catiecake.

Yeah. Sure. Of course. Yes.

Dear Kittens,

The new windows are so wonderful. As of right this second, all of the windows have been installed and now it's just about doing the finishing stuff. I am very hopeful these dudes will be done by Thursday. They are very nice and do a good job of cleaning up after themselves and what not, but it's annoying having people work in your house. While it is very nice to have improvements made to your home, the process is just. How do you say in your country? FUCKING AWFUL.

A week or so ago I was sitting in the living room and heard some kids scream and then start crying. The crying did not stop, so I went outside to investigate. A mom and her son and daughter were riding bikes and the kids crashed into each other. There weren't serious injuries, but they were both scraped up pretty good. I offered some first aid help and interestingly, the kids accepted before the mom did. I ran inside to make some compresses out of damp paper towels and then got our paltry first aid kid out. The kids got patched up and went on their way and were no worse for the wear. The mom was very grateful and I was happy to help. Since then I have shored up our first aid supplies and I am totally prepared for almost anything. I totally admit that as soon as I hear what I perceive as being someone is distress I grab the plastic bin that houses our first aid equipment and run outside. It's very disappointing how few people are hurt around here.

Speaking of the desire to do sidewalk surgery, I've decided I need to amass some minor surgery equipment. Like tweezers, needles and maybe even a little, tiny scapel. I would also like a magnifying glass and maybe a head lamp? I already have a blood sugar monitor and a blood pressure deal- so I can pretty much diagnose (and treat) just about anything. Also, I have seen a vasectomy and a knee replacement surgey on TV, so add that to my resume, pls.

The wind kicked up today and my eyes are really bothering me. I don't have to deal with much in the way of seasonal allergies, but once in a while the right thing will be in bloom and then wind starts up and my eyes are weepy and hurty.

Tomorrow is supposed to be super duper hot around here and because my windows are going to be worked on, I will not be able to have the air conditioining on. I wonder if the window dudes will care if I run through the sprinklers?

I am going to rest my weary, weary eyes.

Love,
Catie

Quick like a bunny

Dear Kittens,

Very quickly.

1. I have an awesome relationship with my mom and I am perfectly aware at how unusual that is and how lucky I am to have her. I do not take that relationship for granted at all mostly because of the people I know (in real life and online) who have lost their mothers. I see the holes that loss leaves in these women's lives and I know to cherish my mom.

2. I am on a horrible sleep schedule, so I'm looking to fix that. In bed by 10 pm. No matter what.

3. I'm reading a book by my favorite author and I'm having trouble getting into it and that's sort of bumming me out.

4. This new medicine I'm taking is leaving me feeling a bit wonky and wobbly at times and that's frustrating, but hopefully it won't last very long.

5. I did some minor purging today and it set me free in the most unexpected way. It was a bunch of card stock that I didn't want to use anymore. I finally gave it to my mom to use in her classroom or donate to other teachers and as soon as that paper was out of the house, I felt a tremendous weight lift from me.

6. For a while there eggs tasted really bad to me. I'm not sure what happened, but when I ate eggs they tastes sulfury. That's gone away now and I am so happy because I love eggs so much. For the past two nights I've had fried eggs for dinner.

7. Bed time!

Love,
Catie

Tenth

Dear Kittens,

I finally called the guy who traps troublesome animals in hopes we could catch that bastard cat who has been attacking my cats and spraying around my house. I am 93% sure this cat was abandoned by the previous tenants of this house and has gone feral. If cats do such a thing. What I know for sure is that he wants nothing to do with people, but he loves to beat up my cats. After spending over $800 for the repair of Petey's tail- I've had enough. Anyway, so the guy comes out here and sets up two traps. He shows me how to release the traps just in case one of my cats gets caught in it. Yesterday I saw that one of the traps had something in it, so I went to look inside and it was Roo! Our almost 18 year old skinny cat who barely ever goes outside got trapped! When I release the door of the trap Roo saunters out like he just finished up at the spa.

Last night I heard the trap by our front door close and felt this incredible sense of relief. Andy and I go outside to check and it's one of our neighbor's kittens. He's got a collar on. When I release the tral this time, that cat shot out of there so fast, I seriouly didn't even get a look at him. The bastard cat did make an appearance and he made one the traps close up, but he got out before it got him. It's safe to say that I am not feeling very hopeful.

A List:

1. My parents are coming over tomorrow to celebrate Mother's Day. I'm not ready, but that's okay.

2. We went to Target tonight. We always spend way more money when we go together. We bought three cute, stripey cat beds, a new cat scratching post and a vintage looking fan for the guestroom. It's not fan weather yet, but if one waits until one actually NEEDS a fan, one will be shit out of luck.

3. I'm taking some new medication and it makes me very tired. This is supposed to go away within a week, if it doesn't we'll try something else, but for right now this tiredness is rough.

4. The installation for the the new windows starts on Tuesday. We are so excited about the windows. We're not doing anything fancy, it will just be nice to have windows that actually work properly and block out the wind when they're closed.

5. For a person who does not have an out of the house job, I have more lunch paraphenalia than anyone I know. 2 bento boxes, 2 thermoses, 1 Sigg water bottle, endless lunch ideas and a love for eating with plastic utensils. This summer I am determined to do more picnics. Have I already mentioned that? I want to take myself on picnics, I want to have picnics with Andy, I want to picnic it up this summer. If you want to have a picnic you should totally call me because I will hook you up.

6. This evening I was IMing with a friend and I horribly misspelled a word. All the letters were there, but their order was all wrong. So then I decided that we should have all our IMs be word scramble. My friend vetoed this idea claiming it would be exhausting. I pointed out it would be good for our brains, but she was not having it. Some people are not in love with fun. What can you do?

7. As I said before, I am tired. I want to get up early to finish getting ready for my mom, so I am going to bed right this second.

Love,
Catie 

Beatific Roo

Dear Kittens,

First I want to tell you about Roo. Then I will tell you about my day.

I usually sit in one particular chair in the living room because it is facing away from the window. I love looking out the window, but the glare is sometimes very intense, so I choose to sit facing the still not finished built in. To my right is a small table I mean to silver leaf and just past the table to a tall stereo speaker. The truth is, these speakers are entirely wrong for this space. They are too big and because of how the room is set up, you cannot properly enjoy them. These are Andy's dream speakers and while I love them too, they really do sound amazing when set up properly, we need different ones for this space. RIght now the speakers are most often used as cat beds. Roo is the biggest fan of sleeping on the speakers. Most of the time he is curled up cutely snoozing away, but sometimes I will glance over and he will be sitting up, with his front legs arranged in an elegant manner. And he will be staring at me with a look that can only be described as beatific. I like to pretend that in those times Roo is telling me, in his kitty way, that he loves me despite my faults. I am not the best human companion to him because I am too grabby. Roo needs his person to be cool, to not try so hard, to not be so desperate. I feel badly that in the almost 18 years of our relationship, I still cannot stop being grabby. I see Old Roo, impossibly thin, looking so adorable in some sleeping position and I cannot help myself. At the very least I say something, but more often  than not I touch him. Roo is not into being touched, unless it's by Andy and in a specific, previously agreed upon, manner. Roo's only real sign of age is his thinness. Otherwise, he looks like he's always looked. Stripey and gorgeous with velvety fur and a salmon colored nose out lined in black.

Today started with a screaming cat wake up at 5:35 am. Seamus and Petey tangled with that asshole cat again. I sorta hoped that maybe he was gone because I hadn't seen him in several days. Of course that was ridiculous. I finally called the people who trap troublesome animals. The guy told me he would be here in an hour. Excellent. I promptly forgot all about that and went to run some errands and get some lunch with Andy. When I remember about the trapper guy, it's almost an hour after he came by. Thankfully, he was very forgiving and hopefully we can hook up tomorrow. That cat needs to go bye bye.

At some point Andy and I went to go see Iron Man. We both enjoyed it. Then we came home and I made an awesome chicken salad to take for lunch tomorrow when I go to my mom's classroom.

I poached half of a chicken breast, shredded it and then cut the shredded chicken in half so none of the pieces are too big.

I added half a cup of halved grapes (I used muscat, but any seedless variety will be good, I think)

half a cup of finely chopped celery hearts, including leaves

3 artichoke hearts chopped (I used canned, packed in water)

a handful of candied pecans broken (walnuts would be good, too)

1 generous tablespoon of seedy dijon mustard

2 generous tablespoons of mayonnaise

And 2 teaspoons of white wine vinegar (this totally makes the salad)

Mix everything together gently and then serve in lettuce cups or on delicious bread.

And now I go to the bed to sleeps.

Love,
Catie 

hand relief

Dear Kittens,

1. I love spring. In spring one day it's hot the next day it's cool. My least favorite thing about spring is how people are constantly commenting on how weird the weather is. Yes. It's sort of like Christmas. it happens like this Every Single Year. Sometimes we get rainy springs, sometimes it's hot and then chilly, sometimes it's just chilly, sometimes it's just hot. In fact! Yesterday in the paper there was a short, but extremely annoying article about how spring weather is weird! An article! In the paper! I admit it made me weep a tiny bit.

2. Another thing that I've been findingly seriously irritating is how people confirm or deny the intensity of global warming based on their current weather. Um. You know. Probably where you live isn't such a great example of global climate change and I'm basing that on the fact that where I live is not a great example of global climate change.

3. A newish thing I am doing is carrying around a small bag (within my purse) with a few very basic art supplies. I've got a tiny notebook, a pen, tiny scissors and a glue stick. I admit that I have not used these things yet, but I LOVE carrying them around and plan to use them pronto.The best part about this bag and supplies is that the bag, the notebook and pen were given to me by a dear, dear friend. She just sent them for no reason and it was something I was already planning on doing. I love that sort of a thing.

4. Here is a short list of TV shows that I'm watching, but should not: Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Men In Trees and probably more that I am just not remembering. I do not know why I stick with shows once they get irritating. It's the same thing with blogs that get irritating. I keep thinking that either the show or blog will suddenly stop being irritating OR I keep coming around because I sort of enjoy being irritated.

5. I am not embarrassed to tell you that yesterday while I ate lunch I watched an episode of Magnum PI. I used to love that show, but I did not remember that Tom Selleck wore such teensy tiny shorts.I mean really teensy tiny. Like they were practically manties (derived from the word "panties", but only for men from Eva.)

6. So my new rule with all this purging and what not is that I have certain amount of space available for my stuff and if my stuff starts to overflow that space, something's gotta go. No more creative storage solutions. As it turns out, this house has PLENTY of storage space. The first thing on my list is to prune down my shoe collection-again. Poor feets. I mean, whose close has space for uncomfortable shoes that you never wear? Or comfortable shoes that you never wear? 

7. I've tried several Croc shoes, but the only ones that really work for me are the flip flops. The rest are just too...Croc-y? The flip flops are perfect, though. Comfortable enough that I can wear them all day and not feel the slightest bit of discomfort.

8. Tomorrow we have the trenchless water main, concrete and paver people coming to give us estimates for doing what they do for us. Part of our fence will be replaced this weekend. And we need to choose paint colors.

Love,
Catie

No Title.

Dear Kittens,

Here is some stuff I want you to know:

1. When I buy brown or black shoes is think of it as a tiny death and or failure. Black and or brown shoes rarely feel inspired. They mostly feel boring. And even though there are plenty of times I wish I had a pair of black Mary Janes, I never by them because FUCK THAT. I will wear my red Mary Janes or I will stay home.

2. Even though it feels really good to get rid of stuff we no longer need or use it's still surprisingly difficult. This weekend of purging was exhausting. An Internet friend recently took 2 weeks in between jobs to completely reorganize his life. Major purging and what not. And I realized that's really the only way to do it. Because once you get on a roll it's much easier to make the hard choices. When you do it little by little it's horrible. Because even though I know I will NEVER use those hot rollers again, part of me wants to fish them out of the donate box and stuff them into the linen closet just in case.

3. Tonight we went out to eat (Andy's BBQ). I am actually not the biggest fan of BBQ even though I can usually find something to eat (pulled pork sandwiches). Tonight I opted for a steak and OH MY GOD. It was so good. The skin on the baked potato was actually crispy, which is something you don't usually find at a restaurant. Plus, it was inexpensive AND I brought half of the steak and the potato home. Hello, Tuesday lunch.

4. I am rereading a book I read many years ago- Victory Over Japan by Ellen Gilchrist and I've forgotten many of the stories, which is really sort of wonderful because they feel brand newish/deja vu-ish and I'm enjoying it immensely.

5. I have recently bought a new bathing suit and it is not black or brown like my two previous suits. It is PINK. HOT HOT PINK. HOT. And also PINK. And I cannot wait to use it.

Tired.

Love,
Catie

You have a friend in cheeses

Dear Kittens,

Late last night one of Andy's friends dropped off a simple little trailer that we've used in the past to cart things to the dump. First thing this morning the cats went outside took one look at the trailer and jumped right inside. They've been doing this to all the various contractors that have been coming by, too. If you have a truck and the back is open, my cats will get inside of it. I really hope they don't pee in your truck.

This weekend is the weekend of Super Productivity Special Weekend Lucky. It's where we clean out our garage. We cleaned out our garage last year, but we were silly, silly little pack rats about the whole thing. We optimistically held on to things we (and be "we" I mean "me") were certain we would use again. Like HOT ROLLERS and other bullshitty things that clearly will never in a million years be used again. Well, this time it all goes. Things will be freecycled at the curb, things will be taken to the dump, things will be donated.

I know from walking around my neighborhood that more people have messy garages than neat garages. It's a relief to know this, but I would much rather be one of those neat garage people. Mostly because wouldn't it be great to say, "Andy Anchev, would you please get me the Easter decorations?" And then Andy Anchev would say, "Of course. I know exactly where they are." The goal for today is to not have a beautifully organized garage, but rather to be able to walk in the garage without a bunch of crap falling on you. It's bold, but we're brave.

In other news, a week ago we met with out landscape designers and they are awesome! They came up with a great plan that we both love. It's so exciting to think about our yards being beautiful! We're not doing anything terribly unusual except we are cutting down the big maple tree in our front yard. We both have mixed feelings about losing this tree, but the truth of the matter is, it is simply too large for our yard and it dominates the house. The thing I will miss most about this tree is watching the squirrels. The other not very common thing is we're getting rid of the grass in the back yard. I am not a very big fan of grass. It takes a lot of resources very little payback. We will still have some grass in the front, but in the back we are grass free! Hoorah!

It is time to Party, Kittens.

Good Luck.

Love,
Catie

It was Friday

Dear Kittens,

To be specific, it was DONUT Friday.

1. I had a really lovely day today, which was nice for a change.

2. Petey has had his going outside privelege revoked because of fighting. He got into a fight this morning. He can just go ahead and spend the next week in the house until his sutures come out. Littly fluffy, fighty bastard.

3. This weekend is going to be part fun and part work. I'm looking forward to both because the fun is going to be really fun and the work is really necessary (cleaning out the garage)

Love,
Catie

Goo by, Thursday

Dear Kittens,

My GOD! This week has sucked. I only thought that last week sucked. I hope next week does not suck even more because that would REALLY suck! In three items, here is what you need to know:

1. I love my haircut. It's not that different from my usual cut, but it's different enough that it feels fresh and maybe even a little bit sassy and that makes me happy. What I really love is how nice and chocolatey brown my hair is. Love. Love. Love.

2. This weekend we're meeting with our landscape designer. I'm looking forward to seeing the plans she made for us. Also on the table for discussion this weekend is house colors. This is very vexing. I've never stressed too much over wall paint because you can repaint it and it's not THAT big of a deal. Repainting a house is a much bigger deal. So. I want three different colors. One for the body of the house, one for the trim and one for the windows. I have some vague ideas about what I want, but nothing solid. Also the colors I REALLY want are totally out of the question. I want out house to stand out, but in a good way.

3. Even though Petey still has sutures in the back of his neck, I've been letting him outside so he can run his morning errands. I make him spend most of the day in the house, but he was going crazy with not being allowed to go outside at all. Seamus has been sticking close to home since Petey's been grounded, too. It's depressing for everyone. Just one more week and the sutures come out!   

Love, Catie

shortbread

Dear Kittens,

1. I went a whole year without riding my bike! This weekend I want to get my bike cleaned up and whatever else should be done and start riding it again. My ultimate goal is to ride my bike for all my nearby errands. Honestly, that pretty much means Starbucks, but whatever.

2. I went to Target today to fill Roo's perscription for heart medicine and they made me fill out paperwork for him like he's a person. This annoyed me. The pharmacy girl told me it would take 20 minutes. I returned after 25 minutes and was totally ignored by both pharmacy people. This also annoyed me. It's almost always like that and so I have decided I will start hollering. I understand they are busy and working, but please- acknowledge your customers! So next time I will holler, HELLO! As if I am on a long distance call and it's 1954. The final thing is that the girl who I spoke to earlier then made me tell her my last name and Roo's name. She asked me my name like we had never seen each other before. And of course. OF COURSE, she was holding the bag with Roo's name on it. GAH!

3. Oh boy. It's way past my bedtime. Why am I still up? I'm off to brush my teeth, wash my face, apply my secret potions and then go to sleep! HOORAH.

Love,
Catie