Freeform Friday: Cat World

(Don't you just LOVE alliteration?)

Cat World

In the eternal babyhood of cat world,
Where food is Love,
and attention is Love,
and affection is Love,
And milk flows like water
from the magic carton breast

Things I Want Thursday

Taking a cue from Sass, a Things I Want Thursday:

1. A dump truck; the bigger, the better.
2. Six well-trained cleaners with rubber gloves, masks, and strong stomachs.
3. 250 gallons of Febreze.
4. 1500 heavy-duty plastic trash bags. I hope that would be enough.
5. Four tons of gravel, delivered.
6. A pair of Skechers Shape-Ups, size 7 1/2, since my current job is pretty active and I might as well work on my ass while I work.

All of these (except the last) relate to my mother's house and the difficulty I'm having cleaning it out. The sorting through shit, sometimes literallly, gets to me and I just feel like torching the whole place. Except that I still haven't found my grandmother's ring, which Mom assured me was in there, somewhere. *sigh*

A Few Things I've Recently Learned About Myself

I know, I know, it's always me,me,me, but it is my blog, and recipes, cute baby pics and directions on how to knit your cat a sweater can be found elsewhere. So.

• Most of the time, I feel like a wide-eyed innocent. Except when I feel like a cynical bitch.
• New music gives me a tremendous boost. Lately, it's been young female singer-songwriters, namely Regina Spektor, Feist, and Yael Naim. NSA likes to listen to ALOT of the same old shit, which gets b-o-r-i-n-g.
• I enjoy splitting wood. No, that's not some clever sexual innuendo, I've found I like hefting an axe over my head and slamming the blade into a solid piece of spruce. Very cathartic, and empowering, and other words that get waaaay overused.
• While NSA finds having three bodies buried close by somewhat disturbing, I feel comforted having most of my family members right there.

That's about it for now. I do plan on posting on a more regular basis, but the best laid plans, as they say.

It's RAINING!

Ok, a counterpoint to the global warming deniers out there, who point to the huge-ass snow dump on Washington, D. C. as evidence that the atmosphere is indeed not warming; it's 36 degrees and raining here currently. In ALASKA! In FEBRUARY! Do I have to point out just how fucking weird that is?? This winter has been so mild that the pavement is bare in a lot of places, when it might reasonably be expected to be coated in two inches of ice. I think that the studded tires on my truck are doing more harm than good. It's WEIRD, people, and rather worrisome. Not that I'm not enjoying it, because this kind of weather is more suited to the end of March, and it's probably saved my marriage (for now, at least), but warm and dry AREN'T Alaska. And I like polar bears, and wild salmon, even permafrost has it's advantages. If I want warm and dry, I'll move back to California.

Christmas!

First of all, to those loyal few who still read my nearly non-existant blog, Thank You! And merry, merry Christmas, if that's your persuasion. As an agnostic/paganistic/non-churchgoing person, I like holidays, just not because of some belief in a savior that was probably born in the spring anyway. Having said that, a few of my favorite Yuletide carols:

• Santa Baby- performed by Eartha Kitt. Sexy, sultry and a little bit greedy, what's not to love?-
• Santa Claus is Coming to Town- performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Fun, funny and lighthearted.
• Oh Holy Night- performed by Johnny Mathis. A classic and such a beautiful, pure voice. Mom loved Johnny.
• You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch- performed by Thurl Ravenscroft. I love the original animated Grinch, and Thurl Ravenscroft (also the voice of Tony the Tiger) delivers it perfectly.
• The Little Drummer Boy- performed by Bing Crosby and David Bowie. Such a wonderfully surreal moment, like a Christmas tree decorated by Andy Warhol.
• All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth- performed by the Count from Sesame Street. I listened to this when I was little and it still puts a smile on my face.
• Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24- Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I think this is a version of Carol of the Bells, and it is just so damn cool.
• Father Christmas- by the Kinks. Tough and funny, I love the street-wise sentiments.

In Which I Discover I Have Something In Common With Vanna White?!?

So I heard the end of "Wheel of Fortune" the other night while NSA was flipping channels, and for some reason he got distracted and paused on the show for a bit. It was that lag time at the end of the show when Pat and Vanna are chatting. I don't know how it came up, but Vanna was saying how she uses a manual toothbrush in the morning, but her electric toothbrush before bed. And Pat commented that that was kind of a strange thing, and I had to agree, but what got me the most was that I do the exact same thing!

Upside & Down

A few comments on unemployed cabin life:

• Upside- Free rent! Down- Bills still have to be paid, which gets tricky with no income.
• Upside- Wildlife ALL over the place. Down- NSA had the shit scared out of him by a baby bull moose.
• Upside- Summer in Alaska. Down- The days get shorter from here on.
• Upside- Quiet and private. Down- Except when Mom's "colorful" friends decide to drop by unannounced.
• Upside- Freedom. Down- Without structure, I'm kind of falling on my face.