So, what a hectic week! Who knew getting rid of 3 kittens (2 really) would be so stressful?
There were times during the week when I had so many people interested that I had leads on homes for not only all the kittens but the mama too. Brenda at work wanted one but had never had a cat before and so was full of questions. It also looked like she would be taking MY kitten, which at first I was willing to consider but was not happy about. But after giving it some thought, she decided not to take one at all. All but one of my leads went the same way so that by the end of the week, I was only down 1 kitten. Now I’m facing finding a home for my last kitten (assuming I'll keep the mom (outside) and my kitten) with only 10 days to go before I leave for RI. Sheesh!
The Hart’s were my only definite to take a kitten and they wanted the gray and white girl. Anne Marie and Veronica came over Thursday night thinking they’d be leaving with a kitten but they walked in the door and the kittens bolted. The long haired boy, the gregarious one of the bunch, came out briefly but I had no luck coaxing the others out. They left empty handed but we made plans for Veronica to come over on the weekend with a book so she could sit quietly and put the kittens at ease. Since all I had planned was to slam through some Christmas prep, I could easily work that in.
I started the weekend on Friday night by putting up my deck Christmas tree. It was in the 50’s on Friday so I was outside after work in a t-shirt and got the tree up. It’s so festive to put on the lights and have the tree glowing right outside my door. I cut the bottom off the inside tree and put it in water in the bathtub. My plan was to decorate it while It’s a Wonderful Life was on TV Saturday night, which is my annual tradition. I usually put it up the weekend before Christmas but since I'm leaving on Wednesday, I figured a bit earlier would work.
Well, it's a good thing I did the outside tree on Friday because I woke up Saturday to below zero wind chills and blowing snow. It would have been the perfect day to stay inside and start on my Christmas to do list but I had to go the library to pick up cash for deposit. Saturday being the only day the bank is open when I'm in town, I had no choice but to go. So after slogging through the laundry room in search of Christmas decorations and wrapping, I bundled up and headed out. After the library and bank, I stopped to get Veronica. Again, the boy was the only kitten who would come out and she played with him for 2 hours straight. I'd barricaded every door so was confident that Anne Marie could take the kitten when she came to get Veronica at 3:00. Yeah, right. When he got tired, he scaled a hip high box blocking the spare bedroom and joined his sisters inside the box spring. When I couldn't get him out, I agreed to deliver him later that night.
Once Veronica left, I got busy on my calendar pages. I had to design 3 months - January, May and September - and make 12 copies of each. I was in such a zone that I never stopped for supper and just kept going straight through It's a Wonderful Life without decorating the tree. Oh well. By the time I went to bed, all the pages were done except the 3rd, which had ink drying. That left Sunday to put up the inside tree and wrap my sister's presents so I they'd be ready to mail. Easy peasy. I bagged up the pages Sunday morning and started wrapping. I got all the gifts for both my sisters done so was feeling great. I did chores between wrapping and so only had the tree yet to go.
Since all my kitten proof decorations were in one small bag (my tree is only 4.5 feet tall so doesn't take much), I figured an hour would do it. So I went down to grab the bag but reached in and pulled out a mildewed mess. Clearly the bag had gotten wet in this summer's flood and I had missed it. The cool circle garlands I'd made last year? Toast. The quilted star for the tree topper? Stinky and stained. Many of my treasured unbreakable ornaments? Dead. I went through the bag separating out things that had potential to be saved, pulled things to throw in the wash and another pile to try and wipe down. I ran a load of laundry and saved the tree skirt (the Fenton family skirt from my childhood) and a few ornaments. Mostly not so much. So, I ended the weekend on a down note and my tree is up but naked. I guess this is the time to upgrade to LED lights and see what I can buy at the library tomorrow night. It's also time to seriously think about getting the basement fixed. This is totally my bad. I've been ignoring the water situation all summer. Serves me right.
All that said, my Christmas spirit is still intact. I had done better shopping for stocking stuffers than I'd thought so don't have much last minute shopping pressure. Sure, I'll hit a few stores this week but I'm not desperate. I made a schedule of what needs doing by when so I can get most of it done after work this week, leaving this next weekend for packing and such. So despite the mildew, life is still good and Christmas will be merry. Ho, ho, ho!
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