Sunday, November 29, 2015

In Which I Find Thankfuls But My Cats Don't

Of all times, Thanksgiving weekend should be the easiest in which to write a list of thankfuls. As such, I should have written this before my daughter called up the stairs that the oven isn't working, before my son was up in the attic, retrieving the Christmas decorations, and notified us that the roof has been leaking there (that's not the only place, unfortunately), before my brother texted me that he had called our mom and she was very confused about everything when he tried to talk to her, before the cats rebelled about the new litter I got for their litter box. So I'm going to do the equivalent of holding my hands over my ears and singing "LALALALALALALA" at the top of my lungs and ignore all but the thankfuls. Deep breath. Here goes:

1. The College Boy's pneumonia has responded well to medication. He is still coughing, but it's not the horrid cough from earlier in the week, and the wheezing seems to be gone.

2. I got a Get Well card from my sweet friend Kristi from Thankful Me, as in a real, delivered by the postman through the slot in my door, card. How can you not feel better after that?




3. I had a long, lovely chat with Christine from In The Coop. We laugh a lot when we talk on the phone, and it's wonderful.

4. I made it through another year of dressing like an Indian for the Pre-K Thanksgiving feast and like a Pilgrim for the Primary feast.




5. We went to my brother and sister-in-law's house for Thanksgiving, minus my parents, who weren't able to make the trip this year. It's about a four hour drive from here (we're in the southwest corner of the state, and he is in the middle), but my dad let us borrow his Sequoia, which was nice, as our cars are not in the best condition (even though mine does have heat now, and we would have needed it). Not only did we get to drive a car that is only a couple of years old...

6. ...it has Sirius XM Radio. My daughter rode shotgun and deejayed and I drove, with the boys in the back with their electronics and headphones, ignoring us, and we sang all the way there (including lots of showtunes).

7. One of our Thanksgiving traditions for the past four years or so is to attend a Mizzou volleyball game. This year, they played Texas A&M. They lost, but they took it to five games, we sat really close, and I got my picture taken with Truman the Tiger.




8. We all make relentless fun of my brother for using a spreadsheet when he makes Thanksgiving dinner, but he pulls off one heckuva meal, and it was delicious.

9. My daughter picked up my phone when I left it lying around and took some selfies. Always enjoy a chance to post pictures of her, especially ones like this:




10. I returned the College Boy to school this afternoon. Of course, I had to feed him before I left town, and while we were eating, a woman from another table came up to me and told me I had the most beautiful hair, so thick and healthy looking. I was taken aback, because I look in the mirror and see a curly mess, so she really made my day, and I told her so.

The oven still won't work. One of the cats pooped on the floor NEXT to the new litterbox. It's been raining since Thursday morning and not expected to stop until tomorrow night. I can only find one control to my kids' electric mattress pads. The icemaker is only making about 8 cubes a day. But there are still thankfuls. Find yours.


VERY leery of this new litter. 


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20 comments:

  1. If it makes you feel any better I used to have a cat that would only poop in the litter box if there wasn't any dirty laundry on the floor - there was almost always dirty laundry on the floor. Thankfully, he decided to run away from home and now lives over at a neighbors house (go figure). I see him once in a while, but if I call him I just get a really snotty look from him.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Ruby has only used the auxiliary box in Emma's bathroom. She acts like the new stuff will burn her if she touches it. My friend who fosters cats plus has a bunch of her own uses this. It's horse bedding. Makes the basement smell like a big hamster cage.

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  2. Glad to hear your son's pneumonia is getting better, and I trust you are drinking plenty of liquids. :-)
    Keep singing, even if it is just covering your ears and LALALALA-ing! Hope the cats figure things out soon.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I showed my son the card and told him it was from me to him as well and to drink his fluids :)
      Maybe it's like the way I fix the weird noise the car is making by turning the radio up. Instead of "swim faster" I shall "sing louder."
      The cats HATE the new litter. I love it.

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  3. LALALALALALALA - And there are thankfuls. Have a great week. I love when the kids take selfies and surprise me on the phone or computer. Oh and about your hair. It is beautiful - and I could live for a week on a compliment like that.

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    1. The risk you take when you take selfies on a blogger's phone is that they will post them - oopsie!
      I probably should have mentioned this woman was wearing stretch pants (stretched quite a bit) and house shoes, but a compliment is a compliment!

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  4. well there's your answer! you do realize that you appear to have filled the litter box with Rice Krispies, right?
    random compliments from strangers are certainly enjoyable

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    1. Pine pellets. They look like guinea pig food. The cats hate them.
      I'll take my compliments however I can get them.

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  5. BRAVO! Valiant effort, dear Indian/Pilgrim/WonderfulFriend. I'm so glad that you found thankfuls, even if they were hard won. And best to find the leaks in the roof before they get worse, I suppose.

    I REMEMBER the heat in your car. In the seat. It was DELIGHTFUL!

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    1. I'm certainly thankful I don't have to wear those costumes for another year!

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  6. Good heavens! That's a whole mess of bummer to sift through in order to get to those thankfuls! Good for you, finding them.
    That Kristi is just so darn sweet. What a thoughtful thing to do. Wish I would have thought of it. :)
    Always a good time chatting with you. We must do it more often!
    In the cats' defense, that litter does look a bit odd.

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    1. I've really been a Debbie Downer lately, but worrying about Maxine is about to do me in.
      Kristi is one of those truly thoughtful people. I mean well, but I have trouble with the execution.
      The litter is odd. They hate it. I love it because it smells like pine no matter what they do to it. I vow to win this battle, but it's not going to be an easy one.

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  7. Leaky roof is bad. Had some of that myself.
    :-(
    Pneumonia isn't very nice. Hurrah for antibiotics at times like that.
    It is nice to get a compliment from a stranger and even better to receive a card from a friend.

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    1. I know it's bad to even say it jokingly, but we're kind of hoping for a drought this winter :)
      Worst cough EVER. Glad it was bacterial and responded to the antibiotics.
      I felt all kinds of special this week!

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  8. Damn! Christine! All of those things!...oven not working, leaky roof... Like Ivy, I'm hoping things are OK with your Mom.
    You found fantastic thankfuls around the rubble of the Thanksgiving that might have been :)
    Excellent news about C Boy. That sucks he was so sick on his school break!
    Glad you were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with your brother and his family. A spreadsheet lol. Fabulous!!
    Sirius XM Radio, good co-pilot, road trip....nothing better!

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    1. I really am a Debbie Downer, aren't I? I need something to snap me out of it. Maybe my fairy godmother will visit?
      I would like to point out that the spreadsheet did not prevent him from making lumpy gravy (he called them free dumplings).

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  9. Wow....that is a lot of information! Hope your son is up to being back at school---and that he had a bit more recovery time prior to finals.
    Your mom...that part worried me. Confusion and our parents are never a mix we want to see.
    The photo of your daughter is extra special. Thanks for sharing. Bet she said that too!

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  10. I love those photos of you in your dress-up garb and you with Truman the Tiger! Maybe your cats don't like the smell of new plastic?! Compliments from a total stranger are nice to receive.

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