ugh….it starts all over

well, this is it, the first day of school.  summer sure did fly past, not nearly long enough!  most of my friends look forward to their kids going back to school, and out of their hair, but not me.  I love having tony and madison home from school.  we don’t do much, usually, but it’s nice to have the house full of children sounds.  and I know that  all too soon, those sounds will disappear from here, to be replaced with the silence of teenage absence, then adults gone from the nest.

so, here we go again!

 

the advantage of kitties

one advantage I’ve found, to having kittens, is that they like to empty the shower trap of the ball of hair, so I don’t have to.

the disadvantage?  coming around the corner into the bathroom, and having the life scared out of me, thinking said ball of hair is a spider…

this boy here, pure mischief!

 

BFFs

 

2 rowdy boys in the house

sometimes, I just wish you could look into my life…other times, not so much, because then I’d feel bad about my house being a mess, or about still being in my gown when you came over.   when chowder came to live with us a couple of months ago, he was tiny and lonely.  Jesska had rescued him from the  parking lot of the motel behind ruby tuesday, and didn’t know what to do with him.  she knew that we already had enough cats, what with the (1-5) starshine, ringo starr, waffle, chain chomp and cuppycake  in the house; (6) buttons on the porch, and (7) pretty kitty, who lives somewhere on the farm and eats buttons’ food.

but she couldn’t leave him mewing in the parking lot.  the night she brought him home, she called me from the driveway, ‘mama, come outside!’  there, wrapped up in her ruby’s apron, was this little teeny tiny ball of orange fur.  I couldn’t believe he was even weaned from his mama, he was so tiny.  she said she looked all around the motel parking lot, and never saw his mama or any other kittens.

I texted rich and told him about our dilemma, and he said (only because jess is his baby) that we’d just keep him, since he obviously needed a home, and we’re apparently expert cat caregivers. he was so loving and ready to be part of our family, he just fit right in.  however, the big cats were very unhappy.  they spit and hissed at him.  he cowered.  for a few days, then he started laying down on his side any time one of them would come near him.  I assumed that was to show them his submission, and I wondered if he was looking for a mama.  he definitely wanted to play with them, but they were having none of it.

then, along comes mojo.  he’s been here for a week now.  the little foster kitty.  he’s stolen our hearts, including chowder’s.  they romp and wrestle and snuggle like they’ve known each other forever.  the first day worried me a bit.  chowder, in his eagerness to have a playmate, ambushed mojo at every opportunity.  mojo wanted to get to know the layout, and wasn’t happy about being pounced on constantly.  after he asserted his independence a few times, chowder backed off.  now they are thicker than thieves.  rarely do we see one without the other.

they are bffs, but they are very different.  chowder is loving when he’s ready to rest, then his motor runs at top speed; mojo will let y0u hold him, even when he’d rather be running after chowder.  mojo is lean, with the body of an alley cat; chowder looks more like a cat that’s been cared for and well fed.  chowder mews, mojo squaws.  but they both carry my heart in their little paws.

mojo will most likely make the transition from foster kitty to adopted kitty right here at casa de hockett.  I can’t imagine letting someone else have this sweet little boy.  and chowder would be lost without his best playmate.  it’s so funny to watch one walk around looking for the other…it’s like they complete each other.

 

chowder and mojo, new bffs

 

a true cathouse, we be

my darling daughter tells me that I need to post something new on here.  she’s tired of seeing the same post every time she signs onto my computer.  I just haven’t felt like posting lately.  no reason, other than boredom, I reckon.  I’ve been spending lots of time (too much) over on facebook and farmtown, I’ve been reading right much, and riding the roads every day.  and, I’ve been a foster mama to a bunch of shelter cats for a little over a week.

last monday, I brought home a litter of 6 kittens, who’d been surrendered by their owner.  the shelter lady called me and asked me if I would please, please, PLEASE come and take atleast some of them home.  surrendered animals don’t get the 72 hour grace period that pick-ups do, it seems.  when tony and I got there, it was immediately apparent that we could not pick which ones would live to see adoption and just let the rest be put to sleep.  so, we brought all 6 home.

then monday of this week, the shelter lady asked me to bring the 2 long haired babies back.  they were headed to a no-kill shelter that only accepts long hairs.  while I was there, she asked me if I would consider taking just one more.  he was due to be put to sleep on tuesday (today), and she just hated to see that happen; he’s so loving and sweet, she told me.  of course, I had to take him home, how could  I leave him there?

I cannot begin to describe this kitten.  he’s probably 12 weeks old, or so, and scrappy looking.  but he’s the most docile cat I’ve ever met.  he’ll sit in your lap and just purr, acting content to sit there forever.  the kids have named him ‘mojo’ and he’s the perfect size for chowder (the stray ginger kitten that jessica brought home from the crack motel behind the ruby tuesday where she works).  they’re getting to know each other slowly (read: roughhousing and biting and hissing) .  but they are adorable together.

in some ways it’ll be hard to say goodbye to all these sweet babies when they’re adopted, but maybe it won’t be so bad.  actually, maybe this is the way to do it, kinda like a library for cats…

 

hangin’ in the valley, maggie valley, that is…

we’re in maggie valley again, for the annual conference of the methodists.  this year we’re staying at a little mom and pop motel, and I don’t ever want to go home.  (okay, that’s a fib, because I’m almost ready to be home).

this year, rich is the delegate, so he gets to go sit in the hot meetings and tony and I get to hang out and find things to do on our own.  also different this year, we have a little tag-along, mr. potato head.  I’m participating in (yet another) swap, this one is a little visitor swap.  I made a pig and sent her to belgium, and received mr. potato head in return.

so, mr. potato head has had many adventures with us this week; on thursday,

we went gem mining, finding lots of emeralds

tater helped, he even found one himself before we left!

on friday, tony and I hung around town while rich went to the meeting; we found tater an outhouse…but it was occupied.   he waited for what seemed like forever, but no one ever came out.  we eventually just left, he wouldn’t go out back…

then we went to maggie valley carpet golf.  I’ve never heard putt putt called carpet golf, but, hey, to each his own.  it was fun.

tony and his daddy get very serious about their mini golf.  I’m just along for the ride.  I almost always come in WAY over par, but I have fun.

unfortunately for tater, even his big hand wouldn’t hold the weight of the club, so he basically just had to watch.  poor guy!

well, there’ll be more later, we’re off to breakfast now!

 

the keddy and momo show

this is keddy                                                                                                                      this is momo

emma calls kennedy ‘keddy’ and kennedy pronounces emma ‘momo’.

they are bffs and get along almost all of the time, which is somewhat surprising, when you take into account that they’re 2, and 2 year olds are notoriously self centered.  emma is moreso than kenni, and kenni is more independent than emma.  she’s also more affectionate and loving, although emma is affectionate and loving enough.

sometimes kenni wants to play with emma

but sometimes emma wants  to do what SHE wants to do.  emma doesn’t like to share toys (EVERYTHING is hers, by the way, even when it’s not) and I have to get involved more often than I’d like.  I don’t think I’ve heard the word ‘mine’ come out of kenni’s mouth.

but all in all, they’re best of friends, and it’s all good in the end.

there’s something rather heartwarming about these 2 little sweethearts sharing their time with us

 

I really don’t like dogs

my minister, laura, was married on saturday.  it was a beautiful wedding, and she was a gorgeous bride.

her groom, nathan just graduated from duke divinity school, while she still has 2  years to go before she can be a full time minister.  so they’ll be married ministers, who both come from minister fathers.

nathan has been given a small church ( a little bigger than ours) about 20 minutes from ours, and to save money, they’ll live in our parsonage until she graduates and has to leave us; then they’ll move to his church’s parsonage.

they left on their honeymoon on sunday, driving to florida, where they’ll both be in a wedding on saturday.  they have already stopped in charleston and savannah, then it’s on to st. augustine to go on a ghost hunt or something or other.

together, they have 4 dogs: laura bought versace about a year ago, then reese came to her house as a stray.  nathan has layla, and due to his allergies to cats, she traded her 2 cats to her parents for her childhood shih tzu, cheyenne.

they boarded cheyenne and layla with the vet for the honeymoon, but surrogate mama here has the other 2.  reese is extremely skitterish, taking FOREVER to warm up to people, me included.  and versace is so tiny, she didn’t want him to get sick or get hurt, so those 2 didn’t get to go the vet.  they got to come here and remind me why I love my kitties.

yeah, they look really cute all curled up next to me on this ugly couch, don’t they?  and they are cute, until they come in from a 20 minute walk out back and go right over to the corner and poo.  right then, they are not only not cute, but a pain in my ass!!

I borrowed some puppy pads from mama (by borrowed, I mean that she gave them to me, she’s not getting them back) and have put up the baby gates to keep them in the kitchen.  I hate not having them in the living room to snuggle up on the couch, but every time I bring them in there, EVERY. TIME., they crap on my floor.

that’s not even the worst part.  the very worst is that the cats are terrified, and they’re living upstairs.  their food is in the kitchen (where the stupid dogs are) and their litter boxes are in the laundry room, which is accessed through the kitchen.

at night, we crate the mutts in my work room, and the cats are finally free to run around their home.  I feel so bad for them, poor kitties.

laura and nathan should be home on monday, please pray that her dogs are still alive then.

 

rollin’ like lawrence welk

hi, my name is heidi* and I like bubbles.  I’ve had a problem with bubbles for many years, I’d say 30 or more.  I really don’t think it’s much of a problem, but my mother does, that’s why I’m here.  I could quit the bubbles anytime I want to…I really could!  I just don’t want to right now.

so, I really do love bubbles, that’s true.  but my love escalated a couple of years ago when I found a little bubble machine in the toy section at walmart.  Oh, man!  now I could have bubbles on demand, not just when I felt like blowing them myself (a tiring job) or when I could con someone into blowing them for me (that never happened).

we would have bubbles with our morning coffee and chat, with our evening wine, our friends also enjoyed my bubbles, they became conversation starters.  the kids and I enjoyed them in the afternoons; they would try to catch them, or hit them with tennis racquets, even recruiting the little boy next door.

so, my bubble machine and I had a fantastic relationship for 2 summers, it entertained countless children while doing my bidding~I suppose you could equate it to the court jester.  but this summer, it didn’t blow very well.  it was just tired, I reckon.

I went to walmart to find a replacement.  I picked out one just like the old one; the price was right and the old one had been good.  when I got it all unwrapped and batteried up, it wouldn’t work.  like an idiot, I listened to tony when he said, ‘maybe it needs some bubble solution to work’.  it didn’t…I returned it and decided to wait to find a replacement.

soon after, I found one in the bridal aisle.  I got that baby home and filled it up and man, oh man, the bubbles really fly now!  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that being made for weddings means it’s gonna hold up awhile.  but for now, I’m havin some fun.

and just for the record: bubbles do not interfere with my family relations, they have not replaced people in my life, and they do not cause my family to avoid me.

I just wanted to lay that on the table there.

*name changed to remain anonymous