New York Renovator

Found on LOL cats. LOL!!

In other news: we’ve been wildly busy. I’ll have an update soon. We’re trying to complete the walls so that we can install cabinets on Sunday. It’s a very ambitious goal, I’m not sure we’ll make it! More to come…

I did something a little different and wrote a post about Livvy over at my other blog, Freaky Frugalite. You can learn all about my darling Tabby-Point Siamese there! And feel free to join in the meme. Karen started it, and it’s a lot of fun (not to mention, very easy!).

This is a slightly older photo, when my desk was still plaster-dust free and the carpet had no sawdust embedded in its fibers.

One of the tougher things about living in the house you are renovating is the dirt. EVERYTHING is disgustingly dirty and dusty. And I am too busy and too exhausted to constantly clean it, and it is so pervasive. A dirty house can be depressing. It’s hard to eat from paper plates every day… to relax in junky plastic patio chairs every evening… to try to maintain the piles of laundry when you have no dryer and it rains every day… But we are pretty perky folk, doing our best to roll with the punches. And thank God, there have been no mishaps during this process. I knew from the beginning that this would be a stressful time… I had no idea how very stressful renovation on a major scale can be. Add to the mix all the other things going on this summer, and it’s been downright tough at times. But hope springs eternal.

I’ve been waiting for this moment for 13+ years. Probably more like 25 years. It’s finally here. It’s a HECK of a lot of work, but it’s here. Not only are we renovating two downstairs rooms (the two most important downstairs rooms, to boot), but we are totally installing a new electrical system, a new plumbing system, revising the central heating, and installing an Internet ethernet system. Plus, we’re insulating, planning for future renovations to to upstairs, adding walls, flooring, windows…. all on our own. Well, all on MY own. I am researching and studying and planning and constructing most of the jobs. I have some incredible brothers and sister in Christ helping me, and that has been my sustenance. And The Hubs had taken over the plumbing, which is a huge burden off my back. We’re getting it done!! I’m not going to say it’s a cakewalk, because it has not been. But we are progressing AND the end result will be so rewarding.

Only two more months!!!!

And oh WAIT til you see the “after” photos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Livvy just loves to help out with chores, especially clean, warm laundry. Can you find the kitty?

Have you noticed that the last THREE posts have been about my cat?! I may as well just give the blog over to her… :-p

Winter in February is really, really boring. And Livvy always manages to keep thing so, uh, interesting around here. Actually, she’s been a snot lately, driving us all up the walls. She won’t eat her regular food– the little princess wants Temptations. She’s bored with all her toys, even the new ones– the little princess wants to play with the other cats outside… *sigh*

Well, Livvy is not a feral cat; she’s a Tabby Point Siamese and she’s staying indoors. Plus, we live in town on the most well-traveled road, and I’ve seen quite a few cats get their demise out there… she’s staying inside!

I’m wondering how she will fare when we start our kitchen renovation. She’s terribly curious– always likes to be in the thick of things– so I have to take account of what she will be doing while we rip apart half our house. I am a little concerned about keeping her contained in the house; she’s always trying to sneak out these days.

I think I’ll get her a playpen!! Seriously! It’s called a Fun Run and it looks so adorable. I think my pal Jean has something like this for her cats; don’t you, Jean?

It’s the latest cute thing to come down the pike at Buy.com. They always have great innovative products coupled with amazing weekly deals and sales, I just love them. I’ve been browsing their pet supplies department, finding lots of cute toys and good prices on food and litter. Buy.com is known for their great electronics sales, but they also sell just about everything under the sun, too.

The Fun Run looks perfect. It can come in lengths of 62 feet! I think that would give Livvy plenty of space to explore, run around, and get exhausted. I hope. Lately, she has this really annoying habit of waking us up at 4am…. *sigh* spring just can’t come too soon! I’ll be sure to get plenty of photos when we lock her in it, heh heh!

OK, I’m curious. I’ve been hearing about some gadget called The Furminator amongst you pet owners… enough to make me curious but not enough to make me buy one… until today, that is.

You see, we vacuumed today. And WHOA. How can one little kitty produce SO MUCH fur?! The filter was filled with it.

I guess it’s a sign that our baby is growing up.

So I’m looking for this Furminator thing. I have one question– does this gadget REALLY do what it says it does?? Because I saw this photo and I was floored.

Did you read the print? “Actual hair removed in a single Furminator treatment.”

Wowsa! You could build a couple of cats outta that fluff! The Furminator thing is on sale at Buy.com (plus they have some very cute pet toys that I want to get for Livvy), but I’m wondering if any of you have tried the Furminator. $30 is a big bite to chew if this gadget isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. If you have any experience with the Furminator. I’d love to know. Livy has white fur, and we have dark carpeting… so… you know… we kinda need to hold back the tide of white fluff invading the house….

In case you’re wondering, Buy.com does have pet supplies. They actually have everything supplies: home improvement, kitchen appliances, cookware, vacuum cleaner parts, appareal, books, gardening supplies, and loads more. I love their weekly electronics sale– I think it’s where Buy.com really shines best– but they do have a lot more than electronics. The prices are good and I have found a lot of great deals. And I can finally shop for pet supplies without having to move my cart or ask someone else to move their cart in the grocery aisle!

Livvy has been bored as a chestnut lately. I’m too busy to take her outside, and it seems the only thing she likes to do is watch the birds at the feeder (when they come near). Thank you for your cat-blogging advice on some toys for Livvy! Great advice, people! I LOVE Marg‘s idea of taping empty toilet rolls into a pyramid and placing treats inside… but I haven’t enough toilet rolls yet. However, we have six people in the house and I’m sure we’ll get to that soon… Duni suggested a leather string because cats love leather… I will try that when I can get some leather. I’m sure Livvy would love that, she does like strings.

Lin and Sparkle suggested a big box with holes. Seeing that we ALWAYS have boxes scattered around here (I save them, you just never know when you’re going to need one!), that’s what we tried this week.

She loved it!!

for about three hours…

now, she’s back to staring at the birds. Here’s hoping we never run out of birds!

Anyway, I snapped a photo of her, hiding in the box. Can you find the kitty? Can you see her laser eye?

Thanks for playing. Here’s hoping we can keep her occupied before she drives us all nuts, lol.

My cat Livvy is 15 months old, and she’s never had a hairball. Is that weird? Not that I’m disappointed or anything! It’s just that.. all my other tabby cats coughed up the little balls o’ barfy fuzz regularly (like, every other day, it seemed!) Livvy has not had one. She has emitted a “cough” from time to time; it’s something like a sneeze and a hack. Hmm. It’s kind of comical, when she does it. It’s sudden, loud, and then she acts like nothing has happened.

So today, we were all sitting in our Living Room, enjoying light conversation and our morning coffee before the day’s chores come crashing in. Our kitty Livvy was meandering around us, spying the assorted bagels that the children were munching. She came very close to sniff the one in my daughter’s hand, and suddenly let out a loud HACK. For a moment, I thought this was THE MOMENT. We stopped our chatting and looked at her, expecting one of those little balls o’…. well, you know…. at any moment.
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We’ve been having such fun with our Find the Kitty series that the other cats have been starting to join in, too. Haha, that, or the children are finding more opportunity to LOOK for photo ops.

Here’s that ham, Fuzzy, our tabby cat. He’s a real cuddly cat, too– the moment you sit in the grass, he’s in your lap.

Livvy is hiding. Find the Kitty!

And this isn’t a Find the Kitty moment, but I found Livvy’s position amusing. She pining in front of the window, because she can’t go outside like the “other” tabby cats.

I haven’t had a cat update in quite some time. My Tabby Point Siamese, Olivia (Livvy for short) will be one year old next month!! I cannot believe it, I just can’t believe it. Like all youngsters, Livvy is rip-roarin’ and ready to bound into adulthood; but like most parents, I am missing those adorable, cuddly, kitten days. It’s hard to believe that it was only a short time ago she went from this to this:

She’s a striking cat, resembling a snow leopard or a Siberian tiger. (Yeah, and sometimes she THINKS she’s a Big Bad Tiger, too!). She also *talks* to us with little kitty sounds (more like pulses, but sometimes they erupt into meows). She’s definitely more like one of the family than *just* a pet; Siamese are bred to be family members. She’s not terribly high strung like her fellow Siamese are, but she does get grouchy when we have visitors. I got her a padded kitty cube to hide in for those times.

She has 6 toes and a kinked tail, which makes her unique all the more. [...]