An Almost Unfilled Prescription

This is not what you want to see first thing in the morning.
This is not what you want to see first thing in the morning.

I think I may have mentioned before that I am not a morning person. As you can see on my t-shirt design pictured below, my daily prescription is coffee in the morning to get started and bourbon in the evening to relax. As a result I have no problem-solving skills until around 10:30 AM. So when I was faced first thing in the morning with a clogged needle on my indispensable coffee dispenser, I was devastated. […]

Change is Good

A boss once told me that “change is good!”. I told her that was only true when things were sucking to begin with – and I was happy with the way things were. Too bad! I really liked that job.

Well, nothing lasts forever – a much better way to express it – and things are starting to change here on the compound. Changes coming so fast I haven’t had much time lately to write.

To start with Snowball’s knees are getting worse. She’s doing the best she can with water exercise class and the like but stairs are becoming a real problem. And since her fabrication shop, photo studio and wash room are all downstairs at the compound, another solution for the location of her shop was looked for.

Another big change is daughter-of-Snowball has decided to leave the compound and move with her boyfriend to an apartment. This will make half of the duplex available for a new renter – after a lot of refurbishing the pet and other normal wear and tear. But in the long run we should be able to create an actual revenue stream with it.

The pieces began to fall into place when mother-of-Snowball, who lives alone, started getting a little worried about her own well being. She wished that we would find a way to spend more time with her and since she has a one-level ranch style house with no stairs, Snowball decided it would be cool to move her fabrication shop to her mom’s house so she could work there without stairs and watch mom at the same time.

Of course there were some necessary steps to be taken first. Like Snowball, mother-of-Snowball is an avid gardener. However, much to the family’s chagrin, in the colder month’s the entire house mostly the garage and a paneled, shag-carpeted studio is taken over by plants as she works to keep them over the winter. So many plants that there were  years I wanted to contact NASA to see if they could see the grow lights from the ISS. Snowball’s solution was to add on a two hundred forty square foot sun room for the plants so we could make room for human occupation in the garage and studio.

If you’ve ever tried to put an addition on an old house you know the unseen infrastructure issues that crop up; An air conditioning compressor had to be moved and a quarter of the back yard deck had to be torn out. New tile flooring was put in the studio to replace the vintage 1970’s shag that had been in there for years. The electrician we hired to move the main feed and install new lighting had the gall to show up in a brand new truck which I claimed we as good as bought for him.

Things are moving along. Ninety percent of the stuff for the shop is moved waiting to be organized. The footings for the sun room are waiting for a nice day to be poured. So far, whenever anyone has gone ballistic we’ve be able to talk them down. There’s been a few hiccups with the electrical but they are being worked through. Fingers crossed everyone!

Don’t Get Caught Near an A/C Vent

INFrontOfVent
Big furry Roswell in front of the air conditioning vent.

The most protected possession a cat has is their dignity. Take that away and we’re just another house pet. Hell, a dog can go roll in fish at the lake then all he has to do is suck up and the apes still think he’s their best friend. But we cats have pride. We always make sure we look good even when we miss a jump or get caught behind a closed door. But sometimes you make a small mistake and the apes over react. There’s no easy way back from that.

Shaved Cat Walking
Shaved Cat Walking

My cell mate Roswell is a long hair Maine Coon. He’s a large fellow and the apes suspect he has some wild cat in him since he has behavior problems and he is of dubious origin(feral). He’s not the brightest star in the heavens and his long hair get tangled and hot in the summer.

Two days ago one of the apes caught him cooling off in front of the air conditioning vent. It’s been getting hot outside so this was pretty normal for a cat with a lot of fur. The ape even got a picture of him.

You can see the shame rolling off of Roswell.
You can see the shame rolling off of Roswell.

Then, first thing yesterday the ape brought up a carry cage and we knew someone was going on a trip. I was pretty sure it wasn’t me since I’d been to the vet recently. Sure enough they shoved Roswell butt first into the cage and took him away. He was gone for most of the day.

That afternoon the ape brought the cage back with a growling, extremely pissed off Roswell inside. When the door was opened, out stomps Roswell with no fur except for his head feet and tail. They called it a ‘Lion Cut”. I call it embarrassing and the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time. You can be sure I’m staying away from any A/C vents this summer.

A Father’s Day Gift

Click here to go this perfect gift of Dad.
Click here to see more items with this design, the perfect gift for Dad.

Maybe not the Father’s Day gift but a Father’s Day gift. After all Dad deserves a lot more. I know I do. But when he plays the part of a grumpy old man, The Curmudgeon’s Disclaimer might go well with his attitude (and cover up for any of his unfortunate comments.)

Its available in my Spreadshirt shop along with lots of other stuff.