Tag Archives: cats

I Just Wanted to Be Sure of You

May 17, 2013 By in United Stage Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 16 Comments

My grandparents are long gone, my mother died in 1963, daddy died in 1986, and my stepmother died in 2010. I guess that, technically, I am a 66 year old orphan – but I am lucky enough to have a big network of friends who have become my family.

I often take time to reflect on what a fortunate person I am. But no more than when I spend time with my friends. As Elbert Hubbard (who?) said, “A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.”

And I have gathered them from so many different parts of my life. Six of them gathered for a birthday dinner for me recently and we commented on that very thing. All six of us are linked by theater: five by Board membership at the Remy Bumppo Theatre Company and another friend who is a supporter of Remy Bumppo.

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Curiosity Can Kill More than the Cat

April 8, 2013 By in Dramatic Medicine Tags: , , , , , , , , , 19 Comments

This has been specifically written for cats and their owners, a lot of the information will apply to dogs and their owners as well.  If your cat is special to you, is a pedigree cat, or has unusual or special markings please, get it chipped. In Portugal this will cost between twenty-five and fifty euros and can be done by most vets.  These cats have a high risk of being stolen.

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The Harsh Realities of the Circle of Life

April 7, 2013 By in Memeingful Tags: , , , , , , , , 21 Comments

In the dim and distant past when I first had a job, I used to get a lift to work with a friend.  In return I would look after their family animals while they were away on holiday.  This meant feeding and mucking out three or four rabbits and four guinea pigs which lived in a huge wooden hutch in the garden. He would ruefully remark to me at times that he wished the animals he had bought to teach the children about life and death would actually oblige. They must have had the longest living rabbits and guinea pigs I have known.

Fast forward thirty five years and the cats of my lap in the Alentejo shed are giving me a prime example.

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The Cats of My Lap in the Alentejo Shed

March 10, 2013 By in Boles Blogs Tags: , , , , , , , 16 Comments

David mentioned to me the other day that I had broken one the cardinal sins of the internet, in that I had mentioned my cats in a post and had not provided pictures of them.

I introduced Black Momma and Touriga in my last post. These are the matriarchs of the tribe.  Next in seniority is Fleabag. Fleabag holds a special place in my heart. His mother Touriga sought sanctuary in the house after a particularly loud and vicious fight during my first weeks here. She arrived meowing on the doorstep with this tiny little scrap of a kitten audibly begging to be let in.

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Attitudes to Domestic Animals in Rural Portugal

March 9, 2013 By in Go Inside Tags: , , , , , 12 Comments

The attitudes toward domestic animals in rural Portugal was one of the first, and the hardest, lessons I had to learn on arrival here. In Portugal, with the exception of a few pampered pooches and overindulged kitties in the cities, most animals the western world consider to be domestic animals are, in fact, considered working animals and are treated as such.

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The Curious Case of the Missing “C” and Why David Has to Edit My Punctuation

March 7, 2013 By in WordPunk Tags: , , , , , , , , , 26 Comments

For economic reasons, I decided I was not going to ship my once state of the art gaming computer to Portugal when I moved.  ”The Beast,” as she was known, would have almost doubled my shipping costs by the time all the relevant insurances had been applied.  It was simply not worth it.

She was sold to friend with whom I hear she is very happy.

This meant that when I got here I shared a computer with Mr P.  As anyone knows, sharing a computer is a delicate affair at the best of times and although we did not come to blows or even utter a cross word it soon became apparent that we needed another computer.

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A Shed Story: 27 into 5 Does Not Go

March 3, 2013 By in Scientific Aesthetic Tags: , , , , , , , , , 15 Comments

Notwithstanding all the emotions involved the hardest part of moving several thousands of miles to a new country is what you take with you. Many people who undertake moves of this distance move en-masse as a family, often with the assistance of an outside agency such as work that will ultimately pay for your removals and help you through the last frantic months in one location and assist you at the other end. Large organisations have their own relocation services, either their own in-house or a specialist company contracted to do the same.

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Of Cats and Colleges

July 16, 2007 By in Boles Blogs Tags: , , Leave a comment

“C” as in “Cat.”

That’s how I was introduced to the English alphabet when I was a kid living in India: Two curious glittering eyes protruding from a bundle of fur had a whole new meaning for me!

But I am sure, it is going to change as “C” as in “College” pretty soon – with a picturesque, bright, “come hither” image of a prestigious ivy league institution, along with a promise of making a dream come true.

According to this report, as of October 2006, 65.8% of high school students are enrolled in colleges or universities in the USA and the trend seemed to be going higher.

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Why Cat People are Better than Dog Folk

March 4, 2007 By in Urban Semiotic Tags: , , , , 55 Comments

We love cats.

We love dogs.

We love all animals.

We do not, however, love all animal owners and in our direct experience and in our non-scientific research, we have come to the following conclusion: Cat People are better than Dog Folk and we’ll tell you why.

Freedom Over Control
Cats love to roam while dogs hang around. Cats are active explorers; dogs merely accompany.

Cats are self-entertaining — dogs need to perform for others to find self-satisfaction.

Independence Over Obedience
You do not tell cats what to do; you only make suggestions. Dogs live to be ordered around.

Cats choose owners that believe in liberty, freedom and The American Way and that means cats are self-providers: They can hunt down and kill their own dinner.

Dogs are bound to those who leash, command, and demand slobbering affection; dogs depend on the kindness of others to have their feed bowls filled twice-a-day.

Cats climb trees and fall from them without getting hurt. Dogs chase cats up trees so they can wonder at the example of “Falling, But Living” in the example of Nine Lives.

Pooping Over Eating Poo
Cats do not eat their own poo — dogs do. Enough said.

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