the cats of Queen Beruthiel

beruscats — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:25:22 GMT

Miss Cleo got a Thanksgiving day present from hanarobi. Aren't they both lovely?

Dept. of Obliviousness...

beruscats — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:46:42 GMT

I just got raided by a family of raccoons. The frickin' things were in my kitchen while I sat back here at the computer. I heard Cleo complain, but she wasn't doing her territorial death warble so I thought nothing of it. Then I heard more of a ruckus that sounded like she was tangled up between the cat flap in the screen door and the running fan that partly blocks it, so mommy went running to the rescue. At first all I noticed was her empty dish in the middle of the floor. I headed for the door intending to give my naughty kitty a little what for until I saw the whole bag of cat chow that was wedged in the opening where the cat flap ought to be. That finally clued me in, and I peered through the gap to see a masked, furry face right on the other side, the little bandit. I shooed it, snatched the bag, slammed the door and did a slightly frantic search to be sure there were no more wild animals in my house and no scared kitty trapped outside with them.

Found Cleo under my bed, thankfully, and mama's not hanging out looking for any missing babies. I spotted at least one out there with her. I've seen her with as many as four in other years, and she's ripped off the cat flap before but never made it inside. At least, not that I know of. :-\

Raccoons are just way too smart. I wonder if she tried to get the bag clip off before deciding to steal the whole bag. I'm pretty glad I didn't get there when she was still inside, that could have been a whole other ruckus. Anyone else ever found a critter in the house (besides baranduin's possum)?

beruscats — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:06:14 GMT

Hi all. Just wanted to post a quick note from theban, who took baranduin home from the hospital today:

Just wanted to let you all know that Lora is now safely home and hopefully snoozing in her barcalounger. She seems to be doing pretty well, other than being very tired and parched.

Hopefully that means that the surgery went well. I plan to see her tomorrow and get the firsthand scoop.

beruscats — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 20:52:10 GMT

Sneaking in under the wire to wish a very happy birthday to trianne, and a belated happy birthday to alchemilla. I'm so glad you had such a great visit with each other and with Elijah and Nathan. And alchemilla, I hope you're feeling better.

It's shaping up to be another beautiful summer here. I've got little green tomatoes and cucumbers in the garden, and a dry crunchy lawn - no more mowing, yay! I also have the work deadline from hell at the end of the month, but at least they got me a laptop so I can do my overtime looking out at my garden instead of trapped in a cubicle. Sorry for disappearing down a hole after the Houston moot - I had a lovely time there. Looking forward to seeing lovethosehobbit and anyone else who can make it up to Seattle at the end of the summer.

*hugs to everyone*

beruscats — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 20:22:07 GMT

shirebound!

San Diego Symphony Presents The Lord of the Rings

It's the same date as ComicCon (July 20). Interested???

beruscats — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 10:21:24 GMT

♥ ♥ ♥ alchemilla Thank you so much for the goodies! So yummy and so well travelled - you literally went the extra mile to send them. And thank you for the wonderful photos. I love being able to browse through all the memories. You captured England and all of us so well. And you sent me a rose too! You are so sweet. *hugs*

I also have to thank "anonymous" for the rose and this lovely verse:

Pirates roam the wild seas
Seeking gold and jewels
But Jack finds love elusive

*sigh* Jack and me both, if you're talking romantic love. But I'm feeling lots of love right now. ♥

beruscats — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 00:48:20 GMT

Miss Lucy-angel got her wings today. It was a beautiful day, and we lay in the sun for a while. She asked for a last treat of tuna and chicken, but didn't really eat. Then we went to the vet, and it was peaceful and quick. She was beautiful and loving right to the end, and I'm thankful for 12 fun years together. Thanks to all of you, too, for the love and support.

beruscats — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 22:16:56 GMT

I got the news on Miss Lucy today, she has lymphosarcoma. It can be treatable by chemotherapy, but it's generally not curable. She was still perky this morning after getting some pain medicine, so I got her a Prednisone shot, but the vet isn't in favor of aggressive treatment at her age.

I think it would be an easier decision if she were a quiet kitty, but she's full of personality, sociable and talkative. A real pest sometimes, actually, and don't I wish she was at my elbow pestering me right now. *loves her*

Thank you for all the kind thoughts and prayers, I'm sure they helped and will ease her along if this is her time.

ETA: Looks like this Prednisone is pretty good stuff. Only in the short term, I'm told, but after being quiet all day she chowed down almost like old times. Quite a roller coaster ride these last fews days, but I'll take the ups.

beruscats — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 21:30:57 GMT

I'm supposed to be winging my way to ORC right now, but instead I'm home with a sick kitty. Lucy is 16 and has been steadily losing weight and barely eating anything for weeks. She's on medicine for hyperthyroid, but just this morning it occurred to me that she could also have a blockage because she couldn't digest the Pill Pockets I tried last month. That's when she started losing her appetite. Why didn't I make the connection then? Wah. The vet can see her at 4:00. I'm all sorts of anxious, but hopeful that this will be curable.

ETA: Radiologist and biopsy tomorrow morning. *whimpers* *unpacks*

beruscats — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 10:19:56 GMT

Claudia! Your package was waiting in my mailbox when I got home. How did you know I needed new pens? And a notebook and a cute card and some pretty shells. Oh, and I think there was chocolate in there too. "Was" being the operative word. Mmm. Thank you! Have a safe trip!

And trianne and alchemilla, thank you for the cards! How fun to get two envelopes with furrin postmarks on the same day. I feel so worldly. I just posted my first batch of cards today, and the rest will go tomorrow. Er, make that yesterday and today. It's way past my bedtimezzzz...

beruscats — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 21:07:09 GMT

Happy birthday, baranduin! It's a lovely day, and I'm afraid it's going to stay that way for a while, but I'll see if I can order up some rain or snow for you soon. ;-)

It was wonderful travelling with you to England, finally seeing the land of Tolkien and meeting old and new LJ friends who were drawn by your presence. Wherever you go, moots will follow. I hope the coming year brings more adventures, creative inspirations, and job satisfaction (or independent wealth, that would work too).

Firefly

beruscats — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 08:00:35 GMT

Folks in the U.S., here's your chance to see Firefly, Joss Whedon's short-lived space opera, before the movie Serenity comes out in the fall. It will be on the SciFi channel at 7 PM every Friday, shown in the proper order and with previously unaired episodes. If you like Buffy, smartass con artists who kick ass, or science fiction, give it a try. I seriously ♥ this show.

beruscats — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 07:52:45 GMT

Happy birthday to Trianne! I hope you have a wonderful day and a wonderful year ahead. I'll be thinking of you as I wing my way to lovely Houston. :-)

It's 1:00 AM. I guess I'll sleep on the plane. :-o

Kong trailer reminder

beruscats — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 22:05:25 GMT

I haven't seen anyone else post this yet, just noticed on the Yahoo!TV schedule that the King Kong trailer premieres tonight on NBC and various cable affiliates. I'll be watching on Sci-Fi, not into Fear Factor myself, but if NBC is your only option, try to tune in right at 8:59 PM - that's Pacific time, check your local listings.

beruscats — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 18:46:12 GMT

Happy Birthday wymsie!

I hope 26 lives up to your expectations as a magical year. Being that young sounds mighty fine to me. :-)

beruscats — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 23:24:13 GMT

I've been having a lovely couple of weeks at work reviewing documents until my eyeballs want to crawl out and soak themselves in a cupful of Visine, and sitting in 12-hour reviews that start at 7 AM. *is so not a morning person* The company philosophy seems to be that if there isn't a complete panic at each delivery, we must be overstaffed. And after the panic is over, lay people off. Grr. Anyway, must claim flist amnesty for another week or so. I'm supposed to head out of town on Friday for a weekend retreat, but I'm not getting a warm fuzzy that I'll be able to leave on time. As usual, the only time I get a life is when something else pops up to conflict with it. :-p

beruscats — Tue, 31 May 2005 20:53:51 GMT

Memorial Day weekend went by much too fast this year. As usual I spent most of the weekend at the Folklife Festival, reconnecting with my old dance crowd. This year our London transplants were back for a visit with their Morris team in tow, so many of us now-retired dancers showed up for a reunion. Saw the usual blend of great dancing, music and song, but spent a lot of time just visiting. I was sad that it had to end.

At dinner on Sunday night, one of the Brits said he was amazed at how mellow the festival was - no drunks, no fights, despite numerous beer gardens on the grounds. I'm not sure if it's because it's folkies or because it's Seattle, but I've never seen a problem like that in over 20 years. Remind me not to check out any festivals in England. :-0

We finished the weekend at a Mariners game. Had lots of fun explaining the rules and comparing baseball to cricket, and the home team even managed to win for once. I think the visitors all had a good time. Wonder if I'll be lucky enough to catch one of their dance outs when I visit in the fall. This business of making friends who live an ocean away is hard on the tear ducts.

beruscats — Mon, 09 May 2005 23:45:16 GMT

Blargh. How did it get to be 4:30 already? I'm still paying for staying up till the wee hours the last four nights reading Jack/Daniel. Like I needed another pairing obsession and 8 seasons of Stargate SG-1 to catch up on. I don't even find Richard Dean Anderson that appealing, but put him in the hands of a good writer (and Daniel Jackson) and dayum. I think I just gave myself a hot flash.

This is partly lilybaggins's fault. She told me about Darth Mix M&Ms and I finally found them on Friday, but only in the 14-ounce size. Ever tried to eat just a little dark chocolate when there's a whole bag there? Can't do it, even when I know each handful is another hour that I'll be awake that night. Buzzzzzz...

beruscats — Tue, 03 May 2005 00:26:22 GMT

After spending my whole Saturday watching the Trilogy screening - which was lovely, but leaves you with buns of lead - I was oh so virtuous yesterday. Did some laundry and the vacuuming, changed the bed, washed the dishes, and then, having left the worst for last, mowed the lawn. I had only let it go two weeks, but OMG it was looonnng. I had to literally inch through it, took twice as long as usual. Didn't finish till dusk and the mosquitos came out and munched on me. Hmmph. I've been pretty useless at work today, but that's what Mondays are for, right? Recovering from the weekend.

beruscats — Thu, 28 Apr 2005 20:48:09 GMT

My ultrasound came back completely normal. I've been wanting that peace of mind for over a year, so too bad if my doctor didn't think it was worth it. Maybe by next year she'll have caught up with the latest recommendations, and I won't be the one having to tell her what they are.

My body has decided to celebrate with a period. :-p At least I know that a 3-week cycle is normal. The perimenopause books all say it's like going through your teen years backwards, so I'd been waiting for this phase to show up. One step closer to the end, yay!

beruscats — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 20:20:03 GMT

Thanks to everyone who contributed suggestions for my birthday gift, and special thanks to baranduin and alchemilla. I'll be busy reading about writing for a while - and then I'll run out of excuses not to actually write something. ;-)

I was walking out of the radiologist's office this morning when I noticed I was wearing a spot of Saturday night's dinner on my jumper. Thought you'd like to know you weren't alone, Lora. ;-) Had leftovers last night, it was still yummy - and I still have enough for two more meals. 0_o

I was hoping to leave my appointment with an answer about whether anything is going on in this puffed-up belly of mine. The last time I had that kind of ultrasound, the technician let me watch the screen while she did it. This time I saw nothing, and the technician said I'd have to wait for my doctor to tell me the results. Let's just say that if she didn't see anything, she was being *very* thorough. I think the family fibroid/ovarian cyst curse may have finally caught up with me, just when I'd almost made it to menopause. Frak frakkity frak. I hate waiting to know this stuff.

beruscats — Sun, 24 Apr 2005 00:28:41 GMT

For such a linear person, I sure have trouble sticking to a gardening plan. Probably because every time I turn around, I see something else that needs trimming or pulling or cleaning up. The vegetable garden didn't get weeded, but I managed to fill up the bin with other stuff. I've worked up a good appetite for dinner tonight courtesy of baranduin. Mmm, garlic. Eek, I'd better hop in the shower and get ready.

beruscats — Sun, 17 Apr 2005 03:04:23 GMT

One of my sisters and her husband are going to watch Fellowship of the Ring tonight - for the first time. o.0 They managed to rent the extended edition, which ought to be best for D. since he never read the books. My poor sister is nearly blind and can't watch such a long movie in one sitting, so D. called me to ask where they should stop tonight, before he realized that they had two DVDs. I told him to try to get through the Flight to the Ford, but not to worry if they didn't watch the Council of Elrond tonight, unless they wanted a sleep aid. ;-)

I expect I may get another call from D. tomorrow, unless my sister remembers the books well enough to answer all his questions. Knowing D., he'll have more questions than she can handle. :-)

beruscats — Tue, 05 Apr 2005 02:07:15 GMT

My PC is freaking me out. Word crashed while trying to open Visio - which is a Microsoft app, for cryin' out loud - and the hard drive spun up and has been whirring away very noticeably even though I'm not doing anything. This is my work PC - if I've introduced a virus or spyware to the network, I'm in big trouble. Or is Word just trashing the hard drive? That would be lovely too. My company occupies a few buildings in a sea of Microsoft offices. There are times I'm sorely tempted to march across the parking lot and bang on their door, then demand that they fix their frakking software. Argh!

beruscats — Wed, 23 Mar 2005 23:32:56 GMT

I did a bit of spring cleaning this past weekend. Unfortunately, it was an internal cleaning courtesy of a nasty stomach virus. I got so sick on Friday night that I ended up in the emergency room, where they pumped two liters of fluids back into me. I don't think I've ever had an IV before - the cold fluid combined with an already low body temperature was great fun. They shot me up with Immodium and anti-nausea drugs and sent me home at 5 AM. I went to the doctor for another shot on Saturday afternoon, and things finally settled down. Yeesh, I haven't been that sick since I was six years old. I hope to go another 40 years before it happens again.

I'm fine now, but still more interested in sleeping than eating. For some reason food just doesn't appeal. :-p I'm going to try to get to work tomorrow, and then we have Friday off. A one day work week sounds good. ;-)

I just hope C. doesn't come down with what I had after carting me all over the place. It's a good friend who will take care of you when you're repulsively ill.