So, that happened…

May 5, 2024May 5, 2024

Photo of kitten and older cat sitting on a chair. Kitten is looking off to the side while cat is looking more at the camera. — Reesie welcomes a new kitten to our clowder.

I have been pretty lucky with my cat adoptions. Leo I got thanks to one of mom’s co-workers. Linus & Lucy were thanks to my cousin, Brandi. Reesie was from one of my co-workers. And guess what? I have a new little furball in my life. I had intended to adopt one in the summer when I could spend more time with the kitty, but this one happened now, so now is when we adopt!

No name yet, though I have some ideas, so for now I’m calling it Tiny or Little B (B for Bae or Baby.) I adopted Tiny today thanks to another of my mom’s co-workers (both she and mum now retired). Her cousin lives on a farm not far from here and they’re always having cats dropped off at the end of their lane. Though they’ve caught most and had them fixed, this particular mama cat has eluded them thus far – I think they said she’s had 3 litters now.

So the rest of this post is just for photos of the new little one. Hoping to get it to the vet this week to make sure it’s doing well (it looks just fine & dandy) and schedule its spaying/neutering. Reesie seems fine with the tiny one for the most part, though she’s been watching it from afar as it naps of late. We had a lovely time all cuddled together in the comfy chair, so I’m hoping Tiny is feeling love from our new clowder.

Tiny kitten (white, orange/yellow with black stripes, little paw sticking out and showing its toe beans). — Tiny Kitten and toe beans

Same kitten, now asleep with paw up and toe beans are on display. — Tiny Kitten and toe beans

To my Good Boy, Linus

April 16, 2024

A photo of my cat, Linus, sitting in a green chair on a blue fuzzy blanket covered in monkeys. Linus is a striped tabby, mostly gray and black with a little brown. — Linus in Repose

This past Sunday, my Linus, my Old Man, my Hot Water Bottle, died. He leaves a little Linus-shaped hole in my life.

Several years ago, Linus was diagnosed with inflamed bowels (possibly cancerous – we never did surgery to check) and had been on prednisolone ever since. Most of the time he was happy and hungry and pooped a lot. But he’d have the occasional “bad belly day” as I would call them. Sometimes lasting a couple of days. But then he’d be back to his usual self.

At his last vet appointment, Linus had lost 2 pounds since his previous annual physical, so the vet gave him a blood test. Everything came back fine except his thyroid. It was overactive. Hence the weight loss. Linus was prescribed a new medication to take each morning and evening. (With 3 pills per day in his pill case, I would be no longer likely to mix up our pill cases when I take my Zyrtec in the morning… OK, so I only did it twice! Once when I was fighting the flu and the other time right after the time change, OK?)

Anyway, it seemed that the medication was helping. He had gained another 0.6lb from his appointment and seemed to be doing OK. But then Friday he was going back to his glum “bad belly day” mood. And Saturday he seemed even worse. Our vet isn’t available on the weekend, but I’d decided I’d call Monday to see if we should cut down the thyroid pill dose. He was due for the 1 month check in tomorrow (Wednesday).

Sunday morning, he seemed better and ate some breakfast. My sister was coming to Troy that day, so I spent the morning and early afternoon with the folks and her. We had a lovely day. Then Amy came to help me take some stuff out of the basement for an upcoming garage sale. Linus & Reesie were crashed out on the sofa. Once Amy left, I joined them for a bit. Reesie seemed as concerned as I was for Linus, who was feeling bonier than he’d ever felt.

Sunday was laundry day, and had been interrupted some by my family visit. So I got another load going and decided the three of us needed to cuddle in the comfy chair. We spent well over an hour together, first me and Linus, and soon the three of us. It was very fine cuddling indeed.

Sadly, I needed to get more laundry shifted, but my goal was to return to cuddling ASAP. But while I was downstairs swapping loads, Linus decided to hop out of the comfy chair and was laying down on the floor in front of it. I dumped the clean laundry on the bed and went in to the library check on him. He laid on his side, spasmed a cou ple of times, and then he was gone. Reesie left the room around that time too – I think she figured out what was going on. I found a shoe box for him (he needed a bigger one that Lucy) and then buried my grief in chores.

A picture of my cat, Linus, sitting in a cat window perch with his back to the camera, but his face toward it. His tongue is out, mid-lick. So, "blep" as they say. — Blep!

I’d texted the family about Linus and they were all lovely and supportive. But I decided I’d bury Linus on my own. (Amy had come over to help me with Lucy’s grave. And damn if I didn’t pick the rootiest place to dig! I picked a much less rooty place for Linus and was done a lot quicker than the pair of us had been. Sorry Amy!) And then I found even more chores to do.

Reesie and I finished up the evening on the sofa together streaming something – either the Eternals or Lovecraft Country – and I consoled myself with a pint of ice cream. Reesie was a wonderful comfort to me, so I thanked Corinne on Monday for bringing her into my life. (And to Linus’ life. I think he stayed around longer because of her.)

I had nearly 18 years with my good boy and most of that time with his sister, Lucy, too. I was very lucky to have found them (thanks Brandi!) and to have them in my life. Thank you for all the cuddles Linus! I’ll miss having you as my hot water bottle at night!

Minneapolis Pix

August 11, 2012

I decided to give my phone a decent test on its camera when I visited my sister. So the following photos are some of the shots that I took. I noticed it tends toward over exposure when there’s sky around. So I’ve got a bit of playing around to work with it. It does a digital zoom, which surprised me.

Without further adieu, photos from my trip:

My nephew Curtis, working from home.

On the fence outside the area where the Midtown Farmer’s Market is held.

Midtown Farmer's Market is bigger than the ones around here.
Midtown Farmer’s Market is bigger than the ones around here.

Striated eggplant from the market.

The Coop Co-op!

Chickens having dinner.

Chickens in the coop!

The beer place, the Four Firkins.

Beer!
Beer!

Our bikes, exhausted from mahoosive riding! (Well, not so much.)

High fives! (Amy's the cute one on the left. I'm the one with the unfortunate fanny pack on the right.)
High fives! (Amy’s the cute one on the left. I’m the one with the unfortunate fanny pack on the right.)

The ice cream place we went the first time we went out biking.

Sea Salt, a lovely (and very busy) restaurant along our bike ride.

Culture near Sea Salt.

The Minihaha Falls.

From the top of the Minihaha Falls.

That's a Nice Ride!
That’s a Nice Ride!

A view of Minneapolis from my sister’s neighborhood.

Thanksgiving 2006

November 23, 2006

This holiday weekend has been only the second time that both families have been together (the other being Amy & Rachel’s wedding). Last night, Rachel made vegetarian lasagna which we had when Lynn & Doug arrived (having driven into town). The dinner was excellent and accompanied by salad, roasted squash, and rustic Italian bread (from their Co-Op). Good eats!

But the REAL banquet was saved for today. Amy got up early and started on the chestnut stuffing (chopping & browning the bread) and then the turkey (which had been soaking in brine in the fridge for nearly 12 hours). As the morning progressed, I made the sweet potato souffle (having made the cheeseball last night), Rachel worked on the rolls, Lynn made the green bean casserole (using green & wax beans from her garden), Doug made the mashed ‘tatoes (having made cranberries the day before), and Rachel made the apple pie. Mom and dad carved the turkey (which turned out beautifully). And then we feasted at 2pm.

The feast, lovingly prepared by all.

Once we got the kitchen cleaned up again, we all crashed, some napping, others watching Love, Actually on cable. I napped a little, and now I’m typing this up.

We still have pies. Amy & Rachel’s friends Becky & Michelle will be arriving around 7:30pm for games, leftovers, and DESSERT. Mom baked her pumpkin pies yesterday and as I mentioned just now, Rachel baked an apple pie.

Mom’s pumpkin pies.

Apple pie.
Rachel’s apple pie (with snowflake cut-outs).

Oh, and just cuz I can, gratuitous cat photo:

Früvous helped out by staying out of the way.

We said thanks before we had our feast. Today in particular, I am thankful that we were able to gather for this. Thank you, Amy & Rachel for making all of this possible. 🙂

Books, Cats, Life is Sweet

August 14, 2006

Edward Gorey is Da Man.

Anyhoo, I’ve been working with my books lately, trying to get them (a) inventoried and (b) packed up so that I can figure out how I want my floor-to-ceiling bookshelves to go in the reading room. Man, I have a LOT of books. So far, I’ve got 427 books into my inventory. That’s over 6 boxes of books. (I use the letter/legal cardboard boxes from Staples – full of books, they can still be lifted, somewhat.) I have 2 more boxes to inventory, and loads more books to pack & inventory.

I’ve noticed that far too many books have a different barcode than their ISBN number. This is very aggravating to someone with a nice barcode reader. I did discover, however, that the New Adventures of Doctor Who and many of the Target Doctor Who books have proper barcodes. That speeds up my inventory considerably. Roald Dahl books also tended to sport the right barcodes. Nice to know my most favorite books are nice to me. 🙂

I’m curious to know how many books I’ll end up with in my inventory. If I were to cross-reference them with the ones I’ve actually read, however… I fear it’s less than 50%. Well, maybe I’ll surprise myself.

One thing this has been doing is showing me some books that I’d forgotten that I had. I have many books now that I want to put on my “To Read’ pile right now. I’m not actually putting them in the pile, because then I’d be killed under a huge tower of books that would fall on me when the kitties rushed into the reading room playing.

The kitties really seem to like the place and me. It’s fun to watch them play. And watch them sleep. And they seem to be putting fewer scratches on me (though I resemble a pin cushion right now). They’ve found interesting resting places in my house. My favorite place is behind the albums. Sometimes when they sleep in the den, they get behind my stack of albums and sleep there. They also like sleeping UNDER the bed. Though at night, they sleep with me part (sometimes most) of the night.

LOL – I just went to check on them. They’d managed to shut themselves up into the bathroom. I saw that the bathroom door was closed, but after a bit, I realized that I hadn’t shut it. Sure enough, I opened it and the two little kitties popped out. Silly kitties!

The Lake Cat

July 17, 2006

Today, judiang and I saw the Lake Cat. He (or she) is a little cat who seems to be quite at home by the lakeside. Judi tried to get him some water, but he shunned the little dish and instead drank from the Lake. He was enjoying sunning himself on the dock, so of course we took pictures. And then I decided to make one into another Lazing at the Lake icon.

Baby Kitties!

July 15, 2006

Perhaps the most important thing that Leo taught me during his short lifespan is that I need to have kitty cats in my life. My cousin’s sister has 4 little kitties who need good homes and I hope to take two of those kitties into my home. Today, judiang and I got to meet the little kitties. And one of the little girls (there’s 3 girls & 1 boy) came over to greet me almost as soon as she left their carrier.

Here’s me and the baby kitty. I think we get along well.

Kitty pic3

Judi enters the state of Kitty Bliss

In addition to the little beauty in those photos, I’ll be taking her little brother as well. I’m hoping that 2 kitties will be able to keep each other entertained while I’m at work and when I go on trips. Judi did her best in trying to take pictures of the kitties, but let’s face it, taking photos of kitties is like trying to take photos of the wind. The kitties, BTW, should become part of my household in early August. (Hoping to get my floor in reasonable shape before I take in the kitties.)

Leo the Lion – RIP

June 21, 2006

One of my parents’ worst nightmare – to be looking after Leo for me and him getting sick.

Today, he was sick. They thought the automatic feeder was broken and was feeding him too much. He became lethargic and had trouble breathing. They got an appointment to the vet and discovered Leo had an enlarged heart and was having congestive heart failure. The vet sent them home while Leo had more tests done. When they called at 7pm to see how Leo was doing, the vet informed them that Leo had passed away. He took one last gasp of breath and then died.

Poor Leo. I’m gonna miss him lots & lots.

Leo the Lion
July 22, 2001 – June 21, 2006

Italy Day 4: Villa Francesco

August 9, 2005

Jul 23, 2005

2:13pm We are currently in a Hertz rental car on the way to the villa. Gary’s driving and Marcia’s his second pair of eyes. judiang‘s propped her swollen feet up on my lap and is reading one of my Tuscany books.

The scenery is beautiful. We’re in the 5th car in the convoy. Weave’s ahead of us, then Mike, then Dave, and John S (with Sheila excellently navigating) in the lead.

Despite a wrong turning at one point, Sheila got us on the A1 and we’ve been going now for about an hour. We stopped at a rest stop and I bought a cheapo watch (€12.90), some chocolate cookies, and a chocolate candy with toy – hoping for an Asterix toy. Got a cute little knight on a horse instead. Total was €18.

It’s neat to see the mountains around us. And vineyards. And just now, a huge field of sunflowers.

We’re about to get off the A1 and onto our next road. We’re making progress!

9:40pm “Travel with Tammy! Nothing but the best!” Lordy, lordy, guess what we had for dinner? Well, I’ll tell you about it later. La Grande Mela will remain one of the most memorable experiences of this trip.

[The next day, I wrote more about our day traveling to the Villa. I shall nab some of that for the next bit.]

Our original plan was to take the bus to the Hertz rental place, but they don’t like big luggage on the bus. So then it was taxi hailing time. While we stood across the street waiting for taxis, a groups of children came over and started crowing over Judi and touching her face. She felt one of the girls as she was unzipping her (mine, actually) fanny pack. She pulled back, said “No!” in a loud voice, and reluctantly, the children moved on to find a new mark. Sure enough, the fanny pack was open, but they hadn’t taken anything yet.

A cab was going by the other way and we hailed it, so it U-turned and took me, Judi, and Weave to a street just a couple blocks from the car rental. (To be fair, he was following another cab with some of our folks.) €13 for the ride and tip [which we later discovered to be a ripoff compared to what the others paid for the same journey], and we headed offf with our bags to Hertz.

Next to the car rental was an underwear store with some boxes of Calvin Klein undies. The photos of some of the young men in shorts were quite, um, bold. One guy looked like he had a apir of socks stuffed in his shorts. The store owner kept getting pissy at us if we covered his window, so we stood to the side while folks got the paperwork going.

The garage for Hertz was another block, so we had to roll our luggage around again. It took awhile to get all the paperwork sorted and slowly, one by one, we got our cars. Judi and I ride with Gary and Marcia.

We had walkie talkies set to channel 9 and Sheila kept us appraised of our progress. We missed a major turning, but with a single pullover, they figured out how to get back on track. We were soon on the highway and heading for the Autostrada.

We made it to Foiana della Chiana in good time, but missed the villa. We stopped at a restaurant and John & Gary talked with a local who insisted we turned wrong and had to go back.

The old gentleman was right. Once we got back onto the road, we drove past the place. By the time we did (we were no longer last), others behind us drove onto the lane. A quick turn aound and we, too, had gone up the lane.

Now, we’ve already had a great vacation so far. So what does the place look like? Is it a dump? Or is it as pretty as the photos online? Well, it was neither – it was prettier! Bootiful!

Judi and I have a room on the 3rd floor and we share a bathroom with Jo & Jacki. There are many antiques in the building, including a suit of armor I have named Guido.

They had some pastries out for us and three bottles of wine and showed us where everything was. The pool is lovely. The guest house is awfully nice too. A lovely place to stay.

We sat around eating and drinking (and killing ants) after unloading the cars. Then Mike, Ruth, Beth & I headed to the nearby Penny Market for supplies for the weekend cuz they’re closed on Sundays.

Shopping in a grocery in a country where you don’t know the language is certainly interesting. We found most of what we needed and my little translation book did a nice job helping. The place reminded us of Aldi’s and we even boxed our stuff up, even though they had bags. Whoops!

The total bill for 18 people’s worth of breakfasts, wines and so on? €44! The wine was €1,50-4,00! Other items were similarly priced. And the food and wine has been decent, too. (There was even wine for less, but we were afraid to try it. We might get some now!)

My goal, when we were done, was to go swimming! Mother Nature, OTOH, had other ideas. For the first time on our trip, it rained lots! Folks were out of the pool and under the tent. And poor Trina sat with them, all dressed up and no place to swim!

Thankfully, the rain finally cleared and I got to swim in the lovely pool. And realized that it had been so long since I last swam that my confidence was lower and swimming in the deep end was a little panic inducing. So I stuck to the shallow end and swam back and forth a few times.

After the swim, I got ready for supper and we drove into town. We stopped at the first eatery – La Grande Mela (The Big Apple).

The waitress spoke English very well – turned out she was from Finland. She actually didn’t know much Italian and had some trouble getting our orders.

Now, before we entered, the place was deserted. Getting 18 seats outside was easy. When she passed out our forks and napkins, they were plastic blue forks and paper blue napkins in plastic bags. These were simple clues noticed only in retrospect.

A couple of folks ordered pizza, but most of us ordered pasta. I ordered spaghetti alla carbonara. We chatted and laughed while we waited for food. Judi and I were sitting by Amy, Kathie, Dave, and Mary.

When the waitress brought out the first meals, I did a double-take. Surely not! Must be a joke!

But no, she had 3 microwave lasagnas on her tray and was passing them out. The entire table erupted with laughter. And the laughter continued as more meals were brought out. Judi sent hers back to be reheated (and it wasn’t what she ordered, but they didn’t have a TV dinner for spaghetti bolognese).

The TV dinner wasn’t too bad, and the laughter was precious. For desert, we had gelato – that was actually homemade and very good. (I had chocolate.)

[Tammy ordered an Americano when we were ordering drinks – before the TV dinners ever arrived – and it was apparently the foulest mixed drink she’d ever tried. We decided (Judi and I) that it was the post-George W Bush Americano. Heh. Oh, and Judi and I ordered Bacardi Breezers – peach flavored. Pretty good for alcohol.]

OK, enough from the journal, now onto photos!

If only Judi had been pointing to this sign in the first place, we wouldn’t have missed the villa!

This is the lane leading to the villa. It’s at the top of a steep hill, so not only is it beautiful to look at, but you’re just so pleased to be on nearly level land when you get to this point.