Cat #7 - Edgar

I first met Edgar last summer. He was this fluffy grey blob I would catch glimpses of hanging out on the side of my shed. I think he was living in an overturned garbage can. He was absolutely terrified of me. I started leaving bowls of food out for him by the shed and I'd run back in the house and peek through the living room window to see if he'd eat. I had to make sure he didn't see me or he'd get this look of terror on his face and go darting back behind the shed.

The day after I had to have Seymour, one of my strays, put down (I had hoped to find him a home as he turned out to be such a good natured cat, but he tested very positive for FIV), I was a complete wreck. All of a sudden Edgar appeared on the deck in my back yard. When I went to the door he didn't run away. I slowly and quietly went outside and sat down on the deck and stuck my hand out. After only a few minutes, he came over and wanted me to pet him.

I had a complete meltdown right there on the deck. I eventually went inside and Edgar spent the rest of the day sitting at my back door staring at me while I sat at my desk.

More meltdowns ensued. FOAP agreed to help again, and a couple of nights before his first vet visit (this was now October) the temperature was to drop to below 0 so Berni at FOAP suggested I bring him in for the night. I locked him in my bathroom and spent alot of time with him where he'd run over and curl up right in my lap.

However he did not enjoy AT ALL being stuck in there so in the middle of the night I got up, built him a little shelter outside, and let him out. He ended up sleeping in the shelter. Once at the vets I learned he had no fatal diseases or anything to really worry about, and that he was already neutered, about 9-13 years old, and was on the verge of emaciation (you could feel every bone in his spine). He is now a very healthy weight and LOVES food. I was not planning on keeping him because frankly, I am overloaded with cats in my tiny house, but him and I have grown very attached to each other, and I think I'd like him to live out the rest of his days here with me.

I thought this would have been the end of my cat series here on "kim's page", but seeing that my fiancé is moving in next month, it appears there will be 2 more cats coming on board. GAWD HELP US. So stay tuned for posts about cat #8 (Domino) and cat #9 (Inky) - who are actually both FOAP cats that Jeff has been fostering.

The fun part of wedding planning

I never wear dresses. I never really go anywhere where a dress would be appropriate, and well, this is the arctic and I'm always cold so I tend to stay away from them. Despite the fact that the only dresses I own are ones I bought to wear at weddings. But now that I'm having my own wedding, I'm really excited to find the perfect dress. I've been devouring Etsy all week looking at potential wedding dresses and have found 4 that I really like. I want something not too fussy and on the short side since it will be a very casual affair and we'll be standing around in grass the whole time. Let me know what you think!

  
KaliOseano
  
Your Fairy Tale Wedding
  
upoppy
holly stadler

A new chapter

For those who don't know, I've been dating Jeff for quite a while now...we argue about how long it's been. Jeff says 8 years and I say this summer will be 10. We've talked about moving back in together (we lived in 4 different places together, the last of which was a home we owned together) and about getting married. Well, on Saturday we thought we'd go check out rings at an antique market and sure enough yesterday I came home with one.

I LOVE it - very deco in style and I love that's it unique. So it seems Jeff and I are officially FINALLY engaged and we are thinking about having a small casual wedding (perhaps a BBQ in my parents backyard this summer). Frankly big weddings scare me. Along with wedding plans, there will also be some more renovation projects around my house, and some will have to happen ASAP if Jeff and his 2 cats are going to fit in here. Yes folks, there will be NINE cats in this house. So stay tuned for lots of happenings over the next several months.

Cat #6 - Felix

Not long after I moved into my current home, around March 2008, Felix started hanging around my property. He looked very sick, and was just skin and bones. He was super friendly though and it was clear that he had a home at one point but was abandoned. After a short time of him hanging around and me feeding him, I called up Friends of Abandoned Pets and they agreed to help out getting Felix looked after at the vets, but they had no foster homes so I would have to foster him until a home was found. I agreed. At the vets he was neutered and received treatment for all sorts of things like fleas, ear mites etc., and had to be locked up in a room in my home afterward for about a month in total while he healed and we waited for test results (which were negative). While locked up, I discovered that Felix is a pee-er. He pissed all over the room - he would even jump up on my dressers and pee down the walls. Every day I would get home from work and clean up at least 3 messes. This kept up even after he was able to have free reign of the house so he was put on Chlomicalm, a drug to chill him out. That has helped immensely and he doesn't pee randomly anymore. But this meant he could not be placed on FOAP's adoption list and I had to agree to keep him. He is also no longer skin and bones. In fact, the last time I took him to the vets he weighed an astounding 20 lbs. I am pretty sure he's now about 25 lbs. He is a gorgeous cat, with amazingly thick blue/grey fur. He has quite a personality and gets along great with all the other cats and loves people. I don't mind being stuck with him. :)

This first photo is one I took before I decided to save Felix. He would curl up like that on my deck and sleep for hours.
It was heartbreaking.

The next photo is one of a few I took of Felix after he had been to the vets and was locked up in my second bedroom.

And look at him now!

Prepping for summer

About a month ago I decided I really wanted to start a collection of vintage melmac/melamine dishes that I can use outside in the summer. I love all the colours they come in and thought it would be fun and maybe make me spend more time outdoors. :) They're also handy to have on hand when the niece/nephew come over. So I started scouring Etsy and found some adorable cups and saucers in a salmon pink from mantisvintage.

But I soon realized that it would cost me a fortune buying bits and pieces. And then I lucked out when I found a 72 piece set at the Etsy shop of Anthro Povertie. They were in an awesome colour combo of salmon, grey, blue and yellow, and they have speckles in them which happens to match my kitchen counters. :) Here is what the set includes: serving bowl, serving platter, butter dish and lid, creamer, sugar bowl and lid, gravy boat , 10 dinner plates, 6 salad plates, 12 dessert plates, 12 cups, 12 saucers, 7 berry bowls, 5 handled soup bowls. And all for $125 US. They arrived on Friday and are even cuter in person. Now I want to fix up my shed out back so I can display them on some shelves (LOL). BBQ at my place! (Thanks Amy!)