This photo is rather remarkable because I took it while holding the camera and the shutter speed was 1/15 sec.

…to have pictures of just one cat and not the other two and the dog.

Ana

 Baz

 Zach

The camera got here. I can no longer blame bad photos on the camera. Now it’s obvious when it’s me. Mostly I shake. I did get a couple of good photos of one of my cats.

I am currently at 50 pages on my script. I wrote extra pages last week because I wasn’t going to be able to write over the weekend. Overall the weekend was good. So after being away, I have a lot to take care of today.

I am currently coaching the leadership program that I began last fall. I haven’t completely enjoyed coaching, but after this weekend, it’s great. I get to know some really great people. The weekend classrooms that happen every six weeks are great becausether are people from Northern California, Seattle and surrounding areas, and Vancouver.

My cats need extra attention because I have been gone. It’s driving me crazy to constantly have a cat (they rotate) at my feet or in my lap.

I’m away for the weekend, so I’m posting about upcoming events around the area. On March 15 nd 16, the Cat Fanciers’ Association San Francisco Revelers group is having their cat show in San Jose. It will be at the fairgrounds on Tully Road. I wish I could be there. I want to see if anyone is showing Egyptian Maus in the area. The show begins at 10 am Saturday and Sunday and ends at 5 pm. You may contact revelers@earthlink.net for more information. I probably will to find out if someone is showing Egyptian Maus. I want a kitten.

Last night’s earthquake was a bit scary because I wasn’t sure if things were going to fall out of the cupboards and off the shelves. Nothing did. The cats hid for over an hour under the bed. We just had another quake (3.7) around 4 pm. The cats hid again. The dog isn’t very happy about the ground shaking either. Last night I checked every room, every shelf, closet and cupboard. I pushed everything back in place. I spent about an hour las tnight afterwards feeling nauseous. A typical reaction for me. This is only my third earthquake (fourth if you count this afternoon’s).

Hamlet is gone. He was sick for quite some time and much worse lately. Yesterday he couldn’t walk far without falling over. I had been allowing him to go outside in the past month because it seemed to make him happy. This morning he wasn’t outside waiting. I suspect he hid somewhere to die. He was only seven years old. He was the oldest cat who was picked from the Humane Society in Missouri by my son. He traveled from Missouri to California by car in the back seat with Ana, my Great Dane, when I first moved out here. He howled most of the way. He always hated car rides.

The weekend provided a gigantic release of anger and pain. I was so caught up in getting everything done yesterday that I didn’t get to over the weekend that I forgot to post here. Lots of things have happened in my life–mostly a different view.  I can really be with people now, but sometimes that means that people are putting meaning on the interaction that isn’t there. If you’re interested in a different view of life (enthusiastic, fun, playful), check this out (this will begin a video). Let me know what you think. I would like to hear about it.

In other news…

My cat Hamlet looks very sick right now. He eats, but he’s nearly a skeleton. It’s sad to watch him waste away. He’s not the only pet either. My sister’s dog has liver problems, and he’s wasting away. He’s young too. My mother’s dog is having chemotherapy to prevent cancerous lumps from returning.

Well I survived the trek to San Francisco three days straight for my weekend leadership training seminar. I decided to drive each day so I could sleep in my own bed and save some money. My hybrid only used slightly over half a tank of gas. I’m not sure what to tell you about the weekend. I sat next to an interesting guy from Los Angeles for part of the seminar. Sitting next to him helped lighten up my mood. It can be easy to get a bit too serious. Frankly, not long after sitting near him and his flirting, I wanted to jump him. I was good though and didn’t. Today I’m left wondering if I missed an opportunity there.

My cats are happy that I’m home. The two youngest, Max and Zach, turned two on Sunday. They had treats on Friday. Their pictures have been posted previously.

I did notice that when I was talking to a friend this morning that I already sound different. It’s amazing that I noticed. Typically everyone else notices before I do.

This is probably not a regular Wednesday feature, but I came across this article about flame retardants and cats that I found interesting. I have several. None have thyroid disease that I know of. Apparently lots of cats are getting thyroid disease, and scientists have linked it to flame retardants in furniture. The compounds polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Another source of PBDEs is in canned fish/seafood flavored cat food, such as salmon and whitefish. Cat diets based on fish-flavored canned food could have PBDE levels 12 times as high as dry-food diets. Cats may get more than 100 times greater dietary PBDE exposure than American adults. Another reason to be careful of what you feed your pets. Of course, humans have high PBDE exposure as well. It appears that we are killing ourselves–and our pets–with the chemicals we have used.

This article can be found online in the semi-monthly journal, Environmental Science and Technology, from the American Chemical Society.