The Night I Slept with Jack…or Jack Slept with Me..or Maybe not…

So as you know we have 3 whites.  Not great whites as in the sharks, but whites as in the cats.

I have spoken of these beasties before.  Jack is King with a capital K.  He can be a bit nasty taking a swipe at your ankles as you walk by him.  He likes to assert his power..his territory.  Then we have dear Jewels who is your typical subserviant please just stay out of my way kind of girl.  She lets Jack reign and I say ‘lets’ because I do believe if this dear lady ever decided to stake territory no one else would reign.

Jack needs to reign.  It is important to his ego.  He even bullies Bree who is away this week with the family at the cottage.  Now as you know we have Gus who is pretty new to it all.  So far Jack seems to be happy to just watch over the newcomer kitten although he is not above giving the kid a swat when needed.

Now Jack does not like me very much and for the life of me I don’t know why.  If I am in the kitchen he stretches out across the floor letting me know I am in his territory.  And he was forever taking swats at me; walking down the stairs, down the hall..well you get the idea.

Now this week, with his whole adoring family gone it is just me, Jewels, and the new kid Gus.  The family have been gone almost a week and tonight is the first time Jack decided to spend anytime major time with me.

Gus and Jack routinely wrestle around, most often in play but J always asserts his power when he becomes bored with the new kids antics and that pretty much ends the game of the moment.

Except tonight.  I am not sure if Jack sort of figures I am the new sheriff in town permanently but he decided to spread his territory.  Except Gus, the kid, has been used to sleeping on my bed at least for part of the night.

So first Gus makes himself at home beside me on the bed.  The evening is wearing on and before you know it, who makes an entrance but Jack.  He stands on the floor for a bit watching me and the kid, settling down for a bit of a read before slumbers.  Then he jumps up on the bed, my bed you understand, and sits at the foot watching us.

I’m figuring it could be very nice to tell the family, when they return that Jack and I are A1 buds.  That we slept together in perfect harmony.  Then all of a sudden there is one swift motion and a whole bunch of white fur and a bit of growling ensue.  Right beside me!

Believe it or not there really are two whites there.  Not sure what to do I remain very very very still.  Suddenly Jack jumps back and leaping from the bed leaves the room.  Gus, the new kitten in town settles and stretches out making it clear where his territory is. I tried taking photos at which point they both left my boudoir.

Guess I won’t be sleeping with Jack after all.  As for Jewels?  Well she could care less.  Her only staked out territory is my desk chair and neither of the other two seem interested.  So it all works out for her.

Men! Animal, Vegetable or Mineral.  So territorial.

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff and the Boy from the Poop

It’s a lovely Saturday here on the mountain. Cold with no wind and a crisp layer of snow on the ground.  I suppose it is laughable that we call it a mountain especially to my friends on the west coast but it is ours and we like it.

Today we have done some usual chores, son and G1 are out buying a toy he has saved up for, G2 is sitting quietly and DIL is catching up on some paperwork.  The plan is to go for a family swim later today, something both G1 and G2 love.

Me?  I am rewriting Chapter 2 trying to get into the head of one of my characters.  I have done 2 rewrites on this particular chapter and am not been happy with either.  There is something I am missing but am not quite sure what it is but am confident I will recognize it when I see it.

I have opened my apartment today to the critters of the household who usually reside with the rest of the family.  Jewels, the deaf white is sleeping peacefully on the back of my sofa.  Scout who has been renamed Henry is getting cozy trying out different spots which has included my lap and chest as I try typing.  Bree our yellow is happy anywhere but especially under my desk when I work.

Now Jack our third white who I have previously reported as being foul mooded since the arrival of Henry stalked around here a bit taking the odd swipe at Henry and then left to be near DIL.  Funniest thing is that during any given work day the animals are scattered but when DIL arrives home all, and I do mean all, congregate in the kitchen en masse and then where ever she goes.  DIL is a Dr. Doolittle which suits her profession as Vet Tech.  If you need a pet whisperer of any sort she would be your choice.

Now in addressing the Chaff and the Poop.  It seems G2 who at three is learning to take dominion over parts of his life as he should do, had also decided not to part with the products of certain body functions, which is not unusual in this age group.  This was never a particular problem with G1 who is now eight, although I do recall that at that age he had decided that if the back yard was suitable for the then canine in residence, Scooby, it was good enough for him.  It was an amusing and temporary problem easily solved once we got G1 to identify with the humans in the house rather than the animals.

There doesn’t seem to be an easy solution for the problem at hand but I hope the wee guy gets it straight soon… for his own comfort.

Any suggestions out there from you  experts would be greatly appreciated!

And now a pic of our dear departed Scooby taken in 09 through the back window of the playhouse.

Caleb’s Adventure with Grandma Fiction Friday

Caleb woke up early.  When he opened his eyes he could see it was still dark outside his window.  It took a few moments for him to realize why today was special, and then he remembered!  Grandma was coming to visit and she was bringing her pajamas!

It was always fun when Grandma stayed overnight. Mommy had painted the guest bedroom bright yellow and there was a new bed in the room.  Well it was really an old new bed that Mommy had when she was a little girl.

Caleb got out of bed and put his clothes on and went to the kitchen where Mommy and Daddy were making breakfast.

“Is grandma coming soon?” he asked, as he ate his favorite breakfast.

“Yes Caleb,” said Daddy, “She should be here very soon.”

Just then a car pulled up in the driveway and Caleb ran to the door when he heard the sound of her car door closing.

“Grandma, I am glad you are here!” he shouted as he ran to the car.

Grandma scooped Caleb up in her arms and there were lots of hugs, kisses, and giggles.  Caleb helped Grandma carry her bags into the house.

“Will you play dinosaurs with me Grandma?” Grandma always liked to play with Caleb.

“Well Caleb, I thought today we would go on an adventure,” smiled Grandma.

“What kind of adventure?”  He wasn’t too sure what an adventure was but if Grandma liked it he knew he would too.

“I am not sure,” said Grandma, “But I thought we would go to the park and perhaps find an adventure.”

Mommy said, “That sounds like fun and be sure to dress warm and wear your mittens.”

As they walked down the tree lined street they turned right towards the park and saw an old lady standing on the sidewalk crying.

“That’s Mrs. Parsons,” Caleb said.

“I am Caleb’s Grandma.  What has happened to make you cry?”

Mrs. Parsons stopped sobbing long enough to say, “My kitty, Whiskers is missing!  She never goes outside but today when I openend the front door she saw a squirrel and she dashed rightou out the door chasing it.”

“Well, said Grandma, “Caleb and I were looking for and adventure and this will do nicely.  We will help you look for Whiskers.”

Mrs. Parsons gave Grandma and Caleb some of Whisker’s special treats.  If they found him and offered the treats he would come to them.  The three of them set off down the street calling for Whiskers.

“WHISKERS!”

“WHISKERS!”  “WHISKERS”

As they walked Caleb said, “Whiskers was very bad for running away and making Mrs. Parson cry.”

“Oh no Caleb,” said Grandma, “Whisker’s behavior was bad, but I am sure he is a good cat. Cats are like people sometimes.  We behave badly by doing naughty things but we are still good people.”

When they got to the park they began to walk around the bushes and trees calling for Whiskers.  Grandma thought the squirrel would have run up a tree somewhere.  And cats can climb trees….

Mrs. Parsons walked to one side of the park and Grandma and Caleb went to the other side, each calling out Whisker’s name.  They called and walked for a long time but could not find Whisker’s.

Mrs. Parsons was crying again and Caleb was beginning to get tired.  They knew they would have to go home soon because it was almost lunch time.  Grandma could see Caleb needed to rest so she suggested he sit on the swing while she looked for Whiskers a little bit longer before going home.

Caleb sat on the swing and looked around the park and wondered where Whiskers could be.  Suddenly something fell on the groungd next to him.  Curious, her walked over to see what had fallen.  It was shiny and gold in the shape of a heart.  That is strange he thought, how would this get in a tree?

Then he heard a soft mewing and looking up in the branches he spied something furry.  I bet that is Whiskers, he said to himself. 

“Grandma! Come here!  I found Whiskers!”

Grandma and Mrs. Parsons hurried over and Caleb pointed to the spot where the cat was clinging to a branch.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Adventure will continue next week. The actual book I did was of course filled with pictures of parks and cars and cats etc at every paragraph as it is a book for a young child (3-4 yrs).  Some sentences have also been changed or deleted from this just for the sake of length.

To My Disney Crew…1) The Firetrucks are gone. 2) It wasn’t my Fault

To My Disney Crew, ..1) The Firetrucks are gone 2) it wasn’t my fault
From the Queen of Hamilton

Dear T &H & G1 & G2

I know how good you must feel having left on Saturday for all things Disney and making me the Queen of Hamilton.

Bree has been delightful although she misses you guys.  She sleeps beside my bed each night quite contentedly.  I have not had to lock the cats downstairs at all.  They came up the first night, poked their heads around the corner, figured they had missed the Rapture and disappeared.

Bree, powerful Yellow Lab that she is takes walks without dragging me along the road by the leash.  By last night the cats decided that if I was the only game in town they would come up and socialize.  Once I read them the proclamation that I was Queen of Hamilton they reverently genuflected and were fine.  I woke up at eight-thirty this morning with Bree snoozing away on the floor and at least one cat in the bed.  Fortunately it is a huge bed so there are no territorial disputes.

Bree has had only one time out in her cage.  And that WAS territorial…Last evening she and one of the cats (I still don’t know which of the wee white beasties is Jack and which one is Jewels), got into a dispute.  All I saw was a blur of white and one giant yellow circling the room around and up, on sofa, walls and chairs. So Bree ended up with a ten minute penalty in the box which she took without pouting following which all was well.

This morning I needed to make a quick run to Kitchener for a bag I had forgotten which contained essentials…primarily shoes, books and makeup.  Bree was secure and happy in her cage.  I had a quick lunch with B&J, retrieved the bag and headed back.  Fortunately the streets on this holiday weekend were barren..just the way they should be when I am driving.

As I was about to turn onto your street I suddenly braked because a police cruiser was blocking the street.  All I could see were Firetrucks (3), police cruisers (4), and several hydro trucks.  All smack dab in front of your house.  Unsure what to do I stopped a woman and her children scurrying from the scene.  She said someone had cut through a gas line and they evacuated part of the street.

I rapidly reviewed my morning actions through my computer like brain and decided I had nothing to fear.  I would not have to make a run for it, going on the lam.  Besides I had to get the doggy out of the cage.

Parking my car a block down I strolled along approaching the house.  I talked to a couple of police and the fire fighters in their gear…sigh..uh but I digress.

Turns out your neighbor across the street at 32 was rebuilding his front porch and cut through the gas line.  The gas itself had dissipated and any resultant bodies removed.

So you see all is well.  Bree and I are on the patio this sunny afternoon and the cats are..doing whatever it is they do.  Everything is normal and the winds have carried the noxious gases elsewhere.

So hope y’all are enjoying Disney!

Signed ..the Queen!