A new man in my life

There is a new additiion to our family. A cat. I have written about my cats before.

There is Kitty (real name Lucky). My son found her in the engine of a car. The mother probably took her there to get warm. Her paw was cut and she, at 6 weeks, was pretty scared. When my daughter-in-law became pregnant we took the kitten. She has pretty much been raised by our very loving pit bull. She is an indoor cat who longs to be an outdoor cat.

A couple of years ago a skinny tabby showed up and I started to feed it. Just a cup of dry food every morning. One day it has what appeared to be an abcess on her paw. I could not decide if I should take it to the vet. I mean it was just a stray, right? Next day it showed up with a shaved paw and all was well. OK, this was someones pet. Later a woman was walking by and said to my son, " That's my cat, Dexter," Seems that because of the ecomony her son and his family had moved in with them and the cat did not like the children. She offered to pay for the cat food. How nice was that? But ~ no I can handle it. Just nice to have a cat around to keep the mouse population down.

Then came the poor little gray cat. I have a bunch of photos on my phone but don't know how to get them here. She / he, we didn't know was so skinny and shabby. I think maybe it was left behind when someone moved. About six months ago it disapeared for about four weeks. I only hoped it was quick and there wasn't any pain. We have racoons around here and they are pretty nasty. So when it showed up at my door one morning I was so happy I gave it a can of tuna. I then went to the store and bought some canned cat food. Indoor Kitty can't eat it because it gives her the runs. The gray kitty started to gain weight and her coat improved greatly. Now that the weather had started to get colder and wetter I have noticed that Dexter and another gray cat, clearly a pet, have stopped greating me in the morning.

The stray gray kitty has worked his (yes it a boy) into our house. He has very good manners. Except for one spraying insodent in the garage he has not caused any problems. He is so much more like a cat than our indoor Kitty. I think she was very damaged by her stressful entry into life. She must have cried so much that awful day that she really has not much of a voice now and is, despite of a very pampered life, very fearful of anyone but "family".

I just looked back and realized I have already written about the damn cats. What kind of nut ball am I??

WOW

I haven't posted anything in so long so much has changed!

A New Year!

It has been a while.
The holidays were not as bad as last year. We managed to get together as a family on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve/ Christmas. Everyone got along. Like walking on ice with my family.

Today would have been my mother's 90 birthday. Yesterday my husband and I went out to a fancy dinner at Salty's with my son, daughter-in-law (who has the same birthday as my mother) and grand-daughter. It was very nice and we had a great time.

As we were driving home I was looking at the river and the moonlight. (I think it is almost a full moon.) I was over powered with thoughts of my mother. There is a song by Carley Simon from the album Letters Never Sent, Like A River. After my mother died my ex son in law told my sister about the song, he had heard it on a PBS show featuring Carley. It captures it so clearly. Carley lost her mother and wrote the song for her, and all of us. If I knew how to link it here I would.

It has been 16 years and I still miss her so much. So much I want to share with her. Now I get to do it with my daughters. (Well, one of them)

TMI

Too Much Information!!

I realized a while ago that I have an iPod, iPhone, iPad2, Macbook laptop and a Dell PC.

I can read a book, play a game, send an email, check my facebook page, download an App for Anderson, pay my bills, etc. . . . . . but I can't figure out how to download music.

Yesterday I watched every single episode of a sit com called Last Man Standing staring Tim Allen and Nancy Travis. What a waste of an afternoon, but I did laugh out loud a couple of times, so maybe it was worth it. I watched on my Macbook Laptop.

I long for a simpler time. I have been watching all the obituaries of Andy Rooney. He had quite the life. Leave your beloved job and three weeks later just drift off after surgery.

Things are moving too fast for me. I mailed a birthday card. I went to the store and picked out what I thought was the perfect card, I hand wrote (even though with my health problems writing has become a huge problem) I addressed it and put a stamp on it and then Anderson and I drove to the post office because it had to arrive on the special person's birthday. I felt so good after doing that. I did wish her Happy Birthday on facebook but it was not nearly as satisfying as the card!

My Mother-In-Law

I love my mother-in-law! I know a lot of people who can't say that and trust me I'm one of them.

I have been married twice ~ hence two MILs. At 18 I made some poor choices and ended up getting married to someone who, perhaps was not my best match. Steven and I started 'dating' at 16. The year was 1964 the month was May. Soon after his mother left his abusive father and I was caught up in the drama of the situation.

I loved Pat Johnson-Green-D'Assisi-Jenkins from the first moment I met her. She was funny, smart, vulnerable, and truly a product of her generation. She was born in 1926. Her mother died on Easter, the year she was nine. Her grand-father adopted her because her parents were divorced and her bio-dad didn't want her. So her grand-father became her father and her uncle her brother.

After she left Steven's father, Lori, (real name Larry but her son was also Larry so she called her husband Lori) she eventually met a very sweet man, Arch Jenkins, and they married in November 1965.

Steven and I married the following November. That is another blog altogether.

Steven and I had a daughter, Valera, so Pat and I stayed in touch, kind of. She and Arch had retired to Hawaii for about 10 years and my ex and I had remarried and were busy with our own families.

In the 90s Pat and Arch returned to the mainland, first to the Seattle area to be closer to her other son, Larry. That didn't work out and they moved back to Spokane where they were both from, Pat born there and Arch moved there after WWII.

I was in Spokane for the funeral of my brother-in-law who died at 53. My presents husbands family did not like me and at one point were so mean I called my other MIL and she was so nice and had my family and me over and treated my husband and children like they were their own.

A decade long love affair followed. Arch, a true sport's fan, followed Anne-Elissa's track career from high school to college. He was finally able to see her run at a college track meet in Spokane. Unfortunately he was suffering from Alzheimer's by then and kept calling her future husband, Chris, Charlie.

In 2000 we had to place Arch in a care home. It was summer and I was able to take two weeks to help with the transition. He died in March 2001. The same day my bio-dad died in 1973. Is anything random?

Pat was able to live alone in her beloved condo until the age of 85 when she started to fall and not be able to get up. Most her family was dead (my ex died before 60 of lung cancer, he was the Spokane brother) and all her friends were also aging. So her son decided to move her to an assisted living home near his condo in Redmond, WA. Only problem is, as I see it, he and his new girlfriend live in AZ from November to April.

Al and I went to visit this summer. She is well cared for but not happy. I am so sad that I don't see her more often. I want to start sending her cards and photos because she is not connected, having no computer, cell phone, not to mention i anything.

Thank-you, Sandi for the lovely post about family. Pat is the only person in my life of the generation. Next up ~ US!!

I think a lot about being the next generation to 'go'.