Handy man

Ken western has finished repairing and painting the Missionaries apartment (a big job). He then installed a complete door in the back bedroom (another big job). Finally it's my turn and today he is starting on my part of the house. He is cutting out and repairing the damage done when the roof leaked over Granny Lucy's chair. Ms Kitty examines his tools and looks over the mess on the floor when he goes out to get more tools. The last trip out she got on the back of the leather chair and looked at the hole he cut in the ceiling. I could tell she wanted to get a closer look but he came back. If he leaves the ladder up and goes out again it will be an opportunity for another adventure.

It's hard to get a good handyman and he is wonderful.

Happy Landing

I bought a new three inch mattress topper. Last night was the first night to use it. About 3:00 AM I had a leg cramp and tried to jump out of bed and stand on my feet. Much to my surprise I pitched forward and landed on my hands and knees. After much effort and some grunting, I managed to get up and only my dignity was hurt.

The incident made me think of a primary song my three-year-old cousin used to sing. Her version was, “I am a child of God, and so my knees are gray.” Mine aren't even black and blue.

Drugstore or Paint Store?

A few days ago I woke up with a stiff neck. It hurt to get out of bed and it hurt to stay in bed. It was Sunday and I teach the eleven-year-olds, so I dragged myself out of bed and got dressed. The shower felt good and I found some hot and cold patches to stick on my neck. That didn't help much, but it provided me with some entertainment looking for where the thing disappeared to. I later found it stuck in my robe. My neck still hurt but my robe felt fine.

I discovered there are some things you can't do with a stiff neck. I found it very difficult to back the car out of my 50 foot driveway. I had to trust my deodorant to do its job because armpit sniffing was no longer an option.

Next day I went to the gym, and while doing exercise I heard a small pop and my neck felt better. Maybe it was just rust breaking loose. I am moving again. I played ping-pong with a new Elder and he only beat me by 4 points, but I had him worried. Not so much that I would beat him at my age of 78, but that I would keel over.

I need to go now and buy some Aspercreme or RustOleum for my sore neck.

Third try for this post!

I keep loosing them! I fixed a B-day lunch for six elders and my handyman today. The washing machine broke while the Elders were using it and Ken, my handyman fixed it. I'm posting this short post before i loose it too!

Not like the good old days

My outside cat Stranger just screamed and that means the bully cat that comes to eat is here! I went outside to run him off and saw him go around the house. He was about twenty feet away. I picked up a small rock to throw and scare him. With my once golden throwing arm I took aim and let fly. It struck the window air conditioner that was about three feet away. The noise scared the cat and he went over the back fence. My noodle arm now throws like a girl and all air conditioners should beware!

This the second try for this entry!

I got up early and painted, made my bed, did the dishes and went to the temple with Sisters from my Ward. I started Weight Watchers yesterday and am still on it! It's been a good day.

I hate this computer

This is the second time I have tried to write this blog because the first one is gone! My old computer with a vertical line on the screen was slow but I didn't have to do everything again and again! After repeating the entry several times I often give up and just sigh out. My day up to this point has been good and hope yours has too.

To See Better

Yesterday I went to the optometrist and got a referral to have my eyelids shortened. My eyes are in good condition but I am having problems seeing. If I hold up my eyelids I see much better.

I also went to Pomona Catholic School to visit. A lot has changed since my retirement a few years ago. They have allowed boys to enroll in what had been an all-girl school, and now they are going to have 6th grade through 12th grade in what had been 9th through 12th grade. Enrollment has been dwindling and this is an effort to save the school.

It's a Good Day

I am painting every day except Sunday and now have nine paintings setting around on my living room floor. I was lucky and bought two very nice (like new)frames at thrift stores. New they would have cost $50.00 and $60.00 instead of $3.00 and $4.00.

I have four missionaries in the apartment once more. For about two and half months I have only had two, but one of them needed a lot of attention. He is a good ping-pong player so that made up for all the extra attention. The first time we played he said he couldn't believe a 78-year-old women had beaten him...he won the next game!

Ms. Kitty has taken an interest in my painting. She sometimes jumps up and sets on the back of my chair and looks over my shoulder. Her water dish dispenses the water from a container that sits on the dish, and when it gets empty she drags it into the middle of the floor. This morning while I was washing the dishes she turned it over. It was empty, and I guess she wanted it to be washed!

No Paige, No Gain

I have a new Paige in my book of life. She is my granddaughter, personal trainer, ASL coach, and companion. I’m going through a change of life. No, not that change! This change came when Paige moved in.

After the death of my dear mother, Paige decided that Grandma Bonnie needed companionship. She is a blessing and we enjoy each other’s company. She is determined to rejuvenate me, and help me recapture my long lost youth. I don’t think an advertisement on a milk carton could locate it!

Our first activity was lawn bowling. It provides exercise, fresh air and sunshine, but except for Paige, I was the youngest person there. It didn’t hold much interest for her.

Because I needed exercise our next adventure started with me holding on to her arm for support, and going to a place where I would be forced to walk. Even though at this time my walking was a lot like creeping! We went to the pier in Oceanside. It’s a very long pier and many rest stops were needed along the way. For the next three days I was so sore that I limped and grunted with every step.

I’ve heard that which doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. At this point it’s a toss up as to which way I’m going!

Because taking these trips required that I keep walking, and the treadmill at home lets me stop after a short workout, we would keep trying to find places to go that satisfied the need. I checked my life insurance policy and bit the bullet!

On our next visit to Oceanside the weather was cold and windy, so we opted to forego the pier and went to the Ocean Aquarium in Long Beach. Once again a lot of walking was required. It was a long walk from the parking garage to the aquarium, and more walking once inside the aquarium. I held on to her arm, and she drug me through the many wonders that the ocean supplied. Three more days of pain and moaning followed. All of these adventures occurred on Monday, and it was decided that since it took the rest of the week for me to recover, Monday was a good day for our outings.

It was another Monday and I had Googled a map to the Los Angeles Zoo and printed it off of the computer. We set off on a visit to the Los Angeles Zoo. We arrived, and to my sorrow, I discovered that it’s built on hills. Most of the animals were hibernating. In retrospect, I found hibernation to be the most inviting activity there. Paige walked up and down the hills, and I limped up and down the hills. Thankfully we got a ride on the tram. It cost $4.50, and we had to wait 20 minutes for it to arrive. I had difficulty boarding because it was too high, and the ride was bumpy. We saw very few animals and it stopped at inconvenient places, but I was grateful for it!

We had free passes and this visit was worth what it had cost! Upon leaving the Zoo a man in front of us asked for his money back. I thought about asking for my free passes back, but I was afraid they might give them to me!

It was Monday once more, and a trip to the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History was our destination. After being tricked into ascending what appeared to be an average flight of stairs, to my horror, I discovered it only lead to the landing and was twice as long as I thought. I then chose to enjoy the museum by elevator. Upon leaving the museum I got lost. The sun was not shining, and I couldn’t tell which direction I was traveling. After touring the less desirable section of town, I saw tall buildings in the distance, went toward them, and found the freeway. I have since purchased a car compass. Three more days of creaking and moaning followed.

It’s disturbing how fast Monday arrives! This time we would go to the museum of Science in Los Angeles. We toured two levels of the museum, and then saw a movie in their IMAX Theater. It was my favorite part of the visit. It only required setting!
I’m getting stronger, and think I may live…I only limped for a couple of days.

Paige transferred her YMCA membership to Chino. I joined too, and we began visiting the YMCA five days a week at 5:30 am. I got to sleep in on Saturday because it doesn’t open until 7:00 am. I was getting stronger, I had little choice!

I had had my first dip in the pool. It lasted about 15 minutes and I enjoyed it but, when I started to climb the ladder to get out, I forgot that the buoyancy of the water gives you a false sense of strength, and when leaving the water you feel much heavier. I climbed up the ladder but couldn’t stand up when I reached the deck. My hands and feet were out of the water, but my butt wasn’t! I told Paige to push me up, and with her help I was able to get onto the deck, but getting up was a long lost skill. While sitting on the deck I tucked my towel under me, and by having a strange man, and even worse the lifeguard I had known since he was a boy, lifted me up by grabbing onto the towel and pulling up, was I able to stand. Next time I’ll use the swimming pool stairs and look for a better way to meet people!

I guess this routine is better than giving into the ravages of time without a fight…but it’s only a guess!

I Love Being a Grandma

Sunday morning and my sweet granddaughter Paige was visiting. Sacrament meeting ended and as we left the chapel I was approached and ask to teach a primary class. I replied that because I had Paige I wouldn’t be able to teach a class. “Oh, that won’t be a problem it’s her class of Sun Beams we want you to teach.” Since the subject was the body I figured I could handle that without a prep period.

The class consisted of about nine sweet babies. We sat on little chairs around a low table and when a little girl sat next to me Paige pushed in between us and, with a look, made it clear I was her grandma.

The class was as fidgety as any group of three years old but Paige was the most active wiggle worm. She moved around the room, removed her shoes and socks, lay on her back under the table and pushed up with her feet. The table moved as if we were having a séance. There was a stack of little chairs in the corner and she climbed up and sat on the top one. Paige helped teach the class by demonstrating how many wonderful things the body could do.

It was my good luck and to bad for the regular teacher that she missed all this fun and blessings.

No Strings Attached

I woke this morning wanting to paint. I have been writing my life story and seem to be in a creative mode. I hope it lasts a while and I can paint something worth keeping. As for the life story, it’s too late to change history.

I bought a nurse styled pullover top size XXL so it would cover me when I paint. I think I will buy the pants to go with it because Ms Kitty loves the strings on my paint apron and she is constantly pulling them. This battle of wills has been going on for years, and I know when I’m licked…she can have it. I give up!

Maybe I Can

I painted this morning! It’s not good but I finished a painting I started over a year ago. I was thinking about throwing it out when two people said they liked it. I have come to the conclusion that I have to change style. I can no longer do small detail, because of the tremors. I had stopped painting but I’m going to try again.

Medical Weight Loss

I was worried about my increasing weight but putting off doing anything about it, when I begin to think about a medical weight-loss establishment I had investigated briefly while on the Lindora weight loss program. It offered about the same thing for a fraction of the price, but Lindora already had my money and gives NO Refunds!

I completed the Lindora program with good results, but that was in 2007 and now I need help. I had stopped by the office of the Medical Weight-Loss Clinic and liked what they had to say, but I had a LOT of diet food from two other diets. I left without signing up, but I kept getting the re-occurring feeling that I should go back. Again I stopped by on a Thursday, and found they were closed on Thursday. The feeling persisted that I needed to go back. On Saturday morning I awoke with determination to get on the program today! They don’t take new patients on Saturday, but I made an appointment for the following Tuesday.

I met Dr.Lundahl,MD. He is the owner and he is only there on Tuesday. This is when I realized what the sill small voice was that kept sending me back. He is my age and is LDS. We had a long consultation, most of it personal. We both had served a Stake Mission and were athletes in our youth, and now suffered aches from old athletic injuries. We belong to the same Stake. He and his wife like to travel and so do I. I told him I had been mothers care giver.

When I started to leave I put out my hand to shake hands, and he pulled me close and whispered in my ear that he was going to give me a discount because I was so cute?
He has a sense of humor. The discount is 50%, costing me $20.00 per week instead of $40.00 per week for three visits to get vitamin B shots.

I am counting carbohydrates, 45 per day, and proteins, 120 per day, and getting good results. I am down five pounds for one week. I know it is mostly water weight and will slow down, but I’ll take what I can get. I’m very pleased.

Gold is Just a Metal

Gold is just metal and metal is hard and cold. The golden years we all work so hard for is a time for evaluating life. It like the metal can be hard and cold. I am seventy-eight years old and the loved ones that share my childhood memories are either gone or going at an alarming rate.

The electronic age is difficult for me to understand. I try but as soon as I partially master one thing another is on the market and I’m in the dark again. My head remembers how to do many things that my body can no longer master.

My younger family members are loving and kind but their life is on a different time table and the cares of family, work and school are demanding their time and attention and energy. And that is as it should be.

I have become obsolete! The talents that I once possessed (dancing, painting, athletics) that gave me much pleasure are difficult or imposable to perform. My energy and mobility level is better than many my age but it is limiting my participation in life.

The dinosaur was not meant to live forever! With that in mind I will count my blessings and thank my Heavenly Father for them.

I can do this!

Yesterday Sister Harry and I went the Bishops store house and entered data on the computer. They are in need of volunteers for this work and it is something I can do. I am thinking about volunteering on one day a week. I was told to wait a week and phone to set up a schedule or just phone when I wanted to come in. There are only two computers and they can only use two volunteers at a time.

I have a new ping-pong playing Elder. Elder Larkin wants to play at 6:30 am for his morning exercise. This morning I won the first game and lost the next two. We are evenly matched and it was great fun and good exercise. When I told him that I am 78 years old he said, "I lost a game to a 78 year old women!" He is a fine young man and I am blessed to have him here.

Sonic Purr!

I’m just back after a wonderful ten day vacation in Hawaii, and Ms. Kitty’s welcome home celebration is going strong. I have trouble doing anything within her reach. I can’t write without her bumping my hand, and she walks across the keyboard when I use the computer. This is all in an effort to be petted.

Last night, when we went to bed, Ms. Kitty insisted on being loved. After I closed my eyes she butted me between the eyes with her head. This morning she dug at the blanket to locate my hand, and while purring at high volume, she struck her nose deep into my left ear. This had the effect of a sonic boom, and I jerked my head away and said, “No.” Now no to Ms. Kitty means, “Stop only if you want to do so.” She continued to purr (not in my ear), and later groomed my left eyebrow with her tongue. I gave up and got up for the day. This didn’t stop the love fest, but I am now up and awake and better able to defend myself from Ms. Kitty’s unconventional love gestures.

Hawaii was lovely, and visiting with family and holding my two-month-old great-granddaughter Clara was sweet, but there is no place like home, and only one Ms. Kitty!

Nose Pat-a-cake

This morning before getting up Ms Kitty positioned herself beside my pillow and while I’m indulging her in our morning activity of baby talk and chin scratching she is observing that raised lump in the middle of my face. I guess it was more noticeable because I was lying on my back.

She put her nose on my right nostril for a few seconds and when I began to laugh she moved back but continued to focus on my nose. Using her right paw she reached over and patted my nose about six times while turning her head to the side. This is a gesture she uses when trying to figure out something. Still curious she repeated the nose patting six more times.

I don't know if she solved the mystery or lost interest but she was soon off to the kitchen for breakfast and then to see what she could knock off of the end table in the living room. A cats work is never done.

Button, Button

The phrase use it or loss it even applies to sewing on a button. For many years I made many of my clothes and for many more years I have not sewn anything. I lost a vital button off of a favorite pair of slacks and could either throw them away of replace the button.

It took a while but I finally found the button box, the thread box and the box containing the needles and thimble. Fortunately the needles were the kind that has a split top to draw the thread through not the kind requiring the thread to be guided through the eye. I had enough trouble threading the easy kind.

My button box was suffering from malnutrition and the right button was not there. I was sure I had saved the detached button and put it in a safe place. To quote my son-in-law Marc, “That’s a place that only small children and thieves can find.” However I was finally successful in finding the original button.

Unfortunately Ms Kitty chose this time to be very loving and insist on rubbing against me as I tried to be accurate while threading the needle and placing the needle in the button hole. After much effort I finally achieved what once came so easy that I failed to regard it as a blessing.

In my youth I thought I was responsible for all the wonderful things I could do, but I now know it was Heavenly Father in the driver’s seat all along and I was only the recipient of the gifts he bestowed.

Black Jack

I have four great grandchildren younger than my Jack-in-the-box antenna ball. And it shows the many rain, snow, wind, and sun seasons it has lived through. It was covered with cracks and dirt.

My kids gave me a new one two or three years ago but I couldn’t get the old one off so it was still on when I drove through Jack’s a few days ago. While I groped for change the young man at the first window said, “I’ll be right back”. He returned with a new Christmas Jack ball and said it was the last one. He said that my Jack needed to be replaced. I explained that I was unable to remove the old ball. He called another young man that came out to the car and took off the old ball and put on the new one.

I’m now ready for next Christmas. I was so impressed and grateful I did the phone survey. Now I have a new antenna ball and will probable win the $10.000 for taking the survey.

InThe Home Stretch

At this time of Life (I was asked to share this at RS)

When I was younger ‘A wrinkle in time’ was just the title of a book but it is now plural and takes on a new meaning.

I’m here to represent the oldies and moldies. My life might be described as mirth after metapause I like to laugh and I’m happy
.
I am 78 years old and I have been retired for 14 years. For the first 12 years of retirement I was my sweet mothers care giver and was some what confined in my activities.

I was orphaned at the age of 76 and for the last 2 years I have been free to do what ever I wanted to do, within reason.

When someone says,” go” I’m ready. Last year my granddaughter Paige and I took a road trip across the USA. We planed the trip in three days and drove 10,086 miles in 50 days and visited 35 states. Last month Kati Mead and I took a cruise to Mexico
and at the end of this month I’m flying to Hawaii for 10 days.

Two weeks ago during the night my cat, Ms Kitty, jumped on my left ankle and caused a superficial phlebitis. The doctor told me to stay off of the tread mill and that was welcome news, because I hate the tread mill! I now had an excuse to take time off from the gym and not feel guilty. I go to the gym because like the hour glass of time I’m growing bottom heavy and my hour glass figure now more nearly resembles a bowling pin.

Because of my ankle injury I bought 2 prescriptions. That’s unusual. I’m in good health and don’t wear choppers and only wear glasses for seeing. I don’t take any medication and haven’t bought a prescription drug for over a year. At that time I had taken in a cat that had 3 kittens, and she thought Ms Kitty was a threat to the kittens and attacked her. I thought the fight was over and pick the mama cat up, I was wrong she was still full of fight and I got a bitten. Here is the surprising part I went to the Chino Hospital emergence and was the only patient there. No waiting! That’s a tale so rare it’s worthy of my journal.

Maybe cats are hazardous to my health.

Ms Kitty is a loving and entertaining companion. I put some of her escapades on my blog and some of my readers suggested that I write a book about her. Lately she has been fascinated with my knitting and is determined to get the yarn, so I keep it in a bag with a zipper and keep it closed. Yesterday I found the zipper on my knitting bag down about 3 inches and a bunch of the yarn was pulled out. Out smarted again!

I wouldn’t believe it either if I didn’t know Ms Kitty so well.

My expenditures are a little less than my income and I have no debt. I don’t use credit cards. My home is paid for and I rent part of it to 6 wonderful people. The 4 missionaries have their own 3 room apartment. And 2 ladies, mother and daughter, share a large bedroom in the rear of the house they take care of the house and cat while I travel. This means I’m not alone, but I have privacy and freedom.

I sleep as late as I want and I leave the dishes in the sink if I feel like it. I have no one to answer to but myself and Heavenly Father, although my daughter keeps a close check on me to be sure I’m doing what I should do. It seems we have changed positions and she is now assuming the roll of leader.

I have a loving family but the duties of a great grandmother are not as demanding as that of a grandmother and that leaves a lot of time to play with the Red Haters, eat out and go thrift store shopping. I still can’t find time to do things I don’t like to do. I heard somewhere that a grandmother is a mother that has been promoted and I have been promoted twice and as strange as it seems the higher the promotion the less the authority.

Many of my peers that I planed on spending time with after retirement are off on a trip to Paradise. Like the dinosaurs my generation will soon be extinct. That’s OK because I have a passport, like to travel and I’m always ready to go.

My plans, wants and needs seem to change from day to day. I thought about redecorating my home but I’m not convinced I’ll be around long enough to justify the expenditure.

I think about washing the car and then someone says “go” and I’m off. Oh well, if I wait long enough it will rain and nature will take care of that problem.

My car is a 2000 Toyota Corolla. It gets better gas mileage than the new ones are laying claim to and I have no one to impress, it’s paid for and I’m happy with it.

I was scrappily married for 10 years and have been happily divorced for 49 years and am still waiting for Mr. Right to come along. I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for over 45 years. I love the gospel, my life, my family
and my church family.

I would tell you more but I was only given 5 minuets on the program and I can’t begin to count my blessings in that short amount of time

New Food Please

About 2:00 pm this afternoon I went to Pet Smart and bought a large bag of cat food. The missionaries brought it into the kitchen and set it on the floor. Ms Kitty was very interested and looked it over. Because she has opened a large bag of cat food in less than five minuets I quickly put it in the walk-in pantry, while she watched.

About 6:00 pm Ms Kitty was in the kitchen looking at the pantry door and meowing. I went into the kitchen and she continued to cry and look at the door. I opened the door and she went to the bag of cat food.

This is the first large bag of cat food that Ms Kitty hasn't open before I got to it. I'm getting smarter.

She had food in her dish but she knew the new food was in the pantry and made it clear that she wanted it!

Out Smarted Again

Ms Kitty has been trying for a week to get my knitting bag open. It has a long zipper opening and I felt sure it was safe.

Today I found the zipper open about three inches and a wad of yarn pulled out a little way. I would say this was impossible if I didn’t know Ms Kitty so well.

Parking Boo Boo

My friend Kathryn went out to lunch and stopped at the 99 cent store. I parked in a handicap parking place but forgot to hang the handicap card from the rear view mirror.

When we came out of the market the parking lot cop was by the car. I went to the car and he asked if it was my car and said the police were coming because there was no parking card in view. I told him we both had a card but forgot to display it. He said we should leave right away I did! Maybe part of my disability is forgetfulness…but I think I have now taken the cure.

Ms Kitty Strikes Again

Sunday evening my ankle started to itch and I discovered a very dark red/purple lump about 1 ½ inches across. It looked bad! I applied ice and elevated my foot.

Monday morning my doctor had me come in at 11:30 am. He must have been concerned too. He asked if I had bumped against something. I couldn’t remember anything that could have caused this superficial phlebitis. (Meaning bleeding from a vein under the skin and not life treating.)

This morning when I was waking up I remembered Ms Kitty running across my legs before I got out of bed Sunday morning. It hurt and I kicked and yelled at her but went back to sleep and thought no more about it until this morning. She weights about 15 lbs. and when all her weight was concentrated on one foot on my ankle it was like being poked with a pole. She often walks across my bed with out a problem, but this morning she was racing and jumped on my legs. I'm sure we were both sorry.

Ms Kitty’s new wake-up technique

The last thing Ms Kitty does when putting me to bed is locate my hand and rub her head in it while giving me little love bites and purring contentedly intermingled with chortling noises. She then goes off to prowl.

During the night if I make the mistake of moving into her established sleeping spot she bites the covers to let me know she was there first.

The morning wake up routine is much like the going to bed routine but this morning she added a new trick. I wasn’t ready to get up and ignored her. She pushed under the covers until she found my hand and when I didn’t respond she touched her nose to mine…no response. This is the new part, she caressed my check with her tongue, not the rough contact she uses on my hands but a soft touch to wake me. I couldn’t resist this sweet jester and she got her head scratched.

My home teachers came last night and Ms Kitty sat in the young mans lap. He always pets her and she greets him at the door. She knows how to work the crowd!

Gathering No Moss

To assure my loving family that I am socializing and not just vegetating I will give a brief outline of my recent schedule.

January 19 through 22 I stayed with my friends the Bjellons in Temecula.
25 Church
26 – 30 my friend Katie Mead and I took a four day cruise to Catalina Island and Mexico.

February 1 Church
7 I attended a Relief Society breakfast. My eleventh great grandchild,
Clara Larsen was born.
8 Church
9 Crystal and I booked a flight to Hawaii for March
14 visited with Rosa
15 Church
16 Sister Dalton and her son Connor came for lunch and played the Wii.
18 I got my hair cut and went to breakfast with my friend LaDon Forsgren.
19 visited with Aunt Bettie and went to the gym
21 I attended the monthly Red Hat luncheon.
22 Church

I hope this enough activity for my family it sure is enough for me!

My Gym Buddy

My gym buddy, Kathryn Honey, is 74-years-old. She had a car wreck on the way to the temple on December 18, 2008. She suffered 4 broken vertebrae. Today, 49 days, later we went to the gym, and she worked out in the weight room for 30 minutes! She attributes her recovery to the gym. The doctor told her it would take a year to recover, and while she is not back to full power, she is on her way. We belong to the Red Hat LaDieS and love to thrift shop and eat out; so what if she can't play Ping-Pong!

Ms. Kitty: The Maid

When it’s time to make the bed I’m rarely alone because it is one of Ms. Kitty’s favorite games. She is as much help as a two-year-old. If I am spreading the covers in the morning, she sits on top of them. She weighs about fifteen pounds, and it is difficult to smooth the wrinkles with her riding on top. If I am changing the sheets and throw the sheet up to trap air, Ms. Kitty is under it in a flash and it settles on top of her. I then have a large lump under the covers that remains there until the chore is finished. The sham pillows on the head of the bed provide more fun. She dives under them and hides, all but her tail. When this game is over the pillows often end up on the floor. Recently, she has discovered how to get into the bed by coming up under the covers from the foot of the bed and out the side. She doesn’t need me for this trick. It’s a one cat show.

Ms. Kitty loves to sit on top of it, it doesn’t matter what it is. It could be a piece of clothing tossed on the bed, a piece of paper dropped on the floor, the top of my lap top computer when closed, the suitcase I am packing, or the end table with the lamp that she examines occasionally and rubs her chin on the shade.

While packing for a recent trip I shut the lid of the suitcase, but didn’t zip it shut. When I came back into the room several pieces of clothing were on the floor, and Ms. Kitty was gone. If the suitcase is empty, she loves to get inside and make herself comfortable.

Ms. Kitty has mastered the art of looking innocent after an adventure. Her only punishment is a squirt of water from a spray bottle. All I have to do is show her the bottle, or imitate the noise it makes, and she is gone!

Ms. Kitty is now napping on top of the tall curio case, and like the mother with the two-year-old, it is time for me to rest too!

Ms. Kitty and Her Lint Roller

Ms. Kitty is very loving, but only if it’s her idea. She doesn’t come when called. She knows her name and turns and looks at me, and her ears move but she doesn’t come. If I can’t find her, or I want her in my lap, all I have to do is tear a sheet off of the lint roller and she appears. One of her favorite things is to be rolled with the lint roller. It collects loose hair and massages her at the same time. This would be a good thing, but in order to use the lint roller on myself I have to stand up, and then she complains that I am using her lint roller! To stop her from doing something I make a noise like a spray bottle, and she is gone!

The ping-pong table is in the carport. When Ms. Kitty hears a game being played, she sits in the window or the door, and complains because she hears her ping-pong balls bouncing and she can’t get them (she considers them all hers).

I bought a large bag of cat food, and left it in the trunk of the car for safe keeping for two days. I was waiting for the large plastic container I keep her food in, to empty. I brought the bag into the kitchen and left the room for about five minutes. When I returned Ms. Kitty had made a hole in the top of the bag large enough to insert her head, and she was crunching food. I didn’t realize how fast and proficient she had become at this task.

I have just returned from a four day vacation, and Ms. Kitty was happy to see me. While loving me she walked over the keyboard of my laptop as I was typing this entry. This is something she does often when she wants attention.

I like to have a glass of milk in the evening, and Ms. Kitty gets beside me and sits up like a dog. She reaches toward the glass with both paws motioning for me to move it closer. She tries to pull the glass to her so she can see into it. I give her a teaspoon of milk and she drinks it, but she doesn’t really like it. She just wants to see what I’m having.

The floor is the place for anything and everything Ms. Kitty can bat with her paw. She sits on top of the refrigerator and reaches down the sides and knocks the magnets and notes off. Pens and pencils are not to be left on the desk or table for writing, but are there for entertainment so Ms. Kitty can watch them hit the floor. At night I am careful to put my eyeglasses in a drawer for fear she may get them.

I rent a bedroom to two ladies, and when I go away they take care of Ms. Kitty. The older lady was concerned when she found cupboards and drawers left open. I assured her that Ms. Kitty was the prowler and often opens cupboards. The drawer in the bathroom cabinet rolls open very easily, and if not completely shut, she inserts her paw and pulls it open. However, after investigating the contents, she does not close the cabinet or the drawers.

Ms. Kitty gets into the cupboard in the bathroom where I keep the towels and wash clothes, and leaves them looking like a cyclone has passed through. The linen cupboard in the hall is very deep, and I keep a rubber band around the knob handles so she can’t open it. When she sees me open it, she comes like a flash and jumps in. If I don’t catch her quickly, she goes to the back, out of reach and has a nap. Thankfully, the dish cupboards all have catches that require a thumb to open them!

My Ms. Kitty

I don’t like to go out in the late afternoon, but Stater Brothers market was advertising pork spare ribs for 99¢ a pound, and I wanted to take advantage of the bargain. I guess a lot of other people wanted to do the same because they were all out of pork and offered me a rain check.

When I got back to my car there was a young market employee collecting baskets. She was petting a beautiful, friendly kitten. The kitten had a dark back, a white belly, and was about six months old. The young women encouraged me to take her. The family poodle had died of old age a couple of months earlier and I had an opening for a pet. Lacking a proper cat carrier I bravely put her in my car and hoped for the best. She was a little frightened and so was I. We both arrived home safely, and she stayed hidden in the kitchen until the next day.

I didn’t know it, but I was in for many new experiences!

One of Ms Kitty's early adventures included coughing and hardly being able to meow. Because I was new to the game and naive, I thought she might have a hair ball. After a couple of weeks I searched for my needle and thread, and when I failed to fine it, I took Ms Kitty to the vet. The needle was lodged in her throat, but the tread was within reach. By putting the cat to sleep the doctor was able to extract it without surgery. The next trip to the vet was to have her spade.

After paying the vet bill, and buying a cat condo, and a self cleaning cat box, my free cat began to feel like less that a bargain. The bill was now over $600.00 and I quit counting.

Because I live on a busy street, and have lost pets to the fast moving traffic, I decided that she would be an inside cat. Ms Kitty doesn’t understand, and often escapes, and gives me a work out trying to catcher her. Catching her often requires the help of the young men that are my neighbors.

While an alarm system was being installed, the workman went into the basement, and so did Ms Kitty. From there she was able to get under the house, and came up covered in dirty spider webs and dirt. The workman went into the attic, and left his ladder in the hall, and Ms Kitty went up the ladder and explored the attic, and collected more spider webs.

Over the basement stairway there is a storage space, and this time Ms Kitty went up and fell through a drop ceiling to the laundry room floor.

One of the bedrooms has a small open vent in the top of the closet. Ms Kitty was missing and we could hear her mewing in the kitchen, but couldn’t find her. There she was looking down through a vent in the ceiling over the kitchen stove and asking for help. My grandson, Bryan, suffers from a cat allergy, but he bravely coaxed her to come to the opening in the hall ceiling and got her down.

Ms Kitty sometimes dashes through open doors unnoticed. Owing to this practice she was trapped in the walk-in pantry for four hours while I was away. A new box of cat litter was stored in the pantry. It was in a heavy plastic bag inside a cardboard box. Ms Kitty opened the box and the bag, and used the litter. On a different day she once again got trapped in the pantry. This time she opened a plastic container of dry cat food and had a meal.

Ms Kitty loves to be up high. She sits on top of the refrigerator, climbs to the top of the living room windows, and her favorite napping spot is currently on top of the tall doll curio case. She sharpens her claws on the top of the wooden doors.

I had a white dove that I had rescued from a flock of crows that were attacking her. She was injured and I was able to pick her up. She became very tame and refused to leave when given the opportunity. I kept her in a large rectangular cage. Ms Kitty would lie on top of the cage and reach down trying to touch the dove. Because the dove had eggs she would charge the cat and the cat would retreat. Since cats and birds mix like oil and water, I gave the bird to a neighbor.

For a while Ms Kitty loved to play with a string dangling from a gas filled balloon. Her next toys of choice was ping pong balls, dozens of ping pong balls. They could be found under the strove, under the refrigerator, behind the book cases, behind the organ or any where else they could fit. Her current interest is in a laser beam. She will chase it back and forth across the room, but after a while she figures out that it is coming back, and she just lies in the center of the room and waits for it to return.

I have recently started to knit, and Ms Kitty is fascinated with the yarn. She sneaks up and gets it in her mouth, and we have a tug-of-war that she is determined to win.

When it’s nearing my bed time she sits in front of me, looks into my eyes, and mews when she thinks its time for bed. I slept late yesterday, and she sat by my head mewing for me to get up. In the night she sometimes finds my hand and puts her head in it to be scratched. She often flops down by my pillow, and I find her tail brushing my nose.

She is a wonderful companion and entertainer. There is rarely a dull day with Ms Kitty, and I am grateful to be her human.