Murderkittenz Archives • The Prodigal Stranger

7th December 20187th December 2018

I’m not dead yet

It’s been a while, and what a while; one of those whiles where you struggle to keep swimming and at some point you look back and realize that six months went by without you really noticing. But I’m not dead yet, and as long as there’s life there’s hope.

I did not get to do much with Emilie in this long while. She’s still struggling with back pains, and I am still struggling with fibromyalgia. Together we exercise from the ground – she needs to practise lifting her hind quarters over cavalettis and using her hips correctly, and I need to walk, any kind of walk. It’s harder than it sounds like, and I’m still not sure how I feel about my new walker-rollator. On one hand it means I can leave the house – on the other hand it kind of feels like giving up on ever walking unaided again.

My health has been down the crapper this autumn. I’ve been through the proverbial wringer, with hospital visits and with testing out new medication options. At this time it seems low-dose Naltrexone works best for me. It does not reduce my pain, but it does give me some energy and ability to cope in spite of the pain. The Combar that I was put on in order to solve my not sleeping due to pain issues has to go – it has weight gain and muscle pain as a side effect, and I’ve gained 10 kilos in three months in spite of moving more about than I used to.

In spite of the last two paragraphs, though, this is not a venting session or pity rant. The structure of my life is holding together. The framework is solid. I woke up this morning with the strangest sensation of relief; the proverbial manure hit the fan a couple of times, but the windmill is still standing. If there’s something to be grateful in life, it’s the ability to cope with crisis and still be there afterwards. I’ll never take that for granted.

Ah well. Onwards, let life speak for itself in pictures.

The husband snapped this one in the yard. We have an astounding amount of wildlife here.

Can't have a lawn without a hedgehog. — Can’t have a lawn without a hedgehog.

In fact, we seem to be collecting newts. The husband has been building little sleeping spots for winter for them, too.

This little fellow visited us in the sun room; fortunately the husband got to him before the cats.

I'm not keen on pictures of myself but the husband wanted to document my attempts to take up watercolours again. If I ever acquire a scanner I'll show you my amateurish compositions. — I’m not keen on pictures of myself but the husband wanted to document my attempts to take up watercolours again. If I ever acquire a scanner I’ll show you my amateurish compositions.

The murderkittenz love nothing as much as their 'wild water' - drinking from the tap is just that much better than the water bowl. — The murderkittenz love nothing as much as their ‘wild water’ – drinking from the tap is just that much better than the water bowl.

Yes. Miv fell asleep with his face in the food bowl. Again. He does this pretty often, even when there is no food up there.

This naked lady or autumn crocus popped up in our lawn in October just as everything else was turning pale and wet.

Who knows where the road is winding? It's beautiful there, at least. — Who knows where the road is winding? It’s beautiful there, at least.

What comes next? Only time will tell. Life’s being a bit of a female canine at the moment but it tends to go on anyhow. A mountain of trouble may seem like a road bump six months later. I’m not dead yet.

11th April 2018

The Murderkittenz meet the sun room

This past week was kind enough to sport a few days of bright sunshine and high temperatures. We promptly took the chance to introduce the terrible two, the murderkittenz Miv & Piv, to the sun room of our new house here in Pjedsted.

The sun room has been closed off since we moved in in November last year. It’s essentially ‘just’ an outdoor area fenced in with tall glass windows and a roof, with no insulation or heat of its own. But now April is here, and it’s time to start enjoying it!

Piv loves high places. The higher up she gets, the better. It didn’t take five minutes before she jumped around and explored the rafters.

But of course she also needed to explore on the ground level.

The previous owners of the house left various pieces of oldfashioned tea sets sitting around the rafters for decorative purposes. I think it looks rather neat so I didn’t remove them. Piv has not disappointed me: Of course the littlest murderkitten is too dainty to push things off shelves.

Miv, on the other hand, is keenly aware of his own eight kilos, and has not even made the attempt to get up into the rafters. He explored ground level carefully instead.

The kitchen window opens up out into the sun room. The kitchen window is now cordially known as Miv’s personal cat door.

This is how Piv gets up there. Sproing!

Even the top rafter, with almost no crawl space, was thoroughly explored. Many flies were caught. The sun room is also now guaranteed spider free.

Cats aren’t the only people who love basking in the spring sun. The husband and I took lunch out there while the kittenz explored.

Gotta admit it. Miv may not be small and elegant like his sister, but in his own steamroller fashion, he’s a handsome cat.

Piv remains the porcelain doll of the house, though.

That window really is fascinating. You can be outside in the sun and at the same time keep an eye on everything in the kitchen. This means you can sunbathe and beg for treats at the same time. Awesome!

Pictures by me, myself, and I.