Androgynous Cats and Slutty Cats

Even though Minh always tells me that no one wants to hear stories about other people's pets.......

I think many of you already know the story of Nibbles and how we drove across state lines on a Sunday afternoon to pay lots and lots of money to get his penis removed (to save his life, not just so we'd have an excellent story to tell). If you don't know that story yet, buy me a cup of coffee (decaf) sometime and I'll tell you all about it.

Anyway, some of you may also know that Nibbles was born with a heart murmur. Over the years our vet (whom we love and highly recommend) has suggested that we spring for a cardiac ultrasound to further investigate the nature and intensity of said murmur. Apparently, some of them can be helped with drugs, while others cannot. We've always put off spending the $250.00 since he seemed quite healthy.

Well, last week at his regular appointment his heart actually skipped a beat while the doctor was listening to it. In addition, his heart rate was unusually low (98 bpm instead of the usual 125 bpm) . This actually seemed to baffle our vet, which is never a good sign. So she suggested the ultrasound again. And, having already invested mucho bucks into keeping Nibs alive, we figured another couple hundred is no big deal. So, today, Nibbles is getting his very first ultrasound. Pessimist that I am, I'm expecting to hear that it's the kind of murmur that can't be helped and will just get worse until he dies. "That will be $250.00, please." But maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

In other cat news, our neighbors are long-term cat sitting for a lovely tiger cat who can't seem to keep her legs together. She came to them several months ago, with a new litter of kittens. But practically as soon as they found homes for all of those little furry friends, she came home knocked up again. According to my neighbor, she's been "whoring around the neighborhood." She gave birth last week. I understand they are mostly black, but one or two are tigers. They'll be needing homes in about 8-9 weeks. If anyone is interested, let me know. (Kevin, don't you owe Drey a Christmas kitten from about 5 years ago?....Mom, doesn't KK want a new friend?)

I Guess We've All Got Our Obsessions...

My sister, who is...shall we say...a tad older than me, has recently developed an obsession with Taylor Hicks. Apparently, after watching American Idol, she fell in love with him and his music and has even been posting on some TH fanclub messageboard and "meeting" new friends that way. She assured me that these new friends were older women, but I suspected they might be fat, smelly, hairy men cruising the internet for chicks.

So, this past weekend, she met (in person) several of these fellow TH-addicts at an American Idol concert. Apparently, my sister was the youngest one of the bunch (none of whom turned to to be big sweaty men...how boring) and they all had a rocking good time stalking TH and the other Idols.

Prior to the concert, they hunted down the tour bus and waited patiently for the Idols to emerge. Can't you just picture it? There they were, a group of "mature" women, probably knocking the 15-year-olds aside so they could get closer to the Idols. My sister got a CD autographed and had her picture taken with TH.

They left the actual concert early to get a good spot at the after-show, where TH performed with his old pre-American-Idol band. According to my sister, this is really where TH's personality and musical talent really come through. I guess the American Idol stuff just pays the bills. After standing mere feet away from TH as he performed at the after-show concert, and eating greasy diner food for "breakfast," they strolled back into their hotel around 3:30am. I honestly cannot remember the last time I was awake past 1am, and (did I mention?) I'm a good deal younger than said sister ;)

Of course, my sister is not the only one to ever have a celebrity obsession. I know a certain someone who is a tad star-struck by a local author and who recently asked the staff at a local coffee shop if they ever see him in there. Can you say "stalker?"

And then there's this friend of mine who's still holding a torch for Kelly Kapowski, and she's fictional! (You know who you are).

If I have a celebrity obsession, I can't think of who it is at the moment. I can say that I'm not a member of any fan clubs or message boards. But back in my younger days, I did have that entire scrap book devoted to Michael J Fox.....

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This morning on the way to work, it happened. It happens every year, but I still can't get over how exciting it is, every time.

I saw the first pumpkins of the season sitting out on a farm stand. And it makes me truly happy. Autumn is almost here! :)