Is it hot out here or what?

Despite what others have been saying, Mr Siili and I think we've had pretty decent weather this summer. Today is an example of it, even if we do find it a bit too hot. It's only 27°C / 80°F, but that's hot for us.

Mr Siili and I took a slow (because I can't do fast these days) and leisurely 40 minute walk this afternoon. The sun was shining, there was a warm breeze and yet we were still as hot as can be during the walk. Even at the slow pace I was keeping us at.

Once we got home, we both headed to the shower to cool off. That helped some, but I think it just took some time for our bodies to cool themselves down while sitting on our deck, in the shade. Drinking water and eating a homemade juice-pop didn't hurt either.

The rest added Monday:
The whole afternoon, evening and night was muggy with 90% humidity. We just aren't used to that! LOL.

We did get some respite from the heat when a thunder and lightening storm blew through right over us, in the late afternoon, but that was short lived.

When I went to bed, I left the balcony door open in hopes of a little bit of breeze, even if it meant I might have to fight off some mosquitoes.  At 2am I was woken up by more lightening and thunder. This is a first for me as I usually sleep right through it! The lightening was crazy! I can't remember the last time (if ever) I saw it flash that often and that many times in a row. Next thing we knew, the storm was directly overhead and Rusty had run up the stairs in a panic. Poor guy! I tried to snuggle and comfort him, but when the thunder would crack directly above us, it was just a bit too scary. Even I was a bit scared and I love thunder and lightening. (I was also a bit afraid to go pee, what if something were to happen? Not sure what might happen, but still!) Mr Siili came up stairs (he was sleeping downstairs because it was cooler) to check on Rusty. We closed all the windows and balcony door to try and dampen the noise. Or sort of worked. But it was a good thing we had closed them, as the wind and rain picked up soon after. The trees on the other side of the neighbors house were shaking and bending over something fierce. I even heard one of them crack. The rain came down all fast and hard, a corner of our yard flooded, for a while. We also saw more of the damage today when we went outside. Thankfully it was nothing major (that we saw). All in all, the storm lasted about an hour to an hour and half.

Today has been a bit less sunny, just as muggy and warm, but no lightening and thunder. I'm enjoying it. Although, I do hope the weather gets it all out of its system by Wednesday afternoon in time for the RHCP concert to start.

Pregnancy brain

No, not pregnancy on the brain, but pregnancy brain! I try not to blame many things on hormones (like PMS) as much as I can, but really, sometimes things are just too coincidental and funny to not be blamed on hormones.

Last night I was so tired that I had already crawled into bed and completely forgotten about Paxlet pictures by the time Mr Siili got home. So, the pictures weren't taken until this evening and they are now ready to be viewed.

Today at work a lady started chatting with me asking me questions about a banking issue for the unit I work with. I replied to her and asked a few questions of my own. And then I remembered that during our morning coffee break we (with our entire group, but instigated by her) had talked about earthquakes, how they are measured and what is the difference between Richter and magnitude. So I quickly Googled it and started copying and pasting some of the more interesting parts of the page I found. She ignored this bit of chat and continued to ask a couple of things about her issue and then said she'd get back to me after lunch.

It was only a couple of hours later, when I realized that the person who had started chatting with me was Niina something-hill (not our team) and not Nina somethingdifferent-hill (our team). I had been rambling on about a subject to someone who had no clue what I was talking about! And she didn't even say anything. Although, to find out later, she hadn't even read those bits until I mentioned my goof up to her, as she was so focused on her issue. She said I'm not the only one who has done this. Man, I was so embarrassed, but I still told Nina from our team what I had done. I could hear her laughing across the room and she told me I had good reason to have lapses in my thinking. This isn't the first time I've done this since being pregnant, although the other time was with 2 different Heidi's.

 

I have my chiropractor appointment tomorrow at 16:30. I'm so freakin' excited! Mr Siili helped me find the chiro (from the phone book and the first one on the list) just over 13 years ago when I was visiting here for 3 months. The guy spoke great English, listens to me when I say something doesn't feel quite right after an adjustment and takes a second look and understands my owl-like (or some even say exorcist) neck. I've only ever gone to one other chiropractor here in Finland and I left there in worse pain than when I had gone in. I hope to not have to look for a new one for many years to come. 

Through pictures on the desk, I've watched my chiropractor's two boys grow from itty bitty babies to the young boy and almost teen that they are now. I'm kind of excited to be able to finally go to him and be pregnant myself. Someone who has "known" me my entire Finnish existence and he gets to see another side of me. I'm also excited to see how chiro treatments are different, if at all, now that I'm pregnant and can't really comfortably lay on my tummy.

 

But the greatest thing is, I know my neck and lower back will feel much better after the treatment. I love my chiro!

A couple of pictures that I just couldn't resist sharing to end this post.

Mansi

Rusty

Why my cat hates me* (aka Vet visit part 2)

*Let me start off by saying that I know my cat doesn't hate me. I'm projecting that on him because I feel bad and guilty for this weekend and yesterday's event. Cats don't think like we humans do and therefore, he doesn't hate me. Most likely he just doesn't understand why he is in pain and why I would scoop him up and take him somewhere he doesn't like.

As I wrote on Friday, I took Mansi and Rusty to the vet. Both cats got a clean bill of health, although they both had/have some plaque, which can help to contribute t o stinky breath. That evening, Rusty seemed got worse. His whimpering-meows happened more often, he was drooling and the lower left side of his chin started to swell. Late Friday evening we finally tortured him enough were able to get a good look in his mouth an see that he had a sore (it looked like a canker sore to me) just under his left fang on the lower gum of his mouth. Also the gum area was quite red and swollen. No wonder he was in pain and not happy.

I spent most of the weekend feeling guilty that my old boy was in pain. We could see it was harder for him to eat, as he was being much more careful and slow. Even when it came to his treats, which he LOVES! I could swear at one point I saw into his head the dialog he was having about taking a drink: I'm thirsty, but if I take a drink it's going to sting and I don't want it to sting because that hurts, but I am thirsty... I've been there! I know how horrible mouth sores are! My poor boy was in pain, but he was also very snuggly. He just wanted his mamma, but once he was on my lap, I couldn't shift positions (even if my legs and back were killing me) or he would whimper-meow. My heart broke even more and my gut stayed clenched all weekend.

So, Saturday night I wrote up a note to the vet (via their website form, in Finnish) and explained what was going on and that I would call Monday morning. The vet called me 5 minutes after they opened and we made an appointment to bring Rusty back in. I left work early, but a freak snow storm hit us yesterday! (Ok, it wasn't so freaky, but the amount of snow was unexpected and unwelcome.) It took me tons of extra time to get home and get Rusty. I did call the vet to say I'd be late and they were ok with it.

After being 15 minutes late, Rusty's mouth was checked and then he was sedated. I can't stand seeing my cat drop off into (or out of for that matter) sedation. I got hormonally-teary and guilty watching my guy fight the sedation. I was allowed to watch the vet clean his teeth and then we were good to go home.

What would normally take 10 minutes to get home, took us almost 30 minutes! The weather was that bad and the amount of snow that had poured and was still pouring out of the sky was crazy. I saw at least 6 double long semi-trucks stuck in the road on the trip home. I was also in stand still traffic. That almost never happens in my town. Traffic jams?! That's a joke here. (Well, unless you are in morning traffic into the area where I live. Thankfully I go the opposite way.) We got home, finally, and tried to make Rusty comfy. He wanted nothing to do with me; I don't blame him.

Soon after Mr Siili headed out to the gym, I got ready to watch American Idol from last week. No sooner had I sat down and got comfy to watch AI, Rusty walked over to me to be in my lap. He snuggled with me for an hour and a half. Still very drugged, but on my lap.

At 9:30, Mr Siili called to ask if I would come get him. I put on out door clothes, grabbed the huge snow shovel from downstairs and dug out my car. Yes, it had snowed enough in the 3,5 hours since I had been home to warrant digging out, again! Not only was Lydia surrounded and covered in snow, it was semi-frozen snow. I finally got the car out and was driving to get Mr Siili when he called to ask where I was (don't worry, I remembered to take my hand's free headset). Our ensuing conversation went something like this:

MS: Don't go on the east-west road, instead take  north-south road.

me: Which road is north-south?

MS: It's the road that runs perpendicular to the east-west road. The one that runs along the frisbee golf park. Don't drive on the that one as there is too much snow.

me: Are you near the back road?

MS: What is the back road?

me: It's the one near the Ahlman Farm.

MS: What's Ahlman farm?

Me: The cow farm near the frisbee golf park.

MS: Just don't come on the east-west road, I don't want you getting f***ing stuck in the snow.
To which I think we both let out strangled and exasperated groans. I told I was doing him a favor by coming out in this horrible weather and picking him up and he wasn't allowed to get grumpy with me and I'd call back when I got closer. I eventually found Mr Siili cold and snowy by the side of the road. We didn't talk to each other for the first few minutes of the ride and then I quickly grumped at him for a sec and then we drove most of the way home in silence.

Mr Siili hopped in the shower and I sat back down to finish watching the show that had been interupted. Rusty walked over to me and wanted in my lap again, so I picked him up and he started purring! My boy started purring at me and I started crying. Mr Siili comes into the room and worriedly asks "What's wrong?". I told him, nothing is wrong, tears can be happy you know and these are happy tears. Rusty purred at me. Mr Siili grumped that I didn't need to scare him. It wasn't like I was trying to!

And so my Rusty finally got less and less groggy. He ate more and was a bit more active. Although, he didn't join me in bed until about 10 minutes before my alarm went off this morning. But as soon as he get in bed with me he let out some very loud content purrs. My boy is definitely feeling better and I can't wait to get home and snuggle with him some more!

And as Paul Harvey would say...that's the rest of the story. (Not sure where that came from, but it did.)

Why I starved my cats for 12 hours for nothing (and more good stuff)

It's Friday and it couldn't have arrived fast enough! Thankfully next week will only be a 4 day week as we have Long Friday (pitkäperjantai) off from work. It will also be a 4 day weekend as we also have the Monday after Easter (2. pääsiäispäivä) free from work, which means another short week the following week.

Seeing that Easter is near, it means spring is on it's way and snow is melting. And now that the snow is melting, I need to switch to summer tires on my car again. But, my summer tires are so old and one of them won't even old air pressure, I need new ones. So, I called my FIL today and asked if he'd help me again get new tires. He said it wouldn't be a problem as he needs some for himself and one of his daughters. This means that Mr Siili and I will most likely be going to his parents house for Easter weekend so I can change the tires. Yes, that's right, I will be changing the tires! The men will just make sure the tires are on tight.

As I mentioned a couple of times earlier this week, Rusty has been acting a bit old. He is 12 years old/young after all, but I'm not ready for him to be old-old. Just to ease my mind, I decided I should take him and Mansi to the vet to have a check up. During the call to make the appointment, I explained the symptoms and age of Rusty to the vet andshe suggested some blood tests to check if everything was ok. In order to get the best results, the cats shouldn't eat for some time beforehand. So, I took their food away at midnight and our appointment was at 10:45 am today. Rusty woke up every couple of hours, went to check if his food was back and then came back to the bedroom to whine let me know that his food still wasn't there. Then I would pick him up and he's sleep for another while before repeating the process again, all night long. Needless to say, between my getting up to go pee and his alerting me to the food situation (or lack thereof), I didn't sleep too well.

I got the cats to the vet and Mansi has a bit of plaque, but other than that she checked out just fine. She was complimented on her beautiful and shiny coat. Rusty also has a bit of plaque and some pink-er gums, but no action is needed just yet and we can just watch it for now. They asked me about his pee and poo habits along with his water intake, etc. I told them that I hadn't seen any change in any of that lately. It's just that he's been acting a bit 'old'. The vets mentioned dementia and that's what has stuck in my mind most. So, because he doesn't seem to be having any of the major indicators of something wrong, I decided not to get his blood tested. Yeah, I know! I tortured my cats for almost 12 hours all for nothing!

I did get them some more fibre-rich food, and we'll see if that has any effect on them. But mainly we'll just continue to watch Rusty and see how he is. There is a product (I'll have to look at the brochure when I get home) that the vets suggested we give to Rusty in order to help with fighting dementia. But as I said, we'll wait and see a bit longer on how things play out. I just really want my cats to be ok. Rusty truly is my baby and a mamma's boy!

To make this day even better, I got some great news from work. Starting next month, there will be an increase in pay for everyone, which stemmed from the union strike and resulting negotiations last year. I personally will also be getting a small merit raise, based on my skills, performance during the last year, etc. There will also be a "one time bonus" for people. (Not quite sure if it is some people or all.) And!! April is the month when bonuses are given out based on last year's targets and profitability of the company. There couldn't be better timing for all of this! This will definitely make things nicer when thinking about buying some Paxlet stuff and also for our new house we'll be moving into soon.

And now, 20 minutes left at work, so I had probably get a couple of things wrapped up so I can go home and enjoy the kitties' and Mr Siili's company.

Mamma's berry pie

At 10:30 this evening, I realized with shock that I hadn't given our cats their evening treats (a couple of teaspoons of wet food). Normally Rusty, our 12 year old boy, is reminding us starting around 6:30 that treat time is coming up soon. But not this evening. For some reason my coming home at 7pm and doing dishes seems to have thrown him off and he just slept. So, I let him know it was treat time, like I do every night: Rusty, treat time! And he me-eowed vigorously and loudly, albeit a bit groggily from still being half asleep. He followed me into the kitchen and let me know he was there waiting. But when I put the food down he just sniffed it and sort of stared at it. Mansi on the other hand scarfed her food down. Normally, Rusty eats his first and tries to eat what is left of Mansi's too. Not this night. He sort of licked the food, looked at it some more and walked off. I sat there on the floor crying because my cat is getting old and I don't want him to die. He can't die until after the baby is born. We already lost his brother almost two years ago. I lost my mom almost a year ago. I'm tired of losing people I love.

This last weekend Mr Siili and I did absolutely nothing. Well, almost nothing. We spent the weekend catching up on tons and tons of TV shows (Lost Girl, New Girl, Dexter, Unforgettable and probably more I'm forgetting). We didn't go food shopping on Friday, nor Saturday nor Sunday. We munched what food we could find in the house on Friday evening and Saturday. Sunday we went to a very late brunch (more like a late lunch) at the Crazy Reindeer restaurant. We did wash one load of laundry. I did fill the sink full of dishes with hot soapy water and then left it there the rest of the day so we ended up draining before we went to bed. Mr Siili did make me laugh!
Last Wednesday I sent Mr Siili a text message:
Where are you at? I think I forgot my keys at home. (And I proceeded to sit outside our door for about 30 minutes waiting for Mr Siili to come home from work and let me in.)

Then on Saturday afternoon, Mr Siili must have noticed my message, because this is the reply I got:
I am home, watching tv with the old lady.

Two hours later:
Fine, don't answer. (We were still sitting right-next-to-each-other, watching tv a couple of hours later.)

Then, I got a bit bored with one of the shows we were watching and I played with my phone a bit and this is the message I got:
How is the quality time with the hubby?

The first two recipes that where shared with me when I came to Finland, were Potato bread (perunarieska) and Mamma's berry pie (Mamman marjapiirakka in Finnish). I still make them to this day and will continue to do so. Both of these recipes are easy to make and more than delicious!! A couple of weeks ago I made a twist on the Mamma's berry pie and it was so good that I wanted to make it again, but I've been so lazy after that that it took me until this evening to make it again. Here's the basic recipe, with my changes and comments at the bottom.

Mamma's berry pie (Mamman marjapiirakka)
Dough:
3/4 cup butter (or margarine)
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour (can be half and half of what ever combo you like, we sometimes use graham)
1 tsp baking powder

Mix all the ingredients together, spread on the bottom and sides of a pie pan.


Filling:
1 cup sour cream (or non flavored yogurt)
1/4 cup sugar (more or less, depending on your taste and the berries/fruit you use)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla sugar (or extract)
2 1/4 cup berries (strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, rhubarb*, etc)

Put the berries on top of the dough crust and pour the filling on top of everything. Bake at 400F for 30-40 minutes.
(*With the rhubarb, put it in the mix a little bit before pouring onto the crust.)


My notes: We love rhubarb! And sometimes adding strawberry!
This last two times, I've made it with apple, but I've switched up the dough and made a cheesecake crust instead of the traditional one. And because we don't have graham crackers here and I don't like digestive cookies, (crispy) oat cookies will do, but what I found I really like are Bastogne cookies by Lu (crispy cinnamon cookies - although, the generic brand works well too). I think the apple cooked better when I shredded it instead of thin slices, but no matter how you chop your apple, it is very yummy!

Happy 12th Birthday, Rusty!

My lovely boy, Rusty, is 12 years old today.

We got him and his brother, ^^Kantti^^, when they were almost 4 months old. They immediately took over our bed and hearts. ^^Kantti^^ was only with us for 10 years, we still miss him dearly.

^^Kantti^^ (L) & Rusty (R)

These days, Rusty's companion is little Miss Mansi. We adopted her a few months after ^^Kantti^^ died. From the start, she's only wanted to be friends with Rusty. She loves kitty-piles and wants to be in any lap that Rusty is in. He's still not sure about that. Little sisters can be such a pain!!

Rusty wasn't such a snuggly-putty in the beginning. It took him some time to figure out that humans are great cushions (so long as they don't wiggle too much) and offer lots of pets and chin scratches. Mr Siili is a great cushion, he doesn't wiggle much.

But most of all, Rusty is a mama's boy! I might wiggle more often, but I am the one he would generally prefer to lay on. He talks to me and tells me all about his day when I come home from a long day at work. He let's me know when it's time to go to bed and doesn't like it when I don't get there fast enough.

Rusty being a mama's boy.

May we have many more healthy and happy years with you, Rusty!

A scare for Rusty and us

Our old boy Rusty is a clumsy cat. He's always been clumsy and last night was no exception. He went to sleep up on top of the coat rack in the cat bed we put up there for him (and his ^^brother^^). When he woke up and hopped down, we heard a scrabbling noise, a ker-thunk and a horrible hiss and then Rusty yowled painfully. Mr Siili and I were up and heading to the hallway halfway through all of this commotion. We didn't want to run in there to loudly and quickly because if the cat is truly hurt on top of being panicked, he might run and hurt himself more. I turn the hallway light on and see Rust huddled next to my purse (the one pictured below), still whining and acting as if he is in pain.

 As I go to gently pick Rusty up, I see he is tangled in my bag. I thought at first he just had the strap twisted around, but as I carefully move things, I see his foot is caught in the little clip on my bag.

As he jumped down to the chest of drawers, one of his toes on his left back paw got caught in the small part of the clip. It took two tries to get the clip off my bag so I could bring Rusty into my lap. Mr Siili says I became panicked at that point, which I don't feel I did. But thinking back on it, maybe my voice did become panicked, but I didn't stop carefully and semi-confidently moving. I tried to push the clip along Rusty's toe to get it in the bigger end, but it must have hurt or startled him because he yowled and struggled to get away. I caught him and kept him in my arms, but not without incurring a nice long 3-4 inch scratch on my inner thigh. After a couple more failed attempts, I just quickly pushed the clip and made it come off.

I put Rusty on the floor and Mr Siili and I huddled around him petting him. Mansi was scared too and had her tail poofed up something fierce. She calmed down and sniffed and licked her brother. Rusty wasn't happy about any of it. He went to the kitchen and ate, a lot. It's what he does when he's been traumatized.

After he ate a bit, I scooped him up and brought him into the living room to watch TV with us. He stayed on my lap for an entire show! At which point Mansi decided she had to be in the same lap as her big brother (she's a very social kitty). Big brother doesn't like sharing his lap, so he left.

Mr Siili and I were so scared something terribly bad had happened to our boy, but we were relieved it wasn't anything more than a quick fix and a scare. We are once again reminded of our clutzy kitty and that we should keep the chest of drawers clear of clutter for him.

Here's my boy getting some "mama-love". He may look a bit annoyed, but I assure you he's purring away as happy as can be.

My moose!

This is my Moose. My mom knitted it and it is now mine. All mine. I sleep with Moose next to my pillow. I've slept this way every since I've gotten back from her memorial at the end of June.

This is Mansi. She is our 2 year old girl cat. Dont' let her cute and coy looks fools you. She's a terror to all toys and things that give her lip. She has been telling us that Moose is taunting and teasing her and that is why she keeps dragging Moose into other rooms to play with him. This does not make me happy, because Moose is all mine.

This is Rusty. Rusty is our 10.5 year old boy cat. He has nothing to do with this story, but he's so beautiful against this green blanket that I just couldn't resist sharing a picture of him.

The End.

In other news, I have an appointment with my clinic tomorrow afternoon in what I hope is the kick of to IVF #3.

7dpt with 3 day embryo

Everything seems to be a bit brighter and easier for the last few days. I'm "blaming" it on the girls brunch out on Sunday. I definitely feel better after talking to them and just hanging out. I hope we can do it a bit more often.

Today is 7dpt with a 3 day embryo. But I wonder, because it was frozen, does that mean it is now a 4 day embryo? I did think about testing this morning, but I didn't. I just didn't feel like putting a possible damper on this decent mood I've been having. And in any case, the doctor told me to wait until next week's Wednesday to test. That's a-whole-nother week away! I'm not sure I can wait that long, but let's see what happens. I do suspect AF will show this weekend (unless I do happen to be pregnant), as this has been a natural cycle and my natural cycle should end this weekend.

I've been thinking of "a day in the life of me" via photos for a little while. And that is what I did that today. The pictures are taken with my ZTE Blade phone-camera, so many are not of the best quality, but I like the way they have turned out anyway. I hope you enjoy!

Good Morning! A promising beautiful autumn morning.

Mansi (and Rusty, not shown) is watching for birdies in the bedroom.

Rusty needing a bit of mama-love before she heads to work. (Notice I have one sock on, one sock off.)

Leaves frozen on the roof of my car this morning. First freeze of the year in my town. Brr!

This photo was an accident, but I love how it turned out anyway. Behind the wheel, and no, the car isn't on yet.

Waiting for my chiropractor. I've been going to this same guy for 13 years now, I love him!

My work space. I know it's very blurry, but it looks cool! Plus, I can't be sharing an work secrets now, can I?

After work I checked the air pressure in Lydia's (my car) tires. See her red spot? I love her red spot. I should blog about it how Lydia got her spot.

After purchasing a couple of new post stamps at the post office, I wandered around the crap-shop to see if there was anything new. There was a mix of Halloween and Xmas (front right). I didn't spend a cent! So proud of myself.

Pizzer for dinner! Unfortunately, both Mr Siili and I were disappointed in the new pizzas we tried this evening. :(

Rusty almost always greets and talks to me when I get home in the evening. Tonight was no exception, except for what he was talking about: holes in his (food) bowls. It is a serious matter and offense if there is a hole in his bowl, much less both bowls. Here is Mr Siili remeding the problem while I am trying to "set-up" a photo shoot about it (in his words). LOL

And now for a bit more Jasmine green tea and a bit of reading, then it's off to beddy-bye. (See my pj pants and Shanghai hotel slipper? *grin*)

Let me introduce our fur-kids

I recently read about Carlia's fur-babies over at The Stork Drop Zone. They are beautiful kitties with sweet personalities! It got me to thinking that I haven't really mentioned, much less introduced my fur-babies in the 3 years I've had this blog. So, without further ado, here are my 2 kitties. The light and joy of my life.

Rusty is 11 years old and 100% a mama's boy.

We got Rusty (and his brother, ^^Kantti^^) when they were about 4 months old (2000). Hubby and I fell in love with them instantly. So much personality and 100% sweet! Rusty took a bit longer to open up to us, but once he figured out humans gave wuv (love), he was all over it. Especially with his mama, me. He follows me around the house, herds me to bed at the appropriate time, tells me all about his day when I come home after work and scolds me if I stay out too late. He loves to snuggle with me and most mornings is found laying right next to me. Rusty will snuggle with hubby, when I'm not around or if I'm too wiggly.

Rusty loves: snuggles, Treat time (yes, he knows the word 'treats'), salmon, avocado, brushing, the Cat Dancer interactive toy, strings, hairbands and being too darn cute (his mama taught him well)! Rusty also knows how to open cupboard doors. He hates traveling in the carrier, but doesn't mind sleeping in it before or after the trip.

Mansi aka Mansikki is ~1.5 years old and our spaz kitty.

About 3 months after the loss of ^^Kantti^^, we adopted Mansi from a foster home. She came to us with the name Basted (Bastet - a feline goddess of Ancient Egyptian religion) where we changed it to Mansikki (daily name Mansi), which is a common name for cows in Finland. It means Strawberry. So, this little girl went from worshiped goddess to a cow. Sorry, girl! Her personality is still developing, but she has definitely become much more comfortable with us. Mansi doesn't automatically run if you take a step in her direction anymore, unless she's in a mood to play, which is almost always. This little girl is full of energy. She tears through the house at an amazing speed, careening off walls, corners and human legs if they are in the way. We've accidentally kicked her and spun her around as we've walked from one place to another and she runs between our feet. She doesn't seem phased by it though. She definitely likes her older brother (but we don't always think the same is true the other way around). We're glad we found her, spaz and all!

Mansi loves to play with her cow, play with the Cat Dancer, play with shoe strings, hunt bugs, play with the piece of whatever she found on the floor, play with my Puff the magic Dragon (which I have hidden from her and hubby wants me to give back to her. I say no!) and she loves snuggle time on her own terms. She has also learned that licking hubby gets her attention (he hates it!).

Brother and sister spending time together.

This was only 13 days after we got Mansi. I'm not sure who was in the chair first, but I have a feeling that it was Rusty. Mansi doesn't understand personal space or boundaries, but they didn't seem to mind too much sharing the chair this day. Mansi loves to walk up next to Rusty and flop on or very close to him. Sometimes he will bite her a bit and other times he tolerates his younger sister.

We love our kitties so much. They give us endless hours of entertainment, unconditional love and kittie bonks or nose nudges. I know our lives wouldn't be as complete without them.