Feel Like Complaining

Soon after Murray the cat passed, I was texting his owner thanking her for the toys and scratching post they had given Abe. One of them was a little shrimp stuffed with catnip. She said she kept his ratty old one as well as other toys from many past pets. I told her I was embarrassed to say that I had a small jar with Nellie's fur in it. She laughed and said she kept one of Murray's whiskers. I think he was part Main Coon and had the most magnificent whiskers.  When our other two cats died, well over 25 years ago, even saving ashes wasn't really a thing. You just dug a hole in the backyard and in they went. Our first cat that died went with the vet and he took her to the rendering plant. We were in the middle of buying our house and no place at the time to bury her. I would never think of doing that now!! Several of my clients have pictures, boxes of ashes, and toys to remember their pet. I think it's really sweet and I love hearing about them. Although we don't hav...

Before we were even done painting, our kitchen light went out. They're the old tube style and when one goes out, neither work. We bought two more and Faith put them in with me helping guide the tips in the slots. The flickering continued so we called our friendly electrician but it would be a week out. Tony wanted me to take them out and redo them but I was very sure that Faith had done it right. I had to finish some of the trim work in the kitchen by flashlight, ha. Tony and I joined the Y through our Medicare plan and although it's going to be hard to schedule the things I want to do with what he can do, we were able to go one day to use the lazy river. It's only 3 feet deep and you can walk against the current or with it. It takes some getting used to and I walked like I was drunk. It did hurt my low back a little so I would switch it up. I really enjoyed it but Tony, not so much. He did enjoy the hot tub and I joined him when I was done. I would like to do the Zumba and...

One more project in the books. It wasn't really hard; but rather involved and sometimes frustrating. I'm sure glad I had Faith's help while she was in between jobs. The (very expensive) paint didn't require any sanding but just cleaning well.  We started with the cupboards above the stove and fridge because they were the grossest and would serve as our testers. Since they were so greasy and built up, we did do some sanding to get them clean. Then the finish started coming off so we had to sand some more, which left some over sanded parts (whoops)! That's all we could do before vacation so the painting didn't start until we got back. I used a 4 inch foam roller but just didn't get enough paint on the board, so it was all patchy. I went over it with a foam brush which left brush marks. Frustration # 1. We had this rhythm going; take down cupboards, clean, paint with 2 coats, add new hardware, and put back. I didn't really read the reviews about the knobs a...

This may be the weirdest thing I have ever posted about. I think you will agree. You know of my many posts about Curtis next door and our mutual dislike for each other. Although we both have let bygones be bygones, we still don't have a reason to speak on a regular basis.  They got a new puppy a few months ago, a Yellow Lab. He's now close to 5 months old and into everything. One day Buddy and Curtis were outside and I asked if I could give him a toy; we have so many we will never use. We got to talking and he casually mentioned that they might need a sitter for Labor Day weekend. Just in case, I blocked my calendar. About a week before the holiday his wife messaged me and asked if I was available. I went over and they showed me around and went over feeding, etc. I really haven't spent much time with the other 2 dogs because Faith is the one that did the drop ins and I tagged along occasionally.  They left Friday afternoon and a few hours later I found myself in their house...