M.I.A.

We took Fergus out to the farm. A frightened cat and two toddlers strapped into car seats is not a good mix. We had an interesting 1/2 hour journey out. :)

We explained to the kids that this was Fergus' new home. We kissed and cuddled and petted that little dude so much that day, I'm sure that being placed into a quiet garage was a relief.
Fergus' new home was where I grew up. He'd be well-cared for by my parents, fed well, sheltered and given free range of the farm + all the mice he wanted to chase and eat.
My Mom gave up parking in the garage for a week to "acclimatize" him to his home. We came out later in the week to let him outside for the first time. After a good romp, I put him back in before we left.
My Mom was carrying in groceries when the wee beastie scampered out the garage. She left him for a bit and then, when she called him, he didn't come. Figuring he was enjoying his new-found freedom, my Mom didn't worry too much. Later that night, she tried calling him again. Worried, she left the garage door partly up (which let in a nasty tom-cat who beat up my parents' other sweet cat). To no avail, Fergus has not been seen since.
I am heart-sick. I know that he is just a cat but, he's my cat. I love that little guy. He drove me up the wall but, he slept at my feet, left my children alone and loved me. He napped with me during the crazy baby days and kept small rodents at bay.
All I can think about is him wandering, hungry, scared and homeless. My poor little cat.
I hope he makes his way back to the farm.
I hope one of my Mom's neighbours sees him and calls her.
I hope he gets picked up by the animal shelter and we get a call.
I hope he eventually makes his way back to our old neighbourhood and that our neighbours recognize him and call us.
I hope I get to see his furry face again.

A Cat-astrophic Decision

We adopted Fergus almost 5 years ago. I think he's been a delightful little man. However, he has also been a crazy little tyrant. He's an alpha male so, he thinks he should be in charge and he's not afraid of letting people know this. Most times, he kowtows to me because I like it when he sleeps at my feet and he knows that it's me who feeds him.

Owning a cat has had it's frustrations. When left alone too often or kept inside too much (read cold, cold winters), Fergus takes out his pent up energy on our baseboards. We have chew marks along most of them. Also, he likes to jump as high as he can to catch the reflection of lights that shine on our walls whenever a car drives by. This has led to surprisingly high scratch marks on our walls. Our love seat is currently in the repair shop for some basic warranty work and we figured that, since it was in there, we'd get it the leather fixed. Good old Fergus happens to scratch it with his back claws whenever he jumps up to see out the window and our loveseat is a mess.

Unfortunately, small children and a grumpy, alpha male cat are not the best mix in an 1100 sq ft house. My own kids are pretty good at reading Fergus and his moods. Fergus also knows them and can predict them. Other people's kids are not so good for Fergus. Most of them want to touch him (he's really beautiful - and fluffy). They chase him and reach their hands out to him and try to touch him. If he can hide or if I can catch him and put him outside or shoo him to the basement, things are okay. If a kid corners him, he hisses and bats at them. This action sends most small children into hysterics and puts most visiting Mommas into Momma-Bear mode. I'm usually left defending Fergus or, after calming him down, putting him outside or shooing him to the basement.

I won't even begin to lament about cat hair... oh wait, I did that here.

When we move to our Someday House, we have an option to let Fergus move to my parents' farm. He'll be able to roam the countryside and have a nice, heated garage to take shelter in. I'm sure he'll catch his share of mice and birds and romp to his little heart's content. We're probably going to take them up on this option. My little gangsta is going to be movin' to the country.

It makes sense.

However, I'm really sad about it. As much of a pain as he is, I'm going to miss my little fur ball.

Little Gangster

When we picked Fergus (our cat - I know, it's been forever since he's shown up in a blog post), we chose him because he's beautiful. We ignored the snuggly little female who purred on my lap. Instead we chose the Ferg; his reaction to this was to hiss at us. We thought that was cute. We should have taken it as a sign.
Fergus is an alpha male. He's aggressive and he likes to dominate.
We've finally given up and we allow Fergus to wander the mean streets to his heart's desire. This has lead to a very contented, snuggly and sleepy cat when he's home and inside. Outside, he's a beast to be reckoned with.
Other cats in the neighbourhood totally kowtow to him. He's the alpha male on our block and the other kitties tuck in their tails and skirt around him when he's lounging in our front yard. The other day, he was carrying a nearly dead adult bird in his mouth. Fergus had caught a bird?
This is my confession - I let my cat wander. (We've all been a lot happier about it.)

Lunch Buddies

Fergus is not allowed on the table. However, he does like to sit on a chair when we eat.

Felix: "Hey Mrs. W. How's it goin'? Can Fergus come out to play? I promise we won't
climb trees or leave the yard..."

iRobot

I gave into my housewife fantasies and bought a Roomba. No more vacuuming for me. It entertains my Schmoo and sends my cat into conniptions (unlike the above acrobat, Fergus is honing his chase, hunt, hiss and hit moves). I named him Shy Ronnie after a bizarre SNL sketch that reminded me of a few students I've taught.
Sometimes, as Shy Ronnie zooms around my living room, I wonder, "has it come to this? Am I at the age where a vacuum makes me smile?" Then I remember... Shy Ronnie is a ROBOT! How cool is that?

Showdown

Fergus vs. Felix

We have a new neighbour.
She has a male, adult cat named Felix.
At first, I thought it was funny that
we had cats named Felix and Fergus.

That's where the funny stops.

Fergus has declared an all out war
against the striped beastie next door.
He cries plaintively at the door and at the window.
He hisses and spits his contempt whenever he is outside.
He's drawn blood.
He has a battle scratch of his own to sport.
Sometimes, I can't decide whether to throw sticks at them to break it up or to
bet my new neighbour $20 that Fergus would
kick her kitty's tail!

Felix has one advantage. He knows how to leave his yard.
Fergus rarely tries that.
I hope Felix doesn't inadvertently teach him how to hop the fence.

Boys will be boys. I'm sure I'll be throwing sticks and donning
leather gloves all week.
Welcome to the neighbourhood, New Family.
We're excited that you're here so that my cat can
beat on your cat.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Yesterday, Trevor did sound for church. That meant I was on my own to get myself and Simon ready. We had 2 hours. I was feeling pretty confident... then I let my cat out.

Fergus loves his outside time. I hate denying it from him. Yesterday, he climbed our big maple and jumped onto the roof of our house. He's never done that before. It's a pretty big leap for him.

When I went outside to call him in, he was nowhere to be found. I could hear his plaintive mewling from my roof. When I looked up, I could see my panicked cat panting on my roof.

What the heck could I do to get him down? I had Simon in my arms and curlers in my hair. Fortunately, I had managed to get my cute little spring skirt on. Unfortunately, climbing onto my roof on a windy spring day in a skirt is not practical.

I put Simon in his swing. I got a chair from the kitchen table to stand on while on our front steps. Nothing. Fergus would come and then panic and run to the other side of the house. Simon started to wail.

There I was, on my front steps, in a spring skirt, babe in arms. I was a cartoon character waiting for a firetruck to show up. A nice family stopped and tried to help. Fergus was afraid of the husband and wouldn't come to him. The wife held Simon while I tried again to no avail.

Finally, I called to let Trevor know I'd be late. I put Simon down again and tried one last time.
Fergus had given up. He came to me and stepped down into my arms.

Now, he wonders why I don't really want to let him outside.

(I made it on time to church... laughing all the way).

Miss Grace

My first day alone was on Tuesday.
I tripped over the cat and landed hard on my knees. Fortunately, this was during the 5 minutes Simon would sit in his vibrating chair. Fergus was a little miffed but, he survived.
We had 2 Dr's appts. We waited for 3 hours in the Ambulatory Care waiting room so Simon could get his third set of casts. Then, we boogied down to the south end to meet up with Simon's pediatrician. Needless to say, we had to nurse on the fly making my boy (who likes to take his time) surly. I whacked my head on the roof of the car lifting Simon's carrier out of the car. Nothing like a whopping headache, a screaming baby and another doctor's waiting room to make my day fabulous.
Seriously, Day #1 made me wish that both Trevor and I could have parental leave all year together. I have no idea how single mothers do it! Kudos to them.
Day #2 was better. Simon was alert and awake most of the day but, I did manage to get my clothes on, breakfast/lunch eaten and teeth brushed by noon! Yeah! We also had some fabulous company in the afternoon that reminded me that Simon really won't be a little baby for long.
Today, my M-I-L came for a Simon-fix allowing me time to do my hair, get supper ready and put clothes on before 10. Amazing! Then, she convinced my little alert baby to sleep! Success! Thank-you, Grand-ma!
We're heading out to my school today to introduce Simon to my students and staff. I'm really looking forward to getting out. I hope this little Magoo likes getting out too!

Outsmarting Houdini Cat

Fergus discovered a trick to escape our yard.
Yes, we put our cat outside in the yard... leashless. Originally, he had a leash. He spent most of his time running as fast as he could to yank the leash until he broke it. I had visions of him climbing the tree and strangling himself. Now, he's leashless.
He figured out that he could climb the little tree between our house and our neighbour's and escape. He never went far but, he was a hellion to catch. Nothing like being 9 months preggo and trying to catch a snarling, hissing beastie hiding under a juniper bush.

Today, we chainsawed the tree down. No more escape kitty.
He sniffed at the stump and meowed in confusion.
I feel better about letting him roam the backyard.

We win, Fergus... we win!

A Lesson Learned

Today, Fergus went outside. He loves to run up and down the sidewalk and stare at the birds in the sky. He saw a bird up in our maple tree so he scampered over the snow and jumped up and did some climbing. He had an intensive climb.
He was scared to come down. I watched as he hummed and hawed before he made his final leap into the snow bank on the tree. He landed in a cloud of cold fluff and got his little self stuck. It was so funny. He started to get scared and make little mewing noises as he "swam" towards the trunk of the tree. He clung to the tree until I put on my boots and waded into the snow bank. When I picked him up, he was shivering. Poor guy! I loved him up and gave him some Snappy Tuna (his favorite treat). He's been a very friendly, mellow little guy for the rest of the day.

As I blog, I am waiting for these to cook. Thanks for the recipe Laurie. I wanted to try something a little different tonight.

Fuzzy

Yikes, today I cleaned up after Fergus' fur. I found enough fur to create a new kitten behind my couch. I wish I could shave this guy!

the berry and the squirrel

In the mornings, I let Fergus outside to play (read "stalk bugs and eat grass) outside. Lately, he's found a new "friend" to play with. For the past 4 mornings, Fergus and this little squirrel have been chasing each other up and down our big maple. They'll take breaks to natter at one another and then the chase is on again. I wonder what Fergus will do if he catches the squirrel?

Before supper, he was such a whiny cat, we put him in the spare room. Here he is trying to make his escape.

Today, I went out to my a farm near my parents and picked saskatoon berries with Karri and Mom. We picked like fiends. I have over 24 cups! On top of the rhubarb Karri gave me last week (21 cups), I'll be busy baking sweet treats for a while. Rhubarb and saskatoons... definately some of my favorite things about living on the prairies.

Sunbeams...

I love Easter holidays... no matter how early they may be.
Trevor and I hosted both sets of parents, my Grandma
and Jared for a tasty Easter dinner. (Our other
siblings were in exotic locales.)

The Wii just gets more and more fun!
One of my favorite things to do is to have
all my guests make Miis of themselves.

"It must be nice to be a teacher and get all this time off."
This is kind of funny. I'm spending most of
my holidays marking, prepping and
hanging out with my kids as they rehearse for our One Act Play.
All this "time off" is definitely unpaid.
Ah well...

Fergus loves sunbeams. He's a happy cat lazing
in the warm spring sun.

Dog Diary vs. Cat Diary

My friend Amanda sent this to me. It made me laugh hysterically. Makes me a wary of my little dictator cat.
( DOG DIARY )

8:00 am - Dog food! Myfavorite thing!

9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!

1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!

7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!

11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

(CAT DIARY) Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with
bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates
and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations
perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.The
only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again
vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet.
I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am
capable of. However, they merely made condescending commentsabout what a 'good little hunter'
I am. There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary
confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means,
and how to use it to my advantage.This morning I was almost successful in an attempt
to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as hewas walking. I must try this
again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches.The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him
communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors
have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe.

For now...The Cat

a hodge-podge

1) Today, we said good-bye to Shiya. She was here on a whirlwind, wedding planning jaunt. Here's a new pic of her and her man Marshall.

2) I went to the dentist today. I found out I have a cavity. I've never had a cavity in my life. I'm a vigorous flosser. I'm very sad. I'm also very afraid. May 8th, I get my first filling. How afraid should I be?


3) I had my 5th weigh and measure day at Curves. I've gained weight and lost inches. I'm trying to remind myself about muscle weighing more then fat but, it's still psychologically daunting.

4) Fergus is taking little adventures outside on his leash. He likes his little adventures when I'm there but, he's a whiny baby when we leave him alone for a few minutes.

5) My One-Act is looming. Just 2 more weeks until we take the stage.

Succulent

Last night, we had an adventure in eating. We cooked some King Crab legs. We made some rice and a nice salad.
At first, we were a little nervous about the crustaceans in our dining room. Then, we tasted our first piece of sweet meat. I've never described meat as heavenly before but, these little pink guys were divine. I don't know who the first brave soul to eat a crab was but, the discovery is priceless.
Here are a few shots of our culinary journey. I also put in a shot of wrestling the Ferg (pink glove for protection). This is our every day, home from work routine. He's such an aggressive little guy!

A Break

I have a confession: I have been awfully surly lately. Downright morose and dour. Little Miss Negative. This is not really my normal demeanor. A combination of cold weather (cold is an understatement) and work blahs have left my chipper self craving some serious hibernation time.
It was a nasty way to start Semester 2. Nothing like a grumpy teacher to make you excited about a Psych class.
Today, I'm working on an attitude adjustment. The weather let up and it's been a much better day. I watched the sun come up on the way to work this morning. It was good to see daylight before I sequestered myself into my windowless classroom. I giggled with my kids and we joked around a bit. Things are looking better.
Here's a picture of a little guy who spends most of his waking life trying to play with me. He's pretty sweet!

Back at it...

Jolted awake at 6:17 AM.
Canada AM and Raisin Bran.
27 minutes in my cute little Mazda 3 rocking out with my IPOD (thanks to a new FM Transmitter)
Single pages when I wanted double sides in the photocopying room.
3 fast-paced, nose to the grindstone classes.
1/2 hour of supervising grade 9s eat. (It's not pleasant).
Scarfing lunch before P4. (Really... I packed this?)
2 Psych 20 classes - teaching cults... really interesting!
1 1/2 hours of prep.
33 minutes of fighting traffic on the way home. (The East end is crazy.)
1 lap + 15 machines at Curves.
1 attention starved cat's kisses and some play time.
1 bowl of stew.
Missing Trevor (away on a business trip).
Later, marking, Care Group prep and baking cookies.

I love the do nothing days of Christmas break. However, it's kind of nice to sink back into a routine. It was good to see my students. It was good to have some structure to my day.

Christmas 2007

Happily Married - this is our 5th Christmas together.

The DS addicts - I think Fergus likes the fast moving Mario Karts.

The wee Christmas maniac. He personally inspected all gift bags while they were under the tree.

My lovely new sister-in-law.

Boys in stripes.

Mom with her new pet worms. Good thing she's a good sport!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas too!