Santa Claws
I just can’t help myself. Josh has all these little hats from his multitude of stuffed animals lying about the house. I pick them up, look at them and think how purrfectly they would fit on George. And they do. As long as he sits still.
I swear it’s not photoshopped! Damon and Josh witnessed George posing for a good 10 minutes so I could get the perfect shot. Yes, I managed to hold in my lap and take the photo at the same time…
I am an old cat lady.
Filed Under the cat Tagged christmas, george, holidays, photos, the cat
poor poor pitiful George
It’s been a crazy couple of days around here. On Monday morning I was getting ready to go to the gym (really, I was!) when I noticed George looked a little a lot wet. I knew Damon had just let him inside (he’d only been out for about half an hour) and I figured he had played in a puddle. Except he wasn’t wet with water.
It was blood.
Now George does tend to be pretty territorial and I’ve found other cat’s blood on him a few times over the years. But this time it was his own and more than I felt comfortable handling.
As soon as I got Josh on the bus to school I was on the phone with the vet, and they got us in right away. (Love them!)
I’m so glad I took him in. He had two very bad puncture wounds. One on the top of his head that went down to his skull (but luckily did not break his skull) and one all the way through one cheek to the inside of his mouth. Poor George!
I have no idea what bit him, but the theories range from another cat, to a fox, a fisher cat, a dog, a raccoon, or even a hawk. I’m leaning toward a neighborhood cat. I’ve seen quite a few around my yard lately and they’re pretty big and aggressive. Anyway.
So the darn cat is on liquid antibiotics and a painkiller, plus I have to flush his wounds twice a day. That’s just as much fun as it sounds. Not.
He follows me around even more than usual and gives me pitiful stares. The first day he just slept and I had to carry him down to his food and water and the litter box when I thought he needed it. It was pathetic.
Yesterday afternoon I noticed his cheek looked a little puffy and red and I was afraid it was getting infected so back to the vet we went. It was actually fine and I felt a little silly after but it was worth it for the peace of mind that he wasn’t going to die overnight.
He’s feeling better much now but looks just awful! And he desperately wants to go back outside. Not a chance. The little dude may never go out again…
Did I mention they had to shave the wounded areas so they could clean them?
I’m not sure if he’s mad or embarrassed about the reverse mohawk!
Then there’s the cheek:
See? Longing for the outdoors. Dumb cat. Yes, he is missing his eyebrow whiskers. They were victims of the vet’s clippers. Just like his dignity.
George, darling, you’re 10 now and can’t fight with the other kitties and win anymore. It’s time to learn to run away!
Or just take a nap.
just for laughs
Poor George. Whenever I need a giggle he gets to wear a hat.
Hope you all have a great Halloween! I’ll try to be back tomorrow with a picture of Josh’s Jedi costume.
6 things that make me happy
I know I’m a very bad blogger. I have owed a meme to Liz for way over a month now! Liz is a sweetheart, she’s a great writer, and she has a fantastic blog design! If you’re not reading her, you should be.
This is one of those memes that I really wanted to do, but I wasn’t sure how I wanted to approach it. (Liz set the bar a little high with the Buffy drawing!)
I’ve been told that I haven’t had enough pictures on my site lately (~ahem~ Cluckers) so I decided to do my “Six Things That Make Me Happy” in photos - of things around my house that I love.
First, of course, is my boy, but especially when I catch him reading.
It makes me happy that he’s learning to love books as much as I do.
Just above that sofa is something else that makes me smile. It’s an oil painting made by my father. He has become an amazing artist in his retirement and my house is full of his paintings. Here is the oil and another that I love.
I can’t remember if this one was done in watercolors or acrylics, but it is a print of the original. All of his kids loved it so much he made just enough prints for us to each have one. That’s what you call a limited edition!
I actually picked these two because they are the only ones that aren’t under glass so they’re the easiest to photograph. It was the only way I could choose what to post out of all the painting I have of his.
The room these two particular paintings are hanging in is my favorite spot in the house, there’s no tv in there, just a stereo, a piano, lots of sunshine, and my cactus collection. These cacti make me very happy.
This is my very favorite houseplant. It’s a huge Christmas Cactus that is so old it was originally owned by my father-in-law’s grandmother. (I hope I remembered that right!) Until I was given this, I never knew that plants could be passed down from generation to generation. I can’t tell you how happy this cactus makes me, especially to see the new little sprouts growing out of the old trunk.
I love to sit in that room in my Canadian rocker and look at those paintings and plants with a cup of coffee in my hands. And when my coffee is done right, it makes me very, very, happy.
My favorite coffee, my favorite creamer, and my favorite humongous mug means life is good.
My coffee pot isn’t the only kitchen appliance that makes me happy. I love my kitchen aid mixer, my bread machine, and this:
My favorite of my four (yep four) crock pots. Making my own chicken stock in a slow cooker makes me very happy.
Last, what could make me happier than my cat hanging out with me and letting me take cute pictures of him?
Why that would George in my lap, purring his little heart out while I scratch behind his ear.
What makes you happy? Tell me in comments, or if you decide to do this meme, make sure you leave me the link to your post so I can read it!
Filed Under meme, photos Tagged family, houseplants, life, meme, photos, the boy, the cat
cool cat
Did I mention I had to keep the boy home from school this morning because he had a fever? He was feeling fine by lunchtime, of course. Besides reading lots of Calvin and Hobbes (I’ve had to order another book because he’s reading them so fast) he spent a good amount of time harassing poor George. Not really though, cause George loves attention from his boy. If they’re not following me around, they follow each other.
This afternoon the boy snatched my camera (who knows why he didn’t grab his own!) and disappeared. He came a couple of minutes later to show me this:
Dude. I laughed so hard I cried.
At least the boy’s photography skills are improving.
And somehow George doesn’t seem to mind one little bit.
Filed Under photos, the boy, the cat Tagged george, photos, the boy, the cat
not ready for this
Snow. Lots and lots of snow. 10 inches overnight last night, and it hasn’t stopped yet. Another 7-12 inch storm is coming tomorrow. Generally, we don’t get this much snow until January. At this point, I think it’s physically impossible to get the rest of my errands done.
No question that it’s going to be a white Christmas around here!
I caught George laying on the back of the couch in the picture window checking out the snow. He sure as heck won’t go out in it but he loves to look at it! (The lights are on the tree inside the house.)
It disturbed him that I was in his face but he couldn’t get to me. He kept rubbing his head on the window trying to get me to pet him.
If I had to pick one good thing about blogging, I think it would be that it’s making me a better photographer. I’m much more purposeful about what I shoot now. I just never paid that much attention before, and I always considered DH the only good photographer in the family. That’s starting to change, slowly but surely.
photohunt: ruin(ed)
“He picks up a bus and he throws it back down
as he wades through the buildings towards the center of town.”
“Go go Georgezilla!”
I had to laugh when I received the Photohunter email earlier this week with today’s topic: ruin(ed). I had just taken this photo of George destroying the boy’s army men set up.
Luckily the boy enjoyed watching George destroy it as much as I did. It could have been meltdown time, but instead we made it fun by singing the Godzilla song. We do love a little Blue Oyster Cult around here! George might have gotten a treat or two for putting up with us.
Together
I decided to participate in the Saturday Photohunt for the first time this week. Yeah, I’m a little desperate for something to post!
This week’s theme is Together. These two have been inseparable for 5 and a half years now:
George was very protective of the boy back then. Still is really. There’s a running joke around here that George and the boy both follow me around, really it’s the boy follows me, and George follows him.
fuzzy
I wish I could find a comfy spot and nap away the day today too.
The power of a fuzzy blanket is too great to ignore.
suppertime, suppertime…
Over the weekend my partner in crime/friend Nicole gave us, yes, gave us (thank you, you crazy girl!), a barely worn patio set that we are quite in love with. For dinner last night I boiled up some fresh local corn on the cob and DH perfectly grilled some boneless pork chops, with our favorite bbq sauce. Sometimes the simplest dinners are the best, especially when they’re al fresco.
The boy certainly thinks so:
And George only wishes he was people too:
You should have seen him dart out of the woods when he caught wind of this. Poor George, his little sniffer was working overtime and I felt bad for him, right up until the boy “accidentally dropped” two pieces of pork on the ground. George is kinda happy now. So are we.
Bonus cooking tip: All you need to perfectly marinate your meat for the grill is some white vinegar. I put all the pork in a gallon size baggie with about a cup or less of vinegar and stashed it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. You can still baste with your bbq sauce during the cooking process, but marinating in it ahead of time just wastes it. White vinegar is super cheap but will make your chicken or pork very tasty!