Sunny Days, Keeping the Clouds Away

Officially, it's been spring for almost a month, but it's only starting to feel like it in Sacramento. This beautiful, sunny Sacramento weather has inspired me to walk the dog more, spend more time in the sunshine and exercise more.

So far, I'm doing well on accounts, and my new giant trampoline is certainly helping with resolutions two and three!

The trampoline was a gift from a friend who is moving and didn't want to take it with her. Aaron and I put it together yesterday, and I'm having a lot of fun on it ... in small increments. I'm just too out of shape (and with heart problems) to bounce for very long.

Aaron and I, and by that I mean mostly Aaron, have been working hard to ready our large yards for human use. We tend to ignore the backyard all winter, until the grass grows so high, Gizmo gets lost in "the jungle."

 

Now the jungle has been tamed into nice, short suburban blades. Roses have been trimmed, weeds pulled and the yards sprayed for bugs.

Soon we'll go through the exhausting process of dragging the patio furniture out of the shed and setting up the shade canopy. I can't wait until I'm sprawled across the patio couch, reading a good book.

First roses of the season.

Our resident squirrels seem to be enjoying the weather, too.

Maybe we'll even plant some flowers along the fence, finally!

Hello, Spring!

Flying Frisbees for Gizmo Girl

I have been under the weather and sleeping 10 million hours a day (OK, more like 12 to 14), so I am really backed up on my paid work with deadlines staring me in the face. I keep staring right back at them and at the blank computer screen in front of me, but no words have magically appeared. I can't justify taking the time to write a blog; however, I can take a few minutes of out my busy screen-staring schedule to post some cute fur baby pics from my very outdated cellphone.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Sactown, so I made Gizmo one happy doggy and played Frisbee with her in the backyard. She is 1 year old, very smart and crazy active and happy. We think she's a Chi/Jack/unknown mix. We adopted her from the Yolo County Animal Services Shelter in Woodland when she was 2 months old. She has probably played fetch every single day since we brought her home about 11 months ago.

 

Save the Kittehs!!

Felicity & Oliver

I’ve never met a cat I didn’t like. I’ve been a cat person all my life. I like most animals, but cats just have a soft spot in my heart. I’ve turned my husband into a cat person, too. Well, I don’t know if it was me so much as it was my childhood kitty.

Felicity was the best cat, ever. Period. She was a total sweetheart and the smartest cat you could ever meet. I’m not just saying that because I was her mommy for 16 years. I could get many people to testify to the fact. She regularly impressed my friends with her intelligence.  

Felicity got very sick, very quickly with kidney failure and we had to put her sleep on January 2 of this year. It was the most horrible way to start the New Year, but it was the best thing we could do for our baby girl.

My heart broke into a million pieces when I found out how sick she was. My husband and I curled up into little balls and cried our eyes out. Aaron hyperventilated in the bathroom after the vet called us with the grim prognosis. 

It’s been just over a month now, and I find myself spending way too much time online looking at all the kitties (and doggies) who need homes. In the last two-and-a-half years, we’ve adopted one puppy and one kitten*, and I’ve spent a lot of time on Craigslist, Petfinder and the shelter websites. I’ve never seen it this bad before.

I’ve always wanted to foster kitties, but I didn’t want to bring new cats into the home, upsetting Miss Felicity. Now, that she’s gone and we’ve had time to grieve, it’s time to take action. 

Tonight, I sent an email to a nearby cat rescue, inquiring about fostering. I hope we can help save some kitties and find them good, forever homes.

You can help, too. Check out Sacramento Animal Coalition to learn about area rescues and other local animal services. It's Felicity-approved.

*Felicity would accept babies into her home -- our Oliver pretty much thought Felicity was his momma -- but we didn’t want to push it by adopting older animals.