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Sunday, May 9, 2021

Can you believe, I ran out of something

I follow up on things. I keep lists. My shopping list is sacred. Things are at hand when I need them. Except, I am out of garlic. I thought there was a bulb at the bottom of the bowl, but wrong. And I never bought a jar of the dried stuff. Anyway...

I woke up this morning to a cat produced mess. My friends to whom I complained opined he had an upset tummy, poor fellow, and hoped he felt better tomorrow. I was less charitable. I spent an hour cleaning the worst of it before either one of us had breakfast. When Mr. Cat saw I was and intended to remain occupied, he quit panhandling and retreated to the tower top, to sulk.

After breakfast, I went back to deal with the rug under the table under the litter box. I love that rug. My sister wove it, probably twenty years ago, and Linda rewove it a few years ago, when I'd worn it through. Its job now is to be a better repository of flying litter. Those legs are the little table with the litter box on top. I do not clean cat boxes on the floor.

Avoiding the large stain of former kibble, now acidic cat stomach acid eating at the fibers of my rug, first I lifted the heavy cat box and carried it away. "Look mom, no cane, while I transport this box over to my cutting table!".

Then I carried out the table. Then I rolled up the rug and carried it to the front door, to go to the deck and shake out the litter. I retrieved a rain soaked letter my neighbor left in the door when I didn't answer her text yesterday. When I opened it, later, I learned my health insurance premium will increase twenty two dollars per month beginning July first. When I have time, I think I'll calculate all my increased costs this year.

I stepped out onto the deck, into the rain, to shake out the rug. As I stood there, I noticed the wet rain becoming white snow. Later in the day my daughter said there were cars off the road everywhere as she and France came home from an overnight trip. You know, first snow of the season.

I went down the hall to the washer, distributed the rug around the agitator, reached into the pod bowl for a couple of washer pods and came up with...a couple. Only. The good news is, my rug is clean. I did not go out to replenish the supply today because it is Mothers' Day. Not a holiday I give great credence to, nor did my mother, but on the other hand, why bother the clerks today when they might rather be home.

And I'm always happy to wish a good Mothers' Day to all my friends, for if we are mothers, we are and will remain so forever.


32 comments:

  1. All forms of garlic are important in my house too. Granulated, whole clove, garlic salt, and chopped in a jar. What in the world could have set off the cat? Facing a mess first thing in the morning is no good. Hopefully he is fully recovered and there will be no repeat performance.

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  2. Sorry kitty is not feeling well. I dealt with my mutt's upset digestion today at 3 a.m., and I have spent the day loading up the washer and dryer...but that's what it is to be a mom to my four-legged babies! Happy Mother's Day.

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  3. Snow? Oh lord.
    Get a small container of garlic powder for emergencies when you go shopping.
    And yes- mothers forever. We surely are.

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  4. I hope the cat is feeling better having inconvenienced you so spectacularly.
    Looks like they want to shut us all down soon, so I'm out early for salad items, dog food, and the like before the announcement at which point the streets will be black with people...

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  5. We are mothers until we're at the cemetery, according to my mom. Ohh, I hate cat messes. Mari runs from the kitchen vinyl floor to the carpet (usually family room) to throw up. Very annoying.

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  6. Too many places are having too much snow too late in the season. Cats do sometimes seem to have sensitive stomachs or else they eat things not meant to be eaten. I hate getting up in the night and stepping in such a mess! Happy Mother's Day! (a little late)

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  7. Lola has also been doing the vomiting thing, thankfully only on washable blankets and it seems to be over for now, but four days in a row last week! I think she just ate too fast each time.
    Snow again! when you should be revelling in spring flowers and sunshine instead.

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  8. We didn't celebrate Mother's Day either. My parents said that they should be celebrated every day and not forgotten for 364 days of the year.
    Cat's digestive juices are powerful destroyers. Hooray for a clean rug.
    I hope you didn't need the garlic tonight.

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  9. Hari OM
    Well, I hope Toby was just having a one off spitty fit... Thank goodness for cotton rugs I say. Sounds like there is a shopping trip very imminent. And so much for global warming... YAM xx

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  10. One is determined to be organised but these things foil us!
    Sorry to hear about your cat..I wonder what did upset him?
    Snow!!...here it is cold heavy showers and snow on the mountains

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  11. I, too, am a keeper of lists. I think that's why it's so frustrating when we run out of something. I often have little 'surprises' left for me by cat or dogs. I have learned to NEVER go barefoot in the early morning. I am so over this cold, wet weather.

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  12. When I read stories like this I am glad that I don't have pets! It's an irony that having spent my entire life involved with nature and the outdoors, and wildlife in all its forms, I have never had the inclination to have animals in my house.

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  13. I hope Mr Cat is now thoroughly recovered from his stomach bug. But a shame he isn't capable of cleaning up his own messes!

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  14. For the things we use a lot, we try to buy a new container once we open the old one. Sometimes we forget and are disappointed when we go to the cupboard.

    I am so glad we have a non-puking cat.

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  15. I salute you for getting that rug clean! So much unpleasantness.

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  16. Good gawd, what a thing to wake up to and bravo for managing the mess so well. Though I miss my dog I don't miss all the stray/adopted cats forced on me over the years. We are the servants of cats but the masters of dogs.

    XO
    WWW

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  17. Yep. My Mother's Day gift was an urp on the porch, which meant stripping the cover off of the cushion and getting it to the washer. I grew used to all the varieties of cat urp after years and years of cat ownership, but dogs really are a different species. For all I could tell, while I was gardening, Mamie used her outdoor time eating dirt.
    And yes, a happy Mother's Day to you, too.

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  18. Cat barf, nasty weather and no garlic -- sounds like a crappy day!

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  19. From time to time cats do tend to throw up.

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  20. the weather just cannot make up its mind this year. even we, way down here in May, had a few nicely cool mornings. we, too, make a grocery list and the new one always starts the same day I do the shopping.

    I had a cat/litter/poop mess of my own to clean up. she decided that the littler box wasn't clean enough to suit her so she just did it all on the newspaper it sits on. OK OK, sorry cat. sheesh. she has always done her business outside but now that's she 13 or so I put a litter box in the little bathroom because she had a few accidents during the night. it was supposed to be just for nighttime use. she still spends her days outside and comes in to use the litter box.

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  21. Kitty mess - that is certainly one of the less desirable things to be greeted by first thing in the morning. Snow?? in May?? That sounds bad.

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  22. We just received our municipal tax bill. It went up about a $100.00 as has everything else this year, by a lesser amount. Our pensions have been the same for 16 years.

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  23. We put an automotive drip pan under our litter box. We did bend over, but that was years ago. Love the rug.

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    1. Yes, I have a large tray. Litter still gets down on the rug, but not in the carpet.

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  24. Dear Joanne, this morning, I, too, woke to the sound of one of the cats--Matthew--retching. But nothing came up. He kept doing it, going from room to room. Personally, I think he'd trying to upchuck a hairball.

    As to the lists and the pantry and keeping supplies, I inspected my spice/herb drawer on Saturday and realized that every single container was past the expiration date, sometimes by years!

    As to motherhood, a fellow blogger posted a quote that said that becoming a mother is a leap into optimism. I suspect that's true. Hope all is well and that you are now protected from COVID. Peace.

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  25. It seems that Mothers Day fell on one of those unfortunate days for you. Hope today is better.

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  26. Happy Mother's Day a day late, Joanne. We had a quiet one here too. Kids all called and/or texted and grandson went out and brought us home supper from a new Korean chicken place. Hope kitty is feeling better.

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  27. We had snow here, but the good news is that my cat did not barf.

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  28. I always find it amusing that cat litter is mined as a mineral. I would like to have been a magnate who made his vast fortune by mining cat litter.

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  29. Happy Mother's Day to you too. We have the same philosophy as you when it comes to the day and just hung around the house enjoying the last of the weekend.

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  30. Mother's Day is a big day for businesses, flowers and cards. The employees are earning the money to buy stuff for Mom.

    Cat litter needed constant attention. My son took his cat, and we missed it.

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  31. A belated Happy Mother's Day to you -- your story reminded me of the time when Ruby was allowed in the house and she upchucked all over the cords behind my computer. Arrrgh! I'll take cleaning up a rug over cleaning THAT mess, any day. Now if we could just get her to quit dismembering live things just outside my office door...

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