Last Monday I collected all the squirt bottles in the house for a cleaning and refilling. I had them set around the house in locations where they would be easy to reach, quickly. They are for the correction of inappropriate feline behavior. Always handy to get the cat off the bookcase.
As I was getting ready to refill them Thursday afternoon, I realized I didn't need them anymore. Anya was the only cat in the house indulging in inappropriate feline behavior. Oz rarely leaves the floor. His worst habit is sleeping on the rug in front of the toilette, and he's learned to move when I go into the bathroom. Ash is rarely in the house. When he is the only inappropriate thing he does is try to grab food off my plate, and he hasn't tried that in a long time.
With Anya gone, I don't need the squirt bottles.
The other day I left the back door open. It was a nice day, there was a good breeze, and the dogs could come and go as they pleased. The only reason I had for keeping the door shut was Anya. Ash pretty much demands to be out most of the time. Oz wants nothing to do with the great outdoors. Anya was the one I didn't want going outside.
Tuesday, I washed the blanket that was on top of the other blankets. I kept an old blanket on top of the other ones so Anya wouldn't get them dirty. She liked to lay on top of the stack. Which I was OK with. That her usual route for getting there was across the top of my dresser didn't thrill me too much. Now I don't have to worry about the stuff on my dresser getting knocked around or off. I won't have her looking down at me from the shelf in the washroom. I don't have to worry about what hangs at the front of the bar under that shelf anymore, cuz she won't be using it to climb up. I keep an old, ratty jacket in that position. She put a lot of snags in it. I don't have to worry about keeping the sheets and towels on the shelf in the bedroom packed so tight she couldn't curl up on top of them. I can untie the string that's holding the back cabinet shut. She won't be going in there anymore, or pulling anything more out of it. I won't have to rearrange the little rubber duckies on the desk shelf every few days. I won't be cleaning up sand from the desktop Zen garden anymore. I don't have to worry about where I set things now. Don't have to consider if it's completely stable or it's something the cat can knock off. I can leave thread spools sitting on the table for more than 5 minutes. I don't have to worry about anything ending up on the floor as a cat toy or dog chew. The next time I work a puzzle I won't have to worry about covering it up or leaving the pieces out on the table....
I could go on, and I'm sure things will occur over time to add to this litany.
WHY DO I MISS THIS CAT SO MUCH?!
When she was on my lap, she wasn't happy if she couldn't sink a claw in somewhere. She was a knead-y cat, persistent despite endless correction. She had a bad tendency of snuggling up and then sinking teeth in. She truly and honestly earned the title Demon Kitty, and the name of an ex-demon.
For those who are not fans of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Anya was named after a character on the show who debuted as, Anyanka, a demon big bad. At the end of that episode her power center was destroyed and she was left a mortal teenager in Sunnydale. Watching her try to order a beer is one of my favorite bits from the show. She, like her namesake, was inappropriate, annoying, and, sometimes, downright mean, but endearing and sympathetic enough to become a major character.
Anya, the cat, was cute and could be cuddly. She made me laugh. Watching her play was one of my favorite things. The house is too quite without her. Rotten cat.
Well, I've got things to do today and I have to be at work 7am tomorrow. I think Macy's really wants to keep me. Yesterday my supervisor was asking if I was considering staying with the job or if it was only a
seasonal thing. I told her the truth. I would consider staying with it. I actually like the job. But, right now, it's a job, and if I can't support myself I will continue to look for something that will. If I find something better, I'm outta there. I need something better than $8.00 an hour. I could see the merchandising at Macy's growing into something better, but I can't really wait for that.
I'm considering going out to the Occupy St. Louis action. I really want to go over there and camp out. But I'm not prepared to do that, yet. I am going over there sometime today. Just to see what's up.
The other thing on the slate for today is a memorial campfire in Marc's honor.
And I really want to go out for that. At least for a little while.
I knew Marc for about 14 years. We didn't hang out all that much. Maybe once or twice a month, lately. But sitting around in his living room talking about... pretty much everything was one of my favorite things. It was always fun, even when he was watching wrestling. Knowing that I'll never do that again is very depressing. I'm really glad that I saw him a week ago Thursday. I don't have the regret of not having seen him in over a month. I count myself fortunate to have that time. Marc was an intelligent, sensible, compassionate, funny person. Just knowing he's not there has made the world a bit dimmer.
I've been feeling a trifle paralyzed this last part of the week. Left to my own devices, with nothing immediate to take care of, I'm being slow to move. Don't know how this day will run, but I've got to get it started...
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