Honey and the Sweet Little Fiends

I spent the morning helping to harvest honey from the poor dear departed Kitty Hive. This is the one that swarmed this summer, Kitty ( much like her on-the-go namesake, ) took OFF, and took half the colony with her. Where? Who can say...We re-Queened the hive, but alas, they could not keep warm and all died, leaving their honey behind them.

For US to strain out of the comb and jar up! Sticky business that. But fun, I say. I felt like Winnie the Pooh with all of his Honey Pots. Or some sort of grave robber, stealing honey from Dead Bees....I like that. Honey from the Dead.

Yesterday, when I did not arise from my bed in good enough time, to make Venus and Mim's breakfast, they got together and decided the one of the with the fullest bladder would let it GO right there in the bed. I have to hand it to them, as a technique for getting someone out of bed , it worked.

I am beginning to suspect it is an illusion that I am any kind of control here in my Spooky House, and that I am allowed to live there simply because I have thumbs and can open cans. They no longer need me in order to get online, and here, is proof positive that these Bengals of mine DO have an agenda, and that they are acting on it.

I have been getting e-mails from people who are starting to suggest that I am paranoid, it's all in my mind, and Venus and Mim are not surfing the internet looking for deals on Little Fury Mice, and using my credit card to pay for them, and beaming Powerful Mind Control Lazor Beams into my brain, to get me to do their bidding....



Madame Malena Mim: Sssaaayyyy....Venussssss.....Looky heeere on EEEEEbay.......Mousies.



Freaky Venus Seaweed: Yeeessss.....Mousies. Nice thiiinnnggss for us to chasesssss...I knowsss where she keeps the credit cardsssss. But will ssshe fiiindd out???????



Madame Malena Mim: Noooo, she wiiill never knoooow. I willl make my eyeses glow greeen, and beam Powerful Lazor Beam Mind Control Rays into her brain.....She will never know....



It's entirely possible I stayed up WAY too late after the gig last night, but I swear, that's what SEEMED like happened, and I do have pictures this morning.

Love, Honey, and Fiends from Hell,
Lorraine

Spring needs to be here soon...

Hmmph. Seems to be snowing again and likely to continue. Sometimes I think this is the hardest part of winter, when you think it will never end. So many things are so very hard..

Like, say, garbage. What do you do if you can't get up the hill that is your driveway?? One can't PLOW it, and I am sure not shoveling it... At what point (tonight in my case) do you bite the bullet and haul it all down thru the drifts?

And those darn snow parking tickets. My neighbours and I now have a system where we call eachother if we see someone on the wrong side of the street. Way too many tickets.

Sigh. It's truly a hard, hard world....

On the good side, I have been SAVED from the doom that has become my Spookly House, as in " WHO the heck is going to help me clean this place up???" I am not above doing housework, quite the contrary, I like my home to be lovely, but I do not have those skills, and quite frankly, after a day at work, I get home and I am too darn tired, and want some Bengal time, and not to mention, thank you internet, there are many parts of the world just waking up and waiting for answers....

Which need to be answered.

What do you do? I am asking honestly here. I know you all work very hard, very very hard, and then come home and have another job to do. Advice is welcome....

Ok, back to my thought, sorry for the whinning, I am just tired tonight.

Merry Hosekeeprs Spooky Daughter has started coming over each week to help me, hurrah! She has Skills, and knows about things like Floor Wax and Bathrooms, and my stress leval and decreced by 100%. Here is a picture of her cleaning my Spooky House...



Ok. You're onto me.I am still having Camera Trouble. Thanks for listening to a WAY too tired little fiddler and Personal Assistant. Today was a long one....

Love and an end to winter,
Lorraine

Soapbox Alert....

I had meant to post some pictures for you all, but have been failing miserably as a photographer. Not a good shot anywhere, I do not have, sadly, that skill. But I will keep trying.

I do have something to say, though, if you will permit me a moment on my soapbox.

I received an e-mail this morning from someone in my Foster Kitty Group, passing on a, surely well intentioned, but completely idiotic e-mail, urging people to boycott PETCO because they support California's mandatory spay/neuter law that is going into effect soon.

HELLO?! Can we get every state on board? YES, make some laws. Good first step. Something needs to be done about the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of un-wanted animals being killed each year, because They Do Not Have Homes. Applaud PetCo. And anyone else who is standing up and saying this has to stop.

Letters , like the one I was sent are simply incorrect and ignorant, and do more harm than good. Responsible pet owners will always be able to have litters if they want them.

It really made me angry. I want to scream and shout from the walls. Here is what I have to say....At the top of my voice.

Love and Spay/Neuter Your Pets,
Lorraine




Hello All,

I have to respond to this....

Something as simplistic as saying " Boycott Petco, they support this " does as little as saying " If we have this mandatory Spay/neuter law, it will solve the problems. "

Obviously, we here , as Foster Parents for Kitties, are responsible to our pets, and doing more by taking care of Kitties that need homes. Most of you, like myself, probably also spend time at your local shelter.

I believe this law is a good first step, but we need more. I spend a lot of time in Los Angeles, and have been to shelters there. Not hundreds, and not thousands, but HUNDREDS of thousands of pets are being killed each year because there are no homes for them. If this law helps in any way, it will be worth it. Here in the country where I live, we have a no kill shelter that has 138 cats waiting. In big cities, shelters cannot, in any way, meet the demand.

(also here in the country, the prevailing thought seems to be "well, college is over for the year, can't take kitty home, or wow she just had more babies, can't find homes, well, no problem, we can just take them to the country and let them go and they can live on a farm." Hi people. Would you like a number on the cats I have taken in, fed, found homes for who have showed up starving on my doorstep? Yeah. I'm angry about people not getting pets fixed.)

Remember when re-cycling started? Not a lot of people did it. But now, how weird would it be not to? Same with Spay/Neuter, if it can be an automatic, well yes, have to get them fixed, and that becomes the norm, then so very many animals will be saved. There will be people who don't, as in re-cycling, but that number will become far less.

I have been following this debate for some time, and I know the criticisms , I do not believe it will discourage people from helping strays. The Pet Police are not going to come down on someone trying to help feral cats. I do not believe it will discourage people from getting a pet, because they can't afford to get it fixed. I think it will make them think, well yes we can get it, and we will have to get it fixed. If people don't realize that PETS COST MONEY they need to.

And there are a LOT of places that will help you acquire an animal that is fixed.

As far as the government interfering in our lives, well it is the sort of law that if you are doing the right thing, it will not effect you. But far, far too many people are not doing the right thing, and animals are breeding out of control. The government NEEDS to help out here, because we, and all of the people working to save animals lives each year, CANNOT do it alone.

The money from fines is being sent straight back into programs with shelters, and rescue, and to fund low cost spay/neuter programs.

Did anyone see the ELLEN show where she had Paris Hilton on? Paris mentioned she had 37 dogs, and Ellen, said, simply WHY? And Paris answered " They keep having Babies..." It was the only time I have ever seen Ellen unable to speak or have anything to say. When she recovered, she said " PARIS, you HAVE to get your pets fixed."

People have to get their pets fixed. And they are not.

Best, Lorraine

Steeleye Span and My Clean House

Well, Steeleye Span anyway. I know I promised House Pics, and Kitty Pics, and a Clean House. ( had Houseguests last week, MAN did they trash the place!!! ) ( I slay myself! ) But I thought I would hop on and do the first part of this post from work, because I am having the most wonderful time...

We acquired a bunch of New Steeleye Span. I had no idea, hadn't checked in with them since their album TIME in, ye gads, 1996 (Which I loved) and I've been listening to the new ones all day long. There is one album called PRESENT which is two cd's of their music from the previous 30 of so years, only re-recorded, completely, in 2002. Aside from the fact that recording technology has improved beyond belief in the last, say 30 years, I love all these songs from the past much, much better. They are now much closer to the way I always heard them in my head.

Way more Oyster Band than, well the early music was kind of Folk-y, but now they have TEETH. With FANGS. Now they are living on my side of the street. ( The one where all the lights are burnt out, to quote Steve Brust...)

I'm home now, and while I have not exactly achieved CLEAN in the Spooky House ( HEY! We LIKE Cobwebs!) I have, well, one room clean. It's the sunroom , and I have decided rather than clean the rest of the House, I shall simply just live in it. With the lights out no-one will see all the shredded cat toys and bits I missed. The room has computer, tv, ipod, violen, guitar and phone. What else does one need? ( yes, a piano, I know, but I am not exactly brilliant at piano and anyway there is no room. )

(tho someone did give me a piano, actually, but we have to wait until spring, as my Sherpa Guide, who gets me thru the snow into my House every night says No Way can we get a piano thruough..)

I have just, all for you my dears, bloodied my legs letting Madame Mim climb me and got a picture of it, (a LOT of her Softpaws have come off, as soon as I can have a couple people over, with safety gear on, this will be remidied) They will have to wait until tomorrow to show up here as I seem to have lost my Thingie that lets one put them on the computer.

As I seem to have lost half the bits of my vaccum. And I manage someone else's life for a living??????

I will go and take before pictures for you....

Here is the dinning room before..

And here it is after...

( I love this. Haven't actually TAKEN the pictures, and it is by no means certain I will stop playing on the computer and clean it up, nor certain I will be able to post the pictures, but hey, it's like virtual housework!)

Otherwise I would have to stopping blogging and get some work done.

Sigh.

Love, blood and Housework,
Lorraine