I was putting away the Christmas china the other day – those mistletoe decorated plates, cups and saucers reserved for the Christmas dinner I host every year for family and friends. It hit me with a wave of nostalgia just how much life had changed as I carefully wrapped each piece in the same newspaper I’d been using as protective padding for years – newspaper dated December 31, 1994 – a quarter-century old. Read more

Back in the fall of 2015, I was laid off. I’d been laid off before, so I was experienced with the “it’s not you, you’re great, but we’re just going in a different direction,” scenario. Regardless of how they sugarcoat the blow, it’s demoralizing, and it hurts, especially considering I was living from paycheck to paycheck, so any negative change in income was bad news. Like grief, one tends to process the pain in various stages, and for me, one of the ways that helped get me through the days as I struggled to look for new employment was taking early morning walks around the neighborhood to clear my head and start each day with a positive outlook. Read more

October 26 is National Pumpkin Day, but with fall being in full swing, pumpkins will be a mainstay part of our lives for many weeks to come, from decorating for Halloween and Thanksgiving to cooking delicious pumpkin-inspired foods as well. But did you also know it turns out pumpkin is good for your feline friend, too! You don’t want them munching on the pumpkin from your front stoop, or eating canned pumpkin filling that has added sugars and sweeteners, but canned organic pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, and cooked fresh pumpkin have many benefits for cats, such as: Read more

Sleep in? Not on my watch, you won’t!

I’m a very early riser. Some due to the fact I have a day job, requiring I get up to make it to work by 8:30 a.m., and some due to seven restless cats with persistent paws to my face and demanding meows to my ear who insist a minute past 5:30 a.m. is bordering on abuse, because how dare I not have fed them breakfast yet? A lot of it is also simple mathematics – I have too much to do nowadays and getting up early gives me an extra hour or so to get personal things done (i.e., things involving my cat writing world) before I head to work. Read more

Happy 7th birthday to Kizmet!

Not every cat can share the same birthday as America without getting lost in the hoopla, but our Kizmet can because he’s truly one cool cat! Kizmet came into our lives in November of 2012 after I saw him in an adoption cage at Pet Supermarket and it was love at first sight. He always beat to his own drum, and as he celebrates his 7th birthday, he remains a very unique cat.   Read more