Category Archives: Pets

A Day In The Life

Posted on by | 4 Comments

A Day in the Life

Good Morning World. I thought I would share a day in my life. Being retired isn’t easy when you have 2 cats. Mine are named Banner (AKA Fluffy Butt)

Photo Credit – Deb Neumann

 

and Balboa

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

 

 

(Aka Munchkin or Wreck it Ralph or Sir Talks Alot. Some times he’s described as the “Annoying Little Brother”. If I hadn’t had gray hair when I adopted them I would now. I don’t know what has gotten into these guys. The terrible twos maybe?

 

The Adventures of Fluffy Butt

Banner used to be so quiet.

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

 

He was a funny kitten. He didn’t want to sit on anyone’s lap but he did want “pets”. When you gave him those pets he would purr so loud his little body would shake with excitement. Then he’d bite you. He thought it was a love bite.  He still gets that way but he’s bigger now and so are his bites.

The Mini Monster

Balboa is much smaller than Banner but he seems to get in more trouble although appearances can be deceiving. 

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

 

Balboa taught Banner how to open cupboard doors. He also demands attention- constantly.

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

 

Where Banner bites Balboa stretches up a little paw. He’s got the  “look” down pat. 

Cute cat that looks exactly like Shrek's Puss in Boots has ...

The “Look”- Photo credit- Internet

So cute until he extends his sharp little blades of claws. “Pay attention Hooman!” “Pick me up”  Once up he gets picked up he wants to get down so we can do it all over again.

PBR

One of the first things I discovered when I started streaming was the PBR Championships.  For those who don’t know PBR stands for Professional Bull Riding- That’s Rodeo Baby! Bucking bulls mostly but sometimes they throw in calf roping and barrel racing. I love to watch it but Banner and Balboa , not so much. They have a 2 pronged attack. Balboa climbs onto my lap while Banner sneaks behind my chair and proceeds to scratch. I respond with the compressed air can and both run. (Water didn’t work) It doesn’t keep them away long so I try distraction. 

We have the feather wand and the Red Dot (Laser pointer) They have a short attention span so that only works for maybe 10-15 minutes. I try cat nip and when all else fails treats. In the meantime I am missing all the PBR action.

Glendale to host stop on PBR Team Series schedule | The Daily Independent at YourValley.net

Photo Credit – Internet

Thursday night PBR was on late. 11 pm. I tried to stay awake to watch but gave up around midnight. That’s when Banner decided a serenade was in order.  

Midnight Music

The Meows started just as I was drifting off. Banner was sitting in the bathroom so he could get the most amplification for his melody. I got him out of the bathroom, gave him some heavy duty petting and hoped that would settle him down. Nope he headed for the living room to continue with his distressing ballad. I think he wanted to enlist Balboa as back up singer. 

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

It took awhile but finally the concert was over. Right at the edge of sleep I was pounced upon, I guess since Banner was quiet now Balboa was bored and decided to come to bed with me. Mind you, I have a twin bed. That was ok when Balboa was a kitten but he takes up a lot of real estate now that he’s grown.

Photo credit Deb Neumann

Finally around 2 AM I managed to fall asleep.

Good Morning!

It’s 5:30 am! Rise and shine. Banner wants breakfast so he’s in the bathroom again.

Banner’s evil face- photo credit Deb Neumann

 

Not only is he doing the cats version of the top 40, he has opened the medicine cabinet and is pulling everything out into the sink.  Ignoring him is not an option if I am to prevent widespread destruction. That means I got about 4 hours sleep.

With the cats fed I decided to share my woes with all of you. The cats decided to explore the kitchen.  You’d think they were deprived. Look at all the toys!

Photo Credit- Deb Neumann

But they’d rather play with a piece of plastic they found under the sink. 

Photo Credit – Deb Neumann

Agh! I’m going to try to get a nap!

 

The Joy of Pet Ownership

Posted on by | 2 Comments

The Joy of Owning a Pet

Oh the Joy of Pet ownership. Well maybe not ownership when the pet is a cat. Any cat lover will tell you that we humans are only here as pet servants for cats. They are planning to take over the world.

It sounds so nice to think of being gently awakened by a soft purr each morning. Ha! Want to hear the reality? And I do mean “Hear”.

A Typical Morning

Today was a typical morning in my house. It’s still dark out (5 am) when I hear the dreaded sounds of a cat barfing. Balboa is curled up next to me in bed so I know it’s not him. 

It’s hairball season and despite getting brushed daily, Banner my fluffy, feline companion has started suffering from that nasty affliction. He usually throws up in the tub making it easy to clean up but sometimes he just doesn’t get there in time. I’ve just changed his food and treats to hairball remedies and if it doesn’t improve I have the yucky cream to put on his paws. He’ll hate that!

Banner’s Innocent Face – Photo Credit Deb Neumann

Lights on, I search for the evidence but looks like a false alarm. I’m going to try to go back to sleep. Balboa has taken over the center of the bed so I’ll have to try to move him to make room for me. 

Balboa in a Don’t mess with me Mood Photo Credit Deb Neumann

Round 2

I’m just about drifting off again. I try to catch the dream that was so rudely interrupted when I hear a “scritching” sound. You know that sound of something being pushed along the floor or maybe a shelf?  It’s Banner again and my souvenirs from my travels are being pushed across my dresser top and off the end into a pile on the floor. Lights on again. Banner calmly saunters away and I pick everything back up.

Banner- Photo credit Deb Neumann

 

Round 3

Back to bed. I move Balboa again. He gives me a disgusted look and plops down on my arm. Guess that’s the position I’m going to have to try to sleep in. Turn off the lights and just as I drift off I hear scratching. Banner is digging in the litter box…and digging and digging. He must be almost to China by now. 

I try to ignore it but since that didn’t get me up Banner moves on to “The Chat”

Morning Chat

Usually it’s Balboa that likes to “talk”. One of his Knick-Names is “Sir Talks A Lot” but this time it’s Banner. He is roaming from the living room to the bedroom and back all the time complaining and crying. He sounds so pitiful. (He’s not really- he’s just a good actor) So at 5:45 am I give up. I put the lights on an start the morning routine.  Another day of sleep deprivation but Banner is happy. 

In spite of the above complaints I do love my little furry family. I’d just like to get a full nights sleep someday!

One More Thing

Posted on by | 2 Comments

One more Thing

I forgot one other noteworthy accomplishment from that memorable week. Banner and Balboa had their annual check ups. No surprises. Both are healthy and happy. Banner was his normal inquisitive and friendly self. Balboa hid and refused to come out. Of course being black he was really hard to find because he blended in the shadows behind the furniture and under the bed.

The Vet

Our Vet is Dr. Ross from Ross Veterinary House Calls. She is wonderful and I am so happy to have found her. I love that she comes to the house so the cats don’t get stressed out. Of course Balboa stresses out over everything and anything out of the ordinary. But we try. She was so calm and quiet when we were all trying to get him out from behind the computers. When he finally did come out I had taken myself out of the search to limit the number of people chasing him so he went to her.

Banner

Banner is my big guy and not surprising he was overweigh but not by much. Dr. Ross said to make sure he maintained and didn’t gain any more. Easier said than done with Banner. His idea of a strenuous play session is to lie on his side and bat at any toy that manages to roll his way. Chase it? What’s that? Hunt it? I don’t think so! And he certainly won’t jump and grab. Banner weighted in at a whopping 15.1  lbs! Carrying him around is like lifting weights.

My little helper

 

Balboa

Balboa, once we caught him, was the surprise. I always think of him as my shiny, sleek house panther. I knew he wasn’t anywhere near as heavy as Banner.  Where Banner is a lump on the floor, Balboa  is always up high on the back of a chair or the top of the wardrobe. When we play Balboa is like a Flying Wallenda! You can imagine my surprise when my high flying super cat turned out to be overweight too! For his slender body type Dr. Ross said he should weigh no more than 10 lbs. OOPS! Balboa weighed 11.2 lbs.

Balboa reaches new Heights

 

TOYS, TOYS and MORE TOYS

When we pulled the old stove out I found out where all of the missing toys had gone. Before the new stove was delivered I filled a box with all of the balls and toys from under the old stove. No need to buy any more for awhile!

 

Bathroom Re-imagined

Posted on by | 2 Comments

Bathroom Re-Imagined

I’m looking for a contractor to update my bathroom, not a handy man. I want someone who can find other professionals if they are needed.

I have a housekeeper. She comes in twice a month to make sure I’m not buried in cat hair.  While I was in my mental funk she was  in cleaning when she mentioned her husband had just gotten his general contracting license. That caught  my attention. I’d put feelers out for someone to remodel/ redecorate my bathroom but no one was interested in a small job. By small I mean a tiny almost square box. 5 Ft X 5.5 Ft not counting the tub.

The tub takes up 5.5 ft. along one wall. The toilet and single sink vanity are on the opposite wall. You have just enough room to walk in and chose your side- tub or toilet. 

I have no intention of replacing my wonderful deep cast iron tub. That was a bone of contention between me and the other contractors. (even if the tub and toilet are a disgusting brown color.) They wanted to upgrade, everything from walk in shower to soaking tub with jets. 

 

 That’s how I came to hire my housekeepers husband. He was willing to take on my small bathroom with my budget and restrictions.  I wanted a new ceiling fan, new ceiling, new walls and paint and new floor. Also needed a new vanity top. 

I did not want a walk in shower or a soaking tub with jets. I didn’t want shower doors. They are are hard to clean, a shower curtain was fine with me. So once we agreed on the scope of the work we set a date and began. 

 

Let the Project Begin

Tear out was pretty quick and but not easy. He started with the ceiling since that was a big issue for me. The ceiling fan had never worked and there was a leak that the previous condo management was convinced was all in my head.  As soon as Brian opened the ceiling it was clear that I was not imagining  the leak. It was an old leak and appeared to have been repaired at some point but the yucky part was that leak was in the sewer pipe. That water that kept dripping on me was sewer water. Oh YUCK! I wanted to take a decontamination shower when I heard that!

And Mold

Of course there was mold and that had to be removed. Luckily it was just on the insulation so we could pull that out and replace it but now we had to bring in the HOA maintenance so work came to a stop while we waited for them to come out and inspect. They wouldn’t let us go forward until they had a copy of Brian’s Liability insurance. That took a couple of days for him to secure so we lost about a week while all that was going on.

New Ceiling and Fan

Once we got the green light from the HOA and Brian’s insurance squared away, Brian came back with an electrician. In less than a day I had a new ceiling fan and my electrical switches had been moved from the wall outside the bathroom to above the sink in the bathroom. I was assured I’d get used to the new location and like it. I’m still waiting for that to happen but I do like the fan and the new ceiling light. Apparently my cat, Banner, likes the lights too. He taught himself to turn the light on and off. The switch now has little kitty teeth marks to prove it.  I’ve installed child safe covers over the switch so I can get through a night without the light turning on.

Getting the new ceiling plastered took a little longer since now  we  had to do the whole ceiling. Walls and floor next. Hopefully no more delays.  That was a futile wish.

 

 

So What’s Up Doc?

Posted on by | 4 Comments

So What’s Up Doc?

So now that you know about the lost domain what else has been going on? There’s a 6 month gap from November 2021 to May 2022.  It seems only fair that I explain at least a little.

November 2021 to January 2022

This absence was work related. I tried again (twice) for a promotion at work. This makes 3 tries.  I was passed over again with really bogus excuses. I won’t say what I think of the hires but suffice it to say they are much younger than I. Neither hire has hit 40 yet and I clock in at 71.  I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. 

To add insult to injury not only was I passed over for the promotions but I was told that I won’t get any more raises unless I change positions since I’m “capped out” where I am. That creates an issue for me. How do I change position if you won’t give me the jobs I apply for? It also occurred to me that this was the first and only time in my long work history that I haven’t gotten  a position  I applied for easily. As for the job I’m in, I’ve won every award they have for my position.  I was depressed and angry. Since I make it a policy not to bad mouth my employer I wasn’t in much of a mood to write anything. 

Banner

February 2022 – April 2022

In February I came down with a cold. I coughed and sneezed and wanted to sleep all the time. I was so wiped out I took a week off from work as vacation where the cats and I just snuggled and slept. When I finally got in to see the doctor she thought I had Covid. I had to argue. After all I was vaccinated and boosted. I was still having my groceries delivered and only went out when I absolutely had to. And then I had a mask. 

Balboa

Balboa

My doctor’s answer was you didn’t end up in the hospital so your vaccines did what they are supposed to.  But after that happy statement she went on to tell me she thought I had “Long Covid” and that it could be a year or more until I was symptom free. She is just full of good news. If I’m short  of breath walking across my living room at sea level, what will happen when I’m at 9600 ft in Colorado?

 

As if to add insult to injury I developed an abscess under a bridge. The dentist gave me an antibiotic. The pill was big enough to choke a horse but it’s a good thing she did because the root canal specialist can’t see me until May. Without that horse pill I’d have been in a lot of pain!

May 2022

During this hiatus from writing I did attempt to accomplish some things. Because I didn’t feel well the bathroom was a real point of pain. I never liked the wall paper. Not only was it ugly but it wasn’t even put up properly. The cats had started trying to pull it off the walls. So I decided it was time to bite the bullet and update/redecorate the bathroom. But that’s a story for another day! Stay tuned!