First things first: Alice is still alive. In fact, she’s started gaining weight – she’s up 25% from where she was when I left for Houston. That is pretty cool. However, you should get a load of her next to Jacob – the difference is staggering. He is about 2.5 times her weight.
It’s hard to believe these are litter mates.
The Twilight kittens have made it to another defining moment in kitten development: they’ve pulled all the toilet paper off the roll. I am so proud! It seems odd to say that, but I had a brief concern that the little ones wouldn’t be alive at this point, so I take my miracles where I can get them. The TP destruction just means that they are getting mischievous and looking for things to do.
Little Duck and Lamb are still as cute as ever. I think I can actually see them growing right before my eyes. Look at them:
I worried that Duck would be lonely while we were out of town last week, but he seems to be handling us traveling just fine. Serra, on the other hand, freaked out. For the first time in her life, Serra chose to pee in something other than her litter box – she used our (thankfully not yet packed) suitcase. I doused it with tons of Nature’s Miracle, and later tonight after I finish packing I am going to take my wet vac to the thing. I may have lost a suitcase.
The thing to remember here is, despite popular belief, it was not anger at us that drove Serra’s new choice of litter box. Barring a medical problem, it was most likely stress. When we take the suitcase out of the closet, it means that we are going to leave her and she has no idea when we are coming back. Serra’s very attached to me, so I am not surprised in the least that my absence makes her anxious. My guess is that she figured I couldn’t leave the house without that bag, so she soiled it to make me stay. Or maybe she just marked it so I would remember that I belong to her and I should come home soon.
There is a saying: “Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.” I am not sure who the true originator of this quote is – it’s been attributed to a few different people. In any case, I think a modified version of this statement makes sense when trying to interpret cat behavior: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by anxiety. Thinking about it that way will help you not get mad at the poor cat; rather, you’ll tend to feel a little more sorry for her than anything else. I know that there are plenty of people who just won’t see it that way, but I think it says more about those people than the cat. Personally, I’d rather not make up a reason to be mad at a creature (or person for that matter) when I don’t have to be. Anger takes too much energy for that.
I’ll give you another example of a commonly misinterpreted behavior: biting. Many believe that when a cat bites you, she’s just being mean. Nothing could be farther from the truth. You are way bigger than any cat – that alone can be intimidating. Maybe you unknowingly touched the cat in a place that hurt her. Or maybe she is redirecting her anxiety about environmental stresses (other cats, moving, new people in the house…) at you, a person who just happens to be in the way. In all of those cases, it isn’t anger, it’s stress. Having endured extreme stress on occasion, I understand what it’s like to have too much on your plate. Heck, I’d bite too if I weren’t afraid of catching something. In any case, I feel sorry for a cat that feels so backed into a corner that she has to bite me.
Those are my words of wisdom for this week. Who knows, maybe they’ll change the way you see life.
Edit: I always seem to speak too soon. I went in to visit the kittens tonight, and Alice was dead. It couldn’t have been more than an hour ago since she wasn’t cold yet and rigor mortis still hasn’t set in. At least it didn’t happen with the sitter.
Michael and I arrived in Denver this morning at roughly 7:30am. We spent the night on a plane, which wasn’t so bad because we had the frequent flier miles to upgrade to first class. When we got home, we promptly went to bed, the nicest place in the entire world.
I had way less internet access than I thought I would on this trip, and even less time than that to make a blog post. I really do want to tell you about the trip, but the way I post is going to be a tad bit unusual. When I went through the pictures of the trip, I realized many things.
I need a bigger memory card. I filled the card I have so many times, and I had to delete a few pictures and movies in order to make room for a fraction of certain events later in they day.
Holy crap, we were busy people. I am exhausted just thinking about the things we did every day.
I want to take care to present the material I have in a way that does everything justice, including a few history and language lessons for those who read my posts.
So, my plan is to retroactively post on the last day of our visit to each island. I may post 1 or more islands in a day, but I have a lot of photos and videos to go through to tell my stories. I will let you know when I publish each post on the day I do it. All you have to do is click on my calendar on the right side of the screen to get to the appropriate date. I’ll probably even link to the posts in my notice. I’ll give you a preview right now:
I actually had a tan most of the week. The last day, however, our sunscreen got packed and the tan became the sunburn I usually get when I spent more than 5 minutes in the sun. I wish I were kidding about that (the length of time it takes me to burn, I mean).
My socks-in-progress had a great time. They saw spectacular natural scenery
and they posed with a Samoan student who made them swoon.
(He insists his name means “So Handsome” in English.)
The socks also saw 2 luaus, some lava coming from an active volcano, and some under-sea life from the porthole of a small submarine.
It may seem strange to post this way, but I think it will be all clear when you see what we picked up on the way home from the airport this morning:
We’ve named her Tahiti (can you predict the theme?).
And her 5 boys’ names will be decided upon soon.
I called the shelter as soon as we finished snorkeling yesterday morning. I said I’d take 8 or so, and they called back asking if I could take a mom and her litter. Oh, darn, such a hard decision!
For some strange reason, I had a hard time getting Google Maps to show where Kona is located on the Big Island, but it’s roughly where the letter is on the map. I guess it’s fitting, given what little I have to say about it. Kona is where you get Kona coffee from. Although I am not an avid coffee drinker, I can tell you that it is good coffee. I understand it’s well regarded in coffee-drinking circles.
Not every day on our trip was exciting, per se. After the previous days of adventure, all 4 of us were looking forward to an unhurried, easy day. Of course, we started the day by snorkeling at Turtle Bay. The water was calmer here, and once you got away from the shore a bit, it was warmer, too. Robert and Alicia got more underwater pictures here. We’ve promised one another to send digital copies of all the pictures we took, so hopefully I get to see those pictures soon.
I should point out here that Michael and I have been to Hawai’i before. I lived in Honolulu for a year in high school before I moved in with my grandmother in Florida. The last time we went to Kona, Michael and I went to see a seahorse farm. As much as it may look like we’ve missed something by not really getting out there, I assure you, we’ve seen Kona before.
I only took a few pictures in Kona.
There was a lizard lounging on a telephone pole near where we waited for the shuttle to bring us back from snorkeling.
I found yarn at the International Market. The International Market was a bustling place when I was here 2 years ago. It was incredibly crowded, with vendors vying for your attention like the people who have the small Kiosks at the mall. This time it was quiet, and lots of booths were empty of content. The poor economy has wrecked this place.
I got a shot of our cruise ship from the tender boat. The ship couldn’t dock at a pier in Kona, I am guessing because it is too shallow nearer the island.
There was a sunset with a cloud that looks like an airplane (a little left of center).
And the elephant (elepani – el-le-PAHN-ee – in Hawai’ian) towel that our stateroom attendant made for us.
Since we really didn’t do much in Kona this time, I will tell you about the last time I was here.
Michael and I visited a seahorse farm. The lady who runs the place explained that seahorses are to the oceans what canaries are to coal mines, and the seahorse population is depleting. It’s bad news, in short.
Much of the time, seahorses just hang around with their tail curled around a nearby plant or other stable object. I got to hold a seahorse in the tank, and he wrapped his tail around my finger for support.
Seahorses mate for life. If you have a salt water aquarium and want to add seahorses to it, you need to get a pair or else your seahorse will literally die of loneliness. It took awhile for researchers to figure this out, so it was thought that maybe seahorses couldn’t live in captivity. The farm we visited will not sell anyone a single seahorse out of compassion for the animal.
See how they cling to each other?
I also got some really nice sunset pictures the last time I visited. I guess that is what Kona really has going for it!
And this is the ship we were on the last time.
It a good thing that we got rested a bit today, because we have a big day planned for Kauai tomorrow!
Despite having only 1 day in Hilo (HE-low), Michael and I managed to cram a lot in. We signed up for a shore excursion that included a land and sky tour of the island. We didn’t see a whole lot of Robert and Alicia that day, but then again, it’s good that they got some time for themselves.
Our tour group was very small – there were 2 other couples from the cruise ship besides us. One of the couples was from Queensland, Australia and the other was from Florida. We met them and our tour guide on the pier, then quickly climbed into a tour van to begin our adventure.
Emma had to be one of the best tour guides I’ve ever encountered. Her family has lived in Hilo for a long time. They owned a small place near the cruise ship port, and have lived off the land for quite some time. If you ever wondered what the Aloha Spirit looked like in human form, it has to be this woman. She knew everything about the native foliage (or rather, imported foliage. Something like 90% of the plant life in Hawai’i came from somewhere else. A lot came from Australia, actually), the history of the island, and she really knew how to make you feel as if you were a personal guest that she had been waiting impatiently to see.
Despite being largely devoted to agriculture, the big island of Hawai’i has a lot to offer in the way of scenery. Not a lot of outsiders settle here, largely because of the active volcano (we wouldn’t want to upset Pele, the Hawai-ian goddess of fire, in her home), and partly because it really is a small, rural town. Everyone knows one another here. If you want cheap land in Hawai’i, this is the place to go. Seriously.
The first place we visited was Queen Lili’uokalani Gardens (pronounced LEE-lee oo-oh-kuh-LAWN-ee. The apostrophe, called an ‘okina is a glottal stop in the Hawai’ian language). The land for the gardens was donated by the last Hawai’ian queen in order to make a garden to honor the Japanese immigrants who came to work on the sugar plantations in Hawai’i. Sugar and pineapples used to be huge industries in Hawai’i, but those industries have largely been replaced with macadamia nuts and coffee now. In any case, here is some of the scenery (click to enlarge):
After our brief visit to the gardens, we traveled on to see a few waterfalls. First we saw Rainbow Falls.
And a chunk of the island that broke off during a storm.
We then moved on to Akaka (ah-KAH-kah) Falls. There was a longish path to get to this waterfall. Along the way we saw some lovely foliage:
ginger flower and an a banana flower with budding fruit.
Neither of these is what we think of when we think of ginger and bananas. They are both inedible, but related to the edible versions.
A small stream wound its way through the rain forest, previewing the waterfall.
And then we got to the falls:
Really, these things are quite breathtaking.
From the waterfall tour, we headed out to a ranch to have a picnic and kayak in the little pool at the base of a small waterfall. The path to the picnic site was lined with macadamia nut shells (kind of like our driveways might be covered in gravel), and a rock with a ancient petroglyph marked the end.
Emma and her cousin (who knows if they were actually related – Hawai’ians call everyone cousin, or auntie or uncle if they are elders) made us a barbeque lunch while we kayaked.
Afterward, we hiked back to the open field to meet the helicopter. At the fence to the ranch, a baby cow with a lame foot rested, watching us as we got closer. He got skittish as we got too close, but kindly posed for a picture.
Isn’t he adorable!
The helicopter tour was only about 45 minutes long, and for the first time on the trip, my memory card filled up. I hurriedly deleted what I hoped were the worst of the pictures from the previous days, so I missed a lot of what I could see from the sky. Still,
there was a view of Akaka Falls from above,
little green islands that were untouched by all the surrounding lava,
Steam from a vent coming from Mt. Kilauea (Kill-uh-way-uh). I should explain that this is an active volcano, still forming land on the big island to this day.
This is where the lava hits the ocean and cools.
And this is the lava actively burning trees it encounters. This is the only point on the tour where you could smell anything, and the aroma of the burning wood was quite strong here. Surprisingly, I didn’t notice a sulfur smell.
You have to enlarge the picture to see the fire – it’s in the center.
As the helicopter landed, we could see our cruise ship.
It was a very long day, and not long after we landed we had to get back on the ship for our trip to Kona, which is located on the other side of the big island. Can we have a nap, now?
(As always, you can click on the pictures to make them bigger. I highly recommend doing so for the Hawai’i posts.)
The nice thing about taking a trip to Hawai’i is that no matter what goes wrong, you can still have a good time. Our plan was to go snorkeling on Sunday, attend a luau that evening, go on a submarine tour on Monday, and then head out for more snorkeling near Lahaina before getting back on the ship for our next destination. That didn’t exactly happen.
We were docked in Kahului (kah-who-LOO-ee) (see the map above if you would like to have the reference), but we intended to rent a cab to get to Lahaina (lu-HINE-uh) for our luau. Our assistant waiter from dinner on the first night pointed out that the cab would be so expensive that we were really better off renting a car. Plus, we would have the freedom to get away from the port whenever we wanted. The only drawback was that we were going to need a designated driver who would not be able to partake of the open bar at the luau.
In the morning we caught a shuttle to a rental car company (smart cookies those rental car companies, sending a shuttle to a cruise ship) and picked up a jeep to haul us and our stuff to the beach. Our first stop was Paia (pa-EE-uh).
Gorgeous beach, isn’t it? We laid out our beach towels and got out the sunscreen, totally ready for the scenery and the ocean water. As I squeezed out the sunscreen, a breeze blew across the beach. As I applied the sunscreen, the wind seemed to pick up, and before long there was sand stuck to every inch of my body that I had managed to protect from the sun. I tried to apply more sunscreen to the rest of my body, but sand mixed with sunblock is uncomfortable to say the least. I tried to rinse it off in the ocean, only to discover that the water was freezing! This was not how the water felt in Waikiki the day before.
Eventually, we all had enough of the sandblasting and decided to go to another beach on another shore of the island. We realized that we were getting hungry, so we stopped to collect some food and some bottled water to carry around. After that, we picked up sarongs at Hilo Hattie’s (at the time I wrote this, the site was taking too long to respond, but the link should be good – it may have something to do with their bankruptcy and recent sale, which apparently occurred while we were in Hawai’i) and rented snorkel gear for Robert and Alicia (Michael and I own snorkel gear) from Snorkel Bob’s. I highly recommend renting gear from Snorkel Bob’s if you ever go to Hawai’i. You can keep it as long as you like and return it on any island. The staff is really helpful, and they will tell you where the best snorkeling locations are.
Next we went to Kihei (KEY-hey) for snorkeling. The waves were pretty rough that day, and we were trying to teach Alicia how to snorkel. I told her if she could do it under those conditions, she could do it anywhere. The first beach didn’t turn up anything worth seeing, but the second beach had plenty of fish! Robert and Alicia are going to send me a copy of the pictures they took underwater, and I’ll display them when I get them. We got so carried away looking at the fish that we had to rush back to the ship to make it out in time for the luau. We made it back to the ship with about 20 or so minutes to shower and change our clothes.
I expected to have finished Clapotis by the time we went to the luau, but I really didn’t have a lot of knitting time after we actually arrived on the islands. I furiously knit in the car between stops, and in the few minutes we had to shower and change clothes, but it was a futile effort. I failed.
Clapotis, however, was only the beginning. Both Robert and Alicia’s key cards didn’t work in their door, so we had to get the cards changed and eventually security had to come up and fix the lock. Meanwhile my brother and his wife had to rinse off in our shower and dart back to their room in a towel when it was finally accessible. Because of all the hassle and waiting, we were going to be late to the luau. We called, and they said that the show actually started an hour later than the time we were expected to arrive, so no big deal, right? Well, as we tried to leave the ship, the staff said that we may want to check and see if our luau was still going to happen. It turns out that a brush fire that afternoon caused the road to Lahaina to be closed off. Not the main road, the road. The folks who hosted the luau said that they were still going to have it, so they said we should sit in traffic until 6:15 – if the road was still not open by then, they would let us cancel without penalty. The road did not open, and sadly, we went back to the ship and ate in the dining room.
The next day the road was reopened, so we joined a tour group for a trip on the Atlantis submarine. On the way to Lahaina, the tour guide informed us that the first shuttle back to the ship would be at 3:00. “You mean the last one, right?” No, they were not bringing us back to the ship until 3:00. At 5:30 we were supposed to be aboard the ship for our overnight trip to Hilo (HE-low). The trip from Kahului to Lahaina takes 45 minutes. We were not going to be able to go snorkeling. Crap.
We made the best of it.
The Atlantis submarine’s top speed is about 2.5 knots, so instead of taking the submarine back and forth to the pier, the tour company sent a tender boat from the pier to the vessel. This is Maui from the tender boat:
The weather was pretty overcast that day, unlike what we had previously experienced. The weather did not affect our tour in any way. As a matter of fact, there were other people parasailing not far from where we were to meet the sub.
We watched the submarine surface (I took this video from the tender, so it’s going to be a little wobbly):
And climbed aboard.
Something to note: As you sink deeper under the water, light waves get filtered out, starting with the shortest. Red is the first to go, followed by all the other colors of the rainbow. I am telling you this because we were taking these pictures through 3.25 inches of acrylic, and I could not use a flash (it would just bounce right back to my camera), so all of my photographs look rather blue. The portholes are this thick out of necessity – the tour guide explained that the pressure the water exerted on them was roughly equal to the pressure a bull elephant would exert if he were standing on them.
We saw a lot of things under the water. There were all sorts of fish, sea urchins, and even a reef shark that I couldn’t make my camera focus on to save my life. (Don’t forget to click on the pictures!)
Another interesting thing we saw underwater was a shipwreck. The people who ran the submarine tour are trying to start an artificial reef. This is apparently very hard to do; otherwise, coral reefs would not be quite as endangered as they are now. The ship they sunk is called the Carthaginian. Before the ship was sunk, it had to be made environmentally safe, so all the fuel parts, etc. were removed. The boat was purchased for $1. The work to clean it up took a lot more money.
The submarine brought us 128 feet under the water and back up again.
We walked and shopped a bit in Lahaina before catching the first tour bus back. We would have just taken a later bus since we had time to kill, but we had to return the rental car we picked up the day before and didn’t get to use on the second day. So much for that plan.
One of the last things we saw in Lahaina that would be of interest to anyone else is this banyan tree:
No, it’s not a grove of trees, it’s just 1. One of the largest in the world, in fact, if the tour guides have been telling the truth. I got a good look at the banyan trees and realized that every now and then the tree sends out thick roots from its branches – wild. The center of the tree is on the right side of my picture. This is only about ½ of the whole thing.
So, even though our plans were thwarted a bit, we still had fun. Next stop: Hilo
Remember when I told you that Robert is my brother? I lied – I’m actually related to his wife. Okay, that’s not exactly true. There are just some days when I am out in public with him that I am unwilling to admit that we swam in the same gene pool.
(Forgive the bad shot – I am just learning to use the timed photo option on the camera. My aim still lacks something when I am not directly behind the camera)
The Background:
For Robert and Alicia, this was their first cruise. In fact, it’s the first vacation that they’ve been able to take that wasn’t at the home of another family member. What’s more, even though they were married almost 7 years ago, they never took a honeymoon due to Robert’s military schedule. Despite how much I may tease that I wish I weren’t related to Robert, I actually do like him, and I was more than happy to take him and his wife to Hawai’i and show them a good time. They decided that this trip is to count as their missing honeymoon.
Cruising is a surprisingly economical way to vacation. Your lodging, some of your travel, most of your shipboard activities, and all the food you can eat are included in the cost. Don’t get me wrong, you can spend a small fortune on a cruise, but you could do that on any vacation.
The Story:
Last night, shortly after our ship left the port in Honolulu, my brother and his wife joined Michael and me for dinner. Cruise ship dining is a very serious threat to any diet. They hand you a menu that has many courses on it – soups, salads, entrees and desserts. You look at the menu and can’t decide between several things, so you ask your waiter what he recommends. “Order both,” the waiter tells you. So you do. The next thing you know, you have 2 soups, a salad, 3 entrees and every dessert on the menu coming your way.
For Robert, the unlimited menu was a dream come true. He couldn’t decide between 2 desserts. The waiter suggested he order both, and not being the type to disobey, did exactly that. In 30 seconds flat, Robert inhaled 1 of these:
A chocolate Napoleon.
The waiter saw how much Robert enjoyed that particular dessert, and offered another. “Sure,” Robert said as he wolfed down the other dessert he had ordered. The 2nd Napoleon didn’t last any longer than the first. As he took the last bite, Robert realized that he wished he had taken a picture of the tasty little dish. “Would you like another,” the waiter asked. “I can put a lid on it so you can take it to your stateroom.”
“F@#k, yeah!” Robert proclaimed in a stage voice, apparently forgetting where he was.
The people at the neighboring table asked amongst themselves, “Did he really just say ‘F@#k in the dining room?”
I’m related to Alicia. I don’t know where she found that weirdo.
Of course, this caused much amusement amongst the dining room staff. They brought Robert the 4th dessert of the night so he could photograph it and consume it at a later time. By this point, the dessert had become a bit of a celebrity, so Robert posed with it for awhile.
Michael and I landed in Hawai’i yesterday afternoon. We were really tired from the 7 hour flight and fell asleep at about 8:30pm. Woo – big partiers, that’s us. Early to bed meant early to rise though, and we got to see the sunrise and the sunset from last night. I’ll keep this short since we just picked up my brother and we need to get to the cruise ship.
(Click to enlarge)
View from our room:
At night:
Michael at Waikiki Beach (the mountain in the distance is Diamond Head):
So far we haven’t done much – we just arrived early so that we wouldn’t have to miss our ship if there were flight delays. The hotel we stayed in was a bit of a dump, but the view (and the fact that we were only staying 1 night) made up for it. In just a few minutes we’ll head out to the ship and start our adventure!
P.S. I will have my Clapotis finished in time for the Luau tomorrow. I knit nearly the entire time on the plane. As a matter of fact, the stewardess stopped to view my knitting. Her sister knits, and she was happy to see another knitter. Finally, a flight where a knitter is praised rather than harassed and feared. This is progress!
I know, I’ve been gone for a long time. Longer than I’ve ever been gone before. It’s reprehensible, and I’m deeply sorry. Several of my regular readers have “spoken” to me on this subject. I do have a good excuse – several, actually.
My blog is called “Knittin’ and Kittens.” I have had very little time to knit or crochet, so I really had none of that to speak of. Although I have called several shelters and rescue groups, I have heard back from none of them, so I have no kittens either. I’m a bit shocked by that, actually.
I’ve been doing lots of home improvement (I’ll expound on that in a moment).
I’ve had about 1 billion appointments with contractors and such.
I’ve had to do A LOT of shopping for the house. P.S. I am actually sick of shopping. Holy cow.
My cats have had several vet appointments in the last month.
So, I’ve really had all my time occupied, but not with anything that my general readership might be interested in. Well, I guess some might be interested, but these things have very little to do with yarn craft or kittens.
Sara (of the comments) asked me about the bathroom project. Well…
We mixed the mortar (to be placed under the backer board) with the drill. The drill started to smoke, so at some point I had to resort to mixing by hand. I guess the drill just didn’t have enough power for the project.
We laid the backer board on the level bathroom floor after putting the mortar down and combing it appropriately; however, for some reason the backer board was not level after we laid it down. There is a 1/4 inch difference between the height of 2 of the boards, actually. At this point, I figured I didn’t have enough skill to actually do this project, and we called a professional to finish. I can’t tell if I put too much mortar under one of the boards or if Michael didn’t screw it in tight enough. There’s also a bit when we realized that our level tells a different story depending on what side it’s laid on. It’s frustrating, really. Either way, the bathroom should be professionally done on Monday.
We didn’t need a permit to add the heated floors after all. The contractors who are finishing the floor can put the heated mats in without installing a new circuit, so no need for a permit. The catch is that you can’t run a big hair dryer in the bathroom without tripping the circuit if we install it this way. Since I am just keeping kittens in that room, I figured it would not really be an issue while I am using it. Later, we can have that bathroom rewired before we finish the basement (years down the road for that one), so it will not be a problem when/if we have to sell the house.
After giving up on that bathroom, I moved on to painting the rest of the house. Vickie came down from her place in Wyoming to help me paint the living room. It was really nice to catch up with my old friend from middle school. Besides a mix-up where Vickie accidentally painted a wall green when it should have been neutral (it was funny, just like you might see on Color Splash), it went really well and I pleased with the result. I just have to touch up some spots (and organize the room so I don’t look like I live like a pig, even if I do), then I’ll take a picture of the finished room. One room down, the whole rest of the house to go. <Sigh>
(click to enlarge the picture)
I’ve only been able to paint every other day (roughly) due to other things we’ve got going on and because painting is exhausting. I can only get through 1 gallon of paint per day on my own, and I can only sit on the sofa after I’ve done a room. This is going to be slow, but I think it will be worth it. They make it look so quick and easy on TV.
On an almost unrelated note, I’ve seen the most amazing weather here. On Monday morning I woke up and looked through the window in my closet, only to see the back yard covered in a white blanket of snow.
I had an appointment with a contractor that morning, so I was a little concerned. Upon closer inspection, I learned that the layer of snow was not that deep – maybe and inch on the driveway. The snow had stopped falling by that point, so I was not so concerned. I shoveled the driveway in 15 minutes (partly because I had to sneak out and do it before Michael woke up – he doesn’t let me do manual labor), and we were on the road shortly after.
On the way to the appointment, the snow started to come down again, getting harder as time passed. Michael couldn’t drive because his new snow boots weren’t flexible enough to push the pedal. You may recall that I hate to drive. I have not lived in a part of the country that snows since I started getting behind the wheel. I learned something that day, though. I saw several people driving around with a huge pile of snow on top of their cars. Folks, this is dangerous. On several occasions, that snow blew off the top of the cars onto other cars – if it landed on someone’s windshield, he wouldn’t be able to see. Man, how scary! One guy had to pull over because the snow slid down onto his own windshield. I will never drive my car in the future unless I have scraped the snow from both the windshield and the top of the car. <shiver> Safety first.
The thing is, the weather reporters had no idea this snow was coming. That, however, wasn’t the weird part. By the end of the day, my yard went from the winter wonder land pictured above to this:
can you believe that? The grass was even greener than the day before.
Freaky.
So, in general, I have been surviving and trying to find time to do something related to this blog. I am not sure if I will get kittens soon because Carisa is coming to see me on Tuesday, then I am going to Kansas to see my brother for Memorial Day. After that, we are going on a big trip that I thought was never going to happen. You see, I promised my brother I would take him to Hawai’i this year. After we made the plans, he was informed that he was to be shipped off to Iraq. I moved and bought a house, so we all figured that it just wasn’t the right time. However, 2 miracles happened. First, Robert was reassigned. He is moving back to California instead of being shipped out (I’m thrilled, he isn’t so sure). Second, buying a house and moving out here turned out to be cheaper than our lives in the city, so we could afford the trip. So, in June I am taking my brother and his wife on a cruise through the Hawaiian islands! We are terribly excited, but it does mean that I may either not get kittens until we get back or I will only have short term fosters. If I am honest with myself, I shouldn’t get kittens until I am done painting and moving in. I just miss them, that’s all.
I will be in and out in the next few weeks, maybe the next few months. I do not mean to abandon you, my loyal readers. I just didn’t think you’d be interested in what was going on now. I was incredibly wrong, and I will work to rectify that mistake. Please forgive me.
I am on the road right now. I’ve spent 3 days thus far in Florida, and tomorrow morning we are heading for Indianapolis, Indiana. On Thurday evening we go home, only to leave for Colorado the following Tuesday. If my posts are sparse, I deeply apologize.
I have had great luck with my health while traveling this year. To put what I am about to say in perspective, I’ve been to the ER for the last 4, maybe 5 winters in a row with a severe respiratory infection after traveling. It’s usually viral, so all they can do is give me codeine to help me sleep. Last year I went twice to the ER after traveling.
As for this trip, I managed to be ok (but a little tired) on Sunday when I went to Busch Gardens with my old friends from high school and college (Lane and Jen – I’ve spoken of them often). It was the last day they were giving out free beer in the park, so we took them up on it. I’ve never been a beer person, though, so it was only ok. Since then, I’ve slept for about 18 out of every 24 hours that has passed. I’m achy and a little feverish. I also had a lot of lower back pain that my friends thought might be a kidney infection. I hope not – I still have a lot of traveling to do. But still, I would rather have this than the awful, desperate feeling of being unable to breathe. How’s that for looking on the bright side of things?
There is one more unfortunate side effect of being sick. When I am awake, I feel incredibly emotional and weepy about everything. I actually woke up the night after going to Busch Gardens sobbing about Carrot. I don’t want to give Carrot’s new mother the wrong impression – giving her up was the right decision. I believe in signs. I was trying not to show Carrot, but the woman who adopted her saw her anyway and said all the right things. She said things like, “I know how much work you must have done with her, and how much you must love her.” When her husband came to meet Carrot, he asked, “Are you sure you want to give her up?” I told him that was a loaded question. After the adoption, Carrot’s intro to the resident cat went really well (and her parents were kind enough to let me help with it). This picture shows what happened after the first maybe 30 minutes of her arrival in her new home:
It may not look special, but it was significant that we were able to let Carrot interact with the resident cat (Taj) that quickly. He was a little nervous about her, but he was quickly interested and tried to check her out. Carrot was absolutely amenable to the whole process.
Within 24 hours, I wanted to call her new mother, but I didn’t want to seem… I don’t know… like I didn’t trust them? I checked my email, and wouldn’t you know it, her mother sent me a note telling me that the cats weren’t friends yet, but they slept within inches of each other. A few days into my trip, she sent me a picture of the two of them doing exactly that. This family is perfect for her – and me. This is what I wish for all of my foster kittens.
Despite all of this, my heart and my head are not always on the same page. I loved Carrot. I had her for 4 months, the first of them being touch and go at best. When she started to develop a personality, Carrot turned out to be amazing. She was warm and affectionate, respectful of the elder cats (especially cat reactive Buttercup), and just the perfect amount of rotten. Every time that cat walked into the room, I couldn’t help but smile no matter how I felt prior to her arrival. She was sunshine in a warm, furry package.
When you have to give something like that up, it is devastating. I missed my own cats while I was on the plane, but I knew they would be there when I got home. I began to miss Carrot, and was hit with the cold reality that she won’t be there anymore. Her mom will update me – I have no doubt about that. And I will treasure every word of it. Every photo. I will also treasure the idea that these wonderful people are willing to care for and love a kitten that I really shouldn’t be adopting. I have to keep reminding myself that Buttercup would not take a move and a new family member well. I love Buttercup, too, and I don’t want to stress her unduly. Still, there is a big hole where Carrot used to be. It’s going to take a while to get past that.
I find the metaphor of Carrot particularly poignant. You see, the Carrot story relates very closely with my move. When I came to San Francisco 5 years ago, it was an easy choice to make. I was living in a town that had nothing left for me, save for a few friends who I still see occasionally. The move to San Francisco was quick – just a month between the day Michael was asked if he would like to interview for a job at Schwab and the day we were moving into a San Francisco apartment. I had no idea what the new city would hold for me, but it had to be better than what we had.
I love San Francisco. It was right for us at the time we moved there. Michael had previously worked for the Board of Administration in Florida. While we were there, we were underpayed and could not comfortably make ends meet. When we got the job in SF, we could pay off our debt and begin a real savings! It was such a great feeling. I finally found my niche in SF – fostering kittens. I learned a lot about how shelter systems work, I learned about kitten health and development, and I made a LOT of friends. I learned about sides of political issues that I may never have otherwise had the opportunity to be exposed to. I feel that my experience here made me a better, more informed citizen of the US. I even changed my points of view when I came to understand issues more deeply. I feel I have become more accepting, more able to see the middle ground in a disagreement. I even learned more about myself.
I love the culture of San Francisco as well. I’ve seen many Broadway plays here, I love the shopping, I love the scenery, I love the old houses and the history. I love the parks and the restaurats. I love the diversity.
But.
I do not love the cost of living. It became clear that I would have to give up a few dreams to live here. Home ownership in a place where I feel safe and can have enough space to foster kittens is financially out of reach. I believe that since I’ve developed asthma, the city air is particularly detrimental to my health. I can’t sleep with the city noise and lack of darkness.
Colorado is not without its drawbacks either. The sameness of suburbia might prove to be soul crushing. I learned that the shelters out there have a different attitude about what it adoptable. Can you believe that none of the shelters will take Taj and Willy, the cats who currently live in the house we are buying, because they are “too old”? They are in excellent health. They are friendly. They are adoptable. I’m not sure that I will be able to foster kittens in an environment where they take this attitude. I am scared to death that I will be lonely and unable to do the job that I love so much.
In order to make this move, I have to give up a city that I love. Just like I have to give up Carrot. I know in my heart that it’s the right thing in both cases. It’s just hard to give up something you love. Let’s hope the move turns out as well as Carrot’s adoption.
I thought I was going to bed early last night (somewhere between 9:30 pm and 10:00 pm), but it turns out that I was just getting a nap. I woke up at 1:00 am, completely unable to go back to sleep. No matter, I will just finish the packing I planned to do when I woke up at 6:30 am today.
My plan for the week is to show you my favorites of the houses we see in any particular day. I think we are going to see 10 per day for the first 3 days, and then Michael’s mother will be coming in to see our finalists on Thursday. We hope to make an offer on a house then. It’s not like we haven’t been looking since October.
I am all organized for this trip. I am bringing the camera (mental note… don’t forget the USB transfer cable) and a composition book to record our thoughts about the various houses (remember to look for backup pens…). We printed out our list of favorite houses and their addresses.
I am really excited about bringing my new cloak on this trip. I know, I still haven’t photographed it yet – and it’s awesome. I think it will show best against the Colorado snow. On the plane, the cloak will double as a blanket (for when I crash after I am certain that all will be well).
I am off to pack the knitting I need for the trip. So far I have planned to bring supplies to finish the contest dishcloths, the kilt hose, and the scarf my aunt asked me to make. I think I may need to make a scarf for Michael as well – his wool coat is open at the top, and he needs coverage. I have some leftover yarn from a sweater I knit him last year, and I think it will be perfect for a scarf (the yarn is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran).
I’ll check in tomorrow with the first houses of the trip!
It’s hard to believe these are litter mates.
