Rainy Day! and Of Course Some Cats and a Dog

We were told there was only about a 20% chance of rain for today but we were all surprised (especially the guy next door who was out wasting water washing his truck) when it started sprinkling yesterday afternoon which developed into full on rain overnight. I woke up about 4am to the sound of the rain on the metal glider out front. I opened the window a bit to listen to it but it was just a little too loud so the window was shut again. Millie spent most of the night under my covers, where every once in awhile I have to make her scoot over a bit.

Since she doesn't want to go outside this morning and it doesn't look like we'll be getting a walk in today, I put a piddle pad in the bathroom on the rug that she has peed on a few times in desperation. Plus it's a really soft rug and must feel like grass to her. She hasn't used the pad yet but Mimi thought it looked like a good thing to sit upon.

Millie and I took a nice long walk over to Petco yesterday where she got a couple of new toys. She is still learning the whole walking on a leash thing and it seemed like she was a little better yesterday, not tugging on it quite so much. I really have to keep an eye on her if she sees other animals and around people, I kept her on a very short leash while walking by Walmart where she did bark at a couple of people and also at the sliding door that startled her. I held her the whole time in Petco where she was good until she saw a big dog coming in the door and started growling.

She got a bouncy ball, a bunny rabbit toy and a pirate octopus that I haven't give to her yet. The new theme for dog toys is pirates and they had some cute ones. No, dogs aren't spoiled or anything.

She proceeded to methodically chew off two of the bunny's legs, and then later in the day a third one so he only has one leg left at this point. Not for long, though, I'm sure the last leg will be coming off today.

I did a little research on what people foods you can give your dog (and cats) since she stares at us the whole time we are eating anything. I was eating some peas and gave her some after they cooled off and she liked them. We had given her a few slices of cooked carrot before and she liked those too. Keith has given her popcorn which they say is okay but not the buttery salted stuff that he eats. Also, you can give them cheerios which I think would be a really good dog walking training treat. I tried chicken hot dogs but having stinky cut up chicken hot dogs in a bag in my pocket was kind of inconvenient plus the stinky smell on my hands.

Anyway, I'm going to enjoy the rain today for as long as it lasts. Of course yesterday I vacuumed and shampooed the carpets just in time for rain and mud to be tracked in.

Mimi Sitting On Things Again And Dinner Southern Style

I let the cats go outside early this morning, as I've been doing most mornings lately. They chomp at the bit until I open the door and they all run outside to eat grass or wander about. I looked out a while later to check on everyone and here is Mimi sitting on top of a pile of bricks, a pile of bricks that have been in that spot for months and months now, but this is the first time I've seen her realize she could sit on them.

Like most projects Keith starts, the pathway from the back door to the patio is still not finished, that is why bricks are piled up in the back yard.

Yesterday Keith was home and was expecting to go back out late in the evening, so he (finally) did the weed whacking in the front yard that he was supposed to do last week when I mowed the yard but never got to it, surprise surprise. It was very hot outside and I kept nagging him to get it done early in the day, but no, he waited until early afternoon and was very hot and sweaty when he was done. He laid down on the bed for 'just a minute' still in his sweaty clothes and grass covered pants, and was out cold for about 3 hours. I had fixed low carb macaroni and cheese for lunch, I try to fix a more substantial lunch on days when he will need to nap later to go to work that night, so after cooking and cleaning up after cooking I didn't really feel like cooking a dinner, too, but was getting really really hungry by the time he woke up. I suggested going over to J's Place Chicken and Waffle House for an early dinner, thinking we would beat the crowds and I wouldn't have to cook again. Well, we didn't beat the crowds, there were a bunch of church people from what I'm guessing was some kind of revival meeting, everyone was in their Sunday best and had name tags on that I was trying to read without looking like I was trying to read them, so I'm not sure what kind of church they were from, but I guess church revival type people like their Southern food. The place was packed and our waitress was really earning her tips.

We got our dinners very quickly despite the crowds, Keith had meat loaf but it was a little too spicy for him, and I had southern enchiladas, always delicious. The menu has things on it that I would never eat, like neck bones. I also don't get the chicken and waffles thing, but apparently everyone else does because it's a very popular choice. To me waffles belong with eggs and chicken belongs with mashed potatoes, but that's just me and if I'd grown up in the South I'd probably be eating my chicken with waffles, too.

After we got home, Keith went back to bed figuring he'd get a call about 10pm or so, but when I got up this morning he was still home. He had woken up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep anymore, and then he got called for a 9am drive in the van to catch a train on its way from Needles. He wasn't too thrilled about riding in a van through the hot desert to relieve a crew and probably only get as far as Barstow before he and his engineer would also need relieving. They can only work 12 hours and then they are done and the train sits wherever until a fresh crew arrives.

So, he will be home in the next day or two and then the cycle of rest and sleep and try to get a few things done will start again. He does get paid very well for all the inconvenience of weird hours, though!

Note To Self

Never ever ever again go grocery shopping at Winco during the week before Thanksgiving. Just DO NOT DO IT.

I had kind of forgotten that it is the week before Thanksgiving, mainly because I really don't care all that much about Thanksgiving and am not planning on cooking turkey or anything crazy like that. I just needed a few things so that I could fix myself a halfway healthy dinner last night while Keith was at work. Just some chicken and bread for him and milk and a few vegetables was all I needed. So, off to Winco and while the parking lot looked a little fuller than usual, I didn't think too much about it because midday at Winco is always busy. I'm usually a fairly patient person, but after a while was tempted to start playing bumper cars with the multitudes of carts that seemed to be blocking every aisle. Every checkout was open, so I didn't have to wait too long, and apparently the man in front of me in line was as clueless as me about what week it was since he asked the checker if it was always this busy on a Monday in Winco. Well, DUH, it's Thanksgiving week, folks!

Anyway, our plan is to ignore the holiday, Keith may actually get the day off since the yard decided not to run some of the normal jobs that day, but since he is on the extra board if they need someone he will get called. We were thinking about going out to eat, but we'll see how the day unfolds. He's worked the last 5 days in a row and just went in for his 6th, so by Thursday he may just want to lay around the house and rest up. He is starting to feel better now that his meds have kicked in on his sinus infection but he still seems to just want to sleep most of the time.

Our rain last week was really something for these parts, downtown actually saw some flooding, partly from leaves and such that clogged up the drains, but mainly because some crackheads and/or tweaker methheads stole the copper wiring from inside one of the storm drain pumps and nobody knew about it until the pumps didn't work during the storm and the downtown streets turned into rivers.

Speaking of crackheads and tweakers, when we were helping Joe moved we all stopped at his favorite gas station/convenience store, where any size fountain drink is only 89c even the huge bucket o' soda size, and as we were walking up to the store a girl was asking everyone if they could spare some change. I just ignored her and commented on her to Joe, who said that she is always there, it's her job. Ha!

And, here is Mimi sitting in something rather than on something this time. I had my box of paper opened up on the bed and hey! a box! and paper! Yay! I must sit in it!

Home Alone Again

Keith took off yesterday afternoon to go to Fresno for the week where they are having classes each day in test preparation and then taking the rules test on Friday. I think he has finally (hopefully) gotten his head out of his you know where and realizes that this job is kind of his last hope. Yes, he could go back to doing whatever and not getting paid very well for it, but employers are going to look at someone who left one job after a few months to go to another and then left that one because it was just too much for him and then think he's some kind of royal flake and won't hire him. Plus there is the whole age thing, it's really hard to get a job once you are past 50. Well, you might be able to get a door greeter job at Walmart, but that's about it. So, after more soul searching and anxiety, I think he is in the right frame of mind to buckle down and pass the test this week. At least I hope so.

So, keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well this week and he will be a certified railroad conductor by next week.

So, the s'mores flavored candy corn was just not very good. SO disappointing. They also gave me a stomach ache so I threw the bag away. I guess my senior citizen stomach just can't handle pure sugar anymore.

Yesterday one of Keith's many pieces of paper (he is so disorganized with all his paperwork) was on the end table by the couch and the fan blew it off onto the floor. Not two seconds later Mimi was seated upon the piece of paper.

I was kind of looking forward to a week of alone time, Keith's issues with anxiety kind of getting on my last nerve, but last night going to bed with no one else in the house did feel rather strange. I do like the idea of not having to plan meals for the week, but really I still have to fix stuff for myself, so...not that much of a vacation after all.

I'm working on gift tags and holiday stuff for the shop, not that sales are going through the roof or anything, it's basically just a hobby now, a hobby that costs more than I actually make, but until I find another hobby or whatever, it gives me something enjoyable to do. There's only so much cat poop scooping I can do in a day, after all!

Mimi Sitting On Things And Laying Around

Mimi has two spots that she really likes for taking her many naps. One is in the bedroom right in front of the closet, actually right up against the closet door. The other is right smack in the middle of the hallway to where she blocks your way whether you are coming or going from or to the front door, coming or going in or out of the living room, coming or going in or from the bathroom, etc. Right in the what I think is the worst spot for a cat to lay. If you aren't paying attention, she is ripe for tripping over or stepping on.

Keith thinks she lays there because she knows you have to step over her and maybe will stop long enough to give her a belly rub.

I have a couple of cookie trays that I don't use for making cookies, but rather for things that I'm working on to dry on or glue to set on. I had one of the trays on the bench in the bedroom, I was cleaning and dusting in there and it was a handy place to set it until I found a better place.

Well, something sitting on something else is just too tempting for Miss Must Sit On Things, so she did. And she looked very comfortable doing it. I was kind of surprised to see Buddy right next to her, they aren't the best of friends lately.