So, this makes two days in a row that I've cried

Yesterday, I read something on Facebook that made me laugh until I cried.  Yes, I did.

And today?  Today, I got home from work, checked the mailbox, opened a card, and cried again.  From happiness this time.  And all I can say is,

Okay, okay, so it's kind of hard to get squirmy kittens to pose.  :)

Kris, your insanely generous gift is going to make a huge difference to the rescue.  It will be much, much easier to help the cats I posted about the other day, all thanks to you.  You have made the holidays bright indeed for so many cats!  And you can rest assured that every penny will go directly to help the cats who cannot help themselves.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!  You are truly a special person, and you've made the world a better place for all of us today.

Things I learned this weekend.

Okay, first off, did you know that Jewel the singer is related to the Kilcher family featured on the TV show "Alaska:  The Last Frontier"?  I did not know this until this past weekend, and it kind of  blows my mind a little.  Mainly because the TV show Kilchers seem so ... earthy, and Jewel does not.  Evidently, there is one family in Alaska, and their last name is Kilcher.

Now.  Other stuff I learned.

Cattails are soft.  Like, really, REALLY soft.  Holding a puffed-out cattail is like holding a big wad of cotton.

Ice stays on the beaver swamp even after the temps have been in the fifties for a couple of days:

X marks the spot!  The spot where ... something happens, or happened, or will happen, at some point.

When the opportunity arises to swing on swings, you've got to take it.  Okay, I already KNEW that one, but still.:

When left to themselves, picnic tables will do an interpretive dance:

Patience is a virtue.  Waaaay back in August, when I was at the State Fair, I bought an awesome wooden frog table.  I tucked it away, to be a birthday gift to myself, and since yesterday was the big day - TA-DA!

I love that frog.  Look at the side-eye on that dude!  He's giving us all a giant EFF YOU.

And finally, the last thing I learned this weekend:  When you find a giant metal mermaid at an insanely great price, you must buy it.  It's the law.  I just learned that this weekend.  And that is why I'll be spending NEXT weekend trying to find a place in the house for this beauty.

My weekend.  I learned so much!

Cats take the Cuke Challenge!

Several people sent me links recently to videos of cats being scared by cucumbers.  Just google "cats scared by cucumbers" - evidently it's a thing.

Hmmm, I thought.  I wonder why cats are scared of cucumbers?  And is it ALL cats, or just SOME cats?

Enquiring minds wanted to know.

We'll start with the permacats.  The deal is, you're supposed to place cucumbers behind cats when they are otherwise distracted, and when they turn around and see the cuke, they lose their sh*t.

Cukes placed:

They turn around, and .... nope.  Just a sniff.

Soda sniffed the cukes, and Pony sniffed Soda's butt. *sigh*



Okay, let's try the fosters!  Cucumbers placed:

The kittens turn around, and ... nada.

I currently have ... let's see ... seven cats in the house, and not one reacted to the Cucumber Challenge.  Anybody else out there try it?

I'll have what they're having

(images courtesy Passion Fruit @thinkbri on Twitter)

I dunno ...

... I'm pretty sure the last time I was that blissed-out was back in the seventies.

This is why we do it baybee

I am well aware that, because I do animal rescue work, I am looked on with disdain by a certain percentage of the population.  A "crazy cat lady", as it were, who simply doesn't have enough to fill up her time, and has some weird compulsion to collect as many cats as possible and then simper over them endlessly.  Someone with a screw loose.

Yeah, no.  I do rescue because there are cats out there who are starving.

Who are living in horrible conditions and are helpless.  

Yes, there are people living in poverty who manage to take beautiful care of their animals.  Unfortunately, those people are in the minority.  And we get calls ALL THE TIME for when a situation is out of control; when a relative or authority finally throws up their hands and calls the shelter.

All of these photos are from a home we took cats from this week.  Three pregnant females, and seven kittens of varying ages.

They won't all make it.  Because they were indoor/outdoor cats with no vaccination history, the odds of some of them testing positive for Feline Leukemia or FIV are high.  FIV is survivable; Feline Leuk is a death sentence.  Because the pregnant cats were severely underfed (all of the cats had been visiting area dumpsters desperately trying to supplement their meager diets), they will most likely bear small litters, and not all of the kittens will survive.  If we get a fifty percent survival rate from these cats, that will be considered a sound success.

But we keep telling ourselves the Starfish Story, and we keep plugging on.  Because if we don't do it, who will?  We get zero government funding.  All of our funding comes from individuals; from people who respond to our Facebook and GoFundMe requests; who stop by the shelter or at one of our events and put some change in the donation jar. 

Yeah, we're rolling in dough, all right. NOT.  All of us donate out of our own pockets, deeply, to help the animals who cannot help themselves.

And this, these pictures, this is why I do what I do.  I can't see something like that and not help.  I. just. can't.

The weekend

I took a break from rescue stuff this weekend in a valiant attempt to get caught up on household crap.  But I dicked around in Ithaca all day Saturday, accomplishing exactly ZERO, so Sunday it was time to get to work.  I raked leaves and mowed the lawn and scrubbed the tub and put the gardens to bed and planted a bunch of bulbs.  I'm still not caught UP, but I'm CLOSER, and I even squeezed in a walk yesterday afternoon.

Georgia is reluctantly coming around to the idea that Dean Winchester maybe isn't the WORST kitty ever:

And Tinks elongates in the sunshine:

The leaves are gone off the trees now:

A few crabapples are still holding on:

The tall grasses haven't been weighed down by snow yet:

Somebody's been marking trees:

Look!  Can you spot the cheeepmonk?

There he is!

So I went to the allergist this morning ... AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT!!

Haha, yeah, I will no longer click on those "... and you won't believe what happened next!" things, just on general principle.

But I DID go to an allergist this morning, on the recommendation of my GP, who is trying to figure out why my nose has been running for, oh, the past TWO YEARS or so.

Forty-two skin tests later, it turns out that I'm highly allergic to ragweed.

I'm also allergic to gerbils, dust mites, guinea pigs, dogs, horses, birch tree pollen ...

... and cats.

BECAUSE OF COURSE.

Now, before anybody has a cow, I am NOT re-homing my cats.  Nor will I stop fostering.  When I explained this to the allergist, she asked if I would be willing to at least keep the cats out of the bedroom.  When I told her no, not really, she decided that nasal-spray meds to control the symptoms would be the best place to start.  Followed by injections if necessary.

CATS.

OF COURSE I'M ALLERGIC TO CATS.

The size of the box vs. the size of the thing in the box

Sheesh.

Turnaround

On Saturday, the rescue did an adoption event at a local Tractor Supply.  We don't do same-day adoptions, but some of the kittens had pre-approved applications and were there to go to their new homes, and other kittens came along for the exposure.

Hey, guys, let's go on a road trip!

Taffy was adopted, and that little girl was just over the moon that she was going to have a kitten of her very own:

Gus was adopted, too!  He went to his new home with Blaizley, a one-eyed kitten from the rescue (that's Gus curled up in the woman's arms, there):

 On Sunday, their new folks sent me a picture - I'd say they're settling in just fine:

The rescue took lots more applications on other kittens and cats, which are in the process of being reviewed to make sure everybody goes to suitable homes.

But we had a little problem.  Since Gus and Taffy BOTH went home, that would leave little Georgia all alone at Foster Camp.  Hmmmm ... what to do ...

Meet Dean Winchester!  He came from another foster home, and he'll be staying at my place to keep Georgia company.  Georgia is more than a bit miffed that nobody asked HER about the whole thing, and she's been hissing and growling, but she did that when Taffy joined us, too, and calmed down after a day or two.

So!  On Saturday morning, the Foster Campers were Gus, Taffy and Georgia.  By Saturday night, the Campers were Georgia and Dean.  Big changes at Foster Camp!

'Tis the season ... for scams

About a year ago, I stopped in a little gift shop nearby to look around.  The owner gave me her card, and said that if I'd "friend" her on Facebook, she's send me posts about upcoming sales.  So I friended her, and every once in a while something from her would appear in my Facebook feed, and whatevs.

I was on Facebook the other day, and this post from her popped up:

"I need 6 ladies to participate.....this is going to be fun!

Are you interested in a Holiday Gift exchange?

It doesn't matter where you live - you are welcome to join. This includes ladies of any age to participate in a secret sister gift exchange. You only have to buy ONE gift valued at $10 or more and send it to one secret sister and you will receive 6-36 in return! Let me know if you are interested and I will send you the information! Please don't ask to participate if you are not willing to spend the $10. TIS THE SEASON! and its getting closer. COMMENT if You're in! 

For those of you who don't take the time to nurture your soul..... Here's the opportunity to do something for yourself and someone else!❤❤❤"



Hmmm, I thought.  You buy ONE gift, and you get 6 - 36 in return!  Sounds legit ... hahaha NOT.

A couple of people had already replied saying they were in, and so *I* commented with a link to the Snopes post about this scam ...

http://www.snopes.com/secret-sisters-gift-exchange/

... which explains how these types of deals are chain letters/pyramid schemes and are, therefore, illegal.

(Not to mention impossible ... How on earth is it possible to mail out ONE gift and get back between SIX and THIRTY-SIX?  It ain't ... unless you're on top of the pyramid, of course.)

I try to think the best of people.  I really do.  I assumed that she hadn't realized that she was promoting a shady-ass scam.  I figured she'd issue an embarrassed apology and pull the post.  

 Do you know what she did instead?  The dear woman DOUBLED DOWN.  OH YES SHE DID.

"Anyone that signs up to do this will receive a gift from me! Random Acts of Kindness!!!"

So NOW she was BRIBING people to enter into a pyramid scheme.  Somehow I don't think they teach this in Small Business 101 at the local community college.

So *I* replied:

"Chain letters and pyramid schemes are illegal. Only participate in this if you want to be gifted with a little jail time for Christmas."

 hahaha.  Here's the thing:  There was a time when I wouldn't have touched something like this with a ten-foot pole.  Shit-stirring really ain't my bag, honest.  But this woman was a local BUSINESS OWNER who was preying on her clientele, and it pissed me off.

and then she replied thusly:

 
"Thanks for negating the fun!"

Oh, honey, you are welcome.  YOU ARE SO WELCOME.

Hoarder

I have no idea why there's so much stuff in my fridge that I can't bear to throw away. Right now the list of oddments includes some bruised apples, several Laughing Cow cheese wedges that I am going to eat, oh, NEVER, and a single-serving pouch of pre-mixed Sangria (classy!) that's been there since Spring. I mean, it's not like I'm going to make a MEAL out of this stuff. Not unless the zombie apocalypse occurs within the next week or two, anyway.

I mean, if something goes moldy or stinky, of COURSE it gets the old heave-ho, but if it's not obviously "bad"?  Meh.  It can stay.  It's like I'm waiting for the stuff to leave of its own free will or something.  "Hey, buddy, I didn't ask you to go; you left on your own."  Yeeeah, now I'm getting passive-aggressive with the leftovers.

I posted about this on Facebook last night, and several people chimed in that they, too, had weird stuff lurking in the back of the fridge. Condiments, mostly.  Although one person claimed that they LOVED those Laughing Cow wedges, although it seemed to be more because they can be taken camping without refrigeration than for any actual ... edibility.

So how about you?  Anything ancient lurking in YOUR fridge?  Enquiring minds want to know.

Random

Well, the big news around here is that Henri got adopted on Saturday.  Yippee!  Still got three more kittens in the foster room, so I won't be short of fosters any time soon. Although I do have to do an adoption event this coming Saturday, so who knows?

I fell off the ladder the weekend before last and landed right on my tailbone.  After yelling from the pain loud enough that one of the cats came running to see what was going on, I laid there for a while taking stock before getting back on my feet.  I felt like the "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" lady, and briefly contemplated buying one of those button thingies.  For future ladder f*ckups.

Because Halloween was on a Saturday, I put together a hundred goody bags, and then stopped and bought a couple more bags of candy, just in case. ("Just in case", meaning, "to insure that I have enough left over for me to eat."  I think last year I was still eating Halloween leftovers at Christmas, which is as it should be.)  In the end, I got about sixty kids, so yeah, I've got a wee bit of candy left over.

I've been having dreams lately (I know, I KNOW) where I'm heading for the bathroom, and then I wake up and I actually have to go.  It's like my dream-brain is shaking my body, going, "Wake up!  WAKE UP!  YOU'VE GOTTA GO!"  Hopefully my dream-brain will continue to provide this useful service.

Starting today it's going to be almost dark out when I leave work, which ... yuck.  Hardly bears contemplating.

I've been enjoying Below Deck, that Bravo reality show, because one of the people on it (Rocky, I'm looking at YOU) is batsh*t crazy.  Is anybody else watching that one?

and speaking of crazy, I am ... flabbergasted that Ben Carson is currently beating Donald Trump in the polls.  Crazier, meet craziest.  Holy cow.