Thieving Cat

Our little black cat Boo turns eleven this year. We think she's going deaf because she doesn't seem to hear us sometimes, and she's showing signs of getting old. Within the last few months this cat has turned from sweet into irritating. Why? Because she is turning into a food thief.

Maybe it's because of the new cat food that we bought to keep our cats from puking or that's healthy for them, but whatever the case, lately Boo has not liked it. She has had a chronic cold for a while, and it has caused her to lose some weight (and she was already small to begin with). So, once a day, Mom gives her some wet cat food with an egg yolk mixed in; Boo loves it, and so do the other cats, who will gladly finish whatever she doesn't eat. Boo now has loved it so much that whenever someone is in the kitchen fixing a meal or getting a snack, she'll follow you in and stare at you, acting like it's time for her to be fed. It gets quite irritating when she's staring at you and you're getting a piece of dark chocolate.

Not only that, but Boo lately has been getting bolder in trying to steal food. A long time ago, the family discovered (the hard way) not to leave any bread products out, even if they are in a bag, because Boo will try to steal them. Recently, now it's been meat or anything else she can get her paws on. Last night, Mom set some scallops in the sink to thaw so that we could have them for dinner. I was in the kitchen and putting shrimp on skewers when suddenly I looked over into the hallway, and I found Boo and her son Oatmeal were gnawing on something. I realized it was a raw scallop. I moved to pick it up and throw it away, but Boo growled and took off with the shellfish. She and Socks battled for it under the coffee table, and I didn't interfere again.

Today, Boo is at it again. She gnawed through the plastic wrap that's covering the tilapia, and I'm pretty sure she touched the fish. I'm going to have to warn Mom about that when she gets home. In the meantime, I've covered the package with a metal pan so that Boo can't get to it.

I swear, I don't know what the cat is up to. She's never been this bad before, and she's only getting bolder in her old age.

On another note, we received news this week about Seth's job. Last summer, Dad's company Radiant was bought out by NCR. Dad's not been formally offered a position yet (as far as I know), but it's likely that he's going to stay. Seth, on the other hand, has been rather iffy because manufacturing (where he works) is going away or is being moved to Columbus (which is on the other side of Atlanta and a few hours away). This week, we learned that Seth will be let go in either September or October. He and Dad have already been talking about other employment opportunities either within NCR or in other companies. However, it is good that Seth is staying in so long because several other people in his division will be let go over the summer, so that means he will likely be one of the last ones to leave. Still, he's got work until early fall, and he's still staying pretty busy at the moment as the move takes place; keep him in your prayers as he begins considering new employment and which direction to take.

Adventures in Bad Weather

So, yesterday we had a bit of a run-in with some bad weather in Georgia (and elsewhere). For us, the worrying started earlier in the day when the storms started hitting Kentucky, and there are people in the church who have kin up there. Then there were reports of storms from Alabama. Our sister church has connections to a family in Alabama, and they were hit hard last year, resulting in a death of a neighbor; ever since then, a man from our church has been helping the families rebuild their homes, and others have often contributed help as well. So we spent the afternoon praying for those in the path of the storm.

The weather indicated that north Georgia would be hit by the storm, but we weren't sure how much we would be impacted. Dad and Mandy made plans to go to Uncle Josh's for the evening, so Mom, Seth, and I stayed home and hung out. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We had some rain, and lightning occasionally flashed. Sometime around 9 PM we learned that we were under a tornado watch (which quickly turned into a warning). I started watching weather.com, and some ladies on facebook were giving updates on where the storms were. Mom and Dad started texting each other, and we learned that Duluth (where he was) was in the thick of it. Mandy later told us that everyone (Uncle Josh's entire family, Dad, and her) went down into the basement and stayed in Noah's room for a while. From what I understand, the tornado was about five minutes away from them, though it (or another one, reports are sketchy) may have been closer. Then, via facebook, I learned that there was another tornado (or it might have been the same one; I haven't been able to find out how many tornadoes were in Gwinnett County last night) was in Suwanee, near the Mall of Georgia (which is about fifteen minutes away from us). About ten minutes later, our town was declared as being in the clear of bad weather. But now it was our turn to worry about our family and friends to the northeast, towards Jefferson and Winder, as the storm headed that direction. As far as I know, we haven't heard from them, though I've seen people on facebook or gmail, so I'm supposing they're all right. When we went to bed later that night, it started raining heavily and lightning grew more frequent. And now, this morning, it is cold and very wet.

In short, it was a rather interesting night. With texting about tornado warnings, facebook posts, and listening to a weather program, it was a bit stressful. But, otherwise, we are doing fine. I'm thankful for the Lord's protection last night, especially towards those who were closer to the bad parts, like Uncle Josh's family. As I lay in bed last night, I thought of one of the hymns we sing in church (which is based off of a psalm); one of the lines says "the lightnings flash at His command; He holds the tempest in His hand." It was very encouraging to think about how the weather is completely under God's control and how He protects His people, even in bad times.