Ahem...cough, cough

Cats don't belong on the kitchen table. This better not be starting a trend. Penney used to get on the table. It was impossible to break her of this habit. I would be doing dishes to the right, off the photo, and I'd feel cat paws on my back as she meowed for attention. Nope, I'm not amused. This may be because the table is pushed away from the corner so Carole, David and I can eat around it. Opportunity!

She does think she's hot stuff, however.

Beverage: Water

Deb

The Problem With Laundry...

...is that once everything is clean, it doesn't fit in the drawers.

Beverage: China Black tea

Deb

Ooooh! Look what I found!

I'm cleaning the house in anticipation of Carole coming through on Monday evening. As I pointed out in another post, the basic idea of cleaning usually leads to more cleaning and other branch activities. I was behind in the newspapers. If I'm cleaning, I might as well read them all before I recycle them. I shredded all those papers, some dating back to 1989. And I am assessing every item I have. Shall I keep it?

It has always been a running joke that buying cats the toy mice means the mouse will be de-tailed and will then disappear. We probably purchased 100's of mice over the last 24 years of cats allowing us to live with them. Sometimes, as when you move a large piece of furniture, you find a collection of 4 or 5 who were chased there and proved to be unreachable. I was dusting and found a collection of a dozen inside the Jewel Tea pitcher I have sitting on top of my secretary. I guess, in the past, I collected a bunch and tossed them in the pitcher to always know where they were. Um...yeah.

So, I dumped them on the table next to the BBC (big black cat).

She was actually rather amused. She chased a few of them off the table but most still sit where I dropped them. I'm collecting all the toys to put in the box they like.

I had a mouse still hidden.

Jessie and I went to Target in the winter and I got a package of these. They are catnip infused and the gals just loved the two I let them have. No, I don't know where those went. I'm thinking I might find them as I continue to clean.

I remember, as I was making this purchase, the woman behind me noticed them and blurted out, "Oh my, are those real?" The clerk looked at me and the two of us started laughing. The poor woman realized, immediately, what she had said and then said, "No no. What I meant to say was, 'Do your cats think they're real?'" It didn't matter. We were all laughing at the image of a three pack of live mice hanging on a rack at Target. Very, very Gary Larson-ish.

I tossed the card onto the floor and the ladies had some fun with it.

When they got bored with it, I put it away. We have enough toys so I can save this for another day.

Beverage: China Black tea

Deb

A Life in Shreds

You know how it is when you clean. One thing leads to another to another to another to "Oh, I should take care of that." It is thus at my house as I spring clean in anticipation of Carole passing through next week.

I have two rooms completely clean and am working on a couple more. It may not be as spic and span as I would really like but, to do that, I should have started in February. The house feels cleaner.

One thing that didn't get done was the storing of records. I keep things for 10 years and then they get tossed. Some things, I've been told, can be pitched after one year or two years maximum. I verify any credit/debit card charges on the monthly statement and then the receipt could be tossed. Could be in 1985. In 2010, not without shredding. Call me paranoid but shredding documents, paid utility bills, medical prescriptions, anything really, that has an account number, my name and address on it just means there's nothing for some criminal element to find when I put out my trash.

As part of my cleaning, I'm also shredding. I had not sorted the paperwork in, I'm embarrassed to say, 2 years. I found a couple of items that could have gone on my taxes for 2008 and 2009. Yes, yes. I know I can file an amended return, but when one item was a $35.00 donation and the other was a $50.00 donation, I don't think that's going to result in much more than pennies being returned to me. My real estate tax bill came today and, this year, I started a file folder "Taxes 2010" for things like that and any donations I can possibly squeeze out of my budget.

And I'm shredding. The shredder is currently taking a break as it got a bit warm, but the results of 45 minutes upon coming home tonight are above in the recycling can. There is still a stack on the table in the living room. Pilchard likes to lie on the stack. It will be done tomorrow, in between baking and cleaning.

There is something slightly liberating, too, in shredding all this. Shredding represents a change in outlook and attitude. Clean out the old and move on with life. I'm vowing to be better about filing. No more stacking the stuff. I have files for everything and that's where it has to go. I got paid today. I paid bills. Everything is filed and the shredder waits for the next batch.

Beverage: English Teatime

Deb