The Comfort of Cats

This is Ralphie, our youngest cat. I don't consider myself a "cat lady" and my husband most definitely does not consider himself a cat lover, but tonight as I walked into the kitchen from the sofa I heard him ask me to bring him a toothpick. I asked him if he was just waiting for me to come downstairs to get him one so he would not have to get off the sofa. As I brought him his toothpick I saw he was being held down by cats. One of our cats was on his lap, another lolling over his shoulder and the third was draped over his stretched out legs. He would not disturb the cats to get up and go into the kitchen. I asked him if I could snap a picture of this and he was horrified, he doesn't care for cats you know ( so he says) and someone viewing a picture of him with cats all round might actually think he is a cat lover. Here is Joey, my fierce and loyal black cat. Joey will run to a window if he hears a vehicle pull into the driveway and growl at it. He also talks and one of these days I am determined to have my video camera ready to record him. He often follows me around outside and if he sees me from afar he meows very loudly "hurrow, hurrow" it really sounds like he is saying "hello" with a Chinese accent. He is a talker, but only to me. "God made the cat so man might have the pleasure of caressing the tiger." Ferdinand Mery Candy Cat is totally an outdoor cat. Because of some physical problems she was born with she does not do well indoors. If you are outside though she shadows you and loves to warm the laps of anyone enjoying the porch rockers. "For every house is incomplete without him, and a blessing is lacking in the spirit." Christopher Smart Miss Marple, still the Queen feline around here. "A cat-less writer is almost inconceivable.It's a perverse taste really, since it would be easier to write with a herd of buffalo than even one cat; they make nests in the notes and bite the end of the pen and walk on the typewriter keys." Barbara Holland ( I have to add this because it is so true!)

She enjoys a good nap on our bed. "Since each of us is blessed with only one life why not live it with a cat?" Robert Stearns

When not napping on our bed,she loves to snuggle with me on the sofa. "I simply can't resist a cat, particularly a purring one. They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent things I know, outside of the girl you love, of course." Mark Twain

During times of stress, weariness, and trial I cannot even begin to tell you how much comfort my cats brought just by insisting themselves on me and purring loudly. They really seemed to know I needed something extra, a warm presence that did not need to say anything, or make sense of distress and grief. The cats just firmly planted themselves against me, or on me and purred. I cannot say enough about the blessing of the comfort of cats. I am thankful God created cats, and I think although my husband will never say it, he is too. "A meow massages the heart" Stuart McMillan You might enjoy this video of a cat called "The Angel of Death", I think this cat should be called " The Comforting Angel".

Spot On Grandsons & Cats

How I decorate the front porch.

How my cat, Miss Marple decorates the front porch.

Our oldest of 8 grandchildren, and oldest of two grandsons, came to help me, his Grandmother, clean out some chicken pens today. It was a lot of hard work. I helped a little and am sore, very sore, from the work. I am so thankful to God for a strong and hard-working grandson to help me. He pitched out and hauled away at least 12 wheelbarrows of chicken manure and build-up to a compost pile so I can prepare a new pen for my red and white frizzle bantam chicks. We had lunch together, a walk around the pond and then dinner and a root beer tasting at his home ( thank-you daughter ). Grandchildren truly are the crown of old men and their wives. Thank-you C.T. We love you so much! And then, there is Ralphie~ lovingly playing with one of my husband's pens , one of many he has stolen from the receptacle that holds pens and pencils. Ralphie is enjoying his stolen treasure on my newly finished saddle-pad, locker-hooked with the woolen fleece of my Jacob sheep. Ralphie looks pretty happy with himself and his "catch", don't you think?

Ralphie Speaks! ( meows)

Life around here is pretty good, but sometimes Kathy forgets it is all about ME! Meow.........

Like, just the other night I was napping in a comfortable bed of canvas and wool on the living room sofa and Kathy picks me up and plunks me down on the floor. Something about this being a rug she is working on, really...I was trying to sleep! DUH!!!! I was not happy. I decided to let her know just how I felt,because after all, it is about ME, ME, MEow!So I decide to take her locker-hook, the thing she needs to make her rugs, and hide it. It is kind of fun to do this you know. She keeps swatting me away and I just keep at it...purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

Kathy hides the locker-hook in the wool when she gets up to pour herself a cup of coffee and I take this opportunity to snatch the locker-hook. She can't fool me, meow.

The locker-hook is easily snatched and I drag it away to hide it. But hey, I decide I kind of like this locker-hook and maybe it is way more interesting than Kathy and I like the sound it makes when I bat it around and the hook at the end makes it easy to catch and kick across the room. Maybe I will hang onto this intriguing (yes, cats have amazing vocabularies) toy.

Ahhhhhhhhhh, I am tuckered out. This toy was so much fun to bat around the entire house and Kathy did not stop me. Nap time.......

..and then I see, she has taken pictures of me for her blog, the other thing that takes up too much time, time she could be spending on ME, ME,MEow!

Ralphie has been unofficially adopted by my sister Joni and Ralphie is very happy to know someone of consequence appreciates him. Maybe SHE will give him his own locker-hook and basket of wool. A cat can hope and dream. MEOW~

Party Animals

Last night while watching the election results and comments regarding Scott Brown's amazing victory in Massachusetts and reading and commenting on some of my favorite blogs I realized there was a party going on in my own home....Ralphie has shown himself to be a real party animal! If he were a teenage boy he would be facing severe restrictions and consequences ( yes, my teenage boys were held accountable for their misbehavior because after all, we were -and still are- their parents first, and NOW we're their friends too) and since Ralphie is not a teenage human boy, but a pet, well, I can confine him to my craft room with all the necessities of life for a kitten. Above is a picture of Ralphie eying my Betta ON THE TABLE ! Oh no..here he is checking out my candle sticks. I left him in the dining room after taking this picture and removing him from the table. As I was reading and commenting on some of my favorite blogs I heard a CRASH!!!! Oh no, Ralphie had tipped over one of the candle sticks and was happily slapping a small votive candle all around the dining room. He did break the candlestick which I was able to super-glue back together, but I was upset about this. I have long contended cats have parties after we all go to bed and Ralphie has proven me right. Actually, all my cats have proven me right. "Every dog has his day, but the nights are reserved for cats." I have often told friends and family I would love to write a childrens' book about cats having parties after the lights are out and the family is sleeping, because I KNOW cats are having parties then. Just look at the evidence in the morning. Why, I have awakened to whole rolls of toilet paper unrolled and strewn throughout the house, the meringue topping licked clean off a lemon meringue pie baked and set aside just before I went to bed ( this happened more times than I can count and YES I did hide the pie, but the cat found it every time) my Wee Little Sheep destroyed, stuffed Teddy Bears looking as if they had a rough night on the town ( and indeed they did, WITH the cat) not to mention balls of hand-spun yarn unraveled and tangled around every furniture leg and the garbage tipped over and any food scraps eaten or scattered throughout the kitchen. These are just a few of the many bits of evidence of feline partying...I will not even repeat the true and grisly details of feline rodent & bird murders and the evidence of these deeds.One of my sisters-in-law had a cat door into her home for her cats. One night she and her husband were awakened to a loud thumping and clunking noise. Well, neighbor cats were in their home and playing with their own cats. The noise was made by a neighbor cat that had opened a cupboard and rolled a can of cat food out of the cupboard, off the counter and towards the cat door before stopped by my sister-in-law. See, their own cat had invited all the neighbor cats to the party! All I can say is that in spite of all the late night or early morning partying my cats do... ..I love them! "no party is any fun unless seasoned with folly." D. Erasmus This is NOT my motto, but my cats'. "Cats do not have to be shown how to have a good time, for they are unfailingly ingenious in that respect." James Mason

Maggie / Ralphie

Remember the kitten I wrote about a short while ago? I took her to the vets' last week for her shots and to schedule an appointment for spaying. I finally decided on a name, Maggie. A name denoting her magpie coloring. Her name suited her very well I thought. As she lolled around the vets' arms, purred through her shots and the exam the vet declared , " I think your cat needs a new name..she is a HE. Boy did I feel dumb. I never checked for the sex of my new kitten...doesn't matter much though, he will cost thirty dollars less to neuter than if he were a she and all I had to do was decide on a more suitable name. We have company this week! Our youngest son has crossed over the mountains to shoe a lot of horses in our area and he brought our oldest son's youngest daughter Little 'T' along with him. We get to have our youngest son and one of our granddaughters for a few days...joy! Here Little 'T' and another granddaughter , MN, hold my new kitten. This little guy is purr-fect for a home with grandchildren, other cats, dogs, and various joyous gatherings of people, animals, and all the noise and commotion they bring.

Just look at him. Would you put up with this if you had sharp claws and teeth?

We invited my husband's parents over for lunch with us, Little 'T' , and the new kitten. My husband's father loves cats, a LOT! He very much appreciated the kitten, and both of my husband's parents love spending time with Little 'T' I decided on a name that fit, I think. RALPHIE ! He just seems like a Ralph kind of cat...laid back, easy going. Plus, he entered our home around Christmas and one of our favorite Christmas movies is CHRISTMAS STORY which is told through the eyes of a boy named Ralphie..."you'll shoot your eye out..."

Oh Ralphie, I hope you continue to be so long-suffering, and I love you already!