Thanks for asking how we’re doing! As of this writing (Tuesday evening), we’re both still healthy and we have a relatively full pantry of food (probably more cat food than people food but we like it that way). Mom’s assembly line job at an agricultural lighting company has her pulling in about 50 hours a week now. She’s considered an essential employee and for six weeks, got additional hazard pay. Most of that went into our emergency fund. On her few days off here and there, she whipped the yards into shape for spring and continues to photograph and write about those Colehaus Cats .
Dad’s still working from home with 40 hours a week stretched over the weekends. He hopes, with other states reopening, that his customer support calls will pick up. On his weekdays off, he’s learned to bake bread and recently received a batch of sourdough starter that he’s thrilled with, especially since we also recently found good flour at a grocery store across town.
We both hope you are all doing okay, hanging in there, keeping your spirits up and your hearts full of kindness and love for one another. We still have quite a ways to go to get through this and believe that if we all look out for each other and take care of ourselves, we’ll grow stronger than ever before. Take care. Thank you for asking about us and for visiting today!
Our tulips are up and blooming and the slugs got only one, making Mom very happy. The daffodils were on their way out, being as they are very old daffodil-life-wise, so not many this year.
The white Trillium looks like it’s slowly multiplying, and yes, Mom’s very happy about that, too. She likes Trillium, something she had only seen in books and the deep forest until she found this one in a local nursery years ago.
Continuing our theme of making Mom happy, her Cyclamen survived the winter and though most of the leaves are gone, it sent up a bunch of flowers. Maybe it’ll go dormant for a while now? We’ll have to see.
On her first weekend off work in a while and making her way out front to work in the yard, Mom surprised Rusty, the new-ish aloof visitor to Colehaus lounging under a Japanese maple.
And being as he’s aloof, he didn’t stick around despite Mom’s sweet talk and shaking a treat bag. Rusty just isn’t a people cat, it would seem. And if you know our Mom, she reads this as a challenge.
Neighbor cat W stuck around though. He can hear a treat bag even when there isn’t one for miles around. He also stopped by to inspect Mom’s last cobblestone brick path project. As you can see, he was pretty skeptical about the whole thing.
Finally, the last of the rock pile and the jumble of cobblestone bricks are gone and a new pathway from one cement patio to another is born. And it’s W approved! Good work, Mom.
Scruffy is still with us. He lives up the street and has a good home. He’s very, very old but still makes his way down to our house once or twice each day, rain or shine, to drink from our water bowl, nibble on some kibble and snooze on our front porch chair.
Another regular visitor is Winston Wally Olly Porkchop, who loves being brushed almost as much as he loves treats. Sorry, Wally, we’re all out of treats now but hey, yeah, go ahead and claim that brush as your own.
The Star Magnolia tree is just about done blooming for the year. It was gleaming white this year, making one of our neighbors proclaim she wanted one for her own yard, until she saw how messy all those flowers are once they drop. Just as well. We don’t need EVERYONE to have one.
The great thing about our side yard is occasionally seeing a new visitor. This black, short fur kitty knows where the feeding station is but isn’t sure about us yet. Undoubtedly, another challenge for Mom.
I’m still not happy with you, Dad, for nixing my idea of moving us to the cat island. Or to the cat farm. I’ll admit those ideas “might” have been a bit out there, but I think you should have given them more thought before saying no.
So, how about this . . . since you need a better job and since you have so much corporate america experience, how about we move to a big city, you know, where they have big corporate jobs, and you can look for a new corporate job and I can look for big city corporate cats who I’m sure would be friendly. I mean, corporate cats would take a Niblet like me and with their big city guidance, would turn me into a Niblet powerhouse at making city friends and learning big city ways and when you got a new job, me and all my new corporate cat friends would have your back all the way.
So, when do I pack my favorite box and toys?
Dad: Viola, that sounds very ambitious but life can be very hard in the big city. It’s noisy, full of people and cars, and danger lurks everywhere for kitties. Wouldn’t you miss living here, Viola, where it’s quiet and comfortable for you? Wouldn’t you miss your brother and sisters? Sure, you might not miss Tessa, but surely, you’d miss Mom.
There you go again, Dad. Shooting down my idea, one that might help you too. If life is so rough there, can’t we send . . . a representative to scope out the situation? I elect my sister Tessa. She thinks she’s so street-savvy.
Dad: Viola, we’re not sending anyone away. We’re all in this together and someday, you might just discover all your sisters are your best friends.
