We had a good week-end. Erica came home on Friday afternoon in time for dinner. Stephen and Hannia came over later and we spent the evening playing Bananagram. That's a game based on scrabble, but its faster...each person makes their own "board" until all the tiles are used up. We enjoy it.
We almost had a catastrophe on Saturday as we had made plans to have lunch at the kids' favorite Thai restaurant and found out it was closed. Apparently permanently. From what I can gather there was a dispute with the landlord over a broken AC unit....so sad. The food was very good. We went to another Thai place, and that was decent, but not as good as Saeng. Oh well. We left with full bellies, so I guess its ok.
It really feels like we spent the whole weekend eating. LOL. We made burgers for dinner (with Pick a Peppa in them)on Saturday night...and then Erica and Stephen whipped up a batch of this yummy hot fudge sauce so there was ice cream and that for dessert. Delicious. We played more games again Saturday evening and it was a lot of fun. I LOVE when we have a chance to have the whole family together like that. It might be Christmas before we have the opportunity again. Indiana is pretty far away, and the kids move in about 4 weeks. Yikes! But I am hoping to fly up in late September or early October to get a chance to see their new place. Bruce is going to be helping with the move so he will see it right away.
Erica left today around lunchtime, taking the pretty little calico kitten with her for her friends. These people have been looking forward to this kitty adoption for a while now...had already bought food, litter and accessories for their new baby. But I had such a hard time letting her go. She was adorable, and yes I KNOW I am lucky to be able to keep Missy Clover....but in a perfect world I could have kept them both. I wanted to back out, but knowing these people were waiting on her and had spent time and money getting ready for her, I just had to get over it and let her go.
Erica is supposed to let me know what they name her. They wanted to see her first.
But anyway, Erica said she did fine on the drive up in the little kitty carrier. Its going to be fine, I'm sure. I know she got good parents. We will still miss her around here though.
So we are now getting ready to start another week. Another HOT week ....ugh. I am so ready for cooler, drier weather. We have Sam (Mama cat) scheduled to be spayed on Friday, so wish us good luck with that. We are hoping it calms her down a little as she just can't seem to stop terrorizing poor Vixen. Vixen is bigger than she is and Vixen is older....but Vixen is scared to death of Sam and has spent a lot of time hiding in our bedroom. Poor thing. After this surgery we are going to have to work hard at helping these cats figure out how to get along. They don't have to like each other, but they do have to learn how to exist in the same house without all of the hissing, growling and chasing. So...that's what is going on up here in our world.
Hope you all have a good week ahead!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
One Itty Bitty Kitty
We had a girl come over on Sunday afternoon to adopt one of the kittens. We had 2 left, so I had sent her pictures of both and told her she could have her pick. Bruce had told me multiple times, in multiple ways that we were NOT keeping any of the babies. But still, there was this one that had captured both of our hearts. The other kittens really haven't paid that much attention to us. They play and eat and hang with Mama. But this one sneaks into the den every evening and snuggles up on the couch with Bruce. With me occasionally, but its usually Bruce.
So of course this girl decides on that one. My favorite one. My heart sank, and I felt some hot tears popping up. But I picked her up to say good-bye because....well...I was told we were NOT keeping ANY of the kittens. And then Bruce spoke up and said, "That was the one we were thinking about keeping." Huh? I had told the girl she could have her pick. LOL. But she apologized and said she was having so much trouble making up her mind that she would definitely take the other one. It was just as good for her. So, she took "Hoss", and she left. And we? We now have 4 cats. Seriously. Of course one is just itty bitty so she hardly counts as a whole cat just yet, but are we crazy or what?
Just to clarify, we still have the little calico, but she is leaving for her new home this weekend. And I have had email from both of the other kittens' new owners. Both of them are doing well, adjusting, eating, playing. It makes me happy to hear that. The couple who took the little boy named him Smokey. And Hoss has had her name changed to Zoey. The girl actually emailed me and asked if we had named her anything before. And I was embarrassed to admit we called that pretty little girl kitten, "Hoss". But we did, and its the truth so I told her. Hahaha. Zoey is good, too though. Now we just have to come up with a name for our newest family member. We have been calling her itty bitty, but that isn't really a name is it? I just know that when I first rescued Sam and took her to the vet, she didn't have a name yet. They labeled her chart "No Name Kintz". It kind of made me sad, so I won't let this one go for too much longer without a name.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
House Hunters Indiana
Finding a place to live in Lafayette, Indiana was not as easy as all of us thought.
The kids went armed with dozens of promising listings, and appointments to view properties, so it sounded like a piece of cake. Unfortunately, sounding good on paper doesn't necessarily mean its all that in person. Stephen has been keeping me updated on the hunt and those poor kids were exhausted and discouraged by mid-week.
They ran into all kinds of obstacles. Apartments that rent "by the bedroom" for college roommates. Places that sounded great but turned out to be a dirty hovel. They met one agent at a house that the guy didn't realize was still occupied. He apologized and asked if the kids wanted to reschedule a viewing later. The place was so run down and the yard filled with trash...real trash and old tires and stuff, so they politely declined. One Craigslist internet scam that the kids didn't fall for, but still, that was one more strike off the potential list. One place that seemed promising, had great space, a good location and decent price but turned out to have such a foul stench on the 2nd floor that Hannia practically ran out of the house gagging. The agent assured them that it would be cleaned and the odor removed before they could move in, but the kids didn't think it was even possible.
When I talked to Stephen on Wed. night I wasn't sure that he wasn't going to change his mind about moving at all. But then they found a place that suits them.
It's a 3 bedroom townhouse, completely new, and won't be finished until August 10th (which is pushing it because school starts on the 23rd, but it will work). Its smaller than they would have liked. There are 3 bedrooms, but they are really tiny. The kitchen and living room are also pretty small. Storage space is limited. There is no outside space to speak of. And its near the top of their budget.
But...on the UP side...being new, it is completely immaculate, up to date, and mercifully stink-free (LOL). It is in a great location downtown just a short stroll away from the Main St. shopping/restaurant area and a Farmer's Market. Its also on the trolley line that runs straight to campus. That's a big plus. And there is designated parking. Apparently that is not necessarily a given there as the kids ran up on places where you had to park wherever you could out on the street. They have decided that they can work with the space....and actually seemed to be excited now that the brutal search is over. Stephen said that this was the only place they saw that Hannia could actually picture them in. I think they are both satisfied with it.
And more great news...Hannia's bosses were so sorry to see her leave that they have agreed to let her keep her job thanks to all of these new-fangledy things like faxes and video conferencing and stuff. The kids are feeling relieved as not having any foreseeable income while job hunting was a little bit scary. It looks like things are all coming together, and they should be on their way around the 10th. I am going to miss them, but its going to be alright. I know in my heart that the kids need to figure out the right path for them.
The kids went armed with dozens of promising listings, and appointments to view properties, so it sounded like a piece of cake. Unfortunately, sounding good on paper doesn't necessarily mean its all that in person. Stephen has been keeping me updated on the hunt and those poor kids were exhausted and discouraged by mid-week.
They ran into all kinds of obstacles. Apartments that rent "by the bedroom" for college roommates. Places that sounded great but turned out to be a dirty hovel. They met one agent at a house that the guy didn't realize was still occupied. He apologized and asked if the kids wanted to reschedule a viewing later. The place was so run down and the yard filled with trash...real trash and old tires and stuff, so they politely declined. One Craigslist internet scam that the kids didn't fall for, but still, that was one more strike off the potential list. One place that seemed promising, had great space, a good location and decent price but turned out to have such a foul stench on the 2nd floor that Hannia practically ran out of the house gagging. The agent assured them that it would be cleaned and the odor removed before they could move in, but the kids didn't think it was even possible.
When I talked to Stephen on Wed. night I wasn't sure that he wasn't going to change his mind about moving at all. But then they found a place that suits them.
It's a 3 bedroom townhouse, completely new, and won't be finished until August 10th (which is pushing it because school starts on the 23rd, but it will work). Its smaller than they would have liked. There are 3 bedrooms, but they are really tiny. The kitchen and living room are also pretty small. Storage space is limited. There is no outside space to speak of. And its near the top of their budget.
But...on the UP side...being new, it is completely immaculate, up to date, and mercifully stink-free (LOL). It is in a great location downtown just a short stroll away from the Main St. shopping/restaurant area and a Farmer's Market. Its also on the trolley line that runs straight to campus. That's a big plus. And there is designated parking. Apparently that is not necessarily a given there as the kids ran up on places where you had to park wherever you could out on the street. They have decided that they can work with the space....and actually seemed to be excited now that the brutal search is over. Stephen said that this was the only place they saw that Hannia could actually picture them in. I think they are both satisfied with it.
And more great news...Hannia's bosses were so sorry to see her leave that they have agreed to let her keep her job thanks to all of these new-fangledy things like faxes and video conferencing and stuff. The kids are feeling relieved as not having any foreseeable income while job hunting was a little bit scary. It looks like things are all coming together, and they should be on their way around the 10th. I am going to miss them, but its going to be alright. I know in my heart that the kids need to figure out the right path for them.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
'Member This?
Remember this song: I can see clearly now the rain has gone. I can see all obstacles in my way........
I loved that song as a kid. What's not to love? Catchy tune, insanely optimistic lyrics. It's a feel good kind of song. But for some reason, up until I was way more than old enough to know better, I thought it said:
I can see all ICICLES in my way.....
LOL! What the heck kind of song would that be? hahahahahahahaha...................
I heard it on the radio a couple of days ago, when we were on our way down to New Bern for the 4th of July actually and that little lyric mishap STILL makes me laugh every single time.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Nana....please SHUT UP!!!
Our 4th of July in New Bern was good. We got there early enough to tour through the gardens at Tryon Palace, something I have never done. Then we made it over to Union Point Park in time to catch the air show. That was pretty impressive. One act had a woman who hung upside down, by her legs, off of the wing of a bi-plane that was flying over the river. And her EX husband was the pilot. At some point he rolls the plane and she ends up sitting upright on the wing. Scared me to death!!! But oh my Lord we were so HUNGRY!! We just figured we would eat there for the celebration so we didn't eat before we left, but.....it was Sunday and none of the downtown restaurants were open. And....there were only a couple of vendors at the park and those lines were sooooooo long. Around 7:30ish Bruce and I decided to leave the park in search of food. The crowd had grown so large there that we could already see that getting back to the other side of the river was going to be a nightmare on that one bridge after the fireworks anyway. There is only one way out, and its an active drawbridge that opens periodically and stalls traffic to a standstill.
So, we drove out of the chaos and crossed the bridge back to our side of the river.
We found a Hardee's. Ok, I realize this is NOT fine dining, but at that point we were too hungry to care. It was food. It tasted fabulous. LOL. And we also realized that just behind the Hardee's people were heading down to the river, just a block or so away, and setting up to watch the fireworks. That ended up being fantastic. We had a spectacular view, and the color blasts over the water were really pretty. Also? No traffic getting back on the main road to drive home. That was particularly great.
But there was a dark spot. Of course. We were sitting there on this point on the bank of the river with a hundred or so other people who had the same idea. And this woman....who was clearly Nana, and who apparently was babysitting her grandchild almost ruined it for me. She had this really hoarse, scary cigarette voice. I never actually saw her because it was too dark out there, but she sat right behind us and this woman NEVER! SHUT! UP! the entire time. In a crowd of people with firework explosions going off, her voice still bored into my brain until I almost had to turn around and beat Nana into a bloody pulp. She was talking to the baby. And ok, that's cool. Fine, really. But the baby wasn't even responding to her because clearly the baby wanted her to shut up too. She was so God-awfully LOUD! She was doing this non-stop string of baby-talk to the baby. "Say Nana! Naaaaa Naaaaa! Are you Nana's pretty girl? Naaaa Naaaaa!" (If you ever had the opportunity to hear my goats nay and bellow, that's kind of what it sounded like). And in between screaming nonsense at the top of her lungs, she took the opportunity to call every single person that she has ever known in her life to wish them a Happy 4th. Loudly. Why even bother to go to the fireworks? Those people she was calling were probably trying to have their own celebration. Oh my Lord. The fireworks were beautiful but I watched them with a clinched jaw and white knuckled fists as Nana grated on the last nerve that I had. Even Bruce mentioned it later. I was thinking I was just being ultra-sensitive, which happens sometimes as I have a low tolerance for irritating people. But if he noticed it, it was really BAD. Nana barely paused long enough to draw a breath between her babbling of stupid crap. Ok.....breathe......I am almost over it. Seriously. Too bad I didn't see what Nana looked like so I could be sure to avoid her like the plague if I ever run into her again. But I would still recognize that annoying voice.
So, we drove out of the chaos and crossed the bridge back to our side of the river.
We found a Hardee's. Ok, I realize this is NOT fine dining, but at that point we were too hungry to care. It was food. It tasted fabulous. LOL. And we also realized that just behind the Hardee's people were heading down to the river, just a block or so away, and setting up to watch the fireworks. That ended up being fantastic. We had a spectacular view, and the color blasts over the water were really pretty. Also? No traffic getting back on the main road to drive home. That was particularly great.
But there was a dark spot. Of course. We were sitting there on this point on the bank of the river with a hundred or so other people who had the same idea. And this woman....who was clearly Nana, and who apparently was babysitting her grandchild almost ruined it for me. She had this really hoarse, scary cigarette voice. I never actually saw her because it was too dark out there, but she sat right behind us and this woman NEVER! SHUT! UP! the entire time. In a crowd of people with firework explosions going off, her voice still bored into my brain until I almost had to turn around and beat Nana into a bloody pulp. She was talking to the baby. And ok, that's cool. Fine, really. But the baby wasn't even responding to her because clearly the baby wanted her to shut up too. She was so God-awfully LOUD! She was doing this non-stop string of baby-talk to the baby. "Say Nana! Naaaaa Naaaaa! Are you Nana's pretty girl? Naaaa Naaaaa!" (If you ever had the opportunity to hear my goats nay and bellow, that's kind of what it sounded like). And in between screaming nonsense at the top of her lungs, she took the opportunity to call every single person that she has ever known in her life to wish them a Happy 4th. Loudly. Why even bother to go to the fireworks? Those people she was calling were probably trying to have their own celebration. Oh my Lord. The fireworks were beautiful but I watched them with a clinched jaw and white knuckled fists as Nana grated on the last nerve that I had. Even Bruce mentioned it later. I was thinking I was just being ultra-sensitive, which happens sometimes as I have a low tolerance for irritating people. But if he noticed it, it was really BAD. Nana barely paused long enough to draw a breath between her babbling of stupid crap. Ok.....breathe......I am almost over it. Seriously. Too bad I didn't see what Nana looked like so I could be sure to avoid her like the plague if I ever run into her again. But I would still recognize that annoying voice.
Indiana, kittens and stuff
Stephen and Hannia made it to Lafayette safely. It took about 14 and a half straight hours, give or take a break or two for lunch, gas, and stuff. OMG. What a long roadtrip! They have spent the day house/apartment hunting. Apparently they haven't hit on anything that they absolutely LOVE yet. Stephen said at least 2 of the places were ok....certainly doable. But they have a bunch of places lined up to see tomorrow, too, so hopefully something will materialize that feels like home to them. They like the town. Apparently parts of it are lovely and quaint. Other parts are a bit run-down. But again, its doable. Wish them lots of luck with this!
Also? I adopted out the first kitten today. It was hard for me. Harder than I imagined it would be. I have had 4 responses to the ad I placed on Craigs List. 3 of them apparently backed out. But this one couple....they are young and recently re-located from Kentucky to New Bern. They don't know the area at all. I had given them directions and they somehow ended up on 43 North, way up around Falkland. Thats about 45 minutes further than they needed to go. We finally managed to talk them back into Greenville and to our house on 43 South....and a part of me wanted to not answer the door and keep all of these beautiful kitties for myself. But the sane part of me felt so bad that they got so lost that I just had to let them have a kitten for all of their trouble. At least they were persistent. Maybe that means they will really love him...? I hope so. I just want these babies to find good loving homes so badly. They deserve that. Erica is still coming down to take the little calico one back to one of her friends. They have asked for updated emailed pics all along the way so I feel like she is going to be good where she is going. The other 2? Well, no real prospects at the moment. I still need to post pictures at the vet. Right now Mama seems to be meowing a lot. I think she realizes one is missing. Its sad, but I KNOW its necessary.
Also? I adopted out the first kitten today. It was hard for me. Harder than I imagined it would be. I have had 4 responses to the ad I placed on Craigs List. 3 of them apparently backed out. But this one couple....they are young and recently re-located from Kentucky to New Bern. They don't know the area at all. I had given them directions and they somehow ended up on 43 North, way up around Falkland. Thats about 45 minutes further than they needed to go. We finally managed to talk them back into Greenville and to our house on 43 South....and a part of me wanted to not answer the door and keep all of these beautiful kitties for myself. But the sane part of me felt so bad that they got so lost that I just had to let them have a kitten for all of their trouble. At least they were persistent. Maybe that means they will really love him...? I hope so. I just want these babies to find good loving homes so badly. They deserve that. Erica is still coming down to take the little calico one back to one of her friends. They have asked for updated emailed pics all along the way so I feel like she is going to be good where she is going. The other 2? Well, no real prospects at the moment. I still need to post pictures at the vet. Right now Mama seems to be meowing a lot. I think she realizes one is missing. Its sad, but I KNOW its necessary.
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