Brrrr---cold----wind---snow---and more Brrrr. Yep--it's cold and snow and blowy. It was -14 this morning with a wind chill in the mid -30's. The snow has stopped though and late yesterday we finally had the parking lot plowed. We are still in a Snow Emergency Level 3 (for the 2nd day). This means that no one is to be on the road except for an emergency. Yesterday, I believe, was the first day in many many years that we had no visitors.
The kitties and cats are doing fine. We had a bit of a panic Sunday night. The outlet going out to the farm burned and blew. That meant no electricity to the entire farmyard--no heater water buckets for any of the animals and no heat lights to keep warm for the barn cats. They all had clean, dry bedding but it was still a worry with the temps so low. Monday morning early, Gustwiller's came and put a temporary fix on the problem. Soon after that the heat lights were working again and the buckets all thawing. They will fix it more permanently later when the weather is better. They are planning on putting in Jenna Radar between the 2nd and 3rd week of January.
My heartfelt thanks to these 5 people--Elizabeth, Sarah, Emily, Jimmy and Haley. They came before the storm hit and have stayed right here with FFRC during this hard weather. Because of the Level 3, no volunteers were to come in, for safety. These 5 people helped to keep us up and running, the cats fed, the place clean, the laundry caught up and kept our spirits up! I am so so grateful to them. Elizabeth, Sarah and Emily filled in for all the volunteers plus did their own jobs. Jimmy kept things running smooth in the farmyard. Haley has kept Kitty City nice and clean. You are heros to me and the cats.
Today we needed some extra fun! We took hot water each with a different color of food coloring. We took these outside, threw up in the air to see if it would crystalize. It didn't, (found out we should've used boiling water), but we sure ended up with a very pretty parking lot! Then we decided we better knock off the snow overhang on the back roof. Well........that turned out a bit differently than expected. The snow came down with a big chunk of ice, right on Jimmy's head. This caused a small cut on his poor noggin' and so we had to fix him up---pressure and a bit of glue. He did though have to put a 2 foot icicle up to his forehead like a unicorn! Oh my garsh, I laughed so hard my sides hurt (sorry, Jimmy!). Then the cats had to have a "snow party". We brought buckets of fresh snow in and put it on a vinyl tablecloth. The cats were very curious. Tomorrow we'll have to do that again, sprinkled with tuna juice! Then Emily decided to do a "face planting" in the snow inside. It was great. So, we're just now starting our morning work and it's after 12 noon! But, we don't mind--fun is important too!
We had BOXES last night. My big thanks to you!
Anonymous Friend--2 bags of cat snackers, 2 blankies, 7 balls with bells and a kitty cube
Tobyswife for Pania--her own personal food bowl with hearts and swirls and a Pet a Cake bed (looks like a slice of strawberry cake)! And she also received her own leggydew! Pania is thankful!
Eaglewatcher--lunch for all of us during this hard weather!
Anonymous Friend--another meal provided for another meal!
Annette B--Box of Whiskas Purrfectly chicken. For the volunteers--bag of Russell Stovers candy singles. a HUGE peanut butter cup and a DVD for my grandkids "Hoops n Yoyo Ruin Christmas"
Ted E/Cheifted--For Wrigley & Cubby--Chicago Cubs blankie!
Alan & Susan G from GA--card with note, Bag of Famous Amos choc. chip cooks, M&M's bag of Hershey's, Flipz white chocolate pretzels, bag of 3 Musketeers, paper plates, 13 gallon garbage bags, paper towels, non-scratch sponges, q-tips, lots and lots of mousey toys, snackers, large can KMR, Serpentine kitty scratcher (or Bella Lounge!)
Dr. Paul & Linda B from VA--donation in memory of Jack P
Bryant & L\ynnette K from GA--donation in memory of Jack P
IGive.com--a dividend check
Laura & Steve M (Jordan's parents)--note with donation (they adopted Tortie & Keeper)
Jim & Peg M from Defiance--donation in memory of Jack P
Nancy B from IN--note with donation
Yaiza/Yaiza-moon, Soniapaws & Jasper from Spain--picture of a beautiful Jasper and a 3-D holiday card with kitties and doggies
Gill--Catknit ankle socks and 2 kitty with sunglasses wallets
Lori-Cat--looney looops toys
Austin W from Paulding, OH--donation
Connie & Craig A from Defiance--donation
Maryanne O and Peanut/merry_marvin--card, coupons and comics
Jeff W from VA--card and donation in memory of Jack P
Lillian from IL and kittys and card
Terese/yankeechick from NJ--card and feather toys for Kiko!
The surgery date has been changed from the 25th to the 11th. That is this coming Saturday. The weather should be good so it should be a go. It won't be a big surgery list, but we'll have plenty of physicals for Dr. Darcy to do too. We will be able to do the Chicago-5 litter, Piet, DeLeon, possibly Miss Eltoe. Also Shamballie will have his pin removed. Miss Molly will be checked again. Hark will be checked again also. Yvonne will have her physical but will probably hold yet on her spay. Suzanna, Hazel and Kari Kat will have a physical since they were returned. August and Jackson are already neutered but they too will have their physicals.
We also had a returned cat. It's Venice. She is such a beauty. Her family had some things come up that made it impossible for them to keep her so they made the long trip back to Defiance. Venice is done with her quarantine time and with permission from our vets, she is now up in the Main Area as of today. She is so so playful. What a wonderful cat.
For those of you who are having a cold hard winter--spring is just 10 weeks away! We have some things that will be happening for the month of January. Jenna Radar will be "planted" and in working order! The new cabinet/cupboards will be in sometime soon. These will take the place of the red and yellow cabinets. We will have lots more counter space!
Take care and stay warm!
