Time spent with cats is never wasted. ~ Colette

Today I decided to leave the little kitten at home instead of bringing her to work with me. She is eating more at one sitting and doesn't require frequent feedings. I will check on her at lunch to see how she is doing. With each day she is getting bigger and stronger, now she is looking for something (or someone) to play with. I'll pick her up some cat toys for her today. I have some good news for my friend Jane. There is a camp counselor at my daughter's camp who is interested in adopting her when she is older. He was going to check with his wife. That would be great if they would take her when she's ready. She really is a sweetie. Jane took a picture of her yesterday and as soon as she emails that picture to me I will be posting it on my Webshot photo album. I'll let you know when it's there.

Wednesdays Wisdom

For fast acting relief, try slowing down. ~ Lily Tomlin

Oh, how I wish I could!

KITTY-SITTING UPDATE

Well folks, I survived the weekend taking care of little Spit-fire (or Pistol which is the name Amanda has given it). Friday and Saturday I was a little worried whether or not this baby kitten was going to make it but after witnessing it climb the cage later Saturday evening I have not doubt that this kitten is a lot stronger than I thought it was. She is still a little behind in development, but I think that has a lot to do with not having any litter mates. She did manage to use the litter box a couple of times.

Sunday morning and this morning she was my 5:30 a.m. wake up call. This morning she was very hungry, she ate more than she has since her arrival on this planet. I've taken some pictures of her and will post them on my webshot photo album later this week so that you can see just how tiny and cute she is.

A cat is a puzzle for which there is no solution. ~Hazel Nicholson

ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING

My friend Jane is a volunteer for a no-kill shelter in DeKalb, Illinois. She does everything from hands-on interactions with the animals to fundraising. She fosters kittens until they are old enough to be adopted. She is also involved in (TNR) Trap-Neuter-Return, an effective, internationally recognized program to reduce, and eventually eliminate, feral cat colonies.

This week she will be going out of town for her aunt’s 90th birthday. While she is away she has asked if I could take care of a very tiny almost-three-week old kitten. This involves cleaning up after her and feeding her with a bottle every four hours. Last night was my first night with the kitten and I'm delighted to report that she slept through the night. I'm keeping her separated from my cats so they don’t get too freaked out by her presence.

Yesterday when I tried to feed her it was a battle. For as tiny as she is she is quite the little spit-fire (which my daughter and I have lovingly named her). This morning went a lot better, she didn’t squirm as much and appeared to be very hungry.

Because she has to be fed often I will be taking her to work with me. Right now she is taking a little catnap and I’ll feed her again around 10:00 a.m.

Just think, I have nine more days of taking care of this little spit-fire. I’ll give you daily updates of my adventures in babysitting, or should I say, kittysitting.

Some people own cats and go on to lead normal lives. ~Author Unknown

Reality is the leading cause of stress for those in touch with it. ~ Jack Wagner

How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb?

Golden Retriever: The sun is shining, the day is young, we've got our whole lives ahead of us, and you're inside worrying about a stupid burned out bulb?

Border Collie: Just one. And then I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code.

Dachshund: You know I can't reach that stupid lamp!

Rottweiler: Make me.

Boxer: Who cares? I can still play with my squeaky toys in the dark.

Lab: Oh, me, me!!!!! Pleeeeeeeeeze let me change the light bulb! Can I? Can I? Huh? Huh? Huh? Can I? Pleeeeeeeeeze, please, please, please!

German Shepherd: I'll change it as soon as I've led these people from the dark, check to make sure I haven't missed any, and make just one more perimeter patrol to see that no one has tried to take advantage of the situation.

Jack Russell Terrier: I'll just pop it in while I'm bouncing off the walls and furniture.

Old English Sheep Dog: Light bulb? I'm sorry, but I don't see a light bulb!

Cocker Spaniel: Why change it? I can still pee on the carpet in the dark.

Chihuahua: Yo quiero Taco Bulb. Or "We don't need no stinking light bulb. "

Greyhound: It isn't moving. Who cares?

Australian Cattle Dog: First, I'll put all the light bulbs in a little circle...

Poodle: I'll just blow in the Border Collie's ear and he'll do it. By the time he finishes rewiring the house, my nails will be dry.

How many cats does it take to change a light bulb?

The Cat's Answer: Cats do not change light bulbs. People change light bulbs. So, the real question is: "How long will it be before I can expect some light, some dinner, and a massage?"

TO ALL THE KIDS...

...WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on, and no one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them! Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

Great Quote

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.~ Oprah Winfrey

Happy Father's Day!

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. ~ Mark Twain

Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance. ~ Ruth E. Renkel

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong. ~ Charles Wadsworth

My father always used to say that when you die, if you've got five real friends, then you've had a great life. ~ Lee Iacocca

If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right. ~ Bill Cosby

Life was a lot simpler when what we honored was father and mother rather than all major credit cards. ~ Robert Orben

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!
Look to this Day!
For it is Life, the very Life of Life.
In its brief course lie all the Verities and Realities of your Existence.
The Bliss of Growth,
The Glory of Action,
The Splendor of Beauty;
For Yesterday is but a Dream,
And To-morrow is only a Vision;
But To-day well lived makes Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,
And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.
Look well therefore to this Day!
Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!

~ Kalidasa

Is it Friday Yet?

A police recruit was asked during the exam, "What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?"

He said, "Call for backup."

Words of Wisdom from Fred Rogers

In our overly competitive me-first society, this story is worth its weight in gold. Please pass it on to your family and friends as well as people in your community and schools.

Our world hangs like a magnificent jewel in the vastness of space. Everyone of us is a part of that jewel. A facet of that jewel. And in the perspective of infinity, our differences are infinitesimal. We are intimately related. May we never even pretend that we are not.

Have you heard my favorite story that came from the Seattle Special Olympics? Well, for the 100-yard dash there were nine contestants, all of them so-called physically or mentally disabled. All nine of them assembled at the starting line and at the sound of the gun, they took off. But not long afterward one little boy stumbled and fell and hurt his knee and began to cry. The other eight children heard him crying; they slowed down, turned around and ran back to him. Every one of them ran back to him. One little girl with Down Syndrome bent down and kissed the boy and said, "This'll make it better." And the little boy got up and he and the rest of the runners linked their arms together and joyfully walked to the finish line. They all finished the race at the same time. And when they did, everyone in that stadium stood up and clapped and whistled and cheered for a long, long, time. People who were there are still telling the story with great delight. And you know why. Because deep down, we know that what matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves. What really matters is helping others win too. Even if it means slowing down and changing our course now and then.

The supreme happiness of life is the conviction of being loved for yourself, or, more correctly, being loved in spite of yourself. ~ Victor Hugo

Like a Butterfly...

It dawns on me more and more how trivial and short our lifespan is. It is like smoke; like a butterfly—it passes so quickly, flying away. Nobody, no one can bring back wasted years. One wishes that one would have always lived with eternity in mind. ~ Emmy Arnold

I Promise Program

If you have a teenager that will be driving for the first time this summer please check out the following website: I Promise Program.

Gary Direnfeld is a social worker and expert on matters of family life. He is in private practice (Interaction Consultants), writes and provides workshops and is the developer of the "I Promise Program" - teen safe driving initiative. Courts in Ontario, Canada, consider Gary an experton child development, parent-child relations, marital and family therapy, custody and access recommendations, social work and an expertfor the purpose of giving a critique on a Section 112 (social work) report. His opinion helps resolve child custody and access matters. Gary's services include counselling, mediation, assessments, assessmentcritiques and workshops. Search his name on GOOGLE.COM to view his many articles or go directly to his

America’s Dumbest Drivers

Found the following to be rather interesting....

When faced with a basic driving test, similar to the test given to beginning drivers, one in ten drivers couldn't get a passing score. The GMAC Insurance National Driver's Test found that nearly 20 million Americans would fail a state driver's test if they had to take one today. Drivers in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states did worst. Twenty percent of test-takers failed there.

1. Oregon -- 89.4
2. Washington -- 88.4
3. Iowa -- 87.7
4. Idaho -- 87.5
5. Wyoming -- 87.4
6. Vermont -- 86.6
7. Nebraska -- 86.5
8. Wisconsin -- 86.3
9. Montana -- 86.2
10. West Virginia -- 86.2
11. Minnesota -- 86.1
12. North Dakota -- 85.6
13. North Carolina -- 85.2
14. Indiana -- 85.1
15. Alabama -- 84.7
15. Virginia -- 84.7
15. Nevada -- 84.7
16 Missouri -- 84.7
19. Ohio -- 84.3
19. South Dakota -- 84.3
21. Colorado -- 84.2
22. Kansas -- 84.0
23. Michigan -- 83.8
24. New Hampshire -- 83.7
25. Tennessee -- 83.4
26. Maine -- 83.2
27. Arkansas -- 83.1
27. South Carolina -- 83.1
29. Georgia -- 82.9
29. New Mexico -- 82.9
31. Oklahoma -- 82.8
32. Texas -- 82.7
33. Utah -- 82.6
33. Arizona -- 82.6
35. Mississippi -- 82.5
35. Delaware -- 82.5
35. Kentucky -- 82.5
38. Pennsylvania -- 82.1
39. Louisiana -- 81.7
40. Illinois -- 81.6
41. Florida -- 81.1
42. Connecticut -- 80.9
43. California -- 80.4
44. Maryland -- 79.8
44. Washington, D.C, -- 79.8
44. New York -- 79.8
47. New Jersey -- 78.3
48. Massachusetts -- 77.2
49. Rhode Island -- 77.0

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Still Standing

Wow, I can't believe that it's been over a week since my last posting. No excuse only that these past two weeks have been very busy at work. Now that the dust has settled I can finally relax.

No matter where you go, there will always be two groups of people: One who likes you and one who does not. Be encouraged by the ones who do and pray for the ones who don't. ~ Unknown