R and I have been having an interesting problem of late.
Three weeks ago, I woke up to a tremendous squeaking and chirping going on downstairs. Usually that means one of our cats have brought in and are dispatching with some critter. I got up and went downstairs to survey the damage. Well, one of our cats (I think it was Felix) was standing in front of the microwave cart, looking all hunterish. I peaked behind it and was instantly assaulted by the most virulent stream of curses ever uttered by a chipmunk. I made some attempts to sweep the critter out with a broom, but only succeeded in getting a new strain of chipmunk obscenities rained upon my head. After some time, I had to leave to go to work. I figured I would just shoo him out that evening, when both R and I were home. I just hoped that I would not return home to find a corpsified critter in pieces on the floor.
As I said, that was 3 weeks ago. For those of you who don't know, R and I are blessed with nine cats--NINE CATS! Do you think that with NINE CATS in the house, a rodent would dare to draw breath? Well, Freddie the Freeloader--as he is now referred to--has apparently found our home a good land, flowing with Milk and Honey. Every once in a while we will hear him chirp away. The sound is at such a pitch that it is difficult to hone in on where it is coming from. And he will only call out a couple times, then he will fall silent. I look for help from the cats, sure that at least one will show interest. The most I will get is a yawn or a stretch, followed by the hopeful looking of the cat begging for a treat.
We have bird feeders, so we have a stash of birdseed in the house. We also have a perpetual cat food feeder, so I'm sure he feels he has never had it so good. When R and I are home for any amount of time, all doors stay open, hoping he will make like a tree and scram. All for naught. Maybe we have to stop feeding our cats regularly, so they will show some interest in Freddie. The irony is that our cats are still hunting outside. The other day, Nugget brought in and dropped a mole on our living room floor. Within 5 minutes, Freddie just happened to chirp out his presence. Actually, I think I detected a distinct sound of laughter in his voice.
Well, at least he's not a skunk!!!
Peace
C
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Summer's finally here
It finally felt warm today, two days after the summer solstice. I always go into a sort of mourning at this time of the year. After June 21st, the days begin getting shorter. It doesn't seem right, somehow. Of course, on Dec 21st, I begin celebrating, because I know that the days from then on are longer. It somehow takes a little bite out of the frozen season.
I spent sometime last night cleaning out messages from our "sent" folder. We had ones going back to when R went through the GVH setback, starting November of 2005. It was really interesting reading all those old messages. Most of them were to Dr S in Boston, composed by me, since R was too sick or weak to sit at the computer. Just reading them, I could sense that tone of desperation. I really was on the edge. And of course the brunt of it happened in the dead of Winter, my worst time of year under normal circumstances. It's funny, as the time stretched on into Spring, there is a definite change in the tone of the emails. Of course, Rich was getting better by then. But I was relaxing with the warmer temps as well. And to have his 40th birthday party that Spring was really special. It was a real milestone to celebrate. Not just because he was turning 40, but also because we were on the recovery end of that brutal fight. I know that it was really something special for him to see so many of his friends, many of whom traveled from a far way off.
I guess it is good every once in a while to go back and see from where you have traveled. Boy was last night a big dose of perspective!!
Peace
C
I spent sometime last night cleaning out messages from our "sent" folder. We had ones going back to when R went through the GVH setback, starting November of 2005. It was really interesting reading all those old messages. Most of them were to Dr S in Boston, composed by me, since R was too sick or weak to sit at the computer. Just reading them, I could sense that tone of desperation. I really was on the edge. And of course the brunt of it happened in the dead of Winter, my worst time of year under normal circumstances. It's funny, as the time stretched on into Spring, there is a definite change in the tone of the emails. Of course, Rich was getting better by then. But I was relaxing with the warmer temps as well. And to have his 40th birthday party that Spring was really special. It was a real milestone to celebrate. Not just because he was turning 40, but also because we were on the recovery end of that brutal fight. I know that it was really something special for him to see so many of his friends, many of whom traveled from a far way off.
I guess it is good every once in a while to go back and see from where you have traveled. Boy was last night a big dose of perspective!!
Peace
C
Friday, June 20, 2008
The maiden voyage
So this is my foray into the blogging universe.
I have always felt that blogging was catering to a person's self-important tendencies. But I am coming to think that is a good way of keeping up with people in your life. I have a friend with whom I rarely get to spend time with anymore. She keeps a regular blog going, so I am able to keep up with what is going on in her life. Of course, it does not replace picking up the phone and calling her, but we both lead busy lives and it is difficult to carve out time.
An explanation on the name of my blog. It comes from a song by John Mellencamp, "Between a Laugh and a Tear." The line goes "I know there's a balance, I see it when I swing past." I often feel like that, like I am swinging between extremes. One moment life makes sense and I am on my game, in a zone. The next moment I am spinning plates, waiting for them to come crashing down. I know this is a common experience for a lot of people, so maybe you know what I'm saying.
And a word to anyone who may stumble upon this, I many times feel I am perhaps the most uninteresting person that I know, so don't expect high art here. Don't even expect proper grammer, though I will try my hardest.
Peace.
C
I have always felt that blogging was catering to a person's self-important tendencies. But I am coming to think that is a good way of keeping up with people in your life. I have a friend with whom I rarely get to spend time with anymore. She keeps a regular blog going, so I am able to keep up with what is going on in her life. Of course, it does not replace picking up the phone and calling her, but we both lead busy lives and it is difficult to carve out time.
An explanation on the name of my blog. It comes from a song by John Mellencamp, "Between a Laugh and a Tear." The line goes "I know there's a balance, I see it when I swing past." I often feel like that, like I am swinging between extremes. One moment life makes sense and I am on my game, in a zone. The next moment I am spinning plates, waiting for them to come crashing down. I know this is a common experience for a lot of people, so maybe you know what I'm saying.
And a word to anyone who may stumble upon this, I many times feel I am perhaps the most uninteresting person that I know, so don't expect high art here. Don't even expect proper grammer, though I will try my hardest.
Peace.
C
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