Pure White

Pure White...That is what I come home to most days. She seems to enjoy showing me her pure white underside. Her upper side, however, is calico. Patches of orange, grey, brown and black tabby. She is a beautiful cat that I actually rejected a few years ago because she showed up looking mighty ugly with no hair, bumps and a skeleton. See with a little love and good food can do.

I know I have shared that story before but it still amazes me to see her transformation.

Since then, she has moved into the garage at night. She thinks she owns the garage. My Mom was cleaning it yesterday and she was beside her swatting her and hissing ( she is harmless... all hiss, no action)at her because she was changing her domain. When I let her in last night she had to thoroughly walk over everything and investigate all the changes to claim her domain back. She also refuses to eat at night outside until I let her in the garage. Then she wants to eat. She is not spoiled in the least bit.

By the way, that is a big belly which I have had to control her portions because now that she stays in the garage at night, she stays in our yard in the day time and gets very little exercise. She used to walk to the neighbor's garage several times a day for naps but they blocked her out because a opossum was coming in with her.

Anybody locally want a great cat. I love her and will miss her but she really needs to be an indoor cat and my cat will not let her in regardless. She is spayed,litter trained and rabied. My indoor cat  is 9 and a little set in his ways and used to having the house to himself. He lets me know frequently that he is not happy about the garage situation by swatting at me when I come in from the garage.

50 years

Still experiencing some life Blahhss! So I have been kind of quiet lately.

50 years.... My sister and I are planning an anniversary dinner for my parents. I have been dwelling alot on the fact they have been married for 50 years. That is a long time for dedication. I mean 50 years, Wowsers! That is longer than I have been around. Well it should be , actually. 50 years, wow. Think about that is 25 years twice, that is a lot of years.

In those 50 years, there has been good and bad. There has been some money and no money. There has been jobs and no jobs. There has been uncertainty of life and life. There has been good health and bad health. There has been the birth of two kids in two years then a third unexpected one eight years later. There has been good decisions and bad decisions. There has been easy days and not so easy days. Through it all though they have made it and survived. I write all this in present tense because the marriage is still going.

Is it perfect? No. Never has been that is what makes it real.

Do they fight? Oh yeah but as years progress it is less about the marriage things and more about stupid politics. I tell her not to respond to his politic questions but she always does which leads to a fight about politics. They are both republicans though, he is just 1000% Republican and she is 95%.

Do they love each other? They must because it has been 50 years.


Does she run around? Well yeah my mom runs all over town doing something... working, shopping, movies, theme parks, etc. He does not care just as long as he knows her approximate vicinity. If we or she has not checked in by a certain time, you can guarantee the cell phone is going to ring with him saying this exact phrase, "Where the heck are you?" See he doesn't alwasy say I love you but he shows it in other ways.


Does he run around? Heck, no. You know you will always find him in his recliner in his den in front of the television. That is his comfort zone. Nothing ever changes. They found a groove that works for them and has survived for 50 years. Yep, wow 50 years.

What has amazed me lately? Their determination to pull together as a team to take care of my grandparents in the end. After all there is another sibling and my Dad is just the son-in-law and not the favored son-in-law through the years either. They have pulled together and were really there for my grandmother. He stayed every night at their house to take care of her at night for six months. He goes up some mornings to help my grandfather get up and get going for the day then he brings my grandfather in to our store for the day so he is taken care of yet my mom can work too. Then my mom does this on the other mornings and takes him home at night. It has been amazing to watch them work together for this.

This evening it dawned on me how fast 37 years of their marriage have gone by since I have been born . So they are now closer to tying my grandparents with only 22 years to go. I know my grandparents were married 72 years but that seemed ok because after all they were my grandparents. I am still having problems with the reality that my parents are old enough to be celebrating 50 years. That just seems like such a big number for my parents.

As for our plans. Our original plans were for a cruise with just them and us kids. Thanks to the economy that is not happening this year, maybe next year. So off to plan B. We are going to have a pasta dinner at our church for church friends, old friends and family next month. My sister and I get along mostly with ideas but this time we have two different ideas. She wants serious traditional. I want fun festive fiftie's retro style. We shall see who wins or if it ends in compromise.

Sorry this post was all over the place but I told you 50 years has baffled me.

Two years ago this week...

Two years ago this week my sweet cat disappeared. He went out when my father went to get the paper even though to this day he swears it did not happen. For those of you who followed my AOL journal you know he was found five days later underneath my neighbor's deck. We were ecstatic.

This morning at 7 AM I knew he was on my blanket. I fell asleep on the recliner and woke up at 7 am and he moved because I repositioned. I went back to sleep and when I awoke he was gone. He did not bulldoze the door down when I was in the shower like he does every morning. He was no where to be found. My first thoughts were that my father had went out to get the paper and oh mercy he ran out. This would be out of character though since he went out two years ago he stays clear of the door unless a stray is out there. There is a new stray out there now too, a real ugly one .( Side note my other strays have disappeared the last as recently as Sunday and I miss him because he was adorable. I lose one I gain one, they know where to come for food, God must send them)

We tore apart the house looking in every nook and cranny this cat could go. No cat. I have been to every room like I did two years ago, no cat. I am shaking his treats and calling his name for almost an hour, no cat. My dad has been in the garage, no cat. I go outside, there is a cat, not my cat, it is the ugly stray. I go back in totally distraught. I go back through the house again, no cat. I go back in the garage and sit there for a few minutes and shake his treats and lo and behold he comes out from the Christmas tree. He had evidently snuck out when my father went out there to get some clothes out of the dryer. Needless to say I was very delighted to find him and he was very delighted to be found.

Glad he was found but next October he is going on a leash.