It's October! My favorite month, my favorite time of year. The weather has cooled and turned dramatically somber. 54 degrees today and pouring rain. It's been raining the entire week, and the water-logged atmosphere has served to extinguish the bright flame of my usual autumn fervor. I'm in a depressed, melancholic mood.
The prospect of another long winter is daunting - especially since I'm not completely settled in and haven't done a fraction of the things I need to do. I am making progress, but the past few months I've been working in slow motion, with minimal enthusiasm. There are many things I love about being here but there are also many strikes against me. Elaboration would be tedious and futile.
I had planned on driving into town last Monday but the rain thwarted my minimal enthusiasm. It's bad enough trying to navigate these winding mountain roads on a dry, clear day. The incessant rain was a good excuse to procrastinate all week. Friday was supposed to be a good day, so I planned to go then.
Here it is Friday - depressingly dank and raining harder than ever. I only slept two hours. I seldom sleep. Today at dawn I finally managed to embark on the road to Dreamland, when a rude CRASH!! woke me up. I immediately knew it was the handiwork of one of my three felines, and I correctly guessed it was Scruffy the Spawn of Satan.
Scruffy and Bosco love to play rough. Racing around the house with mind-boggling speed, jumping onto places where they shouldn't be. I've long given up on putting out anything breakable or valuable. My old cat Scratch was never like that. She always maneuvers with politeness and caution.
Scruffy & Bosco would have more aptly been named Bonnie & Clyde.
Get to the point, Jon. Detail the CRASH.
It was one of my favorite vases. Smashed to pieces. I bought that vase for my parents when they moved into their new house in Odessa.
I have never raised my voice to the cats, but this morning I yelled so loud that they all ran for cover.
Oh well, it's one less thing I'll have to dust.
This is what's left of the vase,
thanks to Scruffy
After cleaning up the fragments of the vase, I happened to look in the freezer and discovered several BUSTED cans of soda that I had put in there yesterday to get cold. My intention was only to keep them in there for a few minutes.
Should I have properly said "busted" or "burst"? Or perhaps "bursted"??
Aw, who the hell knows. They looked busted to me.
Is there an amicable resolution to this blog post?
Naw. I'm still in a gloomy mood. It's Friday afternoon and still raining. I've forgiven Scruffy. Reluctantly.
Now I suppose I'll make an early dinner and a hot cup of tea.
Postscript
Is there a rainbow at the end of this lousy day? Nope, not a chance. I just stepped outside for a minute (yes, it's still raining). When I came in, one of the pots boiled over on the stove.
And, I discovered the milk has gone sour. No wonder the cats wouldn't drink it yesterday.
Here are some random, inane cat photos for your viewing displeasure.
Here is Bosco, perched near another one of my favorite vases. It's only a matter of time.....
Scruffy
Devil Child
I got my oldest cat Scratch ten years ago. This was her in October, 2005,
checking out my hat (I still have the hat)
This is Scratch now,
fat and content
Scratch actually has two names. I called her Scratch. My Mom always used to call her Kitzee.
End of a boring blog post.
New post on my photo blog
Not at ALL boring, cowboy.
ReplyDeleteI don't know where you got that full moon picture, but it would make an awesome cover for a scary book.
You've had an inordinate amount of rain this summer. It's bound to dampen anyone's spirits. We've had quite a bit of liquid sunshine, too, but not as much as you. It's misty here today, and is supposed to rain most of the weekend. Oh darn. Sounds like book-reading time. Breaks my heart... :)
I'm delighted to know that you don't think I'm boring.
DeleteI discovered that dramatic moon picture on the Internet while I was searching for autumn/October graphics.
Books are wonderful diversions on rainy days!
awwwwwww, look at how LITTLE scratch was back then!
ReplyDeleteI would move all breakables far far away from the spawns of satan.
I put the heat on in my house. it's been raining for 3 days now and my lungs could not stand the cold-n-damp air. it's my house, so the heat goes on. rain is supposed to stop tomorrow.
the last weekend of baseball season is here and my team has sucked diseased donkey dick all season. as we always say: "wait til NEXT year!"
Some people have to child-proof a house and I have to cat-proof it. I'll have to put valuables away until Bosco & Scruffy grow out of their wildly rambunctious stage.
DeleteWhen I lived in California I was a huge Dodgers and Angels fan. My passion for baseball waned considerably when I moved out of state.
Never boring with pictures of cats. I would put those vases away and let the cats roar. Wish we had some of your rain.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to send this rain to Texas but haven't had any luck. I'm glad you like my kitty photos.
DeleteFrom multicolored facial markings, I deduce Scruffy is a composite of several different cats and not a single unit. This can cause clumsiness in many life-forms --myself among them.
ReplyDeleteScruffy's mother was a VERY feisty calico and her father was a big black Tom. Scruffy & Bosco had the same father but different mothers. Cats truly do seem to inherit their parent's personalities.
DeleteI have no clue why I'm clumsy, but I don't think any cats are among my ancestors (perhaps a few rats.....).
And I bet when you remonstrate with them, the cats just look at you. Am I right? No sense of guilt, these animals....
ReplyDeleteHope it stops raining soon!
You're absolutely right. No sense of guilt whatsoever.
Deletehat on bed = 17 years bad luck
ReplyDeleteonly 7 more years to go
heard that on the movie
Drugstore Cowboy
Dear God, that's ALL I need to hear.......
DeleteOuch. Losing that vase had to have hurt your heart, Jon. 'Suppose there's a way to recover all the broken pieces and craft a new memory? Scruffy and Bosco sound very much like Macie and Grace. My late Caraleigh - like Scratch - was a sweetheart from Day #1. She couldn't have begun to conceptualize the havoc M&G create in just a week's time!
ReplyDeleteI hope your rains abate soon ... at least long enough for you to get down the mountain and back again in one piece! I seriously loathe(!) rain in any form. That was a huge reason behind my decision to get out of Florida.
Bosco & Scruffy either need to be sedated or put in irons and chains. Ironically, my cousin Nancy (who lives here in TN) just got a dog - and she said it's worse than 100 cats. YIKES!!!
DeleteThe perpetual rain is really a shock after living in arid west Texas. I like rain once in awhile, but not every day.
Jon,
ReplyDeleteYour posts are never boring. NEVER! You have that rare talent, you write well. I get magazines like Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly. The articles look interesting but when I read them my head hurts. The writing is that bad. Probably young folks who cheated their way through college. They sure as hell can't write. I'm sorry about the loss of your vase. Cats jumping up on everything and causing breakage is one of my fears of getting a cat. That plus excercising their claws in my furniture gives me pause.
Winter is just around the corner. Can you believe it? Don't be falling down any slippery slopes again and injure your back again.
The past few days it's been raining and whipping and howling around here. But thank goodness we still have power. I'm surprised you do to living out in the "wilderness" as you do.
Stay well and happy.
Ron
I'm always delighted to hear that I'm not boring. You're absolutely right about the poor quality of writing nowadays. Very few people know how to write, and - as you said - most of those so-called "writers" probably cheated their way through college. I've read many "best sellers" that are appallingly bad. I honestly think most of the editors are mediocre at best.
DeleteAll good writers have natural talent. It isn't something that can be learned
I've had quite a few good possessions ruined by cat claws. They like to scratch everything - - except a scratching post.