Just Getting Along

Last night, while lying in bed reading, I watched Delilah jump onto the bed and walk over to me, looking for some scratches.  In the evenings, Delilah is pretty friendly, hoping up onto your stomach or chest but only for as long as you scratch the top of her head between her ears or her neck under her chin.  I gave her the necessary attention but wanted to get back to my book, so she quickly hopped off of me and stretched out next to me.   I was surprised when a few minutes later, Mr. Tigger jumped on the bed (on side of me opposite of Delilah).  He stayed in that position for a bit, while I gave me scratches.  However, his real goal is to be near Delilah, so he moved down to the foot of the bed and within a foot of Delilah.  Delilah gave no indication that she was bothered by Tigger, but I know her and she likes to have the entire bed to herself (usually), so I watched as Delilah showed Tigger her disdain but rotating herself around so that she was in the same place but facing away from him.  A few minutes later, Delilah jumped off the bed, followed shortly thereafter by Tigger.

Tigger is my "the-glass-is-half-full" cat because he tries and tries to make friends with Delilah and Macy.  He's smart too because he knows his best bet is with Delilah so I often find them in the same room.  Tigger's plan is to get Delilah used to seeing him everywhere (he likes to eat in her presence, he sleeps in the same room as her during the day) before he makes his big move.  Yesterday, I was happy to see that Tigger took advantage of Delilah's sleeping to get closer to Delilah than I have ever seen.

They are practically cuddling.  This is the closest I've ever seen them and they were like this for several hours.  I love the Tigger so much for his willingess to try and to never accept defeat (or a swat from Delilah).  

Now, Miss Macy, she's been making some strides as well.  I believe we suffered a setback with her (in terms of socialization) when we moved and then when she had her teeth cleaning.  She was more skittish, less accepting of our touch, and only comfortable when she was in her cardboard box.  However, in the last few weeks, Macy has given up her solitary ways and actually comes to sit next to us on the couch.  We are also getting moments of her demanding to be petted, which results in her purring.  I've been late to work because one of these "pet me NOW" moments happened as I was leaving one morning.  I had to stay and take advantage of Macy allowing me to pet her entire body, in addition to her purring like mad and rubbing herself against me (again, rarely exhibited behavior by the Mace).

I've recently tried to ramp up my independent study of teaching myself conversational Spanish.  I've got the Pimsleur CDs in my car which I listen to during the drive to and from work.  While this is very helpful, it's not enough and so I started looking online for (free) help for accelerating my studies.  One website was very useful and gave me the great idea of watching a Spanish soap opera (telenovela) and putting the closed captioning on (in Spanish) so I could hear the language and see the words at the same time.  So far, I've only done this with one episode and I'm watching it over and over.  I can also submit the transcript to an online database that will translate it for me.  Another really good idea is getting some children's books in Spanish.  There are several free online and I might try to download them to the iPad.  However, I know the best teaching I could get would be to try to speak with a native Spanish speaker.  But I don't have any close friends who fit this description.  I'm going to work on that and see what I can figure out.

I have several big projects in mind.  At the end of July, I want to knit a cardigan.  I think I've found an easy pattern here.  And I can use yarn I find at Michaels (red heart is a mass-market yarn).  I also want to finish the ripple afghan that's been on the needles forever and start another one.  But I'm in search of a pattern with more of a ripple (waves)  than chevrons (points).  One big hinderance is that most ripple patterns are crochet, not knit.

I am almost done with a washcloth that I knitted as part of a set.  I made the hand towel and one washcloth.  I didn't realize that the color combination was so Charlie Brown-looking.  You will have to see it as a set when I finish the second washcloth (probably today).  Until then, this is the hand towel.

Mr. Grumpbump's birthday is tomorrow!  He's going to be 45 years old.   I have already given him his presents (I'm very bad about keeping gifts surprises) but I have a card for him and we will probably go to dinner somewhere.

An Explanation

Being over 40, childless, and living with three cats classifies me as a crazy lady.  Being married doesn't save me from ridicule or judgment.   I could argue that having three cats is not in any way related to being childfree, but I'm not sure I completely buy into my own argument.  

Facts are facts, and I'm not having kids.  So all of my emotion and love and maternal feelings are channeled into my cats.  I am not their "mother".  They are not my "children".  I am always aware that they are cats.  

However, I love these guys.  They are every bit my family as are my parents, my brother, my husband, my friends.   Delilah, Macy and Tigger live with me and I am responsible for keeping them healthy, fed and sheltered.  When I think about them in pain or unhappy, it hurts.  I want them to be happy and, in turn, I feel happiness through them.  All of these things define "family" to me.   As I watch Mr. Grumpbump watching the basketball game, and Miss Macy jump up on the couch to settle in next to him, I feel joy and love in my heart because I'm looking at my family.

I am passionate about my cats and love to talk about them.  I try to contain myself with people who aren't as understanding or enthusiastic about hearing about my cats.  I don't show them the almost 200 pictures of cats on my cell phone, although I am polite enough to oooh and aaah over the many photographs of their children no matter what.  

And, then there are the truly special friends who share the same passion for their pets as me; the ones who get excited over a new brand of cat litter or with whom you can share stories of how amazingly serene your cat looks while sleeping.  It is a pleasure to be in their company.

My cats are unique and so different between themselves as a group.

Tigger is so friendly and gregarious.  He enjoys being in our presence and will follow us around the house, to lie down wherever we are.  As the only male (and declawed cat) in the house, he's got to deal with the female bitchiness and takes it in stride.  He never seems to get mad.  Tigger is also a skilled hunter and is very clever at catching the geckos and lizards that live on our patio.

Tigger

 Delilah is so exquisite.  She knows how beautiful she is, and therefore can be as bitchy as she likes.  She wants to be the queen of the house but is confused by Tigger's failure to bow down to her.  Delilah sleeps all day but you would never call her lazy.  It's beauty sleep.

Delilah

 Macy is the sweetest cat ever, but so quiet and shy and keeps only to herself (and her box).  She absolutely believes that her box is surrounded by a force field and she is impervious to pain or harm while in this magic box.  She hates being touched and she dictates the terms upon which you will approach her or be in her presence.  I wish she felt more confident and comfortable, but until then, she has her box.

Macy

I keep these guys in my heart every day.

Chores Are Done; Time to Knit

In my absence from this blog, I finished a baby blanket.  Mr. Grumpbump's niece is expecting her first child, a boy, in September, I believe.  Mr. Grumpbump liked my first Gradient Baby Blanket, so I picked up baby yarn in cute boyish colors (green, blue, purple) and went to work.  I slipped the  first stitch of every row so that the edge would look cleaner.  I toyed with the idea of adding a crochet border, but I was afraid that adding it would take away from the effect of the "bleeding" of one color into other.

Here's the finished product:

For Baby Boy Swanson

I've picked up my ripple afghan to try to finish it.  It's been forever since I've touched it.  I also bought some really cute pink wool yarn for a hat for my sister-in-law.  Apparently, she's got a very small head so I have to force myself to knit it like it was for a child.  For some reason, I always want to knit bigger sizes even in the face of what I'm supposed to do.  It means that everything I knit is always too big (which is why I love blankets, throws, afghans....no sizes to worry about).

Part of my absence from blogging is because I had to get my house organized.  Things were way out of control (laundry, housekeeping, papers everywhere...) and not getting any better until one day I just cleaned one room.  One room.  And all of sudden, I could not stop.  The entire house got  cleaned and organized in a few days.  Mr. Grumpbump helped too (and he is in the process of getting our garage in a manageable state).  And now, I actually make the bed every morning; dishes get done on time; and there are not massive piles of laundry to do every weekend.  We are keeping up with the neat and orderly Grumpbump household.  It is very relaxing in a funny way.  I don't get stressed the second I walk into the house.   Now, I'm not bragging, nor am I saying that my floors are so clean you can eat off of them, because I have three cats and my house will never be completely clean.  I will always have cat hair dust bunnies no matter how much I sweep.  

Miss Macy is the biggest shedder in our house.  It's insane how much hair comes off of her.  The easier way to see evidence of that is to look inside her cat bed.  I wish I could say that she enjoyed the comforts of the soft and overstuffed cat beds we inherited from my stepmother.  No, instead Miss Macy loves her box.  A cardboard box.  I don't know how it's comfortable but Miss Macy runs to that box for safety, for sleep, for her sanity.

Macy-in-the-bo

Pecks of Peppers

I got a plant from my office for Administrative Professional's Day, the politically correct term for for the commonly-known Secretary's Day.  The plant is a type of ivy and it's dying.  I put it inside, it withers.  I put it outside, it continues the death spiral. I water.  No change.  I spritz it with water.  Yep, you guessed it.

However, Mr. Grumpbump seems to have a way with the plants (as he does with the cats, who love him so much more than me).  He started planting all kinds of everything once we bought the house.  There is no real plan to what he is doing.  I know he enjoys color, so anything with a bloom brightens his day.

Although our area has suffered from lack of rainfall, Mr. G has managed to keep some of his garden alive and thriving.

Sunflowers

Lantana

But Mr. G's real promise seems to be with vegetables.  He admittedly went a bit beserk planting peppers because we must have 50 of them growing and so many more flowering.  The majority of the pepper plants are sweet peppers (light green in color).  Yes, you can add them to salads or eggs or stir-fry, but they are not that versatile.   Interspersed with the sweet peppers are a few hot pepper plants, and the peppers on those plants are small and tight and a very dark green.  They practically scream "hot pepper".  I'm not touching those.

We have at least 10 more plants like this.

 Mr. G has one bell pepper plant.  So far, we have picked two peppers and they have been on the small side.  However, they taste great.  The plant has two more almost ready to go.

Bell Peppers

 So, with the garden feeling a little too green, there is a promise of something different.  I have yelled at Mr. G to plant some more damn tomato plants.  Tomatoes are my absolute favorite thing in the whole world.  You see those itty bitty red dots?  Say a prayer that they have lots of babies who grow up to be red juicy delicious.

Grow, dammit!

 The vegetables and sunflowers are growing outside of the patio area, in a small patch of ground called our backyard.  The lantana, catnip and other greenery are growing in the areas to either side of the pool.   With the addition of all of these plants and shrubs, we have fooled Delilah into thinking she's really outdoors and she has stopped her incessant whining at the front door to be "let outside".  Now, she will cry at the back door, which we will gladly open to let her out.  Many nights, she will sleep outside and you can find her in the catnip/lantana area, where she had matted down the mulch to make a nice, comfortable spot for herself.

Delilah

I'm still working on washcloths but I might pick up my scarf project and try to finish it today.  It was 90 degrees yesterday so knitting a scarf seems counter-intuitive.  However, I don't have that much more to go before it's done, clearing space for me to start that baby blanket.

Crazy Colors Scarf

I bought a new computer a few weeks ago.  Mine was just becoming too slow, even after I re-installed the OS and cleaned everything off of it (most stuff I have is stored on an external drive).  Mr. Grumpbump's computer was replaced last November and his prior computer was about 6 months old than mine, so I knew the time was coming.  I'll probably sell the old one on eBay, but I'll have to do a lot of cleanup on it (both internally and externally).    You know with new things you make all kinds of promises to keep it looking perfect and new and fresh.  That's where I am right now.   I am trying to keep it free of cat hair, crumbs and the like.  I'm not very good at sticking with my commitments and typically I just give up.  I'll be abusing this computer in no time.

Friday Night I Said I'm Sorry

I am sorry for neglecting this blog for so long.  I have tried to write a posting several times in the last week or so, but I lose interest so quickly.   I think I have a lot to say but when I'm staring at the computer screen nothing motivates my fingers to move over the keys.

It's Friday night and I had a long, ugly day at work.  I left around 5:30 and hurried home.  Mr. Grumpbump and I made a trip to Michaels.  I bought baby yarn because I'm knitting a baby blanket for Mr. Grumpbump's niece, who is having her first baby this fall (she's having a boy).  While it's true that I have a stash of baby yarn from the last blanket I knitted, I fell in love with some beautiful blue and green skeins of yarn.  I really dislike the Michaels that is close to my home.  The yarn section is always so messy and under-stocked.  I wish there was a Hobby Lobby nearby.  The only one in my town is near my office but generally I have a hard time leaving for lunch.   It is my new favorite big-box yarn store.

The baby blanket I'm knitting is the gradient garter pattern, which I've previously done.  The problem with the last project was that the yarn would get ridiculously tangled.  I'm not making that mistake this time.

As for my other projects, the third ripple afghan is still on needles, having been so long neglected.  I really don't have that much more to finish but other projects keep getting move up in priority.  I knitted these really cute and super simple fingerless mittens.  I made them for a friend at work and we added some buttons to give them a funky, quirky look.

So easy

Left off the "flap" and added buttons

I had to add the felt white flower "button" at the inside beginning of the thumb gusset because there is a gap where the knitting goes from in the round to back and forth.  I could not pull the yarn tight enough to close the ladders that were formed.  I even tried to add more rows but nothing seemed to work.  So I just covered up my mistake.

I'm also knitting a two-color scarf for the same co-worker.  I really should try to finish it this weekend for her.  She will love to model the scarf (as she did the mittens above).  The colors are very bold and eye-catching (pink and green and purple and yellow).

Also on some needles around here are a few washcloths.  Sometimes it feels like I am going backward in my knitting, as if I'm not progressing.  But knitting is also about relaxing and de-stressing for me so I can't be too critical in my thinking.  So I have projects strewn about the house and have not left much room for the cats.

Tigger is a great cat - he loves to be near us.  When Mr. Grumpbump and I are outside of the patio, he goes meow crazy and yells at us to come back inside.  He doesn't like being left alone.

Trying Out New Projects

Just the thought of knitting is enough to lift my spirits.  I really want to knit a hat right now.  Actually, scratch that.  I want to crochet a hat.  My crochet skills are less than stellar but I want to make a garden party hat - very girly, with a cute band around the crown with a flower or other adornment.  I should be working on my ripple afghan (so carelessly set aside while I worked on the baby blanket), but I really feel the urge to work on that crocheted hat.  We'll see how far I get today.

I've started a new diet.  Today is the last day of the first week.  I don't want to go into much discussion about exactly what I'm doing but this is the basic explanation.  I'm really overweight.  I love food so much and I don't get enough exercise.  I like Weight Watchers because that plan allows you a lot of flexibility.  But, with that flexibility, I was having problems starting it and getting weight off.  So, I've gone to a eating plan that really restricts your carb and sugar intake.  It's like South Beach where you eat more protein and vegetables.  Fruit and dairy are out.   The trick is to get a lot of weight off of me and when I reach my goal, I can transition to Weight Watchers for the rest of my life.  I also have to get an exercise plan integrated into my life.

An attorney I work for has been on the same plan I just started and has dropped 15 pounds in five weeks.  My plan involves being on this plan until the end of October, at which time I should be at my goal weight.  I'm not sure how much I will blog about this plan but it is what is happening in my life right now.  I'm sure I will be more likely to write about it if I'm having success with it.  

My first week was hard (without bread! or cheese!) but I made it and there was no cheating.  I'm drinking 100 ounces of water per day and limiting my caffeine.  I've found that the thought of food is almost as good as eating it.  Since I've gained so much weight, I've found that the eating of the food became almost secondary, it was the anticipation of the food that got me excited.  Wow.  That sounds really sick.  But, let's face it, being so overweight is an illness.  Honestly, this time I'm really committed to getting rid of this fat.

Now that there are three cats in this house, I am never permitted to sleep in.  There are all kinds of chirping, meowing, and crying in the house every morning until I get out of bed and feed these beasts.  In the evening, they never bother Mr. Grumpbump (he's usually home before me), but the second I get home there are cats circling me, following me around until I pop open that can of Friskies.   As nice as it feels to be wanted, it's fleeting because once their faces are buried in their cat bowls, I'm but a memory.  They seem to feel more comfortable hanging around Mr. Grumpbump and they find his lap a nice place to take naps.

Delilah stretching after a long tiring morning of napping 

Tiggs just starting his morning nap

Mr. Grumpbump has many fine qualities and he's been working on his gardening skills.  He's got a dozen or more plants in his garden now, which has already produced a cubanelle sweet pepper (sorry, no picture, we already ate it!).  Now we are waiting for his bell pepper to fully ripen so we can eat it up as well.

One peck of (not) picked peppers

Until his garden gets productive, we are lucky to have a farmer's market every Saturday morning at a local shopping area.  Yesterday I bought Mr. Grumpbump a couple honey bell oranges (his favorite), along with the standard cucumbers and beefsteak tomatoes.  I also got fresh spinach and a head of lettuce.  I'm eating salad practically every night for dinner with my protein choice (the latest selections: tilapia, chicken and buffalo meat, all on separate nights).  We are headed to a warehouse store this afternoon to pick up a variety of proteins to keep on hand so I don't get bored with my new eating habits.  Tonight, we are going out to eat at a sushi restaurant, and I've determined I can eat sashimi (fish without the sushi rice) and a salad (dressing on  the side).  I also believe the miso soup is acceptable because it's made with tofu.  So, I will not be depriving myself at all.   We tried this restaurant a few weeks ago, so I am very confident that they have good quality fish.

I've got to go and start that garden party hat.  Just got to find my crochet hooks.

Everything In Its Place

As I sit here typing this, next to me is a puddle of yarn with a tiger cat laying it in the middle of it.  The yarn is the leftover remnants of my baby blanket project.  Speaking of that, here's the finished project:

Not my best work, I'm sorry to say.  I felt like there are quite a few "errors" that I tried to fix when the ends were woven back in.  When I looked at the blanket as a whole, my eye focuses on those edits.  The problem was the yarn - it kept getting so tangled.  I spent more time untangling it than knitting.  What I love about the pattern is the gradient, but I think this works best with pastel or muted colors.  The other nice feature of the blanket is the feel of the yarn.  It was baby sport yarn in the first place so by its nature, it's soft. Once I washed this blanket, the yarn really softened up.  I was so happy when it came out of the dryer and the softness was even more apparent.  

Babies love cat hair!

Our newest cat, Tigger, is a true blessing, if only because he actually uses the various cat accessories that I have wasted money on in the past.  Delilah needs nothing but a bed to lie on and Macy just wants her own corner cat condo.  A reclining scratching post was never once looked at by Macy or Delilah, but Tigger?  He's all over it.  Even though he has no front claws, he will claw at this thing like he's got talons.  

Sometime last year, I bought this cat groom tunnel made by Kong.  I thought Macy might like it, even though I had nothing to back up that assumption.  She might have looked at it once, but it was basically abandoned. Until Tigger arrived.

He's a great addition to our house.  He was the cat sleeping next to me as I typed this blog entry.

That's What I'm Made Of

Before you think that I drink, eat, sleep, and sweat cats and knitting, I have to clarify that I heavily edit everything I publish on this blog.  Very personal information is verboten; you never know who your audience is when your blog is public domain.  That's the reason why it seems like my mind has two channels:  (1) Kitties and (2) Knitting.

With that out of the way, I can happily tell you that I have started another knitting project.  A co-worker is having a baby and the baby shower is scheduled for March 9, which doesn't really give me much time to finish a project.  I found a cute and easy pattern called Gradient Garter Baby Blanket and ran over to Michaels on President's Day to get the yarn on sale.  Unfortunately, the store's selection was not very good, so I had to compromise on the colors.  I ended up with white, yellow, pink, lilac, and mint, which will be the order of the colors on the blanket.  The pattern is knitted holding two strands of yarn together.  You knit a sold block of color and then phase into the next solid color by using one strand of each color yarn.  I should make a real dent in the project this weekend because the whole blanket is knit using only the knit stitch.

Tigger continues to make me laugh.  Tonight, I am watching him stalk Delilah, who is still skittish  when he gets too close, but I feel Tigger making some headway in their relationship.  Delilah would love to have a friend to play with, if she would just let go of her bitchy exterior.  Tigger got distracted from his pursuit of Delilah by something under our love seat.  I watched him circle the love seat several times, stopping only to stick his paw underneath it to grab at something..

I thought there was a toy under the couch, and, trying to be helpful, I moved the love seat back.  What a surprise to see that toy under the couch was a lizard!  And Tigger pounced on it as soon as I cleared the path for him.  He chased the lizard across the floor, under the pool table and then I watched the lizard disappear into a pile of brown butcher paper we have on the floor (the short story behind this - Delilah loves to play with the paper, she loves the crinkly sounds it makes).  I'm scanning the area for the lizard, hoping I can help him escape, when I see that Tigger got a hold of the lizard's tail.  The tail is separated from the lizard's body but still wiggling around!  I cannot lie; that was a bit disturbing.  I grabbed my cell phone and shot this grainy video (sorry for the yelling).

I found the lizard hidden in the folds of the butcher paper, so I carried it to the patio and set the tailless lizard free.  I hope Tigger forgives me for ruining his fun (and his snack).  You see, I managed to get the lizard's tail from Tigger because he was going to eat it.

Morning Comedy

I don't know when it happened, but my cats' schedule is all messed up. 

Typically, mornings start at 6:00 a.m., and I immediately get food for the kitties.  They are non-stop meowing and chirping and whining already.  After they finish their food, there is a mad dash for either the back door or the sliding glass door in the bedroom so they can go outside.  They are in and out all morning until I leave for work.

However, in the last 10 ten days, the schedule has been bumped up an hour.  Now, at 5:00 a.m., when Mr. Grumpbump wakes up to go to work, the cats are in a frenzy to be fed.  Being their well-trained guardian, I wake up around 5:15 a.m., and immediately prepare their food.  After gorging on their breakfast, every single cat goes back to sleep (Macy's in her new condo, Tigger on the couch, and Delilah is either on the guest bed or our bed).  I get ready for work, and as I am making my final rounds to leave, that's when the cats suddenly arise from their naps and start to congregate at the doors. 

Typically, this is met with a "No, I'm leaving.  You can't go out." speech.  However, I still had a few minutes this morning so I relented and let Miss Macy out.  In the words of Pretty Woman, "Big Mistake.  Huge."

After five minutes, I need to leave, so I go out the sliding glass door to hustle Macy inside.  Of course, while I'm doing that, Tigger makes a break for it.  I come around to the back door, bringing Macy with me.  In the meantime, Delilah has heard the commotion and wants to join in.  As I'm running Tigger into the house, there goes Delilah.  Delilah is small enough for me to grab, but as I bring her in through the back door, Macy runs by me.

ARGH.  Macy will not let me pick her up so I have to corner her and direct her to the back door.  Of course, when I open the door to herd Macy in, Tigger is sitting there.  Luckily, I yell at him to get back, and he backs aways as Macy slips by me and into the house.

Finally, I have success and all the cats are back inside.  I tell each of them to go back to sleep, which is met with blank stares and no action.

And then, of course, I'm late to work because I left the house 20 minutes later than normal.   No matter, it was the best part of my day so far. 

Five is Good Number

One of our neighbors cooks every Saturday and it always smells so good.  Almost motivates me to cook.  I think this week they are grilling.

Once the warmer weather starts, I'm going to miss having the fresh air in the house.  Since we moved into the house at the end of August, we didn't have that long before the weather started cooling off. And, because the winter has been so mild, our windows and patio doors have been open as long as we are home. I love this house because, on top of the fact that it belongs to us, it feels so open and airy.  What a difference from our former one-bedroom apartment that made me feel so confined.

We are switching from Brighthouse cable to AT&T U-verse today.  Just waiting on the technician to get here.  We currently have AT&T for our cell phone provider.   The change was motivated due to our cable and internet going out on Superbowl Sunday, beginning with the half-time show and ending at the fourth quarter.  Mr. Grumpbump had to listen to the game via his cell phone by using the I Heart Radio app.  When I asked Brighthouse for a $25 credit for this disruption of service, they countered with a credit of $2.63.  I'm still "negotiating" with them for my $25 credit.  U-verse is promising us a lower monthly bill, free DVR, HD channels, and some premium channels (for one year).  I read the reviews on U-verse and they were complimentary and positive, so we decided to make the switch.

I'm still working on my latest ripple stitch afghan.  I think I will try to make it a bit longer than the previous two, if I have enough yarn.  I'll have a lot of the red, beige and cream yarn left over (since those color blocks are smaller than the chocolate brown) so I'm trying to find some patterns for that purpose.  I could knit this pattern with my eyes closed; I've almost forgotten what it is like to have to read a pattern.

A constant fixture on the couch

In October, a co-worker told me about a cat looking for a new home.  She called him a "kitty" so I assumed this was a young cat.  The lady who owned the cat had a small child who was highly allergic to the cat and she needed to re-home him.  I listened to the story but didn't volunteer to take him (surprise, surprise).  I got the impression that he had found a new place to live.

In December, this co-worker emailed me and told me that this "kitty" was still looking for a home (the cat was forced to live outside due to child's allergies).  I feel a pang of sadness but I knew I could not convince Mr. Grumpbump to let me have a third cat.  I did not respond but, in January, this persistent co-worker asked me if I would be willing to contact the cat's owner.  She then sent me pictures of the cat.  Wow.  He was a cutie.  And all of sudden, my mind started playing over all the scenarios in which I could adopt this cat.

After wearing down Mr.Grumpbump (who was behind the literal eight ball in that I let him move his pool table into our dining room and therefore take over the whole living space), I called the cat's owner and on Saturday, January 28, 2011, I went to her house and brought back Tigger:

Tigger, a/k/a El Tigre, a/k/a Mr. Man Cat

Turns out that Tigger is not a kitty, he's eight years old.  And his owner was giving him up after raising him from a kitten!  Tigger was very unhappy for the first two days, which is completely reasonable, seeing as I removed him from the only home he had known for eight years (albeit the last four months he spent in isolation outside and away from his family).  His owner told me that he was a very friendly lap cat and a real lover, so I had hope for him.

After the first few days, Tigger started to show signs of loosening up and relaxing.  He is a purr machine; he purrs while he sleeps, purrs while he eats, purrs when you pet him.  We kept him separated from the girls for the first 10 ten days, and he was living in our bedroom and bathroom.  I started letting him roam around the house while Delilah and Macy were out on the patio.  Now, three weeks later, all cats are leaving out in the open.

Delilah and Macy have not warmed to him (if they ever will), but Tigger is a trooper and he tries really hard to play with them and to be around them.  He's without his front claws, so he is at a disadvantage should there be a brawl, but the girls don't seem to realize that.  When he gets near to them, they hiss or growl, but Tigger stands his ground.  He doesn't move away, and it is Macy or Delilah who turn and retreat.   

When I first brought Tigger home, I had an arrangement worked out with his owner that in the event things did not work out with us, that I would bring Tigger back to her.  We decided to check back with each other in two weeks.  Of course, I've already told her that we are happy to have Tigger stay with us and that, while things aren't perfect, they are perfect.  

Now, I need to work on getting him a new name.

Planet of the Cats

Warning.  This will be a cat-intensive blog post.

Miss Macy had her dental cleaning on Friday.  I had an estimate from a vet for this procedure and it was upwards of $600.00.  This is very budget-unfriendly; I just put this on the back burner.  Macy seemed to have no problems with eating, so I felt comfortable with this decision.

Then we moved to our new house, far away from Macy's vet, and time for her annual wellness exam came and went.  I couldn't find anyone I knew to recommend a vet so I called the local SPCA, which is associated with the County's Animal Services Department.  Turns out they have a vet clinic and very reasonable rates.  Macy had her annual wellness exam, and the only issues were her weight (she needs to lose a pound) and her teeth.  The vet told me that she would need a cleaning and some of the teeth would need to be extracted.  The estimate was less than half of my original quote of $600 plus.  So we scheduled the cleaning.

The morning of the surgery, I bought Macy to the clinic and saw at least 30 other owners and their animals waiting in line (although most of them were probably there for spay/neuter - the clinic will not treat any animal that isn't fixed).  Macy was so miserable, meowing and carrying on.   Macy was one of the first animals called in and it was in the moment I handed her to the vet tech, that I started crying.  Poor Miss Mace is something I say a lot (in relation to Delilah's grumpiness towards her).  But I was saying it that morning.  Poor Miss Mace doesn't know what is going on and she's scared.  Of course, Macy pooped in her cat carrier, but I was prepared and scooped it out before I handed her over.

I was told that the clinic would call me if there were any complications or questions during the process.  I called the clinic but left a message with the vet tech.  I never heard from anyone and tried to reassure myself that no news meant good news.  I left work at 4:00 p.m. to go pick up Macy.

I arrived at the clinic at 4:30 p.m. and told the nurse at the desk that I was there to pick up Macy.  She told me that Macy would not be ready until 5:00 or 5:30 p.m.  Another couple was there at the same time as me to pick up their dog, who had also had a teeth cleaning and they were told the same thing.  While they patiently waited, I stomped out of the clinic and went to my car to call my husband.

When Mr. Grumpbump answered, I was already in tears and the first thing I said to him was "I should have paid the extra money."  And burst out into dramatic wailing.  Mr. Grumpbump is telling me to take deep breaths and calm down.  I told him that Macy would not be ready to go home until 5:30, but this was unacceptable to me and I was going to march back into the clinic and demand that my cat be released from this prison!

Honestly, the clinic people were not very friendly to me (I was pouting and visibly upset) and about 5:15 p.m. they processed Macy to go home.  Macy had four teeth removed and they prescribed pain medicine (to be rubbed on her gums) and an antibiotic (with a syringe so we could get it down her throat).  With the amount of animals they must see on a regular basis, their procedures are in place for reason.  I couldn't help but feel like I was in the animal welfare clinic because there was almost no personal service for me, the human, guardian, and the person footing the bill.  I believe that they took good care of Macy and she seems no worse for the trauma of it all.

Macy came home with a shaved front leg and now she looks like she's wearing a boot on her front leg.  I haven't been able to get a good look at her mouth.  We can't get anywhere near her with the pain medicine but she doesn't appear to be in any discomfort.  The required antibiotics are a bitch to get in her mouth.  Last night she spit up most of it (I think the taste is off-putting).  I posted a note in a cat forum and found out that I was administering the medicine wrong.  We were putting the syringe in the front and putting the medicine down her throat (and then she spit it back).  However, when we put the syringe in the corner of her mouth and shot the medicine across her throat, her reflexes kicked in and she swallowed it.  Success!

Macy and her fur boot

I have two water bowls inside (one is a fountain that has continuously running water) and there is a water bowl outside by the pool.  Delilah still insists on drinking from the pool.  I caught her this morning.  She spreads her back legs out and firmly plants them on the concrete as her anchor and then she lowers the front half of her body into the pool.

Delilah is very thirsty