Halloween

It's Halloween. The candy is by the door in hopes that we will get some trick or treaters. Living in an apartment all these years has brought one or two trick or treaters on a odd year, mostly we got none. This year we have a house with a porch light and a huge black and purple spider having over the door, but none of the small kids in this area really know us, so we may end up eating all of the candy. I think more kids are being entertained at parties rather than trick or treating.

Shady has been told he must stay inside early tonight although he is not the traditional Halloween black cat. He is bitterly complaining. He wants to say out until at least sundown. I am trying to ignore him while I type this, but he has just attacked my elbow. Okay, I guess we can play chase the crumbled ball of paper. He never tires of that game.

Happy Halloween!

Life with Shady

Shady came in for breakfast this morning smelling like a geranium. Okay, I must admit, it may have been partly my fault. When I opened the back door, he slipped off the porch and landed in the geranium. He's not too bright about dodging doors and even though he is not the most coordinated cat, he still managed to pull himself back up onto the porch. He was completely unaffected by the entire scene even though I was laughing. When I bent down to put food in his dish, still laughing, I found he smelled like a geranium. Of course I began laughing even more. When I told my sister this evening about the events of the morning, she said "I thought the geranium looked different. I thought it was just looking a little tired because of it's been getting colder." She was laughing as hard as I was.

Don't feel bad for Shady living with a couple of people who laugh at his misfortunes. He is the one with the upperhand. Demanding to get out of bed and outside at 5:30 in the morning and acheiving that goal at least by 6am is just one of many ways he is indulged. He is now playing a new game in the evening, since we try to keep him inside after sundown. He dashes under Laura's bed and waits for her to walk by and then runs out at her and bites her feet. There is a lot of dancing and squealing going on lately.

When Shady is outside his favorite part of the garden, besides chasing butterflies, is hiding behind and attacking the many ornamental grasses. OMG! What is he going to do with the Christmas tree?

WD40

Everyone probably has a can of WD40 in their house or garage, but how many of you know what WD40 stands for? Don't feel bad. The guys at the hardware store where I work, who know just about everything about the hardware business, didn't know. It stands for Water Displacement Formula 40. Nasa was having problems with rust caused from condensation during spacecraft launches, so they set their scientist to the task of inventing something to solve the problem. Several formula were tried. The fortieth try was successful.

Working at the hardware store just as intriguing. Customer will come in with bizarre problems and the hardware guys will come up with the more interesting solutions such as a small hose clamp to affix a broken plastic mirror stand to it's broken plastic base. Mike knows everything about wood, Rob knows everything about plumbing, Tim know almost everything and can fix the computer, the other guys know a whole lot about everything, too. Me, I can run the register with varying degrees of competence and I know where the tork wrenchs are located. We sell an amazing amount of candy and soda, also. I call it the essentials. One day soon I will venture into the back and learn something about all the bins of endless nuts, bolts, washers, fasheners, and things that customers buy of which I have no idea of their use.

It's getting dark and Shady has gone outside. That darn cat. The arrangement is he is suppose to be inside after dark, but he has other ideas on that subject. If I'm lucky I'll see him sometime before 10 pm.

The Lost Post

As I try to write something for today's blog, Shady my cat keeps insisting that he either be entertained or that I let him outside to find entertainment for himself. "Sorry bud, but the arrangement is that you don't go out after dark." He doesn't agree with me and at this very moment is attacking my feet to get my attention. A crumbled up piece of paper thrown across the room will entertain him for at least a minute. He thunders across the room, pounces on it, bats it around and now he is done. He is yowling to go out again. I guess I could let him into the main part of the house and let my sister deal with him, but I think she is on the phone.





It is almost time for "Dancing With the Stars". So far this season I like Warren Sapp, but his last dance didn't leave me with the feeling that he will make it to the end.



Note: This was suppose to post on Monday 10-20. It's a little late (actually posting on 10-24) and subsequent post are probably a little repetitious due to technical difficulties.

Who would have thought?

Who would have thought that I would be blogging? Certainly not me. Now here I sit with nothing to say. That is how all of my writing endeavors start. Then I will write something, read it, edit it, read it again, edit again, and on and on until all I have is one paragraph that has been edited to within a inch of it's pathetic life. Recently a job counseler recommended that I read "Writing Down the Bones". I have been selling it for years at Bookends but never read it. She said it would help me get beyond the first paragraph by just suggesting that one sit and write with any care to editing or even correctly typos, a steady stream of writing. So far so good. Okay, I must admit I have stopped to correct typos and even changed a few words as I went along, but at least I didn't stop to re-read any of it. I don't know if this is the best way to start a blog, but hey, I have written more than I would have if I planned it.

My bedroom door just opened and then shut. I thought my sister was coming out to say something, but I think she just shoved the cat out here. Oh yes, here is the brat. His name is Shady and he will probably be featured regularly in my new blog. He is now chasing a twistie tie around the floor. I know why she shoved him out here. He is probably driving her crazy.

I think is a good start for my first entry. I better find out what the next step is to get this entry into my blog. Wish me luck.