reading: Crisscross, still. I’m enjoying it, but I haven’t done a whole lot of reading lately. Fred said last night “F. Paul Wilson isn’t the best writer, but Repairman Jack is the BEST character!” True, that.
* * *
I spent three hours cleaning this morning – the master bathroom, doing laundry, vacuuming the upstairs, vacuuming and mopping the entire downstairs, dusting the upstairs – and I swear to god the house doesn’t look any different.
There are already kitty footprints across the dining room floor. Imagine that.
* * *
The spud came downstairs yesterday afternoon – she had a half day of school and was home before noon – and said “Do you have any errands I can run?”
“Like what?” I asked, to see if she had anything particular in mind.
“I don’t know… Maybe check the PO Box?”
Then I remembered that Diet Coke was on sale at the grocery store, and I said “You can do TWO errands for me! Go check the PO Box, and then go to Publix to buy 2-liter bottles of Diet Coke.”
We had a ten-minute discussion on exactly where Publix – the grocery store she’s probably been to ten zillion times in her life – is located. I gave her money, told her to buy 6 2-liter bottles of Diet Coke, and off she went.
She called to let me know she’d arrived at the post office, then asked if she could get Diet Cokes at Kroger instead of Publix.
“No,” I said. “They’re probably not on sale at Kroger.”
As an aside, how fucking ridiculous are we that we get all excited when Diet Coke is on sale? The regular price is $1.39, and they’re currently on sale for $1.09. That’s a savings of $1.80 for six bottles. And yet I’ll happily pay $1.51 for a large Diet Coke at McDonald’s a couple of times a week. WHERE’S THE SENSE?
Ten minutes later, the phone rang again.
“Um,” said the spud. “Where is Publix? Is it past Winn-Dixie?”
“That depends on which way you’re going,” I said.
“I’m in the Winn-Dixie parking lot…”
“Do you see Lowe’s?”
“Um… yeah?”
“Publix is in the strip mall on the other side of Lowe’s. It’s in the same mall as Staples,” I said.
“Oh,” she said.
She was home again ten minutes later, Diet Cokes in hand, everything just fine.
I have no idea how she managed to miss Publix. She had to have driven right by it! But I think the less questions I ask, the better.
Today, she drove my car to school and then home again. No problems. Wednesday, she’s going to drive a little further afield, to the mall. Hopefully she’ll make it home with no problems. If she gets lost, she’ll have her cell phone with her.
My lord, this whole business of being the parent of a driving teenager is mighty nerve-wracking.
* * *
THIS IS THE SECTION ABOUT THE KITTENS.
Okay, those of you who have dealt with kittens this age before – I need your help and advice. Leave it in the comments, would you?
The kittens are starting to pee on the rug. I had no idea this was going to happen – how dumb am I? (Don’t answer that!) I thought Momma was going to teach them to use the litter box. What the hell is going on? I’ve caught a couple starting to squat, and put them in the litter box, but they couldn’t be less interested in using the damn thing. We thought about putting the litter box where they’re peeing, but their favorite spot is behind the door, which would make it impossible to open the door. Is there something I can use to repel them from the places where they’re peeing (usually the corners of the room)? Every time I find a little puddle, I clean it up and spray Nature’s Miracle on the spot, but that doesn’t stop them from going back.
Am I spending too much time in the room with them? I go in there four or more times a day and spend probably half an hour each time. Am I interrupting Mom’s training-the-babies schedule?
Mom and a couple of the babies were sitting at the food bowls eating, and one of the as-yet-unnamed black and white kittens (we’re naming them tonight when we weigh and deworm them) LAID DOWN A GREAT BIG TURD IN THE FOOD BOWL. The food bowl HIS MOMMA was eating out of. And she just DID NOT CARE, she just kept on eating ’til I took the bowl away to remove the GREAT BIG KITTEN TURD. That was pretty damn nasty.
Anyone who’s dealt with this kind of situation before, I would VERY MUCH appreciate your suggestions and comments. Thanks!
Now, on to the pictures…
Flossie, hanging out with Mom.
“No, no, guys, LISTEN! You gotta listen to this! You won’t believe it! You will SHIT when you hear this story!”
Baby bellies and baby TOES. Could anything be cuter?
“Heeeeeeeeey, lady with the flashy thing! You wanna stop that shit? It makes me see dots!”
Flossie. I think she’s one of my favorites. Actually, they’re ALL my favorites.
I brought in something for them to sharpen their needle-like little claws on, and they all spent a long, long time sniffing it. I guess it smells like our cats. Aren’t I nice, taking toys away from our cats for the foster kitties to play with?
Flossie again.
I KNEW that sooner or later I’d get a yawning pic! Yay!]]>