...day 5 of the Piglet Captivity

"day 5" in Piglet's "captivity....

she seems better...

has been eating...

but REALLY wants OUT...

she sits in the window...staring out...
then sighs...looks at me...
pitifully, hoping against hope...
sometimes making the most heart-rending plea for freedom...
[if cats could shed tears...she would be...]

I've held her and tried to explain...
but her sorrow is deep...
and I'd have to give her too much meds...
too really knock her out now...

she's been grooming herself...
and yesterday, it was Advantage day...
so it's grooming, not flea chasing...

they told me 5 to 7 days...
inside... on pain meds...
and today is day 5...
so tomorrow is Freedom Day...

I can still give her pain med at night...
if she needs it...
but I think she's doing OK...
she doesn't act like she's in pain...

that is ...other than the obvious pain...
of her forced incarceration...

so tomorrow AM...I'll give her her antibacterial medicine...
and change from rotten Pharaoh...
to Moses...

and let my Piglet go !!!

...crime & punishment

I think I'm finally "over" what ever had it's claws into me...
I'm "officially" taking things easy...
but a "lost" week of NOT taking care of business...
has left me with a LOT of stuff to do...

I have to call tomorrow to reschedule the haircut...
that I just completely slept through on Friday...

and pay the couple of bills I still get in the mail...
I can PAY on-line...but I still receive paper statements...

and then... there are the "love notes"...

WAMU informed me that as of October 15, 2008...
they are "closing my credit card account"...
[and in the same letter...
urged me to use it before that date...
no wonder they needed a bail-out...]

I actually have 2 WAMU credit cards...
neither of which I've used for a long time...
both of which have had a zero balance for over a year...

ironically...I attempted to close both of these accounts...
and was told to jump through so many hoops...I gave up...
so as far as I'm concerned...this can't happen soon enough...
and here's the best part... ready ?

today...I got the monthly envelope from WAMU...
containing the "checks to access my credit account"...
the one they're closing for "inactivity"...
and...guess who bought WAMU...?
Chase... the holder of my 2nd...

is it Karma ? or just the universe getting even... ?

HA !

Mudville PD is charging me $72 because my alarm went off...
[the bedroom door was "opened" by guess who...while I was out...]
since then...I've been very careful to check the bedroom door...
before I set the alarm...

my dental insurance is NOT paying what I thought they would...
they consider the reconstruction of my front teeth...
to be "cosmetic" because resin was used...
and so...I owe another $350...
[I'll owe $750 for the upcoming crown...]



and then... there's the speed trap ticket I got last month...
$287... if I go to traffic school, it's $40 more...
and whatever that costs...[turned out to be $28...]
but traffic school is better than "points"...
and higher insurance rates...



once...years ago [probably 10...]
I got a speeding ticket within months of a fender-bender...
I got the warning letter from DMV...
and the "Traffic School" offer...

I couldn't go to court, where I would have probably won...
so I investigated "on-line traffic school"
and one Christmas vacation day... spent about 6 hours on-line...
and got the ticket dismissed...

so when I got the ticket... a couple of days ago...
when I was too sick to deal with it...
I put it in my computer desk to deal with today...

going to the issuing county's website...
I found that I could pay the fine online...
as well as sign-up for and complete traffic school...
after paying my fine/t.s.fee...
I was shown a list of schools...
and after a bit of investigation...
chose "gotaticket.com...



it only cost $28 dollars...
including sending me a copy of my completion certificate...
[the issuing county requires me to send it to them...]
so I've just spent about 5 hours...

reading...taking 5 quizzes...
[I missed 1 question 3 times...and 0 questions 2 times...]
and getting a 100% on my final test....[I'm SO proud...]
[good thing it wasn't algebra... ]

so now...I only have to wait for the Certified letter...
so I can send it in...and I'm done...
and well before the Dec. 9 deadline...

and now I need to go "mail" the other ex$pen$ive bills...

Piglet's been hiding under the bed...
and been really cranky...
perhaps she needs some more pain med...

and then...there's the rest of the mess...

sigh...

...game over

it breaks your heart...
it is designed to break your heart...

the game begins in the spring...
when everything else begins again...

and it blossoms in the summer...
filling the afternoons and evenings...

and then as soon as the chill rains come...
it stops...
and leaves you to face the fall alone...

you count on it...
rely on it to buffer the passage of time...

to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive...
and then... just when the days are all twilight...
when you need it most...it stops...
and summer is gone...

[from "The Green Fields of the Mind",by A. Bartlett Giamatti]

for me summer ended today...

the SFGiants beat the LADodgers 3-1...
closing out a 72-90 season that was fun to watch...
the Dodgers will move on to the playoffs...
as will several other teams...
culminating in the World Series in late October...

but... as I previously said...
summer ended today for me...

it seems just yesterday that "pitchers & catchers" reported...
it was mid February...but really...just a moment ago...

I can remember looking at schedules
that stretched out over 6 months...
and thinking that it was "endless"...
now...it flies by...faster each year...

and none faster than this, my 60th summer...

I think of the connection between generations...

and our own transition from tutored child...
playing the game at recess...collecting "cards"...
and falling asleep in the plastic glow of the transistor radio...
watching the "Game of the Week"[ALWAYS the Yankees...]
on a greenish-tinged black & white TV with Dad...
arguing with classmates over favorite teams...

to becoming an experienced adult "fan"...
owning season tickets...attending games...
listening to or watching every game...
reading the box scores...
looking at the players as contemporaries...

and finally...the day comes...
when you realize that you are so much older...
than the "grizzled veterans"...
who are trying to hang on to their fading career...
at the advanced age of 38 or 40...

and the "kids"...the young strong heroes of your youth ...
your contemporaries... are 20-somethings...
and some don't even shave yet...

when you weren't looking...
you grew old...
the game stayed the same...
but you changed...

and as the chill winds of fall...
foreshadow the cold & wet of winter...

you feel the loss...
of much more than just a team to follow daily...

you've lost your youth...

baseball brings the promise of spring...
and the endless warmth of summer...
the joy and vigor of youth...
of dreams fulfilled... and wishes come true...

of even for a brief moment...
a glimpse of spent youth...
and remembered joys...

and hope...

...turf wars

I was out of my bedroom[aka Piglet's Prison]for a while...
and upon my return...I didn't see the Piglet...
she HAD been sleeping ON my bed...
or reclining on the headboard...

but now... she was not visible...

I looked under the DVD player in the TV cabinet...

no Piglet...

hoping that she wasn't under the bed...
or worse... had managed to escape...
I first examined the screens for a "breech point"...
but there was none...

just before crawling around to look under the bed...
I looked into the dark cubbie on the side of the headboard...



I thought I saw something and looking closer...

there she was...



looking sleepy...

during these moments of insecurity...
I had been calling Pigs...
thoroughly annoying the Fluffinator...
who had made a point of hisssing at Pigs with every opportunity...

and had "removed" herself to her nice weather condo...
[when the windows stay open all day & night...]
in the corner between the west & north windows...
thus avoiding the Piglet nest-theft power play...

so...having found the Piglet...
I sought to "mend a few fences" by playing "up" to Fluff...
[she knows what I'm up to...
but she is such an attention junkie...
she doesn't care...]

so as I'm talking to Fluff...



and she's posing...

first in the window...
[the "fresh air" look...]



in the meantime... Piglet moves to a softer nest...
[probably also hoping to get a rise out of Fluff...]
and remains alert for "developments"...

oblivious to all this "drama"...
Fluff adjourns to her nest...



to treat me to her full arsenal...
the "come hither"...
"I'm ready for my close-up"...
& the "I'm just too cute for words"... pose...



fully aware that Fluff is getting ALL the attention...



she turns around... for the full effect...
hoping that pitiful will trump cuteness...



looking groggy and ever so pitiful...but brave...
Piglet is successful in regaining my attention...



and Fluff turns her back in a full-on sulk...

around here ... there is NEVER a dull moment...

..."toofless" & other small annoyances

Piglet seems to be doing well in her captivity...

I got the OK to give her a drop or so of pain med...
more often than .5CC once a day...
since an hour or so after each time I've given pain meds...
she's gone to the food... and eaten well...
she's also staying "close"...but not being clingy...
as she was before when she was in pain from the lesions...

I'm still fighting the headache and fogginess...
from this #@&%* virus...
although I think the fever is gone for good...
which means I'm no longer a threat to humanity...
[which is good... since I need to be at church tomorrow...
and really don't want to "share" this...]

I'm still weak and shaky...
and want to sleep 24/7...
but the "other" issues are gone...
and I'm hungry...

and that's where it becomes weird...
I'm hungry...
but I just don't want to eat...

I don't think I'm depressed...
but the last time I felt like this...
was late last fall...when I just stopped eating...
the beginning of that was depression...
then it evolved into something else...

then I wasn't hungry...
at the moment ...I am...
but getting something to eat is just...unpalatable...

and then... there's this...

Your result for The Which Lolcat Are You? Test...

Sad Cookie Cat

64% Affectionate, 33% Excitable, 69% Hungry

You are the classic Shakespearian tragedy of the lolcat universe. The sad story of a baking a cookie, succumbing to gluttony, and in turn consuming the very cookie that was to be offered. Bad grammar ensues.



To see all possible results, checka dis.

Take The Which Lolcat Are You? Test at HelloQuizzy

*SIGH*

what is "sad"... is that I can totally buy into this...

there is truth here... but embracing it will really bum me out...

besides...

I just have to say...
that as funny as I find most of the LOL cat pictures & captions...
the "hip hop" dialect really gets on my nerves...
I know cats are "cool"... but pleeeze...

so I've decided that I'm NOT going to let this get to me...

I'm going to do the sink full o'dishes...
clean cat boxes... take out the trash...
water plants...sweep the floor...
do several loads of laundry...
& generally clean-up from a week of sloth...

[boy...just writing that tired me out...]

and as for the LOL Cat Quiz...
in which most of the questions were...??? ...
and many of the possible answers were...
beyond my understanding... or just insipid...]

*SO*...

I've decided that I am "Bite Me Cat"...



"you are the "rugged individualist" of the cat world...
stubbornly "staying your course"...in spite of being gullible enough...
to keep taking "quizzes" dreamed up by 20-somethings...[so true...]
who ask questions you have NO frame of reference to answer...[YES...]
and then... being even more gullible... you let the results depress you...[too true]
until you get annoyed enough to tell it all to "bite me"...[preach it, Catfinger...]
and you're fine...until the next quiz... [ARGH]

I "get" that I've never been one of the "cool kids"...
and never will be...not in a million years...
but there are better things in life than "being cool"...
and not letting WHAT people think of you...
get to you... is one of them...

even with all the changes taking place in my life...
I still can only be, "me"... who I am... at this moment...
imperfect... annoying... messy... compulsive...

I have to trust that He has the situation under control...
and just leave it with Him...
not worrying... or "figuring things out"...
just "being"... and gratefully following His path...

because...

if anyone can make me not annoying...
or not as messy... not compulsive...
less im-perfect...
it is Him...

and I believe that, all evidence to the contrary...
He is working in those directions...
on those problems and more...
because He knows that those changes ARE possible...
if I let Him...and embrace His path...

so...

the only opinion that matters...
is His...

...uh oh...I'm in deep #$%* now

after 3 PM today...I went to the vet to retrieve the Piglet...
now sans fangs...and hopefully SOON...sans lesions...

the vet techs were REALLY glad to see me...
[NOT always a good sign...
if one of your "darlings" has been there long enough...
to "wear out" their welcome...]

"M" went out of his way to say that Piglet was "nice" to him...
[I later found out she had scratched him...]

so after I paid the $400+ bill [sigh]...
[actually a bit surprised that it wasn't more...]
the other 2 vet techs were discussing
who was going to "put her in the box"...
part of the discussion involved her current lack of teeth...
but willingness to gash with her claws, when pissed off...

"N" lost the "discussion"...so she went to get Pigs...

while I was waiting... the Dr... came to chat...
and I found out that the dentist...was a real people dentist...
[I had thought that the bill was pretty low...
for one of those UCD specialist vets to have been involved...]

he went on to tell me about all the tubes and equipment...
that his dentist friend [who ALWAYS wanted to be a vet...]
had brought with him and had used on Piglet...

[the dentist had called them today to see how Piglet was...
because he "always calls his patients to follow up"...]

my vet's father & brother are dentists...
so he went on to tell me about how there are many similarities...
between humans & cats...dentally speaking, of course...
and since he & his staff were handling the anesthesia...
and vital signs monitoring which is very different...
Piglet had gotten the best of both worlds...

about then... "N" brought her out, in the carrier box...
with the not so muted growling & threatening noises...
quite clearly audible...[she was obviously pissed...]

THEN... one of the techs told me...
as she handed me the bottle & oral syringe...
"this pain med will make her sleepy & a bit "unsteady"..
so she should stay inside for the next 5-7 days...
while she's taking it..."
"...and continue with the anti bacterial med drops...
until they're gone..."

she said it so calmly... so "it's NOT a big thing"...
so NOT AT ALL WHAT IT WOULD REALLY MEAN TO MY LIFE...
& that's when my life "flashed before my eyes"...

promising to bring her back in 2 weeks for a check-up...
& apologizing for all the VERY nasty cat language...
that continued to issue forth from the box...
unabated by propriety...

I took "Miz Crankypants" out to the car...
sure that they were all high-5-ing...
and celebrating her departure back in the office...
["ding-dong, that cat is gone..."]
& all the while...
STILL being called a number of unrepeatable nasty names...

when we got IN the car...she stopped...
and only gave me the minimal,"aren't we there YET ?"
comments for the trip home...

as soon as I got her out of the box....
she was at the window...a bit unsteady from the meds...
which were wearing off and wanting OUT...NOW !!!

Fluff was in her corner nest, rolling her eyes at Miz Dramaqueen...
[Fluff, you may remember has only 1 tooth...a front fang...
which I could see as she was smirking at Piglet's hysterics...]

since they told me to give her her meds fairly soon...
[and the pain meds would make her sleepy...]
I did just that...



.5CC of the pain meds [orally] & a dropperful of the anti bacterial...



after about 3 or 4 minutes...
she was mellowing out...



and then...nighty-night...

5 to 7 days of NO outside ?

they said it would be no less than 3 or 4...
she has to take the pain meds at least that long...
and they will make it NOT safe for her to "prowl" at will...

why do I have this "oh,no" feeling... ?

..."toothless" update

this afternoon...around 3 PM...
the Piglet will return home...
toothless...lesions healing...
and completely pissed off at me...

since she was under an anesthesia for the extractions...
and has stitches...
and will still be a bit groggy...

she'll NOT be going out this evening...
which WILL NOT please "Herself"...the Piglet...
Queen of Absolutely Everything...
[especially the backyard...]

to paraphrase Rogers & Hammerstein...
"somehow, I can see... just exactly how she'll be..."



first...she'll be subtle...
she'll sit expectantly...
in front of her portal to freedom...
ignoring me... so as to give me NO idea...
of just how MUCH she wants...
no...NEEDS... to be OUT...



when feigned indifference doesn't work...
she'll sneak a peak in the mirror...
checking out my "body language"...
my location relative to her desires...
scheming her next "move"...



which will start with a sweet...
"Mom... you forgot to let me out"...
and when that gets a firm "no" from me...
she will rapidly escalate into begging...
threats... and name calling...



some of them...quite nasty, I might add...
and delivered up close & personal...
just for emphasis...

I, of course, remain very mature...
and DO NOT HOLLER...
"NO...NO...NO...!!!"
back in her face...
NO matter HOW much I really want to...
[20+ years of teaching Jr High...
were good for something...]



now...in full sulk mode...
herself will crawl up into the TV stand...
from behind the TV...
screwing-up the cable connections...
[she could climb in from the front...
screwing-up nothing...and often does...
but what fun/revenge is there in that ?]

I will continue to ignore her occasional mutterings...
and soon...

she's b-a-c-k...



and in my face, BIG TIME...

if I'm trying to sleep...
she'll jump on my stomach...

if I'm sitting there...she's all over me...

whining...bitching...complaining...

and when THAT doesn't work...



she retreats to the headboard...
flopping down with a disgusted,"hrummph"...
lashing her tail... thump, thump, thump...
narrowing her eyes to slits of loathing...
fixing me with an "icy glare"...
that makes her usual "death to all" look...
a beneficent glance by comparison...



and when THAT gets her nowhere...
she will, purely out of spite...
resort to baiting Fluff...
who has been quite content in her absence...
to be an only cat...
and is already, more than a bit annoyed...
at Piglet's antics to this point...

so she will "occupy" Fluff's favorite nest...
and gloat over that...
assuaging her anger with vengeful glee...
and a side order of malice...

soon, however...
even the "high" of spite towards Fluff will pale...

and the longing for being "out"...
will return...

and so will she...



this time to try "pitiful"...

if it's dark...or getting late...
or she's wobbly still...
it won't work...
and we will go through ALL the dance steps again...
until she falls asleep...or I flee to anywhere else...

if I wait long enough before returning...
she'll be "dead to the world"...
and she'll sleep through the night...
eventually stirring...
sleepily moving close enough to drool on me...
and snore like a rampaging chain saw in my ear...
until the dawn's early light...

the next morning...after giving her her meds...
[& a continuing "fun" adventure I'm sure it will be...]

she'll be "released"...

and Fluff will say...



"it's about freakin' time !"

...toothless in Mudville

I just talked to the vet tech who was assisting...
and the Piglet is now "toothless"...
she will be spending the night ...
coming home tomorrow with more anti bacterial & pain meds...

she will be "in recovery" for a couple of days...
which, knowing her means "totally pissed off" at me...
for quite some time...
although...as she heals...she should regain her haughty persona...
[I hope so... pitiful, just isn't her...]

so besides all this happening as I slept the day away...

my last visit to Miz Minka's...
was apparently her # 10,000... WOW...
I saw that sitemeter said 9999 visitors, but was so "out of it"...
I didn't "get" the significance...

so before I wander back to my bed...
[I've been "up" too long...]
I'd like to congratulate MM on an always interesting...
& often inspiring blog...
and on her now 10,000+ visitors...

I might get there...in 5 or 6 years...maybe...
here's hoping that she will someday celebrate #100,000...
hopefully... I'll be here to see that too...

...floating

floating... in the stillness...

I can see the gentle turning of the glass wind chime...
as it joins the leaves in their subtle swaying...
as the breath of the marine layer insinuates itself into the morning...

like the fog...when it comes on cat's feet...
the mere stirring in the air currents...
of the cooler, damper air...
comes in utter silence...

last week, the fall breezes brought song after song...
to the assembled wind chimes...
the blue jay screeched his verses...
and the trees joined in for the chorus...

today...the stillness is broken by the hum of my computer...
the distant garbage truck claiming its' spoils...
the gurgle of the cat water fountain...
my lovely clock striking "3 quarters past the hour..."

but I'm floating...

brain swathed in the murky befuddlement of fever...
but at that point... where I've ceased to rail against it...
I've embraced it...have allowed myself to "be sick"...
so that I may "be well"...

as an intoxicated person always believes them self to be glib...
in control... entertaining...& lovable...
this fever has intoxicated me and I am at peace....

floating...as in warm waters...

unconcerned with the reasons for my buoyancy...
just content to float...and be...

and while the world seems to hold it's breath...
as God touches my fevered brow with His cooling fingers...
healing my body as well as my soul...
I am thankful for His love and care..

I think of my Piglet kitty...
in surgery even as I write this...
and pray that this procedure will give her lasting relief...
and I'm grateful that Lacy has stopped sneezing...
and seems much better today...

and for all those blessings...
the ones I see... and the ones I don't...
I am.. so grateful...

God is so good...

...bite me, Piglet style

if you are a regular reader...
you know of Piglet's mouth lesions...
due to an immune system problem...

my vet was going to have a vet dentist friend...
pull several of her teeth...
as that seems to help in this kind of situation...

it had been a couple of weeks since her last steroid shot...
and I knew she was starting to hurt again...
she was eating very tentatively...
and had started huddling next to me the last couple of days...

so today... as I was sleeping off this stupid virus...
that I don't have time for right now...
with Piglet snuggled as close as she could get...
and looking as pitiful as could be...
the phone rang...

it was one of the techs at my vets...
telling me that the surgery would be tomorrow...
so I needed to have her there around 8:00 AM...
with NO FOOD in the previous 8 hours...

I could have managed that with Pigs...
SHE wasn't eating anyway...
Fluff, on the other hand would have been VERY upset...
as she tends to eat little meals... OFTEN...

so... since Pigs was already at hand...
I scooped her up... and took her in then...

she was NOT happy...
but was soon resigned to her fate...
I know she didn't expect to be left there...
and is at this very moment...I'm quite sure...
plotting some terrible revenge...

as I sit writing this...
through the fever fog of whatever this is...
I can hear the rumble of the treat ball...
being plied for it's goodies in the LR...

Lacy is looking much better after the medicine for her cold...
[I haven't heard a sneeze in hours...]
I need to go back to bed...
I wore myself out doing the trash & cat boxes this AM...
then making a run to the store for soda crackers...
Sprite... soup... deli turkey breast...
and frozen mac & cheese...

also carrot juice...yogurt...yogurt shots[immune booster]
milk... Hershey's syrup... and malted milk powder...

they don't carry malted milk powder at Raleys...
so I stopped on my way home from dropping off the Piglet...
and got some...as well as the Sprite I forgot earlier...
[I am VERY fuddled at the moment... as a result...
THIS post is taking a lot more effort than usual...]

one of the managers of the SMART Foods store I was in...
was a band student of mine...probably 15 years ago...
but today... another young man in an apron...
who I recognized right away as a former student...
[their eyes never change...nor does their smile...]
said,"excuse me, are you a teacher?"

since I recognized his face, I cut to the chase...
and told him I remembered him...
he had been in one of my English/reading classes...
in the last 4 years I taught...

he mentioned a Japanese anime movie,"Princess Mononoke"...
that I used to have the sub show when I was absent...
[the kid's good behavior for the sub would affect what I left
the next time I had to be gone...a test or a film...their choice...]

he mentioned how much he had liked that film...
and how it had gotten him into that genre...

it never fails to amaze me how some little thing you do...
can so impact someones life...for years...

it's probably been 6 or 7 years since he was in my class...
but he still remembered that film...

I told him that his manager had also been a student of mine...
the way he grinned, I'm sure they'll be comparing "Miz B" stories soon...

when I was a kid...we never went to "town"...
without seeing someone who had been a student of Mom's...
even in her later years...people would stop her on the street...
to reconnect with her...to tell her how important she'd been to them...


when she had to have a complete hysterectomy in 1990...
to remove a pre-cancerous growth...
and was hospitalized in Fresno at St Agnes...
I arrived one day, on my long commute from Mudville...
to find her asleep...
with a young man I didn't know...
sitting there as she slept...

he introduced himself as one of her "former students"...
telling me that Mom was his favorite teacher...
and that he owed her a lot... so he had come to pay his respects...
we chatted... and after a while... he left...

when Mom woke up... I told her that he had been there...
she was sorry that she had missed him...
she told me that he had had some learning disabilities...
that kept him from reading and as a third grader...
he was already way behind...and it was getting worse...

Mom recognized his disability... and worked with him...
special tutoring... and a large dose of encouragement...
worked for him... and he had gone on to succeed in school...
and later became a very successful businessman...

he had always given her credit for his success...
she would just say that she was in the right place...
at the right time...to be able to help...
it was her job... and she was glad to do it...

I have no unrealistic ideas about all the kids who were in my class...

I know that I wasn't the most important teacher in their lives...
[at least... not much past jr high...]

I'm just pleased when someone who had me during grades 7/8...
[when ALL adults who are authority figures are not to be trusted...]
remembers at least something from my class with a smile...

and goes out of their way to say...

"didn't you used to be my teacher?"...

that leaves a warmth that I know isn't fever...

...got cats ?, pt 2

rattle...rattle...thump, thump, thump...

of course...it's totally my fault for filling it...

at least THEY'RE having fun...
the virus is having it's way with me...
I'll spare you the details...
I'm just glad that I got cat food...
and watered all the outside plants yesterday....



MJ [Midnight, Jr... because he looks & acts like his daddy...]
is the first to figure out...
that the ball will give out treats...
if he plays with it...

Sneaky Pie, as always is "lurking"....
waiting for her chance...

you can't see her...
trust me...she's there...
and Thomas is watching her...
waiting for his chance...

oh... there it goes again...
rattle, rattle...thump...

maybe that's why I kept waking up last night...
[the ball rolling on the wood floors...
it WAS empty this morning...]

I was having weird fever dreams...
that were part TV show...part cartoon...
and VERY strange...

I HATE being sick when the weather is nice...
and I have SO much to do...



while I was "up"... feeding, watering & giving medicine...
[Lacy has a kitty cold...sneezing, etc...]
Lucyfur was showing off her prowess at toy mouse maiming...



tossing it high... running in circles...
then returning to subdue it all over again...



meanwhile... the Creamer/Gracie standoff continues...
if this was a video...[my brain IS NOT working properly...]
you could see that both are lashing their tails...

this did end "peacefully"....for now...

I'm going to take my sick self back to bed...

...got cats ?

this morning...I was out of cat food...

not for everybody...but for Piglet & Fluff...
the Fancy Feast cupboard was "bare"...
[this may NOT seem like much to you...
but I SLEEP with them...
and "hell hath NO fury..."]

watch this...you'll understand VERY quickly...
since "embedding was "disabled"...
please go to http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JWFockl-rbY
[I'm sorry...it WILL NOT let me link either...
this is the "Got Milk?" catlady commercial...]

so now you know why even though I'm fighting some virus...
I got up...got dressed...
and dragged myself over to Discount Pet...

and after "awwwing" at the pictures of kittens for free...
I got a cart and made the rounds...

I got Tidy Cat litter...
[2 16 lbers, 2 35 lbers{on sale !}]

Fancy Feast...
[3 cases "chicken feast", 3 cases "turkey feast"]

6 packs of cat treats...
[because MM gave my gang a treat dispensing ball...]

and 2 catnip toys...
[because a "tweaked-out kitty", is a "happy kitty"...

I had all of this in my cart...
the 2 big litter pails stacked 2 high...
and was headed for the check-out...
when an earnest young lady rushed over to me...
looked at the 102 lbs of litter...
[especially the big one, on top of the other big one]

and said in a rather astounded, but also patronizing tone...
"My...did you lift all that in by yourself ?"

snarkily... I replied," yes...I had NO problem doing it..."

[her, still a bit patronizing]
"Well, I guess that's how you get in your workout"

[me, "snarkiness now dripping from every syllable]...
"you have no idea all the ways I "get in my workout"...
[showing most of my teeth... and batting my eyes...]

she chuckled...[oblivious...]

I chuckled back...[smiling, while trying to stifle the "snark"...]

thinking..."yeah.... just because there's gray in the hair...
crowsfeet on the face & fat on my butt...
doesn't mean that I'm helpless or inept..."

after paying [ARGH] and assuring her I could manage to load my car...

I went home...feeling a bit shaky from the virus...
[a little feverish, nauseous, headache, tired...]
which now occupied my attention...
since I wasn't preoccupied with being "macho"...
and schlepped it all on to the porch...

I carried the 2 35 lbers at the same time...
[I AM woman... hear me roar...]

[I'm going to bring it in after I "rest" a bit...]



I did however, bring in the bag with the treats to put in the ball...
AND the 2 cat toys...



while I was filling the treat ball toy...
I had a lot of "company"...
[the rattle of treats can be the "sirens song"...]
so I distracted them with a couple of scoops of this...


[notice who's snooping...?]

I got a sample in a litter pail...and they LOVED it...
it seems to be healthy...
[it has cranberries in it...]
and it hasn't caused widespread barfing or the runs...
[a change in diet can do that BIG TIME...]

so I filled the treat ball...



and rolled it on the floor...

they were startled... then investigated...

since not much had fallen out...
I opened the "hole" more...
and rolled it again...




Mattie, who has NEVER met a cat treat he didn't love...
came because of the "rattle"...
and after I shook some out...
began to get the idea...

I've been hearing the rattle...
of the hard knobby plastic ball on the hardwood floors...
as I've been writing this...

and will probably hear it A LOT MORE...
and AT NIGHT...ALL NIGHT LONG...

[thanks MM... I can hear you laughing...]

hummmmm...




Lucyfur was quick to pounce on one of the cat toys...
she's let me know that life has been BORING lately...
so I tossed it in her direction first...
Sneaky Pie, as ALWAYS... was "right there"...



and the moment Lucyfur's interest was diverted to the treat ball...
Sneaky Pie swooped in...grabbed the toy...
and just had to show it off...

Thomas, as usual... was having NONE of her shenanigans
I intervened BEFORE the fight began...


back when I was in the office, filling the treat ball...
I had both catnip toys setting on top of the cases of canned food...
Creamer ascended from her lair on high and snagged one...
drooling & carrying on something awful...
so I had tossed it to her...
up in "Creamer Land"...



when I returned to the office...
she was looking dazed & distraught...
I quickly saw the reason...
and returned her "fallen" toy to her aerie...
and watched as she happily resumed her play...

until I noticed this...



a jealous Gracie...glaring at Creamer...

I intervened here too...

and SO far... there's been peace....

at the moment...I can just see the tip...
of the sated Creamer's paw...
as she naps away her catnip hangover...

Gracie is sitting on the kitchen counter...
her new favorite perch...

waiting...

...sometimes...you just need a nap day

sometimes...in the midst of all you have to do...
you are overtaken by a nap...

you had good intentions...
even a list...

and... it IS Monday, after all...

maybe it was because today was the start...
of MY favorite time of the year...

maybe it was lunch...
[or the Dos Equis I had with it...]

or the 2 out of the last 3 nights with little sleep...

or the feeling of accomplishment I had...
sitting in the back yard...
grilling the marinated lamb...
at a cleaned off patio table...
enjoying "fall"...

whatever the contributing factors...
I have just "napped" the day away...

there were SO many years that I went to school [work]...
even when I was exhausted or feeling lousy...
because I had NO choice...

it wasn't that I was so special as to be irreplaceable...
it was just more work than it was worth...
to set-up a sub and then clean-up the mess...
and professional musicians who miss rehearsals or gigs...
don't get paid... and often don't get hired again...

during the last 5 or 6 years I taught...
[after the surgery... I was always tired...]
one of the guys in our brass quintet retired from teaching...

when we rehearsed, which was often, as we were busy...
the rest of us "working stiffs"[active teachers...]
kept kidding him about "all the time he had, being retired..."
"how the only places he had to go were the post office...
and the barber shop..."
always a laugh, since he was "follicle-ly challenged"...

he would laugh & say...
"just wait...time is like money...
you spend what you have..."

I now know how right he was...
the day can really "get away from you"...
like today... with this "nap" thing...

[yawn]

I still have that "nap headache"....
I've had it for the last day or so...
more weather change in my sinus, I guess...

[yawn]

since I'm now retired...
and have the time to nap...
I guess I'll go check for the mail...
[I get my hair cut on Friday...]

maybe I'll go to bed early tonight...

[y-a-w-n]

or maybe I'll take a short nap... before dinner...

[Y-A-W-N]



soundzzz good... zzzzzzzzzzz

...autumnal equinox

I love fall...


when I was younger...
the return of school was welcomed...
the promise of learning new things...
a new start... an end to summer boredom...
[country girl...]

the return of cooler weather...
the coziness of being inside when it was stormy...
the "harvest home"...
the approaching holidays...

the glorious bursts of foliage...
going to their death in flames...
a reminder of how sterile...
the cold, wet winter can be...


but as I've grown older...



it has become the light I look forward to...



as the direct, burning glare of summer mellows...
the sun seems to turn its' head sideways...
taking a last, warm, loving look at natures bounty...
before it turns away ...
leaving us to the dark, wet and cold...



the acuteness of the angle...
intensifies the depth of the color spectrum...
and the mists & haze in the air...
paint a last path of sunlight into our very beings...



and leaves glow...
as if with an inner fire...
blazing their presence into our very souls...
so we will not... we cannot... forget them...




the sky radiates an intense blue...
the perfect canvas for the clouds that are trying...
trying to gather the first rain...
washing the summer's dust from the soon to be splendid foliage...




and as the air chills... and the leaves turn...
the blue deepens to a shade...
that makes my soul ache for the sight of it...



the perfect counterpoint...
for the leaves...
as they become transient notes...
in a love song from God...