Even though Anabel and Sally don’t eat tacos (Sally has tried before, he thinks he likes people food), Mr. Man and I are going to make the most if this fortuitous alignment of multiple celebratory excuses and have margaritas and tacos (just like any Tuesday only the same). Anabel and Sally will get to split a can of wet cat food and each get their own bowl of crunchy food (just like every other day only the same).

I remember thinking last year how grown up they had become, but it turns out that they still had some growing up left to do. One thing I’ve noticed from my almost-daily brushings is how much their coats have come in. It makes me so happy because I remember when they were going through their awkward phase and it seemed like they weren’t going to have long hair!

Another byproduct of their burgeoning maturity is that they tolerate our little grooming sessions a lot better than they used to.  Anabel doesn’t try to escape every time (although I do still have to brush her first or she will hide from me for the rest of the day). No matter where he is, Sally will come over and hang out right next to us while Anabel gets brushed. I think that partly he is patiently waiting his turn and partly he is rubbing it in to his sister that she has to get brushed.

Over the past year, Sally has become even more of a chow hound. He knows when it is time for breakfast, and he lives for getting his crunchy food snack. It doesn’t matter if I put their dishes right next to each other or in separate rooms, half the time as soon as I turn around, I will find him eating out of Anabel’s dish. Anabel only occasionally even acts interested in food. I suppose when one is as beautiful as she is, one can derive sustenance out of the ether.

One great habit that Anabel has begun to cultivate is sleeping between me and Mr. Man in the bed at night. I love snuggling kittens in the bed, and she is a great sleeper (I’m hoping to pick up some hints via proximity). Sally still sleeps on post on the corner of the bed. I wish he would cuddle because he is so snuggly, but it is also nice to have a guard cat on post at night.

Mr. Man and I make sure to let Anabel and Sally know that they are special every day. I don’t know if it will matter to them very much that they turn two today, but we are going to celebrate anyway.  If you’re feeling like you need a reason to celebrate today, feel free to use the kitten’s birthday as an excuse and pour yourself a margarita!

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Now apparently calculating cat years isn’t quite as straightforward as dog years.  It is said that the first two years of a cat’s life are equal to 25 people years, then every year after that is around 4 people years.  They certainly do mature quickly because their kitten making equipment was just about ready to go by the time that they were fixed, and they were not-quite even five months old then.

According to this online calculator (don’t you love the internet, it really does have everything), the kittens are the equivalent of 15 in people years.

Fortunately, they don’t behave like teenagers.  But Mr. Man and I have noticed that they are acting much more like cats than kittens over the past few weeks.  Sometimes Sally can’t be bothered to run to greet whoever is at the door or monitor our showers because he is too busy napping or looking out the window.

They are still sweet little loves though; thank goodness they didn’t develop big cattitudes as they grew up!

I feel a sense of relief that we managed to keep these precious, little, baby kittens so sweet and loving.   That we didn’t turn them into aloof, difficult cats. They are healthy and comfortable and nice to be around, and they bring immeasurable happiness to my and Mr. Man’s lives.  Cinco de Mayo may well be my favorite day to celebrate from now on.

The post Happy Birthday Anabel and Sally! appeared first on Cynthia Gellis.

In the ancient Roman calendar, days of the month were counted back from three points based on the phase of the moon.  The Ides (the 15^th of a 31-day month) was supposed to coincide with the full moon.  The Kalends was the new moon (and the 1^st of the month).  The Nones was the first quarter-moon and/or nine days before the Ides.  And you thought Roman numerals were confusing!

The Ides were dedicated to Jupiter and every Ides sheep were sacrificed to the god.  The Ides of March was an official deadline for settling debts and the date was marked by several religious observances. 

The saying, “beware the Ides of March,” came from Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar.  But the assassination of Julius Caesar is not the only bad thing (relatively speaking – it was bad for him certainly) that happened on March 15:

• In 1360 France raided southern England.
• In 1889 a cyclone in Samoa wrecked three US and three German warships in the harbor in Apia.
• In 1917 Czar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated.
• And in 1939 Germany occupied Czechoslovakia. 

Other notable historical happenings on March 15 include:

• 1493, Christopher Columbus returned to Spain after “discovering” the new world.
• 1820, Maine became the 23^rd state.
• 1907, Finland became the first European country to give women the right to vote (13 years before the United States in case you are keeping score).
• 1964, Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton (marriage #5).
• 1972, the film The Godfather premiered.

My sweet little mommy is not the only important person who was born March 15.  She shares her birthday with:

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933)
• Mike Love of the Beach Boys (1941)

Here’s a little bit of Pieces birthday astrology for those born on March 15: people born on this date cannot comprehend selfish behavior and are put off by negativity. 

The full moon this year will actually be on March 20, which also happens to be the vernal equinox.  There’s got to be some interesting cosmic energy going on with that, I’ll have to see if I can find out anything notable to share with you about it.

The moral of this story is: don’t worry about anything bad happening on this Ides of March and if you know my mom, give her a call tomorrow to wish her a happy birthday!

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