Murphy Jones – Oldest to Newest Posts

  • Part 89 – Online Orders

    Mom likes to order things online for delivery to our front porch. She says that when they first moved into our house, she learned there were limited options for shopping. There are grocery stores within 15 or 25 miles, and other stores like Walmart at those same distances. She says that after they bought the cabinets for the kitchen and paint for the house, she was done shopping. Then they bought our van. To outfit it for our trips, she needed a special refrigerator, stove and even a special porta-potty. Those things were not available locally, so she ordered them. With that Covid stuff she ordered more things, so she and Dad could limit contact with other people. She continues to order weird things like hiking shoes for her or harnesses for Sophia and Missy. She says that gives her more options without driving all over. I think she may just be lazy.

    This week she expanded her online ordering to Costco. She ordered our cat litter, food for Missy and our favorite kibble. When I was sick, she tried other types and brands of cat food, but I let her know what I thought about them. She went back to our favorite from Costco. To buy it here, she had to drive 75 miles each way. There have been times, she came home without the litter. Last trip, they didn’t have our food. So, she now orders those items to be delivered to our porch. I laugh when she unpacked the bigger box containing the litter before she brought the 4 smaller boxes inside. She also did that yesterday with the really big box that it turns out contained our cat food and a bag of food for Missy. She said she felt sorry for the truck driver who had to carry that box to our steps. The two 25 lb bags were unbalanced inside the big box. I think she just had trouble moving a 50 box. She is old. I’m just happy to know that she won’t run out of our food for a few weeks. Life is good.

    I’m going to try another of those AI pictures for this post. I wonder what we will get. — Ok, clearly not our porch, but it will work. Hope you enjoy it.

  • 90 – Sunday

    As you and I both know, today is Sunday. That means that Mom needs to sit her butt down in her computer chair and get ready to transcribe my thoughts into my bi-weekly blog post. Today, however, she has not wanted to do that. She has been outside to cut the grass without taking me out to supervise her work. Then she changed into her swimsuit for a quick dip in our pool. Again, she left me inside. I might not want to go for a swim, but I do enjoy being out on my lead. Once she was back inside and dry, I followed her around asking her to pick me up. If she is holding me, it is much easier for me to whisper in her ear. Today, she would just pick me up, give me a quick pet and then put me down again! I didn’t even get a chance to whisper. That behavior on her part is just against my rules.

    She fixed a sandwich for her lunch, and finally parked herself long enough to sit at the table, so I could stare at her while she ate. When the sandwich was gone, I lead her back into the kitchen so she could put her plate in the dishwasher. After that, I thought she might be thinking about taking Missy, the dog, for a walk. I chased Missy from the room and then blocked Mom’s path. I circled her legs and flicked my tail. Finally she sat down in her computer chair. I assumed my normal position directly in front of her keyboard. She used her mouse and a keystroke to open her website. I turned to the screen and taped on my blog listing to remind her what was expected. Thus, we were finally ready to do my post. By this time, I have totally forgotten all of the important things I wanted to say. At least, I have shared an explanation of how much hard work it takes for me to post my blog. Think I’ll go take a nap to rest up for the rest of the day. Enjoy your Sunday!

  • Part 91 – Sophia

    My cat sister – Sophia Harlequin is sick. She started sneezing a few months ago. Mom and Dad assumed that she had a cold. It didn’t seem to slow her down any. They also assumed that it would pass on its own. It didn’t. It seemed to be getting worse, so Mom took her to our vet. Sophia didn’t like it. She told me later that they put that thermometer in her butt. She wasn’t running a temperature. The vet gave her a couple of shots. I felt sorry for her, because I know what all of that feels like. Usually she likes to groom Dad and even me if I let her. After her trip to the vet, I decided she might like it if I groomed her. She let me. That told me she didn’t feel well.

    The problem with her trip to the vet is that she hasn’t gotten any better. This last week, she has gotten a lot worse. She has lost a lot of weight. Mom decided to take her to another vet where she hoped it might be a bad tooth. A bad tooth would explain why Sophia didn’t want to eat even thought Mom has offered a vary of the different canned foods. These were the same foods that Mom gave me when I was taking my cancer meds. Sophia wanted to eat them back them, but ignores them now. The neighbor suggested trying a raw egg. The answer was the same. Sophia doesn’t want anything to eat. Mom also worries that Sophia doesn’t want to drink anything either.

    After the vet trip, Mom explained to Dad that the conclusion was that Sophia has a tumor in her nose. Unlike me, there is not a good way to operate on it. Mom brought Sophia home again so that she could enjoy a few more days here with us. Last evening, we both got to go outside on our leads for a little while. Mom said it was really too hot, but knew we would enjoy a chance to smell the grass. It was hot, but wonderful.

    Last night Sophia got to play her favorite game in bed with Mom. She likes to have the quilt pulled over her head. Mom picks up the corner every few minutes to peek at her. Mom then says, “So right, so right.” She and Dad laugh. She says it is something about a man on an old TV show – Señor Wences. Sophia seemed happy to play this game before she crawled out of the blankets to lay on Mom’s pillow. I have to wonder if this is the last time she will play the game.

    Send positive thoughts for Sophia. I won’t share a picture of how she looks right now. This is a better view.