October 1, 1997 Gee, I'm gonna be 44 this month. And I still haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up. Time sure flies when as you get older. I do feel better since I have been walking five days a week with my neighbor. The blisters are finally gone and we discussed changing our route because it isn't taking as long. So, we need to make it longer.
Red is using the litterbox on a regular basis, now. YAY!!! I moved cat condos around a couple of days ago. That way, Bart's favorite "right inside the door so I can see Red if he comes in and I can chase him out" sleeping spot isn't there anymore. Heeheehee. Bart wasn't pleased with the new arrangement.
A cute joke somebody emailed me:
The boss of a big company needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed the employees home phone number and was greeted with a child's whispered, "Hello?".
Feeling put out at the inconvenience of having to talk to a youngster the boss asked, "Is your Daddy home?"
"Yes." whispered the small voice.
"May I talk with him?" the man asked.
To the surprise of the boss, the small voice whispered, "No.".
Wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?"
"Yes.", came the answer.
"May I talk with her?"
Again the small voice whispered, "No."
Knowing that it was not likely that a young child would be left home alone, the boss decided he would just leave a message with the person who should be there watching over the child.
"Is there any one there besides you?" the boss asked the child.
"Yes", whispered the child, "A policeman."
Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"
"No, he is busy." whispered the child.
"Busy doing what?" asked the boss.
"Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman." came the whispered answer.
Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the ear piece on the phone the boss asked, "What is that noise?"
"A hello-copper." answered the whispering voice.
"What is going on there?" asked the boss, now alarmed.
In an awed whispering voice the child answered, "The search team just landed the hello-copper!"
Alarmed, concerned and more than just a little frustrated the boss asked, "Why are they there?"
Still whispering, the young voice replied along with a muffled giggle, "They are looking for me!"
October 3, 1997 Boy, did I get alot of cleaning done yesterday. Vacuumed cobwebs off of the walls, cleaned cat pee from the walls and washed the floors and cleaned and scrubbed my bathroom. I even took the shower doors off and took them outside, scrubbed and hosed them off. Washed the little throw rugs we have all over that hide the holes in the carpet. The cats seem to like to hurl on these. This morning I cleaned the garage and sifted all of the cat boxes. I am have the last load of laundry in the machine right now. I am so tired and I am really grouchy. I don't have a clue why. I should be feeling pretty good about all I have done.
Hubby said he might put our new windows in this weekend. He told me this after I said we really should wash the windows. That's nice. He is putting in a garden window in the dining room, tv room and bedroom. For the cats. Isn't that sweet?
I played in the backyard with the cats and a bird toy this morning. Benny can jump really high. And he lands so gracefully.
The weather was pretty pleasant this morning, but now its heating up. Maybe that's why I am so grouchy. I'm hot and sticky. Sheesh.
October 6, 1997 No new windows. Too many other things going on. Saturday, we needed to get more dogfood. Brian gets home from some early work, we drive down to Anapet. Oh, look, they are closed on the weekends now. So, we went to CostCo, got catfood and new cedar beds for the doghouses. We were almost home and I remembered. Honey, we didn't get any dogfood. We went to the grocery store, just to check out what they had. Forget it, we won't feed that to our dogs. Especially since Buddy is on a special diet. So, we went home, kicked back for awhile, then went to the pet store and got TUH DUH!!! dogfood.
Yestereday morning, Brian took off plans and we watched the Charges vs Raiders. Hey, the Chargers won!! I was really surprised. I worked on the new brochures for Kitty Comforts. We are not offering some of the stuff we had before. Just houses.
The cats had peed in my clean bathroom the same night that I spent so much time cleaning it. Hubby won that bet. *sigh*
October 7, 1997 Something I forgot to mention yesterday. Hubby made the stairway for Bobby. He made one set and I rejected it. I said the steps to be no taller that three inches and he made them four, plus he had the entire height taller than it needed to be. I accused him of doing that so that he would be right when he said that Bobby won't use them. He made another set, this one the right size. Now, to get Bob to use it. If I put him on the bottom step, he will climb the rest by himself and pull himself onto the couch. But he won't get on the first step by himself and its pretty close to the ground. *sigh* I wonder how long this will take. I am hoping it stops him from waking us in the middle of the night to put him back on the couch.
Cold outside. brrrrrr. It isn't over 60 degrees. Yay!! Well, I guess I can forget about being tan for our trip to Disneyland next week. We are hoping it rains. Sure clears the park out. I don't know why people are afraid of rain.
My neighbor informed me this morning that we have to extend the length of our morning walk. She said that it is only taking us 22 minutes to walk a mile and three tenths. My heart still works hard that last little hill we hit. I think we should do more hills. Better all around. I heard it raining before I got out of bed this morning and waited for the phone to ring. Nope. I had to tough it out. That's the best thing about walking with a partner. If SHE can do it, so can I. LOL!!
new~~~newday~~~newday~~~newday~~~newday~~~newday~~~newday~~~newday~~~newday~~~newday~~~newday~~~day October 8, 1997 Bobby can climb the stairs!!! Yay!!! He can get up all by himself. If cats have self esteem, I know this will do wonders for his.
Red stays down more now. And he is learning that he doesn't have to run from the other cats. He and Benny were *almost* playing last night. One of these days, I hope he is running through the house, playing tag.
October 10, 1997 Last night, when I fed the cats, Red jumped down from the bench and went over and stared at the food that Bart the terrible was eating. Bart left his plate and went to another. Then Red started to eat from the food that Bart walked away from. Wow. Way to go. I don't know if I am more pleased that Bart walked away without starting a fight, or with Red for toughing it out.
I think Boney is going deaf. I know that cats have very selective hearing, but Boney's seems beyond that.
My neighbor called and asked if I would watch her daughter this afternoon. They have two elderly Great Pyranees dogs and the male has been having a really hard time getting around. They have been talking about having them put down. Well, earlier this week, they found the female in their pool, the first time since they have lived there. They pulled her out and she was okay, considering. Then yesterday, the male was in the pool. They have no idea how long he was in, but he was almost dead when they pulled him out. They called the vet and they are having them both put down. These dogs are very big and the woman that lives there isn't a big woman by any means. And their daughter is just in first grade. They think that the dogs must be going blind. Since this was the first time in over five years that the dogs were in the pool, there is a definate problem. *sigh* More rainbow bridge animals.
October 12, 1997 Red is exploring farther into the tv room. He came up to the coffee table, then ran back out. He started to play with Kirby in the garage. I think he might be figuring out, Hey, if I don't run, I don't get chased. Duh.
Pepper has a bad tooth. It's a molar and it's gross. I think it's loose. I am going to call the vet tomorrow and make an appointment to get it pulled. Poor Pepper.
Bobby went outside for a little bit today. That was nice. He went out the sliding door, then hopped around to the garage door, where he was patiently waiting for me to open it, so he could come back in. Little cutie pie.
October 15, 1997Well, Pepper has an appointment on the 27th to have her teeth taken care of. The vet is going to be gone next week and I didn't want a different vet taking care of her. I found out yesterday that his substitute vet works at the Emergency Clinic, where they saved Buddy and Georgie's lives. So, that makes me a little less anxious. I like those doctors. It seems like everytime my vet is on vacation, one of the cats gets sick.
I took Benny to the doc yesterday. His little face looked like an advertisement for Nyquil.....stuffy, congested.... Turns out he has a minor upper respiratory infection. I was given extra antibiotics in case one of the other cats comes down with it. URIs are contagious.
DeeJay was limping a little yesterday. I think Mickey was, too.
Boy, it has been cooking here. We had a pretty long thermometer the other day. It was in the 40s in the morning, high 80s in the afternoon. It got up to 97 yesterday.
I'm sending a bunch of letters to Iowa today. They have been coming in on a pretty regular basis. Olivia, the cat that was set on fire by college boys, died this past weekend. She had a stroke. It's just so sad. And I wonder, how do we teach compassion to those that don't have it. Can compassion be taught, is it a learned behavior? Or are we born with it? *sigh*
Noah's Ark was supposed to be on the Today show yesterday, but it wasn't. I think it was because of John Denver's death.
October 19, 1997 Well, home from Disneyland yesterday. It was nice. A little on the warm side, but not as hot as we thought it would be. Getting home was sure alot easier than getting on our way....
We were pretty much ready to go Thursday at 11 am. All packed and had put my purse and sunglasses in the car. The last thing we had to do was get the cats in. All were in but Lonee. And we couldn't find her anywhere. We looked everywhere. Even took a flashlight into the shop and checked under and over things. Got the tall ladder and checked up in the rafters. No Lonee. We checked every place in the house we could think of. No Lonee. Tried tuna. No Lonee. Finally, we figured we would just wait and see if she came around. Since we don't leave out food for the cats, we had to get her in. I saw her peak her little face out from the shop door. So, she was hiding in there someplace. I went back out and tried to chase her in. All I did was to spook her and she ran and hid and I didn't know where. I asked hubby if he had seen her run out and he said no. I looked everywhere. I thought. Brian left to get gas in the car and lunch. It was getting later and later and I still couldn't get Lonee brat in the house. I finally spied where she was hiding and scared her out of it. We had let the other cats out again, thinking it would ease her fears. When I saw her head into the house, I closed up again, and started getting the cats back into the house. Lonee was very upset with me and hissed and spit at me. She ran up into the rafters, which Red didn't care for because she lays right in the path to climb down. I guess everything turned out alright, though. She's back to her old self.
The sitter only had a problem with Benny on Saturday for pilling him. And Friday, he did a swell job of hiding and she had a really hard time finding him to pill him. She said he took the pill okay, but didn't like the ointment put into his eyes. And Thursday night, Buddy didn't get put into the garage because he growled at her and her daughter, which scared her. But, Buddy, being a man's dog, went right in the next night when her husband came over. Silly dog.
We got the cutest little Minnie and Mickey animation for our new bay window for Christmas. Minnie is knitting in a rocking chair, which rocks back and forth and Mickey holds a light so she can see what she is doing. Brian wants to put up a little tree and I will wrap little packages to put under the tree. And he will block it off from our furry friends. No pee and no knocking over.
Speaking of pee, I sure had a bunch to clean when we got home. In my bathroom and in the kitchen. *sigh*
But, it's good to be home with my cats and dogs and my own bed and my computer. I have a ton of laundry to do, but that's about it. Hubby left to get dogfood and catfood, I didn't go, too much laundry. I sure wish he would come home, I am getting really hungry....so, what's new?
October 22, 1997 Way cool!!! Red was doing sprints up and down his stairway the other night. He was very wound up and very, very happy. It was fun to watch. He also is using the litter box 100% of the time now. No more climbing the ladder to scoop the poop and no drips splashing down. These are giant steps, I think. He is very interested in *down the hall* now. He shows no interest in going outside, but he does want to explore the house. He is venturing in a little more each day. Of course, it would probably go more quickly if brats like Bart and Mickey didn't chase him. But Kirby is being extremely friendly to him. This is wonderful, I think.
I got some news this morning about the Noah's Ark trial. The venue has been changed and the trial is to start November 4, not the 12th as it has been since July. That's less than two weeks away. Over 1500 letters have come through my site. I think some people are just wonderful.
Pepper thinks she is a little laplump. Always wanting to sit on my lap. Then she reaches for my hands when I am typing. Grabs at them. I just snuggle her when she does that, it's so cute.
I found this very wonderful post last week at the Acme cat bulletin board. It's about the Acronyms Illustrated page at my site:
"Hiya Elle Vee and all~
Wee canine message. Beg pardon for piffling in on cat scratching post here-
"Brought some "Thank You Catnip" (for you and all the cats.) Nipped in tell you - Your acronyms page helped cause a grieving little girl to smile for the first time since her dog died.
"I'posted YOUR link for her worried mother; who had come to ask the D*G folks (on another BB) for assistance with ways to help her daughter begin recovery from the loss of her beloved Golden Retriever.
"The little girl is learning disabled and can not read, LV- But, the child surely could laugh at the wonderful, funny pictures of our canines and felines.
"Pulled this partial quote for you- (written by the mother) 'Brooke laughed out loud, when I was reading to her... we both loved the acronyms! thank you so much!'
"PS- Don't let it get around that I'm a softy. I need for other dog board rot-a-whilers to believe I'm a RUFF dog. VBG
Thanks LV. You do good work! LP~""That sure makes it all seem worth while" I think, as I wipe a tear from my cheek.
October 25, 1997 Gonna start Halloween decorating today. Oh, boy. Tons of webbing and spiders....Brian is going to try to rig up something over the *graveyard* we make in our front yard so that a smoke machine we bought years ago, that has never been used only tested (the smoke doesn't stay low, it goes up, coming to find out the smoke solution that stays low was found to cause cancer, ohboy, so it isn't available) might be able to be used this year. Along with the dry ice in the entry way fountain (the fountain that Rusty is laying in on his webpage). I ordered a bunch of webbing stuff and more plastic spiders. The first couple of years that we were here, we just gave out good candy. And then I got a catalog with an adorable little village and some battery operated lights. And it has just grown. The next year I got another village and we got a scarecrow with a pumpkin head that moves, which we put in the bedroom window. And always, spooky music outside. Last year, Brian got into the swing of things by making a little graveyard in the front yard. He made grave markers and they said things like "Mandy...too much candy". We did get a *Mandy* last year and I guess when they were done trick or treating, she and her dad went home, got a camera, came back and took her picture next to the marker. A Kodak moment. *grins*
Sandy was really anxious this week. I had to get a refill of her chillpills. The instructions call for 2 pills twice a day. A half a pill for the entire day does the job. You might remember from her story that she was found on Fiesta Island where sludge is produced, as an abandoned puppy. Heavy equipment sounds make her really, really nervous and she paces the entire yard over and over again for hours on end. It's been at least ten years since puppyhood. Amazing how that has stayed with her.
Buddy has been so bad at barking. And I heard he was really obnoxious when we went to Disneyland. *sigh* Brian turned his collar up to 5. I hate using it, but he just starts barking and forgets to stop. I don't understand it at all. He has gotten so much worse as he has gotten older. We have decided that if we are leaving the house to go to the store or someplace for a couple of hours, we will put the collar on him. If we are going to be gone longer, we will just put him in the shop with food and water. He sleeps in the shop at night, anyway (we put him in it, so he doesn't get chilled outside, it would be nice if he was smart enough to go into a doghouse, but ever since he was so sick, he hasn't been the same, too many medications, I think, but his life was saved, so what can you do?), and when we got him he spent entire weekends in a shop. We changed his food from Nutro over a month ago to Nature's Recipe and I forget what the latest is, Iams, maybe, but he sure seems more alert and his eyes just shine. He is alot more energetic and I can only think of the change in diet for that.
Red is very, very curious about what's down the hallway. It is so funny. He will walk into the room, not walk really, but stretch into the room. With each step comes a stretch of a limb, like he is being sneaky or something. Then he will walk in far enough and rub up against things and slyly look down the hallway. He is so cute!!! He isn't flinching so much at my hands. I look forward to the day that I can just pet him without him being afraid something nasty is going to happen to him.
We have seen Georgie and Gracie's mom in the neighborhood. She was keeping herself hidden for the longest time, we weren't even sure if she was still around. But the past couple of weeks has brought her out and running around. She still looks up when I call "Chipper". Brian said she is a good looking kitty and I said you say that just because she looks so much like her son, Georgie.
I think I am going to spend the day cruising websites. For a while at least. Play on some of the many webrings I have joined. I get a newsletter from Virtual Promote and our homework (LOL) for last week was to surf sites that we have common interests in. Just have fun. And he said if you aren't having fun, then take a break from the internet. Read a book or go to a movie, just get away from the WWW for awhile. Made a lot of sense to me. I know many people put many hours of work into their sites and hardly ever surf anymore. Gee, I'm one of them. It's enjoyable to see the work that others have done. And I'm signing guestbooks, too, just to let people know I like their site. Well, weesa is signing in meowchat. If you haven't ever visited dorissimo's domain or kitty prints, please do. Doris has one of the best, most vivid imaginations and her sites are so much fun to visit. Oh, and you absolutely must visit Samz Klubrume. He's lisaviolet's winkwink. He has a great portrait of her in his den.
Don't forget, if you have a catsite and a banner, I have a banner links page. Just send me your URL and your banner.
October 26, 1997 It warmed up today. I have the doors open and I heard a strange noise at the screen sliding door at the living room and checked it out. Buddy was laying in the hallway. (?) He was very interested in going out front. (?) Really weird. He went back outside with no problem, ran around to the side of the house and lay down to take a nap. Odd happenings with dogs.
I noticed last night how graceful Lonee Gail is when she runs. When I call "KITTYS IN!" at twilight and clap my hands she knows what to do. She looks like the wind when she runs, fully stretched out, feet off of the ground. *sigh* It's almost like she is flying.
Boney has been meowing loudly. Sometimes he is sitting in the bathroom, wanting me to turn the bathtub faucet on at a trickle. How I wish I knew what they were saying. Doctor Doolittle, where are you? Bones is sleeping peacefully on the papasan chair in the office now.
Red was down the hallway. Brian watched him and then Lucky slapped him. Back into the garage, he ran. I bet when he was outside, he never got into any fights.
Pepper is going to the vet tomorrow for her teeth. Poor baby. I wonder how many will be pulled.
lisaviolet is seventy something, married with no kids, takes care of lots of cats, likes taking photographs, loves Southern California weather and spends altogether too much time avoiding her responsibilities.
September 2024 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
©lisaviolet 1996-2024
Photographic images are the property of the photographer,and may not be copied, printed, or otherwise reproduced on any other site or used in any other publishing medium without the written permission of each individual photographer and kennel/cattery owner. Cathouse privacy policy.