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Luc

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  1. Luc
    I guess 13 really is an unlucky number sometimes. Yesterday I had 13 kittens. Today I have 12.
     
    Pretty Kitty Kitty's third baby, the little black and white girl, died last night. She didn't have a great start, being born a full day and a half after her siblings. She didn't seem to be able to nurse--probably because she was weaker than the other two kittens and they would push her away--not because they were trying to, but just by moving around and being bigger and stronger. She was hungry. I could tell that by her cry. So i fed her kitten formula. I fed her everytime she cried. Most of the time she did take some formula--but not a lot. After she had her formula, I'd pu her back in the box with her mama. Her mama did wash her and care for her, so she was loved and kept warm. I guess I really knew she wouldn't make it. They don't ever seem to make it when they start out like that. But I tried. She was so adorable. I am a complete sucker for little white footies. She would have been a pretty girl. I named her Little Baby Girl--because she looked a lot like her grandmama, Baby Girl (who died this summer). Will bury her tomorrow. *laughs* Tomorrow will be "funeral day" in our yard. Sam's lizard, Spike, died and is awaiting burial. Yes, there will be a "ceremony." Though I have already told Sam he is NOT burying the lizard next to the kitten. That would just NOT be right.
  2. Luc
    Ok, all you cat people out there... Ever hear this one?
     
    My cat Pretty Kitty Kitty just had her babies--finally. She had 2--a yellow boy and a black kitten whose sex is yet to be determined. She had them in a box under my dining room table, right near where I usually sit when I am downstairs. She had them accompanied by Sweetie and Peep--two of Marina's babies who are now 6 months and a year and a half old. They were in the box with her the whole time.
     
    Ok, so far not so strange (except for the fact that generally mama cats don't really want company in the kitten box while giving birth--nor do other cats tend to want to be there for that whole process. Being a birth coach to a mama cat usually involves getting bit.)
     
    So I figured she'd want a bit more privacy (why I figured this is beyond me, considering the Peep and Sweetie thing), so I moved her box into the bathroom by the heater. Now, this is not as strange as it sounds since until I just moved it, there was a cabinet there that holds towels and usually a cat or two on those towels. PKK showed signs of wanting to have her kittens on the bottom shelf during her nesting period. It wasn't easy to move the cabinet because it is a small bathroom and if you don't do it just right, you cannot open the bathroom door enough to get the cabinet out of the bathroom. Another option is to move the cabinet so that you are then trapped in a little space surrounded by the cabinet, the sink, the toilet and the tub--and cannot move. Yep, did that.
     
    But anyway, I moved her box and her two kittens there. Shut the door most of the way and figured she'd enjoy the warm, dark privacy.
     
    Nope.
     
    A few minutes later out she comes carrying the black kitten in her mouth. She then sits at my feet, kitten dangling from her mouth, and looks up at me. So I take the kitten, put him/her back and put her back in with her kittens. I shut the door a little more, figuring maybe she had intruders and was not happy about that, and sat back down to drink my tea.
     
    A few minutes later out she comes again, this time carrying the yellow baby in her mouth. I move my chair back and ask her what the hell she is doing. She promptly jumps up on my lap, deposits her kitten and curls up around him and starts purring.
     
    Ok...she has decided to keep her kittens on my lap. Which is nice--she is nice and warm and so are they and it is a little cold right now. And I love her--she is my favorite cat and knows it (obviously) and her babies. But there are problems associated with this arrangement. First of all, I have to back away from the table so she can sit on my lap. That makes the screen a bit too far for me to comfortably see (yeah, SO nearsighted it is laughable). So if there are typos in this blog, that is why (can't reallysee them to correct them and am hoping for the best). Another problem is that eventually I will need to get up. Nature will call or I will need to get something to at or it will become time to pick Sam up from school. I suppose I could sleep here, but I am a restless sleeper and we would all likely end up on the floor at some point.
     
    I'm assuming eventually she will go and get the black kitten and add him to this arrangement. Though maybe she is planning on alternating since she is a very big girl and pretty much fills my lap--only room for one kitten unless she sits on them (which she seems to like to do anyway). I suspect I will be expected to sit here without moving and mind her kittens when she has to use the litter box or get food.
     
    I hope she isn't expecting me to help with the nursing.
     
    Pics will follow later. (Of the kittens, not of me nursing the kittens, you pervs!)
     
    Edit: Have pics now


    Pretty Kitty Kitty, Peep and the babies:


     

     
    SURPRISE! A full day and a half after her 2nd kitten, the 3rd shows up:

     
     
    Thought I'd sneak this in. Sam on Halloween:

  4. Luc
    You Are a White Rose
     

     
    You represent youthfulness and purity.
     
    Your vibe: Sweet and heavenly
     
    Falling in love with you: is like falling in love for the first time
     
    What Color Rose Are You?
     
    http://ynr.blogthings.com/whatcolorroseareyouquiz/
     
    Got this from Lugh's blog. I don't know... "Purity"? That seems a bit ironic. Perhaps this is a REALLY deep insight into...into my very soul? *melodramatic music plays*
     
    But the "falling in love with you is like falling in love for the first time" could have some validity. After all, who ever actually stays with their first love for any length of time?
  7. Luc

    She finally exploded

    By Luc,

    Sweetheart finally exploded into a shower of kittens Well, the process was a lot longer than that. About 3 1/2 hours from start to finish. Sweetheart is imy favorite mama. She wants me with her when she has babies. I rub her belly and her sides while she has her contractions and she looks at me the entire time with eyes that clearly say "Don't leave me."
     
    So....as of this moment, she has 5 kittens. The first one born was a multicolored baby that looks a lot like Marina (who is her grandmother). The second one appears to be all black. The third one also seems to be all black. She jumped out of her box while having that one and on top of a kitty litter box--and had her kitten while standing there. He fell right into my hand. Interesting feeling, a kitten hot out of the oven. Really VERY hot. The fourth one took a while and I have concerns about him. He is yellow and small. Took about 45 minutes just for him from start to finish. But he is moving around and eating. He is just a little slower, so will watch him. The last one she had is black with white feet and maybe a little whilte on his face--like his daddy (Meowth).
     
    I T HINK she is done. She still looks a bit big, but she is soft, so she is probably done. But she has surprised me before, so I don't know.
     
    So...for those who seem to want to count...there are now 18 kittens:
     
    Marina: 4
    Little Girl: 5
    Pretty Girl: 3
    Little Baby: 1
    Sweetheart: 5
     
    And there are NO MORE PREGNANT CATS AND NO MORE UNNEUTERED MALES OF BREEDING AGE! *breathes*
  8. Luc

    SURPRISE!

    By Luc,

    Well, Little Baby surprised me with a kitten. Now, it isn't a COMPLETE surprise. I was just saying to Sam the other night that Little Baby looked like she might be "with kitten." And just yesterday I noticed her in an empty kitty litter box looking strange and I asked Sam to see if she was having kittens or something. She wasn't....apparently.
     
    Surprise! Just looked about 1/2 hour ago when I went into the bathroom and Little Baby came over to me and looked a lot thinner (she didn't really look all that big before--just a small bulge). I heard scratching sounds and sure enough, when I looked inside the empty kitty litter box, there was a beautiful black and white baby. *sighs* Next to a beautiful black baby who was dead.
     
    I will get pics later today. He (definitely) is black and white with a pink nose. I'm hoping she will be a good mama to him. She is a bit flighty. Last time she took good care of her kittens though. Tabby (the one who is going to have eye surgery Monday), is her baby I put Little Baby and her new arrival in with Sweetheart (who looks like she is going to have a foal and not kittens--she is THAT big) and Tabby. She doesn't really like being near Tabby. She sort of abandoned her after Sweetheart decided to mother all the kittens last time. But she seems to not be actively hating everyone. And Sweetheart got "soft" eyes when I showed her the kitten. Guess she is due fairly soon. Hope so for her sake. She looks ready to explode.
     
    So...never a dull moment. I am CERTAIN, however, that there are NO other mamas to be (other than Sweetheart). And I guess I know why Meowth (the daddy) ran away--he was exhausted.
     
     
    Edit: Here's the little surprise:
     

  11. Luc

    Life and kittens

    By Luc,

    So...my life... Well, Scott's head popped out of his ass for a while but has popped back in. His ass is getting more action than mine. 18 days no sex and if things keep going as they are, it is likely to turn into 18 years before I have sex again.
     
    Not that sex is the most important thing in the world. Actually, right now I would just like him home and in my bed so I can feel him near me.
     
    ...moving on...
     
    Kitten pics!
     
    These are a few of Little Girl's babies. They are the ones with the odd coloring (though one appears to be black with ghosts of stripes):
     


     
     
    These are Marina's babies (the yellow one is a boy, the rest are girls):
     

    Two pics of the same kitten, because she is just SO cute:


    Yes, that is Sam. Yes, he is wearing a Vikings sweatshirt.
  13. Luc

    Writing

    By Luc,

    Well, I have actually finished my entry for the Fall Anthology! Of course, according to Word the word count is 10,099... I'm hoping no one will notice those teeny tiny extra 99 words
     
    Am going to submit it as soon as I decide on a title. I hate coming up with titles. With me, either the title is the FIRST thing I think of and then write the story around it, or I can't think of a thing. I am torn between two titles at the moment. One is the one I really want--but I think it may not make sense to others. The other one is ok, just nothing special. Not that any of my titles are "anything special." :wacko:
     
    But now that I've finished writing this, I am going to turn my attention to writing a story I have had kicking around in my head for a while. I'm not going to say much about it (not because I want to be mysterious, but because knowing me, I will change everything around many times between now and the time I actually write the first sentence), but the tentative title is "The Ghost of You." See? Title first, then story. That is how MOST things hit me. But it was inspired in part by a song by Duran Duran called "Ordinary World."
     
    Of course, I will have to find time between kittens and work to actually write...
  14. Luc

    More kitten pics

    By Luc,

    Took more pics of Little Girl and her new babies. She is a very good mama and tends to lie on top of them when anyone wants to look at them Of course, they don't really like that very much. But I have managed to get a decent pic of the babies all happily dining:
     

     
    I stole one of the babies while Little Girl was eating and took this pic. Strange color. Four of them have similar coloring. The fifth one is darker and may be black or dark tiger.
     

     
    Edit: Well, we have MORE babies Pretty Girl (who is Little Girl's sister) had her babies. Four of them in all, though she waited until 12:15 am to have the 4th, so they have 2 different birthdays
     
    Mama with all of her babies.
     

     
    Her first three (the littlest one on the right is a bit weaker than the others. I am concerned for him. I thought he was dead when he was born. It took him a long time to breathe. I actually picked him up and held him, thinking I would put him in a box--when he moved his mouth. He seems to be moving around more now though. Maybe he just needs some time. In the pic with his mama, he is the one who is between her back legs, looking like he is trying to get back in.
     

  15. Luc

    Babies

    By Luc,

    Went to the Fonda Fair tonight. They had one normal demolition derby and one farm combine demolition derby. This is the first year they had one of those and it didn't quite go as planned. They ended up with only 2 combines--an International and a John Deere. They had planned on 2 more, but they couldn't get them running. But it was different. It was dark and my camera battery was low, so I didn't get a great pic--and only of the International. That's the one that won, though. The John Deere lost a front wheel and also stopped running.
     

     
    Combines are big.
     
    Little Girl had 4 nice presents for me when I came home from the fair. She was in labor when I left. I really didn't want to leave her since she has had problems with stillborn kittens in the past. But after threatening to have a kitten on my lap, she seemed determined to keep those kittens inside her as long as possible.
     
    But she has 4 at the moment. Odd little things. One seems to be all black, like she is. THe other 3 seem to be an odd combination of black and white--but with enough white to almost make them look like salt and pepper hair. Strange. One of them has a black and white face. Now...the dad, Meowth, is black and white. I was sure she would have all black kittens like she had last time or black and white ones like Meowth. But I've never seen kittens quite this color. You can't really see them too well in the pic, but they are a strange color. Pretty though. And they look healthy so far *knocks on wood*
     

     
    I don't think she is going to have any more. 4 is a good number.
     
    Edit: Apparently Little Girl thought 5 was a better number. She just had another one in that unusual black/white/grey color. I've told her that 5 is enough. Will see if she listens to me or not.
  17. Luc
    Well, I started a job Monday. No way I could possibly live on unemployment and I haven't even gotten a call in response to any resumes I have sent. So when you can't seem to get a job in your field, you have to take what you can get. So I am doing something that doesn't use any part of my brain at all. I get a list, find the products on huge warehouse shelves and move it onto a truck. Lovely. Fun. The money isn't bad--nearly what I was making in my real job. But the hours suck.
     
    Which is why no one will likely ever see me during the week--which I know will have everyone weeping and wailing and gnashing their teeth But I work from 6:30 pm to 3:00 am. That's really not a bad time for my body clock. I'm a hardcore night person and prefer to sleep in the daytime. But it really doesn't give me much time online when anyone else is on. And it will make it difficult when Sam and Scott go back to school next week. I'm really bummed about that. God! Did I just say "bummed"? I did. See? My mind is going already. It will atrophy and I will become a drooling idiot
     
    I guess once school starts, the only time I'll really be able to see Sam or Scott is dinner time. Which will really end up being more of my breakfast time. I'm really hoping that SOMEONE will at least give me an interview. Hell, just a call would be nice. Though I suppose it isn't the end of the world. Just the end of what passes for my social life and what amounts to my family life.
     
    *laughs* Yeah, I know. I'm whining. But I'm online and no one is in the chat room and Mark has gone to bed.
  18. Luc

    We have babies!

    By Luc,

    Well, Marina surprised me--though maybe not really. I was talking to my mom yesterday and telling her I thought Marina might be close to having kittens since she seemed to be getting milk.
     
    So last night when Pretty Girl decided to try to dig her way through the door to my computer room, I let her in. She is also pregnant and the last time she had kittens she completely surprised me--didn't even know she was pregnant. So just because she doesn't look big, doesn't mean she isn't ready to have them.
     
    So I set her up with a box and before I went to bed I went looking for the other two mamas-to-be (Marina and Little Girl). I figured I'd keep them all in the one room. Figured Marina would be ok with that as long as she was in the room with them BEFORE her kittens were born. She is fiercely protective of her babies and once she has them, NO OTHER CAT is allowed to cross the threshold.
     
    I found Little Girl but couldn't find Marina. I figured she was downstairs and I went to bed. I got up this afternoon (hey, I went to bed at 11:30 AM so afternoon is really about 5:30) and went looking for her. Couldn't find her. Turns out she had gotten into the closet in Sam's old room yesterday when he got something out of there. And sometime between then and now she had her kittens.
     
    She had one yellow one with white, one white one with black, one multi-colored one that looks a lot like her and one that looks to be a light grey tiger. Pretty sure she is finishehd. Last time she gave birth to 7 kittens, 6 of whom survived. So 4 is very good. They all look nice and healthy and strong and she looks very pleased. She is a good mama.
     
    I will get some pics tonight.
     
    Oh...by the way...the father of all these kittens is Meowth. He is Marina's son.
     
    EDIT: Pictures
     




  21. Luc

    Updates on Mark

    By Luc,

    I know some of you want to know how Mark is doing. So far I have gotten 2 emails from Jay:
    He went down for his surgery this morning. Everything seem to go ok but he hasn
  22. Luc

    Waiting

    By Luc,

    Well, today is Mark's surgery. He went in the hospital at 7 am and was scheduled to be the surgeon's second operation. Second is good. I figure the surgeon will be all warmed up from his first op and not yet tired from operating all day. So second is good.
     
    Mark showed me some things on his surgery and told me some things. Since he has recently had menengitis, he is at a higher risk for increased cranial pressure. So when he comes out of surgery they will fix it so he can't move his head and he will have tubes in his nose and down into his stomach. Coughing or vomiting will increase cranial pressure, so they don't want that.
    I think what gets me the most, even more than worrying about whether he will be ok (because I know he will be), is thinking of him lying there like that. I hurt for him. Cried so much last night that my eyes hurt today. The worst was when it was time for him to go and go to the hospital. Saying night to him then was the hardest thing. I felt like I couldn't breathe. You know that feeling when your body just clenches and your eyes burn and there is this building up and then you just release what really could be described as a wail? Yeah, lovely thing. That went on for about 15 minutes.
     
    Every possible scenario has gone through my head more than once. You know, I know he will be ok because I cannot even contemplate anything else. But there is still this feeling of an empty pit in my stomach. And my body is tense. And my head just wants to shut off. I told Mark I just want to go to sleep and not wake up until he is home. Which is expected to be 5 days at a minimum. Could be longer, depending upon how things go. Then there is 4-6 weeks of rest at home.
     
    Today is openening day of the Saratoga Race Course. My dad and I always went. I missed last year because my head was so far up my ass. I'm going to miss today also. Not because my head is up my ass, but because I really cannot deal with two emotional stresses at once. I would likely walk through the gates and burst into tears--which is SO conspicuous. So will go to OTB today instead. Mark picked some horses for me last night and I want to play them. Then I will take Sam to Jumping Jacks and have a fish fry with chili sauce. Mmm. Sam will have a hot dog--and will feed his roll to the birds. It is a ritual.
     
    Waiting to hear from Jay. I know it won't be until much later. I figure they will have to physically kick him out of the hospital. I suspect he won't be in the greatest of moods when he comes on. Might just wait for an email rather than talk to him--though I probably will end up sitting here waiting for him and pounce on him when he signs on. Poor guy.
     
    It is so hot, which makes me think of Mark. He said it is unbearably hot in the hospital. He was working one day and it was so hot he looked like he was going to pass out, so they sent him home. I hope he is not miserably hot lying there. Though I know that he will be drugged up and stress to the body often makes you cold--which is why they have hospitals so damned hot.
     
    Not really sure where I am mentally. Numb mostly. I told him last night that I wished it could be like Snoiwy's story, that he could go to sleep and while he was unconscious he could slip into an alternate reality which was like we both wish it were. Ok, crying now because I SO want to be there when he wakes up. But I wish it could belike that for him, even for just a little while to live in that other reality. I want to close my eyes and go there with him.
     
    When my mind finally snaps--which could be at any time--that's where I want to go in my head.
  23. Luc
    Well, my garden is doing pretty well this year. I used to have a HUGE garden where I used to live. Last year I was so disgusted with the trees around my yard (because they shaded it completely and made digging nearly impossible) that I didn't put in a garden (except for an herb garden that mostly did not overwinter). But this year I decided that I could NOT stand not having a garden. So I trimmed some trees--took one down completely (don't ask about the gas grill it landed on, I had 2 anyway) and put in some raised beds.
     
    My tomatoes are going insane. I planted one Early Girl--which is now over 6 ft tall, several grape tomatoes (in the back along the trellis), a cherry tomato (on the left front) and a 'patio' tomato (front center). Sam is 5'3", so that gives some perspective.


     
    My snow peas are a little thin--but I planted them late. And as they grow, Sam eats them. There is a basil plant in the front.

     
    My cubanelle peppers are doing ok. I have VERY TINY peppers on some of them, but they are a bit slow. Nice plants though. And in the back, sort of climbing up the trellis, are my cucumbers.

    If you look, you can see my one decent-sized cucumber. That's Sam's hand--notice how clean it is? Pool....chlorine

     
    The herb garden is a bit pitiful. Used cinder blocks from an old 'fireplace' (really a barbecue type thing). It is a work in progress. I have mostly mints at this point. And some lemon balm and sage. The thyme resists my attempts to get it established. The catnip would be better if Sam didn't keep picking off the top leaves and getting my cats stoned.

     
    No, not part of my garden. We went to the Saratoga County Fair today--Sam rode the elephant. Just thought I'd throw that pic in for good measure. Now...tell me why as soon as Sam got on the elephant, the elephant decided to...er...well, eliminate some waste? Scott joked that Sam squeezed it out of him. Sam didn't appreciate that joke much. Ever watch an elephant poop? The guy stuck the wheel barrow under him while he was going. Poor elephant. Poor guy.

  24. Luc
    Sam had his head shaved at the hair salon a while ago. He wanted it shaved with a razor, but they just used clippers and it was not really "down to the skin." But it was close. Well, one of his 'friends' told him he looked like Uncle Fester. Ok, Sam is a pretty sensitive kid at times. So when he told me this, I really expected him to go all drama queen on me (yes, he gets that from me). But instead, he decided to 'embrace his Festerness.' I was very proud of him when he told me that.
     
    So he has been wearing his "Uncle Fester" t-shirt all the time--to the point where I had to physically pull it from him and race him down the cellar stairs and shove it in the washing machine so he wouldn't smell like he had something 'festering.' *shakes head* Believe me, 11 year old boys can work up quite a stench without much effort. Fortunately he likes to be in the pool--I add extra chlorine because I am never quite sure where his feet have been. Which is probably a good thing because really, do I WANT to know? No, I do not.
     
    We were sitting at the dining room table playing Yahtzee and he says to me, "Mark had his head shaved yesterday, right?" Yes, he did. "Will you shave my head? It's starting to grow back now and I'm losing my Festeriness." (Yes, he said "Festeriness") "And I want it right down to the skin, like Mark."
     
    I've never shaved a head before. I didn't figure it would be too difficult. I mean, it's nice and round and hard. How hard can it be? So I got out my razors (had 4 left) and a thing of water and some shaving gel and went to work.
     
    Well, 4 razors later I had a little better than half his head shaved. And it wasn't like I had one half completely shaved and the other not shaved at all--no, I didn't do it like that. I moved around his head as I tried to find easy places to shave. So when I say he had half his head shaved, I mean he looked like he had mange.
     
    So Sam and I went to Walmart. No, he didn't wear a hat. I would have worn a hood--or maybe a paper bag. No, actually, I wouldn't have gone out. But really, I wouldn't have shaved my head in the first place. Sam thoroughly enjoyed his trip to Walmart and all the looks he got. He took EVERY opportunity to call attention to himself while we were there. He is SUCH an attention whore. (Ok, he MAY get some of that from me...)
     
    When we got home I finished shaving his head. Bought different razors. Bought the nice ones designed for shaving sensitive skin. Not that his head is sensitive--it is a brick. But I promised him that I would buy him She Creature (video or dvd) if I cut him. (I didn't cut him but will buy it for him anyway if I can find it--will look online.)
     
    He went into the pool and rinsed his head--for about a half hour (chlorine working nicely to turn those black feet back to white feet and I even noticed he had white hands when he came out of the pool--have to love chlorine). Then he did some camera whoring. Hmm...Attention whore, camera whore. Ok, the whore part seems to be a theme forming. Must be genetic.
     
    So anyway...heeeerrrr's Fester...er...I mean Sam:
     

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