Ho Hum. I woke up with a bit of headache today. It's gone now, but it's always a sign of the day to come. I hope it means it will rain, we could really use it. I made some coffee, kissed my departing DH and then settled down to do my day. Which is going to include a LOT of bon bons, Days of Our Lives, Oprah and brunch.

But until that happens, I need to pay the bills, balance the check book/budget, dust the walls and ceilings, put the laundry away, put all those fracking clothes away -- I don't understand DH's system of clothes on the crate vs clothes on the floor or the slight subtlety of clothes on the cat scratcher. It isn't helped at all by my system of clothes on the floor, vs the clothes on the chair and the clothes on Pluto's crate. Sigh. After awhile the whole system gets mucked up and ALL clothes have to be washed and then put away so that we can start over.

I also need to clean the closet because there are few cat bunnies hanging out in there and growing at an alarming rate.

Before my afternoon snooze, I'd like to squeeze in cleaning off this desk, and my desk, cleaning all my files off the old gateway before it's wiped and handed off to Phil and Kandi, take a shower, write a short letter for my Mom and pack it up with some stuff I got her at Target and then take it to the post office, sweep the floors, go through all the junk mail, make dinner, go to TKD and ... oh wait, that is AFTER the nap. Shoot.

And in other news....

Sunday night DH and I took Pluto for a late night walk. It was cooler but still pretty muggy. While DH dragged the dog along, I walked ahead and practiced several TKD moves -- no one was out so I could afford to look like the fat jedi kid without feeling embarrassed. On our stretch home we passed a few dark houses and DH said "There was a cat."

Huh? I stopped and looked around. Finally, I discerned the cat shaped shadow sitting by a car. I walked over to it and talked. It was still the whole time and the closer I got the more I started to think it might be a skunk or a really weird squirrel. Luckily though the cat finally answered me and stretched and very cat like way and meowed. I bent down and let it sniff my hand before petting it. One little touch of it's back and I knew something was wrong. I had hit a matt. A serious, close to the skin matt, and with a little more petting I felt the entire skeleton of the kitty. I was horrified. It was very friendly, so I picked up and called to Tim. "This cat is a stray!"

"No it isn't," he replied. "Doesn't it live there?"
"I kind of thought so too, but they wouldn't let this happen to it," I replied and caught up to the him standing under the street light. I help up the kitty for him to inspect.

"What should we do?" I asked. "Should we just leave it?"
"No," he replied glumly "We have to take it."
"I know," I said. "It's all your fault for seeing it and tell me about it in the first place."
"Well, it's your fault going back to look and for talking to it," he rejoined.

So we took the cat home. I went through the back door and brought it directly to the basement. Into the bar room it went and we quickly stuffed the area around the fridge to make it quarantined. In the light, we could see the cat had open sores, large mats all over it's body, was very thin and worst of all, was sick. There was fluid running down it's eyes and nose and it's breathing was raspy. Despite all that, it was super friendly and talkative. I got some food and water, Tim dragged in another cat box, we set up a bed for it and talked about what we should do. Obviously we couldn't keep it, not with our cats and their lapsed distemper shots. We resolved to take it to the humane society the next day after work. We washed our hands well, threw our clothes down the laundry shoot and went to bed.

The following day, in accordance with the Humane's website, DH called the cat in. They said that they didn't have a preference for whether or not we brought the cat in or they came to pick it up. That was followed by, "although it's easier for the animal control officer to decide wether it needs to go to the clinic if they pick it up." We decided to just call and have them pick it up. I called the dispatcher, told them about the stray and she said the Animal Control Officer would call. I sat down to the computer to regale my exciting day to Hilary when I heard someone pull in the drive way. I went to the living room and saw the door was open a bit, I went to open it more and saw there was a woman standing on the other side, she had already opened the screen, and if I had opened the door then a Taz could get through lickety split! Oh wait, Taz is gone...but that terrifying experience of last week lingers. I held onto Pluto and let the two ladies into the house. The younger one saw Innsmouth and said "Is this the cat?"

I paused. Here was my chance to get rid of that peeing all over floor, never covering up her poop or pee when does hit the litter jackpot, and the royal bitch of the house! Instead I replied "No, she's healthy, the cat is downstairs."

I said she was sick, I thought she had distemper, and I wasn't sure if it even was a she because she wouldn't let us look, and because of all this she was quarantined. They went down, we heard and earful from the cat and they scooped her up and put her in a cat box. DH thought they would ask more questions about the cat, but instead the ladies seemed more interested in Pluto. They asked if he was greyhound, was he rescued, commented on how big he was, what his name was, how long have we had him, etc. I suppose to them a greyhound sighting is more exciting then a boring old stray cat.

One thing they mentioned about the cat though, was that it could have been declawed. I didn't even think of that! It would explain why it was so skinny. They also said it might just have an upper respiratory infection and that it might clear up. I doubt that, myself - then again whenever any cat gets sick I automatically assume distemper. After seeing 20 or so cats wiped out by this infectious disease when I was kid, I have a healthy respect for that cat plague.

So that was that. I want to call and see how the cat is doing, however we can't have another cat. Do I really want to hear the depressing news that it probably has to be put down? Ugh.

Now to make this post even longer....

Last night I went to Yoga with Laima. I got us off track only four times during the night with my crappy directions! Damnit it all...things just look different at night! We did make it to the Warner Park recreation center, and my goodness. That place is SO nice. Seriously, it's the fanciest building I have been too in years! So organic, and the interior of it is so cool. Well, I yoga'd and stuff, and I thought maybe my legs would hurt today from some of those movements -- but they don't. Ahh, thank god for TKD. It is a little hard on my lower back, but I have modifications for that. There was about 30 women there ranging all over the map in age, and two dudes, three if you count the instructor.

And finally a small recap of the weekend and things I learned:

I went on a mini road trip on Saturday and returned with: bridal shower cake, bath soap, two candles, jelly beans, three cook books, a hankie, crookshank willow branches, a Christmas cling, a spiced trivet, a tea bag, magnets, envelope templates, a baggie of sequins and a converted flour sack embroidered dishtowel.

Sunday DH and I went to a neighborhood Packer Party across the street and we got to meet most of our immediate neighbors and discovered that we are NOT the third owners of this house, but the fourth. And apparently the owners before us were native American (full blooded Cherokee, but the wife was apparently half Indian too, of something they couldn't remember). But it might explain the Chief decal on the basement door to the work room. Maybe it would also explain why I knew this house was right for us before we even came into it. Perhaps this house, just likes to have American Indian's (and their sympathizers) living it in.

DH's first vacation is done, but I need to start planning the second one. The travelling one where I get to really be on a vacation too! Where to start...we have enough miles for one ticket, just need to find another ticket ... how do you do that? Man, I always went through travel agents.... and then renting a car, and asking if it is even okay if we DO visit some certain friends living in Shiprock, New Mexico or if we should rent a hotel in Farmington....in November and what might be the best time....