Musings on a Small Life

Apparently , when I got home today and let the cats out into the back space, the boy next door said he was going to "kill the cats." I did not hear this, his sister rushed to tell me right away.  I had just stepped out to refill the cats' water bowl, and the girl was "talking," the mother was talking, and I guess the boy was making comments too. The mother got upset, I told her I hadn't heard what her son had said and she replied, "Yes, you did," and I tried to explain that no , I really didn't, it was the daughter who told me. I can't hear over everyone's babble plus traffic noise, barking dogs, etc. In any case, I'm 98% sure the boy was just trying to push his mom's, and perhaps my, buttons. Doesn't work with me, and I told the mother this. That kid gets a rise out of her every time, and in my opinion, it's not a helpful reaction. (He'll often say something designed to provoke her, and her response will be...

Oh, sure, I'm busy video "taping" the sound of the neighbours insane kids, and the mother's bringing me leftover cake from their supper tonight (they had friends over). She didn't bake it, but that's neither here nor there. I think she's also passing some along to a couple of other neighbours; apparently it was a huge slab. Do I feel like the most miserable person on the planet? Yep. Am I going to stop "taping" the screaming tantrums, just to cover my a&&? Nope. Am I going to eat the cake? Yep, and probably with breakfast tomorrow. Not tonight; I'd never sleep. It was a kind gesture, no question. But does it give me the warm fuzzies toward them? Hell no! Which, as I stated, makes me the most miserable person on the planet, apparently.

No, I didn't make it six days without chocolate. I had a yummy small piece of dark chocolate caramel with sea salt (I hear Old Kitty saying "Ewwww" to the caramel), then a small piece of espresso dark chocolate. And already I feel better. :-) No mistaking that it's Monday, by the way things are going at work today. But the morning bus driver had some sage words. I was joking about staying on and doing a full loop, to end up a home again (rather than go in to the office). She laughed and told me the hardest part of my day was over already -- getting out of bed. She was right. A couple of recent morning sky pics. I don't think I've posted them, but apologies if I have. Back to the Monday work "stuff." Have a good day, everyone. P.S. Still no sign of the little black girl kitty.

Five days without chocolate...There ought to be a universal rule that for every day you don't have chocolate, you lose a pound . It's not been intentional. I went three days, then realized it was, well, three whole days since I'd had any. Yesterday and today have been intentional, however. I could stand to "de-tox" for a little bit. Payday is Friday the 29th, I can stock up then.  :-) I haven't seen hide or hair of that little black cat since Wednesday. She came with Toby just those two days. I think she was looking for a daddy for kittens and when Toby couldn't help her in that regard, she took off with the other short-haired tabby I saw on Wednesday. ::Sigh:: Yet another young cat will be having more unwanted babies, and since she's so thin and malnourished, I can't imagine she'll be in great shape to nurse them. I'll keep my eye out for her all the same, though. Today is Derry's birthday . Well, today is the birth date ...

I thought I heard her distinctive, grating (lol) yeowl around 3:30AM, but there was no sign of her at all a short time later when I went downstairs to feed everyone. Only Toby was waiting for me on the step, though all the kibble had been eaten. That could have been any one of the roaming cats, though. I had hoped I'd see her this morning, had a plate of Fancy Feast for her, but Toby ate it instead, along with his own canned. Well, she knows where food is to be found, and she's beyond thin, so I imagine she'll be back. Nothing else noteworthy, other than we're in our first summer heat wave. What would we humans have to talk about if not for the weather? It was 31C/88F in my bedroom last night, ugly. 28C/82F downstairs on the main level, and blissfully cool in the basement. Today the humidex is up to 38C/100F, so I can imagine the house will be worse. It takes a long time to heat up, but when it does, it stays hot. Good thing we're getting a br...

4:50AM: Well, she was with Toby again about an hour ago. Ate half a large can of food, quite daintily, before deciding she'd had enough. I sat beside her the entire time, talking to her and to Toby. No obvious teats, definitely no sign of testicles. Young, I'd say less than a year old, but I really don't know. VERY thin, and if she were more brown than black I'd be looking at Annie all over again, because Annie was nothing but fur over bone when I adopted her. Oh, and I'm pretty sure this little one is in heat too. She's very friendly, let me rub her head and give her scritches. Yeowling like crazy. Went off, followed by another cat (presumably male), a grey-ish short-haired tabby with white paws. He wasn't interested in the treat bag or food, just her. If would be great if she could be caught before she's really nursing kittens. I can try with a carrier, if she keeps coming around, though I haven't any work gloves. I'm sure the ...

This black cat -- I've seen "her" a few times before, at a distance, in recent weeks. She's not approached until this morning, but I assume she's been eating some of the food I've been putting out for Toby. Anyway, when I got home from work this aft, the neighbour mom was outside and mentioned that this cat is hanging around with Toby when she gets home from work (part time evening/early night shift at a local grocery store). Last night the cat was meowing at her, presumably wanting food. The neighbour said the cat looks in bad shape, is emaciated. And asked that I start putting food out at night again, so "she" can have something to eat. The neighbour said she'd buy food, but she didn't want to start feeding the cats on her doorstep. No, of course she wouldn't want to do that. (Husband and/or son supposedly is/are allergic.) Here's my guess: The cat was fairly recently "owned," wasn't spayed, got pregnant and ...

Yep, another kitty on my doorstep this morning, a small long-haired black one, with a fluffy tail. Or looks black at 4AM. I've actually seen him/her before (as well as a short-haired black one), but s/he has never approached until today. I stepped out and put Toby's wet and dry down, and he had just started to eat his canned, when up came the other cat and settled in beside him, eating the dry. Toby left his own food and came to me, and when the other cat moved to his canned food, Toby let him/her eat it. Which meant I went back in for another can of food and another plate, specifically for Toby. I have no idea if he actually got to eat that serving, so when I was leaving for work I put a third can of food out for him. By then the black one had gone. Obviously this little black one isn't feral, or s/he wouldn't have come up on the step with me right there. But whether s/he is a stray or someone's roaming kitty, that I don't know. There are some cats...

I headed out to one of the marinas and waterfront walks this morning, felt the urge to take some pics with the Fuji. Nice to have that desire for a change. I always carry the little Canon Elph, of course, mostly for floral macros, but actually going out with the sole purpose of taking snapshots is a bit different. It was the perfect morning, hot and with a good, strong breeze churning up the waves. I was lucky to see this gorgeous ship/schooner, presumably heading for the downtown marina. Maybe she takes tours--I'm not sure. It looks like she's flying our City flag, though. I'll post more snapshots from the outing in other posts. BTW, it was nice to be down there during good weather, not out there in January or February, freezing my butt off. Oh! And that reminds me -- I was waiting at Coach Canada for my bus transfer, while on the way home, and two young women were there waiting for their bus too. One was a teen, I think, one a bit older. The older ...

That was the mother late yesterday afternoon. She was out in her back space, doing some "garden" clean up and wanted to borrow my pruning shears. I had been out and in, out and in, scooping litter boxes, refilling water bowls, feeding the boys, sweeping, starting on supper, watering plants, etc. Doing some of the million and one things that have to be done. Maybe she didn't realize I wasn't in the back space anymore when she called out to me, that I was inside working . It's kind of funny, actually. I'm happy to lend her what she needs, if I have it, that's not an issue. It's just that I do have things to take care of. I'm not sitting out back just waiting to be beckoned. Especially not yesterday, since her kids and the kids that are next door to them were over there, playing out back, and were shrieking and shouting as only young kids can do. As tired as you guys are of reading about my neighbour "trials and tribulations," I...

No question what I want: A minimum $1.5M (CAN) lottery win, so I can find a lovely small bungalow with a huge backyard in a quiet neighbourhood, and get the hell out of the townhouse complex. Plus have retirement income, reno money, and money to have fun donating/giving away, of course. Barring that, a lotto win so I can at least clear my debts (again), have the high density cellulose blown in between the adjoining unit walls, and do the renos my own unit desperately needs. Plus have a year's income saved in case of emergency. Say a minimum of $100K (CAN). I think most of us would love to have a lottery win or other windfall--at least those of us who are not financially secure. But what do I really need , with respect to the neighbour situation? Instead of fantasizing about that impossible lottery win, yesterday I asked the Universe for whatever I need to endure them and maintain my sanity--and for Derry to maintain his too. Because I don't know what I need...

Yep, so much for the relative peace and quiet next door. The boy was at it again yesterday, much of the afternoon and evening. I first heard commotion during the mid-afternoon, when I was trying to settle down and nap. I had my bedroom door mostly closed and the air purifier on, but could hear shouting from downstairs. Tried to get the sound via my camera, but it didn't come out well from the upper level. Later, he was on about something again. I did get some whining, typical mouthy kid stuff, really, while I was outside taking pics of the flowers, but in the early evening it was a bonanza. The boy and mom were in the basement, having a screaming match (the father was home), and I stood at the top of my basement steps with the camera on "video," getting the sound. You have to crank the volume up to the max to hear them, because of the static my camera makes and all the pounding (up and down the basement steps, slamming doors, etc.), but you can hear them, quite w...

There were four siblings up for adoption at one of our local PetValu stores. One already had been adopted, leaving these: The brown tabby, food motivated already and into everything (shades of Nicki). I couldn't get a pic of his/her face. This little grey girl, who was a wild thing:  Note her half-moustache.  :-) This sweet tuxie who fell asleep perilously close to someone's feet, right in front of the cash area: And this little grey tabby, who showed up as I was leaving. S/he reminds me of a small Derry: It was nice to see them all running around free, as the other PetValu keeps their adoptable adult cats and kittens in tiny cages at the very back of the store, no roaming. I think it's better for them to roam and interact with the visitors, as well as any other animals that come into the store. Makes for better socialization. You know, it's impossible to be in a crabby mood while watching kittens play. Well, unless they're in y...

Ugh, I hate ants in the house. They give me the shivers, and not in a good way. Make my skin crawl. I got home from work yesterday, saw a couple of large black ants on my counter and thought, uh oh. Hoped they had just come in either on the cats' fur or on something else. Then I saw a few more crawling around the sink area and behind the stove. At that point my bug paranoia kicked in full gear, because when we first bought the townhouse we had ants coming in from behind the stove, along the baseboards. The ex had caulked everything up and that took care of it for that summer. But for the following summer or two I had ants in the basement. Bleh. Took care of that, and haven't had an indoor ant problem until now. So it must be a "good" year for ants. Anyway, I sucked it up, put on my big girl panties and moved the stove/oven away from the wall. Ewwww, the dirt! Gross! LOL. It's not like I pull the appliance out every week...or every six months...to clea...

Back story: My leaky basement issue, which still is ongoing. We had heavy rain on Friday/Saturday and I had water trickling in, in the same spot as always, where my unit joins the next at the back. So yesterday afternoon the co-owner of the repair company that does most of the work in our complex went back to my neighbours, to crawl under their deck (which is flush against my unit in the spot that leaks) to take a look. Seems it's likely that when one of the previous owners put the deck on, about 10 years ago now, his drilling into the concrete on my side is the cause. It certainly can't be anything else; everything else has been checked and has been done. This can't be repaired without the neighbours deck being demolished, of course. Oh well. But this does explain why I didn't have this leaking issue for the first couple of years I was there. Anyway, I'm getting to the point here, really. I got home yesterday, knew "Joe" had been over next do...

Gees, I called a bit earlier to schedule Nicki's dental, and the earliest I can get in with his vet is Friday July 6th. I had been thinking a week or two! Who knew it would be harder to get an appointment for my cat than it is to get one for myself? I asked if they did the dentals in the morning or afternoon, because Nicki's first one, back in November 2009, wasn't until the afternoon (unbeknownst to me at the time). The girl (same one who didn't blink at my supposed $800+ bill on Friday) said oh, they're always done in the mornings. So we'll see. I'd hate for him to fast for longer than necessary, poor boy. Not that he can't afford to miss a meal or two. I have hair hi-lites the day after, Saturday the 7th. Not that that matters to Nicki. I just happened to see it on my calendar, when I was adding Mr. PurrBug's appointment. My once every four months hi-lites. I want to tone down the blond hi-lites, mix it up with colour that's closer to...

The vet called a short time ago, finally able to catch up on non-appointment stuff. He said Nicki's blood work was great, no problems. His EOS level was high the last time (think it was the EOS--eosinophils--I'd have to check). Can be related to allergies, parasitic infections, etc. In Nicki's case, I think it's been allergies; I know it's not parasites. Or highly doubt that it is. In any case, apparently all is well now. I'll pick up a copy of the the blood work results (and urine analysis) the next time I'm in. His UA also came back with good results. Urine pH is down slightly, between 6.5 and 7.0. It was at 7.0 back in the fall, as was Derry's. Between 6.0 and 6.5 is desirable. So there is something to the grain-free canned food with added water theory advocated by the vet at Catinfo.org . The urine is highly concentrated, though, which is typical for him (and for Derry too). Apparently he had amorphous crystal fragments, not a concern to the ve...

So I took a vacation day today, to take Nicki to the vet clinic for his pre-dental blood work. Had a urine sample taken too, just to see how things are, and had them apply his Advantage, because he absolutely freaks out when I try to do it. I haven't heard back from the vet, would prefer not to until Monday, actually, in case there's a problem. Of course I hope there's not, but my track record with the fur kids isn't that good, really. Anyway, I was at the counter, ready to pay, when the young woman said to me, "That's $800+." I can't remember the exact amount, well over $800. I looked at her and replied that I wasn't paying for the actual dental today, that it was the blood work ($59), the UA ($79), the Advantage (1 for Nicki and 1 for Derry) and Zylkene. She peered at her screen and told me the the Zylkene was over $600.  Good grief! It was about $26 for the bottle I bought last month and I told her that. It was their new computer/i...