the day before the day before the new year

i had a little tummy blurp today. it took both mama and dad to help me get cleaned up. i'm glad that they're willing to help...it would have taken so very long to do it all by myself. of course, i told them that i could do it alone--i am a teenager after all!

mama put a sign up in her office that says '2007 will be' and is encouraging all the people who visit to write what they want 2007 to be. i want it to be full of cuddle time with tummy rubs, kisses and purrs. i also want lots of treats and as much stinky goodness as my little tummy can hold. mama says i need to gain weight, so she gives me as much as i want (i weigh less than 5 pounds now).

we've had company this evening and i've been out to say 'hello'. nice people who aren't too loud and don't try to scoop me up. i don't have to be under the bed.

tomorrow night, the calendars get changed and it starts all over again! here's to an excellent 2007!

on the bed

i made a little progress this evening. mama and dad had company and i stayed ON the bed instead of under it. i think i had enough time there today while uncle jerry was vacuuming. anyway, now i'm sure that it must be time to go to bed. just gotta convince mama. don't think it'll take much though...i know she's tired!

heading INTO the bed tonight.

mama's car...

dad made an appt for mama's car to have a diagnostic at les schwab while they were visiting grandma in burlington. the mechanic says that there didn't seem to be any problem, although the tire speed sensor was dirty. so he cleaned that. the warning light came on again on their way home. dad reminded mama that his grandpa had had his abs light on for THREE years without problems.

uncle jerry's turning on the vacuum...i'm heading for UNDER THE BED!

twas the day before christmas

and mama is in a bustle. uncle jerry came over to help tidy and clean. dad did his christmas shopping this morning. everything is wrapped. while the tree is so small there's no room under it for presents, we've got them spread in front of the entertainment center. it looks festive!

mama says 'one last trip to the grocery store' and then she's home for good. we have friends coming over this evening for presents, cookies and hot chocolate. even mini marshmallows! mmm. not that i'd eat them, of course, but they'll have them. candles, lights, music. it'll be fun.

mama made two scarves and says that they're awfully pretty but they take a cursed long time to knit! she absolutely LOVES the one that her sister--daisy mae maus's grandma--made for her. she wears it all the time.

i know that the humans are looking forward to tomorrow. for my part, i'll be under the bed.

mama's got car trouble

well mama just got home from getting her hairs cut and then spending the evening with her hairstylist (also a close friend). she spent almost 15 minutes making trips from the car to the house carrying in groceries and supplies. the kitchen is appealing with all those bags on the floor (all refrigerated stuff put away).

she tells me that while she was out, her car--which has been providing several-times daily 'light shows' (warning lights that seem related to an expiring internal computer)--started acting funny. it sounded and felt like the abs was working over time. a little scary. mama's leaving a note for dad to take the truck in the morning and mom will work for home. probably won't make staff happy, but rather be home than in an accident!

so now to figure out what to do about the car? it's not currently in the budget to get it fixed. there's not enough money to buy a new car. it's 22.5 miles one way to work for mama. dad has over 35 miles one way. the bus doesn't work all that well for either one of them. i think mama needs to win the lottery!

ciao

heck with under the bed! i'm curled up and cozy IN it!

good morning! mama says that you should know that i've fallen asleep ON the bed, not under it.

actually, i do that almost every day. dad gets up and i curl up in his warm spot. i do that so i can be there when mama wakes up. that way we can have some snuggle time before she gets up. i'm good that way. i like the morning snuggles!

we've been busy here. mama had set up the christmas tree but hadn't decorated it. it got decorated last night. tiny bells, balls and stars (it's only three feet tall). there's even a kitty angel on top!

mama has a 'secret snowflake reveal' party at work today. it's kind of like 'secret santa', but just not the name. anyway, she baked cookies for a holiday cookie buffet...ones that anyone with celiac can eat! peanut butter with peanut butter chips. if i liked peanut butter, i'd probably like these too. now if they were sour cream, cheese or chicken cookies, i'd be right there!

dad woke mama really early this morning to ask if she was ok with trading cars like they had talked about yesterday. dad's in a training class in everett and mama works in burien. dad's truck gets worse gas mileage, so mama'll drive it as she doesn't have QUITE as far to go. either way, gas prices went up during/after the power outtages, and it's going to be expensive for both of them to go to work. neither one listened when i suggested a way to save money: stay home!

uncle jerry spent last night with us again. the tree is still across his driveway, and he still has no power. he doesn't know when those things will get taken care of. his landlord doesn't seem so interested in getting this fixed. tonight, though, the landlord is going to let uncle jerry stay in his father-in-law's house. the f-i-l is out of town.

uncle jerry's a little loud...i sometimes felt like i wanted to hunker down under the bed--in the exact middle of course. mostly though, mama loves having him here. because she likes it so much, it's ok with me. and mama did share some of her chicken with me last night...so that's ok.

benjamin--the giant, especially compared to me--has swiped my spot between mama's wrists as she types. mama says that his front claws are a little too sharp for comfort, but she doesn't boot him down. one day soon, i know she'll hold him tight and get out the claw clippers. you should hear him complain about that! oh the indignity. (tehe) I don't mine having mine trimmed...especially because mama lets me knead as much as I want after clipping.

ben's indignity will get even better soon! he's going to get a lion cut. he has thick fur...two layers worth! mama brushes him but hasn't been able to get the matts out of his undercoat. so off it comes. the whole double-coat thing is weird to me...it's not THAT cold here! the top is silky and the bottom is cottony.

i'm going to try to convince to spare me 15 minutes of cuddle time before she packs up the cookies and heads out in the big ol' truck.

have a good day, efurryone!

pretzels

good morning. gar's home from his sleep study. jerry's doing laundry. they're watching tv. i just woke up from a nap after having only gotten a few hours of sleep over night.

just saw that my niececat's blog is getting up there in hits (daisymauemaus.blogspot.com). that's pretty cool. she's a pretty cool cat, too. she just won the award for housecat of the quarter! it wasn't hard for us to cast our votes for her.

i'm eating super crunchy pretzels this morning. they're not quite as good as the sesame pretzel rings that i usually have, but since the pickings were slim last night, i took what was available. it's nice to find stuff that tastes ok.

the smoke hangs heavy over our area. power comes back on...leaving small groupings of houses dark. to stay warm, those with fireplaces burn what they've found. according to the newspaper (that had its first day of not printing an edition for the entire region in 53 years), we now have issues with high carbon monoxide levels.

this has been a season of weather. first our snow and ice, and now the wind and rain. coupled with the increasing heat and length of summer, one does wonder about global warming and its effects on us.

we'll store the wood we bought, and buy several jugs of water. the store where i buy gluten-free foods--ener-g foods--sells many items that are shelf-stable for nearly a year (when left unopened). i'll buy some of those. make sure i have canned and dry kitty food, litter, water for them.

survival skills...

em-'power'-ed

the power came back on 45 minutes ago. it's been cold and dark here. i'm glad for our fireplace. we were able to go to seattle to find wood...and found plenty to keep ourselves warm!

jerry came to stay last night as he's been without power since thursday night, too. a tree fell across his driveway and has trapped his car so that he's on foot or at home. without a fireplace, he was up to 5 layers and a blanket when i picked him up last night! brrrr.

on friday, i took a nap with suzanne. she cuddled under the covers with me, slid down the pillow so that her back was against my chest, and then she nestled her cheek on mine. in all of our 15-1/2 years together, she has never done that. i was moved. we cuddled and purred together for a few hours.

as the power came back on, we emptied the refrigerator and freezer into the big dumpster in the parking lot. the possibility of food poisoning from any of the bacteria is not worth attempting to recover what has been sitting for nearly 48 hours without electricity.

jerry's going to stay again tonight. no need for him to be cold when we're toasty here. gar's off to do a sleep study to figure out the extent of his sleep apnea. tomorrow is a present-wrapping day.

cell phone service was sketchy while the power was out. cell towers were out too. i gathered messages like crazy--my supervisees calling to find out agency plans--and had to leave home to find a place with a powered cell tower to hear them. kinda funny. i finally put a message on my cell that said i didn't have power at home, wasn't getting messages, would check after 6 pm, and if there was an emergency related to work, to call my boss.

the agency president had a party at his house last night. it had been planned for about 8 weeks. luckily he and his wife didn't have an outtage. i was one of 4 people who brought a cell phone for charging!

they--the pres and wife--have cats. there's a sign in their living room that says 'kids are for those who don't have cats!' i think we may have to get one similar.

time to go put on a sweater. my little room with my computer is cold. when my shoulder blades get cold, my back gets stiff.

stay warm and cuddle close with those you love!

my babiest girl

i've been following my mama's advice for the past several days: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. personally, i prefer 'if you don't have anything nice to say, come sit by me'...but that's not always the most prudent! :-)

suzanne, my sweet daughtercat, has been diagnosed with kidney failure. she weighs in at 5 pounds--most likely because she drinks so much water. i'm not sure how long she'll be with me, and i feel a deep sadness at even the thought of her passing. i've read the rainbow bridge stories with tears dripping down my face.

i have no doubt that we share a bond that is rare. in some ways, i believe she may be my soul mate. i grieve in advance of the loss of that bond...my life has been richer with her, and i can feel the deficit already.

she's been skittish for nearly all of the 15-1/2 years she's been with me. her early years are full of crawling under the bed up inside the box spring, hiding from strange voices, loud noises, and door bells. yet with me, snuggled in our bed, she curls close with an unguarded tummy for stroking. she grooms my hands and face, occasionally licks my leg or arm. she cuddles between my wrists with her head resting on my forearm when i'm at my computer keyboard. she sits on my left knee in the bathroom and leaves tiny pink paw impressions on my skin.

i've spent 15-1/2 years with her wanting to sleep under the covers, and sometimes spending the entire day there after i've gotten up. i usually leave a pillow with her so the blanket doesn't disturb her ears. at other times, she has slept on my tummy and chest, sometimes to keep me calm when i'm restless. she sleeps on my hip, my back, my lap. i'm her soft and warm. she treats me like furniture in the most familiar and loving of ways.

i've discovered her nose velvet and the point where the nap changes. she's learned to love a caress under her chin and down her chest. she's tolerated claw clipping--on the same days that i trim my own toenails.

she's ridden inside my sweatshirt, warm against my heart, on more trips than she would have chosen to take without me. the trauma of leaving home has increased and i take her infrequently as possible. when we do go, it's almost always preferable to go via mama's sweatshirt instead of the carrier that is just too big and cold.

when we talked last night about her illness, i told her that i would not leave her, that i would make good choices for her, and that i did not blame her for breaking our promise of 6 more years. she looked deep into my eyes and closed hers half way in loving agreement.

we've talked about the real meaning of 'euthanize'. in greek, it means 'good death'. we interpret it further as a dignified death...one with choice and kindness. she knows that i am a careful observer and will be watchful of her comfort.

between now and whenever then is, we will continue to be warm and cozy for each other.

Thursday evening

hi there...
i got home a little early because i started a bit today. had a workshop to attend, just like yesterday! unlike yesterday though, this workshop was really good! three more workshop days next week, and then i'm back to work full time. the two i've had this week equal 12 hours of ceu's. next week's don't offer those.

i've missed being in the office...stuff goes on without me there...and then i have to play catch up. because of the ice day, it shouldn't be too bad!

suzanne is sure that if she were allowed to come along, the days would go better. at the same time, she refuses to climb into my shirt so i can take her with me in the morning. sigh.

i'd love to work in a place that permitted me to bring a kitty with me to the office. suzanne might not be the best choice because she does get a little skittish in new places, but it would be fun to have some fuzzy company.

suzanne -- who loves to sit between my wrists while i'm at the keyboard -- says 'mama got a big red padded envelope in the mail. mama loves mail! the envelope had 2 boxes of christmas cards from cousin jessica...so now mama and dad can write this year's christmas cards! i, of course, will help. i'm good at guiding mama's pen while she writes. then i make sure she gets the envelopes sealed just write. finally, i help with stamps, and she takes them to mail box. expect some pretty cards this year! and thanks thanks thanks cousin jessica!'

ciao/meow

snow day!

actually, it's an 'ice day'...but the effects are the same! no work today. a day to cuddle with the superior members of our family (suzanne and ben, of course!).

i need breakfast and then a nap!

the adventures of suzanne

i've been with my mama for over 15 years. actually 15-1/2. i'm old enough for a learner's permit, but she just won't let me behind the wheel.

before my last ben crossed the rainbow bridge, we'd plan how we would swipe mama's keys to take the car for a spin. ben--who liked lots of attention--said he'd steer. cuz i'm kinda shy, i agreed to work the pedals (no, not like a bike...the 'zoom!' and 'stop!' pedals). we never did do it. ben left me last year. the new guy that mama got doesn't have any fun ideas about driving or any other adventures. he's not always very nice to me...the big galoot. it's probably cuz he's still practically a baby; he's only 3.

anyway, this is my 'baby story'. sometimes at night, mama tells me this story to help me go to sleep. she rubs my tummy and holds me close while she talks.

she says that i was born in a garbage dumpster in olympia in the summer time. the woman who brought the newspapers found me with some other babies and a mother kitty. the woman rescued me and brought me to my mama. my mama couldn't take all the babies because she already had 4 other cats. she chose me.

i lived with mama and the other kitties for a few days. i didn't know that my mama was going to be so good to me, so i stayed away from her for awhile. i cried a lot. one day, mama came and picked me up while i was crying. she talked softly to me and held me. i looked into her eyes. i was so surprised! it was my own mama looking at me. i stopped crying right then. i snuggled close and purred.

even with the other kitties around, i spent most of my time with mama. i didn't like to go outside. loud noises scared me. deep voices scared me. i was ok when it was just me, mama, and the other kitties. if we had company, though, i hid. i learned to pull the box spring lining loose so i could hide inside the box spring. mama always found me.

one time, we were moving into a new apartment. mama had brought me and ben over early. i got scared and tried to jump up onto the closet shelf. i landed on top of the hot water heater and slid face first down into the triangular hole behind it.

did you know that full hot water heaters are super heavy? mama had to find a maintenance guy to drain the heater so it could be moved and i could get out. she was really scared and almost cried.

another time, we were living in a tiny cottage at the beach in maine. i was scared of all the noises of the people walking by all time. i found my safe place to be: up on top of the shower stall, where the cottage was unfinished. she was scared when she couldn't find me. then i called to her and reached out my paw, and she found me!

once, we lived in a house. i would jump from the bed to the edge of the dresser, and then up onto a shelf in the closet. mama put a pillow up there for me to sleep. i liked to be up high and cuddled in, all nice and cozy.

the best--or maybe just the one that makes mama laugh--is when she put a cable tv box on top of the tv on the dresser in her bedroom. the cable box was warm! and i'm miss warm-and-cozy! i slept on top of that cable box until mama couldn't turn on the tv. she lifted onto my closet shelf and pulled the cable box down to see why it didn't work anymore. she expected to find the vent covered with orange and white fur, or the inside filled with that same fur. she was so surprised to see that it wasn't fur inside. i had left her a present after i had groomed myself a little too well (i got sick). she told me that it cost her $25 to get a new cable box. i wasn't allowed to sit on the new one.

that's part of my baby story. i like to hear it when we're cuddled together under the covers getting ready to go to sleep...when i'm miss warm-and-cozy.

oh frabjuous day!

i can access my blog at work! the wicked myspace isn't available from my work computer. i like being able to see what's going on in the world. sometimes, i'll even be able to add little things to my blog while i'm there.

today, unfortunately, wasn't one of the days when i get to do my own thing. my day was so busy that i hardly got a chance to breathe, much less do anything on-line. mondays are like that. meeting after meeting, and then another meeting, followed by two more meetings! all those meetings look like they should add up to a joke, but the day goes like that.

going from frabjuous to concerned, my cell phone rang at the beginning of a mid-afternoon meeting. it was our pediatrician. suzanne had had a geriatric panel done on friday (geriatric: she's only 15-1/2! she's promised to be with me until i'm 50...we've got 6-1/2 more years). she's so little that the doc thought she might have thyroid problems...hence the blood work. she weighs 5 pounds!

it turns out that she doesn't have thyroid problems...either hyper or hypo. she has kidney problems. he says it's possible that she will benefit from medication and/or diet change.

have any of our fuzzy friends in the blogosphere had these kidney problems? did your pediatrician help you? did you take the pills your people tried to give you?

let us know...

meow

sunday, almost noon

i'll get the photo thing figured out soon. for now, i'll sit in sweats and wool socks--watching 'cradle of life'--while i use gar's computer to post a new entry.

suzanne is calling calling calling. she wants without telling me what she wants. i could guess: some time under a blanket having her tummy stroked. she's my little sybarite.

been thinking about a christmas tree and where we might like to put it this year. we have a 3 ft pre-lit tree. last year, it worked on the entertainment center. we no longer have that piece of furniture, so i'm not sure where the tree will go. ben hasn't learned the decorum that must accompany the holidays.

over the past couple of years, i've been thinking about christmas and why it's usually a little depressing. it mostly comes from not being able to access the 'magic' that christmas was supposed to have had when i was a child. so i can try to find my own magic: lights, scents, tastes, generosity, family.

yesterday, i walked through a stand of freshly cut noble and douglas firs. their limbs were bound for easy transport. the sign read 'shaped trees', and it was obvious that some branches had been nipped or tipped for symmetric shape. with those nips, the scent was strong: fresh, green, peacefully energizing. ah christmas...

Saturday afternoon--pre-nap

ok, then, miss dmm, here i am. suzanne sat on my knee tapping her toes while i created my account so that i can blog here. i may keep the myspace blog, because there are some people there that i like to hang with. but i'll keep up with this one too.

got my car back this afternoon. i took it in yesterday morning to deal with the 'low tire pressure' light, and to figure out why it felt funny after having the tires rotated a couple of weeks ago. it felt like i was on unbalanced roller blades...and i was slipping/sliding all over the place. not exactly a pleasant feeling...especially when there's a 22.5 mile-each way commute to work. so $235--and slightly more than 24 hours--later, it drives smoothly again. no trip to kennewick this weekend.

it's surprisingly cold here this weekend. i was out with just a sweatshirt yesterday and was so cold! today, i wore my fuzzy coat and the nifty scarf that dmm's grandma knitted for me (or was it dmm's mama who made it?).

we've got some new dvds to watch tonight. with kitty company of course.

ciao

Photo Hunt Blogroll