CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY HO HO HUM, part 2

What else did I do these 4-1/2 days? For Christmas I attended my church's musical presentation followed by Midnight Christmas Mass returning home after 2 AM Christmas morning. My food choices for the long weekend involved ham, cheese & rye sandwiches, a shrimp ring, and other snack food, anything other than cooking.

The DVD Extended Version of LOTR: The Two Towers, aired three times, first as the movie, then twice more with the Director/Writer and then the Cast commentaries. That's committment; maybe next weekend I'll see LOTR: Return of the King.

I sorted all my financial papers; as the year unfolds, I toss all my bank and credit card statements, utility statements, charge and debit slips, and other financial papers in a plastic basket that I keep on one shelf on my bookcase and then sort it all out in front of late-December football. It works for me.

I semi-watched 6 football games, sorted other papers, printed 81 photos for my daily photo-letters to my Dad, taped and watched The Restaurant (running out of tape before the ending episodes which I originally missed, missing them again), watched three episodes of Celebrity Poker, ate too much, drank too little, and missed having chat time. I did not miss work.

I hope everyone had happy holidays, now please update your journals and get back into Nightly Chat.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY HO HO HO HUM, part 1

As my Blog/Chat friends wring the very last hours out of this long holiday weekend I'll get put a log on the fireplace and get my holiday recap in print. I am actually not the first in my blog ring to post; GreenTuna managed entries during her visit in Maryland; Chefgracegeorge offered up holiday recipes and TVJunkie made us all envious with her entries about Shiba the mischevious cat and her new Powerbook. Good stuff.

I was alone this Christmas, as I often am these past few years, but I'm pretty used to it and generally enjoy the time; phone calls with family and a few friends provided a slight veneer of family holiday tradition.

Honey continues to be a scardy-cat after last Tuesdays mishap, but she finally came out very briefly on Saturday (our 2-week anniversary) for some petting before being spooked by absolutely nothing. She's come out twice since then, just as briefly with the same MO.

On the positive side, Honey has become enamoured with the Big Friendly Petting Hand and welcomes it's visits under the bed. She also has been staying out in her living room cat bed way late into the morning until after I get up and see her there, then she'll slither back under the bed for the day. I consider that these delays are really tests to see my reaction. Also last night she hopped up on my bed and across my feet as she headed out to the living room...another test, I suppose. On Saturday she also curled up on my bed while I was out watching TV until I saw her there.

HOLIDAY FUN

Shake the snow globe and listen to the people!

This is cute.

Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas / Happy Hannukah / Happy Holidays

Many blessings of the Season be with my family (Dad, Barb, Sue, Daniel, Sarah, Aunties, Uncles, and Cousins).

Many blessings of the Season be with my lifefriends (Rita, Cyn, Carol, Johanna, Marion & Joe, Terri & Omer, Mike & Debi, and all others).

Many blessings of the Season be with my chat/HT friends (Chefgracegeorge, Highwaygirl, GreenTuna, Overgme, Blurry, Rappy, Mheh, TVJunkie, Ophelia, Teem, Katjam, and all the other posters on Hamster Time. ) I can't tell you how glad I am to have my 'virtual' friends. Joy, peace, good and love to each of you.

Many blessings of the Season be with my co-workers, community, church, country and world. God bless us, every one!

Thanks to Maryknoll for the card.

HONEY UPDATE

So, what's happening with Honey, you ask.  We'll we've had our little advances and we've had our setbacks. 

Advances:  Honey comes out during the night and sleeps in the living room. She goes to her litter box also, but does so when that end of the house is quiet. She also comes out to eat when no one is around. She likes watching me play with her toys but is too shy when I try to engage her with it. 

Setbacks:  Last night I stayed up later than usual playing cards on the computer; lights were on throughout the apartment. Lo and behold, in trots Honey, at least until she sees me at the computer then she turns tail and runs, pausing a bit in the kitchen to look back. I didn't follow her. After I went to bed, she came out as usual.  Later in the night I had to get up for a short time so I decided to sit at my computer desk and turn the variable light on low. Honey was in the other room in her cat bed and did not move. I thought this was a success. After a few minutes I turned off the light and went back to bed. This morning she was under the bed and more timid, coming out only very briefly. I came home at noon and this time she came out, but almost immediately she acted scared, backed away from me and then ran into the living room. I should have known better, but I followed her and ended up cornering her. This all happened so fast I did not recognize that this was bad for kitty. She raced back under the bed and has yet to come out to me. 

Good thing: I've got 4-1/2 days at home to work on re-bonding.

SUNDAY NIGHT

Sunday night. The Broncos and Colts (two horsies!) are tied 14-14 on ESPN. The Terror Alert Level has been raised to High. The American Soldier has been named TIME's Person of the Year. That's the world.

I have finished my Christmas letter, photo (Honey in her bed), and cards for mailing Monday which will probably be too late for Christmas, but still respectable. It's a miracle I did them at all this year. For some reason I'm just not feeling very Christmas-y this year. It's not that I'm in a negative mood about it or anything else; the year is ending well enough for me and my family. It's just not as enjoyable all alone, so it's a low-key thing these days.

Honey and I have had a better weekend but it is a very very slow process. She is still under the bed. Someone said she sounds like she has experienced 'sensory depravation' before coming to me. That seems to fit and it is a slow process drawing her out.

 

SICK DAY

I woke up sick this morning with whatever bug that has been persuing me for nearly a week now. It doesn't feel like a cold, but I can't say that it is the flu either (no temperature). My stomach is not right, my body aches all over, my glands are swollen and my mouth, throat and chest are bleh.

During the time I've been up (this afternoon) I watched movies. It passed the time with minimal effort, but watching the drama and miseries of others while sick is not such a good thing. Even the comedy did not sit well, but that's what illness does.

On a positive note, Honey came out from under the bed on my coaxing twice and showed less signs of fear. At one point while I was petting her she rolled over on her back, exposing her belly to my hand. She also took some tenative looks around my bedroom, venturing further from me and her food bowl, the 'safe zone' she has established thus far in my presence. I expect more solo night exploration tonight. Things are progressing.

HONEY, NIGHT ROAMER

1:30 AM, I awaken from about 2 hours of sleep and go through my dark apartment checking the radiators because it seems cold. I get to the living room at the front of my apartment and a dark shape on the top of my couch flashes past me heading for the bedroom.

I wanted Honey to know right away that she is welcome into other areas so I proceeded to lure her out from under the bed for another session of petting. It went well, and twice she headed past my body towards the bedroom door then turned back. I think she was testing me to see if I would scold her for doing that, or not. I kept silent and did not touch her.

Later during the night I heard her eat food and use the regular litter box in the bathroom before returning to her safety quilt under the bed. Today is my first workday since getting her so hopefully she will explore some more and feel comfortable with the place in the daytime. After that she will just have to get used to having this big person around.

MONDAY EVENING - HONEY UPDATE

Honey has made progress today. She came out twice early on and had a very little bit of food each time. She let me pet her and then retreated to her little 'safe quilt' under the bed.

I did as Wise Overg suggested and spent time in the room with her, just reading. Other times I laid on the floor for extended periods talking to her and then when she seemed to need space again I'd leave for a while.

Tonight she has come out for more extended times; although it is only a few minutes she now feels more comfortable eating although her back is to me. She also welcomes extended petting during these cautious encounters and I can tell that she is getting more comfortable being out. Yet she still needs her security quilt and even the motion of my feet on the floor to reposition myself is enough to have her scurry back.

My knees and neck hurts from it all, but I'm very pleased. I'm wishing I could have another day with her before returning to work, but I have to trust that we'll manage through that too.

MONDAY MORNING

I should rename this journal The Honey News.

Here is what has happened since my last update. Honey accepted my offering of a cat-sized lightly quilted mat (see photo). I slid it under the bed and she later began using it.

Twice today, right after I got up, I was able to lure her out but just as before she ran back under the bed without eating. She has been getting slightly more comfortable with this, and upon her return to her mat she has been purring.

I also discovered possible evidence of an overnight scout mission as a piece of plasticware that I had low on a box in the back hall was toppled. The work of Honey!

SLOW PROGRESS

Honey is testing my intentions. She has come out from under the bed very briefly four times so far this afternoon, all on my coaching. Each time she gets a pet or two then scoots back under the bed where she turns her back to me until we go through it all again. Twice she has gone for the food bowl but retreated before eating.

In the last session I laid down on the floor hoping that my low profile would help, but even if it did, Honey needed a break to 'kitty-process' the events so far. She is showing very slight but measurable improvements in trust but this under-the-bed thing is likely to go on in varying degrees for several days.

THE DAY BEGINS

The day begins. Saddam Hussein has been captured and people in Iraq are celebrating and I'm thankful to tears for that and proud all over again for our men and women serving in dangerous places. May this be another step towards safety for our troops and freedom for Iraq.

The day begins. Honey remains under my bed where she's been making friends with the dust bunnies. My theory is that she is getting back at me by moving from one clutter spot/housekeeping failure to another where I take her picture and post it for all to see. I am humiliated, but not enough to keep from sharing her lovely picture and story.

Honey may be her name, but I don't think she heard it enough at the shelter to really relate to it. She has contented poses and seems to be willing to wait out this strange person who has disrupted her comfortable cage life. My only concern is that she doesn't seem to have eaten or taken any water since I brought her home. I tucked both a bit under the bed so she'd feel safe getting to it.

The day begins. I got ready for church and then had a wave of sickness pass over me so I didn't go. I've felt it trying to take me down for a few days now. It's snowing outside now and the birds have already emptied the feeder once. I'm going to spend the day doing Honey-checks, birdie watching and feeding, turn football on, do paperwork and try not to feel sick. Tonight is the Survivor Finale and of the remaining players I want Sandra to win, which means she'll come in 4th.

Have a good day, everyone.

HONEY'S WEB PAGE

Honey already has a web page where her special photos will be placed along with her stories.

JUST WHAT I WANTED, I Think

Well, I'm pleased to announce that I've now got a .......closet cat!

Darling, Honey, was a real trooper for the trip home, crying very briefly only three times despite the hour-long drive. Before I went to pick her up I thought better of trying to make her a 'safe space', but rather to let her choose her own, probably in my bedroom.

I open the carrier on my bed and she came out and a long petting session ensued which included some Honey-purr. As we were engaged in this, she was quickly scouting out the room and noticing sounds from my bird feeder and my neighbor in the apartment above. I saw her quickly eye my open closet which looked nice and cozy. When we were interrupted by a phone call, she found a safe haven there.

Her choice is a good one, preferrable to being under the bed; we can look at each other when I'm on my bed. After a short trip to the store and for dinner takeout I gave her a few treats and she also enjoyed some petting, again with a Honey-purr.

So, I guess we've both made it safely into the transition phase of our relationship. On my last visit with treats she was licking like she was hungry so I hope she'll soon feel safe enough to come down to her food & water bowl, and litter box which is just outside the closet. So, I'm giving her space, but checking on her from time to time.

HAPPY DANCE!

I just got at call from DAWS to inform me that I can pick up Honey on Saturday.

She's already pre-spoiled by me; so far I've bought her a window seat to watch the birds at the feeder, a cat scratch/play/half-moon saddle seat, a cat carrier, a cat bed, two litter pans, new feed bowls and mat, a brush, flea treatments (might need), food and litter, and an assortment of toys. It is her Christmas (and mine too)!

I must remember in my enthusiasm that she will take some time to relax and get used to her new surroundings and to me. Thanks to everyone who has given me advice on the transition process, and keep it coming.

MEET HONEY!

Meet Honey. She is my selection for adoption.

Brian, one of the shelter volunteers, rescued Honey a year ago and she was kept in a foster home through the birth of her litter. She has been at the shelter since about February.

I was shown all the cats on my list and others that caught my eye and then I was left on my own to wander and spend time with any cats of interest. There were a few strong possibilities, but no one cat struck me as "the one" which was my prayer going in. As I headed back to begin another round of consideration, Robin, the volunteer who had helped me earlier, met me and said she suddenly had a thought as to a good cat for me and took me to Honey.

Honey seemed open to me right away and just *loved* to be petted to the point where she didn't want me to stop. I love her coloring and although she's large, she seems to be in good health. I felt she would fell comfortable in my apartment and with me.

The Vet visits the shelter weekly on Wednesdays and all adopted cats must get a final check-up before they can go to their new home. The timing of his visit prompted my visit to the shelter tonight. If all goes well I hope to bring Honey home this Saturday afternoon.

ETA: Honey's one eye seems unusual, but I think this is a photographic phenomenon; in person she seemed fine, or I didn't notice.

CAT PROJECT, Monday update

Today I bought a plastic and metal cat carrier and a cardboard model in case a 2nd cat jumps into my 'shopping cart.' It looks like it will be Saturday before I can use them due to Shelter hours.

I also bought a short cat 'tree' with a 'moon' top and play area; it fits right next to my computer so my little darling can get some attention or keep me company while I'm on the computer. We will also play our own versions of gitchu (tm Overg), of course, but a cat seat near my obsession can't hurt.

CAT SEARCH

I'm looking for a cat that can be an indoor cat in a modest 4-room apartment. He/she must have the disposition to be an only cat, but the capacity to accept a 2nd cat at a later date and capable of being alone during my 9-10 hours at work. I think I'd prefer a Female cat who  is no longer a kitten, but I am open. 

Top Selections: Arnie, Bix, Donna, Gregory, Molly, Poe.

THE SEARCH FOR MY NEXT CAT

More top selections:  Peaches, Todd, Livia, Doug, Hope, Ozzy.

PERFECT DAY

Today has been one of those perfect days of inner happiness and contentment. As the song goes, "outside the weather is frightful, inside the fire is so delightful, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

It's been a blizzard outside, very cold and the wind has been fierce, so I decided not to battle Mother Nature to dig out my car today. Instead I tended to my wild birds and captured a few photos today (the ones with snow), and a few earlier shots.

The birds all struggled against the wind, driving snow, and cold to get to the feeder to the point that I questioned if they don't burn more calories getting to the food than what they recieve. Perhaps it would have been better to stay out of the weather today, like I've done. But they fed all day on three refills of the feeder and 6 crumbed english muffins scattered on the deck. It gives me great joy to provide for them and enjoy their presence.

Between forays for bird feedings, bird watching and photo shoots, I spent the afternoon in the kitchen making an Indian dish called Bryani. It takes a long time to prepare: clean and cut veggies (last night), cook rice, make saffron rice, cook veggies in spices, whip yogurt, layer two casserole dishes with the 5 layers, cover, cook and clean up. The long process seemed to be a perfect complement for the weather outside and the bird activity and for a time I was most perfectly content. A perfect day.

SHIZZLE

Tonight in chat, GreenTuna shared some frustrations she's having over the quality of her daughter's education and it reminded me of this experience:

The year was 1971. The place, The Peoples Republic of California.

My plans were to stay with my Aunt and Uncle in Long Beach, CA and attend a nearby college. As part of the entrance qualification procedure at Long Beach College I had to take an exam which I considered would be something like a SAT Test.

On the day of the exam I entered with confidence since I had always done well in school and was not afraid of tests. This totally flew out the window when I opened the test booklet and read the first question. Wha?!  It was ALL written in some kind of ghetto slang (my best guess), or maybe it was Eubonics or something, but whatever it was it was totally foreign to me. I could not make out a single word or even guess what part of speech I was looking at; I'm sure I blanched as I staggered out without understanding, or answering, even one question.

Thirty years later it still makes me wonder. Just what were those college classes like and what useful education did those students get? What jobs do those students have as a result? How do they now view the curious experiment that was their education?

Sometimes I'm glad I'm not so highly educated that I lose touch with common sense.

DRAMA AT JIFFY LUBE, Act 2

I caught the second act of little family drama today at Jiffy Lube:

Woman to Manager: I'm the one who called today. The engine on my son's 2002 Saturn siezed up on a trip to South Carolina; it's down there now. The dealer said they won't honor the warrenty unless we can show routine maintenence records. (gives manager several family names to search for the car records)

Manager : I'm not finding anything recent.....the only service record for that car was a year ago.

AN OPEN MESSAGE FOR CHEFGRACEGEORGE

HANDS OFF OVERG, SISTER!

I'm not done with him yet.

(Overg, we're fighting over you!)

Oh, and my immediate apologies to everyone for this entry. Bad girl!

SADISM AND GORE

Just for the record, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and 24  have gone too far. Both are wallowing in the gory, sadistic and sick end of the pool and I've decided that I've had enough. I felt this before about 24  in the 1st season so skipped season 2; unfortunately season 3 brought back all the bad vibes. As for CSI, they're become fascinated to an unhealthy degree with abberant sexual behaviors (plushies, S&M) and more graphic mutilated and decomposed bodies. After both shows I feel dirty. No more. You've gone more than too far for me.

Whatever happened to Drama?

SOMEONE SWAT ME

I've been fluxuating between anxiousness and irritation for the last two days after a relatively nice start to the 4-day holiday weekend. Since my family already had our Thanksgiving during our mid-month convergence in Arizona, the past four days have been 'free time' for me.

Tasks accomplished :  two loads of laundry, clean the apartment, winterize four windows (rope caulk and plastic heat-shrink seals), change bedroom ceiling light bulb (ladder required), further consolidate/organize to make room for a kitty, mix more birdseed 'special blend'.

Projects and Interests persued: Updated my spending database by coding and entering records from early April to date; set up and listened to two personalized radio stations on Rhapsody and reviewed some music of interest; ordered the Extended Editions of the first two LOTR DVDs; printed out 81 family photos for the next leg of my daily photo-letters to my Dad (just beginning my second year doing this); semi-watched a good football game (New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts) while working on a backlog of old magazines, watched the animated movie, Waking Life and then again with commentary; finally I watched the 4-part 1966 Russian film, War and Peace. I saw the movie on it's 1968 initial release in the US and thought it was powerful and it still is. The DVD had a dubbed version available, but I prefer to view foreign films in their original language with English subtitles.

So, it was a good weekend. Where did the anxiousness and irritation come from? My guesses: anxiety generated by the War and Peace strife; irriration: Monday again, 'nuff said. Also, I'm struggling with either allergies and/or coming down with something.