Salutations

[zannej]

Thanks, Frodo & Meerkat.
Frodo, we need to catch up. We haven't chatted much lately. I imagine you've been pretty busy.
We had meerkats at the zoo where I worked-- I remember the other keepers complained that they constantly dug under the wire of their enclosures & would bite people. LOL.

 

[Weedygarden]

Welcome from Colorado!

I feel your challenge! I bought a HUD house 30 years ago that needed lots of work when I bought it and it continues to need work. I have personally done many things to improve my home, but finances, skill levels and physical limitations are always a concern. My house was originally built in 1890. It is a two story Victorian and almost 2000 square feet. Working on my house has laid me up a few times. I have to pace myself. It is much better than it used to be, but there are many things to do.

 

[zannej]

Thanks, Weedygarden. Sounds like you have a beautiful home. My parents and I always liked Victorian style. One of the frustrating things is, before we were transferred overseas, we had the place fixed up rather nicely but the tenants wrecked it all. One of our older friends tried to warn my parents not to trust the tenant but my father thought the guy could be trusted because he was best friends with the Chief of Police.. Turns out the chief had bad taste in friends, but the friendship ended while we were overseas.

 

[zannej]

So, since this posting Fry never returned and Obsidian disappeared. But, we got two more kitties. Solid black siblings named Namir (male) and Temjin (female).
These are very old pics of them. Since they are black & won't hold still it's hard to get good pics of them where they are visible. Namir has a bit of white on his chest and belly. He has a longer face. Temjin has a shorter nose and big eyes.

Biscuits is currently blocking my screen.


One of these days I'll do pictures of all of them. LOL.

 

[zannej]

I'm down to 12 cats. Sir Hammington and Predicate both disappeared. No idea what happened to them but I miss them dearly. Namir started having seizures and the vet refused to treat him and put him down. He was only a year old. A few weeks ago Temjin just dropped dead. Found her in the kitchen- no signs of injury or illness. She was fine and then she just dropped. Eyes were closed so it looks like she went in her sleep. That one really hit me hard.

The other kitties all seem to be fine at least.

I got a new cat tree and Rupert loves to sit in the hammock.

Remind me I need to get pics of Gravy Jones, Rupert, Ginger, Boo (with his current ear situation), & Mewlatto. I have them somewhere to post but I'm too lazy to dig right now.

 

[Pearl]

I'm down to 12 cats. Sir Hammington and Predicate both disappeared. No idea what happened to them but I miss them dearly. Namir started having seizures and the vet refused to treat him and put him down. He was only a year old. A few weeks ago Temjin just dropped dead. Found her in the kitchen- no signs of injury or illness. She was fine and then she just dropped. Eyes were closed so it looks like she went in her sleep. That one really hit me hard.

The other kitties all seem to be fine at least.

I got a new cat tree and Rupert loves to sit in the hammock.

Remind me I need to get pics of Gravy Jones, Rupert, Ginger, Boo (with his current ear situation), & Mewlatto. I have them somewhere to post but I'm too lazy to dig right now.

How much fun, just read the whole thread!!

 

[zannej]

The hammock on the cat tree seems to be the favorite spot for the kitties.
Just got a new satin throw-- may sound weird, but I like to feel the satin against my feet when I'm trying to get to sleep. Ginger LOVES it. She climbed on it immediately and refuses to get off of it. Gravy Jones and Itsy are also sleeping on it. Biscuits is stretched out over my chest (I'm leaning back quite a bit) & Rupert is in the crook of my left arm while stretching his paws toward my face.
Not the best pic of him, but while I was assembling the cat tree, Senator Snugglebum decided to sit on one of the cushioned tiers. Aminatu sat on other pieces.

Older pic of Snugglebum in a box

He's a very muscular cat and LOVES people.
This is Rupert sitting on top of my disgusting old computer. He's got his eyes shut so you can't see that his left eye is glossed over & he's blind in that eye.

Here's a fuzzy one of Rupert looking through the window-- you can see his eye looks weird

Fippy's face has gotten more white fur and he appears to have cataracts in his eyes now.

Biscuits on top of the potato bin

This pic doesn't capture how adorable Itsy is. She has the cutest eyes and makes the cutest sounds.

Boo had a swollen ear. Vet refused to drain it. It popped on its own and now it is wrinkled up. He's our oldest cat. I believe we got him in 2009 or 2010. He will beat the crap out of Snugglebum but he loves Itsy and they groom one another. He's also very cuddly with people. He does more of a chitter than an actual meow.

 

[zannej]

Another pic of Boo-- after he chased Snuggy out of the box.

Boo likes to sleep on his back-- sometimes flat on his back but he was slightly rolled in this pic.

Princess after pulling everything out of the laundry hamper and having dragged in some trash from the kitchen. She weighs about 19lbs and Fippy weighs about 15lbs. She has such a cute face I can't stay mad at her.

Princess in her "nest". She steals pillows and blankets off my bed

Kwai-Ying with a friend

I know I have better pics of Gravy Jones, Lady Sylvanas, and Ginger somewhere. Just not finding them. Will have to go through my phone. Need to get a more recent pic of the other cow.

 

[Pearl]

Another pic of Boo-- after he chased Snuggy out of the box.
View attachment 120366
Boo likes to sleep on his back-- sometimes flat on his back but he was slightly rolled in this pic.
View attachment 120371Princess after pulling everything out of the laundry hamper and having dragged in some trash from the kitchen. She weighs about 19lbs and Fippy weighs about 15lbs. She has such a cute face I can't stay mad at her.View attachment 120369Princess in her "nest". She steals pillows and blankets off my bedView attachment 120372
Kwai-Ying with a friend
View attachment 120370
I know I have better pics of Gravy Jones, Lady Sylvanas, and Ginger somewhere. Just not finding them. Will have to go through my phone. Need to get a more recent pic of the other cow.

Yay, lots of animal lovers here!! I personally never get enough of looking at pictures!!

 

[Dani]

My heart hurts for you losing Namir, actually a couple kittens, with Temjin just dropped dead. I know I lose a goat now and then, it still hursts when it happens even after all these years. And then after 8-14 year, I lose a dog, who all is part of my family. The 8 1/2 year old Princess was a girl that wondered up as a younge adult. She was very skiddish with tar all over her body. She trusted me before she she eventually felt confortable with all of the family.

 

[Ray1965]

Welcome from Wisconsin, you're gonna love this forum. Have a blessed evening

 

[Weedygarden]

Thank you for sharing photos of your animals. Princess has that look that I call rascally. There is something about the wire hair that goes all different directions that I really like. Daughter was taking care of two such dogs this past weekend: Murphy and Toby.

 

[Dani]

@zannej Is Ginger going to get off the hammock part of your cat tree long enough for you to put it together?

 

[zannej]

@Dani, Ginger seems to like the top square "cave" part. I should have gotten a picture but needed to charge my phone. Yasuke has been sleeping on one of the cushioned tiers. Namir's death really hit my brother hard. He was my brother's baby. Only cat that was allowed in his room and he loved being held. My brother cried pretty hard over him. We're both still miffed at the vet for not even trying to help him. She's misdiagnosed quite a few times but its hard to find good vets in this area.

@Weedygarden Princess is a very sweet dog. That crazy fur makes it so she doesn't smell as bad as short-haired dogs. Her previous owner got her fur trimmed though. Not sure if she ran off or if her owner died or got put in a nursing home. She clearly was around an elderly/disabled person from the way she behaves-- waits for people to go through doors, often waits for permission to go through a door after someone goes through, understands "please move" and "can I get up please?". She was in the room with Mom one of the times Mom fell and was very upset because she didn't know how to help. When I was choking on some food she was whining and fretting over me. For the record, while I was choking Fippy took the opportunity to steal my food.

Oh, I still need pics of Yasuke. It's not always easy to get good pics of him. He doesn't like to hold still or the lighting isn't good enough.

Thanks @Ray1965

 

[zannej]

Ginger in the new cat tree

Lady Sylvanas and Aminatu (yes, that stove is disgusting-- we don't use it).

Lady Sylvanas solo

Yasuke (its hard to get good pictures of black cats)

Didn't crop this one bc I found it funny that Mewlatto's eyes were reflecting from inside the room

without flash

I tried to get a good picture of Gravy Jones but he kept moving his head and all the shots came out blurry. But I captured Mewlatto with flash when he was moving on top of the tv stand
Face ended up blurry but the posture was funny. He was waving at me. He likes to wave his paw at me when he wants me to pet him or wants me to do something for him-- like open a door or feed him.

 

[zannej]

Gravy Jones

 

[zannej]

Yasuke on a bin. Had to use flash to get it so I couldn't see what I was trying to take a picture of. LOL

Gravy Jones in the front, Itsy to the rear left, and Biscuits on the lower tier on the right.

Itsy on one of the cushioned tiers

Gravy Jones on a cushioned tier on the left, Itsy on a cushioned tier on the right, Biscuits in the front sniffing a ball, & Lady Sylvanas wanting attention.

 

[Alaskajohn]

Is it too late for me to say Welcome from Alaska? Looks like you beat me in joining the forum a few months before I did so I wasn’t here to say hello.

A belated welcome from Alaska!

 

[zannej]

Is it too late for me to say Welcome from Alaska? Looks like you beat me in joining the forum a few months before I did so I wasn’t here to say hello.

A belated welcome from Alaska!

Thanks! Welcome to you as well!

The kitties are still enjoying their cat tree. Lady Sylvanas has spent more time on it than she has in the cabinets, which is a good thing. other cats have been able to sleep in Aminatu's favorite spot because she's been cuddling with my brother more.
Fippy and Princess out in the yard this morning.

 

[sonya123]

wow you have a lot of cats!!!
Nice cows too, do you still have them?
Never seen this thread before either, maybe I joined after?

 

[zannej]

Possibly. I still have the two cows, but the black cow has a displaced hip and I haven't been able to get the vet to come out and see her. Not sure if he'd be able to do anything for her though. Poor thing limps but she still gets around. I just realized I forgot to put the hay out when I got home. I'll have to do that later.

 

[Dani]

Do you put out the round bales? That's what we use. Down to only 4 cattle. 2 bull, cause my Hunny has to have his "pet", 1 cow and 1 little heifer calf.

 

[zannej]

Do you put out the round bales? That's what we use. Down to only 4 cattle. 2 bull, cause my Hunny has to have his "pet", 1 cow and 1 little heifer calf.

I've been trying to get them but have a hard time finding someone who will deliver. There's a store that sells the round bales and delivers but they will deliver rotten hay. The remnants of said rotten hay from over a year ago are still sitting in my yard.
I contacted some place but they wanted me to call them and then refused to return messages. Really need to get at least a few bales and have them far enough away that they won't affect my brother-- who is severely allergic to hay. So, they need to go into the barn yard rather than out front. The small bales with molasses are ok since the cows eat them so quickly.

 

[zannej]

Kitties are all doing well. Lady Sylvanas likes to hide in spots on the cat tree and then either leap out or swat at other cats as they go by. Bethesda does the same. Sylvanas is spending less time inside the cabinet when she has her nice spots on the cat tree.
I'm bored while trying to get my brain to let me sleep. Napped a lot today because of being sick with sinus and ear infection.
So I made this collage of what I'm wearing to my friend's wedding. Some is from stock photos but I added pics of the shoes and straps (and end of the pants). I'm going to try to get Mom to wear a matching outfit if she'll agree to it. I already got her the shirt. I ordered another pair of pants for her to try on. If she doesn't like them then I have an extra pair. Not sure what we'll do for shoes for her as she'll most likely be sitting in a wheelchair most of the time. I did get her a different belt and her turban has gold beads instead of black. I wanted one without beads but they never sent it and the one with beads was cheaper. Mom hates her hair, even though it is still dark brown with very little gray, so she covers it up all the time. I got the belt so the shirt doesn't look like a sack and detachable shoe strap thingies (they have elastic on the bottom and fit over the shoe and can be secured underneath) to keep the shoes from falling off.

The theme colors of the wedding are red, black, white, and gold.
This is my partial collage of Mom's outfit (the turban does not have that brownish tint). Black roses are part of the theme and I'm not a flower person so I thought that would look good on Mom.

I really miss polyvore and the collage maker thing it had.

 

[zannej]

Mom ended up wearing a black shirt instead of the red and she found some sparkly shoes. She used the same socks I had though. And she had a sparkly jacket.

This is what Mom wore to a different wedding for our cousin's son. I forgot to blur faces on my sister and uncle. Oops. Not clear enough pics of them anyway.

This is what I wore to that wedding: Same shirt as Mom but I wore a tailcoat.

Kitties and cows are doing ok still. I do miss Temjin and Namir. They died too young. Wish I knew what happened to Sir Hammington and Predicate. They just disappeared and I miss them.

yard is overgrown with trees. A neighbor came over to bush hog. I'll have to ask him about buying round hay bales. He sometimes brings them to me and I pay him for them. He came to mow today.

This is the most recent google maps image of my property.

This is the front few acres that got bush-hogged today.

I want to put an 8x10 shed in the general area where the circle is

 

[OldSchool]

I'm zanne & I'm diysite-aholic. I live in the deep south on a 30+ acre rural property in the woods. It used to be a farm but has fallen in to disrepair. I live with my disabled widowed mother and my little brother (who just turned 40). I'm a full-time caregiver for my mother. We have 2 cows, 2 dogs, and 16 cats. Our former tenants made a mess of the place & there were things that weren't done right when the house was first built so we've slowly been trying to fix things.

There are 3 bedrooms (two with ensuites) and 3 bathrooms but only 1 bathroom is functioning. I'm still working on repairing my ensuite's floor so I can install a toilet and then put in a wall set for my shower & update from the 2 handle system to single lever. My mother's ensuite (the fugly green room) needs to be updated to be ADA compatible so we are working on that. The avocado green one-piece showertub needs to be gutted, it needs new paint, new floor, and some grab bars. We are replacing the toilet with a taller one soon (a Toto Eco Drake). Right now the closet flange is broken & needs to be replaced but the plumber won't return my calls (there are only 2 licensed plumbers in the area but only 1 will come out to my house).

The biggest project is the bathroom & laundry room reno. We need to tear down some non-loadbearing walls, repair floors, move plumbing, and swap the laundry room with the bathroom.

I am only slightly handy but I'm not very strong & not very coordinated. I used to help my late father with projects. Another project is fixing up his workshop (which is a separate building). I am hoping to learn more and get more confident with power tools (and figure out what the hell the tools in the workshop are and how to use them). I have health issues that make it difficult to do things, but I'm trying to be more productive.

I'm a massive procrastinator & my projects have been put off for years, but I'm trying to motivate myself to get things done. I've also been helping my best friend (who has the worst luck of anyone I've ever met) with fixing up his current house (I helped him fix up his old house before it burned). I learned how to install vinyl plank, helped him install cabinets, planned out his plumbing (making sure he used the right fittings), & painted his cabinets. Next up is helping him move his toilet & patch his floor, install metal roof (if I can manage any assistance), and installing a new shower-tub combo. I have a fascination with plumbing-- mostly the DWV side as I've had to fix a lot of things at my house by myself.

I love looking at pictures of things and I'm better at figuring out things from pictures than from words. I also babble a lot (gee, could you tell?)
TL: DR? Hi! I'm chatty.

Thanks to Havasu for sending me the link to this site. I hang out on a few of the forums he admins at.

Hi, “chatty” I would have never guessed if I didn’t stumble across your intro. lol

Might be a good thing I don’t have your impeccable typing skills.

 

[zannej]

So, my kitty Rupert got a bad inner ear infection and had to go to the vet. She sent him home with some medicine-- pills to take once daily, ear ointment 2x daily, and said he will take awhile to recover. That first day he got so bad he wouldn't open his eyes and couldn't lift his head. Wouldn't purr, and randomly cried out in distress. But yesterday morning he was able to lift his head and did better at swallowing the food I gave him via syringe. He still doesn't like the pedialyte but he swallows it. Early this morning (sort of last night bc it was still dark) he stood up on his own and crawled off my bed. He wandered around the hallway and kitchen very weakly. Day before I put him on his feet to get him to move around a little and he kept spinning in circles and falling over or leaning on things. He was able to walk somewhat straight but he did fall down a couple times. I helped him back up until he got too tired and sat down. So I took him back to bed. I got him a cat bed but he doesn't seem very fond of it. He'd rather be on my lap or curled up against me like he is now. I have a cardigan over him and he's snoring. He still won't eat by himself but he purrs and curls his paws around my fingers. Before he wasn't responsive like that. He's improving faster than I expected.
This was when he couldn't lift his head:

This was yesterday when he sat up

Yasuke stole the bed

 

[Pearl]

Sounds like he's pulling through, keep us updated!!

 

[zannej]

Sounds like he's pulling through, keep us updated!!

Thanks. I will probably have to get him diapers or something since he gets restless when he has to pee and won't stay still. He won't go to the litterboxes-- too unbalanced and doesn't want to be in them-- and he doesn't want to stay on the puppy pads. He's having a good nap right now.