Sooz’s Neighborhood

Well, after doing so well, catching three kittens in 10 minutes a week and a half ago, this morning, at one of my colonies, two of us were out there to trap three kittens, and after an hour, came up with bupkiss.  No resting on laurels here.

We did clap eyes on two of them, here's a picture of one of them looking at the trap, all "I don't think so."

Eastern tan&white

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These guys are five weeks old.  One other poked his/her nose out from under that piece of fence, but after the first ten minutes, they disappeared, and we didn't see anything more of them, or any of the half-dozen adult cats, who usually show up when we're trapping.  Despite all our efforts to coordinate non-feeding with the people in the two buildings this little piece of alley is between, I think the cats still weren't hungry.

Came back home and put a tote bag with some of my trapping kit on the kitchen counter for a bit.  Went back to the kitchen a little bit later to find my cats had torn into the bag of catnip we've sometimes used for bait, and scattered it all over the counter and kitchen floor.  Bills and receipts I had on the counter had green slobber on them, and if you think I had trouble keeping my cats off the counter before, oh, man.  Even though I've wiped the counter and floor down, you know they're going to keep going up there looking for catnip.

I didn't get a photo of that little mess, but I did get this photo yesterday after I did the kitten photo shoot on my bed.  I think the message here is "We're ready for our closeups."

My guys

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Show us something you can't explain.

My love of wearing socks and thongs. Can't explain it - but if David Beckham can do it, so can I. And when I do those first few shuffles you have to, to get the sock nicely wedged in between the toes I like to pretend I'm O-Ren Ishii. And my thongs have a wedge thanks very much.

Socks-and-thongs

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Scarabeo_back

I got my bike today and it's beautiful!  The color of my bike is EXACTLY the same as our car.

I'm having to guess a  bit at speed, as it reads in Kilometers  (with a tiny inside ring reading mph). And the seat is not what I expected. The photos all showed a tan seat, so I ordered a tan jacket. The dealer and I were both surprised to see that the bike has a  brown seat. Odd for a red bike. Odd for ANY bike. Black would have made more sense. Oh well - They are ordering me a tan seat so it will look as expected eventually. And when my butt's on the seat I don't see it!

I got the bike with 2 miles on it. I rode it home 24 miles. Ben and I rode into the hills tonight and I am now at 61 miles. I LOVE this bike. I feel so relaxed on it. Its perfect for me. And finally I feel happy to ride fast! Once I get 100 miles on my tires, I'm trying it on the freeway!

It's also WONDERFUL that Ben and I both have new bikes from same dealer. Both our bikes have approx 60 miles on them. We will be taking them in together for service. The dealer and all the folks working at this shop are wonderful. Aprilia for the win!

Scarabeo

Astrid is already treasuring her Lincecum card.

Playing cards!

I found this on a blog called bibliOdyssey - whcih has all sorts of fantastic old stuff on it.

Would be funny if we lived in Australindia

Maslen's map of the mythical inland sea of Australia.
In the early 19th century, with the majority of the non-coastal areas of
Australia still unexplored, the commonly held misconception was that central
Australia must have an inland sea and major river system. The belief was at its
highest following the publication in 1827 of 'The Friend of Australia' by a retired
East India Company employee, Thomas J Maslen. His map, or at least the inland sea,
adjoining river and the labelled locations of 'Australindia' and 'Anglicania' parts,
are pure fantasy. Maybe it would have helped his accuracy if he visited Australia.
The true picture of the outback geography emerged over the next couple of decades.
I had never known of this map's existence until just recently.

Australindia

These are the three kittens who were rescued a week ago Thursday, and have been living in my bathroom since then.  They're 8 weeks old.

Here they were moments after rescue:

Kittendoodz

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And here are their beauty shots, taken today:

Butterscotch

Chocolate chip

Fluffernutter

When I was taking that last one, I didn't even notice he'd crossed his paws so sweetly.  This was their first time in the bedroom, for the photo session, and it was hard to get them looking anything but saucer-eyed and scared. 

Tomorrow morning, I'm trapping again for three more kittens (5 weeks old) that are now out of the nest at one of the colonies I help with, but they won't be staying with me.  If we're successful and I get good photos, I'll post some.

Catalogue

Catalogue close up

:)

More about it here.

Peace.

Yesterday, after spending the week with my sister and her boyfriend, we were on the long drive back to my mother's house. We started talking about the impressions we form of other people. Literally, what we take away from them during the time we have been in their company. Not the surface level impression of general likability, but the deeper layers that give us the general sensation of compatibility with our own patterns of behavior.

My sister's boyfriend gave me his interpretation of who I was when we were first introduced. Notably, he commented that I seemed to be the type of person who was very firm, very solid in knowing what I believe and what I know to be true for me. Paraphrasing briefly, he told me that I was someone who seemed most at peace and content when left to my own space...and that I seemed to grow uneasy or unsettled after too long a period with clusters or large groups of people.

His assessment was correct.

Today's daily newsletter in my mailbox from the DailyOm included my horoscope. Here's just a brief snippet of the message today:

...Your house, apartment, or even your bedroom can become a sanctuary that nurtures your soul and allows you to reconnect with your inner self. Freed from outer-world distractions, you can take care of personal chores, spend time pursuing enlightenment, or simply putter around the house. Home may offer feelings of comfort and contentment that you can’t find anywhere else... - DailyOm, Cancer Horoscope, July 5th

Creating sanctuary.

I chuckled. After I got home last night I was full and pleased to have spent time with my baby sister, my little jewel. But I was also eager to go home and re-orient my space to what I needed it to be. I burned sage through each of the rooms while in prayer, I followed it with sweetgrass to replace whatever had been removed with lightness and comfort. I burned sandalwood oil, I sat quietly and soaked it all in. As much fun as I had with her...I was off kilter, having immersed myself in so much energy that was not my own. I couldn't hear myself. And I get cagey and anxious when I cannot feel my own spirit in the company of other souls.

I believe a soul's spirit leaves a resin wherever it's been. You can feel it when you walk into a room and you experience an immediate shift in your disposition. From happy to anxious or indifferent to angry. Sometimes it's good. Like when you walk into your grandmother's home and you immediately feel a sense of peace and groundedness that washes over you like sunshine. Sometimes it can be jarring, like walking into a room where an argument occured and you suddenly feel filled with tension and conflict. We all leave an imprint on the space we've been in. And It can be difficult at times to distinguish your own feelings and moods from another. Some are more sensitive to it than others.

The more souls you have entering your space, the more you take in and process. Whether you consciously want to or not.  Sometimes, it is simply too much for me to take in. Many times, I simply don't want the energy that's being offered to me. After having lots of traffic in my home or disruption to the order in which I do things, I grow eager to go through this little "orienting" process to settle my space. Once I cleanse away the lingering effects of the energy others have brought into my home, I can then get back to clearly feeling my own. I can get back to my center.

Today, I have no desire to leave the familiar, nurturing confines of my own home. I wish only to replenish myself so that I can resume going out into the world clearly hearing my own voice in a crowd of millions. My prayer for you, is that no matter where you are or who you are with...you can always find, hear and embrace your own incredible energy.