A Life, Lived

A Cat Proof Christmas Tree

and no . . . that is not Lucca!

Happy National Cat Day

75-Year-Old Volunteer Visits Animal Shelter Every Day And Naps With Cats

“[He sleeps for] about an hour, then he’ll wake up and switch cats,” said the founder of Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary.

How on earth do I get a job like this?

And That's a Wrap.

How is it possible?

I know it was a short trip and all but it seems to have just whisked by.

I know that I did a lot - for example, in the past week I have added close to 100,000 steps on m Fitbit. That is some sort of record.

I've got lots to say but I have to pack and get some sleep (daylight savings time starts in Italy tonight - year, an hour less sleep before a happy travel day) so I am going to close with some random shots from the week.

 

Our Belated Valentine's Dinner

Valentine's Day feel during the week this year so we didn't do a whole lot on the 14th. In fact, had Paul not reminded em I might have forgotten completely. We had our celebration on Saturday.

People often ask if we go out to for a nice dinner.

The answer is definitely NOT. Valentines is the second worst day of the year to eat in a restaurant (the other being Mother's Day). The restaurant is super busy, the service likely rushed, and the food mediocre. . . even fabulous restaurants go down a notch or two as they race to move customers in and out.

Then there is the fact that we like to enjoy a drink or three and then I have to drive home.

All in all, a fancy dinner at home is the way to go.

I wasn't sure what we wanted so I went to the farmer's market in Hamilton to see what inspired me. After I was stocked up with yummy things I had to head to Grimsby where I had a case of sparkling wine on order to be picked up. On the way home I popped into a butcher shop for what was to become our main course.

Lots of yummy things.

After all of this racing around I needed a rest when I got home.

The afternoon was spent getting ready for dinner. I had bought some nice flowers for the table but Lucca and Jake thought of them as a salad - bits of flowers all through the house. So far we have found one spot in the entire house where they are unable to get at the flowers. Unfortunately, they are so high up that we can't really enjoy them either. Those kittens. SIGH

We relaxed when Paul got home from work. It was nice to not race around with showers and getting fancy to head out. Or is this a sign we have been together too long and the romance is gone? Personally a nice dinner while wearing seats and jeans is a lovely thing. LOL

The first course was duck confit ravioli with a white wine and mushroom sauce. No, I didn't make the ravioli - they came from a fine food shop in Dundas. I did make the sauce and I have to say it paired beautifully.

The sparkling riesling was a great pour to go with this first course.

For the main course we had a broccoli and cauliflower gratin, mashed potatoes, stuffed chicken breast with 4 peppercorn sauce and a spinach salad.

I didn't get a shot of dessert - likely because I was so full by then that I wasn't really interested. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious (lemon raspberry cake) but you reach a certain point of food overload where you do not appreciate things.

We sat in the family room and opened gifts.

The kittens sure appreciated the tissue paper!!!!

A wonderful, laid back, Valentine's Dinner - our 20th apparently.

Kitten Update

Well, the boys are boys no longer.

Last Friday we took them in for their 'procedure'. We also had them micro-chipped since it was easy to do it while they were already under anesthetic.

Everything seems to have gone well - although they are not impressed with their cones.

The vet advised us to try and keep them quiet however when they came home from the clinic I have never seen them so active. It must have been a combination of extreme change in routine, coming out of the anesthetic, and just stress. We tried to settle them down to no avail. Finally the wind left their sails and they crashed.

They slept for much of the weekend afterwards.

The vet sent us home with separate meds for Lucca and for Jake. I think the meds must have had a calming affect as well because once they were done - BOOOM - wild kitties again!

Oh well. I keep telling Paul - they are babies, they make poor choices . . . like when Jake fell into the toilet in the middle of the night last night because someone (me) had foolishly left the lid down AND the door open.

The cones come off tomorrow and we should return to normal . . . whatever that is these days.

They are getting big. So big that it was getting difficult for them to snuggle up in the cat bed together.

A Cat's Life at Christmas

Our kittens are dealing with this confusion.

A Kitten Update

The boys had their final 'booster' rabies shot last week.

They certainly have no fear of the vet.

They are also getting closer with Beckett (or he is learning to tolerate them more . . )

A Kitten Update

So the kittens seem to be falling into a routine. An active routine at that!

They play.

Then they sleep.

They eat.

Then they sleep.

Followed by more play!

It is quite a routine.

We have had a regular stream of visitors . . . family and friends eager to meet the kittens. Beckett is a tad jealous at all of the attention that is not being directed HIS way.

Speaking of Beckett, he seems to have accepted the fact that no matter how much he hisses and growls the kittens are not leaving. They can now be in the same room together without issue. In fact, they can even touch! This was a big step.

When Beckett thinks no one is looking he walks over to the kittens, sniffs them and licks them. If I am watching he will bat them aside with his paw. Apparently 'cool' Beckett has the need to be aggressive, even if such actions are rather out of character for him.

Right now they are downstairs in the living room and judging by the sounds I hear they are trying ti kill one another . . . talk about aggressive!

I think they are both ready for a time out.

Welcome Jake and Lucca

We had a great weekend camping.

We did bring an unusual item camping though - a cat carrier.

On Monday, after packing up the campsite, we headed to my friend Carolyn's farm which was about 75 minutes away from where we were. Back at the end of June her cat had some kittens and Carolyn had been nurturing them along and taking amazing care of them so that we could adopt two.

When we arrived she took us out to the barn where they had been in kitty nursery school for the past 9 weeks.

It is pretty tough getting a pic of kittens - my goodness, they move fast.

This was their last visit with their mother.

After Callie ran off we spent some time with them and determined the two we would adopt.

Here are Jake and Lucca learning the 'joys' of the cat carrier.

They did remarkable well on the three hour trek home.

We left them in their cat carrier until after we had unloaded the car.

Then off they went on an exploration journey! Gradually they became more comfortable and wandered about a bit more. They really enjoyed hanging out with me on the couch.

Lucca is particularly sweet and will purr at the slightest touch.

Jake is much more active and races about at full speed until he tires himself out to the point he drops into a deep sleep. After 30 minutes he seems ready to go all over again. I'm not sure I will ever get a good picture of him.

Beckett remains unconvinced as to the merits of the new housemates. :-)