RELAX AND RECOVER AND RESCUE!

If you celebrated Christmas at home, perhaps today is without guests as it is for Hero and me. We were excited and happy to have our daughters with us for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Now they've returned to their own homes and our house seems exceptionally quiet.

Hero insisted on doing all the holiday cooking. Today, however, he is recovering from all the extra tasks he accomplished over the past few days. He's thinking of scaling back on food next year and I agreed we should. What's important is being together, not the foods we eat.

Santa recovering

I should add that Hero's not wearing a Santa suit as is the above cartoon Santa. Plus, when Hero leans back in his recliner, a cat is in his lap. That's sort of a funny story.

Flash back a few years to 2006: Our tuxedo cat, Sebastian, was a tiny runt when Hero rescued him from being sent to the pound. Sebastian was too young to be without his mother so we fed him formula for baby cats. Soon, he graduated to what looked exactly like rice pablum for a human baby. From there, he went on to cat food and grew and grew and grew. He is now too long for an ordinary litter box and needs a longer and taller style for his twenty+ pounds. He was supposed to be Hero's cat. In a remarkably rare occurrence, Sebastian bonded with me instead. He keeps me in sight when he can. In sight, yet he is only cuddly when he is in the mood. At night, he sleeps beside me or at my feet at what he considers his share of the bed. When I'm at my computer, he often jumps up to drape his long form across my desk and left arm. Soon he grows restless because my fingers/hands move. If I'm up late writing, he comes in to tell me it's bedtime. Cats are very much creatures of habit, aren't they?

Sir Sebastian on our bed.

Our youngest daughter had the most wonderful dog in the world, Findley, a shih tzu. We loved Findley and wanted a dog like him. So, in 2007 we adopted a rescued shih tzu, Webster, supposedly for me. Yeah, right. Webster bonded with Hero and they became buddies. I have an ankle problem that makes walking on uneven ground risky and difficult. So, usually Hero walked the little guy. Webster was a sweet dog but developed congestive heart problems and has passed away.

Webster, our rescued shih tzu

Meanwhile, I longed for a cat that would sit in my lap and keep me company while I wrote. So, we rescued Max, a Manx cat. However, Max instantly bonded with Hero and is only happy when Hero is near. (Hero has this amazing way with animals!). When Hero leaves to take care of an errand or even goes to the mailbox, Max calls for him and is restless until Hero returns. When Hero watches documentaries, Ted Talks, and space shots online, Max sits in his lap. When we watch television in our family room, Max sits on Hero's lap. At night, Max sleeps at Hero's feet. That is, until Max decides it's time to get up, and then he taps on Hero's face.

Max in Hero's lap

Since Webster passed away, Max has been even more Hero's companion. Now, the two are sitting back to relax and recover from all the extra tasks Christmas involved. Hero had all that extra cooking and Max had to patrol the rooms to be sure no invaders were infiltrating. Their relaxation is safe until after January 6th/Twelfth Night when we take down the tree and decorations. Max will enjoy that. Hero, probably not. 

Our latest rescue is Jasmine, a beautiful cat with soft, silky fur. I think she's what you'd call a long-haired Balinese, but we aren't certain. She hung out on our patio several days trying to catch squirrels and birds. This is not all right with us. We put out food for both and don't want them harassed or killed. In vain, we tried to locate Jasmine's owners. None of our neighbors had lost her but apparently she had been sleeping in the hothouse next door. That angered the owner and he threatened to call animal control. Sigh. What else could we do--we adopted her. Our cats are indoor-only pets. We took her to the vet to see if she had a microchip as well as to get her health checked. She is super-shy but loves to be petted as long as no one tries to lift her. She still flinches if someone moves quickly, even though she's had loving care from us. I'm sure someone was mean to her in her past.

Shy Miss Jasmine

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and can relax this week. I'll be writing--usual for me--and Hero will be doing the usual for him.