Time for a civics lesson

"It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

— Mark Twain

Before you go screaming about "free speech" and "censorship" whenever someone opens their mouth and inserts their foot, ask yourself these questions:

1) Did the government prevent the person's comments from being published or broadcast?

2) Did the government arrest, fine, bring criminal charges, jail or otherwise punish the person who spoke?

3) Did agents of the government kidnap the person off the streets or take them from their home in the middle of the night and make them "disappear"?

If the answers to the above are "no," THEN THIS IS NOT A FREE SPEECH OR CENSORSHIP ISSUE.

Duh.

People are free to speak their minds in this country. That includes having an opinion about what other people say. And if someone puts themselves in the spotlight (like, say going on a reality TV show or voluntarily doing an interview with the press), then they should be prepared for the repercussions when they show their ignorance and/or closed mindedness.

A&E suspending the Duck Dynasty guy is a business decision, plain and simple. A smart one? Maybe not. I don't understand why A&E has that show on in the first place, except for the cash cow they figured it would be. But it's not like they couldn't have known, even before the show made it to broadcast, that those might be the views of these folks. And if A&E didn't like those views, they never should have put the show on their network.

If you want to know what real free speech issues are, then read up on what happens in Russia and China and quit whining about so-called celebrities getting called out on their ignorance.

Turned out to be a different day

I have the weekend off, and wasn't really sure what I was going to do with it earlier in the week. I considered renting a carpet cleaner and taking care of the carpets in the house, but those plans kind of changed.

I got home from work last night with a plugged-up ear. I thought maybe it was because there was a live jazz band at the mall for a fundraising event, and I'd spent too much time a little too close. But this morning, it was still plugged up. I got the critters fed and went back to bed for a couple hours with the heating pad on my ear and neck to see if that might help. It didn't.

Other than occasionally having some drainage, I don't feel like I've got any other symptoms. I'm not dizzy or congested or anything. But I thought that just in case, it'd be a good idea to have some cold and flu fighting foods on hand, so I went to the grocery store. I got a few oranges and a couple sweet potatoes, and some ingredients for other things, a gallon of milk and filled up both of my 3-gallon water jugs. Just in case I do come down with something, I'm stocked up.

I also figured it'd be good to have some spicy stuff on hand to help fight off anything. I had hamburger cooked up, but it was in the freezer, so I decided to try this meatless chili from Thug Kitchen. It is REALLY good. I used Redd's Strawberry Ale, since that's what I hand as far as beer. I'm just not a beer drinker, but that's OK stuff. For the carrots, I had a bag of shredded carrots I'd used for another recipe. I just dumped a few handfulls in the pot, but next time I will actually chop them up a bit smaller.

I also decided to try making these biscuits. I don't have a rolling pin, or really the space to roll out dough, so I made them drop-biscuit style and they turned out great.

That's probably enough for today (although I might make some brownies in a bit). With that veggie chili and some other things I already have made up, I'll be OK if I wake up in the morning feeling horrible. And if not, I've got some more cooking I want to do.

Kitty castle!

This took me longer to make than I thought it would, and was scaled down from what I originally wanted, but I think it worked out fine. We'll see what the cats think as they check it out on their own, I guess.

I got the idea from this site. There were some boxes left over from when my parents moved, so I used one of those to make the supports and the floors. I was originally going to have three floors, but it proved to be more work than I thought it would, and I didn't want to spend the whole day working on this.

I first cut the cardboard into strips 2 inches wide and about 18 inches long, 2 inches wider than the box. I cut a few longer than that for the "balcony."

Then I cut the slots for the floor supports to go through.

The floor supports are all in. In the lower left corner is where there will be an opening for the cats to go from the ground floor to the second floor. I cut a door in the side so they can get to the first floor.

And here's the floor...

Test kitten.

Test cat. It seemed to hold up pretty well, even under Keaton's weight. 

I cut a little archway for the second floor. I used the longer floor supports and used the cutout from the archway for the balcony, along with another scrap piece.

Keaton tries it out.

I cut the top flaps shorter, and gave them a turret kind of look. There are floor supports for the top floor as well, but I didn't make an entry from the second floor. 

Alex on the tower.

Keaton did not seem amused when I put her there to try it out. They can get down from the top floor by the ladder. I put a piece of thin plywood on top of the bottom box for a bit more stability.

Alex checks out the balcony.

It's certainly no wonder of engineering, but if the cats get at least a couple months of enjoyment out of it, then it's worth it.

Soup weather again!

And here's my first effort for the season:

Broccoli cheese soup, from this recipe. I decided to try this one because the other recipes I found call for blending the veggies and stock, and I don't have a blender. I don't think the smoothie maker would do a good enough job. I didn't use the Gouda cheese, either, just some Kraft shredded cheddar. It's a variety I hadn't seen before, with sharp, mild and white cheddar combined with cream cheese to melt smoothly. I also ended up adding extra cheese, about two big handfuls, then a big more veggie stock to thin it out a bit.

It's pretty tasty. My only disappointment is that I got only about five servings out of it -- four 8 oz jars to freeze and one to eat today. As I write this, I'm waiting for some bacon to cook that I can crumble for a topping. The house smells really good right now!

Comfort

Only about nine months ago, this cat scared me in my garage one morning, and it was several days before she would let me near enough to pet her:

Doesn't look so feral now, does she?

And, of course, there's Buster.

He's a rescue, too. From some of his behavior, I suspect he was not treated well early in life. 

It's quite a good feeling to have an animal fall asleep in your presence when once upon a time they had no reason to trust people.

Scaling new heights

Last week, I was surprised to see the black & white kitten, who I've started calling Rascal since he's usually the first to get into things or places, had gotten himself up on the top shelf of the walk in closet. Mustache kitten followed within a day or so.

It wasn't until today, though, that I saw how they got up there.

All but the yellow kitten have napped on top of the wardrobe thing hanging on the rod to the right of the first picture. They would merely climb to the top and make themselves comfortable.

Rascal, bold one that he is, took that a step further. He climbs to the top of the hanging wardrobe, then, like a rock climber below a ledge jutting out of the mountain, grabs onto the cushion stored above, swings out and pulls himself up. It was kind of remarkable, really.

To get down, Rascal just jumps from the top shelf to the top of the kennel with a big THUD — not nice in the middle of the night. I might just have to start closing the closet door when I go to bed.

Mustache kitten, on the other hand, gets down by doing the reverse of getting up — getting a hold on the cushion, swinging her legs til she gets footing on the wardrobe and then climbing down. More like sliding down the time I saw her do it, though.

I let them outside this morning — or rather, they let themselves outside this morning. I guess I didn't close the bedroom door securely after I fed them, because when I got back from a walk up the street with Buster, all the kittens and Keaton were cavorting around the tree in the back yard.

It was a nice morning, so I thought what the heck and let them stay out for probably a couple of hours. Keaton kept an eye on them, and Buster "helped." He kind of got tired of herding kittens after awhile though, and would just go lie down in the yard close enough to watch but not be part of the playtime.

The surprising thing about the morning is how unmellow the yellow kitten was. He loved being outside, and when I decided to put them back in the bedroom so I could take a nap, he slipped out of the room four times and got back outside two or three of those times. He kind of yowled the first time I put him inside, too. 

As for me, I'm doing a little better. Our walk this morning was two and a half blocks out and back, and this afternoon I got tired of lying around, so I made some lemonade concentrate and simple syrup for my tea. It kind of wore me out, but that's something, I guess. I keep having to remind myself it will take time to get back to feeling like my old self again.

Cue the 'Rocky' theme (surgery update)

Five days out from surgery and I'm feeling pretty good, really. Getting stronger each day. Fortunately, the doc was able to do the hysterectomy laparoscopically, so I just have three little incisions (one of them near/through the belly button — that's kind of weird to see) to worry about.

I was in the hospital through Thursday afternoon, and mainly they were concerned with making sure the pain was under control, that I got up walked at least once, that I peed three times (although they let me go after two) and that I passed gas. I'm sure glad I don't work in a hospital. Lots of respect for those who do.

I think I slept pretty much through Thursday after I got home, but Friday, I got up and walked around the back yard and half a block up the street with Buster staying nearby. I took painkillers a few times Friday, but was able to get through Saturday with just one, I think. I walked a lot more on Saturday, about 0.3 mile in three trips, either around the yard or just in the house. Mom stayed with me Thursday and Friday nights and helped out a lot with getting meals, feeding the critters and just being around for some support. 

I've been trying to eat fairly clean, too. Not a lot of sweets since Tuesday. I had some pudding in the hospital, and I've had some angel food cake and a couple cookies since getting home, but otherwise it's been a lot of fruit and other good stuff. I had some strawberries and bananas for when I got home, and Mom got some melons and berries the other day. This morning's breakfast is a banana-berry-green tea smoothie: 1 banana, 4 strawberries, a handful each of blueberries, raspberries and mixed greens, then a few green tea ice cubes to chill it. Pretty tasty.

Time to take a little walk with Buster, and then maybe a shower.

Juno is out of surgery already. Doc said everything went as hoped, no surgery. She will be staying overnight for observation. Thanks for all your thoughts/prayers for her. Juno's mom Emilyc

A little announcement

So I'm having surgery tomorrow. It's kind of a big deal. (WARNING: If you don't want TMI, read this summary and skip the next couple of paragraphs). Basically, I went to the doctor for something that was slightly bothersome, had a procedure and after that was done, the pathology report showed I had precancerous cells. Since I've had breast cancer, the doc recommended the troublesome parts be removed. That happens tomorrow, and I'll have to take at least a couple weeks off both jobs for recovery.

Still reading? Remember, I warned you. Here's the details.

The slightly bothersome part was periods that were lasting two weeks. So I saw a gynecologist, who recommended a D&C and endometrial ablation (pretty much what I was hoping to hear). Those procedures, done at the same time back in March, seemed to go pretty well. Except the following week, the doctor's office called and said the pathology report showed I had precancerous cells in my uterus. I had my oncologist look at the report to get her opinion, and she agreed a hysterectomy would be a good idea. 

OK, I'll try not to get too TMI again if you're skipping to here. I'm not too worried about the surgery itself. The GYN gave me a 50-50 chance of having to do it by incision, which would mean several weeks off both jobs. I'm hoping they don't have to do it that way, because that second paycheck is kind of necessary, and that's the one I'd have to take the most time off from if they cut me open.

I think I've got everything done I need to get done before tomorrow morning. Mom knows how to feed the cats, she'll be around for whatever help I need afterwards, and I've got (hopefully) plenty of reading material. I'm just more concerned about being bored than how well I'll heal.

Anyway, whatever good thoughts/vibes/prayers you want to send my way will be appreciated. I'll be at the hospital bright and early Wednesday morning, and will get updates out somehow as I can.

Kitten conundrum

I am torn on which — if any — of the kittens to keep.

They are almost 10 weeks old — old enough to be adopted out, really. I think there is one (the yellow one, mama's boy) who still tries to nurse, but Keaton is just as likely to walk away if there is something else that interests her (food, a chance to go outside) as she is to let them nurse. 

And they are quite rambunctious. Especially about the time I am going to bed and starting about an hour before my alarm goes off in the morning. And several times in between. I can hear them when I go to bed, running and jumping around in the bedroom next to mine. Buster even seems to be kind of tired of them and maybe a little jealous when they get attention. 

Plus, five cats pooping and peeing in the litter boxes (Keaton does spend a lot of time outside, but she will use the litter box once in a while). And eating. I thought Keaton was looking a little skinny, so I started getting her some canned cat food. Now, of course, that's what she prefers. And the kittens always want some, too. 

And then there's getting them fixed (I've made an appointment for Keaton for next week) and their shots and other health expenses that might arise.

So, there are reasons to let them go on to other homes. But they have also kind of worked their way into my heart in their own way, so it will be kind of hard.

I thought early on about keeping one, along with Keaton. And it seemed like early on the one I call the quiet one would be the one I'd keep. It seemed like there was some kind of connection. She looked at me a certain way the others didn't, and when I walked into the room, she was always the first to come running up to me, mewing and trying to climb my leg. If I picked her up, she'd crawl onto my shoulder, and if I was sitting, she would sit on my lap as I petted her.

But lately, she hasn't been that way. I pick her up and she squirms to be let go. I pet her and she moves away a lot of the time.

The mustache kitten, though, has grown more affectionate in the last couple of weeks. She'll sit in my lap and let me pet her and purr loudly. Keaton will purr when I pet her and the black & white boy will purr a little when I play with him, but mustache purrs So Loud. She also likes to play with Buster, taking a swipe at him with her little paws whenever he walks by. He often doesn't notice, though, as he's busy chasing the little black and white one as it runs behind and under everything like he's teasing Buster.

Plus, she's got a pretty unique look.

On the other hand, after I got home from having some surgery last month, mom went to feed the cats and the quiet one came running out of the bedroom and into my room, mewing loudly all the way, right to my bedside as if she knew something wasn't right with me. That's kind of a special connection.

Sigh. Why do animals have to be so soft and fuzzy and cute and funny and full of love?

Backyard visitor

Buster discovered our intruder.

Indoor/outdoor cat worries

My walk with Buster this morning was delayed for awhile because of rain. A nice, gentle shower! I did get up early and feed Buster and the cats. It was already sprinkling, and a check of the radar showed more on the way, so I went back to bed and listened to it pour. 

At least until I realized Buster had gone outside and never come back in. So I ran out the back door in the downpour, and there he was, curled up in his little safe spot against the foundation on the east side of the house, getting soaked. I called him, and he looked at me with a sad face, like I'd made him go out there or something. Poor guy. I got him back in and dried us off and we dozed until a little after 9 am.

Cool but muggy on our walk. As we were heading back toward home, though, I saw a neighborhood cat that had been hit by a car. It made me kind of sad, especially thinking about how Keaton is still very much an outdoor cat. After we got home I went to check on the cats, and sat on the floor watching the kittens play for a bit. Keaton started to walk by me, but I grabbed her and held her in my lap. Normally, she doesn't like to be held. But this time she let me hold her and pet her for a few minutes. It was kind of sweet.

She seems to be a pretty smart cat, but I do worry about her when she's gone outside for a long time.

Photos galore!

junogle's photostream on Flickr.

I'm back to using Flickr. Tons of kitten photos here, plus all my old ones of Buster, Nipper, the flower gardens, etc.

ETA: I've added a Flickr badge on my sidebar, but I don't seem to be able to place it where I want it with my iPad. When I'm back at work on Monday (at a desktop), I'll fix that and see if I can't improve the Pinterest widget and get my Twitter widget back on.