An apology to my cat

Dear Miki-

I apologize in advanced for the torture you are about to endure for the next couple of years.  As you may have noticed, you have gained a fan, your biggest fan.  That's right, he's the one who stops everything and stares and cracks the biggest grin every time you walk into a room.  He's the one who laughs and squeaks every time you meow.  The one who is infatuated with your every move.  The one who you bit a couple of weeks ago and so you got thrown from the bed.

So far you have been a good sport.  I have a feeling that you like the Sprout too.  I see you rub up against him and sit as close to him as you can.  You prefer to sleep next to him, but because you bit him, you can't and so you sit at the end of his feet, like you do us when we are in bed.

But I am apologizing because you have a rough road a head.  As the Sprout becomes more mobile, he will be petting you more and following you more and may even want to grab and hug you.  I know you will try with all your might to be "nice", but I know you will scratch and bite.  That is just what you do.  I will try to be as understanding as I can, however, I apologize for the yelling and throwing and locking outside that will occur

Just remember that the Sprout LOVES you.

With many apologies,
Mom.

Miki moo saga

Miki in her hidy-hole

Miki is one of the most entertaining cats I have ever had (sorry Ernie). She is mean and feisty, but loves to hang out and be with Richard and me. She is not much for being petted, but loves to sit on you lap. She is reaching the age of 2, and is still curious about everything. I have never had a cat who "talks the talk," but is still learning "walk the walk."

Miki on the day I brought her home (6 weeks old)

I promised myself I would never purchase a kitten from a pet shop (kitten mills and all) but I was so desperate for a kitten and the policies at the rescue centre required that my home have an exit to the outside world (including a cat flap), which I did not have at the time because we were living in a tiny apartment. Down the street there was a pet store. It is a dirty pet store and I have no idea how it stays open. I had read up on how to choose a kitten to make sure it isn't sickly, one of those is a kitten who is lively and free from goo coming from their eyes and nose. She was the most lively kitten there. Outspoken and climbing the bars to get to me, it was a no brainer, she was the one. Later I would learn these can be the most annoying traits to have in a cat.

Miki on her stairs

While we were living in our tiny apartment in the Bradford City Centre, she was a house cat and seemed perfectly content. She only ran to the door to say "good-bye" and greet us when we came home. She only tried to escape a couple of times only to find the hallway to be a scary place. Now that we live in Shipley with a garden, she has warmed to the idea of being outside, as long as she has her hidy-hole within reach, the back door is open and she has full view of the entrances to her little garden.

In our new house, we found a huge cat population with a distinct hierarchy that seems to work, with little conflict that needs to be solved through violence. The first couple of weeks was spent being introduced the other cats through the fence with little argument. We came to find that the cats who frequented our garden in the cold days of late winter and early spring disappeared from our side of the fence once Miki started being outside. At first some of the top cats came by to say "hi," coming up to the porch and letting her growl at them as almost to say "go a head, let it all out." They never swatted or put their ears back in disgust at her behaviour, but were patient and calm.

I have never witnessed the workings of a cat society. I have always lived in the woods where territory included a half an acre or more and stray cats who came onto the territory were met by hostility or full on attacks leading to vet bills. This has been the most interesting part of my Summer, watching the relationships of the cats in the neighbourhood.

Recently there have been a couple of new cats that have come sniffing around, and Miki gets to test her authority and protect her domain. Again these cats are merely curious and non-threatening, however, Miki's house cat training has made her a bit more scared of other cats rather than territorial. When I am present, she is more likely to growl and refrain from running away, however when I observe her from the kitchen, she often retreats to her hidy-hole while growling, allowing the cats to wander onto her porch and into the house.

This has been an interesting turn in her personality. She is more afraid and wary of other cats than she is of humans. However, something I did notice this morning proved that she is growing in terms of her self esteem. There is an orange cat 2 doors down named Tiger and he has frequented our fence since we have lived here. He usually keeps his distance and has therefore allowed Miki to become acquainted with him and allowed her to study his movements. Tiger was determined to use our alley-way this morning and came barreling down the top of the fence from his house. Miki did not run into her hidy-hole, but gave a short, low grumble (she reminds me of a little old man) and ran toward him down our stairs to meet him as he touched the ground. Tiger, gave out a terrified scream (totally over reacted since there was no contact from Miki) and jumped back up onto the fence and returned home. I was so proud and was convinced that she had been listening to me. For the past couple of weeks I have been telling her that she needed to stick up for herself and defend her territory.

But now we have a new hurdle...a dog has moved in next door...a young Alsatian. His owner assures me that his dog has been beaten into submission by their two cats (who have been retired to the house cat life, so we don't have to deal with that). She is also afraid of the new people who sit on her other porch, grumbling as she comes inside. I know she will warm to the new neighbours, but I am sure it will take some time.

Miki walking along the fence displaying the grace taught to her by one of the other cats in the neighbourhood. She has only been to the neighbour's yard two times that I have witnessed.

What's going on???

The cake from Richard's parents

Well as you may have noticed, I am not in the US, but still at home waiting for my passport...WHOOPEE!! I just decided to get my plane fare credited for whenever my passport does arrive, I am hoping soon.

On Saturday for my birthday, I took Richard to see the Transformers new movie (very cool animation, but in true Jessika style, I fell asleep...the movie is 2 and 1/2 hrs long!!! I have decided that I need a movie to be 90-100 min to not fall asleep.) We also had lunch at one of the newer Indian restaurants called Tulsi. It is a vegetarian restaurant and is very good...the weird part is that it has a bar. In Bradford it is very strange for an Indian restaurant to serve alcohol. you can usually bring your own, but they don't sell it.

On Sunday, Richard's parents came up and we went for Sunday Dinner in Shipley, but otherwise I had a very uneventful birthday day.

Richard and I have finally started a bit of gardening. We have some lettuce and tomatoes coming up and some squash and carrots on the way. At the moment everything is planted in temporary pots until we can get to the store to buy HUGE pots to put them all in. Last week I had to declare war on our back neighbour's big flowering bush that hangs over our garden. The bush is beautiful, but it was covered in aphids, so the bulbs I planted when we moved in were COVERED in aphids. So I cut the branches on my side off...and it seems to have worked. I was very proud of myself.

Miki in the garden

Miki is getting more brave outside, although she still needs the door to be open and prefers that we are outside with her. She goes to greet most of the cats, but because our fence is high, she can't figure out how to get to them, which I think is OK. Recently she has found herself a hidy-hole under the deck that she curls up in...but then I forget about her and she ends up being outside with the door closed...OH NO!! I am hoping she will find that it isn't scary to be outside without a straight shot to the inside.

I have managed to knit 2 ridiculous hats from scratch that the sprout will have to wear because they are hilarious...

Is it possible to like and hate your job at the same time?

For 9 months now I have been making coffee at Costa Coffee in Leeds and Bradford. I say all the time that I hate my job. Most of this is a pride issue I have to admit, having a Master's diploma was supposed to afford me the opportunity to have a full time job in my field. In the UK at the moment, the archaeological community has been hit especially hard, there are no jobs for technicians here...I mean none. We all know that this year I was blessed to get 2 seasonal job offers from the U.S. Forest Service, but the Sprout had other plans for me this summer.

Anyway, Costa has a competition for Batista's and I am entering it. It will give me something to look forward to, make me feel important (even if I do badly) and it will be fun. I tend to need goals and I haven't had any for awhile.

The thing is, there are elements to my job that I really like. I have yet to work with someone I don't like or can't stand and I enjoy talking to customers. I have also moved up the ranks to Team Leader with a raise on the way, so I get to feel like I am in charge. It can be relaxed and the schedules are not set in stone, so if you have something to do, you tell the boss and the schedule is fixed as long as there is some warning. At the moment my main reason for staying at Costa is because of the maternity leave benefits that I get even though I am part time (though I have been reading that this is the law of the land). I get 90% of my pay for 9 months and they have to keep my position for a year. So at the moment that is worth staying since I have student loans to pay off.

In other news...On Wednesday I will be 15 weeks pregnant...I can't believe that. When you are counting time in weeks, it goes by fast. Next week I will be having a large needle stuck into my belly to have a Triple test done. This sounds really menacing.

So far I have made a new born size sweater and a pair of booties for the Sprout.

Richard and I finally found the heart beat last week and it was really cool and exciting. I went into see the midwife on Wednesday and she had me listen to the heart beat, which was funny because since I had already heard it, I wasn't nearly as excited as she may have been expecting me to be.

The weather finally warmed up and we have been able to have the doors and windows open. Miki has been doing much exploring and even meeting more of the neighbour cats who seem to really like out yard. Miki has done an exceptionally good job of not letting one fly who enters the house live. She is instantly on the case and is able to exterminate with extreme prejudice, catching, mauling and then eating every one of them who doesn't find the door first. I gotta get a video of her doing it, it is so funny to watch.

Nativity Sheep Dead at 27

Late Tuesday night, Nativity sheep lost his life to what appears to be an annual attack by a one year old cat. As the footage below indicates, a calico female appeared from the bushes and attacked ruthlessly.

The coroner found that this was not not the first time the sheep had been attacked. Many healed lesions were found on the sheep's body that indicated that the sheep had been tormented by felines throughout it's life.

Police have yet to contact Shepard John, who is not due to return to his flock until December 23rd where he awaits the Saviour every year.








CCTV was able to catch the vicious attack on Nativity Sheep but the only eye witness was Nativity Donkey who reported the attack. "Every year this happens," Donkey sobs. "Why is it always Nativity Sheep?" Nativity Donkey reports that these attacks have been carried out for the past 27 years, always by a kitten, perhaps in some kind of rite of passage for the cats. It seems that only Nativity Sheep is attacked while Nativity Donkey is left untouched. "We try to hide Nativity Sheep, but he is always found and tortured."

Services will be held for Nativity Sheep once Shepard John is located. It is believed that Angel Jessika will be creating new Nativity Sheep to replace this Nativity Sheep.

Christmas Cactus, Mikizilla, and Bread?

Last year Richard's mom gave us a Christmas Cactus, by the time we got home all the little buds had fallen off (it was quite a journey). This year, however, it got the chance to bloom (another reason why I had to put up the Christmas tree so early). I had some fun taking a bunch of pictures. Here are some of the better ones:

The bottom third of the Christmas tree is missing it's ornaments. I wonder why?

I decided that making bread is easy... and yummy:

Pedestrian Christmas

I know this is a really weird thing to start my post off with, but I thought it was really interesting. There have been 7 feet that have washed up on B.C. shores since August 2007. Now when I read this, I was thinking, wow is this some new serial killer that is cutting off people's feet and throwing them in the water? It is actually more simple than that and something I should have known from my studies of decomposing bodies. Apparently, the feet come loose as a body decomposes in the water, therefore, the feet have an opportunity to make their way back to land...isn't that interesting? I thought it was.

Now for the real post. I have the week off! So, I decided it was time to put the Christmas tree up. I know it is early, but the benefits of having a fake tree is that you can have it up whenever you want. If it wasn't for me having to dust the tree, I would have it up all year round.

This is Miki's first Christmas. She was very excited about the box that the tree came in and only a little less excited about the tree it's self. In the true spirit of Christmas tree raising, we took pictures.

And yes...I am wearing the same sweatshirt I was wearing last year when I was putting up the tree...




Last year...




This year...