from our home to yours

Have a Happy, Healthy &  Peaceful New Year


hugs, Deb

Looking back on 2010

2010. The year started off with despair mixed with hope for my friend, Christine to win her battle with cancer. She passed away Feb. 8 and since then I have faced many occasions where I miss her more than I can say. But  I know that her spirit lives on and I feel her presence when I need it. I still laugh to myself at some of the funny things she would say and her silly ways. They make me smile and help me to accept what is. I miss her.

 It was 9 days later that I discovered blogging and I really feel that your friendships helped me through the hardest time.

Our son turned 26 in March and was awaiting the birth of his first child. His life was about to change forever and for the better.

Our daughter, Allie completed her art course at Algonquin College

and moved home for the summer along with her two cats, Joe & Rae-Rae. It was fun to have her back with us and I fell in love with her two cats, especially little Rae.

May 20th our first grandchild was born. Riley June Steckly was to join our family, make parents out of our son and his fiance and become the apple of my eye.

I said goodbye to my beloved Maggie on May 24th.

 I was still reeling from the excitement of Riley's birth when I had to make the terrible decision to let Maggie go.She was 18 years old and still had the face of a kitten. She loved to hug me with her fluffy little paws and her favorite toy was a feather.  The day she left, I didn't think I could be there because I knew I would fall apart but I received the strength knowing I would never leave her when she needed me and this decision to let her go was the last bit of love I could give her as she was no longer enjoying life. I miss her and when I come across a bird feather on my walks with Kane, I think of her and smile.


The end of May, I high-fived Mr. JT himself, James Taylor. I am his #1 groupie. I almost fainted in the aisle.

I turned another year older in June but we won't talk about that.

August brought another birthday celebration for my daughter, Jess.

Gary turned 56 in September and made the decision to retire by 2011.

I sold my dog biscuit business in October.

It was a decision that was made the year before but it took me that long to make it happen as I started it from the ground up and it was hard to let it go. I knew my heart was elsewhere and the business needed someone fresh to carry it on. Once sold I was able to give 110% of myself to my cat-sitting service. I have never for one tiny moment looked back. 

"hey, there goes that cat-lady"

November brought another birthday celebration for my daughter, Allie. She also moved out with her two cats and our second car.

And then it was December and it was full-speed ahead with my Just-Cats Cat-sitting Service. The month ended with our celebration of our 30 years of marriage.

I enjoyed 365 walks with my favorite dog, Kane.

So, there have been tears, sadness, a new birth, children getting older & moving on, anniversaries & the gumption to finally make a business out of my love for cats that has brought me to the end of this year. 


"20ll....Oh, we have plans for you"


Happy New Year to all my blogging friends and thank-you for your friendship in 2010. Now, go give your furry-one a hug.


hugs, Deb

White Wednesday

Look what was under the tree for me this Christmas. I never get tired of beautiful white dishes.

"Thanks Jess & Mike"

I found a little white under the wood-stove.

hugs, Deb

Snacking is a great way to bond

Well, a New Year is fast approaching. It's at this time that I always want to put more effort into our health  & happiness and that includes my animals. I'll be plugging in the juicer and laying off sugar now and plan to take more time for cooking organically. I have 5 senior cats and their health is very important to me, also. I'm a true believer that OUR FOOD is better for our animals if properly prepared and balanced. If I could,  I would cook for my cats like I do for Kane, our dog,  but I haven't yet because I don't know how to do it. Their diet is difficult to figure out. If anyone in blogland does cook for their cats I would love to read a post on it.

I love sharing snacks with my cats. Lily always gets a piece of cheese and she will follow me around if she can smell it.

She prefers medium cheddar to all others. The gal has taste!

Now the question is...Is cheese ok for cats? Well, from what I have learned from my vet, a cat can snack on a small piece of cheese once in awhile without any problems. Cheese is made from cow's milk so if you give too much it can cause the scoots and also too much cheese can give them a tummy ache. A little piece as a very special treat is absolutely fine. I also like to cut up chicken and dish that out as a special treat. And all my cats will stand on their head for salmon. I will divide a small can (bones and all ) between them for a special snack and they love it.

Bud & Chase love a snack just before I leave them. They like Temptations and seem to do fine on them but my personal opinion is to give them real food as a treat and stay away from commercial cat treats. I suppose in small amounts it is ok but there are too many chemicals and preservatives in them for my liking. The only cat-treat that does not have them is Pure Bites freeze-dried treats and some organic brands. B & C's owners buy both so that's good.

I am starting tonight with more kitties to care for. Today I had 9 homes which totalled 19 cats. Some of those are welcoming their owners home tonight and some are just waving good-bye so the week is still very busy. I have popped open more cans of cat-food over Christmas than Christie's has cookies. And I can still hear purring in my head long after I have returned home for the night.

That's one of the purrks of this job.

hugs, Deb 

We are in winter's grip

        "Let's snuggle, little kitty, on this cold December day"


If you would like to make your cat's bed warmer on these cold winter nights here is an idea for you. Take a close-weaved sock and fill it with 1 cup of uncooked long-grain rice. Tie or sew it closed. Pop it into the microwave for 1 minute. Once it is hot (not too hot, though), wrap the hot sock in a small towel and place under kitties blanket in her basket. This will stay warm for hours and can be re-heated over and over.
Toasty warm!


hug, Deb 

A DIY gift 'with love' & a plan

I had a lot of fun putting together a recipe book of some of my mothers', my mother-in-laws' and my own favorite recipes for my three kids.

In the chaos of the day I did not get many pictures of it but you get the idea. I know they will enjoy trying out these recipes that they have loved since they were little gaffers and I left a little bit of room in the book for them to add their own favorites, too.

I am still running around enjoying all my visits with the cats in my care. I truly love this job and don't even consider it work.

hugs, Deb

Beautiful bracelet & Counting kitties

Thank you, Mary, my friend of 34 years. I love it!

What is it about December 26th that makes us all want to start purging, cleaning & starting fresh? I am in that zone and will start tomorrow gathering things for the Goodwill. The New Year just in front of us fills me with determination & strength to change old habits and meet challenges head-on. I can't wait to get started.

I have a very busy week of cat-sitting ahead. Many people are travelling starting tomorrow to see family between Christmas and New Years. That makes me happy because I get to care for their kitties. Tomorrow I will visit with (are you ready?) Simba, Midnight, Albert, Willow, Bali, Tootsie, Marvin, Chase, Buddy, Missy, Snow, Sasha, Didi, Emmi, Smudge & Anu. Phew! Better do a name-call so I don't miss anyone and of course, bring my camera.

Hope you have a fun day tomorrow. I'll be rolling a ball on the floor 1,458 times, exercising my can-opening thumb until it goes numb & covered in cat-hair. Now, try and beat that one :)


The ferals feasted on left-overs tonight. 

I wish I could lift this guy into my arms and hug him tight

We gathered up a pan full of turkey with trimmings and left it under the covered area for them. I know they would have really enjoyed that. Yes, they are wild but they have been 'good' and deserve Christmas too. God Bless Them.
hugs, Deb

Riley's first Christmas & Please, someone come and take all this chocolate away :)

Here's a few pics from our Christmas.
It was a wonderful day with family and pets and today the sun shines bright while we enjoy left-overs and get a chance to really look at all our lovely gifts. Even the cats look exhausted and are falling down for a nap wherever possible.

Hope you had a joyful Christmas.
hugs, Deb

Here's Riley at her home. Now off to Nan & Gramps....

OJ & Sparkly wine

Riley can now have a tea-party...YAH!

Jess & Mike

Allie and Jon enjoying Aunt Diane's squares.

I expect the Temptations were saved for the cats. :)

the best photo of the day

After opening his stocking to find his ball and dining on a turkey dinner, Kane & his dad have a nap.

The end.

Christmas morn'

Santa has arrived and it's just me and some very quiet cats that are up and ready to go. I think they are still shocked at seeing the 'BIG GUY'. One big cup of coffee and then I am heading out to feed the cats in my care and then the gang arrives for breakfast. Let the fun begin!

MERRY CHRISTMAS


hugs, Deb

Merry Christmas

I want to wish all my blogging friends everything wonderful this Christmas. I hope your day is filled with love, peace and the joy of celebrating the reason for the season.  All our family will gather here for the opening of gifts and Christmas dinner. I have lots of kitties to care for Christmas day too so I will be up before Santa arrives and do my rounds. I have a little gift for each cat that should keep them busy for awhile. Kane has hung his stocking in hopes of a new ball.

Merry Christmas to everyone and a very Happy New Year. I hope Santa is good to you and I look forward to catching up soon. You mean the world to me.

Hugs, Deb

And what were you doing 30 years ago today?

Today we celebrate 30 years together. Crazy time, I know, but that's what happens when you live 3,000 miles from home.

We'll celebrate later.

...off to kitty-sit.
hugs, Deb

Anticipation

"Is that The Big Guy I hear?" 

White Wednesday

Lily wishes you a WONDERFUL WHITE WEDNESDAY.

Hopping from house to house

Hopping is a good word since I am also caring for bunnies this Christmas. I can concentrate on the cats 110% now because I am ready, other than putting the meal on, for Christmas day. Today was a joy since I got to see cats I haven't cared for in awhile now. Simba, the Abby is one of my all-time favorite.

He is so full of curiosity and craziness and he follows me everywhere to be sure that all the 'duties' are done to his liking. He reminds me of an old boss I had when I worked for the Feds. "Alright, alright..I'm going as fast as I can"

This is what I see when I open his can of duck and pea dinner.


Missy is a doll. Toothless, old Missy. We don't know each other yet but we are off to a good start.

 Snowy is just one of those cats that you can't stop gawking at because she is so beautiful. I do love those white cats.

-added one more item to my cat-bag today. A pair of scissors. I hunted for scissors at one of my clients homes since I had to open a new bag of food and it required more than my hands. It didn't bother me that I had to look for them but it sure ticked off old Willow when she was very hungry and losing patience with me. Picture of her another day.

I moved the gifts downstairs today but placed them on a table for now. I thought they were safe but the sun shone on them and the big one became a kitty lounging spot.

I think I will have to put them on the roof if I really plan to have them out of paws-way.

Gary is still shopping. Ha! men kill me. I guess it's a male thing to wait 'til the last second and then pounce on the sales. "Good luck and I'm glad I'm not out there tonight."


Hugs,  Deb