Monday Morning Sophie

Millie got a new camera for Christmas. She's having  a little trouble centering her subjects.

2013, Here I come!

Okay, so December 21 came and went with nary a blip. I suppose part of me was hoping for some great cataclysmic change. Don't get me wrong. Not an apocalyptic change like world destruction. Just a  cataclysmic change like all of the credit companies deleting everyone's balances, food no longer having calories or men becoming sensitive. Stuff like that.

That being said, December 22 became my "New Year". Instead of waiting until January 1 to make some resolutions, I'm making them now. Although, I've always hated the concept of resolutions so I'll just call them my "life changing actions'. No, that's too dramatic. How about just calling 2013 "The Year of Chrissy."

It's been an odd year and a half. As you know, I lost both of my parents and then my sweet Bernie, within about 10 months. I put on a brave face, "got over it" and went back to business as usual. But that was really only on the outside.

My mother and I had a complicated relationship and it was only right before she died that we realized the extent of her mental illness. She was finally on the proper medications to balance her and she was a completely different person. It saddened both Lisa and I to think about all the time we lost that could have been spent with this happy, loving person and not the tortured soul that we knew.

I realized after she died how much of my life I had lived for her and how hard I had tried to make her happy. It's been tough trying to figure out who I am without her but I'm facing it and working through it. I know now that I need to focus on what's important to me and what I want. The first step is making myself healthy both mentally and physically.

Through all of the ups and downs of the last 4 years (FOUR....WOW), this blog and the wonderful people who choose to read it have made me laugh and given me hope when it seemed there was none in site. It's been a cathartic outlet as well as a gateway to new friendships that I'm so grateful for.

I think this never married 40-something needs to come back home to where all this "magic" happens.

So like it or not, I'm baaaaaack!

xoxo

C Cleveland

 

In lieu of the Griswold's Christmas display, I guess these downtown Cleveland lights will do!

Monday Morning Maddie

I was so thrilled to open my latest Rescue Village Animal Shelter newsletter and to see my sweet Maddie in full color!

Here's the link to the entire newsletter.

Let it ride!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

My sister and I decided to go non-traditional this year and headed to the Horseshoe Casino that opened a few months back here in Cleveland. It opened in the space where my beloved Higbee’s Department Store used to be. We all have our own holiday traditions and included in mine every year was a trip to Higbee’s.

As most stores do, they decorated to the nines at the holidays and I envisioned myself back in the 40’s (my favorite era), lunching with the ladies and shopping for little Jimmy’s new fire engine. Yes….I KNOW there was no little Jimmy and all of my friends were at work but it was MY fantasy so shut it.

Heading to Horseshoe was a way to experience the glitz and glamour of the grand department store only with, you know, poker tables and slot machines. I came with my camera in hand, ready to snap up shots of how they had married some traditional features with the newness of a casino. I excitedly got my camera out and headed toward a security guard.
 

“Can I take pictures inside?”

“Well, yes and no”.

I gave him one of these.

 

He went on to explain.

 

“You can take pictures but there are a few exceptions. You can’t take any picture of the tables. If you want to take pictures of the slots, you can’t take pictures of anyone other than your friend/family playing that machine. You can’t take pictures of other patrons. If you want to take pictures of the chandeliers or other fixtures, you have to point your camera straight up. You can’t take a photo straight ahead from the top of the steps if you want to get an overview shot of the floor….”
 

I think he kept talking but by then I had put my camera back in purse, thanked him and walked away. But I wanted to share some of the interior with you, so I found these online.

 

 

 

It was surprisingly busy for Thanksgiving day but I’m sure that, as mine and Lisa’s life circumstances had changed, everyone had a different reason for being there. Some were actually there with their families and others just wanted to get away from their families.
 

I’m not much of gambler so I cut myself off at $100, which on this day seemed to have happened way sooner than I had hoped. Lisa did a little better than me and when I started feeling lucky, I picked the machines that she would play and I’ll be damned if she didn’t win each time. She had particular luck playing this Dean Martin machine.

 We played it because he’s Dino’s namesake and because I LOVE Dean Martin. Every time you won something, it played a Dean Martin song and we danced around like turkeys. Get it? Turkeys?
 

Like I said, I didn’t fare too well but I’m saving this credit for the next time we go.

 Maybe Christmas day?

Monday Morning Griswolds

You guys! What's wrong with this picture?

This is the house of my neighbors, the Griswolds. I'm sure they live in your neigborhood, too. You know, the ones who always have the BEST holiday decorations? Here are some samples from past years.

Halloween 2009

Christmas 2010

Halloween 2012

The sad picture above was taken today.

Three days after Thankgiving.

What if they aren't going to decorate? How will planes be able to navigate from space? Oh, Clark, say it isn't so!!

Monday Morning Maddie

Haven't you heard? White eyelashes are all the rage!

Rain, rain go away

No matter where you live, I'm sure you've heard about Hurricane Sandy, dubbed Frankenstorm. I must admit, I'm a weather whore. I can sit and watch the Weather Channel for hours. I'm just so fascinated by mighty Mother Nature.

I know there are some of you who lie directly in this massive storm's path and my prayers go out for the safety of you, your loved ones and your property.

Since the running joke in Cleveland, OH is "If you don't like the weather, give it 15 minutes and it will change.", we're used to extreme heat, cold, rain and snow. And sometimes all in the same day. If you look at a map of the storm, you can see that we lie right on the outer edge of the system but that outer edge still packs a pretty mean punch.

I stopped at Whole Foods Market tonight on the way home from work to buy some soup because a cold, stormy night is the perfect time for tomato soup! I was waiting to checkout and the cashier, a young man in his early 20's, was lamenting about the storm to every patron that went through his line. At first, I felt sorry for him but by the time I got to him, I wanted to slap him across the face and say, "Get a hold of yourself, man!"

I hope he didn't see this picture of the Shoreway on Lake Erie, taken this afternoon.

My sister bought me this portable power station a few years back and I remembered wondering what the heck I would ever do with it. Well, tonight, I might find out.

Stay safe everyone!

Monday Morning Sophie

I tried and tried...posting her on Facebook...sending out emails and taking her photo to my neighbors, but I just couldn't find a new home for Miss Sophie. Each time I asked someone, I was almost relieved each time they said "no" because that just meant that she would end up with me.

And she did!

My sister, Lisa, was waiting in the yard with my dogs when I brought Sophie home so they could meet on neutral ground.

I told you Sophie was Dino's sister from another mister so I wondered if they would remember each other.





What do you think? Dino was excited to see her and Sophie had a look of happiness/terror on her face. I guess once you experience Dino, you never forget!





Everyone seems to be adjusting well. Millie tends to be bitchy once in a while, so I taught Sophie to make a menacing face.

We're still working on that.

Hey, check out our Crazy Beagle Lady page on Facebook!

Saturday Surprise

Hey Guys! Click on my new Facebook page on the left side bar ( "Crazy Beagle Lady") and see my surprise!

Seeing is overrated

When I first had my eye examined from Maddie's "love caress", I was told that it was a pretty significant scratch on my cornea but a follow up visit a few days later showed that it was healing well so I was optimistic.

Everything seemed to be getting better. My vision was starting to clear up, the pain had decreased and I wasn't tempted to close my eye all the time.

Then day 7 came and I woke up feeling like I had scratched it all over again. It was painful, sensitive to light, blurry, red and difficult to open without major discomfort. The bad news?

I have what's called a recurrent corneal erosion which means that the outermost layers of corneal cells aren't attaching to the underlying membrane and all the above symptoms can flare up at any time. Pretty much for the rest of my life.

Initial treatment will be using artificial tears at least 4 times a day and an ointment at night. I was using a medicated ointment and drop but I had an allergic reaction to something in them and woke up looking like this woman every morning. Literally. It was not pretty.

 

Now I'm using a preservative free drop and it seems to quiet the eye but I still have some blurriness.The bummer is that I was just trying out contact lenses but now I can't do that again for at least a few months.

 

My other options are putting a plug in a tear duct so that the eye will be better moisturized or having surgery, where they will scrape the top layer of cells off in hopes that the regenerated cells will attach to the membrane.

 

Fun stuff, huh?

 

And, no, I have no regrets about bringing Miss Maddie home. I would do it again.

Monday Morning Dino

"Damn writer's block! I'm never going to meet my deadline."

Hey, neighbor!

Guess who lives right around the corner at the end of my street since I moved?

 

 

Ta dah!!! The Griswolds!

 

You know, I thought their decorations in 2009 were a little over the top.

 

 

 

And then, after that awful storm in 2010, we all wondered if they would rebuild but they came back even stronger.

 





Now, maybe it's my imagination, but I think Clark and company have outdone themselves. I didn't think it was possible to fit anything else on that lawn, but I'll be damned if they didn't figure out how to do it!

 

 

 

Thanks, Grizzies. I needed that!

 

 

Ruh roh!

I got a call the other day from Tracy, the woman that I got Dino from last year. You may remember that they gave Dino away because she was having another child and his rambunctious ways were just too much for them to handle in their small home. They had another beagle, Sophie, who I remember as being older and totally mellow. She reminded me of Bernie.

So listen to this!

Now they want to get rid of Sophie because she's "too afraid of the baby now that he's walking". I'm trying not to judge but I know that beagles are known for getting along famously with children because of their gentle nature. I want to tell her to just wait out the toddler stage and everything will be fine but her husband (the one who told her to get rid of Dino) wants to take Sophie to the pound. She asked me if I would take her. Talk about bad timing! You know I love my Maddie but if Tracy had called me sooner, I would have taken her in a heartbeart.

I can't bear the thought of her going to the pound and I've asked everyone that I think would make a great dog parent if they will take her but so far, no luck. I do have  few friends checking with other family members to see if they approve but time is running out for Sophie.

I think you can see the writing on the wall. I'll probably end up taking her even though I'm already violating city ordinances by having three dogs since the limit is two. I know of a number of other people in the neighborhood who have three, even four dogs and I don't really think they enforce it unless someone complains. My neighbors are total animal people and would never do that.

What to do...what to do....

Monday Morning Chrissy

Nope. Not trying on Halloween costumes.

 Maddie was crawling over to me to say "good morning" in bed when her paw went right into my eye. I have a pretty serious scratch on my cornea but I don't think I'll look like Popeye permanently. Lucky for me that I work for an eye institute.

Monday Morning Maddie

 

Mom bought me this Cadillac so I can walk around the block with my brother and sister.

 

Vinny is such a good brother, he's checking the oil for me.

Memories

 

 

 

 

Wait, you have HOW MANY dogs??

Woops. I did it again.

Again.

I failed my 12 step program. I was told to stay away from dogs available for adoption on the internet but what can I say?

I'm weak.

I became a Facebook "fan" of the rescue (Rescue Village) where I found Bernie in 2007. They're an amazing facility and the animals that they take in are always treated well and carefully placed in loving homes.

Unlike the pound that was housing my Millie. Remember when I went to adopt her and the warden was a jerk? "Are you sure you want THIS dog? I mean, she's NINE. That's awfully old for a dog." I know, douche, hand her over.

Rescue Village posts daily Facebook updates of happy adoptions, pet events around town and animals available for adoption. I usually take a quick glance and then tell myself, "You don't need another dog, Chrissy."

Well, then I saw this face.

And read this text:

Isn't she just beautiful? Maggie is a 10 year old senior beagle mix. What a wonderful friend she will make for that special someone who love "experientally gifted" doggies!"

I swear, I just intended to take a ride out there and SEE her. (You don't need another dog, Chrissy.) I walked in and headed to the back where the dogs are housed. There was an external adoption event going on so there weren't many dogs onsite.

A boxer....hello, buddy.....a Corgi mix.....aren't you a cutie.....a white German Shepherd....hi, beauty.

And then I saw the cage with her name on it. Only her name wasn't Maggie, it was Maddie. And she wasn't in there!

Just then, I saw her round the corner and slow as molasses, make her way down the hall. Only she never made it, she plopped down at the halfway mark, too tired to continue.

"There she is!", I yelled out, and the face of the man walking her lit up and he said, "Are you here to see Maddie?" She was in far worse shape than I had anticipated from the photo but the man was so excited that I was there that I sat down to spend some time with her, thinking, "I can't do this. She'll require way too much attention and she looks so slow and old."

The adoption counselor sat with me and told me Maddie's "story". Her owner had passed away and the owner's son left poor Maddie in an empty house alone and came to feed her every couple of days. Someone finally reported him to the authorities and Maddie was taken to a shelter where she was adopted by a single mom. Well, single mom started having serious financial problems and was forced to give Maddie up after just a short period of time.She wrote a 4 page letter about how sad she was that she had to let Maddie go and how much she loved her.

The counselor told me that Maddie has really bad arthritis and can only walk small distances before she gets fatigued. She also has some skin allergies that were being treated symptomatically which from what I could tell was never, even though her symptoms seemed pretty persistent.

Game over. Now I had to take her. She needed me!

Before we could seal the deal, I had to bring Millie and Dino back for a meet and greet and, of course, Miss Millie was a little bitchy initially. We all agreed that they would be okay together because Millie wasn't showing any aggression. I think she was just a little freaked out by how tall Maddie is.

I went back a few days later so that I could bring Maddie home without the other two in the car. As I was filling out the paperwork, the adoption counselor got all teary eyed because Maddie was being adopted which in turn made me all teary eyed. She told me how after I left on Saturday, she joined Maddie in her pen and was sitting, petting her, when a man came to the door and started laughing. She asked him why he was laughing and he said, "No one is going to adopt that dog. She's half dead." Which made me cry and validated all the more how much I wanted to give Maddie a loving home, even if it was for a short time.

I'm happy to report that in the two weeks that she's been in the family, she's starting to show her personality more and she seems completely at home. Dino follows her around like a shadow.

Even Vinny loves her. Okay, love might be a strong word for a cat but I think he thinks she's pretty cool.

She's so tall compared to him. I love when Vinny stands in front of her, looking up as she bends down to bump noses with him.

They said Maddie is a "beagle mix" but I'm not sure what she's mixed with. We were all surprised the first time we heard her bark because she has such a deep, strong bark.

And, oh, how sweet it sounds!

Monday Morning Chrissy

Neighborhood watch?

FAIL!

Here's a picture of my broken toe and freakishly swollen foot. I think my dining room chairs are trying to kill me. Toe... by toe....

It's true!

My first issue of Cat Fancy magazine proves that I'm officially a "cat person".  Don't worry, I haven't lost my "dog person" status. I just have dual citizenship now!

What I did on my summer vacation

I called 911.

A lot.

Let me explain.

Who's the biggest dog lover you know? Me

Who's the last person that you ever thought would get bit by a dog? Me

Who got bit by a dog?

That's right. Me.

 

I was outside watering my lawn when my friend's father made his nightly walk around the block across the street. He has two dogs: one who's about a hundred and saunters around off leash and the other, a Pomeranian/Sheltie mix who is harnessed and growls at everyone who goes by. I think you can guess which one bit me.

 His name is Forest but he's not slow like Forest Gump. My friend's father insists that he's a very sweet dog and that he just gets protective when he's wearing a leash. On this evening, as he often does, Mr. Hackett was walking with the two small neighborhood children that live next door to him. The smallest one, with big blue eyes like Cindy Lou Who, was holding tightly to Forest's leash.

"Go ahead, Natalie. Drop the leash. Let's show Chrissy how tame Forest is."

I held my breath as Forest slowly moved forward and sniffed me, but the teeth came out again and I told Natalie to grab the leash. That's right. I was asking for protection from a 6 year old.

I continue talking to Mr. Hackett and was paying no attention to the dogs until Forest starting barking. The kids asked if the cat across the street that Forest was barking at was Vinny and I leaned forward on my right leg to look around the car parked in the street to check it out.

In that split second, Forest lunged at my leg and took a chunk out right below my right knee. It was bleeding profusely and I was totally panicked but I didn't want to alarm the kids so I very calmly said, "Oh my...this looks pretty bad. I better go get a band aid. See you later."

I left a trail of blood as I went to the front door only to find it locked. I ran around to the back and by the time I got to the door, my neighbor from down the street was on my heels in her nightgown.

"I saw it! I saw him attack you."

I'm pretty sure I saw some muscle hanging out so I called 911. Well, how was I supposed to know they were going to quarantine the dog for two weeks?? The paramedics did nothing but put a bandage on it so my friend took me to the urgent care where they cleaned it out and gave me an antibiotic. I didn't know that they don't stitch dog bites because they're afraid that they'll become infected. It's been two weeks and it's still an open wound so I might go see a specialist to see what they can do.

A few days a later, I got a call from the police chief wanting to discuss "the incident" saying that there is a vicious dog ordinance in the city. Oh, geez. If they classified the dog as such, they would need to put a fence around their yard and post a sign stating "vicious dog lives here." I convinced the police chief to not classify Forest as a vicious dog because I've known the family for so long and it seemed like such an extreme measure. He joked that if his dog every bit anyone that he hoped it would be me.

Ten years ago, I probably would have been more upset because I was so vain. Now, what's one other scar on my right leg? It will go with the scars on my left leg from the burns. The funniest part was that my next door neighbors had just made me some corn that they grew in their yard. They didn't want to chance me boiling it myself! A few hours later, I got a text from them as I was in the urgent care waiting room. "Did you choke on the corn?"

You know how most neighborhoods have a neighborhood watch to deter criminals? My neighborhood is going to have a watch for me. They're going to work in shifts and if they haven't seen me in 8 hours, they need to see if I'm still alive.

Monday Morning Millie & Dino

"What's that? What's wrong with Dino? Um....nothing....I....I think he's playing dead....yeah, that's it."

Secondhand Sunday

Sundays are my Secondhand day. I'm basically too lazy to think of anything new to say so I re-post a "vintage" entry.

If you aren't in the mood for repeats, please feel free to change the channel.

"I MEANT TO DO THAT"


Original Post Date, Monday, March 15, 2010


It's been years since I've worked out in a gym. I realized that what I've been wearing at home is hardly public attire, so I went out and bought myself a few pairs of yoga pants, shorts and T shirts.

I happened to pass by a sporting goods store this week and I decided to stop in to see what they were offering. Most of the shirts I buy are 100% cotton but I saw a rack with polyester shirts labeled Dri-FIT. They promised to "wick sweat away and keep you dry and comfortable". Polyester is going to keep me dry? They were a really thin fabric, too, so I was a little hesitant but you know how un-dry I get when I work out so I slipped into the fitting room to try one on.

Helloooo nipples.

I hate "nippage" but I figured no one would notice them under my sports bra. Women can relate to how incredibly tight a sports bra is. Once you manage to get it over your head, you have to artfully draw it down over your boobs until you're smashed like Barbra Streisand in Yentl.

Yesterday, I slept in later than I had wanted to, so I hurriedly dressed in my new top and shorts and headed to the gym. I was lucky enough to snag a treadmill before the 11:00 rush.

Thirty minutes later, I was doing a final heart rate check as I stepped off the treadmill and noticed there was a cute guy waiting at the end of the belt, asking if I was finished.

"I sure am. Let me just wipe it off for you."

"I'm sure it's not too bad. How's your heart rate?", he asked, as he looked down at my chest and smiled.

I felt my already red cheeks flush a little darker as I replied, "Not bad. Better than it was a few weeks ago."

"Well, you look great." Again, he glanced down at the girls.

Oh God. The girls must be standing at attention.

I smiled and headed out the door to the restroom so I could see for myself. The first thing I noticed was that I could hardly even tell that I had sweat that much. Usually, there's a huge stain around the neck but the fabric really DID wick it away to keep me cooler. Kudos.

However, as my eyes traveled downward, I noticed that the girls were indeed saluting. That wasn't the worst of it, though. Let me explain. When you put on a sports bra, you need to...um...adjust.

In my haste to get out the door, I hadn't done that, so one nipple was at least 2 inches higher than the other. I'm going to wear this next week so he thinks I meant to do that.

And we'll laugh and laugh.....

Monday Morning Vinny

"What part of "no solicitors" do you not understand?"

Monday Morning Dino

My name is Dino and I'm addicted to cat food. This is my story.

Monday Morning Vinny & Dino

"Yay! Vinny came home. Now I can sleep..."

Not for the squeamish

I work for one of the largest healthcare systems in Northeast Ohio but, unfortunately, we don't have a burn center. Luckily, Cleveland is also home to a Comprehensive Burn Care Center and that's where I headed today.

I've been changing the gauze and dressing on my leg daily. I have to remove it, apply an antibiotic ointment and redress. I keep thinking that I've taped it well until I start walking and the dressing falls to the ground like an oversized granny panty.

Hospitals that specialize in trauma or burns are disgusted by the level of care that you receive at a suburban hospital like the one I was treated at the other night. She was appalled that they didn't tell me to immediately follow up with a burn center but merely "suggested" it.

Luckily, I had no signs of infection so she popped all the blisters and peeled the skin off. After she removed all the skin, she washed the area. And yes, it hurt like a mother! We talked about a few different options for treatment and I opted for wearing an antibiotic pad that covers my whole thigh. The only downside to this is that I can't get it wet so I am actively seeking volunteers for sponge bath duty.

When I got home, my neighbor came and knocked on the door. "Did you see your bedroom screen?"

Um...no....

Apparently, Dino broke through the screen and was halfway out when a neighbor saw him. They pushed him back in and shut the window. This is what I need to do to my windows.

I was avoiding putting Dino back on meds but it might be time. I don't need anymore stress right now. Oh, and did I mention, it's one of my NEW windows? Mmmm hmmm.

To add more injury to injury, I just woke up at 8:30PM from my drug induced bliss and was shuffling into the kitchen to get the dogs leashes to take them out. You know that metal strip that they put at the edge of rooms to hold down the flooring? Well, my metal strip had a nice big nail sticking out of it that sliced the bottom of my foot open. I'm sure my neighbors all heard me yell, "Are you freakin' kidding me???"

Ah...when it rains, it pours.

Don't try this at home

For some reason, I've had this corn on the cob kick lately. Every night, I boil one ear of corn with dinner. Last night, I got home pretty late and decided that I would treat myself to two ears of corn. So, of course, I had to use my ginormous pot instead of the small pot I usually use.

I got distracted by something and when I came into the kitchen, my yummy corn was in full boil, steam rising up to the ceiling. I don't have any pot holders, so I used two kitchen towels to pick up the pot and take it over to the sink to drain the water out. As I'm sure you know, kitchen towels aren't that thick and I could feel some of the heat coming through from one handle. I placed the pot on the edge of the sink to readjust my grip and the pot slipped.

Boiling water gushed all over the front of my legs. I was so shocked that I stood there for a second before I backed up and dropped the pot. My pants were sticking to me so I pulled them off and rushed to the freezer for some frozen veggies to put against my thighs. I looked down and my skin was peeling but I still foolishly thought it wasn't that bad. The pain wasn't really registering yet but I couldn't feel the cold against my leg so I knew that was a bad sign.

Still...I have a high tolerance for pain so I thought I could work through it.

Then the the pain started. And it was bad.

I called my sister who lives 5 minutes away and told her to come over and look at it. Miss Medical Assistant that she is, you know. Well, it was taking her far too long to get here and by now, I was starting to blister so I dialed 911.

I looked down and realized that I didn't have any pants on which is not a good look for me. I grabbed a pair of bike shorts and ripped the hem open to stretch them before I put them on. The minute they got there, they told me we had to go in to the hospital. By now, I'm crying and shaking. I did get some relief to see that none of the guys from the rescue squad went to high school with me because half of the squad who works there did. And yes, this is the kind of stuff that goes through my head even in the throes of pain.

The ER doc was pretty handsome with his salt and pepper hair and he looked straight into my eyes when he talked. If you're familiar with docs, you know this is pretty rare. The burns are second degree on my left thigh and first degree on my right. He kept asking me so many times if I was sure that I hadn't gotten any water on my genitals that I was tempted to say, "Look, if you want to see my genitals, just ask."

I was going to post a picture of the burns but they are so disgusting, I couldn't subject any of you to that. If you're curious, you can Google second degree burns but not after you've eaten.

All they basically did was apply cold compresses. They gave me some Vicodin which didn't relieve the pain so before I left they gave me a shot of Dilaudid, which is like Morphine. WOW. No wonder people become drug addicts. When we got home, I went over to my car to lock it. I realized when I went out this morning, that I hadn't even shut the window! This is some good shit.

I came home and put this on the stereo.

I saw one of my neighbors today and he yelled across the street, "what are you going to do for an encore?" I shouted back, "I think I'll shoot myself in the foot!" I love my neighbors. Really, they're the best.

I have to follow up with the burn unit tomorrow so I'll give you an update. It looks like there will be scarring, so they're going to need to find someone else for Miss July of the Cougar Calendar.

Monday Morning Vinny

Vinny was an outdoor cat when I got him. He had belonged to the couple next door to my parents and they decided that he needed a new home. Well, I had never been a "cat person" but I think Vinny and I were destined to be together.

When Dad was sick, I would come to the house every day and Vinny would saunter over from the neighbor's and flop over for a belly rub. After a while, he started leaving me dead mice and I knew it was love.

I had to transition him to an indoor cat, which was no easy feat. When we moved back to his old stompin' ground here at my parents house, I was worried that he would want to go out again so I carried him around outside to calm his wandering ways. He seemed content to sit on my lap without trying to jump down so I let him loose one day and he just hovered around the front yard.

We did that a little bit each day and then I let him out in the backyard last Saturday.

I watched him walk away and went inside to try not to worry about him. I felt like I was sending my child off to kindergarten.

Will he get into a fight?

Will he get hit by a car crossing the street?

I didn't expect the reaction that Dino had. He cried and barked and ran from window to window trying to find Vinny.

I went outside a little while later and heard someone a few doors down shout out, "Vinny! Hey, buddy, where have you been?" Everyone knows him from before so everyone keeps an eye on him. I only let him out when I come home from work because I'm not comfortable with leaving him out all day yet.

He's showing his appreciation by leaving me little gifts every day; a mole today, a bird tomorrow. He's quite a good little hunter. They never look hurt at all. They just look like they're sleeping.

"That's it. Go to sleep, my li'l frien...."

He seems more content and since he doesn't wander very far, I think I've done the right thing for him.