...odds & ends

on what appeared to be a 4th straight gray day...
I dragged myself out to go to Costco...
it had been a L-O-N-G time since I'd been there...
when I went last month, remembering the great price they had...
on the smaller cans of cat food...
that I used to put out for the outside kitties...

once the outside group "thinned" down...
a couple of years ago...
and the "critters" took over...
I stopped putting "out" food...
& fed the "bedroom kitties"...
in the bed room...

the couple of cases I got last month...
were a cost success [37¢ ea vs 61¢ ea at most stores...]
and...an anti-dog success also...
since the kitties love the 4 flavors so much...
and the cans are small enough, that they "inhale"it quickly...
thus not leaving any scraps behind for the doggie-disposal...
[aka, Molly...]

I know, you're saying, "Catsinger...just go to DP...
and buy cases of their fav flavors in larger, more economical cans..."
been there...done that... they leave big chunks...
[just Molly scarfing size...]
if I pick it up and hide it [microwave...]
then the kitties want "fresh"...and Molly gets it anyway...

so I braved this...



it was actually, worse...

I helped a lady put a 40 lb bag of dog food in her cart...
snagged 8 48can cases of the Friskies I went for...
4 "bags o' beef bones"... 1 case of Duraflame fire starters...
and a 2-pac of queen sized pillows[for $9.99 ! ]
that I've needed since last spring...

I wanted to get a wreath...
but they were H-U-G-E...28"...
they had 2 kinds of branches & real pine cones...
but tacky plastic[or some such crap...]holly sprigs...
AND... they were $15.99...each... WAY too much...
I remember when you could get a 2-pac of plain...
fresh smelling wreaths...for $9.99...sigh...

so as I came out, pushing my full cart...
the sun was out... !

I drove home with the window open...
enjoying the lack of cold & damp...
and when I got home, started to unload my car...
when I finally went inside...
I was pleased at the mild reception I got...
there hadn't been any jumping around in the window either...



of course, that's what I had intended...
when I created this...

Herself was wanting to play with her fleece ball...



so she was hopping around...
finally settling herself on the sofa...
[aka "batcave annex"...

but I wanted to feed kitties...
so I bribed her with a bone...
which I knew would be chewed near, or in, the "batcave"...



I gladly gave her the last one...
since I now had 4 more bags...

I opened 3 cans of salmon[a real fav...]



and the feeding frenzy began...
I made sure everybody got some...



'cause while they were eating...I carried in the cases...
stacked them on the cart and piled the bone bags on top...
[it'll be Mt Gracie real soon...]

meanwhile outside...the sunshine was glorious...



my Meyer Lemon tree is heavy with now ripe fruit...
I've given away some already...
and will take some to church, NEXT week...
[my plate is full for this Sunday, thank you very much....]



looking down the street to the north...



and looking south, towards the park...



also to the south, Unkle Phil's liquid amber tree is now "fully engulfed"...



and my weeping cherry tree's leaves are now golden...
and glow with the light beaming through them...

there are several large plants I need to bring inside SOON...
I waited too long last year due to the painting/floor re-finishing...
and almost lost a couple...



this large ficus, with large dagger-shaped leaves...
has flourished outside during the warm months...
and now, should come in before the frost...



this fiddle leaf fig[also a ficus]...
was almost a frost casualty last year...
it miraculously revived over the summer from "dead" looking sticks...
and must be brought back in ASAP...to avoid a similar fate...
which could prove fatal this time...



this rubber tree was languishing on the media cabinet...
outside it has flourished...but must come in now...



these 4 African violets are replacements...
for the 4 a certain dog trashed in a fit of "mail carrier mania"...
[Molly's version of "going postal"...]



this is the now mostly empty table where the 4 violets...
that I rescued from the $1.99 bin at OHS, were flourishing...
before Molly trashed them one time too many..



this ficus tree is happy...



this old ficus tree is dying...
and I don't know why...
so it needs to go out...
but the pot's so heavy...
that will be a problem...
I probably can't lift it empty anymore...
and it's full of dirt...

the other large ficus has spider mites...
which I'm spraying with Safer's I. S....
it's a younger plant & seems to be responding...



this rubber tree has lost all it's leaves...
and appears to be dead/dying...
so you can see that I have quite a lot of "heavy" lifting in my future...

I also need to hang my framed art...



currently, it's in the closet in the office...
[that would be the closet behind the pile o' cat food...]

seems like some things always get pushed back...
like the dishes & laundry I still haven't done...
and now, I need to go to the store...

sigh...