Peas and 10 Qs

Ok, so obviously I've tried blogging before, but have found that since I do not make a living off of it, I have a difficult time keeping it up. So here I am again starting a new one in the hopes of having an outlet for my sporadic thoughts.

Peas and 10 Qs? What's that about?

I dunno really. Peas are food, and I definitely like food. Q is my favourite letter of the alphabet (X and Z are close runners-up). "Minding your Ps and Qs" suggests that you should say your please and thank yous according to one version of the phrase's etymology, and of course 10 Q is a play on "thank you." Put it all together and it just sounds kinda cute. Nothing more. That's me being random and having a fancy for cute puns here and there.

But I should be pleased and thankful for many things in my life, including the ability to have random thoughts, a decent grasp of the English language and grammar, and all the stuff that happens in my life that makes me think that I should at times write them down.

Reading my last post from a few years ago makes me think I'm a visionary with no follow through. I am not more often found on twitter chatting away (but do post there more frequently than here), nor did I ever end up doing much work blogging either. Ay yaaaa. I'm only consistent in my inconsistencies. Me in a nutshell.

Anyways, I'm in the midst of enjoying a few weeks of vacation time, interspersed with some serious job hunting. Crossing my fingers that I find something sooner rather than later - I could really use a change of scenery.

Next random thought/realization: I've lost one cat to kidney disease, and acquired a dog since my last post. Mercedes and Foster have survived the passing of their brother Oscar, and Josie is my new fur kid of the canine persuasion that I adopted last year that was originally named Gremlin (ew!) from the shelter that received her. I thought Josie was more appropriate.

A pic of the new trio at a rare time of peace:

Cute huh?

Josie and the cats (now you get it, right?) make an otherwise dull home life quite interesting. Methinks I should've become an animal behaviourist of some sort. I can watch them interact and just do their own thing for hours. I can also talk about them ad infinitum, so I should be careful and monitor myself before I become "that person" who hoards animals and can't relate to the rest of the human race.

Ah, I seem to be spending my time procrastinating in here rather than doing what I should be right now. I'll cut this shorter than originally planned, and if I get around to posting again, hopefully it won't take as long... :)

It's been a long time...

...and looking at my last post, I'm not at all consistent, am I?

In any case, I'm much more consistent using my Twitter feed, so if you're curious as to what I'm up to, it's there!

In case you're checking up on my cat chronicles, I've got 2 of 3 out of hiding. The third (Mercedes) is still very shy, but she's getting mildly better in my presence, especially when I'm eating. Not that she's ever eaten anything that I've cooked or offered her, but she's always intrigued nonetheless.

Funny thing about this trio of cats I now own: they don't ever steal off of my plates. I can leave an entire steak dinner out, and they'll sniff and walk away. Skeeter and Squirrely (my feline brotherly pair from years past) would stop at nothing to get anything off of my plate regardless of whether or not I was guarding my plate. These cats are either waaaaay too mannerly, or just waiting for me to eat a dead mouse before they go for anything I eat. Who knows.

The likelihood of me being more consistent in writing on this blog? Maybe better in the upcoming months since I'll also be blogging for work purposes (on the work-based blog site). After all, I'll have to keep refining my writing skills somewhere...

Ahh...but I'm consistent.

Again I reiterate how bad I am at keeping blogs up-to-date. But with this entry, at least I'm still fulfilling one(ish) per month now...

Ha!

My still nameless cat and bank card fraud?

Ok, so on the subject of the nameless cat that I had temporarily named "Pepsi" - well, that didn't really stick. She's just too...I dunno, but I cna't seem to make a name that's appropriate for her, and "Star" still sucks.

...and as for the bank card fraud? I tried to buy myself a tortilla press using my debit card in Chinatown, only to have the person who doesn't speak English (and not any other language that I'd understand) turn the terminal around to show me the "collect bank card and call nearest branch" or something to that effect. Huh? Didn't I just use it yesterday? I know I got money in the account (or at least enough to cover $18)...

As it turns out, someone in Quebec was using my card to deposit a cheque for $1000, and then taking out money ($400, $80 and $20). Interesting...

So now I have no debit card for several days until I get into a branch to get a new one issued to me. That should curb some of my spending for a little while...perhaps a good thing?'

I just had to write how annoying it is to not get/spend money on demand. Oh, and I did have enough cash to pay for the tortilla press, so maybe you'll get to see the results soon.

Day 2 - Star turned Pepsi (for now)

7888888888lik

What's that above? That's what Star - my new foster cat - has to contribute to this blog since she doesn't have her own set up yet.

...or more likely, she was crossing my keyboard (as many cats seem to like doing) as I was just getting this started.

Anyways, she's been quite a treat to have sequestered in my other bedroom, and as you can see, she likes to accessorize (albeit that's my camera case) like any girly cat should. The original description I got of her said she was black, but upon further inspection I discovered she's more black/brown like cola - thus I started calling her Pepsi (Star is an okay name, but really not befitting of such a cutie, nor anything I'd call a cat). Not only is she cola coloured, she's got tabby stripes hidden in that black/brown fur, "tuxedo cat" patches of white on her chest and tippy toes, and Siamese characteristics in her ears and face - a true melting pot of kitty geneology.

Sweet sweet temperament, a little clingy at times, and talkative when she's hungry - she's got all the makings of the perfect little buddy...except she tends to express how happy she is by purring loudly and kneading the carpet or the chair you're sitting in. She snores too when she's really tuckered out, but only little kitty snores - nothing too loud.

So now I've got an extra cat. Any takers? Lemme know or give Toronto Cat Rescue a call...

I knew it...

...I did get lazy and let this blog thing slide a bit.  

But now I'm here to admit to a couple things...

1. I cook more for my cats than I do for myself at home.
2. I have crossed into the threshold of becoming "that crazy cat lady" by taking on a foster cat. 

This should be an interesting experiment to say the least...I have to sequester the cat for 2 weeks in the 2nd bedroom for safety's sake, and it'll show me whether or not I have the patience to deal with another cat that's slightly high strung and into hiding like my other 3 are.  Good news though, I do get to use the food and litter as a tax write-off at the end of the year since it is considered a "charitable donation."  Awesome.  Now there's an official reason to become "that crazy cat lady."

Going to pick up my new foster kid today - her name is Star.  I'll post again once I get her settled in (and when I'm not too lazy about posting to this blog).  ;)

More of my vampire cats...

Ok, so I couldn't resist putting up more pictures of my anti-daylight-loving Snuffleupa-cats.  

These are pics of them when they were still young (ok, they're not that old - they're only 2) and a little leaner than they are today (not my doing - I've only had them 6 weeks).   

This is Oscar and Foster...

...and this is the 3 of them together (from left to right): Oscar, Foster and Mercedes.

Just thought I'd share these just in case I never get to see anything but their butts running away from me and the camera...

...but the people on Seseme Street did get to see Snuffleupagus eventually, didn't they?

Enticing, but...

5 minute chocolate cake?  What evil person invented that?

Microwave salespersons, that's who.  You can Google the recipe for it pretty easily (I got mine emailed to me).  

I thought I'd give it a shot since I had nothing else better to do with my time one morning.  While the cake did rise above the rim of the cup (a good 2 inches or so), it did collapse down to what you see below.  I tipped it out onto a plate (very easy, no sticking) and tried a piece.  

Yeah, the recipe is a little over-hyped.  Maybe I'm a snobby cake connoisseur, but it was a little too rubbery for my liking.  Not that I didn't expect the texture to be a little off, but I was expecting so much more from the email that had "The most dangerous recipe in the world" emblazoned in the body of the text (I think I took that out when I forwarded it).  It's only dangerous if you're super desperate for a chocolate fix, and are locked in your home with no viable alternative than to make this in your microwave.  Blah.

So much for shortcuts on making cake - I like the old skool version that's oven baked.  But I'd encourage anyone to try this at least once, just to see if it's yummy for someone else's tummy.

My Career as "Chef des Chats" is a go...

Ok, short note for the masses...raw food is a hit with the kitties!  I'm not sure if the Bach's flower essences are working, but I think that'll still need more time (and more dosing) to figure out if they work.

Now if only my cats would like me as much as they like their homemade cat food...

Mmm...Beefy Oats...

Ahh - the new adventures in feeding my cats raw foods - the not-so-new wonder drug of the animal (and sometimes human) world.  After reading a couple of books on the subject, I find myself experimenting with the concept to see if my cats will enjoy this attempt at becoming more healthy and natural...sort of like my current eating trends.  Just like my cats, my diet is still interspersed with junk food (for me, it's chips and deep fried foods - for them, it's store bought cat food and Temptations treats) - but at least I'm trying to keep the healthy stuff as pure, local and nutritious as I can make it.  

I've been reading that many pet foods are made from diseased carcasses and odd animal sources (including roadkill) whether it's purchased from the grocery store or from a premium source such as a vet.  I can't prove or disprove that scientifically, but it does make some sense after checking out online sources and the books I've been reading, including Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats.  Today is my first attempt at mixing together a batch of (yuck) Beefy Oats, which contains a couple pounds of beef and several cups of oats to make a squishy batch of food (see picture below). 

Appetizing, isn't it?  Funny, it almost looks like the batches of sausage I made a while back, but it doesn't smell as good.  It smells mostly of the kelp that was part of the "Healthy Powder" which is an essential ingredient of the food.  The ingredients in this recipe are supposed to nutritionally simulate what a cat would eat in the wild - i.e. a mouse or a bird - even the goodies that come along with eating a whole animal: bones, feathers, and stomach contents.  Yuck.  But it does make sense for my little obligate carnivores to dine on this goop. Truth be told, it does smell better than your average can of cat food - not as strong an aroma, and the kelp just makes it smell like the ocean (or that flaky fish food from the pet store).

It's not time to feed the little fur balls yet, so I'll have to report back on how they react to the food.  

For the past 2 days, I have been spiking their water and food with flower essences to help settle them into condo life.  Bach's Rescue Remedy is what I've been using, and I'm going to experiment with Larch, Beech and Water Violet to further calm, de-stress and help socialize the threesome.  They've been living here a month now, and I still can't get them to come out and interact with me one-on-one.  Not that I'm looking to rush the project, but I thought I'd try something new to get them to come out of their shells (or from under my bed in this case).  So far 2 of the 3 cats seem to be a little bolder, are coming out when my reading light is still on, and they've even played with the laser pointer (from a distance of course) that Steve & Tony gave me as a "welcome back to the world of cat ownership" present.  I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that flower power will work wonders.  

Right now I'm waiting for my dishwasher to finish its cycle - all the plastic containers that I want to freeze raw cat food in are there.  I'm speculating with some certainty that the cats will eat the food I've made for them.  Otherwise, it'd be kind of insulting that even cats won't eat my meal creations.

Signing off,

Chef des Chats