We are still alive (and back!)

 First off, I apologize for the long absence. It's been a crazy couple 18 months here. In summary:

• Jim and I moved his mom from Minnesota to Wisconsin into a memory care facility this summer. Within a month of her arrival, she fell and broke her hip, requiring extensive surgery and a stay in rehab. Unfortunately, the trauma has accelerated her decline. We don't know if she'll walk again long term. It's impossible to explain things to a dementia patient, and unfortunately, she has fallen twice already. We are grateful she is less than two miles from our house, and can visit and keep tabs on her care. 

This is a cake I made to celebrate her 88th birthday in September. She really liked it.

• My dad fell and broke his hip and femur in early July, then a few months later, the rod in his hip broke, requiring a second surgery in Milwaukee. There were days I drove from one hospital or rehab center (for mother-in-law) to another for my dad. He is healing (again) back home, but as an 80 year old, it's a long road ahead. I've spent a number of weekends driving to their house (2.5 hour drive) to help with chores.

• In May 2024, my employer sold our brands to another company. It hasn't gone well, and I spent 20 months looking for a new job. If any of you have tried to search for a job in 2026, you likely know how difficult and disparaging it can be. However, by the time you read this, I will have given notice to my employer. I've found a new position in a different industry, and I'm excited about it. It's very close to home and will allow two days working from home, so I can still be with the kitties.

Speaking of the kitties. . .here are updates:

• Jules is now two years old, and a total mama's boy. He's quite a big personality in a wobbly body (he has cerebellum hyperplasia). He likes to play with Ringo, and will sometimes bother Lucy, but Lucy has figured out she can easily outrun him.

• Lucy and Ringo are both 12 and, overall, doing well. Lucy had lost some weight, but her bloodwork and urine sample were clear. I've started giving her wet kitten food, and she's gained a bit of weight, so I cross my fingers and hope it continues. They love to cuddle together in our ancient wicker cat bed.

Happy Halloween!

 I am back! Look for a catch-up post on Tuesday. In the meantime, please enjoy this year's Halloween pumpkin, and of course, Jules assisting me while carving. The pattern is called "Kitty Cauldron."

Mom, I don't get what you're doing here.

Lucy and some friends

 

Look at this cute face

 Jules is doing well. He loves playing, his brother Ringo, and is curious about Lucy but she keeps him at arm's length for now.

 

Blep on a Monday

 We feel you, Ringo, we really do.

 

R is for Ringo

 I noticed Ringo was sitting next to the letter R I have in my office.

 

Turned around and growing like crazy!

 Jules has turned the corner and is doing great! His fecal sample was normal and while his stools are still a little softer than I'd like, they have improved a lot since a week ago. We'll continue giving probiotics for a while, given that he recently was on antibiotics. He's eating like crazy and is back to gaining weight.

He's enamored with both Lucy and Ringo, but especially Ringo. Ringo has been so patient and good with Jules, and this morning, he let Jules tackle him and they wrestled a little bit!

 

So far, so good

 I'm happy to report that Jules has been doing better since our vet visit. He's eating again without vomiting and overall seems perkier. We are checking the litter box, waiting for some output to let us know things are moving through his system normally. We're also waiting to hear back about his fecal sample testing.

He spent about 90 minutes in my lap last night. Gosh, this kitten is a love bug.

A little scare with Jules

 We've been battling soft stools since we adopted Jules, not uncommon with kittens. We dropped off a stool sample at the vet's right away, and the following week the vet gave him a dewormer just in case.

Things had started to improve, but then took a tumble this weekend. By Saturday afternoon he had watery stool (sorry if TMI) and by Monday morning, he was also vomiting. That scared me, so off to the vet's he went this morning. We brought along another stool sample. The in-house test was negative but they also sent some out just in case.

He got fluids, cerenia, and metronidazole, plus a couple of x-rays. The vet was concerned about a possible area in his gut. We are hoping it's just a big pocket of gas, but he couldn't tell for sure.

We're watching and waiting right now. So far, he seems ok and has eaten some food.

Here he is in the very old, yet very beloved wicker bed. This bed is about 25 years old and every cat we've had loves/loved it. Looks like Jules approves too.

Jules and Ringo play patty paws

 Please enjoy this video of our two boys playing by a door. So cute!

Growing like crazy

Things with Jules have been good, for the most part. He's a voracious eater--we've never had a kitten so crazy about food. He has eaten anything in his bowl without question, canned, raw, and freeze-dried food. He's gained 6 ounces since we adopted him.

He's learned what a sunbeam is and loves lounging on the bed in the sun.

Ringo has made great progress with him and they even played a tiny bit together today (of course, Jim witnessed this and not me)! Lucy is still pretty cautious but continues to improve.

Integrating into the household

 Ringo and Lucy have made amazing progress with Jules in just 5 days. This morning, I took this adorable photo of the three of them.

Is there hissing? Of course. But Jules seems to respect the other cats when they hiss and either backs away or just goes to do something else.

I downloaded a fishing game for cats, and he was playing it last night. The squee factor was pretty high!

Please welcome Jules

After the holidays, Jim and I decided we were ready to adopt a new youngster into our household. We went to the shelter where we adopted Ringo, but unfortunately no kitties were a match for us.

I learned about an event at a local pet store from a rescue group called Texas Rescue Riders. They're an all-volunteer group who saves cats and dogs slated for euthanasia and drives them to Wisconsin for adoption. We went to the store and, while they didn't have any kitties there, we talked to the cat adoption coordinator about what we were looking for.

As luck would have it, they were having a cat and dog adoption event at their headquarters the next day! And bonus, the headquarters was only 15 minutes away from our home.

When we arrived, we each took a kitten to hold and interact with. Jim immediately knew that the brown-and-white tabby he was holding was destined to be ours. When he passed the kitten to me, the little guy reached out his paw and put it on my chest. His fate was sealed.

Please meet Jules, who's about 14 weeks old. He's a social, loveable little guy who is so curious about the world around him (and badly wants to make friends with Lucy and Ringo). He has a mild case of cerabella hypoplasia, which makes him a little wobbly, but it's not slowing him down and we're learning what works best for him (especially with playtime and stairs).

Slowly making friends with Ringo.

His stool sample came back clean, so we're letting him explore the house and get to know the other cats. He has his first vet visit next week, but is already neutered and has all vaccines except rabies.

Both cats are making good progress with him and we're hopeful they will be friends in time. Jules has not been overly aggressive or annoying with either cat, and we're monitoring them all carefully.

News from our house

This post is long overdue, but I haven't had the energy or desire to write it. This year has been full of ups and downs. My mom's cancer journey has been difficult and ongoing, my job has changed and we moved into a new office. My new employer is, essentially a start up, so many things are in a state of chaos. My job is secure, however; I've had good interactions with new coworkers so far and they've been supportive.

This summer, our street was under construction from mid February until late August. All utilities were upgraded and the street was repaved with concrete. It looks great now but was a giant hassle, and it put Sadie under a lot of stress. During that time, she started to decline, but we chalked it up to stress from the construction (we had a number of loud days with noisy trucks). . .but now I realize it was more than that.

She aged a lot this year. In July, I took her in for a checkup when I realized she'd lost a lot of weight. Her kidneys had declined a lot since her blood work from May. I had a checkup appointment for her on the 23rd, but decided not to take her in because we considered her "in hospice."

This morning she told us she was ready to fly. I made "that call" with the vet and we're letting her go this afternoon.

She turned 16 on August 23. She's always been more of a daddy's girl, but I'm thankful she chose to spend more time with me the past few weeks. She could be difficult to love at times, but when she did, it was extra special. We will sure miss her. I'm not sure Lucy or Ringo will care that she will be gone, as they didn't interact much with her, especially lately.

I'll miss you, you sassy girl. I'll always remember you as the tiny 8 ounce kitten I rescued all those years ago. I have a photo of my grandma holding you when you were a kitten. Perhaps she'll be there to greet you at the Bridge.

She was so tiny and loved to sleep near my neck.

From happier times in 2020

I'm innocent, I swear!

 Lucy was in a playful mood last week, zooming around and messing up the hallway rug. However, when I'd come to take a photo, she'd quickly run away.

Not me!

Nothing to see here.

Finally Friday from ridiculous Ringo

 I was on a work trip last week to Pennsylvania. It was a four day, three night whirlwind where I met tons of people and got many good contacts. Unfortunately, it was part of the weekend, so I feel pretty fried.

Please enjoy these photos of ridiculous Ringo in the sunbeam.

A Sadie while I work from home

 I could hardly believe my eyes a couple of weeks ago. Sadie came and sat on the futon behind me as I worked from home one day. She'd never done that before.

Thrifty Thursday: Wand cat toy

 

This is Ringo. I told Mom that I wanted to host today's Thrifty Thursday. On Monday, Mom had a vacation day and in the afternoon, she went to something called a Goodwill Outlet in Milwaukee. You dig through bins and buy items by the pound.

Mom found a wand cat toy, and it's my new favorite! I carry it all around the house and deliver it to Dad's bathroom door.

I let Mom photograph it, but now it's mine again. I hope she goes there again because I'd love to have another cat toy like this. She says she will keep a lookout for me.

Chillin' Ringo

 Ringo was acting so cute on the upstairs cat tree. Thankfully, he doesn't bother the ivy plant nearby.

Two kitties in a basket

 Check out this cuteness! Lucy and Ringo both squeezed into the old wicker bed. We've had this bed for many years; it was Benny's when he was a kitten. We love that the kitties still use it.