The One-armed Paperhanger

At times this is the way it feels at work when I’m overwhelmed with people waiting for me to serve up food samples.  There never seems to be a piece of equipment that makes enough at one time.  This is something most people don’t understand, but nevertheless have to tolerate because things have to be cooked, or prepared, before we put them on our trays.

Friday was one of those days at work when all of us had a never-ending line.  There were so many shoppers you would think it was a few days before Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Many of us thought we “had the worst demo” in the world that day.  I can laugh about this now because it always seems that way when you’re working at a frantic pace, hence the name of this post “the one-armed paperhanger.”  Haven’t you ever had one of those days when you wished you had two or three more hands?

Once I set food out, it was gone in a minute causing the crowd to get bigger as they waited for the next tray of samples.  I thought to myself that none of these people will have cook dinner tonight because we had tons of demos that day and the shoppers made the rounds.

Part of the delay was probably my fault for not being better prepared for the demo I was serving, so on my break I went back and got some other implements to make things easier.  Another bad thing was being right outside the dairy door, “my favorite place in the whole store.”  It’s so damn cold there, even in the summer.  I was serving toasted English muffins with imported butter.  I was dressed for serving English muffins with chicken salad, which would have put me in a different area of the store.  We had done that demo several times in a row so I figured it was my turn.  Usually we rotate through the demos.

I never caught up until 3:30 in the afternoon and that was for a short while.  To make matters worse, the district manager decided to pay us a visit.  We’d been expecting him, but it would have to be one of the busiest days when none of us could keep our trays full of samples due to cooking issues.

Oh well, we all made it through like we always do and breathed a sigh of relief at the washout station at the end of the day.  Despite it all, I really love my job.  

Spring and other things

This is probably my favorite season, next to summer, for a couple of reasons.  Although the spring equinox was a couple of days ago, you wouldn’t know it here yet. We’ve had blustery weather with blowing cold wind and sand.  This isn’t the best thing around to experience but it’s still pleasant most of the time.  The new leaves on the trees and the early blooms are proof the new season is upon us. 

 Spring in Central Park NY from Pinterest

 

And I know when spring arrives that winter is a long way off.  That alone gives me reason to cheer.  I can see things growing overnight.  The new leaves are a soft, tender green.  Later they become darker and more leathery.

Life goes on with work and everything else that goes with daily life, so I haven’t had the chance to really relish in it yet.  But you can be sure I will.  We have had some magnificent sunsets lately.  There’s really nothing like sunset in the desert.

 Spring in Central Park NY from Pinterest

 

Today I was demonstrating laundry detergent at work so it was nice not to have to don the hairnet and gloves.  And I could give out samples to people who were so appreciative that you’d think I just gave them a winning lottery ticket.  It was a fun day even though not near as busy as handing out food, which I’ll be doing tomorrow.  I still made it fun for all of us, I hope, and ended up selling 39 large bottles of laundry soap in the process.  That’s pretty good considering there were four to five other brands on sale.

Tomorrow I do marina sauce and that promises to be messy and a lot busier. This job is challenging but a lot of fun.  At times like this, I’m glad I can wear black because I’m sure I’d ruin a white shirt.

 Desert Sunset

On another note we came home to discover the neighbors renting the property next door dug a large trench next to our wall.  They want to put a fence up we’re told.  What will go in this fence we don’t know yet and I’m afraid it will junk up the neighborhood.  As it is he works on rebuilding cars in his spare time.  They usually sit everywhere for weeks at a time.  We intend to keep an eye on this situation.  I went out to take photos of the whole project tonight to send to the property owner, who is a friend.  Of course the wife sticks her head out the window wanting to know what I’m up to.  I was on my property so it was none of her business, although she sent her husband over later to talk to us about it.  I guess we’ll see what comes of this.  I really don’t believe a thing they say and will be glad when they move.  Their lease is up in June.

 Desert Sunset

 

I guess some of you must face similar dramas during the course of your own lives.

Have a happy spring everyone. Get out and enjoy this nice time of year when we don’t need A/C or heat.  It won’t last long.

The nothing post

My Bradford Pear Tree in bloom

Well I don’t know if I’m at a loss for words this time, just too darn tired, or there’s nothing extraordinary going on at the moment.  But I wanted to post something.  Maybe the nothing post isn’t a good name.  That reminds me of an old Seinfeld episode.

Mostly my days are taken up with work lately and that wears me out standing up all day and putting up with the crazy people we get in the store.  You honestly wouldn’t believe some of the things that people do—or maybe you would.  When I get home I just want to chill out and not talk to anyone.

Plus, I’m beat on top of it all but I know we’ve all been there.  I should really get to bed earlier, but I never do somehow.  Life is more than just work, cooking and cleaning—or it should be in my mind, so I feel I have to read or write something at night.  Otherwise I find myself in the rut of sleeping, working, eating and cleaning and then repeating the whole list again.  Maybe that’s fine for some people, but not for me.

On the good side, the days are warming up and the sun is out so things are really looking up in that department.  I’m ready for summer.  Bring it on. 

We went out and trimmed the palm trees last week and my arms are in shreds from those thorns.  They can be quite wicked, but the wounds are gradually healing up.  The sty in my eye is still there too (three weeks today) but I’m hoping that goes away soon so I can get a consult with a doctor for cataract surgery.  As you get older in life, there are so many obstacles to overcome all the time.  I didn’t find out I even had cataracts until I had my eye exam two weeks ago.  No wonder I can’t see a thing.  I’m just wondering how they got there.

All my fur babies are fine.  Sometimes they leave me a gift of a throw up to clean up when I get home, but that’s just life with a cat.  I love them to pieces and they’re always happy to see me. That makes up for it all.

Other than all that, I’m trying to get ready for the A to Z Challenge this year, but only have half of my posts written so far because I have no extra time to get my head into that.  I hope it all comes together in time.  I am optimistic it will.  I also have the added pressure of getting our taxes done on top of all that.  So you can see there’s never a lack of things for my mind to think about.

I hope all of you are enjoying a nice spring.

Personality Differences of the Feline Variety

It’s that time of year again when I’ll be watching people’s cats while they’re away.  I work this in between my part-time job.  Thankfully most pet owners don’t have a set time for me to look in on their animals and give them fresh food and water.  I like to play with them too and squeeze in as much extra time as I can just for this.  The little darlings miss their humans and want to be petted and loved as well. 

Cats have such different personalities from one another.  Sometimes the only thing they really have in common is fur and four legs. 

A couple of months ago, I signed up with SitterCity to watch pets in my spare time.  Of course by pets I mean cats, because I don’t think I’d take a dog walking job.  I’m a cat person all the way.  The extra money comes in handy if work is slow and the place isn’t too far off the beaten path.

Over the weekend I got to take care of the sweetest little angel.  Of course, I know black cats have the best temperament.  They are mellower than other cats, or at the least the ones I’ve known.

 Bella

Now I have to say that even though Bella and I didn’t know each other we got along great.  She would meet me at the door and let me know she was happy to see me.  This is definitely a lap cat.  She sucked that up and purred constantly while I petted and talked to her.  We also played with a feather toy and I think she really had a good time.  I hope the opportunity presents itself again later, so that I can take care of her in the future.

Snuggles

This week I have a different cat altogether.  This one is rambunctious and a bit wild. Now maybe it’s the age difference, but I don’t think so.  This yellow cat has a very bold personality.  She loves to bounce off the walls and “go crazy” after she lets me pet her for five minutes max.  She isn’t quite the lady that Bella is.  Snuggles tries to trip me when I’m carrying her water dish.  She’s definitely not a lap cat.  But I love taking care of her anyway.  I watch this one a dozen times every summer.  I’m sure there will be more cat tales to come.  Until then, I’m off to see a crazy cat.

Love those sandpaper kisses

Raven

Raven loves to wake me up in the middle of the night.  He decides I need a bath and cleans up my face before chewing on my head and messing in my hair.

I love his sandpaper kisses but it’s startling in the middle of the night.  I never realized a cat’s tongue was that rough, but maybe it seems that way when he’s bathing my face and neck.  It’s a wonder I have any skin left.  This is the coarse sandpaper treatment, not the fine stuff at all.

Once I’m awake then he’s ready to settle down again for another catnap on my pillow.  Come morning, I have to wash the cat slobber out of my hair so I can go to work. 

Raven’s taken up a real fetish for hair arranging lately.  He tries to play hairdresser to everyone that comes into the house to visit.  I’m not sure what it is.  Maybe he likes the smell of hair products.

But I’ll never chase him off the bed.  Time goes by too quickly and I know one day he’ll be too old and will retire from his grooming duties.  Then all this stuff will only be humorous memories.

Does anyone else have a pet like this?

Old age is a bitch

And this includes the animal kingdom.  

 Tootie

Two days ago we were combing out our oldest cat, Tootie, and I discovered one of her fang teeth was missing.  I was shocked.  She always hollers like we’re killing her, but a sixteen-year-old cat needs help with grooming, especially one with long hair.

When we were through with the grooming, we got the flashlight and looked in her mouth better to make sure the tooth didn’t just break off.  We put our fingers on her gums and couldn’t feel any remnants, so I think her whole tooth is gone.  We don’t know when that happened, or where the tooth is.  Perhaps, she swallowed it.  But we’re monitoring her to make sure we don’t need to take her back to the vet.  She isn’t bothered by the missing tooth at all.

I’ve had a lot of cats in my life but this is the first one I’ve had that had her teeth start to fall out with old age.  Poor girl.  I know anything that people go through animals can get also, so it makes me think about getting old and all my aches and pains.  One thing cats have over us though (and probably dogs too) is that they never complain and whine about their problems.

Maybe we humans could learn a thing or two from them.  After all, it does no good to complain, does it?  That won’t make the situation any different.  Instead, I think we should all embrace the fact we’re still alive and try to enjoy it to the best of our abilities.  What do you think?

Raven has a new bag

And you can see how long they last around here.  This one lasted a week.  He plays in the bag every night after dinner.  He got carried away a couple of days ago and played about two hours eventually tearing this hole in it.

Raven after my feet

From there it was downhill.  We got the laser out and Koki got involved too. 

Koki

 This is how things ended up.

Raven

So now he has another new one again.  I’m glad they opened one of these grocery stores near us a couple of weeks ago.  You can’t find paper bags in many places these days.

 The new "cat sack"

 

At the end of the night everyone was worn out and ready for bed where Raven has taken to sleeping on my pillow.  He’s a pillow hog, but I don’t have the heart to throw him off the bed.

Does anyone else want to share a pet story?

Spring is afoot

In the desert things can change overnight.  No joke.  I went to get the mail yesterday and have to walk by this bush.  You could barely see tiny green shoots on it.  One day later, here it is:

Lady Banks Rose

I think this is absolutely amazing!  The leaves have grown almost an inch overnight.  I noticed the Bradford Pear tree on the corner is in full bloom also.  I hadn’t noticed any buds on it yet.  It usually pops into flower on the spring equinox.  You can set your calendar by it.  We are in for an early spring, which is fine by me.

Bradford Pear Tree

I took this photo of the honeysuckle vine in the backyard today.  It gets totally brown and looks like dead sticks in the winter.  Then in two weeks time it’ll have blooms on it.  You can see the green taking it over already.

Honeysuckle

I really think you could sit and watch things grow this time of year.  I love it.  I know the cats do too.  We opened the windows today for the first time this season while we cleaned up the patio.

 My patio - all I need now is flowers

 

I was at my neighbors to look at her new granite counter tops today and I spied a lizard on the wall so those guys are coming out of hibernation too, a sure sign spring is here.

More pictures to come as more things start happening around here.  Happy early spring to those of you who have it happening at your place and I hope it isn’t too far away for everyone else.