much easier to get a drink of fresh water!), and left the door to the back room open so "the pipes to the washing machine won't freeze". It seemed like the hot air was always blowing, but I never could get my feet to warm up unless I crawled up on the sofa on that heated blankie. Boy, was THAT nice! I got nice and toasty up there, but Staff person kept moving me so she could get under it. Not a big problem though, I just jumped up in her lap and slept there. I spent a lot of time on her bed too - the sun, when it finally came out - made my spot on the bed pretty warm and I confess, I did a little napping there too. My new majestic tower that lets me loom over the 'peasants' is also a good place to nap. It gets the hot air from the ceiling thing and is another toasty place.


I kept whining to go out and staff person would just laugh and open the door. As soon as I stuck my nose out and felt how cold it was I had to rethink whether I wanted to go out and get my feet all cold again. Plus there were several days staff person would get up, get dressed and head out, but then come back about 5 minutes later saying something about the roads being a skating rink. Some days she kept dialing on that black ringy thing until finally she would tell the guy in the front room, "They closed the office."

It's starting to warm up a bit and I'm finally getting to go out in the backyard. It's nice when the sun shines. There's still white stuff over next to the fence, but I mainly stay in the middle of the yard where it's nice and warm. I haven't seen any bugs or anything so have to pretend they're there and go chase them. There's those feathered things, but I think they're wise to me....can't get very close to them, and none are flying into that bush anymore either.

Okay, I've been awake for an hour or so and I think it's time for another nap. Maybe when I wake up all the white stuff will be gone and it will have warmed up to a reasonable temp. Keep your paws crossed!

Apprehension

I try not to let my mind wander down certain pathways, but sometimes you get pretty far on that path before you even realize you've already made the turn. I try not to be superstitious. However, I'm thinking I may have jinxed myself by changing the blog name because I was positive my current temporary job might work into something permanent. (insert raucous laughter here)

Seems Texas has finally decided to recognize the downward turn of the economy, and in the latest budget announcement has decided....they need to cut some State jobs. Over 9,000 of them. Around 24% in Health and Human Services. Some articles and columnists have pointed out the budget as described will not be the budget that's implemented - the slashes are too severe across the board and some of the reductions just will not make it into the final list.

I'm not sure where all this leaves me job wise; I know I'm technically working for a temporary agency and our contract runs through August of this year. There is the possibility this contract will not be renewed. I know we get paid less than State workers; not to mention we get no benefits. On some days I think, well, maybe they'll keep us because we are doing the work for less money. Other days I'm convinced we'll be the first to go. I've started looking for jobs again, you know, just in case. I've come to the conclusion this is the way I'm going to live the remainder of what time I have left - constantly on the search for another job and applying for jobs I'll never get a response on regardless of how much I follow up.

So this becomes yet another reason to make the push to get the book out there. Perhaps this is a 'sign'. Maybe this is one of those proverbial 'crossroads'. I'm taking it as such anyway.

Travels With Mousie

Curses

So today on my lunch break I run to a store to pick up a few things. It includes a cheap pair of jeans, a coupla bottles of wine (it's the weekend and one was only 5$, plus today is payday!) and some 75% off Christmas candy that might as well just call itself 'Peppermint Bark' (it calls itself peppermint squares, btw). I get out to the car, punch the button on my fob for the trunk, toss everything in, slam the trunk lid, and realize - just as the trunk lid closes - that my keys were also one of the things that got tossed in the trunk.

Arrghhhhh!

Call the cousin, who fortunately has his cell phone turned on, and who also fortunately has nothing else going on. He grabs my spare set of keys and drives to where I am to bring me the keys so I can open the trunk and retrieve my main keys. (Thank you, Gary!) Do I feel stupid?? Duh! I have never done this before - well, once about 20 years ago I locked the keys in my old station wagon, but fortunately I hadn't locked the rear door, so just crawled in and got the keys. No such luck with this car. Walked around the parking lot for a while, but Cuz showed up with spare keys about 20 minutes later. Not a total loss - handed off the wine I'd just purchased and he took it home to put in the fridge so it was chilled by the time I got home after work.

The funniest thing is - tried to call work about six times and let them know what happened, but couldn't get through. When I finally got back to work (30 minutes late) no one had even noticed. When you work in a cube, are you ever really missed???

And now totally off the subject - here's a picture of some trees that were decorated for Christmas by a large company I refuse to name. The trees are still adorned and I was finally able to get pictures of them last night. May it brighten your night!

Happy Cat New Year!!

Boy! A new year! I could get really excited about all the possibilities in store for a new year, but staff person hauled me off to the vet again today. It wasn't as bad as last time...we got there and she stayed right there with me while they poked and prodded me (I don't even want to tell you where they prodded me!) and then stuck me 3 TIMES and then stuck this thing in my mouth and squirted in that obnoxious yellow stuff. I showed them though - I spit most of it back out. Some went on staff person, but the guy said I had swallowed enough so they let me be. I sure didn't want to go in that stupid carrier at the house, but when all that was over I was more than happy to scoot back inside. Then we came home. I'm a little under the weather (those sticky things make me kinda groggy), but have spent most of the day sleeping. If it goes like it usually goes, tomorrow morning I'll be zooming around the house again.

All the decorations are down and there are boxes everywhere. The living room looks just like it did before Christmas, but there's boxes and boxes of stuff she's going to haul back up to the attic - back to normal at my house.

Last night was kinda fun - staff person went to a 'party' and was really silly when she came in. She had this thing on her head that said "Happy New Year" and it had this long feather in it. She was talking to the guy staying in the front room and laughing about something that happened...I zoned out after she said "It was SO much fun." That's all I really needed to hear. I'm glad she's getting some quality fun time.

It's been a good holiday season; lots of new things to see, sleep on, walk on, sit on, and puke on. (Did I mention I puked on one of the wrapped thingies under the tree?? My proudest moment - I hit it dead on!) Hope all my four legged friends out there had as much fun as I did. If I could blow hard on that thing staff person brought back last night that rolls out and honks, I would - so Happy New Year everyone!!!