We ordered some longer Velcro strips to Velcro our kitchen cabinet handles together. Wally has a bad habit of opening cabinet doors in the middle of the night and letting them slam shut. That wakes us up pretty quickly and the only way to stop it is to somehow get the door handles tied together. We've had moderate success with a couple of shorter Velcro ties (the kind you use to keep computer or stereo cords together) and we hope the longer ones will really do the job.
Kent emailed me this morning to say those strips were out for delivery and I should put a key in my pocket. Believe me, after Tuesday's fiasco I most certainly did put a key in my pocket. I had no intention of spending another hour and a half out in that entryway. Only what was out for delivery wasn't the strips after all. My Valentine's flowers arrived today *big smile*.
He's so sneaky.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Comfort foods
When I was a little girl, I was sick a lot up until age 9 when my tonsils were removed. Apparently they really were nothing more than giant germ catchers because my health improved dramatically once they were gone. But prior to that, I caught everything there was to catch and as I recall it, never went a month without missing some school.
Our family had the normal go-to foods like ginger ale or applesauce for when we got sick. My mother also fixed soft-boiled eggs on crackers. Basically you boil eggs for about 90 seconds and then crack open the shells and put the eggs over crumbled-up saltines. They were easy to eat because the eggs softened up the crackers so they didn’t hurt my throat. I know they sound vile but they weren’t, and I still make them even now when I’ve been ill.
I’m not ready to eat anything—the gut issues make that very clear—but once I am, I’ll fix some soft-boiled eggs on crackers. Until then, it’s hot water for me.
Edited to add: My mother is right, the cooking time is three and a half to four minutes. I do like them runnier so I go on the shorter side.
Our family had the normal go-to foods like ginger ale or applesauce for when we got sick. My mother also fixed soft-boiled eggs on crackers. Basically you boil eggs for about 90 seconds and then crack open the shells and put the eggs over crumbled-up saltines. They were easy to eat because the eggs softened up the crackers so they didn’t hurt my throat. I know they sound vile but they weren’t, and I still make them even now when I’ve been ill.
I’m not ready to eat anything—the gut issues make that very clear—but once I am, I’ll fix some soft-boiled eggs on crackers. Until then, it’s hot water for me.
Edited to add: My mother is right, the cooking time is three and a half to four minutes. I do like them runnier so I go on the shorter side.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Not the best day ever
Yesterday my sister’s son (who is not even two months old) was hospitalized with RSV. As you can imagine that’s been hard on their family and of course the rest of us to a lesser extent as we watch from afar. I don't have an update yet from my mother, because I'd planned to call her this morning. As you'll see from the rest of my entry, I got a little sidetracked.
This morning I woke up with an intestinal bug. I should mention I’m prone to get them, although I almost never get colds. But I can also force myself to wait to do the stomach/intestinal bug deed until I’m someplace private or more convenient to do my business. That ability stood me in good stead this morning.
After I’d made several necessary trips to the bathroom early this morning, I headed back to bed. Sometimes I can sleep through the worst of a virus like that, and that’s what I planned to do today. I woke up shortly before 10 and thought I would feel better if I were clean, so I took a shower. Just as I was getting out, the doorbell rang. That’s not entirely unusual because UPS and FedEx always ring and usually won’t leave the package. I debated not going upstairs since I was dripping wet, but my overdeveloped sense of duty won out and I threw on a robe, my slippers and headed up the stairs.
Our front door actually opens into a small foyer that has another door leading out to the iron grate door. This detail is important in understanding what happened. I unlocked our front door so I could get back in because I hadn't grabbed my keys on the way up. I opened the exterior door, and it was FedEx with Kent’s Zune—fortunately the package was small enough to fit through the iron grate door outside. But when I tried to open our door, it was locked. This meant our door had actually been unlocked for a couple of days and I’d inadvertently locked it.
Well this was not good. I could feel those puking urges building back up but pretty clearly there was no place to do that. Plus my wet hair was dripping down the collar of my robe. On the positive side, I was stuck in the entryway, not actually outside, and there is a small wall heater there. On the negative side, I didn’t have my keys or my phone and still don’t have Kent’s number memorized. After all, I (almost) always have my phone with me . . . Also on the downside, the carpet in that entryway is beyond filthy with leaves and sand and salt from this winter. But that was the only available place to sit.
Long story not quite so long, I tried getting someone to email Kent by hollering at a couple of random strangers on the street who I am sure were convinced some crazy woman was let out of the loony bin too early. Fortunately I heard an upstairs neighbor come down and she very kindly emailed Kent, who came home as fast as he could. As you can imagine, I immediately burst into tears because I was so thankful I wasn't going to be stuck out there until 5:30 or 6PM. I was also really glad Kent wasn’t traveling.
So the take away for me is two-fold: memorize Kent’s number and get another key made we can hide in that foyer.I’ve been inside for about 45 minutes and took a second shower and I’m still cold. Time to drink more hot water and call my mother.
This morning I woke up with an intestinal bug. I should mention I’m prone to get them, although I almost never get colds. But I can also force myself to wait to do the stomach/intestinal bug deed until I’m someplace private or more convenient to do my business. That ability stood me in good stead this morning.
After I’d made several necessary trips to the bathroom early this morning, I headed back to bed. Sometimes I can sleep through the worst of a virus like that, and that’s what I planned to do today. I woke up shortly before 10 and thought I would feel better if I were clean, so I took a shower. Just as I was getting out, the doorbell rang. That’s not entirely unusual because UPS and FedEx always ring and usually won’t leave the package. I debated not going upstairs since I was dripping wet, but my overdeveloped sense of duty won out and I threw on a robe, my slippers and headed up the stairs.
Our front door actually opens into a small foyer that has another door leading out to the iron grate door. This detail is important in understanding what happened. I unlocked our front door so I could get back in because I hadn't grabbed my keys on the way up. I opened the exterior door, and it was FedEx with Kent’s Zune—fortunately the package was small enough to fit through the iron grate door outside. But when I tried to open our door, it was locked. This meant our door had actually been unlocked for a couple of days and I’d inadvertently locked it.
Well this was not good. I could feel those puking urges building back up but pretty clearly there was no place to do that. Plus my wet hair was dripping down the collar of my robe. On the positive side, I was stuck in the entryway, not actually outside, and there is a small wall heater there. On the negative side, I didn’t have my keys or my phone and still don’t have Kent’s number memorized. After all, I (almost) always have my phone with me . . . Also on the downside, the carpet in that entryway is beyond filthy with leaves and sand and salt from this winter. But that was the only available place to sit.
Long story not quite so long, I tried getting someone to email Kent by hollering at a couple of random strangers on the street who I am sure were convinced some crazy woman was let out of the loony bin too early. Fortunately I heard an upstairs neighbor come down and she very kindly emailed Kent, who came home as fast as he could. As you can imagine, I immediately burst into tears because I was so thankful I wasn't going to be stuck out there until 5:30 or 6PM. I was also really glad Kent wasn’t traveling.
So the take away for me is two-fold: memorize Kent’s number and get another key made we can hide in that foyer.I’ve been inside for about 45 minutes and took a second shower and I’m still cold. Time to drink more hot water and call my mother.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Kitty nose!
This morning Kent took pictures of some flowers he gave me for my birthday. He had to shut Wally and Eddie in our bedroom because they wouldn't stay out of the frame. Well Chloe ended up poking her nose in where it didn't belong. But it's a cute picture and also a rare one of her where she's not curled up in a ball.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Poor Wally
Eddie can and does move Wally off the top perch. Partly he just hassles and torments Wally until Wally gives up but he also uses his far greater mass to shove Wally out of the way. In the picture to the left, you can see Wally's head poking down through the entry hole to the top perch. 
The reason he's doing so is in this next picture. Look carefully and you can see part of Wally's ear and you'll realize that Eddie is sitting on Wally. Yes, Eddie was successful. But then not five minutes later, he hopped off the perch. It's almost as if he were just making sure he could get the perch when he wanted it.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Sticker shock, more list items and a form of detente
First the list items.
17. Wally likes raw carrots. If I leave my little bowl out with my baby carrots, he will get at least one out and try to eat it. He hasn't succeeded yet but he keeps trying.
18. When he's really excited, he drools a little. He did so yesterday when he really really wanted to be petted.
Now for the sticker shock. Everything is more expensive in Boston and that includes groceries, clothes, utilities--everything. Yesterday we met with an accountant to see if our situation warranted his services. You may remember I have a complicated situation left over from my first marriage and so we absolutely must have a solid professional prepare our taxes. Our accountant in Kansas City was both a JD and a CPA, plus he'd worked for the IRS so he was highly qualified for us. His fee was in the low three figures. Yesterday our estimate involved commas . . . and not on the bottom end of commas either. Yeouch. He did offer the name of someone else who is a bit more reasonably priced. I sure wish we could just do this stuff ourselves but that happy day is still in the future.
Finally the detente I mentioned. This is the first time I've seen both boys on the top perch and not fighting. Once Eddie is enthroned, Wally can't budge him, it's just an issue of mass. So I was glad to see them both there even if only for a few minutes.
17. Wally likes raw carrots. If I leave my little bowl out with my baby carrots, he will get at least one out and try to eat it. He hasn't succeeded yet but he keeps trying.
18. When he's really excited, he drools a little. He did so yesterday when he really really wanted to be petted.
Now for the sticker shock. Everything is more expensive in Boston and that includes groceries, clothes, utilities--everything. Yesterday we met with an accountant to see if our situation warranted his services. You may remember I have a complicated situation left over from my first marriage and so we absolutely must have a solid professional prepare our taxes. Our accountant in Kansas City was both a JD and a CPA, plus he'd worked for the IRS so he was highly qualified for us. His fee was in the low three figures. Yesterday our estimate involved commas . . . and not on the bottom end of commas either. Yeouch. He did offer the name of someone else who is a bit more reasonably priced. I sure wish we could just do this stuff ourselves but that happy day is still in the future.
Finally the detente I mentioned. This is the first time I've seen both boys on the top perch and not fighting. Once Eddie is enthroned, Wally can't budge him, it's just an issue of mass. So I was glad to see them both there even if only for a few minutes.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
A list about Wally
Yesterday I got the idea to list Wally's freaky behaviors but I thought maybe I couldn't come up with enough for the list to be worthwhile. Silly me. So here are the things Wally does that may qualify him as a freaky smart cat, or perhaps just strange.
1. He closes the bathroom door, so he can
2. Try to flush the toilet. He pushes the handle down just far enough to drain some water from the tank so that the toilet runs.
3. He exterminates any loose toilet paper rolls so that they look like exploded chickens.
4. He does the same to rolls of paper towels.
5. He does the same to boxes of Kleenex.
6. He eats plastic grocery sacks. They are empty, he is really truly eating the sacks.
7. He also eats dryer sheets, and has so far barfed them up so they haven’t caused an intestinal blockage yet. I do throw them away, but he also
8. Gets into any trash can he can reach. So now our bathroom trash is under the sink and we’ve given up on the office trash can. It’s permanently knocked over during the day and we put it in the closet under the stairs at night.
9. He opens kitchen cabinets. Floor level, above the counter, above the fridge, he is not particular about the location. We now tie them shut with seam binding, every night.
10. He teases out my clean running socks from my drawer and then behaves as though they are mice that must be killed. He prefers the dirty ones but I got much better about immediately putting them in the hamper.
11. He found the box of parts for our closet system and continues to bring us the plastic end covers, even though we've moved or otherwise made the box inaccessible several times.
12. He loves the small, soft cloth that came with my HP laptop for cleaning the screen. Every day he figures out how to get it out of my desk and then will leave it randomly around the house. Usually on top of us while we sleep.
13. He would live in the dryer if we let him.
14. Apparently once our feet are under the bed covers, they are dangerous and must be killed. Every night. Sometimes multiple times in the same night.
15. While sleeping, if one of us happens to scratch a place on our body he will pounce that spot. Let me assure you that waking up like that is not fun, especially if it’s your belly.
16. Oddly when people come over, he gets skittish and usually runs away. OK that’s not a freaky smart thing but it’s so at odds with how he is otherwise that I had to mention it.
1. He closes the bathroom door, so he can
2. Try to flush the toilet. He pushes the handle down just far enough to drain some water from the tank so that the toilet runs.
3. He exterminates any loose toilet paper rolls so that they look like exploded chickens.
4. He does the same to rolls of paper towels.
5. He does the same to boxes of Kleenex.
6. He eats plastic grocery sacks. They are empty, he is really truly eating the sacks.
7. He also eats dryer sheets, and has so far barfed them up so they haven’t caused an intestinal blockage yet. I do throw them away, but he also
8. Gets into any trash can he can reach. So now our bathroom trash is under the sink and we’ve given up on the office trash can. It’s permanently knocked over during the day and we put it in the closet under the stairs at night.
9. He opens kitchen cabinets. Floor level, above the counter, above the fridge, he is not particular about the location. We now tie them shut with seam binding, every night.
10. He teases out my clean running socks from my drawer and then behaves as though they are mice that must be killed. He prefers the dirty ones but I got much better about immediately putting them in the hamper.
11. He found the box of parts for our closet system and continues to bring us the plastic end covers, even though we've moved or otherwise made the box inaccessible several times.
12. He loves the small, soft cloth that came with my HP laptop for cleaning the screen. Every day he figures out how to get it out of my desk and then will leave it randomly around the house. Usually on top of us while we sleep.
13. He would live in the dryer if we let him.
14. Apparently once our feet are under the bed covers, they are dangerous and must be killed. Every night. Sometimes multiple times in the same night.
15. While sleeping, if one of us happens to scratch a place on our body he will pounce that spot. Let me assure you that waking up like that is not fun, especially if it’s your belly.
16. Oddly when people come over, he gets skittish and usually runs away. OK that’s not a freaky smart thing but it’s so at odds with how he is otherwise that I had to mention it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)