Talullah's World

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful but very petite cat. Her owners didn’t take good care of her and chose not to spay her. Inevitably, she became with kittens and when the owner found out, they dumped her out in the country to fend for herself.

A woman who lived out in the country found the beautiful but petite cat and took her into her home. The beautiful but petite cat had three little kittens, two girls and a boy. One of the girls was called Shadow by the woman’s daughter and Shadow was a very playful and not so cuddly kitty.

The woman knew a family that would love Shadow to pieces and really wanted a playful kitty over a cuddly kitty. So, when Shadow was nearly six months old, she moved to her new home where she was always loved and played with. She could be a real stinker sometimes and her new humans sometimes jokingly called her Trouble.

Trouble lived happily with her new family for a couple of years. She loved being the only cat and ruled the house with her silly antics. Sometimes she would wake her humans in the middle of the night by racing around the house just to burn off some energy. Trouble is an indoor cat because the neighborhood where her human family lives has a lot of traffic and her humans don’t want her to get hurt. They showed her the green house window so that trouble could always watch the world outside, and as Trouble grew, the plants moved out of the bottom of the window so that Trouble could have that space all for herself.  Just outside of the window is an old Sycamore tree and trouble loves watching the birds as they come to the tree for a place to rest.

One day, one of Trouble’s humans was outside on the porch. She noticed a small cat walking around the neighborhood and approaching any human it could find. It would walk along side them and meow whilst looking up at them, hoping with all of his kitty heart that one day a human would notice and give him a little attention.

Every day, the humans ignored the little cat and Trouble’s human noticed him getting thinner and thinner. One of the neighbors pointed out that the little cat had been hiding under the house for shelter. Trouble’s human decided enough was enough and tried to call the little cat over to her. The little cat would not come as he was afraid. He was a beautiful little thing with huge feet.

Trouble’s human knew just how to get the little cat to come over to her. She went inside quickly, grabbed two bowls and filled one with water. Then she grabbed a bag of dry cat food and took everything outside. She set down the bowl with water and the empty bowl, then she shook the bag of food as vigorously as she could. The little cat came running over, as his hunger was far stronger than his fear.

The food was poured into the bowl and he shoved his little face into the bowl as quickly as he could. The woman sat down in a chair nearby and just watched and waited. The little cat looked over at her, then came over to show his love. She petted him and felt his bones through his fur. After a little more love, she left him to enjoy his food and vowed to feed him so he wouldn’t starve.

The next night the woman went out to fill the food and water bowls again, and the little cat came running over for both something to eat and some love. He never meowed at the woman at all. Later that night, the woman noticed the little cat would take off and run across the very busy street. This really worried her as cats crossing that street had been injured by cars before. She decided that she would catch the little cat and give him a safe shelter in her mud room. The very next day, she managed to do just that. He was given a laundry basket with blankets to sleep in and all the food and water that he wanted. It was on this day that he meowed at her, a raspy dried meow. The woman realized that not only was he very near starving to death, but he was badly dehydrated as well.

Over the next several days, the woman spent time with him. Trouble was not amused and any time the little cat tried to say hi to her, she would hiss, spit and make a deep menacing growl. The woman tried to keep them separated as much as she could by letting the little cat stay on one side of the house, and having Trouble stay on the other side of the house. For a while, it did work.

The little cat was funny, and with each day he began to become more hydrated and less fur and bones. He would get into everything and was a little bit clumsy, often knocking things over. The family decided to name the little cat Zatarra, after the nickname given to Edmond Dantes in “The Count of Monte Cristo” as he had drifted into their lives.

Only one thing bothered little Zatarra in his new home with his new humans. Trouble would not give him the time of day and had no interest in becoming friends with him. When she hissed or growled at him, he would lay down before her in a submissive gesture to show her that he meant no harm. Trouble wasn’t interested and just wanted Zatarra to go away. This was her home!

One day, little Zatarra decided to try a new tactic. He boldly walked up behind Trouble, positioned himself just right and bopped her on the backside with his big paw. Trouble became very agitated, hissing and growling fiercely, but little Zatarra would not go away. He decided that pure mayhem was the solution to making Trouble accept him. He then took his big paw and bopped her on the head and pranced away. He continued this behavior for days, even jumping the kitty gate the humans had installed to keep him and Trouble separated. Trouble’s human began calling little Zatarra “Mayhem” as he was such a little trouble maker and thrived on creating a bit of chaos in the house.

After a few weeks of the bopping, Mayhem didn’t jump the barrier anymore. Trouble thought this was strange and she decided to jump the barrier to see what he was doing. Little by little she watched him and as time passed, she began to accept him as a new member of the family.

Mayhem grew to be larger than Trouble, but Trouble loves to rough house with him. Mayhem loves to find unusual places to take naps and sometimes likes to sit on the sofa.

Trouble just thinks that Mayhem is silly when he sits like the humans. She has no problems expressing her feelings at all.

I know it has been far too long since I’ve posted. For a while, I even took the blog offline as I had my first ever troll and really didn’t have the time or the heart to deal with it. The past few months though, the blog has been on my mind and I’ve been wanting to resurrect it as I’ve missed the friendships and the fun.

The past three and a half years have changed me, and for a while, I wasn’t really suitable for human contact. Anger, bitterness and just not being the nicest person to be around. Life got hard and it got crazy, fast. Jobs are still hard to come by here, unless it’s an underpaid and less than full time position, but we are still in the same little house that we managed to find after we lost the one rental to foreclosure and somehow, we are still making ends meet. It hasn’t been easy, but we did it.

Three and a half years changes you. Life changes you. We’ve had so many changes in our little family. A couple of rescue kitties and some new interests, of course I will be sharing all of this with you in upcoming posts. Hopefully, I will still have some readers out there, but I realize that after so much time passing, many of you may have given up on me.

I gave up knitting for several years, but now I am knitting once again. I am also doing a bit of tatting, filet lacis (knotted net embroidery), solar cooking and so much more. We’ve had our rough patches with Nick’s autism and Sydney is in her final year at elementary school. She’s now in the gifted program and is eligible to join MENSA. She qualified with test scores three years ago.

Since life has changed so much, obviously the blog content will change too. Never worry, there will be knitting/fiber arts, but there will be so many other things too.

I am quietly working to clean up the blog a bit, get rid of a few things that just aren’t necessary anymore, so please be patient and I’ll try and get everything up and running again soon.

All my best,
Christine

It’s been six months since I last posted. A week after we signed the lease, Spurg was laid off of work. We’ve been getting by the best that we can, but that may soon change too. In three weeks, the unemployment runs out. Jobs are scarce around here with the local unemployment rate nearly double what the national rate is. I’m not quite sure how we are going to make it through this one, but if I don’t post for a bit, I know that you will understand. I’m just trying to get my head on straight and figure out what exactly we are going to do next.

I’ve also found out during these silent months, that I do not have arthritis as the doctors and I thought I had for over ten years. I have fibromyalgia of all things. I’m learning to deal with that, learning to live within my limits and just do what I can, when I can without over doing it.

So, my friends, until I can return, when I feel more like writing and I have my life a bit more in order, please take care. Hopefully things will work out and I will be back soon. But for now, I have to focus on my family and keeping a roof over their heads any way that I can. I will be thinking of you and hope that each and everyone of you is doing well.

All my love,

Christine

Strange update.. before bed, Spurg and I talked and he told me to pray for rain.. I told him I would pray for a flood if I thought it would help… at 2:41 a.m. I woke up because of noises outside… I looked out the window and it is raining! Makes me wonder if I should take this as a sign (superstitious creature that I am) since none of the weather reports mentioned the possibility of rain and the last time that I can remember that it rained in June around here was 13 years ago… just saying.

Sometimes when you are all settled in and daily life has become routine, the universal wind blows and changes come whether you like them or not.

On New Year’s Day we went to pay our rent. It was not accepted and we found out the tiny, little house we rent is in foreclosure. The bank is expected to take possession in the next month or two and we will not be allowed to stay long term. After a year of unemployment, the savings is gone. Yes, there has been employment for the last six months, but it hasn’t always been full time which has caused us to fall just a little behind on the bills. We were catching up and getting everything straightened out and then this news of losing our rental.

Even though this is unexpected, it was also expected because of the events of the recession and the death of our landlord fourteen months ago. We had feared it, but then grew comfortable when our fears were not realized and of course that is just when it all happened.

Am I angry about this? In some ways yes, but in other ways, I also understand how it happened and feel sorry for the owner as they did what so many others did by refinancing several times and then my landlord’s failing and unexpected declining health stepped in along with the crash of the housing market and the recession. I’m letting go of the negative feelings as they won’t do anyone any good.

The very next day I sent Spurg out to pick up some boxes.. yes, potentially we have a few months before we have to go, but with all the stuff we have and the lack of room, I wanted to start packing right away so that I could get it all organized as I go. He ran to the shop around the corner and picked some up, then to the liquor store near by. We know the owners of both establishments quite well. One of the owners of the liquor store asked if we were moving and Spurg told him yes but we haven’t found a place yet. The owner pointed out that the house across the street was going to be for rent. Spurg went over there to write down the phone number so we could call to take a look at the place. The door opened and he was greeted by one of the owners. He took a look around and quickly came home to tell me all about it. He had convinced himself that I would not be interested at all, but told me anyway.

After listening to him, I called the owner and set up a time to look at the house the next day. I explained briefly our situation with having to move. He asked how long I had lived in my current residence to which I answered 13 years. He was impressed. I explained how I really wanted to find something around our area because of Sydney wanting to attend the same school and Nick having Autism and not being able to handle change well. We agreed to meet the next afternoon so that I could see the house.

On Sunday, I walked to the house and was warmly greeted by a very nice couple. They showed me the house and we had a nice conversation. The landlord kept going on how my living in one place for 13 years spoke volumes to him. They are not so concerned with credit as so many are having credit problems in this economy, but he wants someone who will pay the rent. There were several couples who quickly looked through the house, but the owners did not pay as much attention to them as they did to me. Both took their turns showing me the rooms and all the little features the home has to offer. He kept making comments of how this just seems meant to be. They had just closed and taken possession of the home as it was a foreclosed property. He explained that he liked to buy older homes with character to fix them up and then rents them out. They had not even listed this house in the paper as being for rent yet.

I took an application and asked them what time they would be leaving so that I could bring it back before that time. Spurg and I quickly filled it out and I walked back, hoping they hadn’t left yet. The house was dark, but before I could knock, the landlady opened the door with a smile on her face. We walked around the house a little bit more. I know that they could see my hesitation as the rent is more than what we pay now. But honestly, anything I rent will be more than I pay now since I locked in my rent so long ago. Mentally, I kept trying to work out the numbers to see if I could do it.. they even offered to do the deposit in payments if they rent to me. I felt like they were trying to figure it all out as much if not more than I was.

They told me of the things that they were going to do to the house before they rent it. New tile floors in the kitchen and bathroom to replace the old linoleum. Maybe a few more cupboards in the kitchen. He is also going up in the attic crawl space to check the insulation and the roof for leaks. If I didn’t know better, I would think they were fixing up the house for them to move into.

As I was leaving, they kept saying that it just felt meant to be. It would be perfect for Nick since it wouldn’t be such a big change. They would let me know in a week or two if they would rent it to me.

A few days went by. I spent a lot of time thinking of the house and the finances. I looked at other listings and realized that the only other rentals within reason would be apartments or town homes. This home was just a touch more and for all it has to offer, the price is downright reasonable. I called him up and let him know that I know that I was hesitant while I was there, but after really thinking about it and talking with Spurg, we were very interested in the property. He told me that he and his wife had spoken as well, and she adamantly wants us to have it. They would draw up the lease and we could come sign it this weekend.

In just three days, we secured a new home. In many ways I feel like it was handed to us, or just fell into our laps. It is an older home, built in 1922, good solid wood construction and plaster walls. It has two large bedrooms and a huge bathroom.. well at least huge compared to what we are used to! A very nice living room with a fireplace, built in bookcase and built in bench. There are dual pane windows and a newer central heat and air conditioning unit. Front and back yards, washer and dryer hookups and a small eating area off of the kitchen. It will have new tile floors, brand new window blinds, fresh coats of paint of taupe with white trim in all rooms except the bathroom and kitchen which will be white. There’s a linen closet in the hallway and a towel cupboard with tons of drawers underneath in the bathroom. There are ceiling fans in the bedrooms, living room and on the front porch for those warm lazy days watching the world go by as I sip on some homemade lemonade.  It has some quirky features as well such as the narrow little closets in the bedrooms which are not even deep enough to walk into, but I can work with that. I do have to remember that when this house was built, there probably wasn’t even indoor plumbing at the time!

I have been told that I may do what ever I want to the front and back yards. There is a lemon tree, dwarf orange tree and a loquat tree. I can tear out the old rose bushes on the walkway and replant the ones that haven’t died along the house.  I can put in a garden in the back. The bedrooms are long and it would be easy to create a space for Sydney in our room, and very easy to partition it so that she can have some privacy.

It is a little noisier since it is on a busy main road. I can get used to that. The rent is higher and I will also have to pay water, sewer and garbage, but I’ve figured all of that out too. It does not come with a refrigerator or a washer and dryer. My current landlady told me to take the washer and dryer that are here as they are 13 years old and she has no use for them. The refrigerator I can pick up for about $150 at a local business that buys and repairs used appliances. I have no living room furniture save my rocking chair, entertainment center and spinning wheel but we know we can pick up and inexpensive futon to start with. There isn’t a garage, but there is a storage shed. The house is only three houses down from where we are right now.

In just a few short weeks I will no longer be cold because there isn’t a heater in my room. We will no longer have to be careful about using the stove in the summer because the house gets too hot. No more stairs to climb. No more chasing people out of my yard because it isn’t fenced in. I will be in a home that is easily twice the size of what I have now instead of this tiny two roomed depression era house. There is a large shade tree to block the afternoon sun and the little shop around the corner will be just a little bit closer. No more showers only as the new house has both a tub and shower. There will be privacy and room to have friends and family over.

In years past, I have wanted to move. I have listed the things that I would want in a home. This house has everything that I have hoped for and a little more. Financially, I believe I may have figured it all out. As the new landlord said to me when I told him I now had a washer and dryer.. “everything seems to be falling into place for you. This really just seems meant to be!” However, for some reason, yesterday I started having panic attacks. Maybe I have just lived in this one place for far too long and have become unaccustomed to change. Maybe it’s the responsibility of the additional expense, or maybe it’s that this couple who has so graciously decided that we were meant to be in that house are just so nice that I just don’t ever want to disappoint them. After all, I feel like I could invite her over to coffee like an old friend.

So, wish us luck. I will be back after I pack up this little house and then unpack it all at the new home that somehow seems to have just fallen into our laps! I know that I am a little late in this, but may all of you have a wonderful New Year, filled with love, prosperity and much joy!