Fostering and losing your heart

I have three cats of my own , well inside, and two outside. One is the mother cat of the kittens I had fostered for the SPCA. Anyways when I go down to the basement to clean the litter boxes for my cats I always go in the room where I kept the kittens. Their blankets are still there, their toys they played with are there, the memories of the little sweeties are there. Why? Well I like to think in case I decide to foster again. But I think it is thinking about them being in there with their sweet welcome when I let them out to play in the entire basement or to feed them. But... when I go in there the tears begin too. Cause I miss those little dickens. I miss Jet who would look up at me and cry loudly when he was hungry, Skittles with her little tuffs sticking out from behind her ears looking like little horns, Scamp who would jump up on my knee as soon as I sat down. Those three left first and it was hard to take them over to the SPCA and watch them take the wee ones away from me. God that hurt, really bad.  I tried not to look at them in one of their carriers but I did and they were all three looking at me , asking where I was going as I went out the door.  I knew they would be taken care of , not like I did because I was always petting them, loving them up... lol or would they .:)  I was told the next day they were taken to a Pet Smart and were adopted out right away.  I do not know where they are but I am ever hopeful they found good homes.
 The last kitten stayed with us one more week till a woman from a hour drive away could come and get her. My cousin arranged for this woman to adopt Lucy ( new family changed her name) and she had to wait a week to come and get her. Lucy was the kitten that almost always beat me up the staircase up into the main part of house.  She stayed in the room downstairs one night alone and that was it we let her just wander the house.  And we fell in love with her. She had the cutest little prrrrr with a meow on the end every time you called her name.  She would curl up with us and sleep on our shoulder or lap. Even the other cats and the dog got along with her by the time she left . I believe they missed her as much as we did.  I still can see Lucy running around the house . Miss her terribly but at least I know who has her and that she is in good hands and will be loved.
 To the person who just dropped their pregnant cat , likey cause she was pregnant, in the back lane... You are a asshole for leaving her to fend for herself. To try to find a good place to have her babies and fend for them. Thank goodness she found my feeding station and a few weeks after she had her kittens brought them here. She was such a protective mom. We had sent her to a TNR program so she is fixed , has her shots and they tipped her ear. Honestly I do not think we can find a home for her or that she would stay there if we did. She loves being outside, catching mice , playing. But she is no more than a kitten herself , less than a year and so small. I have to get her used to coming in the house because in winter there is no way in hell I can let her stay outside in the really cold weather. So perhaps she will become our in and out cat.  To the assholes who left her like that. IT WAS YOUR LOSE...She is such a loving little cat and she gave us the joy of knowing her kittens and taking care of them and enjoying their antics. We got the pleasure of them all , that you gave up.
  So now , after two litters of kittens we had from strays , the first litter of five we found homes for., I don't know, at least yet, if my heart can take fostering . So I am going to volunteer at the SPCA to either join their reading group (read to the dogs to lower their stress), walk the dogs or take care of cats and kittens. Or some of all of it. lol.  Yeah I know... my heart will be tugged at in this too. But it will feel so good to know I did my part in helping a dog or cat or rabbit , because they were abandoned or became unwanted or left because they are to old.
  Thank you God for giving me all the opportunities to share my heart with these beautiful souls

Heavy heart

Ok so I am stupid, foolish, nuts etc etc.  I have put off taking the kittens to the SPCA for as long as I can. I believe they are at least two months old or maybe a week or two older. Love to play with them, even though most often they do not want to be touched but once you pick them up they snuggle and purr away, love to watch them play and jump on each other. They have destroyed two of my gardens but those gardens will come back next year.  But no matter I have come to really love the little dickens but I realize I have to stop being selfish and take them somewhere where they will get their shots, get fixed and find good homes where they will be happy.  I can't afford to do all that . I have three cats inside already and just can't take any of these little guys(gals) in. Yeah it will hurt when I put them in the carry along and leave them at the SPCA but knowing they will be well cared for matters more than that ... The mother cat... Well today she played with them, she was teaching them to fight and then she took off when they were not looking. I think she needed some R  and R away from them and she is weaning them away from her. Which is good as when I have to take them away she will not miss them so much.  She can stay here , with Squeakers who is a outdoor stray too.She will be fed twice a day and in winter will have a warm shelter made up for her. Or I will get that room below the steps for her to go into in winter with a warm shelter down there.

All for now.

Saw what I made last year

Last year at this time I was into making jams. Of many different flavors. But over the winter I was disappointed that other family members did not want any . So I have lots of jars of jam. Those in the freezer may keep a bit longer. But I have got about 10 jars will have to throw out in the next weeks. So no more of that kind of thing. But it was fun making it.

 Oh hells  bells this is gonna be short one for now. Might be back to this later

Tired, some depressed but I will be ok :)

Yesterday we had our Canada Day with most of my immediate family here. Loved it. We had hamburgs, hotdogs, sausage dogs, salads and strawberry cheesecake. mmmm And as usual after I stuffed myself ( you know like at Christmas time) I only wanted to have a nap. Funny how by 7pm ish you start to wonder when everyone will go home and when they all leave at the same time you feel depressed as if you want to call them all back.  There are some in the family I get ticked off at but I would never turn my back on them. Because they are all part of me.

 The cat and kittens.. well I can finally pet all the babies, Momma is a lovely cat. But I can't find homes for the kittens so I have written to the local SPCA to see if they have room for them.  I have heard of a foster program where they spay or neuter the kittens , deflea, deworm and even supply food and kitty litter but you take them home with you.  I could handle doing that but not sure my brother would approve. While they are with you the SPCA finds homes for them.  I hope I hear from them soon or the first part of the week.  What will we do with the Mother cat. ? Well we can let her outside but if she wants to come in she can sleep at night in that room downstairs... maybe :)  My brother may not approve.

  Between all the above and getting laid off well ... no wonder I want to go to bed at 8pm... They (temp service) says I am the hot list to go back as soon as a position becomes available. God I put up with that BS in the last job I had and I really thought it would be different this time around.  I should of known eh

  All for now. 

Gotta get rid of the sign and other things bothering me

Well it has only been 6 months since I last wrote in this blog. Ok the sign on the back of my car says Crazy Cat Lady and sometimes I swear some people take this overserious. Just before Christmas a long haired orange tabby appeared at my feral feeding shelter. We knew this cat was to friendly not to be someones special pet. So we fed this cat and when it began to get colder we had to do something . So I sent pictures of said cat to two vets and the SPCA. The local vet got a hold of someone in a nearby town that they thought I had their cat. So we got in touch and they came down (10 minute drive) and as soon as they got out of the car one woman began to cry because I indeed did hold her cat Teddy.  They figure someone stole the cat from their yard and got tired of him and just dropped him off in our back lane. Some humans should be put away for societies sake because they have no compassion to do this to a innocent cat.  Anyways this cat got back home after being gone 102 days
  Almost 2 months ago a smallish brown tabby showed up at the feeding station. She was so friendly and wanted to be pet. When I picked her up I knew she was nursing little ones. A few weeks later she brought them up to the neighbors where it is overgrown and has lots of places to be safe. Since then I have begun the slow process of socializing the little ones (4).  I took the Mom to be spayed today at a cat rescue that has very decent prices for all they do.  The kittens are downstairs in a room till Mom comes back tomorrow.  Now someone got this beautiful cat , then just threw her away when she got pregnant.  Such insensitive not to mention stupid humans. Why not spend a bit of money and get her fixed or better yet let her get a good home to begin with. Grrrrrrr

Changes and moving forward

Been over a month since I have posted here. But I am back lol
 This coming week will be my third week at the new job. Left the temp job at P and G for another temp job at Adidas.  Hopefully I have more of a chance to get hired on there then I did at the other place. Made it there just past 5 years with no hope of being hired. So we shall see.  The job is not bad , I do what they call picking. Where you pull a skid behind you up and own aisles and pick product off shelves that the little hand held computer tells you to. Not hard to do at all but just a lot of walking , but lots of exercise too.
 Had Thanksgiving yesterday , my two sisters, brother and brother in law were here. I think they liked what I cooked. Tried cooking the turkey a bit different way. Stuffed a quartered lemon and onion in the neck and one piece of onion in back, rosemary, thyme, sage , parsley in neck and cooked it uncovered for a hour at 400 degrees then turned it down and continued to cook for about 2 1/2 hours more. Never had such a juicy moist turkey.  Then made homemade cream corn which everyone enjoyed though it did not get as thick as I thought it might . Honeyed squash and garlic mashed potatoes completed the meal. Oh with buns too. Then strawberry/rhubarb pie and a pumpkin pie too. Now lots of leftovers but can make a Turkey shephards pie or turkey soup. Lots of things to use up the leftovers (Pinterest is best friend there)
  Now to start looking for Christmas dinner suggestions LOL. It is coming on fast.
   On a sad note. My sister begins radiation treatment , as soon as her incision heals which is taking quit a while to do. Her and her husband won't be able to head south as they usually do at this time of year.  I feel for her as I know all this must be getting her down. But she has all us beside her if/when she needs us. And her own kids and families are right there too.  I just pray everything comes along well for her and she can put this behind her .
  A happier note I have a new great great niece. Born this past Friday. Her name is Ella Nicole. and she is beautiful. Just seen pictures so far but hope to meet her in the next week or so. My great nephew , her Dad, is over the moon about her as is her Mom.
  Well all for now dear blogger. Hope to be back soon

Busy busy

Making jams, marmalades , cabbage rolls and on and on. And surprisingly having a great time doing so. As long as people stay out of my kitchen and don't bother me.  Or the cats in the kitchen lol. Let;s see made
Rhubarb raspberry
nectarine raspberry
blueberry lime
elderberry
raspberry blackberry
cherry lime
cherry cinnamon
peach

Ok I know that seems like a lot of different kinds but...oh some are freezer jams and some pantry jams too. I love making different kinds. Rather make them with two fruits than one too. I have a huge list on Pinterest of jams and jellies I want to try next year But... some I can make anytime so likely won't wait till next year.
  Still to make... Apple Pear freezer butter,  Cranberry apple butter(in place of cranberry jelly with turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas) and pickled beets. But  (got  a lot of buts eh)  if I find some prickly pear cactus fruit at grocery store will be making jam or jelly and if I find other different fruits on sale it will give me a reason to make more.
  I want to find blogs to of people who make their own jams and jellies ** Homemade jams and jellies have a much fresher taste than store bought and less preservatives too**  Follow these blogs. There are so many people to learn new techniques to canning food for the family.  So many have different kinds of recipes that sound absolutely delicious. 
  Past weekend I made cabbage rolls and took some up to one of my nieces (they provided a huge cabbage) and some tomato jam. They loved the rolls and my nephew in law really liked the jam and wants to know if there is more. Well I made two different batches of this the first seems , so far , the better . I have 2 more jars of that so I guess he can have one.
  Want to see all the recipes for all kinds of things here is my pinterest page

https://www.pinterest.com/mswend2013/

Catch ya later