Empty handed but money in my pocket

The furball was short on food. The poutine was good but the lines were long and the fries always ran out just before you got to the head of the line. For what we paid for the tickets, there was not a whole lot of food. But the entertainment was good, the band played really well, especially Bob Seger. There were alot of items to bid for, at the last minute I took my name off all that I put down for, and bid on the Dyson. But I was outbid. Oh well. I will keep my eye out for a good sale on a Dyson. It's a really good vacuum cleaner and is bagless. The best kind of vacuum cleaner is the bagless kind, I have learned that the hard way.

But I didn't come home completely emptyhanded. I bought some grab bags and stashed the catnip but the kitties found it and it is all gone. My kitties sure are smart and can smell catnip a mile away.

Tomorrow I got to shop for cleaning supplies and wash this place once and for all. My hives are nearly gone so I think I should be good for some sweat and toil. As long as we do not get another 5 centimetres of snow and they cleared the sidewalks.

Meow for now....

Zookeeper is going out tonight

tonight I am going to a cat rescue fundraiser called Furball. Last year I went a little nutso at the auction but got some good stuff for my kitties. This year they have alot of really good stuff again, especially a Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner. I hope to bid on that. Maybe they'll let me post date my cheque so I can outbid whoever else wants it. It's valued at $700.00 and I have always wanted one, I need one especially for my not so little feline zoo. I only have the one carpet left but it is in my bedroom and it is wall to wall and also the furniture has to be vacuumed too. It'll be nice to get out and my sister will be coming out with us. I even managed to touch up my colour for the occasion. I really needed it as I cannot even remember the last time i did it.

My room is nice and cozy now that I have vacuumed and changed my sheets. It's not easy to change your bedding with cats but I managed.

There is still alot of snow out there and my brother shoveled the driveway but the snow is still coming down so soon it will look like he had not even done it.

Anyway, I will post tomorrow and let you all know how I made out the furball and hopefully I will be bringing home a Dyson.

meow for now....

it's a snow day

lots and lots of snow today. We are supposed to get something like 5 centimetres but it seems like more. I went to put food out for the cats outside but the food I left for them outside looks untouched. This what our driveway looks like right now.

I guess the kitties did not want to venture out from wherever they are hiding. I didn't feel like venturing out either. It is a good day for cleaning. I can't work up too much of a sweat because I do not want to aggravate my hives. Yes I still have them. The Doctor could only guess how I got them, he thought they might be chicken pox but I already had them when I was a kid and he ruled out shingles. Oh well. will have to put up with them a little while longer. Hopefully it is not my laundry detergent because all my sheets were washed recently. anyway, there is nothing like a freshly made bed so I will take the chance.

I also managed to get my sister's laptop charging again. I am using one of those generic chargers that I bought, since the original pooped out awhile ago. Looks like the guy from the store was right. I was using the wrong adaptor. Even though it fit it was not charging, so I tried all of them again and found the right one.

Just a few more pictures to share before I go.....

Baby it's cold outside

the weather has turned once again. Yesterday was so mild that I was able to go out on my scooter and do some errands and shopping, today I could not even stay out to finish my cigarette.

The water I put out for the cats outside has probably already froze. I bought a new shed for them and they still use the old one. I don't know how they keep warm during the winter. I wish I could take them all in so they would be nice and warm but I just can't. All I can do is provide them with shelter, food and water and hope they will be okay.

Anyway, I hope today is cleaning day. My hives seem to be going away finally but am afraid with the sweat and toil, they may flare up again. The kitties like it when the carpet is vacuumed, the floors are clean and the bed is newly made. Their zookeeper does not mind it either.

Meow for now...

6 days

that's how long the dry food supply lasts at the not so little feline zoo. One 18 pound bag of Chicken soup for the cat lover's soul and a 15 pound bag of Taste of the wild last 6 days. I kept track on my calendar. They are both a pretty good food and economically suit my budget. I also feed my zoo wet food once a day. Thankfully the humane society was donating canned food to rescue groups and my friend and I managed to get quite a bit. I also have to have a supply of dry food on hand to feed the outdoor kitties that come to my shed for food and water. One of the pet stores I buy from sells bags repackaged from broken dry food bags from the warehouse at an economical price, more in poundage than I would get from Costco's brand, cheaper and better quality, since it is a mix of different brands. My friend had to do her food run today so she did me a solid and bought me what I needed and brought it over tonight. I had quite a full day regardless. Much of the morning and part of the early afternoon spent cleaning my mom's place and then grocery shopping afterwards. Even with an hour nap I had when I returned, I am still pretty tired.

Now I am downstairs, watching TV and cuddling up with 2 of my boys Wiley and Chance. Wiley is grooming Chance right now. It is amazing how most of my zoo get along and how they even groom each other, despite no relation. However, given that many of my rescues are from my backyard, some could share the same DNA. If I had the greenbacks, I would love to check out their DNA and find out who is related to who.

Let me tell you a little about Wiley. I named him after Wil E. Coyote. You know from the cartoon. You see when i was trying to trap Wiley after spying that he had an injured leg one day after he came to eat and turned out to be a pretty elusive kitty. I set out a trap for him in our front yard. Before we were able to trap him, we trapped a racoon, then a bird, a neighbourhood cat, then Wiley, but he did not trip the trap and managed to escape. But two times was the charm as while we were sitting down for dinner one Friday night, I heard the telltale sound of the trap tripping again and lo and behold, Wiley was in it. He did not turn out very feral and even played with my fingers through the carrier while I was taking him to the vet to be neutered. Wiley really turned out to be a sweetie.

Then there's Chance. I named him because it was by chance that I managed to trap him and that he was not feral at all. Although he was the last one to be neutered as part of the low cost feral program that the humane society used to have. But after he was trapped and when we transferred him to a carrier, he turned out to be the gentlest little bear. He and Wiley soon grew to be very attached and often groom each other and hang around together. A few years ago, while my brother was in hospital, Chance came down with a bad ear infection, by the time I knew something was wrong with Chance, he was hiding and running from me, which he never did before, he had already suffered some nerve damage and his head tilts even after his stay at the hospital and the antibiotics. But it has not held back Chance in any way. He acts perfectly normal and is as lovable as he was the first night I trapped him. Chance and Wiley just love to cuddle up with me in bed and I would not have it any other way.

For your enjoyment, I have attached 2 pictures. One is with both of them. Chance is on the left and Wiley is beside him, grooming himself as usual. The second picture is of Wiley alone.

Meow for now....

A day like any other day

Today I am feeling lazy. Lazy like my cats. Cats love to laze around and I guess so does their human. Today I should be cleaning my home, burning calories vacuuming, dusting and mopping but I am not. Oh well, the dust and dirt is not going anyway and the cats on my bed are happier to have their human keeping them company and hopefully there will be snacks.

On lazy days I am just curled up in bed with a book but I have read through all the ones I borrowed from the library:

Hardball, Sara Paretsky
Trial by Fire, Judith A. Jance
Nine Dragons, Michael Connelly
Winter study: Nevada Barr

but i also have alot of books in my own library but I am just not feeling it today. I have thought about creating a blog for a long time now. But just have not had time. Between taking care of my feline zoo, my Mother, who is in palliative care at home and running two households, I have had my hands full.

I also lost a cat recently. Her name was Page. Page was just under three years old but had the cards stacked against her from the start. She and 7 littermates were rescued from a horrible cat hoarding situation and were very sick and dying. 6 of Page's littermates died of Distemper and she and her Sister Phoebe were the sole survivors. The vet said that both Page and her sister will always be carriers of the virus and that there is no cure and my time with them would not be as long as a healthy cat. So almost 3 years later, Page's health declined and she died on her own, February 18th, 2010, on the way to the vet.

anyway, that's all for today. I am hoping to post a story about each of my kitties very soon.