Ronon Dex, kitten fighter

We had three cats—a full house—when my friend Meghan called me one night. “I found a kitten,” she began. Her own cats were not friendly enough for her to keep it even temporarily to find it a home, and she wanted to know if we could foster him and find a home for him. I agreed to it as long as she took him to the vet...
Read Article →

Indigo, a too-brief friendship

When Dan lived in his top-floor apartment in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, the downstairs neighbors were feeding a local stray cat. The cat was friendly and would come over to get pet when he saw you. When I moved up to Ohio and Dan and I moved into a house in Independence, Dan’s downstairs neighbors were also moving out. Actually, they’d moved out a few days before.

We were back getting the last few boxes of...
Read Article →

Cory the Cat

This is the story of Cory, one of our cats. I figured it was time to immortalize the kitties in word.

I’m not sure how old Cory is because he was a stray when I acquired him. I was moving out of an apartment in Marietta, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta) into a house in Acworth (another suburb of Atlanta) and my ex-husband still had custody of my...
Read Article →

May 2008 Newsletter

Well it’s been a while since the last newsletter. As far as the website goes, I’ve upgraded the software I use to run it, and after working out a bug where all of the titles vanished, it seems to be quite stable. I’ve added a few features. One is a copy&paste bit at the bottom of each article on the off chance anyone wanted to link to it. Another is an additional search box at...
Read Article →

Misty the Wonder Horse

When I was growing up, my godmother, Barrie, had a horse named Misty. She was all white and generally very friendly. One of my earlier memories of her was being totally grossed out when she licked my hand and the spit foamed up. I’ve always been an animal lover, and horses are no exception. I loved to ride Misty when I got the chance…

Oddly, Misty sometimes had other ideas.

When I was three or...
Read Article →

Cast of Characters

Just to help keep things straight, the cast of characters appearing in my various tales…

Me, OpalCat/Katherine, born February 11, 1972 in Tucson, Arizona, currently living in Massachusetts, about a half-hour west of Boston. Married in 1991 at age 19, which lasted 15 years; remarried in 2009 at 37.

Dominic, my son, born September 15, 1995.

Dan, my husband, born February 22, 1977; originally from Atlanta, Georgia, who attended podiatry school in Cleveland, OH, and with whom I...
Read Article →

Pregnancy Tips

So you’re pregnant for the first time. Congratulations! Pregnancy is one of the most special times of your whole life. Here are a few tips that may make your pregnancy easier, more fun, or something.

Tip #1
Take pictures. Take a picture in a similar pose every 2 weeks. It may feel embarrassing because your body is looking so different, but you will treasure the photos later, and your kid(s) will be fascinated by them.

Tip #2

Read Article →

Theory of Relativity

Well, of Relatives anyway. Ok there really isn’t a theory associated with my relatives, either, but here is a quick run-down of the members of my family and a rough timeline of relevant stuff.

My primary family member is my little boy, Dominic, (born September 15, 1995), and there are also my cats, Ding and Cory.

When I was still a baby, my parents parted ways. My mother has never remarried and is a...
Read Article →

Runaway

When I was 17 years old, at the beginning of the summer between my junior and senior years in high school, I ran away from home. (I’m 31 now, at the time I’m writing this, and I still stand by my decision. It was the culmination of 17 years worth of stuff going on… maybe I’ll write about the “final straw” sometime, but not now.)

I had a car… it was a hand-me-down from my...
Read Article →