Captain America

I had to post a picture of the new kid on the block. Here's Cappie checking out Mike's recording equipment. He is so super mellow...the cat, I mean. Actually Mike is pretty mellow his own self. I think we're at critical mass now, as far as mammals are concerned. We're running out of room. If the Ferals return, they'll have to make other sleeping arrangements. There's no more room at the inn. I am probably (definitely) a crazy cat lady, but even I have my limits.

tree fall down go boom

Looks like I lost a tree. Not to worry, I still got plenty left. In fact, I'm hoping a few more fall down...just don't want them to fall on the house.

CAT UPDATE: I released the ferals and they immediately headed for the hills. The ingrates. Haven't seen hide nor hair of them since. Oh well, easy come, easy go. I wish them well in their next lives. Well, that left an opening and a friend at work had a cat she needed to find a new home for...and well, we ended up with a new cat. He's a black and white tuxedo cat, very sweet and not at all bothered by the dogs. His name--Capt. America. His friends know him as Cappie. The final count: 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 adult children, 2 fat squirrels who won't stay off the birdfeeder and one fat and tired old woman.

Today I feel...

...Pretty darn good (all things considered). I had an appointment this morning at the UNCH Cardiology Clinic which is located in this super ritzy subdivision near the university. They did an EKG and stress test. I'm happy to report that I have "positive cardiac activity" so I'm not dead. I was beginning to wonder. I am fairly certain that any and all problems I have at this point in my life are directly related to my advanced size, poor diet and stress. Once again, the answer is eat less and exercize more. Serioiusly, I don't have time to be healthy. I have about a bazillion projects started right now...arts and crafts...reading/studying...work related stuff...church related stuff. I figure the Lord won't call me home until I tie up a few of these loose ends down here first. So, that means I will live at least another 50 or 60 years.

Meet the Ferals

The boys are all right! They are becoming more vocal and venturing out of their little carriers. Of course, the true test will come when I open the door to the crate and let them out. They might head for the hills, or they might just settle in and take up residence. I hope so. I named the gray and white tabby, Will. As in Will Feral. ha ha. Get it? Will Ferrell? Will Feral? Because he's a "feral" cat. I amuse myself. The other guy is Boz Scabs. Because he has a scab on his nose from when he was trapped. He is named for the musician, Boz Skaggs. ha ha. Yes, I am quite the jokester. There's such a fine line between clever and stupid. I may have crossed the line already.

Free-range Feral Cat Farm

Oh, and Happy Mother's Day. This is my first mother's day without a mother. It's kind of weird. I decided I needed a new project, so one afternoon as I was wandering through the local pet supply shop looking for fun new toys for my dogs, I saw a flyer for this place looking for homes for rescued feral cats. These are cats that have become wild and do not make good house pets, but need a safe place to hang out. This local group is doing a Trap-Neuter-Release program. Since we were down to one cat, I called them up. So, it turns out there were a bunch of cats living in and around some old woman's house in Hillsborough and the neighbors were going to call animal control to round them up and kill them. They trapped the ones that they could and had them fixed and doctored up. Yesterday, 2 very sweet ladies, Mary and Maggie, brought 2 guys over. They set up 2 crates with litter boxes and food and water bowls and even gave me the food and litter. SO, I have 2 young-ish males, a yellow tabby and a gray and white tabby. They were trapped and neutered this week, so they are grumpy. So far they have been sulking in the crates, but they are eating and pooping. After a week or 2, I'll let them out and HOPEFULLY they'll set up residence nearby. I'll feed them, otherwise, they remain wild. I'll take a picture when they relax. They are camera shy right now. www.feralcatfutures.org

Happy Nurses' Day

To kick off the Nurses' Week celebration, we decided to dig out the old uniforms. We had a nice time reminiscing about our nursing school days and those early days on the floor as hospital staff nurses. And then we all agreed, "Thank God that's over with!" No more nights, weekends or holidays. No more getting called in to work on your day off. No more coming to work sick because you know there's no replacement available. No more aching legs and feet or trying to eat your meal in 5 minutes because patient call lights are going on. No more cleaning up stuff too foul to even mention here. Yes, indeed, we put in our time and now we could coast on through to retirement in our cushy office jobs.

today I feel...

something terrible happened when I turned 50. I used to be a reaonsonably happy, healthy 40-something...then I turned into a grumpy, overweight, dyspeptic, menopausal, old bag. Just kidding. Actually, I think I'm okay for my age. I'm right in there at the 50th percentile for everything. God knows things could be worse. I'm going to a funeral tomorrow. Not looking forward to that. The drummer in Mike's band, Matt Brown, passed away very unexpectedly a couple weeks ago, apparently of a heart attack. Age 42. He is leaving behind a wife and 2 little girls, aged 8 and 4. It's so sad. Matt was a great guy. And an awesome drummer. He played in about 10 bands simultaneously, so his passing is leaving a huge hole in the Chapel Hill music community. There's going to be a concert to benefit his family in June. So all things considered--I hate to complain about my age-related aches and pains and inconveniences.