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Dearest Friends,

Mom dropped the new used SUV off at Goodyear today. It was running fine until yesterday afternoon. Mom went to the grocery and on the way home the SUV wouldn't go faster than 25mph! It was also idling roughly when she had to stop for traffic lights. The mechanic said it could possibly be the throttle body going bad. We don't know what a throttle body is, but if that is what's wrong it will be another $400-$600 spent.

We don't normally comment on the news here because we want this to be a mostly fun place. However, we can't let the events of the past few days go by without a mention. First and foremost, we hope you and your purrents are safe. We want you all to stay that way. We are sure that you have seen or heard the news about protestors and riots regarding the death of George Floyd. There was a similar situation in Louisville. It happened earlier in the year, but the unfortunate event has made the national news. A young woman, Breonna Taylor, was shot 8 times by police who had a "no knock" order to enter her residence. Her boyfriend thought it was a break in and shot a police officer in the leg. The police opened fire, which resulted in the death of Ms. Taylor. The person they were looking for did not live in the residence.

Thursday and Friday nights started out with peaceful protests. As soon as darkness fell things turned ugly. Friday night was the worse night. A curfew went into effect last night. No one was suppose to be out on the streets from 9:00pm - 6:00am. As far as we have heard the situation was better last night.

There is unrest in the USA. All we are asking is for you to purr and pray for peace and positive changes. We want everyone to be safe.

Know that we and mom love you all!!!

Purrs,

Angel Clarissa & Co.

The Accident: The dust has settled

Dearest Friends,

I have good news! The insurance company did considered mom's SUV to be totaled. They paid out more than mom expected. They also are paying for the rental car that mom had for 5 weeks. Mom has to pay the insurance portion of the rental car bill. Since she had dropped the collision portion of her car insurance, she thought it prudent to take the rental car company insurance. Mom has received the payout on the KIA, and a check for the day's wages for the day she was in the accident. She finally has all of the medical bills to turn in to her insurance company. Her insurance will pay those and then get reimbursed from the other guy's insurance.

On the day of the accident a friend of mom's gave her the name of a injury lawyer. This friend had been in a horrible accident and is lucky to be alive. Mom had a meeting with the lawyer a couple of days after the accident. She has decided against using the lawyer to get a high settlement. Mom wasn't seriously hurt. She was checked out at the ER on the day of the accident. She saw a physical therapist and nurse practitioner about a week after the accident. Mom is fine and her upper back and neck pain is mostly from arthritis. She was aware of the arthritis in her right shoulder and upper back. She did not know she had arthritis in her neck! Anyway, her medical bills are far less than she expected. As long as the insurance covers them then she says she's good.

Now for the new used SUV. After searching high and low, she ended up buy a 2006 Jeep Commander. It's a bigger SUV and has three rows of seats. The third row was lowered so there is more room for groceries, bags of cat food, and bags of litter. The mileage was low for a 14 year old vehicle at 162,034 on the day of the purchase. The windshield had a huge crack in it so she has already had that replaced. The air conditioner was blowing cool air, but not cold air. Mom took the Commander to Goodyear to get the condenser checked out. She told the mechanic to go on and check the entire thing out since it was bought "as is." The condenser was replaced, along with some belts, a drip pan, and a new catalytic converter. She trusts Daniel, one of the fellows that works there and has dealt with him for several years. The only thing to fix now is the CD player/radio/viewing screen. The screen is dark, the CD player doesn't work, and the radio is set to several AM stations and can't be changed. For the record, mom knew that didn't work when she bought it.

Mom sometimes names her vehicles. The Commander is named Vengeance. Her nickname is Lizzy (for Lizzy Borden). Mom told us there is a reason for the name, but she can't share it yet. It has something to do with her trip to California last November. Mom's weird, but you all knew that.

Everyone is well here. Arson is having some issues. He has started marking areas in the house by spraying. Mom thinks he is action out because Cinnamon and Samantha hate him (they really do). Bart doesn't like him either, although it may be that Arson doesn't like Bart. If Arson walks by Cinnamon, she will hiss, yowl, and whine. On occasion swatting is involved. It's the same with Samantha. If Bart crosses Arson's path the same thing happens. In that case mom is unsure of who is starting it. Bart is pretty low key. It's all frustrating for mom. 

Business are slowly opening up here. Mom hasn't ventured into any of the stores other than the grocery store and Dollar Tree. She said she isn't ready to go to the mall. She and our uncle have gone out to eat a couple of times since some of the restaurants have opened. Both Denny's and Cracker Barrel have done well to keep customers apart. The staff all wore face masks and gloves. Mom said she will be happy when things go back to normal. On the other hand she wonders if things will ever really be normal again.

On that note, I'll end!

Stay safe.

Love to all,

Angel Clarissa & Co.

The Hits Just Keep On Coming

Dearest Friends,

We hope this finds you and your families well. We are well, both cats and humans. Mom and Uncle are doing the "social distancing" and avoiding areas like grocery stores whenever possible. Mom has used Uber Eats and Door Dash a couple of times. One night mom put in an order for Chinese food and didn't think it would ever arrive. The order was placed at 6:15pm and was expected to arrive between 7:30pm-8:00pm. Dinner did not arrive until 10:30pm!

Mom had some excitement that she said she could have done without! She was in an automobile accident on Friday, April 10. Mom left the house early because she said she was wanting Krispy Kreme donuts. It's not far from our house, so her plan was to get 3 donuts and a milk, then sit in the parking lot and eat them. From there she was going into work. She had 1.5 hours to make up due to an appointment she had earlier in that week.

Mom drove to the main exit of the shopping center so she could go out with a traffic light. The light was red. When the light turned green she waited a couple of seconds to make sure the car across from her wasn't going to turn left. As mom started to cross the intersection, some jacka** ran the red light and hit the left front fender and the edge of the driver's side door. The side window airbag deployed, and mom was jerked to the right. Thank goodness she had her seat belt on! The man that hit her got out and said his car system automatically called the police. He also called for EMS because mom said her neck hurt.

While waiting for the police to show up, three different people came to mom and said they saw him run the red light. Two of them stayed to talk with the police when they arrived. EMS took mom to the hospital to have her checked out. Although the x-rays didn't show anything broken, mom was still hurting a little bit. She had to call Uber for a ride home.

Her car (KIA Sportage) was towed to the police impound lot. It took forever to find it because a couple of numbers in VIN were transposed. Mom finally saw the vehicle on Tuesday. She wanted to get her personal belongings out of it. The left front tire is bent, leaving the tire at an angle. There is a strong possibility that the axle may be broken. Of course, the left front fender is damaged and the hinge on the driver's side door is sprung so the door won't close all the way. Since the SUV is a 2008 model with 145,000 miles on it, she's pretty sure it will be totaled. Right now she still has a rental car while it's all being sorted out. It would cost more to repair the KIA than the blue book value. At least that's what mom said.

Mom said the only luck she's had lately is bad luck. But she is okay and the KIA can be replaced.

Stay safe friends. Pictures of mom's KIA are below.

Purrs,
Angel Clarissa and Co.

Checking In - Covid19

Hello friends! We are checking in to let you know we are well. Mom says these are scary times and we agree. She is glad most of her coworkers are working from home. She was going to do that too, but our house arrangement won't allow her to do that. Her job would furnish the two monitors, CPU, and the box that allows her to make calls. The CPU would have to be hooked up to the modem. Simply enough, except the modem in her brother's bedroom. There isn't enough room for her workstation in that room. Her office workstation is so far away from the next person she doesn't worry about picking up the virus there. No one else uses her desk or computer.

We are glad to have mom home with us. She said she misses going to the mall, not to shop, but to get Chinese food from the food court! Mom has been doing a little cooking at home, and a lot of going through drive-thru fast food places and eating in the car.

Our state's governor is on t.v. everyday at 5:00pm. Mom doesn't always watch him, but when she does she gets the number of new cases, the number of deaths, and the counties where these things have happened. He also reiterates the need to stay home, washing your hands, and social distancing. We can't believe how stupid (or selfish) some people can be. Some people think the rules don't pertain to them. She heard today that a gym owner was opening the back door to the facility for members to come in and work out. The gym was not to be open period!

Anymeow, we hope you and your humans are well and stay well. If your people are the purring type, ask them to purr for an end to this pandemic.

Love and purrs,

Angel Clarissa & Family

We Are Well - Covid-19

Hi friends,

Mom asked me to let you all know that she and our uncle are fine and have not been infected with that nasty Covid-19 virus. Locally, schools will be closed for the next three weeks. The same goes for the public library branches in town. Our aunt works for the library and still has to go to work, but she won't be dealing with the public. Our other aunt, who lives in North Carolina, can work from home for her job.

I don't remember if I told you that mom is working again. It's only 20 hours a week for now, but if she makes it for six months she should have the opportunity to advance to a full time position that pays $2 more per hour. She's working at a call center.

Mom worked a temp job for most of January. She worked the night shift in a mail room, opening and sorting incoming documents. It should be starting again soon. Mom said she wants to work the 10pm - 6:30am shift. It pays more. She doesn't have to report to her part time job until noon.

All of the kitties are well. Bart is spoiled. He gets a few Temptation Treats in the morning and at bedtime. Now he thinks anytime mom goes into the kitchen she should give him treats!!! Silly Bart.

We hope all is well with your purrents and that they stay safe and healthy during this difficult time.

Purrs,

Angel Clarissa

And Then There Were 7: RIP Ginger

Hello Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that we share the sad news regarding Ginger. Our sweet sisfur crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Tuesday, February 18. She had kidney disease. Even with prescription food she could not fight it any longer.

Ginger was one of the five cats mom brought home from Cleveland, Ohio. Mom's friend told her about them. They lady who had them was selling her house and moving into her boyfriend's house. He didn't want the cats, so she got rid of them. Mom said she would be getting rid of him if it were her.

Ginger, Panda, Puff, and Spunky were littermates. Batman was a year older than them and not related. Mom was going to take Ginger and Spunky only. They were a bonded pair and they had to go together. Then mom said they couldn't find a home for Puff, so she said she would take him. Then there were some red flags going on regarding the foster home that Panda and Batman were going to. So...that's how mom ended up with five adult cats!

Panda crossed the Rainbow Bridge in April 2013. Her kidneys gave out. Spunky passed in October 2017. He had cancer. Puff crossed last year. He also had cancer. And now Ginger has joined them. Batman passed in June 2018. He had saddle thrombosis and lost the use of his back legs. The Cleveland Crew are back together again.

Mom and her brother are having some hard times. If your parents pray, ask them to send a prayer for our household. They are determined they will do whatever it takes to keep the house. I can't go into the mess mom has gotten into, but she is doing the best she can to try to make it right.

We love you all!!

Purrs,

Angel Clarissa

 Ginger in her box.

Spunky and Ginger.

Welcome Arson Wells!!!

Happy New Year, Friends!!!! Okay, so we are a bit late, but it's still January so it's all good. We hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Ours was quiet and that's just how we like it around here!

Bart has settled in and is enjoying his new life with us. He is very low-keyed and tends to be a loner. He is very sweet and will come seek pets and a brushing, but he isn't a lap cat. He's found a couple of spots where he likes to hang out and sleep. Mom was hoping he might be a bed buddy, but so far it hasn't happened. Mom thinks her bed might be too high for Bart to jump up on. He is an old man and doesn't move fast.

We have some more exciting news! Mom has brought another new guy into the clowder. On January 13, our next door neighbor showed up on the doorstep with a cat in a carrier. The neighbor remodels apartments, etc. She said this guy had been left behind by his person! She and her partner had been caring for him while they were working, but it was time to get him a forever home. She knew about mom and her cats, so she brought him here. He came with a bag of food, a new litterbox, and his bowl.

Mom and uncle took him to the 24/7 vet to get him checked out. That when they found out that the kitty was a boy and had been fixed. He even had the tip of his ear clipped. His age was estimated to be between 3-4 years old. For some odd reason, there was a disposable lighter inside the carrier with him!

Kitty did not have a name and one of the tech's suggested "Arson" because of the lighter. Mom thought it was cute (she is weird) and she loves puns, so the nameless kitty was name Arson Wells! That's a play on actor Orson Wells name, for you younger people. Look up the movie Citizen Kane.

Without further adieu, here is Arson Wells!!!

Arson is so full of love!!! He loves to be petted and have his ears scratched. And he sleeps with mom!!! That makes her so happy. Mom now has three house panthers!!!