Today’s post should be called Photos Friday because I found several photos of Princess dated August 2001. Since we are selling our West Virginia home, we have no room in the car to bring back the two large storage containers of old photographs, nor do we have room to store them in our little one-bedroom home in Florida. So, I have been sorting through them, keeping the best ten percent. Here are a few photos of Princess that are keepers.
The last photo is Vinny with Princess.
On another note, I decided to release some of my books as audiobooks on YouTube. I started with The Last Healer. There will be a new chapter released every Tuesday and Friday at 7 p.m. The first two chapters are here.
I would appreciate it if you would subscribe to help get the channel started. The more likes and subscribers I get, the more YouTube will recommend it to others. You can listen to up to Chapter 4, with Chapter 5 coming out this evening.
My wife wanted to give away one of the cat trees because nobody uses it anymore, so I put it in the laundry room, which is where we put things destined to leave the house. When Floki saw it in there, he climbed to the top and loudly protested its eventual departure.
There is a local hardware store near us that has two cats, a calico and a tortie. Many people say calicos and torties are unfriendly but this one was all over me for attention while I was having paint mixed.
I started helping out last week with painting at the apartment complex my wife oversees. That means Frankie has not been going for a walk everyday. Because of that, Rose insisted I take Frankie for a walk before work on Friday.
We live on a corner lot. The main road going into town runs along the side of our house. Frankie crossed the main road right away and we continued walking away from the main road.
After a block and a half it became clear Frankie had no intention of turning around. He might be the cat version of Lewis and Clark. I had to pick him up and change his direction.
When we were about four houses from home, we heard a dog barking near the corner house on the right, which is kitty-corner to our house. When we got a little closer, a Pitbull came trotting toward us, barking the whole time. I looked but no people were around.
When he got closer, Frankie hissed at him. I knew he was after Frankie so I picked him up and held him out of reach. The dog jumped on me, putting his paws my back and arms, while barking and trying to get at Frankie. I turned and yelled, “Stop,” but that just seemed to anger him more.
I walked faster toward home with the dog jumping on me and biting my calves. Fortunately I was wearing blue jeans instead of the shorts I normally wear in Florida. That, and the fact that I was moving made it hard for him to sink his teeth into my legs.
I was getting worried and called out for the dog’s owner but no response. If the dog started taking chunks out of my leg, I was going to have to do something drastic, like kick it in the face, and I didn’t want to have to hurt the animal.
When I reached the main street I heard cars coming. I hoped they would be a distraction. I quickly crossed the street. When I looked back the dog was lingering on the other side. I didn’t know if he would cross but I didn’t wait around to find out.
When I got inside I told Rose what happened and then put soap on my bleeding elbow. I think the dog got me with his nails. We still haven’t seen our moving truck so we had no antiseptic.
I then grabbed my lunch and went to the car. As I was backing out of the driveway, I saw Frankie walking down the sidewalk toward me. Really? I have no idea how he got out but it was very lucky I saw him.
I jumped out of the car and he gladly followed me to the back door. Once he was back in the house and I again tried to leave for work, I saw a man walking down the sidewalk toward me. He was one house down and across the side street. The dog crossed the main road because he was now harassing the man. He was barking and jumping on the man. The man tried to get the dog to stop to no avail. After fifteen seconds the dog moved on.
I got in my car and drove to where the dog was and snapped a couple of pictures.
When I got to work the manager there said she knew someone at the city that she would talk to. Later she said the guy told her talking to the police would be a waste of time. He also said the woman in charge of animal control was a POS and would do nothing about the dog.
Now I have to worry about taking Frankie for a walk and I especially have to worry about him escaping.
On our walk on Tuesday Morning, Frankie decided to check on our neighbor’s female cat, who is also named Frankie. He first peeked through the door, but the inner door was closed, and he couldn’t see anything, so he climbed onto her chair and looked through the window.
Here is a photo of Chris from May 17, 2011. I don’t know if someone yelled at him to get off the refrigerator or if he had seen enough and was on to the next thing.
Frankie helped me make the bed yesterday morning. When I’m done, I always put his blankie on the bed. Since he was in the way, he ended up under his blankie.
The scene repeated this morning, but Frankie moved while I got my phone to take his picture.
It is hard to believe that our little baby, Floki, is already nine years old. It seems like yesterday that we brought the little screamer home.
Chris accepted Floki better than he did Frankie.
He seemed to grow up in no time. We mistakenly assumed Siamese cats were bigger than average but that is not true. In fact, Floki is the smallest cat we have had since Princess.
Below are photos of Floki from each year starting in 2016 and ending this year.
Bad Cat Chris 