Dealing with the cat

Walter is out of town for three weeks - he is due home this coming Saturday. In the meantime, it is just me and the cat. First of all, Shere-Khan spends his time either waiting for his damn chipmunk to come back or waiting for Walter to walk in the door. He prefers it when we are both home together. He is upset that Walter isn't around and his schedule is not exactly the way he likes it. Walter comes home sits down, the cat sits on his lap, they both are happy. When I come home, I am supposed to feed him and then sit down next to Walter so he can have us both there. Without Walter here, he has to squish his giant body on to my smaller (and apparently substandard) lap.

Yesterday, apparently Shere-Khan was taking his morning nap. I was trying to leave to go meet a friend when I couldn't find him. I like to make sure he is inside (because he likes to pretend he is an outdoor cat sometimes) before I leave. I couldn't find him. I even tried shaking his kitty treats - which is usually best way to get him to appear - and he was no where to be found. I assumed he had escaped again. I walked up and down the street and noticed the neighbor's garage was open. They looked in their garage and also realized the door to their house was open. I was if he was inside they could just send him home. Then I went back home, called my friend to tell her I would be late, and continued to look for him outside. Then I noticed him yawning in the front window. Obviously I had disturbed his morning nap.

So yesterday in addition to being aggravated by the cat, I met a friend and we went to an iris sale. Now I have to plant them in the garden - today's project. We also went for a walk at what she calls the 'dog park'. It was very nice and we even ran into someone she knows there. But as she did point out, you need to watch out for doggy land mines... Well, apparently I did very well until just before we got back to the car. So I left my sneakers outside to dry after I washed them off with the hose. Well, now they are really clean as it just rained for about 2 hours. I will put them on the porch so they might actually dry.

Last night, I was very daring. I pretended I know what I am doing with the grill and cooked dinner outside. (In response to Walter's question on the phone this morning, the house is still standing.) We have a charcoal grill and I never use it. Its the one place Walter usually does all the cooking. I was inspired. It was a nice day. And I found an awesome new recipe from the Food Network for grilled vegetable ratatouille. It was quite yummy and used up all the vegetables I had in my fridge. Now I also have left overs for the next few days.

Well, off for my morning walk - in my dry sneakers!