9/11...Always Remember, Never Forget

That day did change all of us, forever...after that I never left my husband without saying I love you, never hung up the phone without telling a loved one the same...because that sad day showed us how you never know if it might be that last time you see someone you love. That day, filled with observations that speak volumes, from people all around the world. 

For me, Mike had moved out to Washington DC in July, I had to stay on in Oregon until October due to work. I didn't know much about where he worked except that he could see the White House from his office. My sister woke me up and asked if I'd heard from Mike and to turn on the TV. It was a horror to watch, and I remember later hearing the sounds of so many firefighters alarms on their uniforms going off, that sound was overwhelming when you knew it meant lives lost. 

Mike was fine, I finally heard from him in late afternoon after he was able to get out of DC and 3 days later I flew out to him and spent a few days. We just had to be together...just had to. Memories are all that are left for some of us, but we will never forget...

What I've been up to...

How have 49 days passed since I posted a "Goings On" post?? Last time I went a month without posting an update, people were calling and emailing to make sure I hadn't died. Now, I guess they just assume I'm 1) Boring 2) Buried in cat litter 3) In the witness protection program and just as I would, people have gone looking for more fertile blogs to enlighten and stimulate them. Just as before, when so long went by without me "journaling" I really have to concentrate on what I have been doing to even remember some of it. AND, these lapses really negate the positive effects that journaling is supposed to do for oneself. No wonder I feel stagnant a lot of the time. 

Since mid-July, four kittens have grown up and journeyed off to their new homes. That is pleasing to me and I am happy that they are happy, too. Toby has settled in to his new home in Iowa, with no spraying behavior there! And Sunny has been spoken for, but as I just changed his and Disco's anxiety medication, I would like to wait a couple of weeks to see if it's helping so he can go off to his new home with a prescription to ease his transition. I am getting frequent updates on them and photos, too...here's a couple of Henry Oliver, Jasper and Clover, and Toby: 

 

I had a mini-vacation thanks to one of the kittens. I flew down to Charleston SC to deliver a kitten to a couple who have one Furrydance cat already and they have become such good friends, I feel so fortunate to have them in my life. The weather gods smiled on us and it wasn't terribly hot or humid and I was grateful for that. We did a carriage tour of Middleton Place, a plantation, which was both interesting and peaceful. Middleton Place The grounds were lovely and I took lots of photos. Here's a couple of my favorites:

 

Just to give you perspective, the mansion you are seeing is just what is remaining of the place--the main house and left flanking wing were destroyed by fire and then an earthquake! Saturday, we did our own little walking tour of Charleston, ending up getting thoroughly soaked by a downpour, but it was warm and we dried off before long (thank goodness for gauze shirts and tencel pants). I did have squishy sandals for a day or so afterwards, though. 

We went by a new rescue & adoption shelter and I was very impressed with the facility and how warm and welcoming it felt. I didn't take any photos there, but here's a link to them PetHelpers.org and here's some of the photos I took around Charlestown (that lovely street with the pastel painted houses is called Rainbow Road and as a side note, the shelter had their cat cages made to look just like them!

  We ate at a wonderful "Low Country" restaurant and I had to have Yellow Grits and Shrimp and it was divine! Kristynn and Tommy told me I had to have Boiled Peanuts, too Goobers and I am not sure what I thought a boiled peanut would taste like...but it was like any other legume that had been boiled--mushy and bland.

  That being said, after the third peanut they sort of grew on me and as we drove along back to the house, all of us were digging into the paper sack on the console of the truck! Tommy goes to The Citadel College and we drove around the campus and managed to be there right as the afternoon parade began, and then the downpour began and I got the funniest video of the cadets marching in the rain, didn't slow them down one step, as they had to end the review and head back inside--heads up, pace even, uniforms soaked!

   

We rented movies, ordered Chinese take out, BBq'd steaks one night (and I found a new favorite liqueur--a Sweet Tea infused Vodka called Firefly, which made a nice Southern version of a Long Island Iced Tea), had a big breakfast one morning of Tommy's great french toast and I got to sleep in and not have the worries of home/work/life in general. I am so glad I got away and got to enjoy the company of friends and see new places, and knowing my cats were in the care of my wonderful catsitter, made getting away possible. I was disappointed that I didn't get to meet a friend of theirs they have been telling me about for months...a laid back, birkie wearin' Doctor who lost his wife to cancer about the time that I lost Mike. We'd corresponded a little and even if we didn't "spark", I was looking forward to seeing if he was as warm and friendly as Kristynn said he was. But after initially saying he'd love to come over for a BBQ, he begged off at the last minute due to... a flea infestation (that's a new one) and then said he was shy around women and could we meet up for coffee (and then never responded to Kristynn's page)...sigh. Must not have had time to read Miss Manners.

Henry Oliver, the kitten my friends were adopting, settled in amazingly fast, even getting used to their dog and sharing the couch with her after only 4 days. I think he will be quite a different personality than their first kitty from me and that will be fun for them--he is clingy and a purrbox, where Teddy is more of a restless teenager. Here's a couple of photos of Henry and Teddy:

 

Work at the Cat Hospital has been frustrating due to ongoing new computer software issues, but we are making headway and in a couple of weeks, three of us are flying to St. Louis for a 3 day training seminar. Hope I come away with lots of shortcuts and new ideas...and can then relay them to those who couldn't attend (that's the hope anyway, that nothing's lost in translation...).

And as this is Labor Day weekend, I also get an extra day off (I'll need it since I've been on the computer most of the day) and am invited to a BBQ out in the country and with the weather being fantastic right now--cooler and almost like fall--I am going to relax, eat and drink (and am taking along my sleeping bag just in case I have to "sleep over", sharing floor space with Silly and Tango in their little abode...

 

Simply Sunday Morning

In a way, I envy the people who post every day, just a little something, like Tango does at Tango's Goings On . I post so infrequently that I forget all the good, the bad and the ugly of what has transpired that keeps me going, in spite of the "uglies". 

But this morning, while looking out on my patio (which I never sit on---it would make a nice party space though one would have to get through my basement to get there...tricky) I saw my first cardinals this year. Of course, that makes sense since I just started putting seed out again and got a mix that cardinals are supposed to like.

I love cardinals, mostly because of their cute perky caps (I like California Quails little headpieces, too) and the fact that I never saw them on the West Coast. So like fireflies, they are a real East Coast special thing for me. I want to get a couple of those "shepherd crooks" to hang my feeders on, so the seed and bird poop isn't right above where the Adirondack chairs are, but wonder if they would be strong enough to stay upright with all the squirrel activity my feeders also bring. Maybe I should just move the chairs...

I remember the first time I saw a black squirrel, in Golden Gate Park. Well, here I have a "Blue Point" squirrel and without seed being out, I missed seeing him, saw him way up the road in more fertile territory. I snapped some photos of him before he scampered off.



I have been treating myself to renting movies every weekend, trying to relax and "escape". I am following a new blog, and have picked some of his picks, which saves some time wandering round Blockbuster if I have my list with me. I am still looking for Sunshine Cleaning, but this weekend enjoyed Vicky Christina Barcelona and Wall-E. I have a big screen TV in the basement, but you all know what that looks like, so I've been watching movies upstairs in the bedroom and have the laptop, eat dinner and get to nuzzle the baby kittens, all while watching movies (and pausing them a lot). Sounds so...single and spinsterish when I put it in words, but really, quite enjoyable!

Movies yes, Music no...I still find myself missing Mike too much when I listen to music we enjoyed together. I think that, and dining out alone, are the two hurdles I haven't managed to get over yet. That being said, the guywhowrites this, over at Astoria Oregon Rust turned me on to a band that is new to me, so not the shared memories there (other than dancing, sigh) and I am liking the "vintage funky hip hop" that is their signature. Here's a video, think you will enjoy...



Work (at the cat hospital) has been filled with exasperation and some successes lately. We got a new computer system and the doc most familiar with it has been out for 90% of the time due to family and personal crisis and we all feel like we are dog paddling and circling the drain at times. But little by little we are teaching ourselves and while what should only take 3 keystrokes takes about triple that, I've been telling everyone that it's job security---it'll take about a year or two to get it all down the way we want it...

The kitties are all doing well. Another month and Coco's babies will head off to their new homes, and Kiki's 3 babies have been spoken for now and are 3 weeks old already! Cute as buttons and just learning to bobble about and do the "bitey", as this video shows...



Toby, one of the kitties I got back last November, has his flight reservations to fly off to his new home on the 24th. I so hope he is happy there and ceases his spraying behavior. He is 99% rehabbed but with the other cats in the house that he can hear and smell, I will never know if he would be good unless he is in a home by himself. I usually try and place kitties like him locally so I can get them back easily if they are "bad" again. But this woman really wants to try him and even came down from Connecticut to meet him, so I am full of hope right now for his successful transition and future happiness.

Not so happy news for Sunny, the kitty that was spoken for by my SC friends. Not long after they visited, I added a second cat to his bedroom to see if he would be happy with a companion and he started spraying again. So he had to back up a step in his rehab and has been in the bathroom alone for a week and is doing fine. When Toby leaves, he will get to move into that room and see how he does alone in there. But he probably needs a home as an only cat, and my friends have 3 cats and a dog...so they will adopt Buttercup instead (his new name will be Oliver, cute!)


(that's Oliver on the right)

I haven't gotten back in to cat showing, but do have a couple of shows I have to attend, as I am in charge of the breed display setup, and the other show I am a club member of and have to be involved with that. Funny, how after doing something for so long that I enjoyed, I have sort of just turned off the switch and don't miss it like I thought I might. I do miss seeing the two good friends I have that are still out there showing, and keep thinking I'll get back into it...maybe when my basement is cleaned up?

The same switch will probably be turned off when I decide to stop breeding these Cornish Rex cats that I love. I work full time, taking care of them is full time and so there isn't much down time for me. Oh, there's movies and blogging and photo sessions to edit, which tends to mean I am up way too late during the week and then sleep half my weekends away trying to catch up with sleep. There are a few friends I'd love to take long weekends and visit and I keep looking for those $98 round trip fares, but they never seem to be going to where I want to go, though maybe I should let the fares dictate where I get away to?


I am heading down to Charleston SC in late August for 4 days to visit friends who are getting their second kitty from me. Then I am going up to Philadelphia in October to spend a few days with my mom and Stephen after they finish up with an Elderhostel seminar there. Then it's Christmas in Oregon and before I know it, it will be 2010. I know the first part of this year has passed by, quickly now it seems.



If it weren't for my blogging "journals", I might forget where I was and were I've come to in the past 2 years. Journaling is good for that. And while I started blogging to keep my family in touch with me...well, my family aren't even following me but I certainly have found some wonderful new friends out there in the blogosphere and when I read of bloggies meeting, moving closer, planning vacations around getting together, I think that would be a fun thing to plan sometime...

Independence Day...

That sounds good, on so many levels!

I still am pondering the emotions I felt this past Memorial Day, to think of the battles one fights to gain independence, all wars whether they are in ones mind or on the battlefield of life...including the heartwarming effect of hearing from someone who has the MIA bracelet with my uncles name on it and is passing it on to me...

THE MIA BRACELET STORY



And then, to relive each year, the joys of Sparklers, hot dogs, potato salad and S'Mores...that is what I am looking forward to on this 4th, spending time with friends, kids around to spark the fun...



And I have plans to get to my basement, really! I started, and have the bathroom put back together...