Our Connecticats = ^ . ^ =

Here is Rigby watching leaves blow around the patio...

and Linus with his crystal ball.


Ralph came up with "Connecticats" last night. Cute, isn't it?

As you can see the wacky felines are getting a bit more comfortable around here.

Seventy-nine cents

It's amazing how spending 79 cents (.84 with tax) can change a girl's life.

I spent that last night and I feel so much better.

Can anyone figure out what I spent my money on?

Hint: I spend a lot of time using the computer.

Finding strength

In attempting to help my mother with a myriad of problems these days I've come to realize I'm drawing some strength from my father and his memory.
My mother has been talking about him lately, reminiscing about their early days together, and consequently I've been thinking about him, and how he might handle the situation facing her and me.
I'm an only child, and I've always felt as if I took after my father. I resembled him in some ways and shared similar interests, such as writing and language and history.

Those are my thoughts this morning.

Two things meme

My blog sis, Lynn, that tired mama, thought I'd do this, and she be right!
It's the Two Things Meme. Here goes:

Two names I go by: Mumsie and Quacks (did I actually write that?)

Two things you are wearing right now: sweater and jeans.

Two things you would want (or have) in a relationship: love, first and foremost, followed by a sense of humor.

Two of your favorite things to do: eat (!) and blog.

Two things you want badly now: a better-paying job, a job for Ralph.

Two pets you have or have had: current kitties, Linus and Rigby (adopted 1/10)

Two people you think will fill this out: Michele and Ralph

Two things you did last night: ate dinner Ralph made, slept (!)

Two things you ate today: breakfast and lunch.

(Does anyone besides me detect a food/sleep pattern here? I lead a boring life, it would appear.)

Two things you're doing tomorrow: going to church and hopefully convincing my mother to get out and come over to our house for awhile. (She hasn't even met Linus and the Rigster yet.)

Two longest car rides: to Steubenville, Ohio in the summer of '99 and a ride to the southern tier in upstate New York, to a wedding in '85 (they're now divorced).

Two favorite holidays: Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Two favorite beverages: wine and water.

Two people no longer alive who you'd like to talk to: my father, my two grandmothers, and my maternal grandfather (never met my father's father).
~
This was fun, Lynn. I hope to see Michele and Ralph posting this meme soon.

Komfort food

When in doubt, make thyself a Peanut Butter and Jelly (preferably grape) Sandwich on Whole Wheat.

I have too much on my plate (pun intended) these days, and a little comfort food is in order. I am consuming it right now, as I type.

Time to go get me some 2 percent milk to wash it down.

Scintillating blog post, isn't it?

Humphrey never did that

We have been saying those four words a lot lately around our house.
Our two new cats are getting frisky, and brave, and often jump on things. The kind of stuff that Cat One, aka Humphrey, never did.

If they feel threatened, they make a beeline for the dusty enclave 'neath our bed. Other than that, they seem like they are adjusting.
They let me pet them, and have even been heard purrrrrrring.

I've got them on a schedule (yeah, right) of eating at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., although sometimes before I go to bed I put some food in their bowls for their midnight snacks. It's always gone by morning.

I'm trying to win over the furry fellas with food, and catnip, and so far my master plan seems to be working.

Links of blove (blog love)

This link loving in 2008 came from Joan, The Erstwhile Librarian.

I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!) It’s real easy! Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially!

The benefits of Viral Linking:
- One of the fastest ways to see your Technorati Authority explode!
- Increase your Google PageRank fast
- Attract large volume of new traffic to your site
- Build your community
- Make new friends!

Add your blog url here...The Strategist Notebook/Link Addiction/Ardour of the Heart/ When Life Becomes a Book/The Malaysian Life/ Yogatta.com/What goes under the sun/ Roshidan’s Cyber Station/Sasha says/Arts of Physics/And the legend lives/My View, My Life/ A Simple Life/What Women REALLY Think/Not Much More Than This/Jayedee/Jenn/Beth/ Christie/Marla/Cailin/Simone/FlipFlopMom/Katrina/Gill's Jottings/Work of the Poet/ Wakela/Modern Day Goddess/Livin With Me/Are We There Yet??/The Erstwhile Librarian/ Late Bloomer Boomer/You are next...

Now, add/tag 5 of your friend's blogs…

I tag:

Mimi @ Mimi Writes

Empress Bee @ Muffin 53

Casdok @ MotherofShrek

Sari @ TheGeekInside

Ralphie @ Airhead55

Getting a bit frisky

It was the scampering about that woke me up. But at least it was 5 a.m. scampering, not the 2 a.m. variety.

It sure must be nice to HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY and be able to party all night and SLEEP ALL DAY.

It has been quite a year

My first blogiversary. Yippee!!
I've had an interesting first year in the blogosphere, meeting new friends, learning stuff, going different places that other writers take me in their blogs. Much fun.

My first blog post was titled "Boomer in Bloom" and the first sentence was: Chronicling the travels of a middle-aged wife and mother of two teen-agers on what once was called the Information Superhighway.

Have I done that? I think so. My goal is to practice more creative writing. We'll see. That takes work!

My earliest commenters were my daughter, my sister-in-law Michele, two friends and a new acquaintance.
My first reader who arrived from the blogosphere was dear Joan, The Erstwhile Librarian. Thanks for discovering me, Joan! That was the beginning of my blog journey, or blourney, as Queen Mimi might say.
All I can say at the moment is on to year two ~ and bigger and better posts.
Looks like some of us are having a relaxing Monday morning! We just spotted them posing atop our headboard. At least the camera didn't spook them.

Felinus obnoxious, times two

I know, that's not really fair. They're not being obnoxious, just acting like cats.

But they are causing me to wake up at night for one reason or another and that is not my preference.

Here ------->
they are having a little bit of 'Saturday night fun.' I put some catnip in the comfy cat bed I bought them, which of course they don't use, and turned it on its side. When they got wind of it, woo hoo!
They had a good time.

Each day they get a little braver. At the moment they are both sitting on top of our bed, instead of hiding underneath it. They are looking like they own the bed.
What's a little fur among friends?

It's a struggle

I may start another blog and call it Fighting the Good Fight. Do you think that name has been taken?
After all, there are only 70 or 80 million blogs out there.
I'll check it out and report back.

News: the cats are starting to warm up to us. I just wish they would let me sleep through the night. They like to play and scamper about at 2 a.m. and they wake me up. Boo hoo.

Just for giggles ~

An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks into the pub and promptly orders three beers.
The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table, alone.
An hour later, the man has finished the three beers and orders three more.
This happens yet again.

The next evening the man again orders and drinks three beers at a time, several times. Soon the entire town is whispering about the Man Who Orders Three Beers.

Finally, a week later, the bartender broaches the subject on behalf of the town. "I don't mean to pry, but folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?"
'Tis odd, isn't it?" the man replies, "You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America, and the other to Australia. We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank as a way of keeping up the family bond."

The whole town was pleased with this answer, and soon the Man Who Orders Three Beers became a local celebrity and source of pride to the hamlet, even to the extent that out-of-towners would come to watch him drink.

Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers. The bartender pours them with a heavy heart. This continues for the rest of the evening - he orders only two beers. The word flies around town. Prayers are offered for the soul of one of the brothers.

The next day, the bartender says to the man, "Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother. You know - the two beers and all..."

The man ponders this for a moment, then replies, "You'll be happy to hear that my two brothers are alive and well... It's just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent."

I rock

No, I haven't lost my marbles.
Thanks to the kitties, I found a box of rocks I had completely forgotten about.
Our friend gave the polished stones to us. He makes jewelry, and I guess these were ones he didn't want.

I just thought I'd share that.

Outside my window

I admit it. I was looking out the window for inspiration to write today's story for the paper. It's a fun story, about bats, but I'm tired, and need to be inspired.

I snapped this because I liked the way the shadow of the branches looks on the snowy backyard.
Didn't bother to crop it, so you can see the time I took it.
OK, back to work.

There will be a 'wacky cat' update, never fear.

S-l-o-o-o-o-w progress

Kitty cat update: Linus came out into the kitchen as we were eating dinner and he eventually made it over to his food and ate WHILE WE WERE IN THE ROOM.

That's progress, feline style.

Then he went back into our bedroom and actually sat on our bed. In a regal pose, I might add.
It only lasted a few minutes, but he is getting braver.

His brother, meanwhile, stayed in hiding under the bed.

Not my kind of meme, Mimi

I dunno. Maybe I'm just overtired. Or I just don’t understand. That must be it.
Though I do like the skyline photo that is now my album cover. I don't know what skyline it is. NYC? Is that the Empire State Building?
And it was kinda neat that what came up is the name of a real singer, one of the Isley Brothers!
But...
I just dunno.

Love ya, Mimi. Thanks for tagging me and all, but this didn't really do it for me.
Borrowing from the Queen, here is what to do:

The Band Meme

Here's how it goes. You are about to have your own band's CD cover. Follow these directions to the letter. My tagee list is at the bottom of this post. It's fun and requires no thought at all. Go to......

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/

The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use your graphics program of choice to throw them together, and post the result as a comment in this post. Also, pass it along in your own journal because it’s more amusing that way.

OK, I was about to tag L, J, and I in Calif. and S in Ariz. but I don't know if they would ever visit me again if I did. You know who you are.

If you choose to do it, have fun.

He's back amongst us

Long story short, Rigby came out from his special "secret" spot and immediately went under our bed to hide with his brother.
That was about two hours ago, when we were out shopping. Kid One called to tell us. I hope that's the end of the excitement for today.

If I get down and peer at them, they just sit and stare at me.

Picture this ~ WACKY CAT IN WALL

Kid Two took this photo four hours ago. Rigby is still in the wall. His staff is not amused.
I bumped into someone I used to work with when I went out this morning. He has had a lot of cats and told me that the cat will come out eventually. He said they all love tuna and I should put some tuna down by the opening to lure him out.
This kitty is going to be plenty dusty when he does come out.

So much for progress

We have a white and black cat in the wall. Really don't know what else to say right now, other than wonder if these felines come with a 30-day return policy.

It has been an interesting day and a half...and we have a cat in the wall.

Progress to report

OK, it's 7:44 p.m. Friday...I heard a MEOW! come from underneath the futon.

Progress!

New cats ~ an update

They found the litter box last night when we were sleeping! And they drank all the water in the bowl!
Now if they would just come out from their hiding places, I'd be a happy mama.
They haven't made one sound yet. I wonder if they know how to meow.

Of course Ralph wrote about them on his blog, too.

Introducing . . .

Linus



and


Rigby

Poor little guys are scared, sitting statue-like for hours. And they both seem to have drippy eyes. They were only at the vet on Monday...I guess they just need to be cleaned.
I need to show them where the litter box is, but they don't like to be picked up or bothered at this point.
But they do let me pet them.

Today's the day...

...and I'm getting nervous.

In a little while we're going to pick up two cats and bring them home. We decided to just say no to the name Ringo. We like the name, but Kid One really wants to name one of the cats Rigby, so we thought the names would be confusingly similar. And we still haven't settled on another name for Kat Two.
Our son likes Thor, but I don't think so. He liked Milo, but his good friend just got a second cat and the family named him Milo, so we can't be copy cats.

I make the effort

I took this photo in '04 but the message holds true today.
Sometimes I have a few issues with my flower garden.
The house plants are doing pretty well, though.

Cats ~ and what to call them

In our family, we (Mumsie, Daddums, Kids One and Two) all love The Beatles, so last night as we were talking about possible names for our future felines we came up with Ringo.

Not definite yet, but a definite possibility.
Just thought I'd mention that to get any thoughts my blog buddies may have.

January sunset

I snapped this yesterday afternoon from our living room window. I admire the beautiful photos people post on their blogs, and I've been inspired to pick up my camera. (Thanks, Michele, for being a part of my inspiration.)

Wheelin' through life with Ralph and Patti

Our trip Friday to the doctor's office ~
Getting my mother out of the house and situated in the van was not easy. I set up the portable ramp and Ralph gave us verbal instructions. Lots of them. He's a true expert at this stuff!
I brought the chair down the ramp backwards to the driveway, and she rode up the lift on the van and rolled in. So far, so good.
The hard part was when she had to get out of the wheelchair and onto the bench seat in back. Eventually she got herself onto the seat, using baby steps. It took a while.

We got to the commerce park filled with lots of medical buildings. Never been there before and of course we lumbered up the sidewalk ramp to the door to the wrong building. Turned out it was the next one over. Ralph was not pleased, and expressed that displeasure in the office. Oh well.
Nice people, fellow patients, held doors for us.
We had to go back through the parking lot and out on the street (no sidewalk) to the next building, with Ralph leading the way in the wheelchair.
You don't think these offices had power doors to make it easier for patients who were arriving (by the boatload I might add) in wheelchairs, using walkers, canes and generally limping? Of course not. That would be sensible. And the sidewalks going to the doors were uphill. Try being alone using a chair and reaching for the door as you feel yourself going backward. Even with the brakes on, I wouldn't want to experience that feeling.

I cannot adequately describe what it must have looked like. Ralph motoring along ahead of us, me pushing my mother in a manual chair and she holding up her feet, because we forgot the foot rests. She doesn't use them in the house and it was her first time using the wheelchair outside the house.
I tried to avoid the pot holes, but hit one and she screamed. Then she apologized. It could have been worse. It could have been raining or snowing. It was chilly but the sun was out.
The doctor was kind and reassuring. Nothing much can be done except to let the healing process take place.

~ and now a chuckle, taken from the e-mail bag:

Mother Superior called all the nuns together and said to them, "I must tell you all something. We have a case of gonorrhea in the convent."

"Thank God," said an elderly nun at the back. "I'm so tired of chardonnay."

What's in a name?

I never had a cat until I was over 40. Now I'm a bit older, our Humphrey died way too young last June, and I'm about to be the proud owner of two furry felines.
These brothers will no doubt be giving me something to blog about!

Last night I was going through lists of male names, and came up with a few. In the H category, in honor of Humphrey, I chose Hayden. I know, kinda bizarre. But you must agree it's different.

I think this re-naming of Teddy and Tommy is going to be a bit of work.

Cat stories

The four of us had an adventure this morning and met the cat lady. There were a lot of cats in that room! And the smell was rather overpowering. Let's just say I was happy to get back out into the cold, crisp winter air.

We met our future pets -- brothers -- and their foster names are Tommy and Teddy. That's cute and all, but we are working on coming up with something a bit more creative. I suggested that "Tommy" and "Teddy" can be their middle names, and my family agreed.

The cat that's white with some dark patches, who our daughter thought looked like a Tommy, was the less scared of the two. He actually let me hold him.
The other one, white and orange, kept hiding under a bench. He is Teddy...until we name him something else.

We didn't bring them home today. The woman who is the liaison between the foster home and us already made a vet appointment for them on Monday. She wants to be sure that everything is OK. They are about 15 months old, which is the same age our Humphrey was when we adopted him. They need their nails clipped, and she said she'd make sure that was done. They seemed clean, but they need a good brushing out. I can handle that.

I'll keep you posted.

Re: Kitty cat(s)

Ralph and I may soon be getting, or should I say adopting, an adult cat. Or maybe even two.
That's all I'm going to say right now.


Stay tuned.

Guilt, thy name is Patti

My mother just called to tell me not to come over to visit because it's cold and dark and getting late (it's not even 5:30 yet). I told her it didn't matter, but she insisted I stay home.

Ralph did drive Kid One over there this afternoon for a brief visit, but that's it. He hasn't attempted getting into the house.
I feel guilty sitting here at the computer, but she insisted she was OK.

Tomorrow morning we take her in the wheelchair for an appointment with the orthopedic doctor. It's going to be interesting getting her out of the house (three steps). I'm going to bring portable ramps that Ralph has to bridge the gap.

A nice way to start the year

Michele at The Rocky Mountain Retreat honored me along with 16 other bloggers with this award. I am touched that she would find my little corner of the blogosphere inspiring. I just enjoy writing and knowing a few fellow bloggers will be reading what I offer here.

I would like to pass this award on to many people I have met over the past year, but one in particular who may need a lift today is Mimi, Queen of Memes. She has gone through a trauma over the past week, at Christmastime for goodness' sake! and she has been in my thoughts.
Mimi certainly inspires me, both with her beautiful and sometimes quirky writing and with her toughness. She's a tough cookie, but a sweet one nonetheless.

(I hope I don't get banished to the dungeon for that tough cookie remark. I hear it's chilly down there this time of year.)

Feline resolutions

One important thing to remember if you ever participate in a Yankee Swap is to make sure that what you purchase is something you'd like to have.
I purchased eight things (four gifts) for my family to swap at our Christmas Eve get-together at Ralph's sister's house. And the one I really wanted I got back.
Go me.
It's a BAD CAT desk calendar, featuring felines with, what else? attitude.

January 1: Bad Cat New Year's Resolutions:
1. Be kinder to my owner
2. Get owner to leave entire fortune to me so I can run off with a rabbit of easy virtue
3. Have my fur highlighted and streaked
4. Stay clean and sober until Valentine's Day
5. Either lose two pounds or suck in

Just thought I'd share those! Happy New Year, Day 2

~ New year, new template ~

Happy New Year to all my blogging friends.
I was considering a list of resolutions, but they'd probably be boringly similar to most people's : exercise, lose weight, read more books. So I won't!

I can't redecorate my house, but at least I can redecorate my blogosphere home. Still trying out fonts and colors. It certainly takes a while to choose them.
Our next project is adopting an adult cat for our home. Or maybe two. It's going to be fun, and full of blog-worthy adventures, no doubt.

This picture is from a photo shoot in the garden last spring. Not to worry. Most of these little guys are in the garage for the winter. Only a few are out braving the elements.

May 2008 be kind to us all. ~


ADDENDUM (minutes later): This changing around is difficult indeed, because I'm trying not to have my blog look like other people's blogs. I apologize if it does!