Month: August 2026

Happy 12th Birthday, Jolene!

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Today (August 24) the Queen turns 12. We always take Jolene’s birthday as a reminder to adopt the moms. Jolene was dumped at outside the shelter in a box with her kittens when she was 5 years old. She watched all her kittens be adopted and then was there for several months before she picked me out. Kittens are cute but look at the moms also. 

Jolene is the life of our household. She is strongly bonded to Simon. It is very noticeable if Jolene does not feel well because the life just drains out of the house. Jolene is friendly, playful and keeps things interesting.

She enjoys moving her favorite stuffies around daily. In the new house, Jolene likes to transport carrot and the large yellow mouse that a friend had made for Flower. Jolene will move her toys from room to room, depending on where she thinks they need to be that day.

Jolene is our Lead Hedgewatch-er and caught her first live mouse in June. I sometimes caught mice in the live traps in the basement. This was the first time a mouse was brave enough to enter our living space. Jolene was on cat cam with the mouse in her mouth. She tried to put it in a toy box and seemed quite surprised when her toy jumped out and began to be interactive.

The mouse successfully escaped two cats (Jolene and Simon – Flower was sleeping in the bed with me). I’m sure that mouse is legend with its tale of escape. Hopefully all its little friends got the message not to come into our living space due to the fierce Hedgewatch-er who lives here. 

Jolene must know everything that goes on inside and outside the house. She supervises our neighbors who help with the snow in winter. She runs to the window to watch the school bus go by so all the children can wave at her. She looks for her “boyfriend” Snowball (lives 2 houses down) out the window in the summer.

Jolene brings so much life and love to our home. She was very closely bonded with Jude until his passing. I truly had a bonded trio with Jude, Simon and Jolene. Now that it is just Jolene and Simon, they continue to be closely bonded. When Flower was alive, Jolene had a healthy respect for Flower. She knew to keep her distance, as Flower did not like them close to her. However, Jolene would look for Flower at certain times of day and still try to be as near to Flower as she would tolerate. 

I truly think Jolene would have been even more closely bonded to Flower if Flower would have let them near her. I do have some photos of the girls touching noses and both of them were ok with it. 

With Simon being 10, Simon is still the baby. Now that Jolene is 12 and both Jude and Flower have passed, Jolene is the oldest cat in this house. 

Jolene alternates between sleeping with me at night and patrolling the house. She has to keep an eye on things. She is very loving and is a true cuddle bug. She does perform coworker duty still now that Jude is gone.

Jolene is the only one curious enough to fully explore our new home. She has had supervised time in the basement to explore. She was the one to successfully identify the mouse point of entry. Jolene has also expressed interest in the attached garage and has had some brief supervised time there also. 

At the vet office, Jolene comes right out of her carrier like she owns the place. Jolene is there to be adored by all the staff and she knows it. She uses her cuteness to try to get out of things she doesn’t like (such as getting her nails cut). When that doesn’t work, she wiggles like Houdini to try to escape whatever it is she doesn’t like. 

If Simon brings the love to the house, Jolene brings the LIFE. She is the Queen of the house. We love you, Jolene! Happy 12th Birthday! 

Our Precious Flower

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Flower Sunday Anderson passed away on August 14, 2026, in her loving mom’s arms after a long, dignified battle with numerous health issues. Flower was born on April 9, 2010, and her Gotcha Day was November 3, 2024. Flower was outside for at least 6 years before she decided to trust a human enough to be trapped and loved.

Flower is survived by her mom, Rachel, siblings: Simon Freckles Anderson and Jolene Mamba Anderson. Flower is predeceased by her brother Jude Raymond Anderson. 

Flower was an American bobtail. She looked like a skunk from the back and a cow from the side. Her name came from the movie Bambi. The first time I saw her, I thought she was a skunk. Flower also mimicked some baby skunk behaviors, including her infamous Flower Stomp that she would do towards her siblings in an act of play.

Flower’s middle name comes from the fact that she was trapped on a Sunday. She also enjoyed the song “Easy” by The Commodores. She listened to her song as she passed away. Flower truly was easy like Sunday morning. She was so easy to care for and love. 

Flower does Flower things. This is a famous phrase used to describe Flower, along with Flower lives in her own little world. Flower was unlike any cat I have ever known. She was grace under pressure. Despite the cruelty she experienced in her life, Flower was gentle and loving. There was not a mean bone in her body. I will miss her little chirps for breakfast and seeing her play with her favorite catnip toys.

Flower was loved by thousands across the globe. As part of the Hedgewatch team, Flower’s job was Senior Santa Tracker. Flower loved to watch Santa on NORAD on the laptop on Christmas Eve. In socializing Flower, she would watch videos on the laptop. 

Another key part of Flower’s socialization was her bedtime story. Every night, I would read her a book so that she could look at the pictures and have mental stimulation since her mobility issues limited her ability to play. Flower’s favorite stories were the Frog and Toad books and Goodnight Moon. Flower knew when it was bedtime and would walk up her ramp and get into bed to wait for her story. 

Flower knew baby sign language and was carrier trained. She is one of the smartest cats I have ever known. It is truly one of the greatest honors of my life that she chose me as her human. I told Flower I would not leave that house I was in without her and I kept my promise. We were able to get to a place of safety for Flower to live out her final year.

Flower loved sun puddles. She liked the heat to help with her arthritis. Flower loved her warming mats, warming disc, and had a friend make her a customized cape for winter without arm sleeves due to her arthritis. She loved her cat beds and blankets. Her favorite toys were her catnip banana, catnip pumpkin, and catnip peppermint. She would often rub herself on things as her way of playing. 

Flower allowed all handling and it was my honor to provide all her grooming in her final months including brushing, ears and nails. Flower loved to be brushed and would purr and lean into it. 

The family would like to express our gratitude to the numerous people who have helped with Flower – from the person who bought her very first cat bed, to the person who handmade her blankets, the person who handmade her cape, and the many, many people who provided other ways of support. Most importantly, thank you for your joy and delight in watching Flower these past few years. It is your emotional support that has been invaluable. Flower was so loved.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please donate to your local library “In Memory of Flower, Who Loved Story Time,”  Since Flower loved story time and children’s books were so integral in her socialization. You are also invited to continue the tradition of Flower Day on April 9 and do a random Act of Kindness in her memory to combat all the evil she experienced in life. 

It was truly an honor to have been chosen by Flower to be the human that she trusted. It was the greatest gift of my life. Thank you to everyone for sharing in her story. 

If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever. 

Signature Scent, Part Two

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About four years ago, I posted about a signature scent. You can click on that link to read the original post. At the time, I did a total splurge and had a small bottle of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. I enjoyed that perfume. The bottle lasted me an entire year. 

Looking back, I think that the foray into such an expensive signature scent was an attempt to self-soothe or provide some level of comfort during the abuse we were experiencing from the neighbors. I remember in 2022 was when I started finding the spray-painted cats that were being used as bait by the dog fighting ring.

Due to the expense, I only had that one bottle of Coco Mademoiselle. I loved it, but I’m not about to pay for it again. Over the past few years, I have experimented with some Bath & Body Works scents again but have not found one that has really stuck with me since my Secret Wonderland era. 

To be honest, I have been craving Country Apple, but it is one of their discontinued scents. 

For Christmas, I got new socks and body lotion. I had a bottle of Champagne Honey and Apple. It was a nice scent but did not fulfill my want for Country Apple. It did not impress me enough to buy it again. 

Once the Champagne Apple bottle was gone, I ended up just grabbing a bottle of lotion from the store. By chance, I happened upon cocoa butter. I didn’t really care what type of lotion I was getting. I just needed lotion and it was on sale. 

Turns out, cocoa butter lotion is the best I have ever used. It meets my moisturizing needs in ways no other lotion ever has. I smell faintly like a piece of chocolate. It’s nice. It’s a steady, comforting smell.

Ladies and gentlemen, here is my new signature scent.

It doesn’t have to be this brand. I had a bottle of store brand cocoa butter lotion. That was fine too. Lotion is something I use every day. Having a lotion as a signature scent means one less thing I must deal with every day. No more perfume. No more worrying about getting unscented lotion so that my soap, shampoo, or lotion do not clash with the perfume. 

The lotion is the perfume. What a great minimalist concept. I have one product doing double duty.

When I grabbed that first bottle of cocoa butter lotion back in February, it was my first time ever trying cocoa butter lotion. I was missing out all these years. I always went for unscented lotion so as not to clash with whatever perfume I was wearing.

Cocoa butter lotion is much less expensive than perfume. It’s also widely available at most stores and pharmacies. I don’t need a specific brand. It has a great price point. 

I’m moisturized, hydrated, in my lane, and smelling lightly like a piece of chocolate. Perfect.

Since I have never used cocoa butter lotion before this year, it is now a positive new memory with our new house. When I smell cocoa butter lotion, I think of us being in this house where we are now safe.

Having a gentler scent seems to agree with the cats also. They don’t seem to mind the cocoa butter lotion. They did seem bothered sometimes by my perfume. Cats are sensitive to scents. 

Who knew a new signature scent would come from grabbing a random bottle of body lotion at the store? To be honest, I didn’t realize it wasn’t unscented. I just saw white bottle of body lotion, figured it to be unscented and grabbed it. I wasn’t really paying attention. I just needed lotion. What a happy accident. 

Not only does it smell nice, but its ability to moisturize is what seals the deal. I have dealt with extremely dry skin for years and tried all sorts of scent-free lotions, even the ones for eczema and ones claiming to be deep hydration. Cocoa butter wins, hands down. I wish I had known this years ago. 

My signature scent is now cocoa butter lotion. Any brand is fine. Just grab whatever is available. It’s simple and easy. 

Here’s to smelling like a piece of chocolate. It brings me joy.