catharemeunuch

Another natterzine about the cats and my life. Being typed 8 November, "another
Saturday night of wild and reckless abandon".

For over 11 years now, I have been spending every Thursday at the local AA
Central Office as a phone volunteer, 4-7 PM. My memory is now unclear as to the
reasons I stopped attending a sci-fi club up in North Hollywood, but I do
remember my sponsor at the time felt the club was "spiritually sick" and wanted
me to get back into AA service work.

So I stopped by the Central Office, and by coincidence the Thursday 4-7 PM
shift had just been vacated. I remember this well since when I shared this at
AA meetings, I was informed that a coincidence was God working a miracle
anonymously behind the scenes. I am still reminded of this 11 years later by
some of the old timers.

Last Thursday I notified the Chairman in charge of us phone volunteers that 13
November was to be my last shift, and would he please put me on the waiting
list for openings on the 9 AM - 1 PM shift. In fact, I didn't have to wait, as
the lady on the Wednesday 9-1 shift had just resigned. So I agreed to start
that shift on 19 November. Another coincidence I'll be hearing about for years,
most likely <G>

(By the way, please don't think this service work has created a halo around my
head, or that I have been saving alcoholics by the dozens. Not so. A typical 3
hour shift is mostly selling AA literature to walk-ins, and giving out AA
meeting information to those who phone in. That's all. Some nights have been so
slow that I have fallen asleep.)

Friday at work was a bit tense, as my Supervisor was finally realizing what was
going on. In a brief conversation he assured me I would have a tough time on
Tour III, tougher then what I had been experiencing on Tour II. Perhaps this is
so, but Tour III has the advantage that I can take my cats to the vet at 8 AM,
and probably get them back by 2 PM so I can go to work. WITHOUT having to ask
for Annual Leave to cover it. (Sick leave applies to family members, not pets.
Annual leave for visits to the Vet and/or grieving over the death of a pet tend
to be discouraged.)

But after work today I came home to my typical routine. I came in the door at 4
PM, with Czarina coming up to meet me, tail up high in the traditional cat
signal of "welcome home, now adore me". I petted her quite a bit, as she clawed
at the cardboard scratcher. Even though declawed, the scratching instinct is
still strong, as is the instinct to deposit her scent on the cardboard as a
signal of dominance.

Then into the bedroom to get out of the bra and shoes, and lie down in bed to
pet Max and Molly, who rest much of the day on the heated cushions. I still
wish I knew why Max keeps wanting to lick my face, neck, arms, and even the top
of my head if available. Perhaps he thinks I do not know how to properly groom
myself and need to be shown how it is done?

Around 5 PM I had my microwaved supper, and at 6 PM I had my nightly bath.
After donning clean flannel pajamas and a heavy robe, I came out to the living
room where Conway was relaxed on his heating pad, picked him up, stuffed him in
the Klaw Kontrol bag, and gave him his nightly pilling.

The rest of the evening will be spent listening to classical music and petting
the cats as needed or wanted. At 8PM I will scoop out the litter boxes, refresh
the water dishes, top off the food bowls, and get ready to go to sleep at 8:30
PM. I will be up tomorrow at 4:30 PM to go to work for the overtime pay, needed
to pay for some upcoming dental bills not covered by my Chapter 13 budget.

And yes, I viewed the Eclipse of the Moon at intervals, or as much as the
clouds and city lights would allow.

Reply to harryandruschak AT aol DOT com
Honorary Menobabe with golden toenails
Abject, humble Cat Harem eunuch slave
Is it just me, or is it hot in here?
"Because Nice Matters"

frankenmel

I just love reading these bedtime stories,Harry. So relaxing. Sleep tight.

Sharon........Don't think of it as getting hot flashes.
Think of it as your inner child playing with matches.

deborah

On 09 Nov 2003 03:20:28 GMT, frankenmel@aol.comDONT (Frankenmel)


Me too : )

Deborah

priscilla ballou

Cats groom other family memebers. He sees you as family. Caley grooms
my face (ouch!), purring at the top of her lungs, and Benjamin will lick
my arms, although mostly to get me out of bed in the morning.

Priscilla

suzilem

cause he luvs ya Harry. :-)

Congrats on escaping the Supervisor from Hades. :-)

wafflycathcs

Waffles will wash the back of my hands and sometimes she will wash my nose :-)
Marble will nibble on the skin of my leg the same way he does to himself when
he's grooming - and that is a definitel *ouch* when a cat nibbles the skin!
Francis, on the other hand, loves to be "washed" when I nibble his ears - it
just sets of a purring storm that can goe on for hours! Waffles favourite is to
be combed with a flea comb. She doesn't have fleas, but she does adore being
combed with those fine-toothed combs. She will rub her whiskers and face along
the comb for ages at a time, purring all the while - in feline ecstacy with a
little bit of pink tongue showing.

Cheers, helen s
p.s. When she was little, Waffles used to love to see how far up my nostril she
could get a fang....


--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove dependency on fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o* *l.c**$*$om$$

chakolate

I thought I was the only one who nibbled her cat's ears. Doc loves it,
especially when his ears are cold.

Chakolate

--

On sadness:
The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or to frowst with a book by the fire,
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And to dig till you gently perspire.
--Rudyard Kipling

priscilla ballou

Oh, no, you're not alone. I do it, too. Always have. It's done with
the lips pulled in around the teeth, right? That's how I do it.

Priscilla, loves a nice nibble of velvet ear

chakolate

Ditto.

Chakolate

--

On sadness:
The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or to frowst with a book by the fire,
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And to dig till you gently perspire.
--Rudyard Kipling

wafflycathcs

Yes :-)

Cheers, helen s

--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove dependency on fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o* *l.c**$*$om$$