"Bits and Pieces"

Just a few little bits of this and some pieces of that....

*****

I should not write late at night when I am on pain medication!  I said I only had one molar left.   That's not true.  I still have the molars on the upper right and one on the upper left, I just don't have any molars on the lower right or left.  I've been eating nothing but pudding and noodles for the last three days! I don't even like pudding all that much.  I'm hungry for real food! Did you realize that practically everything that is protein needs to be chewed???   And my mouth still hurts!  This hasn't been fun!   I'd better get lots of kudos and praise from my dentist when I go back to see her!  It's the least she can do after I did what she told me to do!!  :)

*****

I don't know what happened, but the day after I wrote about the cat family that had taken over my deck, they disappeared.  We haven't seen either the cat or the kittens since!  Do you think it was something I said?

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The weather has been really wonky this Spring.  It gets into the upper 80s then it plummets back into the 40s and 50s.  That is not my idea of Spring at all.  It is May....in Texas....it is supposed to be warm, maybe even HOT!!!  SNOW was predicted for Amarillo last night!  Our HVAC is flip-flopping between AC and Heat.  It's impossible to know how to dress.   I'm glad they changed the terminology to "Climate Change" because this sure doesn't feel one bit like "Global WARMING!"

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The Big Guy has been very diligent about doing everything to reduce the effects of the Bell's Palsy.  He is doing Acupuncture, taking vitamins and other natural things like zinc and fish oil,  drinking a specially blended herbal concoction that sort of looks like tea but sure doesn't smell like tea!  And it has ..."things"....floating in it! Nevertheless,  I am thrilled to report that something is working.  The left side of his face pretty much looks back to normal.  This is really good news!  The second go-round has been much less dramatic than the first time!

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I am going stir crazy.  I haven't been out of the house since Monday.  Four days straight!!  The pain meds are still making me groggy which has meant I couldn't drive, but I can't stand it one more minute!  I am going somewhere today....anywhere!  (And no, I'm not taking the pain meds today...at least not until I've been outside!)

*****

Sorry to be so grumpy, but this just hasn't been a great week!

:When a House Is Not a Home"

I think I have made it abundantly clear to the Universe, anyone who knows me, and to anyone who reads this blog that I am a dog-lover.  I wasn't always a dog-lover, in fact, they used to terrify me!  Once I got past the fear that I was about to be torn limb from limb by any teacup poodle or sleepy beagle or big-as-a-horse Great Dane that got within 100 yards of me, I became a convert to dog fan-dom!  We've owned five dogs over the years as a matter of fact, and I loved each of them to pieces.

What I am NOT however, is a cat-lover.  Nope, I don't like them and they don't like me.  Cats and I are mutually antagonistic.  They make me nervous and I guess I make them aggressive.  Generally we stay a respectable distance from one another.

I know that this makes me somewhat suspect to many people.  There are a LOT of cat lovers out there.  I mean, how can I not like those fluffy little kittycats?  They're sooo cute!  Well, sorry, I just don'e.  I think it's genetic.  My mom wasn't crazy about them either.

A few weeks ago I was sitting quietly at my computer one night minding my own business when suddenly the most God-awful screeching and yowling erupted from outside.  It sounded as if it was right under the window I was sitting next to.  Let me tell you, it scared me out of three year's growth!  After my heart rate returned to normal, I realized that there were a couple of cats fighting in front of our house.  I guess cats get into fights fairly often.

I've always thought that cat owners who let their cats out at night are really taking a risk.  I mean, who knows where they go or what they get into?  And then they come back inside bringing whatever back in with them.  They don't even wipe their feet!  Its dangerous too,  cats not only fight with each other, they also have been known to take on racoons, possums, and skunks!    I  was thinking that I would write a post about the about the dangers of letting your cats out.  Then I decided however, that I really didn't want to take on the whole cat community (including my poor, misguided, cat-loving Little Sis!)  So I actually showed a little restraint for a change and didn't write a word.  I just sat and grumbled.

Now for the past few years, we occasionally are visited by a cat from the neighborhood.  From time to time we see her sunning herself on our deck.  We have no idea how long she sticks around exactly.  It seems like she's out there for a while. She doesn't hurt anything, doesn't drag anything into the yard with her or anything.  She just sits or lies down.  She looks healthy enough and naturally, we do not feed her or try to make friends.   She runs away if we make any noise or open the back door and that's just fine with us.  An uninvited visitor but an innocuous one.  We won't see her for weeks and then suddenly there she is again.  I don't know if she is owned by one of our neighbors or if she is a feral cat and I haven't been interested in finding out.

Until today, that is.

Today she was not alone.  She brought someone with her.  In fact, she brought FIVE someones with her.

I couldn't get outside to take the pictures.
Sorry they're so poor!!

Kittens!  She had kittens!  The last time I saw her she didn't look particularly.....uhhh....rotund.  Four of the kittens looked just like her, the fifth is all-black.  They appeared to be perfectly comfortable on our deck!  So I think they have been there before.  Though they are small, they aren't teeny, tiny, so they are beyond the newborn stage and able to get around.  They do, however, instantly disappear under the deck when they hear the slightest noise or see the slightest movement, but when mom gives the all clear (or whatever cats do) they are back on the deck exploring, romping around, sleeping, or tapping mom for a meal.  They are cute.  Babies are pretty much always cute, no matter what species!

But cute or not, I do NOT want SIX cats living in my backyard!!  They need to learn that "....a House Is Not a Home!!"  At least, not THIS house!  At least, not for THEM!

Our yard is fully fenced, but there's not a cat in the world who is stopped by something as insignificant as a fence!  Any suggestions as to getting them to relocate??  There's got to be some nice cat lady with 34 cats living somewhere nearby.  Right?

She probably wouldn't even notice five or six new cats!

"The Friendly Beasts"

I don't like liver.  I don't like freezing weather.  I don't like hip hop music.  And I don't like cats.  Most people would not care about the liver, the weather, or the music; but the cats??   Oh no, that's a whole other story!  Cat people will jump all over me for daring to shudder when I think about a cat....any cat!

Every cat person I've ever encountered likes their cats better than most people they know!!  Cat people have been hypnotized by a little bit of purring and a few funny efforts to catch a string!   So what??  That is just too little reward for putting up with all the rest of their annoying personalities.

There are two kinds of people in the world, those who like cats and those who don't.  People who don't like cats, don't like ANYTHING about them!!  However, the people who do like cats, usually ADORE their cats, often owning more than one.  As long as you don't end up like the little old woman with 37 cats living in a 2 room apartment, I guess that's okay.  I just won't be over to visit anytime within this lifetime! 

People who really like cats absolutely cannot understand why anyone wouldn't like cats.  Well, there are tons of reasons....they jump out at you from some hidden place and scare the living crap out of you....they walk all over kitchen counters and tables during meal time....they spend an inordinate amount of time licking their hairy little bodies, including all the private bits, then they jump on your chair and want to lick YOU....ewww.... they will then proceed to hack up some disgusting goop that cat owners swear is "just" a little hairball,  yeah, right!....they are always begging to go outside where they are known to kill other living things, the little savages....they claw furniture, upholstery, drapes, cabinets, carpets, and small children....they hiss at you!! (well, they hiss at me!!!)....they eat disgusting, smelly, fishy, glop that stinks up the whole house....they are secretive, aloof, self-centered, annoying creatures who don't even come when they are called.  I hate people like that, why would I want to be snubbed by some fuzzy feline who sheds all over me??

Nevertheless, that is just me, I guess.  Heck, my very own sister has multiple cats!!  (Oh, Little Sis, where did we go wrong??)  But hey, it's "live and let live" right?  I don't get the attraction of cats, but as long as I don't have them in my house, I can pretty much ignore their existence in the world. 

HOWEVER, sometimes they refuse to be ignored and they feel free to encroach on MY fenced backyard.  For those who might never have been around cats, you might not realize that there is no fence ever built that cannot be climbed by a determined cat.  The critters are light on their feet, I'll give them that.  They can practically leap straight up from a standing position and land on the top of an 8 ft. fence that is only about 2 in. wide, and they do it easily.

Well today, one of those predatory, nearly feral creatures, waltzed right into my yard and proceded to STALK our little bunny visitor!!!!  Luckily I just happened to walk by the back door and caught the cat in mid-stalk.  As soon as I opened the door, the interloper was off like a shot and disappeared back over the fence.  But I can't spend all my time out in back warding off the unwanted cat!

It isn't yet clear whether our little bunny is here as a permanent resident  or just passing through.  Either way, he/she is welcome!  I would like to be able to offer a safe haven to our little friend without the interference of a big ol' uninvited cat twice his size.

Neighbors, can't your cat go stalk somebody else?   Or better yet, please just keep your cats at home!  Our bunny is one of "The Friendly Beasts" and is welcome here for as long as he likes, but he won't stay if that cat keeps hanging around too!  'Cuz I seriously doubt the bunny likes cats any more than I do!