rufus j. cat, rip

day 48

Today is my first day off work in forty seven. Leading up to it, I had big plans to do nothing. Possibly not leave my jammies and definitely not leave the house. Unless it was nice enough to sit in the back yard in my jammies, of course. In reality, I felt restless and completely at loose ends. I did much puttering, three loads of laundry, walked the dog, cleaned the cat boxes, took out the garbage, recycling and composting, O and I went grocery shopping.... Now I'm drinking wine and not sure how to spend my evening. RIDICULOUS!!! So blogging until I come up with something to do. Or figure out how to do nothing again.

Since I don't really have anything to say (funny how boring you become when all you do is work), here are a couple of pictures of Rufus. His full and complete recovery has been a joy to see!

Poor dude trying to eat with his jaw wired open.

10 weeks later in full-on attack mode!

february theme song

Something sweet and silly to offset the general shitty-ness of the month.

And, uh, happy Valentine's Day, O. Here's to smoking stupid little cigarettes and drinking stupid wine. I'm always pretty happy when I'm kicking back with you.

holy crap

Hard to believe that just one month ago I was happily kicking 2013 out the door and welcoming 2014. Sitting cozily at home, eating chips, making resolutions, and thinking that the new year just had to be better. Silly me.

Let's get the weather out of the way first. Bloody hell. So... second coldest December / January on record. In those two months, we've had 21 days below -30 (not including the windchill). Almost 50% more snow than average. It's making everything else so much harder and I've turned into a very grouchy bear. And February is supposed to be cold and snowy. Ugh.

Then there's the job situation. Too much of a good thing. I start a new job at Deer Lodge Hospital library next week. Super happy to get the position but really, really sorry to be leaving Children's. So sorry that I'm going to stay on one day a weekend until my term is up at the end of April. And I'm staying at Silver Lotus. Not giving up that job until I have a permanent position (and maybe not even then because I really like it too!). So basically, overworking. Which under normal circumstances would be fine, but then...

The broken jaw. This picture really doesn't convey how much of a mess Rufus is. You can tell that his mouth is wired in a slightly open position. You can sort of tell that the left side is swollen. He's also drooling excessively and grooming his legs and chest like crazy to try and deal with it, which is making his skin raw. He won't eat so he had to be syringe fed this morning. And this is day four of a six week process. He's clearly miserable and there is only so much I can do to make things better. Going to pick up a couple of preemie t-shirts today and see if wearing one will help with the grooming. Picking up some chicken or turkey on the way home and will make some broth so mix with his food. Hopefully it will be more enticing. Other than that.... lots of love.

*sigh*

So.... 2014.... not really diggin' you so far...

film noir rufus

dinner party

Omar and I had an amazing dinner last night with his friends who are in town doing a show at PTE. Jan prepared an excellent beet soup, pakora and filo pockets, five Indian dishes, naan, rice, and various condiments. Was quite blown away and totally stuffed. We were tasked with brining wine and dessert.

Don't have any pictures of the buffet but did take a shot of the dessert. Very pleased with myself! They are mini cheesecakes made in a muffin tin and they rocked, if I do say so myself. Topped with apricot ginger jam. Recipe is available on the Martha Stewart website. She suggests straining the jam, which does make it look prettier (and a bit like eggs) but I preferred the chunky bits of apricot and ginger.

Rufus was a big help, as always. He's well known for his love of all things toasty but this was going a bit far. He wisely stayed off the vent (which is why his butt is hanging over the edge) but he didn't seem the least bit concerned about getting caught lounging on the stove. He jumped off in a dignified and casual sort of way after I shrieked at him. Had to take his picture first, of course!

Set pizza on kitchen table.
Turn around to get plates...

a letter

Dear Karen,

Hi. How are you? I am fine.

Well, actually, I'm not fine. I'm tired because my cat woke me up at 12:30 this morning. And I'm feeling very badly because part of your birthday gift is ruined.

Yes, the two are related.


While I was sleeping, he broke into the package that I had prepared to send. I woke up to the sound of his kicking the crap out of what I thought was a toy, and to the sparks he was creating as he rolled on the carpet in the dark. Imagine my horror when I got out of bed and reached down to throw the toy out into the hall, only to find part of your gift.

Please be assured that a replacement gift will be in the mail by tomorrow. My deepest apologies if it does not get to you in time. I know that you won't mind, but it really was so lovely.

With much love,
C.