Category Archives: miscellany

Sometimes I write about things other than cats . I love my home state, Nebraska, for example, and it appears in several posts. Admittedly, most of these posts are about cats, specifically Andy and Dougy, my two Persian cats. They may appear peripherally in a post or be the main thrust, but they definitely are a major part of my life and this blog! Did I mention they are terribly spoiled rotten?

Post 1713: moving slowly…

I’ve had a busy week. Dialysis two days, of course, and two doctor appointments. It may seem no big deal, yet it left me knackered! To give you an idea, yesterday was a birthday lunch with friends. I got home around 10:30 AM, sat down, and fell asleep! I woke up at 7 PM, having missed lunch. I watched a little news, then promptly fell asleep again till 3 AM!

(That’s me sitting in the doctor’s examination room. Dougy’s curious about when he will get kitty food.)

I hope I’m back on track by tomorrow! 

Advertisements

Post 1650: more Andy and Dougy from the memory stick archive…

a2

Proof that Andy isn’t always the “nice” kitty boy…!

 

Clockwise from left: Andy tends to his “precious”; Andy is a pretty kitty; Andy finds the catnip.

 

Dougy poses nicely; Dougy enjoys the sun while lounging in his – well, Andy’s – grey plastic tub. Yeah, Dougy took the first one for himself. I bought a second one for Andy, and Dougy claimed that one, too!

andy and louie

Taking photos of black cats in low light is difficult, yet it is possible to make purses out of those sow’s ears. Here is an impressionistic portrait of Andy with the framed Captain Me-Ow (the late Louie the ginger cat) picture behind him. 

1379222_4892167157149_875133768_n

Yet another fake poster! This time, it’s Andy. Yes, he is very adamant and inflexible about his kitty treat time~! 

 

Dougy in a box, of course. No box too small, tall, thin, large for this kitty boy! This is the box my laptop came in. 

andy chases rats

RAWR! People might try to rub his tummy to get their way in Congress, but he’d kill their hand! Feed him kitty treats, though, he might cave in. Catnip? Forget about it! He’d sell his own brother for it!

intro-france1993-LoireValley-Chinon-large

Not a kitty photo, but one of the coolest postage stamps I’ve ever seen.

dutch cow

Of course, this Dutch postage stamp with the leaping cow with outlines of EU countries for spots, flying wooden shoes, tulips, and ribbons in the Dutch national colors is pretty cool, too!

Post 1557: I have wheels again!

Waiting for Craig, Andy amused me by sneaking a peek at Dougy’s box. At least, Doug thinks it’s his. 

IMG_20171025_102759

Andy thought he heard Dougy, and scooted away to safety!

Then Andy heard Craig arriving, but was too much a scaredy cat to wait at the door till Craig came in. Onto the box he hopped! Safety at last!

I scritched the kitty boys and told them to be good while I was gone, then Craig and I gassed up his buggy and took off for Rapid City to fetch my car. 

IMG_20171025_134103

I had a short wait at the service department, but I saw Black Beauty parked in the lot when I arrived at the dealership. That was sufficient to settle any anxieties I had about picking up my car. It spent from September 14th to October 25th in Rapid City, long enough for me to forget how to adjust the seat, for example. (It came back to me before I drove off, but it was iffy!)

The kitty boys greeted me at the door when I arrived from Rapid City. Their multi-colored fabric toy was at the door, which was different from when I left this morning. The kitty boys played their little game to spend the hours I was gone! (There was no blood, fur, or tipped over objects, so they were  – apparently – good kitties all day.)

IMG_20171025_180416

Best of all, Black Beauty is back in its special spot, ready to be of service when I need to go places! It was a delight driving my car again.

 

 

Post 1556: G-Day

IMG_20171025_020417

Andy feels the tension…

 

I’m a bit wound up today. My car is supposed to be ready for me to pick up after weeks in the shop for repairs of damage from my accident in Hot Springs, South Dakota, on September 15th.

My friend Craig’s driving down from Rapid City to take me back to Rapid City, where my car is being held hostage till I pay the bill.

There have been so many (upsetting) reversals in the process – wrong part ordered, knot head who didn’t make an estimate in a timely manner adding a week to my wait, and more – that I, frankly, hope I can be civil when I pay my bill. 

june-5-2016-my-golf

Black Beauty in happier times…

[G-Day = Golf Day, as in VW Golf Sportwagen]

 

 

Post 1496: lakeside daytrip

Andy guessed right. I was getting ready to leave for the best part of the day, so he acted up…up on the table, specifically!

The little rascal got into the crackers. Not for the crackers, mind you, but for the crinkly packaging. I watched to see what he would do, and he started to pull the tube of crackers out of the box, intending to take it somewhere he could work on the crinkly packaging. I put a stop to that! Dougy watched from the dining room cat tree. (Good kitty!)

The main concern when I plan a day away is that the kitty boys have plenty of food and water. Their main concern is that the human be home in time to set out wet food for the kitties. 

My friend Craig and I left the kitty boys and took to the road. Thanks to July and August rain storms, this is a sunflower year! The crowds visiting Alliance for the total eclipse were spared the normal dried out look this time of year and treated to this beautiful carpet of sunflowers everywhere! Craig and I enjoyed the ride down to our friend’s lovely lakeside home.

We classmates of the AHS class of ’66 had a salad lunch, a pleasant relaxed fellowship sharing thoughts, time, and laughs together. We’ve lost four classmates in the past year, and have resolved to keep in touch better, get together regularly because – and while – we can.

Craig left early since he had a three hour or so drive back home, but the rest of us went out to the patio and enjoyed the cool breeze, the pleasant lakeside setting, and snacks. Carol and I terrorized each other and our classmates taking photos. (The four below are her contribution to the record.) 

I didn’t get home till hours after the kitty boys are used to getting their wet food. Were they waiting at the door? And how! Andy (I think) let out a howl of protest as I walked in the door: “How dare you make us wait for our kitty food!!”

I fixed the kitty food, two kitty boys trailing me each step of the way. I gave them half a can instead of a third to make up for the breach of “The Standard Expected Time The Human Must Be Available To Feed The Kitties”. We (the kitties) were not amused!

 

Post 1318: thanks and a new way to wear ears…

This blog has grown faster than I can keep up with in one important regard: I’ve gotten way, way behind in thanking new people who follow it. When new follows were rare, I sent a personal thank you to each new follow. It was the polite thing to do.

If you haven’t received a personal thank you from me when you signed up, please accept my apologies for being negligent. I do appreciate each and every one of you! Please accept this less personal but heartfelt “thank you” now. Thanks! Heck, have a hug on me, too, because you are special!

This blog nearly doubled in followers in the past ten months, something that amazes me, frankly, since it is a simple blog about kitties, mostly, and an occasional aside about me. Now that this aside is over, here’s what you come for: Kitty cats! In this instance, Dougy and his new ear style.

=(^+^)= 

Traditional style ears.

Traditional style ears.

Styling it1 Dougy's new fashion!

Styling it! Dougy’s new fashion.

 

As Dougy’s guardian, I told him he wasn’t going anywhere wearing his ear that way! Scandalous! So I folded it back into traditional style before he polluted Andy with his silly ear style. What’s next? A catnip leaf tattoo? You have to nip these things in the bud. 

Post 1306: misplaced things…

Yesterday was a day to “find” misplaced things, you know, right in plain view but forgotten things!

=(^+^)=

img_20170216_041628

Dougy was pleased I “found” his tub under the TV stand. I need to clean up some other things he likes that are still there.

img_20170216_033715-1

I was pleased I found this old photo of me hand feeding a pine siskin. I took it sometime back in the 1980s on a bitterly cold February day (-14°F / -26°C).  Yes, I remember that temperature! Curiously, yesterday, another February day years later, it got up to 63°F / 17°C!

I learned how to hand feed birds by watching Woody the grey tabby cat, my neighbors kitty, stalk birds at the feeders. You stop a safe distance away from the birds, wait without moving. Then you move forward a step or two and wait without moving till the spooked birds return. You repeat this till you are right up on the birds on the feeder.

(Keep in mind, my hand was filled with shelled sunflower seeds, and was extended just like in the photo. The camera is in the other hand, pre-focused, at the right aperture, and ready to shoot.)

Once the birds are comfortable you are just a strange harmless feeder, they hop onto your hand and defend the seeds from each other. I’ve had up to five pine siskins on my hand at a time, with another hanging on the frame of my glasses, and another perched on my head. It’s hard not to laugh!

My thumb is approximately the same size as a pine siskin. I’ve wiggled it at a pine siskin and the bird attacked it, extending its wings to expose the yellow stripe and under wing feathers and making squawky sounds to drive off the interloper! Quite brave!

Post 1255: ARGH!!! Router issues this time.

I am sick of the problems that come with computers. Now I can’t use my wireless connection to the internet because of a messed up router (I think it’s called).

120616-dougy-is-upset

Dougy is mad!

 

In the good old days when I worked, I’d just call my company IT guru and he or she would struggle through the mindless, soul-sucking task of getting things to work again. And they got paid good money to do it!

Now, the mindless, soul-sucking business falls on me, probably the least patient person on earth! I’m amazed, frankly, that I managed to get a direct connection to the Internet through my modem. That was too easy, though I have to sit on a folding chair because the cable doesn’t reach to a comfortable chair or desk.

Further, I had to disconnect the power line to my laptop because there aren’t enough power outlets by the modem, etc. for just one more electronic gizmo.

Post 1250: it was a meaningful service…

Born 23 March 1941 Died 19 December 2016

Born 23 March 1941
Died 19 December 2016

My sister Kathy and Shannon, my niece, were able to attend our brother and uncle Dick’s funeral in Smith River. She reported to me:

Dick’s service was really nice, with big rolling waves in the ocean in the background. It was a very stressful day for us though.  We were running late, there was a big accident on the freeway that slowed us down, and Shannon got stopped for speeding.  She got stopped at 12:45 and the service started at 1:00.  I started crying and told the patrolman we were trying to get to my brother’s funeral and were late.  He said we were only 15 minutes away, and let her go without a ticket. 

We arrived just as they were bringing the casket to the grave site.  I’m not sure, but there must have been 120 or so people there and at the potluck afterwards. 

We didn’t get to talk to family too much, but I was able to talk to Adrienne [Dick’s wife].  She said that Dick knew it was time to die, they talked about it, said their good-byes, and he passed away in his sleep at home. 

Two of Dick’s friends sang an Indian song at the service, then Steve, Annette’s husband, sang a song at the potluck.  [His son-in-law and daughter] Everyone I talked with mentioned what a good guy Dick was, and how respected he was in the community. 

I had hoped to spend more time with the family, but we had to get back on the road shortly after eating since Shannon had to go to work Friday.

The cemetery where my brother was buried is on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a tranquil and beautiful place. Though this is a sad time for my family and me, I feel blessed that Dick was my brother.

Thank you all for your thoughtful comments, and know that I am OK. Sadness doesn’t cancel the joy of the season, which, for Christians, marks the beginning of the holy season that ends with the resurrection of Christ. I’ll spare you the sermon but life must go on. It is Christmas Eve. I am at peace.

 

Post 1221: details need attended to…

I confess to laziness now that I’m retired, a state (the laziness) that perpetuates itself because I don’t have anyone living with me to nag about the unread magazines, the vacuum cleaner I haven’t moved in days from the spot where I stopped vacuuming, and the inertia that comes as an after effect of dialysis, which sometimes leaves me drained, my built-in excuse! Regardless, details need attended to, laziness must be overcome. Here are a few details that need attended to now, details I can’t ignore.

=(^+^)=

The kitty boys’ groomer schedules them a year in advance. I got the 2017 schedule when I took them in last Monday. (Dougy’s name isn’t spelled with an “ie” on the end, but with a “y”,the way I spelled it when I was a kid.) I need to transfer this information to a virtual Post-It note on my computer because I invariably misplace the schedule I get from the groomer! 112616-andy-and-dougys-grooming-schedule

My dialysis nurses have difficulty locating the dialysis fistula on the top end because it takes a turn, then a deep dive. The arrow is a direction reminder: “Hold the needle at this angle to the fistula.” If they don’t, the needle won’t reach the fistula, and it takes lots of poking to locate it. Ick! I need to avoid washing this direction finder off my arm between Friday’s dialysis session and Monday! (Maybe I need a tattoo….)112616-fistula-direction

My photo files are outrageously large. Every kitty photo — yes, most of my photo files are kitty photos! — I’ve ever taken seems to be there, and many are crapo photos that are beyond redemption. I keep them just the same. Here’s one that is a lovely pose of Dougy, but a crapo photo for exposure and potential for a fix. I need to get off my butt…um, get on my butt?… and sort through and delete the crapo photos in my files and save just those that are good. See what I mean about crapo?  (Left side = crapo original; right side = crapo attempt to save the photo through manipulation)