London Southern Belle

Cat lady

I suppose the simple pleasures in life are what count - a nice cuppa', warm socks, Cath Kidston fabric for small projects, a day trip with handsome man 'o mine and a couple of furry cats purring perfectly. I feel like the neighborhood cat lady most days with my two purr-pals, but they make me incredibly happy.

Pippi [with one orange stripey leg! so cute.] is settling in well.She spends most days straddling the radiator consuming as much heat as humanly kitten-ly possible. I cannot say I blame her. She is my kind of girl - enjoys warmth, sunshine and napping on expensive bedding. I feel with the gray days we are experiencing here in England, we may need a holiday soon.  Pippi is quickly approaching her 3rd month of life and I feel her home with us suits her well. Mau Mau has taken to the kitten happily which puts our mind at ease. Handsome man 'o mine spend a lot of time scooping poop from the litter tray yet, I see it as practice for what we hope to come later this year. The upside is that a scoop will not be needed.

because actions speak louder than words

[to think what he would be like with a baby]

What a difference a day makes

What a difference a day makes. Since the accident of our 12 week old kitten, my spirits have been a bit low. I never have been a person to cope with sadness very well. It is as if my heart needs extra time to mend than most. Sadness in just my life isn’t the only time I feel overwhelmed either. I seem to take the burden of others as well which means in most instances I am consistently over burdened with the issues of others. Call it compassion if you will – it almost sounds saintly – Mother Teresa is smiling down. In actual fact, I call it mere insanity.

Do not worry about others as much. It sounds like a reasonable idea to add to my resolutions for the New Year (which is less than 3 months away might I add). Adding it right under the others,

File mail away daily
Call grandmother weekly
Peaceful walks at sundown
Cook fresh pasta
Take a weekend trip once a month
Take photos of life
Drink more water

Yet, the very thought of not empathising with others trials makes me shudder. It is engrained within my core. It is that embedded quality that I hope makes me a terrific teacher, a caring daughter, a loving wife and a loyal friend but as of lately, I have had to look after number one – myself.

Yesterday, that sweet kitten that you all have been aww’ing over was taken from our world. He was doing so well and in fact he was behaving like a normal, healthy kitten –apart from the slight tremors which were a result of neurological damage and he was very tiny for his age. On yesterday, it all went down hill. He wasn’t well. I thought perhaps he had a cold but by the afternoon it was more than that. The seizures started again, he was limp and staring through me. I panic. In two weeks, I have panicked on three occasions and I cannot think of anything worse. The tightening of my chest and finding it hard to breathe, I walk in circles, thinking thoughts out loud that make as much sense as night time make up at the height of a noon day. I compose myself, scoop up kitten and we make our way to the clinic –kitten’s home away home as of lately. The seizures were not seizing and I had to make the decision to let him go. I kissed his tiny head, escaped the enclosed room and became a heap in my car. It is remarkable how attached handsome man 'o mine and I  became to this tiny little life. He was so brave and we miss him dearly.

Sadness is a strange emotion. Strange in how is can encompass your life.  For now, we shall grieve - taking life one day at a time.

 

 

Introducing

Blog world. Meet the newest addition to our little family - Starbuck. aka, baby cappuccino, little baby chino, tiger face, baby cat. Yes, he really is just this lovely. Finally, Mau Mau has taken to him a little, too!

Enjoy!*meow*

Short & Sweet

I spent the evening baking. Despite the tiredness of a busy week of grading student's assignments and meeting deadlines, I managed to find the energy to contribute to a farewell party for a work colleague. Nothing fancy, but the sentiment is there. These cupcakes are extremely sought after at work which brings a smile to my face. I adore baking and even plan to take a cake decorating & cookie designing class this summer. Should be great fun.

Other happenings in our home - Mau Mau, our fur-child loves watermelon. Very amusing.

Still no news on the home buying adventure and we continue to search for our perfect little nest. However, did view a tiny (very tiny) cottage with character galore - just no room to grow. The search continues.

We begin our adoption prep course on Monday evening. A range of emotions in regards to this step- please continue to keep us in your thoughts.

Queen Elizabeth must be so proud

I talk to my cat. I sing to her, too. Sometimes, I make up silly songs depending on what she may be doing at the time.

Kitty Kitty, Meow Meow
You're a fish face meow meow
China saucer just for you
Yum Yum Yum Yummm Yum Yuuuuuum
In your tum!

She loves it. She loves the birds singing outside our bedroom window therefore, she must love when I sing too. I know she does - despite handsome man o' mine mimicking my songs replacing words with "blah blah blah blah" as he thinks that is all kitty hears. Yet, I am convinced Princess Mau Mau knows 'fish face' when she hears it. Her eyes slowly squint [not wince] as I sing and she looks up at me in great grandeur. My voice - simply music to hear tufty little ears.

Not even a fish face song would lighten the mood of our fur-kid this week as she went in for her mini surgery of being spayed. She hasn't even been interested in watching the birdies outside our bedroom window. Of course, I was incredibly nervous for her and even canceled once and asked for it to be postponed. I needed more time. Yes, I needed more time to prepare myself. And once I finally had taken her in and the procedure was finished, I took one look at her tiny belly baring stitches and cried our entire journey home. I felt awful.

The lampshade [e-collar or Elizabethan collar. How proud Queen Elizabeth must be to have such a contraption named after her?] around kitty's head has been the highlight of the week. She hates it and I hate that she has become such a fashion victim. What would coco kitty Chanel say? We have realized this lampshade contraption is most helpful for storing items such as car keys, phones and pocket change. However, kitty was less than amused. And even more so annoyed by insane owner [me]  decorating the lampshade with 'get well' stickers of flowers and satin ribbons. Ok, ok...so it was more for my emotional well being. It did make the vet giggle when I took kitty in for her post operation check-up.

Enough of lampshades and cats and let's talk about what I received in the mail this morning! Our sweet Royal Mail posty [postman] and his trusty red bicycle, who delivers our mail through our front door letter box every morning was feeling a much lighter load when he dropped off a box for me. A box that traveled all the way from America! And, this box a little packages of these were sleeping soundly....

Soft batch chocolate chip cookies....YUMMY SCRUMMY! I will have to ration them out. I'll let you know how long that idea lasts. Thanks Gwen! And, I ADORE the "Adoption Baby Book".... you are so sweet to have sent that to us.

And, I shall leave you with a photo of the English countryside. A mere [surprisingly] minutes walk from my front door. The buttercups are stunning! I can almost hear them asking me to join them for a sunny picnic of tea and crumpets!

A messege from Princess Zara

   

I think we may just have a star

I suppose if our little moggy mistress were a child, we would be those type of 'rents to push their child to stardom. Who doesn't want to make money off of their kids *ahem* children (we are talking humans here, not baby goats), reap the benefits and later be sued for everything we own my so called goat *ahem* child? Exhibit A: LeAnne Rimes.

Before we insist the producers of Shrek see our little darling in action, we would like your opinions on this phenomenon. Wait for it....

Old hat cat, Puss in Boots (I mean, seriously....this moggy needs botox and all....)

And the replacement....presenting, Zara Star as the new, fresh faced Puss in Boots!

She is terrific, right!? We have consulted with Miss Zara Star and she has confirmed that she would indeed prefer George Clooney (dressed in drag, naturally) as her voice over. Sorry, Antonio.

Next up, her acrobatic tricks and Tony Hawk impression with bathtub as prop!

[Her agent may be contacted for further bookings]