The faux Berber rug we bought for $20, which we put in the kitchen, is no more. Tommy and Sugarbutt kept getting their claws caught in the loops of the rug (there’s a space between the end of the cap and the paw itself when you’re using SoftPaws) and freaking out. I had to cut the rug in three different spots to save Tommy, and finally I was just tired of it. I rolled it up and tossed it out on the back lawn (there might have been a mini temper tantrum involved, with much swearing), and then Fred carried it up to the end of the driveway. It stayed there all night, then the next morning it was gone.
The cool thing about living on a busyish road in the country is that when we want to get rid of something, we don’t have to wait ’til it piles up, then call a charitable organization to come get everything. We just leave it by the side of the road and someone eventually comes along who wants it, and they stop and take it with them. Nothing sits there for longer than a few hours, usually, except for the rug. Though to be fair, Fred did put the rug by the road at night, so it probably wasn’t as easy for passersby to see what it was.
We’ve talked about going back to the flea market this weekend to look for a runner for the upstairs hallway, and maybe we can find something better for the kitchen while we’re there.
* * *
Hmm. So we have one black indoor cat and one (NOT OURS) black outdoor cat. One orange indoor cat and one (NOT OURS) orange (more buff, really) outdoor cat. I think this means we need a NOT OURS tortie, a black and white, a white and orange, and a gray to create a true feng shui balance.
My feng is not shui’d, and it’s annoying me.
* * *
I’ve been making the hell out of zucchini bread lately, using
this recipe, sent to me by lovely reader Kristen. I don’t even know how many loaves of bread I’ve made in the last week, but it’s certainly been more than one. I’ve made loafs with and without chocolate chips, with and without nuts (oddly, I think toasted pecans are the most amazing nut ever, but I just don’t care for nuts in my baked goods), and I have enough grated zucchini for one more loaf before I give it a rest (we don’t want to get tired of it before our zucchini even starts growing!). It’s such a lovely, moist, delicious bread that I give it a hearty two thumbs up.
I spent a lot of time in the kitchen yesterday not only baking a loaf of zucchini bread, but also making dinner for last night and dinner for tonight. Dinner for tonight is going to be
chicken and rice casserole, because I have lately gotten into buying rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, eating it for lunch for a couple of days, and then sticking what’s left in the freezer, because I cannot abide the idea of leaving a chicken in the fridge for more than a few days. So I had three partial chicken carcasses taking up space in the freezer, which was the perfect amount for chicken and rice casserole.
While I spent all that time in the kitchen, I put the laptop on the counter and watched episodes from the first season of How I Met Your Mother. I just love the hell out of that show. They reran the
Swarley episode a couple of weeks ago, leading me to ask Fred if we could rename the router “Swarley” (he named it FuckerMother a few years ago when we first got it, but thought renaming was in order before we moved to Smallville). We didn’t rename it Swarley, but I think we all know that I am TOTALLY going to name a foster kitten Swarley in the future.
Anyway. Zucchini bread: Good. How I Met Your Mother: Good. Chicken and Rice Casserole: Damn Good.
* * *
The Newt-alike can occasionally be spotted in our yard. He looks so very much like Newt that the only way I realize it’s not Newt is when (1) He doesn’t flop over and whine for a belly rub, (2) He takes one look at us and runs away, or (3) I can see Newt and the Newt-alike at the same time. Fred says I should name him “Nawt”. He’s very nervous when he sees us walking in his general direction, so I’m guessing he’s feral. I’d like to trap him and have him neutered (NEWTered. Ha!), but he doesn’t come around with any regularity and I haven’t successfully gotten within fifty feet of him yet, so I’m not sure how successful I’ll be at that.
Also, it’s entirely possible he’s a she. Like I said, I haven’t gotten terribly close to him/her.
* * *
The plumber for whom I was waiting yesterday morning, finally showed up around noon to run the water line from the house to the shed.
I cannot describe for you how very fucking much I hate having to deal with workmen. I don’t know why I hate it so much, except maybe it’s just my general loathing of strangers and my dislike of feeling like an idiot when said workmen describe what they’ve done (I always want to say “Don’t bother my pretty little head with details. Just tell me how much I owe you.”), but the plumber guy is very cool, he’s done plenty of work for us before, and yet I still hate having to deal with him.
This has been a week of dealing with workguys, actually, and even though I didn’t deal with any workmen on Tuesday, I still waited around for 3/4 of the day waiting for the plumber to show up so I considered it a day wasted. I need to haul my ass to Lowe’s for plants and planters for the front porch, and I’ve been wanting to do that all week long, and it’s still not done.
NOT DONE.
Also, I had one last light to send out from the eBay auction of lights, and I prefer to mail it out from the mailing place in Madison, because the guy who works there will take one look at a box I’m sending and say “You are crazy if you want to send that via the post office. You want to send it Fed Ex. Seriously, you’re a ridiculous fool for even considering sending anything over 5 pounds through the post office.” I need to be bossed around when it comes to stuff like that.
Speaking of, I am a severe idiot who should not be allowed to put things up for sale on eBay, because of the 9 light auctions I had, I took a loss on the shipping on all except for one of them. That is, I undercharged for shipping on all but one, because all I did was fill in the weight section of the item when I was filling out the eBay auction form, without considering the size issue.
It appears that you have to take size into account when it comes to shipping stuff. Who the fuck knew?
Anyway, the best part of the whole plumber thing is that he finished running the water here in Smallville, and he talked at me for a little while, I paid him, and then he headed off to his next job. I came back inside, walked to the computer room, sat down at my computer, and remembered that he was supposed to meet me in Madison so he could take care of the washer hose problem there.
I ran back out, but he was gone.
Which means what, exactly? I think we all know what it means – I get to cool my heels today, waiting for them to call and let me know the plumber’s on his way to Madison, so I can drive over there and meet him.
UGH.
Annnnd, since I wrote that, I ran to Lowe’s, where I bought a few bird-related things, then got so overwhelmed with the selection of planters and plants that I left without buying any plants OR planters, and was on my way home when the plumbing company called to let me know that the plumber was on the way to the Madison house. I drove there and he showed up a few minutes later. While he and his helper worked on the laundry room hose, I went through the house and gathered up everything that was left behind, some to throw away, some to bring back to Smallville with me.
After half an hour of working on the laundry room hose, the plumber told me he needed to get a part, and left for 45 minutes. I finished gathering up all the crap left behind in the house and would have started cleaning, except that the water to the house was turned off (see: leaky hose in the laundry room) so I couldn’t really clean anything.
The plumber came back, finished his job, I paid him and came home, and I am in such an incredibly crappy mood that I think I have no choice but to go take a goddamn nap and then maybe watch Lost.
I am SO OVER this whole goddamn waiting every single day for a workman to show up bullshit.
* * *
You may not touch the Suggie toes.
* * *
Newt and Maxi approve of the new steps.
* * *
Previously
2006: It’s a Suggie in the Sug Cave!
2005: I RUE THE FUCKING DAY I decided to buy a car from this guy.
2004: I snorted. “This from the man who put Oxi-Clean in the dishwasher over and over and over last summer.”
2003: No entry.
2002: I am now sporting a fashionable little red mustache.
2001: What? You don’t think bugs would use the word “abattoir?”
2000: Why all of a sudden is her big scary clown face all over the place talking about it?]]>