Beat it With a Stick!

I spent the weekend cleaning. I clean a bit every day, but this was a weekend to deep clean. It was in the negative temperatures, with wind chill, and, on Sunday, we got 3 inches of snow. I wasn't going anywhere and there has been a lot of "crunchiness" to the floor. The litter box area was thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed, with new litter and a new litter box. One of our usual boxes was taken to the basement to be scrubbed. Pilchard has a tendency to register displeasure with anything by peeing outside of or just on the edge of a box. There has been a lot of that since my California vacation. I've scrubbed the box area, changed the litter and she still seemed to be peeved.

I don't know what triggered the thought but it occurred to me that I hadn't rotated out the actual boxes and scrubbed them. There was an old one in the basement that I'd forgotten about. I used to be really good about this, rotating a completely cleaned box out once a month but had not done this all last year.I couldn't smell anything, but I don't have a cat's sensitive nose. It was time to get back into thorough cleaning. The old box went downstairs to be soaked. I put it in the wash tubs with some Dawn dish soap (Is there anything this soap doesn't do?) and as the washer spins the water out of the laundry, it scrubs the box clean. I just follow up with some minor washing.

Since swapping out one of the boxes, there hasn't been an on-purpose mistake outside the box. I'll need to swap boxes over the next month so all three are clean heading into spring. You should have one box per cat and one spare.

After doing that, I set my sights on other rooms. The weekly sweeping just didn't seem to be getting all the winter grit so I gave the mop a good shake and started with my bedroom, working toward the front of the house. I have to take a break every so often and, when I sit in the office, I can see into the bedroom and partially under the bed. I thought I'd swept under there, but there was a shadow. When I took Mija to the vet, Pilchard had dashed under the bed and into the office closet to avoid what she was sure was her turn to ride in the carrier. She pulled a long string of a dust bunny from under the bed. So, I paid attention to that spot. But this shadow, which was NOT a cat, I checked, seemed to indicate something else was under the bed. Maybe it was a missing sock.

I got down on my knees, a daunting prospect because I never know how easy it will be to get up, and ran the mop under the bed. The first two passes yielded 3 cat toys and one sock. With the third pass, I aimed toward the head of the bed which is up against the wall. I swear I had swept that area but this came out.

It occupies the same amount of space Mija does, although it is not sentient nor does it have her mass. I think what happened is that my previous passes just shoved amounts of dust and fur and hair and whatever else goes into dust bunnies, up against one of the bed's legs. I was scraping off the mop what I had swept from under the bed. The angle I used on Saturday's pass pulled all this out.

I'm not really grossed out by this. Fascinated is more the correct term. There's very little grit in this. When I dusted it up to toss into the garbage, the dirt left was a couple of teaspoons and that was more loose litter, which I kind of expect.

One of my friends, upon seeing the photo, said I should give it a name and suggested "Charlie"; not sure why but there it is. No, I am not naming my dust bunnies. Come spring, when I move furniture for spring cleaning, I wonder how big some of those dust bunnies will be. Will I have a whole family? I read somewhere that birds like to have you toss this kind of dust outside in the spring because they use it for nesting. Um...no. Sorry chickadees. This is going away.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Time to get creative.

When did Target replace their metal carts with these big plastic ones and are these made from recycled products?

I ask because I wandered over to Target on Saturday. I have a budget and I've become fairly good at sticking to it. The list included a trip to Michael's craft store, Target, Dominicks and Ace Hardware. I got Michael's done. Target was done and that came in more than I anticipated so there was no trip to Dominicks for groceries or to the hardware store for a new leaf rake.

The Target trip was very productive. I'm back on decent allergy medication and that makes a world of difference in how I feel and how I sleep. I have to consistently remember to take it and not think, "Oh I didn't cough as much. I don't need it." LIES! I'll never get ahead of the allergy curve if I don't take the stuff daily. That shiny bottle of cough syrup doesn't need to be opened if I take the pill at night like I'm supposed to.

There was a new shower curtain to purchase and window insulator plastic. The cats needed fresh litter. It all adds up. When I got home, I realized I had just enough money to get gas to drive to Davenport and back on Tuesday for a job. That is cutting it tight, but that's life, for me.

It does mean I have to get creative with the food I have in the cupboard over the Thanksgiving holiday ahead. We have the Rockwellian image of the family clustered around the table which groans with food. That's not everyone's reality. For some, a soup kitchen's food line is all the hot meal they will get. For others, Thanksgiving is a peanut butter sandwich consumed on their 30 minute lunch break. Remember, a lot of people work holidays and weekends just because it's their job.

For some, Thanksgiving is a time to be with friends or family, laughing, joking, watching TV, just being. For others, it's a time to endure bad jokes and snide remarks and wish they could be anywhere but with these people called "family".

And, for some, like me, it's a time to just be. Everything I got at Target, with the exception of those awful crackers, was an item off a previous list. It was important to purchase these things now and not push them off again. That it's required my Thanksgiving to a bit of an exercise in creativity is not the issue. I have pork chops to cook. I can make pork chops with orange rice. I can make a variety of chicken dishes. I can't make the Golden Stuffed Iowa Chops or the "Apple Cider Glazed Chicken with Maple Pecan Rice". I don't have shredded cheddar nor do I have apple cider.

What I do have is a balanced checkbook, a non-overdrawn account, two cats who love me, a warm home, a working car and a job. Many people don't have any of this. That I have $3.16 in the checkbook is not an issue. I am happy. There is always the wish that I could have a bit more so I maybe could get cheddar, cereal, bread, apple cider, pasta and frozen veggies, but I am happy and that's what counts.

Beverage: Scottish Blend tea

Deb

We don't like these, mom!

Weekend mornings are a time to sleep in, usually. But last Saturday and Sunday, I was not allowed to.

When I adopted the girls, they came with a big bag of cat food and several containers of kitty litter. These had been purchased at Meijer, a warehouse Target/Wal-Mart-ish store, for those of you who don't know the name. I don't shop there because there isn't one near me. So, they had to adapt to the litter I use and to different cat food. I found a couple brands of litter and a couple different types of cat food that they enjoy.

Two weeks ago, I needed litter so I went to Target as they had several brands on sale. I got Arm & Hammer Essentials Natural Clumping Litter. You can see it kind of looks like very fine wood chips. It's supposed to be corn fibers and baking soda to cut down on odor and to be a softer footing for the cat.

The girls hate it.

I have 3 litter boxes. It is recommended you have one box per cat and a spare. When I had 5 cats, I had 6 boxes. With just the 2 of them, I have 3 boxes. Two boxes contained this stuff and the other contained what was left of the Fresh Step litter I usually buy. The Fresh Step was "over used" while the Arm and Hammer was barely used. Perhaps they need to get used to it but it's clear to me they don't like it.

I don't like cleaning it. The corn fibers are bigger than the Fresh Step stuff and I find that I might as well use a shovel because the slotted litter scoop I use catches everything. We are back to Fresh Step which was on sale at Dominicks over the weekend. Plus, Fresh Step has a "members reward program" and I get points for buying this product. I have several sets of points to enter into my total. I might be able to get something free for the girls. Points and free cat stuff isn't an overriding reason to stick with a brand. I will buy Arm and Hammer's litter that looks like Fresh Step if it's on sale. The girls have spoken and we all know I like to make my cats happy.

The next issue was the food. We were low on food last week but I had limited resources. There were coupons in the paper for Friskies. Dominicks had it on sale. The $5.99 bag was reduced to $3.99 and I had a $1.00 off coupon. So, for $2.99, I got a bag of cat food.

It was not appreciated.

Maybe it was the texture. These are more oddly-shaped pieces and, perhaps, they don't like that. Maybe it's the taste. How am I to know if the stuff tastes good? I just know that I bought the bag on Wednesday because we were completely out and they looked at me Wednesday night as if I had gone crazy. They nibbled because they were hungry but, if you have never been "yelled at" by a cat, you don't understand what Pilchard did Saturday morning to awaken me.

Mija was lying on top of me, purring up a storm. Pilchard came into the bedroom, stood by the bed and meowed. It was the tone of the meow. She was not happy. Both dishes still had food in them but I freshened it. She looked at the bowl and then looked up at me and meowed. Okay, that message is clear. My grocery run on Saturday included new litter and new cat food. I got the big bag of Purina Indoor Cat food. They do like this.

But, I've already spent money on the litter and cat food that they don't like. I don't want to just toss the stuff. The one bag of litter is going in the car for winter. You should carry a bag, if you live in northern climes, because putting litter under a spinning wheel allows you to get out of being stuck. I mixed the last of the corn litter into the Fresh Step and we'll just phase that out of use. I also mixed the food they like with the food they dislike and they are happily eating all of it.

Am I nuts for going to these lengths to make the girls happy? Maybe, but they provide so much peace and enjoyment to me, the least I can do is make them happy.

Beverage: Apple Cider Tea

Deb

As ready as I'll ever be.

I took the box of Lactated Ringers to Animal Medical today. I had purchased the case to give Betsy fluids. I wound up getting only most of one 1000 cc bag into her. When we first started with fluids back in January, I was using a case of donated Ringers. Now my case can help someone else who is in need but lacks the funds for everything.

I took my cat carrier, too, and gave it to Val. She will put a tee shirt in the bottom of hers and mine. That way the new arrivals have a familiar scent instead of coming into a world of strange smells.

I washed one more litter box. It's currently outside on the deck, drying.

I have done all I can.

Tomorrow, after work, I will pick up my new family. Val gave me a bag of the treats she gives them, one when she gets home from work and one before bed. I have to work Friday morning. That will give them a chance to wander about the upstairs, sniffing and getting used to their new home. There will be no basement access for at least a month. There are enough places to hide upstairs. I don't need them disappearing into the basement.

Am I ready? As ready as I will ever be.

Beverage: (Ice cream is done.) Blackberry tea

Deb