Welcome to My World...

The snow is falling outside my tiny little motor home.   I'm curled up with my two kitties, one a sweet, grey tuxedo and the other tortie-tabby mix full of attitude, who are between my feet snoozing on the warm electric throw blanket I have draped on the bed.   Life for them, at the moment, couldn't be better.

Through the steamed up windows I watch the snow accumulate in white fluffy mounds on the trees and bushes and around the neighbor's cars.  My next-door neighbor, Kay's, Lexus looks like a black and white Stay-Puff marshmallow, and we've only had 3 inches of snow pile up so far.  It's going to be cold and icy in the morning, that's for sure.

Miss (short for Misty).

My cats are unconcerned.

While the rest of the world is worried about icy streets, snow chains, and traffic jams, my current role is a temporarily unemployed mama to two elderly kitties, Miss and Bridget, ages 14 and 16 respectively.   I am also "auntie" to Kay's two kittens, Isaac and Sunshine (both 8 months old), her loveable 60 pound nuisance of a pup, Simon, (7 months) and her mom's perky chihuahua, Boo Boo (almost 3 years).  

Bridget, her royal catness.

My cats are the calm aspect of the bunch.  Age has its perks and price.  It has brought with it the unique challenges of illness, litter box bricks, and plenty of Attitude (heaven forbid I deviate from our routine one iota, oh my..).  However, they have outgrown the wall-rocketing antics of youth and, for the most part, are quite well behaved.  The same cannot be said for Simon, Isaac, and Sunshine.  Especially Simon.

Simon, that 60 lb whirling dervish of barely contained chaos who annoys both human and feline alike on a minute-by-minute basis while still managing to work his way into our hearts.  

Nope.  Definitely not Simon. 

My life, while not financially terrific, is certainly never boring...

After a long trip from the South Puget Sound area to Federal Way, Washington today, the return trip of which was spent battling traffic that was trying to outrun the heavily falling snow, we settled into a warm plate of homemade lasagna, courtesy of Kay's mom.  That is, we settled into plates of lasagna held shoulder high over our laps as Simon rocketed back and forth through Kay's 5th wheel and Sunshine tried (unsuccessfully) to climb over me, past my water glass, and onto the kitchen sink, resulting in an ungraceful slide and somersault routine to the kitchen floor.   Boo Boo sat with her mama on their bed (which was the kitchen dining booth before she moved in with Kay) and barked crazily at Simon, determined to protect her stash of chew toys and Beggin Strips.  

Isaac remained by the door, absolutely certain he wanted to be let out into the weather.  Once his wish was granted, he lasted all of ten minutes *snicker* before yelling to be let back in.   Upon reentry, Isaac then had to endure the usual chase and "snurfling" from Simon, who has to try to stuff Isaac's entire head in his mouth while licking his fur every time the cat comes inside .  This results in a very happy dog and a very disgruntled kitten sporting a soaked head and neck.  It's become quite a routine for them.   

Normally Simon gets a walk,  a trip up the road to the park to run around like loon, or wrestles with Kay's husband on a daily basis.  Because we were gone all day, however, and Kay's husband was down for the count with a toothache, Simon didn't get the usual energy outlets and was cooped up inside most of the day with a few chew toys.  This was not enough for  the husky-hound-retriever mix to stave off boredom, apparently, so when we finally got home, boy, it was ON like Donkey Kong!

Eventually, Kay took Simon--who was driving all of us nuts by this point, tugging on sleeves and any other body parts/clothing he could get a hold of, attempting to sneak food off plates even though he KNOWS better and is about as stealthy as a moose in a glass shop, and trying to catch Sunshine who was leaping from surface to surface to keep out of the reach of snipping teeth and his slobbery giant tongue--for a short walk through the snow in attempt to run down some of the pup's boundless energy.  After all, 60 lbs is a LOT of dog to have bouncing off the walls.  Simon quite enjoyed his little outing.  He ran.  He frolicked.  He stuck his nose in the snow sniffed tunnels through the glistening white blanket.  He even taste-tested a few flakes.... 

....And came back in with every bit as much energy as he left with.  Darn.   

A last-ditch effort by me had him settling down to destroy a rawhide bone I fished out of the stash in Kay's car as I was leaving for the evening to go snuggle in bed with my two calm, furry cuties.   I reckon it kept him busy for all of five minutes.  

Maybe ten.  If they were lucky.

Like I said, my life is never boring.