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.

He wants to eat my face

Raven has his daily rituals.  When he was a wee kitten, he would bite my toes all the time and attack my feet in bed to get me up.  He wants to eat when he wants to eat.  Period!  He’ll get my attention one way or another.

He always goes to the kitchen and falls over at my feet when I’m cooking dinner.  I have to be very careful so as not to step on him.  My husband did a couple of times and it really freaked him out.  He hid for a long time and wouldn’t come near the kitchen.  If you don’t know he’s there, it’s easy to trip over him.

Now that he’s grown, he still wants to eat NOW when he’s hungry.  I usually get on the computer in the afternoon and once 5 PM rolls around, he comes in and starts bugging the heck out of me.  He stands in front of the computer screen, or lies across my arm and hand so I can’t type or use the mouse.

If that doesn’t work, he starts pawing at the cursor on my computer screen.  Finally, he’ll attack my head, biting and pulling sections of hair out of my hair clip.  He’ll keep this up until I get up to wash his bowl.  Then he falls over at my feet until I get it ready, gently nipping at my toes if I’m not going fast enough.

But he makes me laugh so hard at some of his antics.  I can’t ever be mad if he bites at me.  He’s never doing it in a mean way.  Raven’s a precious little soul.

The post about nothing

That reminds of an old Jerry Seinfeld episode when they were writing the pitch to a TV producer.  They finally got a sit-down meeting and told the guy it would be a show about nothing.  That popped into my head just now.  Oh well…guess I’m tired when funny things pop up out of the blue.  I haven’t thought about that in years.

The only thing going on in my house is me constantly sitting at the keyboard writing on my book.  I bet I’ve written about 12,000 words since Jan first.  It’s coming along, but not ready yet.  I’ve taxed my brain with several scenarios.

Then once in bed, I dream about how to write some of the scenes once in a while, between Tootie’s constant meowing that wakes me up all the time.

 My Office and Library

So I get up in the morning, check my email, get dressed, have breakfast, clean up the kitchen and head upstairs to write.  I love my office in the back corner of the house upstairs – quiet and mostly soundproof from downstairs.  I usually stay up here most of the day, skipping lunch, or sometimes going down for crackers and peanut butter before coming back to my desk to write until five when it’s time to cook dinner.

 Koki on top of linen cabinet

Raven watching her

Koki walking on the shower

The cats usually eat first thing, nap, play, eat again, climb on me a while, and then repeat the process over again.  Koki is still teaching Raven her moves and he’s all eyes and follows her around the house spellbound over her escapades.  They chase each other until they’re worn out with Tootie watching from the couch, probably thinking, “Oh to be young again…those were the days.”  The furniture is taking a beating of little cat feet pouncing and jumping.  It isn’t fun for them unless they can make noise.

 Tootie

Around eight o’clock in the evening, I’m back in my office to write some more until about 11:30 or so, except today because we ran around and stayed outside enjoying the 63 degree weather.  We deserve it after last winter, which was the worst one on record around here for a while.

We’ve enjoyed several gorgeous winter sunsets too.  Check this out.  The high desert does have some nice ones.

Desert Sunset

Trouble in the Alley - Part Two

That afternoon the cats wondered in for the meeting, some looking worse for wear, or a bit under the weather.  After clambering for places, they started to settle in.

 Wizard and Tootie

 Comet and Ceaser

Squeakie and Unkie

 Koki and Sukie

Snuggles and Raven

A rustle caught everyone’s attention.  As they turned, a lid clanged to the ground leaving the behind and bushy tail of a female exposed.

“Get out of that garbage, Tootie,” Comet yelled and shot her pistol in the air to bring the meeting to order.

 Tootie

“I just wanted to see if the chef threw away any decent scraps today,” Tootie raised her head and then went back to searching the can again.  Some scraps of paper and several wrappers fell out onto the broken cement.

“Hey, I haven’t had dinner yet,” a couple of the cats scurried over to investigate.

Ceaser cleared his throat.  “Let’s get this meting started,” he roared.

“Okay,” Tootie relented and jumped out of the can, stopping to examine her paws and give herself a lick here and there to smooth her dappled fur.  “Come on guys,” she urged and they found places against the warehouse wall.

 Wizard

“Lord you are gettin’ fat, girl,” Wizard said as he watched her waddle over, his hat resting on his knee.

“What do ya mean?  It’s just my fur!”  Tootie exclaimed in her defense.  “I’m skinny under here.  You’re just jealous of my nice coat.”

“Yeah, it’s nice,” Wizard replied, “but I think it hides your body well.”

 Comet

“Quit fooling around,” Comet yelled.  “This isn’t about beauty or etiquette.  We’re here to defend our territory.  Ceaser has something important to say.”

After some commotion with the felines arguing, flinging garbage to the side, and cans rattling, the cats settled in to listen to the boss.

Comet banged a trash can lid with the butt of her gun, using it as a gong.  “This meeting is called to order.”

“Thanks Comet,” Ceaser stepped forward, looking smart in his leather vest.  Using the trashcan as a podium, he cleared his throat again and began.

“You all know we have a problem with Big Daddy trying to take over the whole town.”  Mumbles and nods went through the crowd.

“He has his own section of the hood,” a cat called out.

“Well, it seems that’s not enough.  He’s wrangled his way into my territory,” Ceaser explained.  “I intend to take care of that matter immediately.”

“That’s not good,” mumbles go through the gathered felines.

“No,” Ceaser agreed.  “So I need you all here to back me up.  We need to settle this.”

“Maybe you could challenge him to a duel,” Comet offered.  “I’ll loan you my pistol.”

“No duel.”  Ceaser held up his arms to silence the crowd.  “I think we need to settle this cat-to-cat in a good old-fashioned scrap.”

“Here, here,” voices rallied from the crowd.

Clipart

A few days later, Big Daddy showed up to prowl the alley.  He made it his business to sniff the females and pinch them on the behind.  A few slaps ensued, but the big cat just arched his eyebrows and moved on, pushing the males out of the way.

He was a big brute, his muscles flexing under his yellow coat.

“Are you ready for that, boss,” Comet flinched from her place down the alley and made a face.

“I’m as big as he is,” Ceaser exclaimed, “and I intend to defend my territory.”

After a few words, the cats squared off face-to-face.  Ceaser’s gang stood by, waiting and watching for the action to begin.  The girls lifted their skirts as a distraction, but that didn’t do any good.

Hissing and growling, the two big cats became a ball of yellow, black, and white fur as they rolled around the alleyway, punching, scratching and biting.  Ceaser took a big bite of Big Daddy’s ear.

“You think you’re such a bad ass,” Big Daddy roared.  He was mad and tore into Ceaser trying to get some flesh.

“This town is big enough for both of us,” Ceaser yelled panting as he took one to the leg.  He fell in the alley and kicked Big Daddy hard in the gut as he came close.  The yellow tom rolled over and took a swipe with a bloody paw.  With fangs showing, he kept swiping until he could right himself and pounce on Ceaser again. 

Ceaser bit through his shoulder and blood spurted onto the pavement.  Ceaser’s troops moved in to help secure Big Daddy if needed.  Ceaser kept his grip on the yellow guys shoulder, as he darted away from his swinging fists.  The yellow tom finally conceded defeat, so Ceaser let him up.

He sat licking his wounds.  They decided to call a truce with half the town going to each tomcat. 

“Fine, I’ll stay in my half, but I better not catch you over there,” Big Daddy grumbled and finally slinked off to take care of his gashes.

Comet ran to Ceaser to examine him.  “My hero,” she said, throwing her arms around him.  “I’m glad you wore that leather vest I gave you.  I think it really helped.  You saw the shape Big Daddy was in when he left here.”

“You might be right, Comet, but I told you this town was big enough for the both of us.” 

“Let’s get you cleaned up, big boy,” she said, purring. 

“I think this is excitin’ and calls for a celebration.  What did you boys do with that beer?”  Wizard got up from his place on an old wood crate, a lady on each arm. 

“Comin’ right up,” the cats yelled and it wasn’t long the alleyway was turned into a party house. 

 Ceaser and Comet

Ceaser lit up a cigar and sat back to survey his domain, peaceful again, at least for a while.  Comet snuggled into his neck and licked him on the ear.

Trouble in the Alley - Part One

Hello all,

I thought I’d do something different this time and post a short story about my cats.  I’ve been writing stories about them for years.  I wrote this a while back and it’s crazy, as I like to make up goofy stories about them according to their personalities.  I’m posting this in two parts so it isn’t too long.  Thanks for putting up with me.  Fell free to leave comments below.

 Ceaser

Ceaser walked around surveying his domain.  Comet, his assistant, stands ready, pistol on her hip.

 Comet

Cats lounged about the broken pavement and dented trashcans.  The alley behind the local deli was their hangout and home.

Ceaser lit up a cigar, his foot perched on a discarded stump as he bent in conference with Comet.  As they talked, a shiny black car cruised down the alley, going slow, the silver wheels glinting in the sunlight.  Their eyes turned to the car as Wizard drove up in his pimpmobile, his pink fedora cocked on his head, the feathers fluttering in a burst of wind.

 Wizard

“Now you get on over there darlin’ and get some rest for tonight,” the black cat sashayed out and opened the heavy door, a couple of sexy felines got out dressed in leather mini-skirts.  They strutted off toward the brothel as Ceaser walked up, followed by Comet.

“Hey, bro, what brings you out to this part of the alley?  You know some of these cats don’t take too kindly to you pimping around here.”

“That’s right,” Comet jumped in, “You’re in dangerous territory, too soft for this neighborhood.”

Ceaser, Comet, Wizard

Wizard shook his head, leaning back on his slick black Cadillac.  He took off his large felt hat with a flourish, the puffy pink feather hitting Comet across the nose.  “What you mean, man?” he said.  “I’m just dropping some ladies off.”

“You watch that feather,” Comet growled, a hand on her hip touching the butt of her gun.  She backed up to lean against the warehouse door, eyebrows creased, on alert.

“One of these cool hats might brighten up your outfit, girl,” Wizard swaggered over to look Comet in the eye, twirling his hat around in his hand.

“Who is going to listen to me in some sissy hat like that?  You bring me cowboy leather and maybe we can talk.  It’ll go better with my boots and holster.”

“When you going to show a little leg?”  Wizard asks.  “Golly girl, what’s the matter with you?”

“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with me.  You best get in that fancy car and get outta our neighborhood.”

“Come on now,” Ceaser intervened, puffing his cigar, hanging from the edge of his mouth.  “This is my bro you sassing to.”

“I was goin’ anyway,” Wizard replies and ambled over to the waiting car.  “I’ll be back later to pick those girls up.”

Comet kicked a few cans and went on down the alley to start a little trouble with some cool cats down at the other end.  They’re sitting around downing some alcohol, and shooting the bull, bragging about last night’s affairs.

“Don’t go sticking your nose into their business, you hear Comet.” Ceaser warned her as she strutted off.

 Comet

"Just keepin’ everyone in line,” Comet glanced back, her gray fur bristling.  “Makin’ sure they know who the boss is in this alley.”  The soles of her boots clicked against the cement, silence falling over the group as she drew closer.

“Hey Poncie, Unkie, how you guys?”  She looked into their eyes, drooping and bloodshot, their clothes rumpled and smelling of whiskey.  They passed around a warm beer offering her some.

“Nah thanks.  You cats have a rough night?”

“Lookin’ for Poncie’s fountain of youth,” Unkie shrugged.  “Not found it so far.”

“Hey Squeaky, you okay girl?”  Comet nudged the black ball of fur with her boot.  “You lookin’ rougher than them.  Why don’t you go inside and sleep?”

“I’m okay here, leave me alone,” Squeaky managed to get out before she puked against the wall.

Comet backed up and tried to ignore that.  She didn’t want any vomit splatter on her boots.  How much info can I get out of these pitiful cats?  She decided to venture another question.  “Anybody seen Ringtail and Missy?”

 Poncie

“They was smooching it up downtown last I saw of them,” Poncie answered his voice more of a croak, as he spit beer to the side.  He nudged his partner and they snickered.

“Everybody clean up.  Ceaser’s havin’ a meetin’ this afternoon,” Comet announced.  “Pass the word around to the others.”  She left them in their misery and gave the tin cans another kick as she headed back to find Ceaser leaning up again to the warehouse door, the cigar hanging loosely on his lips with a gray curl of smoke drifting skyward.

“You pass the word around?”  Ceaser asked as he pulled her close and nipped at her ear.

“Yeah, but those cats are in bad shape.  Not sure half of them will show up.  Maybe we better postpone the meetin’ until tomorrow, give everyone a chance to recoup from Mama Wong’s party.”

 Ceaser and Comet

“I’m top cat here.  They better come when I call.” Ceaser nuzzled Comet’s neck, “Why don’t we go upstairs a while, darlin’?”

“Who’s goin’ to keep everyone in line?”

Koki

“Maybe Koki will do it.  She has a pissy streak about her at times.”

“No, anyone but her.  We don’t get along at all,” Comet complained.  “I always have to remind her I’m the boss, know what I mean?  How about Tootie?”

 Tootie

“Tootie’s too nice,” Ceaser said.

“Maybe so,” Comet considered that point.

“Aw now you’re not jealous of Koki are ya, Comet, sweetie?”  Ceaser licked her on the cheek.  “You know I only have eyes for you.”

“Then you ask her.  I’ll meet you upstairs.”  Comet winked and swayed her hips as she slinked off to the door and disappeared inside.

Ceaser looked over at Koki sitting on a barrel whittling a point on a stick and wondered what that was for as he walked over.

My little man is nine-months-old today

Raven - nine-months old today

Wow!  I can hardly believe I’ve had this little guy almost six months already.  He’s such a perfect little angel too, except he’s starting to get into more things as he realizes he has the ability to jump higher than he thought.  Sometimes that gets him in trouble and it’s not so happy around here.

 Raven

I understand all this and his need to explore everything, which is exciting to him as a baby.  But I have a mellow attitude about these things and expect this having had many cats through the years.  However, tackling and breaking things doesn’t set well with my husband who doesn’t want to role with the punches.  I’ve picked up anything breakable early on, but now I have to pick up more things and anticipate what he might get into because I don’t exactly like him tearing things up either, or suffering through a bad day because of it.

 Raven

Raven knew he was in trouble yesterday when he was yelled at for attacking an arrangement in a pot.  He sat staring at my husband with wide eyes for the longest time probably wondering what was coming and what he did wrong.  Poor little guy.  He’s really very good and well behaved considering he’s still a baby.

 What happened to this little baby?

 

He’s growing by leaps and bounds, but still has a tiny meow and I consider him possibly a teenager now, but his voice hasn’t changed yet.  Do cat’s voices change?  I think so.

He loves to play with the other cats, but Tootie isn’t too gung-ho about that since the eye incident.  Koki only wants to play when SHE wants to and on HER terms, so usually he makes his own fun, or we play games with him to wear him out at night so he doesn’t get into things while we’re sleeping.  He does like to stay up in the dark now more than he used to.

 Raven entertaining himself

The only time he’s really a pest is when he’s hungry.  He wants us to feed him NOW so he’ll wake us up by chewing on an arm or leg or even on my head.  He’s getting a bit better about that, but he wants his wet food in the morning.

He doesn’t know a stranger either, greets all the visitors we have, and soon is all over them with his purring and climbing.  Thank goodness, most people don’t mind because he’s an attention hog.

 Raven in the kitchen wanting to eat.  I've almost stepped on him.

At night when I’m cooking dinner, he comes and falls over by my feet because he knows its dinnertime and I’ll feed him.  Raven’s such a little character.  I think he’s happy and knows he’s loved and has a forever home.

Eating isn’t all I do

I thought I’d post pics of some other meals.  I like to treat myself after working hard all day, so I usually make a nice meal for dinner.  The rest of the time, I snack mostly if I eat anything during the day.  Food taste so good when you’re starving!

Ham and cheese omelet with tomatoes, spinach and onions - and a side of potatoes

Enchiladas, Rice and Black Beans

   

I’ve had several salads and a ham and cheese omelet.  I did break down one night and had Mexican food.  My whole family seems to like it.  None of us go long without having some.

Besides all this, construction is continuing on the house two doors down the road.  It’s actually taking shape nicely now.  I walked through and took several pictures, but I won’t post all of those.  They had the plumbers in there today.  The house is 2710 square feet.

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

One thing about my husband going out of state for a while is that I always do this.  I love keeping my own schedule, eating and sleeping when I WANT TO – not when I HAVE TO.  What a difference that makes.  Unbelievably, I usually get a lot accomplished too although many times I wish I had more time.  I don’t think I’ve crawled in bed before 3 AM the whole time he’s been gone.  If there’s one thing I hate, it’s almost finishing something and having to stop to go to bed.  That drives me crazy, so I’ll stay up the extra hour or half hour to get finished and then go to bed when it’s up to me.

Rotisserie chicken on a bed of spinach with tomatoes, green onions, carrots, celery, cranberries and toasted almonds - Yum!

I’ve been craving salads since I’m only making dinner for myself.  The salad I had the other night was so yummy and fit for a king.  I had to take a picture of it.  Usually on an ordinary day I find myself fixing two different meals (or I should say side dishes) because my husband isn’t as fond of veggies as I am.  In fact, he downright hates veggies and accuses me of making his salads too big.  In my book – he needs something green and nutritious.  How can people survive without that?

In addition, I can eat this salad at 9 PM, 10, or 11.  There’s no one here to tell me not to and to keep me on track of a “normal” person’s schedule.  And a salad, or any other meal, wouldn’t be as nice without my glass of chardonnay to top off the day after the blasted heat and slaving away on my projects.

 Chardonnay

I’m trying to make headway of organizing for the move and also taking advantage of the schedule I set out for myself daily.  Wouldn’t you do the same thing?  I really wish this situation would last ten weeks instead of ten days.  But I guess I’ll need to be saved from myself after ten days.  After all, how long can you survive on three hours of sleep a night?

I’m winning then over - little by little

Raven

I've been here almost a month now and I'm finally starting to win the girls over.  At least I think I might be. Tootie will wrestle with me and play footsies.  

Tootie and Raven

Koki isn’t too gung-ho, but I think she may come around.  She sneaks up on me to nose me.  Once she’s finished, she hisses at me and slinks off.  She pays a lot of attention to me so I think maybe that she’s just trying to tell me she’s in charge.

 Koki looking for Raven

Raven attacking the laser

 

 I’ve landed in the best home.  I have so many toys I never get bored.  I really enjoy attacking my human’s feet and playing with the laser.  I take over the bed at night and wake them up at dawn to feed me.  I can be loud and demanding when I’m hungry because I’m a growing boy.  I’m really good otherwise, so they put up with this.  I make sure I purr loudly, even when they trim my nails.

 Roadrunner

I love sleeping in the sunspots in the dining room, so I was busy lounging on a chair in there they conveniently placed by the window for me.  A roadrunner happened by.  He kept flaring his comb out and making noises with his beak.  He didn’t scare me though.

Raven

Raven

Tonight I was attacking my human’s shoes.  They caught me in mid-flight and standing on my hind legs.  I don’t know why they made such a big deal of this.

 Koki, Raven, and Tootie

Raven

 

 I decided to go upstairs and check on the girls who were up there getting away from me.  They pretended not to pay much attention to me, but I know they were watching as I investigated this plastic bag and decided whether to attack it again as I did the other night after the humans kept me in the bedroom all day because some painters were here.

I really terrorized the house that night, but I had so much pent up energy.  Maybe they won’t do that to me again.

I’m off so I can beat them to bed and take my spot out of the middle.  They hate to disturb me, so things are going very well in my new home.

Raven