Friday, January 5, 2007
I’ve Never Been a Cat Lover
Needless to say my experience with cats while growing up in my grandmother’s house was generally not a good one. They were outside cats for the most part, doing their thing catching mice in and around the barn, outside cellar and finding their way into the house more often than not. I don’t think they had a name and believe there were two (or it may have been the neighbor's cat who got ours impregnated), but nonetheless, I do recall one in particular.
She was a grey and black striped tabby cat with a touch of brown and a white underbelly, a mixed-breed of sorts. Besides catching mice and a few birds on occasion, another claim to fame was her irritating habit of being under foot and winding through and around each of my legs and crying while I tried to work in the kitchen. Any attempt to walk could definitely lead to a stumble.
My grandmother had an old overstuffed burgundy mohair sofa and chair in the living room, 1920’s furniture with carved wooden trim. . . charming pieces. She did not own a sweeper (vacuum), so when we were to clean the living room it was all done by hand and that included using a slightly damp lint free cloth to wipe the dust from the mohair surface of each of the cushions, arms, and back. It seemed to take forever to complete that process, but once it was done, what a fine sense of accomplishment for a young person to show her mother.
OH NO! As I re-entered the living room, there she was, that big fur ball curled up on one of the cushions and leaning into the side and back of the sofa that I had just - what seemed like hours - cleaned! She was seldom on the sofa, but invariably always following a cleaning.
And Now There Is the Neighbor’s Cat
When we purchased our current home over 13 years ago, my husband said, “No pool, no grass, and no animals”, as we had had our fill of that. Our children were grown and on there own, and at this point in our lives we wanted to be less encumbered.
The location, privacy and magnificent views are what attracted us to the property. The house had been custom built some 10 years prior and was in need of some updating. There was little or no landscaping, but we knew we could make the house what we wanted (that was cosmetic), but the likelihood of finding a similar property was unlikely. Our immediate focus was on the interior and exterior of the house and with that out of the way, began outside projects, and THAT is an entirely different story for another time.
It did not take us long to meet our neighbors and occasionally spend time with them. We would generally invite them up to have a glass of wine, walk in the garden, and then have dinner. One evening we had a couple from the adjoining property arrive, and as they walked up the driveway we saw a rather large strapping black and white creature along side, and to that we paid little interest. As I think of it now, the animal didn’t pay much attention to us either.
The four of us took our ritualistic stroll in the garden, glass of wine in hand, and talked about a variety of things, including the collection of plants and the house, and thoroughly enjoyed one anothers company. We returned to the front of the house and sat at the table by the pond, had hors d’oeuvres and continued our conversation.
As we sat I noticed the cat walking around us, keeping a fair distance, encircling, as though he was scoping us out. One of the neighbors (I’ll call him Julio) sitting to my right, said “This is Figaro”, as he pointed to the cat. “He came out of the woods as a kitten and has been with us ever since. You can call him Figgie. Here, give him a piece of cheese.”
Immediately I was obedient. (pause) Did I not know that once you feed an animal, they are your friend for life? Where was my brain?
Years have come and gone and Figgie thinks he lives and rules at our home. He chases any other cat who attempts to come inside our fenced property. We cannot walk in the garden without having to stop and pet him numerous times. He anticipates where we will walk next, runs ahead and jumps upon a table or a bench and stretches out his long body as if to say, “You can’t pass me by without touching me.” If I am at the other end of the house working in my studio, he will come to the storm door and either bang on the window or climb the tri-colored beech and look in at me as I work at my computer. When we are working in the garden and all is quiet except for the chirping of the birds, from the distance comes a soft “rrrow”, to which I obediently return the cry “rrrow”, and he runs right over to lean against me as I try to weed the garden. At times he has more of a dog’s behavior. He runs along side of me if I’m in a hurry, and when we don’t pay enough attention to him, he slowly traverses in front of us. My husband, who also has never liked cats, buys the cat food (and not at my direction), and each morning when we awake and go to the kitchen for coffee, Figgie hears us stirring, is already on top of the grill outside the kitchen window, staring at us as soon as we approach, and he does his normal, “rrrow”. My husband immediately opens the garage door and feeds him. Then I get my coffee.
So prior to leaving on vacation, we walk him back to his "other" home. My husband tells me ‘Figgie can find his way home’, but I must admit having become a little silly about this cat. This last time we had to carry him because he wouldn’t follow us. When we returned last week we didn’t see Figgie, but this morning, there he was, on the grill, just like we never left.
My husband brought a bag of cat food home today, and I told him, “Well, I don’t want to rush out and feed him every morning”, to which he laughed and loudly replied, “… not unless you want to look at him staring at you!” And we laughed out loud! What is it they say? Dogs have masters, but cats have staff.
No, I’ve never been a cat lover.
She was a grey and black striped tabby cat with a touch of brown and a white underbelly, a mixed-breed of sorts. Besides catching mice and a few birds on occasion, another claim to fame was her irritating habit of being under foot and winding through and around each of my legs and crying while I tried to work in the kitchen. Any attempt to walk could definitely lead to a stumble.
My grandmother had an old overstuffed burgundy mohair sofa and chair in the living room, 1920’s furniture with carved wooden trim. . . charming pieces. She did not own a sweeper (vacuum), so when we were to clean the living room it was all done by hand and that included using a slightly damp lint free cloth to wipe the dust from the mohair surface of each of the cushions, arms, and back. It seemed to take forever to complete that process, but once it was done, what a fine sense of accomplishment for a young person to show her mother.
OH NO! As I re-entered the living room, there she was, that big fur ball curled up on one of the cushions and leaning into the side and back of the sofa that I had just - what seemed like hours - cleaned! She was seldom on the sofa, but invariably always following a cleaning.
And Now There Is the Neighbor’s Cat
When we purchased our current home over 13 years ago, my husband said, “No pool, no grass, and no animals”, as we had had our fill of that. Our children were grown and on there own, and at this point in our lives we wanted to be less encumbered.
The location, privacy and magnificent views are what attracted us to the property. The house had been custom built some 10 years prior and was in need of some updating. There was little or no landscaping, but we knew we could make the house what we wanted (that was cosmetic), but the likelihood of finding a similar property was unlikely. Our immediate focus was on the interior and exterior of the house and with that out of the way, began outside projects, and THAT is an entirely different story for another time.
It did not take us long to meet our neighbors and occasionally spend time with them. We would generally invite them up to have a glass of wine, walk in the garden, and then have dinner. One evening we had a couple from the adjoining property arrive, and as they walked up the driveway we saw a rather large strapping black and white creature along side, and to that we paid little interest. As I think of it now, the animal didn’t pay much attention to us either.
The four of us took our ritualistic stroll in the garden, glass of wine in hand, and talked about a variety of things, including the collection of plants and the house, and thoroughly enjoyed one anothers company. We returned to the front of the house and sat at the table by the pond, had hors d’oeuvres and continued our conversation.
As we sat I noticed the cat walking around us, keeping a fair distance, encircling, as though he was scoping us out. One of the neighbors (I’ll call him Julio) sitting to my right, said “This is Figaro”, as he pointed to the cat. “He came out of the woods as a kitten and has been with us ever since. You can call him Figgie. Here, give him a piece of cheese.”
Immediately I was obedient. (pause) Did I not know that once you feed an animal, they are your friend for life? Where was my brain?
Years have come and gone and Figgie thinks he lives and rules at our home. He chases any other cat who attempts to come inside our fenced property. We cannot walk in the garden without having to stop and pet him numerous times. He anticipates where we will walk next, runs ahead and jumps upon a table or a bench and stretches out his long body as if to say, “You can’t pass me by without touching me.” If I am at the other end of the house working in my studio, he will come to the storm door and either bang on the window or climb the tri-colored beech and look in at me as I work at my computer. When we are working in the garden and all is quiet except for the chirping of the birds, from the distance comes a soft “rrrow”, to which I obediently return the cry “rrrow”, and he runs right over to lean against me as I try to weed the garden. At times he has more of a dog’s behavior. He runs along side of me if I’m in a hurry, and when we don’t pay enough attention to him, he slowly traverses in front of us. My husband, who also has never liked cats, buys the cat food (and not at my direction), and each morning when we awake and go to the kitchen for coffee, Figgie hears us stirring, is already on top of the grill outside the kitchen window, staring at us as soon as we approach, and he does his normal, “rrrow”. My husband immediately opens the garage door and feeds him. Then I get my coffee.
So prior to leaving on vacation, we walk him back to his "other" home. My husband tells me ‘Figgie can find his way home’, but I must admit having become a little silly about this cat. This last time we had to carry him because he wouldn’t follow us. When we returned last week we didn’t see Figgie, but this morning, there he was, on the grill, just like we never left.
My husband brought a bag of cat food home today, and I told him, “Well, I don’t want to rush out and feed him every morning”, to which he laughed and loudly replied, “… not unless you want to look at him staring at you!” And we laughed out loud! What is it they say? Dogs have masters, but cats have staff.
No, I’ve never been a cat lover.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
A Special Dinner for Two
Ein gluckliches Neues Jahr!
Laimingu Nauju metu!
Happy New Year!
And may we wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2007.
Yesterday (January 1, 2007) was a laid back sort of day. Saturday we drove home from southern California where we had been for three weeks, combining a little business with some relaxation and pleasure. (The pleasure included a visit from a few of our children and two grandchildren during the Christmas holiday.)
Our day began with a continuum of putting things back to normal, followed by an afternoon of some good football: Patrick White’s performance in West Virginia’s win over Georgia Tech was impressive. We were thrilled with the PAC 10 showing, wins by USC, CAL and Oregon State, and pleased with the Boise State upset of Oklahoma. Quarterback Jared Zabransky has been quite the shining star.
It seems somewhat amazing to us as we listen to the announcers during some of the games that the enthusiasm invariably seems to surround the big eastern teams (and always Notre Dame, although Oregon State has beat them several times in bowl games, but I digress). Following the win by USC, the announcers were so subdued by comparison to our excitement. It was like attending a wake rather than a victory. But who cares about football anyway!
Our evening was an event. My husband wanted to take me out for dinner, but I decided that since it WAS my birthday, I got to choose. Cooking is something I love to do, and if I have to say so, I’m pretty good at it. Thus, we generally seem to have a better meal at home than if we go to a restaurant. One of our sons called with well wishes and asked what our plans were for the evening, and my husband told him he was ‘… being so good to your Mom, that I’m going to let her cook dinner for her birthday’. What a sense of humor! we both have.
It was a simple meal: fresh Ahi encrusted with macadamia nuts and freshly ground pepper and quickly seared in olive oil; a cold crisp wedge of iceberg lettuce with a creamy Caesar dressing; and a wonderful 2001 King Estate Pinot Noir from the Pfeiffer Vineyards. There is a spice about this wine that when combined with the black pepper taste of the tuna, makes you say, “Hmmm. WOW! It doesn’t get much better than that.”
It was indeed a special dinner for two.
Ein gluckliches Neues Jahr!
Laimingu Nauju metu!
Happy New Year!
And may we wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2007.
Yesterday (January 1, 2007) was a laid back sort of day. Saturday we drove home from southern California where we had been for three weeks, combining a little business with some relaxation and pleasure. (The pleasure included a visit from a few of our children and two grandchildren during the Christmas holiday.)
Our day began with a continuum of putting things back to normal, followed by an afternoon of some good football: Patrick White’s performance in West Virginia’s win over Georgia Tech was impressive. We were thrilled with the PAC 10 showing, wins by USC, CAL and Oregon State, and pleased with the Boise State upset of Oklahoma. Quarterback Jared Zabransky has been quite the shining star.
It seems somewhat amazing to us as we listen to the announcers during some of the games that the enthusiasm invariably seems to surround the big eastern teams (and always Notre Dame, although Oregon State has beat them several times in bowl games, but I digress). Following the win by USC, the announcers were so subdued by comparison to our excitement. It was like attending a wake rather than a victory. But who cares about football anyway!
Our evening was an event. My husband wanted to take me out for dinner, but I decided that since it WAS my birthday, I got to choose. Cooking is something I love to do, and if I have to say so, I’m pretty good at it. Thus, we generally seem to have a better meal at home than if we go to a restaurant. One of our sons called with well wishes and asked what our plans were for the evening, and my husband told him he was ‘… being so good to your Mom, that I’m going to let her cook dinner for her birthday’. What a sense of humor! we both have.
It was a simple meal: fresh Ahi encrusted with macadamia nuts and freshly ground pepper and quickly seared in olive oil; a cold crisp wedge of iceberg lettuce with a creamy Caesar dressing; and a wonderful 2001 King Estate Pinot Noir from the Pfeiffer Vineyards. There is a spice about this wine that when combined with the black pepper taste of the tuna, makes you say, “Hmmm. WOW! It doesn’t get much better than that.”
It was indeed a special dinner for two.
Monday, January 1, 2007
Just A Little About Me
This blog is basically about gardening, one love among many - first loves of course being my husband, our 5 children and 3 grandchildren. Over the past 17 years my husband and I nurtured several acres from "unbridled" to a place we love to share with family and friends. I hope you will join us one evening as we stroll along the garden paths.
Additionally, I love to cook, so I will share an occasional recipe, something I don't often use in written form; but anything I do share with you, I'll be sure to document the measurements as I cook, so you can try it if it sounds like something you would enjoy.
My photographs are currently being taken with my Canon Powershot SX20; I do very little editing other than occasionally cropping, and I do not use Photoshop.
We will also share some of our fun travels. Thank you for joining us and do please leave a comment... we appreciate and love our neighbors.(The photos and words on this site are mine and may not be copied without permission. Thank you.)
Additionally, I love to cook, so I will share an occasional recipe, something I don't often use in written form; but anything I do share with you, I'll be sure to document the measurements as I cook, so you can try it if it sounds like something you would enjoy.
My photographs are currently being taken with my Canon Powershot SX20; I do very little editing other than occasionally cropping, and I do not use Photoshop.
We will also share some of our fun travels. Thank you for joining us and do please leave a comment... we appreciate and love our neighbors.(The photos and words on this site are mine and may not be copied without permission. Thank you.)
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