Strays...

8/8/12

This is the kitty who arrived at my back door last Saturday evening.  He was precariously perched on the grill, sticking one paw into the drip tray to grab some good stuff, then licking his paw clean.  He spooked, of course, when I opened the door, but unlike most strays, he didn't disappear into the night.  He went halfway down the steps, turned, and meowed at me!  I talked to him a little and he became my best bud in no time flat.  Of course, I was hooked.  He was a thin, declawed, neutered male, and very affectionate, so I know he was someone’s pet.  How he ended up at our farm is a mystery.  I fed him for a couple days, then realized I had to find him a home, or when Fred returned from his trip, I’d be looking for a divorce lawyer!      (Last August when Fred left on a trip, he came back to find three dogs, instead of two.  This kitty showed up the same day Fred left on this summer’s trip.  Fred will never leave again!)  At first, I’d thought he was a she, but the vet said nope – neutered male, maybe 6-8 years old.  No microchip or ID, of course!  My friend Pat said she’d take him, so now he’s charming her and the rest of her household.  He’ll have a good life there.  I kinda miss him!

Granny and I spent all day yesterday in Austin, taking care of business.  She got her hair done, a hearing aid replaced, shopped at her favorite butcher, visited the library, sorted through mail, and cleaned out all the rotting food in her fridge.  She’d been gone for nearly 3 weeks, and she tends to hoard anyway, so there was a lot of garbage to deal with…  (my trash went out today and I’m sure the guys are wondering what we’ve been up to in the last week!).  She had nearly 4 dozen eggs in her fridge!  I took 2 dozen home, thinking we could eat them here, but after cracking a couple and gagging at the stench, I checked the dates.  Both cartons were “best by Jan 2012” !!  So, more to be added to next week’s garbage haul.  Yuck.  I think we need to get rid of anything in her fridge that’s older than a month, particularly anything opened…  How many open containers of mayo can one little old lady consume??  Her fridge would make a food safety expert panic!

Haven’t heard from the campers since Sunday morning, so I hope they’re both fine – not eaten by bears or drowned in the lakes.  I think the weather has been good for them, but neither is an expert canoer so there’s a little bit of worry there…  I expect them back in cell range by Friday morning and home by Friday night.  I’ll be glad to have Fred home – I miss him!

Starting to think about school again.  Sigh…  After Granny goes home on the 17^th, I’ll have one more week of pure freedom before the grind begins again.  At least this year I’ll have only upperclassmen.  I’ll also have two classes of Accelerated Precalc and those kids are usually great fun.  They're smart enough and sophisticated enough to be able to tease and joke with, without risking chaos.  The other three classes will be regular Algebra 2, so not as high ability, but at least a little older and more mature than freshmen.  A repeat of last year would send me to the funny farm!

8/9/12

I forgot the “best” part of my Austin adventure with Granny!  I’m driving and she’s giving directions, but she’s not entirely clear on which of several corners “Turn left” refers to, so I’m swerving from lane to lane, missing the turn entirely, making a wild right turn down a frontage road, into a parking lot so I can turn around and try again.  Much to my dismay, a highway patrol car with flashing lights pulled in right behind me!  I figured he must be wondering what that lady driver is on, with her wild driving, and I was anticipating a ticket for reckless driving (and increased insurance premiums L).  What he was really concerned about was the dark tint on the Dodge’s windows!  I babbled through an explanation about it being Mom’s car (then had to explain why I was driving it) from Arizona where tinted windows were common.  Well, in Minnesota, they can only be tinted to block 50% of light through, and mine were allowing less than 70% through.  I’m not sure if it’s actual light or a certain wavelength, but in any case, I was illegal!  He told me I’d have to remove the tinting from all the windows, not just the front (passenger cars vs trucks and vans), and I’d better do it pronto because my official warning would be in the system that day.  If I got stopped again, I’d get a ticket (I don’t know the fine amount since Henry chewed up the ticket when I got home – good dog!).  He was kind of a putz.  So, I just finished removing the tinting on the front windows.  I had to stop for a while – the acetone to dissolve the adhesive was making me dizzy!  Gawd…