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march 15, 1999 It's supposed to rain today. Rain alot. The cats don't come around when it's raining. Cleo was over yesterday. Blackie (who I've decided to call Kai) looks as if he's starting to consider this home. He's started protecting the entryway from Angus. *sigh* This morning, Brian let me know that he was out there and I got his medicine ready. I petted him while he ate, then I picked him up and held him in my arms. He didn't try to get away at all. And the other day, I held the screen door open (the front door was shut) and he started to walk towards it as if he was going to go inside. I think we might have another cat before too long. The other cats have smelled him for years, so I know there shouldn't much fighting. I just want to get Ciara better first.
Speaking of Ciara. It looks like we have most of the escape routes covered. She hasn't gotten out since Thursday. But I still can't relax when she's out. I can't believe she won't find another way out. Gives me a headache. If I start to get sleepy, I bring her in and lock the cat door, because I don't want to fall asleep, then find her missing. I flat out don't trust her. Just a little while ago, she climbed up on my chest and started purring. She doesn't purr very much. I quit typing and just stroked her. She's such a little cutie.
Brian got home Friday night and Saturday he wanted to go for another ride, which we did. Looked at the property right next to the one that we made an offer on (never did hear back from anyone). I liked it. Brian said that the far mountains were in Mexico. I like being able to see a long ways off. And we could still see Mt. Palomar. When we left, we tried going down a different dirt road and ended up in the middle of a field. No outlet, just fencing all around. We had to turn around and go back. A real adventure.
Before we drove home, we went to CostCo and did a little shopping then came home for the day. Boy, we were both really tired. Just kicked back and relaxed.
Yesterday, I scanned a couple of Disney pictures and will be putting them up shortly. Three pictures of us with friends or relatives on Splash Mountain. I notice from my counter that my Disney page is getting more hits, but nobody goes past the first page. :-( Guess nobody wants to try to decipher the heiroglyphs.
It's a little after nine and the rain has started. The weatherman said we might get over an inch. And there is supposed to be snow in the mountains. Yippee!! Too bad Brian has to work. It would be great to go to Disneyland.
Speaking of Brian, he was pleased with all of the work I got done while he was gone. Especially the pantry. The Sunday that he left, I threw out all of the photo developing equipment that mom gave me after dad died. I'm sure the chemicals were no longer any good and Brian said if I ever got into film developing, that I could get all new equipment. So, out it went. I moved all of our booze (I have no idea how we got so much, we surely don't drink it) from above the stove, which always struck me as a stupid place to store it, in case of fire, ya know? to the top shelf in the pantry. And I was able to move the stuff that was on top of the frig to the cupboard above the stove and also into the pantry. There was a can of tomato juice that had gone bad and split open. It was almost empty and the shelves were really gross. I have no idea how long that had been there. Yuck. He said that he had liked the tree branch I cut off. Oh, well, I was more worried about the cats (Ciara mostly) than the branch.
Well, I have laundry to do today and I really should vacuum. We talked with a neighbor about getting the new carpet installed and he said just do it one room at a time. He can get the padding and everything for us and talked about pet proofing it. We're gonna see what we can do.
march 17, 1999 Happy Saint Patrick's Day.
Blackie was outside this morning, bright and early. I got his food ready (1/2 can Fancy Feast with a Clavamox pill crushed in it) and took it out to him. He finished and let me pet him for a while. I came back in and dished up the remainder of the Fancy Feast and took it out to him. He was eating when I came inside. When I went out to get the newspaper, he was still here. I picked him up and cuddled him. He likes having his head rubbed. Then I let him down, got the paper and came in. He's still laying in the entryway. Poor guy. I hope he makes it til we're able to bring him in.
Ciara is still not getting better. But it's only week two of the interferon. I can hear her breathe. I bet it's through her mouth, not her nose. Darnit. So far, I haven't seen her outside of the yard since that time last week. It doesn't even look like she's trying anymore. She sits on the fence by the pool pump, looking into the neighbor's yard and she also sniffs the bottom of the fence, where the drain is. I don't see her by the doghouse at all. I bet she's just waiting until I get my guard down and she'll be gone again. Cats think like that, ya know?
Well, we went to Disneyland Monday. Brian said we had to leave by three to pick up his truck at Ford. It was supposed to be done by then. The drive up was nice, a few scattered showers. The weather was perfect, cool and refreshing. We made the big mistake of eating once we got into the park, went over to the *new* pizza place in tomorrowland. Brian had spaghetti and meatballs and I had chicken in a parmesan cream sauce over pasta. It was really good. Except for the fact that carbohydrates put us to sleep. We rode the train, got off at New Orleans Square, did the Haunted House, went to the Monorail and came home. It's really too bad, too, because it was beautiful weather.
The guy from Ford was supposed to have paged Brian about his truck and when we got close to San Diego, Brian called and left a message on the guy's voice mail. We went to the Ford dealership and Brian parked the truck, got out and went to check out the status of his work truck. He came back about ten minutes later, cussing. They told him his truck had been fixed, but for some reason the batteries died (not cheap batteries, either, they're for a diesel). He fumed that every time somebody did work on his truck, for some reason he ended up buying new batteries, which cost a couple of hundred dollars, not to mention the bother of having to get them and install them. After he talked to the guy about his truck, Brian went to look at it. He said it wasn't done, there were hoses that weren't hooked up and lots more stuff. He wasn't very happy. But, he did get it yesterday morning. They tried to overcharge him $150.00 but he wasn't going for it. Now, they're telling him that the fuel injectors aren't under warranty and that he'll have to have new ones of those replaced. He'll probably fight with the dealership that originally installed the wrong engine over that.
It was called to my attention last night that there is a website that has major bandwidth theft, as well as copyright infringement. What they've done, is found pictures on the internet, made thumbnails of those images, put those thumbnails on their site, then for the full sized image, pull it off of the directory where it originally came from. I found over twenty images from my site and that's just under "lisaviolet". They have almost 2,000 cat images and I haven't gone through those yet. One of the images they used was the one of baby Lisa on my entry page. So, I renamed the picture, changed the html code to reflect the new name and made a new image named babylisa.jpg. Click on the name if you want to see what will show up on their website. I'm thinking about making it ruder, since they don't care for porn stuff. A nice big fat hairy moon would be nice, I think. What's amazing is their disclaimer says that before you use the pictures, to contact the owner for permission. And it also would lead one to believe that this only affects those with commercial sites. Well, they're wrong, it affects every site. Anytime you want to use an image from somebody's site, whether it's for a free personal site or a commercial site, unless it says take what you want, it's only proper netiquette to ask. And nobody asked me. I sent them an email to remove anything with "lisaviolet" in the URL. I wasn't very polite about either. The thieves website. If you have a website with any kind of images, check to see if they've stolen any of yours. Let them know it isn't acceptable. Heck, most servers TOS (terms of service) expressly forbid bandwidth theft.
march 18, 1999 SCREAM!!! SCREAM!!!! SCCRREEEEAAAAMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!! Dammitdammitdammitdammitdammit!!!!!! Yesterday afternoon, I looked around the house for Ciara, found her in the garage in the rafters. I sat down on the couch and read a little of the newspaper, decided to see how she was doing. Couldn't find her in the house, went outside, couldn't find her there. For some reason, I thought I must have missed her inside and I started shoveling dog crap in the backyard. When I was done, I went back inside to look for her. She wasn't there. She wasn't in the backyard. Benny and Maggie were over at the fence by the bank, looking up. I decided to go out front. There she was at the gate. I called her, not wanting her to bolt as sometimes cats do when they are frightened. I was able to get her, I brought her inside and put her down. I later saw her laying by Brian's mirrored wardrobe door and I picked her up and put her on the bed. I combed her and she was purring happily. She slept quite a bit. What did I say yesterday? That I can't let my guard down? Now, I know this is true. I watched her like a hawk the rest of the day when she was out, which wasn't a lot, believe me. Neither of us was very happy about the situation.
So, this morning, I open the sliding door in the living room to let the cats out for their morning thing. I went into the garage to open the catdoor, I swear it was no more than two minutes and she was gone again. I couldn't find the little spit anywhere. I went into the garage, thinking maybe she was in the rafters. Gracie and Lonee were out there and so was Kirby, all looking up. I heard the sound of little cat feet running, but saw no cat to go with the sound. OH MY GOD. She was on the roof. I yelled to Brian, who had gotten up and dressed when I realized she wasn't on the premises (not knowing that she was on the premises) that she was on the roof. He wondered out loud how she got there. I ran out the front door, said hi to Blackie (I don't think "Kai" will be his name, he's stuck with Blackie) who was waiting patiently for breakfast and out the gate. "Ciara!!" "Ciara, where are you?" I see her, she runs to the front of the house, looking down on the trucks. I call her over to the side of the house where the dumpster is, pulling it out, thinking she will jump on it. Brian came out the side garage door, the one the cat door is in, saw her and said try to get her to jump down onto the fence, it's closer. When she saw him, she went to the backyard side of the roof and was looking down at the open door. He had gone back in to get the ladder. She was still above the door and he had no problem getting her down. He brought her back inside and I went back into the house via the front door. I told Blackie I would have his breakfast out shortly. *sigh* I know if she wasn't in heat, this wouldn't be a problem.
Brian and I had a little discussion about Blackie last night. I don't know how old Blackie is, but he's no spring chicken. I told him that I thought we should keep Blackie, bring him into the home. Of course, this met with resistance, and rightly so. Brian saying that we already had so many and that if we lived in a bigger home he would have no problem with it. He asked when would it end and I said with Blackie. I pointed out that none of the other cats around here are friendly to the extent that Blackie is and that I thought he would be content to live out his life with a full food dish and a ray of sun. I also mentioned that I no longer talk about bringing OC into our home. He's definitely happier outside. Brian brought up the fact that Blackie has always been a roamer. I said that would change after he had been fixed. I'm not sure how he would take to so many cats around him, but I think he would be okay. He seems pretty social with the out front cats now. Brian also mentioned the fact that Ciara was here and said that if I would never have looked at her, we wouldn't have her. I admitted this was true, but I also mentioned that she had my "dream kitty" coloring and now it's out of my system. Especially when she's being such a pain in the butt, even though it's not her fault. *grins* The final result? Blackie's going to be welcomed into our home. Now, if I can just figure out how to go about it. I know he needs to be neutered. I know he needs a bath and he needs to be groomed (shaved of all of those mats) which the vet would do. He would have to be tested, also. I'm not sure if he has a URI. His eyes are goopy, but they seem to be getting better with the Clavamox. Although he's only getting one dose a day, where the prescription calls for two, it does seem to have some positive effect on him. I'm hoping he doesn't have the same thing Ciara has. That wouldn't be any fun at all. His back/legs also seem a little stiff. Probably too many cat fights and he could possibly have arthritis. I know at one time, the lady who use to live across the street chased some dogs away from him, they had him in the middle of the road. He's had a pretty hard life. I hope we can make it better for him. God willing, we will.
When we were doing the nightly roundup last night, Ciara ran out the door. I took out after her, had her in my hand, scooping her up and Buddy went after her. I kicked him away and Brian came out and yelled at him. I'm sure it was only because I was trying to catch her, maybe he thought she was a threat to me. But he certainly wasn't praised for his actions.
march 19, 1999 Being season passholders to Disneyland, we also get the quarterly Disney Magazine. Well, we received one last month and I saw an ad for Mannheim Steamroller Meets The Mouse and since I really, really like Mannheim Steamroller, the first tunes of theirs I ever heard was at a record store at Christmas. I asked the salesperson who was that on the system and I've been a fan ever since. Their rendition of Silent Night (Stille Nacht) has got to be one of the most beautiful versions I've ever heard and it brings me to tears every time I hear it. So, buying all the "Mouse" music I find, you know, like The Best of Country Sing the Best of Disney (really fun, we listened to it on our way to Disneyland on Monday). I also got the soundtrack from The Postman, the movie with Kevin Costner. I really liked a couple of the songs and I like soundtracks anyway.
Cleo showed up. She's no longer pregnant. I guess the new plan is to try to trap her in about six weeks. And hopefully get the kittens fixed, too. Early spay/neuter will be the way to go.
Yesterday, my mom mentioned that her neighbor's grandson (he's visiting) was using her computer and talking to a friend on it. So, I started thinking, I know people out of my town with computers and it would be nice to talk to them for only the internet charge. Like Fran, whom I met at Disneyland last year and my friend that use to catsit, fell in love and moved away. She lives in Colorado now. So, I did a little search and came up with this site: MediaRing Talk 99. I downloaded the program and started it up. It seemed like it worked, so then I started sending the URL to my friends. A few of them downloaded it and had problems getting registered. And if you don't register, it won't work. But after a few tries they got through. I talked to Fran for 35 minutes yesterday (there's a little timer on the MediaTalk console). My friend in Colorado was upset because it wouldn't work, then I sent her a message. Well, she doesn't have a microphone yet, so she can't play. But when her system was notified that I called, she got excited and now really wants to get it working. She has a lot of friends and relatives with computers that are online, so this would save on her phone bill. A lot. I did have a problem this morning with the webcam, there was a conflict, but what I have to do there is to close the MediaTalk (which opens automatically at start up). Then start the webcam. Once the webcam is going, there isn't a problem. And there is no directory so only the people that have your number can call (the number is the number that your modem is using). It works worldwide and it seems to work okay. Only, you can't put your mouth right over the microphone and shout (the message receiver doesn't hear it too clearly....that's what I was doing) and you can't both talk at the same time. And, of course, you have to have a microphone. Oh, and you also have to have Windows. While at the site, I found a link to another program that speeds up downloading times, so I got that. The name of it is Go!Zilla. Somebody also told me about NetMeeting, the microsoft free talk program. I downloaded it, but I'm not in a big hurry to try it out. I'll wait and see how this other one works, first. And my microphone only has a three foot cord, so I ordered a headset from www.cdw.com yesterday. It has a 7.5 cord, so I won't be hunched up in one spot. I'm sure it will make my back feel better.
Yesterday, late morning, Brian came home with his brother, the work truck and the trailer attached to it. And there was stuff piled onto the trailer. I didn't know what it was. He came in, grabbed keys off of the rack. I asked what he was doing. "Moving the car" he said. Oh. I did a Ciara check. I still check on her even though I know that she can't get out. And neither can the other cats, with the exception of Benny and Gracie, when the catdoor is locked to the "in only" position. After I found her, I went to the bedroom window and looked out. They had backed the truck and trailer into the yard. I asked what they were doing. Brian said that they had the scaffolding and they were going to put it in the backyard. Okay. I'm not understanding why he brought the scaffolding up, but I'm sure I'll find out before too long. I ask Brian "Do I need to put the cats up?" He looked at me like I had said something in a completely different language. One he didn't understand. I asked again "Do you want me to get the cats inside?" Again, the blank look. (earth to brian, earth to brian, come in brian....) "Honey, do you want me to bring the cats into the house, or do you want to be hauling that stuff into the backyard with the gate wide open so that the animals can come and go as they please?" His brother just started laughing "Yeah, that sounds good." Finally, the light comes into Brian's eyes and he says "yes, get the cats in." Geez. I get the cats in, a couple are in rooms they aren't normally in, but I finally see them after they decide to respond to their names. I grumbled to Brian that a phone call would have been nice so that I could already have this done.
Brian and Mark start assembling the scaffolding in the front yard. "Why?" I asked? So they don't have to make so many trips into the yard, just one. I told Brian that it can't be up against anything, that he will have to park it in the middle of the yard. Which he did. He's going to use it to paint the trim on the house and garage. Good idea. The cats checked it out, not real impressed. They liked the shade that it made.
This morning, the cats wanted us to get up at 5:30. There is a painting next to the bed that the cats can reach from the headboard. And they start headbutting it, making it swing. And this makes noise when it rubs against the wall. It was Maggie's turn this morning. *yawn* Brian got up to stop a fight. He was going to let them go out, but Ciara was right in the group, so he didn't. I got out of bed a little before six and let them out, holding Ciara.
I've really gotta vacuum.
march 22, 1999 Well, it was a pretty uneventful weekend, with the exception of Ciara. I wouldn't let her out without supervision. At one point, I did and watched to see where she went. She went to the side of the house with the catdoor and looked up the side of the fence, then started up. I grabbed her and put her back on the ground. She did it again. I took her inside. Now, I knew where she was making her latest escape. I took her inside and began to do some housecleaning.
Brian came home early, brought lunch. I told him what she had done and how she was getting out. He didn't believe me. But he looked at her as she tried to steal our lunches (taco bell) and said "she isn't as cute as she used to be". Saturday, it was cool outside and I didn't feel like staying with her outside. So, he did. I noticed the garage door open (the one with the catdoor) and went out to see what was going on. Brian was standing to one side, watching her. She walked up an down along the bottom of the fence, looking up. She stopped, crouched, jumped up, grabbed onto the wire that was attached to the wood fence and started climbing. Brian kept watching. She got to the top and began to pull herself over at which point Brian got her down, held her to him and called her "my little stinker". There was pride in his voice. I mentioned this to him later and he said "she's so agile". He brought her in and went back out to work on the fence. He took down what was up, rebent and reposistioned it. Then he reattached it. He blocked off some other areas while he was at it. He let her out and she couldn't go over now.
I still don't trust her. He was a little upset this morning that here he had done all of this work and I won't let her out. I told him that as long as I'm not planning on spending every moment out with her, watching her, I won't let her out. If he wants to be out watching her, fine. But I don't have hours to just stand there and watch. Besides, it's cold out now. Maybe later, when it warms up. He's not the one that has to find her when she's gone missing. She did this yesterday and he was as panicked as I was. It wasn't any big deal, she must have been in the shop. Where he was. But it still isn't a good feeling to think that she's gotten out again.
Last night, when I fed the cats, we couldn't find Red. Brian thought maybe he was still in the shop. I went out and opened the door, called him. Then I came inside, called him some more. I even went out front. I came back in, went back into the garage, and there he was eating. He found a new hiding place. I swear, my hair will be snow white by the end of this year.
Brian's home this morning and he started in about the cats peeing again. I said something about it and he said you don't like me cleaning it up? Well, yeah, but don't bitch about it the entire time. That kind of diminshes the wonderfulness of it. A couple of times, I asked "don't I hear your mother calling?" He didn't think that was very amusing. He just took some trash out and his little friend Chuck was outside, so he's out talking with him now. Good. Drives me nuts when he can't sit still.
Yesterday morning, we went to breakfast, then Home Depot. I was excited because I was planning on getting seeds. I told Brian that we should also get some manure. Oh, and I needed a little sprinkler. I got some flack on the manure ("we have some at home"--we didn't) and the sprinkler ("we have one at home"--no we don't, Junior killed it). We got five bags of manure, I got a sprinkler ("don't they have a metal one?"--not with adjustable watering areas) and seeds. I got seeds. I got corn and two kinds of lettuce and carrots and radishes and watermelons and zucchini squash and cayenne peppers and green peppers. I got tomatoes and I got "prolific" cherry tomatoes. Now, keep in mind, this won't be a big garden, only 8 x 12. So, I have to plan it out very carefully to make use of every inch, but not overcrowd. What fun. Brian spread the manure then rototilled it for about an hour (it was a long time). We also got fencing to put around the little garden, not so much to keep the cats out, but definitely to keep the dogs out. I can just imagine Junior. Goodbye garden. Hubby is going to put the fence up today, then I'll go out with some small stakes and string and a measuring tape to make sure I get the spacing correct.
I called the vet this morning to make an appointment to take Ciara in. She was breathing loudly through her mouth this weekend and sneezing. We are going in at 4:45 this afternoon.
Chipper is still around. Chipper is George and Gracie's mom and we think that she is Lonee's daughter. It's nice that she's still here. And she seems to be doing fine.
march 23, 1999 Well, good news from the vet. He tested Ciara's breathing. He said that her passages have opened up a third and he was quite pleased because she's doing it without antibiotics, just the interferon. I mentioned the possibility that she might have a yeast infection and he said he didn't think so, because she hasn't been on antibiotics a long time. Then he said "you mean her nose, right?" And I said "no, her wussy". He said, well, he didn't doubt that she was in heat, she's old enough. Exasperated, I said "she's been in heat since January". Anyway, since her breathing is so much better, he wants her on interferon for another week and we made the appointment to spay her next Monday. He said that her heat is definitely standing in the way of her getting a lot better. He's comfortable that she will be able to breathe through her nose during surgery. Yay.
I let the cats out this morning, watched them. About fifteen-twenty minutes into their time outside, Ciara went to the side of the house where Brian redid the fencing. I watched her. She climbed up the fence, got to the top where the barrier is. Held on, looked around. Reached behind her, grabbed on to the barrier behind her, pulled herself over there, and continued on up. I stopped her just as she was going over the top. *sigh* But her escape attempts will most likely stop after next Monday. The vet said some cats go crazy when they are in heat.
march 24, 1999 Blackie hasn't been here yet this morning. This makes me nervous. And something happened around the cat feeder last night, the food is all spilled out of it. I sure hope he's okay. I've noticed the last few nights that Blue likes to sleep on the blanket I have over the trap. Too funny.
Well, it looks like Ciara is doing her best to make us even happier she's getting fixed. She's once again in the full throes of heat and calling. Brian didn't get home until late last night and we didn't eat dinner until eight. I forget that I can't eat late, I sleep badly and last night was no exception. Lisa was being the growly butt of the world and Ciara was looking for a boyfriend. I am so tired, but I have so much to do today.
Remember that I mentioned Brian going out to play with his little friend Chuckie on Monday? Well, after some time outside talking with him, Brian came in and said "I'm leaving". Where ya going? "With Chuck" Where? "Just driving around". Okay. A little after two, they came home. Well, where did you go? "Just around" and the look on Brian's face gave it away. I started laughing. "You went to Ranchita didn't you?" Sheepish look...."yes". I got the impression that Chuck wasn't as enamored of the property as Brian is. He's too funny.
march 26, 1999 Jessica Ring left a message on the Educate!! Don't Amputate!! messageboard about the push in Massachusetts to prohibit declawing. If you can help, go over there and find out how. Hopefully, if it passes in one state, it will be easier to get prohibited in others.
Which reminds me......Hi, Denise, from WebTV. Glad to see you still check in every once in a while. *grins* Sorry you have such a rotten opinion of me (it seems to be getting worse, I've noticed) and feel the need to spread it where ever you go. I hope it makes you feel better, though. If it does, then I'm glad for you. Oh, and have you ever heard the saying "there's no such thing as bad advertising?" Have a nice day!!! *LOL* (If you're not Denise and you're curious about this, go to ICG.)
Blackie hasn't been around much. He did show up yesterday morning and was here last night, but he's not here as long. I wonder what's going on. He was here early this morning, then gone before I could bring him food, then he came back and I fed him. Blue really likes the blanket on top of the trap. She was stretched out sleeping on it last night. *sigh* And she's with kitten. *bigger sigh*. It was cold and rainy yesterday and we had leftover roast for dinner. I shredded it, cooked it in gravy in the crockpot and served it over steaming rice. There was alot left over, so I mixed it with dry cat food, added water, mixed it well and put it out front for the kitties. They really liked it. Warm food on a cold night.
I guess Ciara is feeling much better. Because she's getting much louder. She's also started the heat piddles. Those little piddle puddles females leave as a calling card to available males. She left a little piddle on Brian's office phone the other day. While he was on it. He cleaned it up and mentioned how strong it smelled. Yesterday morning, when it was time to get up, he said "three more days". Then he asked what day it was. Thursday. "Four more days." Until Ciara gets fixed. She's so obviously uncomfortable. And I've seen that she's spending more time grooming herself.
Well, Brian's brother is ready to move. The police showed up at his house Wednesday because of a complaint about noise. See, Mark likes to work on old equipment, like tractors and engines. And someone in the mobile home park behind him didn't care for the noise and turned him in. Chances are, nothing's going to happen, because he isn't working on the engines very early or very late. Just during the day. But it still irritated him to the point of wanting to get out of there. There's a house up in the Sticks on ten acres of land that they are seriously considering buying now. Hmmph. Now, Brian is all stoked about going again. Just when we can pay everything off (we have enough money to pay off the balance of our home), out the door it goes. Only if the property owner up in the Sticks accepts Brian's offer, though. It would be nice to have more room, so that we could rescue more cats.
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