Here’s seeing you!

~ wink! ~

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It’s been a busy few months, off and on, of sorting and trashing stuff. I’ve lived in the same apartment for almost 19 years. I recognize that someone will have to empty and clean this apartment if I were to die or move to assisted living or a care center. I recognize, too, that my general health now allows me to do a fair amount of cleaning and trashing, but that could change any day! It’s imperative, then, that I continue to neaten up the apartment and do the cleaning necessary to make it suitable for habitation! 

So far, I’ve pretty much filled three or so dumpsters full of trash and things I no longer use. Yes, I could have a yard sale, I suppose, but I have better ways to use my time inside. I have another half dumpster’s load staged inside for after trash pick-up Friday. At least two other people use the same dumpster, so I left some space for them. I could have overloaded it, no problem, with what I have staged inside! I was tempted. Once, someone put a sofa in our dumpster, making it impossible for others to add much to it that week.

Coincidentally, the landlord’s doing apartment inspections in the middle of September, so I’m glad I’ve got a good start on cleaning, creating concealed spaces for things that had been on counters and any other available surface, and getting rid of clutter. I still have a great deal to work through, lots of dusting, lots of spider webs in high places that need knocking down, washing, and floors to sweep, vacuum, or mop.

Andy refuses to hurry up this morning.

Maybe later he’ll liven up…if there are Greenies in it for him!

He has his standards after all.

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I told you yesterday about how I somehow lost my new glasses, possibly by getting them tangled in the oxygen canula, a frequent occurrence. I noted the cost of replacement, how I found my old ones were just fine in the interim if I decided not to replace the new ones. I was hopeful, though, that I would find the new ones because, well, money-to-replace does matter! 

Derreck Knight commented: “Join the search for your glasses when they are on your face club. I hope you do find the missing ones.”

The truth of it is sillier than that, though consistent with having a senior moment: At some point after stewing for hours about losing them and double checking outside in a rainstorm by the dumpster where I’d put several bags of trash, inside my car (I have to use it to transport trash), by the front door where I took off the portable oxygen and switched over to the inside supply line, on the dining room table, in the pockets of the jacket I was wearing, and, yes, on my face to make sure the glasses I was wearing weren’t the missing glasses, I had an epiphany: What about the top of the CD cabinet by my bedroom door?

When I got up, I never put them on in the first place! Yes, that’s where they were!

That’s incredulous me in the photo. Those are the “missing” glasses on my face. I’m 99.9% sure of that! 

Andy’s not ambitious today.

It’s a slow Sunday.

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I managed to lose my glasses this morning. I think they must have fallen off my face when I was taking the oxygen canula off or untangling the canula, a common problem with the darn thing. I hope I locate them because they are my new glasses.

Fortunately, I have the old prescription glasses to get me through till I find them. At worse, I may have to buy a new pair in the new prescription. I only got them four or five months ago. Rats! (…a heavily cleaned up comment!)

I like the light weight of today’s glasses, but it is too easy not to realize they aren’t on your face when one’s prescription isn’t really strong.

Making my kitty boy happy is as simple a “scritching” his nose, face, sides, and chest. Andy especially likes the chin and nose “scritches” since they are almost impossible for a Persian to scratch.  

Andy can’t believe he’s done with treats for now.

Andy stops by to let me know it’s “feed the kitty” time.

This is wee Dougy when he was maybe three months old. He liked to sleep on my computer desk, with his paw over my mouse hand. Andy and I still miss his funny brother.

This is the late Louie the ginger cat in his favorite “bird watching” spot. He was a favorite at the care center. They saw him walk by on his rounds. I think he hunted insects there, too.

Louie was a very handsome kitty boy!

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I came across these old photos of late Thomas kitties yesterday and decided to share them with you. The Andy photo is a new one. He’s still around, of course!

Andy is upset that my posts suggest all he does is eat and sleep.

He had me follow him to the north bathroom…

…to see that he…

…leaves me each day…

…to bird watch

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Yes, Andy’s bird watching window is the one hidden by the heirloom yellow climbing rose bush. Birds like to perch in it and Andy likes to watch them, sometimes climb the screen to try to catch them!

A chat noir, a film noir… all that’s missing now is a glass of pinot noir and a femme fatale in a peignoir noir!

I call his name.

“It’s kitty treat time, Andy!”

He doesn’t need a second call!

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Labor Day. I’ll observe it by not laboring. LOL!

I made vegetable soup and corn on the cob for lunch. Andy decided it was his corn.

“No! Andyyyy..! No!

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Buying food for one person comes with perils. Fresh vegetables often come in packaging that has more than I can use in one or two meals. I do better if it comes in bins and I can select just as much as I want. Another peril: fresh Brussels sprouts in a package usually includes small to large sprouts so steaming requires strategy to assure all are equally done. I sorted these into mostly same sized sprouts, selecting the smaller ones for the soup and the larger ones for later. I could go frozen, but texture too often is off to my taste, especially with Brussels sprouts, my favorite. 

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Did Andy’s nose touch the end of my corn? I’ve added this enlarged version of the second photo. I think (hope?) not, but it was very close. What do you think? I ate it anyway. 

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The corn on the cob was just at the end of freshness. I should have eaten it a day or two ago but decided I wanted something else for lunch. The left-hand cob was delicious dipped in butter seasoned with pepper, garlic powder, and honey mustard meat rub. (Why not?) The right-hand cob was just a little better than it would have been thanks to the same seasoned butter, though, as you can see in the photo, the holders were hard to get in. The corn, too, was a bit tough.

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The soup was the star of this light lunch. I combined Portello mushrooms, broccoli florets, quartered tiny Brussels sprouts I sorted out of the packaged sprouts, celery heart, purple onion, and spring onions I diced or quartered then sauteed in butter to soften and flavor with onion powder, garlic power, and pepper. I added these to chicken broth and canned diced tomatoes. I finished the soup off by blending in sour cream and cheddar cheese. I left salt out because I knew it would be salty enough with the added cheese. I don’t care for heavily salted foods!

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I recently bought saltine crackers, something I haven’t bought in years because I like Ritz and Townhouse crackers more. I didn’t notice they were unsalted saltines, a happy accident, one that went well with my lunch of vegetable soup and corn on the cob. Regular saltines have too much salt on them. The concept of unsalted saltines is a bit weird but I’m happy to know there is such a thing!

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Making soup from scratch has its perils. I have enough for at least three, four meals. I’ll freeze it after it cools down, saving out a small serving to have with a tuna salad sandwich. The frozen soup is at risk of dying in the freezer before I think to take out and use it, sadly, but I’ll try to remember it’s available for some frozen, winter day. I’ll make the tuna salad tomorrow.  Andy likes the water off the tuna. He’ll enjoy this rare treat!

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I had a chilled Perrier sparkling mineral water with this agreeable vegetable-based meal. Andy settled for his standard Hill’s Prescription k/d Diet chicken pâté kitty food for lunch, then took a snooze.