Darkly Colored Felines of Fury » lana http://blackcat.ca Personal site for Patrick Audley and Blackcat Systems. Mon, 31 Jan 2011 05:11:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 A White Christmas and Teeth http://blackcat.ca/lifelines/a-white-christmas-and-teeth http://blackcat.ca/lifelines/a-white-christmas-and-teeth#comments Sat, 03 Jan 2009 03:13:41 +0000 Patrick Audley http://blackcat.ca/?p=330 Seasons CheerI flew to Vancouver to visit family for the holidays and this time I carted my cat Lana with me. Christmas itself went off without a hitch and was joined with the usual huge turkey dinner, assorted gifts, a few rounds of good wine and general merriment. Though I love getting together with family, travel during the holidays continues to worsen and given my lack of religious lock-down to specific dates has become something I think I shall avoid in the future. A story of teeth, gypsies, blizzards and cheer follows. Well... perhaps not gypsies.

A White ChristmasTravel Nightmare

Westjet 737 landing on a snowy runway.I normally eschew traveling on Air Canada and I have never been more thankful of that choice. I had a very surreal moment when I was in the Calgary airport and overheard an Air Canada minion telling a traveler that no planes were taking off because the runways were closed. I could see this was a tough sell because behind the man, perfectly framed in the huge window facing the tarmac were several Westjet planes taxiing out and in the far distance a plane just lifting off. I can almost imagine the scene in the Air Canada employee lounge hours before where disgruntled workers probably drew straws to see who was going to go out and tell bald-faced lies to weary travelers whose flights have been canceled while all the other airlines somehow managed. I understand why, in most cases, Air Canada just didn't show up to say anything. My own Westjet flight was half an hour late but Lana (who can travel in the cabin with me) and I made it to snowy Vancouver eventually.

Family Christmas

Traditional tree laden with collected ornaments.My mother has been collecting ornaments and bits for the family Christmas tree since before I was born and it's always formed a comforting part of the season for us. That and turkey dinner. Lots of turkey. Heaps even. This year was no exception and we had a great dinner with family on Christmas Eve. The next day was followed by gift opening and generally lazing about in post turkey lethargy. We also went to see Bugs Bunny on Broadway at the Vancouver Orpheum - a wonderful fusion of symphony orchestra and Merry Melodies. All together it was a nice and fairly standard Christmas though the addition of huge amounts of snow in Vancouver made it mildly bizarre (as well as adding that little edge to driving as you are surrounded by others with summer tires trying to pretend they can drive normally on ice). I managed to get together with my best-friend, Danielle, too which is always a great time. We're planning a party trip to Vegas in the Spring - it will be a hoot!

Cat Tooth Fairies

Four molars from a sore kitty's mouth.Lana spent this holiday at the vets being boarded and generally checked out. The checkup revealed very badly inflamed gums and required surgery to extract a few teeth. I'm a little ashamed that I hadn't peered into her mouth more regularly because I certainly would have seen the very sore gums. *sigh* She had contracted a mycoplasma infection in her gums which thankfully is treatable with antibiotics. We also have a fun new fish-tasting toothbrush game to play that I'm sure will bring hours of ... joy... to both of us when she heals up. I picked her up today and she's perfectly happy and seems in much better spirits now that her mouth isn't sore. If you're looking for an excellent cat veterinarian/kennel in Vancouver, I've included Cat Care's information at the bottom of the post.

A Night at the Movies: Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood delivers a great performance.

Gran Torino
Excellent movie, a clash of cultures and generations. I got a chance to see this with my family last week and it's on my must see recommmendations list now. The trailers were a little misleading with their portrayal of a typical Eastwood Dirty Harry persona. Eastwood's character, Walt, is amazing and deep - filled with racism and a product the American Dream (with all that entails, including war) he finds peace at the end of his life by reaching out to a young Hmong boy. Stunning acting and classic cinematography make Eastwoods last film incredible. Go see it. You'll have tears in your eyes at the end - we all did.
My rating: 4.5 stars

Comments

  • January 12, 2009, Brenda May (Audley) writes: For the first several years of Patrick's life, I made Christmas decorations for our yearly tree. Ceramic, crocheted, stained glass, sewn - all reflected Christmas from a child's perspective. When Patrick has children, all of these decorations will be given to them, and hopefully, passed on again. Every year I wear my Christmas apron and oven mitts from Patrick's first Christmas too. We always celebrate Christmas morning with a champagne brunch. This year, we had a huge snowfall - what a surprise! Christmas is peaceful, and we try never to rush:) Lana is a real trooper! She seems to overcome evey obstacle put in her path. What a sweet kitty. Mom
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]]> http://blackcat.ca/lifelines/a-white-christmas-and-teeth/feed/ 1 Lana – Half crazed furball of Doom http://blackcat.ca/lifelines/lana001 http://blackcat.ca/lifelines/lana001#comments Mon, 06 Nov 2006 19:35:14 +0000 Patrick Audley http://blackcat.ca/lifelines/lana001 After my aborted attempt to get a cat earlier this year, I was a little leary of getting another one. That all changed when I walked into the local cat store and saw this little mewling ragged bundle of matted fur from Forgotten Felines. A quick trip to the vet and the groomers (to get the really matted fur out) and a had a new roommate. She's since taken control of the place and insists on having her own pillow next to mine on the bed *sigh*. Incidently, for any fellow Vancouverites looking for a great pet-sitter - I heartly recommend my own sitter, Ashley from Tails to Scales.

Comments

  • November 8, 2006, Brenda May writes: I loved Lana from the moment Patrick picked her up in the pet store - I knew she was going to be the ultimate the princess she has become! She demands to be spoiled, listened to and above all, she must be "noticed." I am hoping to see some photos of Lana soon on this website.
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