Elann Community Chat Center

emily3cat - all messages by user

7/27/2005 6:40:40 AM
It rained!! Yep. We had the hottest day in 10 years the other day: 102 degrees at the airport. Yuck. I don`t do well in the hot weather. I think that my brain shuts down.
7/30/2005 10:46:29 AM
Sweet Puppies Boy this makes me sad. My best to you in this tough time.
8/9/2005 11:45:50 AM
Embarassment Well, as ya`ll know, I`m packing. Not without the tissues, mind you.

It`s really quite embarassing how much yarn I have accumulated during the past couple of years` knitting resurgence. Many boxes labelled "wool/yarn." Eeek. Even the spacebags can`t hide the yarn obsession.

I guess the movers won`t care.

But I`m so sad to be moving from what I consider my home. Not even my childhood home compares to this. I have to keep the tissue box near to me......
8/20/2005 8:12:47 AM
seekly womanly advice... Hey Bri. I`ve never been married (and doesn`t look like that will happen anytime soon, since my last date was in the pleistocene).

But, I come from an ultra-dysfunctional family. I think you`ve gotten some good advice here: let her fume and fuss. Hopefully she`ll apologize for the rant, but don`t hold your breath. Then, do whatever you want for your wedding, but let people know in a timely manner that you are married. Let them know in the way that you would want to learn about someone`s new status.

Some examples from my family about how NOT to let people know:

My cousin kept her marriage a secret for years from everyone. Why? I`ll never know. Even while she was having children with the guy, which the elders thought was naughty because she wasn`t married. Again, I`ll never figure out why the secret.

My (only) brother sent me a group email which said only "take a look at this yahoo group of pictures." I thought it was a birthday party. He took my father out for brunch to tell him. So, it was a conscious decision on his part. I got thrown in the group email with the ex-band members. I`m still mad and a bit creeped out by it (I didn`t even know he was dating anybody!). It basically ended any relationship that we had had up to that point.

It`s a small family, so it`s not like these are the black sheep in a large group.

I did know a woman at my university who went downtown for the ceremony and then had a reception for friends and family later. Even though that woman was very levelheaded and wanted something understated, I think that she got kindof overwhelmed with the preparations with even a "small" event (maybe 50 people).

But you gotta do what you really want to do; just think about how you will let people know. a
8/20/2005 8:19:34 AM
I`m back and moved (well, sorta) I`ve not been around because, well, moving is about the worst thing ever. I don`t have internet at home (long-ish story) and perhaps won`t in the future.

But I`m here in my new location, and the cats are out of hiding (there was plenty of "I`m lost" yowling and hiding behind the stove and the fridge).

However, I`m totally behind for the start of classes (MONDAY), and currently living out of boxes (hoping to find the underwear box before I run out of clean). Most of them are unlabeled because I didn`t finish packing and others did it for me. Thank goodness. But every box is a surprise box. My office (where I do have internet) is also a wreck as I dig through, trying to find boxes with the books that I need RIGHT NOW.

I`m gonna be the proud owner of my first washer and dryer, which I ordered yesterday, but, sadly, won`t be installed until Tuesday. The building I`m in doesn`t have laundry, and there`s no laundromat in this town. (What gives?) I`m just hoping that they pay me before that honking big credit card charge comes through. I`m spending money like it`s going out of style--a bit disconcerting for someone who is fairly conservative with money.
8/20/2005 1:56:57 PM
I`m back and moved (well, sorta) I`m listening. If I didn`t have to go to work IMMEDIATELY, things would be easier, but I got the time crunch this summer, what with finishing my degree on a quarter schedule and with starting a job on a semester schedule. (Shorthand: quarter schedules start late in the fall and go until mid June for the end of the spring semester; semesters can start early, like before the holiday, and end earlier.) And Friday was hairier than I thought it was gonna be...no keys for the rooms i teach in and no equipment in the right place, etc.

Yes, yes, I`m trying to take it slowly. But today caught up to me, and I had to take a nap. Just couldn`t keep the eyes open. I`m just a bit bruised and battered from moving, becuase it`s just me moving around boxes, and i`m not a very strong person.

I dunno what it is with the lack of laundry. There are laundromats in towns 10-15 miles away it seems, but none in this college town, at least according to the yellow pages. I don`t know how to find laundromats otherwise. Maybe they are out there beating on rocks at the river.
8/24/2005 10:06:19 AM
Baby duck update - they`re free! Hurrah for the duckies, and the duck mom! Must be great seeing them grow up and become real members of the species.
8/24/2005 10:09:43 AM
to Elann Customer Service Well, I`ll join the chorus as well. It really is nice to get packages which are well-packed, clean, and have been attended to by a real human being. There are other companies that don`t appear to really take the time to make sure that they`ve got the right stuff in the package and to ensure that no matter what the post office does with the package, it will remain clean and dry. So, kudos to you all.
8/24/2005 2:08:15 PM
Weak in the knees.... Maybe i`m just at the end of the longest workweek ever.....still not unpacked, and at this rate it will be a month or so before I am because school started on Monday, and i`m running around like crazy.

But that angora is calling my name. I love Elsebeth`s stuff...the designs, the yarn. Just my cup of tea. But i had to label all my boxes of yarn with the code name "wool" so that the movers didn`t think i was totally batty. (Guess that I hoped that they would think wool clothes rather than yarn/wool, etc.) It was even space bagged and still was a mighty lot of knitting supplies.

But the angora is calling my name. It`s bad.
8/29/2005 10:22:11 PM
I`m a single mom to three! My life is crazy. I`ve been in the new town for all of two weeks. Had to go back to the old town this weekend to deal with cleaning up the old apartment. La la la. Lots of fun.

Well, i graduated, so that was kindof fun.

But back to the story. i got off the plane in Iowa and was driving home. Decided to stop at the home depot to get some plants. But I hear something strange--like some sort of bird i`ve never heard, so i go investigating. But i get closer, and it`s not a bird at all. it`s definitely a kitten. And the sound is coming from one of the upper pallets on those hugely high shelves they have outside with all the heavy rocks and stuff. Another lady noticed it too, and had called over an employee, who was all of maybe 12. (okay, not really, but he was really young). He climbs up there, and sure enough--two tiny kittens. Screaming, hot, and probably hungry. No mama cat in sight. They are on a tiny piece of cardboard which is on top of the wire frames. Get those down and there`s still kitten screaming. So the 12 year old employee goes up there. Sure enough. Another kitten. And a dead one. The employee seemed flummoxed, and so was I. The other lady had disappeared.

They are newborn--the umbillical cord is just falling off. And they are in my basement because I knew that they would die if i left them there, and i`m don`t think that there`s a no-kill shelter anywhere around here. They were crawling around and were eventually going to slip through the wires and land on the rocks beneath (their eyes are still closed). Or simply expire from heat and lack of food.

So, now I`m on every-four-hours bottle feedings. They are doing well, but it`s a lot of work. They are very cute, however, and purr tiny kitten purrs when their bellies are full of milk. Not exactly what I needed during this period of time, however.

Still haven`t gotten to that Lavold angora, which is still so tempting. But I spent $100 on kitten milk replacer for these guys (the Home Depot was in the same mall as the Petsmart), so I may be out of luck for the angora.
8/30/2005 5:16:07 AM
I`m a single mom to three! Yes, I`m sure that I can get it online cheaper. It is expensive, and as soon as I figure out the rate of consumption, I`ll order it online for less money. But I needed it IMMEDIATELY, and that`s the consequence. And I did buy more than one can, because with the Petsmart 20 miles away, it`s not the most convenient trip to zip down there.

I won`t be keeping them myself--I already have my cat quota filled, and I hear from rescue people that kittens go quickly around here. But raising little ones is hard work, so I need to get them to the old enough to be adopted point.

Cute names! I actually need two male and one female names:

1 grey with white boy
1 black and white girl
1 black and white boy

They are doing well--poor little things.
8/30/2005 5:17:32 AM
Can`t knit mohair! Boo hoo. How about a swiffer under your desk to sweep up the evidence?
8/30/2005 6:56:33 AM
I`m a single mom to three! No, they haven`t. In fact, I don`t even know what box(es) the yarn is in. I won`t be knitting for awhile, as I don`t have time. But they are weeks away from even being interested. They are infants right now--eyes are shut, they can`t hear anything.

Like newborn human babies, all they know is food and warmth and touch. Eating, pooping, sleeping are their activities. They can also scream and they can purr. They are constantly searching for nipples. I`ve sent in a picture to the Elann team, so hopefully that will be up soon.
8/30/2005 7:33:03 AM
Emily --- love the picture Aren`t they tiny? Tiny, tiny little paws and claws. And tiny little purrs when they are fed. Yes, in the middle of the night it`s a little less charming (must remember to purchase a flashlight, as there`s no light down to the basement). And the volume of washing I have just increased exponentially! But they are very sweet. I have one adult cat who was once a bottle baby; never has there been a sweeter and more devoted cat!

I have to resist going down and peeking in on them while they sleep, as they need rest between feedings. (When they are awake, all they do is search for nipples, so I`m trying to let them sleep in between feeding times to save calories.)
9/1/2005 3:51:05 PM
Emily They do have personalities already, even though all three`s main thought is "WHERE IS THE NIPPLE????" They are fabulous little things, really, though I`ll be happy when they graduate to more infrequent feedings.

They are power sucklers though; no problems with eating, not even from the beginning. Perhaps that means that they were just really hungry or perhaps it`s personality. I`ve had others who rejected the bottle at first, but not these guys. They`ve even taken the bottle when the formula was getting a bit cold. I swear that they are bigger than just a few days ago.

It`s the tiny purr that gets me every time. And they do it after the bottle at every feeding. Of course, there`s screaming when I wake them up and can only bottle feed one at a time, but the little purrs are soooo cute.
9/1/2005 3:51:05 PM
Emily They do have personalities already, even though all three`s main thought is "WHERE IS THE NIPPLE????" They are fabulous little things, really, though I`ll be happy when they graduate to more infrequent feedings.

They are power sucklers though; no problems with eating, not even from the beginning. Perhaps that means that they were just really hungry or perhaps it`s personality. I`ve had others who rejected the bottle at first, but not these guys. They`ve even taken the bottle when the formula was getting a bit cold. I swear that they are bigger than just a few days ago.

It`s the tiny purr that gets me every time. And they do it after the bottle at every feeding. Of course, there`s screaming when I wake them up and can only bottle feed one at a time, but the little purrs are soooo cute.
9/1/2005 3:51:05 PM
Emily They do have personalities already, even though all three`s main thought is "WHERE IS THE NIPPLE????" They are fabulous little things, really, though I`ll be happy when they graduate to more infrequent feedings.

They are power sucklers though; no problems with eating, not even from the beginning. Perhaps that means that they were just really hungry or perhaps it`s personality. I`ve had others who rejected the bottle at first, but not these guys. They`ve even taken the bottle when the formula was getting a bit cold. I swear that they are bigger than just a few days ago.

It`s the tiny purr that gets me every time. And they do it after the bottle at every feeding. Of course, there`s screaming when I wake them up and can only bottle feed one at a time, but the little purrs are soooo cute.
9/7/2005 3:37:48 PM
For the new babies You know, right now they are happiest sitting ON another living being. Just tiny things, you know. No kitty bed is a sub for another being.

As for shipping and handling, well, if you`re close enough to Iowa, we can work something out!
9/7/2005 3:42:19 PM
Meow! Yes, it`s good thing that they are so cute; otherwise it would make parts of this mamacat`s experience very hard. They need lots of baths, however, without a real mother cat around.

But they purr sooo sweetly when they are fed and happy and cuddled. And they reach with their little paws for my face. So far, so good. They are really growing.
9/8/2005 3:56:41 PM
Meow! Yea, I love them to bits. They are so sweet, of course, they are sweeter after a bath! Thanks for letting me share them here. I don`t want to annoy people with too many kitten pictures, but they are just so cute, I can`t help myself.
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