Tag Archives: cats

Cherry Blossoms Afterall

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I gave in. The temptation was too much. The National Park Service changed the prediction for peak Cherry Blossoms. It’s been too cold so the new prediction is March 19 – March 22.

I was all set to skip it but now I have another week and I just can’t stand not doing anything or going anywhere. I think the cold weather has messed with my brain. As Southwest Airlines says…”I Gotta Get Away”.

I booked everything so now I just have to get my work to approve the time off. I’m sure they will. I don’t have to bother my Pet Sitter  either because my friend Joe said he would watch the “kitty”. Rocky would love to know that he’s “the kitty”!

My Timeshare has a new perk. I can pay for my plane fare and hotel with my time share points. I book through their web site and pay for the flight and hotel. Then I authorize the number of points I want to use. 4-6 weeks after the trip is completed they send a check.  I’ve never used this perk but I’ve met people that have and they love it. So I’m going to give it a try. That’s the only way I can swing this on such short notice.

I also booked my “Dream Vacation” that I earned on my last trip to Maui. I was going to go to the Big Island but I can get a longer stay if I go back to Maui. So that’s what I’m going to do. I booked February again so I can chase the whales some more.

I guess its not safe to let me stay inside on a cold day! Look at what I’ve done! I’ve booked a quick trip to Washington DC for the Cherry Blossoms and a 5 day trip to Maui. I also renewed my Priority Pass.

You may have seen the ads for Priority Pass on TV. It’s program that lets you use exclusive lounges in airports around the world. Usually it cost $99/year but this is another perk of my Timeshare.  They pay the annual fee. There is a $27.00 charge per person each time you use a lounge but I’m told it’s well worth it if you have a long layover. We could have used it on the November trip to Maui.

Oh my, I lost track of the time. Rocky is teasing because it’s his dinner time But I’ll leave you with this last thought…I do love my Timeshare!

 

 

How to pack for a Trip

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I travel a lot and often I pack at the last minute so I thought I’d mention my preferred method of packing. If you search the internet there are tons of suggestions and I have never done a “scientific” experiment to find the “best” way.

I don’t have much difficulty packing to leave but the return trip is a different story. By the time I’ve added the souvenir sweatshirt and the new T shirts I have a bulging bag.

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I had a huge suitcase when I went to Alaska because of all the heavy winter clothes. It was fine when we left but it was overweight when I returned. Cost a bundle in fees too!

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 One of the advantages of a timeshare is that very often there is a washer and dryer in the unit so when you are relaxing at the end of a busy day/ week you can toss in a load of dirty clothes. It is so much nicer to bring clean clothes home than a suitcase full of stinky, dirty socks and shirts.

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But I digress….My preferred packing procedure is as follows:

·        Step 1. Open suitcase

·        Step 2. Remove Cat

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·        Step 3. place tripod diagonally in the bottom of the suitcase

·        Step 4. remove Cat again

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·        Step 5. add pants, shorts T’s

·        Step 6. remove Cat one more time

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·        Step 7. tuck socks, undies and sleep wear in the nooks and crannies

·        Step 8. Wrap any extra shoes or sneakers in plastic bags and tuck in next to the sides of the suitcase.

·        Step 9. Remove Cat for the last time

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·        Step 10. Quickly close and zip suite case. Double check the Cat is outside and not tucked into a nook or cranny of the suitcase

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You’re done! 10 easy steps!

Rocky Update

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If you have been following this blog for long you know that I am a Cat Lady. At one point I had 3 cats but old age, cancer and illness have been picking off my furry family. Rocky is 16 this year and he is the only one left.

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Since I’ve been Rocky’s pet parent I’ve lost Little Joe, a Black and White Persian tuxedo kitty.

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Then there was Smokey; a fluffy, sweet natured gray kitty. He passed away from a fast moving cancer in his mouth.

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Before Smokey passed away our family grew again to include Buddy, another Black & White kitty. He was huge, tipping the scale at 17 lbs he was a gentle giant. Then as suddenly as he joined us he was gone, just a couple of years after we lost Smokey. Again it was cancer although tests didn’t find the actual tumor the abnormal cells seemed to be everywhere and my poor boy couldn’t breathe.

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That leaves only Rocky. My concern was that Rocky had never been an only kitty. He has always been surrounded by a fur family. But here we are 6+ months since Buddy passed and all seems well. Rocky has become a cuddly lap kitty, something he never did before. He seems happy. Of course he has the run of the house now.

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For years I worked a sort of 2nd shift, I left for work between 10-12 and got home between 7 – 9 pm. Now that I’m working a normal 9-5 shift I have difficulty getting “Lazy Bones” to get up for breakfast. On the weekends if I let him sleep in he doesn’t come around to eat until 10 am or so.

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As you can tell, he gets grumpy if you wake him up!

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I guess if that’s the worse problem we have then I’m very lucky.

Best of Intentions

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With the laundry done on Saturday I had no excuse not to get out on Sunday and do something interesting to tell you about. But when I woke up it was dark and it was raining…hard.  It was a perfect day for sleeping in and my bed felt so warm and comfy. As I’ve gotten older comfy has become very important to me. Even so, Rocky wasn’t going to be patient forever. He wanted his breakfast so began poking me in the face with his paw and walking all over me. Might as well get up.

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I was thinking about making the drive to Vermont today. It’s quite a long haul from where I live but the news was going on about the beautiful colors this year. I’m not much of a leaf peeper but still I thought a dreary day might be good for photographing the foliage and maybe the rain would keep the fair weather tourists away.

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I wasn’t thrilled with my plan but I was determined to have something interesting to write about so off I went, camera and rain gear in hand. By the time I had topped off the gas tank and made it to the highway it was almost 9 am. I should be in Stow Vt around 1 pm. The most direct route was to take Rt 93 which goes through Boston. Since it was a Sunday and raining I gambled that the expressway would be clear and not its normal bumper to bumper nightmare.

I lucked out. The traffic was moving at about 40-45 MPH. Pretty good for that stretch of highway but the rain was getting worse the farther north I traveled. By 10:30 I was just getting to the Rt 95 Split just north of Stoneham and already my shoulders were tight. It had taken me 90 minutes to go 60 miles. At this rate I wouldn’t get to Stowe until closer to 3 pm, not 1 pm and I’d be looking a a return drive in the rain and dark. As the Rt 95 split approached my car seemed to develop a mind of its own and I was off 93 heading south on 95.

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It took another hour plus to get back to Taunton. The rain had settled in for an all day drizzle and we need it but I was done running around in it. I made a quick grocery run and headed inside for the rest of the day. Still no big stories to share.

Time to put on the Pat’s game and welcome Tom Brady back to the field.

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Better luck next weekend!

 

 

 

The Best of Plans

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Well folks, I had a fun packed weekend planned but things just didn’t go the way I expected.

Since I’m  on a 5 day a week office schedule now I have to cram my homemaking chores into the weekend. My plan has been to do the laundry in the morning on Saturday and get it out of the way. This Saturday was no exception.

By 8 am I had 2 loads going. By 8:30 they were in the dryer and I was on track to be finished by 10 am so I would have the rest of the day to play. The Mystic Aquarium had emailed that they were rehabilitating a Florida Manatee that had strayed too far north.

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They would be exhibiting it just this weekend before sending it back to the warm waters of Southern Florida. I was seriously thinking about taking a drive down to Connecticut to see it. But then I got side tracked.

 

Rocky was following me around and being very vocal so once I took my clothes out of the dryer I set them aside to give him some attention. Big mistake. I should know better than to get comfy in my recliner with a warm kitty body on my lap.

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You guessed it. Our quality time turned into long nap and I do mean long. I woke up at almost 1 pm! I still had clothes to fold and I hadn’t even showered yet.

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So much for my big plans for Saturday. By the time I finished up it was time for a very late lunch! Too late for a drive to the Mystic Aquarium so I curled up with a book and planed to make up for it on Sunday.

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