Life with cats, and other things…
06:23 28th August 2026 You would think, with dawn arriving later, that Lily's wake-up calls would be adjusted. Well yes, they are, but in the wrong way. First it was 03:30, then 3 and last night it was 02:30, which is not awful because it gives me a chance to get back to sleep, but … Continue reading Lost sleep
"Glad to see you finally got your clothes back on. You were looking dead scruffy!" When you spend a lot of time in your own head you imagine all sorts of conversations. Your imagination may very well run away with itself. Take, for example, what I said yesterday about being stigmatised when my parents took … Continue reading Better late
Charlie. 2018 The process of selling an overlarge, problematic property while purchasing another 3,000 miles away and arranging the transport of 13 cats provided challenges. They might well have discouraged me and in another mindset, I may have abandoned the idea. But I'd made the decision and committed to it. One thing could have caused … Continue reading The only regret
Cooper's Lake, Washington. November 2016 Little did we know how much of a pastime sightseeing would become for us when Grant took me up to Cooper's Lake one day in late 2016. The Pacific-northwest is a beautiful part of the world and you might wonder how I didn't spend more time enjoying it. It was … Continue reading Hard years
Auburn, WA. 29th November 2014 A rare (in those days) snowstorm decorated the hills in late November, 2014. It was very pretty but being so unaccustomed, no-one was geared up to deal with it, so it was somewhat inconvenient. Mere months after I left Washington in 2018, a lot of much heavier snow fell and … Continue reading Pooling resources
Memorial chimes. There are so many now. Perhaps I'll take a moment to explain why animals mean so much more to me than people. They have for as long as I can remember As a child I fell in love with Bambi and Thumper, Lady and the Tramp and every real animal I caught sight … Continue reading I will find you
26th November 2013 my Office Supervisor. Wherever I happened to be, Panther was never far away. If he had some important task to complete, he'd go off and attend to it, then rush back to resume supervising my actions. His front legs were malformed but Panther moved around the house at top speed, ensuring that … Continue reading Bumper
0748/28th December 2025 Some people believe their deceased animals come back in the form of other pets. Maybe they do. Anything is possible. I don't make such a claim, although I have always felt that Willow and Blackie came into my life at the urging of Panther. Panther's death hit me the same way Yeti's … Continue reading A short sweet life
Cisco and Panther still best buddies! People who dismiss the loss of your animal companion telling you to go get another are clueless. Animals have personality. You love them as individuals. They are not replaceable. Returning home with Yeti's empty carrier, I felt lost. She had been my close companion for 17 years. Of course … Continue reading Thimphu
1533/24th December 2025 Christmas Day passed very quietly, marked by a slight eyebrow raiser at breakfast and a minor worry that fortunately resolved before transitioning to panic... The past couple of days have been beautifully decorated with anew application of light snow and changing light. . Breakfast time is when I do my daily brain … Continue reading Thoughts