Christmas - Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas. It's been a tough week or two for most of the US, including my neighborhood because of how bad or maybe that should be how odd the weather's been. Snow, lots of the snow. Rain and therefore ice. We are currently at 14 degrees F and yet Friday it's supposed to be in the low 40s. My head is spinning. I don't mind a thaw, but i'd prefer it last at least a week, not twelve hours at a time.

I drive 25 miles to and from work. Last night i drove about 30 mph the whole way. I prayed a lot too, reminding myself and God that it was up to Him to get me home safely. He graciously did.

Walking the dogs in this kind of weather provides quite a few challenges as well. I have good boots and last year even purchased the terrific STABILicers (cleats) from www.32north.com. But sometimes, even that isn't enough. Last year i fell four times i think, two of the times were in my own driveway. lol. The other two times were within a quarter mile of each other on the same walk. Both were on ice like glass... nothing helps on that stuff except having ice skates. The second time i fell that day, Buddy, trying to be helpful, stood on my chest and licked my face. I just laughed.

I didn't do much for Christmas. I put lights up outside, but I never did get my Christmas tree set up. I gave the dogs some special food today, but i didn't get any of the pets gifts. I did wish them all a Merry Christmas, which probably sounds a bit odd, unless you have pets. I did go to two Christmas concerts. One was the Messiah put on by the local music society. The other was a Boars Head Festival. It was the first time that i attended one. It was beautiful.

I pray you all have a wonderful 2009!

Charlie the cat, update

Charlie the cat hadn't been feeling well for a while. Jennie and i agreed to take him to the vet on Sat Dec 20th. Unfortunately, Charlie didn't make it. Jennie called me about 1:30am Saturday to tell me he was gone. sigh. Even tho' Jennie has had Charlie for the last two years, it still hurts to lose a pet. sigh.

It's still autumn but you wouldn't know it

Monday Dec 8th we had a winter storm that lasted til 1am Wednesday morning. How do i know that's when it ended? Because the weather forecast said it would end then and i was outside on Wednesday at 1 am watching the sky clear as i shoveled snow. Working 2nd shift provides an interesting perspective on life and the world sometimes.

We received about ten inches of snow over the course of the storm. Sixty miles south of us had rain rather than snow. It was an odd storm system. I suspect that the ice storm that the Northeast was hit with yesterday and today is our storm after it moved east.

Wednesday after sunrise, k it was really close to noon, but since it was after i'd woken for the day, it's still "morning" for me... I took these pictures while i walked the dogs. I hope you enjoy them.

Yeah, we really do drive through 10 inches of snow before the plows go through. Life has to continue. The kids did get two days off of school tho'.


I think it's funny that the snow stuck to the tops of the berries on this tree.





My friend in Arizona told me on Tuesday that it was raining and 40 there and said, i bet you want to be in Phoenix. I told her, i've never liked 40 and rain, so no, actually, i'd take this over that any day. No, i don't like driving on the slushy, slick roads, but still...

Car Maintenance Update

It's been two weeks since the mechanic said he had resolved the oil leak in my car. I checked my oil and lo and behold, it hadn't dropped even a millimeter. PtL!!! I cannot tell you how excited I am that this issue is resolved.

Cats, cats, and more cats - postscript

If you actually read through the last three blog entries and kept track, you're probably thinking to yourself, "Christina should have six cats.". Yes, I should, however, in January 2007, Charlie's original owner asked if he could come for a visit. Since that had been part of the original agreement, it wasn't a problem at all. Jennie assured me that I could have him back after the weekend. I reassured her that if after the weekend she decided she wanted Charlie back permanently, that was okay too. I can't imagine having to give up a pet that i've had for ten years. That's how long Jennie had had Charlie.

Jennie kept Charlie.

Charlie, i think, was personally ecstatic to be home.

And that really does leave five cats.

Cats, cats, and more cats - Part 3

Wiggins and Me

Sometime in June 2006 i also brought back home two of Wiggins' original kittens. One family had adopted the two boys and it just didn't work out. They discovered they are allergic to cats.

I named the boys Josiah and Lancelot. Josiah was more than a little skittish. A friend and I prayed for him and he settled down. Lancelot was a lover from day one. His biggest offense was liking to like my nose while i slept. ack! Not a nice way to wake up.

Josiah and Lancelot were fighting a bit more agressively than i was comfortable with one day. Lancelot was pummeling Josiah. I decided to pull them apart. Josiah thanked me by biting me full on all four "canines". Off to the doctor for more antibiotics for me. Later that evening i was sitting on the kitchen floor and Josiah did it again. I was so sad because i knew i had to have him put down. The next day, I took him to animal control and they put in him isolation for ten days. I was at the grocery store a few days later and met a woman in the pet department who had something like six dogs and six cats. I told her what Josiah had done. She said, he'll be fine, bring him home. The next day i went to animal control and signed the papers to have Josiah released back into my care. All the way home I thought "what am i doing???" ya know what? He's a wonderful cat. Best decision ever! He calls to me from various rooms in the house and that's my cue to go pick him up and pet him. He's not as loving as Lancelot, but i don't think any cat could ever be. Josiah has his own personality. Oh and he's the alpha cat.

Rocky. I missed him so much. I spent over five months going to the local animal control hoping someone turned him in to them. Instead, as previously mentioned, I met Esther the Wonder dog. I tried to find an adoptive home for her. When I got desperate I adopted her on June 20, 2006. I thought I'd find a permanent home for her eventually. Then my vet told me she had heart worm and i knew that i wouldn't be able to give her up after eight months of treatment. Esther is beautiful, intelligent, sweet, fun, strong and my first dog.

October 2006 I was still going to animal control regularly to look for Rocky. I didn't find Rocky, instead, I again came home with a dog - six month old Buddy, the long-nosed orange dog. He is fun, loving, smart, and cute as a bug's ear.

Sometime during the summer or early fall, a stray cat made my acquaintance. I was sitting on the back step late one night and he came up and rubbed against me. He's black and white. I thought he was the neighbor's cat, so i didn't mind petting him. The next day I asked another neighbor about it and they said, no that's just a stray. The stray decided to come in my house about a week later, but when he was about to come in, he bolted. I didn't see him again for a long time.

A few weeks later Sarah, from my Bible Study group, mentioned they had a stray cat in their garage. She knew i liked cats and asked if i wanted it? I asked her more about the cat and it was a black and white cat they had been feeding off and on all summer. They already had one cat and said they couldn't have another one. I went to meet the cat and it was "my" black and white cat! I agreed to take the cat. I named him Checkers because of the color pattern around his mouth. I may post his picture eventually so you can see it.

Checker's adorable. However, he's a mite feisty. He loves sitting in my lap, but didn't always like to be petted. I'd have to stay on guard for when he decided he'd had had enough, whip his head around and try to bite me. I've now had him for two years. He still loves to sit in my lap and is much more patient with being petted. He even seems to enjoy it. I still have to use gloves, lots of treats, and a pillow to protect my lap when i clip his claws.

I've promised myself not to adopt any other cats or dogs, unless Rocky returns. The door is always open for Rocky. And yes, i have finally stopped visiting animal control looking for him. Actually, i stopped visiting regularly around the time i brought Buddy home because i realized i'd want to bring them all home with me. I have successfully fostered two additional kittens. I had them at separate times. But I didn't keep either of them longer than two weeks. phew.

That brings the total of cats to five and an end to this incredibly long story.

Cats, cats, and more cats - Part 2

Charlie, photo by Jennie

January 2006, I adopted a friend's 19 lb orange tabby because she was recently diagnosed as being allergic to Charlie. Charlie liked to hide. Or maybe he didn't like his new home. His favorite place to hide was in the front of the washer. Again i say, "who knew?"

Mid-January, Boo was sick again. The vet thought the previous illness was back. Sadly, it wasn't. This time it was FIP, wet form, which is fatal. I kept her as comfortable as possible and finally made the difficult decision to have her put down. February 14th was her last day. The vet was very nice about it and let me hold her during it.

I told a co-worker that i was back to having two cats. She said until you're adopted. Noooo... don't say that!

Early March i had told a friend i would adopt her cat if she decided she wanted to give him up. His name was Rocky and he was a handful.

Very close to St. Patrick's day I was walking in the neighborhood and and asked a neighbor about a black kitten that was walking close to his house. He said it followed the neighbor girl home from school the day before. As soon as i asked him about the kitten, she made a ninety degree turn and came right at me. Silly me picked her up, saw she was in need of vet care because of her ears. I ran her over to the vet; got her started on her vaccinations and basic care; took her home; talked to the family who's daughter the cat had followed home; they didn't want her; but i kept the name they gave her -- Blue.

I had officially been adopted by a 4.75 lb "adult" black polydactyl cat that growled like a panther in a movie. It was so funny to see her growl at Charlie, the 19 lb tabby, and see him run. I told Charlie he could sit on her and that would take care of it, but he wouldn't listen. Probably a good thing. I decided that Blue was probably closer to 7 months than 12 because she still "loped" like a kitten when she ran. She is now a very healthy seven pound cat.

Four days after Blue adopted me, my friend called and asked me to come get Rocky. ack! Four cats!!!????!!! What was i thinking! I went and got him.

Rocky had some emotional issues. He went into serious hiding, not even coming out to eat or drink. I tried and tried to get him out of his hiding place. In desperation, i called my absolutely fabulous vet, who came over and helped me get him into a carrier. Honestly, I did nothing but stand by waiting nervously while she went in after him. She also provided me a dog crate she wasn't using. I set it up all cozy for Rocky and put him in the dog crate.

I gently worked with him, going in to clean his litter, giving him fresh water & food and trying to pet him. Touching him could be very detrimental to one's health i found out quickly. Eventually, he'd let me pet him. He loved to sit in my lap but didn't like me getting up and would slash at me if i tried. He would also rub his check against mine while he growled. eeks! Friends were amazed when they would see me let him do it. I told him that was his version of a purr. He did finally start to truly purr. I was so excited. However, he also would get attacked by Charlie. Charlie had no front claws. Rocky was fully loaded. Didn't matter, Charlie would bite Rocky on his rump and a while later there would be a boil bursting. ick. Off to the vet we'd go. Unfortunately, the first time i had to get Rocky in a cat carrier after he had full run of the house I did NOT follow my vet's example and ended up with my hands completely torn up. A couple of days after taking Rocky to the vet to clean up his wound and getting him started on antibiotics, I took myself to the emergency room to have my own wounds cleaned and get my own antibiotics. Quite the bonding moment. k, maybe not. Oh, and I think i had to get a tetanus booster that time. If i didn't get the booster then it was because i'd received one in the previous few months because of the other cats.

In May i decided to let Rocky have a some more freedom and let him outside a few times, even though i knew better. The third time out, he gave me this look like "i hate you" and i never saw him again. I was so sad.

I looked for him for years. Even after i knew it was foolishness.