A Mountain and More Cats in Everyday Ramblings

Mount St. Helens from the top of a public stairway a few blocks from my place last Sunday morning. We maybe see her one out of 15 days with the weather pattern here even though she is only 50 miles (80.46 km) away. It is kind of a game many of us play. Are the mountains out today?

They won’t be out anytime soon. We are back in a dark sodden winter pattern but at least we are above freezing. I have nothing to complain about here compared to the climate extremes other folks are experiencing.

Yesterday we had our annual computer system upgrade at work. It was my seventh year doing this and for the first time ever my part of it went smoothly and was easy. Two of the folks I interface with though had issues getting in and I had to deal with a bunch of frustrated anxious folks for a few hours. I was able to laugh about it.

That is a breakthrough for me. A dreaded experience, as in the past, the strange systems folks have shunned me in my department in the most peculiar dysfunctional way. We plan for this for months and months and bring all the financial systems for our large institution down and there is always some communication failure.

This year there was some indication that I might actually know what I am doing.

I am not holding my breath though. I am sure there will be some bizarre and inappropriate behavior on Monday. But oh well. My patch of the garden is humming and that is what I am going to focus on.

Afterwards Most Honorable and Kes came up to play with the boys and for us to have a family dinner out at our favorite raucous Mexican restaurant. Most Honorable was a cat in his most recent former life and had not met Carlo and Diego before and so we were all excited. He got to rub their tummies, something no one got to do with Stella and Sam.

Ever. Under any circumstances.

We played and chatted and played and did I mention we played? When we got back from dinner they had an opportunity to see the crazy mad way these two eat. They inhale their food as if it was going away any second: Diego, in particular, just wolfs his wet food down. If I can, I separate them in different rooms so they can each get equal amounts.

With rescue pets one expects neurotic behavior. This is most definitely where it is manifesting in them. My hope is, that over time, with consistency and love they will begin to relax and trust. After reading about the current thinking on the most appropriate way to train them to stay off the kitchen counters I am making progress.

Carlo only jumps up when I am dishing out wet food. And Diego is pretty much cured of the habit. I have a cookie sheet and pie tins and a roasting pan and empty egg cartons on the edge of the counters and dishtowels. So when they do try to jump up they slip off and make a lot of noise. And it isn’t related to me doing a negative unpleasant thing to them. It is environmental. I just think this is brilliant. A bit of a hassle but brilliant.

Other than the fact that Diego has a shaved spot and visible stitches you would have no idea the drama he went through earlier in the week. Everyday he gets calmer though. He was crazy mad hyperactive there from the anesthetic and the pain med.

I have chores and provisioning to do today because I worked yesterday but I may just blow it all off and chill.

Last updated November 23, 2014