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Jim & Jackie came over Saturday afternoon and stayed until midnight. Just their presence was enough to make it a great birthday party, but they also brought a beautiful decorated birthday cake and wonderful gifts! Jackie has this special knack of picking out just the right gifts! She always seems to know just what I like.
It was a beautiful day outside, if somewhat windy. Pat got the music going in the garage and I barbecued some porterhouse steaks, baked some potatoes and made a salad. Pat & Jim listened to the music in the garage to get the full effect of the pulsing music, while Jackie and I sat on the back porch swing and talked while I barbecued the steaks. When they were done we headed inside to sit around the table and enjoy our meal ... and each other.
We had a wonderful time (as usual), filled with a lot of laughter. The guys are just so funny! Jackie says that Jim & Pat remind her of the movie "Grumpy Old Men". She also says that Pat is a lot like comedian Ron White ... and I agree. Jackie and my stomachs always hurt at the end of an evening from laughing so much at those two.
One of the best parts of my birthday celebration came as we were finishing up our meal. An uninvited, but very much missed, guest appeared coming down the driveway ... TUX!
Pat was the first one who spotted him. He said "there's Tux" and, as I got up to welcome Tux home, he said "Happy Birthday" ... and it WAS a very happy birthday present for me. I admit I had tears in my eyes as I rushed outside.
Tux came limping up to me as I went out to the driveway to greet him. As I picked him up, he started "talking" and telling me all about his adventures. I admit that I half-heartedly scolded him for worrying me for 8 very long days. I am still worried because he has lost so much weight. Poor Tux was starving and ate three bowls of food before settling down in his cat house to take a much needed nap.
Our evening continued after Tux's homecoming and all of us took turns going out to check on him. I think Jim & Jackie agree that Tux is a special cat. I know that Pat does because he said at one point in the evening that "Tux is ok." High praise from a man who claims to hate cats, LOL.
One thing happened Saturday night that brought home to me just how lucky Tux was to be alive. Pat went out on the back porch late in the evening and was surprised by the howl of a coyote just up the hill a few yards from the house. Pat came in and got his shotgun and he and Jim went back outside. Of course by that time, the coyote was gone, but Pat fired off a couple of rounds to make sure that the coyote kept traveling away from the house.
I still have not been able to get Tux to a vet. He shows up in the evenings and goes missing during the days. His leg is definitely broken and his tail. I doubt the vet will be able to do much, other than amputate ... yes, the breaks are that bad. His paw and the last half of his tail hang limp. How he manages to get around so well is beyond me and he doesn't show any signs of pain. He has even mastered the trick of getting up and down on the front porch, by way of the narrow brick ledge that runs around the house.
As I said in my earlier post, Tux has heart. Right now he is outside in his cat house, which is now layered with two thick bath towels and well insulated with a blanket and one of Pat's old jackets, snoozing after eating some cat food and left-over porterhouse steak from my birthday celebration. I think I've checked on him about a half-dozen times tonight. The last time I checked on him, he poked his head out for me to pet him and purred for all he was worth. Is it any wonder he has stolen my heart?
I don't remember the last time in my life I had a birthday party. I know it had to have been years ago, maybe in my 20s. However, I do know it could not possibly have been as great as this one ... wonderful friends, lots of laughter, the man that I love ... and Tux! What a fantastic 52nd birthday!
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