Thursday, June 30, 2016

BIRTHDAY PICTURE BLOG

Our waitress at Woodbine Racetrack arranged this.
I turned 47 on June 10th. My birthday fell on a Friday this year, so Rob and I both took the day off to make it a long weekend. We spent the afternoon at Woodbine Racetrack watching horse-racing. It was only our second time going, the first time we went was probably a decade ago, for Rob's work Xmas party one year. We had a good time then, so decided to go again. We made reservations for one of the dining rooms, and spent a leisurely afternoon watching races and enjoying the buffet. We did bet, but as newbies we didn't really know what we were doing, but the excitement when your horse is in the lead is awesome! We didn't leave with any extra money in our pockets, but we did have a lot of fun.

Enjoying the day together.
Cheers!
Giddy Up!
Rob's turn.
Cake at home later in the evening.
  The celebration didn't end Friday. On Saturday we went to friends to have a double celebration. My friend Andi's birthday is June 7th, so for the fourth year in a row, we enjoyed a lobster feast together. She cooks lobster better than anyone I know, and I look forward to this new birthday tradition more every year.

Dinner is served!
Happy Birthday!
The birthday girls!
 47 down, many more to go!

Monday, June 27, 2016

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY WITH MERRY & MOLLY

What a difference a year makes!
Today marks one year since we brought Merry & Molly home to join our family. Rob wrapped up the past year perfectly in his Facebook status this morning. "Insanity, chaos, destruction and a lot of sweet cavity making heart melting moments throughout."  We look forward to much more memory making with these two.

Our vet, the Royal York Animal Hospital, where we adopted Merry & Molly, sometimes post adoption update stories on their Facebook page, so I sent one last week. It was interesting to me to revisit that time last year, because I realized something after I had wrote it. Below is my letter.

In April of 2015, my husband, Rob and I had to say “goodbye” to our beloved 12 year old cat, Meadow, due to cancer. It was heartbreaking for both of us, and the thought of  getting another cat was far from our minds, thinking it would be years until we did so.

Not long after we lost Meadow, 2 little orphaned kittens were brought to the Royal York Animal Hospital at just days old. They needed round the clock care which staff members provided. I followed their story on RYAH’s Facebook page with interest, Tic & Toc were adorable. I wasn’t thinking at the time about adopting them, but then the day came in June that they went up for adoption. I had showed their picture to my husband earlier, and when they went up for adoption I let him know.

We were driving home from an appointment a day or two after they went up for adoption, and my husband asked me if I wanted to go see the kittens. We went and met them, I believe on a Monday. They were so small, so cute, and just little balls of love. We didn’t leave with them. We had a lot to discuss if we did decide to adopt them. We have budgies, and Meadow never paid any attention to them, but kittens? We had a lot to figure out to keep all of our animal family safe and happy if we decided to adopt them, but the seed was planted, I could not stop thinking about Tic and Toc.

I called the next day to see if they had been adopted yet, and if they had, I would have been happy that they went to good home together, but they were still available.  I called again the next day and Cheryl answered the phone. I took that as a good sign, as she had been an angel to us during Meadow’s illness and passing. We discussed us adopting Tic and Toc, and after a little phone conservation back and forth with Rob, we decided they were meant to be ours. We had already been discussing names, just in case, and had settled on Merry and Molly. It had to be an M name, and their names are characters in two of my favorite books; Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter. I remember being elated when we made the decision to adopt them, and Saturday seemed like forever away instead of three nights. They came home with us on Saturday, June 27th.  

They have two very distinct personalities, Molly is passionate about everything she enjoys; food, sleeping and play. Merry is a bit more of a diva, and demands play time with her human parents. Merry is also “Daddy’s Girl”, and watching them together is precious. Molly is more a free spirit who is happy to see anyone who comes to the house. They still love each other and are often found cuddled up together sleeping. They are best buds, but enjoy their individual time  with us or alone to play as well.

They are indoor cats, but we recently introduced to them to the backyard, which they had enjoyed through the kitchen window the last few months. We have  a "Kittywalk" enclosure for them, and they seem to to enjoy being outside with us for short periods of time to watch the birds and squirrels that frequent our yard.  Some would say they are spoiled, I prefer to say they are well taken care of.

I want to personally thank the staff at RYAH for all the care given these two kittens when they needed it most. We haven't replaced Meadow, you can't replace a family member, but adding Merry and Molly to our lives has made our house feel like a home once again.
Angie & Rob

After writing this and reading it a couple times, it dawned on me, we needed them as much as they needed a home.

Click here for the video of them taking their first steps in their new home.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

MERRY & MOLLY GO OUTSIDE

Merry & Molly's Kitty Walk
We weren't sure if Merry and Molly were going to join us in the backyard this summer. We know they are still too rambunctious for a leash and harness, and it wouldn't be very relaxing for us to be constantly chasing them. We didn't really want to build something permanent, as we didn't want them outside unsupervised anyway. The "Kitty Walk" system was the perfect solution. I saw a version of it on a friends Facebook page and inquired about it. I purchased one within the week!

On June 4th we set it up for the first time, and brought the kitties out. They were pretty nervous at first, not because of the enclosure really, but all the new noises and smells. They settled down after about a half hour of sniffing and pawing at it to watch the birds and squirrels. We purchased the 10 foot lawn version, and it's quite roomy for the two of them. We're sure they will get more use to it and being outside as the summer goes on, and we haven't given up hope that one year we will be able to take them out on a leash and harness. But this is perfect for now. They're safe, and so are the birds and squirrels.

Merry checking things out.
Molly at the other end.
Settled down to watch the pigeons.
I can't write this blog without mentioning Meadow. She was awesome outside. She took to her leash and harness like a fish to water. I'm proud to say she didn't kill one bird. She liked to chase the squirrels, but stopped when they did. She could of cared less about pigeons really, often ignoring them as they walked right by her. She would chase butterflies and chipmunks, but we never let her catch one. She was a joy to be outside with, and often made me laugh out loud. I think she used to get herself tangled up just so Rob would have to untangle her, and get a little more of his attention.

Merry and Molly may never be as good as Meadow outside, but we can hope.

Backyard Bliss for Meadow.
Enjoying the backyard.
Meadow loved being outside with us.