Mister Golden Eyes

He came to us by way of Garden Grove on a long drive to Reno. Kieu was loading her car for the trip to see her boyfriend. It was three in the morning. Suddenly this little tiger kitten hopped in the car.

Kieu bought a disposable kitty litter and a small amount of food and water for the kitten’s first car trip. The kitty sat on Kieu’s shoulder as co-pilot, or Argh the cat.

It was too late to do a door-to-door search for a missing cat. Kieu did her due diligence the next morning by calling her mother to see if their neighbors were missing a kitten. No.

So Kieu asked if we wanted the kitten. Of course.

It was love at first sight. Mister Golden Eyes. Tiger Eyes. Dragon Eyes. Names ran through my head. Nothing quite did the job. I looked over at our tuxedo cat, Panda. OH! We have a Panda Bear. How about a Teddy Bear to make the team?

And he was a cuddly Teddy Bear. When not cuddling, he was energy-plus. He could rocket through a room, flying for places only a bird could. He kept me busy. He kept me company while my husband worked nights, and I felt so alone for a while.

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I was in pain. Teddy could figure out where I hurt the most. He would climb on me and curl up. Then he would purr the pain away. I called him the magical kitty.

Teddy slept with me. If it was cold, he would crawl under the covers with me.

There was only one problem. Everything we owned soon smelled like Teddy. He scratched and sprayed everything. I still have things I can’t repair or eliminate the scent. But he was mature enough to get neutered. That problem was easily fixed. Now my little buddy was at his best.

Teddy was happy if I read to him, if I sang and played the piano, or if I needed to chat. He was there.

One day, Teddy slipped out of the apartment. He just disappeared. I thought it was months. I missed him so much. I cried in worry that he would be hit by a car or someone awful would hurt him.

Chris says it was about a week that we got a phone call. The lady said that she had a cat on her bed whose tags said Teddy and had this phone number. He had just wandered into this apartment that looked like all the others in our complex. He had just wandered in like he lived there.

I was in a lot of pain. Emotionally and physically. I couldn’t leave the house. Chris went to the lady’s place to get him.

Oh, my goodness, he was skinny and dirty. He looked like he’d been living under cars this whole time. Now that he was back, I was going to make sure he didn’t get out again. It was time to fatten him up and clean him up. It took a while.

We were at our weekly writer’s meet when we got a call. Panda had been playing and suddenly dropped dead. We were told it was either a heart attack or a stroke. That was sad for all of us. Panda was a gorgeous cat. He has a story of his own.

Okay, let me take the side trip. When we lived in Riverside, we found a kitten howling in the mall parking lot. My daughter and I looked everywhere and found this little guy in a wheel well of a car. He had a little white mark that made him look like a priest. My daughter named him Limey. Don’t ask why. I have no idea.

Limey would play fetch. He was a smart little guy. We all loved him. The kids were getting ready to move out into their own lives. The cat that raised them, as second mom, Kimberlina (Kimbie), was quite ill. She was very old. We think about twenty years old. Limey gave us a bright spot in the day.

But it was near Halloween. Limey was a black cat. Suddenly he disappeared. We didn’t know where. We put out ads. Suddenly there was a call. This lady said she knew she didn’t have our kitten. But this was a black cat that looked to be dipped in white paint. He had been on the lady’s roof for days as he was afraid of her dogs. Would we take him instead?

Well, yes. Never got Limey back. Never sure what happened. But Panda was now a part of our household. Kimbie passed about that same time.

So back to the moment. Panda passed of a heart attack, and Teddy was the only bear. He seemed lonely. So for the first time, we pursued getting a cat. In our lives, cats appear, and we grow together. But Teddy needed a furball friend. So we found Rosey at the shelter. She fell in love with Chris. She is his cat. But she was a friend for Teddy.

And so when we moved from Reno to Christmas Valley, Teddy and Rosey were on leashes and loved the trip. They loved their new home with h more room than that tiny apartment. Teddy had me. Rosey had Chris. Then a new dog came to live with us. Teddy thought I had betrayed him, and he stopped coming to me. He stayed with Rosey and Chris while I learned to bond with Kali, who seemed to be in need of a service person.

These last few years together. Teddy and Kali cuddled close to each other to keep warm. They seemed to watch out for each other. And both kept me warm and feeling loved.

Just midnight, when Chris woke me, Teddy was no longer with us. I can’t stop crying, but I am glad we didn’t have to take him for that hour-and-a-half ride to the vet. That is a hard ride for all of us. But he chose to go in his sleep. He is no longer in pain. But gosh, I miss him. My little buddy. I didn’t know I had so many tears in me.

In dedication to him, I will have a ginger boy in the NaNoWriMo I’m writing who is a curious, adventurous, but a lovable boy. His name will be Teddy. At least Mr. Golden Eyes will live little longer in fun and action!

Poor Teddy

After so much medicine and trips to the vet, poor Teddy is still going downhill. It is breaking my heart. He’s lost so much weight and still has a hard time breathing. We have an appointment for tomorrow, I hope he can make it and they have help for him.

One-Liner Wednesday

“The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Found in the book by Julia Cameron, It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again.

Get a treadmill, they said…

One-liner Wednesday a Linda G. Hill prompt.

Finishing Friday

I’m grateful for my new laptop but have to admit my frustrations of starting over. All my writing in yWriter7 and WriteItNow and Scrivener are stuck in RTF form and tons of work awaits to bring them back to life. So that’s my time lately in a nutshell.

Sadly I have to report I didn’t get but half my word count goal this month. But I had a marvelous time with family and friends, so not really complaining. Just reporting.

Purple waterfall is nearly finished. Front lit.

Back lit

These charms are finished on both sides. I still need to apply sealant and then figure how to make the mobile out of them.

This is the next hand-held charm to work on. These are great for times when you don’t want to bend over the bigger pictures.

Barely made any headway on these. They are almost finished!

Started another pair of cotton spa slippers. I love this yarn my friend gifted me.

Today our three furries had a vet appointment. These two seem none the worse for the wear. Three hours in the non-AC truck can with all windows open. But their prognoses (is that plural?), Rosey, the black one is old but healthiest of the bunch. Not even considered overweight. Her seizures to be watched, nothing more to be done. Teddy, the ginger, has cancer sores in his mouth and had to get a steroid shot. And drops to take. He hates that.

Kali is old and has arthritis, is deaf, with cataracts. Nothing we can do but give pain meds. She is meandering as is her habit. That’s why the picture is blurry. It’s probably time for her meds . Poor babies.

While my brother and husband did the vet run. My son and I cleaned. He worked on the out of control mud room. I shampooed the carpets. It was nice not to have furballs in the way. We were successful in our ventures. Now I need to finish cleaning out the shampooer. Yuck!

Furry Friday

When I first got to my friend’s house, her cat, Stormagedden-dark lady of all, was afraid of me. I spent a lot of time with treats and toys. I think, now that it’s time to go home, she’s starting to accept me.

The fishing pole with bell and green worm is her favorite. Even though she’s feigning nonchalance.

She can’t fool me.

Gotcha!

She’s waiting for treats.

The heart got some diamonds. Just didn’t have the back for it. My floor sleeping skills are getting better, but not quite as strong as when I was younger.

Meanwhile, I’m told that Kali sits in my recliner at home howling. It makes me sad and feel like I’m cheating in my pup with Storm. 😢

This was taken a few months ago.

It’s been fun.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday, Hat

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “hat.” Use it literally or metaphorically. Have fun!

“Hat…” Was mentioned twice here. It was the first thing I thought of with the prompt.

Hat sunglasses, sunscreen. My mantra before a walk.

But keep this under your hat, I sometimes don’t. I know I should. But sometimes getting out there is hard enough without adding more tasks.

Hat, hate, that, oops can’t follow that stream, especially when adding an ‘S’. Well, hats, works. Just don’t put the ‘S’ at the beginning.

Okay, stream gave up to vapor. But I wanted to share the finished dragon. No straightening or frame, but diamonds are in place.😊

Done!

And new painting has been kitted up.

My kitchen can’t wait for this cutie.

JuJoJan, January 2, Y2K22, Gobbledygook

What is this Gobbledygook? “Dogs and cats living together” <— A quote as I remember from Ghostbusters. But yet here it is as I documented this morning. Maybe so much rigamarole. I don’t know. See for yourself.

Teddy and Kali on a quiet Sunday morning.

I don’t think there’s a natural hatred between the two species. I do know if either animal appreciates the sudden intrusion of the other. But most nights they share my bed. And do so in such a way to leave an inch or two for the human. How do they, such smallish creatures, manage to take over? Maybe it isn’t Gobbledygook! Maybe they are looking for global domination?

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 2nd, 2020, is “gobbledygook.” Use the word “gobbledygook” any way you’d like. Have fun!

Ta Da and Teddy Tuesday

First the TaDa:

KB fine-gauge Flexee 20 links. Tie-up starting with Kitchener cast-on. German short-row heel. Cuff two-by-two purl/knit. Stretchy cast-off. Now passed on to charity.

Now the Teddy update.

As you may have noticed, I have many names for this feline, and he reenacts them all at will. Saint Theodore. That’s when he does a CAT scan and finds my hurty spots and purrs it away. It works like a miracle. Not for others in the house, but for me, it is true. Then there’s Teddy, the Terrorist. That is the demon that has decided we can’t have nice things. No matter how many scratching posts or pads we get, he chooses the arms of the furniture, even the newest chair. It’s embarrassing to have scratched up furniture, but he’s the one in charge of our Feng Sui. Teddy the terrific: That’s the one that is having zoom meetings down the hallway. No, not the kind people have. The kind of crazy cats and dogs have running around to show their joy of life. After three days of antibiotics on board, and Tedster seems back to his original multi-personable self. I’m so happy he’s back! And the plus is that he is quite talkative now, and he hasn’t been since he was a kitten. I’m so delighted!

Misery Monday

Well, not for me necessarily.  In fact, my day ended looking like this.

For Teddy, it was a horrid day that has lasted 24 hours. After a long trip
in the car (four hours) and a stressful time at the vet, he was tired. So he
slept until I finally started to get to sleep at 1 AM. At that point, he
started drooling again. Chris got up to give him the pain meds. Not one I like
the idea of. Gabapentin.

They told me to video the subsequent seizure so they could tell more about
it. So I got up to follow The Tedster around. He vocalized his unhappiness with
the world for a couple hours. I swear he likes to pace and chat. He told me
about Mariah. Said a lot more things, and sometimes it felt like he said,
‘Anyways.’ So maybe he likes Ms. Carey’s Christmas albums or something? By the
time he was circling the coffee table, it wasn’t so loud as a constant chat. He
finally had said enough. He hopped up onto my lap and fell asleep. 4 AM. I’d
listened and given the support that whole time. I was exhausted. But getting up
from the chair was nearly impossible as tired as I was.

I managed to get back to bed. Wow! Having pets is more challenging sometimes
than having human baby newborns! Or maybe that’s why Septuagenarians don’t have
babies.

My son and I managed to get in a bit of walk. We didn’t make the mile
because Kali got tired. I nearly had to drag her home. We stopped as she caught
her breath. I gave her water. But she didn’t drink. We got back home, and she
crashed on the couch. So I guess she’s next to see the vet. She doesn’t run out
of energy. This is odd. Maybe Teddy kept her awake, too?

Well, maybe I should take the hint and go to bed while I can!

Crazy Sunday

This sweetie scared me to tears this morning. He’s been more vocal than usual. He sounds like a newborn when he cries.

Suddenly he was on the table drooling and running in circles. He fell off the table and still drooling and more chasing his tail, then suddenly he was on the floor seizing.

I thought for sure he was dying. He’s my buddy! No!

Then he calms down. I called the vet and they asked us to bring him in.

He has had a bad tooth infection. So we figured it was back.

Teddy loves to ride in cars. He came to us as a kitten.

My son’s girlfriend was driving from Garden Grove to Reno. She chose to drive at night. Less traffic, cooler. Just as she got into the car this ginger kitten jumped in.

It was too late to see who he belonged to. She did have her mom call around and never found his owner.

He loved the trip. She bought a kitty litter, food and water for him at a pit stop.

He loved the moving trip here five years ago.

I tried to find the picture couldn’t find it. Sorry.

Anyway, he loved the trip to the vet today, in spite of his pain. 

The vet said he declined the butt-temp check, he declined the check for the the bad tooth, and he declined the poke for hydration. I think that was kind for he wasn’t about to have any of that!

The vet did manage to give him an antibiotic shot that should last two weeks and she gave us some pain killer if he should be in pain.

The trip home was so nice as he loved watching the world go by or nap.

Now we’re all home and ready to sleep.