Cat in the house, thrift store crazy, Health insurance woes

She decided to come in. Not so much for our kindness and charm  but for "Temptations"  the number one treat for cats on the market. The name is not a lie. She has been with us for three days and two nights. Very affectionate and mellow, this cat!

I have contacted  every service  and social media, except the humane society because they are off line at the moment. Clearly she is somebody's darling. 

I bumped into a woman who fosters cats and  helps the alternative humane society in the county. I was shopping for the best food available for kitty in the feed store. She gave me multiple tips and advice. I must get the cat to the vet ASAP to be chip searched and given a once over. 

I need a cat carrier. she offered to drop one off next time she is in town.I am not in a hurry as you can well guess I love this cat. She is a gem of a girl, anyway, that is being selfish, I know. 

Dennis is fond of her as well. She slept on his bed one night and he didn't even make a fuss. He even had a tray and litter in the garage "emporium"  where everything under the sun is housed!

She follows us around too closely - accident- I  flipped her with my sock this morning while sorting out leggings and the sock flew out .  Flummoxed, she looked at me like WTH  unpredictable human?  I  also tripped over her in the kitchen not realizing that , in her ninja silence, she was at my heel. I remember Joanne having to get rid of her cat for that reason. Old people tripping over quiet  pets can end up in the worst health "care" system  this side of the Rockies. Especially this year- the year of insurance companies bailing. We are going to go straight to medicare alone. Heaven forbid we trip over a cat  or if we get ill - hope to just  die. The odd thing for me would be that medicare would cover my eye treatments, Medicare advantage insurance did not. Might be the best move.

We are keeping cat  indoors. With cougar and coyote, and mad dogs out there in nature she is  vulnerable.  All cats are -not to mention the murder  of birds  by outdoor cats .  Indoor living for her .

Be careful where you sit- she likes to nestle  in the cracks.

While out of course I stopped in for senior day at the thrift store. I met an artist friend there having not seen her for a while. We have the same problem. Mental...We create and  see possibilities in everything . We create more "stuff" on the planet that is not needed. I am trying to reassemble nature, which can be composted after the thrill is gone. Like the little twig chairs. 

That said, however, I can't seem to be able to resist the "possibilities" in the thrift store. My friend is same same. An addiction I would say. Of course the dolly bin is a serious downfall for me.
 

the freakier the better. Creepy dolls sustain me. 

Bisque head with glass sleepy eyes and little porcelain teeth from the late 1800's. Her fragile threadbare silk dress barely clinging to her. Her jointed limbs loose enough to fall off. I will dismantle her , keeping her head in a jar , and her limbs  for   assembly art.

This weird little home made doll in the style of  Kathe Kruse German dolls  did not get left behind but I am not particularly taken - just the work of building this doll is admirable.  I may try to improve her wool felted face, mend her frock and then send her on her way.

In the fabric area I found an Afghanistan belt in perfect nick. exquisite beading and coining- on silk with silk cord. Two bucks with a senior discount of 30%- which is- I dunno, math? Nearly free.

A large-ish   framed fashion watercolor signed in pencil with  tiny sketch at the bottom. I tried to find the artist online in the "SI" library - no luck. Anyway, I will remove from frame and send to my friend in NYC. Just because we were all about fashion in high school. She sort of resembles this model without the bulging rib. 

 There was an entire nativity , four sheep, two bovine, a goat, the three wise guys,  an angel, an adobe manger, (mache), All of the usual characters . Caught and released, put back on the shelf, several times. Finally ended up in my basket , because , in full addictive behavior, there is no stopping me.  I got the lot for a pittance and I must admit- not sorry. Partial to Mexican art.

I especially like Mary with her antennae looking sensational having just birthed god, blond white Joseph , sleeping larva baby, and the  all important midwife. I could not put it back on the self a final time.  The workmanship is great, tiny birds painted on their backs.  Probably Jesus doves. Anyway, this is a photo of the main characters.  I won't bother you with  photos of the entire work.The bovine and sheep look like album graecum so , not all that pleasing, the adobe manger resembles a bad cake made by thumbs.

I bought things for others who may curse me for it. That is the price one much pay, having a broken ,mental , addict friend. 

The cat found her happy place this morning- there will be no brushing of teeth or washing of hands in this little bathroom off the hallway. I can hear her purring from the other room! All is well with this one. 

Today is a day of not wanting to do what I must- clean poopy rain water bucket, take kitty to Human society for check, gather my wits. I think I will just cuddle up in a throw and read. I am reading  a rough draft of a memoir a friend has written, asked for  possible editing,  so far- it requires more than I can  possibly offer. 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Lil Stumpy, new kits, and a day of poop

Glass trumpets in the garden from my day with our Stella.

They would be great for collecting rain, I suppose ,with large enough mouths to allow  for bird bathing or bug drowning.

It is time to clean up the deck, put the flowers to bed, plant bulbs and find surprises left by the wild life .

Raccoon poop in the tub of rain water must be dealt with today.  

 

Lil Stumpy came right up to me in the morning light, showed me how proud he is of his limb minus hand. He is with his family but is the only one who is  quite so friendly. He must be responding to my concern , my  raccoon wishes, after the amputation and bloody nub , looking like there would be no hope for little him to survive such an injury.  He must have felt the vibes, the prayers to the raccoon god .

The stray cat is becoming a little less skittish, as well. Charm the animal kingdom with biscuits!The cat is such a gorgeous  little freak. I would love to have her come in sometime for a comfy  snooze on the sheepskin. Pretty sure she would appreciate it.

Later in the day, another surprise! A new mother with her three babies arrived to romp on the deck, I gave the mother an egg. The babies are still nursing. Is this the wrong time of year for a batch of newbies?

They have a 60 day gestation period , generally in the spring. El Nino is mapped  across the USA- predicting  a mild warm winter up here in our corner, Maybe the raccoon moms feel the shift and reckon this winter  to be a pleasant childhood for their kits. 

Raccoons know things.

One of the squirrels decided to tackle the sad sunflowers on the deck- toppled them for  little reward. Disgruntled.

Disappointed  blur.

So, that's all the news here at Animal Kingdom . After the new babies left I cleaned up the deck a bit. I need more Parson's ammonia to really get to the heart of the sludge left behind by forest creatures.  ICK, I know - not my favorite cleaning solution but gets the job done. 

The day is not entirely devoted to cleaning- I finally have an appointment with the skin guy to see about the hole in my arm that has healed over the past four/five weeks. Maybe I won't need to have anything burned or slashed. It is a mystery.  One would think that a diagnosis from the lab saying the C word would spark some measure of  immediacy?  Guess not. Must not be much of a big deal.

Pumpkininny

giant rosehips

gourds in a spider plant.

Have a beautiful autumn day - unless , of course, you have other plans. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

chunky buck, a free man, glass in the garden

He is a chunky dude- watching over his girls who are grazing in the yard.  The fence around the back hasn't done much to discourage the animal folk.

The days have been sunny and bright, my sun glasses measuring up to task. I bought some tea from India that claims to be good for eyes, it tastes lovely actually so even if it doesn't reach my eyes I like it.

I finally met up with Damen, my prison boy no longer , a grown up man having spent the last couple of decades in the slammer. He came up  north to work with vets at a veterans farm where they EE I eee I O with a chick chick here an oinker there-huge organic garden. A place to work and heal  damaged goods. Damen is offering a counsel service and a strong body to help hoist them bails, tote that barge. 

We met at the harbor for lunch and a stroll around, catching up a bit. Remember when he was just a lad of 22, on trial for murder, we, the jury, found him not guilty but responsible for manslaughter. Accidental shooting of his best friend. We kept in touch, he wrote many many letters and sent hand made leather journals for me to draw in. Lovely guy. He has landed well.
 

Today Stella  and I  went downtown to eat waffles for her birthday. We each got a coin to put into the dino machine to collect our dino. They used to put them on top of the waffles when they only had a food truck,  but now that they have a cafe they can have a dino machine. Maybe children were swallowing them before- better to have a vending machine.

We walked around the corner to the art shop where I bought stuff that I love- gold pigment, sloppy glue, a couple of cards and some modeling clay. My eyes may do better with that than trying to draw or paint. 

The gallery was open, we looked, we left, we went to another gallery/shop  on chuckanut drive.  Perfect sunny day to stroll through the garden art outside. The gallery inside is just as captivating. 

Loads of  (large) blown glass , pottery, metal statues /ornaments/benches/swings.

One would have to be civilized to have glass in the garden, I reckon. I am not that person.

Today is also another No Kings rally downtown, Dennis will go but I am not going. The orange thug is not going to dominate another  rare sunny day for me. He can just bugger off!  Time to start thinking about what is next, especially since the old toot is looking more like death every day. So, JD Vance? Anyone? 

Midterms are already being messed with of course, they will try anything and everything to keep the ball in their court. 

Leaving you with sunshine warming your back-  happiness- be glad that you are not in U.S. prison, carry on. Freedom is relative, they say.

 Love ya!

 

 

 

Pumpkin farm, sushine, felted thing and the Blurry Canadian mountains

Stella and I went to the farm again this season, on the luckiest most beautiful day! The weather was outrageously perfect, colors clear and bright. The farm was crowded with children- it was sunny on a Sunday so was expected. We bought a few gourds and looked around.

I would have taken this dog if I could have gotten away with it. She was so darling I almost wept. "She likes the elderly," her humans stated as I scritched her tummy and got a load of dog kisses. What a sweetheart. She is a Scot's border terrier, with none of the mad terrier manic energy they tend to display. She was mellow. I love her.

Lots of white pumpkins this year. Rather novel I suppose, not my faves. Why waste a season of vibrant color devoting it to bland white? 

This was the largest pumpkin on the farm. It genuinely looks like what I see when I recline in the bathtub.

 It is Stella's Birthday. We went to lunch at a restaurant at the harbor in Anacortes  thinking that it would be special. Started out promising with a basket of warm blueberry coffee cake with cinnamon butter and a menu not unlike the place we usually go to  in town. We kept it simple - fish and chips and coffee. 

Worst fish and chips we have ever tried to eat! Terrible but,  I said- the tartar sauce was good- Stella said that  the ketchup was also good. Just shy of one hundred bucks, that terrible meal. 

Today I went to the pet shop to get a small bag of kitten kibble for the stray calico cat on the deck. $30.00 for a small bag! NO, just NO! Had to fill my very empty tank @ nearly $6.00 a gallon. I am going to have to make it last- drive less, walk more. This is good for me, I tell my lazy ass. Like in my youth when a car was not available. I will not get a bike- gravity is not my friend. 

This morning was our first frost, Canadian mountains visible, just barely!That blue smudgy bit. When i was young and traveling with my parents I fell in love with Canada, We drove all over and dipped toes in every lake. I swore to my mom that I would live there when I grew up. This is as close as I could get. It will have to do. 

Raccoon slumber party on the deck this morning.They must have had a busy night. They slept for a couple of hours at least. Totally relaxed. 

including the blur, just so you can experience what I see  in the morning. My eyes will die before I do and that is a crying shame, I tell you. 

I looked up how many  have my name- there are only 16 in the entire nation! Had I kept my other name, the one my Grandfather invented when he arrived at age eleven or twelve - picked at random from a phone book, I would be among the number 3,619 of Linda Sue  Nelsons in this land. I did not ask AI to tell me who I was, though. I just firefoxed it. 

Today I mended a fairy doll that I felted for Emily 20 years ago. Flora Jane played with her and lost quite a bit of her hair. She needed tightening up anyway. I may make her cheeks rosy if I can find the right wool. 

While in the mood I also tightened up  my crazy bird head. He holds hats , that is his job.  He needed attention,so, I got in a bit more stabbing today and it felt just right. 

Because- 

                                                                                That is all.