Attic stuff

Huh. Well, staff person went up into the attic and brought down all those boxes and bins that come down once a year. She put up this tree-thingy in the living room (after she moved all the furniture around) and put lights and little dangly things on it. That reminded me that last year I knocked a bunch of them off, so, yeah, guess it's that time of the year again. The house looks...different, ya know? It's nice though. I like all the lights and stuff scattered around. She even put this long, stringy green thing with lights in the bathroom. She called it a garland. Whatever.


Here's the dining room table. I mean, doesn't this look like I can totally destroy it? Yeah, I thought so too. I'm trying to be good though. We'll see how long it lasts...

She hasn't been around much lately. She gets up early and leaves early and doesn't come back until the sun's almost down. Don't tell her, but I miss her. I don't get to go outside near enough now. I've been sleeping on her bed the last few nights, 'cos it just seems like I don't get to be around her much anymore. I know it's because she finally got a job, but, well, I miss her. She did tell me she can now afford to keep me in kibble, so I guess it's a good thing. Sigh.

No other news from here. I'm contemplating whether to bring the tree-thingy down (I've done it before - check with her!). She's got it blocked in pretty well this year, so I may leave it alone. I guess it depends on whether or not I get the perfect opportunity 'cos I have to get in it and up it before it'll tumble over.

Happy decorating!

A job....sorta

Well, friends and commiserators, I have a job! Well, sorta. I began a temporary job last Monday with the State Attorney General's office. I'm working through a temp agency, so am making next to nothing, but next to nothing is so much better than nothing! As last week was a holiday week, I only worked 2-1/2 days, so don't have a really clear picture of the job yet. I spent my first day with training videos and quizzes. The next day and the half day on Wednesday was spent putting a large mailing together, so was pretty comfortable with that. I guess as I get more involved I'll be learning more. So far I like the people who work there and it's a long term temp job with an extension option; there's a small chance it will become a permanent position as well. Although I realize how long I've been out of the work force, it still came as a bit of surprise that every day when I got home I was totally exhausted. It's going to take some time to get back in the swing of things apparently. I know I don't sound overly excited, but this is a temporary position, with an agency that's messed me over before. I AM excited, and hope it works out really well. Just keep your fingers crossed!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm still eating turkey leftovers, which is okay with me. It was a nice, peaceful day and I hope everyone else enjoyed the same.

I'll keep you updated on the new job... ☺

Busted!

Well, I told you about my few little excursions over the fence. Staff person has decided, and tells me quite frequently now, that I cannot be trusted. So, no matter how much I whine, no matter how utterly pathetic I am when I pick up my little stuffed mouse and wander around the house with it in my mouth making these eerie, freakishly loud noises...she ignores me. Especially in the mornings. I finally give up and go take a nap somewhere, then sometime mid-morning she gets a book and calls me and we go out and I've got, like, 30 minutes of outside time. PLUS, if I go hide somewhere she can't see me (like in the bushes so I could catch that thing with feathers! More later on that!) she gets up and walks around until she finds me. Very frustrating, especially when I'm in huntress mode.

Now, about the thing with feathers! I've been trying to catch one for years but they're just so darn fast; not to mention they fly and I don't. So, I was hiding in this bush over on the side of the yard, and staff person went inside to refill her water glass. A buncha those feathered things landed on this thing hanging up she keeps seed in, and when staff person walked back out, they all flew off - including one who flew straight INTO THE BUSH I WAS HIDING IN! I jumped up and caught that sucker! Staff person came running over and tried to grab me, but I ran up on the deck and was 'this close' to disappearing under a chair. She caught me though, and hauled me out by my back legs. I was so surprised she caught me, I dropped the dang thing and it flew away. I was crushed. My first feathered thing catch and she wouldn't even let me keep it!

Oh, last Saturday my staff person got up and unwrapped some things so I could have the cool crinkly paper. One thing was this...I don't know...THING...that she eventually took out in the back yard to dig up that viney stuff she calls 'plaguey Asian Jasmine'. Anyway, it had all this colored paper wrapped around it and she untaped each end and pulled out what was inside and put the paper on the floor - so now it's like this long paper tube-y thing. You know us cats and our curiosity; I crawled inside of it. I heard staff person and the guy who stays in the front bedroom just laughing hysterically...then she shows me this. Probably not my best angle, but hey - it IS a picture of me!

Halloween excitement

Halloween has come and gone, the weather has finally turned 'Fall'-y and now the holidays are looming. The most exciting thing to happen Halloween night was a high speed chase with a truck and the police that sped by my front door, not once, but THREE times. The first pass was the truck and one police car - I was asleep, but the truck was loud and the tires were squealing as he turned the two corners by my house. It woke me up and my first thought was, "That idiot's going to lose control of his truck and hit my house!" As my bedroom is right next to the street, I jumped up and ran. He kept his truck upright , so then I went to look out the window and saw the first police car go zooming by with lights and sirens. Several of the neighbors wound up out in their yards ("Everybody move back - here he comes again!"). Next he came flying by for a second pass with two police cars behind him; the final pass there were 6. They finally got him stopped about 10 blocks away but by then there were 11 police cars, a road with spikes in it, and both a damaged truck and police car. Turns out the guy had some outstanding warrants, so wonder what kind of trouble he's in now, hmmm?? Didn't the possibility he was making it worse for himself even occur to him? Then again, I'm guessing idiots don't really contemplate things like that.

It's chilly and wet in my part of the state, and soup has been the best thing to consume the last two days. That and hot tea. It is Texas, so I'm sure by next week we'll be back in the 80's.

No other news. The insurance guy I think has finally faded out of the picture. My last email note to him was answered, but nothing mentioned about the position. Looks like I'll be sending cards only for Christmas again this year. Still very grateful to have managed to retain my house and put kibble in the cat bowl...I know things could be much worse.

Fall-ing

It's so nice the weather has cooled off. I love going outside this time of year, (well anytime of year, really) but my staff person is a little perturbed at me because I keep hearing interesting things on the other side of the fence and make apparently the wrong decision to check them out. Not only that, I've discovered the neighbors garage door doesn't shut all the way, so I've been investigating all the different things in there. Take this morning - staff person let me out, and although usually she comes outside and sits while I patrol the yard, this morning was a bit damp and chilly for her. She stood inside the screen door, but then that black thing made that ringy noise (you know - the one she picks up part of it and talks into all the time) and she went off to see what it wanted. I heard her talking to it and just at that moment was overcome by this need to get on the other side of the fence. Staff person came back out looking for me a few minutes later, but I guess she's on to me. She came out the gate and went immediately to the neighbor's garage, like o-n-e second before I was going to slip in and check things out again. She yelled at me, kinda loudly too, so I decided maybe it really wasn't worth checking their garage out. I scooted back over to the gate and came back in the yard. I guess I blew it though, she snatched me up and brought me back in the house saying, "Back inside for you, Missy." Sigh. Now she won't let me back out. Yep. I blew it.

For the few brief minutes I was outside (gahhh!) it smelled like rain. Staff person says we need it, but I don't like it when it rains. Guess that means I'll be doing a lot of napping today. Oh, speaking of, staff person took this picture of me last week. She had just gotten some clothes out of the thing that makes wet stuff dry, and put them on her bed. She disappeared for a second, and well, heck, they looked like a good place to me! I jumped up and decided to take a nap on those warm clothes that smelled really good. Of course, as soon as she came back she took this picture and then booted me off the bed. Aren't you supposed to SLEEP on a bed? That's all I was trying to do. She's so picky sometimes...sheesh.

Nuttin' Honey

So, all those great leads and interviews and nothing's happened. I'm still in touch with the one person who almost offered me a job, and I think at some point it may turn into something; meanwhile I could really use a positive response from someone/anyone.

Anyway, it's Friday, so enough of that.

I'm thinking more and more of ways to try and get our book published. Some folks know of the book a friend and I wrote; some of you have even had a chance to read parts of it. (Sorry Marian - it's coming, I promise!) I've had positive feedback and then some negative feedback as well, so we're reassessing things. My nephew thinks we should try and publish it online - he says it's good. Someone else thinks we need to turn it into a 30 minute tv show. Everyone agrees it's funny - it just needs editing. I'd just like to have someone I don't know at all (oh, you know, like an editor...) edit it and then we could maybe publish it as a book and see where it goes from there. (J.K. Rowling - we want to be just like her!) I think it's pretty funny - it makes me laugh out loud when I go back and read it. I'm sure all writers think their stuff is the great American novel, but I do think it's good. My cousin says it's hard to be creative and easy to be a critic. (I don't take criticism very well, apparently.) My co-author and I think a lot alike except she's a little more a charter member of the grammar police than I am. I just read about 50 pages of an unbelievably bad book and tossed it in the trash. I can't believe it even got published - and our stuff is so much better! And the thing is, we have so much more to write, we're writing new sections for the next book - we can't even seem get the first one edited and have almost a hundred pages written on the next one. Go figure.

Patooie!

So, I guess you read how my staff person didn't give me any food after midnight one night, or water, and then next morning cruelly tossed me into that @^#$ carrier and carted me off to the vet? I gave her my most piteous cries on the way there, but she just gripped the steering wheel real hard and kept driving. Once there, instead of going in the little exam room with me, she...she.... abandoned me! Someone took me back where they keep the riff-raff of petdom and took me out of the carrier and put me in a CAGE! I was so shocked I didn't even think to fight back! After a couple of hours they caught me unawares and stuck me with something and then I got reallllllly sleepy and decided to take a nap.

When I woke up I had a bandage on my leg, and discovered they'd even shaved some of my fur off underneath the bandage! And my teeth hurt. I don't know what's up with that, but they did feel funny-like - kinda sore, ya know? I was still in the cage and feeling groggy, but nothing like the last time I was here. After another couple of hours (and, okay, a couple more naps), they took me out of the cage and opened the door to my carrier. I ran in there lickity-split and the door shut and I finally felt safe. A few minutes later I was picked up and carried through a door back out to the front and I heard MOM! Er, I mean, my STAFF PERSON! I could just barely see her through the air holes, but was sure glad to see her, 'cos I sorta knew that meant I was going home. The vet came out and talked with her a while - telling her he only used a half dose of something and that I did just fine. He also said I probably wouldn't want anything to eat that night. Was he nutz? I hadn't eaten in 16 hours - I was starving! I meowed at her to 'get me the heck outta here', and finally we left.

At home when she let me out of the carrier, I went straight for the food bowl; now filled with food. My mouth felt a little funny, but I was too hungry to care and chowed down about half the bowl. Won't want to eat! HA! Then it was time for a nap. I stayed a little miffed at her for a couple of days, but then relented. She does love me; I'm pretty sure of that. And for a staff person, she's not all that bad. If I could just get her to NOT take me to see that vet guy I'd be a happy kitty.