Mimi Sitting In A Thing

With the cats spending so much more time out in the backyard I haven't caught Mimi sitting in or on much of anything lately, but when I took a basket of ribbon out of this drawer in my little chest in the bedroom and then left the drawer open the other day it was too much for her to resist.

Perfect size for a Mimi cat.

She didn't stay long, just enough time for a couple of pictures and then out and off she went again.

Mimi In The Box

It's been getting a little chilly at night these past few weeks, it is after all November already and yes, winter is coming. The nights here do get cold as winter progresses and while we are warm and toasty in our beds inside, Lucy and Genie are outside all night except on really bad nights when we put Lucy in the garage. The garage isn't much warmer than outside but at least it doesn't get damp and the wind doesn't blow.

We are going to buy them each an Igloo dog/cat house soon, but in the meantime Lucy really needs something to curl up in at night. Genie has her basket (plastic laundry basket) that has a double layer of blankets in it along with a blanket flap that can be folded over the top of the basket while she is inside. She is used to this sleeping arrangement and if it gets real cold and damp she has the tool shed to sleep in.

I was looking around the house for something to make a bed for Lucy until we get her Igloo which hopefully she will use, and found some boxes filled with papers that we really don't need to keep anymore up on the closet shelf. I got one down and emptied it out and put it on the floor in the living room for a moment and guess who saw that box and got right inside it?

Yep. Miss Must Sit In Or On Everything.

As I was searching for this picture to upload I found many other pictures that were titled Mimi In The Box. She does like her boxes. A BOX!!

So, after she finally got out of the box I put a folded towel in the bottom of it and then a blanket and then another blanket on top of the box with an opening for Lucy to jump into the box through and it seems to be working really well for now. Lucy likes the extra cushiness of the towel under her blanket and the fact that it's dark in there with the blanket on top. She has spent the last few nights in there along with the occasional daytime nap. Cozy.

Watering The Yard And Boob Jobs And Stuff

So, I figured I should set the timer when I water the front yard because if I don't I tend to forget that the sprinkler is on and then it runs much much longer than it is supposed to in this time of drought. I'm still watering the flowers on a regular basis but the front yard is only getting some water twice a week. We don't want the water police to come along and fine us after all.

I am kind of glad to see that our next door neighbor's yard is starting to look almost as brown as ours, I've always been embarrassed at how bad our yard looks compared to hers. She has actual gardeners that come and keep it mowed and put fertilizer down and such to keep it green. We are too cheap to pay for gardeners to come mow our yard for us. It's really not that hard to do it ourself. Or myself as it's been for quite some time. Keith's time at home is so limited that he hasn't had time to do much of anything lately, never mind yard work.

I was watching Good Morning America the other day, something I like to do while I'm having my coffee in the morning. Something Bear loves me to do since she sees me sitting there and gets up on the arm of the couch for a good thirty minutes or so of petting. Lots and lots of petting and face rubbing. I may be wasting time watching morning TV but at least one of the cats is getting some face rub time in. Sometimes Buddy will lay next to me when I'm watching TV but his time is usually in the evening. He likes to kind of squish in close and is in kitty heaven when I stroke under his chin.

Anyway, they were doing a story on the lunchtime breast lift, a procedure where a saline solution is injected into the breasts to make them larger. Because who's boyfriend or husband doesn't want them to have bigger breasts, right? The solution is 'safe' since it is absorbed by the body and the whole thing only takes 20 minutes, hence you can do it on your lunch break. Or whatever. This procedure costs $2500.00 and lasts for 24 hours.

What?

Women are so vain and stupid that they will pay $2500.00 for something that lasts only 24 hours? I was thinking of all the things you could do if you have an extra $2500.00 just laying around, things like take a little vacation with your boyfriend or husband instead of giving him big boobs for a day, or hey, maybe donating that $2500.00 to a plastic surgery charity that fixes up kids facial deformities. Or just buy a push up bra and save about $2400.00.

Mimi cat has been kind of boring lately, spending a whole heck of a lot of her time in her cheap cat bed, the cardboard boot box that is holding up surprisingly well, but I did catch her doing her sit upon thing the other day. A magazine had been left on the kitchen counter and must.sit.on.it.

Mimi Is Hiding

But not all that well.

Drooling Mimi

I was just in the kitchen getting some more coffee after having actually started my Monday housework by vacuuming the living room floor, and Mimi was doing her hanging around on the counter thing where she sizes you up to see if she can leap from counter to your shoulder. It's a little disconcerting when you are doing something like washing dishes or cooking on the stove and all of a sudden a cat jumps on you.

She does not like to be held much and does not like to sit on your lap, but she loves to ride around the house on your shoulder, which is fine except she won't sit still and her claws will dig into your shoulder as she's turning around trying to get in just the right spot. She will purr and rumble in contentment and then also drool. So, today I picked her up and let her get on my shoulder for the ride back to the computer and by the time I sat down the arm of my shirt was quite wet. From happy drool. As soon as you sit down, she's done with your shoulder though. Now she is perched on the back of my chair.

Each year here in these parts I'm always struck by how the weather changes in an instant, from hot summer to cool fall, like a switch has been flipped. We are really glad to see the cooler weather but it is kind of bizarre how one day it will be 100 degrees and the next day it's fall, folks! We really enjoyed this past weekend's weather, it was so nice to have the windows open and be able to go outside and not be sweating. I finally nagged Keith enough to where he fixed the sliding door screen so we can now open the door up in the living room and get some ventilation going on in there. The screen door has been broken only since May, so he actually fixed it pretty quickly for him!

We didn't go anywhere last weekend despite the nice weather, since it looks like he only has a few more weeks of work we are hesitant to spend any extra money on gas to wander about. They have been packing things up at his work so it looks like the end is quite near. They were told they would have to sign some kind of agreement to work part time in order to get their severance, but after Keith thought about it he is not going to sign anything, because it sounds like they are trying to drag things out and cut hours in hopes that everyone will get fed up and just quit so they don't have to pay severance and nobody can get their unemployment. So, things are still up in the air and as Keith said, it feels like he is going to work on a sinking ship with a bucket to keep bailing.

We got a Sunday paper but the jobs listings were somewhat discouraging. There are jobs out there if you have the right credentials and college degrees. Which neither of us have. So, who knows what will happen when the axe falls, but at least we don't have to go to the company Christmas Party this year!

Speaking of Cats

Sleeping in strange places.

I don't know why Mimi chose to sleep exactly in between the chair legs, but she must have felt safe with her back end squished up against one leg and her front end against the other.

So Tired

Mimi was apparently catching trash again and was just so exhausted from the thrill of the hunt that she collapsed in the doorway to the workroom for a nap. With her head on the threshold. I guess she just couldn't take another step.

You can see her fresh catch behind her.

 

Napping

No, not me although I am tempted sometimes to curl up with the cats. I've never liked taking naps, it seems like I always wake up feeling worse than before the nap, so it's not something I do. Keith is a good napper and can fall asleep almost anywhere, like when he sits out front in our cheap plastic chairs and falls asleep, usually with his glasses askew on his face if he's been reading, or a can of beer in his hand. I'm sure some of our neighbors kind of wonder about him. No, not me napping, but Mimi choosing a really odd place for her snooze, right on top of my dresser where there is just barely enough room for her petite little body.



She's such a sweet little thing, never gives us any trouble (unlike Buddy) and loves to play with cheap toys like a ball of wadded up paper. She's not a lap cat but prefers to ride around on your shoulder and purr like it's the best thing in the world. If I have a favorite out of our six it's probably her. And Bear, too. Oh, and the rest of them, even cranky Pepper.

Nothing in Particular

Not a whole heck of a lot has been going on around here this past week. We do have summer weather already and christened the air conditioner this weekend when it got to be 85 INSIDE the house because it was 95 outside. We'd had all the windows and doors open all day because Keith is still working on the never ending floor project and that glue stinks not to mention gives you a headache if there isn't enough ventilation, and by the end of the day all the hot air from outside had taken up residence inside and dang, it was HOT in here.

Yes, the floor has turned out to be a much bigger project than either of us expected it to be. The boxes of flooring are very misleading about how 'easy' it is to lay it. Maybe if you have more than one person doing the job it might be easy, but for one person it's just too much. Keith has vowed to never ever ever lay wood flooring ever ever again.

But, it should be finished maybe by the end of next weekend, the end is in sight and there is only a few feet left to do. Believe it or not, it takes hours to just get a few feet done what with all the measuring and sawing and gluing and cussing. Sigh...

I did do some cleaning and grocery shopping this weekend but other than that just sweated because the house was so hot.

Mimi spent her afternoon yesterday on the vacuum cleaner cord. Again. I had intended to vacuum the bedroom but didn't want to disturb her nap.


She is a strange kitty. She also plays fetch with Keith. He crumples up a piece of paper and throws it and she scampers after it, picks it up, and will (most of the time) bring it back to him so he can throw it again. Very funny to watch.

Hungry

I'm ravenous. I'm not used to waking up hungry, usually it takes a few hours for my stomach to go 'oh, I'm a little empty here, can you get me some yogurt and a double fiber english muffin and then I won't bother you until lunch?' But, no, the past few days it's more like 'I AM HUNGRY ENOUGH TO WHERE THE CATS ARE LOOKING PRETTY TASTY SO FEED ME NOW!!'

So, I feed my stomach but it's not satisfied and still wants more food and MORE FOOD NOW! I have been so stinking hungry the past few days, all day long, the kind of hungry that is actually painful. The kind of hunger where you eat a normal lunch, like yesterday was grilled cheese and an apple, and you are STILL HUNGRY. And an hour or two later and YOU ARE STARVING! If you haven't experienced extreme hunger pains I can't quite describe them other than it makes you really cranky and tired and all you can think about is finding something to eat that will make the pain go away, but eating something doesn't quite make it all go away and you are still hungry and cranky AND MY STOMACH ACTUALLY HURTS! And this is not right and not normal and what the heck is going on here anyway?

So, since google is my friend, I googled extreme hunger pain and this is what I think is going on. I've been taking meds for my thyroid the past few years and I'm thinking that they are not really working anymore so it's time for new blood work and doctor visits and all that crap, because from what I've read if your thyroid isn't working right and the meds aren't working right, EXTREME HUNGER PAINS are a symptom. How's that for self diagnosing?

I also read a lot about the kinds of foods to eat to help with this and some vitamins that might help, too. Protein seems to be the key, with small meals or snacks every couple of hours. Dairy helps too, and yesterday I did have a glass of milk when I was experiencing the EXTREME HUNGER PAINS and it did take them away for a little while. I'm not a big milk drinker because I just don't like the taste all that much, but since it helps I'll start drinking it like I'm supposed to.

Okay, enough complaining.

Oh, wait, I'm not quite done yet.

What is that old saying about March? In like a lion and out like a lamb? Well, that seems to be the way my Etsy shops have been, March was a good month for sales but as soon as march baa baa baad it's way out, everything just stopped. Tumbleweeds are blowing and crickets are chirping. So, just a little complaint here about slow and no sales, just when it looked like things were turning around.

And since sales are so slow I took new pictures of everything in my shop and have been sitting at the computer uploading new pictures which takes forever. Especially when you have little helpers.


Mimi was wandering around behind the computer screen which always makes me nervous because there are tempting wires and stuff back there that look tasty to kitties so I lured her out with a crumpled post it note, crumpled paper being her favorite toy.


So then she stood right in front of me batting the paper off of the desk onto the floor. But not jumping off the desk to go after the paper, instead waiting for me to pick up her paper for her and put it back on the desk so she can bat it off again because that's fun.

I finally had to just pick her up and make her move so I could see what I was doing. Buddy does the same thing but can't fit behind the computer anymore so he just walks back and forth in front of it.