WELCOME TO BALINESIS
:-)
Last Updates: May 23th, 2013
No kitten at the moment
contact: balinesis@gmail.com
Ivanhoe at 1 month
I miss him so much!
[Scroll down for the latest articles & news]
Enjoy your visit here with my cats!
Bonne visite ici en compagnie de mes chats !
Greetings,
- Lily ♥
contact: balinesis@gmail.com
Ivanhoe and Simba (... and a little bit again about JF & Me)
A loooot happened within the last few weeks, and to be honest I've found it hard to handle such high levels of stress caused by both personal matters and also the cats. I'm back at last to write, some started to worry as I usually keep my blog up to date very often...
I lost Ivanhoe during my trip to America but waited until I got the report back from the vet hospital to tell about that sad event .
Jean-François has been my cat-sitter since the beginning, and it was always pretty convenient: about a year ago I
wrote an article (click on the
link to access the article) about our separation, telling how we were still living together after we broke. Some are FBD (i.e. Friends Before Dating), JF and I did the opposite: we brought our
relationship to a new state after many years together. Stating that we are just friends led to a lot of confusion for people around us, and I have to acknowledge that this wording sounded
ambiguous even to both our families. Hopefully with time they've come to understand he and I act and feel more like brother and sister! Since we separated we've managed to stay close, and I'm
happy for him he has a girlfriend and he feels the same when I'm dating someone. We are proud we acted like adults and didn't lose everything we had on the road of parting ways :-)
Some say you cannot ever be friends with your ex, which is stupid, because it doesn't have to be all-or-nothing. If you have loved someone for who they truly are, instead of loving the interests
you shared and also the "projections", after you have moved on and gotten over that love story, they still remain the same person, which is why you can possibly continue to love them a different
way. I spent New Year's Eve five months ago with his family for his parents invited me over, he's still in contact with mine and visit them sometimes too.
Obviously it's always a bit weird for people we date to hear about our peculiar relationship and take it as a simple fact, but then it's only a matter of trust: you can't have a fulfilling
relationship we someone if you don't trust them!
Well I'm writing this now because regularly, many people wonder (a neighbor of mine asked that question two days ago!) whether we are still together or not! Well, we live together, but more like roomates, brother & sister, friends... Of course we will have to sell the apartment and go different ways soon and start a
new life, we are discussing that matter at the moment.
Back to talking about Ivanhoe now! Ivanhoe was under Jean-François' care while I was travelling. Of course JF isn't responsible for Ivanhoe's passing at all, something
was wrong with the kitten and I am bewildered because I still don't understand what happened. Merci C. d'avoir été là pendant mon voyage, de t'être occupé des chats, et même si les mots ont
fusé dans tous les sens à l'annonce du décès d'Ivanhoe, tu sais bien que je ne te tiens en aucun cas pour responsable de sa perte et que je te suis infiniment reconnaissante de ton dévouement...
et de tant d'autres choses. Tu m'as toujours bien réconfortée à chaque fois que je perdais un de mes bébés et quand j'avais des bobos au coeur :-) Un vrai grand frère ! :-D Bon avoue que je suis
une SUPER soeur-Pinette aussi d'abord, nanmého !
After Simba died last December I put Gabrielle to the boy ( Galak) again, hoping to have another litter with kittens alive after two months this time. Sadly our second baby boy suddenly died at the age of six weeks too, and even though autopsy was performed quickly no reason was found to clarify the cause of death. It makes me think maybe this mating combination wasn't meant to be: whereas Galak successfully sired many litters, it just didn't work with Gabrielle.
Pictures of Ivanhoe & Simba
I love you forever...
Ivanhoe at one month
Simba at one month
All this pains me a lot, especially as after I lost Flint (August 25th, 2011) my dream has been to breed another white bali boy like him (and keep him as a happy neuter, not to specialize in FW breeding). I still miss my Tounet so very much, and now that I made up my mind to have Gabrielle spayed very soon, I kind of let go of my last foreign white cat related to Flint and the only one that could have helped me raise another kitten like him.
Ivanhoe grew up in my bedroom for weeks and the two of us were more than close. I remember when he'd sleep in my
arms or neck, it was so very touching and sweet... I miss him terribly and I can't help but feel guilty for I couldn't save him.
In the end Mother Nature always has the last word and it's cruel when she forces us to be nothing but helpless by-standers as she takes from us creatures that we treasure. But as I like to think that everything has a meaning it helps me move on rather than get stuck in sadness and regrets.
Vinou and I, both hospitalized...
Then to add to the nightmare, short after I came back from my trip abroad Vinou started to
be sick. The last week-end of April, I woke up to find him quite weakened, it really depressed me and I was panicked as he's already suffering from a heart disease and is under daily medication... Vinou was taken to the vet hospital where
he stayed for a whole week.
I am pretty lucky to have super friends (especially Gertrude & JC, i.e. Céline & JF) who were all quick to react when I fell apart after many (many, many...) events had pushed me to the the breaking point. Only a few days after she was back from NYC (her job there was finished so she flew back to France!), Céline didn't hesitate to drive all the way from North of France to come and take care of my cats while I was myself hospitalized for another reason... and she didn't come empty-handed: she arrived with a jar of Nutella (she knows me well!) and a new stuffed toy, MiniPingu (those who read regularly the blog must have noticed how much I love my toys like a 4-year old >> click here).
Ribellu & MiniPingu
I take them with me everywhere I go now!
My brother and sister also packed their bags and flew from Paris & Nice to come and cheer me up. And finally, last but not least, my parents came too, and we went hiking just to take my mind off things, and because I needed a breath of fresh air.
Thomas & Stéphanie
The best little brother & big sister ever! ♥
Miss you, love you Taupe 1 & Taupe 3 ;-)
Holidays and new plans
Well... to sum up: very recently many "small" events in my life made my level of stress become out of control. And even though things have gently calmed down and have gotten back to normal by now, I've decided to take a break from breeding.
Until now my breeding plans had gotten along very nicely. I am quite proud of the babies I bred and believe I've
somehow added to the breeds during those past threee years. Besides it is obvious that I've always loved my cats for who they are (i.e. my cherished companions), just as much as I've loved to
"raise" them and be a breeder. This is what makes it difficult for me to decide to stop breeding for good and explains why I haven't yet settled on a strong
decision. I'm
not sure if I can stop just like that and seemingly overnight but I feel I need to slow down at least, which mean that if I continue to breed I will have less litters: I really have to take some
time to focus on important matters in my personal life.
I started to rehome some of my cats. Some left as pets and some will contribute to the balinese breeding at other catteries. Follow the news here to know if I will have other litters later this
year, I'm not sure myself at the moment, I need to think!
All that happened recently made me
remember how much family & friends matters to me, and much more than anything else. I was saddened by many things recently but hopefully time eases all pains. Very soon I will travel again as
I really need some fresh air and to turn the page on many issues. I will take two weeks off very soon to go and visit my family, I'm so happy! First, I will go to
Nice (from June 8 to June 15) where my sister lives with her boyfriend JP (Zipé !), then I will go to Paris (June 16-22) to see
my brother (who is just back from Thailand, lucky him!) & my parents (... and the rest of my family). Céline and I plan to go somewhere to
relax (next August), we haven't yet decided where but we're thinking about it! ;-)
27,5 years sooner: with my parents and my sister, at my first birthday's party. As you can see, Stéphanie has always loved food and cakes a lot! :-P
Daddy was 30 and Mummy 23: she younger than me, I am so jealous! When I was a little girl I wanted to do everything like Mummy. Guess I'm late! I am impatient to start a family too and get a picture like this with me instead of Mum, but first I need to take care of important matters... Then I'll be ready to go find the love of my life and be a mother. Not only a cat-mom... I want human babies!
Bố Mẹ ơi, con nhớ gia đình mình nhiều lắm... ♥
Special Thanks
I thank all my friends and family for their support and love.
I thank all the people who adopted cats and kittens from me for their trust, and also for taking so great care of their companions!
I developed new friendships and deep bonds with some of them, especially those who adopted twice or more from me:
- Maggy and JJ are the first who adopted from me! They have Suki + 4 kittens I bred ;-) They often write to me as they would do with their own daugther, and since I live far from my parents they've been like my second parents here in Geneva (gros bisous à vous Maggy et JJ, et au Club des Cinq !).
- Marie & Régis (they adopted Fasty, Hayleigh & Hadley) with their 3-year old daughter Sarah and I are very regularly in touch...
- and last but not least, Lucie, with whom I'm going out to dinner tonight! To her and her kids'
greatest pleasure, she has adopted Pomme, Hellie, and will soon take Yoda & Kama too.
Of course I don't forget the other people who has some of my babies as pets: Claudine and her family (she has Hero from Gina's litter), Céline & Cédric (they
have Pote & Grace from Kiddy's second litter), Ingrid & Fred (they have Belle from Gina's litter), Marie (who has Yafa).
Finally I would like to thank the breeders I trusted with a breeding cat and/or whom I adopted from myself :
- Angelika (cattery of Noah's Ark, Germany -- the breeder of Kiddy),
- Mirjam (cattery of
Blue Moon, Switzerland -- Mirjam has Friday and Holly, from Kiddy's first and third litter), - Delphine (cattery "Melle Bloom", France -- she has Harry. Bravo pour
son BIS à Montargis ;-) )
- Robert & Christine (cattery "de la Baie d'Halong", France -- Robert, rappelle moi, t'as un message sur ton répondeur !!) (they who have Sunny & Ivy),
- Fabienne (cattery "Og Island Snaegerdi -- she has Kaila from Gina's litter),
- Pippa (Pippastro Cattery, Wales -- she has Harvey from Fasty's second litter and I have Dragonfly
from her)
- Pia (Floyd from Kiddy's fourth litter),
- Natalie (cattery "Sous le Saule", Canada -- she has Hermès from Kiddy's fourth litter). I thank you all again for
And of course meeting Céline (Coupine Gertrude !!) is the best thing that happened during my years as a breeder. I first contacted her when I was looking for my first breeding queens and over the years we've become the best friends ;-)
Pictures
Some recent pictures with my family and friends now who all did all that they could to cheer me up
:-)
The three of us
(yes I was saying sumthin' on when the guy took the picture, hence my weird "smile" :-) )
Sisters in Geneva (Bel Air Cité)
Fetching our brother at the train station
Chinese restaurant with my brother and sister
At the restaurant with Lucie
We had some fish and Lucie made me taste some wine!
Matt & Me, ain't we sweet?
After the restaurant with JF
Matt & JF are my bodyguards (they are 6'3" and 6'4" tall!)... my two big brothers ;-)
Céline & Me
T'aime Coupine ♥
Mummy...
... and Jean-François
Again during dinner when she came to viti!
Eating is a pleasure!
By the way, both Vinou and me have fully recovered :-)
Vinou, after he got back home
Me after I got back home, after a nap by the sunlight!
My uncle (Chu Phong) came to fetch me on Colombus Drive to take me to a Korean restaurant. I had tasted Chinese, Thai, Viet, Japanese food already before, but it was the first time I had a Korean meal and it was good. I was glad to meet with Chu Phong again, he's a cousin of Mum. His dad, who died 8 years ago, was a great man. By the way he stood it in for my Dad's family at my parents wedding 31 years ago: indeed back then it wasn't so easy to travel around and Dad's parents didn't come at his weeding day. I remember Chu Phong's wedding with Cô Chaû, it was in 1994 and I was ten. Stéphanie (my sister) told that day "oh you look prettier than Miss France". I like to remember our childhood... time really flies! I can't believe I'm almost 29, and 30 next year already! But as I often tall my kith and kins, I'm looking forward to getting older because I feel that as time goes by I will be more and more happy. I have 34 years old in mind, don't really know why, but I bet that'll be a wonderful year in my life! :-)
Chu Phong and I were never very close because he has always lived abroad and I only met
him during holidays sometimes, and last time was at my great-grand-mother's funerals two years ago. But he's family and nothing is more important to me than family. So after I found him on FB
last year I got back in touch with him, and we agreed that we would see each other if I was to go to NYC.
It's funny to meet with uncles & aunties now that I'm not a child anymore but a grown-up and an adult. We can discuss other
subjects.
Chu Phong learned French at school but he's not fluent. He spoke to me mainly in Vietnamese and I was responding in English because even if I'm Vietnamese my English is much better. I speak
Vietnamese only at home so there are things I can't easily express in what should be my "mother tongue" (actually French is more likely my mother tongue as I was born and grew up in France. By
the way they say that the language in which you count and make mental calculations is your mother tongue: French is my mother tongue)
Chu Phong ordered maaaany plates, all were delicious and that night when I got back to Céline my stomach was soooo heavy! The plate on the last picture I couldn't finish so I ask for a doggy bag
to take away the leftovers!
Cam on Chu Phong nhiêu for coming over and taking me to that nice restaurant.
Stay in touch ;-) And say hello to your wives & children for me!
View from the apartment on the 24th floor
SuperCoupine Céline (Dreamland's cattery -- Céline retired from breeding a year ago) arrived in the US early February were she was
to stay for three months, working for a client based in New-Jersey.
We decided I would come and visit her, which I did after I took Hermès to his new home in Canada.
Picture we took on Friday night before heading to the 230 Fifth an outdoor rooftop bar
I stayed there only for four days but it was great and we had a lot of fun... and we went shopping
:-D
I usually never go shopping, I hate to walk into crowded shops, and look for clothes that are never available in my size! This is how during the last past years I've developped the habit to shop
online.
Anyway everyone had told me I couldn't go to New-York without entering a mall or shopping on the 5th avenue for example.
Céline & I (Gertrude & Josette, the nicknames we use when we talk together, some old-fashioned French women names!) had discussed about going to NYC together months ago and eventually it happened! Céline was located in New-Jersey (50 Christopher Colombus Drive, Jersey City) so we had to take the Path to go to the city and then use the train. I still have in mind the voice of the women telling "This is the train to Journal Square" ;-)
After our first day shopping -- tired faces in the train ;-)
We walked quite a lot during my stay there which could explain why I didn't gain weight though we ate a lot and fat food! There was a very great burger shop close to her apartment on Colombus Drive Street. We went there twice, for the first and the last lunches. They make delicious BaconCheeseburgers!
Walking on the Highline. It was windy but we were lucky that the sun finally showed whereas the weather forecast wasn't good at all!
Pictures taken from the Highline
Lily in NYC :-)
It had been YEARS since I last went in to a Macy's! (almost 9 years: last time I went to see my granny in Anaheim, CA) And last time I went to NYC was 20 years ago... wow how time flies!
I bought many very cute pieces of clothes, I hope my darling love will love them as much as me!
Why be pretty if not for a man? ♥
Céline, I think we'll always remember that day we walked into that shop in Soho. After 30 seconds I told you "ahem I guess we're in the wrong shop, the prices contain one extra number!" :-D That
thought didn't last long and finally I ended buying two items... But anyway, there's no harm in shopping every once in a while! :-P
Céline my BF
Luv' U ♥
Bon Gertrude, on économise et on se cherche une destination de rêve pour le mois d'août entre filles encore puisque nos zoms
nous laissent à l'abandon ? :-) A nous les transats et les pararols pour siroter des cocktails (en mode C cela va de soi !) en lisant des bouquins dans une ambiance détendue ;-) Y a plus qu'à
prier pour que Poppy arrête d'être en chaleur comme c'est le cas non-stop depuis des semaines ! (telle femelle telle éleveuse...mmmmhhhh ?)
Et promis dès que tu déménages à Paris je remonte plus souvent !
Picture taken from the plane (Geneva - Francfurt) -- beautiful mountains
First I was supposed to travel with Hermès on Monday 15th, then there was a small change of plans and I couldn't fly that day but only on Wednesday 17th, which made things a little bit more complicated as there wasn't any direct flight from Geneva to Montréal except on Mondays & Fridays. I'd rather have a nonstop flight of course but this time we had to fly throuh Francfurt. That morning I had a bad feeling (when I phoned Lufthansa to book the flight for Hermès he didn't sound sure at all) and as expected when I arrived at the airport on Wednesday with Hermès there was something wrong: they couldn't find his reservation and I started to stress that he would not be able to travel at all! Hopefully after fifteen minutes the problem was solved and I rushed to our Gate.
Hermès behaved during the trip which didn't last long to Francfurt. I'm not supposed to have him sit on my lap but I barely obey to the rules when travelling with a cat... as long as I have everything under control and that the cat and the other passengers are safe, I don't feel guilty ;-)
Hermès in the plane to Francfurt
In Francfurt we didn't wait long until we boarded on our next plane! It was a very big one (last time I went abroad was in 2007 with my family, since then I only travelled with the cats to closed destination, flying with smaller aircrafts) and it was the first time I flew with Air Canada, which is a great company in my opinion. What's more the plane was almost empty and Hermès, Ribellu and I were lucky to have three seats just for us :-)
Ribellu my cuddly toy ♥♥♥
Usually I'm not a big fan of in-flight meals but this time I found the food served on board quite tasty for a change!
Then I slept a bit like a baby...
... and then read a bit and wrote (still working on my project).
After a 7,5-hour flight, we arrived in Canada!!
There I was quite quick to get back my luggage. Natalie was already waiting for us with Bartok and it took us less than half an hour to get home, she's living in Saint-Constant with her husband André and their younger daughter Danaé.
Natalie and André adopted three children, they all come from Asia (Maxence the oldest -- he's three weeks younger than me! -- was born in South Korea, Solveigh was born in China & Danaé in the Philippines),which is funny as my roots come from Asia as well! It made me feel I was visiting family (an auntie).
During my stay I met only one of them, Danaé! She has a favorite cat among the household, it's a seal point female called Miso (yes like in the Japanese soup).
Danaé & Me
Miso
Hermès wasn't isolated and as soon as we arrived he could discover his new home and new buddies. He was a bit shy at first and his favorite place to hide was behind the furniture in the living-room!
Living-room
The cats' paradise
Cattery "Sous le saule", Natalie Robidoux
Canadian people have dinner quite early (they call that meal "souper" like the Swiss people) and I was very glad to taste
Natalie's and André's food. The first evening we had some fish (salmon) and the second evening we had venison, it was the first time I tried some... and I liked it :-)
I enjoyed every meals they served, and they were happy to see me eat a lot. Like my friens and family are used to telling me, it's better to have me in a photo than on a pension :-P Jean-François
is always teasing me, saying that I really need to find someone who can cook for me or take me to the restaurant very often! By the way Jean-François & I will soon separate for good
(N.B.: though we split almost two years ago, we've remained very good friends and we're like family, and at that time none of us moved. But I'm starting a new
life at the moment and will move to a new apartment in a new city this Summer hopefully!).
My stay in Montréal was way to short for me to go and do some sight-seeing. I didn't even have the time to visit an auntie of mine
(a Mum's cousin) who lives there with her husband. That will be for my next trip to Canada, I sure have to come there again! Natalie & André were sad I couldn't stay longer, but it's a bit
complicated for me to be away from home for a long period of time. I don't have a cat-sitter for the moment, and it was Jean-François who was on duty and looked after the cats for me! He's used
to feed them, change the litter trays and give Vinou his daily tablets (heart medication).
I really had fun staying home with Natalie & André, we discussed quite a lot, cats matters of course but also others issues.
André & Hermès
Natalie and Hermès -- her glasses are so cute, ain't they!
Bartok, a 2-year old Hungarian vizla. I instantly fell in love with him! I never had a dog and was happy to meet with him, he was so damn funny and I managed to make him sit, lay down on its side, turn around and give me a kiss! :-P
Bismuth, the stud (Purrmatix cattery, Terrie Smith, Newport, USA)
Saying goodbye to my babyboy
It was the first time I made such a long trip to bring a kitten to its new home!
Natalie & Me
Merci Natalie, André & Danaé pour votre charmant accueil ! Je souris toujours quand je regarde les vidéos
que j'ai de Bartok qui galope comme un cheval dans la maison pour me ramener sa vache, son canard ou un autre doudou, quand je regarde celle d'André et de son accent qui m'a fait plusieurs fois
me demander "mais quelle langue parle-t-il là ??" et quand je t'entends Natalie me dire que tu ne conduis pas "dans la noirceur" !
Merci à toi Natalie de prendre soin de mon petit Hermès, il est adorable comme je te l'avais décrit, n'est-ce pas ? (bien eu
tes deux derniers mails, je réponds dès que possible !) A se demander qui est son éleveuse, elle doit être formidable ;-)
Promis, la prochaine fois, je reste plus longtemps et je ne viens pas seule, j'ai bien noté l'invitation !! Et vous êtes les
bienvenus en France aussi bien entendu !
(Cô Su & Chu Hiên si vous me lisez, je passerai vous voir sans faute la prochaine fois aussi !)
I wish you good luck with Hermès, Natalie, I hope Hermès will be a great show cat and that he will sire beautiful litters with Desdémone and your other females!
Sunday April 14th was a sunny day and I went to pay Marie a visit to see how Yafa had settled in during her first month in her new home. They live only 2 km from my place!
Looks like my darling girl is doing great, she's her same old self, except she doesn't make any sound when she meows now! She reminds me of Galenka (who lives at Isabelle, JF's sister) who had the same particularity!
Yafa has grown up quite a lot within a month, just like Hadley (now Hopi) and she seems quite confident and playful. She has cats and dogs to play with! And she loves to sit by in the sun a lot.
An OSH living with Yafa
Thank you Marie for taking good care of my little princess! (Yafa was the only girl in a litter of 5, there were 4 males!)
It is always a great pleasure to visit my babies ♥
"There are many things in life that will catch your eyes but only a few will catch your heart... pursue those"
- Michael Nolan
WE HAVE KITTENS - CHATONS DISPONIBLES
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