Oh, beloved kitty toes. How I love to rub the soft, fuzzy fur between the kitty toes until Miz Pooh flails about, eyes closed as she purrs ecstatically…
So, because we’re, y’know, a tad odd (for crying out loud, this journal entry opened with a paean to kitty toes – can you get any odder?) whenever Fred’s checking account gets lower than we’d like and the other one suggests a way to spend even more money, the non-suggester sings "We cain’t affoooooooord it, we onna we’fare!" (think Eddie Murphy’s Raw). After hearing this many, many times, the spud asked what welfare was. "It’s when the government helps you out, when you need money," we said, simplifying while trying to get across the basic idea. Naturally, because she’s the spud and it’s her way, she immediately became obsessed with it.
Thursday night, we had barbecue for dinner, and Fred was scrounging for cash so he wouldn’t have to cross a really busy street to go to the ATM. He ended up borrowing money from her, and she went with him to get dinner, and all the way there and all the way back, she questioned him, under the impression that he was borrowing money from her because he was out of money. He tried to explain that he had plenty of money in the bank, but didn’t have enough cash on him, but it just wasn’t sinking in. So when he got his bonus check yesterday, he cashed it at the bank before coming home. Then he sat her down and explained that he got a check from the company for his bonus, took it to the bank to get cash, and then he was going to go to the bank again today (which he didn’t, but that’s another story) and put it in the bank. "I’m going to give them ALL this money, and all they’ll give me is a piece of paper," he explained, then went on to talk about how one bank sends money to the other bank when they receive a check someone has written, and so on and so forth.
I’m not sure she understood. Hell, I’m not sure I understand how it works, and I worked at a bank for a year.
Yesterday, I sneezed twenty-three times in a row. Fucking allergies.
Anyway, after explaining the difference between cash and money last night, Fred took the spud to the bed store and showed her the power of cash. He picked out a bed and mattress, then offered the guy a flat amount of cash, plus another $30 if they’d bring the old bed and the dresser downstairs when they delivered the bed and mattress. The guy took it, saving Fred something like $300 in taxes, which he turned around and spent on bedding and DVDs. They delivered the bed sometime after 8:00 last night, and it’s so nice I’m kind of jealous. Made of mahogany, Fred tells me.
The bed is nice, but what I’m most jealous about is those new pillows. The pillows on my bed were something like $5 each at WalMart, so naturally they’ve gone all flat and I have to fold them over to be at a comfortable height.
Oh, and because I can’t POSSIBLY write an entry without including a picture of the kitten, here’s one I took last night while the guys were delivering the bed.
She was freaking out in a big way because her two instincts were at war with each other. On the one hand, she’s the nosiest kitty in the world, and on the other, she’s scared of strangers. She was pacing back and forth on my desk, peering around the corner at them, and when she heard them coming downstairs she would get on her pillow and flatten herself out, with her ears laid back. It’s the same thing she does when the cleaning lady is here. Maybe she thinks she’s protecting me.
And because this was just too cute, here she is snuggled in our downstairs closet. I noticed the door was open and went to shut it, then (thankfully) thought to check and make sure no one was in it. There she was, snuggled up in a pile of coats.
Notice the evil glowing eyes.
So after I nagged him a tad this morning, Fred hung up a couple of the pictures I had framed for him. The Forrest Gump poster went in the library, and almost immediately the library looked cozier. I don’t know why that is, but it makes a huge difference.
What with all the changes we’re making, I may have to re-take some of the virtual tour pictures pretty soon.
Our lilies in the front yard have finally started blooming. They’re so gorgeous I want to cut them and bring them inside and put them in a vase, but if I do that, there will be nothing in the ring around our trees but some dead flowers and green stalks where the lilies were.
I’m sorry I’m suddenly including so many pictures with my entries, y’all. Once I figure out how to do the thing where you click on a small piece of a picture to see the whole thing, I’ll start doing that. And those of you who hate the kitty pics (are there such people in this world?!) can just skip ’em. Fair enough?]]>
05/20/2000