Umm...

There was something I was going to blog about today but I can't remember what it was.

Dusty has not come home yet and I don't think he ever will. I made up some flyers for Keith to put on the mailboxes last weekend but he forgot and just got them put up yesterday. It's been a week since he went missing so unless he found a new home with some nice new people, I'm thinking he is long gone.

Our lesbian neighbors are breaking up and the one with the little boy is moving out this weekend. Keith finds out all the gossip in our 'hood because he's nosy like that. He was outside a few weeks ago and heard them fighting and the one threw a cat water dish at the other so he's been speculating ever since that a breakup was on the way. She is taking one of the backyard dogs with her and some of the cats. Too bad she isn't taking all of the dogs but maybe there will be less barking with one of them gone. And maybe the lesbian that is left at the house, the one who doesn't like the dogs anyway, will find them new homes or something. Right now they have like 10 cats who poop in our yard and eat Lucy's food and then there is Bandit who always goes in our backyard and gets into Genie's food and stresses her out. I'm hoping that she takes Bandit with her because he is the biggest pain of all of their cats. He is real sneaky, going down two houses and then doubling back through the back yards to get to her food.

Other than all the animals and the dogs barking they haven't been bad as neighbors, no noisy parties or anything like that. Most of the people on our street are pretty quiet and there are some that I've never even seen and only know that someone lives there because there are lights on in the house.

I rode the bike up to Winco the other day to get a few things for dinner. Our weather has been unseasonably warm, yesterday it got up to 70, so it was a pleasant ride and I didn't need to bundle up quite as much. I'm shopping and see two skanky looking young women with two shopping carts full of frozen pizzas and other healthy food like that and of course I'm thinking 'food stamps' and they have a little boy in the front of the cart with a dirty scabby face and his pajamas and slippers on. They are both wearing tank tops and tight jeans with gigantic muffin tops pouring over the tops of their jeans. The one with the little boy in the cart is way ahead of the other and she stops, leaves the cart (with the scabby kid sitting in it) and goes back two aisles over to get something she forgot. The kid is sitting there alone. Hey, free kid! But he's kind of scabby so maybe I don't want him after all.

Then as I'm leaving Winco a full grown woman is coming in the out door in her pajamas. And slippers.

Happy New Year?

Hopefully it will be. If we could just find our missing cat. Dusty has still not turned up and Keith is devastated because he promised his mother that he would take care of them. I asked the twit lesbian next door if her dogs had gotten the cat but she was probably the wrong one to ask because while she brings home all of these animals she never takes care of them and never goes in the back yard. She leaves the dog feeding up to her girlfriend who goes out there and screams and yells at the dogs who are just trying to get a little human contact. And apparently nobody ever cleans up the dog shit because it always stinks back there. Anyway, she didn't seem to have any knowledge of anything. Their dogs could bark all night long and they never go out to see what's up. I think they just put in some ear plugs and go back to sleep.

So, I printed up some missing cat flyers for Keith to put around the neighborhood. He just talked to James who said that Dusty had run off a few times but always came back when he got hungry enough so there is still some hope. Poor Genie is confused and kind of wanders around looking for Dusty. She doesn't want to go into their shed house so we put a basket on the back porch for her to sleep in since she seems to want to be near the back sliding door where she can see us.


Other than that, kind of a quiet New Year's Eve for us. Keith fell asleep at about 9 and I read until I got too sleepy to read anymore and went to bed about 10:30. No wild parties for us! We are too old and too tired.

On Friday night we went to the Holiday Lights at Calm, CALM standing for California Living Museum, the little zoo where they keep native to California animals and birds. Each year they have a huge light display, with animated light sculptures, hot chocolate, and train and carousel rides. We did get to ride the train this year, which just kind of goes around in a big circle but with light displays around the track. The line was long but went quickly because they had two trains running. I was kind of surprised at how busy it was being after Christmas and all but maybe everybody else waited until after thinking it wouldn't be as crowded just like us.

And that is about it, another year over with and another starting. No big resolutions for us because we never keep them anyway, so...

Missing

Yesterday at my usual waking time of 6am (the older I get the earlier I seem to wake up even without setting an alarm) I got all the cats their canned food and then went to the back door to feed Dusty and Genie their canned food. Which they love and are usually so excited to get each morning. So excited that they are turning around in circles of anticipation until I set those bowls down. But only Genie was turning around in circles, no Dusty. Very odd. Very very odd.

It's still dark outside so I go get the flashlight to look inside the shed and see if he is still curled up in his bed, but no Dusty. I look all around the yard but no Dusty.

We had heard the dogs next door barking late the night before but instead of going outside to check things out just assumed that they were barking at nothing like they usually do each night. But now with Dusty missing I'm wondering if somehow he got into their back yard and the dogs killed him and that's what they were barking about. So, I get the kitchen stepladder as soon as it gets light enough and look into their yard. I don't see any signs of fur or blood or a dead cat, just a whole lot of dog shit that looked like it had been raked up into a big pile. Disgusting. But suspicious. Like the yard had been recently cleaned up but they were too lazy to pick up the dog shit but did get rid of a dead cat.

Then I thought maybe he had followed Keith out of the back yard when he took the trash out the night before and had gotten locked out when the gate was shut. Dusty and Genie have never figured out how to climb the fence and get out on their own. Or back in. I looked all around the front yard and in the next door front yard but no Dusty. He's been out front before and has always stayed real close to the house and waited by the gate if it was shut. So, I don't think he would have just wandered off and forgotten how to get back home.

This morning, still no Dusty. We have no idea what happened to him. Keith is very upset because he promised his mother that he would take care of her cats and now one is gone.

Now, on a lighter note, some cat pictures. Why Mimi chose to lay on a pile of books I don't know but she seemed content.