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Evening reflections under a clear sky

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The night air hangs crisply around me as I sit on a cold stone bench listening to the marching band.

I can see every star and that amazes me since we are in town— light pollution everywhere.

I am thoroughly exhausted. I do get scared. But I still feel, even through this lonely melancholy, so much hope and thankfulness.

It’s a hard world out there right now, and I’ve been job hunting, building a business, volunteering with a local non-profit as their communications director and fostering feral kittens— in addition to parenting not one but two teenagers.

This crazy conglomeration of circumstances has brought me a great amount of joy as I try not to disappoint these teenagers, the cockatoo, or any of the 14 cats. Oh wait— that’s 13 now. We get rehome the black one and now we have 13 cats? That can’t be good.

I’ve used some of this time under the pandemic to expand my make-up looks.

Playing with Green

And my lack of steady income has led me to search for the best bargains possible… Got this toilet paper at CVS for $3.61.

Toilet paper bargain hunting

And as the days turn cold, I found my favorite tunic nightgown and whipped out my witch socks.

In the midst of this I think of all the friends who’ve lent a helping hand… the former work colleague who sent $20 and said “do something for yourself,” the college friend who sent a random check, my estranged husband who brought over groceries when I needed them, the new friend who gave me a $25 Dunkin gift card and showed me how to apply for food stamps, the friend who emptied her cupboards, the friend who waxed my brows and did my nails…

And I am so grateful.

My food stamps came in, and tomorrow I planned to go grocery shopping.

And much to my surprise another benefactor came forward today.

These will pay for what food stamps won’t— soap, garbage bags, cat food, cat litter, maybe even a rotisserie chicken. And I won’t have to wait for $9 in Extra Bucks, a 40% off coupon, and a manufacturer coupon to go get toilet paper.

I think about my job hunt (I have three pre-interview kind of situations happening this week. Interviewing in Covid is a weird combo of essay tests, screening questions, phone calls and video chats.)

And I’ve been touring office spaces with ASPIRE to Autonomy so seeing their vision become a reality makes me happy.

I have five interns that report to me now… I love seeing them grow.

And I have a new marketing client. Most of our work together will probably be in trade as she is starting a new small business.

I still feel like something good is on the horizon.

Adieu dear Hades, enjoy the freedom

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Fostering is not for the feint of heart.

The teenager and I applied to be foster parents for feral kittens through Feline Urban Rescue and Rehab at the end of July.

We received our first litter July 31— a little faster than we expected. That litter was about 3 months old (the same age as our newest litter) and consisted of 5 spunky but sickly kittens. By August 2, I was in the hospital for a cat bite.

Trial by fire, I guess.

There was only one all black kitten in that litter of tabbies. Two were lovely silver tigers. Two were brown tabbies with lots of white.

Since we wanted to name them after Greek Gods, we quickly decided the black one, regardless of gender, would be Hades.

Hades had bad eye infections and bit me, piercing me with one tooth, while I was trying to give her meds. It was my first time in nearly a decade scruffing a kitten. I’m used to scruffing my 15 lb adult cats.

Hades never trusted people. She would never let me closer than 2 feet away. Yet, if I sat still she would come up to about 18 inches away from me and cock her head inquisitively.

Sometimes she slept in the top bunk with the other kittens, but most of the time she hid in the corner.

And then she got ringworm. We crated her to try and give her meds. She would not let us. And every day she got more aggressive.

So we talked to our FURR foster godmother. Together the three of us decided it was time to transition Hades to a barn cat.

Today we transferred Hades to godmother’s house where she will have her ringworm treated and continue the process to become a barn cat.

We all hope the open space is what she needs to be happy.

  • Leaving her siblings
  • With her new companion

Kitten Wrangling

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I am a big believer that things tend to sort themselves out and some things the universe takes care of.

Zeus and Apollo

I got up at 6:15 a.m., tending to my four cats; then I turned my attention to the four new 3-pound fosters in the Roman Pride, trapped by Feline Urban Rescue and Rehab.

They had did a number on the crate. I let them out to roam the small mud room while I prepped their breakfast and decided what to do. YouTube: Roaming Fosters

Today was the first Wilson Warrior home football game, and the teens had to hustle and bustle to get there. I did not get a ticket because of my commitment to get the Greeks to PetSmart for kitten adoption day.

I got the Roman kittens corralled into their crate and the teenager #1 situated their litter and gave some of them a little bath since they ended up sitting in poop.

Ah, the joys of babies.

By some miracle the teens got to the game on time dragging instruments, one gallon thermal jugs, masks, uniforms, lunches and goodness knows what else!

I came home and gulped down a quick cup of coffee with my neighbor before hanging kitten blankets on the laundry line (Hmmmm…. as a kitten foster for a non-profit does that make laundry and dishwashing expenses partially tax deductible?)

Ah, the joys of babies.

I went up to the teenager’s room to grab Zeus and Apollo of the Greek Pride and take them to PetSmart. (Video: Off to PetSmart)

Forget rodeos with bulls and cowboys, kitten wrangling should be a sport or at least count as aerobic exercise. Seriously, how many calories does that burn?

Ah, the joys of babies.

As I arrive, I get a text. No adoption fair today. But at the same time, a mom with the sweetest sleepy baby boy expressed disappointment that there are no kittens today.

I just happen to have two.

Within seconds, we are standing at register three cuddling Zeus. The woman I am speaking to wants a female kitten for her family as their large dog passed away I believe three months ago.

She starts to consider asking her husband to adopt both kittens. But she’s not sure it will fly. He comes in and holds Zeus. They both scritch scritch Apollo.

They take the information I share with them and I hope— pretty pretty please— that they consider Zeus or her and her brother.

If you are reading this lovely people with two sons…

In the end, you need to follow your instincts on what is best for your family but… if I can persuade you…

Four Reasons Why Two (Sibling) Kittens are Better Than One

  1. They have never been an only cat. They only know life as part of their litter. They will cry less and the transition will be less frightening if they are together.
  2. They entertain each other. Kittens can get bored and/or lonely, and if they have a sibling they will attack each other instead of your furniture or your houseplants.
  3. They have a bond like human siblings that will entertain you. When they play it will be no holds barred. If one is sleeping, the other has no issue walking up and biting him in the butt just because. They sleep in a pile. Get enough kittens and you can’t tell where one starts and the next begins. They communicate with each other, which is heart warming.
  4. If they look alike— and Zeus and Apollo have only minor differences— you can have fun confusing friends, family and neighbors.

And the football game…

I couldn’t go because I didn’t have a ticket, but I walked over and got really lame footage of the band playing Hail to the Warriors (Hail on YouTube) and the National Anthem (Star spangled banner on YouTube).

Soccer Music

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Time to embarrass the teens!

Teenager 1 & Teenager 2 attend a small public high school with some stellar education and arts programs. They are both in marching band. #1 plays baritone and #2 plays a base drum.

Many of their peers in marching band play sports so the group has a tradition — when each sport one (or more) of their camarades have “senior night” in their respective sports, as many band members as possible cart home their instruments and go to the game to play.

Today was Senior Night in Women’s Soccer. Teen #1 boldly stepped up to play tuba parts on her baritone and carry the low brass section.

And teen #2 not only banged that drum, but she motivated the teenager #1 to go to the event. And to practice.

YouTube Videos

Practicing smoke on the water at home

Drum Line

Hang on Sloopy

Hey Baby

Baking a Bundt cake

Angel Ackerman 2 Comments

It’s 9 p.m.

I decided to bake a cake and a Bundt cake at that. Got those Duncan Hines mid-20th Century vibes going on with a boxed carrot cake.

And some pecan coconut icing I bought on a whim. It sounded good or gross. Not sure which.

It’s cooling now.

It was almost a relaxing day. It should have been relaxing completely but I had lots of chores to do and a doctor’s appointment.

But the morning included a visit from my friend Buddy and a nice walk with him, Jan and Sobaka.

Buddy

I got my first pedicure since the pandemic started. Nala has been chewing my toe nails and eating the dead skin.

And speaking of Nala, she didn’t react well to the bass drum that ended up in my living room.

Now to ice my cake… I swapped some of the eggs for organic apricot applesauce… the cake has a lovely texture and amazing flavor but I flipped it too soon. So you’ll have to stop by for a bowl of cake.

Those crazy fools got more kittens!

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Today we made a very difficult decision regarding the fate of one of our Greek Pride kittens, that we are fostering for Feline Urban Rescue and Rehab.

Hades, the little black cat who bit me and sent me to the hospital, is inquisitive but hides most of the time. She now has caught ringworm from her brother Hermes, so we crated her.

Hades

Even in the crate, we can’t get the anti-fungal cream on her.

Video: Zeus proctecting Hades

The complete opposite of her sister, Zeus (the runt!!) loves people and runs into any situation to protect her siblings.

With a heavy heart, the teenager (#1) called our FURR foster godmother and asked if she could help us determine if Hades behavior was based in fear or aggression.

Together we decided that Hades is a female cat who will always feel trapped and cornered in a home environment and would do better as a barn cat.

In more optimistic news, Zeus and Apollo will be returning to Petsmart this weekend for their second adoption fair and may head to an in-store habitat to increase their visibility.

And we’re working on teaching Hermes to cuddle. He’s been the sickest of this group so poor guy has spent most of his life getting scruffed and having medicine applied: first antibiotics and eye cream, then ringworm cream on muzzle and belly.

Timid but lovely Hermes

Onto the insane news, we got MORE kittens! This will be our second set, trapped this morning, and will be named after Roman Gods.

Introducing… drum roll please… The Roman Pride… YouTube video of new kittens

An overdue nonprofit round up

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The last several weeks have featured a bevy of local non profit workshops and presentations.

Two of which happened last Wednesday night— the second in the Yes! Empowerment Series from the YWCA of Bethlehem and a panel on Quality of Life Women’s Issues hosted by American Association of University Women Easton Branch featuring Megan Lago (who coincidentally is my neighbor), the communications director for Lisa Boscola; Janice Thomas, homeless services director for Third Street Alliance for Women and Children; and my former colleague Antoinette Cavaliere (pictured below), program director for ProJeCt of Easton.

It’s energizing that local non profits can interact with each other and the public so fluidly and easily through social media and video conferencing platforms.

The focus of the AAUW panel was the problems facing families during the pandemic, which many of them seemed to revert to age old problems like lack of education and domestic violence.

This week’s YWCA session was on giving and receiving feedback, another interesting reflection on how we communicate and interact with others.

Then I opened my LinkedIn to discover that the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley featured a photo of me, my colleagues and one of our Women United supporters on their LinkedIn post to promote their upcoming Women United event.

That was certainly a wonderful start to the day.

Ham everywhere

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My neighbor’s boyfriend gave me a ham that had to weigh about 8 pounds.

As I spend the first decade of my adult life cooking as a vegetarian— I have never made a ham.

So this was a first.

To use all this ham:

  • I sliced some big pieces for sandwiches.
  • I took the pieces half of the size of the sandwiches and labeled them “breakfast” for ham and eggs.
  • I shredded the dry pieces for soup.
  • I, with the teenager’s help, made ham salad. We even had army teenager over to open the pickle jar.
  • I froze some ham.
  • I had a ham sandwich on white bread with extra big slices of American cheese.
  • I packaged some ham for a friend.
  • I put the ham bone, all the fat, and some smoked pork neck bones in the crock pot to make stock for ham and black bean soup.
  • Ham & Cheese
  • Stock
  • Ham and pickle salad

Exploring new looks

Angel Ackerman Leave a comment

With the teenager and teenager #2 in my home more often than not, they are forcing me to explore new looks.

Zoom has influenced this as I also am trying to look alive and vibrant on camera.

I have started posting “before,” “after” and “product” shots on my Instagram, but let’s call this my “week in review.”

  • “Griffindor” look by teenager 2 using primarily my Rimmel “jewel” palette
  • The “Griffindor” look at the pub
  • Rimmel “jewel” eye palette with blue “snapscara” mascara and trepidation red lip gloss from Baby Bat Beauty
  • Snapscara in blue & lime and blue from Revlon Player palette with the fancy name
My Target favorite finds— Maybelline “snapscara” in blue; Rimmel Magnif’eyes Jewel, and Revlon player enjôleuse

I love sparkle, and my Oryza nude shimmer and contour palette serves as my everyday base eyeshadow. That was the best find so far via Ipsy, I even ordered a second so I don’t run out.

Now keep in mind, my makeup experience was non-existent five years ago.

  • Before, with Nala
  • After, hidden by sunglasses
  • After
Sunday October 4

Today

I start everyday with some Oil of Olay moisturizer with SPF 30, a promise I made to my primary care physician to protect my skin. My brand loyalty is based on sales & coupons. (CVS)

When I start to put on my makeup, I used some re:p (real elemental practice) phytocell moisture serum. I like the way it makes my dry cheeks feel and it smells like oregano or some other garden herb. (Ipsy)

My primer today was IT your skin but better color correcting full coverage cream SPF 50+ broad spectrum UVA & UVB. Thought it would hide my dark circles for my zoom. (Ipsy) This is teenager 2’s go to when she works my make-up.

I actually did my cheeks next — I did a whole lot of bronzer. My tarte bronzer in park avenue princess is another product from Ipsy.

Eyes today are the palest Oryza shimmer color, with a layer of the bronze shimmer color and a spread around some slightly purple glitter from the Starlit Dio kaleidoscope palette I ordered from Target.com.

Lips were my Seraphine botanics lip gloss in Berry & Juice. This lip gloss has the best berry smell.

  • Before
Yesterday’s Look

Yesterday

Yesterday I started with my normal Olay complete, and some of the rep serum, and did my hair with the Brazilian hair cream.

Did my eyes with my normal Oryza shimmer, blush was Will Powder from Ipsy, but lips were from Baby Bat Beauty, there celestial lip gloss I believe.

The heavy duty glitter on my eyes is Baby Bat Beauty Glass Slipper.

Greek Pride update

Angel Ackerman Leave a comment

So today is going to be a hard day. Even though I put on my sparking eye shadow from Baby Bat Beauty and finished my look with some of my beauty products from Ipsy.

I’ll offer a review of those products in a future post.

Right now, I want to use this space to talk about our FURR foster kittens who will turn 6 months old in a couple weeks. (For more information on FURR, visit their web site Feline Urban Rescue and Rehab

We took two of them, Apollo and Zeus, to the adoption event at our local Petsmart.

Our godmother in the organization, I’m not sure how else to refer to the person we report to, introduced us as the new foster family that took a litter of five very difficult feral kittens to try and turn them around. And told the story of how I ended up in the hospital when Hades bit me. (This is the blog entry that starts to chronicle those events: The Unfortunate Cat Bite.)

I had asked Gayle to help me make a sign about Zeus’ personality as I knew she would be nervous and scared and not herself. And we included a QR code to load a playlist of YouTube videos of the whole litter playing.

The other members of the organization loved this.

And we even ran into my former work colleague Emery and her husband who adopted three cats from FURR.

Hermes has ringworm and we’d been medicating him— but now Hades has ringworm on her head so I’m not gonna lie I’m scared to catch her. Not for my own sake, but because Hermes has lost the ground he gained in trusting me because of his need for medication.

These kittens had some bad cat colds when we got them and to add ringworm to their other struggles seems so unfair.

Such sweet cats.

https://angelackerman.com/2020/08/02/greek-pride-day-2/