Monday, October 19, 2009

Amy's Monday Musings!

Sunday came and went in the blink of an eye for me. I swear I'm still looking for where it went. If I don't get on-line and type up my Sunday Salon post first thing Sunday morning chances of it happening are very slim! But yesterday morning I decided to loll in bed with my coffee and the Sunday New York Times which I love while hubbie snoozed merrily beside me. And then I think 10 cats wanted attention or food or food and attention simultaneously. Chaos broke loose and infiltrated my home! It was sheer nuttiness for a good two hours. In some ways cats are like small children, they can be loud and demanding when they want something, they sulk when they don't get it right away but they can also be sweet, loving and adorable. I love it all!!

I think we have another new member. Did I tell you about Bob? Bob (we were calling him Boris but Bob just fits him so well) has been a neighborhood cat for a couple of years. He spends a lot of time with our cat loving neighbors. He started coming around our place a few months ago and sat outside the window hoping for some cat nip or cat food. About a week ago he hopped in the window like he'd always been here and shortly thereafter, found himself a cozy spot on the bed. The thing about Bob is that he's a gentle giant. He is the largest cat I have ever known. Not fat, just big. He's larger than Eddie, the Jack Russell Terrier on the defunct sitcom, Frasier. He looks, in coloring, like Morris the cat from the old cat food commercials but Bob's orange and white fur is a little longer. Bob has beautiful eves that sometimes look a pretty medium blue, sometimes a minty green. He loves to walk up to a person and knock his head into their legs. Our other cats knowe him from the neighborhood. Some of them dislike him for his sheer size it seems. But he seems to fit in well. He's come over every day for the last week for 3 - 15 hours depending on his mood, I guess! I'm still without a digital camera but I have pictures being developed as I write and will have them before the
week is out (I hope).


I spent two days in NYC this week for doctor appointments, did a little fun shopping and stopped in some bookstores of course. I mostly looked and got some titles and ideas for the future. I really wanted to purchase some books but I have so many in my pile still to be read. One B&N was having a buy one mystery, get the other at half-price"> I might have been able to walk away from that but then I saw Still Life by Louise Penny, the first in her Inspector Gamache, Three Pines Series. And since it was a sell I also purchased Dennis Lehane's A Drink Before the War. I'm excited to read this since he is supposed to be another literary crime writer.
I will be posting my review of
The Day the Falls Stood Still today or tomorrow. I wanted to do my review a little differently than usual since there were so many reviews of this book in the last couple of months. Hence, it seems to have taken me a very long time to write it. I will also be reviewing The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman this week.

Okay, that's all for now. The laundry calls! Have an enjoyable Monday please!

15 comments:

  1. Bob sounds like a smart cat - he knows a good home when he sees one.

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  2. I have Still Life in my TBR pile too. I loved The Brutal Telling so I think it will be a winner!

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  3. All this and laundry too? I don't know how you manage to read those books, write, comment, take care of home and the growing zoo. You must be the most organised person on that side of the ocean.

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  4. Bob sounds like quite the character!

    How frustrating was watching your Jets yesterday? It just seemed like neither team wanted to win. And my Raiders amazingly won!

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  5. I'm with you, Amy, I have no idea where Sunday went!

    I can't wait to see Bob. When we were "shopping" for our first cat, we went to a shelter. They had the biggest cat I've ever seen! I really wanted him until they took him out of the cage for us. He was rather ill tempered and wouldn't stop hissing and whipping his tail back and forth. It scared me a little. Bob sounds like a gentle giant, though!

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  6. I love reading about your cats Amy. Bob sounds like my Niles (disappeared 2 years ago) 21 lb buff color long haired male. Just such a gentle giant. We think an evil Fisher cat got him :(

    We had out cat woes with Buddy last week. Urinary blockage, 3 days at the vet, and a huge bill. He's doing well though. Thanks goodness.

    Have a good week. (I am hooked on Louise Penny myself).

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  7. Bob sounds wonderful -- a re-incarnated friend? What a great way to spend Sunday morning! And if your weather was anything like ours, snuggled in a bed was the ONLY place to be!!

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  8. Bob sounds a lot like Ziggy in that he just showed up and never left. He wanders in like he owns the place! I still can't believe you have 10 cats...I thought five was too many!

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  9. I have to say that I stayed in bed almost all day and read! We had such dreary weather that it was very easy and such a nice day sitting around for everyone. Welcome to Bob!

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  10. Have you read Brutal Telling-if not it is yours once I am done if you want it.

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  11. I loved THE DAY THE FALLS STOOD STILL, so I am really looking forward to your approach to it and seeing how you liked it!

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  12. Can't wait to see a pic of Bob! You are really wonderful to take care of so many cats. Have a wonderful day!

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  13. Bermudaonion: I think he likes the food, my husband spoils the cats badly with yummy food! Thank you! I think you're right and cats tend to know when they've find a safe, warm, loving place to stay. I don't think it's a mistake that many strays come here and go to our cat loving neighbors.

    VCaite: I started Still Life, couldn't resist, and it's really great. I love reading the start of so many of the characters I loved in Brutal Telling!

    Clarity: aw, thank you so much. As you can see, I'm very behind here and I haven't been to visit so many of the blogs I love in over a week. I realized the other day some of the problem is that my husband's schedule has changed and he is home a lot more. But now that I see the problem, I just need to set up a schedule for me and let him know what it is.
    My husband is great about taking care of things around here and letting me have time to read, write etc. He does 98% of the cooking and helps me out when I cook, the same with the cleaning and he does more of the icky cat jobs, such as the litter box, than I do. He even wants to take over the laundry but so far I haven't let him! I'm very lucky, Sam is the best!

    Lisa: I meant to email you, I'm sorry :o( CONGRATULATIONS on your Raiders winning! I thought of you immediately. That's great! Ugh, the Jets, that was an embarassment of monumental proportions. They can play so much better and could have won. But you're right, it looked like they didn't want. And warm-weather Sanchez has extreme difficulty throwing the ball in wet weather. uh-oh! The Raiders and the Jets play this weekend! lol
    And, yes, Bob is definitely a character!

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  14. Willoughby: That's too bad about the large cat at the shelter. He sounds scary. Some cats, I think, are just ill-tempered like people. Some, sadly, are like that because they have been abused which really breaks my heart. Bob size still surprises me when I look at him. His head along is huge! He is gentle, but he does have his issues. He doesn't like his cheeks to be scratched, the problem is when you are scratching the top of his head, he gets excited and starts moving his head all around and he rubs his cheeks on your hand. We learned to just move our hands out of the way fast because he will try and hit us with his paw, but he keeps his claws in so it's just a warning, he's not trying to hurt us. And no matter how much the other cats hiss at him, some are afrain of him because he's so big, I think, he just sits there and watches them with a bored look on his face! lol So, Bob is our gentle giant.

    Diane: I'm so sorry to hear about Niles. He sounds like such a cutie. It's so hard when bad things happy to our furry family members. I'm glad to hear Buddy is doing well. Urinary blockages are scary. Oh boy, vets care is so expensive! We spend most of our money on cat related things but it's our choice and neither Sam now I regret it. I'm so happy you like to hear about my cats. I will be posting a story about Sadie, soon, my smallest kitty.
    I'm reading Louise Penny's Still Life and loving it!

    KathyA: A reincarnated friend, I never thought of that! Could be and he is very similar to some other cats Sam and I have loved and who were with us way too short a time. Snuggled in bed was the place to be Sunday morning. Sam will sleep hours past when I wake up and I love to read a book, the newspaper or a magazine and have my coffee while he sleeps. Of course, there are always a couple of cats, at least, snuggled close by!

    Sandy: Bob sure does walk around like he owns the place! It's a lot of cats but on any given night we've never had more than 6 sleeping in our room, and that's only in the rain. Usually it's about 4. Two of the cats we consider permanent family memebrs treat our home like a diner attached to a motel. Everyday, twice a day they come for meals but they only sleep here more than an hour or so 2-3 days a week. I honestly I don't think I could live in our small home with 10 indoor cats - it would have to be a bigger place! Ziggy is adorable!

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  15. Kathy: It's great to just stay in bed or in a cozy spot reading on e dreary day. I think it's just something people need to do occasionally, if not more often! Glad you had a nice day!

    Esme: Thank you, it's so sweet of you to offer! But I did read it. It's the first Loiuse Penny I read and I loved it and was determined to make sure I read the rest of the series so when I saw Still Life on B&N's sale shelf I grabbed it!

    Nicole: I loved that book and I almost read the entire book twice! I thought it was so interesting, the history of the Niagara and the power plants but my favorite part was the character of Bess which is pretty evident from my review that I took forever to post (yeesh!)

    Pesky Cat Designs: Sam and I took many pics of Bob but with a "regular" camera not a digital so we have to wait for them to be developed (I'm such a spoiled brat! lol) As soon as I get them - hopefully Friday or Saturday- I'll post his adorable big mug for you all to see!

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