Feral Cats

My neighborhood has had a feral cat problem for years. Ages ago, I was asked by my landlord if I would contact Animal Control. So I did. I captured a possum and about eight kitties, as I recall.

This year I lost a landscaper company's business because his men kept walking in kitty poo on my lot. Well, imagine me weeding through tons of monkey grass and coming across several piles of poo in them. Yuck! I had had enough.

Over the past week, I trapped six cats and the Benson Police took them away. I don't know if they were set free down Hwy 301 in Dunn or if they were brought to the shelter in Smithfield. 

Now if only I could get the dog owners to control their animals from running free.

Maybe THIS chapter should be entitled Vilify Me.

#feralcats

#catchingcats

Vilify Me

OK. I am old. I've lived in this mobile home community for 15 years as one of the most tenured residents in our twenty mobile homes.

My new nextdoor neighbors seem pleasant enough.

But their dog, Maya, is allowed to behave in ways which drive me nuts.

1. They let her poop in our shared garden bed. They never pick up the dog poop. 
2. I told them that it is a health hazard (which is OK as long as it's in their yard). 
3. Then I put a cheap plastic fence in-between our yards.
4. Then Maya would get in between our lots further up. Yes, I complained to their daughter who speaks fluent English.
5. I was pleasantly surprised to see a screen in that section a few days later.
6. Maya is allowed to bark for extended lengths of time.
7. They crate their puppy at the side of the house, where she dumps her water dish over immediately. (Did Tulip teach her that trick?)
8. When I saw Maya running loose through several yards last week, I called over to the dad that dogs are not allowed to run loose here. Maya was quickly brought inside her house.
9. When I got home this afternoon, Maya was running with her leash still on; no owners in sight. Then she plunked her little behind in my flower bed, as if it (and she) belonged there.

THAT DID IT.

I walked next door to complain. I told the family, "This time, I'm telling our landlord."

It's not all gripes. The good stuff is in a blue font.

(My sister can confirm that I was always a tattle tale.)

Now, if what I have related makes me The Trailer Park B-Witch (choose either first letter), so be it.

But it's not all gripes. The good stuff is in a blue font.

#nodoubtnopoop

#neighbor_dog_rant

#imabeotch

#vilifyme

#TheTrailerParkBWitch 

Hole in Mat

Since the old tabletop was icky from peeling paint, Tulip had been using her water dish as a finger bowl. I thought of ways to waterproof the table. A friend suggested putting a rubber mat designed for using under sinks. I thought,"Great idea!" 

The mat's been in place for a few days.

Tonight I noticed Tulip paying a lot of attention to the right side of the mat where it overhangs a little. Upon close examination, my cat has already taken out a chunk of the mat. The hole is shaped exactly like the little leaf design in the rubber. 

TULIP!    ⮟

The dot at the far right is her first hole. Hope she doesn't become too comfortable doing this. The mat cost me about $36. 

Tulip is still eating paper. Guess now she's onto harder stuff.

I have an addicted cat on my hands!

#cataddict

#tulipeatsrubber

#tuliptales

Cleaning House

I am trying to unload furniture items before June's Endless Hwy 301 Yard Sale. It's the first time I've used Facebook Marketplace. Sold my cedar hope chest first for the bargain price of $60. Tonight a lucky couple in Dunn picked up my Galanz toaster oven. I marked the price at $10. So many people responded to that: I clearly could have asked for more. 

I still have my kitchen set and cigar-shaped coffee table to go. Absolutely no interest has been shown in the latter. Next, I need to take pictures of the spare bedroom furniture, one of my two lateral file cabinets, etc.

• And I have yet to view the senior public housing in Johnston County. 
• To secure an independent living place for Tulip and me.

• And call Animal Control to get a Hav-A-Heart trap for all the feral cats who add more than mulberry juice to my shoes' soles.
• If you catch my drift.

#cleaninghouse

#Unloadingstuff

It's Been A Week From Hell, Part II

My cable bill (cable, Internet and home phone) jacked up their monthly rate to $178+. I decided to save money by finding an alternate Internet company, thinking I'd save time and money.

HA!

Getting hooked up with this new company was - and still is - PAINFUL. They sent three different crews out, each team choosing a different path where to bury the cable. And this took mere weeks to accomplish. Last Thursday, I finally thought I'd seen the last of them. 

Well . . . 

Not so fast. Turns out that not even the tech knew that they wouldn't be able to finish the work ticket. Seems there's been a hold-up on all new installations due to "illegal" or "non-regulated IP addresses."  Now my phone works only if I call out on it. Incoming calls can't come through. The only bright spot is that now all my spam calls come to my cell phone. It's much quieter without the home phone blowing up.

BUT . . . I haven't gotten to the main part. The problem is ME (😟).   I disconnected everything left by the original provider. That was my mistake. Or, as the Dixie Chicks put it, "There's your trouble."

Now:

• I don't have access to the TV unless I watch shows on my laptop. 
• Alexa doesn't even talk to me anymore.
• My printer doesn't work either.

Two people did me a kindness and tried to get all my wires sorted, to no avail. So I called the first provider to help me out. They are due here between 8 and 10 am tomorrow.

Tulip is anxiously awaiting the return to normalcy.

I've been kicking myself (mentally) for messing with things I should not have.

#NoTechiesHere

#TulipDeservesTV

It's Been A Week From Hell, Part I

...and it had almost nothing to do with Tulip.

• This past week my mulberry tree started producing. I have stains on the bottom of my shoes which I keep on the back porch. My house has many, many new stains each day clean up. The berries attract flies and birds. It tends to smell funky as they ferment.
• Unfortunately, every other pair of shoes I wear have the same stained bottoms, but I keep those pairs inside the house.

• Recently, I've been spilling things around here a lot. One day (and I could foresee this happening), Tulip was angling to jump on my lap so she could sample my hot cocoa. I shifted in my recliner to intercept Tulip mid-flight. 
• That was my intention anyway. Cocoa landed on and beneath my recliners. I was surprised how far however-many-ounces could go.

• I had poured coffee grounds in a Melita© single cup filter. I suspected it would be a problem when the mug I selected was too wide-mouthed. Sure enough, the coffee mug tilted. There was coffee "mud" and many, many grounds that fell all down the kitchen counter, refrigerator and . . . you get the picture.
• Tulip had no part in this even worse disaster.

#TulipTales

#CatTales

What's Up?

Tulip has been busy, but I just got the Internet back late this afternoon. I never knew I'd become so dependent on it!

First off, while I was showering last week, Tulip got into my maxi pads. She chewed on the top corner of it.

Even though Tulip never met Liberty, she is starting to behave like him when it comes to loving Q-tips. Liberty tried to intercept the swabs as they were headed from my ears, to the bathroom trash can. Tulip likes going through the bathroom trash in search of used cotton swabs. And she found the plastic cup where I keep my unused stash. Just one more thing to keep away from Tulip. I regularly move the toilet paper out of reach, and now the Q-tips are on a higher shelf.

#Tuliptales

#Cat_stories

#CrazyCat

Why do I constantly misplace things?

Okay, I'll say it for you. I am old and becoming more forgetful. Sometimes it's Tulip's fault.

Cases in point: 

• On Monday, I needed to find my heating pad. I found the empty box it came in. Looked everywhere, but no clues were found. This reminded me of another time when I searched for the heating pad. Not surprisingly, I ended up owning two. A few years ago, I gave the surplus to a friend. 
• In a repeat performance of events, I ended up buying yet another heating pad at Walgreens.
• Totally my fault.
• I should reassign one of my living room bins exclusively for storing spare DME (Durable Medical Equipment). Blood pressure cuff, various braces for my heels, my back, etc.
• Disorganized me!

• I bought a fancy insulated bottle from Coffee on Raiford. When I was looking for it, I asked myself, "Did I put it on the car roof?" and "Did I leave it at the last place I was in?"
• The bottle was spotted in a cat bed amongst a variety of cat toys.

• Totally blame this one on Tulip. 
• She had to knock it off a table first, then nudge it over to her kitty bed. 
• Bad Kitty!

#losingstuff

#Tuliptales

#Cattales

I don't live alone

While my relatives might think that I live alone, they keep discounting the fact that Tulip rules the roost.

It's depressing when I think about how much power she has over me.

🏡

I will start touring adult assisted living places. First off, in Durham. The places sponsored by A Place for Mom sound expensive, but that's probably because they are high-end facilities. They probably get kickbacks for being sponsored places. I will look into local places in Smithfield and Selma.

🏡

Speaking of my housing situation, I copied an AP image of the White House. It has nothing to do with this blog entry. It's like the weather outside today.

🏡

I don't know what kind of living situation I'll find myself in. Could be a one-bedroom apartment or a studio. Between now and the June Endless Yard Sale, I'll need to get rid of all my doo-dads, books, etc. The bottom line is, I have a few months to get rid of a ton of crap.

#downsizing

#assistedliving

Am I That Bad?

Now I am faced with finding an assisted living place, selling my car, stop going to writing conventions ("It's a hobby, Mom") and giving up my freedom in general. 

WHY

BECAUSE and ALTHOUGH:

• I've fallen three times since last June.

       Hey, I'm 72. It happens to seniors everywhere.

• It costs so much to keep paying insurance and a car payment.

       In rural towns, I need my car/freedom. 

       My car accident occurred three years ago; that didn't  necessarily make me a bad driver.

       Come November 2026, my car insurance costs will be halved.                     
       

       Upkeep is negligible for a 2024 Nissan model.    

                                                            

                               

• In the last three months, my bank balance has been in the red.

      I realize this is concerning. That's why I brought it up. I agree that I need help to                             manage my finances.   
          

        This month, I will take my first required withdrawal from my 401K, gaining over $7K.
      
        Publishing costs were higher than I expected.     
                                               
        Medical bills keep racking up.

• What I've done about it:

        Netflix will be canceled as of April 7  

        Changing Internet providers April 15

        Adobe canceled as of April 16

         BeFunky canceled as of April 18

         Canva canceled as of May 4

• What is next:

       Talk to my doctors

         Ask questions at senior centers and/or Social Services

         Start touring facilities

         Think of stuff to sell

#agingsucks

#aging

New "Old" Cat Food Bowl

🧩     🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩

Since the fast-feeder bowls always end up getting tossed to the floor, spraying kibble everywhere, I figured that Tulip would prefer a normal plastic bowl. So I started putting her food in it last week. Of course, that solved absolutely nothing.

🧩     🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩

This is a new game that Tulip made up. She drags the bowl to the end of the table and pushes it off the table immediately. I think she just wants to eat the kibble off the floor. She then drags the empty bowl across the living room floor. If any food lands near the heating vent, she likes to bat the crumbs into it. 

🧩     🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩

A future redo of the table will probably involve a stainless steel top and a surrounding nailed on "wall" that will stymie her escapades. 

🧩     🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩

You know, Tulip has provided many puzzles for me to figure out. Why can't she learn from  my food treatments?  Tulip is much too smart for me.

🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩    🧩

#Tuliptricks

#Tulipfood

#Mycatrules

Offloading Spectrum Internet and home phone

My Spectrum bill just jumped up another $20, edging close to $180 per month. Last week I decided to switch most of these services to Brightspeed. 

Their rep, John, kept me on the phone for over an hour. There was a problem charging my debit card because I had put a freeze on my credit. I fixed the problem, but did not hear back from Brightspeed.

Today a different Brightspeed rep had me fill out the required forms repeatedly (four times)! Déjà vu, right? 

I called Experian and requested that the credit freeze be lifted temporarily. Uh-oh; it already WAS, but their chatbot didn't hear me say, "Refreeze my account tomorrow."  The account was frozen once again today. So I went to Experian online to settle the freeze-thaw issue. 

Back to Brightspeed. All was fine from my end, but the Brightspeed rep still couldn't get the $50 down payment to work. That explains the repetitious form-filling that took over an hour and a half.

These two Saturday sessions with my future Internet carrier were frustrating. I feel like the monster in their print ads. (Oops; he's a troll). He may be smiling, but all I can say is,

"Grrrr!"

#Internetswitch

#Brightspeed

#Spectrum

#Customerservicefail

Breeze Litter Pellets

Tulip noshes on the unopened bags of Breeze litter pellets. I kept hearing the crisp sounds of teeth marks on plastic bags. There is no way I want the litter bags breached. Last night I draped a lap blanket over the four bags. 

I'm going to need to order more bags. Thanks to Tulip, I have recognized our Chewy.com needs.

🌼

On another note, Tulip acts like a snake about to swallow an ostrich egg as she tries to bite the edges of her food table. I'll add a picture later this week.

                                                                            🌼  

My sister asked why I don't feed Tulip on the floor. Well, I do, eventually, once she tosses here bowl down.

It hurts to bend down. Especially since my recent falls. I raised Tulip's Breeze box on top of the last upturned litter box.

#Tuliptrouble

#Tulipaddswoodtoherdiet

I keep falling

On Thursday I missed another monthly meeting of my writers' group because I tripped up a curb at Smithfield Library. This was much worse than last June. An ambulance took me to the hospital. I had 5 stitches in my left eyebrow, a CT scan and blood work that said I am anemic. I was feeling okay enough to go ahead with my book launch.

Unfortunately, I fell in the house Friday night and nearly could not get myself up. These were two hard falls in two days. My Medical Guardian necklace didn't detect either incident. Yet the necklace gives false reports all the time.

I wrenched my back so badly that I sat in a recliner all last night. Couldn't sleep at all. I can't do much of anything until the back spasms disappear. I have a meeting scheduled for Monday that I may have to back out of.

Tulip's Getting Worse

Now the cat food table no longer has the plastic spikes on it nor finishing nails to hold them down. When Tulip started to eat the Contact paper on it, I pulled it all off. What remains is spotty, rough wood. Now she's trying to pull at the white mat to upset the water bowl sitting on top of it. 

My plans are to put more contact paper on the tabletop. I think I may have to nail the mat down so the water bowl doesn't get upended. Tulip still tries to munch off the trim on the table.

Where's her dish of kibble now? On the floor, to the right of the table. See the patch of blue?You might call this Tulip's moveable feast.

#Tulipmoveablefeast

#cat_hijinks

#Tuliptrouble

Water Works

Today I took a video of Tulip soaking her food table by standing in and pawing at her water bowl. Used two kitchen towels to sop up the mini-flood.

Right now, Tulip must be exhausted from her swimming; she is asleep near a kitchen window.

#tulip&water

#waterlovingcat

#tuliploveswater

Monday, March 2 -- I'm Annoyed...

...with Tulip. So what else is new? 

This morning, right after I filled her food bowl, she promptly pushed the full dish off the table. Kibble everywhere. One piece got lodged in the heating grate.

And, of course, she is daring me to spray her with the water bottle by trying to eat the plastic edges attached to the table. I may have to put a taller barrier on it. Or start putting her dish on the floor. That's no guarantee that she'll leave the dish alone. She pushes it everywhere.

The way Tulip picks up her dish to carry it around is cute, effective and maddening. She also flips the plastic mat beneath the dish, dumping that down as well.

I put nails along the edges of the table and hooked some of the plastic spikes over them. Tulip immediately pulled out two of the finishing nails and put her nose under the spikes. Make that three nails now. She knows to lift the spikes up. By tomorrow, I may have to replace the edges with wood. Or leave it as a jobbie for my contractor to do.

Another thought: I could replace her dishes to "regular" plastic bowls (not the slow feeders she's using now). I should bring the metal bowls and cat frame to my favorite thrift store. I have no doubt that Tulip would flip those bowls over in record time.

When I think about it, I should also donate the coffee pot I never use. Coffee is on my Do Not Consume list, along with gluten products.

===================================================================

Tuesday, March 3rd. 

After I took the picture seen above, I affixed a Velcro strap to the top right corner. Oh boy! Tulip just loves picking at it. 

Three more nails were dislodged this morning. This situation needs a better solution.

A Layman's Diagnosis

Today I got a layman's diagnosis for Tulip.

Diagnosis:  She is bored.

Proposed Solution: 

                                              Get another cat for her to play with.

To quote the late Nancy Reagan, I will...

"JUST SAY N🚫!" 

I give up!

I surrender!

Tulip has weaseled her way behind the retractable fence five times in the past two days. She's constantly/persistently & forever jumping on the kitchen counter.

Regrettably, I have come to the conclusion to just give up and not unfurl the fence. Maybe I can recoup some of the cost... if there's anyone on Facebook who'd be interested in buying it.

In the meantime, Tulip continues to explore the dishes (clean and/or dirty), play with the toaster lever, etc. Naturally, I am left with pawprints and tufts of fur.

I sincerely doubt that I can train Tulip not to jump on the counter. Sure, I've gotten lots of suggestions to use aluminum foil as a deterrent. But few people realize that, to Tulip, tin foil is just a crunchier type of paper. Guess I'll try it again, but I have little confidence in its efficacy.

Someone recommended hiring a cat whisperer such as Jackson Galaxy to retrain me (because he believes a cat's misbehavior is caused and can be fixed by the owner).

So, where is Jackson Galaxy when I need him? Oh. California.

                                                                                       

#catwhisperer,#JacksonGalaxy,#igiveup,#Tulipwinsthewar

Googly-eyed and bugabooed

Do you use Google?

I much prefer it over Microsoft products. I never get the Blue Screen of Death any more.

My one bugab👀 is that I'll save files one day; when I look for them later, I have no idea where they've gone. 

Where the heck are my files❓

Until my files are found, consider me...

G👀gley-eyed 

and 

bugabooed.

#Googleissue

#Googlefiles

#Wherearemyfiles

Progress with Tulip's Book

Yesterday, I sent out two press releases. It could have been one, if I combined the Excel worksheets; one Library and the other Media. Identical messages.

Set up a date and time for my Book Launch in Selma.

 

I need to make multiple small copies to pass to my friends at BCCA, HCAA and Scrabble.

#tulipbooklaunch

#booklaunch

#catbooklaunch

I changed my mind...

Instead of revamping both the Ebook and the paperback versions of The Trouble with Tulip, I'm going to republish them on Amazon. Why? Another Neuse River Writers member said the profit I'm making is more than she gets. The only thing is, it costs quite a bit to order author copies. I don't think I can demand more than $20 for the book. 

Now I'm going to have to set up a place for the book launch. First, l need to update the press release.

🐱

Today I started changing existing photo files into cartoons.  I hope that kids will like to color the images. I have about twenty pictures amassed so far. I'm going to search Amazon for other coloring books.

Box of Tulip

Whether Tulip comes across a laundry basket or a box, she loves to plop her body inside.

This particular box - covered with a cat blanket - is no exception. 

Do you think she knows that she's sitting in the midst of books about HER? She won't be able to nibble on the pages because of the protective blanket.

#TulipBox

#TulipGuardsHerBooks

It's "curtains" for Tulip

What I mean is, I hung blankets in lieu of curtains to keep Tulip out of the venetian blinds at night. Two lap blankets are doing the trick.  I pull them back in daylight hours and let them drop for privacy at night. This might mean nothing to anyone reading this, but to me, it's an innovative solution for my long standing issue of Tulip-messing-with-the-blinds.

The red one is on the north side of the house.

The blue one is on the south side of the house. 

You might ask, why not install curtains, Barbara? 

My answer is, I know better. They'd be chewed upon until they'd resemble lace. Thankfully, as long as Tulip can push the blanket aside so she can look outside, she hasn't bothered with the blankets.

#Tulip_blinds

#catsolution

#TulipBlinds

Bread Pudding

On Saturday, I made bread pudding. It was still tasty, even with gluten-free multi-grain bread. 

Not thinking, I left the recipe on the stovetop. You know what that means:

Tulip got into it.

The paper had become brittle over the years. So much so, it produced a singular crunchy sound, not the typical close-to-silent sound of paper towels when they are being decimated.

Some Winter Storm!

All I've heard for the last few days is that a major winter storm is heading our way. Then the forecast was amended to a dangerous ice storm.

The temperature has not moved above freezing. Tree branches were covered with a layer of ice (so pretty!), so we might end up getting some downed power lines.

Trust me: I am an unskilled photographer. Today I took two photos from my back porch, one of which is shown above. When I faced the camera in the opposite direction, the yellow porta-potty next door was the only thing to grab one's attention. 

#BensonNC

#TulipHouse

#bigwinterstorm

Ravioli Meal

It was an ordinary day when I opened a jar of Alfredo sauce. The home phone rang, so I walked to the living room to answer it. I was gone for only a minute.

That's when I heard the familiar sound of something falling to the floor -- a sound which invariably draws me to the source. Tulip had dumped half of the Alfredo jar's contents, as well as the jar lid, to the floor.

I never knew that cats liked Alfredo sauce. Tulip never got a taste of the cheese ravioli.

New Lows for Tulip

I have two sets of file boxes I bought from Temu.  They are stacked in groups of three and packed with books, papers, etc. The goal was to be Tulip-safe, yet more accessible than plastic bins.

Today I discovered that Tulip can open them.  The first time, I had a hard time convincing her to get out of the box. I closed the cabinet and went to my regular Scrabble game.

When I got home, lo and behold, one of the bottom doors was open. As per usual, she started emptying the bottom cabinet.

Two packs of business cards (one is outside of the shot) were spread out between the kitchen and living room. (Thankfully, both wads were rubber banded together.)

Tulip may not realize that the second set of these cabinets is in the office. It's only a matter of time.

#thetroublewithtulip

#catexplorer

I should have known better

While I was in the office, Tulip stopped by briefly. Nothing scintillating was happening, so she returned to the living room.

I could hear her noshing on paper. WHAT NOW?

....found today's mail where I'd left it, on my recliner. It was a seven page letter from Aetna. Three pages were damaged.

Eureka! I think I've got it!

My website is looking better all the time. 💻

For the banner, I still want to put the slogan I started with:

"Life is better with books and cats"

I'm a bit frustrated. The header consistently shows up at the bottom of the books, no matter how many times I reorder the four choices. 

Once I add a few tweaks, I'll be done for a while.

===========================================================================

UPDATE January 20th

OOPS...I don't have it. Tried to add a logo to the ABOUT page. Definitely goofed up. Now nobody can access the page.

#learningmygooglewebpage

#reluctantwebdesigner

#googleblogger

A Busy Week for Tulip

What hasn't Tulip gotten into?

In the living room:

A camouflage mesh curtain (shown on the right side above) separates one end of my house from the other. It used to close itself with magnets. A few days ago, Tulip was actively trying - and successfully freed one magnet.

Two office activities: 

• Anyone can see the daily detritus left behind from the half-eaten fabric and cardboard bins. The evidence ends up all over the carpet. Besides denuding these bins, Tulip has begun to eat the uneven pile carpet. Bad, Tulip!

• Wondering where my cat found a yellow piece of paper to chew, the answer was on the wall above the printer. NC Representative Wiley Nickel's address and phone number were written on a Post-It note there. She bit off a corner of the post-it note.

                    

What's Next? 
I expect she will start "cleaning" the office wall that faces me where there are other notes.

#TheTroublewithTulip

#Tulip

#cat_destruction

#PaperEater

Knock It Off

Yesterday, I was going to do two things at once: I put a bottle of Ensure on the counter, then turned around to take my morning meds. Then I heard something hit the floor. Forget the pills!

Tulip broke the bottle. The result was a large puddle of pricey chocolate milk.

This Ensured that Wednesday was off to a bad start. 

But don't take this literally, Tulip.

Knock it off! 

Found!

Nobody can accuse me of being a Suzie Homemaker. 

My house has needed vacuuming for WEEKS. Until today, I only swept the back hall as needed. (Stepping on litter pellets is akin to walking on Lego blocks.) Today, I girded myself to haul out the green Bissell Super-Sucker machine.

As expected, the machine unearthed the usual dust bunnies; no surprise there. But, wait -- there was so much more!

When in the living room, the one question I often ask myself  is, "Where are all these little bits of paper coming from?"  Of course, You-Know-Who is responsible. (And if you don't know, you haven't been paying attention).

It was surprising to find a folded News in Review and a packet of Post-It-Notes beneath my recliner. The newspaper was dated December 19, 2025. (It was there only a few weeks. Now, if it were from 2024 or earlier, I'd be worried about me). 

Beneath the companion recliner, I came across a jump drive. I can't remember when I last needed to handle one of those. Who knows how long it had been there? 

When I confronted Tulip about it, she ignored me. Right now she is curled up, sleeping behind me. She looks as innocent as the day is long.

Housework has done me in; I need a cat nap too.