kanluvscats

2008-06-14T13:10:00.005-05:00

New kittens appeared on the front porch this morning! Two yellow ones and two grey ones. Mommy watched as the kids took their first drinks of water and ate their first hard food.

Today has been uneventful but eye-opening!

2008-04-08T17:55:00.004-05:00

Just tried to post a few minutes ago and apparently had accidentally hit the settings button from English to Hindu! As you can imagine I was shocked. I have no idea what I was changing when it changed the text from English to Hindu.

I have been trying the Picasa Weblog blog. If anyone has ideas or knows what to do to publish the web-album over to the blog and allow the text to come with it, please let me know.

I assumed since blogspot and Picasa are both google and are accessed from the same account that I can import/export to each other and all will come with it. Maybe not, or maybe I need to read more and try harder to figure it out. I do love how the Google Earth attach's to it and automatically shows the picture on the layout of Google Earth and your post.

Today, I have talked several times to my son in Washington DC via e-mail and IM. He is traveling so much all over the country and world with his job and is very tired. As his mother, I worry about him. I try to encourage him to take advantage of the memories that he is making and also to find a positive in everything. We did start to laugh later on when we reminisced about his love of animals and reading encyclopedias as a child and still does through the present. We both remembered some funny stories about him and his brothers and sister and I finally got a feeling that his spirits were lifted a little bit.

Anyway, it's been a pretty laid back day and I don't have much else to say. I sure enjoy hearing from everyone via whatever systems they use. I think that it is important to reassure each other that real friends are those who you can let yourself be totally honest with and share both the good and bad days with and know that they will still love us even when we are having a sad or hard day.

I did read a blog from a woman who had commented to me on one of my blogs. She is from Utah. She stated the importance of sending thank you notes and thanking people for their kindness. I responded to her blog as it did pertain a little to my day and also my beliefs.

To all my friends, please know that I will always be here ready to lend an ear or whatever is needed for you, if you need me! Let's all take a little time to stop and smell the roses and give thanks for what we have.

May God Bless Us One and All and teach us the lessons that we need to learn!

KAN

Pop's sodas on Route 66

2008-04-08T16:22:00.001-05:00

A picture of Pop's Soda Store on historic Route 66. It was a fun place to go. It is in Arcadia, OK, this is just outside of Oklahoma City. It's really worth the adventure! You'll see every type of soda that you could ever imagine and then some! Lot's of Fun!!!!

Pictures from Hot Springs, Arkansas

2008-04-01T23:37:00.008-05:00

Stained glass ceiling from Bath House in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Bath House that has been restored to its former beauty.
Inside, hosted these lovely
stained glass ceilings.

These are a few of the pictures that my boyfriend took when we were in Hot Springs, Arkansas. We toured the city and saw so many beautiful works of art. Back in the day, baseball players and people from all over the country would come to these "Bath Houses" to be "healed" from their injuries and illnesses as it was believed the "springs' cured most any disease or illness that one had.

There were many beautiful historical sites and I will post other pictures of some of the more interesting and beautiful things that we saw. All pictures were taken by my boyfriend, Keith H. Covey and as you might imagine they are all copyrighted by him. To see more of his pictures and to see his blog which includes many more of his photos and creativity go to khcsportsphotos.blogspot.com.

The Power of Love and Prayer

2008-03-28T20:57:00.000-05:00

Today has been a hard day and a sad day in many respects. Yet it is also a joyous one. It seems that love is harder to understand than cards, commercials and the media make it out to be.

We often hurt the ones we love the most without them understanding that what we are trying to do is not hurt them but teach them. If it is done with a pure heart because we love and care about them then hopefully they will know that it is done without deceit and be more open to conversation.

However, each of us do have feelings and they are real to each of us, even to the person who hurts us and who we hurt. Knowing that feelings are non-negotiable, Love is truly very hard to figure out. I am learning that no matter what and no matter how badly the ones that we love so much hurt us or we hurt them, that we should continue to love them and accept their actions and overlook their reactions unconditionally, (as hard as it might be), as they must not be at the place in their life that we are.

Keeping this in mind, we should forgive each other and know that if they really knew that we cared for them unconditionally, and only wanted the best for them, maybe they wouldn't react to the things we do with such hatred. They sometimes react to us in ways that cause us to feel such torrid pain that they don't take into account how we feel or at least accept that what we are doing is done out of love and with the best intentions for them.

We often do things with the best intentions and it backfires in our faces. If people could just understand that if what we do, is truly done without malice, and because we care and love them, then maybe they would understand that our intentions are pure.

Hopefully, if we keep this in mind, the next time someone hurts us, we will try and understand where they are coming from and if we know that it is done with a pure heart, then we will either "agree to disagree" or discuss the problems and not let our feelings and actions get out of control to the point that dialogue and discussions are stopped and an invisible brick wall is put up.

May we all try and be more tolerant of one another and do as God has asked us to do and as he does with each of us and that is to Love us Unconditionally, with all of our faults and imperfections.

Kan

Thursday's Post

2008-03-27T20:05:00.001-05:00

Continued working and searching the internet to try and figure out all the different blog feeds etc... If anyone has suggestions or ideas that are helpful, I would love any comments! This is all so new to me.

I've been working on my blog less than a month and really am just starting to understand the very basics.

Would welcome any help!

Wednesday Blog

2008-03-27T19:53:00.000-05:00

Did more researching of blogs and how this enormous "new world" works! Ran errands, gathered and worked on geting everything together and took my taxes to my accountant. Did a bunch of errands.

I did read one of the funniest blogs about a woman and her coupons as well as looking through blogs and saw the most beautiful blog that I've seen in a long time. About a lion who was raised by humans then released in the wild, was followed some how ( a chip maybe) and then after delivering her own cubs and living in the wild was reunited with her human "parent's who raised her" and she her jaw dropped and she came running over to them and jumped up in the arms and licked and kissed them and it was the most unbelievable, beautiful, inspiring video blogs that I've seen.

The lion was still so attached to them and it shows that they have such intense memories and love!

We should all be so lucky as to have a lion love us like that!

KAN

Tuesday's Blog

2008-03-25T20:45:00.001-05:00

Had a busy day. Trying to get organized and stuff together and all in order, then my daughter called and needed me to bring her her work-out clothes down to work so she could work out in the gym after class is over tonight. Then she needed me to make a bank run for her. Finally, was heading back to continue my project and my ex-sister-in-law called and was in town for Easter from St. Louis, and wanted me to come over and see the kids and everyone.

Went over to my other ex-sisters-in-law and had a great visit with them. The kids have gotten so big. One is 3 yrs old, then a kindergartner, 3rd grader and 6th grader. I was always very close to their mother and the kids and I had kept the girls for a week about 6-7 years ago down here in Oklahoma City while "mom and dad" took a vacation. I had taken them to the Zoo and Omniplex etc... and made them a photo scrap book. Believe it or not, they still have it and Haley still carries it around with her. The kindergartner I haven't seen since she was first born, when I went up to St. Louis to stay and help her mother take care of her and the other two kiddo's. As for the 3 year old boy, I haven't seen him since he was a newborn either. He lives here in Oklahoma City. I have seen him only about two times, but we had a great time together. He wanted to play "hot wheels" and having three boys of my own, it really brought back wonderful memories, so I watched and encouraged him and his fun! Also, the three girls have "American Girl" dolls and my daughter had those too, and since they are older and remember me a lot more, we had so much to talk about too. The oldest girl won 2nd place nationwide in gymnastics in her age bracket. She is going to try-out to qualify for the "elite" team? Apparently if she makes this, she will be eligible for Olympic training etc... She is going to Chicago next month for another event of some type. It is obvious that I don't know exactly what all is involved in the gymnastics protocol etc..., but no matter what, I'm proud of her! We played outside and they swung in the swing attached in the tree and had Popsicle's and lots of "fresh air."

It was wonderful to catch up and see them all again. This Easter was one of the best in years! I am a very lucky woman to have such a wonderful large, extended family whom God has blessed me with!

Praise Be To GOD!

KAN

Monday's Post

2008-03-25T20:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I tried adding a voting pole for "which is the cutest cat of ours?" It was neat, except that we each voted for our favorite cat and then couldn't add any other votes, so I took it off my blog. Still definitely learning all this blog lingo. So, no post for Monday anymore, and we move on to Tuesday.

Easter Sunday

2008-03-23T16:57:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter to everyone! This is one of the earliest Easters that I ever remember and I hear that we will never see another Easter this early in our lifetime. The weather is sunny and beautiful but a little on the cool side. We were lucky to have such a glorious day on this of the most Holiest days!

My boyfriend and I were graciously treated to Easter lunch today by his mother. We had a wonderful time and there is nothing more special than being together with parents and family and our dear friends whenever possible!

I was able to see two of my four children today and for this I am very thankful! The other two were not in town. One was on the road returning home from spring break and the other lives in Washington, D.C.

I thank God everyday for the blessings that he has given me especially being so lucky to have such a wonderful family and the many loving friends in my life. I am going to make sure that I continue my Easter resolution that each time I am with one of my loved ones to thank God, and never take them for granted and to pray for the ones that I am unable to physically be with, due to whatever circumstances.

Glory be to God!

KAN

Ft. Reno Cemetary and Historical Site

2008-03-21T21:48:00.000-05:00

We went to the Ft. Reno Cemetery and Historical Site in El Reno, OK. It had tombstones in the graveyard from both German and Italian "Prisoners Of War" from World War II. There were Indian and other Americans who served and buried there as well.

The cemetery was divided by a brick wall and stairs, to separate the POW's from the Americans. We talked to one of the nicest and last surviving "Buffalo Soldiers" who fought in the war. He worked at the visitor center. He said that there were six black regiments, two of cavalry and four of infantry which Congress authorized in 1866. I believe that Danny Glover was in a movie about the "Buffalo Soldiers", however, there are lots of other movies that have been made about these brave soldiers too.

Ft Reno was initially established to quell the unrest among the Indians in the area during 1874. Thirty-two Cheyenne and Arapaho men and one woman were arrested for their alleged role in the 1874 Uprisings and were taken as prisoners to Florida. Several years later, some of these former prisoners were returned to the area and served as "Indian Scouts" at Ft. Reno as well as a Camp Supply to the northwest.

This National Historical Site was named after Major General Jesse Reno who served in the Civil War. He was one of the most promising and honored men who fought but was subsequently killed during the Civil War. The Fort was built to help provide an orderly transition from Indian Territory to individual farms and ranches. Troops from Ft. Reno supervised the first great "Land Run" of 1889 that opened the unassigned lands for settlement, and hence Oklahoma became a state.

The cemetery divides the Prisoners of War graves from the Americans graves. It was interesting that they would abbreviate the peoples names on the tombstones. On some of the infant graves, it would just say "Infant" and a date or there might be child's name and have a fence (which looked liked a baby bed) around it. The child's date of death was usually the only date on it and if the child had been named it might say "Mary 2 days old" or Robert 22 months 10 days and then the date. A few of the graves were those of Indians from Oklahoma since it was still Indian Territory for some time when the cemetery was first erected. Their tombstones would give their name, date, and then give a rank or they were from or "I.T." for Indian Territory or if they were "Indian Scouts", that would be listed on their grave as well.

The government is trying to preserve the buildings on this historical site. Right now only the visitor center and Chapel are open to the public. They are working on the restoration of the POW's barracks and other quarters on the compound. We drove by and saw the Officer's quarters, Calvary barracks, guard house, etc...

For those of you who like history or have an interest in Wars etc..., I would suggest that you check this out. It was an enjoyable, educational and a very interesting place to visit.

We saw so many wonderful historical artifacts and also learned that "Black Jack" (the horse that walked behind President JFK, President Johnson, and two other presidents) during their funeral processions was born and raised at Fort Reno. There were pictures of these presidents with "Black Jack" walking behind their funeral processions at the Center.

Also, Amelia Earhart (who I am related to) landed her autogiro at the Fort Reno airstrip in the 1920's. Will Rogers, Wiley Post, and numerous other famous people would come and watch horse racing and polo as well as other sporting events.

Some of the above information is taken from brochures obtained at the Visitors Center. For more information visit http://www.fortreno.org/.

KAN

My Handsome Son!

2008-03-19T14:13:00.000-05:00

My Handsome Son and his girlfriend!

2008-03-19T14:02:00.000-05:00

My Handsome Son and his friend!

2008-03-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

2008-03-19T08:36:00.000-05:00

My Beautiful Daughter!!

Purrfect at different ages and acting like his silly self

2008-03-18T23:23:00.000-05:00

These are three pictures of Purrfect!

He is acting composed (current picture)
His mouth wide open laughing out loud (LOL)!! (fairly current photo)
As a baby, he looked like an Alien (about 2-3 months old)

He is such a wonderful cat and so loving and really knows how to snuggle with his "mommy!"

KAN

2008-03-18T23:03:00.000-05:00

Composed and acting totally Purrfect !

2008-03-18T23:02:00.000-05:00

Purrfect is an LOL Cat !

2008-03-18T23:01:00.000-05:00

Purrfect looks like an Alien Cat !

The sadness of Meredith

2008-03-18T20:43:00.000-05:00

Today has been a hard day. Very rainy and cold. We found a cat outside about two years ago, a very pretty gray and white cat and we named it Meredith after Meredith Gray on the T.V. show Gray's Anatomy. It was very afraid of people and never wanted to come inside, or be touched by people but, it did however, hang around outside all of the time. So we gave it food and water. It was very much a feral cat. During the winter we brought it inside to stay out of the ice and snow and that is when we found out that our "Meredith" was a boy. By this time, he knew his name was Meredith, so we just kept it.

Being a feral cat, he was never totally comfortable with us, nor the inside, but during the winter, he did stay inside most of the time. Then being the feral cat that he is, we found that he was better off living outside all of the time. We did continue to put dried food out for him. Slowly but surely, he produced offspring and all of his other cat friends started coming around for dried food and water. It was as if he had a harem. He was the most popular cat around in the cat community anyway!

Today, I noticed that he was soaking wet, shivering and could not walk, stand up, or hold his head up. He was able to turn his head enough toward us to look us in the eyes. He made it somehow to the front porch and sat by the door. It was as though he had come to tell us goodbye and let us know that he was not going to make it. We called the Vet and they said to call the "pound" so as to not have an enormous bill, as they thought by the symptoms, that it was possibly leukemia or something fatal and that we would not be able to save him anyway.

We put warm towels around him to warm him up and dry him up some, and put a little bowl of water and food down for him so if he was able or wanted it, he would have something. He did take a little sip of water and about an hour later, looked up at us and wobbled to a weary stand and was shaking and weaving while almost falling over numerous times and slowly made his way to some bushes. We have not seen him since. His other family members showed up for some dinner but Meredith did not.

We think that he wanted to say goodbye to us, and let us know what had happened to him and to let us know that he would be leaving us. It was so sad and such a tearful time. His eyes were barely opened but what we could see of them they were very dry (dehydrated) looking. He was so sad looking and in so much pain and agony. We sat there with him and told him, that it was OK to let go and that he did not need to suffer anymore, and that we loved him and would miss him and that God was waiting for him and he would not have to suffer anymore and he'd be better off there and it was OK to go on "home" to heaven.

We have not seen him again and are very sad, but we know that this is the life of feral cats. The importance of spaying and neutering feral cats is so important. There are two other cats from his "harem" that are pregnant again and will be adding more to the cat family population again soon. I imagine Meredith is probably the father of them as he was the father to most of the "group".

We are going to try to get in touch wth this agency that will come and pick up as many of the ones that are outside as they are able to catch, and spay and neuter them and give them shots. They return them to the area where they were picked up from, and hopefully by doing this, we can try to stop the over-population of unwanted cats. By this they will not be able to continue to re-populate and then have to end up suffering to survive like Meredith and these others.

I think that this is the humane way to take care of the feral cats. I can't sit back and watch them starve to death or catch horrible diseases like Meredith has had to suffer with, but by continuing to feed them, are we really doing the right thing either? What is the right answer to this question?

As the Bible says, "Where were you when I was hungry?" I know he was referring to humans, but I can't stand back and see suffering by anyone or anything if there is a possibility of a resolution to a problem.

Please pray for our Meredith. I know that he will be out of his pain and misery and believe me, I've never seen such suffering as I did today in his eyes and body. He was so sweet and it must have taken so much for him to make it to the front porch to tell us goodbye.

May we all look after and care for each other and all of God's animals and children.

Blessings:

KAN

Purrfect relaxing in the evening

2008-03-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

Kids Traveling

2008-03-16T10:40:00.000-05:00

Well, right now my kids are traveling all over right now. One flying home to D.C. from Hong Kong. Another one of the kids going from Oklahoma to D.C. to see his brother as he returns from Hong Kong. Another that has gone to Dallas for the weekend, and the other one is holding down the fort and working.

It is a very holy week this week. I pray that God will protect our children as they are traveling all over and keep them safe and bring them home safely. I pray for each of them that they get the healing of their internal wounds through the Grace of God.

We all need to heal our internal wounds and I pray that God will comfort and give us all the peace to do this. As we travel down our roads of life, may we listen to God (our inner voice) and have the strength to make the changes that we need too so that we are all better and happier people. May we all be comforted by the Grace of God.

Blessings for the week

KAN

Going Shopping

2008-03-14T22:32:00.000-05:00

Mom, take me shopping!

The phone won't quit ringing!

2008-03-14T22:11:00.000-05:00

Say What?

I don't look like a Prairie Dog!

Prairie Dog? I don't think so!

After a long day of shopping

2008-03-14T22:06:00.000-05:00

So tired that I can't hear you! Shopping wore me out!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Leave me alone! Not ready to get up yet!

Still don't want to wake up, MOM!

King Sox and Queen Laya

2008-03-14T21:59:00.000-05:00

I have my tux on cuz I'm King "Sox"! My Queen "Laya" is behind me (always wanting to do what I do) I guess you'd call her a "copy cat!"

Purrfect wants to go shopping to by a tux like mine! (hahahahaha)

King Sox says: All these "others" are hanging around and bugging me and my Queen Laya!

I love Shopping and I want to go NOW

2008-03-14T21:56:00.000-05:00

Purrfect Passed out watching animal planet

2008-03-14T21:38:00.000-05:00

All worn out, that show about cats was very interesting