Month: October 2009

Amber’s Mewsings: Amber’s Check Up Gets Postponed

 Amber's Sunday afternoon

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Mine was excellent!  Mom had told me a couple of days ago that her friend Fern was going to come over on Sunday.  Now, don’t get me wrong – I love it when Mom’s friends come to visit, because they usually fuss over me and comment on how beautiful I am.  But Fern – well, she may be a really nice person, but she has one major flaw that I just can’t get past.  She is a cat doctor.  And she is my cat doctor.  Mom says she’s a great vet, and I believe Mom.  She was really really wonderful with my sister Buckley, because she really got Buckley.  She understood that, given a choice, Buckley would just as soon not have anyone poke and prod her.  Mom always knew that about Buckley, and it really helped Mom deal with Buckley’s illness to have a vet who respected not only Buckley’s wishes, but also my Mom’s.  You can read more about Fern and how she helped us during Buckley’s illness in Mom’s book.

But, I digress.  So, Mom, being the good cat parent that she is, knows how important it is that I have regular check ups.  And Mom, being the terrific Mom that she is, also knows how much I hate being in my carrier, and even worse, in the car, so she asks Fern to come to the house to do my check up.  It still means that Fern is going to examine me (what an innocent little word for being poked, prodded, and otherwise touched in ways that are so not acceptable!), and she’s going to stick needles in me to get blood and other bodily fluids that shall remain nameless, but at least it saves me the stress of having to leave my house.  But – as luck would have it, Fern couldn’t make it yesterday.  Gee – what a disappointment.  Not!  The cool thing is that this is the second time that something came up and Fern couldn’t make it.  What Mom doesn’t know is that I made this happen.  Twice.  I’m surprised she hasn’t caught on to me.  Mom totally gets that our thoughts create our reality.  Of course, cats have always known this. And clearly, we’re masters at living this.  I’ve been picturing a quiet, relaxing Sunday all week – and that’s exactly what I got!  It really can be that  simple, humans.  Now mind you, I could have focused my attention on thinking about not wanting Fern to come – and then, I can guarantee you, she would have shown up here yesterday morning.  Why?  Because the universe doesn’t know the meaning of the word no.  What you think about is what you get.  It doesn’t matter whether you think about wanting it or not wanting it.  So rather than letting any thoughts of Fern into my energy field, I focused on having the kind of Sunday I love:  me snoozing in the sunny spot on the rocking chair in our living room while Mom sits on the loveseat reading.   Life doesn’t get any better than this.

As for my check up – I know it’ll have to happen sooner or later.  But rather than wasting my time worrying about it, I’d rather focus on finding a sunny spot to take my next nap in.

  

Amber’s Mewsings: Cat of The Week

Photo Montage byLayla Morgan Wilde

I know it’s Saturday, and we don’t usually blog on weekends, but I told Mom that this called for a special update.  I was named “Cat of the Week”  on The Boomer Muse’s Cat Saturday Feature!  I think that’s so totally cool – I’ve been feeling just a little bit under-appreciated lately now that my mom’s book about my sister Buckley is getting all the attention.  I don’t begrudge Buckley the attention, and I love that my Mom has been so happy and excited since the book came out last week, but it does a feline good to know that she, too, gets her time in the spotlight.  Layla Morgan Wilde put together a beautiful photo montage of me – aren’t I gorgeous?  Mom says it’s not okay to brag, but I think that only goes for humans.  We cats aren’t shy when it comes to singing our own praises.

Anyway, go visit The Boomer Muse for the full story, and add it to the list of blogs you visit regularly, especially on Cat Saturday!

And I think that guy Domino is a really handsome boy…

Buckley’s Story – Release Day

Amber reading Buckley's Story

Even though Buckley’s Story has been available online for the last few days, I choose to make today the official release date.  Today would have been Buckley’s “birthday”.  I don’t know her actual birthday, so I designated the day she came home with me as her special day.  I think she would like the idea of her book being announced to the world on this day.

This has been a whirlwind week for me.  On Monday, I received the first softcover copy.  I can’t even describe the feeling of opening the package and holding an actual book in my hands.  I’m not given to overly dramatic displays of emotion, but I jumped up and down and danced around the house!  On Tuesday, the hardcover arrived.  I didn’t think it was possible to get even more excited than when I received the softcover the day before, but apparently, it was.  The hardcover is the most beautiful book I’ve ever seen.  Okay, so I may be a bit biased, but the glossy cover is perfect, the interior design and the photos came out crisp and nice.  The overall effect is exactly what I had hoped for.

My publisher had told me it would take four to six weeks for the book to appear on Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com, so when I got an e-mail from a friend Tuesday afternoon telling me he had just ordered the book online, I just about fell off my chair.  My hands were shaking as I entered amazon.com on my keyboard.  And oh my gosh – there it was!  My book.  On Amazon.  And on BarnesandNoble.com

The book will be available at bookstores nationwide eventually, but it’ll take a little while for that to happen. 

Meanwhile, as if all the excitement about the book wasn’t enough, my brand new website, http://www.ingridking.com, also went live on Monday.  This is my first professionally designed website, and I’m so happy with what my wonderful web designer came up with.  I feel that the site perfectly reflects me, and the book.

What an incredible week.  It still seems surreal at times.  And in the midst of all this joy, there is a bittersweet component.  While the book is a lasting tribute to my sweet little cat, it also makes me miss her all the more.  But since Buckley’s message is all about living a joyful life, I know she’s celebrating right along with me.

Amber’s Mewsings: New Camera

It’s my turn to write on here again!  Things have been pretty exciting at our house these last couple of weeks.  Mom’s book Buckley’s Story is almost finished and should be available online in another week or two.  Mom is eagerly awaiting her first copy.  I think she’ll probably start chasing the UPS truck down our street any day now, that’s how impatient she is to finally get her hands on the actual book.  The book’s website is almost finished.  I sat on Mom’s lap when she looked at the most recent design last night, and even though my sister Buckley is the star of the site, I have to say, it’s really beautiful.  I love that Mom is so happy – it makes me happy.

There’s been more excitement around here.  Yesterday, Mom bought a new camera.  And I’m sure you can guess who she took the first picture of.  She hadn’t quite figured out all the settings, so the colors don’t look quite right, but don’t you love how I positioned myself to help her get such a dramatic shot:

new Canon 001 resized

I think it nicely depicts the depth of my purrsonality, the yin and the yang, the light and the dark – well, you get the idea.  Of course, after a while, all of this photo taking got kind of old – she kept trying to take more pictures of me, and all I wanted to do was take a nap.  Didn’t I suffer enough when I patiently sat through the professional photo shoot for her book cover?  You can read all about that experience here.  The things I will do for my Mom!

Fall has arrived here, and with it, the new tv shows have started.  Mom doesn’t watch a lot of tv, but she has some shows that she really likes, and now that they’re all back on, she’s been watching a little more tv than over the summer.  Buckley used to be her tv buddy – she’d spend entire evenings just stretched out on Mom’s lap or curled up in her arms.  I would occasionally join them, but I also like my space, so sometimes I’d prefer just sleeping somewhere else while they watched tv together.  But I know Mom misses having a tv buddy, so I’m doing my best to fill that gap for her.  So we’ve been cuddling and watching tv together, and I can see why Buckley liked it so much.

Mom likes to watch shows that she calls medical dramas – I don’t know why anyone would want to watch that, so many sad things happen on those shows.  Why humans find that entertaining is beyond me.  I can feel Mom’s energy change when she watches those shows, and sometimes, she’s so moved by the story that she even cries.  I don’t like that at all.  I know it’s only make believe, but I don’t like it when  Mom is sad.  I like it much better when she watches happy shows.  But I know she finds watching her shows relaxing, so I guess that’s good.

Well, that’s all I have to say for today.  It’s time for a nap now!