the cat is away yet again . . .

kidlet is up norther.  she will be a bridesmaid in her best friends wedding this december.  in preparation, she has been spending a lot of weekends there.  and we all know what happens when i am left to my own devices . . . disasters of minimal proportions.

1.  earlier in the week, i realized i could no longer see out the garden window over the kitchen sink.  something about grit and grime.  i thought it would mostly be on the outside.  wrong.  after clabbering onto the counter top, i realized two things.  it was the inside of the window that was grossly sticky from cooking oils and my teapot collection was covered in dust, cooking oil residue and cat hair.  not the best combination although the two teapots designed as cats did have a slightly more realistic look to them . . . fur and all.  so i pulled down all the pots, grabbed a bottle of glass plus and went to town.  amazing how much prettier.  and much more light in the kitchen.  the pots were all washed and dried and replaced.  happy happy.

friday unfortunately, it was necessary to refill the olive oil bottle.  when i realized i had filled the bottle to overflowing, i knew i had to hold the bottle over the sink so the dribble would be harmless.  but as the dispenser was seated, the excess olive spurted everywhere.  all over the clean windows, the teapots, the window sill, the sink.  you name it, it was now covered in evoo.  grrrrrrrr.  it is reasonably clean up now but not perfect.

2.  the two tops i ordered from Lucky Brand need to be sent back.  although i usually wear a medium in their clothing, these were big enough for dumbo.  we're not just talking about side boob, we're talking full frontal nudity.  trust me.  no one wants to view 66 year old ta-tas.  they will be returned tomorrow.

3.  i finally attacked my ironing only to discover so many little holes that need to be mended.  either my clothes are washed by a porcupine or the quality of clothing is going way down hill . . . fast.

4.  i found a new recipe for cooking pork tenderloin in a crock pot.  i liked the ingredients and since my non-pork eating kidlet was away, it was the perfect time to experiment.  the rub was sage, fresh garlic, salt and pepper.  what's not to love.  the basting sauce for the last hour was brown sugar, water,  balsamic vinaigrette, corn starch and soy sauce.  again with the yum.  so i baked myself a tater, nuked an ear of corn and sliced myself some pork. bleck.  not so good.  at all.  ever.  will i give up?  nope.  next time the rub will be fresh garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and basil.  the sauce?  I'm thinking lemon, olive oil, more garlic, white wine and oregano.  hey there is a reason my last name has more vowels than consonants.  i married a flag waving, gravy eating, sausage stuffing, basil loving italian.

5.  went to lunch saturday with the hens and ordered my obligatory salad, and because i can't order anything as is, i had the mixed greens replaced with romaine.  unfortunately, while the waitress was happy as a clam, the chef decided no way and out came all sorts of fuzzy greens.  am i picky.  yes, she said in her smallest voice.  not to create a scene where i start to throw arugula on the people next to me or dandelion sprouts across the patio or radiocchio and endive onto the sun umbrellas, i kept my mouth shut and started to munch the other goodies common to a cob salad.  color me happy.  but lee decided to bring it to the attention of the waitress who was adorable and not at all at fault.  she offered to redo the salad, i said no.  watching me from afar, she appeared with a bowl of romaine.  again, i declined and off she ambled with the rabbit food.  so yes, dear reader, meaning kidlet, i left a bowl with not a single chunk of blackened chicken, no egg, tomato, bacon, bleu cheese, avocado or cucumber but a side pile of wilted greens of unknown variety.  did it matter?  emily post wasn't watching and everything tastes better with bacon.  nope.  good stuff.

and so, i am going to try and behave until kidlet comes home and i can blame all means of disaster on her.  hee, hee, hee.

wild cucumbers . . .

lee sees lots of good stuff off her balcony but this is my favorite.

it's a gin commercial.  it's not a toy. it's a full sized blimp.  must have.

here it is on the ground in L.A. last week:

pretty please, may i have it.  i've been good.

need suggestions . . .

the pool needs some upkeep and i am at a loss.  it's 18 years old and the deck surface is wearing thin. my first thought was to just have it repainted but you can't use regular paint.  it needs to be some type of acrylic mixture and it needs to be applied by someone who knows what they're doing . . . that certainly eliminates me . . . not that i was planning to do the job.  gah.

i tried to get a hold of the subcontractor who did the job in the first place but he is off the radar.  i called the couple who actually built my pool and they suggested another local company they use.  unfortunately, the product they sell and apply is a total resurfacing with a hefty price tag and a five year warranty.  remember with the paint i am on year eighteen.  i did go look at two different jobs he had done and while nice, not what i was looking for.  this being a small town, the second job turned out to be for an old yogi friend of mine.  

so as kidlet and i scoured the pool furniture this afternoon, i pondered my dilemma.  i've scheduled more ponder time tomorrow as i use industrial chlorine on the deck, let mother nature do her thing so we can  behold the wonder of that which is a clean, if not shabby deck.  we will be open for the season!!!!  splash!!!!

p.s.  kidlet removed no less than six tree frogs this morning.  six!  and one was the size of a box turtle.  a very big box turtle.  a giant.  what do they think this is, animal farm?????

the herd . . .

ninji had to go back to the vet for a weight check.  the poor little seven year old had porked up to 18.25 pounds and was put on a new diet.  it's imperative that she loose weight because she was suffering from arthritis in her knees and elbows. the good news, she lost a whole pound on her new food after just one month.  maybe i should start eating cat food.

since she was going in, i made an appointment for bear too. he was over due for his shots and i was curious how much my hairy elephant weighed.

then my brain started in.  bear and ninji do not get along.  let me rephrase that, bear likes to munch on ninji who doesn't appreciate it. visualize much fur flying, lots of hissing and two raised backs.  maybe i don't want to take them in the same trip.

add in the fact that whoever comes home stinking like he/she has been to the vet, is then immediately ostrosized and unwelcome until he/she smells normal again.  so i called the vet to see if she had extra time for one more beastie.  yup, all three at once.  sweet.

i rounded them up and stuffed them into their respective cages with some help from kidlet and then she loaded them all into her car, with no help from me . . .  bear in the backseat, pippin on the floor, ninji on the front seat, kidlet in the back.  she made me drive until i almost ran a stop sign.  oops.  good thing the car has good breaks and we were on back roads.  yes, kidlet revoked my privileges and she drove home.

upon arriving at the vets, she hopped out to corral some help and then there we were, three cages all lined up in a row with other visitors oohing and awing our little family, snickering over our inanity of thinking we could handle a herd of three, who were squalling like seventeen, at the vets.

ninji was first up since she just needed to be weighed.  good news.  and that was the only good news.

they found the pound when they weighted bear.  he came in at a whopping 22.38 pounds.  don't forget he is maine coonish.   he also has a tooth that is disintegrating.  pull or let it resolve itself, that is the question.

next up was poor frightened, wide eyed pippin.  she was terrified.  she let them poke her and prod her and shoot her all while frozen in one position.  she gained half a pound.  still not quite 8 pounds.  and it might be noted, she is roughly 1/3 the size of bear.  yes, they are both full grown.

the noise level did not drop until we were safely home.  bear was the first in the forgiveness category and made nice a mere hour after we were home.  mostly because he was hungry.  ninji followed shortly thereafter with lots of rubbing.  pippin however, was no pushover.  it wasn't until i rolled over in the middle of the night that i realized she had slipped into my crotch to sleep in peace.

all is well with the beasties and the vet has a much fatter wallet.

this guy . . .

three plus years later and i still miss my life.  OK.  OK.  OK. no, i'm not complaining about what's going on now.  my life is good.  kidlet is doing tons better.  my niche in this world is a solidly supported place but i miss my LIFE.  you know, the one with this guy:

and this guy who loved halloween:

and this guy who patiently put up christmas decorations every winter.

and this dapper guy who had to get permission to enlist because he was too young.

and this guy in second grade:

and this guy, my little puddle of cuteness.

and last but not least, this guy:

this is the life i miss. this is the man i miss. 

sigh.

balance in all things . . .

how long would it take me to crash and burn?  my bets are not long . . . if even that.  who thought not being able to touch the ground would be a good idea.  someone was guzzling their hair tonic.

the dumb thing is, i would really love to give it a try.  snort.

insomnia . . .

i can lean over and turn the night light off, why can't i turn off my brain.  nothing but good news lately yet that little rascal keeps running and running and running.  and the wheel squeaks and keeps me awake.

i have ambien but i don't like to use it.  gives me ambien brain and i have enough problems with lost memory cells.

i can also take half of an ativan but not for long so that stays in my 'case of emergency' stash . . . of course i consider it a case of emergency if i am still wide awake at four a.m.

tapping isn't working and it usually does.  what's not to love about tapping your hand, face, neck, chest and top of your head while repeating a mantra.  unless of course your mantra is "GO THE F*CK TO SLEEP read by Samuel L. Jackson.  kind of counter productive.

4.7.8. breathing isn't working but that's kind of funky anyway.  i get so caught up remembering to inhale through the nose for a four count, hold for a seven count, exhale for an eight count with your tongue glued to the roof of your mouth, that sleep is the furthest thing from my mind.

calm.com has a great little freebie program in 10 or 30 minute intervals but i worry i'll fall asleep and leave my iPad on all night.  what?  who does that?  moi!

i love lavender oil but for some reason, it's not working.  smells great for hours.  tick. tick. tick.

turn off brain.  now.

on the other hand, being awake all night gives me a chance to check out the beasties sleeping habits.  ninja sleeps half falling out of her bed while snoring softly.  if it's cold out, she stays completely tucked in but this time of year she just sort of oozes out one side and across the bed.  must be cooler that way.  bear sleeps patiently at the foot of the bed.  he snuffles.  and twitches.  but stays pretty much asleep until 6:45 at which time he decides it's time to rise and shine and EAT, but that's a whole 'nother story.  then there is pippin.  she sleeps in my crotch.  yep, it's true, she's a crotch sleeper.  i roll over.  she gets. up.  i settle in.  she settles in.  repeat ad nauseam all night.  you'd think she'd get tired of nesting each time i roll over and pick somewhere less active to sleep but nope, she's addicted.

1:28 a.m.  come on brain, cut me a break.  whine.