With photos all taken this very morn you see me not quite at my sparkling best, still trying to shake off the remnants of la grippe, but what can one do when it's merely a waiting game?
And here's the rest of the 'clan':-
My only 'official lodger' - Patchie, coming up to 14 years, and a 'lap-cat' if ever there was one.. Mostly sweetly behaved though he will hiss at me if I make him go out to do his business when he prefers to stay in the warm:-
Bobby - moved in 11 months ago (from God knows where) without asking if it was okay. Very much a house cat who assumes that he can boss everyone round, including me. No idea how old he is, pretty advanced I'd say, and alarmingly fat (which doesn't show up in this pic).
Snowball (I'll have to think of a better name for him) who arrived with Bobby on the very same day last November, so whether they had the same previous home it's quite possible, though he's clearly far younger. Affectionate, but it soon goes to his head and he'll give me a sudden nip with no excuse. And he terrorises Patchie for some reason - have to be always vigilant in keeping them apart.
And lastly the meek and loving Blackso (the Second!). Been coming through the window daily for something like three years. No idea where his real home is, though he seems to have made it here now. However, he's the only one who never ventures inside beyond the kitchen. A real sweetie, quite old too, I imagine.
So that's my current 'family'. Will there have been any changes when I turn 74? Who can say?
Now let's get back to working off the vestiges of this pesky flu......
Oh, and I simply must mention that RTG (arteejee.blogspot.com) shares this day with me (anniversary only, not year - he's a mere stripling in comparison) - so I'm happy to send felicitations in a Philly-ward direction for that purpose.
Happy Happy Birthday, and cheers to many more.
ReplyDeleteLove the family, and how they all seem to have found you.
Thanks Bob.
DeleteThe 'family' have found me by sending out signals, probably through their whiskers, that they've found a sucker who'll give them anything at all that they want. And you know what? They're dead right!
Happy Birthday to you Raybeard!!!!! Will the cats be putting a show on for you? And yes I was wondering if you would change the profile picture. Many happy returns!
ReplyDeleteThanks M.M. The cats put on a show for ME? Hardly! They'll want me to be still at their beck and call full-time, and won't be backward in letting me know when I fall short of their demands.
DeleteI do normally change my profile pic every b/day but I think this year it might have to wait till I can display myself in a more presentable and health-conscious state.
Happy birthday Ray. I hope you are soon back to full health again. Thank you for showing us your delightful family.They obviously know a good thing when they find it.
ReplyDeleteTa Carol. I'm so longing to get back to 'normal', healthwise, which shouldn't be too much to ask, though as one advances in years it does tend to be asking a lot to be delivered quickly. Let's hope.
DeleteHappy birthday dearheart
ReplyDeleteRaymondo , you bring a muchneeded presence to blog land xxx
Thank you so much, JayGee, but you are the one who would be the most sorely missed I'm sure, if, for whatever reason, you had to take a break from blogging, something I wan't never to see happen.
DeleteMy greetings to you and to all your own, more varied clan too.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, friend! you don't look a day over 72! may you have a great year!
ReplyDeleteand pussie pix - oh happy day to see all the cute faces! they have you wrapped around their paws!
PS - RTG is being released from the rehab facility today!
Thanks, W.Q. I'm feeling YEARS OVER 73 right now but that should pass within few more days - as long as it's not me being the one that 'passes'.
DeleteA 'great year' ahead would be nice - it would certainly make for a welcome change!
Sending you birthday wishes from the great state of Ohio! I don't comment often but I never miss a blog entry from you. Love seeing pictures of your "gang"; they are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteTa so much, Elle. Always delightful to have friends pop by now and again, and I dint have many of them in any case. You're ever welcome here.
DeleteThe rest of my 'family' send their appreciations regarding your kind comment.
Happy Birthday! My school year peer and I all turn 75 this academic school year so I am making sure to call as many as I can.
ReplyDeleteDo post a lovely photo as soon as you are feeling well again!
I don't know that many of 'my' generation, Jan, so your wishes are doubly meaningful and welcome. Thanks for your thoughts, and I will try to do a better pic when I'm over this present little hump in health and I look a little more presentable.
DeleteThank you Raybeard for your birthday wishes. Hope you had a great day!
ReplyDeleteIt's been well over 40 years since I last did anything 'special' for my birthday, Todd, and this year was no exception. However, I do appreciate the sentiments behind your comment.
DeleteI trust you fared with something rather more interesting, including, of course, your return home - being where you are right now?
Looking forward to 'speaking' with you further on interesting days ahead in your coming new year. Best wishes from me and the 'boys'.
Happy Belated Birthday, Ray!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm late in reading this, but my very best wishes extend to you every day of the year - - and I hope you're recovering from your illness. It often takes a long time.
I love this post! You've given us a glimpse of yourself and your wonderful feline family. All of the photos are great.
You obviously have extraordinary skill and patience (and love) when caring for four cats!
I now only have two (Scratch and Bosco) and they are a handful....but I couldn't exist without them.
(I like the name Snowball - no need to change it)
Thanks ever so, Jon. The most inconvenient flu has plummeted its depth and is now slowly emerging back into daylight. Not there yet, but we'll get there.
DeleteMy main motivation in caring for the cats is in knowing what a cruel world it is out there I feel obliged to do anything to protect them from the potential of suffering or being in distress, it's an open and shut case.
I've always said that when the cats I have are gone I'll have no more, but like with you and Scratch and Bosco, life without cats would be unthinkable, and anyway, they find me without my having to look for them. I'm a cat-magnet - and strangely, they are nearly always toms who end up here. (It's been over 10 years since my last tabby - who promptly got kittens! No more, please!)
Don't know about the 'Snowball' name. The others recognise their own names, at least the ones I've given them, though not he. I need something short, preferably mono-syllabled, and sufficiently different from the sounds of the others. Have to give it further thought.
Thanks again for your wishes, though.
Happy birthday, my dear friend Ray!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you so much for the pictures of your sweet pussies. Alas, ours have all gone now. The last to leave us, Shadow, died in March at the grand old age of either 20 or 21. The vet estimated he was 1 or 2 when he wandered in. HE claimed his home with us in 2000. At least his end was peaceful, unlike the one only a few months before him who contracted some nasty illness (presumably from one of the feral cats who wander through our yard from time to time). At least by then Shadow only ever stayed inside and avoided Johnny whenever possible. Just as well, because Johnny's illness was so contagious he had to be cremated immediately. We were devastated.
So we are no left sans cats and figure we are a bit old anyway.
Meanwhile, many happy returnsd to you, matey!
Very many thanks, Rozzie. If only cats knew the devastating impact they potentially have on our lives. They have the ability to tear the heart out of us, don't they? - and any wound never heals.
DeleteVery sorry indeed to hear about Shadow. You'll know that I recognise so well the pain you went through.
I'm always worried that at my age any cats I have now, and certainly were I to take on in future, would be likely to survive me, so that's an ever-present concern. But what can one do when one wants to shield them from present sufferings? But I have to say that despite everything else, their presences have enriched my life considerably
Thanks once more for your b'day wishes.
Felicitations! I hope you enjoyed your birthday, grippe notwithstanding. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Walt, even if it was 'just another day' with nothing special doing. But your sentiments are most appreciated, I can assure you.
DeleteSo first I was early and now I’m late. Happy 73rd! So sorry it arrived with a case of the grippe!
ReplyDeleteYour wishes as valuable as if they'd been on time, Mitch. Greatly appreciated. Thanks.
DeleteHappy belated birthday, Raybeard. And thanks for the pictures of your sweet family.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Adie. A little late, maybe, but no less appreciated for all that. XXX.
DeleteMany happy returns!
ReplyDelete"Come celebrate with me this day that every day something has tried to kill me and has failed" - L. Clifton.
'Ta' very much indeed.
DeleteSurviving into every tomorrow has long turned from a 'near certainty', through into a 'likelihood' and will soon become an 'achievement'. The sole consolation is that We're all going in the same direction.