This is What One Pound Looks Like

The adults in this house are suckers. Give us a warm fuzzball that poops in a box inside our house, and we pay for the privilege.

When the Humane Society has a two-for-one kitten adoption sale, we think it's better than a free ice cream cone. Ice cream melts. Cats eat and poop and live for years and years.

Meet Dewey. This is OC's kitty.



She had the name all ready, was calling him by name before we arrived home.

Myself, on the other hand, had to think a while before Milo came to mind.



More cats. Just what we need!



"O hai. U have box for poop?"



In fact, it is EXACTLY what we needed.

The Nature of Words

The following is a visual representation of the various meanings of words.

How many things can the word "run" mean? It can mean the action verb, to run; it can describe what happens to your nose when you have a cold, or describe what happens to a stocking.

With that in mind, what words go through your mind when you watch this? The most interesting part is to see how they change slightly when the pictures change, yet are all linked back together. You'll see.



First viewed on the blog Educating Alice.

The Moth Lady

My day filled with wild animals concluded last evening with a moth that was practically stuck to my t-shirt. I was in the bathroom getting ready to brush my teeth when I noticed something fluttering. I pulled on my shirt and a moth fluttered for a second before settling back onto my shirt as though it were attached with a string. I pulled again, it fluttered again, then settled. Pull, flutter, settle. Finally I dramatically pulled and swished the fabric of my shirt and the moth flew off to settle onto the floor. As I brushed my teeth, I kept one eye on that crazy insect in case it decided to attack from behind. You never know, those things can be sneaky.

It feels like late summer. I put on a fleece jacket this morning, even though it's going to be near 80 degrees later on. I love that.

Too Much Life

As a cat lover I'm also an animal lover in general. This morning's run-in with wildlife was a bit much, even for me.

2 a.m. Cat (Rum) is racing around bedroom playing. Crunching whatever plastic is in here, pouncing hard, obviously attacking something....uh oh. It has to be an animal. Please don't let it be a mouse. Doze....

4:12 a.m. Get up and deal with situation. It's a mouse. Rum is chasing it, but she's not killing it. Kill, Rum, kill the mouse! I hate suffering. I'd rather the mouse was either running free in some field, or dead. No in between.

4:15 a.m. Mouse has gotten free....in the house. I yelled at Rum to GET THE MOUSE and she lost it. Great.

6:30 a.m. Up and at 'em. There's no more sleep for me. But there is a freshly killed bird in the living room. W...T...F....???

6:32 a.m. Bird is gone, but I wonder where the mouse is? Either it's found its way outdoors, or there is going to be a nasty smell in a couple of days.

Yuck.

8:15 a.m. Chickens escaped into the garden. They must like the tall grass around the garden beds. Stupid birds.

I miss Sable and Dakota.

Day One

I can't help it. Every time I walk into the kitchen, my gaze drifts to the kitty area. This is where the heater, their beds, food and water dishes are. It wasn't that long ago that they would have looked back at me, their eyes squeezing shut in contentment. Or, they would sleep through it. Sable, with his head curled under his paw while Dakota usually liked to rest his head on the side of the bed.

Yesterday, I avoided the kitchen as much as possible, but this isn't practical. I have to go in there. I have to see it.

It's just amazing that I still expect to see them there. After 16 years, a person gets used to these things.

Dakota

Sometime after 3:30 this morning, Dakota died. This house feels empty and sad with his goneness. Where is he? I just want to hold his furry little body.

There is nothing malicious in his look, only love and want of petting.


A car alarm woke me at 2 am. Something told me to go and be with Dakota, so I did. I scratched his cheeks, I pet his head, I told him it was okay. I told him I was crying because I was really going to miss him. I carried his little weak self wrapped in a towel around the kitchen for a while. He cried. I realized he needed to go to the bathroom. I got a clean towel and wrapped him up again.

More crying. Bathroom again. No problem, got a fresh towel and we were snuggling again.

His eyes were open, he was alert. He knew. I knew. We were together.

Finally, I put him back in his fuzzy bed and covered him with a towel, the heater close to his head. He fell asleep. When I found him a few hours later, he was gone. Still warm.

I told him it was okay, and it is okay. He had his life and I was lucky to be a part of it. I just miss him terribly.

My heart is broken. There are no words. Unconditional love, warm and fuzzy love with four legs....



What a cat.

Space-Time Continuum

Objects traveling at some rate of speed experience time at a slower rate than objects not moving, according to science and people smarter than myself.

I just saw "The Jane Austen Book Club". I have the book, tried to read it several years ago but didn't finish it. After watching the movie, I told my daughter that I had the book but I didn't finish it. She asked me when that was, and I told her that it had been a few years. She said that I should try it again, because sometimes you just need to pick up a book again to see if you're in the mood for it now, or not.

I felt like I was traveling at the speed of light the way time slowed down when she said that. Surprising, the way kids grow up on you.