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Thanks 13bodies

Aww, thanks for being so sweet, Moonchild.  We don't have a blushing smiley, so just assume I used one. 

So, took Gorey back to the vet on Monday for his booster shots and his deballing.  I put him in the carrier and he hollered and hollered.  And hollered.  AND hollered.  I told him that he'd best settle down and enjoy the ride cuz the day was just going to get worse from then on. 

I picked him up after work and he was fine.  And hollering.  Grand total on black fuzzy evil so far:  $350.  I put him in the garage/basement for the night and made him TWO beds, put out a litter box, gave him bottled water to drink, and opened a can of deer meat for his Highness to eat.  He hollered all night long, ignored the litterbox, and slept under the car.  He ran out the door Tuesday morning and I haven't seen him since.   

You know, I could get some really cool stuff for $350.  And an iPod wouldn't run off no matter how upset it got.  8)

I made a hair spritz from a recipe I got off of the LHC.  I modified it very slightly; I used a bit more oil and a lot less glycerin.

5 ounces distilled water
1 ounce aloe vera gel
2 ounces glycerin (I used 1/4-1/2 ounce)
10 drops oil/eo blend of your choice (I used 13 drops of jojoba oil with lavender eo; then added 2 drops of rosemary eo)

Blend.  Shake well and use as needed.

I tried it last night which was hairwash night.  My ends are usually pretty straggly/tangly by hairwash night.  It's a bit heavy but it did moisturize the tangles.  I'll try some over the weekend before I put my hair up and see how it does.

BPAL:  Hearth (candied chestnuts, buttered, covered in brown sugar and honey, alongside the scent of cedar smoke and soft pine)  It's a bit heavy; I think that's the smoke.  I'm meh about this one.  I think I'll use it as a room scent.

Midwinter's Eve (A melancholy, deep scent, poignant and brimming with nostalgia. The perfume of sugared plums over a breeze of winter flowers)  I really like floral/fruity scents so I was looking forward to this one.  First on, it's a blast of candy-sweet fruit.  Then it turns into a faint scent of candy-sweet fruit.  Then it's gone.  No flowers that I could see.  Nice to layer or as a room scent, but I doubt I'll wear it alone again.

Gingerbread Poppet (Warm, cozy gingerbread spiced with nutmeg, clove and cinnamon)  You know how you open a bag of gingersnaps and right when it opens you get a blast of concentraed gingerbread smell?  That's gingerbread poppet.  It's so delicious smelling.  I ate way too many Christmas cookies today and I blame Gingerbread Poppet.   8)

I got a HUGE coffee mug for Christmas--it's pale blue and says Crazy Cat Lady  and it holds 28-30 oz of whatever you want to put in it.  I filled it with coffee this morning and I'm still riding the buzz.  This could be dangerous.   

Merry Christmas to you, Beesan16!  "Fishmas," huh?  That explains Rumpole's breath.   

Gorey has returned!  I figured the little piggy would; no matter how upset he gets, no one else is going to give him a whole can of food PLUS kibble twice a day.  I'm still planning on bringing him in after Christmas.  I think I've gone mad.

I have to put concrete mix on the driveway.  It's still covered with ice from that snowstorm we had at the beginning of the month.  My Subaru with its all-wheel drive can go up just fine, but yesterday the mail carrier couldn't get her car up so I have to go pick it up a the Post Office.  I don't mind that, but the ice must go.  My new cleaning lady starts next Friday and I don't want her to have any obsticles between her and my (filthy) house.   

Rose bun and dangly Christmas hairsticks I made.  I had another pair with red glass bells swinging from them and my hair broke the stick!  I haven't broken a stick in months--I try so hard to be careful.  Oh, well.

BPAL:  Snow White (flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers.)  Meh.  I can't even describe it at first but it's borderline unpleasant.  Now it's not bad but still indescribable.  Not good, not bad, just meh.  I'll try it again but this one might be headed for swaps.

A Cat Christmas Carol:

Said the cat to the people everywhere
Do you see what I have? (Do you see what I have?)
'Neath my tail, people everywhere
Do you see what I have? (Do you see what I have?)
It's round, it's pink
And it doesn't stink
Cuz I clean it with my tongue
Cuz I clean it with my tongue.

(Do You Hear What I Hear? has always been one of my favorite carols; still is, but now I giggle every time I hear it.  Such is the influence of the cats.   8))

Fried chicken, Moonchild?  Remeber, if you negotiate with cats you'll never be free from them again.   

We went to my brother's for Christmas.  I left on Saturday and came back on Wednesday.  My cat sitter FORGOT TO COME!!!!!  I called to remind her before Thanksgiving and she was a bit offended that I did so, therefore I didn't want to offend her again, and she FORGOT!  The evil furballs were all alone for 5 days!  No-one ate or drank anything for who knows how long, and now they're all clingy.  Sigh. 

I'm bringing in Gorey tomorrow.  Pray for us.

OK, so we went to the bro's house.  Saturday everyone went to Christmas Eve service except me because I didn't sleep the night before and was totally exhausted.  We went to bed early because Santa was coming!  The nephew doesn't like Santa ("Santa's scarwy" he says, forcefully, which doesn't stop his mom from being all pro-Santa.  Hey, he thinks Santa's scary...strange man in an odd suit breaking into your house while asleep...I kind of agree.   8)  Leave the kid alone, you know?  ) 

The kid slept till 6:45 am, and was that a surprise!  Christmas with an almost-two year old is a hoot.  He especially liked the pedal-tractor my dad got him (he and Pa-Pa rode around the farm on Pa-Pa's big tractor and he was tickled to death to get his own), a plastic airport set with a long arm with a plane on the end which flew around and around when you held back on the lever ("It flies...like a bird!"  He was deeply impressed  ) and some Winnie the Pooh characters ("POOH!!!!")  I got him a little red plastic chair shaped like a hand which he loves to sit in.  He sticks his stuffed animals between the fingers.  During the unwrapping, SIL's all, "See the presents Santa brought you?  Don't you love Santa?"  Nephew, "...n-o-o-o-o-o-o.."  "But Santa loves you!"  "...N-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o....."  Heh.

Mom got me an Alice in Wonderland mug with the Cheshire Cat--when filled with hot liquid, the cat disappears, all but his smile.  I've been wanting one and I was so happy...and my SIL put it in the dishwasher and ruined it.  I had to throw it out.   

We went to Christmas Day service at their church, but we got the time wrong and showed up at 11 instead of 10.  We wondered why everyone was giving us odd looks.     So off we went to the church where the nephew's daycare is.   The service was nice enough, except for the Christmas day sermon the preacher decided to take as his text a passage from a book that was all about disgusting people bloated with food, etc.  Like, whatever, Rev. Buzzkill.  Fabulous Christmas sermon, thanks ever so.  I've heard about this Baby Jesus kid, wouldn't you want to mention him?  I suppose that's why I'm not a preacher.   8)

Afterwards we went to look at the nephew's classroom.  All of the Sunday School rooms had rhyming names that were not nearly as cute as they thought they would be.  The Adult Sunday School room was called--and I am not making this up--"Pairs and Spares."  OK, that's insulting.  Mom, as is her way, was all "Oh, they don't mean to be insulting."  I'm old and cranky, but I'm generally not inclined to give people a pass because of ignorance.  It was actually so insulting it was funny.  For the rest of the week my brother called me the spare, or "My sister, the little doughnut."  Bwa ha ha!!!  The funniest thing was that to get to service we drove my SIL's SUV.  SIL and brother were in the front, the grandparents fought over who got to sit next to the nephew in the back seat and I...was in the back end.  With the spare tire.  Ha ha ha ha ha!!! 

Monday was shopping day and it was nice.  That evening brother, SIL, and I went to see King Kong.  It was very exciting, if a bit long (an HOUR to get to the island?  Who are you kidding?  Get to the monkey, Jackson!)  Kong fought 3 T. Rexes, holding the girl in his hand the whole time--amazing!  It's a great popcorn movie and I recommend everyone see it on the big screen, but I have no desire to see it again, whereas I've seen the original Kong at least 20 times and have watched it twice in one day on occasion.  The remake just doesn't have rewatchability, though if they cut about 30 minutes from the beginning it would help.  Seriously.  Keep the shot of Adrien Brody without his shirt, though.  Rowr.   8)

The next day SIL and nephew went to her parents' house and brother stayed an extra day with us.  Mom and Dad dropped him off at the in-laws the next day on the way home.  Mom tried out her new present (a GPS) and didn't get lost once.      Brother found the first 5 episodes of Witch Hunter Robin at Big Lots for $3 so we watched that.  I like it.  It's 2 parts X-files and one part Buffy.  I want the whole series now. 

My brother trimmed an inch off of my hair and it looks much better.  He also took some pics of my hair with my new digital camera.  Now all I need is:  1.  to perfect my back-of-the-head-in-the-mirror technique, and 2.  a way to upload the pictures.  I tried to take pics of Bogie, but he hates the flash.  His eyes are tightly shut in all of his pics.  Now he turns his head away from me until I turn the camera off.  Stubborn.   

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It's this one here.  If you "click to enlarge" you'll get a little movie showing the cat disappearing.  Mom got mine in a little gift shop.  Sigh.  We found it after SIL left so we didn't tell her or my brother.  I'm really bummed about it, though. 

We should start a support group.   

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I'm dreading it, actually.  That's why I'm hanging out here at work instead of bravely facing things like a woman.  There's always pain when introducing a new cat and the boys have been so clingy since their abandonment.  Ah well, once more into the breach and all that.


***CROSS POST ALERT***

Over on the LHC there's a thread about our routines and I outlined mine.  It turned out so nicely I'm gonna put it here:

Face:
AM: 1. Either OCM (blend of grapeseed oil, salicylic acid powder, lavender eo and grapefruit eo) or WO.
2. Use toner made with rooibos tea, ACV, and aspirin.
3. Spot treatment with homemade tendskin.
4. Moisturize with storebought acne-fighting moisturizer and an oil control moisturizer which doesn't work but I use it anyway.

PM: 1. OCM to remove makup
2&3 Same as AM
4. Use acne-fighting moistuizer only

Hair:
AM: 1. Comb
2. Add oil or oil/aloe mixture to canopy if needed.
3. Style

PM: 1. Take down hair and comb
2. Scritch scalp (on non-hairwash night)
3. Rub aloe gel on scalp (on non-hairwash night)
4. Add light oil to canopy of hair (if needed)--jojoba, raspberry seed, sweet almond, etc.
5. Comb
6. Braid
7. Add red palm oil or aloe butter to braid tassel.

Hair washing: On Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
1. Wash with CV shampoo bar
2. Wash ends only with CV body bar if needed.
3. Rinse well. Pour herbal tea rinse (with ACV added on Sunday) over head.
4. Squeeze out excess water, wrap (stained) Turbi towel around head.
5. At bedtime, remove towel, detangle, add leave-in (CB's SIAS), go to bed.

I have started a new routine.  I made a hair spritz (mentioned in my 12/21 entry) and I only put in 1/4-1/2 oz of glycerin but that was too much--made my hair look greasy.  The spray bottle was only half full so I added 5 more oz of water and another oz or so of aloe and a touch more oil.  That took care of it.

Anyway, when at my brother's house on Tuesday I only did a scalp wash, so on Wednesday my length had that nasty dirty hair smell.  I sprayed it with the hair spritz and braided it up for bed.  The next morning my hair smelled much better and it was very soft, less tangly, and less greasy!  I am now using the spritz after scritching on non-hairwash nights.  I detangle and scritch, then spray the canopy a few times, lift up my hair and spray the undercoat and braid.  I add red palm or coconut oil to the tassel and then spritz my scalp and the front of my hair. 

I've had to use so much more oil since winter started that my nice wooden comb is really gunky and my hair is getting linty.  Hopefully the spritz will help that as well.

BPAL:  Hearth (candied chestnuts, buttered, covered in brown sugar and honey, alongside the scent of cedar smoke and soft pine)  My second try with this.  The first time it was very heavy and almost harsh.  It's much better the second time; lighter and sweeter but still grounded with the smoke.  It's a keeper.   

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

(deep breath)

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is IT!  No more cats!  When these four (FOUR!  Oh my God, FOUR!) die that's it, that's all.  I"m getting some fish or maybe a nice Beanie Baby or two.

Gorey did not like being carried inside.  He thought he was going to the vet again, and since at the last visit he lost his balls, and heaven knows what might be removed this time--anyway, he stuck a claw deep into my stomach in his mad rush to escape.  So, now he's in.  He then proceeds to MEEEEOOOOWWW! for 4 hours straight, except for a couple of brief catnaps.  Sigh.  He settled down after that.  He only woke me up 3 times Saturday night, and by Sunday afternoon he decided that he liked being inside.  Before, if he wanted to be petted, he would have to sit outside the patio door and meow, and meow, and meow, and meow....until lazy Mom Cat got off her lazy butt and went out on the porch and petted him for 2 minutes if he were lucky; now he just jumps on part of Mom Cat's anatomy, mEEEOOOwing all the while and he gets petted.  Neat, huh?  And when it rains, as it did all day yesterday, he's snug inside instead of having to sit under the porch with a wet behind.  So he's reasonably happy.

Bogie and Rumpole are not happy.  Rumpole still growls a bit if poor Gorey tries to sniff him and they've had a couple of physical tiffs, but Bogie is furious.  He is completely beside himself.  He didn't come upstairs until yesterday evening, and I've only petted him twice.  He won't allow himself to purr, either.   No-one will eat their treats and Bogie hasn't eaten for 2 days now.  He also does his best evil growling demon impression when Gorey's in the room. (It's a pretty good impression, too.  Last time he did it, 3 priests called asking if I needed an exorcism.  I should have taken them up on it.)

Sigh.

Today is the first time they'll be alone together.  I'm planning on getting home early tonight if at all possible.  It's hairwash night, trash take out night, and now keep the @$#%@$@ cats from killing each other night.

Mom has forbidden me to leave any more cat food outdoors ever.

It is nice to see how happy Gorey is.  Last night he snoozed on the bed while I watched TV (the bed was always Rumpole's territory and Gorey has usurped it completely.  I tried to point out to Rumply that Gorey was only sleeping on a bit of it and he could have the rest, but no go.) and he was so relaxed and furry and soft and adorable...  He feels safe.  Or as safe as one can feel when the Bog is gunnin' for ya.

Sakina, for my unbirthday I want some kitty Valium, and maybe a pill or two for Mom Cat as well. 

Omigosh omigosh omigosh - I must get one of those mugs! 

Cats are so dramatic!  I think you can do a whole reality show with cats as the cast.  Hopefully you won't leave and come home to find Gorey strung upside down by his toenails.  Or passed-out with his head buried in the litter box.  Sounds like the other two are screaming bloody murder.   

Cynde