When we acquire a pet, it should be with the same mind set, whether or not our furry friend is being good or bad. Under any conditions, no matter what happens, we should not discard our animals when they become undesirable or inconvenient. I realize sometimes a home situation changes so much, (a new baby, an owner becoming unable to care for their pet, or some other hardship) that the pet is better off in a different home.
I like the good life. I like it when things are going well, when I'm healthy and so are my pets. I want peace and harmony, a clean house, and order with everything. But that is not reality, and it takes time and energy to work towards those goals. So I continue working with Babe.
I did not have time to linger here at my computer because I was meeting some ladies at the four way stop at 9:50. Jan, Judy, Cheryl, Karen, Polly, Michelle and I, attended the Daughters of the King seminar and lunch at Central Baptist Church.
The speaker was very good and the lunch a delight. They had everything decorated so nicely. It is always good to connect with women and fun to eat together. The topic and discussion were around the subject 'We are daughters of God and He loves us no matter what.'We are needing to replace the upstairs heat pump soon and have had estimates. While I was gone, the service guy had to remove a panel in the bunkroom, so moved junk out of his way. Now the place is a bigger mess than before. Anyway, it is motivation to get going with organizing storage up there, and getting rid of a bunch of stuff. All Courtney's stuff that needs to be stored is still on the balcony, so I need to take care of it also. And I want to start pulling out Christmas decorations.
I got home with about 90 minutes of time to work outside in the yard. First I mulched leaves on the oasis and back hill with the mower.
Then I started raking leaves out of the creek.
You can see in this photo a section of water where I had removed the leaves next to water still full of leaves.
And the two photos below are looking downstream and then upstream. You can see where I raked leaves from the banks of the creek as well.
I met Patty at Spikes for the Iowa Hawkeye game. It was a close one so we stayed until the final second. The Iowa fans are definitely more fun when we are winning.
I dedicated the remainder of my evening to the two kittens and mama cat.
The two girls are still in 'time out' in the upstairs bathroom (which I felt horrible about) so I brought them down to the sunroom to visit Mama Styx and let them play. Ellie was giving Maggie kitten 'kisses' (video). Actually, I think she was looking for a place to nurse. I could not stay awake, so went to bed before 8:30.
As usual, when I am in the sunroom, I bring the kittens down from upstairs. I have to keep a close eye on them (no nursing and Babe not peeing outside of the litter box) though, so it is a big distraction.
But they so enjoy the sunroom, climbing on the cat towers, running around and playing, and being with their mama. And they are a lot of fun to watch.
What cute, cuddly, furry balls of sweetness.
Although Babe can be a little devil and a fireball.
Here she is by her Mama.
I plan to adopt these two, unless I can't get Babe to stop peeing everywhere. She does well for awhile, and then it happens when I least expect it.
I removed the zipped on covers from the couch cushions and threw them in the load of laundry with dog bed covers and couch blanket.
Then all cushions and bedding were spread out on the screened porch to air out.
Next I headed to the barn, and on my way I dropped off Tony's big box at her house and picked up a special kind of kitty litter that will indicate if Babe has a UTI or other problem.
PrettyLitter helps you monitor your cat's health by changing color when it detects certain abnormalities in the cat's urine.
Amiga was more reluctant than usual to go down the trail and I actually had to use some leg to get her moving several times. We went on the Holly Trail to check out this new section that by-passes the very short but steep hill. I was checking out this rock to see if it was a man made wall. Amiga was tasting the vegetation.
On the way back to the barn we ran into Jan, Emily, and Polly (video). It was another beautiful fall day and I told myself I have to make a point to get to the barn and ride more often.
After feeding all the pets, eating dinner, finishing laundry, taking out the trash, and getting ready for bed, I brought the kittens back down to the sunroom for awhile.
Like Ellie in this photo, I was too sleepy to last long, hence their time with Mama Styx was cut short so that I could go to bed. I so look forward to when Babe and Styx can have run of the house with Stevie and Monita, and they all get along, are healthy, and use the litter box. I do hope this can one day happen.
Monday 11/18 - My first walk of the day, with the dog, is always in the dark. I'll go out later, once there is daylight, to put corn out for the deer and fill my bird feeders. There was a pretty sunrise, but hard to see with all the trees.
As usual, I brought the kittens down with mama while I was in the sunroom at my computer, able to monitor. I was on the lookout for nursing attempts and also watching Babe to make sure she peed in the litter box. All her other choice spots had been removed, except the couch, but it had no cushions on it, and was covered with plastic and then the blanket.
They enjoyed breakfast together while Maggie watched and hoped for leftovers.
It was another morning of play and cuddling and very few attempts at nursing. Mama Styx gets mean with the kittens if they are persistent in trying to nurse. Babe was good about using the litter box and I never saw her search elsewhere for a place to go. The PrettyLitter turns yellow still, indicating no urinary problems.
With the kittens moved back upstairs, it was Line Dance, weights, shower, lunch, and off to town to shop. I also got my hair cut and hit the AT&T store for help with my phone.
Many stores, much money spent, and a car loaded with bags of cement, bird seed, cracked corn, dog food, cat food, and kitty litter, in addition to groceries for the coming weekend's Thanksgiving meal, I got home tired and hungry.
Once I had the car mostly unloaded, I had dinner (popcorn) in the sunroom where I could be with the two kittens (whom I had brought back downstairs) and Mama Styx. Patty was taking Ellie home the next morning, so this was my last night with her. I love her cuddliness and snuggles. And she purrs loudly, so content.
This was Ellies' last morning here so I played with and snuggled with her more than usual. I had gotten caught up on my blogging, so had time to waste.
I was a little disappointed in the weather. It was more overcast than originally predicted, and rain was now a slight possibility. I had planned to do concrete work, and really wanted to get it done, because I did not want it to be on my list of spring jobs. But I decided not to take my chances with rain.
I started a load of laundry. This is silly Stevie playing in the laundry basket. I took five photos of her in action, and this is the most in-focus one. She was rolling all over in the basket.
I got the two dog bed cushions and cat tunnel (that had been airing out but still smelled of cat urine) and soaked them in a laundry detergent and apple cider vinegar solution (15 minutes each) in the bath tub, as instructed by an on-line site. Then they were set out on the deck to air dry.
Once Patty left with Ellie, I decided to leave Babe in the sunroom with Mama, rather than put her up in the bathroom all by herself.
With the day's plan to work in the yard aborted, I switched gears and set to the task of cleaning out the bunk room and getting Courtney's stuff stored in there. This photo shows the room full of stuff, disorderly, and with the wall to the furnace open.
First I put the board that covers the hole to the furnace back up so Stevie and Monita wouldn't go in there. Then I sorted through stuff, moved (with Joe's help) the thrift store pile (including my sewing machine) out to the SUV, and wiped down the shelves. The cats thought this was great fun. Then it was time to re-stow everything. This before and after shot seen from the hall door.
The end of these two bunks is where I stored all of Courtney's stuff. Nice and neat, and tucked away until she is ready for it. Britney has as much stuff stored in here as Courtney.
It was dinner time by the time I finished with the bunk room. Patty had been sending me up-dates and photos on how Ellie was getting along.
She was doing very well. And Patty's two older cats watched from a distance but were not mean to Ellie. Once Ellie fell asleep, they got a closer look and smell.
After I and all the pets had dinner (Poker Joe was in town, donating our stuff at a thrift store and playing some cards), I settled into the sunroom with Mama, Babe, and Maggie, since I had spent the day with Stevie and Monita nearby. I think Maggie was searching for Ellie more than her mom and sister were. Babe (seen here) is a beauty, but a stinker.
Wednesday 11/20 - Mama Styx and Babe tasting the cat grass I have growing. With the weather being more cooperative, I worked hard here so I could get outside as soon as it warmed up.
My cat tree had a dog at the base of it because I had to remove the dog bed from the sunroom since Babe had peed
on it a few times. I plan to wait until after she is spayed to let her have access to the things she has peed on, with hopes this 'marking' behavior goes away.
Look closely at the white speck in the middle of the photo. The crows were going nuts and making a ruckus.
While watching (with binoculars) the hawk walked around in the yard, I noticed he had leaves stuck to his foot and the leg of that foot looked red. Was he bleeding? He kept looking down at his leg/foot. Eventually the crows backed off and the hawk flew up to a branch.
I moved laundry to the dryer, and when I came back into the sunroom, Babe was nursing from Mama Styx. OH NO!!! I thought they were done with nursing. So before I could go outside I had to separate mother and daughter. I moved Styx upstairs.
Jan came by to drop off an extra litter box and cat carrier just as I was getting ready to do more concrete work down back. The hawk swooped through and landed in a tree across the creek, and stayed perched there quite awhile, appearing to be on the lookout for prey.
I mixed what I hoped would be my last batch of concrete for the year and worked on filling cracks between rocks and cementing in several more rocks to the sides where the wall was too low. Unfortunately, I ran out of concrete before I got completely done. But I had no other bags to mix more.
With a 4:30 sunset and dark soon after, I quit with many leaves still remaining. My evening ended as usual.
I started my to do list at 8am. The dog beds and couch cushions were put back out on the deck to finish air drying and get some sunshine, which was slow to come out from behind the clouds.
As I was putting away all my concrete tools, Joe arrived home with his new SUV. It is another Nissan Pathfinder, but a 2019 model with only 15,000 miles on it.
The hawk was back, watching me from overhead.
I didn't get every single leaf because there are so many more to fall, but it looks much nicer for now.
With a little time left before meeting Jan at the barn, I did more leaf removal from the creek. This will be a never ending task, but with a little each day, I hope to stay on top of it.
Jan and I went for a two hour ride. This selfie shows her on Cash, behind me.
We took the Holly Trail into the Glade. Jan up-hill from me, stopped to let Cash rest.
I too had stopped because Amiga was out of breath. These next two photos, taken from the same spot, shows the steep section we had just transcended.
Once in the Glade, we enjoyed riding the back roads. It remained quite overcast with a chilly breeze picking up as we were headed back to the barn, and we got sprinkled on for a few seconds.
I was hungry, cold, and tired when I got home, and took an extra long, very hot shower. I had forgotten to call Mom in the morning, so made a quick call, catching her already in bed, but still awake. Joe fixed dinner (tuna and noodles and green beans) which was wonderful to have done for me. We watched Survivor and I was in bed before 8:00.
Babe was delighted to have my company, and after playing for awhile, she settled on my lap for a nap.
By 5am, I was upstairs working on cleaning and had three of the four guest beds made, and two bedrooms ready for occupancy. I would recruit Joe to vacuum and blow up the air-mattress for Courtney. Styx enjoyed exploring the second bedroom and watching me work.
After an hour nap, I was up with the sun, except there was no sun, and it was rainy and gloomy. I had a much needed third cup of tea.
This last photo is looking at the ditch from the side. What a relief and sense of accomplishment to finally get this done.
I spent the day cleaning and organizing the house. I got the covers back on the couch cushions and them back on the couch. I then covered the couch with a tarp followed by the blanket. Then while sitting on it resting, Babe came over to sit on my lap. Not her usual behavior.
Joe got me a new computer, going with the regular desk top model instead of a laptop. Well there were lots of boxes and packaging from this. So while I was breaking them down for recycling, I used part of one to better organize this cat feeding 'station' in the laundry room. Monita and Stevie were quick to check it out.
I got Courtney's air mattress bed made and set up a little corner on the balcony for her. Stevie and Monita were underfoot checking this out.
On my way home from Patty's, I went on to Food City for some last minute shopping. I baked brownies and corn bread once home and continued with cleaning and monitoring Styx and Babe who were back together for awhile. It was after 11:00 when I went to bed.
Some parts of my week were better than others. But I am thankful for all of it. I find that spending time with cats (and horses, dogs, and nice people) makes the worst parts so much better. So does tea and chocolate.
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