Month: August 2022

House-iversary 4

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August 30 is our 4 year anniversary of being in this house. We bought it on what would have been Ted Williams’ 100th birthday. The sole purpose of this house was to keep Jude, Simon and I together. Our apartment had been taken over by a new landlord who doubled the rent and stated the building needed to be pet free. We had to leave or be evicted. All other rentals in the area are either no pets or one pet only. What parent is going to choose between their children? I’m not. We had to stay together.

This house keeps us together. For Jolene, it is the only home she has ever known. Simon has been in the house longer than he was in the apartment. Jude will pass that milestone this winter. It will be another decade before I reach that milestone.

As grateful as I am that this house keeps us together, I don’t want to be here. I wish I could pick up the house and move it someplace else due to the bad neighbors. I can’t even use my living room or my front porch (both reasons why I even bought the damn house) due to the neighbors driving into the front of it twice now. Every day I live in fear that I will be murdered in my own house. 

Selling this house will be difficult, as I will have to do the bad neighbors disclosure. It is also possible that by the time I sell, there will no longer be a garage and there will be many things that needs to be done to the house. I’m expecting that I will lose money when it comes time to sell. On top of that I will have to pay back $10k to the low-income program that helped me. 

This will be the only home I ever own. I was repeatedly denied a mortgage due to my student loans. I am in PSLF. I had applied for forgiveness after 10 years of teaching. The only reason why I was approved for this house and my mortgage is that the bank thought my student loans would be forgiven through PSLF. Boy, were they wrong. Here I am in this house and about to enter year 26 of student loan repayment with no end in sight. I have been denied student loan forgiveness twice now. Brandon refuses to forgive student loans, instead choosing to simply waive a few months of interest.  I know I will never be approved to buy another house due to my student loans. Once I sell this one, I will be stuck as a renter for the rest of my life.

This house is what is keeping us together. You can’t have pets in apartments here. 

Once the cats pass away from natural causes, I do intend to sell the house. I won’t need it anymore. I don’t want to be here. I will be leaving the country and moving someplace more affordable that also has healthcare. I will, after all, be paying my student loans until I die. I need to decrease expenses as much as possible,

So, while we celebrate the fact that we have been in this house for 4 years and that it is keeping us together, I am also looking forward to the day when I can sell it and leave the country permanently. 

My only goal is to outlive the cats. They need to be together, cared for, and loved. This house keeps us together. 

We are so grateful to be together in these horrible times we live. Thank you for this house keeping the 4 of us together. Here’s hoping it holds up long enough to keep us together for the rest of Jude, Simon and Jolene’s natural lives. I just need to outlive them and keep us all together. This house keeps us together. Happy house-iversary. 

Happy 8th Birthday, Jolene!

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Happy 8th Birthday, Jolene! The queen of our castle brings so much life and love to all of our lives. We are so fortunate that she chose me to adopt her. She had no way of knowing that Jude and Simon awaited her at home.

Jolene was 5 years old when she was found dumped in the parking lot of the animal shelter with a box of her kittens. She was quite literally dumped – when shelter staff arrived for the day, they found her trying to put kittens back into the box that had bounced out when the box was presumably thrown from a vehicle.

Jolene nursed her kittens and raised them well. One by one, Jolene watched her kittens be adopted. Everyone wants a kitten. They are fluffy and cute. Jolene was in the shelter for 5 long months before I came in. I wasn’t even looking for another cat. I had been looking for a cat friendly dog.

I had been visiting the animal shelter for about a year in search of a cat friendly dog that I thought would work well with Jude and Simon. I even had a name picked out – Benny. It was going to be Benny and the cats. Each time I visited the dogs, I would also visit the cats to socialize them. 

One particular day, I walked into the cat room to socialize them when I noticed a tiny orange cat in a lower cage in the corner aggressively pawing the glass. That cat wanted attention. To be honest, I tried to ignore the tiny orange cat for two reasons. First, I am heartbroken over the passing of Kip in 2013, who was orange. I had been avoiding orange cats because they reminded me of Kip. Second, this orange cat was tiny. I thought the tiny cat was a kitten. I was purposefully trying to socialize and pay attention to the shy cats and the older cats who tend to be overlooked more at shelters.

Well, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. That tiny orange cat in the corner was persistent. I walked over to see what all the fuss was about. Much to my surprise, the tiny orange cat was not a kitten at all, but a 5 year old mother whose kittens had all been adopted. I was surprised to see an orange female.

I took Jolene (known in the shelter as Mamba for how good a mother she was to her kittens), out of the cage. She hugged me immediately and would not let go. I took her to the front desk and they were surprised to see me out of the cat room with her. That is how tightly she was holding onto me. We were given a private room for some socialization and together time. I put her down – much to her protest. She did not want to be down. She wanted to sit in my lap. She just wanted to be with me. She wanted to be held. She wanted to be loved.

Jolene picked me out. I never planned on a third cat. After raising 4 boys – Kitty (OTRB), Kip (OTRB0, Jude, and Simon, I never expected a girl. Here was Jolene. Jolene has my girl baby name. 

Jolene had some health problems. Specifically a genetic disorder that effects her teeth and some issues with her ears. She had three surgeries before I brought her home. Due to the surgeries, her introduction to the boys was much slower than we normally do. We favor the slow introduction for new cats to the home to set them up for success for the best, loving relationship possible. We typically spend several weeks working on the slow introduction process.

With Jolene, it took several months to introduce her to the boys due to her surgeries. I wanted to be sure she was fully recovered before introducing her. I didn’t want the boys to play too rough with her or for the introductions to go poorly and for it to effect her recovery. We took the introductions very slowly. 

I’m glad we did. The boys both love Jolene and are very gentle with her. Jolene is truly the heart of our household. She brings so much life and joy to all of us. Jolene is exactly what we needed to complete our family. We didn’t even know it until she arrived.

Jolene is our head bird watcher and loves chattering away at the chickadees. She is with me constantly. She knows her name and comes when called. She is constantly bringing me her babies – stuffies that look like small kittens. She makes a noise when she is “transporting” her stuffies to my location. If I leave the house, I come home to a stuffie near the door. When I wake up in the morning, I find she has put her “babies” in bed with me.

Jolene is loved by both Jude and Simon. Jude and Simon can play rather rough with each other at times. However, they are both gentle when interacting with Jolene. They play and chase her, but do not tend to be as rough with Jolene as the boys are with each other.

While Simon is bigger than Jolene, he is younger. Sometimes it seems like Jolene tries to mother Simon. The way Jude interacts with Jolene reminds me of how Jude was with Kitty when Kitty had cancer. Jude will play with Jolene, but not rough, and leaves her alone when she has had enough. Jude is loving but respectful of Jolene. Jude may be the man of the house, but Jolene is truly the Queen of the castle.

I’m so glad I took a chance on the “orange kitten” who turned out to be an older mom. Jolene brings so much love and joy to all of us. She truly picked me out that day at the shelter. Yes, it’s possible she just wanted attention. Maybe she would have pawed and acted all freaked out to anyone who had walked into the room that day. Yet I can’t get over the way she hugged me when I took her out and would not let go.

I am so blessed to have Jolene in my life. The boys and I both love her. At age 5, Jolene was the oldest cat at adoption for me. I am so glad I did not overlook this older mom who has so much love for us.

The next time you are in the shelter looking to adopt, please take time to consider the older ones, the shy ones, the mothers. Everyone wants a kitten. They all have so much love to give. I’m so glad this older mom picked me out to be her forever home. 

Happy 8th Birthday, Jolene. We love you so much. 

Please remember that until August 30, you can use our code JSJR10 at happyandpolly.com to save 10% off your purchase. For every purchase using our discount code, 5% will be donated to our local rescue to help other cats just like Jolene. 

Creating Yourself

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During a recent conversation with someone, I came to the realization that I used to have a life. You are probably laughing, but it’s true. I had a very full, active life before the pandemic. I ran marathons with 40,000+ people, I traveled all over the USA and into Canada, I went to coffee shops, the library, and was gearing up for a run for local political office before the pandemic hit.

As an immune compromised person in the pandemic, my life literally stopped in March 2020. I have not been in a store since February 2020. I have not been indoors with other humans except for medical care and essential house maintenance. I have not been touched or hugged. I am alone with the cats. The only reason why I even drive anymore is because the mechanic told me not to let the car sit. I need to take it out at least once a week to be sure it will be in working order when I do need to drive it to a medical appointment.

Before the pandemic, I had a full life. I ran a book club at the local library. I wanted to run for local office to make my community a better place. That all stopped. Now life has become an act of survival. I’m just trying to outlive the cats to keep them all together. I am also trying to realize my goal of reaching 26 medals. I want to achieve 26 medals before I get covid in the off-chance that it doesn’t kill me like it has everyone I know. There is a very tiny possibility it will only permanently disable me and not kill me.

The pandemic is a huge line in the sand between before and after.

Despite what the government may say, the pandemic is not over, by the way. The refrigerated truck returned to town this weekend for the dead bodies. Yes, here we are August 2022 and once again the hospital cannot keep up with all the dead bodies from covid, so the refrigerated trucks have returned. That’s ok. Just keep living your life like it’s 2019 without bothering to wear a mask.

As an immune compromised person, at this point in the pandemic, I am just waiting to die. After all, I am on the government euthanasia list. America does not like to talk about the death clinics that were open for 7 weeks in the fall of 2021. The government wants people with disabilities to die. So keep going out and socializing with no mask like covid is over while the bodies pile up in refrigerated trucks and mass graves once again.

My life as I knew it ended when the pandemic started. It has been a hard realization that life will never be the same again. No one cares if I live or die. In fact, every maskless person in this country is actively trying to murder people like me. It’s America. Murder is acceptable, after all.

Moving forward, my only goal is to attempt to outlive the cats so I can give them the best life possible and keep them together. I have no other purpose in life. The entire country wants people “like me” to die in the pandemic. The CDC even says that people like me are the ones who SHOULD die.

My life may not matter to you, but it matters to the three furry lives I have saved.

In order to keep us together and for me to fulfill my obligation to them, we need to pay the bills to keep us all together. We also need healthcare.

The biggest obstacle is figuring out new ways to make money and bring in income. The economy is more important than any human life in America. All Americans are expendable. I am not willing to risk my life for any job. There is no job on this planet that is worth risking your life.

So this is now a time of reinvention. I need to figure out how to bring in income in a way that does not threaten my life. While the government wants everyone to work in person and does not care who dies of covid, I am not willing to risk my life for the economy.

Moving forward, I am looking for ways to bring in passive income, freelance, and work online. My doctors say I am only supposed to have fully masked outdoor visits, so I can no longer work in person. This is going to be my life for probably the foreseeable future. I need to learn to pivot to a 100% online format.

Some ventures I am looking into include accepting donation for writing this blog through buymeacoffee/rachelgoes262 

I am also looking into publishing an e-book in the near future. To be honest, I am hoping that the book just sells enough to cover its publication. We will see.

Anyone else have any suggestions for how to bring in income virtually? I need to recreate my life so that we can survive the pandemic. How has your life changed now that we have been reduced to survival? 

Support Animal Shelters

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Most people want to make a difference in the world and for their life to have meaning. This has become especially poignant in the pandemic with so many people dying. For me, the best thing I have done in my life is the cats. I like to think that I gave Kip and Kiity good lives with lots of love. I am trying to do the same for Jude, Simon and Jolene.

Since losing the majority of our humans in the pandemic, we have been fortunate to have many friends on Twitter. The COVID situation in American is bleak, dire, and the worst it has ever been at any time in the pandemic. It is a struggle to survive and be able to realize my goal of outliving the cats so I can keep them together. 

While the government may have my name on a euthanasia list and says my life is meaningless, my personal goal is to make the world around me a better place for pets. I do my best to be a good cat mom. I keep Jude, Simon and Jolene together and strive for them to be healthy, happy and loved.

Each month I also try to do a donation to an animal shelter. I am unable to adopt any more pets. I am not able to volunteer. I want to help as much as possible, so I try to make a donation to a shelter each month.

As the result of our Twitter presence, we were approached by pet luxury company Happy and Polly to take part in a promotion they have. We received a free item, a post box cat toy. We post photos on Twitter of the cats playing with the postbox tagging Happy and Polly for a month. We have a discount code, JSJR10 that people can use for 10% off their purchase from Happy and Polly.

There is more. For every purchase made using our discount code JSJR10, we receive 5% for helping to promote the company. We have entered into an agreement with local non-profit volunteer rescue CNY SNAP. Our 5% from the Happy and Polly promotion will be donated to CNY SNAP.

CNY SNAP is the shelter from which I adopted Simon. They are the cleanest, kindest shelter I have encountered. Simon was well cared for when I adopted him. CNY SNAP is also the shelter that helped me trap two of the outside cats this past winter. We were able to get two of the outside cats off the streets in the winter and away from the dog fighting ring. They have since been adopted into loving homes. 

There are still three outside cats that need to be trapped and taken into shelter to be adopted. I am waiting for CNY SNAP to have room to be able to take them in. CNY SNAP is run 100% by volunteers and is the largest cat rescue in my area.

Jolene’s birthday is coming up on August 24, and our Happy and Polly promotion runs through the month of August. In addition to using the promotion to raise money for CNY SNAP, I am hoping to use this opportunity to highlight Jolene during her birthday month. I want to bring awareness to mother cats.

Jolene had been dumped at the shelter in a box of her kittens. She was 5 years old. When I say dumped, she was literally dumped. Some of the kittens bounced out of the box when it was thrown out of the vehicle. The shelter volunteers found Jolene trying to get the kittens who had bounced out back into the box with her/the rest of the kittens.

Of course, Jolene loved and nursed her kittens. I have a photo of her nursing her kittens in the shelter. All of the kittens were adopted. Kittens are cute and fluffy. Everyone wants a kitten. 

The moms take longer to adopt. Jolene watched all of her kittens be adopted. She waited at the shelter an additional 6 months before she picked me out to adopt her. I was not planning on a third cat. I was at the shelter to adopt a dog. I was not finding a dog that would be a good fit for Jude, Simon and I, so I volunteered to socialize the cats. Jolene was in a cage at the far end of the room, at the bottom in a corner. She threw a fit when I walked into the room, making her presence known. 

Jolene picked me out from the moment I walked in the room. 

Jolene is the first girl I have adopted. She has my girl baby name. I am so blessed to have her. She may be spayed after having her kittens, but she still carries around her stuffie “babies.” She often brings them to me where ever I am in the house. 

Mother cats and older cats have so much love to give. Everyone is drawn to kittens. Please take time to look at the mother cats, the older cats, the shy cats. They all have so much love. They all deserve a loving home.

Since my life is going to be short in the pandemic, given the government’s desire to see me dead, my only goal now in life is to try to help pets as much as possible. I need to care for Jude, Simon and Jolene. I am trying to help animal shelters and homeless pets as much as I can.

Money is tight now for all of us. Even if you cannot donate right now, consider putting an extra can of cat food in your shopping cart, or even some extra paper towels. You can donate old towels and sheets to help animal shelters as well. 

If you are financially able, please consider our Happy and Polly promotion. Happy and Polly has items for both cats and dogs. They ship to difference countries. You get a fun item for your pet and save 10% using our code JSJR10. The 5% of your purchase that comes to us will be donated to CNY SNAP to help the homeless cats in rescue. Everyone wins! Our code is good through August 30. Go to http://www.happyandpolly.com

There is so much evil in the world right now. Please be the good human your pet thinks you are. Try to make the world a better place by helping the animals and animal shelters around you.