Molly's Spa Day

Molly had to visit the vet yesterday for a procedure. I did not want her to worry so I told her she was going for a spa day.

The truth was she was having an abdominal ultrasound. My baby has been losing weight and vomiting lately. All the routine tests showed no red flags so her vet suggested the ultrasound. I wanted piece of mind and to stop the weight loss.

I said a few prayers for Molly as we left for the vets office and I even called on a few angels (some cat loving friends who are in heaven now).

I told Molly this was going to be a great experience, this spa day. She will have her belly shaved and it will be a new look for her. She will have some time away from her brothers. She can have me to herself for most of the day. The "Spa" is located in a very nice town and there will be pretty trees to look at and lots of birds flying around and possibly some other wildlife to watch.

 Molly is the only cat I know that enjoys being in her carrier. She doesn't mind the car rides, she doesn't mind going to the vet, she is quite content to stay in her carrier.

Well, the prayers worked. Molly does not have cancer, or a thyroid problem, or diabetes. She may have pre-renal disease so I am weaning her off her present food. Eventually she will be on a kidney diet. But that's it, no pills, no surgery.

We were very lucky and we had a wonderful trip to the Andover Animal Hospital Spa.

At home with the kitties

It was so nice to have a 3 day weekend! I did not do a heck of a lot but I did get to relax. I did some cleaning and a couple loads of laundry today but mostly I relaxed with the kitties.

In fact, I did not go out at all except for tonight when I went to see my Mom at the nursing home. It was great to catch up on my reading,

It's funny, whenever I am in the living room I sit on the sofa. So Molly found it extremely strange that I was sitting in the chair by the window. She had to walk behind and look over my shoulder.

Perhaps placing this lamp by the chair was not the best idea I ever had. How long will it take her to pull all the trim off the lamp? She certainly seems intrigued.

 

Hope everyone had a great 3 day weekend. Looking forward to the next one in February.

Percy the poser

The sun was streaming in the living room windows Sunday morning and Percy was all cozy in his favorite chair. He looked so handsome I just had to do an impromptu photo shoot.

But then he got all shy on me. That's so rare, he's usually quite the poser. I guess he was just enjoying the warmth of that sheepskin rug.

Looks like the photo shoot has ended. What a brief session! Til next time, sweet dreams!

The Sleeper

                      “Time to start getting more sleep. This beautiful physique needs royal treatment.”
                                                       ― Elizabeth Rudnick, Tweet Heart

Holiday decorating inspiration

I don't know about you, but, I always look to magazines and blogs for my holiday decorating inspiration.  I saw this beauty in Matthew Mead's Christmas magazine. This was from a feature on Carol Spinski from Raised in Cotton. The chair is a little bit like my living room chair.

So I thought I would give it a whirl and pull out my own vintage ornament collection. I just grabbed the first few I could get my hands on since I haven't decorated yet. Mine is a little meagher but you get the jist of it.

I was admiring my work when ....

The one man wrecking machine awakened from his perch in the dining room. Of course, he had to investigate.

He just has to get in every photo doesn't he?  So the holiday styling session abruptly ended. I did not want to chance any of my vintage beauties becoming a cat toy for Mr. Percy or his siblings.

One last look before it is dismantled.  As you can see the chair is not in pristine shape as it has endured far too many kitty claws.

I decided to give you a close up view of some of my collection. I added a warm filter to the photo to give it more of a vintage look.

Where do you find your holiday decorating inspiration?

I am happy to report that Miss Marble was rescued last night.  We started feeding her in the carrier /trap a few days ago and she took right to it.

The rescue was scheduled for yesterday morning with the help of two ladies from the cat society.  Little did we know that the landlord of the building had scheduled lawn mowing and cleanup for the morning. There was so much noise that our little feral did not show up.  The rescue was postponed until last night.

My sister was there.  I couldn't bear to watch.  She reported that Miss Marble did not freak out too much after being trapped.  We had noticed that lately she seemed to want to be caught.

She had lived a hard life. Living outside near a busy street, becoming a mother of 5 kittens, foraging for food, all that at such a young age.

Today she had her surgery. She came through it fine and will be released tomorrow. My sister and I will work together to care for her as she recuperates. Just as we worked as a team when we took turns feeding her.

My sister's landlord at her art studio has offered an empty retail space for Miss Marble.  Seems Miss Marble has won his heart too.  She has a lot of people pulling for her as she transitions from stray semi-feral kitty to indoor kitty and house pet.

We have a few leads for a forever home for her.  My hope is that someone will take her in and love and care for her and spend time with her so she will learn how to trust and show affection.  She is safe from all outdoor dangers now and that is a reward in itself.

Born to be wild

Meet Percy, the newest addition to the household. According to the vet, he is 3 months old and 4.5 pounds.



I can tell you this about him. He has boundless energy, likes to eat Molly and Oscar's food, and can run the length of the condo in a millisecond. And he is quite the scrapper as evidenced by the scratches on his nose (they have since cleared up).




Also he likes to watch football and soap operas and listen to classical music when he needs to relax. I think we will get along just fine.

New Friend

Today is Saturday and I didn't have to work. I decided to get started taking photos of Fall Porches and Doors for the October 2oth upload. See the Fall Porch button to the left of this post for more info. I actually started taking door photos about a week ago. The goal is to take photos of fall decorations on porches or front doors. I've taken shots of homes in Salem, Reading, Wakefield, and Stoneham.

Today I went to Winchester, a rather affluent suburb north of Boston and the town where I was born. I knew I'd find some great neighborhoods with interesting fall decorations. I snapped some wreaths on doors and leaves on stairs when suddenly I stumbled upon a beautiful home with a lovely garden. I looked at the fence and thought oh how cute! A cat statue on the fencepost. The statue looked back at me with big blue eyes. It was REAL!

The cat was beautiful and regal looking. She spied me and my camera and gave me a few sneers and then turned herself around so her back was to me. I called out to her but she had a typical catitude! Obviously this cat wanted no part of me. So I walked away and started taking photos of the door decorations.

A few minutes later, I looked up and kitty was jumping off the fence post and coming towards me. So I started taking photos of her, she got closer and closer until she was at my feet. She started head butting my leg. Now she wanted my attention. I should have given her a taste of her own medicine and turned my back on her. But, I am a sucker for a sweet kitty face and so she of course got attention from me. We had a lovely time. Her fur was so soft, the sun was warm, and we were enjoying a lovely Fall day. As you can see she was smiling by the end of our visit. I was smiling too!