Feelin' the Cat Love

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I'm taking care of a neighbor's cats this week. The cats come in between 10 and 11 PM so I walked to their house about 10:15. I was met outside my door by Snowball, a different neighbor's cat. Then I tended to the two cats I'm caring for. Then Spike, another neighbor's cat, showed up outside the door for some love (read: food) and finally, Grisabella showed up. I'd never met Grisabella, but the neighbor whose cats I'm feeding had told me there's a stray gray cat that shows up from time to time that they feed. Sure enough, a gray cat with some wear on her bounded up the stairs and meowed for some food. 

All the cats demanded I give them some attention and so I've spent the last 30 minutes getting my fill of kitty love and am now drenched in cat hair. 

To think, all these years I've been missing the free cat love that apparently takes place on our block AFTER my usual 10 PM bedtime. 

Petting three neighboring cats plus a stray plus my two girls: This has been a really good night. 

We Almost Speak the Same Language...

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Lucy has been hiding in our small walk-in closet for over a month now.The last time she hung out in the closet was right before we discovered that all her teeth needed to be pulled and she'd probably been hanging out there because she was in pain. She appears in good health, but I decided to make her an appointment to be checked out at the vet's. Since I'm working this week and Blair is on summer hours, he gets the task of taking her there.

I approached him this morning while he was brushing his teeth.

"Do you know what to tell the vet?"

"Ugh-swaugh-mai-urg."

"What?"

He spit. "I'm going to say she's been hanging out in the closet."

"And..."

He looked at me. "And... that's it?"

I sighed. "That is not it. Tell them that she doesn't seem to be bothered by light, her appetite is still good, and she purrs and appears happy when I sit in the closet and pet her. Also, she's been extra skittish lately. She runs around the house with her tail drooped and her back arched and freaks out and runs away if we even look at her. Oh, and she's been a little more aggressive lately toward Olivia." 

"Got it."

"So tell me what you're going to tell them."

"My cat's been hiding in the closet and my wife is a basket-case," said Blair. 

Close enough, I guess. 

Working Gal Week

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I'm an official working gal this week, filling in for a friend who's on vacation. I write for the company he works for and therefore have a working knowledge of their business. The business is operated out of a home and I'm there 9-5 this week, answering phones, writing scripts and doing some administrative tasks. 

It's been years since I've worked in an office environment of any kind so I was surprised how easy it was to sync back into the rhythm of office life. In at 9, sit at the desk, don't move until lunch at 1, be back promptly by 2, etc. I'm defined by routines so it's not surprising I find marching to the corporate drum something of a comfort.

That being said, I am so very grateful for my freelance life and ready to get back to it. However, working at a desk this week with no options to leave or set my own schedule has taught me a few things:

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Salad For Breakfast?

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I've been reading more and more lately about the benefits of having salad for breakfast but couldn't quite make the leap to try it. No toast? No banana? No cereal with almond milk? Why on earth would someone chose to eat this way?

Probably because it's yummy, filling, and a great way to get your greens in early in the day. 

No-Meat Athlete posted a great salad recipe that, while it had chickpeas, celery, slivered almonds and baby spinach, also had melon. blueberries, and a strawberry-agave dressing. I made a big batch of the salad on Monday and have been eating it for breakfast all week and loving it. I'm stuffed and stay full full until lunch. 

I haven't got quite to the point where I eat salad as a pre-exercise meal, even though that's recommended. I still want a little bread lining my belly before I tackle cardio. But I'm enjoying it as a post-workout snack so much, I'm now on the hunt for other breakfast salads. 

Quick unrelated side note, but writing about food reminded me of it. The other week when I was at the doctor's office waiting to be seen, I picked up a back issue of Good Housekeeping to flip through. I turned to the recipe section and stared in horror at the bloody animal carcasses that covered the pages--some braised meat monstrosity. I've been reading vegetarian magazines for so long, I forgot what it's like to come upon pictures of bloody meat, decorated with parsley. 

Bon Apetit!

Photo from No Meat Athlete