The First Place Gold Winner Is...

This winter season I have lost two of my outdoor felines. Good friends of mine who have been in my life since my family abandoned me in early spring of 2011. 

Chaun Elizabeth

A Bombay, Chaun Elizabeth was quick to become my friend if I had food or not. An orange tabby, Jimmy James discovered me a few short weeks later and couldn't help but be my friend. I love them both very dearly. Friends are friends. It does not matter if they walk on two legs or four. I appreciated their kind and gentle souls.

I finally came to grips with them missing in the past week. As Chaun (pronounced Shawn) disappeared at the beginning of March. She was my guard cat. She was fearlessly loyal and protective of me. She never missed a meal. James would come in and out. He would take vacations but when Chaun who rarely missed a moment with me did for over a week; I knew my friends were lost to the elements. 

As a tribute, i wrote the poem: All I Have to Give. The poem was my way of dealing with another set of losses in my life. Poetry is how I transform negative emotions into positive action. 

It doesn't mean, it doesn't hurt any less. I hurt. I cry. I want my cats returned to me.

Jimmy James

Until then, I entered the poem into a contest, which I won. I very much appreciate the vote of confidence from the anonymous judges.

So a huge Thank You goes out to Bonnie Jennings who organized the contest. The other poems entered were just as worthy and worth a read. I hope you visit the source link below. 

To Chaun and James, I hope you are soaring wherever you are and will come visit me again. Thank you so much for your companionship. You are wonderful examples of service cats. I appreciate your time and patience with me. 

Good-bye, my friends, may you always be remembered in verse.


Also added to Reiteration's content. 

Source: Boondoggles and Snafu



Please donate to my fundraiser: A Safe Place for Us. Thank you!   

Crickets and Meandering Migraines

Migraines are wonderful.

They are wonderful for screwing up your schedule, causing immense pain, and terrorizing your life. 

I am ill and migraines are a cyclical answer my body gives me about the condition I am in. It's not pretty. Sometimes, it's just not something that is easily overcome.

With this last round this week, I found myself in the dark with no noise and plenty of ice packs, only to be serenaded by a cricket in my closet. I moved my shelving. I squirted him with some watered down apple cider vinegar... nothing would shut him up! 

Finally, I banged on the wall a few times and he got the message. I was so not interested in him as a man. He needed to hop to another bar. 

So after he got out of my closet and into another part of house, or he got eaten by a kitty, my migraine left my head. Well, head. Then the pain went down to my left shoulder. It stayed there for a long time. Then as the pain was exiting my shoulder it went to my left wrist and eventually to my left ankle. 

You're guess is as good as mine. 

I hope you have a great and wonderful, pain free, day!

Feline Domestication: It's All About Them

Cats are really their own best friend, but they like us nonetheless.

My friend had made mention that she read an article that made the declaration: cats domesticated themselves. So much for dogs. The cats have it! 

With human agriculture and grain storage attracting rodents and mice, cats entered our world over 12,000 years ago. Let the cat worship begin! Well, they did start it. 

Today's domestic cats come from a small variety of wildcats. 

This study also explains why my little grey tabby calico wanted outside so bad. She lives out there with the others who have wandered my way. While the study explains her genetics, it also explains the indoor, never want to go outside, cats I have as well. 

Good to know it is not me.

Have a great and wonderful day! 

Source: Washington Post

A Good Day

Today was hectic. 

Manageable in some parts, unmanageable in others, this day was a cornucopia of ups and downs. When I settle in for the evening, I usually chat someone up on Facebook. Well, someone told me I was the good part of their day. 

That is a wonderful feeling. 

I don't know if anyone has ever conveyed that to me before. People do not say things like that in today's society. You're are just supposed to guess.

Do you like me? Or am I annoying you? I guess I will stick around until you throw something at me...

What a way to live.

 And, here you thought I wasn't going to be buttoned down since I rearranged Undawnted... yeah, no. I cannot help but to be me. Cats, and all. 

Have a great and wonderful day!

 

Lost Cat Equals Lost Mind

My little black, orange, and white calico went missing for a whole day.

I thought she escaped outside. Nope. I looked high and low inside. Still no cat. WTF? Was she interdimensional? 

So after calling her all day and evening and not remembering seeing her anytime in the morning, I was a little more than concerned. I even fed everyone their soft food without her showing up. I was flabbergasted. 

So I watched my usual television shows. One had a very sad ending, but I ended up crying because I could not find my defenseless indoor cat. She was born and raised in my house. She has no other reference. She could easily be hit by a car.  Or worse, she could be eaten by a coyote. 

The desert is fraught with danger. 

Well, crying seems to be the kitty calling card. She came out of her hiding place like nothing happened. I am sure she found some spot to nestle into where my human eyes could not see. 

Anything to make my lose my mind seems to be fair game in my house. 

In writing, our characters can come into similar situations. It is good to note feelings and anxiety in your own life and to be able to transfer them to your characters. So I need a character with a cat that plays hide and go seek like a method actor.

And, I wonder where she learned it from?

Have a great and wonderful day.

Herding Cats

That is what my week has felt like.

I know you cannot herd cats. I have some. Herding is not an option.

Humans however... I had to write a person's lawyer about their negative albeit criminal behaviors. Why can't some people act like adults? You're guess is as good as mine. Then there's going to the store. When you are ill and disabled, a store a mile away seems like a continent away. I feel that I need to find an online solution to grocery shopping. 

Of course the Disneyland measles outbreak. Everyone is panicking. You and your unvaccinated kids are going to make us sick? That's logic. I swear people do not listen to themselves speak or write. If you are vaccinated, what's the worry? Or do people leaving the sham that is vaccinations actually know something you are too afraid to admit to yourself?

Research Linus Pauling Institute, research done on megadoses of IV Vitamin C. The cure for measles and West Nile Virus already exists, but that would take too much money away from large corporations. 

 Well, we are supposed to receive some type of rain here in the desert. The amounts keeps changing, lower and lower, as the planes are seen spreading something above the clouds. Great another toxin to detox. Like I don't have enough illness to go around. 

Okay, I am exhausted again. 

Time for some rest. Nothing on television tonight so I might fall to sleep with Youtube on. 

How about you?

Have a great and wonderful night!

Rainy Days for Lazy Cats

I confess: I am a lazy cat.

In human form, but in the spirit of a rainy, cloudy evening, I turned into a lazy cat. And, why not? It was a great day to be lazy. 

I like to watch a cat sleep. Cats are such peaceful sleepers in peaceful homes. They stretch. They blink. They go back to sleep.

Ah to be a cat and today I got to stretch and blink and go back to sleep.

Try it sometime. It is a wonderful experience.

Have a great week! 

Sleeping the Day Away

Well my body has decided to take epic naps.

I set my alarm for a two hour nap and I wake several hours after that. Even when I rouse to turn off the alarm, my body just says: no way. So it is sleep time. 

With the agriculture, cotton spraying and moldy soil drudging, my body is overwhelmed. Too many airborne toxins, so little time. Plus the geoengineering rampant in the skies above, I am not all psyched about going outside these days.

At least my black and white cats likes to play fetch. He brings me his toy, I throw it, he chases and returns with it. Such smart kitties I have. 

I know totally off the subject of being ill but I am apart of a cat colony. When I don't feel well, toys are brought to me. I either play with them or toys pile up where I usually get out of bed. And I do mean pile. It is not one toy; it is the whole toy box. 

I guess she does not like that toy to play with, we'll bring her the other one, and the other one... oh, and this one too! 

It is hilarious. 

Cat logic. Cat naps. Well, those subjects did go together.

Have a halloweeny kind of day!

Migraines, the Gift that Keeps on Giving

It is nice to see some things never change.

Another day, another migraine. This one took me out for several days. Since I suffer from Environmental Illness, I do not get the luxury of pain relief. No medications for me, I am on my own. 

It is great when you add in the skull splitting pain. 

So how was your weekend? My cats were so worried that a shrine of toys was left at my bedside. I get up to get a drink of water and there are cat toys lining the floor. 

At least my kitties are considerate. I am officially apart of their cat colony and when I go down, they take notice. 

Awww, kitty love. 

I hope your day is full of love from your fur friends too. 

Have a scary, fright filled day!

Down for the Count

Serious illness is unpredictable.

I guess it's back to writing! The cats don't care; they're asleep all over. Some on the bed. Some of the dresser... Some are missing.

What a great life a house cat has.

Maybe, I should start writing about them!

Have a great and wonderful day.

Alibis and Other Misnomers

I didn't do it!

Who knows for sure? Do you have an alibi? I sure don't unless you count sleeping a room full of cats. I bet the judge would not allow their testimony in court, now would s/he?

I was thinking of a scene for one of my novels and how I would react to a certain situation. Would I be hurt? Defensive? Offensive? How many four letter words would I use in that moment?

Okay, lots... but what would my character do?

When writing from a character's point of view sometimes it is difficult to cut yourself loose from that moment with them. You have created your own little alibi. I was with my character at the time. 

But isn't that the fun of writing?

Have a great and wonderful day!

So It Begins

It's funny.

When you are working on fleshing out one of your stories, you start to cheer for every page and/or 1000 words you can add.

Of course my cats don't care. They hang out in the room with me. Some sleep on the floor. Some sleep on the dresser. The brave ones sleep on the bed while I type.

Brave because I am in and out, up and down. I must refill my glass. I must get a munchie. I need a break. Sometimes I go just to pet and tease a cat! 

Now that it is 111+ here in Phoenix, I keep the house cool in the back part. The front part gets most of the sun so I close the accordion door on the hallway I had put up a few years ago and chill out in my room.

I am laid up in bed anyway, I might as well take advantage. 

Oh, you don't know about accordion doors? Shop online at Lowes or Home Depot. Then have a handy man place one at the end of your hall. The door helps keep the heat or the a/c in the bedrooms and not where it's not needed during the day or night. 

I am so glad I put one up.

Now for solar...

Have a great and wonderful day!

Hummingbird Graduation Day

It's Graduation Day at the my house.

Baby hummingbirds are taking their first flights this morning... awww! 

I did take some pictures this weekend of the babies because they were getting too big for their nest. I knew their time to investigate the wider world was not far away. Today was that day.

So I went out and all the babies were gone from their nest. As I stood around the gazebo, the last of the babies buzzed up to me. She wanted to show me she got her wings. I put my hand up for her to land and she decided to go another direction... which she smacked into my six foot fence wall. 

She bounced a few more times until she hit the ground. Irene, my outdoor cat, pounced on that stroke of good luck and proceeded to get the baby in her mouth... but Irene listens to me. I kept repeating NO! until my cat released the baby bird. It must have been quite the mental struggle for Irene to let go of such a tasty treat, but she did.

Even Ivanka, my indoor calico who gets a free pass to the outdoors a few times a week, wanted to capture the baby hummingbird. It was such a scene of me yelling and running around to save that baby bird from two feisty felines. In the end, I was victorious.

I gathered that little bird into my hand and made sure she wasn't bleeding anywhere. Then I moved my wrought iron loveseat so I could bring down the planter with the nest in it to my level. I placed the baby back in the nest and hung the planter back up so mother hummingbird could take a look for herself... 

Boy, was she concerned. I think more that I touched her baby then about the cats. Anyway, the baby is good, being refueled by mom, and encouraged to take another flight. I am staying inside as to not create another incident. The baby's wings got tired too easily when confronted with a challenge.

I'll just watch from my glass security door... but those first few seconds of "look human what I can do!" was priceless and to make me apart of their Graduation Day was sweet of them.

See what happens when you help out your fellow creatures? You get rewarded in ways that are too emotional for words. I hope tomorrow is a better day for the baby hummingbirds and that they spend a few more nights in their nest. 

Sometimes saying good-bye is such sweet sorrow. 

Something About Anniversaries

On this day, one year ago, my adopted cat Irene had four cute little wigglebutts.

Thus the house was never the same again. The End... just kidding!

I have four little furry people who think I am their world. Riley, my Bombay, is playing fetch with me. I throw her toy and she brings it back for me to throw again. She is self taught. 

My calicoes, one is a bday girl and one is a year older from another litter, are both best friends. Those cats understand and nurture each other. Very cute.

The siamese screams and yells around the house with his bankie (a small, decorative wool blanket the size of a large index card for display items) in his mouth. I wake up in the mornings usually with one next to me. The other times, I yell back that I am in here (whatever room that tends to be). I explain to him with seven creatures in this house, there is no way he could ever be alone.

My black and white kitten is full grown and acts like his feral father. Boy, what a boy! He likes to be dominate especially over an older white male in the house, but I don't allow that. 

For creatures who are supposed to be dumber than dogs, these cats are really smart. They listen to what I have to say and do my commands when I talk loud enough. Cats are not stupid. You have to train them just like a dog. I associate words with actions and treats. 

Neighbors have even complimented me on how the outdoor cats listen to me.

Well, in the babies case, I fed Irene really well, took care of her, and trained her babies. These one year olds are very smart because I took the time and energy to raise them right. Doesn't mean they still don't act up and out like cats. They're cats! Of course, they do, but they also think and evaluate situations like how annoying can we be until the human gets the squirt bottle out and how fast can we run to avoid getting wet. 

Kitty logic.

Their presence has really helped me. My family abandoned me. A friend suggested: left me for dead three years ago. That leaves a lot of healing to do. 

With my new-found family, I don't have to worry about being alone in my house now. I have love and companionship. It may be unconventional but I don't see any human giving up their materialistic lifestyle to spend a life of isolation with me. 

Hell, I would be the greatest candidate to go to Mars, or some other colony. As long as I have a cat, the internet, and entertainment, I'm good. I wish I wasn't so ill. 

So off I go to get the office back in shape. I cleaned, organized, and am getting everything set up still. I am going to get back into writing novels and books again, not just do the periphery actions. If I start now, I should be done in about five to ten years! Isn't illness fun?! 

Have a great and wonderful day. 

 

_____

 

Novelist, DL Mullan, has Biotoxin Illness from industrial chemicals, black mold, and pesticides from her former employer. Her office was in the same building as the water treatment plant. Years later after receiving no recompense, she uses natural supplementation, sugarless diet, and detox methods to regain a small quality of life. She may never be whole, or able to work in an office ever again, but with perseverance, Ms. Mullan is beating the odds against a low functioning/collapsed immune system. 

Support her efforts by purchasing her apparel, art, and books.

Walking Like an Egyptian Bearing Cats

I was playing around on the internet the other day and discovered I was born during the Egyptian astrological sign of Bastet.

I love cats. I have cats. Cats are the one thing in life I am not allergic to. I even have a statue from a store that is of a cat with ancient Egyptian markings.

So, I wonder: do I have an old Egyptian soul?

It would make a lot of sense. Cats are attracted to me. Even mad, feral cats seem to find their way to my yard even if there is no food left in the garage. Freaky.

Really freaky because is this life, I'm Irish. 

Positive Energy and Creation

I am new to the energy work realm relatively speaking to many others on this path. 

Even before I began to formally apply positive energy and thinking to situations, the universe was always there guiding me. Last year, I took in a pregnant 9 month old cat and eventually raised her babies. This year mother nature has decided I should host a mother hummingbird and her brood.

For a few weeks, the hummingbird sat on her eggs in the apex of my gazebo. Now she is feeding a hungry crew. In another few short weeks, the babies will leave the nest. 

All these happy beginnings surround me. 

Is the universe trying to tell me something? Well it's not motherhood and me that is for sure. That dream died with my second collapsed immune system (the black mold incident).  I cannot pass on this disease to anyone. It's not right.

I think the universe is telling me to do a do-over. Start again. Make my own happy beginning. 

It seems I am attracting in the animal world what I always wanted for myself: a home, caring family, positive support, and a safe environment in which to thrive. 

My only question is: what animal will I be hosting next year?

Giraffes? 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Jesus is My Cat

Cats are really weird.

Some people think cats are impersonal, dumb animals. Own one and discover their quirks. My Lynx Colorpoint Shorthair believes that racing around the house and across me is super fun.

So the exclamation: Jesus! has not been spared.

All of a sudden he is jumping on my stomach to get somewhere. Or, trying to race me to the end of the hallway where I am oblivious to his game and accidentally kick him. Good thing, I am not in a hurry or I could hurt him.

When he gets too excitable the squirt bottle is employed and was the only thing to stop him from gutting me one week.

Jesus! Come save me from your wildlife ;)

No, really...

Time to Clean House, Pt 44

It seems like every day I want to clean my house.

I like a nice, neat house, but I have kids. Right now, those kids are running through the house chasing each other and jumping onto the furniture.

Good thing, my kids are cats.

Luckily, it's going to be warm this week until the beginning of next. The only complaint I have is the lines in the sky. Damn, geoengineering chemicals! Ruins my fun every single time.

I have to keep my house closed and the air cleaners on. When those trails get to the lower atmosphere, I start having respiratory and other problems.

I'm not the only person in Arizona upset by these chemical lines. I just did a story for the Gazette about a man in Mohave County: Geoengineeing: One Arizonan's Battle Against Being Poisoned.

I couldn't make this shit up if I wanted to. 

So I have got to get everything done so it can go out into the recycling and trash bins for pick up tomorrow morning.

Then hide again, I must, until someone stops the planes from poisoning all of us.

Look, Dawn, No Paws

One of my outdoor felines is a big, beautiful, and sweet Bombay.

She has this loving heart that just melts you with her serene glance. For an outside cat, spayed, but ready to rumble when necessary, she is really nice. She seems to adore me.

She also seems to disappear on me every once and a while. I don't know why. I don't know why... She usually returns with a few pounds shed and very happy to be home. 

Yeah, let's make me crazy screaming for you three or four times a day!

It's either that or she gets trapped inside a garage or takes an unexpected ride in a vehicle. I don't know. I'm just glad she is home safe. 

When a cat disappears on me, I always wonder if they went to die alone and I didn't catch the signs. Or if one was harmed in another yard and has expired. I know it's their way to go die alone, but I rather have them die in my arms. It's just my way.

At least I know they were well taken care of and they can be cremated with dignity at the local vet. And, no, I do not keep the ashes. I cannot do it. It would make me mourn too much. So I let them go with their friends. 

If a kitty wants to come back to me in their circle of reincarnation, I always let them know they are welcomed back. Right now, I believe I have two reincarnated kitties with me. One is a gray tabby with cream calico markings.  She reminds me of my childhood cat, but this go around, there is no anger in the house, so she is very sweet-natured. The other one is my lynx colorpoint shorthair. He loved me on day one. The first week I would take the kittens out of the bathroom while their mother slept to get them acclimated to a human household for adoption. Well, he never screamed or begged to be taken back to mom. He would spend thirty minutes or more cuddled on my chest until he was hungry again. He reminds me of the Himalayan that died of the same mold illness I struggle with everyday. Since he could not be on the bed with me, he would sleep directly beneath me on the floor under my head and talk to me. 

The day he was put to sleep because of his illness shattered me. My sister took his paw prints, from the vet's crematory practice of sending a card with the prints to the owner, without my permission. That can never be forgiven. That's just cruel. 

Now that I'm all wet. The two cats I believed are reincarnated are here with me. The calico on my pillowed lap. The lynx on my foot watching me type. It's so nice to have my little family to comfort me when I am upset. 

Oh, boy, it's late. Dinner in ten. 

Before I go to sleep later, I'll have that reoccurring thought that will make me smile: I wonder what the cats will do to make me bat shit crazy again tomorrow? I know in their way that's amore! 

I hope whatever type of pet you have that you love them as much as they love you.

Nighty night, Cyber friends

Life Would Be More Fun, If We All Had BoxesTo Play In

I received my online order today, a few days earlier which I am grateful for, and the cats are just loving it! The box, not the content. I'm sure if they could use DVDs and dehydrated mashed potatoes, they would love those too!

I went and did my grocery stopping today. I rather buy organic red potatoes but it's just too much money for me. Plus I have to eat them NOW! or they go to waste after a week. So I found these packets of potatoes at my health food store... so worth it! I wish they were organic and red potatoes but beggars cannot be choosers sometimes.

I need to back up my files on my system. I broke down and spent some money on DVD media. Now I can get organized, well, digitally anyway. 

When I returned from the store I could not find one of my eight month old kittens... I even called a friend for advice because I tried everything: calling her, handing out treats, banging the food can... nothing! I waited two hours for her to show her furry buttsky! 

I nearly had a nervous breakdown. These are inside cats. They are not hunters. 

Don't get me wrong, they do hunt in the house: bugs, the bath tub stopper, my drinking straws, my activated charcoal mask, and my plastic stirring sticks. They do a lot of hunting while I am asleep. 

But it's not food. 

I on the other hand am a successful hunter. I hunt my food where it is: the grocery store. And, I am good at it!

I did all right at the store with my mask on. A cute little boy whispered to his grandmother why was I wearing the mask. So cute. I took the mask off and showed it to him. I told him it was all right to ask. I explained that my lungs cannot be around smoke or perfume or cologne so the mask keeps me from having asthma attacks. He looked to be around 5 to 7 years old. I hope he was okay with that. 

Then I got into a cab that the driver just ate a peanut granola bar. The smell about suffocated me. My asthma kicked into high gear and my throat started closing in. Not a fun experience trying to get home.  i toughed it out and drank my vitamin c packets on the way home but it was a close one. 

If you work in the public, don't eat peanut butter when you are going to be in direct contact afterward, it would save at least ten percent of the population from anaphylaxis.

Actually, I believe one of my old friends will not come to see me because she lives on peanut butter. That's fine and all but there's a fungus in peanuts that attacks the liver. I know it's cheap but is it worth your health in the long run? Almond butter is so much better for you. 

Plus it doesn't set my immune system off. 

I think the B Complex 50 is helping in that arena. I didn't totally have a panic attack in the cab. I had a partial one and my reaction was more subdued than usual. That is a good thing.

I was never allergic to peanut butter before I got sick. I told my mother never to bring into the house especially after the black mold exposure because of the fungus in peanuts issue. I would wonder why my face and neck would swell up inside, my breathing would become dangerously tight, and my body would just collapse in on itself... until one day I caught my mother eating peanut butter in the house. I told her no more. So she did it again and again, and again. Now, my body equates the fungus in peanut butter with black mold exposure. Thanks! 

 I have to be so careful now. I cannot eat out in restaurants even in an emergency. I have to stay away from any place that uses peanut oil. It's just a mess. 

What a wonderful way to support your daughter and thank her for buying a house and keeping you off the streets. Such a gem. 

Okay enough drudging up the past for today. I have my mashed potatoes, my kitties, and my television show coming up here in a moment. I may have black memories of the past that still affect me today, but I can chose to talk about them and then move on. I rather be grateful I have all my babies safe here with me than spend anymore energy on that peanut situtation.

Well at least for today. 

Because you know I'll have to go out in a cab and meet the public soon enough and brave the dangers of a society that does not see what it is doing to itself or others. 

What a bummer.

I think I too need a box of my own to play in.