Incoherent Scribblings

Stitching… Tomorrow

Mouse and Molly
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian

I have SAT progress to show, but can’t be bothered to upload the pictures right now. Look for that post tomorrow.

Instead, today enjoy what looks like a scene of innocent tranquility, but in reality is a fragile peace accord that could snap at any moment!

P.S. Please ignore my ugly chair… it is thrift shop chic!

Dolly in Sink

Dolly in Sink
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian

It’s been a while since we had a gratuitous kitten picture…

I am not exactly sure when Molly and Dolly’s birthday is (they are littermates), but since I suspect Dolly was about 8 weeks old when I adopted her in mid-July last year that would make their birthday sometime in mid-May. So I guess they aren’t really kittens anymore…

The List

Wow how time has flown! As you can see from my little ticker, I now have just about a week before I leave for the US and I still have about a million things to do before I go!

Of course being the librarian that I am, I have made a list of things that need to be done in order for me to be ready to leave. So, in case you are curious, here are the things that I need to accomplish before this time next week.

Get money!

I will be taking some traveler’s checks and some cash. I ordered the traveler’s checks (in US Dollars) today and have to pick them up on Wednesday. I went ahead and got the cash today though. For the first time in nearly four years I held an American twenty dollar bill in my hand today… and boy with that orangey color on them now they sure do look weird!

Do laundry.

Not only do I need to have all of my clothes washed up, I want to make sure I leave A. with clean socks and underwear. I will be gone for six weeks; therefore I have informed him that he must do his laundry at least once because I will be most unhappy if I come home to find six weeks’ worth of his laundry piled up in the closet!

Check baggage allowance for US Air.

I am going to try to travel to light. However, coming from might be a different story!

Check on travel insurance.

We have travel insurance. We just don’t know how long (or if) it will cover me in the US.

Do a hard disk backup.

Just to be safe.

Buy:

Contact stuff (for me)

Cat food (So that A. has no excuse not to feed the cats while I am gone.)

German souvenirs for family and friends

Clean kitchen and bathroom.

I am one of those people who has to clean before I leave. Both rooms need cleaned anyway and besides, I don’t expect A. to use the kitchen while I am gone so I may as well leave it clean.

Leave instructions for A. concerning:

The cats

The dishwasher

The washer and dryer

How to get a hold of me in case of emergency (a.k.a. Mom’s phone number)

Pack!

This is a whole other list in and of itself and has not been created as of yet.

Change the cat litter.

A. has promised to change the cat litter and clean up hairballs while I am gone, but since I am so sweet I will do it one last time before I leave.

As you can see, most of these things are trivial and won’t take that much time. However, I know that if I don’t write them down somewhere I will forget half of them and only remember when I am over the middle of the Atlantic and by then it will be too late!

Cat on a Red Brick Roof

Dear Black and White Neighbor Kitty (henceforth named “Scout”),

I must say, you really made my day when I glanced out my living room window and saw your little black and white face poking up from the barn roof today.

Like most kitties you are very curious and this is not the first time I have seen you on top of the roof of the barn scouting out your territory.

No doubt you were investigating all of those noisy birds that are busy making their nests in the trees below and calculating how long it will be before those eggs are laid. As I am sure you know, the eggs themselves would make a tasty meal, but if you wait for them to hatch, those naked defenseless baby birds would be, by far, a more filling treat.

As I stood at my window attempting to take your picture, you appeared to get camera-shy and ducked away. But something told me you had not gone far and my patience was rewarded when you peeked up again after a few minutes.

Though you appeared to look directly at me so that I could take your picture, I imagine my three kitties that were also at the window with me were what caught your attention. And I must say that for the first time in weeks I was glad that I couldn’t go out on the balcony, because I probably would have scared you away like I did last time you were on the barn roof.

I hope you return in the future to brighten my days, but please, do be careful. Barn roofs are very tall and can be dangerous for even the most sure-footed kitty.

Your friend,
Renée, the blondelibrarian

An Ode to Cats

I am a certified crazy cat lady. I have always loved cats and have had a number of them in my lifetime. I grew up in the country and though we didn’t have very much livestock, we always had lots and lots of cats. Here is a list of cats that have been special to me for one reason or another in my life:

Tigger

Tigger was the first cat I remember. I was about four when we had Tigger. Unfortunately, he ran away about the time my sister was born. I will always remember Tigger because one night when I tried to make him sleep with me, he scratched me between the eyes and left a scar near my right eyebrow that is still visible when I don’t pluck my eyebrows!

Buttermilk

Buttermilk was a great big tomcat and he ruled our neighborhood. He fought a lot and one of his ears was partially ripped off. I wanted to call him Butterscotch, but was outvoted. Buttermilk ran away when we moved out to the farm. My old neighbors claimed that he had made the 8 mile journey back into town and prowled around our old neighborhood for years afterward.

Smokey

Smokey was a stray that I adopted. It was with Smokey that I witnessed birth for the first time. Smokey lived to be a very old cat and eventually all but one of her fangs fell out and her fur became bunny-soft.

Penny, Jake, Tumbleweed, and Lark

Kittens that I adored. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it through more than one winter.

Panther

My all black tom cat. He wasn’t a very big cat, but he was solid. He was a great mouser and one of the few cats my dad allowed indoors.

Little One

The only one of his November litter to survive through the winter. I babied him and Little One became one of the biggest tom cats I ever saw!

Olee

Olee was a gift from an ex-boyfriend. As a kitten she got her leg caught in a lawnmower and had to have it amputated. Twelve years later, three-legged Olee still lives with my mom.

Those were the cats of my youth and while I loved each and every one of them, I was never as attached to any of them as I am to the three that I have now: Mouse, Scooter, and Harley. I celebrate their birthdays in September and Mouse is now twelve years old, Scooter nine, and Harley three.

They have moved with me more times than I can count, they provide me with hours of entertainment, and make me feel better when I am down. They are spoiled rotten and are sometimes a huge pain in the ass, but I would be lost without them.

With the exception of Harley, I thought they were getting old until my neighbor lady informed me that two of her three cats are over 20 years old. It made me happy to think that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, I could very well have them around for another 10 years!