More reading

A year in the merde

States of Confusion, my 19,000 mile detour.

Better

What I have read so far

True Detectives
Summer Sisters
The Devils Flu
Lapham Rising
Puppy Pre-School
The Fry Chronicles
Kitty Kornered
The Stone Garden

Friday Cat Blogging

Tired girl walking

I walked first beach to the island to get icecream. It's a much longer walk than it used to be.

The picture below is not first beach but our beach.

Why, yes, I am having a lovely vacation.

Day Three

Day Two

Day One

All I ever wanted.

I decided if I am going to eat in the car I will enjoy what I eat in the car so I went and picked up lovely croissants and single serve containers of pringles and I am going to make my own personal tuna  with my own personal nothing gross added.

Small Cat also needed some road food as well so he can maybe start thinking about something other than mock stalking the mouse . If he would just kill the damn thing he could move on with his life and move out of the kitchen and go back to doing whatever it was he did all day pre-mouse invasion.

I think I'm just going to leave him downstairs all night and let him hunt the little monster down in a way that perhaps during the day is not possible for whatever reason. I just think he would be happier if he could go back to dozing all day. I wonder if he misses Daisy?

I miss Daisy.

When I get sad about her not being here I try to think about being happy when one of these is here.

Speaking of being here and not being here. I am not going to be here in a daily way for a while - I'm going on vacation, I will be posting but not as frequently. But I will be around. Its going to be a weird period, there will be no Daisy for the firs time in a decade but by the time I get back it will be time to pick out Future Puppy and he/she will come home on a couple of weeks later. Wow.

Garden Gossip

Instead of keeping myself busy running vacation themed errands or puttering around the house taking care of  vacaion-y tasks, I was falling asleep in front of the TV and then post nap, getting all BDSM with the gtreen beans!

In years past the beans have gotten away with some "bad touches" and downright molest-y behaiver with the other plants - this year they have graduated to strangling neighboring plants! I had to cut and chop multiple offending vines! And then do orthopedic work on the weakened and damaged tomato plants. I've never had to actually destroy green beans in the name of tomato lives! I don't even like tomatoes, I plant them for the gardening exercise! I just like seeing a plant go from a little seedling to a sturdy plant.

 I actually  really like green beans but I can't let them kill the other plants. What if that got out? What if the tomato community found out I don't value them as much as beans? I would never get another plant to grow much less produse fruits.

 I found fruits today I hadn't seen before because the vines had weighted down the branches! How can I obsess over them if I don't even know they are there!? true, this school of gardening works out well for melons - who always do better before I know they are there, but, I its not the same thing for the smaller veggies. This is so not good. Its bad gardening and its bad tomato husbandry. I should know better.

Days ago I found a ripened, chewed up tomato by the fence and I had wondered where it came from, I even thought it might be a neighbors vegetable and strong the critter was to carry it so far...Now I know where the mystery tomato  came from, it wasn't from next door, it was one of mine! I could have saved it. If I had but known it was there I would have blanched it and put it up with the others. I've finally gotten smarter about the whole "vine ripened" fallacy, once they get a little pink they come inside where its safe. I don't want to feed the critters, I leave out  cat food for that population. Grumble.

Wednesday before Friday

Today I got things accomplished! They were work things which are boring but they make me feel better. I've done what I need to do and now I just have to hope that my work mates do what they are supposed to do while I';m gone.

Their problem.

You can lead a highly trained, very educated horse to water but you can't make it understand that we don't drink water with our ass.
In more fin work accomplishment news: I bought some food for the car! Yay! And also, because I enjoy pain, I went through a bunch of pictures of Daisy in Marquette! It didn't hurt as much as I thought it was going to though: The pictures don't represent bad memories, they are all good memories so it stung a little but not enough to make me want to stop - She was so happy there and I know she was the only one enjoyed the days long drive in the car. The days long drive in the car is going to suck without her.

Tuesday before the Friday

Look what my friend sent me!

Isn't it cool! I know Daisy would think it was awesome, she was a staunch yellow dawg after all. I imagine that future puppy is waving his/her tiny paw in solidarity from the bassinet.

My original topic was going to be that I successfully stopped the leak from the timer for the backyard irrigation system and moved the more valuable plants to the back so now it and them are all set for me to leave for vacation.

 They are ready for me to leave but I'm not, I keep thinking up things I need to get done - especially at work! One of my co-worker is going to do most of my duties but she is being very apathetic about the whole thing. She did do it last year but still, and the others are not exactly banging down my door with questions either! They should be, they are going to have to do things for themselves for a few weeks and they should be a lot more curious about how to do them.I think they are under the impression that someone else is magically going to do those thins for them if they are inept enough... Sadly, not going to happen, they are just going to look like morons and end up getting irritated with me because I didn't spoon feed them everything. Ya can't feed what won't come to the table!

I have a whole buffet of useful information and they aren't even nibbling at the "this is where the office supplies are stored" crackers, and they are totally ignoring the "fed the fax machine face up" dip.

I'm going to snack on the "replacement toner is in the closet" salad.

Things accomplished seven days pre-vacation

1.Clothing selected
2. Clothing packed
3. Space bag replaced
4. Clothing repacked
5. Computer bag borrowed
6. electronics and cords/cables collected
7. temporarily changed address with postal service
8. Yard man paid
9. serious thought put to recreating 2011 back yard irrigation
10. in fit of anxiety vis-a-vie watermelon quality of life issues, re-created 2011 backyard irrigation
11. Made note to self to buy more plumbers tape
12.Played Favorites Began process of prioritizing  front deck plants
13. met with puppies again, fed one with a bottle, swooned.

Friday Cat Blogging

To Do list

While I've been redecorating and mouse re-homing, it slipped my mind that I am leaving for vacation in a week and I might want to start thinking about getting ready to go. In a week for almost a month.

I need to decide what I'm going to bring and how much of it I think I can bring with me, I mean, in a perfect world I would just bring everything and not worry about it! Vacation is about opportunities and taking advantage of them! I have a very cute dress that would be totally appropriate to wear to , say, a office casual cocktail party, so common in the rural upper peninsula of Michigan!  because I am constantly every five two eights years, invited to one and on the off chance I am, do I really want to wear my blue berry picking shorts? But I can't bring everything and so what I do bring must multi-task.

For example, REI sells a lovely outfit that can go from kayaking to cocktails to  fireside poetry slam in a flash!  And its SPF 50 and mosquito resistant! Its for women  who  want to go from the High Sierra to High Fashion in less than three outfits. It allows you to be casual and yet still over dressed for every occasion.  You could be crowned queen of the Sierra Club jamboree and lead  the assemblage on a ten mile hike.

You know why poor people are more outdoorsy? they can't afford the wardrobe.

When I'm not thinking about expensive clothes, I am thinking about my expensive technology. I'm bringing the phone, camera, computer,  Ipod and my Kindle and all their plugs and cables and battery packs. I'm not sure there are enough outlets in the house to keep all my toys up and charged and they must be charged because if I am going to be without a TV for three weeks I have to stay plugged in, if I am going to be without a TV for an extended period I will have to keep myself amused. Just because you are off the grid does not mean you have to be offline.

So, which books to bring?  and how many? Do I like the titles I have all ready or should I hit the used book stores?  The Kindle is coming but its not practical for beach use and there is no such thing as buying a used book on Kindle...

I also have to set up my irrigation for the watermelons and arrange the potted plants for best exposure to the water and then I need to  get my mail temporarily sent to our address up there, and get my phone turned into a hot-spot so we don't have to go into town every ten minutes...

So, clothes, mail, technology, irrigation. I am doomed.

She will not be nice to mice

The gawd damned mouse is back.

Blech and Blech-ier

Tuesday night I was getting my sports on watching the Olympics and being all patriotic and shit and I heard this sound from the kitchen and then I heard it again and I told Small Cat to knock it off and come watch the TV with me. He's been camped out in the kitchen for a week  and I thought it was because he likes the coolness of the floor.

And then he ran into the dining room and he wasn't alone, he had something in his mouth and I thought "Oh, its a lizard. I wonder where he found it?" and then I got closer and really looked at what he had in his mouth and I screamed.

He had a mouse in his mouth! A living mouse in his mouth! A mouse! a mouse in my house1 OMG I'm going to die of plauge! Vermin in my home!  I should not have screamed because maybe he might have finished the job instead of  spitting the living mouse out .

Wednesday night I went to Wallyworld and picked up some mousetraps , they come in sets of four, and are made in the same town one of my cousins lives in. I thought this was a good sign. I also picked up some peanut butter bait. This mouse business was going to be over and I was going to put on my bog girl panties Wednesday morning and dispose of the mouse. I was going to medal in mouse expulsion.

Have you ever tried to set a mouse trap? Do you know how cheap mouse traps are? Do you know why they give you so many of them?  Its because, as it turns out, they are single use! Mess up trying to get one of them set and it is done! Your finger tips are a lovely aubergine and the mouse, who you can absolutely hear snickering at your  ineptitude, parties on.  A freaking mouse in my house! I have a cat I should have no mice! And now I have a mouse that knows that I am too clumsy to kill him!

What Mr. Mouse doesn't know is that there are glue traps out there and my ineptitude won't be in play.  Mr. Mouse as choices, he can leave on his own, he can submit to Small Cat and go out like a champian or he can die badly  in a glue trap. Leave or suffer a bad death Mr. Mouse.

Whatev.

 "And we meet again Mr. Mouse"

Faster Kitty Cat, Kill, Kill!

Mouse was playing possum. You know, a mouse trap would kill the little beast not let it go to play another day. I have to stop feeding Small Cat.

 

Who knocked it off the curtains? I did!

 

Who is probably killing it slowly under the trash can? I am. I couldn't do it. I , I feel, very heroically slipped my late plastic cutting board under the can and also very heroically carried the mess outside and let nature take its course. Hopefully  the feral cat is named "Nature".

Spirit Animals

I decided that I am not a manatee or a mermatron any longer. I have evolved, I am in fact an otter! The otter and I are both much more comfortable swimming on our backs and we are both fond of snacking, something I can also do on my back! Its like we were separated at birth. Me and a species of animal. Yup. The whole species and me , although I am bigger and less furry. Details.

I feel like I should go to New Mexico and take a lot of hallucinogens and wander the desert! In the spirit of spiritual renewal and growth because nothing guarantees spiritual growth like sweating buckets and the opportunity to interview a thirty year old chassis. Life lessons there, you just have to listen to what the rust has learned. Its about the wind - or so I have learned from Jim Chee.

Speaking of my spirit animal, I finally was able to get back in the pool after a protracted stay on dry land. I tried to go Friday and all the lanes were full - this had never happened before. I suspect a lot of people were trying to get their Michael Phelps on before the games started, and while this is nice and all, Its my damn pool! Well, a lane of it is from 4pm-5pm M-F, and I would appreciate if other, younger, people would respect that. I am too damn old to stand around in a swim suit in public cooling my heals while  undergrad mechanical engineering majors try to pretend they have some sort of skill. They don't.  Its why they invented apartment pools and hotel pools, if you don't have your own, borrow. The public pool is for the townies. Deal with it.

I didn't even try on Monday, it rained and while that is enough to close to the pool, there was also lightening and thunder and they close the pool if it gets overcast. So, Tuesday after-work, finally - Wednesday I have an after work meeting until 5pm and I'm pretty sure that everyone who swims laps, swim laps at 5pm, so my chances of scoring a lane don't (in theory) look good. In a perfect world I would go every day but I don't think I've had a single week when that has happened. My idea was that on those days I would so something else for exercise but sadly, on those days I do not. I think my idea was that I would ride my bike but then it got really hot and the idea of doing anything outside, was out of the question. I am quite comfortable pretending the exerbike is actually a piece of modern art.

I wonder how cold Lake Superior is this year? And how do you swim laps in a great lake? Will my swim burka be warm enough? Its almost like a wet suit! Its heavy and grossly uncomfortable as well as featuring a high neck and long sleeves...  Maybe I should stop whining about how cold the pool is and stuff a couple of blue ices down my suit.  I could claim they are floaties? Weights?  My breasts?The idea needs work.