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.

PETS IN OUR LIVES AND IN OUR BOOKS

First, the winner of a free e-book from our Amazing Authors Event is Becky. I've sent her an email.

Friends and I were talking recently, teasing one friend because in all her books either the hero or heroine has a dog. I like that, and books I write usually include pets. Showing a character that is sympathetic to cats or dogs adds a dimension to the person. A gruff man who befriends a scruffy dog lets the reader know that the tough guy is not as heartless as he wants others to believe. He has instantly become more sympathetic to readers. In the movie “Hang ‘Em High,” Clint Eastwood is introduced to the audience driving cattle across a river. He gets off his horse and wades back into the river (wearing chaps) to save a young calf. Fast on his heels is a posse ready to hang him. Because of his compassion, we know this man has to be a good guy. Good thing, because that's the extent of character development for this movie.




Our Shih Tzu, Webster

 A heroine with a pet comes across as kinder and more nurturing. This is, of course, if the pets are well cared for. I hate, hate, hate books where a pet dies! Remember THE YEARLING? OLD YELLER? No thanks! Won’t read it.

Our family’s pets are all rescued animals that have become family members. I know their life span is shorter than ours, but don’t want to be reminded when I’m reading for pleasure.

Sebastian, our
17 lb. baby

Pets don’t have to be cats or dogs or horses. At a critique meeting once, I told my cp’s (critique partners) about my neighbor who raises beautiful rare hens. Yes, they are beautiful! Called blue-reds, they are rusty red with soft bluish wing and tail feathers. My citygirl cp thinks I should move into the city, too, and said, “You have to get out of the country, now!”

Bailey, our shy tabby

The first “real” mystery I read was by Erle Stanley Gardner and featured a parrot. I was about nine and don’t remember the title of the book. Sad, because that novel changed my life by showing me mysteries didn’t have to include Nancy Drew. But I digress. Again.

Pets add substance to any story, just as they do to our lives.
 
Thanks for stopping by!

ANY CAT LOVERS OUT THERE?

I thought so! And are your cats valued members of your family? Mine definitely are. As the staff for two cats, I’m pleased to present my review for a book of interest to all cat owners...or anyone who even contemplates adopting a feline companion. I highly recommend this book!

Darlene Arden’s THE COMPLETE CAT’S MEOW really is everything you need to know about your cat. Say you’ve had cats all your life and believe you know all about adopting and caring for a cat. Wanna bet?


For instance, did you know a group of cats is called a clowder? I didn’t. I also didn’t realize that not all vaccines are good or necessary. But which are which? Can your cat catch your cold or vice versa? Can you teach your cat not to scratch furniture? Darlene’s book answers all your questions in simple language and logical order.

THE COMPLETE CAT'S MEOW: EVERYTHING
YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CARING FOR
YOUR CAT by Darlene Arden from Wiley Publishing

Miss Delilah
Sue Kitty

Here's a genuine recommendation and example from me. If I’d had Darlene’s book several years ago, I could have spotted problems and prolonged the life (with quality) of my late pet, Miss Delilah Sue Kitty. Delilah died of renal failure, which I would have spotted when it could have been treated if I’d had a copy of THE COMPLETE CAT’S MEOW. But Delilah was sixteen, and I simply thought she was old and had kitty dementia that made her forget where the litter box was. (Unfortunately, she chose the dining room carpet instead, and we still can’t get the smell out.) The vet told us renal failure is the number one killer of elderly cats.


Darlene covers every aspect of cat ownership from before a kitten is born to caring for the elderly cat. Those of us who already have cats realize that each has its own personality and needs. By reading this book, we can meet our pets needs to provide them high quality long lives.

Darlene and friends

Whoa! Don’t think Darlene Arden is some sweet little old gray-haired cat lady crocheting anitmacassars while she coos to her 17 cats. Not at all! She is sweet, but Darlene Arden’s passion for helping animals live longer and better lives shines through in all she does. Whether she’s writing books or articles, speaking to breed clubs and other animal-related groups, attending veterinary conferences to increase her own knowledge and as a presenter, or interacting with individual pet owners, her goal is always the same -- to enhance the lives of dogs and cats.

Darlene with Crysteena of Drgon,
Pekingese owned by Nancy Ross
Photo by Mary Bloom

This amazing woman is an award-winning writer, lecturer, and author of “The Irrepressible Toy Dog,” (Howell Book House”) and “The Angell Memorial Animal Hospital Book of Wellness and Preventive Care for Dogs (Contemporary Books), is an internationally recognized authority on Toy dogs and their care, and a Certified Animal Behavior Consultant.


Darlene has written hundreds of articles and columns for all of the major dog and cat publications, as well as newspapers and general interest publications. A former member of Dog Writers’ Association of America, Inc., and former director of the Cat Writers’ Association and a member of Boston Authors, Darlene is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Maxwell Award, the Muse Medallion, and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals/American Humane Education Society’s Media Award for veterinary writing and animal welfare. There are more awards I won't mention because I'm starting to feel like a total slacker.

Darlene makes friends with
an Affenpinscher puppy
Photo by Mary Bloom

She also writes celebrity profiles and travel features. In fact, Leslie Nielsen said, “Darlene is a fine writer, and a witty lass who caught my personality as only a true professional could."

She is a frequent guest on radio and television, and she produces and hosts her own cable television show, “Creatively Speaking". Darlene is a popular and much acclaimed speaker. You may contact her through her website at www.darlenearden.com. Her blog "PerPETually Speaking" is at http://perpetuallyspeaking.blogspot.com

You understand now how qualified Darlene Arden is to write THE COMPLETE CAT’S MEOW! Wouldn't this book make a great gift? The buy link at Amazon is:
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Cats-Meow-Everything-Caring/dp/0470641673/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323815447&sr=1-1

Darlene's Barnaby and Bruiser,
Best friends

 

Caroline at work assisted
by Bailey, the shy tabby.

 
 
Thanks for stopping by!

“Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.” – Garrison Keillor.

WHAT IS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE?

Mary Ricksen, author

Mary Ricksen was born in Vermont, but it's cold sooo long, she wants to settle for scenic North Carolina. Mary enjoys the change of seasons. Spring, summer, winter, and fall all have such a unique flavor in North Carolina. However, she moved to Florida in 1980, and in West Palm Beach seasons are just too subtle. Mary moved a lot when she was young, from Canada to New York, and from Texas, to Florida. She met all kinds of people, and truly believes that the more rural the setting is, the more friendly people are. She says she’s been married so long it's like her husband's her left hip, but she'll keep him--he can fix anything!

Her dog Junior is a
 character in her current book

She has a beautiful secret garden, with everything from Plumeria to Penta. Wow, as I sit here freezing in North Central Texas, I wonder what could be better than sitting in a Florida garden with a good book and seeing the palms and ferns wave in the breezes. Winter must be the ideal time to be in Florida. (Wait! I lived in Florida for three years and remember the myriad of snakes in those gardens. On second thought, home is where the heart is, and mine's in Texas.) 

Mary's first book in her Time Can Heal Your Heart series  takes place on Lake Champlain in Vermont--her always home. She says the only thing like the Green Mountains are the Great Smokey's, and a little town called Bryson City, North Carolina that she calls, “My next home, hopefully!”

Available from
The Wild Rose Press

Mary is secretary of the Florida Romance Writers chapter of RWA. Her brand, "Know that love is truly timeless," strikes a chord with me. Her dog Junior appears in her first novel, TRIPPING THROUGH TIME, and there will be more pets in the next book. You Gotta Read Reviews gave her a great review: "Absolutely wonderful! An excellent first novel. Rated:You Gotta Read!" Woohoo, way to go, Mary!


In addition to writing, Mary is famous among romance writers as one of the co-hostesses of the well known Friday blog, Author Roast and Toast, along with Sharon Donovan and Hywela Lyn (and Sharon's butler, Oliver) at http://authorroastandtoast.blogspot.com/. That blog has given many authors a virtual party and an opportunity to publicize the release of their books. Mary's personal blog is http://maryricksen.blogspot.com/ and her website is http://www.maryricksen.com/ And now, Mary, take it away with your post for today:


        What Is Unconditional Love?

We all want it, we all need it. But, do we all find it? Have you ever felt that anyone loved you unconditionally?

Who doesn't
want love?

Who doesn’t want that handsome, sweet talking, sexy guy, to love you with his whole heart? Poets write about it, crooners sing about it, authors pen it, but it’s elusive. We write, and our stories end in happily ever after, because our characters love one another unconditionally.

Does your partner love you unconditionally? It’s about so much more then sex! It’s what makes your lover your best friend. When you know that person will be there for you no matter what. You know that person will tolerate your bad moods. Believe me those power surges of menopause can make you a tad moody.

Woman with a "headache"
reading a book in bed

The pain of that monthly curse can put you into a frenzy. You don’t always want to jump into bed. You might have, say--a headache. Or you might be pe-oed that he left the seat up. You forget to wash off the makeup and wake up looking like a ghoul. But you know that your partner will be there even when you look or act your worst. Or maybe when you start a fight because you feel like yelling. Of course, I never do anything like that. (Mary smiles. She never starts the fights, but she finishes them).

We crave love

The point is, that we crave it. Love fills us up and touches that special part of us. The place inside that makes us romantic. Those of us who write romance try to tell readers how our hero or heroine finds love. The more the conflict the better our tales are when our characters realize they finally sense it.


Unconditional love makes us happy, no matter where it comes from, or who feels it for us. The best example I can think of is my grandmother. At the time I was no more then six years old.

Statue of Liberty
view from ships

My grandmother was an immigrant that came over, “on the boat.” She remembered when she saw the Statue of Liberty. After a long tortuous trip, all the future Americans looked at it in awe. She told me that at that moment she was thinking how special our country really is. Especially after what her family had suffered. She used to say things to me in Polish that I don’t remember. She’d be mortified to know that the only Polish words I know now besides "I love you (Kocham cie)," are curse words. I worked with a girl from Poland, and it sure made my day to be able to say what I thought of my boss to his face, and he had no clue!

Grandma Mongiello

Well anyways… I visited my grandmother often; I was her namesake. To this day I use my middle initial so that up there somewhere, she knows I am still Mary Catherine Mongiello, just like her. Crippled with rheumatoid arthritis, my Gram could not walk without help. Whenever I stayed there I slept with her. She’d hug me all night long.

Gwumkies

One day after a meal of stuffed cabbage, called gwumkies, we went to bed early. All night long I had terrible gas. Cabbage will do that to a body. I mean every ten seconds I’d pass gas. It was awful, and I remember thinking she was sleeping so she’d never know. Well, the next morning she laughed as she told me she was awake most of the night.

I gulped and apologized for my gas bombs.
And she looked at me, totally serious, with the glow of love in her eyes and said, “But I love your farts!”

Now that, my friends, is unconditional love!

Thank you, Mary, a grandmother's love is unconditional. Thanks for sharing with us--the story, not the bombs. LOL

My Grandmother
Reynolds

My own grandmother also demonstrated unconditional love for her each of her children and grandchildren. Her maiden name was Frances Josephine Gamble, and she outlived two husbands: my grandfather John Witt Phifer and Henry Alonzo Reynolds. She was an especially sweet, shy but strong lady who practiced both her mottos, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything," and "Better to keep silent and have people think you're stupid than to open your mouth and convince them you are." If she thought I was being bratty, she'd say, "Pretty is as pretty does." Oh, not that it ever happened, mind you. But if I had been a brat, that's what she'd have said. Yeah, sure, that's what I meant.

Who, me?

The only thing I disliked about her was sleeping with her when she stayed with us while my uncle was in the hospital for six weeks. I was a teen, about junior high or early high school age. She was a snuggler, and would scooch me off the bed. About halfway through the night, I'd have to go around to the other side of the bed. She'd start snuggling again, but just before I rolled off the bed, it would be time to get up and get ready for school. As I said, she was a special lady, and I loved her tremendously even if, as an insular teenager, I didn't want to share my bed with her. Grandmothers put up with a lot, don't they?

What's your idea of unconditional love?

Goodbye To A Favorite Family Pet--Miss Delilah Sue Kitty

Before I report my sad story, let me announce that Sheila won the book for commenting on Alice Duncan's guest blog yesterday. Congratulations, Sheila. I've emailed you the download.

Last Friday our sixteen-year-old gray tabby, Miss Delilah Sue Kitty, died of renal failure. She’d been sick for a while and on medication in an attempt to reverse the problem. Sadly, she continued to deteriorate and was in pain, so we had her euthanized. What a sad day! Darling 2 went with Hero and me to the vet’s office to lend her support. Darling 1 called several times during the day to offer her support because she lives several hours away. Our vet is a lovely man and his primary tech is such a pet lover that all pets respond to her—people do, too. At least they made the decision and process less painful. The vet explained that giving Delilah Sue IV’s to rehydrate her would only be a temporary measure. She was so afraid of strangers, that we knew she would hate being in a pet hospital. She’d already endured too much. We opted for a quick, painless death.


This brings me to talking about pets in our lives. They become like family members, like furry children on four legs. They offer companionship and love and ask for very little in return. I believe they are sent into our lives for another reason—to teach us to deal with death. Losing a pet is hard; losing a loved one or close friend is harder.

At least for most of us. I have a friend whose husband said he no longer wanted to live when his favorite dog died. Fortunately, he finally responded to a new dog and now has a new reason to live. Another man in our town asked that he be cremated and buried in the back yard beside his favorite dog.

We buried Delilah in our back yard in a casket-like box our vet provided. I loved Delilah, but I hope to be cremated and enurned—a term we learned when my mom died and wanted to be cremated then buried in the plot beside my dad—beside my husband in a cemetery with a nice marker. I won’t be there, but I want people to know where I was.

Delilah Sue was not always a friendly cat. She loved to sit beside my keyboard to be near me when I’m writing. She also loved to sit ON the keyboard when she wanted more attention. Nothing subtle about Delilah. If she were angry, she would walk by and nip me. We used to leave her with Darling 2 when we went out of town, but it was too hard on Delilah and on Darling 2’s ankles. Darling 2 said she would rather drive out and check on Delilah at our home—it was less painful.

When Delilah was growing quite ill, Bailey and Sebastian lay on each side guarding her. The day before she died, Delilah tried to crawl under a chest to hide, so I knew she was trying to die in private. I put her in her basket under my dressing table so I could watch her all night.

We miss Delilah Sue and I think our other two cats and our dog miss her. Sebastian keeps querying me about something. I’m not fluent in catspeak, but I think he’s asking me a question about Delilah’s whereabouts. Bailey doesn’t seem to mind having Sebastian to herself. She’s quite smitten with Sebastian and seems to have forgotten that they’ve both been de-sexed. Perhaps she’s remembering the good ol’e days before her fateful trip to the vet. She’ll no doubt be slightly jealous when we get another female cat next month—Sela, an orange tabby that Darling 2 rescued. Shhhh, I haven’t explained about Sela to Hero yet.