Too Long

Since I wrote. But, as happy as I am this Spring, my disorders intrude...

The lilacs are blooming, and the man I love is allergic. But Max and I stop for a sniff every morning, on our walk. It is warm, sometimes too warm, during the day, but sweet and soft and glowing in the evening. The new neighbors pull chairs out on our communal porch and spend the evening in soft, Spanish talk, and the scent of the new lilacs drifts toward the busy city street.

The unicorn meat eating cats hang out by the back door, longing for a screen door, at least. Or they hunch down and smell the breezes that make their way under the door. My skin feels free after a winter snuggled in by cotton cuddle duds and silk undershirts.

Earth Day 2014

Max, the dog, tells me I have woken too early this morning. It's a rainy, Spring morning. The unicorn meat eating cats run rampant through the apartment, and rearrange rugs, and sometimes, furniture.

I have a doctor appointment this morning, is what has woken me up. I wake to small, white flowers that grow between the cracks in the pavement, and bunches of violets by the road. There is a lilac tree in the courtyard of a church nearby. Max and I make sure we sniff it as we go by, every day. Max personally inspects the dogwood trees that bloom so rarely and delicately in these mountains, pink and white.

I have been having "hot flashes" for over a month, now. They overcome me at the grocery store, or while biting into a chocolate chip cookie, or while taking a shower, throwing a party, making a meal. When I have them, I picture our ancestors huddled around the fire, at wintertime. The older women must comprise the circle in the corner, away from the heat. Maybe hot flashes are a survival technique. Carrying one's heat source with one would be really convenient in a colder climate.

I treated myself for my birthday and bought some beautiful, but inexpensive, water glasses that the cats can fit their heads into. I have a lovely set of crystal, but alas, the cats cannot drink from them. It's a requirement for water glasses in this house that the cats must be able to drink from my glass...it's always better drinking Mom's water, right?

And, as always, it is a beautiful time of year to celebrate Earth day.

Another Monday

I love April. Trees and flowers spring up, and the sky is wild and moving. Max, the dog, is now on medication for his seizures.

He is neither happy nor unhappy about it...but it does make him rather 'dopey'. But it is Spring, and he has discovered bunnies in the yard of the man I love. Max and I counted 8 young rabbits yesterday. He makes this high pitched squeal when he sees them, and small barks come out of his mouth.

I have often wondered what breed he is. But one thing I know for sure, that he has some terrier, or hunting breed in him, beagle, basset hound, something. He was born to hunt. Not a terribly good match for a house full of cats, but we make it work.

I have enjoyed my birthday month. It is the prettiest month of the year, for one thing. And I was born then. I miss my Mother very much.

Rain on a Monday?

Perhaps some of you remember my foster, Autumn. Renamed Pancake, she is up for foster or adoption, along with 2 siblings-by-house: Bob and Princess.

She is one year old now, and even more beautiful. Bob and Princess pics will be posted tomorrow afternoon. They are all one year old, and their lovely Mother has to go to a nursing home. In her 50's, she has had a stroke, and cannot take her babies with her.

I had some nightmares about cats last night, a sure sign of stress for me. And, this week, I turn 50 years of age.

I don't look for trouble on my birthday, but I know enough about life to know that trouble appears when one least expects it. I sometimes tend to impose expectations on 'special' days, like my 50th birthday, of a faultless, spring day...complete with no worries, no troubles, no works for others...a fantasy. When life intrudes, I get stressed.

Last week, I called a friend to see if she was "mad at me." Most of the time, my friends aren't. It's just my paranoia. Of course, she was in the middle of a basement remake, so she was slightly annoyed at my persistence...

So, this week, my stressors are: a new foster or home for 3 lovely cats, the customary financial woes, new windshield wipers, sausage balls, and clearing of the front room. And it's Monday, and very, very rainy.

Last night, I went back on my mood stabilizer again. I'm crazy, not stupid.

See my post tomorrow for more pics of lovely cats...

50 Years Free

I have only known her for 34 of Her years, but surely She was just a good a friend before that. My Friend is 50 today, and I am so very happy She has reached this age.

She is an Aries, like me. She is tall, graceful, and full of 'spit and vinegar', as my Mother used to say. In this world, I call her Darkstar. She is kind and caring. She is especially good to her friends with invisible disabilities.

She is a cat lover, and somewhat resembles those cats she loves, in that Her claws tend to be sharp, and She is always well-groomed. Also, her ears are rather pointy. I think of Her as a tortie.

It was a good time to be born, 50 years ago. Spring is perfect.

She is:
loyal
brave
generous
beautiful
graceful
                   not afraid
                   to tell the world
                   what it can do.
Or not.

She is:
Herself
passionate
determined
creative.

She is Free.

Rolling in Grass

Well, I cannot believe it has been an entire week, but I am recovering slowly from my cold. It is complicated by allergies. It is now Spring. I wake cold in the morning, and burn up during the day.

I woke up late this morning, very late. I thought that Max, the dog, was going to tunnel a hole in my face to be walked.

Despite the allergies, I long to roll in the grass, as I did as a child. The daffodils bloom, and the trees turn pink and white. The forsythia speculate and explode with yellow. We all wait for that 'last' snow storm, now that it is 80F.

The struggle to keep the unicorn meat eating cats inside, has begun. They have never spent any appreciable time indoors; I do not know how they will react. But there is no place outside this apartment that is safe for them. I have 3 large boxes that the man I love gave me, when I moved. I think of creating a cat wonderland of them. I wonder if latex paint will stick to cardboard?

The front room is slowly coming into shape as I begin to tackle the boxes that still crowd the room. Right now, it is a cat hang-out.

I am surrounded by the cats and dog at this moment. We all dream of the grass.