Friends and Vacations and Weddings

I don't take many vacations; I rarely even take time off from work except for the occasional Doctor's visit. The main reason for this is that I'm pretty much flat broke. Losing my job in 2008 caused a serious set back in my financial situation, and not being able to find a job for almost 5 years depleted the coffers down to zero. I'm not sure I'll ever recover financially. Vacations are just not in the budget as there is no budget except to stay alive, keep my house and pay the bills. There's nothing left over.

One thing I'm filthy rich in however, are the friends I have.

I have a friend I never even met face-to-face until September of last year, although we worked together for many years at the company that laid me off. She lives in Oregon and I live in Texas. She retired about 3 months before I was laid off, but we remained friends, talking about our cats and other news of the day as we exchanged weekly emails, birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, and, after my finances hit rock bottom, birthday cards and Christmas cards. It was a most pleasant surprise when she emailed me she was getting married to her partner of 49 years and wanted me to be at their wedding. With her help, and the help of another friend I'll write about next, I was able to fly to Portland, OR. There she greeted me with a sign that just said 'CAT' and I was able to see these two remarkable women finally able to cement the bonds they swore oh so many years ago and, more importantly, be recognized. I had an amazing time, although not nearly long enough, but it included a wonderful stay at Seaside, OR, (which reminded me how much I miss the scent of the sea) and a tour of downtown Portland - with the added bonus of an amazing play/film produced by a company at the Young Vic in England of 'Streetcar Named Desire' with Gillian Anderson (wow - amazing production!). I flew back feeling I'd been gone much longer than I really was. It was wonderful.

I have a friend I've known since the 7th grade when we were in Sunday School together. Steve wore these large, black glasses and was a skinny guy with a wicked sense of humor. One day, and I don't remember what prompted this, but he jumped up in the middle of a Sunday School class and whipped off those black glasses with one hand and his tie with the other. A few of us recognized it as a 'Superman' move and cracked up. We were both journalists on our high school newspaper and at one point he began dating the Editor of the paper. His best friend was my boyfriend and the four of us would double date. As most often happens when you graduate and move away to whatever college or university you've chosen for your higher learning, the four of us went separate ways. Somehow through some miracle Steve and I stayed in contact - he tells me I'm the sister he never had. He's the one who anted up the remainder of my trip to Oregon, making it possible to attend the wedding last year. Then several years ago I reconnected with Marian, the woman Steve dated way back when and we renewed our friendship. I helped her move back from Florida about 4 years ago - just her and I, plus an orange cat named Murray, in a Prius, furiously trying to outrun a hurricane. I will end this narrative by saying at a point a couple of years ago, I got them back together and they were married on May 2 of this year.

So, where's the vacation in this story? Well, she was offered a job, no - a huge career boost - at her old company in Florida as a Vice-President and Chief Legal Officer. (BTW - did I mention she's a lawyer?) So, yeah, on July 3rd we loaded up in two cars this time, stuffed a cat carrier between boxes (different cat - this one a smokey-grey - named Boo) in the back seat of that same Prius and drove back to Florida. I then stayed for another week, walking beaches, helping him look at prospective houses, shopping, swimming and eating way too much good food. It was perfect. The perfect vacation until the last day when I had to bid them farewell, get on an airplane (with a ticket he paid for - oh, did I mention he's a retired publisher and entrepreneur?) and come back home. To work. What a tremendous let down.

This, and several other people/incidences I haven't mentioned, have helped me 'get by with a little help from my friends'. I've got some of the absolutely best friends anyone could hope to have in the world and I'm so grateful for them all. They bring me joy and a sense of companionship and camaraderie and love. I hope to be able to go back to Oregon someday. I also have tentative plans to head back to Florida in the somewhat near/distant future with yet another friend who's been nothing but supportive of me as well (someday I'll tell the story of Duchess and I going to the State Fair of Texas last September...a story not to be missed...). Maybe in January of 2016. To the Florida Keys. I'm already trying to save a little every month for it. I want to smell the sea again. And walk on the beach. And be with friends I love.

Offended!

Well, my staff person is in the back doing laundry and the guy in the front room is gone to the lake to cat-sit (grr, I'm offended about that too!)...I've been biding my time to get on this computer-thingy so I can let the world know how SERIOUSLY OFFENDED I am by recent activities here in my personal domain!!

My staff person is feeding another cat! Gah! This bedraggled, unworthy cat wandered up a few months ago and decided the front porch was his new home. Of all the nerve!! My staff person thinks he looks like me only he has a tail, which I don't since I'm a manx. She and the guy in the front room feed him, and pet him and water him. I am SO deeply offended by all of this!

I admit he's kinda cute, but he's a scrapper - I hear the loudest howls and growls out there when he chases other cats off from his food. My staff person even put together a little house for him when it was cold and put something in there that kept it warm...how dare she? She says he's asstray not ferrul, but I have no idea what either of those words mean. To me it just means someone's horning in on MY territory. Here's picture of him stretching after a nap on MY FRONT PORCH!


Of course, she still says I'm number one in her heart, and she still plays with me lots and feeds me lots and lets me out in the backyard lots. And he comes and goes and isn't out there all the time. And they were going to try and catch him for the trap and neuter in the 'hood, but he's pretty wiley and they couldn't get close to him, and forget it if you do get close enough to try and pick him up...I saw the scratches on my staff person's hands when she tried that. I guess I really shouldn't grumble, since I'm inside living the life of Jypsy, but I WILL! I smelled him once on her hands and hissed at her. They call him 'Buddy', which is so-way-not-as-cool as my wonderful name! Oh, and one time the guy in the front room didn't shut the front door all the way and it opened and this...this...OTHER cat walked right up and into the doorway a bit and we had this staring contest! I was winning and was 'bout to go kick his butt, but my staff person walked in and saw what was going on. She called my name several times and said if I even moved she would beat MY butt! Honestly! But I knew better than to move, and she came up and swooped me up in her arms and told me she loved me.

I'm still miffed. And highly offended another cat is sitting right outside my front door. I just don't know what to do about it. So I think I'll go take a nap.

December Endings

Here we are at the time again. My, my, how time flies. My staff person decorated the house again several weeks ago, and now is mumbling about dragging boxes and bins out of the attic again to put it all away...again. I think the house looks just fine, you know with a tree covered with lights and stuff, and other lighted up stuff around the house, and lights and stuff even in that tiny room she calls a 'bathroom', but I sometimes call it the other place I can get water in when I'm not cringing at the word 'bath'. Yikes! But I guess it's all going back in boxes and bins and put back up in the attic. That's okay too, I like the house however it looks, lighted up and decorated or just normal. Here's some photos I stole from her Christmas folder on the desktop so you can see what all she gets to box up...again.

This is me, checking out the tree as she puts it together.

This is me, sleeping on the back of the chair with some lights and that nice thing I also sleep on that goes under the tree.

Here I am sleeping on the ornament box.Do you see a pattern here?

I decided to take a breather from all that hard work and take a nap out on the deck in the sun.

The tree. I haven't climbed it at this point. I'm at the bottom there, playing with an ornament I thought would look much better on the floor however.

She even decorated the table!

This is the 'bathroom' (cringe again).

Here I am resting again in my own Christmas bed.

And here's the outside of my place!

Well, I hope all my four-footed friends had a very yummy Christmas and got lots of treats like I did. My staff person says a new year starts this next week, so, although I'm not sure about that new year thingy, I'll wish everybody a great year anyway.

Roller Coaster Ride

I do NOT know where the time has gone...

Let me catch you up just a bit.

Seems like I just put Jypsy on her new food; but it's been 4 months. Seems like it was just Spring, but we managed to zoom through Summer. Seems like it shouldn't be, but we are now, technically, in Autumn. Although you couldn't prove it by Texas temperatures. Just last week we were having 90° temps. We have what my father would refer to as a "Blue Norther" coming through tonight and maybe, just maybe, the temps will be more Fall like.

Fingers crossed!

I did get to go on a short trip in September - up to Portland, OR to see two friends of mine get married. This was my friend that clued me in to using the flower essences to ease Jypsy's paranoia when she got so sick, which you'll remember if you've been following this blog for a while. We've been friends for many years but we had never actually met face to face. We exchange gifts and cards for birthdays, Christmas and 'just because', not to mention we manage to talk on the phone occasionally too. She and her partner met me at the airport and Jan was sporting a sign that simply read 'CAT'. I had seen a few pictures of her, but really, how on earth would I miss someone with a sign that says 'CAT' on it? Right. I wouldn't. It was an amazing time, although too short. We spent the first 2-1/2 days at Seaside, where I fell in love with the ocean all over again - I'd forgotten how much I love the scent of the sea. The wedding was small, simple and sweet but oh-so fitting. If you've been together for 49 years, the ceremony is nice, but fancy is sort of mundane in my opinion. It was the first wedding I've never cried at and that was because Jan stuck a camera in my hands and said, "Here. Take pictures." Which I was glad to do and I think some of them turned out okay. I didn't cry until after the ceremony when a friend of theirs started telling me how much I had helped Jan get through a tough time with the company where we were both employed at that time. THAT's when the tears started. Such an amazing time - there was a trip to downtown Portland where I was able to cross off an item from my to-do list; I got to browse in 'Powell's Bookstore'! We saw an amazing version of 'Streetcar Named Desire' with Gillian Anderson as Blanche, presented through the British 'National Theatre Live' series. I sat in awe the whole time. There were so many other things (like finding the Flashback Malt Shoppe in Seaside where I discovered 'Caribou Chocolate Ice Cream') - oh my, I just can't write it all down because I would have writer's cramp for a week.

My roommate returned from his cat-wranglin' job out at a local lake to take care of Jypsy for the 5 days I was gone. I'm not really sure if she even missed me, although she was very affectionate when I arrived home. That could just be because I resumed being the chief disher-upper of food. Food makes for best friends in the cat world.

I had a promo on my first book and actually sold quite a few copies this time. Sales have been fairly constant since, but I'm not going to quit my day job anytime soon.

My boss took another job in another district of the State office I work in and left in April. It was a crushing blow, but understandable. He needed to keep moving up the ladder, but I sure do miss him. The new boss is working out fine, but she's not the old boss. It's hard to make the transition, but I'm trying. You are missed, Michael.

I lost my swim friend in April as well - she was the one who was always at the pool before I got there, and I got/get there at 5am. She took another job in New Orleans, as it has been her most fervent dream (for years!) to live there. I seem to get more swimming in during these crazy, early morning swims, but it sure isn't near as much fun. I miss you bunches, Cindy B!

It still seems to me life is zipping by much too quickly, and I can still remember when summers seemed to last for at least 6 months or so, and Christmas took forever to come. Birthdays only came once every two or three years, but they've sure picked up the pace as I've gotten older. Now I swear I'm having birthdays every couple of months. Remember the old musical, "Stop the World I Want to Get Off"?

Yeah, that, I want to get off and chill for a while. Alas, I'm thinking that isn't going to happen for a while. Could be worse, right? I'll take what I get. Cheers!

cold...spring...'n hypo ally jean ic food

Hi folks! It's been a while since I could sneak on to the computer to send you an update.

I guess if I want to be truthful - um - there's just not a whole lot to update about. I made it through a pretty cold and crummy winter. It would get so cold I didn't even want to go outside since I don't happen to have any shoes to keep my toesies warm. My staff person would occasionally open the door and offer me the chance, and I'd ponder on it for a minute or two until she'd growl, "In or out, make up your mind!" I'd go over and stick my head out the door and I'd see the sunshine, but the breath I took in was, wow, can you say really, really cold? Well, of course, that's pretty silly since it's very easy for you to say 'really, really cold'. Just take my meow for it, it was really, really cold.

Then we got to warmer days, for a few days at least, and then it would get really, really cold again. Then warm. Then cold. Then warm. Then cold. Finally everything started to change colors and get green. Mom's Larkspur is up and, boy oh boy, is there a lot of it. One's so tall it's almost ready to bloom! I like the pretty flowers on them, but I guess I would since I'm a girl. Some of her iris thingies are bloomin' too - they smell really good.

I guess the only real news about ME is that my vet thinks I may be ally ergic to regular prescription kitty food. He caught Mom when she went to buy me more food and tole her he'd been to somethin' called a cemenar and heard this guy talk about my, uh, problem, and he immediately thought of me! Isn't that just too sweet that he thought of me??? I'm just so touched! Anyway, this speaker said my problem could be because I'm ally ergic to certain stuff in this cat food I've been eating for, oh,like,forever. The speaker has had really good luck with hypo ally jean ic food and the vet man suggested Mom try it. So, guess what I'm eating now? Yep, hypo ally jean ic food! It tastes all right, and I've found I get filled up on just a little bit of food. That other stuff? I just couldn't seem to quit my craving for food and kept meowing pathetically for 'More food! More food!' I'm hoping, and I know she is, that this will fix my, uh, problem so she can quit takin' me in to see that guy all the time and pay him to stick his finger up my, uh, oh, well shoot - my butt. 'Course, she's pretty miffed at the price of this new stuff. Guess it's really 'spensive. Then she sighs and says, "I would do anything for you, my queen." Well, not really, but that's what I hear anyway.

Here's a current picture of me out on the deck. Check out my amazin' eyes! As you know, some of us have it. And then everyone but me don't.




Toodles!

Can Spring be far behind?

We are steadily inching towards March, which in Texas pretty much means all the cold weather is behind us for a while. We've had a, um, shall we just say, a 'stranger than normal' Winter. Warm, sun-basking days three days away from 18° accompanied by ice and snow. We don't have snowplows in these parts, and are lucky to have a few sand trucks. We had some terrible ice which just shut us down. Tonight the low temp should be somewhere in the low 30's...but Friday it's going to hit 70. My poor eccentric car with a schizophrenic sensor buried deep in it's innards, pops the 'Check Engine' light on whenever the temps change. For only 3 days mind you (or until the weather smooths back out), but since the weather has been so crazy, it's having problems. We had a stretch of warm weather over the weekend up to yesterday when it went down by 30°; light came on as soon as the temp dropped. Poor thing. I'll be glad when the weather evens out and the light stays off. My larkspur is starting to come up and I'm hoping for another banner year. Jonquils are already blooming. Daffodils should show up in another couple of weeks. Trees look like they want to bud out, but I hope they hold off for this last gasp of winter.

The kitty gave me a scare a few weeks ago - she just stopped eating. Got her to the vet asap, but bloodwork came back great. We decided to wait on x-rays because she didn't seem to be in any pain, and treated her with some antibiotics, a few de-stress pills and 5 huge syringes filled with this white stuff I swear was Mylanta, or the pet version of it anyway. Ever try to squirt a lot of stuff down a cat's throat? The only positive I chalk up is to say I got 'most' of each syringe down her throat for five nights. A day and a half after the first pills and mylanta, she was wondering where dinner was and being quite vocal about it. Vet said it was an upset stomach - probably something disgusting she ate out in the back yard, but it was a really expensive tummy ache. She's fine now.

I've reached a new milestone - 4 Mexican-food dinners in less than a week. Visiting with friends and family over dinners and lunches made every bite worth it. Thanks Gary, Rosalia, Cecil, Justin and Jamie. The last Tex-Mex indulgence was with some of my high school friends I've reconnected with in the last few years. We gathered for a birthday party for Georgia, our amazing actress in the bunch. I do have to say this, it's amazing how all the petty things that separated some of us in high school have fallen down a cliff somewhere and stayed there. Guess we finally grew up. I can just hear all of our dearly departed parents now..."'Bout time!"

Ho Hum

Well, my staff person pulled all those boxes and bins down from the hole in the ceiling a while back and decorated the house like she does every year. That tree thingy got put back up over by the front window, but my personal sleeping tower got moved over between the living room and the room with a big table where my staff dines, called the 'dining' room (I on the other hand, 'dine' in the kitchen...from a bowl on the floor...) and the only good thing about my tower being moved is it was right under a heating vent so I could stay warm. (It gets cold this time of year and there was this awful ice stuff on the ground too.) It was fun to bat at the colored balls and other hangy-downy things on the tree she insists on putting up once a year. I must admit I'm really proud of myself - I only knocked two of them off completely and I was able to restrain myself so I didn't bring the whole tree down down to the floor even once this year. Oh, my. I hope this doesn't mean I'm turning into an adult cat. Find me some toilet paper to unroll!

Now everything's back the way it is for most of the year. Frankly, it's really kind of boring. I miss the lights on the trees (yes, she has several little ones too) and the lights and stringy green things (um...I heard the word 'garwands' or something like that?) in the bathroom and behind the little man in the sleigh with the big dogs hitched up in front that was on top of a cabinet in the dining room and was all lighted up as well. The best thing though? Since the guy in the front room wasn't through building a greenhouse out back, the Orange tree had to come into the kitchen! Mom...er...my staff person...put lights on it as well! Truly - the house just was very festive and fun. Here's a picture of the Orange tree. Isn't it cheery? Now? The house is, well, just kinda blah.

Anyway, I guess I should wish everyone a Happy New Year. Of course, I didn't get to go to any parties or anything, Oh nooooo, although my staff person went to one just around the corner. She didn't get home until REAL late, like after all the fireworks went off. I'd been sleeping for hours, but when she came in I was ready to play. She wasn't. Go figure.

Happy New Year, all!