Weekend! By! Maribou!
(Jaybird and I actually had a short conversation about how we were both SO tired and we didn’t want to write ANYTHING, but we love you all so much that somebody had better. So here I am.)
One thing about this weekend is that we picked up a cat today that we will be catsitting for a week. Now, I don’t know if we’ve mentioned it, but our most recent permanent cat, Momo, HAAAAAAAAAATES other cats. He is only just starting to tolerate one of our three other cats. As it turns out, this temporary cat ALSO doesn’t like other cats. So even though we have her in a room of her own, there is some considerable hissing going on through the door.
She’s a sweetheart, though, and I’ve convinced her to eat and drink and drool on some catnip and get pets and even to purr, so I feel good about the week to come. I also spent about 3 hours petting, smooching, and otherwise reassuring all the other cats – except for newest cat who is off in PTSD* land for the next couple of days and Does Not Want Pets – that OF COURSE I love them way more than that interloper who will be going away real soon now. Cat whispering, I does it. Now if we can just get her to quit attempting the “Summon My Real Humans” spell every 30 seconds when she’s alone in her room, life will be absolutely splendid.
I have quite a lot else going on this weekend, because I’ll be spending most of Saturday and all of Sunday at Mythcon**, which is local to me this year, whereas Jaybird has very little going on this weekend, because we only have one car and I’ll be spending most of Saturday and all of Sunday at Mythcon. We are both reasonably pleased with this turn of events.
So… what’s on your docket?
_____
*I should note that I have complex PTSD myself, so when I say this cat has PTSD I am not making light. He had quite a history before he came to us, leaving him a nervous, fear-aggressive, unpredictable, wreck. He even seems to have something akin to flashbacks. Poor guy. We’re trying to make things safe enough for him to relax and feel loved, but it’s 3 steps forward and 2 steps back the whole way. Apparently the fact that he sometimes (more days than not) feels good enough to throw himself into my lap for purrs and pets, and often (multiple times a day) feels that way about Jay’s lap, is miraculous compared to how he’d been with his foster families. I just feel sad that his wiring doesn’t let him be like that all the time.
** Mythcon: Arthurian Mythos! Yay! At Least Two of Maribou’s Favorite Authors! Yay! Relatively Small Numbers of Quite Possibly Friendly People! Yay! Panels That Seem Really Interesting to Maribous! Yay! Something Just for Me That Will Distract Me from Tiresome Life Things! YAAAAAAAAAAAY!
(Photo is “Footrace finish line, 1925” from the Seattle Municipal Archives, used under a creative commons license)
Saturday and Sunday, I will be working, plus the second section of my 13th age game is on Sunday morning. The players will be arriving at Sigil, City of Doors and crossroad to the planes.
Now that my Summer School job is over, though, the days I have off mid-week from my retail job will be actual days off. I will likely spend them catching up on sleep.Report
@alan-scott
I will probably be heading down your way in the next month. If you would be interested in having a drink, let me know and I will see what I could do.Report
@aarondavid That sounds like fun. Send me an email with times/details. My address is alanrileyscott@gmail.comReport
Well, I am heading into Berkeley tomorrow to have lunch with my wife, and will sneak in a bit of junk shopping in the morning, searching for hidden treasures (and a 1/4 horse 1725rpm 115vac motor) Other than that, no real plans but puttering about the house and the wife gardening.Report
Back when I was married, my wife wanted to get a playmate for our recently adopted older cat. The new arrival, was smaller, female, reclusive, etc. in public, but when she settled in, she ended up as the bully. There was no fighting but there was a lot of dominance games. We finally had to separate them while selling the house for the divorce since one or both were pissing in the dining room.
Years after the divorce and me taking the female, both cats are healthier and happier apart. Now the female just dominates me 🙂Report
Enjoy the convention!
My friend has this tendency to hire folks to go to conventions for him…
I wonder how many he’s hired this year?Report
Assuming I feel any better tomorrow, I have a persistently-recurring mildew spot by a ceiling register that I have to go General Sherman on somehow.
Probably taking the kiddos to a Comic-Con on Sunday.Report
Maribou my dear, I didn’t know you were into Arthurian mythology. Have you ever read the Finovar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay?Report
@north Yes indeed! I read it in high school and loved it very much. I really should go back and reread it one of these days.Report
I’d recommend it. If I were inclined to be religious it’d probably be my bible.Report
@north It’s certainly one of my all-time favorites, based on my hazy recollections. Sadly I didn’t enjoy much else of his that I’ve read – Ysabel was pretty good – though I think maybe Tigana might be better than I remember based on what other people say about it?Report
I think you might like A Song for Arbonne if you haven’t read it. It’s a stand alone book and pretty well done, there’s a warrior character in it that reminds me of Jay. It’s a lengthy read tho.
No argument, though, that The Finovar Tapestry was the apex of his writing.Report
I loved it as a teen, but didn’t like it so much when I re-read it as an adult; particularly compared to the The Sarantine Mosiac, and The Lions of Al Rassan. But the absolute best, most treasured is Under Heaven. One of the most beautiful books ever written.Report
That sounds like a great conference! I hope you have fun.
On Saturday there’s paintball (part of a friend’s stag party) then Mr. T’s cousin’s wedding, then either stay at the wedding or go for drinks at the tail end of the stag party.
Fledermaus may have a lighting gig at the Banff Centre for the Arts next week, in which case she’ll head out on Sunday evening.
Monday is a day off for me. Maybe we can even get the basement ceiling finished up. It will feel soooo good when we finally have that done. I think the problem is that the basement in its current half-finished state is just functional enough that we can use it, such that any work on the space involves cleaning everything away, then getting the work done, then setting things back up – so we can’t make any useful progress unless we have a long window of time to make the clearing out and setting up worthwhile.
Once we get the larger room finished, I suspect the smaller room will go much faster, because the stuff from that room will be making the larger one useless, making us impatient to wrap up.Report
Well, that was more unpleasant than I was hoping for, though less than I had feared. First mouse dead. It didn’t kill the mouse right away, unfortunately. Went to check on it, opened the drawer, and saw what I’m pretty sure were the last moments of life for the thing as its bulged eyes looked up at me.
I gave it every opportunity, so I don’t feel too guilty. There are more than one, but I’m pretty sure the one I caught tonight is the one that’s been most persistent.
It’s the mouse cub I saw last night that makes me just a little bit sad when/if it gets snared.Report
Maybe it was just twitching spasmodically, but its soul was already in the happy scrambling-around grounds. What kind of trap are you using? Don’t recall any fumbled executions using the white semi-disposable ones with the ugly teeth and very audible snap.
These guys:
I used this one. It did kill it in under half a minute, I suspect. Which isn’t too bad. Disposal was completely touch-free, which was nice.Report
#CecilTheMouse
Edit: (no politics)Report
So… other than the whole mouse thing, no strong plans this weekend. We’re recovering from our Alaska trip. Incidentally, my wife just got called for a recruiter out there. Double her current salary, no nights or weekends. But a job she would hate, and she couldn’t take the endless nights.
I had intended to hit the ground running when we got home arranging various things for the house. But our handy man hasn’t called me back, and I can’t find a mason for all the world.Report
You don’t find the Masons, they find you.
#fearthemasonsReport
The granddaughter has developed a propensity to climb things. So working my way around the first floor, anchoring and tethering furniture to the walls.Report
And it is sinking in that I don’t have the option of leaving the house today.
Oh. This is soooo wonderful.Report
Just to concur with the PTSD comment. My mother is a therapist with more than a decade’s experience of working with PTSD clients. A few years ago, she adopted a resque cat that had an unknown, but obviously troubled, background. For one, it was obvious that the tail had been broken as a kitten.
My mom says the physical manefestations of PTSD were obvious – with no intent of hyperbole or anthropomorphism. For instance, he would get very nervous whenever he realised that he was in a closed room without a manner of escape. Even without any reason why he’d need to escape at that point. Or he’d switch in a moment between being happy and content to being totally freaked out, triggered by some innocuous movement or sound.
It was great to see him come around over the years. The only cat I’ve ever known to consistently come when his owner called him.Report
You all have wrapped up your weekend, but I just began mine! Junior is home from a two week stay with his father for summer. Holy cow, I missed him. Today and tomorrow are family day with a short break to donate platelets. I think he’s already sick of all of the hugs and kisses.
Also, he has a wiggly tooth! Such a big boy 🙂Report