Maddie's birthday would have been on Tuesday. She'd have been 20. Without taking a jot from my love for Daisy, I do miss my Maine Coon girl.
What a dreamboat she was!
Have a safe and happy week ahead, all!
The Full Nebel with a Corkscrew Twist
And, FYI, we pronounce it to rhyme with "needle".
It's a pose that we first saw commonly among nebelung cats, those strikingly beautiful gray cats that bear a resemblance to our dear Daisy. Here is Daisy, doing the full nebel:
Maddie did this every once in a while, but not often. She was more of a classic cat loaf girl. I don't remember Ivy lounging like this at all. Daisy? She does this on the (really, half off the) blanket stack, the back of the couch, the desk chair and, as you can see, in the papa-san chair, otherwise known as the cat nest.
One of the things that I've always found charming about Daisy is that she often curls her tail. It twists into a corkscrew when she does the arched-back hallowe'en kitty stretch. She can be found otherwise stretched out and long, but with her plume folded over. Exhibit A:
And you're obsessing over my tail drape......why??
Not obsessing, dear, noticing and appreciating. That's all. It's just one of the idiosyncrasies that makes Daisy Daisy. We're all in favor. In truth, she's too pretty to ignore.
Well, that's true.
Have a great week ahead, all!
It has been a busy week.
It's been a busy week for me. It's also been a far less busy week than usual.
Well, what do I mean? The busy part has been that I've been the point man for my family in getting dad's house ready to go on the market. I've not done a ton of physical work, but I've been at the house letting people in, talking to my brothers, talking to folks who are going to work on the place. It's been odd seeing the old homestead stripped down and empty for the first time since '72, but it's not been terrible or depressing. Honestly, in some of the rooms I'd assumed there was a wall behind the furniture, but there might not have been...
The far less busy part has been a far greater disconnect from the normal here at ChezRanger. This is the first school year since 1989 that I have not been involved in a classroom. I decided to retire this year and was lucky enough to be able to do it financially. I'd hope to do it soon enough, but 30 years of wear and tear + the complications of the new Covid-era school procedures made an exit the best call for me. I'm now retired and, honestly, very happy with my decision. It's odd, but most definitely not terrible. I get to read, mess on the computer, help LadyRanger, play with Daisy, bake, work out lightly and sit on the porch and enjoy an adult beverage at my leisure. I could get used to this.
Daisy has adapted well to my being home full-time.
Why are you still here? It's 9:00 in the morning! Don't you have a job?!? Retired? Hmmm... I suppose you can stay. For now. But you'd better be sure there's always num-nums in the bowl.
Yeah, food on the plate is generally the biggest issue for the wee gray beastie.
This is the first Labor Day in 40 years that I have not been a working man. If you take the entire span of my life, from the day of my birth up to right now, I've been a teacher longer than I haven't. I don't know about you, but that fact does rather boggle my mind....
I am going to spend tomorrow resting from my labors. I hope you get to do the same.
Have a safe and wonderful week ahead, all!
Sprung!
Daisy has finally reached the end of her 6 week confinement and has been sprung from the joint!
Now, this is the life!
She has been wandering around the house, making sure that everything is where she left it. She has been exploring all her old haunts. And yes, that includes the tops of doors. We'd hoped that she'd learned the error of her ways,but it seems not. This cat is gonna do what she wants to do when she wants to do it. I suppose we're going to have to accept that as part of her undeniable charm.
I am quite charming, aren't I?
I apologize for the lack of new pics, but I've not tended to the battery on the ol' Nikon... I'll try to have some new pics of the gray kitty for you next week.
Have a safe and happy week ahead, all!
A Maddie Pic
I am tired and uninspired today. Have a vintage Maddie pic.
In the news today, Daisy is starting the last week (barring catastrophe) of her internment in the Mewlag. We've been letting her out for longer, supervised, periods of exercise and wanderings. She seems to be doing well. We hope she manages to keep herself out of trouble in the future!
We hope you have a safe and wonderful week ahead!
The Warden said "No"
It's been a month that Daisy has been confined because she damaged her knee whilst going for the top of the dining room door. We had a conference with Dr G, our wonderful vet. She said that Daisy should continue to be confined for the remainder of her original 6 week sentence. We want to make sure that Daisy's MCL is fully recovered before we let her loose to tear it up again. Daisy, it need not be said, did not take the news well...
Lemme at her!!! I'll merdalize her!!! I'll catslap her so hard HER CHILDREN will feel it!!! LET ME OUT, WARDEN!!!!!
I keep telling daisy that I am just a humble turnkey and am not responsible. I also mention that LadyRanger and I are the ones who let her out for exercise time in the yard (sitting room). There has been no soothing her. We have, recently, let her have unsupervised free time in the sitting room. Only a couple of minutes, but she appreciates it. She actually used some of her alone time to vent her frustration at the extended sentence.
Yeah, I know.... it needed killin'...
You have no proofs! 'sides, I'm too cute to have done something that violent!
Yeah. Right.
Yes. Right!
I think that all of us are ready for the next two weeks to go by. We'd like to have our cat back in all her accustomed spots. I know Daisy is ready to be set free.
Nertz. They've got the roof covered. I'm going to have to tunnel.......
We'll keep you posted. If there's a break-out, watch the national media. I'm sure it'll make the news......
We have one more brief item. Our neighbor-cat Puddin' came by for a visit. She stopped by and enjoyed the cool of our back porch the other day.
Turns out the ol' girl has had the Lion Trim! She had some pretty massive mats on her haunches. Her human, Ed, also thought she'd be happier in our southeastern heat if she had a bit less insulation. She seemed a bit happier. Nadine continues to grow and be a long and slinky cat. I will, someday, get a decent pic of her, too.
We hope you all have a happy and healthy week ahead. Stay safe, all!
EARTHQUAKE!
Yep. 2020 continues to mess with us.
We just had that most rare of occurrences in the american southeast... an earthquake. A 5.1. No! Really! Here's proof!
It happened a bit after 8:00 this morning. I had just fed Daisy in the Mewlag and was checking out the forecast and the news on the computer when things started shaking. At first, I thought it was a large truck going by on the highway by our house, but the quake was....different. It lasted for about 8-10 seconds. It was unexpected. Daisy was...disconcerted.....
WTH is going on?
Honestly, it seemed like it lasted for longer than it really did. I don't think I had figured out what to do before it was over.
You're just going to leave me in here, aren't you?
Daisy took it well, overall.
GET ME OUTTA HERE, WARDEN!!!
Things got back to normal pretty quick, though. No damage to report from ChezRanger. I've not seen any reports of damage in the immediate area. We only experienced minor shaking. The epicenter was a ways away and I don't know how things are there, though, but I certainly hope that a 5.1 won't cause too much damage and that no one was hurt.
Now, to be honest, these pics were not taken during the great shake of '20. First, it was over long before I could have gotten my mind ordered enough to photo-document the local feline reaction. Second, I don't like to take pics of my cat in distress of any sort. These are really pics of Daisy trying to break out of jail wanting to have a play.
Damn straight. Now open this door.
We've let her outside for exercise time in the yard, as we call it. We usually give her about 10-15 minutes of time to walk around the room, stretch, play with what interests her and then it's back into the cage. Sometimes she gets too rambunctious and starts jumping at things she shouldn't, like the tops of doors (which is what started this whole mess, dumb-ass!!) and we have to put her back in early. She does not like that at all.
She does seem to be a wee bit more cautious than usual, so we hope that takes.
We have given her some energetic play time. We call it rehab or physical therapy to convince ourselves we're doing something positive and not just giving into the whims of our cat.
This is her current favorite toy.
This toy ain't shakin' itself, ya'know!
She gets her physical therapy on this <ahem> piece of equipment....
NO CAGE CAN HOLD ME!!
We usually try to keep her a bit lower to the ground than is her wont. She still likes to play at ground level, too. Thank goodness.
enh.... down low is cool, too, I suppose. As long as I get to PLAY!
We're hoping this next week is the last week for the Mewlag. Daisy hasn't limped in a couple of weeks now, so we're hoping the healing is proceeding appropriately.
We hope that you all have a very safe, earthquake, falling tree, tornado, hurricane, plague or other disaster free week ahead!
Not Much New, Today
Things proceed apace here at ChezRanger. We did have some excitement that I failed to write about last weekend. There was a lightning strike right outside our house! We all jumped. I think Daisy jumped so high she dinged her head on the top of the mewlag!
Well, it was scary!
We lost power for a moment or tow, but the big news is that it fried our alarm system panel! I mean melted stuff inside! The panel is in our basement, too. We went downstairs and could smell that burning rubber smell. There was no smoke and no visible flame, though.
Here's the embarrassing part.... we called the Fire Dept NON-emergency number to ask if we should get one of their inspectors over to give us an assessment, or if we should get an electrician. They sent THREE TRUCKS. Lights, sirens and dudes in 50 pounds of gear. It was embarrassing. And not by half.
The only other issue resulting from the strike was the loss of our internet. Our giant corporate internet monster sent sent a guy down, but only after calling us and telling us that their computer said our modem was fine. Their guy came down, replaced 30 yards of cable outside in the hot sun, ran tests and looked puzzled when none of it worked. Then he drove back to the office, picked up a new modem, came back and installed it. Bingo! We have internet. Daisy is much relieved. We let her watch Animal Planet as much as she wants right now.....
Anyways, all here at ChezRanger are safe and well. Outside of those inconveniences, there was no damage to our home. We fared better than one of our neighbors up the street, though. the front of their house was removed by a large tree falling during what must have been a microburst. Sheered the front of the house right off. No one was hurt, thank goodness. The tree guys who came in say the tree probably weighed around 38,000 pounds. Seeing that made me realize that getting salty about a lack of internet was just stupid.
On the Daisy front, she continues to take things easy in the Mewlag. As far as we can tell, she continues to heal. We have not seen a limp, or any hitch in her little gray stride. We let her our ot he cage for supervised walks around the sitting room, same as we did for Maddie after her knee surgery. Daisy has no hesitation about jumping onto the desks or leaping and clawing her way up the back of the desk chair. We try to keep her calm and on level ground during these excursions, but you know cats....
We hope that Daisy's confinement only lasts two more weeks (which would bring the total to 4 weeks), although Dr G said it could be four to six. If it's six, Daisy is going to come out on the last day with a teardrop tattoo..... poor girl is fed up already.
We hope you have a safe and healthy week ahead, all!
Life in Stir
I think prison life is getting the best of our little gray cat.
<sigh> they say I'm in the short time club, too. This will never end! Woe is me!
Daisy does seem to be doing some better as the week has gone on. We did have to take her off of one of her pain meds 'cause it was causing her to vomit up undigested food. Which was a)gross and b)indicative of the med causing problems. Daisy recovered from that in short order, thank goodness.
We took her off of her other pain med a day or two after, as well. Daisy seems to be healing up and is dealing, all appearances to the contrary, with her incarceration with surprising resignation.
We let her out for exercise time in the prison yard a few times a day when we clean her cafeteria table and change her bedding. She walks around the (closed) sitting room making sure everything smells right. She has jumped up on the desk several times, the seat of the desk chair a couple, and once up to the top of the back of the desk chair. I'd say her knee is on the mend.
Several times per day she sets up a loud meowing, begging to be let free. As long as we stand firm, she eventually subsides and settles down for yet another nap.
She does love her constitutionals, though. Most times, I have to pick her up and put her back in the cell, which she does not like at all. She has learned that there are places she can get to in the room where I can not get to her. She like to go there and hang out, all the while eyeing me defiantly. Example:
GET LOST, SCREW! I'ma stay under here where you can't get me! Yep. I'ma stay here, in this low, confined, uncomfortable space instead of letting you put me back in that spacious kennel that is supplied with food and a comfy fleece blankie! Do you know why I'm staying in this even more confined spot?!? BECAUSE IT'S MY CHOICE, THAT'S WHY! You, you.....primate! so dumb you probably can't understand half the words I use... probably never understand that a cat needs to have SELF-DETERMINATION!!!
I usually lure her back out with treats.
Oh, yeah, Daisy's knee is up to crouching and slinking, which is how she gets under the couch. I do think she is on the mend. Hoo-ray for the healing magic of cats!
Things here are odd, but headed, we hope, in the desired direction. I hope the same can be said for all of you. Be safe, and have a great week ahead, all!
Daisy, Daisy, oh dear......
For the second time in our cat-owning lives, we have a large kennel in our sitting room, with one occupant.
This is about the parmesan, isn't it?
Yes, ladies and gents, the mewlag (rhymes with Gulag) has made a return to ChezRanger.
'cause, ya see...I can EXPLAIN THAT! It was NADINE, from next door! SHE ate the parmesan cheese! She's a black cat, like a doggone ninja! No wonder you didn't see her!! She was HIDING in the SHADOWS!! I was only on the table with my nose in the bowl 'cause I was checking out what she'd done! I was going to WARN YOU! ANY good cat would do that for their humans! I couldn't subject you to neighbor-cat drool! Any good cat would have done the same.... Anyways.... to be honest......
....this is stupid and you're stupid.
Well, as you can guess, this is not about the parmesan (and no, it wasn't Nadine. nice try though).
As an active young cat, Daisy quite often gets serious cases of the zoomies. Daisy also, as we've documented before, likes altitude. She was in the dining room with us one afternoon, being very zoom-tastic. she decided to take off from the sideboard in an attempt to make it to the top of the dining room/kitchen door. I don't know if it was just too much of a jump or if her feet slipped on take-off a bit. She din't make her goal, but hung on for a second or two by her front paws. She popped off and hit the doorknob on the way down.
I don't know if the impact caused damage, or if it threw her landing off, but she was limping pretty heavily on her right rear leg as she walked away.
Cue a quick trip to the emergency vet. They couldn't find any breaks, which is good, and figured there was a soft tissue injury. We got some pain meds for Daisy and all came home. I could write another whole post about liquid meds and Daisy's combat-level drooling, but I think you'd rather not have your stomach turned.....
Daisy seemed to be improving, but got her foot caught in the sheet as I was making the bed Saturday morning. She immediately began limping again and even growling. She could not put weight on her previously injured leg.
Cue a trip to our regular vet. Daisy got in to see Dr G. The diagnosis? Daisy has probably torn her Medial Collateral Ligament. Yes, it is one of those important knee parts. Dr G thinks that if we keep Daisy relatively quiet and immobile in the mewlag for a month, the leg should simply heal. If there is no improvement, there would have to be some surgery. We're hoping to avoid that so we're trusting in pain meds (that have a mild sedative effect) and the awesome powers of cat healing. If you'd like, send a bit of good karma Daisy's way. Poor girl can use all the good wishes she can get.
She seems to be adapting well enough to the mewlag. Not happy at being restricted, but I understand that. A quarantine in the middle of a quarantine must be a colossal pain in the furry gray patoot. We try to keep her spirits up. One of us is almost always in here with her. She gets picked up for snuggles quite a bit. We feel lucky that we haven't had to make changes to her diet or anything, and she's getting her usual, preferred, food.
Well, at least prison chow isn't as bad as I'd heard......
We hope that you all have a safe and happy week ahead. Stay healthy and stay out of prison!
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