Couch 51 - They also serve

I have to laugh at my poor cats. Their life is so rough. Currently, one of them is curled up on a paper towel. She just had to settle down there because obviously there is no where else in the house that is comfortable at all and she needs the bit of cushioning that one single sheet of paper towel provides. After all, the couches, chairs, beds, quilts, and everything else are so hard and she is so delicate that she must sleep on a piece of paper.

My young dog apparently thought it was important to lie under the table where I am sitting, but does not wish to be on the hard floor. She brought a throw pillow in from the living room and has placed it under the table and is lying with her head on it. Animals are just so much fun, huh murray?

My daughter and I were cracking up yesterday because our cat was in my daughter's room. It was like a picture in a "Where's Waldo" book - massive destruction everywhere, and then a lone cat in a shoe box in the middle of the floor. It was hilarious.

They really are wonderful.

Animal lovers don't always seem to get it though. A wonderful friend told me the other day that I need to get rid of my cats when I move so that they don't get fur and mess in my new place. When I said that I couldn't do that as they are my pets and I love them, she looked shocked and replied "they are just cats." I know she wasn't being unkind, just doesn't understand why I would want to keep my cats.

Murray... I think its wonderful that you have cats. I think people like your friend must have never had a pet not even as a kid.

Well, they are just cats, but when you get a cat you kind of sign on to the whole mess - fur - shredded wallpaper - meowing at 3am bit. I love my cats as well; "just cats", to me, means that when they die I grieve like crazy, but new cats do fill the cat-shaped hole even though all cats are different. New people don't fill the holes left by people who die or leave, which is how people are different from cats.

Listen to me, I'll be doing children's television next. "This week, kids, we'll talk about how people are different from cats!"

The marriage counselor we see mentioned once that he had never had a pet and never really wanted one. I told him recently that I was perplexed by him telling ME that. Seriously? I have FIVE cats, two dogs, a fish and a herd of horses, as well as taking care of my neighbor's dogs. I pointed out to him that he rarely self discloses much, and THAT is what he chooses to tell ME? Bizarre. He laughed quite a bit about that and said he had not considered how odd I would think that was.

Mast, what you say is interesting. I don't know that the same is true for me, though. I still have a "Cody" shaped spot in my heart, and a "Shadow" shaped spot, and a "Emmy" shaped spot in my heart from animals I have had in my life. It's true that having no dog or no cat in my life would create enormous dog shaped and cat shaped holes, and the dogs and cats I have fill those spots. I just have had a few animals who did more than fill those holes. They were more to me than most humans have been.

I installed central air for my dogs - and turn it on when they demand it.
The cats are in charge of me even more than that.
The therapist one therapist has a dog - which may be the only place we really understand each other. She once said it was the only place I showed vulnerability. I have really no idea what she meant by that.
The therapist I don't have all sorts of conflict with does not seem to have any animals.

well it is good that you know the proper order of things in your house Stopdog. Cats, dogs, people....very standard from what I have heard and experienced. Resistance is futile.

Man, it is still raining really hard here. I am thinking the drought is finally over, so it's good, but I would prefer to be outside. Feeling kind of melancholy.

Yes - I have one 18 yr old 6lb cat who rules us all. It is funny to see the 80lb dog defer to her. She is evil.

While I was reading blogs this morning, I realized that I NEVER daydreamed or fantasized about a mother who would actually take care of me and/or treat me well. Having a woman in my life who acted like the mothers on TV never even seemed like one of the possibilities. My daydreams were mostly about ME somehow figuring things out and rescuing myself, with the rare daydream about a man appearing who would help me.

Yeah, I relate to this, and I think I expressed myself badly... I have only ever had four pets in my life - two cats we had from 2000 to 2010 and 2011 respectively, and now two other cats we've had since early 2012. I do miss the earlier two, especially B, pictured below. But our current two are wonderful and I can't imagine being without them, and my grief after B and her sister is much less acute than my grief after people who died around the same time.

I don't know if that made more sense. I seem to have trouble expressing what I mean in writing recently.

She's very lovely. My elderly cat looks a lot like that. I love calicoes.

I can definitely relate to this. The idea of having a loving, nurturing, caring mother makes me physically nauseous. I want no parts of it.

I don't want one either, although I must say sometimes MIL comes close. I started calling her "mum" about 7 yrs ago, as kind of a "gift" to her. She isn't nurturing or caring, just really grateful to me and H. All the time. For everything. It makes it easy to love her. Now that her time is growing short (she's almost 90) I am sad, and I constantly ask her questions about her life and her parents. It suddenly seems so important that I commit her firmly into my memory. She grew up in OK, in the 30's...like grapes of wrath. 14 children, father was a Pentecostal minister. She claims she died when her appendix broke, and he prayed her back to life. I see no reason not to believe her, she is not the fabricating type. They were dirt poor. She's had no education beyond 2nd grade. Amazing.

Sorry to go on and on. I have never had a mother or grandmother or auntie or anything this close. Her stories captivate me.

SD...if you can get any worse then ground red meat, it'd be bacon. lol. I have an old glass percolator that you put on the stove. I got it at an antique shop many years ago, and I love the coffee it brews (I put salt in mine too), but it takes forever to brew. I still do it once in a while, but H gets up at 5 every morning and makes coffee in our drip. He does always grind the beans fresh, and he blends his own organic sumatra with Hawaiian kona. Really dark and strong, never bitter. I drink it black, so I am serious about it being perfect!

Pet...omg, huge holes left in my heart, but totally worth it. I only presently have 2 dogs, I miss having a pack of 6 or so, but at this point in my life I can only manage 2 well. Maybe someday. Did you all ever hear why God created cats? For preacher to practice casting demons out of. lol. Ok, stupid old joke, I do adore all living creatures.

Well, I grind my own meat and make my own bacon from local farmers and I have seen how the animals are raised and slaughtered. So perhaps it is not as bad as it could be.
And so, whereas microwave popcorn and plastic whipped topping are not what I consume, I do eat meat.

The percolator is fun and I will use it for company.
For my own morning cup, I still prefer my moka pot.

Me, I like the company of books, but to each their own.

The perking sound is like other people, but I can turn it off at any time. And it doesn't get pissed off at me for some of my ideas.

oh and I am making vegan chocolate peanut butter ice "cream". That's my big adventure. When it's done I will freeze some greek yogurt and strawberries for my daughter. (she hates almond milk).

yea, microwave popcorn, all I can say is "why?". lol

I prefer the company of books too. Currently reading Barbara Bush's book. I am loving having this huge beautiful library in walking distance. My little niece loves it and we go together once a week...so I am reading much more than usual. She told me we were going to read every book in our sections. She may, but I haven't made a dent in the biographical section yet.

Happy Memorial Day everyone. What's on the grill?

What is Memorial Day? Is it like Remembrance Day in the UK? Are there any especial ceremonies or other things happening? (I kind of get that barbecuing seems to be traditional.... )

It is a US holiday to honor men and women who have died while serving in the Armed Forces. Parades and the like abound. Drinking and grilling are also pretty common.