let sleeping kittehs lie

Today, I had lunch with the bfe to celebrate his birthday.

I thought that was back in November.

Well, it was, but today we dined in the Galley, with him dining courtesy of the university. You see, for our birthday, the Human Resources folks reward us with a free meal on campus. He had contacted me last week to suggest we dine sometime this week, and today was that "sometime".
Cliff and Mitch joined us for awhile, then they scooted on back to the Science Center.
Very kind of them to do so.

(arched right eyebrow)

You know, so the bfe and I could have some time to chat freely. After all, I had been invited to the luncheon; they had invited themselves. Or perhaps been included when today's hall talk turned to lunch options. I really don't know and am "just making it up at this point".
That's how the bfe refers to conjecture.
(smile)

I see. How does he deal with creating hypotheses? Those are conjectures.

Yes, but there is a general scientific underpinning to those. That makes them "okay".
Anywho, I was talking about lunch today and conversation with him.

Do tell.
Seriously.
Y'all have some pretty interesting talks.

I know! Today, we were talking about burlesque shows that didn't happen and burlesque shows which were missed.
We were also talking about odd words, like "Fliss" and "fliss" and "frotteurism". That conversation arose because I had told him I had done a search to see if my Fliss of Kickstarter blog was still on darknet.
Honestly, I have to wonder if that boyfriend of mine in San Diego, lo these many moons ago, had known of that term "fliss" when he nicknamed me that. He had said it was because of the sound of my initials run together, but he was certainly the kind of guy who would know about kinky, torturous sexual practices.
But I digress from my tale of today.

I'll say. DLE was thirty years ago... Wait a minute! Hadn't he wanted you to marry him and move to Spain?

Yes, that's David. I was already out of the Navy and out of California, but he still had several years to go. When he got orders to Spain, I was settling in to life in Savannah and starting school and... well, to be honest, I was a bit relieved to know he was going across the Atlantic. What we had in San Diego was done, d o n e, done, in my book. Last I heard, when he got to Rota, he met a Marine and married her.
Good for him, I say.
I was certainly not the right one for that relationship.

Okay... meanwhile, back at the ranch...?

Oh, yeah. I was looking to see if my blog was still, essentially, operating in Darknet, where even the Great Google could not find me.
BWAH ha ha!!!
Apparently, it is off that search engine's radar still.
As you see, I do pepper my posts with links to other websites, wondering whether mine will be uncovered by doing so, but, honestly, I like being on the dark side of the internet.
Fewer robots come crashing over to make inane comments on posts.
THAT is a very, very good thing.

Dear, if I may interrupt before you catch hold of some other wild tangent and go winging off into the ether? Please tell me the reason for the photo?

What's that? You want to know about the photograph at the top of this post?
Sure thing!
The bfe snapped it of his old lady cats, Chloe and Contessa.
That blue tortoise one is Contessa. I've waxed rhapsodic about her a time or two.
That's not to say I have disregarded the Chloe girl here - never! She was the one I wrote of here and here, even though her name was not mentioned.
The two girls have been quite sisterly since Thanksgiving.
United by a common enemy, as it were, but I like to think that Oskar and Klaus have had a beneficial influence, too.

Beep! Beep! Back up there! What was that "common enemy" thing about?

Well, on Thanksgiving Day, the bfe and his girlfriend cooked duck, among other things. After they were done with the meal, they shared some of the fowl with his old lady cats and her tiny dog, Cocoa Chanel. Generally, Cocoa and Contessa get along quite well; Chloe tolerates the dog's existence.
Like I said, the humans were sharing their repast with the critters. Chloe chose to abstain and was looking in the kitchen for treats. 'Tessa ate up all in her bowl and then moseyed over to check out the slow-eating guest. At that point, the little dog lost her mind and began barking! The 'Tess hissed, startled, and Chloe came racing in from the kitchen, making a beeline for the dog!!! Wow! What chaos! The humans had to react quickly to keep blood from being spilled!
But how very nice that Chloe came to Contessa's rescue!
The bfe and I believe the book about the blind cat and its best kitteh friend has helped remind his girls to look after each other.
Isn't that sweet?
I am so proud of them!
(beam!)

lookin' after two old ladies

I snapped these two photos early on in my kitteh-sitting, back on May 27th, after my return from Daytona Beach.
They are still on my phone and serve as a little mini-movie for me.
I can flip from one to the other and back, animating Chloe as she looks back at Contessa, and then both as they look up at me.
Sheer serendipity that the photos turned out like that!

Tomorrow, the bfe will clamber out of the SNO+ and return to his girls.
I will be so relieved that they have all made it safely back to each other!
This has been such a big responsibility!


But it has also been a great joy for me to spend so much time with these old lady cats.
So much touch therapy I have received from them - and they from me.
Y'all know how I am about touch.
Tomorrow, I depart to join my outlaws at a family reunion in Orlando. I'll be getting lots of touch therapy there, too, as I visit with the first and second cousins of the ex. It will be so wonderful to see them again!
Sure, I get to see the Davidsons and Kopeks in Virginia ever couple of years, as I did last year after visiting Melaness in Pennsylvania, and in 2011 when I had traveled up with my bird to visit them and some other friends. It's been very nice seeing so much of them!
However, it's been almost five years since I've the Kopeks living up in Minnesota and Tennessee - not since the beach house at Nags Head, in July of 2009.
Sure, I was able to see the cheerful Stephanie just a few months ago, and she and I had a lovely time together! But I missed her brother, Chris, as he was in Georgia when I was in Tennessee.
And we will all miss their dad's laughter and jokes at this family reunion. I will miss David's bear hugs, too.
But this week in Orlando will be the first we've all been together and not at a funeral.
That will be very good.
That will be healing.
That will be a good transition from catsitter to on my own again.

These two photographs? I'll keep them on my phone for awhile, my own kittehs short film - super, super short! - to make me smile.
Who knows? I just may watch that movie for a few years.
I just might.

cat whisperer

Hi, my name is Faustina.

Hi, Faustina.

I'm a cat whisperer, apparently.

Um... you may be at the wrong meeting...

[Misinterpreting the muttering of the crowd] Yeah, the news comes as a surprise to me, too. But cats - at least two that I know - have had me intervene on their behalf on more than one occasion.

Mama told me to humor crazy people. Let's see where this goes.

Tonight, I was over at the physicist's place for dinner and a movie. We've been doing that on Tuesdays fairly frequently this year and I've really enjoyed it. Tonight's feast was a country picnic, replete with barbequed chicken breast, roasted ears of corn, and black beans - yum! He had even been mindful of my lactose intolerance and bought "Better Than Sour Cream Sour Cream" for the beans! And the chicken... ooh la la! So very flavorful! It really reminded me of Chicken Adobo, a Phillippine dish that I haven't made in years.

I thought she was going to talk about cats.

While he was putting the finishing touches on the meal, he was telling me about Contessa the Cat's latest little trick. It seems that, for the past few mornings, she was awakening him about 5 AM by pressing her water-soaked forehead against his face. LOL!!!
Of course, this was very recent behavior, and from a cat that had an aversion to baths, so why was she doing this?
He did not know.
So, we dined and had a little wine and set about getting settled in for the second of a three-part French film series. A mini-Francophone film fest, sil vous plai!

[shifting in the seat] This may go on a while...

At least I remembered my glasses this time! When we had watched the first film of the trio, I had known it was French... but had not realized that there would be subtitles to read on a small screen. THAT had been interesting to try to decipher! Especially as there waa chatting and cat petting occurring, too.
Well, the same was true this time, as well: English subtitles in a French film whilst petting the dear Contessa and tossing topics with the bfe. But this time I could read the subtitles. Definitely made it easier to follow the plot!

[more shifting in the seat] You guess she is ever going to get to the cat whispering? Like, tonight??

So, there I was watching the movie on the couch. This time, Contessa stayed right with me the whole time. Well,not quite. Every so often she would go get a drink from the new little water fountain the cats had, then she would return for me to pet her. Return with her forehead sodden with water. Every time.
Almost like she was waiting for me to "get it."
She must have the patience of Job, but that great patience was finally rewarded.
I suggested to the bfe that Contessa might be having a depth perception problem and was not able to distinguish the waterfall from the white backboard. Perhaps he should paint it a different color? Maybe put some racing stripes on it to help her perceive it?
Or maybe he should just give the kitty her water dish instead of making her 14-year-old self learn a new trick just to drink water????
At which he jumped up and fetched her red ceramic water bowl from the dish rack, filled it, and placed it on the kitchen floor in its usual spot.
While she watched intently.
Mission accomplished.
She truly IS a most intelligent blue tortoise cat.
Beautiful, too, in her asymmetrical markings and peach lightning bolt.

Nice story. Smart cat, too. Okay, let's go before she starts up again.

gotta get a GOTT!

bfe: Contessa, begin transmission:
bfe: Good evening Dr. Smith.

me: Good evening my dear Contessa!

bfe: I have in my possession one cooler you may know:

me: Oh yes. Silly moi. But i know it to be safe with you.

bfe: i require a ransom on said cooler. Either a.) you have dinner at my abode where I will feed you salmon with an apple/horseradish thing-a-ma-jig or b.) one million united states dollars! Not euros, not dinars, not yen, but USD.

me: I see. A ransom demand. Clearly more pets are required.
me: I choose choice a.
me: When would my presence be requested?

bfe: Contessa! End transmission! Oh by the way that's an awesome chair!

me: Oh i am well aware of your power. I exist to do your bidding.

bfe: ha ha! That is ... wise of you.

bfe: I purchased three movies over the weekend. You may choose one if one is to your liking:

me: Very nice!

bfe: What day works best for you?

me: Shall we again do Tuesday?

bfe: That sounds awesome!
bfe: I look forward to it!

me: I shall share my last Blanc du Bois with you.
It will be very yummy with the fish.

bfe: Your cooler thanks you... today.

me: :-)

bfe: :) I look forward to that!
The flight went so well!
I trust your ... taste.

me: Thank you!
I shall endeavor to please...

cat tales

So, there i was, listening to folks tell tales of their cats...

Really??? On purpose???

Well, yes, on purpose. Well, kind of on purpose.

No kidding. How does one "kind of" DO on purpose?

Well, i had thought my friend would be there, but there was a mix-up of the times and he wasn't able to attend after all. "Major fail," as he called it.

Okaaay. So that rather begs the question: why were YOU there if he wasn't? I mean, seriously, it sounds like you hadn't been that invested in being present at this meeting of feline lovers...

You're right, you're absolutely right, i had not intended to attend. There was a different group i was planning to join yester evening, but then my friend expressed an interest in going to THIS event, an event i had suggested to him, and i ... well, if he was going to be there, then i wanted to be there, too. Mostly for his company, of course, as i am just that kind of crazy, but i could, and would, have also introduced him to the other folks there in the philosophy group -

Philosophy group???

Yes, you know very well the group of which i speak, so no need to act surprised.

No, it's just you haven't been attending their meetings very regularly of late, that's all. So, the discussion was to be the love of cats, or something of that slant?

Well, that was the topic which had been selected by the majority at the end of the previous week's discussion, so, yes. Every once in a while, the group allows for a bit of levity. Heck, one time, i had suggested that we each bring some of our favorite chocolate to endorse and share, and THAT topic was the winner for the next week! And a mighty fine topic it was, too, and much fun!

But you digress...?

Indeed, I do. Where was i? Hmmm??? Oh, yes, i had forwarded the email to him so he could choose whether the topic warranted his attendance at the meeting, and it had, so i had decided to also attend, then perhaps to leave early for my other event with the improv group. But, my friend had gotten the time wrong and arrived to the site much earlier. By the time i returned from a visit across the river, i found he had already left... and i had told him i would share some of the stories with him, Meaning i had to stay, at least for a while. And stay, i would. So, there.

(Quiet pause.)

So, i entertained myself whilst waiting for the others to arrive, browsing the entertainment paper, admiring the art, that sort of thing.

(Still quiet, just listening and watching.)

I had only intended to stay for thirty minutes or so, then leave for the other event, but i decided that would be rude, so i didn't. And i DID enjoy the tales of fey felines, though some were stories i had heard before. One of the guys had actually brought his photo album of his cats, all six of them! It was quite a nicely done album, more a book than an album,. He had originally had two cats, one of each gender, and he and his wife had meant to get them spayed, but hadn't done so and hadn't done so, and then they had kittens! Four kittens, in the corner nook behind the large television! The papa cat was so proud of the little ones that he would jump back there, grb up a kitten by its scruff, and bring it out to be admired, then return it and fetch another, bringing out each kitten for the owner. The teller of the tale had such a sweet grin on his face as he related the story to us! You could tell it was a very special memory to him.

How nice! So, that's why you couldn't leave - these were special stories from the heart, dear to these fine folk.

Yeah, that's pretty much the reason. I've been part of this group for the past five years and several of them are rather dear to me, being former professors of mine, so... i stayed. And i did enjoy the stories!

Cool! Do you recall any of the other ones you heard?

Even better. I have them on my phone!

You recorded them? As the folks were talking?

No, no, no. After returning home yesterday night, i texted them to my friend so he could enjoy them.
So, you ready for this?

Sure. Hit me with 'em! (smile)

Okay, here's the first one i sent.
So, there she was, in her pajamas, butt walking along a fence to rescue a kitten that kept scooting our of reach, Then a guy comes out and starts watering his yard, not even noticing the girl in pajamas seven feet up on the fence,
She manages to catch the tiny kitten by his scruff and get him back to the house, where she is dogsitting a friend's cat-eating pet.
She throws the kitten into the silverware drawer for safekeeping while she feeds the dog, then retrieves the cat and takes him home.
She DID manage to find it a home the very next day, too.
True story!

HAHAHA! I can just see her now, perched up on the fence, trying to blend in when the guy comes out with his hose! Nice!

I have two more. You interested?

Sure!

Okay, here we go.
He was taking a found cat to a vet and had placed the cat in a cardboard box, after poking holes in the box. He set the box on the passenger seat and drove off.
Next thing you know, the cat finds he can stick his paws out the holes!
Shortly after, he manages to shred his way out of the box and careens around in the car before coming to a rest in the man's lap.
Oh, how nice, the man thinks - then feels a hot rush of liquid!
He got the cat to the vet okay after that,.
He also got a new car.
True story! Oh, and the vet found a home for the cat.

(Smile!) That was a cute story, too!

Cool! I'm glad you like them! Here's the final one from my phone.
One night, she was walking back to her car and she saw a kitten run into some azalea bushes,Time for a cat rescue!
But the cat didn't cooperate, delving deeper into the shrubbery!
Persistently, she got down onto the wet ground and went after the kitten, getting leaves and dead blossoms all over herself and into her hair. And no closer to the cat.
Suddenly, out darts the kitten!
She grabs a handful of neck fur and holds on while she backs out of the azaleas, gets to her car and empties a cloth bag from her trunk. She successfully gets the kitty into the bag and zips it up! Off she goes, arriving with dirt, leaves, and wilted blooms all over her - and a new kitten safely in hand!
True story!
And she kept that one.
So ends my tales. You get three and that's it.
And i finished up with a smiley face.

Well, okay! Pretty cool! You seem to be doing pretty well at tapping out messages on the phone these days, eh?

(Grin!) I am certainly getting lots of practice! By the way, he said it was sad that he had missed so many good cat stories.

Very nice. Very nice. it's always good to feel one's efforts are appreciated. And i do believe it's getting to be a bit late, is it not?

True that! Good night!