CATS...

Last night we discovered that instead of being moved to a 'Club Room' we have been bumped up to 'Club Status'. This means: free internet to our room, free breakfast downstairs and access to the Club Lounge (where I plan to spend a lot of time with A). I feel I should maximize this time, as I'm almost positive somebody in the hotel is going to eventually claim that we were NOT upgraded to Club Status, and therefore must incur all these additional expenses out of pocket....

So, this morning we all got up early (A earlier than everyone else just b/c she's a morning person) and headed down to the breakfast buffet. Note to self: 6:00 a.m. is too early for breakfast for me. This put A and I ahead of schedule for our Corniche walk, but the weather just seems to get more and more lovely in the mornings...there was a refreshingly cool breeze coming in from the North, so that's the direction we headed. And that's where we ran into the 'Cat-Lady'. She was sitting in the grass, along the tall flowers, feeding the stray cats. Apparently she comes from far away and brings food for them, as she feels very sorry for them. These cats she had rescued from an umbrella further down. She said they were scrawny and covered with ants. She cleaned up the cats and started feeding them and feels good in her heart, as the cats have grown. She tells me they wait for her every morning, and she brings them food and water.

On the mornings she cannot come, she leaves extra biscuits for them in the tall grass, and they munch on those.

She has a sister in Toronto who runs a beauty salon. She told me that Canada is a good country, as in the two months she visited with her sister, she did not see a single stray cat. I didn't have to heart to tell her that for all the strays she sees wandering around here, in Canada we 'humanely' euthanize the same number (probably on a daily basis). I know that AD has a spay and neuter system, where they try and fix all of the strays, and then leave them to fend for themselves...a notched ear on a cat, is a sign the cat has been fixed, and is free to walk to streets. I think this is a step in the right direction....but there has got to be more we can do...I just am not sure what it is.

On a lighter note, the two-teethed one is eating again. It seems that every meal, she also has to be given her own bowl and spoon, filled with puff wheat and milk (okay...not filled..just a wee bit to make her THINK it is filled) which she either will feed to me, or herself. This is very tricky to do, b/c she also wants to HOLD the bowl and spoon herself (might I add that we have no high chair here, and A eats on her First Years Travelseat...what a WONDERFUL baby gift we received) strapped to the plush chair that the hotel has set up for our desk (which I have considerately covered with plastic bags). Plus I have also decided to feed her sans clothes...it's just easier that way. I'll admit, it's a bit of a challenge...but I am up for it (and many more challenges of that ilk...this is why I'm a HOUSEWIFE by profession...which is apparently what my AD passport will say).