My Cat's Secret Thoughts

Tulip has no one to talk to unless I'm at home with her. I imagine she speaks to every venetian blind she gets her paws into. "If Mom won't open you, I will!"

Her kibble is stored in a plastic bin -- which Tulip has proven adept at opening. My only recourse was to refrigerate her food. Although I don't always visit the fridge for her specifically, Tulip races to be the first one to arrive at its door. She's forever hopeful that "Mommy's going to feed me!"

At the height of her most obnoxiousness, Tulip not-so-silently demands, "It's time for a meal. Do NOT keep me waiting!"

Tulip regularly visits the kitchen counter. It has long been a bone of contention between us. She has tested (and defeated) all types of barriers since she took up residence here. When realizing her access is blocked, Tulip laments, "Why does Mom insist on ruining my fun?"

It is not unusual to find bits of shredded paper on the floors (often from written notes to myself, or bills due for payment). Then there are paper bags; most cats like to play with them. The latest cat-in-bag experiment started the usual kitty way (comically exploring the Ins and Outs). As my feline chows down to shred the bag, Tulip probably thinks, "This is delicious!" 

There are times when Tulip behaves like a dog. When a guest comes to visit, she sniffs the person's leg to identify the scents. "Hmmm...this human has two cats and five dogs. Very interesting!"

Of course, she enjoys looking out of windows. 

• When my car pulls into the gravel parking space, Tulip appears at the office window. "Mommy's coming!" 
• Once I exit the car, Tulip leaves her perch in a race to meet me at the front door. "Mommy's home!"
• She splits her time between watching birds fly, or the feral cats who catch them, and traces two squirrels scampering up trees. Fall seems to be Tulip's favorite season; if only she could catch leaves falling from trees blowing in the wind. The glass prevents her success. "If only I could sneak out the door. I want to be part of the action."  
• Tulip effectively transmits these messages through body language. Her desire - to visit the great outdoors - is kiboshed by a well-placed foot (or box or shopping bag) in the door. "Mommy, please do not block the door." 
• (Yes, I got her message, but the answer is always "No."

I yearn for the times when Tulip settles in my lap. As she kneads my lumpy lap, she thinks, "Ah... just let me share a quiet moment with you." 

                                           

Her soft purrs let me know, "I love you, Mom."

The feeling is mutual.

💖

Merlee's Journey has a New Cover

Book sales have been underwhelming so far. If potential buyers don't flip the book over, they would not know the story is about "loss and foster care."

So now future copies of Merilee's Journey have the subtitle on the front cover. 

#merileesjourney

#fostercare

#loss

#authorbarbaracrowley

#adoption

I thought I fixed Tulip's wagon

The mesh barrier I put in place last week was not exactly foolproof. 

Well, depending on who you think the fool is...

Tulip snuck beneath the fence numerous times last week due to a stovetop gap. It has since been fixed by putting a closet rack upside down... so far, so good. 

Shh - don't tell Tulip about it because it appears to be working!

 

Notice there are four barriers shown below:

1. The mesh pull-out gate (like a theater's rope barrier system)
2. An inverted metal shelf bridges the stove gap 
3. Look for the inverted office tray on the back burner; covering potatoes
4. See the blue round bin on the right back burner. That's for fruit and veggie peels which will end up in the compost pile.

• The wooden spoon on the counter is how I reach the light switches without taking the expanding fence down.

Bins, bins, bins!

When Tulip started messing with my binders' spine inserts, I bought a few plastic bins with lids to amass my collection of books, binders,  and sundry items. It felt like I was buying one or more bins each week. There's little that she can get into now. 

I thought I was at maximum bin capacity... but of course, I was wrong. Years ago, I had attached a flexible open-top plastic tote to my walker.  The fact that it was an open-top container should have clued me in that it would need replacing. That flexible tote is now in my bedroom (sans walker), pending my next purchase.

Tulip, you're killing me!

On a more positive note, my contractor installed a fabric fence I had purchased on Temu on the kitchen countertop. It's a great deterrent. Its operation is a bit tricky, though. Connie gave me a tutorial on which buttons to push on the left to have the fence retract. Today I texted her to ask how to unclip it from the right side (a series of plastic zip ties). 

Connie texted me back. I will need to cut through the zip ties. It sounded like too much work for me to do at the moment, having just finished weeding for the day. 

Right now, the fabric fence is deterring me from washing my dirty dishes. Well, it was my big idea. I just need to come up with a better system to connect the fence on the right side. (Ugh!)

💔

Next on my shopping list:

    stackable bin for the living room (or two)

    zip ties for the kitchen (or find a better way to secure it to the wall)

 

🐱 😸 😺 🙀

#Tulip

#mischievouscat

#kitchenfix

#catdeterrent

#brightideas

Johnston County Senior Games

Last Thursday was the Silver Arts Showcase and Awards Banquet. My poem won a white ribbon (third place). I sang to Linda Ronstadt's When Will I Be Loved? I garnered a red ribbon for second place.

What I came home to...

 ...was a bouquet of fake flowers on the kitchen floor. It was the second time Tulip pushed over the two vases that were atop the blue hutch. Luckily, the glass vase was knocked over; it did not fall.

More tulip-proofing: the paper towels now reside in the microwave.

The binders stored beneath my cigar-shaped table were also fussed with. Tulip was pulling out the spine label. So I went to a dollar store for yet another plastic bin (the big one in the middle).

#Tulip

#brattycat

May Day

I had a great time in Asheville from May 1st through 4th.

First, I took a tour of the Biltmore Estate. Gorgeous gardens and conservatory. I not only got sunburned, I walked my feet off. That's what I get for not wearing my sneakers!

That evening through Sunday, I attended the North Carolina Writers' Network (NCWN) spring conference. Ron Rash, the author of forty books, was our keynote speaker. I bought three of his novels. Not only have movies been made of his work, many of his works have been translated worldwide.

During our banquet, we were entertained by a woman who is a master of the ukulele and storytelling. I didn't catch her name, but she was enchanting. Her performance of There's a Hole in the Bucket was a crowd-pleaser.

After my last class on Sunday, Zachary Vernon gave his class attendees complementary copies of his book, Our Bodies Electric. 

It was a fantastic weekend!