Busy Saturday!

Well, I was relegated to the upstairs at home today, since there was sanding and painting going on in the basement AND new Congoleum DuraPlank going in on the main floor...


So I was forced, forced I say, to climb the ladder up in to the attic and work on it most of the day! Came across some stuff I'd been looking for, some stuff I didn't know was there, and have a big pile of stuff for the dumpster and recycle and The Vietnam Vets to pick up on Thursday. Reminds me, got to schedule a pickup!

I found some old photos of Mike and his family (will have to mail them off to his brother) and some moldering old files of his that were from when he worked at a hotel before college! Boy, they really needed to come 3000 miles to mold some more!! I hope with all the new space up there in the attic, that I can move most of the tools (hate to get rid of them, but anyone I hire will have their own)...so I'll store 'em away for now and make space in the basement for cat show stuff.

The floors look fantastic, as does the tile in the bathrooms. The basement ceiling repairs and painting are all done and in a couple of weeks, the main floor ceiling will get finished, and I'll have all new carpet upstairs. Then comes the chore of putting all the furniture and paintings and bric-a-brac back in place, but I am hoping all the new stuff will encourage me to get it done. Seems like during the week, not much gets accomplished visually, but after this next weekend in NYC, I will be home for 3 weekends in a row, and hope to get a lot done!

I haven't taken any pix of the work in progress here, but did have time to take new kitten pix, so here they are...

HaRd LaBor...

Well, Johnny's in the basement, mixin up the medicine... (what Dylan song is that line from?).

Well, I'm in the basement catching up on the computer while the hammering/ripping/tearing go on upstairs...the plank floors are going in today (and tomorrow) and I am trying to stay out of the way while still being here. So doing that, and periodically making forays in to the attic to try and make some sense out of the mess up there so I can have more storage and have Viet Nam Vets pick up a load of junque, is not too bad a way to spend a day.

I'm petsitting Nacho & Peachie this week while their owners are in Italy on vacation. They are doing so well there, seem very happy and no "out-of-litterbox experiences" since they have been keeping the boxes cleaner. I often watch kitties for their owners when they are away, but thought that for N & P that staying in their new home would be a whole lot less stressful than readjusting to here besides all the construction going on!

A week from now, I wil be in NYC at the big Madison Square Garden Cat show, and bringing a friend along who I haven't gotten to visit with much since she moved away. We are staying in a really nice hotel (no bedbugs I would hope, unlike the Hotel Pennsylvania and other places in the news up there) with a kitchenette (yea, cold beverages!) and down comforters. Both Dayle and I are tight on funds at the moment, so nothing lavish other than the fully stocked bar I will be bringing along. That and being with friends will make the weekend!

Momma's and babies are all doing great, and have decided they want to share the mothering duties, so I have rearranged the 2 tents to make a "suite" with one tent for the "bedroom" and one tent for the "powder room" and I am sure by the end of the weekend that the older kittens will be clambering out of their kitten box/bed and bobbling around and learning how to play.

Little Joy, Coco's kitten from May, was spoken for but because of her heart murmur, they have decided not to take her. I am disappointed, but she is such a sweetie that I am sure one of the other families I have on my waiting list will take one look at her and want to adopt her. I have 2 people who would love a show cat, and I think she could be a winner...so I will keep everyone updated on who will get some "Joy" in their life. Here's a photo of her, being contemplative...

Fall is Here...

A little bittersweet and melancholy, but still with joy at being able to enjoy the weather and colors. Just brings back lots of memories.

I moved to Virginia October 5th, 2001 and arrived to find this lovely weather and colorful leaves,
and joined Mike in our new home and new life together.

Traveling from Oregon to Virginia, with 8 cats, Mike driving the U-Haul towing the Jag and 2 cats in the cab with him, and my mom and I in the van, keeping in touch by walky talkies lent to us by one of my brothers; having a cat escape at a gas station but able to catch him quickly; getting stuck in DC traffic due to a missle or something being transported on the freeway; and then having fun getting to know the area and spending time with my mom.

All those are memories that come to mind, mostly when I am driving a familiar route and seeing Fall all around me, sad but happy too, that I was able to enjoy it with Mike. I don't know how other people deal with their griefs; when it hits them the hardest, but for me, while it might seem odd...I miss Mike the most when I am driving. While we didn't chatter non-stop when in the car (or any other time), we had our rituals which I miss.

Tuesday nite Wings, picked up at Buffalo Wing University, across the street from where I work (and half eaten by the time we got home 45 minutes later); giving Mike manicures while we were on the road to a cat show or a trip (one hand on the wheel, one in my lap); me napping while Mike drove (I miss that lots!)

So, since Fall is here, I will have to have a Pumpkin Beer in his memory.

More kittens...and shopping for lighting

Kiki's new babies arrived on Octobert 2nd! I had been taking her into work with me all week, as I do with expectant momcats during their last week of gestation, and all the staff kept close eye on every move, meow and sigh she made. But she made us all wait until Thursday, and just before lunchtime, she went into labor and had her two babies within 5 minutes of each other! They are purrfect, a little red classic tabby boy and a blue or blue-cream girl. Kiki is a bit of a nervous mom at first, so I am glad I have the next 3 days off, so I can keep a close eye on them. But at least they arrived safe and sound, and I didn't have a middle-of-the-night delivery, as often happens.

 
Sanding starts on the drywall repairs tomorrow, and I asked Clay if he could install some new lights (since the old ones had to be taken down to do the repairs) and he said yes...so today I went to Lowe's and Home Depot (luckily right across the street from each other) and picked out new ceiling lights and yes, a new faucet for the master bathroom, too! Hope the rest of the house doesn't look too shabby with the new stuff in place! The flooring guy, Wade, took me by a house today that just had the same flooring put in that I am getting, Congoleum DuraStone and Duraplank, and wowza, I loved it. It was so nice to see it in a house rather than in samples.

I stopped in at Hard Times Cafe tonight, had some wings (shoulda stuck with my usual chili dog) and a pint of Abita Turbo Dog (a favorite). It's not the same without Mike, but I had a club soda with lime in his honor. I'm off to a friends for dinner and a movie tomorrow (they have a kitty from me too, so of course they are friends!). Lisa has helped me a lot with her friendship and "attention-to-detail" cleaning when she comes over to help me catch up!

Well, that's all the mewsings for today!

Tee