Blueboy turns eleven this month. As the average cat lives anywhere from ten to eighteen years, with the average of Persian cats being about fifteen years, I feel more than a little weepy when I realize that Blueboy is definitely getting up there in age. While I love all four of my cats (and Leah!), Blueboy is extra-special to me. You see, he originally belonged to my grandparents. My mother took my grandmother to a Persian cat breeder in September of 2000 and gave her the choice of any kitten there. My grandmother saw Blueboy and promptly fell in love with him. While she thought nothing of leaving her dogs at home when she and my grandfather would travel from Philadelphia to stay with us on weekends, Blueboy always came along. If he disappeared somewhere in the house my mom and I would have to tear it apart to find him, while my grandmother sat tearing up worrying that he somehow got out and got away (which of course never happened). Both she and my grandfather spoiled him rotten. And I can’t tell you how many rolls of film my grandfather went through just taking pictures of Blueboy in various rooms and poses!

In the summer of 2004, with my grandparents in the process of settling into their new home near my mom’s, they left Blueboy with my mom so he wasn’t stressed out by the moving and unpacking of things. Blueboy didn’t like this at all, and showed his displeasure by crawling under the covers of my mom’s bed and peeing directly on her. She was furious, so I went over that very day to pick him up, as she was threatening to dump him off at the local animal shelter (at the time my grandmother was stressed out, and as we found out later just months away from dying, so she didn’t object, even though she was very upset).

Blueboy has been with us ever since. My grandfather loved him almost as much as my grandmother did, perhaps even more so since Blueboy was his only living connection to her after she died on December 23rd, 2004. And now that my grandfather has been dead for almost two years (he died on June 11th, 2009), Blueboy is my only living connection to both of my grandparents. He is friendly and sweet, but more than anything presents and carries himself as being very smug, regal and self-assured. On occasion he shows his displeasure with us for one trivial matter or another (such as swatting him off of a pile of clean clothes or shooing him out of our bedroom at night) by peeing on our duvet or yacking a hairball on Dan’s pillow (or desk chair, coat or laptop), but obviously we put up with his antics.

It goes without saying that a small part of me will die when Blueboy does. I can only hope that he will continue to live a healthy, happy life, and that he will live a long time.

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Anyway, I’m on my way out to go pick up my brother. I’m looking at about four and a half total hours of driving today, since he needs to be picked up, brought back here to my house, then taken back again, but I’m hoping to get my mom to do the afternoon driving.

P.S. Wouldn’t you know that Blueboy had to yak a hairball on my freshly steam-cleaned living room carpet? Bastard. I guess he’s pissed at me because the kibbles ran out about two hours ago, and you know he and the other cats are just positively starving.

P.P.S. Speaking of kitties, I’m the one that has to break the news to my brother about Merlin. We don’t really want to ruin the day by doing so, but Alyssa (unfortunately, she was with my mom when Merlin was found) won’t stop saying “Merlin is still dead”, so we know it would come out sooner or later.

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Last night I informed Dan that whenever Blueboy does die (he’ll be nine in the spring), I’m going to have him cremated and I’ll keep his remains in a small urn in our house. Dan said that he didn’t care, so long as I didn’t have him out in the living room. I responded, saying that wouldn’t be an issue, as I’d keep Blueboy in his favorite room — our bedroom (though amazingly, as I type this he is sitting next to me on the arm of the recliner here in the living room). Dan came back with a pretty good quip about keeping the urn on his pillow, since that’s where Blueboy loves to be.

Ahh, cats. So much personality in such pretty, furry packages!

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Dan is thrilled that he’s turning our daughter into a little gamer girl. I don’t mind, except that now she and Ryan both think it’s okay to sit on the coffee table. And it’s not… Dan says he can’t sit on the sofa because then he’s too far away from the television. I can’t argue with him there. And if I did, I’d probably be suckered talked into getting a larger television. Pfft. I don’t know about you guys, but I can think of better things to drop a grand on.

Yesterday I stopped by the post office to check my PO box, and a gift from my Lavish Secret Santa arrived! :biggrin: There was a lovely blue jewelry stand for me, a Hello Kitty necklace for Alyssa, and a cute miniature clip-on tie. My SS thought it would be great for Leah, or even the cats. I think Blueboy took to the tie quite well:

However, he wasn’t so thrilled about reindeer antlers.

I guess I’ll leave those for the dog, who will let me do just about anything to her, so long as I croon to her in the right tone of voice and give her some treats.

The kidlets are napping right now. As soon as they’re up, we’re going out. I have a few more gifts to buy, household essentials to replenish and baking ingredients to stockpile for a weekend of baking (or so I hope), so I’ve made my list, checked it twice, and I’m armed with my payments for those 22,000 words I did earlier this week. :D

Thank you for subscribing to Jenn.nu's RSS feed! ♥ Jenn | Flickr: kiss-my-kitty | Twitter: @kissmykitty

So what’s up? Not too much. The 21st was kind of mopey for me. Apparently January 21st is the most depressing day of this year, and I believe it! I also had Amy’s death weighing heavily on my mind, so I really felt down.

We have new cell phone numbers. I’ve contacted a few people with my new number. If you had my number before, and haven’t heard from me regarding the new one, please leave me a comment or drop me an email.

Dan has his four day off request for the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th of February pretty much approved, so we’re starting to make some early plans in regards to Pittsburgh!!! (Can you sense my EXCITEMENT? Oh dear god, I can’t wait!) Of course, the first issue to tackle is where to stay. We can’t exactly drive out to Pittsburgh and fall into our old apartment, so yeah… I’m going to be looking around at hotels and motels and checking on prices and availability for that particular weekend. Wouldn’t it suck if for some crazy reason we couldn’t find anything?!

And… he’s picking up his W2 tomorrow. TAX REFUND TIME WHEE!

Oh, and I’m happy to report that Blueboy is pretty much back to himself. He’s still a little hissy with Kirin, but that aside he’s back to his regal, I’m-better-than-you self, deigning to grace my desk and other furniture with his presence.

Thank you for subscribing to Jenn.nu's RSS feed! ♥ Jenn | Flickr: kiss-my-kitty | Twitter: @kissmykitty