Xmas Impressions

    A belated happy holidays from the merry spinsters! Three days of meeting, greeting, and eating are now very much behind me. The weather has been just wonderful as well. I think Neko's getting used to my being around all the time. A shame I have to go back to work in a week or so, eh?
    On the other hand, Neko does very well for herself in keeping busy.

    I've had to hide the poor doggy now, as it seems I've trained her to attack it on sight. And they say you can't train a cat! But I digress. My tree, as I said earlier, looks ridiculous, but I was able to find one respectable picture of the tree to show you.

    On the presents front, it was a fine haul of loot. Last year I received no calendars. This year I got three. I also got many gift cards and a few wonderfully unexpected things for my space. I plan to pay many more visits in 2014, so please stay tuned. Happy New Year!

In Winter's icy embrace

         For the merry spinsters it's our first Xmas in the condo. I just got the tree up and it looks downright ridiculous. Considering I haven't put the tree up since I first moved into my apartment (Xmas 2009) I think it's a passable effort. Neko sees the tree as just another thing to chew on, and now that I've gone to the trouble of decorating it she takes great delight in playing with the pretty balls. Good thing they're plastic - I learned that lesson while still living at the house and observing the venerable Mr. Schneider.
         Speaking of the house, I usually spend Xmas Eve and New Year's Eve with the family on the couch downstairs. Since I don't feel right about leaving her alone overnight I have no choice but to bring her with me. In 2012 Mr. Schneider passed away and was succeeded by Dende. Last Xmas and New Year's Eve Dende took pleasure in keeping me sleepless for a while. This Xmas Dende's sharing his space with an intruder.
         For the record, this is Dende.

         As neither cat's spent much time with their own kind, my family's worked to try and bring them together. Main goals; avoid a screeching bloodbath and try to get some sleep in heavenly peace. Experiment #1 lasted a few hours and ended with Neko hating her pet carrier. Experiment #2 was grounded in 'out of sight, out of mind' and lasted for half the day. Experiment #3 was our longest attempt to date - a whole day of hoping there would be at least tolerance. I've come to understand that my cat's a little bully around other cats. She was spoiling for a fight and all Dende wanted to do was be friends. Poor Dende.
        Xmas will see Neko spending time in the basement and Dende upstairs while we're away with the extended rels. This way she won't be able to kill the poor dude. Next time I post I'll try to get a good pic of my abysmal tree.

First winter in the new digs

It rained a little yesterday evening but overnight the magic happened. I looked outside in the wee hours and saw the first signs. By this morning, the view outside my window had wonderfully altered.

I got a better view of the parking lot and this is what I saw.

Neko's a year old now, so she's seen the winter before. Today also marks 4 months that she's been my beloved roomie. Based on the video below, I think she's glad to be an indoor cat.

Cats!

This is strictly about Neko and her adventures. Here she is relaxing and sitting on my chair.

 

Cats like watching other cats - or so it's said. She does seem to like watching little fights between other cats. Must be the movement, as she also enjoys Let's Plays.

Neko's like the little girl in the nursery rhyme. "When she was good she was very very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid." Please observe the video below...

 

I don't think she got a lot of sleep after I banished her from the bedroom. Now she's trying to get some sleep on the futon. We have a meeting with the vet for Monday. Those claws need clipping.

Augh. Cats.

In the Fall

I discovered recently that I can make decent videos with my camera. The other one I have of Neko is nine seconds of her washing and I don't think anybody wanted to see that. This video is a little longer but just as interesting as watching Neko wash her paws.

I took a short stroll around my neighbourhood; taking pictures of the turning trees.

Part of my stroll took me within sight of the old Barracks. R.I.P Kapyong.



I could get all philosophical about things dying in the fall but the Barracks have been dying for several years now. It would be nice if the powers that be would get their acts together.
Thank you for your time.

Back to work

Honestly, however, I've been back for two weeks now. Anyway, I have some more pictures of my condo life.

Another picture of Neko. I believe she's part Burmese. There's got to be some Siamese in her ancestry, for she's the most vocal domestic cat I've ever met. My mom came by last week to keep an eye on me after I had my wisdoms removed. She spent the night - which was fine until 3 in the morning. Then Neko dropped by and neither of us got any sleep.

One of the purchases I made today. I bought two of these chairs for the balcony. The plant beside the chair is my ficus. Amazing that I've kept it alive this long.

The extent of the gardening that I did this year. Dill, sage, and a few other herbs. Next year I'll plant some catnip for Neko. Homegrown herbs have more kick than the ones you get at the store.
That's all I have for today.

A return of sorts

Not that it really matters, but I have found my way back to this blog. A time may come when I have thoughts worth posting, but for now, I am going to just post pictures. Enjoy!

This is Neko, an adorable yet extremely talkative cat. She's 8 months old and likes chasing balls around the condo.

This is a picture of the fireplace in my new condo.
That's all I have for now.