Sharing Our Lists

ALICE: OK, Cecil, this is what I am grateful for:

1.  My brother Anastassi who died 10 months ago.  He was a good friend who welcomed me to the household here.

2.  The keeper who gives me food and sometimes makes me chicken.

3.  The vet who gave me radioactive isotopes to make me feel better.  I do feel better.

4.  The trip I took with the keeper to our beach house.

5.  And then of course, your arrival here in August.  I was lonely and now I am not.

And things I was sad about:

1. Stassi dying.  That was very sad. I kept waiting for him to rise out of that grave in Kitty Rood, but no deal.

2.  The DREAM Act didn't pass, although it was close.

3.  Too many people still don't have jobs.

4.   This country still has hungry people which is hard to imagine.

5.  Too many animals are still abandoned.

CECIL:  Thank you, Alice for that meaningful sharing.  Here's what I am grateful for:

1.  Whisker City who took me in and kept me safe after my people left me.
2. The keeper who decided to pick me instead of a kitten.  And she gave me a forever home.
3. Your hospitality and kindness in welcoming me.
4.  The fact I have a catnip patch in my yard.  I never knew I also had a beach house!
5.  The fact that I also have great food, good health care, and am living better than many many people throughout the world.
6.  Tina Fey.  She makes our keeper laugh.

A few things I am sad about:

1.  The fact that my other keepers didn't want me anymore.  I always tried to be a good cat.
I will never understand this.
2.  That I never met your brother Stassi.  We might have fought, though.
3.  That some people live in lands that have bombs and landmines so they can't roam very far.
4.  That the political discourse in this country is so mean-spirited.
5. That the narco-traficantes are such a source of pain and terror in Mexico.

Happy New Year's Eve all.  We are off to our catnip stash!

New Year's Eve Conversation

Alice:  Cecil, it's New Year's Eve.  What should we do tonight?
Cecil:  I don't know.  What do you usually do?
Alice:  Play with a little catnip, roll in it, toss it into the air when the firework noises start.
Cecil:  We didn't do that at my old house.
Alice:  What did you do?
Cecil:  Nothing.  One year they gave me ice cream, though and I got sick.
Alice:  Boring.  So, this year what should we do?
Cecil:  Alice, do you know what I want to do?  I want to list some of the good things that happened in 2010. 
Alice:  What about the sad things? You are such a Sufi Seven.
Cecil:  And you are such a Sufi Four. I guess we could include a few for your sake.  Then we could do catnip shots. And clean it all up before the keeper gets home.
Alice: PREPARE YOUR LISTS, BROTHER!

Scenes from a New Year"s Eve Walk

The keeper wanted to get outside before dark.  We warned her that the ground was so cold our paws burned.  But she showed us her sturdy soled shoes.  She bundled up in her down coat and gloves and muffler and headed out.  We were a little concerned because it was starting to get dark, and we were getting hungry.  If something happened to her, who would feed us?  Sorry, that's just the way we think.  She burst back into the house bringing all the chilled air with her. She insisted that we look at the mountains with her.  She said she couldn't leave the vista alone and she climbed over people's fences to get better views, and sometimes she even asked them permission.  According to her, the late afternoon light and the sharp air brought beautiful mountain viewing. Most sensible people were in their homes with fires burning.  The neighbor's fire smells like bacon and steak, by the way.  The only other people out were those who had to walk their dogs.

Snow Flurry

By the way, yesterday it tried to snow here. The flurry had a lot of bluster and style, but no staying power.  It covered the deck and melted.  It was much snowier in the north and east, that would be Bothell and Woodinville, to those who live in Boston and New York.  We also hear it snowed in North Carolina and Atlanta.

Winter Fire

The walk ended as the sun glared through the icy trees.  Not a warm sun, but blinding, nevertheless.

Afternoon Walk

The keeper decided that she needed some fresh air.  The air was biting cold, but brilliant and the road was crunchy.  It was a little harsh on our feet, so we did not join her.  She took a different route, through the park and to the Carmelite Monastery which was warm and oh, so quiet. she said it was still as still could be in the softest, most gentle of senses. It could have been early morning it was so  quiet.

Coat Check Cat

The keeper and her friend S had themselves quite the little dinner at our house last evening.  I was in charge of coats. And I had ample time to warm them up.  This one smelled like whippet.
By the end of the evening which had  already become morning, Alice and I were wide awake and so we showed off our jumping and chasing talents. I think we impressed everyone. We did not accept tips for the coat check. We slept in this morning, and the keeper moved a little more slowly than usual.

Feast of the Holy Innocents

Today we got to spend the whole afternoon and evening with our keeper.  She had to go back into town to get her 3rd new muffler, since the first two didn't work.  When she returned home, we didn't even hear the car.  She goes to a great mechanic, Mike, who owns the Hilltop Service Station on 15th E.  He wouldn't quit until it was right, and it took 3 weeks!  She mostly read and we sat on her lap after she got home.  We built a fire and we were quite content.  Last night we watched Temple Grandin.  What an incredible story. We really liked her energy.  Temple understands animals better than humans.

Christmas Cactus

While we were having our appetizers with the keeper and her guests, we noted that the Christmas cactus was blooming.  How does it know how to do that with such precision?
Pretty impressive.  We also listened to a beautiful CD of the choirs of the Cloister School of St. Ursula from the Black Forest area of Germany.  W's friends who visited this summer sent it to him for Christmas. It was beautiful.  We listened to it twice.

Stuffed Penguins

The keeper's friend J brought a lovely prime rib to the dinner along with stuffed penguins for appetizers.  They started the dinner earlier than usual and ended the gifting earlier because tomorrow is church all over again. So our bows are now off and we are back to normal.

Christmas Loot

Cecil and I did pretty well in the gift department.  I got a new fleece blanket and he got lots of catnip, and we got new toys.  The keeper got more serious things like books and music  and a scarf and Chivas.

WWJD?

CECIL:  Alice, why do I have to walk around with this silly red bow?
ALICE:  Cecil, it's Christmas! We're celebrating the birth of Christ.  We have to look sharp.
CECIL: We never did this in my old house.
ALICE:  Well, you're here now, and this is what we do.  This is a religious household. You know, the story don't you? Remember the keeper told it to us after she came home from Midnight Mass.
CECIL:  Oh, I remember the story, and I know all about the animals in the stable. But Alice, do you really think Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus made the ox and the donkeys wear red bows?  I don't think so. It's not natural.
ALICE:  Well, the keeper wants us to look good for her dinner guests.
CECIL:  Alice, we already look good. We don't need red bows.  WWJD?  He frees from what oppresses. I say he agrees with me. Watch me, I think I can bite right through it and it will come off. Do you want me to bit yours off too?
ALICE:  Merry Christmas, Cecil.
CECIL:  Merry Christmas, Alice, and to all!

It's Christmas Eve! III

'Twas the night

before Christmas and all through the house, not a kitten was stirring,

not even for a mouse. 

Their mittens were hung on the chimney with care

in hopes that Sandy Claws would drop something there.

It's Christmas Eve!-II

Christmas was the keeper's mother's favorite day.  Six years ago she died on Christmas Eve.
We thought it was a very fitting day for her to make her passage.  Her spirit is very large with her children and in our house as we celebrate the feast, and will be until the day we are all celebrating together again.

It's Christmas Eve!

These last years since the keeper left direct parish work, these immediate days before Christmas seem very strange, like an ill-fitting piece of clothing, she says.  Stassi, before he died, told me that the cats would never see her until the Christmas Day in the afternoon, she would be so busy.
But now, she moves at a different pace because someone else is doing all of that organizing and planning, and fussing, and checking.  She is free to prepare a Christmas Dinner, wrap presents for us, finish her cards, plant some seedlings. We like having her around. Tonight we  paid our respects to our creche which is a collection of many creches and other interesting figures, including a little "Comandante  Marcos" , the guerrilla freedom fighter from Chiapas.  He is guarding the stable.  We figure the scene was probably more like this than what is often portrayed.

Alice and I have been waiting for the keeper to start wrapping presents.  We had selected special gifts for our next door neighbors.  As many of you know, we have catnip growing in our side yard.  I recall when I arrived here in August after I discovered my own catnip patch, I looked at Alice, and said, "Girl, are we in heaven?" And she looked at me like I was from Mars. Well, the keeper picked a lot of it this fall and dried it, so today we prepared little bags of it for our pet friends.  Bindy, the Siamese mix next door, gets two handmade toys stuffed with it and a whole bag of loose leaves.  Samson, who belongs to a priest, gets his bag of leaves with a big red ribbon.  Then, we decided to give the neighbor dog, Libby, a special bone and a tennis ball.  We are giving their keepers wine.

A New Leaf

The keeper spent yesterday cleaning, and it was certainly time for that.  Alice and I have never seen so much dust and cobwebs where she keeps all those books!  She really knows how to wield that little vacuum cleaner.  She even tried to suck my fur with it.  We stayed away after she tried that, but now the room smells cleaner.  Today she rushed out to join a new non-traditional fitness club that is opening in the neighborhood.  They only charge $10 a month with a $1 sign up fee.  She was so happy that she paid her sign up fee in quarters. It sounds too good to be true, but come mid January we will have more to tell you all about it.  It's a "no attitude" fitness center, for  normal people with normal bodies.  This club is not very fond of bodybuilders. This club doesn't even charge you to have a personal trainer.  They work with you as part of the membership.  So, expect to see a very svelte keeper at Easter!

Winter Primrose

The keeper always forgets to fertilize her plants, but this litle primrose is determined to defy calendar, lack of care, the slugs and the cold.  A lovely winter gift!

West Seattle Winter Solstice

The keeper and her friends had a Christmas lunch in West Seattle.  Her friend K now lives at st. Joseph Residence there. It was a chilly day.  We were happy to stay home inside.

Winter Solstice Eclipse

We went inside.  The clouds came over the moon.  It was hard to see the eclipse from our house.  But we caught a glimpse as best we could.  Maybe you all saw more.

Pre-Eclipse WInter Solstice Moon

We got to accompany the keeper outside as she waited for the Winter Solstice Full moon to eclipse.  It was beautiful and bright on her favorite night of the year.  She likes this night because from this point on the light comes creeping back into our days.

Alice is Feeling Way Better

Alice is leaping off walls these days, and playing with imaginary mice who must live in her pink tube/cave toy.  She could be an Olympic gymnast for all of her athleticism!  As for me, Cecil, I prefer that the keeper brings me toys and lets me play with them while I am laying on my back.
It's a lot of work to jump, even a small distance.

Christmas Box

The keeper got a really cool Christmas box from her sister.  It was filled with stuffing. She was going to throw the box out, if you can believe it.  She was more interested in the smaller wapped boxes that came inside of it.  Alice and I took over the real box and took turns guarding it so she wouldn't throw it out.  She eventually did when we were sleeping in our beds. We hope there will be more Christmas boxes.

A Night with La Red

The keeper left us for a long Saturday night with her Young Adults who were hosting the Archdiocesan Young Adult Leadership Group.  They had about 30 people and spent two hours with a White Elephant Gift Exchange.  She brought us a ceramic town that lit up.  As soon as it lit up, the ceramic people in the scene came unglued and fell to the floor and broke. We won't be putting this up on our mantle.  Even if we had a mantle.

Holiday Color

The keeper has a lot of this outside of her office window.  She does not bring it home because she is afraid that we will eat it and die. Such sacrifice.

A Night at Galerias

Sorry for the delay in blogging.  It seems that the keeper has been running quite a little social calendar these days.  A lot of eating.  So, yes, she runs in from one event to change clothes and then gives us food and then departs.  Last Thursday it was the Thank You dinner for the Madre de las Americas celebration.  She even brought home part of the 5th course---chicken breasts stuffed with nopalitos in cream sauce.  She ate it for two days. This is gourmet Mexican food. She told us it was a fine evening.  It was also thoughtful of Isaac to say thank you this way.  He also gave them all a DVD with still pictures and music from Dec. 4th.  We got to see it. It was very nice.

HRH Lady Alice Returns!

Well, it's me, Cecil, again.  As the keeper headed off to the office, she told me she was bringing home my Christmas present tonight.  She kept her promise.  Alice came home in her carrier. She was happy to be home, but was hungry and tired. So she went to sleep. I am not supposed to spend too much time with her for the next two weeks because she still is a little bit radioactive.  We have to take special precautions with her.  But I am so excited to see my friend. The keeper cooked us chicken tonight. 

Lighting the House

Last Sunday the keeper told me that she heard a really good homily on revolutionary patience.  She could apply it quite easily to issues in the world, in the church. But today, she realized she wasn't ready to apply it to stringing Christmas lights.  She was going to call Todd to put up the lights, but thought she would save money since she is spending a lot on Alice's treatments.  She should have called Todd.  She spent several hours outside in the front and back trying to wrap the trees and bushes and house in neat light.  She ended up swearing a lot and by the end was hurling the lights at the branches and letting them rest.  At night they looked better than expected.  But they do have a mad artist sort of spirit. 

Overly Radioactive Alice

Cecil here.  I kind of like being the main cat at home.  I miss Alice, though.  We got the official call from the nuclear medicine clinic today and learned Alice is still too radioactive to come home yet.  Maybe tomorrow.  I hope she doesn't come home with an attitude. I really hope she doesn't forget me.

At Rosie's Trees

We got our Christmas tree today.  The keeper is very fond of Rosie's Trees on 15th NE and 145th. She buys from them every year.  They have a small tree farm and harvest right before bringing them up for sale, and are the friendliest, nicest folks.  Bill, who is standing next to our little tree, named the business after his mother and his wife...both Rosies. Last year when we got our tree it was so cold, but this afternoon it felt like spring.

Nuke-you-ler Medicine

Hi, Cecil here.  I finally get to write some lines.  One minute this morning Alice was gazing dreamily out our window, and the next minute the keeper swooped in with her pet carrier and popped her in, told me to wave goodbye and they were off.  The keeper returned without the pet carrier and without Alice. Alice is at the Hyperthyroid Treatment Clinic. The keeper explained that it is like a feline sleepaway camp where they get radiation for their thyroid tumors. Alice may be gone for 1-4 days.  She can't come home until the Geiger counter tells the clinic she is not radioactive any more.  I am already lonely.  I ran away this afternoon while the keeper was trying to put up Christmas lights.  The neighbor boy found me in their back yard.  I was just out sniffing things. I didn't get to go out anymore.

Gaudete Sunday

We understand that the Eastside churches were full of roses this morning.  However, the keeper slept through the 5 am Mananitas in Bothell, and told us that next year she will not bother to go to bed in between.  She left us for St. James and then two other churches, but came home earlier than planned because the church in Carnation was on flood alert and cancelled their Guadalupe celebration for this evening.  We were thrilled.  She even played with us a bit.  She does keep hinting that Alice has a big day tomorrow.  We don't know what that means. More on this tomorrow.

! Que Viva Nuestra Virgen de Guadalupe!

We thought she would stay home with us on Saturday night.  No way.  She threw us food ( yes, we know it is high quality and very nutritious) and headed back to Bellevue for the fiestas there which began at 7.  She got home at 1.   A few hundred less people than last year, although the church was filled beyond capacity. They had to cut up the pan dulce into thirds for the reception.  The dancers were great and her friend got to preach at 7 Masses at that parish this weekend. When she got home she was not interested in playing with us.

! Que Viva Nuestra Virgen de Guadalupe!

We were again abandoned for most of Saturday. In the morning she went to Sammamish to the parish where her friend is pastor and celebrated with them.  Their celebration had a South American flair, and their fiesta included arts and crafts for kids, food, and a posada.  Please note that Joseph up above still has the price tag on his hat.