It's Beginning To Look

A lot like Christmas, all around the house.

I don't think I could ever be a professional decorator.  That's hard work, I'm telling ya.  I was going to put up my tree Saturday, only I got this far, and seriously considered going for a minimalist approach this year.

I love it when it's all decorated and pretty, but boy stringing all those lights are a pain in the patooty. 

After getting all the branches floofed, I took a break to put up my outside lights.  I'd bought a string of these larger lights on clearance a couple of years ago, but didn't use them last year.

I wanted to go with the LED lights on the outside of my house because they're so much brighter.  This string should have been long enough to cover the whole front of the house -- if I'd had an outlet at one end or the other.  As it is, my outlet is smack dab in the middle.

Not wanting to run 25 feet of extension cord, I just hung these lights across the porch and car port.  It was long enough that I could double back when I got to the far end, but not long enough to do the rest of the house.  I used another string of the smaller lights on that end.

They still didn't quite reach to the end of the house.  I briefly thought about taking them all back down and using the lights I'd put up last year.  Briefly.  They look OK once it gets dark, so they're staying just like they are.  I'll check out the clearance sales after Christmas and see if I can find something that will work better for next year.

That done, I came back inside and started stringing lights on the tree -- taking copious knitting breaks and watching the Longest Football Game I've Ever Seen.  Seriously.  Seven overtimes.  SEVEN.   It would have been better if the right team had won, but it was still an exciting game. 

I got so strung out, I had to rip the same round out of this hat twice.

I finally just put it away until after the game was over.  Which was nearly midnight.  But I was so close to being done, I went ahead and finished. 

The next day, I put a pompom on it.

I'd never been able to make a good pompom, but I watched some YouTube videos and decided to give some of those techniques a try.  The one video I referenced uses toilet paper tubes to wrap the yarn around, then she cuts circles out of cardboard.  She kind of sandwiches her pompom between the circles and trims around it.  It's really easy.  Maybe in a future post, I'll find the video and link it.  Right now, I'm trying to get this one written so I can go to bed.

OK, so where was I?  Oh, yeah, Christmas tree.  It's finished! 

I had a bit of a melancholy moment when I put my tree skirt down.  I hadn't been able to use it in ages, because the cat always peed on it.

I can't quite decide if I'm glad I'm able to use it again or not.  I'd kind of rather have my kitty back.  Then I had another melancholy moment when I hung Katie's ornament on the tree.  Nine years she's been gone, and I still miss her.  And I still hang her little stocking on the tree.  Every year.

One last thing before I go getting too maudlin..

I bought a new Christmas Cactus, like I needed another one.

But it's red.  And I don't have a red one.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Wicked

I'd had a blog post for you yesterday, but we had some mighty wicked storms blow through last night. It got pretty hairy there for a while.  I mean, really hairy.  Some of that thunder even made me jump.

I got to work this morning, and a coworker told me there had been a tornado in the town just 30 miles up the road.  I haven't found any confirmation of a touchdown, but I did find where the warning had been issued.

Cody had spent the night in Collierville, because he had a late shift at Home Depot, then had his orientation at Wal-Mart this morning.  Instead of driving two hours home, then two hours straight back up there, he decided to stay with his friend -- the one he wants to get the apartment with.  Good thing, too.  If he'd come on home, he'd have been hitting Batesville just about the time that tornado warning was issued.

Warning.  Not watch.

Warning.  

I was still planning a blog post, despite the storms, but about the time I sat down to write it, my electricity went out.  I read my book for a minute, then not wanting to run my phone battery down, went into the dining room area and sat in front of my French doors watching the deer in the back yard.  There were 4 of them out there -- two does, plus the twins.  I still haven't seen a buck, but there's got to be one around here somewhere.  I mean, fawns don't spring from cabbage leaves, right?

I watched them -- and at this point, I'm thinking I need to name them -- until the Entergy truck showed up and spooked them.  So, I did what any red blooded American would do.  I went and sat in front of the other window and watched the lineman fix the power.

Somewhere along the way, I remembered what people used to do before Facebook.  They lived. 

The irony of that statement is that I was doing live updates on Facebook from my phone the whole time. But that's neither here nor there...the point still stands. 

By the time the electricity came back on, it was time for bed. And about the time I lay down in the bed, the storms started back up.  At least this time, the power stayed on.  Buuuut, when I got up this morning, the radio station was off the air.  I had to get ready for work in silence, which is weird, because I time my preparations by the radio show I listen to in the morning.  Without the Idiot History segment, and the Show Biz Quiz, I have no idea if I'm on schedule, or running behind, or what.

Nevertheless, I made it to work on time, and after a long, hot day, came home to no water.  Sigh...Seems I can't win for losing.

My first thought was "Ack!  Leak!"  I ran out and checked my meter.  Nope, it wasn't moving.  It was something with the water company.  I checked to see if they'd made any announcements or anything, but they hadn't -- at least, not that I could find. I came back inside, suddenly feeling like I was absolutely dying of thirst.  Why, I don't know.  I had plenty of stuff to drink, but somehow knowing the water is off made me feel like I was lost in a desert.  "Water!  Water!" I cry as I crawl across the hot dry sand.

Pulled from my reverie by Jesse barking like a crazy dog, I looked out the window and saw my across the street neighbor checking his meter.  I stepped outside to ask if his water was off, too and let him know it wasn't just him.  He was as relieved as I was.  "I thought I had a leak," he said. 

We hung around chatting for a moment about the storm.

It got rough last night.

    Them trees was just a twisting.

 I heard there was a tornado up in Batesville.

     I wonder if the storm damaged something at the water office.

We visited another minute or two, then I came back inside, and was able to take a shower, albeit a low pressure one.  At least I got the day's grime and sweat off my body.  So, that's where we stand right now.  Maybe by tomorrow, they'll have the water fixed. 

The only question which remains is, what was I going to blog about last night before the storms hit?  Well, mostly I was going to show you this beautiful card my dear, dear friend Sue sent me.

Inside was a very sweet message of sympathy for my loss of my kitty.  I can neither confirm nor deny, that I may or may not have....aw, heck, I choked up.  Tears were shed. 

And I thanked my Heavenly Father for sending me such wonderful, thoughtful friends.

How did I get to be so lucky?

Adjusting

Thank you all for your kind words of condolence and prayers about Squeaky.  They mean a lot to me. 

It's going to be a big adjustment not having her here.  It's been so long, it's hard to remember when she wasn't around...in fact, my very first blog post was a sketch of Squeaky, staring into that place only cats can see. 

There are reminders of her everywhere, but it's the little things...

Walking into the laundry room without climbing over the gate ...

Being able to leave the bathroom rug in the bathroom floor without it getting peed on...

Finally taking that hideous plastic slipcover off the couch...

Scrolling through my Facebook memories and realizing how many of my posts were about her...

Giggling over the very last picture I will ever take of her...

While I was looking through my blog for that photo I posted yesterday, I could see how much she'd declined just in the last few weeks.  Not too long ago, she started to show signs of being in pain, but as long as she was eating well, I felt like she would still be OK for a little while longer. 

About Saturday, or so, she went off her feed.  She'd done this before, but had always started eating again in a day or two.  This time, she didn't. 

When I got home from work yesterday, she had gotten so weak, she could barely walk across the kitchen floor.  That's when I finally made the call I'd been dreading for so long.

I said I wasn't going to cry, but I did.  I cried all the way to the vet office.  I cried in the room waiting for him to come in.  I cried all the way, as I drove home alone.  I tried to apologize to the veterinary assistant for crying, only she was crying, too. 

The only time I didn't cry was when I held my kitty, wrapped in her towel, and rocked her as the light left her eyes. 

My heart aches, but I know I did the right thing for her. 

Promise Kept

When I found you in my yard all those years ago as a kitten, you were in such poor health, I thought you would die.

I promised you that if you were going to die, at least you'd die warm, well fed, and in a safe place.

Today, I kept that promise.  You were warm.  You were safe.  And I held you until the last.

Good bye old girl.  I'll miss you. 

Squeaky

January 1, 2001 - August 14, 2018

He Didn't Get It

Cody came home last night and said he didn't get that job he'd wanted.  They felt he was not qualified enough to work in customer service.  He said, "Even though I spent a year helping people who were actually dying."  He was disappointed, but said the Wal-Mart up in Collierville had called him about working there.  It's not his first choice, or even his second, but hey, it's an income.

I asked him what had happened with the Fed Ex job.  He said they wouldn't hire people who didn't already live in Memphis.  That puts him in a bit of a catch 22.  The apartment complex won't lease to him until he's shown them three check stubs proving that he makes at least $1500 per month.  So, he can't get an apartment until he gets a job, and he can't get a job until he gets an apartment.  Well, not the job he wanted, that is.  I suggested he work at Wal-mart a few months, then move up there and re-apply to Fed Ex.  He said he might do that.  I haven't asked him if he's put his resume up on Glassdoor or Indeed.  Honestly, I just now thought about it. 

On the bright side, if he's still living with me at the end of next month, he can watch the dogs while I go to Fiber Fun In The 'Sip, and I won't have to pay for boarding.

Moving right along...

Since I got that pile of wood cleaned up, my next project is to clean up my fence line. 

The previous owners seemed to think that area right behind the fence was their own personal junk yard, so there is a lot of junk out there.  And most of it is just junk,

 but there are some wheels out there that look to be in pretty good shape.  They're either lawn mower wheels or 4 wheeler wheels, I can't tell.

I advertised it on the local Free-Bees group, but as usual, the people who said they wanted it never showed up.   There is a guy at work who picks up scrap metal and takes it back for recycling.  I'm going to ask him if he wants it.  The only down side is that he'll want me to clean it up and bring it to him.  That's not going to happen.  If he wants it, he can come get it.  If not, it's all going into the garbage can.

That's what I was going to do this weekend.  However, I got up Friday and decided it was still too hot to do another big outside job.  What I did instead was to get back to bricking.

I've still got a long way to go, but I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I got most of this short side almost finished before I ran out of stripper.

The hardest part is going to be getting this back corner behind the stove. 

I'm hoping I can get it stripped, primed, and painted before Christmas, so I can put my mantle back up, and put my nativity on the mantle.  The first year I was in this house, I had that mantle decorated so nicely.  I want to get it back to looking good, instead of being just another half finished project. 

In the midst of all that, I got another hat done for my friend's blessing bags. 

I like the way that turned out.  I might just make one for myself. 

Last but not least. I gave Squeaky a bath, which she did not appreciate. 

I did it anyway. 

When we make that last trip to the vet-- which will be soon-- I don't want them to think I didn't take care of her. 

Whiskers On Wednesday

I was going to have her put down over the weekend, but when it came right down to it, I just couldn't make the call.  She's still with us.

For a little while longer.

Dragging

Yesterday at work, I was just dragging.

I mean, I always drag a bit in the mornings.  It happens when you get up at 3:00 AM, but yesterday was worse than usual.  I had absolutely no energy.  I was starting to think something was wrong with me, and was seriously considering going to the doctor.  Around 9-ish or so, I kind of perked up a little and made it through the day.

As I was packing up my stuff to go home, I picked up my coffee thermos.  It felt suspiciously heavy.

"Hey, that feels suspiciously heavy," I said to myself.

I shook it a bit and heard a suspicious sounding sloshing sound.

"Hey, I hear a suspicious sloshing sound," I said to myself.

I opened the lid and suddenly realized why I'd been a limp noodle all day.

Tell me, have you ever been so tired that you need coffee to remember to drink your coffee?  Yeah, I'm there, folks.  On a brighter note, I remembered to drink it today!  So, yay, me!

You know you live a sad life when your biggest accomplishment is remembering to drink your coffee. 

OK, moving right along...

I've been getting a bit maudlin lately, knowing Squeaks will not be with us any more.  Yesterday, I watched her try to jump up on the bed.  She gathered herself, bounced a bit, re-gathered herself, kind of hopped, then just gave up and walked off.  It makes me sad...

So, I was looking through some old pictures and found this one, from a bygone day when she was young.

When I was younger, I always wondered why old folks always talked about the good old days.

I totally get it now. 

Totally.

An Experiment

I'm conducting an experiment to see if I can blog from my Kindle. So far, it seems to be working. The keyboard size is the only issue I'm having. 

The reason for this is that I really want to go to bed, but my laptop is just too big and bulky to sit on my lap.  Ironic, huh?

 I came home and was perusing Prime Day deals, but the only thing that even remotely interested me was a slightly larger Fire tablet. I'm not sure if I want to get it, though, because I was thinking about getting one of those  2-in-1 things. 

I don't know. I'm too tired to even think right now so here is a picture of Squeaky before she got all haggard looking.

Working And Whiskers And New Things

Well, I guess this means we're working Saturday.

If you can't read the poster, it says they're handing out snow cones and lemonade after work Saturday.  That's how we know we'll be there. They wouldn't hand out snow cones and lemonade to an empty plant. 

Nice gesture, huh?  Frankly, I'd feel more appreciated if they'd do something about this sink full of nasty water.  In the women's bathroom.  Under the production office.

Look, it's got a garnish!

(Dead fly, for those of you who missed it.)


For those of you who have had older cats, you know when they reach a certain age, they stop grooming themselves.  When this happens, you come to realize just how much they did to take care of their fur.  And claws. 

Squeaky is there.  I comb and comb and comb her and still the mats multiply faster than I can get them out.  She's not neglected.  Really. 

Unlike my floors.  Which are.  Don't look at them.  Just focus on the kitty. 

The soft kitty.  The warm kitty.  The little ball of fur...She has good days, and bad days.  Her bad days seem to still be related to her constipation issues. Fortunately, since I switched her to canned food, the bad days are fewer than before.  She still has them, though.  Saturday was a bad day.  She was restless and yowling, and I was wondering if it was time to let her go.  But by Sunday, she was better.  Monday she pottied a little bit and now is back to her old -- her very old -- cranky self.  I still have her...for now.

So, all that yarn Peggy sent me.  I was looking for my needles to cast on a hat or two.  I eventually found them, but suddenly decided I didn't have enough.  What with all these hours I'm working, I thought I could splurge a bit.  Off to Knit Picks I headed and bought five, yes five, pair of circular needles. 

In my defense, they're all different sizes.  Well, three different sizes in two different colors. 

I told you the other day I was getting a hankering to knit lace, so while I was at Knit Picks, I wandered over to the lace weight clearance section to see what they had on sale.  What I found was 100% silk for only $8.50 per 50 g hank.  It's some colors they're discontinuing, and they cut the price.   

I'll take two.  Of each.  And two twos of the blue. 

Now I just need to find a pattern to knit. 

Off to browse...

Whiskers On Wednesday

For today's Whiskers On Wednesday, I present to you my very dirty kitty with her very dirty whiskers.

As cats age, they tend to become less diligent in their personal grooming.  I first noticed it about a year ago, when she developed this perpetually dirty spot in the middle of her chest.  I suspect it was from her folding her paws underneath her as she dozed. 

I tried to use a dry type shampoo, but it just didn't cut it.  I had to start bathing her, which she does not like. 

Soon, I began to hear a clicking sound as she walked, because they also stop scratching and their claws grow long.  I had to start trimming them, which she does not like. 

And her fur is matted, which I comb, but can't seem to keep up with, and her feet are dirty and she smells like her litter box. 

But she's still the queen in this house, and she always will be. 

Whiskers On Wednesday

I know, it's been a while since I've done a WOW post, but it occurred to me that I probably ought to start doing them again.  I realized I might not have that much longer...

These last few months, she's really started to show her age.  I've started to ask myself, "How do you know when it's time to let a cat go?"  I realize I already know the answer.  When you're even starting to ask the question, it's probably time. 

 As long as she doesn't seem to be suffering, I'm going to keep her with me, but the question is always there.  Always in the back of my mind, and I know my time with her is getting short.

She can still give a wicked stink eye, though. 

And she kind of scares me a little...

On a similar note, I ordered more snake food for what will probably the last time.  It costs so much to ship it I usually order two or three years worth at a time.  Since the snakes are all 13-14 years old, I doubt I'll need to order in bulk again.  Sigh...

Now I think I need to go cry for a bit.

Spring

As my old dad used to say, "Spring is busting out all over."

On the drive home, I noticed the jonquils all along the edges of the roads.  My own daffodils were peeking out of the ground, but no blooms yet.  Then one day, it happened.

The first daffodil of the season!  Followed quickly by the jonquils.  Well, the ones in my flower bed, that is.  Wild ones have been blooming for about a week. 

My roses beginning to leaf out.

I was kind of worried about them, because they lost all their leaves in the cold spell.  Since I've been in this house, they've never gone completely bare like that.  Looks like they're OK after all.  I haven't seen my gardenia leafing out yet, so I'm still wondering how it came through the winter.  We'll see soon enough.  If It dies, I'm not going to try to get another one.  I love them, but I'm not going to keep killing them. 

I was at work, just a working away, I think it was Thursday, when Supervisor walked up and said, "You've got something on your mind, I can tell."  I had to confess, I was already planning my flower beds.  It'll be a while yet before I can safely plant, but I can dream, can't I?   He told me his dad had already started his tomatoes.  He grows them from seed, in two big drum halves.  He rolls them out into the sun every morning, and rolls them back under cover at night. 

Tomatoes are something else I can't seem to grow.  I had that one last year, but it didn't do too well.  I kind of have a feeling the dog was peeing on it, and that didn't help it any.  I think this time around, I'll not volunteer for overtime one Saturday and go to the farmer's market on the square.   

I don't have any luck growing things from seed, but that conversation with Supervisor was still on my mind when I went to the store that evening.  Wandering through the garden center, I picked up these. 

Hope springs eternal...or else I just never learn.  One or the other.  Anyway, I got some wildflower seeds. 

The current plan is to extend the front flower bed the rest of the way across the house, and plant these in the newer section.  I'll probably wait until May to even plant them, so they won't be in danger of a late frost.  I'm not sure what I'm going to plant in the older section of the bed.  I'll probably head up to Lowe's when it comes time, and just wander through and pick what catches my eye.  Of course you'll get to see what I get on the blog. 

I got all my living room furniture moved back into place this morning. 

And Mrs. Matthews' picture hung in its place of honor.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with the rest of the room, so if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Rylea has her own love seat.  For some reason, she always pushes the cushions off of it.  I put them back on, and she pushes them off again.  Last night, I finally told her enough was enough.  I wasn't picking the dumb cushions up again.  Today, I found her like this. 

I just shook my head and said, "Sometimes, I just don't know about that dog." 

A few weeks ago, I switched Squeaky to Meow Mix simple servings.  It's a bit expensive, but she seems to like it.  Look.  It's got whole shrimp in it.  Whole shrimp! 

Sigh, my cat eats better than I do. 

I'm going to try to get more consistent about blogging.  I'd love to complain about all the hours I'm working, but since I volunteer, I really can't do that.   Still, long hours make for light blogging, but I'm going to try to post more, even if it's just a short paragraph. 

We'll see how that works out. 

Snow Day For Real

I got up bright and early this morning, and since I didn't have to go to jury duty, I headed on in to work.  As I predicted, half the plant didn't show up.  Normally, we run 6 lines this time of year (with a 7th opening up for peak season).  Shortly after the shift started, they shut down two lines, and sent us over to fill in the empty spaces on the other four lines.

There I was, over on line 7, just a working away, when around 8:30ish, the line 7 group leader came over, got her stuff, and left.  She said the roads were getting bad, and she wasn't staying.  By 9:00, another 20 or 30 people had left and they had to shut down two more lines.

And still, more and more people were leaving.  By 10:00, they threw in the towel, called us all together and said, "Go home, and don't come back until Thursday."  So I got a snow day after all.  Two, in fact.  I guess since it's not supposed to get above freezing until sometime Thursday, they figured the roads wouldn't be clear by tomorrow.  The good news is, they aren't going to give us an absence for today or tomorrow, and we won't lose our holiday pay for Monday.  I did use some vacation time so I'll still get paid. 

Hey, I'm not going to complain.

OK, I'm going to complain just a little bit.  With this extra day and a half off, I'm kinda wishing I'd gone ahead and gone to the store yesterday and bought my paint.  I could get this living room done and all my furniture back into place.  On the other hand, painting works better when it's warmer out, so it's probably better to wait until the weekend, when it's supposed to be back up into the 60s. 

I made it home just fine, thankful all the while that I live so close to the plant, and saw that the birds have discovered the new feeder. 

Yay!  I got out and scattered a bunch more birdseed for them, then scattered more around the other feeder, and said to myself, "Self, might as well lug some more wood up to the house while I'm out here."  That's exactly what I did.

Once back inside, I snuggled down with a nice toasty fire, knitting, and a mug of hot coffee.  I was watching more Stargate SG-1, but my HULU app crashed and for some reason, my Fire Stick opened Pandora.  Seriously, on its own.  It just switched from HULU to Pandora, which was still on my Christmas station.  So, I listened to Christmas music for a while.  I guess with the snow and all, the universe decided I needed to be festive once more. 

Squeaky has rediscovered her cat bed. 

She gets out of it as soon as I walk into the room.  I guess she doesn't want me to know she likes it. 

Ungrateful beast.

BTW, I bought her some Meow Mix single serving cups.  The directions say to feed her 6 - 10 per day.  Is it just me, but if you have to feed her six of them, it isn't single serving, is it? 

Changes

Last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I noticed Squeaky.  She was begging for food, which she didn't get, by the way.  But I saw her.  I really saw her.  Guys, she looks sooo much better since I switched her to canned food.  Her eyes are bright.  She seems to be putting on weight.  Even her fur looks whiter, and it looks like she's grooming herself again. 

The best part is, when I was cleaning up an accident she had on the floor, her poop was a whole lot softer and wetter looking than it has been.  Gross, I know, but as long as my kitty feels better, you're going to hear about it.  If I'd known canned food would be this good for her, I'd have switched her years ago.  I kind of feel bad now that I didn't.

Back about 4 years ago, my friend Kyle asked me to knit him a black and gold blanket.  Steelers colors, you know.  After a couple of false starts, I settled on this mitered square pattern.

I worked on it for a while, then in the chaos of having to find a house, buy it, and move into it, the blanket got put on the back burner.  I was thinking about it at work today for whatever reason, and decided to dig it out and work on it some more.  The bad part about it is, I couldn't remember how many stitches I cast on, which was easy to fix by counting, or what size needles I used. 

I checked back through the blog, and didn't record the specs either.  I think it was size 8, and that's what I'm going with.  I'll do one square, then check the gauge.  If it's the same, I'll know I was right. BTW, I sent this picture to Kyle, and he approves. 

It appears that the plant in its infinite wisdom has decided to go ahead and switch to the alternate schedule, despite the protestations of most employees.  One member of the ADP management team allegedly responded, "Well, if they don't like it, they can just get another job."

THAT, my friends, in a nutshell is why they have such trouble attracting and retaining quality employees. 

Oh, and we got a new human resources director.  Is it bad that the first thing I thought when I read the notice was, "I wonder how long this one will last?" 

On that note, I think I'll go have a hot bath then spend some quality time with my Introvert Activity Book.  I need some introverting after that news. 

Wednesday Whimsy

I'd gone back to the maintenance department for a minute, and as I was coming out, I bumped into Edna's husband. 

"Where is your house?" he asked without preamble. 

Now normally, such a question out of the blue would be strange, or even slightly disturbing.  In this case, knowing the backstory makes it all make sense.  See, back before Christmas, Edna decided to surprise me by showing up at my house and putting up my outside lights for me.  However, Edna went down the wrong road.  By the time she figured that out and *ahem* messaged me, I'd already gotten the lights up. 

I guess Reuben's curiosity got the better of him, so he asked.  I told him what street I live on, and he said, "Oh, I know where that is.  So-and-So used to live on that road." 

"And I'm living in So-and-So's house," I replied.  Yep, the name he called was the previous owner of my house!  I explained to him that after So-and-So's widow decided to move closer to her son, I'd bought the house.  He knew exactly where it was, because the previous owners used to attend the same church as Edna and Reuben. 

Sometime later, I had to go to tubing, and stopped by Edna's machine.  I told her about my conversation with Reuben, and she said, "Oh!  I didn't know it was So-and-So's house!  No wonder there's so much weird stuff in it."  I guess the previous owner's reputation preceded him. 

I thought that was a nifty coincidence.  Now they know where I live, and any time they want to come -- say, mow the yard or cut up firewood or something, I certainly won't turn them away. 

The good news is, getting back into a routine seems to have eased my homesickness a bit.  Yesterday was the first day I haven't bawled like a baby since I got back.  I did tear up just a bit, but I didn't completely break down.  And I'm starting to get excited about remodeling my house again, only this time, it's with an eye to selling it instead of staying it it.  For example, I'm not a big fan of open concept, but it's all the rage these days.  That means, when it comes time to remodel, I'm going to go in that direction.  The bad news is, I've still got that huge credit card bill to pay off before I can even think of doing any major renovations on the house. 

The good news is, Supervisor told me this morning that we are already scheduled to work every Saturday this month.  "Good!" I said.  "My checking account is starting to squeak, it's so tight." 

In other news, Squeaky is completely on wet food now.  I'd had some of each -- dry and wet food -- out for her and was letting her eat what she wanted.  All evening yesterday, I watched her straining to poop, so before bed, I took all the dry food up.  The stuff I soaked in chicken broth is her only option at the moment.  Next time I go to the store, I'm going to get some regular canned cat food and start mixing that in with what I already have.  If she doesn't get any better in a few days, I'll carry her on in to the vet. 

The bad news is, she has decided she doesn't like her new bed any more.  I think I've figured out why.  When I had the Christmas tree up, I'd had to slide Rylea's love seat over a bit to make room for it.  Where it was made a sort of concealed, almost cave-like space around the bed.  Now that the tree is down, that space is gone.  I guess the bed is too out in the open for her now.  She hasn't been in it since I scooted the love seat back into it's regular spot. 

I've got a large cardboard box that I think I'm going to try to make a sort of screen around the bed for her, and see if she likes that. 

And lastly, the first of the things I ordered with my Christmas money has arrived: 

I might have to switch out the chain, since that one is so very thin, and I don't want to lose this.  Other than that, it's perfect. 

First Day Back

The first day back at work after a holiday is always rough.  It's hard getting up at 4:30 after being able to sleep as late as I want for the last two weeks.  As if that weren't enough, I battled a wicked case of insomnia last night, so I'm running on about 4 hours sleep.

I watched the first half of the Sugar Bowl, then turned the TV off and went to bed.  I might as well have stayed up and watched the whole thing, because the game was over before I fell asleep.  I was laying there tossing and turning, and thought, "Hmmm, I'll just check the score on my phone."  I did.  Then tossed and turned some more, and thought, "Let me just check that score on my phone."  And so it went until after midnight, and Alabama was headed to the National Championship game.

Want to hear something funny, and a bit ironic?  Back in 2011, two teams from the same conference were chosen to play in the BCS National Championship game.  The college football world was livid, and the resulting outcry completely blew up the entire BCS system.  They changed everything and instituted a playoff.  Four teams are chosen to play in two bowl games.  The winners play in the national championship game.  A committee of 13 men choose which four teams will play.   I wondered how that was any better than the previous system.  Still, it was what everyone wanted.  It would make things more fair, they said, so they wouldn't be favoring one conference, they said.

Yesterday, the Georgia Bulldogs -- from the SEC East-- defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in the Rose Bowl.  They earned their spot in the title game.

Yesterday, the Alabama Crimson Tide -- from the SEC West -- defeated the Clemson Tigers in the Sugar Bowl.  They earned their spot in the title game.

Yep, you read that right.  Once again, two teams from the same conference will be playing for the national championship.  That's the irony.

So, here's the funny part.  As soon as I got home from work, I turned on the TV and some guy was ranting about how unfair the playoff system was because it was biased and favored certain conferences.  But, wait, isn't this what you all wanted?  Maybe you should listen to me and dispense with the national championship altogether.  The college football world is too big and too diverse for there to ever be a level playing field.   What they need to do is reduce the number of bowl games so that playing in one means something once again.  The Sugar Bowl, The Cotton Bowl, The Orange Bowl, The Rose Bowl...let them mean something again.  And for Heaven's sake, stop making every team that breaks even bowl eligible!  A team should at least have a winning record to play in a bowl.  Maybe that's just me, though.

Enough football talk...

This morning, I walked down to my supervisor's desk to give him a heads up that I have jury duty coming up.  He said he'd gotten summoned, too.  He's got to go next week, though.  I'm going the week after.  He told me it was the first time he'd been summoned to jury duty in 14 years.  I just went


via GIPHY

Fourteen years!  I've been summoned three times in the last five years alone.  The first time, I didn't have to go.  That was for Federal court and they wanted me to go to a town 90 miles away.  Greenville, for you local peeps.  I wrote on the card you fill out and send in that I didn't have a reliable vehicle (which I didn't at the time), and they excused me.

Supervisor said his wife is like me.  Every time she turns around, she's getting another summons.  Ah, well, that's life in the big city.

Well, I'm going to head for bed and try to get some sleep tonight.  Good night, Gentle Reader.


Oh, and I almost forgot Squeaky's birthday!  Happy 17th Old Girl!

Christmas Baking

The plan was to get up this morning and get started with my Christmas baking.  I want to have it all done before I leave for Texas.

Oh, yeah, I didn't tell you.  I'm going home for Christmas!  I haven't been there in ages and ages.  I know you're probably all tired of hearing about my trip to Missouri, but that trip had a big part in my decision to go home.  Once I'd crossed into Arkansas, I was driving along, and I'm telling you, it just felt sooo good to be West of The Mississippi again.  When Beverly texted me and suggested I come visit...well, I thought about it.  And decided no, I couldn't afford to board the dogs, and what was I going to do with the cat?

But it felt soo good to be West of The Mississippi again.

And I thought about all the work I could get done on the house while I was off, so no, I needed to stay home.  I have so much that needs to be done around here, I don't have the time to make a trip to Texas. 

But it felt soo good to be West of The Mississippi again. 

And I thought about how much I love being in my own house for Christmas, and my traditional Christmas breakfast, and my Christmas Eve snacks that I make year after year after year, and how I always watch The Nativity Story...

But it felt soo good to be West of The Mississippi again...

So, I called the vet and made arrangements for the dogs, and came up with a plan for the cat and texted Beverly back and said, "I'm coming!" 

And I can't wait to be West of The Mississippi again!

Which brings us to today.  The plan was to get up and get my Christmas baking started, so I can have it done before I leave for Texas.  You know what they say about the best laid plans. 

I was tossing some laundry into the dryer, when I noticed Squeaky in the litter pan.  She was straining and straining, but nothing was coming out.  Over the next couple of hours, she'd stop and squat, but wouldn't be able to pass anything.  Yep, she's constipated.  I'm pretty sure it's age related, even though it's more common in older male cats.

Off to PetMD I went for advice.  The first thing they said was to switch the cat to wet food.  Oh, great.  I just bought a 13 lb bag of dry food.  Not to be outdone, I made my own wet food by soaking her dry food in chicken broth until it turned to mush.  The website also said to add canned pumpkin to the food to increase her fiber intake and help soften her stools.  I opened a can I had in the pantry and stirred it into the soft food I'd made.  She now has a large butter tub full of wet food in the fridge all ready for her.  She's already eaten some of it.

I also noticed she was in the back yard trying to eat grass.  Unfortunately, since it's winter, all the grass is dead.  After checking the local Wal-mart to see if they had any, I went onto Amazon and ordered that cat grass you can buy. 

It's supposed to arrive on Monday.  Maybe it'll start growing before I leave so she can nibble on it and get her bowels moving again. 

After all that, and worrying about my cat, I just didn't feel like baking anything.  However, now that I hopefully have her on the right track, I can do some baking tomorrow. 

I'll let you know how that goes.