Category Archives: Life

The Brazilian Edition

Brazil is a country of contradictions like any other country.  But it’s fabulous!  Bahia is fantastic and I love Sao Paulo.  I didn’t expect to love it.

However, as always, cats follow me everywhere and I saw the cutest kitten at an outdoor nightclub.  He found some food and then started meowing so loudly.  I wanted to buy him food, but at that point I was out of treats  so I pray that God will take care of him.  The kitten started showing out, but unfortunately I could only take one picture of him.

When you travel, who you travel with is just as important as where you go.  Travel with those who like to travel like do you.  Some people like to relax and just chill.  Some need their days to be packed.  .

The LookOut

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Roxie and Jean Claude are on an extended stay at their other residence, CCL’s house. This afternoon I paid them a visit and my daughter made brunch.    I water her plants . Yes,  I provide landscape services for two residences.  Lately  Roxie has seen fit to leave  CCL’s house  unexpectedly and stay out for hours at a time – rumor is she has a man.   So as not to worry about her tarting out,   I lured the cats to the basement before going outside to water my daughter’s flowers.   Finished with the task and ready to enjoy sausage, eggs and pancakes I entered the house , let the cats out of the basement and sat down.  Oops !! CCL(my daughter) reminded me I forgot to get fresh thyme  from the garden for the eggs.    That meant going outside again.   Roxie and Jean Claude were already waiting by the back door poised to escape.  The basement trick would not work a second time in a row.  What to do??  CCL quickly  grabbed a spray bottle filled with water  and stood guard in front of me as I carefully opened the door, went outside grabbed the thyme  and came back in the house .  Teamwork.

Soft Scrambled Eggs(I recommend  finding more recipes  at Cook’s CountyKitchen.com )

To scramble soft fluffy eggs, heat the pan or skillet,  add butter,  then eggs and  chopped herbs, turn off heat and scramble.   To prep the eggs I just beat eggs slightly and add a little water or cream and then pour into the pan before cutting  off the heat.  A friend also pours a lot of “Dash” straight into the heated  butter and then adds the eggs – also tasty.

Re-Invention

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Roxie Tuckered Out

Last month I wrote about how the giant plant in my mother’s living room collapsed in an apparent suicide –  now it appears the plant, after some repotting and some tender loving care has found new life.     We all need that from time to time to get back in the groove.   Multiple resources work best,  sleep, exercise, food – of course and gardening.   Jean Claude and Roxie also have sources of spiritual renewal (including gardening).   I noticed Roxie who does not appear to sleep at all while at my house sleeps quite a bit while at CCL’s house.  Rest is a key source of renewal for people and animals.

Sanctuary

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Sanctuary for Roxie and Jean Claude

Roxie and Jean Claude have spent the past several days at their other residence – CCL’s house. For those of you who  don’t know that’s my daughter known as Crazy Cat Lady.   Roxie  and Jean Claude enjoy their multiple residences and   have had several adventures while staying at CCL’s  house.  Definitely a lot more going on – busy streets, noisy neighbors up all night and a second floor back deck  for  a better view of birds and other UFOs – which also works for bungy jumping(Roxie) .   But I feel the cats like  my daughter’s company as much as I do.   There is a certain peace in being with those you love …and like.

Taking it All in Stride

So there was a book out called everything I needed to know I learned from my cat or something like that. This is true. One of the greatest lessons we can learn from cats is their ability to be flexible. Nobody is perfect and occasionally I’ll oversleep and the cats will have no food. Sometimes they try to wake me up, but more often not, they just curl up at the foot of the bed so as soon as I wake up, they are ready to run downstairs and get their food.

When they can’t go outside they meow for a bit, but eventually they will move on and realize “hey, I’ll go out another time” They don’t care about the consequences and they don’t whine if they don’t get their way.

We should be more flexible in our approach to life. We may not get everything we want, but we will get everything we need.