Greetings!
Was a very quiet week of R&R. No painting...no Christmas cards...not even a new shower curtain hung. Have been struggling with a kind of half-cold/cough. It isn't full blown like I had and hasn't gotten any worse. Keeping an eye on it. Just enough to be fairly annoying and to keep me resting. (Which is probably a good thing--lol!) Been a pleasant week, otherwise. We had a snowstorm.
Someone's living in my old apartment. How do I know? I have gotten three calls from the "Front Door" to be let in for packages over the last 10 days. I called the office after the first one and left a message (never get an actual human) to take my phone number off that apartment's intercom for the front door. Obviously not done yet, as just got the third call at 9am this morning. It is hard to be free of that place, eh? I'll try to leave a message again.
Meanwhile--searching for a solution as to how to help Allie get up on this dresser by the window. Leah said she is going to try to fix the remote for the automatic blind next, so I want Allie to be able to get up to the windowsill and to be able to lounge on the top of the dresser. I know she has felt closed in since we moved, too, after us having the patio and birds to watch every day.
So I spent half a day searching online...looked at endless steps for pets, toddlers...ramps for pets...various stepstools...was taking measurements many times...nothing that would work. That dresser is way higher than a bed, for one thing. Most of the pet things are to help them get on a bed or a couch. Finally I found something that I thought might possibly work...some form of cat tree!
Spent other half of the day looking at hundreds of cat trees. Allie has no claws and can't jump far and is a large cat...so I wasn't having much luck. Until I saw this one.
Anyways, it was also on a Black Friday sale and one third off--but still worth it to me. (Don't have my check till the third.) There was some texting and links sent back and forth between Leah and I. They would have to agree to put it together for me because I doubt I could do it myself. Yes, they would. AND Leah said she'd order it so I could get it on sale and I can pay her back!! Whoohoo!!
I was telling Allie all about it. She knew it sounded exciting, whatever I was talking about--lol!
This is going to be so much fun! May take her a good while to figure it out. This was a cat who hadn't ever used steps before--lol! Do you think she can do it? I think she has enough motivation for getting up on the dresser and being able to sit by the window. I can even put one of her cat beds up on the dresser. It will open up her life, you know? Make it more interesting. Merry Christmas early to Allie, eh? Way more exciting that a catnip toy! Not that it is here yet. And not that it is put together. But it will be. Eventually. I have some rearranging of drawers to do soon.
Allie has no clue her life is going to change because of her learning to use steps--lol!
My frig had become fairly empty but this last week it was packed full! They went grocery shopping before Thanksgiving and then Leah sent down things she had been making for Thanksgiving (potluck at her sister's)--ham and sweet potatoes. I had made up some frig oatmeal and gotten out my electric frying pan for the first time here and made up some chicken breasts. Still had hamburger stew. Goodness!
Leah even sent down some little pumpkin breads.
So I had a really nice Thanksgiving with Allie. A quiet week. Watched two period-based mini-series on Netflix. Train Dreams is the entire life of an ordinary working man back when they were building the railroads across the US. Hauntingly realistic pieces of a man's life. Do not watch if looking for holiday fuzzy movies--lol! Same with Death by Lightning. I knew nothing really about President Garfield other than he was assassinated after only being in office 3 months. Was also a compelling series. To break up the seriousness of those, I am almost done with season 18 of Murdoch Mysteries. Am still enjoying it a lot. (Am still missing Vera, though--one of my all-time favorite detective shows.) Also been keeping up with some of my favorite vloggers on YouTube and trying not to watch too much news, to be honest.
They're predicting that we won't get above 28 degrees for the next couple of weeks. So glad we got a little bit of snow on the ground--for the plants and the critters. Have to admit I've been thinking about the partridges and sparrows. I do miss them. But it was harder and more stressful to be told by the office I couldn't feed them (but I still did)...so I hope they find other people around town who put out food for them. Or more just stay out of town. There's been gradually less partridges over the decade I was feeding them.
Anyways, I am looking forward to Allie's cat tree adventures in December. I have quite a few things on my to-do list. Hope to get to a lot of them this coming week, but I am not pushing it. Winter is here. I am content under my blanket, blowing my nose, and coughing once in a while. Not feeling terrible. Allie is feeling very independent now that she knows how to get up and down into and out of the red chair. She seems much more content, herself. Wait till she discovers the cat tree! Fingers crossed, eh? But I think she will figure it out and love it! :)
Meanwhile, I hope everyone is in the Christmas spirit. Love and goodwill!! That's what Christmas has always been to me...not presents or Santa...even when I was a kid. It was that feeling off spreading love and joy and good will...of the best parts of us, you know? We need to remember the beautiful, tender, kindest parts of us human beings. We can shine like bright lights in the darkness when we choose to. We may be sad, wounded, afraid...but despite that...we are capable of such flowing love and compassion. That is the Christmas spirit to me. A spreading energy that lifts the soul! May you be filled with it...nourished by it...comforted by it...this holiday season. With much love--till next time...shine! shine! shine! :)
