The Cats Are On A Diet

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I took Lucy and Olivia to the vet last week. Both needed their nails trimmed and Olivia was due for some shots. I pulled Olivia out first and set her on the exam table. The vet tech was an elderly woman, new to the clinic.

"Oh my," she said, looking at the crouched ball of fur on the table and trying to conceal her shock. "Is the other one this big too?" 

Olivia weighed in at 16 lbs. Lucy is "down" to around 14, but that's only because she lost a few pounds due to her hyperthyroidism. The problem is the cats won't play. We roll jingle balls in front of them, dangle feathers in their face, and pull out the laser light. Nothing. Maybe an annoyed twitch of the tail that we've disturbed their slumber. 

Still, our vet gave me "the talk." Bottom line, our cats have to lose weight. 

So we've cut back on the food. One quarter scoop less in the morning and evening and eating times are strictly observed. No filling the food dish at 3:30 in the afternoon, just because it's empty. I have the hard part of this deal because I'm the one home when the cats are moaning in hunger and throwing themselves at my feet, begging for mercy and a tuna snack. Olivia stomped on my face the other night at 3 AM, hungry and wanting to "talk" about it.

I've been hard core though. No cheating. I wonder though, how long does it take a cat to lose weight? If it's anywhere near as long as it takes me, we're in for a long, hard summer. 

Decorating Diaries: High Falutin' Art

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"New Found Friend" I'm embarrassed to admit how little I know about art. I can't identify periods or painters, and I'm one of those people who in the past has looked at abstract art and sniffed, "I bet you could put a five-year-old's finger painting up against this and no one would know the difference." 

So I felt a little shy when my friend Melanie asked if I'd like to stop by her office to look at art for our newly painted hallway. Melanie is the owner of Molee Fine Art, soon to be known as Lucky Fish Gallery. We were flipping through framed art and I was commenting, "Oh, that's nice. That one's kind of pretty," when all of I sudden I froze and shrieked "KITTY!"

I had found the painting of my dreams. I don't care what you think of it. I adore it. I burst out laughing when I saw it and even though it's just sitting in my writing room at the moment, I grin every time I glance over at it. I can't wait to hang it in the hall. I lu-uh-uh-uve this painting. 

Even better, Blair feels the same. I wondered if this might be a little too much "cat" for him, but he had the same reaction I did. Our rule is never pass by something in life that makes you grin. It's pretty much why we got married.

So this is the start of our hallway art collection. The painting is called "New Found Friend." Don't feel intimidated by my high falutin' art. I'm still a regular person, just like you. 

I just have a totally cool cat painting in my hall.

Cheers,

Dena