Almost Forgot about ‘Em

It’s possible I have so many cameras that I might forget about pictures I take with them… possible, anyway.

I just found these shots from my time in Puerto Rico. Who knew these little gems were just waiting for the flash of “what happened to those pictures…” I might have at some point.

Just a Little Cuteness & Togetherness

Things You Might Stumble on in My Yard

The Amazing Cheddar

Today Cop’er & I brought home our newest ‘son,’ Cheddar. We finalized the adoption on Saturday at the Richmond Animal Care & Control office. Cheddar (also known as “Scooby Snacks” in a former life) was first spotted on their website. I zeroed in on him like a heat-seeking missile to its target. He had all the criteria I was looking for—orange, not a teeny kitty and friendly.

When they led us into the ‘cat room’, we were shown other orange kitties, but again found ourselves drawn to the now-familiar face of Cheddar. I asked to hold him & he just sat in my arms, looking around. The volunteers in the room kept commenting on how he looked to comfortable just sitting there.

I didn’t need to see any other cats—i knew Cheddar was the one. So I put him back into his cage & went out front to see about some adoption paperwork. We filled everything out and even had a few tests done on the spot to make sure Cheddar didn’t have anything he could transfer to Moodles. He came up negative—luckily!

We couldn’t bring him home until today because he needed to be neutered. I don’t think he’s going to be hookin’ with Moodles, but I know they need to have it done for my sanity too! Cop’er went by the SPCA today & brought home the little cardboard box that held our newest family member.

I, of course, spent part of the day getting ‘his room’ ready. I decided to move Cheddar into the laundry room. It something we were going to do with Moodles anyway, but this was the perfect time to make the transition. He has all he needs in there including a window to look out of. Unless he’s looking for birds that land on the roof, he’s not going to be seeing anything!

According to Sister Fantanimal, I should let Cheddar chill in his room & allow the other animals to get used to his smell from under the door. Well, we have no patience for that! We let Moodles get a glimpse & sniff of Cheddar before he made his way into his quarters. I’m not sure Moodles is on the bandwagon for sharing his mommy however… he followed up the sniffing with growls & hisses. Let’s hope this is just the warming up phase!

The dogs… what can I say? They are who they are. NUTS! So far they have only gotten scents from the carrier & from under the door. I let Lil Guy in the laundry room for a VERY BRIEF SECOND & Cheddar turned into a cheese puff!

I took Cheddar into our guest room while I worked on organizing ‘things’ and so he could look around without the peering eyes of his siblings. He must’ve checked every nook & cranny in the room & then came back to get lots of pets from me. He seems to be quite affectionate and loving!

Now... I just need everyone to get along so Cheddar doesn't have to LIVE in the laundry room!

Observations... & then some.

Most of you know that i was in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the last week. Unfortunately it wasn’t for vacation… it was for work! Cop’er, on the other hand, came with me & HE managed to have a relaxing time. Lucky him.

While in for PR, it was impossible not to notice things, make observations, assumptions & conclusions. Now I would like to share those things with you. Buckle up.

1. Even though the temperature seemed to be a reprieve from the 100+ degrees we were having in my neck of the woods, it was not to be. With temps in the 85+ range & 100% humidity, I was actually wishing I was home to cool off! Lower temps there = deception! Even the people who live there complained about the ‘heat’ & it’s like that all the time!
2. Because of #1, I would have to say open air hotel lobbies & bars are NOT a good thing.
3. Puerto Rico is in the “Caribbean” – both location & attitude. That said, they move at a MUCH slower pace than anyone on mainland US & that includes the snail-paced people of the southern states. If you were at a restaurant & in a hurry, you would have had faster service by going into the kitchen & preparing your own meal. I have NEVER been anywhere with slower service.
4. But let’s not stop there… everywhere we went, it was SLOW—the airport, the hotel, the restaurants, the services, the response time, the attitude.
5. There were lots of homeless people in the city.
6. Puerto Rico is a territory of the US. The people are citizens, but are not allowed to vote for President. They do not pay federal taxes. But even knowing all this, I have come to the conclusion that they really aren’t part of the US. The majority speak Spanish; they drive like all the other Caribbean islands I have been to(without real rules and structure); etc.
7. The citizens of PR… they like their Crocs!
8. You can buy alcohol in the drugstores and even some fast food establishments.
9. The water at the beach of the resort was so warm it was ALMOST too warm. I thought I was working up a sweat just floating!
10. There are lots of lizard-ish things walking around… as frequent as squirrels here!
11. If you are thinking about buying rum at the duty-free shop on your way INTO PR, don’t bother. It’s not going to happen.
12. When you are leaving PR, you have to have all your bags checked by the USDA. No produce or exotic animals are allowed to be packed into your luggage. That was a first for me.
13. Cop’er & I have thought about cruising out of San Juan, but after this trip, we’ve marked that off the list of things to do. I can really say I don’t have much interest in going back. I might be southern, but I like my life a little faster paced.

I managed to take some shots of the hotel. And before you say I had time to ‘sightsee’, I’d like you to know that my sightseeing was a day and 1/2. The rest was working (long hours) or too tired to do anything. Good thing Cop’er saw enough for both of us… + we’d been there before!