Welcome to my "Satisfying My Curiousity" blog. Why call it that? Well, I originally heard this phrase from one of the best comic actors/skit artists in the world, one John Cleese. He had retired from movies and was asked what he intended to do with his time. He said, and this isn't a direct quote, I'm going to travel the world and "satisfy my curiousity". Now, I'm not curious about everything. Like how many fragments of light reflect off a prism (if there is such a thing). I have a curiousity as to the kinds of worlds authors can create with mere words and their meaning behind it all. I have a curiousity as to how or why my cats will one minute enjoy mutual grooming and the next, pounce on each other. I have a curiousity as to what it's like to live in other cultures or at a minimum, experience those cultures. I have a curiousity as to why one year one of my orchids will bloom profusely and the next year, take a nap. I have a curiousity as to whether I can cook food that I have never prepared before and serve it at a dinner party so people will love it. I also have a curiousity as to whether my dear husband can actually break 80 with his swing. And finally, whether I can break 80 with my swing.
So, here goes my ramblings on traveling, books, food, orchids, and my cats. My cats. When my husband and I married 21 years ago, he had a beautiful one year old Maine Coon named Frisky . We married and we thought, well, maybe frisky also needs to get married. So, we got a shelter kitty, a gorgeous tuxedo female and named her Maggie, from Cat on A Hot Tin Roof. We had Frisky for 15 years until he developed kidney disease. We were on our way to Africa and I didn't have a clue what to do to take care of him. I hired a wonderful Vet Technician to come over and care for him. But, I had to learn how to give him subcutaneous fluids. This was not fun. But, we made it through and Frisky lived until the age of 20. Now, if you've ever had to put an animal to sleep, mu God, it is one of the hardest things you will ever do in your life. We decided to be with him when the vet put him "down. I got a beautiful blanket to hold him. It was awful. One minute he is lying in your arms and trusting you and the next, they are gone. I cried for weeks. That day also happened to coincide with the 1st anniversary of my father's death and to the week, the death of my husband's first wife. That left precious Maggie, herslef 18 eyars old. After about a year, my husband began talking about getting another cat. I discussed this with our vet, and she recommended we get two kittens. If we were to get one, it would harrass Maggie to play and Maggie just didn't have it in her. The vet also recommended getting siblings. So, we did research and found a local Maine Coon breeder. We ended up getting two brothers. Their registered names are Kokopelli Rallicat and Botticelli Rallicat. But they are affectionally known and Koko and Bocce (pronounced Boch-ee). Or Kokopop, Koko-lo-mo-po, the popster, popmeister and fat ass and occasionally Oprah (that's right. I have the right to say it!). You see, at the age of 4, Koko weighs 25 pounds. Now, that is one big ass cat. But if you're familiar with the bred, that size is not abnormal. Bocce is affectionally called Bocceboy, Bochman, the Bochmeister. Even though Bocce is not as big as his brother (he weighs 16 pounds), he holds his own in rather rambunctious play times that leaves tumble weeds of hair on our once carpeted, now hardwood floors. Maggie, when introduced to "the boys", she immediately let them know who was boss. She was like a boxer with a mean right and left hook. The vet was right. "The boys" played by themselves and left her alone. Also at the age of 20, Maggie succumbed to old age and kidney failure. This time we couldn't watch. We kissed her goodbye and cried all the way home and then some. You see, it was a milestone for us as a married couple. We had gotten Maggie when we married and then we celebrated our 20th anniversary, and then she died. Bocce and Koko became the light of our lives until 3 1/2 years and I'm at the local pet emporium. I see two little girls carrying around a beautiful white seal point siamese mix. She had the most beautiful blue eyes. Awwwwwww. I rushed home to tell my husband about her. That was 5pm. By 9pm she was ours. We named her Bella Bleu, for her beautiful eyes. She and her mother and siblings were abandoned. So, Bella is a rescue kitty. But with every rescue kitty, there can be problems. And with Bella, there were a few. Within a few days, she had deveopled a serious sneeze and ear scratching. I immediately took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with ear mites, upper respiratory inffection, tape worms and intestinal parasites. That meant keeping her isolated from "the boys" so they wouldn't get any of this stuff. When we were finally able to try to introduce her to Koko and Bocce, she ran right up to Koko and he paid her no mind. Bocce, on the other hand, took 2 months to warm up to her. He wanted to make sure she knew who was the big dude in the household. Now we have a 5 pound kitten attacking her "brothers" that weigh 150 to 400 times more than she does. You can see pictures of them on this blog. So, that is the saga of our family with our cats. And did I mention I'm allergic to cats.......
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