Walkway progress...

Our walkway project is almost complete!! We started the railings on saturday...but the rain and snow on sunday kept us from doing any more work on. We also picked up a wrought iron table and chair set at a antique/collectible place. I need to give it a fresh coat of paint...but I have been looking around for some of the bouncy type of chairs and they are hard to come by. Mike's mom has some and they are soooooo comfy and great for relaxing. The small bistro table will eventually get moved... and the walkway will eventually be stained to match the deck.

Hope

Ok... so I may be crazy. I couldn't help myself... or more like, I couldn't forgive myself if I let this little girl go back out into a feral colony. Who is she... I call her "Hope." She is from a large feral colony. She came to Operation Catnip on Sunday and had quite the day... her eye was so badly damaged from an infection that it had to me removed. While I had no contact with her before her surgery, I flirted with a few of the kittens that she came in with. They were all very friendly...and all very sick with colds. I really liked this little buff and white female. But I couldn't let the caretakers turn this little one eyed kitten back out into a colony of 60+ cats. There was no way that she would have survived.

I brought her home on Sunday... she was so doped up on pain meds. She wouldn't eat or drink. I had to give her fluids and feed her with a syringe. On Monday, I noticed that she was rather congested and she started blowing nice bright green snot bubbles.

Tuesday morning, I called the vet. Lets just say that this little one-eyed kitten, (mike calls her Winky) won the hearts of everyone at the vet office yesterday! She just curled up in my arms and relaxed while we waited for her test results...after a little while we heard cheering in the back room and then they came in with smiling faces! She tested neg/neg!! (for kitty aids and leukemia) And, the vet said her eye looks good and we were sent home with some clavamox. .... and it got even better as the night went on. After her dinner time feeding, she curled up in her condo, I started petting her and all the sudden you could here this faint purring. i couldn't tell if it was congestion or purring, so I felt her neck and it was definitely purring! And... with the emotional roller-coaster I have been on lately (due to my decision to have a hysterectomy...I have been feeling very jilted lately b/c I will never get to experience the miracle of pregnancy/childbirth) I just burst into tears and ran out to tell Mike... who immediately had to go in and check see if he could get her to purr. When I got back into her room, she was purring so loud it almost echoed in the room!! I was crazy emotional (i think it was the sign I had been looking for to let me know I had made the right choice, I seriously felt like a mom hearing the heartbeat of her baby for the first time).

I went back to feed her before I went to bed. I gave her another 20 cc's of food. Afterwards, she went into her condo and immediately began grooming... but then I realized it was more her licking the food splatters off of her fur (I don't know if you have ever had to syringe feed a cat...it is never a clean task). So, I refilled the syringe, leaving some of the goop on the outside of it. I stuck it in her condo and she went to town licking the stuff of the syringe and then I started squirting the syringe into her mouth (without holding her) and she couldn't get enough. I refilled the syringe again and after I emptied that... I put the bowl in front of her and she ate for a few more minutes! It was awesome. I took the food away after that...b/c I didn't want her to get sick from eating too much too quickly. She is using the litter box with no problem (now that she is actually going potty). This morning, she gave me kisses and drank/ate straight from the bowl. No syringe needed. She is getting a little more adventurous too. After I start petting her and she gets a good purr going, she relaxes enough to come out of her condo and explore a little. I can't wait to get home this afternoon and see how she progresses. I am sure that with the yucky weather, Mike will be inside most of the day, so she will probably be getting frequent visits.

I have to admit... I was really worried that she wasn't going to make it at first.... so it has been so rewarding to see such a change so quickly!

crocheted kitties

All Sold (4) or Donated (2) to Operation Catnip!!

the water bottle corral

Here is the water bottle holder thing that Mike had to make to keep Stachie from pushing the water bottles all over the house! I took the holder off last night to refill the bottles, as I was filling one, I turn around and the other bottle is already being moved into the middle of the foyer... Stachie wastes no time when it comes to his water bottles!

Hank's Handywork!

Tater Tot has learned how to take the toilet paper off the holder in our hall bathroom... I ran to get the camera to take a picture of her carrying it around in her mouth (too funny)...but by the time I got the camera, Hank had the TP.

The toilet paper had no chance against Hank the Tank!







Leaving the scene of the crime...


Lydia... checking out the damage.


Returning to the scene...On CSI, they are always saying that criminals like to return to the scene!!


The TP carnage...


One tired kitten...

my big ouch...and 15 reasons not to fight a bungee cord!

I got in a fight with a bungee cord this weekend... it won! the first
picture is from when I just got home from the er. the other is from
this morning... my first black eye! and my first stitches due to an
accident/injury! 15 stitches in all.

so what happened... Mike and I were getting ready to take our new
recliner home (Mike has been wanting one forever!) and we used bungee
cords to secure it into place in the back of the truck... just as I
was getting ready to get in the passenger side door. the bungee cord
broke loose from the drivers side... and well... smacked me upside
the head. I am pretty lucky...as my new glasses seem ok and I was
able to move my new vera bag out of the way of the gushing blood just
in time! (gotta have priorities... plus it took a little while for
the pain to kick in and mike to run inside to get help).

we did get some work done outside before this happened... but I
didn't get any pictures. I was in a good bit of pain yesterday... and
still quite a bit today. just trying not to move any of the muscles
in my face!!

crocheted kitties...and inspector Hank