Favorites

We all have favorites. Favorite food, favorite clothes, favorite tv shows/movies, favorite vacation destinations, favorite colors, favorite cars, favorite friends, favorite books, favorite flowers...

Here are some of the favorites of the residents of Casa Susana:

Miguel - He likes nature and science shows, and the news. He loves to travel, and is happy to visit anywhere that we end up going. His favorite color is blue. He loves all plants and flowers, finding the beauty in each and every one of them (as you can tell by our garden, lovingly tended by Miguel). He also loves animals - all kinds, and believes that all creatures have a right to life on this planet. His favorite food - baked potatoes, and roasted chicken (not sure why he never says fish is his favorite, I really think it is but he never says that - maybe because I never cook it, he has it when we go out to eat).

Loco - He lives to ride on the golf cart; he will go all day long if we do. He stands on his back legs with his front paws tucked into the front compartment, and his ears flapping in the breeze. When he gets too tired, he sits on the floor and just watches the scenery. Loco's next favorite thing is to be anywhere Miguel is, preferably out in the street laying at his feet while he shoots the breeze with the neighbors or his buddies. Loco thinks he is part of the group, he has grown up while various construction projects have been going on here and over at Miguel's property, and he thinks he is one of the supervisors. Loco's favorite foods are people foods - hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, and pizza. Loco's favorite place to sleep is at our feet, or under the bed if we are there, or in the black chair in the living room. Loco loves to be touched, he will go into a trance if someone is gently stroking him.

Minina - Her favorite thing is to lurk nearby and then slip outside when you open the door and look for geckos. She also likes to eat her purple flowers that grow in pots on all our terraces. Minina's favorite treat is mango, but only if it is just right - sweet, juicy, and the correct degree of ripeness. Minina is our mango-meter - if she refuses the mango we know it isn't top quality. Minina also likes potato chips, but just the natural flavor ones. Minina likes to sleep in the black chair in the living room, and if Loco is already in the chair, she will rub against it and bother him until he gets down and lets her have the chair. She immediately jumps into the chair and rolls around in his heat. Minina likes to follow Miguel around as he waters the gardens, but since her fall in December, she is not allowed on the upper terrace. Minina will sit all evening and stare at the wall if she sees a gecko up near the ceiling - she never loses faith that she will win against the gecko.

 

(picture courtesy of Dave and Sally)

Luna - Her favorite thing is to go in and out, depending on where we are and if she is hungry. Luna is also a hunter - catching mice, lizards, birds, and rats out in the jungle. Luna likes to accompany us when we walk down the road with Loco. She is very sociable, she will get up on the second-level terrace in order to join the people up there, and if we don't close our glass doors, she will open the screen door and invite herself in. Luna loves to sit right beside people and be stroked, and she will 'complain' when you stop - "MEOW!"

Maya - Her favorite snack is a raw tomato or the cut-off top of the tomato. We have to hide our tomatoes because Maya smells them and helps herself to one or two if we leave them around. Maya likes to sleep in things with walls - laundry baskets, the coffee table cut-out, the bathroom sink. Maya is a big, heavy cat - not really fat, just big, and when she runs, she gallops like a little pony. Maya likes to think she can outsmart me when I'm trying to catch her - she will go in and under and around things, and sometimes goes around and around the center section on the first floor trying to allude capture. Although Maya loves to snuggle, she hates to be picked up. Maya likes to be close to Loco - when he is under the counter during breakfast, she is there beside him. When he is on the floor at our feet, she comes over and cleans him up a bit and then lays beside him. Maya is the only cat Loco allows to snuggle with him. Maya is scared of stray cats, and since one learned how to get down into the back terrace, Maya no longer likes to go out there. Twice I have gone out and the stray has been down there, and Maya was cowering behind the planters while Smokey and Minina were confronting the stray. Maya is quickest at catching and killing small lizards - I can often rescue them from the other cats, but not from Maya, she quickly crunches down on them and that's it.

Smokey - She loves to sleep on beds, especially if there is a nice soft blanket on top. Smokey stretches out and takes up a lot of room, she truly is a bed cat. Miguel likes it when Smokey comes into bed to sleep with him (this is the guy who never thought cats should be indoors, never mind in his bed). When left out on the back terrace she will go into the shed and sleep in the cat bed if she gets chilly. Smokey loves donuts and cookies, and anything that has milk, like yogurt. I cannot sweep the floors with Smokey around as she just jumps into the pile of dust and fur and disrupts everything - she thinks it's all a game. Smokey loves to catch insects and play with them before eating them (well, she doesn't eat their legs - often that is the only clue I have that Smokey has found an insect during the night).

My favorite things are our pets and our life here - I feel like I'm actually living instead of existing inside a condo, working too many hours to make a living. I am surrounded by beautiful gardens, and nice animals - even though sometimes I get frustrated with their antics, they really are good animals and fun to have around. I like that we can see the blue water when we go out for a drive. I like that I can see inside people's homes when we go out at night. I like that the neighbor's kids think we're good neighbors (I know this because they wrote us a couple of notes telling us so - although they may have been motivated by the fact that Christmas was coming and they were making sure they appreciated me so I would 'appreciate' them). I like that I really don't get much mail, and that most things I need at the last minute are just around the corner at the local store. I like that our vet makes house calls and will get down on the floor and look under the bed for the elusive patient who has bolted the minute she realized the vet was at the door.

My favorite foods are things we prepare at home. We only eat out to give ourselves a break (and to give Miguel fish), otherwise, eating at home is very satisfying. My favorite color is probably blue, although I have developed a taste for many other colors too - and I love mixing them together to create colorful effects. 

If there was one thing I could wish for here it would be HGTV home shows, although then I'd waste so much time in front of the tv that it might not be a good idea. Oh - I just remembered, I also wish we had a Canadian Tire Store here - I just love the stuff they have there and would love to have that kind of selection and pricing here (or over in Cancun, that would be fine too, although with the increased price of the ferry, having it right here on the island would suit me just fine).