Christmas Lights

Today's photo, taken last night, has interesting textures under the Christmas lights. The stucco looks like chocolate ice cream, while the window wants to pop into the foreground, creating illusions about where the objects and surfaces are in relation to one another.

Rosencrantz has been really demanding attention since we got home tonight. He wanted to lay on my legs, but I kept moving around too much, so when Laurie sat down to study I got a cat magnet fleece blanket and put it on her legs and Rosencrantz really  made himself comfortable.  Each cat has its own way of demanding attention. Rosencrantz likes to lay on our legs, while Guildenstern wants to flop over one of our arms. Puck wants us to rub his face and then fight with him, while Stretch and Mama Manx want to just be near us. Diné likes snuggling up with us in bed.

I feel like my life is devoted to taking care of the cats. The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is give the cats their special food and clean water in their favorite water dishes. When I get home at night, the first thing I do is fill up kitty food bowls, give the cats their special food and fresh water in their favorite water dishes. I was telling them if they did a "This is Your Life" on me, about all they could show is me feeding, watering and herding cats around.

But then they would have to have a segment on the bird. He rings his bell for service, and we have to offer him his favorite foods from what we are eating: pancakes, cheese, noodles, ice cream, chicken, steak, coffee, tea, cereal, enchiladas, chiles rellenos, pretty much everything we eat. He does eat nuts and bird biscuits, as well, but he really like the above list of food. I always wondered how exotic birds survived in the wild without birdie Starbucks, birdie Baskin Robbins, birdie Taco Bells, and birdie IHOPs. It turns out they don't. Parrots, that are well know for longevity in captivity, have average life spans in the wild of around 6 years due mainly to natural predators.

Going back to my pre-cancer days, they would also have to have a segment on the snakes. There would be scenes of me wringing out dead rats in preparation of feeding the snakes. Me coaxing the snakes to eat while trying not to get bit, and the even more exciting scenes of me getting the snakes back in their cages without getting bit — not always as straight forward as it might seem when dealing with a 45 pound Sumatran blood python.

As repetitive and troublesome as it may seem, I really enjoy taking care of our animals, and making them happy. They are such a joy in our lives and provide so much life and entertainment that I can't imagine living without them.