Jerry, My Tabby Cat

My Tabby cat

Boomerang Cats!

| Cindy Anderson

About a month ago we sought out and found a new home for both our cats,

Mayor Tom
Mayor Tom
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Jerry Blueberry

Both my husband and myself have schedules packed with obligations. After seven years of living with us the lack of personal contact seemed like it was taking a toll on the boys so we felt it necessary to seek a home that could provide more companionship. Tom and Jerry came to us as a “bonded” pair which meant if you bought one of them you had to buy the other one as well. This also meant that where one went the other would go.

About four weeks ago we found what we thought was a suitable home. The couple that took them were excited to fill a void recently left by the death of their dog. So I packed up their kennels, litter boxes, rugs and food and transported them to the mutually agreed upon location. Tearfully I made the exchange saying goodbye to my buddies for one last time, or so I thought.

I received a message from Tom & Jerry’s new caretakers expressing the desire to return the cats to my possession. For various reasons the arrangement was not working as they had thought. After trading several messages back and forth a meeting time and place were once again chosen.

My youngest daughter and granddaughter made the trip with me to retrieve Tom & Jerry. With very little fanfare the ownership of Tom and Jerry was once again transferred back into my hands. My daughter helped me load the boys and most of their belongings into the car and away we went. Before leaving the, now former owners, expressed their regret for the arrangement failing.

I had purged my home of everything related to the care of cats when Tom and Jerry had left so other than what they came home with I needed to fill in a few gaps. On our way back to my home I made a very brief stop at a local big box store to acquire the much-needed items. After returning to my car we drove the final leg of our journey.

Upon arriving at our destination I first carried each cat inside, then their belongings. After opening the doors to their carriers they both sauntered on out as if they had been gone for only a short time. Not even Sadie paid much attention to their return.

So…just as a boomerang returns back to the person that released it, so too have Tom and Jerry returned. I call them the boomerang cats!

 

Its Quiet Here

| Cindy Anderson

My sewing room has been very quiet this week. Why, you might ask? Well I’ll tell you. My hubby is on vacation. Now no grandiose destinations were planned. A simple stay-at-home vacation was on our agenda. We’ve been spending most of our time in a state of leisure. A few short trips were planned to run errands and a bit of shopping but not much else exciting has taken place. The highlight of our day today was a visit to Starbucks. Our plan was to pack up our iPads and a word search game along with two markers and head to the local Starbucks to relax, sip an endless cup of coffee and entertain ourselves with the items we had packed.

With anticipation we did as planned. My hubby, as is typically the case, drove us to the coffee shop. When we arrived is was darn near 1:00 p.m. One would think the lunch crowd would have dissipated leaving ample room for our planned adventure. Walking up to the door we could see inside a sea of patrons busily occupying the limited seating space. A decision had to be made. Do we order up our beverage with the hopes that somehow someone would pack up their belongings and vacate a suitable table, or do we turn around and reformulate our plans.

Option # 1 was the choice we made. After placing our order we lingered at the coffee bar awaiting our beverage as well as the ultimate answer to our question. Whom would leave? This was the one time we hoped our order would take too long. You know, just long enough for a table to open up. As the line ahead thinned out and it was at last our turn to receive our steaming hot cups of coffee, we turned one last time with that hopeful stare directed toward anyone that might happen to turn in our direction. Perhaps if they saw the longing in our eyes they would instantly pack up their belongings and graciously direct us to their table. Well all the wishful thinking in the world was not going to make that happen. Not one person received our subliminal sound waves. Nobody moved. There were a few spots where a table meant for four were occupied by just two souls. I suggested we occupy the two empty chairs but my hubby was not at all interested so we left.

The weather outside was not at all conducive to an outdoor excursion. It has been cold and rainy all week. If it had been warm and sunny we could have found one of the local parks and continued our little adventure there. The only option left was to carry our coffee to our car and head home.

When we arrived home my hubby announced he was going to set up our own coffee shop right here in our own home. While I tended to a few items he rearranged our living room furniture. When I returned he had moved the couch and coffee table in front of our gas fireplace. On the table he had placed our steaming hot cups of coffee as well as our iPads and the other items we had taken to Starbucks. I thought it cute that he had taken the effort to arrange a cozy and inviting area to relax and carry-on with our experience.

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To those that are new to my blog I must tell you we share our home with two cats and a dog. Anytime we slow down and relax all three of them find it necessary to join us. This little coffee sipping extravaganza was just as inviting to them as it was to us. On the couch to my left rested Mayor Tom, our Maine Coon cat, on the floor in front of us was our tabby cat Jerry and resting comfortably on a love-seat throw pillow was our little princess Sadie. Just as with Starbucks all of the available seats were taken.

Although our relaxing afternoon of coffee had not gone as originally planned, we had a quiet little coffee shop right here in our very own home. What more could we ask for?

Tick Tock

| Cindy Anderson

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This clock has been in my family for a very, very long time.  It was handed down to me in 2010.  The clock doesn’t run on batteries, electricity or solar power.  The sole source of power for its operation is a spring.  If I forget to wind the clock it obviously runs out of steam.

The soothing tick tock becomes so much a part of my environment that I often don’t notice it has stopped.  The clock is a bit like me.  If I fail to recharge my own battery then I inevitably have the same problem.  My internal battery slowly, ever so slowly, runs out of steam.  I typically don’t notice until I’m so exhausted my brain becomes cloudy or fuzzy.  By the time that happens I’m well past sleep deprived.

The cold germs that have been sharing my space have been raising havoc with my battery.  Since taking up residence they have plagued my nights with frequent reminders of their indwelling by rattling my body with coughing.  Not wanting to spread germs to my hubby I typically sleep on my right side facing away from him.  I also try burrowing my face beneath the sheet to inhibit the free-flowing spread of germs.  This routine of incessant coughing has challenged my sleep.

Until last night I had been the under assumption my battery was maintaining a trickle charge.  Out of frustration with the frequent poking by my cold germs, last night I decided to relocate to our family room.  I had hoped that if I snuggled into our over sized, over stuffed, super comfy sectional and maintained a semi-upright angle by propping myself up with those throw pillows that typically get “thrown” on the floor, perhaps I might beat down the frequent, nagging coughs to a much more manageable level.

As I flipped open my bed covers and swung my legs over the side of the bed, I was careful to be as quiet-as-a-mouse.  There was no sense in disturbing my hubby’s sleep.  Quietly I retrieved my glasses from my night stand drawer.  I keep them there at night to prohibit Jerry (my tabby cat) from creating mischief with my glasses.  After slipping them on I went to our closet to retrieve a sweatshirt.  It’s cold in our basement so I wanted extra ammunition to keep the chill at bay.

As I tiptoed down the hall, being careful to protect my toes from known obstacles, I stopped briefly in the living room to grab my pretty pink fleece blanket.  With my blanket tucked beneath my arm I carefully descend the carpeted stairs leading into our basement.  Once safely landing on the basement floor I crossed the room heading toward my destination.  There I gathered together two more fleece blankets.  Carefully I arranged two pillows to serve as my source of elevation.  I crawled onto the couch then systematically arranged all three, no-sew fleece blankets on top of me, then leaned back to rest my weary body.

I waited patiently to see just how successful I might be at my attempt to knockdown the coughing.  I was so pleasantly surprised at the outcome.  Not only were the body jarring, sleep depriving episodes of coughing greatly reduced, I also could feel my body relaxing and drifting off to semi-peaceful slumber.  Just before slipping into that peaceful level of relaxation I felt the gentle steps of Jerry as he approached my face.  I encouraged him to take up residence along side me.  He willingly snuggled near my right side and with that I was gone.

Throughout the remainder of the night I slept almost peacefully.  The unwanted disturbances by my cold germs and their annoying coughing were mostly silent.  By the time daylight arrived I was deep in sleep.  My hubby and Sadie (our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy) roused me around 7:15 a.m.  when I opened my eyes and realized how sound asleep I had been I was so pleased.  That was the best I had slept in days.  I actually felt like a fully functioning human again.  Perhaps now my battery is completely charged and ready to go.  Who knows!  Only time will tell.  Take care!