Black is the New Black - Part I

While discussing possible dance costume choices, I remember a dance instructor telling me that the color black is one of the hardest colors to match. He went on to say that people think "black is black" but he said there are so many shades of black that it is nearly impossible to find a perfect match.

I thought of this statement as I marvelled and enjoyed the distinct differences between our three black cats. Not only is/was their hair texture slightly different, the way the light reflects off them is different as well. The tones, the shades, the hues are all quite unique. And that is just their hair.

Their personalities are so very different and uniquely special unto themselves. The one thing I love best about all three of them is their "beta cat" quality. No one pushed hard to be the leader of the pack but each one of them has/had their own personal limits.

It is hard to pick a tense to write in because I am referring to Andre, our "original black cat"; as well as Ray, formerly known as "Junior Cat"; and Jet, basically known as "Jet" who is the newest black cat to pick us as his family.

Andre - Our Original Black Cat - Cat I of a III Cat Series

We noticed the title of the chapter this book is turned to, long after the fact. Recently, we were sorting through and organizing our cat photos when we noticed the caption "To Be Chosen". I was simply taking a picture of our most cuddly black cat, snuggled up on my lap, half covering the page I was reading. He had the most unique way of getting our attention. For him to choose to settle on my lap on that exact page, then for us not to even notice until after he had died, felt like an omen of some sort.

Andre was the original. He set the bar and broke the mold. He wasn't even supposed to be our cat. Some kids threw him into our yard during a lunch break at school and my second son rescued him and tucked him away safely in his room. As my son left to go back to school, he told me there was a cat in his room. "Just leave him until I get back home..." Well, as they say, the rest is history.

I have written so many Andre Tales within the contents of this blog, I suddenly want to go back and read them. His evolution of being the youngest and newest of a three cat family to becoming our "one and only cat". He was our original Daycare Kitty. He was the trail blazer, an adventure seeker and a friend to one and all. His purr was the best purr I've ever heard in my life. You could hear him across a room. It seemed like he delighted himself by making us smile and he performed on so very many different levels for us.

My youngest and I spent so much time loving our little black cat, marvelling at his ways, savoring his love, laughing at his antics and simply watching him at play. Andre followed her to bed so when I popped in to say good night, Andre would become the centre of our conversation and this is quite likely when our daily "Cat Chat" originated.

It was a sad day when I realized Andre wasn't eating much and started to lose weight. I was terrified this was the beginning of the end of his story. Looking back, it quite likely was. But I bought soft cat food, found his favorite brand and flavor and slowly, but surely he regained his appetite so by the time he went for his annual vet visit, he was almost back at the weight from the previous year.

I never quite recovered from the scare and I knew how devastated my youngest (not to mention myself) would be if "anything ever happened" to Andre. So after Andre seemed to be doing much better and eating well again, we went cat shopping. I wasn't ready to commit but I thought we could look into the idea of fostering a cat. And that is the beginning of Ray's story and how his original title, only known to me at the time, was that of a "back up cat".

All we knew for sure when we went looking for cats was that we wanted a male cat. There were only two male cats at the time and one of them was a definite "Alpha" male, so that immediately put him out of the running. Our quiet and respectful Beta cat at home would surely shrivel up and die if some Alpha male walked in and took over. So our attention was drawn to the only other male available. We heard his story and how docile he was among the other cats. Despite the fact that he was one stinky mess (he had a case of diarrhea that resulted in an "accident" of the smelly kind, enroute to this Alley Cat Open House), we went for a drive to think on it. Like I said before, the rest is history.

This picture, with Ray showing his "trusting side" while Andre looks on from a distance makes me think of the present. Ray is still here, trusting us to look out for his best interests even after his original black buddy is gone but still very present in our hearts and memories.

My story does not end here but my window of time has closed and I must go put in a day's work. I will continue on with our Cat Saga - "Black is the New Black  - Part II" tomorrow.

To be continued...

This, That and the Other

I'm sitting here wasting valuable time as I try to slow my thoughts down to settle on one topic and write.

Do I write about our cats who continue to amuse and entertain me? I woke up this morning to find both cats snoozing on my bed with me. This is our new normal. They love our new room and our king sized bed. There is ample room for everyone, with room left over. I have become quite adept at making a bed with two cats still sleeping on it.

Or should I write about the success rate of my on-line auction again? All but five (out of a total of twenty nine) items sold and all but three of those items have been picked up. Our net profit after all is said and done will be $124.75 (the original total is a work in progress as actual selling prices may slightly vary as I go along). Not too bad for a day of shuffling the contents of three closets. I would have earned $136.00 if I had gone to work for that day, so it was a day well spent on all counts.

But I could write about my zero tolerance for keeping-that-which-we-don't-need any more. I bought a used playpen this week and it came with extra accessories I will never use (a bassinet you can clip on and a change table to attach to the side of the playpen). I berated myself for even taking them home with me but I did. I tried hiding them in a closet but they didn't fit. They were huge and cumbersome and took up a great deal of space. So I put them on top of the piano. They were the first thing I saw when we went downstairs to play yesterday. So I immediately listed them for "FREE" on Kijiji. They were spoken for and picked up, two and a half hours later.

There is a lightness within me these days which is coming from opening the closed doors within this house of ours and purging. It gets easier as I go along.

I mentioned to my son that I made almost as much by staying home and selling our "excess" last weekend, than I would have made if I would have worked. That seemed pretty good to me and I wondered if I could consider staying home and selling our belongings in lieu of that extra job. He is so logical minded. He stated the obvious. "We'd soon run out of things to sell", and he popped my little bubble.

I still have a long way to go before my work here is done. Once I get through the items which I can sell or give away, there comes the paperwork. There is a lot of that. Mom sent me a bag of papers to shred, along with thirty six years of Dad's income tax history. I finally finished up her shredding (though I had to buy a new paper shredder to finish the job because mine finally quit for good) and I don't want to get rid of anything within those chocolate boxes (where Dad stored all his notes, papers and receipts) until I dig a little deeper to see what treasures may be hidden within. Probably not much but I cannot dispose of Dad's hard work that easily. There is the story of his life filed within those papers and I don't want to miss a page.

It is Friday. It was a week well spent. Now I just have to tie up the loose ends of my auction and brace myself for my Saturday work day. Maybe I can get a little of that painting (finally?!) done on Sunday. I don't think that job pays well though. ** This just in! Our new blinds have arrived and will be installed on Monday - there is my excuse to get those window casings painted. And while the paint brush is dirty, who knows where else it may travel? **

Gotta run and get ready for my day. Have a great weekend!! Do what you've gotta do, to make the most of it!

P.S. Since I moved into my new bedroom "suite" nineteen days ago,I have worn out five socks. Is the extra mileage I'm putting on in my day, from going up and down the stairs really putting that much wear and tear on my socks? And if it is, I must accidentally be getting myself into better shape at the same time. There are hidden blessings every which way I turn. Life feels good.

The Next Smartest Thing

Just a few days ago, I wrote of my new lease on life since the TV moved out of the living room. There is a "part two" to that story that is still unfolding as I type but if I write it down, I may do my part to keep a good thing going.

I am trying to break the habit of using the TV in my room as a sleeping pill. I know exactly when, how and why this habit started. Turning on the TV and tuning into something that holds my attention turns off my own thoughts. The moment I stop thinking, I fall asleep. Thus, my habit began. They say sleeping pills are addictive. From my own personal experience, I wonder if any sleeping aid becomes something you begin to rely on and even look forward to is just as powerful as a drug.

Yes, I have come to look forward to those middle of the night soirées with just me and my TV. During the years where I fell asleep the moment I sat still, I would wake up with great excitement thinking "Now, I can actually watch a whole TV show!!". I would turn on the television, find something that interested me and poof! Sometime during or after the opening credits to said show, I was fast asleep.

I thought I should probably try to break my little habit but wondered, "Why?" It isn't hurting anyone and I love these mini TV marathons I try to run in the middle of the night.

It is only recently that I have admitted I have a problem. The problem began when I started turning on the TV just before my alarm went off. "I'll just stay in bed until 'Leave it to Bryan' is over" I would tell myself. Then the time changed and "Leave it to Bryan" became "Marriage Under Construction" and I got to know that cast of characters and wanted to know how their construction projects ended. The only thing is, I never ever really got to watch any of these shows because I fell fast asleep the moment I became interested. The only thing that could wake me from that deep slumber was Mike Holmes (I just don't like his 'tone' - it wakes me up).

It was becoming harder and harder to climb out of bed in the morning (partially due to the fact that Mike Holmes was delayed by another hour which would make me seriously late in waking up) and my ache to wake up to the TV instead of the alarm pushed me to the breaking point. I actually set the "wake" timer on the TV. It was the dumbest and the smartest move I've made in recent history.

I hated waking up to the TV. It is my sedative, not my wake up call. So I cancelled that timer but some little bell rang in my head. I started wondering what my nights and mornings would be like with the TV turned off. It turns out they are kind of wonderful.

I still wake up in the middle of the night but I can't even recall how long I am awake because the next thing I know, I'm fast asleep. I wake up before my alarm goes off and just lie still with my thoughts. I started to realize that maybe the reason I have been waking up on "empty" is because I have invited television to steal my ability to think. I turn it on and I tune my thoughts out, thus I wake up feeling dull and brainless.

I have had five televisionless nights and mornings now. The combination of moving the TV out of the living room, added to the blackout during my sleeping and waking hours has been a life changer. My thoughts are clearer, I can remember more than two things at once, I can multitask again, words are coming to the tip of my tongue quicker and I feel more energized.

I just now realized I have thought these thoughts before. And thanks to the magic of journalling my every thought, I can tell you the exact day I had this very epiphany. September 15, 2008. I wrote this: http://colleen-lifeasiknowit.blogspot.ca/2008/09/life-in-slow-lane.html

I have also found the exact date when my downward spiral to my TV addiction taking over my life and thoughts began. It was May 3, 2011: http://colleen-lifeasiknowit.blogspot.ca/2011/05/it-all-started-with-spare-tv.html

I wrote it here first. I know when it happened. I now know what I realized seven years ago. "I knew my life was better without 'TV' in it. I just didn't realize how much." (originally written September 15, 2008)

I think the tides have turned. The first step to to addiction is admitting you have a problem: "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol television — that our lives had become unmanageable." ~ paraphrased from Alcohols Anonymous 12 Step Program

The knowledge was within me all along. I just had to turn off the TV to find it again.

"When in doubt, look within for the answer. You're more powerful than you think."

Read more at http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Movies/2009/10/Wizard-of-Oz.aspx?p=6#86uScJ3OSIIqE2UT.99

Oh, What a Day!

I'll start yesterday at the end and move backwards. It was just "that kind of day". In a good way, of course!

When I finally hit the point in my day where I was ready to call it a night, I looked over and this is the sight my weary eyes had to behold.

Yes, if you squint and look closely, the time is 12:11 a.m. 

And yes, that is an anomaly in my world. Just ask our cats. I am usually waking up for the first time at that time, not just laying my head down on the pillow. So, grateful for our king sized bed, I climbed into the last third of the bed which was left available to me and laid my weary little head down to recoup from the day.

I spent the evening dealing with the end of my on-line auction. I listed twenty nine items on the auction and twenty four of those items sold. Our net gain after cleaning out our closets and ridding ourselves of the excess was $123.75. That averaged just over $5.00 per item sold. Not too shabby for a day of housecleaning and listing items for sale. Then an evening dealing with the administrative end of arranging pick-up times with twenty three different people (one person bought two items). The biggest reward though, is the feeling I get when I walk into a room knowing the closets are not full to overflowing with items we don't use. That is the most satisfying part of all (although my portion of our "take" does cover the daycare spending investing I did this past weekend, so that is pretty good too). 

That was my evening. The day was an even better investment of my time and efforts.

We had a "trial run day" with a potential new daycare daughter. It was busy, labor intensive and I was on high alert all day as I watched over my charges. By the day's end, the day felt like a success. She fit in with our family, she napped very well (that's a very good quality to have!) and I think she was starting to figure me out as the day went along. So if all goes as I expect (and hope), she will start in January. This is not only good for my budget but it feels very right for our daycare dynamic. I think we need to keep the girl to boy ratio evened out and I was desperately seeking a new friend for my little not-quite-three-year-old girl. Another "win" for the day.

And one other thing I snuck into the day, was making home made chicken soup for supper. The aroma of home made chicken soup made me feel like a superhero. I provided healthy nourishment (and a favorite meal) for my son and the bonus prize is that today's lunch is also taken care of. 

Then, after all was said and done (my timeline is really getting messed up now), there was a bunch of new fallen snow to contend with. Thankfully the winning combination of the first snowfall of the season + a good, healthy supper + completed homework + a little dose of mother guilt (don't you want to help me after I helped you earn $35.50 for the stuff you cleaned out of your closets? = a willing and able snow shovelling assistant. By 10:00 p.m., the snow was cleared and my day was almost done.

A little more auction administration awaited me when I got back inside, then I tagged, labelled and sorted through our pile of excess so it is ready to walk out the door as our buyers arrive.

This is the view as I opened the door on a brand new day. Winter has arrived. I knew it had to happen one day and a month before Christmas Eve is as good a day as any.

Now that my house decluttering project is at a manageable level maybe I can spend a little of my excess energy on "Christmas". Maybe...

The Smartest Move I've Made

It is hard to believe that my downward spiral into my time of great laziness and despair could be correlated to the time period when we moved a TV into the living room but I'm beginning to wonder.

As my memory flashes back in time, I remember my pre-television-in-the-living-room days and during the most challenging of times, my coping mechanisms turned to activity. Whether it was painting the fence or cleaning or becoming wrapped up in Zumba and fitness, I moved when life got me down instead of sitting still.

Oh, how obvious it seems to me now. There were several times when I thought I should move the TV out of the living room but I enjoyed it so very much. I didn't have a plan or an excuse or any reason whatsoever to move the TV, so there it stayed.

I could tell how a day off was going to go simply by leaving the TV off or turning it on. Tuning into TV helped me tune out of my life. It became my sedative, my best friend, my excuse to sit down and eat a box of chips and my old stand by. It stole my energy, my drive, my dream state and my enthusiasm. It gave very little in return.

Instead of realizing this while I was in the middle of this state, I became more addicted. I tuned into Netflix, TV on Demand and I PVR'd myself into oblivion. It felt like a drug. The more I watched, the more I wanted to watch, even when I wasn't really in the mood to watch. I turned on the TV because it was a habit and I may have lost some of the best years of my life.

I didn't have to work this past weekend. I didn't really see this time off coming but I did get one day's notice to the possibility and I was told I would get a call the next day to confirm our lack of work plans. That was reason enough not to make any other plans because my work schedule could change in a moment. I knew the "correct answer" was to offer to work on Sunday but I couldn't say the words out loud. I thought I could offer when she called back. I didn't receive a call. So I ended up with an almost accidental weekend without enough warning to fill my days with other things.

But fill my days is exactly what I did.

I felt like I was on the way to wasting my Saturday when I got immersed in checking into Kijiji ads and wound up buying a toy workbench and tools for the kids. Then I wound up at Value Village (dropping off a donation -  YAY me!!) and came home with a few more daycare toys. I came home and scrubbed used toys and wondered what in the world I was doing. I was moving out the excess but moving just as much back in!

I ended up going over to a friend's for coffee and my youngest offered to set up our new/old computer if I moved whatever had to be moved, to set it up in its permanent location. My job took all of a minute to accomplish and when I came home a renewed "vision" of our daycare TV/computer/quiet room was so much clearer.

I woke up with this vision still clear in my mind but exhaustion wanted to settle in. "I'll just wash my sheets" is how my morning started. I finished shuffling the contents of three closets around and placed thirty five ads to sell &/or give away various items which have been hiding within those very closets. I'm making money by cleaning!

My little in-house reshuffling event has cost absolutely nothing and has energized me in a way I haven't been energized in a very long time. I still long for the day where I have a mini television marathon but it isn't going to be today.

Moving the TV out of the living room was the smartest move I've made in a very long time. It's good for me, it's good for my daycare family and it is very good for our house and those who reside within. I think the cats miss me hanging out in the living room and the "cat chats" my youngest and I used to have with them as the centre of attention. But they have found their ways to be noticed...

Jet, in the new work bench I bought

Jet investigating the donation pile

Ray, rather disturbed that I was disturbing his rest in "his" new room

Ray, making the best of the tired old sleeping bag which is making its way out of our home.

Making Room For More

One step ahead, three steps back. This seems to be the theme to the progress I am making with the whole decluttering, reshuffling and down-sizing quest I have undertaken.

For every room which has been cleaned up and sorted through, a pile of discards have been left in its wake. Some of these items have been hidden in a closet for months on end, others have found their way to the donation heap, a little may have found its way to the garbage and our luckiest possessions have been rehomed.

I clean up one area and make a mess in another. I clean out the excess and bring home more!

My head is in "winter survival mode" and organizing our house to best suit  my daycare's needs has become high priority. What am I going to do with these young bundles of energy all winter long?

Thus, our living room has been turned into a play centre. Our former playroom has changed locations and has taken on the appearance of a "quiet room". It houses the TV, children's books, an old computer (which I just acquired, so we can play the kid's computer games I have amassed) and it is also the nap area for my older kids.

Our playroom downstairs is having a bit of an identity crisis at the moment. It doesn't know what it wants to be. For the most part, it is a toy room with a side order of a huge television which simply does not fit in that room.

I wrote this and walked away for two hours to list a few more items for sale.

While I was rifling through our collection of piano music books, I found the name of a friend-I-had-not-yet-met on my Grade III, Royal Conservatory book of music.

I would have taken this level of music in approximately 1971-72. I met my friend in 1975. We are the best of friends today. Mom must have bought it in the "used" section of a music store. What kind of neat coincidence is that?!

As I continued to move and shuffle, I mused about the excess room we have within our house. We could easily take in a boarder. My thoughts then shifted to another good friend of mine who is in a state of major upheaval in her life. This isn't the location she was looking for, but the peace within these walls?!! That is definitely on her wish list.

If you make room for more, more happens and more comes into your life. I am actually scaring myself a little bit as I cull through the excess. Am I ready for what happens next??

A Photo Album of Our Cat Tales

Mom asked me if we are bored with our cats, since there has not been a cat post lately. Nothing could be further than the truth! And here is the proof (and there is more where that came from, plus a cat tale for a day when I am not in such a rush).

Bird Watching - Ray and Jet

Sooo tired after playing with the kids! (Jet, of course)

Curious George Jet

Jet is fascinated with this new view

Guess who's sleeping in the bathroom? 

Yes, it is Jet of course, This must have been where he camped out for part of the night. I got up and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an extra black shadow with me in the bathroom.

Jet's fascination with the bathroom (he has been known to hide behind the closed shower curtain) has resulted in being locked in a few times. Does he care? In this room full of wonder?!! You be the judge:

Locked in the bathroom - Take 1

Locked in the bathroom - Take 1, Part 2

Locked in the bathroom -Take 2

Jet's fascination with the bathroom never ceases to amaze him. A renewable water source is always been something that has intrigued every cat I've ever owned who has owned me.

Jet enjoying the best of everything - snuggled up in the toy cupboard, in amongst a kid-filled day!

Ray, the copy cat (after daycare hours)

And speaking of sleeping ... they love my new bed!!

"Ahhh! I love our new bed," says Jet

This is what I woke up to this morning. Jet front and centre; Ray stealing Jet's original spot

The Shoelace Heist

Step One - "Jet finds the hiding place!"

Step Two - "The prey is caught!"

Step Three - "Caught in the act! Jet makes his way off with his prize"

Jet discovers he is tall enough to reach the printer paper as it shoots out from the printer. He now swipes at this rogue paper and "files" it on the floor for me.

I opened the oven drawer one morning and Jet hopped in before I had a chance to react.

"This" (a cat toy mouse) is what he knew was hiding underneath the stove.

And he makes his getaway and saved the day. Another mouse has been captured, only to lose another day.

And has Ray noticed that Jet is getting just a little more than his share of the photo album? I went to snap a picture of Jet (again) after posting this and this is what happened:

Ray, the photo-bomber (does  he look angry to you or is this just a bad angle?)

Jet is hogging the attention. Again.

Jet, why is there an orange string in your mouth?

"What are you talking about?! I didn't do anything!!"