Incoherent Scribblings

Tools of the Trade

I haven’t had much time for stitching so far this week because I have been making moving arrangements and packing like a woman possessed! If you are interested, you can read a little bit about what has been keeping me busy over on my main blog.

As I looked over the top of the box that I am sorting my stash into, I realized it was time for the SBQ. So, here is this week’s question as suggested by Carol:

Do you have a favorite needlework tool that you like to work with? What is it and why do you like using it?

My answer to this week’s question is brief: Not really. I just have the “standard” items such as needle, scissors, and hoop and though I count those items as necessary, I wouldn’t call them “favorites.”

Well-Traveled Cats

Ready to Fly?
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian.

It is official: I fly back to the United States on September 6, 2006. So, as you can imagine, with just a month before I fly I have been spending most of my waking hours on the phone with my parents, making moving arrangements, and simply packing like a woman possessed!

When I moved to Germany four years ago, almost everyone I encountered asked me if I was going to take my cats with me. I have to admit that when people asked me this question I was slightly insulted. At that time the people who were asking me this question were people who knew me and knew how I felt about my cats. I knew that if my cats were children they would not have asked me such a question.

I have already observed that going home is going to be no different: I have had a plethora of emails expressing good thoughts concerning my move and almost every one asks about my cats. This time I am prepared for the question and since the people that are emailing me don’t really “know” me, I am not offended by the question like I was four years ago.

So, in answer to the question, “Are you taking your cats with you,” let me answer by saying that I am a certified crazy cat lady and I see my cats as children, so for me there is really no question about whether or not to take them back to the US with me. Of course I am!

If I just had to “pack and fly” so to speak, I could leave tomorrow. However, as you can imagine, flying three cats back to the United States is not an uncomplicated procedure…

The first thing I had to do was to take all three of them to get a rabies shot. (It was about time anyway.) Technically a rabies shot is not required for them to enter the US, but some states and most airlines require it. I did this last week because the airlines require that the rabies vaccination is at least 30 days old before the animals fly.

The documentation of their rabies and other vaccinations goes into a little booklet that is aptly entitled a “pet passport” and must be presented when they are checked in. The cats will also have to go back to the vet and get a health certificate, but this can only be done no earlier than 10 days before they travel.

In theory, all three are very healthy, pampered indoor cats. However, since she is 14 years old, we also had “geriatric” blood work done on Mouse to make sure that there aren’t any silent complications that would prevent her from flying. Her liver and kidneys are in tip-top condition and we will know by the end of the week whether or not her thyroid is continuing to function properly.

Unfortunately since there are three of them and only one of me, they will have to fly as “cargo.” We found a company that transports a lot of animals and I feel confident that even though I won’t have them in the cabin with me they will be flying as comfortably as possible.

Because they will be traveling as cargo, I still have to decide exactly when to fly them. The two options consist of either flying them a few days before I arrive in the US and having one of my parents pick them up or flying them a few days after I arrive in the US so that I can personally pick them up. A. has told me that he will see them on the plane if I choose to send them after I arrive in the US, but I am still weighing over the pros and cons of each option.

Luckily, the cats’ travel arrangements don’t have to be made more than two weeks before they fly so I still have some time to think about what is best for them… and because they are my babies I will, of course, decide to do what is best for them.