Musical Interlude

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As of September 11, my husband Warren and I began moving into our Evansville home. 

The house and yard are lovely!  We have almost 2600 square of living space, plus an oversized two-car attached garage.  I finally have a place large enough so that I can display all the beautiful antiques I inherited, as well as some treasures I bought over the past fifty years.  Warren, too, has treasures to display. 

We're having a major problem with the unpacking, however. I paid for "full pack," and the packers mislabeled so many boxes! For example, and only one example of many, a box labeled "Office" actually contains china from the piano room. Strange! The office was upstairs, and the piano room downstairs in my Virginia home. Ugh. 

Unpacking is quite a nightmare! Especially for two people who have never before moved. Thank God that my Virginia cousins, who transported my kitties Amber and Minxy in a non-stop overland trip on September 17, came for a few days to help us.  Nevertheless, finishing here is still a nightmarish work-in-progress.  My dog Callie rode overland with Warren and me, in the U-Haul truck.

Speaking of "nightmare" and "nightmarish," here is an appropriate musical selection for this moving project (Edvard Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King):

PS; Many thanks to my good friend Silverfiddle, who kept this blog running so well in my absence.

The Cat Of Cats!

Our magnificent Honey Bunny, aka "Pooter" (1978-1997). A red point Applehead Siamese, she was the cat of cats! Not an ounce overweight, she weighed 17 pounds and was, in the words of our vet, "robust and the biggest female I've ever seen." She even stalked deer!  Totally bonded with us, Honey Bunny enjoyed road trips and spending the night in a motel or at my father's house.

Sitting on the well cover outside our then front door.

Caturday Weekend

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Our beloved alpha kitty, Minxy (b. September 8, 2017), a gift from a former piano student, who was fostering a mama cat and her five kittens during the aftermath of Hurricane Irma:

Minxy is a force to be reckoned with! We, including Amber, are grateful that she is so good-natured.

More of my kitty photos HERE.

Our Alpha Cat Minxy

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For Caturday — and the rest of the weekend...

Like Cameo, Minxy (b. 9-8-2017) is not camera shy:

January 23, 2019

Minxy is a troublemaker. One of her recent escapades, at 5:45 A.M., was knocking off the bowl of dried beans which had been soaking overnight in preparation for ham and bean soup.

Christmas Caturday

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Our alpha kitty Minxy is all ready for her second Christmas:

Don't anyone dare to try to budge Minxy from the recliner! And don't dare to put up many enticing Christmas decorations, either!

Amber, on the other hand, is a sweet, compliant kitty:

What An Alpha!

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One of my Facebook finds. Enjoy!

We know all about alpha cats here in the AOW household:

Our Minxy, born September 8, 2017

Minxy sits like a human.

Our Cameo (2001-2017)

Minxy Has Grown Up Now

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Somewhat grown up, that is!

For Caturday and — the next day, too...

Minxy (b. September 8, 2017) often sits with paws crossed:

Photo date: May 29, 2018

Minxy sits like a human:

Photo date: June 5, 2018

Despite Minxy's her bellicose attitude, that of an alpha, Amber (2012-present) — aka "Long Tall Sally" — wins each scuffle and remains our sweet Amber, wishing not to hurt Minxy:

Photo date: December 2015

CATS RULE!

Minxy!

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Our beloved Minxy on March 15, 2018:

Minxy Queen of the Recliner

Like our beloved Cameo (2001-2017), Minxy (born September 8, 2017) is an alpha and sits wherever she desires.

Our beloved Cameo in December 2015:

Cameo Queen of the Recliner

More Photos Of Minxy

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Blogging is taking a back seat at the moment.  We have a kitten in the household!

Minxy is about two months old in the photos below:

Just like Cameo, Minxy owns the recliner!

After playing, Minxy falls asleep in my arms.

"Look at me!  I'm gorgeous!"

Minxy is so happy here that she's laughing (yawning)!  Photo taken at Mr. AOW's side as he's napping.

What of Amber? She's already accepted Minxy as a member of the family. Maybe because we lost Cameo and Mysti within the last seven months.  The obvious fact that Amber has accepted Minxy: last night Amber deliberately left two pieces of kibble for Minxy. Cameo used to do the same for Amber.

When Minxy sleeps with me, like Mysti she grooms my hair.

More photos to come as Mr. AOW and I enjoy Minxy's kittenhood. I'm taking photos like a madwoman, and last night, I upgraded my iCloud storage for my iPhone!

Note: all links in this blog post go to posts at AOWS Photos and feature the kitty whose name is hyperlinked in this blog post.

We Interrupt This Program...

...to bring you 8-week-old Minxy, who has arrived to her forever home!

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Minxy on Mr. AOW's iPad.

Notice how Minxy spreads her toes.

Relaxing on the $1800 lift-recliner.

Amber has moved from overtly hostile to curious with a tinge of hostility.

Now For Something Completely Different...

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NAME THE KITTEN!

At one-week old.

At one-month old.

Need-to-know information....I paid my first visit to the kitten we're planning to adopt and will be visiting her again next weekend.

She is the biggest female in the litter and obviously the alpha. In fact, she hissed at me and arched her back! None of the other kittens did so.  In fact, they did the opposite and crawled all over me.  She sat back and observed — and finally warmed up to me.  On her terms.

We haven't "officially" named her yet — although Mr. AOW and I are leaning toward Minxy — based on the definition of minx, of course. But we're open to other suggestions.

Goodbye, Mysti (June 20,1999-October 9, 2017)

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Mysti in her prime

Mr. AOW and I will miss our beloved Mysti, whose mother disappeared when the litter was one day old. All the kittens in the litter were found by an animal rescue group and had to be bottle fed.

But Mysti's rough start didn't end there.  A few days after she arrived here as a young kitten in September 1997, she had a terrible case of coccidiosis, which stunted her growh and left her with digestive difficulties.  Several veterinarians didn't expect her to live past the age of ten.  Mysti had other plans and fooled us all!

Until aging interfered, Mysti, a dilute tortie, was our mighty huntress. She was probably proudest of one particular accomplishment: catching and killing a juvenile black rat snake in our basement back in November 2011.  Of course, she brought her catch upstairs to display what she had snagged.

Mysti had been coping with chronic renal failure for over two years and, although frail, was holding her own until the last few days, when she started refusing food.  She even refused tuna!  It wasn't the kidney disease that sealed Mysti's fate, however — it was oral cancer, the same affliction that stole our beloved Cameo from us on Easter Sunday 2017, less than six months ago.

Mr. AOW and I consulted the veterinarian today and decided to do the kind thing — the last thing that we could do for Mysti.

Mysti as a senior citizen (March 17, 2016)

Mysti on my teacup pillowcase, January 27, 2016

Two photos from 1997, when Mysti was a kitten, below the fold.

An Antidote For Politics

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Another of my Facebook finds and worth six minutes of your time:

Goodbye, Cameo

Cameo (July 30, 2001-April 16, 2017):

Cameo on our front porch with the azalea bush in the background.  She is gazing up at the birdhouse.

Heartbreak here. We have lost our beloved Siamese/Russian Blue to cancer.

There will never be another Cameo, our Rottweiler of a kitty. Such a spirited, domineering girl and ever relentless in her boldness! But also so very loving, on her terms, of course.

We will miss Cameo forever.

From day one, Cameo decided that the recliner was hers!

And Cameo loved to pose for the camera.

Pensive, on the back porch, June 20, 2016

Cameo on the new cat rug, March 9, 2017

Mr. AOW and I count it as a privilege to have shared space with such an intelligent and loving alpha cat with an adorable Rottweiler personality.  If only we could have had more time together!

Happy Valentine's Day! (With Addendum)

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graphic from a dear friend's Facebook page

CHERISH

YOUR

BELOVEDS!

And for the cat lovers who frequent this blog:

ADDENDUM

Flowers I received today from the homeschool group. I got the flowers home safe and sound, and they are now safely positioned in our living room:

One Antidote For Political And Societal Angst

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Click directly on the graphic to enlarge it:

The two most-human cats that Mr. AOW and I have ever had the pleasure of calling family very much resembled the white cat toward the lower left corner and the gray cat in the center.  Both of our very-human cats were at least part-Siamese.

Friday The 13th

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Maneki-neko good luck charms originated in Japan, but they are often present in Chinese shops and restaurants.
Ian Willms for the New York Times.

From the New York Times:

Happy New Year — And My Year In Review

What I Learned In 2016:

1.  When my body began sending out distress signals in March, I should not have assumed that the ever-increasing abdominal pain and the drastic loss of appetite were normal parts of aging.  Wrong!  Had I sought medical help earlier, I certainly would not have had so many months of grinding pain.  My usual method of powering through the day was a huge mistake that I won't make again!

2. Cats know things! When I'm in crisis (including grinding pain), Nurse Cameo hovers as she stands guard and sleeps all night with me. When I'm better, she goes back to sleeping by the radiator or in the recliner. Our other two cats, Mysti and Amber, go into hiding when I'm in poor health.

3.  When I had health crisis after health crisis in 2016, Mr. AOW and I found out who my true friends were.  Thank you, dear friends, for all your help and for your words of encouragement along the way.

4.  Oh!  I almost forgot politics!  Well, it turns out that America still holds surprises in politics — including the results of the 2016 National Election.  A year ago, not many would ever have thought that Donald J. Trump would be elected the 45th President of the United States and that the following would become one of the most-frequently watched videos of 2016:

Feeding Time

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Our tortie Amber at feeding time this morning:

A fresh bag of dry food was just opened, and Amber, a foodie, could hardly wait to get her share.

Sunday Break From Politics

One of my Facebook finds, and we who share our homes with cats know that this is true: