42 things you may or may not have known about me ...

I have done the things listed below in bold. Feel free to copy this exercise for your own blog. I found it on someone else's myself.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped (not bungee, but in high school I conquered the SkyCoaster)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (I’ve watched from land)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29 Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41 Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45 Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60 Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67 Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone (toes and maybe a finger, no casts)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Mia

1/6 Update: Mia has found a foster home. She will soon be out of the boarding facility where she's been the last couple of months. This should bring up her spirits. Let's hope she finds her forever family soon. Hooray for a foster family though!

*********

I heard about Mia through a Petraits email. Then I visited her blog. She's a two-year-old, 45-pound Boxer/Am Staff-mix who needs a loving home.

Mia lost her home when her 27-year-old owner died suddenly a couple months ago. Her human mom was a public school teacher, a PAWS Chicago volunteer and a huge animal lover who found Mia as a stray and took her home. Mia is now an energetic, house-trained girl with professional training. She comes with her own crate and loves showing you her tricks (sit, stay, heel, and dance like a princess!).

Click here for more specific information about Mia.

Please share this information with anyone who might like to meet Mia.

Easy herbs

I interrupt my animal posts for an exciting post about GARLIC. I found a new little cooking treasure. Little freezer trays of crushed garlic cubes. They are so easy to use! Just pop one or two out of the tray and voila! They are made by Dorot and can be found at Trader Joe's in the frozen food aisle. For $1.99!

It cracks me up when commercials include the specifics of where you should find something. "You can find our fabulous soup in the the soup aisle of many fine retailers." Wow, really? I think that time and money could have been spent a little more wisely.

Back to garlic! All Dorot herbs are freshly frozen and retain their natural flavor and aroma. They are the real thing. No preservatives. No cholesterol. No trans fat acids. No food coloring.

The company also offers:

Crushed Ginger
Chopped Basil
Chopped Parsley
Chopped Coriander (Cilantro)
Chopped Dill
Chopped Mint
Chopped Red Chili Peppers

I am not (opposed to) receiving compensation for providing this message.

Finalizing Fritz!

We want Fritz! :) And I think he'd say the same about us. His adoption papers are in the mail (as of tomorrow).

He's having a good time with his new squirrel-watching buddy and partner in Tabby-ness, Johnny.



And things are much calmer between Fritz and Katie. He's been more respectful of her space and it's only making her more interested in what he's doing! So, he's using reverse psychology. Smart boy.

Here's a photo of Fritz in the crinkle tunnel.



Our cats were never interested, so Fritz has claimed it for his own! So much so that it has to be put "to bed" at night so we can sleep.

We were kind of dreading the announcement of three cats. For some reason, that's the magic "crazy" number. The reactions from our mothers: "You'll know when you have enough cats!" and "Three cats?!?!" The former was much more supportive. The latter? Well, it's pretty well crushed her dream of us realizing "our" dream of living in a downtown high-rise. Yee-ha!

Welcome, Fritz Cat!

Update

Unfortunately, they had to euthanize the sweetie. The x-ray showed she had a broken back. Poor kitty. That must have been so terribly painful, not to mention frightening for her.

I do find it comforting that she didn't have to suffer through the cold days ahead in her condition. We found her on Sunday. Since then, it's been in the 40s here during the day and the 30s at night. She was facing an agonizing death, probably of starvation.

At least she was warm and she didn't have to suffer more.

But still... :(

While at the shelter today, a dog I was walking became very interested in sniffing a tarp in the corner of the yard. He pulled the tarp up with his nose and I saw a cat's back leg. I went inside to get help. Charles, a staff member, came back out with me and brought a carrier.

When Charles lifted the tarp, the cat ran for the fence. We both gasped in horror, as it was running using only its front legs; the cat's back legs were just dragging behind flat on the ground. It was an awful sight.

Even with just two working legs, the cat was FAST. It climbed up the fence as quick as any other. It took about ten minutes, but we finally managed to get the poor kitty into the carrier and inside. The cat looked similar to the one above, but with more white.

Charles said it had likely been hit by a car. It wasn't bleeding, but obviously very injured. Charles said that it might have to be euthanized. But, he also expressed a little hope that the doctor who happened to be in today might try and treat the cat's injuries if it was possible. I'm hoping for this outcome, of course, but understand that euthanasia might be the humane thing to do.

The fact that the cat managed to get to Animal Care & Control on his/her own is pretty lucky. I hope it's a sign that more good luck awaits this sweet kitty. I should know more tomorrow.

Fritz!

After taking him back to Sheri's, we took a few days to think about Oscar. And the terrible decision to introduce him so quickly. We decided to give it another try, but with a very different strategy. So, we went back to get him!

And he now answers to Fritz!

We have been doing a very slow introduction this time around. For a few days, Fritz stayed in the 2nd bedroom at all times. Interest was building on both sides of the door. Last weekend, we put up a tall doggy gate (borrowed from Sheri) so that the kitties could all see each other and start getting used to the idea of meeting him and vice versa. This went well, and it was discovered that this boy can JUMP! He escaped numerous times, even though the gate came up to my armpits.



We've built up to Fritz now having free range of the apartment when we're home. We leave his door open, and he wanders in (to eat and sleep) and out (to explore, play, etc.). It's worked pretty well.

Fritz and Johnny have had some promising interactions mixed in with just a couple tense ones. All in all, there is not much hissing/growling anymore. I think they have the potential to get along great.

Katie is another story. She was doing pretty well as long as he didn't come near her. She was interested in watching him and seemed to be getting more comfortable until she was chased yesterday.

Fritz chased her from the living room into our bedroom. She ran under the bed, which is her "safe place." Johnny has never followed her under there. Well, Fritz did. She was literally screaming. Brian finally was able to grab Katie, who was very traumatized. She's now very wary of him and more on edge, understandably.

Hopefully this memory will fade. And hopefully Fritz learned a lesson by being placed back in isolation.

I'll post some more photos soon.