Wonderful week full of surprises...
Enjoyed Matt-Ratting with Loretta, Sharon (who is now off the injured list), Diane (...who has now made the injured list by fracturing her leg in 3 places on a machine at Snap Fitness...I told you exercise will KILL you.), Gail, John (Sharon's friend) and Eric...also met Diane's friend (Linda) who is also a retired nurse and we clicked right away...our little group is expanding and I have made a new friend!
The Bloomington College Mall is probably my favorite to "mall-rat"
We all started at Starbucks for Pastries and Cappuccino...then off to plunder Target, Macy's sale table (60 and 70% off) the Yankee Candle Shop and Bath and Body (...the scent du mois...Pretty as a Peach) so the entire bath now smells like a bushel of fresh peaches. Peach candle, peach gel, peach body lotion, peach foaming soap, peach mist, even peach pocket anti-bacterial...it is lovely!
Tried Red Robin for the first time ever. Huge cheddar covered deluxe hamburger...endless fries and a vanilla malted (with the requisite cherry, whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles on top)
Delicious!
Amber arrived and finished the bathroom and floors in record time. I am going to miss her help for the next couple of weeks...she is leaving for vacation in Colorado. I've been several times...but she said she is bringing me back an interesting rock, anyway!
She makes my life so much easier!
Thursday morning I enjoyed an early coffee and chat with Chris, who is gearing up for his exams. He has separated the scheduling and will be doing one on Tuesday and the second the following Tuesday. I know he will do GREAT...he has this stuff down. Crammed what is the equivalent of 2 years college courses into 9 months (or less) He is like that guy in "Limitless", and can learn anything amazingly fast! An interesting week at IAC with a visit from one of Andretti's boys to kick off winning the new Corvette contract.
I remember when this guy was just a little kid!
Thursday night I enjoyed a visit by James and Hannah...with pizza and games and impromptu "Daddy-Daughter" Duet of a song they wrote together.
"Chapstick Cheetopuffaless"
A combination of the angst of her siblings eating all her Cheetos...and the fact she lost her Chapstick on the same day...
So her nickname is now "Chapstick Cheetopuffaless"
Literally.
Adjusting slowly to my new roomie...er...cat...er Manatee on the Sofa.
"Yeah..Yeah...Very FUNNY. Me and My Sofa
and You and YOUR jeans, okay???"
It has been a long long time since I have adjusted to the idiosyncrasies of a strange cat, okay?
For instance...Tuck was always lean and muscular through most of his life. Shel is...well...Shel is a Manatee, okay.
Hearing Verbal Kint: "I mean like Orca fat."
She waddles.
I'm not sure how healthy that can be.
She seems very happy though.
After I saw my (late) friend Loran's cat, Mister, put on a diet by his kids after he passed...well...I just CAN'T do it to her.
(...in their defense...Mister now runs and plays with the other cats...he was ginormous...morbidly kitty obese...)
But there is this part of me that says if I was ever in the hospital or rehab and some well-meaning aide tried to take away my dessert (for example) I would stab them with my fork.
Repeatedly.
(...and now that I've mentioned it...if it ever happens- the word premeditated is going to be tossed around a lot...)
So...no kitty diet for Shelby. She has adjusted to all the change she is ever going to have to adjust to.
Also, she is JUST like having a toddler again.
Remember the days of never ever going to the toilet alone without being followed in and stared at the whole time. Or them yelling outside the door if you have the audacity to close it...sometimes reaching a hand...er...paw under the gap of the bottom.
Yes, this is now my life.
And she is concerned about the toilet, anyway.
(...brief product placement here...)
Introducing " Better Way"
And it IS!
Cat litter started with clay, then added clumping abilities and scoopable, then descenting with baking soda and the like...but none of the kitty litters on the market hold a candle to this...
Tiny dissolving pellets.
Since this is the first cat I have ever had who is a 100% indoor DIVA...I was dreading the whole litter box experience.
With "Better Way" all you have to do is scoop and flush.
No smell. No mess.
But the fact that you are scooping and flushing her...er...gifts is a bit boggling to Shelby who stands with her front paws on the rim watching nervously.
Another idiosyncrasy is the pawing and licking of the cloth shower curtain. Not when it is wet....and she always has fresh water down, anyway. But she will paw (not scratch...just paw) and lick and groom the bottom of the shower curtain in a huge wet circle.
It is weird.
As is my Bath these days.
I love my deep bubble baths. Absolutely live for them.
Tucker always left the room and did...well..whatever Tucker would do while I was taking a nice hour long soak.
Maybe throwing a poker party with all his cat buddies in the living room using cat treats for ante and bids.
Seriously, if you had known Tuck, you would not have put this past him...then they all scattered when they heard me rinsing off.
Not Shelby.
No, Shelby is the fuzzy LIFE-GUARD of the tub...pacing nervously...putting her forefeet on the edge and peering into the bubbles and water. Sometimes holding eye contact for a long time possibly thinking
"What the HELL is wrong with you??"
Or maybe
"I'll save you, human."
Or simply
"If you drown...who is going to make me breakfast?"
and then there is The Shedding Business.
(...did I mention black is my absolute favorite fashion color?)
Remember Pig-Pen and how he left the puffs of dirt whenever he walked (Peanuts Cartoon Character).
That is my cat...only it is cat hair.
Still working on ways to reduce it that don't involve shaving, taxidermy or shellac.
I brush her 2 or 3 times a day...it barely slows it to a dull roar.
I'm open to suggestions.
She is amazing though...wouldn't change a thing...er...except maybe the shedding.
And now for the week's political commentary
This week has been a Circus...and I'm quietly enjoying the cotton-candy and the show.
Just when you thought it couldn't get more bizarre...Our Tangerine Tyrant has taken it to a whole new level.
Even Hunter S. Thompson would be saying
"It has gotten WEIRD enough for me."
Were he still with us.
Forget about the fact he had a top ranking Russian Official in for a briefing...but threw the PRESS CORPS out.
Nevermind, that he brought Henry "Fucking" Kissinger in and had a photo op with him
(...and somehow thought that was a good thing...)
He has now fired Comey. Head of the FBI. You know the same FBI that is investigating the whole Russian débâcle...Comey.
Citing Jeff Sessions recommendation as one of the reasons he fired him.
(...can you say Obstruction of Justice, boys and girls? I knew you could.)
Somebody start impeachment proceedings....please.
#45 may be the first President to be brought down by Twitter, too. So there is THAT. After a morning tweet aimed at Comey alluding to his possibly taping Comey's conversations.
Seriously, orange dude?
Because I am thinking Comey might be fapping to the idea of that level of stupidity from the Oval Office...and that might certainly begin an Impeachment.
In my opinion...it couldn't come soon enough.
Although Will Durst, Lee Camp and Christopher Titus are in the wings going
"No...no...wait...wait...wait"
Their respective routines practically writing themselves these days.
Popcorn?
Saw "Ghost in the Shell" this week.
WOW!!!
A very very good adaptation of the story/comic. Well worth plunking down a few bucks. A futuristic society where people can become cybernetically enhanced...and the military doing what they do best...and the cost of development in human terms.
I want to watch it again.
Also read and finished Neil Gaiman's
I have been hooked on Gaiman's work since his combined effort with Terry Pratchett on "Good Omens"
If you have never read it before...you owe it to yourself to have a good laugh. Hilariously funny.
In Good Omens the four horsemen of the Apocalypse show up at a hole in the wall biker bar on Harleys...when asked they state they are Hell's Angels...finally one patron asks "What Chapter?" to which the four answer "Revelations" .
Spot on with Norse Mythology as well! Loved it!
Looking forward to Mother's Day on Sunday and the kids...and maybe my grand-puppies for a while, too.
Happy Mother's Day Weekend!
Suddenly realizing the irony of intending to write a missive about procrastination....and then forgetting it...and so it will be included in next weekend's update....lol!
Seems appropriate.
