Kitty godmother

Saturday, 11:08 pm

By Kate

Jan

03

2009

This afternoon, a friend called and said that the feline rescue association had just called to let her know they were, momentarily, receiving two litters of 10 week old kittens. She was now at the top of the waiting list, so should plan on arriving ASAP to choose her kitten. She was so excited—and wondered if I’d like to go along.

Kittens? Count me in! I love kittens. To look at. Not in the market for a kitten.

On the way over, we discussed her expectations, which, I thought, were a little high. This was her first cat of any age and she really doesn’t know quite what to expect. But she has been taken in by all the photos of cozy little kitties that she’s seen over the years. I told her that cats are pretty independent and, though it will eventually love her, it will probably never be cuddly on her terms. It will be cuddly on its terms, even when those terms come at the most inconvenient and inopportune times. That’s a cat for ya. I don’t think she heard a word of it.

Anyway. We arrived at the feline rescue place and inside were four of the prettiest little kittens. One was white with gray spots (female) and the other three (males) ranged from light gray to dark charcoal gray. She fell in love with the little medium gray fellow. Cute, cute, cute. And full of energy. And curiosity. And not in the least interested in being held. Mostly he wanted to play with his litter mates.

The Feline Rescue woman placed him in a cardboard carry box and off we went to pick up the rest of the necessary supplies—food, litter, litter pan, scratching post, and at least one interesting toy.

When we arrived at her house, her college-age son and his girlfriend were there along with her husband and other adult son. The little kitten took one look at the assemblage and dived under the sofa. And there he stayed until everyone grew bored waiting for him to come out. Everyone drifted away except for the new kitty mama. I went home, too.

A couple of hours later, my phone rang.

“He’s still under the sofa,” she said. “I’m reaching the point where I think this was a huge mistake.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because he doesn’t like me.”

“He doesn’t know you. It has nothing to do with like or dislike.”

“I wanted a cuddly kitten.”

He will be cuddly when he gets to know you. Give him some time.”

“Well, it’s just not what I expected.”

“Okay...let’s look at this from the kitty’s perspective. This was the worst day of his entire life. He was taken away from his mother and his brothers and sister. And on top of all that, he was stuck with a sharp needle by a strange woman who then lopped off his bits. Now he’s in your home where nothing looks familiar and nothing smells familiar. He’s lonely and scared and he probably hurts a little bit. And there are a lot of tall strangers trying to grab him. Give him a chance to chill for a couple of days. He’ll grow curious eventually and come out, when he’s convinced that it’s safe. He really has had a horrific day. Give him a break.”

That seemed to help. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

The lad asked me, “Are you prepared to adopt a kitten?”

“Well, if it comes to that, I suppose I would. He is awfully cute and I am his godmother.”

“Uh-huh,” he said.

Yeah well. I have hopes this will all work out in the next couple of days. It’s a new experience for both of them. They’ll figure it out. I hope.

Just a couple of golden girls

Friday, 9:46 pm

By Kate

Jan

02

2009

This evening, one of my friends and I went out to dinner to catch up on events. We chose our favorite stomping ground...it’s a little restaurant in the woods that caters a lot to the older crowd. She and I were among the youngest in the place. And we had a new waitress. Have never seen her before. She was probably about our age.

During the course of the meal, she gave us plenty of attention and service and was, in almost all respects, perfect. Except for one little thing that made me grind my teeth. She kept calling us “girls” and “kids” which annoyed the heck out of me. Perhaps the older clientele get a kick out of it. Or not. I’m pretty sure that in 20 years time, I still won’t like being addressed that way. It felt condescending. And if it annoyed me that much, which it did, I probably should have gently said something about it. I think. I haven’t run up against that very often and I’m not really sure what I should have said or could have said without making her feel awful, too. I suppose somewhere along the line, someone will take her to task far less kindly than anything I would have said.

At one point, I must have looked as if I was going to blow my stack. My friend reached across the table and grabbed my wrist and said, “Take a deep breath. Calmmmmm. Don’t erupt, please.” I must be somewhat transparent. I didn’t erupt, though.

Just a small irritation in the scheme of things, but I do wonder what prompts some people to speak to others that way. I’ve encountered plenty of waitresses who call me “honey” or “dear” and that doesn’t bother me a bit. It’s in the way they say it and in their attitude—no condescension at all, just their way of speaking. I can live with that. Our waitress tonight came across as extremely condescending and I did not like it.

Happy New Year

Thursday, 6:09 pm

By Kate

Jan

01

2009

I hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday season this year. And my finest wishes for a good 2009.

Life in my little house has been relaxed and most pleasurable this holiday. It was a little topsy-turvy at first, but all turned out nicely. We’re cozy and warm and well-fed. The lad received a few cookbooks for Christmas and he has been practicing on me. Just an unfortunate learning experience or two along the way, but in the main, oh my. Last night, for example, he made me steak marsala and it was to die for. The night before it was rosemary chicken with a honey/balsamic vinegar glaze with horseradished potatoes. Horseradish in potatoes, you say? Ohhhh....so delicious. I shall regret sending him back to school. Meal times are just too much fun. Having someone cook for me is simply a luxury beyond measure.

Does anyone have any New Year Resolutions? I used to have a long list of them every year, but learned that a long list was unrealistic. The only thing it was good for was to make me feel terrible when I didn’t achieve most of them. So, I’ve scaled it back significantly. In terms of blog resolutions, I think just one—try to blog more often. In fact, I will try to post every single day in January. Not sure how well that will pan out, but if I get through January, then I’ll tackle February.

The one resolution that I made in 2008 turned out well. It was simple—read at least one book a week. I used to be a voracious reader. Somewhere along the line, that stopped and it was a good year when I read a half a dozen books. I think there were a couple of years in there were I was doing well to read 2 books. I think part of that was because the public library is in the most inconvenient spot on earth. Otherwise, books have grown rather expensive over the years and I can’t afford to walk into my favorite bookstore to get ONE book and walk out with an armful every month. I have a lack of discipline when it comes to buying books. Best to stay out of the bookstore, which I did. Plus...I didn’t have any more room to store books. I still have boxes and boxes and boxes full of them in the attic.

Well, in May, I decided to purchase an Amazon Kindle e-reader with the whispernet mobile technology that allows me to download books wirelessly from Amazon and a couple of other places that offer free public domain books. I wasn’t sure that would be a whole lot better than walking into a bookstore, but at least it solved a couple of problems—no more piles of books scattered all over the house and no need to lug a book or two along with me wherever I go. Oh, and I could get a book the second I wanted it. Instant gratification is lovely, especially after the waiting lists at the library, which often extended beyond 4 weeks.

This has worked out very well for me. I now have a growing library contained in this little device and it goes with me wherever I go. It’s amazing how much reading I can get done standing in line waiting. Since last May, I’ve acquired 73 e-books from Amazon and 33 free public domain books. The total book cost involved for the last 8 months has been $227 for 106 books, which makes the average cost per book about $2.15. Not bad. And, of those 106 books, I have read 31 of them. Plus another 9 that I checked out of the library.

So, for the last 8 months, I’ve read 40 books and that comes out to about 5 books per month which is slightly more than 1 book per week. I still didn’t quite meet my 2008 New Year’s Resolution for the year, but I came pretty darned close. I should exceed it this year.

The best part is that I am reading voraciously again. And I’m reading authors I might never have discovered. 2008 has been an absolute feast.