Sleeping with cats

Now, I know that allowing the cats to sleep in the bed with us is opening us up to all manner of 'incidents'. There are the mysterious scratches you get from cats running across your back in the middle of the night and there's the uncomfortableness (is that a word?) of being pinned under the covers by these very warm 15 lb blobs that won't budge an inch..want to change your position? adjust the covers? forget it! But, even with all the inconvenience and potential hazards, I do so love to wake up to these little warm bodies all nuzzled up against me. After hitting the snooze I pet the kitties within arms reach and feel them nuzzle in closer and rev their purring engines up. It is so sweet. I may however reconsider where the cats are allowed to sleep after this morning's antics. It's 4:30 in the morning and I suddently wake up to the startling sound of a kitty getting sick and it's close...very close. I jerk my head out of the way and just miss Baby Kitty spitting up on my pillow! I think I must have subconciously heard the beginnings of her episode in my sleep (anyone who has cats or dogs for that matter, knows there is a bit of a production before one actually gets sick) and regained consciousness in just enough time to jump out of the way. Chip wakes up at this point and rushes to my aid. Pillow case is stripped off the pillow and a new one is thrown to me on the bed, where I sit in utter shock. Only the pillowcase doesn't make it to me, it lands across Willy who is sleeping at the foot of the bed. He sits up and is wearing this pillowcase, like a robe draped over him, looking rather confused. I pet his head and retrieve the case while cracking up for a minute at the absurdity of it all. I do end up having to change my nightgown as a bit of spittle got on my shoulder. The pillow is saved..new pillowcase goes on..kitties settle back in to their spots and it's off to dreamland again...for a couple more hours of snoozing. I hate to think what other horrors take place that we don't wake up to witness.

Eau du chat

Several times today I've smelled an offensive, yet oh sooo familiar smell, but I've written it off as something they're making in the lab. Well, lo and behold, it is not anything going on in the lab..the stench really is what I thought it was...cat pee!!!..and it's coming from my shoe..my cat shoes to be exact! Just Great!
I'm not sure what is more shocking, the fact that this happened or that I'm sharing it!

Technology Rocks!

Trying to learn some bands for Lollapalooza. Let's see if this works.

Little House in the Woods

This past weekend was our second girls overnight trip to the little house in the woods in Orange City, a town with much character and characters aplenty too. There is just something about being there in the Dome house, nestled in the woods, spending quality time with good friends, that recharges the soul. We laugh, stay up late telling stories and occasionally get scared by things that go bump in the night, knit and drink lots of coffee and laugh some more. This time we felt safer having brought one of Teresa's doggies along, but I was still prepared to make that mad dash for the car. It's just so quiet in the woods, your imagination can sometimes get the best of you.

We dined at the original Holiday House, which is really like stepping back in time...they have jello salads! The whole town just has that old Florida feel too it. The little book shop with cats was quite charming and we made it to the key lime pie shop this time....key lime pie on a stick dipped in chocolate..oh my!

I'm looking foward to going back already. I will remember these trips this summer as some of the most relaxing and rejuvenating good times with friends I've ever had. Everyone should have a little house in the woods to retreat to. Oh and a couple of funny things I discovered this past weekend. I'm not afraid to steal TP from the local establishments, but I do have quite a fear of muscovy ducks....but seriously, wouldn't you?!

'You are all I need'

We saw Radiohead on Tuesday night in Tampa...sold out show...the band played for 2 hours and was simply Brilliant! I could have listened for 2 more...luckily we'll be seeing them again at Lollapalooza in Chicago in August, so there's still a chance I'll hear 'Fake Plastic Trees' live once in my life. I must apologize to Thom Yorke, for kind of making fun of his eye thingee...it's apparently a birth defect that he's been trying to fix his whole life...sorry Thom, but I will not give him 5'5...there is no way he's taller than I am!

A few facts taken from imdb.com:
Date of Birth: October 7, 1968
Northamptonshire, England
Birth Name: Thomas Edward Yorke
Nickname: Dr. Tchock
Height5' 5¼" (1.66 m)
Trade Mark:
Frenetic head swivelling during singing
Trivia:
Thom has had surgery multiple times on his left eye since childhood. None of them have worked completely (obviously).
In February 2001, girlfriend Rachel Owens gave birth to Thom's first child, Noah. Daughter Agnes born October 2004.
Is a vegetarian.
Worked as an orderly in a mental hospital.
Drives a Fiat Punto.

I'm starting to see how people can get obsessed and follow a band around on their entire tour. This clip is the beginning of the show...part of which was missed as we were rushing back from the bathrooms...

If you build it, they will come

This past weekend we made a trip up to a little slice of heaven...for kitties. Caboodle Ranch is a cat sanctuary in North Florida, started by one man with a dream. Craig lives at the sanctuary and takes care of his feline friends, mostly by himself. He does an amazing job and treats all of the kitties like his babies. It was an overwhelming experience.

When we arrived, Craig was just heading out to grab a bite and he told us to make ourselves at home. Chip had been up twice before, so he took me on a little tour. We were greeted by many residents on our travels and no less than 10 kitties followed us on our walk around the property. There are little kitty houses and shelters and lots of watering spots too. While standing by the old mill, an exuberant fluffy orange kitty climbed up my back and perched. He later accompanied me, on my shoulder, while we brought our 3 new arrivals back to their enclosure. They will stay there for the next 4 weeks, getting acclimated to their new home. Once released they will join the 4 others we've taken up from the colony across from UCF. There are somewhere between 300 - 400 cats on the 30 acre sanctuary, all spayed and neutered of course.
I'm so glad that there are people like Craig in the world. We had been dealing with trapping and relocating a TNR'd colony in a hostile environment and the daily stress of it had taken its toll on me. This trip up to Caboodle Ranch came at a time when I needed it most, though it is Bittersweet. It saddened me to see so many friendly cats at the sanctuary and I fear Craig will get overloaded soon, because he will not turn any cats away. He plans to buy more land and expand the sanctuary and get volunteers out to help, so I hope he can do that. He wants to save them all and sadly we cannot. I would love to see the day in our lifetime when someone has to be on a waiting list to adopt a cat (this is happening in England right now).
I know there are a lot of troubles in this world and far worse tragedies than the state of some stray and feral cats, but this is something I can make a difference with...one cat at a time...or 2 or 4 or more...
Of course now I want my own little sanctuary...The Black Cat Ranch. Plans are in the works! :-)
Hop on over to Caboodle Ranch

Hop on the Bus Gus!

Well, I did it. I woke up a tad bit late, so in my mad rush to get out the door, I forgot my book (wasn't brave enough to take the knitting) and it would have been a good idea to charge my ipod last night, but all in all it was a succesful venture taking the bus to work this morning. Chip dropped me off at the bus stop down the road, but it's not cheating, 'cause it was on his way and I totally would have missed the bus if he hadn't.
As he was leaving I saw the bus coming up the road and luckily I was the first person on the bus (7:33 AM!), so the driver could assist me, as I needed much assistance. For future reference you don't give the money to the driver, you feed the machine and get your ticket. I bought a day pass for $4. The driver said he didn't recognize me, I guess you get to know your passengers, so I piped up with, 'I'm riding the bus for Earth Day'...(go me!)..lol. After I got my ticket and succesfully swiped it (there are two ways to swipe!), I sat down and the driver asked me what Earth Day was. Ummm...caught of guard, I said 'Oh, it's been around since the 70's and it's all about recycling and using less gas'. After saying he recycles the driver then asked if I needed any info, 'cause information is free on Earth Day. I told him I was trying to get to UCF and that I thought taking the 13 from downtown was the best..he agreed and we both agreed it's going to be a long ride. I settled in for the ride downtown and was happy when we picked up more people along the way...this is what it's all about, moving lots of people. The bus was pretty full by the time we got to the central station at 8:15. I got off the bus and found the #13 bus waiting and got right on. These buses run like clockwork! At exactly 9:26, just like the schedule said, we pulled in to the main bus depot by the Education Bldg. I walked on over to Chemistry and was at work at pretty much my usual time. It was interesting to see who all rides the bus...a doctor, a teacher and several students from Glenridge Middle School, some veterans going to the VA Hospital (luckily the bus driver didn't get stuck in an infinite loop in Baldwin Park like we girls did the other week ;-), a grandma and her grandkids going to the store and me, a girl trying to consume and pollute less for a day on her way to work. I sure wish I could leave the truck at home more often, but I couldn't do this every day. 4 hours of traveling time is a bit much, but I will aim to do it at least once a month..maybe more. It's really nice to just ride and not have to focus on the road or other drivers. I could turn on some Morrissey and pretend I was headed to work in London. I have to head back to the bus stop at 4:30 to get home before too late. I'm going to check out my options to see if there's a faster route..I took the less transfers option this morning because I was a bit nervous about that. Now, I'm off to find out if anyone has an ipod charger or it's going to be a quiet 2 hour ride home.