No Place Like Home

It’s pretty much a concensus around here that this is a pretty wonderful place. He and She are reluctant to leave here for any reason (which is pretty much why they didn’t go anywhere for their recent 25th wedding anniversary), and the rest of us are all very content to remain here day in and day out.

Make that doubly so for me.

I just got home on Saturday after visiting with Dr. M’s office for a few days. Last Wednesday evening, He and She realized that I was not feeling well at all. Because of my severe illness last year, they didn’t take any chances, and had me at the office when they opened on Thursday morning. After running tests and x-rays, Dr. M determined I have an upper respiratory infection. I was treated with IV Fluids and Antibiotics and given a lot of extra TLC. He and She came by to visit with me on Friday and I even ate a few bites just to make them happy. On Saturday, I was able to come home. Of course when I got here, a couple of my brothers were eager to greet me and let me know I had been missed.

 

Nova has been particularly sweet about keeping me company.

At first I was somewhat lethargic with not much of an appetite, though I did try to please them by eating a few bites whenever food was offered to me. Right now, the main thing I want to do is lay around and sleep.

Unfortunately, coming home didn’t get me away from the needles this time. Because I am such a challenge for He and She to medicate, Dr. M sent my antibiotics home in syringes and She is having to inject me once a day for the next 10 days. I believe though, there is a good possibility She might get just about as much antibiotic as I will, as She doesn’t have the best track record with sharp objects.

Actually She has done a better job with the needle than with pills or liquid, so it is really better for both of us.

Today I am actually feeling a tiny bit more energetic, and I didn’t even wait for food to be offered. This time, I politely asked for it. I sure don’t have my regular appetite back, but they were glad to see me eat what I did. I have access to dry food all day, but it’s my special Science Diet A/D that I really enjoy, and so far, that’s all I’ve had any interest in. Maybe tonight when He and She get home from work, I’ll really impress them with how much I can put away!

I do want to take a minute to thank Dr. M and her staff, including my new friend, Ms. M. I hope they will forgive me for my occassional hisses and general grumpiness while I was there. I’m feeling much more amicable now. After all, there really is no place like home.

Jazz
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Smooth(ie) Talker

He ees a smooz talker. She tells heem zat all zee time! He ees also zee exzeleent Smoozie maker! Zey recently purchazed a Food Saver, and zey have been stock-piling zee berries, pineapple, bananas and peaches for zee smoozies zat He loves to make and drink. Here are some peectures of hees latest concoctshun. Eet ees Coconut Extract and Strawberries. Zey call eet zee Coco-berry.

First, zee berries:

Ready for zee freezer:

From zee Freezer:

She has a favorite Smoozie – eet ees zee Chuck Berry. Eet ees Strawberries, Blackberries and Blueberries. Zey call eet zee Chuck Berry, because he chucks all zee berries een and zat makes zee smoozie!

Zey are loving zese tasty and healzy dreenks, eef only I could mas-tair seeping zru a straw, I would eenjoy zem, too!

Casanova
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Labor Day – Literally!

We hope you enjoyed a nice and restful Labor Day Weekend as we bid farewell to the Summer once again. Soon the weather will begin to turn cool and eventually be followed by Winter. One thing we cats here in The House of 9 Lives love about the cold days of Winter is snuggling up on the ottoman right in front of the fireplace when a blaze is going strong.

In preparation for those days ahead, He and She spent yesterday out in the woods gathering up some firewood to make sure we can all stay toasty warm.

Sometime over the past few months, the wind took down a tree on some neighboring property that in turn took down part of our fence in the woods.

After clearing away what was on our side of the fence.

There – that’s much better. Apparently, this was a really big tree that split. Half of it came our way and half is leaning on another tree. There is still a lot of wood to be had, but it will take a larger chainsaw than what He currently has.

Here are the results of the first couple of loads. They still have to cut, split and stack it, but just looking at that makes me feel all warm and tingly inside!

Here’s another picture She took while they were outside working. This is Max. He’s outstanding in his field.

And they say cats are curious! Trust me, those cows have to know everything that goes on around here!

We hope your Labor Day wasn’t quite so labor intensive!

Flirt
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Thinking (or not)

Well, we really don’t have much to share. The weather has been nice. He and She are already longing for Fall. Everything is going well for all of us. While I’ve had plenty of time to think of something to write, I keep getting a block! So, here are some pictures. We can never go wrong with kitty pics!

This was Lilah’s idea of being helpful when He and She moved in the new stove a couple months ago!

A conversation between Barny & Boomer:

Boomer: Don’t look, now, but She’s back with the flashy box!

Boomer: I said DON’T look!

Barny: Give her the eyes! Maybe she’ll go away! 

Jazz: I just followed the directions on the side of the box.
Alley: Pfffffft!
Lilah: Maybe I can set it on fire with my laser vision!
Nova: At least my tail is in the picture!

Jazz: Do these scales make me look fat?
Blossom: I’m not touching that one!

And, as the saying goes, “Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits”.

Kosmo
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Landscapes

He and She had not been able to ride the bike for the previous two weekends, but on Saturday, the weather was just right, so they hit the open road.

It was a pretty uneventful ride that took them through the Talladega National Forest. Here are some pictures from the day.

To some people, these pictures may look just like many of the others we have shared before. However, each trip is different, and though the landscape is similar, it is all very unique. We are fortunate here in Alabama to have several types of landscapes, from the mountainous areas in North Alabama to the plains in the east, and the most beautiful white, sandy beaches on the coast. She is hoping to eventually ride from one end of the state to the other to capture digitally all the beauty that Alabama has to offer!

Alley

Carpet of Flowers

It seems to her that She has been trying to put the finishing touches on decorating that home gym for forever! Of course, ripping out the carpet due to damage caused by a drainage issue and having to move equipment out, prepare and paint the floor and move everything back in, did cause a bit of interruption in the project!

Well, She was finally able to add a couple more elements to the room recently, and we wanted to share them with you. You might remember, this fabric was purchased to make curtains for the entertainment wall and the window.

The colors are actually chocolate brown, lime green and aqua. So, when she found this rug recently on-line, she couldn’t resist the perfect color match!

Okay – let’s try that again – Nova is such a ham!

How does he keep sneaking into the photos?

Okay – finally, a “Nova-less” picture!

Here’s another.

She was also really happy to get these shelves hung up:

She still has to make the curtains for the window, and would like to have a few more little knickknacks for the shelves, but the room is really coming together. This weekend, which consisted mostly of on and off rain, would have been a great time for her to do a little sewing and get it all done, but we were not a very good influence on her.

Between the carpet of flowers and the quilt of kitties, she didn’t have much motivation to be too productive. It was more of a movie and recliner kind of weekend for her!

Blossom
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Easy Come, Easy Go

As you may remember, a few weeks ago, we told you about our volunteer watermelon. We had such high hopes, but unfortunately, our little “melon that could”, apparently can’t. It seems that it has contracted a bad case of blossom end rot.

From research on the internet, this can be caused from a variety of things including lack of calcium in the soil, over watering OR under watering. Well, She figures if the plant was hearty enough to come up on its own and grow fruit, it should be able to sustain itself without much help from her. She has been watering regularly, however She is now confused over just how much water it should get. We do have another chance at successfully growing a watermelon, though. There are two more on the vine.

While we have lost some enthusiasm about the watermelon plant, we are still somewhat hopeful to get at least one watermelon to grow successfully.

She has never had a green thumb at all, and most things she has tried to grow in the past have not thrived. However, this spring, she planted several plants in her new flowerbed that are doing really well. Here is the Lantana that is really flourishing.

And, she has had good luck with Geraniums and Dusty Miller.

She planted Dianthus, and supposes it is doing well. She wasn’t real sure how it was supposed to look, but loves the hot pink blooms.

She had several Begonias, as in the past, that was one of the only plants She’d had success with. However, they are puny and pitiful and not doing well for some reason.

Another plant that really requires no maintenance at all is a Four O’clock. Talk about a will to live!

There’s actually an interesting story behind this plant. When She was growing up, our Mawmaw (her Mom) had these plants all around the house. There were these yellows ones, but she also had some hot pink ones and even some with variegated pink and white blossoms. Sadly, we lost Mawmaw in 2000, and the house was sold. This was a long time before they ever dreamed they would live in a rural area, and before She had much interest in plants and such, so none of the beautiful flowers that Mawmaw loved so much came with her. But here is where the twist comes in!! In 2002, when they found this property in a neighboring county advertised for sale, it sounded like just where they wanted to be. The ad stated that it was 25 acres, with pasture and woods and a creek. When they called to arrange a time to see the place, She was surprised to find it actually was owned by her second cousin! So, they were able to make a deal and moved here in March of that year. By Spring, plants were starting to bloom, and while He had a propensity to cut down plants when they first moved there (he has since changed his way of thinking), She was adamant that He not touch the Four O’clocks. And, guess what? Knowing the former owner’s Mom was close to Mawmaw and shared her love of plants, she checked with her and found out the Four O’clocks were actually from Mawmaw’s house! So, fate had a way of gifting us with some of Mawmaw’s plants, after all!

So, she has an emotional attachment to these pretty yellow blooms that remind her of the many days she played next to them with her little pots and pans and pulled seeds off the plants to “cook”. As for the watermelon, while they wish it would grow and do well, their basic feelings are “easy come, easy go”. If they get a melon, it will be a gift of fate, just like the Four O’clocks, and if not, they haven’t lost anything.

Boomer

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