full integration happens

Last week I was in Tennessee working and enjoying the spring-like weather! The sun and coating of snow was beautiful.

Now that I live in New Hampshire, I can use the nearby municipal airport that is like 10-minutes from my apartment. Getting out of this very small airport didn't go so well due to the ice but I was able to return there. It involved getting on this tiny little prop plane in Boston! There are 8 passenger seats total.

I sat behind the empty co-pilot seat, so I had a great view of the pilot as she worked the controls. The plane was pretty bouncy in the air currents, it felt like we were floating above the earth. I usually would have been terrified, but this time it was actually very fun! I was grateful for my prescription motion sick medicine, because without it, it would have been very bad experience! It was actually so much fun, part of me thought it might be fun someday to learn how to fly.

There is an interesting little placard just to the left of her hand, which states, 

"Warning, To continue flight with an in-operative engine..."

With my ongoing work in Tennessee, I'll have many more opportunities to fly in the tiny plane! Fun times! When I returned home last Friday, it was time to start working on Pierre's integration into the kitty population.

He was the last one to be set free into the general population. He was ready to explore and right from the start, he did marvelous, just like his papa. Go Pierre!

He's super chill about the other cats, but he's wary when the humans are near. I love seeing him explore the space, he walks around with his tail straight up in the air, talking up a storm. He's quite the talker!

Pierre the explorer!

Theo's not thrilled about another cat to contend with in such a tiny space. Six cats is a lot in a 600 sqft apartment! We have two cat trees to help provide more vertical space.

When the sun is shining through the window, Oliver likes warming his belly!

Oliver seems to be feeling much better now.

I wonder how long it will take before it seems normal to see Oliver inside. It still catches me by surprise each time I see him. He's so relaxed and easy going, he loves inside kitty life! I learned something new about him today. When he has to hork, he runs up to a litter box, stands just outside the entrance to the box, hangs his head inside and horks into the litter box! What a very well behaved kitty! I keep finding new ways to adore him more.

Marvin continues to be unhappy and pee everywhere even though we have Feliway all over and give him Rescue Remedy. We've had to start confining him to a cage to keep him from peeing on everything. Laura recently took him to the vet to explore medication options (e.g. Prozac). While at the vet, we discovered some other health problems he's starting to have as a result from his daily steroid treatment for his asthma. So, we are going to cut the steroid back and hope it helps without causing him to many asthma attacks.

It's fun to see Nahum and Theo playing again. They don't have much space to run around here, but they do still have each other.

Rose continues to hide and act traumatized. I think Pierre, a true former feral, might be tamer than poor Rose. She comes out at night when the humans are dormant and does her cat thing. I built her a more comfy place to hide out in the closet, which she took right to.

Lasers to maximum power! Stay away evil human!!!

be well

I'm in my happy place again. Where the intensive work makes my heart burst with joy. A place where I have ample opportunity to lean into my biggest fears and taste the sweetness of freedom on the other side.

 My soul somehow innately knows what to do with a labyrinth.

 

Pain and freedom dance here with youthful vigor.

 

 

Be well my friends.

travels

It's good to be home after being out of town for what felt like a long time! My first stop on my journey was to Alabama to visit a friend, Jessica. And just so you know, I only visit people who have cats. Anyway, I've been to a lot of the states, but this was my first time to Alabama, so I wasn't sure what the cats would be like there.

photo courtesy of Jessica

I was pleased to find that the Alabama cats are much like the cats from other states.  This is Gelato, a real native Alabamian feline.

Gelato was a very polite hostess and even checked up on me several times in the night.

Jessica took me to a local breakfast cafe that has cats milling about their property. Can you believe that?! I'm so blessed to have such good friends.

Not sure what the name of this kitty is, but he was friendly and reminded me of Oliver!

I left Alabama and drove up to Tennessee for a work gig at Onsite. At the end of my week I met Beyonce, the Onsite kitty! I've been there a number of times and have only seen her from a distance, but this time as I was leaving I got to actually visit with her up close.

And now it's good to be home again! We're all just fine here. Settling back into the routines. Stay tuned though, cuz we have some big news to announce sometime soon!

Happy Weekend!!!

healing options

While I've been out of commission with non-stop migraines and migraine-related nausea lately, the kitties are stepping up to help me.

 Marvin demonstrates his get in your face and purr-therapy method:

While Buddy' uses the combination of healing paws and tummy rubs to bring about healing:

The cats love that I've been spending most of my time horizontal. I can't do anything that requires sight or head movements, but I can love on the kitties who visit me when I'm down. I'm very grateful for compassionate, loving kitties!

I have medications that work wonders for the actual migraine pain, but lately, it's been the pre-migraine nausea that's killing me. I get crazy sensitive to motion and light which leaves me in a perpetual state of nausea (like never ending motion sickness). I went to the walk-in clinic today hoping they might have some kind of anti-nausea magic pill. The compassionate doc gave me two medications to try. The first did nothing for the nausea but knocked me out with drowsiness. The second dialed back the nausea within minutes - it was like magic! Of course the one that works requires special prior-authorization from insurance before they can give me a full month's supply - hopefully that won't be a problem. I'm grateful to have this break from the nausea hell, even when I know it's a short one.

I had 10 days of non-stop nausea hell right before I went on a work trip to Tennessee. I almost cancelled the trip because of how awful I felt, but last minute decided to try. The first morning I woke in Tennessee, I was nausea free, I felt human again! That lasted until my return to the Pacific Northwest. The day after returning, the nausea came right back where it had left off. I'm wondering if it's some kind of weird environmental allergy to a local mold or something, I keep thinking through what was different about my time in TN. One thing is that I was without cats in Tennessee, gosh that would be awful if I learned cats triggered my migraines. Before I go too far with that crazy thought, I'll wait and see what the allergy testing reveals. I'm scheduled for testing on Friday morning.

A few pics from my recent Tennessee experience:

 

Be well and enjoy this moment.

lazy caturday

It's good to be home!

February was quite the month. Lots of travel. Lots of going ons. Grateful for the month that it was and even more grateful to be home now.

I'll catch you up on my happenings by starting with the now. Today - this moment, Oliver is taking a snooze on the couch with Buddy about one cat-length apart. After years in the making, Oliver has officially met the indoor cats face to face.

 

I started by having all the indoor cats locked on the front porch while Oliver got to play inside. Remember, Oliver has been dying to become an inside kitty for years, but his chronic urine marking prevents unsupervised time.

 

When Oliver settled in on the couch, I decided to let the inside kitties back inside with Oliver. I thought it was time they meet nose to nose. Theo was the first who popped up on the couch and slowly approached Oliver - they sniffed each others noses and Theo slowly backed away! No hissing, no growling, nothing but sniffing! I was so proud of my Oliver! 

 

Oliver is a super dominate cat outside in his yard. He will violently take down any intruder cats that come anywhere near his space. But inside, he seems to know he's a guest here and has not done anything to challenge the indoor cats. 

 

Buddy was the next to check out Oliver. He sniffed and settled in a cat-length away. Then he grumped and attacked Oliver with his flying-paw of doom. Oliver didn't retaliate, he just hissed and backed away. Oliver could easily dominate any of the indoor cats but he's choosing to remain submissive. I'm super impressed with him - he's very smart kitty - he knows if he wants to be an inside kitty he can't do it by force.

Sweet Willow just hopped up in my lap to get some loves. She doesn't seem phased in the least by Oliver being right next too her. And likewise, Oliver doesn't seem to mind Willow's presence either.

I've been waiting for this moment for years! When Oliver could come inside and be part of the harmonious inside kitty world!! Today we took a major step in that direction! Yah!!

I traveled many places over the past few weeks. One place I went was back to Onsite (in middle of nowhere Tennessee), a place of incredible healing. If you know of anyone who's stuck in survival mode and can't seem to figure out how to get to thriving, Onsite might be worth checking out. 

 

The work related training I did there was life changing, in line with the rest of my Onsite experiences. I'm incredibly grateful they are there doing what they do.

 

One of the pieces of personal work I got to attend to was working through the trauma of the death of my first dog, Lassie, back in childhood. It was to be an event that forever changed my world, in a not so good way. I'm grateful for getting to finally resolve that trauma, and in doing so, has changed my relationship with death - and grieving.

 

On the way home from Tennessee, I stopped in Ohio to visit Sarah's grave. I wanted to make intentional space for more grieving. I brought her a forever rose and a little cat figurine (three kittens playing) to mark the delightful gifts she gave me. Visiting was really hard but also really, really good.

My heart is full of love, gratitude, and joy. Life is good! It's good to be home!

Oliverize

Being away from home means Oliver must be secured in our junky small bedroom, also known as "Oliver's Room". For him, it's his dream come true, he gets to be a real inside kitty! But before he can be brought in, the room has to be Oliverized.

Sheets and towels are hung in all the "spray-zones" to speed the cleaning process when we get back home!

No doubt that Oliver loves being inside-kitty.

Oliver's konked out on the heating pad!

Vermont travels

The Vermont portion of my trip has been delightful. I LOVE Vermont, it's such a beautiful state and the simple way of life really speaks to my soul. I so want to move back.

I stayed at the Hotel Coolidge in White River Junction, which dates back to around 1879.

It's a lovely building and the rooms are very unique. It has the slopeiest floors I've ever seen! It was fun, I would certainly recommend it. 

The rooms are simple and perfect for the old hotel.

An original phone in the hallway. I didn't try it to see if it still works!

A neighboring Catholic Church, dated 1897.

This cracks me up - it's a park & ride at 9:30am on a weekday! 

Where I live, the park and rides are overfull!

I love Vermont forests. I stumbled upon this trail and enjoyed every minute of it. The forest bed of dry leaves was delightful. In the Pacific Northwest, we don't have forests of deciduous trees, so the forests are dark due to the greenery and the forests are always wet due to the forever presence of drizzle!

This kitty window ornament was in a store that sold locally made Vermont Artisan products. I think it would have come home with me, but sadly, the store was closed for the day.

After leaving Vermont, I drove on little roads through New Hampshire. This was some lake alone the way. I love the lakes in New England, most of them are undeveloped and just beautiful.

I got to meet Toby in person. He's my brother's latest cat who had to had his eye removed. 

He's a lover boy for sure! It's good he rescued him and gave him a chance at the good life.

My trip is coming to a close. It's been a lovely time away exploring two different parts of the country. I've enjoyed keeping an eye on my kitties while away, but soon I'll get to love on them in person!

Oliver cuddles with one of his sons

The boys' room!