No News on the Emma Front

It seems like Emma is not coming home. It is strange that no one has found her or her collar and given us a call.

As Jaime put it, she has used up many of her lives, so I am guessing she ran out this time.

On the bright side, now she doesn't have to suffer through old age, and we don't have to make the tough decision to euthanize her. I've done that twice, and as much as I believe in putting animals out of their misery early on, that doesn't make it any easier.

Evin has now started asking if he can go on sleepovers to Gwanny and Gwampas. I say "no" because he is sure to be hit by a car within minutes of getting there. Besides, I need someone to wake me up at 5:00 am (and 15-minute intervals thereafter) . Heaven forbid I sleep right through to the alarm!

Oh, and Sam doesn't need a super cute, fuzzy, young, and goofy orange cat around the house making him look even older and more crotchety than he already does.

Emma, if you are reading this -- Come Home!

Well, it seems our little Emma has gone missing. At the age of 15, she just disappeared and we fear the worst. I was the last to see her and gave her a good brushing so she would be all set for Gwanny and Gwampa's homecoming last week.

She seemed fine, so I can only imagine that something bad happened. What a poor end to such a sweet little cat. It is too bad we don't know what happened. We hope that someone will see her collar and call us. I've walked around the block a few times, and even went to check out the base of the huge tree where a bald eagle lives. No bones or cat collars...thank goodness.

Emma was a feisty, fierce, and formidable feline who weighed about four ounces. She also became the sweetest cat once my brother and I moved out. When she came in from an outing, she would talk up a storm with whomever she saw first. If you didn't acknowledge her, she would keep yammering. She was a hit at Mom's afternoon bridge.

Emma was adopted as a kitten by my sister Kim, but when Kim had to go from practicum to practicum, it was better for Emma to move to Gwanny and Gwampas. She's been coughing up hairballs on Gwampa's journals and papers ever since.

In order to live with Gwanny and Gwampa, she had to be declawed. I would agree that it is pretty harsh except that it didn't slow her down a bit. As you can see, it didn't stop her from climbing small fruit trees. And she took sole responsibility for protecting the house from the likes of Fonze who came across the fence for his regular cat nip fix. At twice her size, and with 10 sharp claws, you would think Fonze would have gotten the munchies after a cat nip session, and snacked on her ages ago.

Emma has had a few tough breaks. She was hit by a car out front on Beach Drive. We told her not to cross the street, but that didn't do her any good. She was barely alive, so my Mom took her to the vet hospital. My Dad would have driven, but he was inclined to use the frying pan to finish the job. So, my Mom took a cab.

Emma's front leg was paralyzed, but she needed to recover from her other injuries first. By the time she did, the nerves had begun to regenerate. Aside from a small twitch from time to time, she recovered completely.

And as a small kitten, she went missing for a week. We didn't find out until 7 years ago that she had been shot with a pellet gun. The recognizable hourglass shape of the pellet showed up in an x-ray she had. And when she woke up from the sedation, she had a seizure. The vet said she looked more like a 12 year old cat when she was only 8 or 9.

There is a chance Emma will come home, but it is doubtful. Emma, if you are reading this, please come home.

Random facts about Emma...in case you are still reading and don't have anywhere to be:

1. One of her nicknames is Stinkerbell...she used to wear a bell (tinkerbell), but hated being picked up...hence Stinkerbell.
2. Another one of her nicknames is Fender Face...on account of being hit in the face with a car fender.
3. Emma used to catch birds (the defenceless ones, namely old or very young). She would have the bird rammed in her mouth and would wander around the yard meowing. She was proud but dumb...as soon as we heard her, we'd rescue the bird. I figured how a declawed cat could catch a bird when I observed Evin lunging onto the bed from a high dresser -- the element of vertical surprise meant there was nowhere for the bird to go.
4. My Dad had a suitcase laid out for a trip. He awoke the next morning to finish packing when he saw muddy pawprints and fur all over his pressed dress shirts. Emma had used the clothes as a place to clean up and rest one rainy day.
5. Emma has forgiven Gwampa for wanting to finish her off with a frying pan. She sometimes sends him Father's Day cards thanking him for not hitting her over the head with a frying pan.
6. Emma was named after my Great Grandma Emma. They both happen to share birthdays (Feb 14). In many ways, Emma the cat was a lot like Great Grandma -- tough and stubborn.

Great Minds Think Alike

Check this out, the Freakonomics blog had the same idea when they heard about the Ten Commandments of driving. I'm particulartly referring to the part about the rosary beads:

Let’s set aside the question of whether reciting the Rosary indeed “does not distract the driver’s attention.”

But, you heard it on my blog first and I didn't even read the whole document that was prepared! Oh, and I have the timestamp to prove it.

I tend to disagree with their idea of the Benedict Effect. The Freakonomics blog questions whether praying will make people feel safer and therefore take more risks. But the gist of the commandments, as I understand them, is to be a better, more christian driver. It doesn't logically follow, at least not to me (and again, I have only read the list, not the full document prepared by the Vatican...I unlike some large groups living in Rome, don't have time to read, let alone write such a document) that people would be more careless while behind the wheel.

cough...smoke and mirrors...cough

Driving 101, Vatican style

I was watching the news this evening when a story came on about the 10 Commandments of driving. According to Pope Benedict XVI and his compatriots at the Vatican, drivers need to exhibit a few more Christian virtues while on our roadways.

Religion seems to be on the rise, so this may be a good angle. I don't see ICBC jumping on this bandwagon, and I don't know that it will help me as I am not that religious.

Many things sprang to mind upon hearing the story, and many more as I began writing this blog. But, I am not really interested in starting a religious debate nor do I want to offend anyone. So, I'll share one of the more lighthearted thoughts, however ireverent it may sound. Now remember, you can't get mad. I, Heather, admit to snickering at the thought of accident rates going up because drivers began letting go of the wheel to perform the sign of the cross before entering an intersection, or they got distracted by reciting their Hail Mary's.

That said, I'll put my judgements aside, drive a little more courteously, and be thankful the Catholic church has had the time to prepare these commandments for the world.

Barriers to Junk Food

When I got to work today there was an email from the provincial government waiting patiently in my inbox. It told me of the importance of a healthy lifestyle. One method for improving the health of Canadians is to stop stocking vending machines with junk food. Apparently this is already underway in Public Schools and Public workplaces are next.

That is great news. I have pretty bad willpower so if the vending machines down the hall are chocolate free, or better yet, stocked with healthy alternatives, I am less likely to cave in to junk food. Especially at 2:30 when the afternoon lull kicks in.

There are potentially two wrenches with this plan...at least for 4000 Seymour:

1. The cafeteria still stocks junk food (and probably will after this switch over) and is a mere 25 feet away from the main vending machines.
2. The vending machines don't actually accept twonies.

I am hopeful the healthy offering will be tasty too. If they start stocking food that tries to pass tofu off as an alternative to turkey or chocolate I may have to start a picket line. Shudder...I'm going to have tofu nightmares.

The Horror!

I was in the mall, picking up the new Wil CD when it happened...it was aweful..horrible even. I walked out of HMV and was disoriented! I looked both ways and for the life of me couldn't remember which way would take me back where I came from.

I usually pride myself at being able to walk out of a store and know which way I came from and/or which way is next. I could be in a familiar mall, a new mall, or downtown and I would still know my bearings.

This isn't much of an accomplishment, but when you think of how easy it is to get distracted by the things going on in the store...including the rush of finding something you absolutely have to have, it sounds pretty impressive. And don't forget, I'm the one with the attention span of a 3-year old.

Bird TV

In an effort to enhance the indoor life of my cats, I decided to get a window mounted hummingbird feeder. I had seen a hummingbird at a neighbors feeder so knew they were in the area.

I got a great little feeder at Canadian Tire and had it up in moments. Within about 24 hours, a hummingbird had spotted the feeder.



For whatever reason, he is afraid to use the feeder. He clicks noisily and hovers near the feeder which alerts the cats that something is going on so they race to the patio door and start chattering away. When the screen is open, the bird can hear them so I think this makes him more afraid. A week has gone by and the nectar looks untouched. Maybe it is too late now that the flowers are out.

I decided to add a seed feeder to the mix and picked up a window mounted feeder. Again, from Canadian Tire for less than $15.



I haven't seen any birds at this feeder, but there are seed shells starting to collect on my balcony floor.

I expect this feeder will get more action in the fall and winter when food is more scarce.

Workin for the Guv - Part Two

I've been in my new position for 3 weeks now and I am settling in quite well. I get to do real work and I am used to the 1 hour lunch and leaving at 4:30 pm. I really like the job and am looking forward to the Business Analyst courses I'll be taking in the winter. It is too early to say, but I may switch from PM to BA.

I have to say, my coworkers are a great bunch. There are lots of stories and lots of laughs. I couldn't ask for anything more. When it comes to training though, there has been a bit of tension. I tend to want to be pointed in the right direction, given a few pointers, and then sent on my way. I feel this is OK since there is a ton of documentation and I have some experience in the field.

I also tend to work pretty quickly. There are a few thinkers in the group who I feel think I am acting rash. On the contrary, I just function better when jumping in and making things happen. So far, no one has tried to cure me by reminding me of the story of the tortoise and the hare. Besides, I know my limits and wouldn't do something permanent without asking for someone to check my work. To demonstrate that fast is not always bad, I have compared myself to a hummingbird. This seems to have worked and has turned into a project to find the "bird" in all of us. Though when I take my time with something, they are quick to wonder what happened to the hummingbird. For those that know me, you are probably placing bets on when I will show up with a bird craft.

What a pill

Taking pills is one of my least favourite things to do. Fortuantely, I don't have to do so very often. I think I'd rather chew on a yucky tasting pill than swallow them. It goes back to the time when I didn't use enough water when taking a pill -- it got stuck in my throat which went unnoticed for the first hour until it started eating a hole through my throat.

As I get older and it is no longer the best option to eat a bunch of fruit (vitamin C) and hang out in the sun so it can convert the vitamin C to the much needed vitamin D, I figure I should take some vitamins. You can get a multi-vitamin which is very efficient except for the fact that one tablet is the size of a small child. Forcing one of those things down my throat is an excellent way to get more water in me but I wish they made chewable multi-vitamins for adults.

Enter kids chewable multi-vitamins. Sure, a child multi-vitamin is not the right dose, but I figure it is better than nothing. And since I got a super jumbo bottle at COSTCO, I can afford to eat 2 or 3 so it is more like an adult dose!