The 10 Great Things About My Cat

1. He talked to me. When I was on the phone with someone Friday, he started talking to me thinking I was talking to him.
2. If he shed, you couldn’t tell because of all of the white cat’s fur.
3. His voice. He kinda creaked when he talked. I swear he was a nonsmoker.
4. Kisses. No, you sicko, I don’t actually kiss the cat, but he did like to sniff at my mouth, which is the closest thing you can get to a kiss from a cat. And no, I don’t eat a lot of fish and yes, I brush my teeth.
5. Belly rubs. There’s that moment when you’re petting him where you can tell he thinks, “You know that would feel great on my tummy.” As he slowly exposes his belly. He loved his underarm scratched.
6. He followed me around. Even hobbling on three feet, he wandered around the house with me. He even climbed the stairs when I took too long up there. He had an infection on his front paw which he didn’t put weight on and a tumor on his rear leg bone. Walking wasn’t easy.
7. He wasn’t easy. Unlike the other cats who would love anyone who came through the door, he had to determine if you were really worth the effort.
8. He purred loud enough you could hear it across the room. Just having me close by was enough to set his motor running. He purred the entire first night of having me home.
9. Best Fly/Bee Killer ever. My old apartment used to get bees and he would track them and finally eat them. Our bumbling younger cat would get in his way though.
10. They called him Mellow Yellow. Quite rightly. He was a calm soul who went about his business. When they were younger the older two would get into Samari fights. They would sit back on their haunches and fight with their front paws. Everyone loved a game of chase every now and then, but for the most part, he was content if he had a clean litter box, a bowl full of food, and the back of a couch.

He was a great cat. There will never be another quite like him. Rest in peace, my friend.

August 1995 to July 2007

The Things You do for Love

Sure, he's just a cat, but when we were willing to spend $950 to cure his hyperthyroidism, what does it cost us to send me home using sky miles to help him find his rest. I talked to the specialist early last week. The x-rays showed growths throughout his lungs and a bone tumor on his rear leg. Cancer has taken members of my family before. You just don't think about it in cats. My friends had a cat that died of cancer. He was a younger cat. But my cats had always been healthy. I don't believe we would have spotted it any earlier if we had been there. It is what it is.

So spending almost 4 months abroad, tomorrow I get to go home. I'll have a full day to spend with my beloved cat and then I'll take him in and have him put to sleep. Then he gets one more trip and is laid to rest with all the other pets I've lost in my life. Then I'll spend some time with my family who I won't see for another 6 months.

I'm definitely getting either Denny's or Applebee's boneless buffalo wings and steak probably from Off the Grill. I have no intentions of leaving my house except for runs for food and essentials from Target, but if anyone wants to visit, they're more than welcome to come over. I'll have to stock up on tea and biscuits and lots and lots of chocolate. The home phone number is still connected if you want to reach me.

July 17th Tuesday

So today we went the furthest from the Stable Flats down to Crathes Castle and Craigievar Castle. Both were tower castles with long spiral staircases. The first was wander about on your own and the second was tour guided. We did managed to find a bit of sunshine today which was a nice break between misting.

I enjoyed seeing both these castles though neither were my favorite of our tour. One thing I haven’t mentioned is that the National Trust of Scotland does not allow photography inside the buildings they maintain. So all the pictures I’ll have will be exterior with the exception of the ruins and Stirling Castle (which are both Historic Scotland sites).

July 18th Wednesday

Well, today dawned gloomy as ever. We’d held off on going to the ruins at Tolquon Castle and Castle Fraser until the last day hoping that the sun would finally grace us with it’s presence. No such luck. We had a picnic lunch at Tolquon Castle. The ruins were amazingly preserved. You could almost imagine how the kitchen help would take the meal up to the lord and lady in the great hall. Where most of the castles we visited had been lived in until the last century, Tolquon had been abandoned some time ago. No longer a family home, but a shadow of what once was.

Castle Fraser was supposed to have a Woodland Play Area. But it really wasn’t much, just some interesting wooden stuff. We didn’t spend a large amount of time there due to the drizzle.

July 19th Thursday

We drove from Haddo Hall down to St. Andrew’s to take a look at the golf course. Not horribly exciting for the kids and I, but my FIL liked it. We skipped the castle and cathedral and headed to Edinburgh. Unfortunately we’ve spent the day either in the car or our hotel room, but it’s been relaxing. Tomorrow morning the kids and I will head over to Edinburgh Castle and hopefully explore Mary King’s Close (some vaults under the city).

July 20th Friday

The kids and I packed up in the morning and left the hotel around 9ish to go to Edinburgh Castle. We hiked it leaving the car at the hotel and with two wrong turns we went uphill three times. We arrived at Edinburgh Castle and had a bit of a wander. We did see the crown jewels of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny. We hurried through like the children love doing. We spent more time in the shops than at any particular exhibit. We found out that the Mary King's Close doesn't allow children under 5 on their tours, so we skipped it. I promised Little Man that we'd come back up with daddy and spend a weekend in Edinburgh sometime.

We packed up the car and headed home. We lost an hour to traffic in the middle of nowhere. I really don't know what was the problem, but we made it home safe and sound and with way too many books by Phil's standards.

July 16th Monday

Morning dawned early at Haddo House. We woke and ate the sparse breakfast we brought with us. My MIL and I went into the grocery store in the rain. The rain is more of a mist up here and it’s chilly. We bundled up, put on our hiking boots and raincoats, and headed out to Fyvie Castle. It was a very fairy tale type castle. No interior pictures allowed. The Castle was good, mostly modern compared to Stirling Castle. You wander around following their signs. Little Man loved the weapons of destruction along the walls of the staircase. Swords, shields, helms, you name it they had it. I had to watch Little Miss since she wanted to touch everything. Everywhere you looked there was a sign saying “Please Do Not Touch.” My MIL got lost on the way to the gift shop. Trust me it was easy to get lost.

We left in the early afternoon and headed back to our stable flat at Haddo House. We ate lunch in the apartment and then headed over to the front of the house for the first time. Walking toward the front door, you could picture the coaches arriving and letting their occupants out to walk up in their ballgowns to the front door. It speaks of Regency and Victorian times. It speaks of excess and extravagance. This was not a fortified castle. This was an estate house. The house is viewable by guided tour. We arrived right on time for the tour to begin. Since the Scottish drizzle hadn’t let up, we skipped the outdoor portion of the tour and moved right into the house. We had the tour guide all to ourselves. It was a gorgeous house and the tour was amazing and interesting. I didn’t bother with the camera since I figured they’d say no pictures allowed. The house was built in 1732 and remodeled in 1880. It was the home of the Gordon family. Artwork filled the walls. Gorgeous furnishings adorned the rooms. The ceilings and walls were spectacular in their detailing. Well, worth a visit.

The rain let up later this evening before dinner. My MIL and FIL took the kids down to the park to play a bit. After dinner the kids helped MIL to do the dishes while I grabbed the camera and walked around the property with FIL. All in all it was a good day.

July 15th Sunday

We got going later than I had wanted to but as early as we possibly could. We traveled northward and stopped twice once for a potty break and once for lunch. We arrived at Stirling Castle at 2:00 and left 4:30. A lot has changed since I was there 11 years ago except the kitchen exhibit and the gardens. A lot was already being renovated. We headed out about 4:30 and spent the next 3 hours driving up to Haddo House near Aberdeen. I drove the first and second stint all by myself with my mother in law crammed in the back with the two kids and my father in law crammed with the stuff that wouldn’t fit anywhere else at his feet. I had room but not much. We drove in my new 98 Peugeot 306 hatchback. The kids enjoyed exploring Stirling Castle and we enjoyed the castle and the ability to stretch our legs.

We made it to Haddo House where we found the stable block flats. We unloaded our overflowing car and are now waiting to go to bed so we can cram back in the car to go to more castles tomorrow.

General Babble

Let's see, school's almost over. Tomorrow is the last half day. My in-laws arrive tomorrow, as of right now they are probably getting to the airport. My favorite kitty goes to a specialist today to figure out why he's not responding to medicine. We're going to pick up my "new" car today. A 98 Peugeot 306 automatic. Sunday we leave for Aberdeen to take in the castle trail. When we get back I've already had a few moms say they would like to get the kids together over the break.

I don't know if I'll get a chance to blog before leaving for Scotland. It will be nice to go and not have to deal with jet lag. Well, except the inlaws will still probably be dealing with it. I just realized I don't have enough pillows for my in-laws. Guess I need to make a run tomorrow morning while the kids are in school. There's a bed place over next to the supermarket.

I'll keep track of what goes on and post when I get home.

Just For Fun

I entered a short story contest on www.toowrite.com. My story is here http://www.toowrite.com/crybaby-8808. People vote and the top ten are read by a judge who selects the winner. It's about 1100 words long. You're allowed to go up to 1500 words. I like how the final edit came out, but it's hard to capture a story in less than 1500 words.

The Parties Just Won't Stop

So this week at school was a bit more settled. There was Games Day on Tuesday afternoon. Little Man participated in the run and the egg and spoon race. He felt very confident that he would do well in the egg and spoon race. He accidently dropped his wooden egg which makes it hard. The second time he dropped it was near where I was sitting and his face spoke of his frustration. He dropped it again near the finish line and used the spoon to chuck it over. He didn't finish last but he didn't place either. I waited watching for him to come back over. I could see him walking very slowly with his shoulders hunched over. I abandoned my chair and hurried to meet him. I dropped down in front of his shuffling feet. He stopped and looked up at me with his big brown eyes brimming with unshed tears. I held out my arms and pulled him close. His arms hung to his side. As the British would say, he was quite gutted about the whole thing.

"I came in third in practice. I guess I'm not that good." Tears flowed down his face.

How do you deal with utter disappointment. I tried my best to reassure him and to let him know that sometimes we just have an off day. But I know that feeling when you've bragged that you are really good at something and when you get the chance to prove it, you fail. A pound seventy and two ice cream lollies for him and Lady Jane and all was right with the world again. His team placed third in the bean bag race so he got a ribbon. I wonder how long it will take before he's confident about something again. Afterwards, we went to Little Miss's house to play with their new Wii and have tea. The kids had a blast. We have to find something that Little Man excels at besides building complicated Lego sets.

The rest of the week went smoothly. We did the pickup, drop off dance. Little Man had a rough day one day, but overall not a horrible week. Saturday dawned bright and early. We made our way down to the school for Prize Day (mostly for Year 6 which will be moving on in the fall). Lady Jane was ecstatic to have Vincent and Samuel to play with out in the courtyard while we strained to hear from the very back of the tent. Phil made us late. He had no idea what was going on or what I had been talking about all week with the Prize Giving.

From there we went and dropped Little Man at another Football Birthday party (different venue). Phil and Lady Jane had a nice picnic in the park while I got a haircut and style. We picked up Little Man and headed home. We spent the rest of the afternoon picking up the apartment so it wouldn't look like a pigsty for Phil's friends who were babysitting for us.

Yes, we got out of the house and trotted down the hill to the school for a ball. Black tie, no less. Phil's putting Lady Jane's picture on his blog. So we got all posh and headed down to the Marqee (tent). Alcohol poured freely in the form of wine. Beer cost 2.50 pounds. We didn't win any prizes in the drawing and couldn't afford anything in the auction. We ate a lovely meal of duck.

Our friend, T, Little Miss's mom, helped set up the whole thing. It was gorgeous. Then the band hobbled up on stage. The electric keyboardist eased his weary bones down on to the stool. The saxophonist was maybe a few years younger. Let's just say one vocalist was older than our parents and the other vocalist looked older than my grandparents. There was some real concern and a little hope that one might fall and break his/her hip after they started performing. T assured us that she had nothing to do with the band and said that she's already made a deal with the DJ to cut in as soon as possible.

A few people braved getting up and dancing to the stylings of the Band whose set included Locomotion (no one danced), Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (without a trumpet), and a few other songs. One of our table mates said she needed to dance to stay warm. She and her husband were pretty much the only ones dancing for a while. As soon as they took their first break the DJ came on and the dance floor was flooded with people. They didn't go back on.

The British call modern dance music Disco. Dancing in high heels is tough on the calves but definitely worth the aches and pains in the morning. I had a lot of fun dancing with some of Little Man's classmates' moms. The English love their disco and the dance floor remained packed until 1:15 am when we left. Even the men had good moves and were out on the dance floor. Oh, and at least the English we were with love to drink as well. Most people were quite drunk. I had a glass of very good champagne when we first arrived and drank water from then out. Phil drank a lot and had a hang over to show for it.

We staggered home, me with painful feet and Phil drunk. Our beautiful children did us right and went to bed without fuss and gave no problems to the babysitters. They even let their slovenly parents sleep until 10 this morning. Little Man fixed their breakfast of cereal. Then it was on to our final birthday which was at a play gym climber thingy. Both kids stayed and had great fun. We looked at a car on the way home and came to an agreement to purchase it for me.

Then we finally arrived home and have done nothing of any importance since. I'm beat and thinking about turning in.

Party On, Dudes

We're in Birthday o'rama mode here. Lady Jane went to a Birthday party on Saturday for her friend, Flo. She acted like she was shy and I really am shy. No really, I am. I didn't know that many of the mothers that were there and they seemed to know each other, so that left me odd man out most of the time. They had the party at their home which is a 12th century Hall complete with 4 ghosts and secret passageway. The walls and floors were stone and the ceilings were timbers. Gorgeous house. It used to be a bed and breakfast before they bought it. Oh and I forgot my camera. I know someone attach the damn thing to my hand.

Anyway, she had a great time and even convinced Flo to open some of her presents before we left. I had told Lady Jane to tell Flo thank you for inviting us. She wandered off to do so. The two girls slipped by my in the hall and went toward the kitchen. I figured Flo wanted to show her something. I kept glancing down the hall toward the kitchen. I could see Lady Jane standing beside the table. I wandered back and Lady Jane was having Flo open the birthday gift we had gotten her. I went to get Flo's father. He was pretty good natured about it and told Flo to wait until he got back so he could keep track of who gave what. I think the girls got through 2 more gifts before I finally convinced them to stop.

At 5, we went to a co-worker's house. He built his house and it's quite lovely. Our children were the only children there besides a 18 month old who says their names so cute. We ate and talked which was a nice change of pace, while the kids created havoc and noise.

Sunday was another football birthday party for Little Man. This one was the rock star's son's birthday. No famous people were at the party. Just the kids and some parents. The rock star is out of town at the moment. The boys had a blast. I deliberately forgot my camera on this one.

We had lamb chops for dinner last night. They weren't bad at all. Phil did a fine job grilling them. Now everyone's gone to work and school and I have the day to myself. Which means laundry (I'm out of space to hang up drying so I'm done with that), writing, picking up here and there, and watching Quantum Leap (still a great show).