"READ THE CARD! READ THE CARD!"

 POST # 508

The cartoon featured above has been on the owner's fridge for as many years as I have been house sitting here.  No matter how many times I look at it, I have to laugh.  When I've mentioned this cartoon to various people over the years, they always laugh as well, so finally today I decided to share it to a wider audience.

Thankfully, Silken, as well as Piper before her, have never once surprised me with such a gift.  About all I have to deal with is the occasional hair ball that gets upchucked once in a while.

Silken is happy to spend most of her day, just lying around, and enjoying her pampered life.

Indoors or out, Silken knows the perfect place to hang out, so she's a happy furball indeed.

I've got a couple of more days with Silken before the owner returns, and then I'm off once again.  To where, I don't quite know as of this writing, but that's what keeps the life of The Thoughtful Wanderer interesting.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

BACK AND FORTH

 POST # 507

                                                    Leon enjoys the first day of summer.

Well, this is a first.  In all of the years that I have been house/pet sitting, I've never had to care for two places and two furballs at the same time.  Last week, I just had Leon to hang out with, but now in addition to him, I also have Silken.

                                          Silken ponders the stranger in her house.

Judging by the look on Silken's face, she wasn't too happy with the idea that her owner had abandoned her in favour of the house sitter.  Leon on the other hand has become quite friendly.  Poor old Silken hasn't seen me for more than two years, so it's understandable that she was cautious at the beginning.  Things have now settled down, and she's a happier furball than when I arrived.

So each day, I wander back and forth between the two homes, in order to spend time with each one of these lovely critters.  In a couple of days time, Leon's owner will return home, and then I'll be left alone with Silken.  However, if I need a little bit more Leon time, I'm pretty sure that his owner will let me pop in for a visit.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

LEON

 POST # 506

                                                                 SITTING PRETTY

If you scroll down the right side of my blog page, you will eventually come across another white furball with the title "Sitting Pretty" underneath the photo.  That is a photo of a furball that I had many many years ago by the name of Kalopani.  This current furball's name is Leon.  He reminds me of Kalopani in some respects.  Even though Kalopani hasn't been alive now for more than twenty years, it's almost as if she has been transported into the here and now, and I appreciate the memories that are rekindled as a result of meeting Leon.

I was told that he may be somewhat wary around strangers, but it took less than a day for me to have made a new friend.  The cat whisperer strikes yet again.

Leon even let me hold him in my arms, so I guess I'm making progress.

So all in all, it's been a good match so far, and about the only thing that I might consider to be a negative is that Leon certainly likes to shed plenty of his fur, as can be seen from the latest brushing effort on my part.

But hey, it's all a part of the tasks required to keep the resident furball happy, and I enjoy his reaction when he gets brushed, so it's a fair trade.

I'm looking forward to creating a few more precious memories with Leon, prior to moving on to my next sit.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

ORWELL-OH WELL

 POST # 505

On a recent trip to a bookstore I came across Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.  I watched the movie a very long time ago, but never read the book.  I was in the store, the book was there, so I couldn't resist grabbing it.  It was such a bargain, as the store was giving it and some other books away for free.  How could I say no?

It seems like we're living in an Orwellian world these days, perhaps even more Orwellian than he could have ever imagined when he wrote the book.  But here we are.

All we can do is live each and every day as best we can, as we all stumble along this journey we call life.

Orwell-Oh Well.

And as each day presents itself, it's always wise to take time to smell the roses along the way.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer