Monday, January 26, 2009

A history of our cats

Before Deb and I met, I had Norman. Although he was originally my daughters cat, she could not take him when she moved out after college. So I got to keep him. He was a loving and extremely affectionate cat. He loved everyone even if you weren't a cat person. He was around for approximately 15 years.
Before Deb met me, She had Bonzai. Bonzai was an interesting kitty. She was not as affectionate and sometimes a little crazy, but she had some very nice points. Whenever Deb would get an empty cardboard box, she would chew out the corner so she would have a place for her head to rest. She also loved to chase balls around the floor. And loosing them. When Deb moved out there were at least a dozen under the stove. She also used to love to look out the window at the birds. She wasn't much for letting you pat her unless it was on her terms.Then there was Gus. Our first kitty in our new home. He was the sweetest kitty. Very playful and extremely lovable. He loved everyone. We got him a kitty tower from freecycle (http://www.freecycle.org/) which he absolutely loved. He would race up and down across the dining room and up the tower and back down. He also loved the laser as well. Unfortunately we lost him unexpectedley. Only 1 year old.











We couldn't go with out a cat for long so along came Bean. He is a very affectionate kitty. Not a lap kitty though, but is still very loveable. Especially if we have been gone for any time. He is definetly a cat with a routine. He loves to drink from the kitchen or bathroom sink. He likes to play with splenda packets and anything like that. He also likes to knock things off the kitchen counter. Which he does all the time. Unfortunately, one reason episode involved a hot mug of Deb's tea early one morning. Not sure if he knocked it off on purpose or if he hit it as he flew up on the counter as he sometimes does. He will also race up the stairs if he thinks someone might be going up. I think he needs to be first. In addition he is usually outside the bedroom door first thing in the morning waiting for Deb to get up. Needlesss to say, he has numerous nicknames like meetball and dufus and sometimes fruit cake among others. He is also a big boy at 13 lbs last vet check up.











Well we thought Bean could use a playmate. So we adopted Izzy. A female part Siamese. She was a very pretty cat and also very playful. Although she absolutely hated it if you tried to pick her up. The 2 got a long very well together, for 6 months. Although she was a few months older, she was a little smaller, probably the Siamese in her. As I said they got along for about 6 months. Then all of a sudden one day she freaked and her and Bean had a knock down drag out fight. Even after separating them for a short time, they still came out fighting. We think maybe she got fed up with Bean. He plays agressively some time and he is probably 1 1/2 times her size. So we gave her back to the shelter to be adopted by a family with no other cats.


Well then along came Frankie. This time we thought we would get another boy cat as well as a kitten. Figuring the 2 could grow up together. Frankie's name was Francis at the shelter so we changed it to Frank. Frank and Bean just seems to go good together. They did play a little together. Bean liked to lick him. Which was sometimes followed by him biting Frank. Well Frank is a very affectionate kitty. He will sit in my lap for hours. However, he got sick about a month after we got him. And unfortunately we don't know what is wrong with him. He has had 2 different blood tests and been looked at by 3 different vets. It doesn't look good for the little guy. We keep praying for him. Perhaps a miracle will happen. Will keep you updated.






Thursday, January 22, 2009

Being a Grandparent can be so much fun.

I love being a grandparent. Although my grandchildren are still quite young, I can certaintly see them coming up with some of the below statements. I hope you enjoy.


Being a Grandparent
> 1. She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes
> of her young granddaughter, as she'd done many times before. After she
> applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, 'But Gramma,
> you > forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!' I will probably never put lipstick
> on again without thinking about kissing the toilet paper good-bye...

> 2. My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday.
> .....He asked me how old I was, and I told him, '62.' He was quiet for a
> moment, > and then he asked, 'Did you start at 1?'

> 3. After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old
> slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the
> children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally,
> she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them
> back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the
> three-year-old say with a trembling voice, 'Who was THAT?'

> 4. A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own
> childhood was like: 'We used to skate outside on a pond I had a swing made
> from a > tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild
> raspberries in the woods.' The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all
> in. At last she said, 'I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!'

> 5. My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, 'Grandma, do you know
> how you and God are alike?' I mentally polished my halo and I said, 'No,
> how are we alike?' ' You're both old,' he replied.

> 6. A little girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word
> processor. She told him she was writing a story. 'What's it about?' he asked.
> 'I don't know,' she replied. 'I can't read.'

> 7. I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I
> decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was.
> She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last she headed for the door, saying, 'Grandma, I think you should try to
> figure out some of these yourself!'

> 8. When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the
> lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a
> few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered,
> 'It's no use Grandpa. Now the mosquitoes are coming after us with
> flashlights.'

> 9. When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, 'I'm not
> sure.' 'Look in your underwear, Grandpa,' he advised. 'Mine says I'm four
> to six.'

> 10. A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother,
> 'Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today. 'The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep 'her cool. 'That's interesting,' she said, 'how do you make babies?' ''It's simple,' replied the girl. 'You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'.'

> 11. Children's Logic: 'Give me a sentence about a public servant,' said a
> teacher. The small boy wrote: 'The fireman came down the ladder pregnant.'
> The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. 'Don't you know what pregnant
> means?' she asked. 'Sure,' said the young boy confidently. 'It means
> carrying a child.'

> 12. A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids
> home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the
> truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties.'
> 'They use him to keep crowds back,' said one child. 'No,' said another.
> 'He's just for good luck.' A third child brought the argument to a close.
> 'They use the dogs,' she said firmly, 'to find the fire hydrants.'