Destructo!

Nothing in my house is safe from my destructo kitties. To them, everything has the potential for being a toy. From the salt shakers and pens on the tables to the silk flower arrangement that USED to sit on my coffee and dining room tables.
I had moved all the silk flower arrangements to the sun room (closed off room most of the time) leaving this one arrangement on the dining room table. I had a vibration alarm on the table, still, Bruiser managed to circumvent it and pull out flowers. I turned up the sensitivity and he STILL managed to pull out flowers. (I would put them back as he would bring them to us so we could throw them and he could play fetch)
So one day I decide to allow him to have a flower or two - think that would end his obsession with the flowers.

Noo . . . he kept going back for more.
I didn't take a photo of the near complete destruction of the arrangement but there were only a few flowers around the parameter left.


This arrangement is now sitting on top of the china hutch.

Today they knocked one of the potted plants - fortunately it didn't break.
It's on a plant shelf, but an easy jump for most of my kitties (Scarlett wouldn't jump that high, she's a little round)

Catching up while keeping it real

Been getting behind blogging and I expect I'll continue on that trend between my obsession with the Warrior series by Erin Hunter - I'm currently reading Firestar's Quest, I've already read all six of the original series, and all six of The New Prophecies, along with: Secrets of the Clans, and Cats of the Clan (my 'Warrior Bibles'). I have waiting all six of the next Warrior set: Power of Three.

I've been making my rounds on my blogs, saw that Tia is working on new novels (well new for me). Kristophrenia is working on a query for Grim Light. I hope that goes well. I feel badly that I didn't share her same enthusiasm for her query, but I'm doing no favors if I don't voice my concerns. Read Wolverines latest at Legion of Online Super Heroes . Bevie has been doing an excellent job maintaining the blog. Checked what Firestar (so named after thee warrior in Warriors) has been up to. He's been helping out the family. Love the kitten of the month posted on that blog! Most impressed with the amount of traffic that Fantasy Debut gets!

I jogged 4.5 miles today - woo hoo. I only averaged about 4 mph hour but I'm happy I kept myself moving (although I think I might have been able to walk it faster than I jogged it)

Now I need to invest some time on a web software tool that I want to write!

Warrior cats - Loving it -

I started reading Young Adult mainly when I was doing beta reading for Kristophrenia. I loved her stories and it opened my eyes to how much I enjoy reading Young Adult. This should have been no surprised given I love watching all the kids shows!

I've been reading the Warrior Series. I'm on the 3rd: Forest and Secrets. I'm soo tickled that I have so many more to go.

Happiness is?

What brings joy to your life? Here are some of my Happiness is:

1. A purring cat
2. Being with Family
   
3. Being with Friends
   
4. The laughter of a child (like the one pictured!)
   
5. Having a kitty on my lap
6. Having ALL my kitties on my lap.
7. A delicious cup of tea
8. A great cup of coffee
9. Helping others
   
10. A mild temperature day, the sun is shining, a slight breeze through the hair
11. The birds tweeting
12. The flowers blooming
13. The scent of honeysuckle
14. A rainy day.
15. Sitting in my sunroom when it rains and listening to the pounding on the roof
16. Sitting in my sunroom when it's snowing.
    
17. Freshly fallen snow on bare trees
18. XC ski just after a snow fall.
19. Hot chocolate and marshmellows on a cold day.
20. Sitting by the fire on a cold day.
21. Hot tub OUTSIDE on a cold day!
22. A good work out
23. When my weight goes DOWN
24. Inline Skating with a good song

That's just to name a few . . . but what about you? What brings you happiness? What makes you smile? What makes you laugh?

Good movies, good times

Just got done watching Beverly Hills Chihuahua - loved it. Have you seen any good movies lately?

Today was a productive day, after dropping my husband off at work (he can't drive due to surgery he had and his right leg is in cast) I went to the Pat Brody Shelter for Cats and played with all the kitties for 5 hours. I love playing with the kitties at the shelter.

After the shelter, I went for an 16 mile inline skate on a rail trail.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is the shelter's fund raising 'Pasta Supper', where we first have pasta and meatballs for supper then they have both an auction and a silent auction. Several of my friends are going!
Do you volunteer on a regular basis - if so, where? doing what?

All this week I've been working in my yard - still more to go. Planting pansies and some shrubs.
still much more to do.

When they're only memories

Our pets leave lasting imprints on our hearts, but around us, only memories.

Here is Precious laying on my husbands lap.

Precious wasn't originally my cat. Years ago, a different life, a different husband, Precious was my previous husband's daughter's cat. When she moved, much to my happiness, I inherited her cat.
I was quite attached to Precious, so it was a great relief!

Leibchen, the resident cat, wasn't all to pleased when Precious joined our house, and growled and became all moody, running away from me if he saw me holding Precious. But they became fast friends through out their life.

One of the cat names used in my book, Into This Mind was originally a nicknames for Precious. His nicknames were:
* Pookachoo
* Poopachoo
* Frat boy
* Baby boy (he was the youngest)
* Fat cat (started getting a bit rolly polly at one
point)

Precious was insistent about sitting on our laps, even if there was a laptop there, we had to move it as he would paw until he had his place.

The first time I ever saw a seizure was with Precious. I grabbed the phone, wanting to call 911 before I realized that I couldn't. I was so distressed I had to dial the number 3 times. It wasn't the seizures that killed him though, although the meds might have attributed to his kidneys shutting down. Precious died November 8, 2007, he was about 15 years old.

For those people dear to us, we have all sorts of tangle items, the t-shirt they gave us or the afghan that they made for us, something that we can hold and remember and treasure. But with our furry friends, it's only the memories to sustain us.

If you have a memory of your pet posted on your blog, let me know, and I'll include it in the side bar on mine. And please, share your memories here! My way of having something tangible to remember my babies.

Warriors - have you read any of them?

I've seen this series and I'm curious if any of the adult bloggesr have read any of them. Of course I'm lured to them since they pictures of cute kitties on them.

I think Amazon offers a 'look inside' so I might just check them out after I'm done with my beta reading and reading what I have on my shelf.

Memories: The fondest times

Leibchen, Originally named Darlin' Leibchen then I realized they really meant the same so he mostly went by Leibchen - or Leiby kitty.

He was nicknamed purr baby because he would start purring as soon as my husband or I would touch him.
Leiby was really cute with hubby. Hubby would lay long wise on the couch on his side, and Leiby would come, meow, for Hubby to make room for him and would lay down beside him.

Leibchen died while I was away, the day I left for my trip he didn't eat his meal - and he declined quickly afterwards. I was heart broken feeling that I should have been with him. I tried to convince myself he was a cat so I should, at the very least, go out and enjoy the sites, but to no avail, I was too upset, and ended up staying in the hotel milking my sorrow between exersize and wine.

Do you have poems, stories to share of your lost and beloved pets, please leave them here!
I wrote the following poem to express my sorrow and loss. And I learned, if ever my kitties are ill, and I'm traveling - STAY HOME.
He died August 8, 2005 - I was in Brussels, Belgium

One Last Time by Lisa Izzie

Copyright 2007. Written: August 15, 2005

I only want to hold him,

One last time,

On his final breath,

That moment should be mine.

I want to hold his paw,

And stroke his little head,

Oh my darling Leiby kitty,

How dare you now be dead.

Thousands miles away I was,

In your final days.

I wasn't there to hold you,

Why die when I'm away?

I could not rush to your side,

I could I only call,

Now my Darlin' Leibchen

I can hold you - not at all.

Although I knew your time was near,

Why die while I am gone?

It wasn't me by your side,

Is what I find so wrong.

Small comfort that I called in time,

The last voice you heard was mine.

I only want to hold you,

One last time.

In my hearts an emptiness

of guilt and deep sorrow,

That on the day of my voyage,

Began the end of your tomorrow.

How I wish I'd stayed behind,

to be beside my friend,

so that I could hold you,

One last time.

So that it was me,

me by your side,

the last touch you felt,

and the last kiss was mine.

I only want to hold you, Leiby one last time.

Naughty little bugger

THE LITTLE EXPLORER
Amelia


Here is Amelia just under 2 months old. She was one of 4 feral kittens rescued by the Pat Brody Shelter For Cats and adopted by me and my husband.
She's a naughty little thing, chews cardboard, (shreds it), pulls paper apart, between her and her brother Bruiser, they knock anything smaller than them off the tables and counters. She climbs in my cabinets and sits in the draws, and will use her claws to pull out anything she can. Like when I came home and found my clothing on the floor.


Here's Amelia with Tara in the background.
Amerlia is super playful and will greet us when we come home, follow us around the house demanding to be played with. She is the one most likely to come out when there are strangers in the house.
She recently started playing fetch with her mousie.
Nicknames:

1. AmUlya (how my friends 2 year old says her name)
2. Naughty bugger
3. Stripey (original name when we first brought her home - all her litter mates where black, she was stripped. It was a good fast name.
   

She's one of the few that will sit nearer to me. Most of the other cats like to sit closer to my feet.

Melllow cuteness - Scarlett

Scarlett - sweet and lovable.

Scarlett is one of 4 feral kittens that I fostered for the Pat Brody Shelter for Cats, although I started off adopting only 2, I had kept the other 2 foster cats for another month since the shelter didn't adopt out kittens during Christmas. Scarlett was one of the kittens that I was going to return - but I was so attached to her so I begged my husband to allow me to keep her and her brother Bruiser. Clearly he said yes!

Her Nicknames:

1. Two Tara (as pictured here beside Tara--on the right--and Scarlett is on the left, you can see why she has that nickname. -She loves her treats.
2. Cushy coo- because she's so soft
3. Seal cat - that's my husband, then Nick says 'Ar Ar Ar Ar' Poor Scarlett is going to get a complex.
4. Uh boo boo or boo boo kitty.
5. Scar - her first name we gave her from the shelter since she had lost some of her furr at the corner of both of her eyes. It was a quick name, picked to distinguish her between her black brother and sister.
   

Here is little Scarlett looking out over the family room from the loft. (Tara, the crazy cat, actually jumped from the loft to the family room - twice!)
Scarlett is a sweet mild mannered kitty - who loves to eat and sleep and eat and sleep some more. Her play usually consist of moving her paw from right to left while laying on her back.

Little cushy when she was a baby. (At least I think so, it was hard to tell the black ones apart when they were babies.)

Wild Thing - spotlight on the 'crazy one'

Spotlight on Tara. Every few days I'll be posting photos of each of my 5 cats and providing their story.)

Tara is one of 4 litter mates that we adopted from the Pat Brody Shelter in 2007.
In the photo above she was only about 7 weeks old - if that. The shelter wasn't completely sure how old they were when they were rescued from certain death.
They all had gooped up eyes, and Tara, to this day, has scar tissue over her left eye.
Tara was the most shy from the beginning, the slowest to come out and play and the quickest to hide (and still is) at an offending time.

We started out fostering the litter with the intent to adopt 2 of them . . . we adopted all 4!

She has several nicknames:

1. Wild Thing - because she a crazy little killer - or she would be if she ever got a hold of a mouse based on how ferociously she pounces on her toy mouses.
2. Crazy thing - because of her odd little frighten, pet me, don't pet me, maybe pet me behavior. She'll turn her back to you, slightly arch her back, but tense and looking like she's about to run away, she'd allow us to pet her. Sometimes purring the entire time.
3. Gentle Flower - Yes, how could she be gentle yet wild - well, gentle flower is how I referred to her because I needed to be the most gentle and quiet with her. Approaching her slowly so as not to frighten her.
4. One White Whisker (because she had one large white whisker -that has since fallen out - I should think it will grow again at some point)
5. Xtra- her name when we first took the foster babies in. We had given them all very quick names, when we got to her, at the time we didn't see any distinguishing marks, so she was Xtra.
6. Tara - Her name now, because she has a sister Scarlett. (Although I don't think my husband realized that Tara was the name of the plantation and not the name of 'Scarlett's sister)
   

Here Tara is (in the foreground with the one white whisker) with her sister Scarlett.

She's come around quite a lot and often will come and sit on my lap. When she was a kitten, she'd sit with me IF her other litter mates were sitting with me, but she'd always be as close to my feet as possible.

Now she 'plop' down on my lap, once she's settled I can pet her freely and she purrs and rolls on her back and doesn't act all frightened.



Not sure if you can make out the scar tissue over her left eye. I've often thought that one of the reason she is the most skittish is because of her eye.

Tara is also the smallest of all her litter mates not very fond of the dry food but she does love her canned food. The way she 'begs' for it is so sweet it's nearly impossible not to give her some.
She merely looks at you, follows a bit, then returns to her food bowl. She'll approach you, not too closer and sort of arch her back and turn away. (That's also her pet me, don't pet me technique.)

Sometimes it seems like she really wants to be petted but she's scared.

Every morning, she races my husband to the bathroom so she can roll around at his feet on his clothing.

Fluffula

Here's my Bessie, she's a fluffy one and quite the cheeky temper!

Upset about a lost kitty

While exiting off the freeway this evening there was a kitty that was on the exit ramp who then ran into the trees between the circular exit ramp and freeway - blocked in by roads all around. (No, I slowed in time and didn't hit the kitty)

I went in and called for 1/2 but the kitty never showed his/her face.

I don't know what to do. I can't imagine he has a home as he was in an unusual spot.
I really adore cats and I find this most upsetting.

If I trap him and he's feral, where will he live - he can't live there.

Name your favorites:

Your favorite sound(s): Mine is the sound of my cats purring, my husband or Ankitha laughing.

Your favorite site(s): Blinking array of christmas lights, Ankitha smiling, or nature (blue skies, with green fields/trees and lush blue lakes/rivers/oceans and many colorful flowers/trees/shrubs.

Your favorite smell(s): Honeysuckle outside in its element, scented flowers, and I'm afraid I love the smell of gasline, although I avoid sniffing it.

Your favorite toy(s): My iPhone - hands down!

A cat on the lap - or not

I have five cats, yet here I sit, without a kitty on my lap.

I scoop their poo, feed them brush them, clean up hair balls and vacuum cat hair, yet her I sit without a kitty on my lap!

I need a lap cat. I wonder if my husband would agree to cat 6 . . . somehow I doubt it.

Not likely the 5 cats that I have would be interested in another cat around!

On a happy note, I went to a fund raiser today and put my name in for several different raffles. I won a pair of earings from Silpada and a $100 gift certificate from Lia Sophia - woo hoo.