Magical Mini Panther

Oni was very small when she showed up and begged to come inside, so I originally thought she was a few months old.  But as Oni aged she did not grow into an adult-sized body, so I had to rethink her age and consider that she might be older than I thought, so I have always guesstimated her age. But in any event she was this tiny black kitten with huge green eyes and we all loved her immediately, Brutus included. She slept with Brutus and they sunned together on the cat tree/scratch post. They were siblings, but the kind that really liked each other. She learned from Bru and her humans, so she most definitely has some cat traits but she also has dog and human mannerisms in her bag of tricks....and she has this talent of being able to mimic other creatures.

When Oni watches birds, she chirps to them.
When I am not responding to her meows, she stands on her hind legs and waves her little jazz paw at me to get my attention.  (Learned when I would wave to get her attention.)

Mostly she mimics Brutus.

When she learned of this magical thing, the treat, she started sitting next to Brutus so she could get in on this action. She has since parlayed this into getting treats from some of my clients as she has learned which ones love on Brutus and knows that she should definitely greet them as well...cause treats. She and Brutus chase the red dot of mystery and they hunt and play fight with each other. Lately she has decided that she wants to play wrestle and roll around on the floor with Brutus and me. She runs in and head butts me and flops over on her back and wiggles her paws up in the air....like Brutus and I were doing. When we wrestled, she would insert herself into the mix when she found an opening. I told my friend she was more dog than cat some days.

Today was one of those dog and human mixed days for Oni. Brutus is on a sleepover so Oni assumes his jobs in his absence. (I have no idea why or how this came to be, but she has made it so.) Brutus is the official squirrel chaser in our family, I am the official squirrel hunter. Today Oni took this task to the next level. When we saw the squirrel out back, I reached for my bb gun and Oni ran to the sliders and meowed repeatedly until I said "Okay!". She obviously wanted to chase the squirrel off the deck like Bru does, so I figured why not.  When I cracked the door she ran out onto the deck, stood up on her hind-legs and started waving her front paws and meowing like a maniac. When it was all clear she strutted back in meowing of her victory.  She learned this from Brutus and me. We run out on the deck, I yell, he barks and then we return like the badass squirrel conquerors that we are. We may not be the most effective pest control but by gosh we are the most comical.

Heard This Week on the Massage Table

One of my older ladies could pass for the patron saint for cats. She is always rescuing animals and taking them to her local vet. This week, as she chuckled, she told me that she had taken Juni to the vet to be spayed. Vet calls her and says he can't spay Juni because Juni, as it turns out, is a male cat. She tells me she is going to have to give her kitty a new name.

Me: Add OR to it. JuniOR. He'll never know he was Juni for six months.




I was talking about my Valentine's Day Facebook post with a client who is very active in creative writing. She says "So your first husband was a poet?". 

Me:  Oh nooooo. He didn't write deep meaningful poetry....but he could rhyme very well.






Me:  Yeah, so I asked the universe to help me out with some clients if possible and some creepy guy calls me. Local number that looks like Central Bank or some medical office number was the only reason I answered it. Tells me he wants a massage and I explain that I have closed my office and only work from my home now. Sorry I don't know you and this is nothing against you, but for my personal safety I only accept word of mouth referrals for new clients. We end the call on a good note then like 5-10 minutes later he texts me and says we just talked on the phone "about a massage I literally like to get a massage from you what do I need to do to get a massage from you"  I didn't answer it because I have taken down my websites, removed myself from every listing I could find, so there is no way he knew anything about my massage style, education or anything else that would make him want to see ME specifically.  But what was he thinking by being pushy with his text after I said I was not going to see him? I guess I need to ask the universe to weed out the creepy dudes too.

Client: Maybe be more specific, huh?  Remember the time you were pissed and a tornado hit Ex's
house?





Doing an outcall in an upstairs bedroom of an older home, I was remembering a time that I was doing a massage there and this voice hissed something akin to Harry Potter's Parseltongue thru my wifi speaker that creeped both, me and my client out. As I am remembering this my wifi speaker dropped signal and the music stopped. My client says "Remember that time...."   I said "Um, yeah and I was just thinking about it when my speaker crapped out."

Healing Hands

   

I found this quote about a week ago and it resonated with me. 

Some clients that have been with me for more than a few years, would probably be able to tell about how my massage style has changed and morphed over the last 13 years. Like lots of fledgling massage therapists, in the early days I did deep tissue by steamrolling the shit out of everything knotty. I thought I had to hit every inch of the body in 60 minutes and that left little time for me to gradually soften tissue...so I muscled their knots into submission. This still happens occasionally, but I have learned to work deeper without wearing my body down now, and I am secure in telling clients that we will probably not get to the whole body in 60 minutes if they want me to really address problem areas.

So we have established that I have mad deep tissue techniques, to include the Atomic Elbow.  I also do very gentle treatments: lymphatic drainage and craniosacral therapy. I have some knowledge of Thai massage as well, but if I tried to box my massage style up with just one word to describe it, it would be intuitive. I still ask clients what is going on in their bodies, but when I put my hands on their bodies, I get a more detailed report. I can feel lines of tension. I can feel how this knot is causing pain in another part of the body. I get a better idea of how I can help folks. And knowing the client's pain as something you have experienced in your own body gives you incredible insight into their pain management and treatment plan.

I have insight into middle-aged women and all our quirks with room temperatures and linens. I know the pain that hairdressers and dental technicians feel in their necks, arms and upper backs because I feel similarly after a long day of my work. Migraine pain and treatment? Check. IBS? Yep. Tennis elbow? Been there, massaged it.

A lifetime of my painful experiences brings a wealth of knowledge to my clients. 

Compassion. Empathy. Support. Touch.  Healing.

Cardinals

I copied this passage from CaliforniaPsychics.com. This is not an endorsement, nor is it a total condemnation. It's more of a "Oh, what a lovely thought!"  Given that there are multiple mated pairs that hang out at my feeders...I like the thought that I am surrounded by my ancestors and spirits who watch out for me....but we all know I am weird like that. What do you guys think?

A Spiritual Messenger
The notion that cardinals are messengers of Spirit exists across many cultures and beliefs. As a result, many things have the designation of “cardinal.” They include cardinal colors, cardinal directions, and cardinal angels. A cardinal designation signifies importance.

The word cardinal comes from the Latin word cardo, meaning hinge or axis. Like a door’s hinge, the cardinal is the hinge on the doorway between Earth and Spirit. They carry messages back and forth.
Many myths and traditions surrounding the cardinal have to do with renewal, good health, happy relationships, monogamy, and protection. Looking at the life of a cardinal, it’s easy to see why it has so many good associations. For example, cardinals mate for life. Also, they are non-migratory birds so they remain in their immediate area all their lives, protecting their turf. And after the couple gives birth, both parents work together to assure the health, welfare, and security of their family unit.

If you believe that cardinals are messengers from Spirit, then the next time you see one who is insisting on getting your attention, ask yourself these questions: What or who were you thinking of at that moment? Did you ask for guidance from Spirit or ask for help finding the answer to an important question? Allow your cardinal sightings to bring you a feeling of peace. Know that Spirit is listening. Let red cardinal visits remind you that Spirit always guides and protects you. Above all, don’t forget to thank your cardinal friends and Spirit for their guidance.

Moments With Cam

Recently I was playing cowboys with Cam, so naturally he costumed me properly with a hat, bandana and gun. He was dressed similarly...of course he had the boots, a holster and spurs.... so he was way cooler looking than Mimi was, but I was clearly the junior cowboy that day so he deserved the coolness. He has memorized lines from movies and Tombstone has some of the best cowboy lines, so he was totally in character as Curly Bill and re-enacting a scene from the movie, when he suddenly broke character and looked at me with his little index finger raised and said "He says sunnabitch, but I don't say sunnabitch, cause it's a bad word."

We all have different nicknames for Cam. Camboy and Camtater are two of the names I call him. So today when I called him Camtater, he answered me "Yes, Mimitater. (laughs hysterically at his own joke) I CALLED YOU MIMITATER!" 

We also visited The Sword in the Stone. The movie was playing so Cam stuck one of his swords (It was a Deadpool sword so clearly it was not Excalibur worthy, but who am I to crush a kid?) into the couch cushions and pretended to try to pull his sword from the stone.  When he couldn't I told him he must not have been pure of heart. As I am walking over to take a turn at pulling out the sword my son says "Pure of heart? Well you sure as hell aren't going to have any luck."   Sarcasm is strong in my family.

My favorite moment was when Cam pulled my hand to rest on his cheek and said "You're beautiful."

Signs

I worked yesterday, and then had to hit the grocery store, so we missed the chance for our walk and I was bound and determined to get Brutus his walk in the park today. I even told him that we would go and promised.  So after my breakfast I decided to play a few games online. Brutus was ever so patient until he wasn't. He climbed up on the couch and pawed my arm. I patted the couch beside me and instead of curling up there like he normally does, he flopped down in my lap, blocking my iPad screen. I ruffled his fur and moved him to his spot beside me and told him we would go walk as soon as I finished the game I was playing. I won the level and advanced. I won that level and advanced. Or so I thought. The game crashed. I re-opened it and replayed my game....won again and the game crashed. This happened three times. I won, it crashed. I took it as a sign that the universe was telling me to take my sweet pup to the park....so I did.

I let Brutus off leash to run around as 99 times out of a 100 we are the only two in the park. I use the asphalt walking path around the baseball field and playground equipment so I don't have to get muddy or wet. Bru sniffs and pees on everything he comes into contact with, with reckless abandon. When we made the turn to pass thru a grove of trees, the trees creaked when the breeze picked up. I stood there, under the limbs, watching them sway and talk and let my cares go away with the breeze. Brutus got in on the act too, he ran around in circles and scratched off under the trees, barking and enjoying this moment as much as I did. This moment alone was worth the walk.

But there was more magic afoot. I heard a familiar sound when we got closer to the creek. The Quackydoodles are back! Thinking the groundhog was right about the signs of an early spring.

Ancient

Do you have a vivid memory from your childhood that still creeps into your mind from time to time? Not necessarily a scary or traumatic event, but something you witnessed and knew, even at an early age, that this was something significant or important and it stayed with you?  If you're like me you might have a whole library of these memories and living outside city limits, I got to witness loads of farm and nature events that city kids missed out on.

My neighborhood was adjacent to a large farm that had a pay lake for fishing-- luckily for me, they looked the other way for kids that lived nearby. I spent a lot of time around that lake, whether it was fishing, swinging on the  homemade swings that allowed you to go higher than the dorky aluminum set in my backyard, or maybe just admiring nature, I was there on a lot of sunny days. When winter came along it was a great place to ride my sled too....or it was until I rode my sled across the lake and Papa Joe very angrily told me about the lake being a warm spring lake and how incredibly dangerous my insanely fun sleigh ride had been. The NO SLEDS at the lake rule came to pass.

So one summer day after I had raided my dad's change bowl, I walked down to the lake hoping to score a Snickers from the little store that sold bait, tackle and snacks. Hoping is the correct word. The clerk for this store was an older blind man. When he accidentally gave you a Butterfinger or Zagnut you just said "Thank you" and that was that.  That day I got lucky in two ways. I got my Snickers and I got to see the ugliest, scariest fish I had ever seen in my 8 years of life. 

There were concrete holding tanks near the store that occasionally had fish in them and this time there was a gar.  Of course I didn't know what it was called then, I just knew it was creepy and odd and it was almost as long as the holding tank it was in. In fact, the fish was so big it couldn't turn around, so it just hovered there with that scary toothy grin. And I stood there for a long time totally enthralled with this fish, that was almost as big as I was. Some of the men would stop by and look at it on their way home and it seemed the general consensus was it was not worth the trouble to try and kill it and clean it for its meat. So to my delight the gar was kept alive in the holding tank for a long time. I visited it often and when I thought about him, the word ANCIENT always came to mind.

Sometime later when I learned about dinosaurs, I realized why I associated it with something ancient. Gar fossils are dated back to the late Jurassic age. This species of fish is 160ish million years old. I didn't understand the significance of the fish, when I was a little girl, but I am thankful that the kid I was, was curious enough and smart enough to realize I was seeing something unique.  The adult Kim tries to impart this curiosity to my grandson now. We have marveled at fish, butterflies, birds, toadstools, flowers, etc. I hope he can look back at some of those moments and appreciate them later in his life, the way I appreciate those memories now.