Possibly, I'm Insane

Things I Have Done and Seen

As the hed* suggests, I haven't been standing still since my last post.

Walks: I've gone on a few walks, although not nearly at the once daily pace I'd prefer - it's so easy to find a reason not to go outside. Especially when the temperature is bouncing between the mid-80s, which I can deal with, and the low 90s, which is a tad less healthy. Tonight, it's thundering and we're still under a tornado watch. Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler, but still rather humid. That's good enough for me; it might be time for a really early walk. 

Norman: On one of those walks, I met a ginger cat named Norman. I worried about him being out in front of the Yellow Chicken House, because I didn't know if he belonged there or somewhere else. He was extremely friendly and he had the purple tag that allowed me to learn his name. And then a guy coming out of his house and putting things in his car looked over and said, "Hi, Norman!" and came over to pick up a very happy Norman. We chatted; I learned that Norman did indeed belong to the Yellow Chicken House and was let out because he never leaves the area bounded by the house's fences. The guy put down Norman just as a woman came by, walking her dog. "You know what else Norman is?" the guy asked with a grin. "He's not afraid of dogs." The woman walking the dog called out "Hi, Norman!" then turned to me and said "He's right!" I kind of stumbled when I said  that I'd lost two cats to traffic so I didn't let my current cat out - it seemed kind of rude and beside the point for me to say this, when Norman was obviously healthy and he really didn't go beyond the sidewalk boundaries of his home. He really is the epitome of a neighborhood cat, in a most definite neighborhood. 

( Getting wordy. Rest is under here.  )

* That's what us Ancients of Newsroom Days called headlines and that's how it's spelled. WHAT??!?

Music Meme, Day 30

A song that you want to share: 

Now we come to the end of this meme - I find myself a little sad that this exercise is over, but all things come to an end. I've shared 29 days' worth of music with all of you and, in the process, I've had a chance to share music that was new to me as well. It also offered me the chance to re-listen to music I'd already discovered and liked or loved. It was a true joy to do this. 

Some songs were beautiful or memorable all on their own. Others, in this age of the art of the music video ... well, their beauty or impact was enhanced by the imagery that framed them. No matter which, I will undoubtedly return again and again to the music I've posted, thanks to this  meme. 

So, It's June 1..

.. and I haven't been around for a while. Dealing with mice (yes, again, and I'm only going to share one anecdote about it, in a bit) and waiting for the kids and their kids to start their caravan journey from Seattle, and reminding myself to keep up daily walks, or at least fairly regular walks, and comforting my son when he had to say goodbye to his 17-year-old cat, and trying to restart the habit I used to have in the 1970s and 1980s - writing letters to friends, and hoping they will write back. 

So, a lot going on in my head. 

So, mice. Yes, we had evidence of them again. I told BB that it was time to call in the pros. Unfortunately, the first pro we called pulled what appeared to be a bait and switch on us, regarding what we'd been told we'd be getting vs what their confirmation email said. The second place kept on stating they'd schedule a visit when BB told them - four times - that we didn't want that, because it appeared that they would charge us an unknown amount for simply turning up. Maybe I'm old fashioned and foolish, and I'm aware that companies' time is money, but not saying what an initial appointment will cost isn't my idea of doing business transparently. 

So we tried one last self-administered tactic; an actual repellent rather than passive preventive barriers. It's fairly strong essential oils; our old friend clove and also peppermint, and other relatively straightforward ingredients. We hauled out things from the larders, from under the kitchen sink, from a bunch of kitchen cupboards ... all the usual places, taking care not to get on areas where Carter might get too much on his paws. 

I'm not as hopeful as I was two days ago, but I'm still willing to give it a month. If we see little or no evidence of the fuzzy little vermin by that time, I'll be happy to go with the once-a-month spraying schedule that's suggested. And since Carter has,all of a sudden decided to actually hunt and kill mice, we may have a new source of help. 

Seriously. In short order, he went from crouching next to an obviously terrified mouse, with the two of them looking like two people sharing a bench while waiting for the bus (the mouse broke for the horizon and - at first - escaped the cat), to Carter discovering that the fastest way to end playtime with Stuart Little was to bite the mouse's head off. 

We found the final two-thirds of poor Stuart the next morning. And 36 hours or so later, we found a second headless mus musculus in almost the exact place the first one had been deposited. We found a third mouse, intact but dead, not that long afterward. I told BB that the third one had obviously died of a heart attack after seeing his or her companion decapitated. 

We have seen no more mice. Pray for us. 

Wow. I'd planned to talk about the other things I mentioned. But this has turned into far too long a post. So we'll end it here. Maybe I'll even post about those other things tomorrow. Maybe.