cats

Re: cats

I have just read this series of comments and a smile did I have!!
Happy birthday Cats! I may be a little late but as my brother says with my birthdays - milk it!
I hope that you did somehting nutty and wonderful.
When on treatment, my best friend was my jack russel x something - aka Spud the Wonder Dog. She listened to my complaints and tears without judgement and was always there to snore with me on the lounge at nanna nap time.
Ahh SAilor, methinks you are too harsh on yourself in quoting Prufrock - never a fool.
I would love to go to a jellicle ball.

Enjoy the lead up to Chrissy one and all,

Samex

Re: cats

Hi Cats

Wisdom is not an attribute that I ascribe to myself. I have some information and experience and I am happy to share those. I would quote my favourite poet T S Eliot:

Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

That is from his 'Choruses from "The Rock" - I would commend it to anyone.

If you do want a description of me, then I would use one from TSE again, this time from Prufrock:

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous —
Almost, at times, the Fool.

Cheers

Sailor

Any fool can carry on, but a wise man knows how to shorten sail in time. Joseph Conrad

Re: cats

Hi Cats

Responding to your post of last night.

An older friend of mine once told me the story of a person he met who had been through the war in Europe. Twice he had been on a train to a death camp and twice something happened to the train and it hadn't got there. As a soldier he had been in a burial squad and buried thousands of people. He had been through other nameless horrors. The advice he had given to my friend was to live each day as if it was a new day, a special day, one that you didn't expect to have. Not bad advice!

Another friend who is a specialist cancer nurse once commented to me that 'we are very good at making people look well' - and they are. We can feel terrible, yet all these people tell us how well we look. Occasionally we feel well and that can last for a while - make the most of it.

One of the things with a cancer diagnosis, or other major illness, is that it destroy our illusions of immortality. No longer can we behave as if we are going to be around for ever. For some of us the time we think we will be around contracts to a fairly short horizon. In my case I generally have a two year horizon and don't take on projects that are much longer and I have lived with that for a few years now. Recently, I have been feeling well enough to expand that out a bit, and besides with two 8 month old grandsons I want them to be able to remember what a grandad is.

Another friend of mine was given a few weeks to live and managed a few months - she did say she felt a fraud at times - but she used the time to go through and write down for her family the history of the things she had kept and were important to her across a couple of marriages and a lots of moves.

So shop a lot, if you get tired take time out. Enjoy Christmas as if there will be no more and have a great party, whilst hoping that there will be a few more. Look after yourself and take care

Cheers

Sailor

The steeple clock, perched up above the houses, emerging from beneath another of the countless ripples in the tide of time that regularly roll and break on the eternal shore, is greyly visible, like a stone beacon, recording how the sea flows on; Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son

Re: cats

G'day Cats

I had not heard about the healing power of a cat's purr, but I do know about studies that show stroking cats reduces blood pressure. I remind my gentle giant that this is his true purpose in life, to reduce my blood pressure, but he remains unimpressed. Just enjoys the stroking.

He is always waiting for me when I get up in the night, but fortunately not ten times. The worst I got was six times, then I got prescribed medication. Gives you a bit of a dry mputh, but now it is usually only two times a night, sometimes three, but sometimes only once.

Cheers

Sailor

Prevention is, as in other aspects of seamanship, better than cure. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston


Re: cats

sailor and reindeer ... you have both made me smile this evening with your posts. So, thank you very much.

Julie

Re: cats

G'day Cats

Our household is ruled by a very large, over 8 kg, black and white gentle giant of a cat. He was given to my son when he was just a tiny bright eyed bundle of fur. When my son took on his partner, she had two large dogs, so we sort of rescued the, by then, eighteen month old cat and he has ruled here ever since. He is actually a very handsome animal - very symmetric in his markings and with the longest whiskers I have ever seen in a cat. Actually we have always had cats, but I don't think we have had one who is quite so adept at training humans!

So welcome again to the group.

Cheers

Sailor

There's no thrill in easy sailing when the skies are clear and blue,
there's no joy in merely doing things which any one can do.
But there is some satisfaction that is mighty sweet to take,
when you reach a destination that you never thought you'd make. Anonymous

Re: cats

Welcome Cats.

I also have a feline friend, his name is Ricci, he is a pretty tabby cat with white paws. My little Ricci is adorable, he has helped me thru some challenging times, just by being so affectionate and loving.

My niece has supplied with 2 cats so far. She finds “the poor little things - homeless of course” and rings me and says “I found a little kitten, so cute, you would really love it” and “yes” they do find a home, with me

Reindeer