Everything going on in Japan is just so terrible, and so heartbreaking. Kelly and I know a number of people from Japan (like our property manager and the former organist at our church) or people who live or have lived in Japan (like Liz, Dan, and their kids). It just seems to get worse and worse too. But there is still cause for hope, I think. And there is much to be thankful for in our own lives.
I saw this photo today, and it almost made me cry. This poor man is lucky to have his dog back, especially since he may well have lost everything else.
Back in December my parents lost their Elder States Kitty, Maxx, to cancer. It was right around Christmas and both of my parents have missed him a lot since. Maxx was… particular. The offspring of a tiny calico who formerly lived next door and a GIANT neighborhood Tom who was probably part or all Maine Coon, Maxx had a tiny head, huge body, and was all love. He was a lap and shoulder cat who liked to sit in the chair in the living room with my Dad when he read or, ahem, “rested his eyes” and either cuddle on his lap or perch on his shoulder as if reading whatever my Dad was reading.
About 2 weeks ago my parents got to feeling that it was about time to add a new feline or two to the house. My sister went online and looked for Maine Coon cats that needed a new home. They found two 6 month old brothers who had been surrendered by their owner due to lack of time to care for them. They had been surrendered at a high kill shelter in the south and had been transferred to a no kill shelter near where my parents live. They applied, were approved, and were able to pick up the boys this past Saturday.
Introducing Meezer and Moon. Pictures and commentary provided by my Mom. All photos were taken at the shelter before the boys were picked up and taken home.
Meezer was pooped.
Here is a picture of a very tired Meezer. He is more laid-back than his brother Moon, but they are both full of energy and love to play with a black shoe lace on the living room carpet.
Moon in a rare sleepy moment.
This is Moon. I can tell because he has more fur coming out of his ears. This is an unusually quiet moment for him. He usually does not want to miss anything and will bring you a toy to play with, even if it belongs to Jasmine!
Moon says, "let me OUT!"
This is Moon again. When not taking a kitten nap, he is alert and ready to play, or attack your sweater zipper. He also is the most vocal and is not shy about telling you that he wants your attention.
Moon explores the shelter enclosure.
Here is Moon again!!! I think he also likes to have his picture taken. As you can see, these photos were taken at the rescue shelter before we brought them home. They have been with us only 3 days, but are acting like they own the house already. The first day they arrived, both kittens jumped onto Dad’s lap when he sat in the red chair. That is what he misses most about Maxx, the chair time, so he was very happy. Meezer stayed on his lap, but Moon climbed up on his shoulder just like Maxx used to do.
Moon woke me up this morning at 5 am, by climbing under the covers and sleeping on my pillow. Without using his claws, he grabbed my face and started licking my chin. How can you not like that? I am wondering if this is basic Maine Coon behavior or did we just get lucky.
So, those are the newest family members. I am hoping that we’ll get more photos from my Mom and Dad soon. Enjoy the pretty kitties.
This morning as I was in the hours between taking my morning meds and finally dropping off to sleep (total time awake almost 24 hours) a nice old man with a Southie accent arrived and delivered my flowers! Very exciting. They are from my Mom, Dad, Brother, and Sister. 😀
Flowers and Pizza Box: a Hospital Still LifeFlowers: a closeup
Sorry for the crappy cell photography. I tried to make up for it with artistic sounding titles. /CheTONGUEek
Well, apparently my brain is not performing as desired. (This is news?) I keep setting off alarms while awake and feeling more or less fine, but have only set off one alarm, that I remember, while asleep. I slept fitfully last night, though I did manage to make it to REM sleep. I had a dream in which the founder of the company that laid me off showed up. I have no earthly idea why, but he was there.
I slept a good portion of the day today. For some reason I was really tired. I know it’s noisy here and that I can’t sleep more than 4 hours at a shot, but I was just really groggy all this morning. One of the residents came in to see me and I know I talked to him but I don’t remember what I said. I think he’s coming back later, so I should find out.
Since you all have been so fantastic about sending me stuff, I thought I’d post it here. A photo of my helmet.
I took this:
The safety helmet of DOOM.
last night when my new night nurse came on duty. She was highly amused by the fact that I took a photo of it and actually seemed to warm to me quite a bit. I was listening to MP4s sent to me by a friend from choir when she came in and when she found out I was singing in them she was very impressed and asked me all about them. I like her, I hope she comes back tonight.
Yesterday’s promised passel of med students never appeared, unless they snuck in while I was napping. I managed to get through the day yesterday without 1 full neuro exam, which is both frightening and amazing. I haven’t had one yet today either.
If you have a moment, send Geoff an email. He’s home with a vicious head cold and he’s losing his voice. He can’t come visit me till his fever goes down and he can’t really communicate via phone, so we’re texting and emailing.
I think that’s it for now. If something interesting happens, other than the constant beeping and groaning of machines, I’ll post it here.
I snapped this photo out the window of my room from my hospital bed. One of the techs who was attaching my 29 (I asked) leads to my head yesterday told me that this was the only monitoring room facing this way. Everybody else gets a view of the hospital. It looks cool at night with all of the buildings lit, but my phone doesn’t like low light photos, so you all get sunset instead.
Geoff submitted some more photos to Boston.com and they were accepted to the multiple pet homes section. We obviously qualify under that section, so they took two of our pictures to add to the album. They are in the links below.
Addicts are often good at hiding their disease. Some can go years before the extent of their addiction is revealed. Sometimes the addiction ruins their relationships, their job, their finances, etc.
Our FURminator addict waits patiently for his turn.
Bucky, also known as Buckminster Charles the III, is the eldest of our pack of furry kids. He rules the house with a mixture of patience, nose baps, and the unabashed understanding that he is simply master of all he surveys by virtue of being a cat. We are simply his staff and, while he loves us and we can occasionally itch that scratch he can’t reach, we primarily exist to feed him and shower him with praise.
Then we brought home the Furminator and everything changed. We’d been looking for a way to more properly groom Smoky. Smoky is allergic to, well, just about everything, and is also prone to overgrooming himself and, um, hairballs. So, we thought that a good grooming tool might be just the thing to help minimize the hairballs and the overgrooming.
Smoky, our allergic Tux kitty and original recipient of the FURminator.
Smoky likes the Furminator just fine. Bucky? Well, that’s a whole different story. He’s an addict.
He quite literally comes to us each and every day and demands to be groomed. This, in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. Bucky is, we think, part Abyssinian. He’s got a double coat that’s very thick and while he’s perfectly capable of grooming himself, in his old age, he’s discovered that it isn’t as much fun as it used to be.
Once he discovered the Furminator, all bets were off. He will keep us from our job searching at the computer. He will bat at us, sit on our keyboards and hands, even swat at our faces until we find the Furminator (it is never far from reach) and groom him until he is happy with the results. He does this every day at least once a day. There is no escaping it. If he had thumbs he would do it himself, I think. But alas, this one evolutionary development keeps him from truly taking his destiny in hand and ruling the house.
All this being said, he does look like a glossy and fabulous new kitty. We absolutely recommend the Furminator. Just be prepared. There may be a 12 step program in your cat’s future…
That’s right, folks, more photos from my phone’s brain for you. Enjoy!
Worst name and byline for a wine *ever*.
These next two are from that Bridal thing Geoff and I went to at Bloomingdale’s. Um, needless to say we didn’t register for them. The first one elicited a comment from Geoff along the lines of, “I guess that is what Elrond would serve his salads out of?”
It's a leaf. It's a salad bowl. It's a leaf. It's a salad bowl.A chicken shaped... cheese board?
Gratuitous adorable pictures of Thumbelina napping. On Scratch’s head. Heh.
I haz a fuzzy striped pillow.I'm so comfortable I'm sticking out my tongue.
And finally, pictures from a trip outside yesterday with the “puppehs.”
Behold my puffed tail! For I am Defender of the Manor! MROW!You shall not pass! Ooh! Shiny...
And that’s it, folks. Hope you enjoyed the photos.
I finally offloaded a bunch of photos that had been sitting on my cell phone for a while. As a result, picspam for you!
This is the look he gets right before he tries to eat your face.Fenway Park at night.A gorgeous watercolor I saw at an exhibition of art at MGH.My very favorite poster, ever.The singularly most disturbing holiday image from this past december. His skirt swayed back and forth...
This is what I have so far. There will be more tomorrow. Enjoy the random!
