Kitty Treatby Angie
29 Nov 2007
8:11 am2
Last night, Jim & I were curled up on the couch watching the Jazz game (which we won!). Jaquie was curled up in Jim’s lap, half asleep. I suddenly noticed one of those annoying, tiny black bugs flying around above the couch, so I said, “Jaquie, look! A bug!”
She didn’t seem to care, and didn’t move at all. Unfortunately, the little fly chose that moment to zoom down near her, and buzz around near her whiskers, where she couldn’t help but notice him. She opened her eyes wide and stared at it for just a second, then… SNAP. She ate him.
It was so sudden and bizarre – Jim and I laughed until I had to wipe away tears. For those of you who have seen “Enchanted,” it reminded me of the end of “Happy Working Song.” Jaquie jumped down from the couch, apparently offended that we were laughing at her slick catch. I have to remind myself that she was born feral: she spent the first year of her life living on the street, where she probably ate bugs all the time. Who knows…maybe they’re delicious.
A New Friend for Jaquieby Angie
28 Nov 2007
10:11 am2
Now that we’re home, I wanted to post a follow-up on my previous cat-sitting dilemma. Actually, there was a great lesson learned from it: Relief Society Presidents know everything. It’s true – I told our ward Relief Society President my strange problem, and immediately she responded, “Kayla Coolbear. She’s your girl.”
And she was! Kayla is a college student who lives with her parents, in our ward. I met her before we left and tried to introduce her to Jaquie, but she ran under the bed and hid (Jaquie did, not Kayla). I apologized, but Kayla told me that she also has a very shy cat, so she completely understood the reaction, and didn’t mind taking some time to gain Jaquie’s trust. She was wonderful!
When we arrived home late Sunday night, Jaquie was very pleased to see us, but she wasn’t totally wild all night or the next day, like she was the last time we left town. I really think it went well, and I’m glad Jaquie has a new friend.
Airport Securityby Angie
26 Nov 2007
3:11 pm0
So, last night, we were standing in the security line at the airport, getting ready to head home from Portland. I left my shoes and purse with Jim and stepped out of line to inform one of the security personnel that I have a pacemaker (which means they don’t let me through the metal detectors – they have to pat me down instead). The man I spoke with said to stand to the side for a minute and a woman would be with me shortly to screen me.
I happened to be standing near a thin, elderly woman, when the female attendant came over. The security woman walked straight up to this older lady and said kindly, “I’m here to pat you down because of your pacemaker.” The poor lady looked positively alarmed and stammered, “I-I don’t have any pacemaker!” I felt so bad for her! I jumped in and showed the woman my pacemaker card: she looked very surprised, but the harassed-looking older lady was immensely relieved. Jim and I had a good laugh about it as we headed to our gate.
That was the most eventful moment of our trip home, except perhaps our first few minutes back with Jaquie, which were filled with much joy and purring. It was a wonderful vacation, but it’s also good to be home.
Babysittersby Angie
21 Nov 2007
9:11 am0
How do people go about finding a new babysitter for their kids? I have no experience whatsoever, and I rarely babysat other people’s kids when I was a teenager. The silly thing is, we don’t have kids… but we do have a cat; so instead, I’m having a hard time working out the whole cat-sitting thing! Do you ask a neighbor you barely know – and give them a key to your house and everything? Or ask a friend or member of the ward, who lives much further away and must therefore take a drive to come visit your pet?
As you can see, worrying is an exasperating hobby of mine, so I’m sure this is not as big a deal as I feel it is… but our cat is pretty special to us, and we are new here and don’t know many people, so this whole process is a little unnerving. Any advice?