Christmas shopping

well i finally started christmas shopping last friday and it happened...

i lost my shopping mojo.

it happened the moment i walked through the doors at target. it was gone and there was NOTHING i could do about it. never in my life have i had such trouble shopping for anything. i had an easier time buying presents the christmas that i was dead broke and literally had nothing to buy gifts with.

the only people i knew what to buy for were pollyannas who had given me gift ideas.

i have to shop again today and i am dreading it! never in my life have i dreaded shopping.

the fact that christmas is on a monday this year is messing with my head. it doesn't matter that it is always on the 25th of december, when it falls on or right after a sunday it's as if there is one less week to get anything done.

but i am dreading the cleaning even more. last week i did my annual spring cleaning. forget the fact that it's now winter. i always spring clean right before the holidays. of course i only got the 1st floor done. that means that the second floor is a disaster. the pobble will be here on the 22nd and her room is a storage bin. now she assured me that was fine... but unless i get moving she will be reenacting that first christmas when there was no room at the inn except that i don't have a stable out back for her to crash in.

ok, i'm done complaining. time to get in the shower and get to work!

God's peace y'all

lost cats and dead plants

last week i noticed that one of the kitties was missing. we have 2: cinderella and jasmine. they are pretty antisocial and so i don't pay too much attention to their whereabouts on a daily basis. but it had suddenly occurred to me that while jasmine was "around" cinderella wasn't.

at first i thought maybe she was just hiding, but at night, when they are most active and most often together, jasmine was by herself.

i started to worry that i was going to find a dead kitty or that suddenly a pregnant kitty would show up at my door. neither are fixed, but neither have ever shown any interest in going outside for any reason.

i didn't want to tell the princess kitty, but after day 3 she heard us talking and it couldn't be avoided.

and then hubby heard mewing. we followed the sound to the attic and there she was. i can't wait to discover what she used as a litter box up there.

so the cat was alive and found... the plants in my kitchen, which were never missing... are now dead. apparently i over-watered the sage hanging over my sink and another set of plants on one of the windowsills. they had hung outside on my porch, but when the weather got cold i moved them inside, but continued to water them as i had watered them when they were on the porch.

i knew the sage wasn't going to make it. it was just a matter of time before i gave up on it, but as of last night the others looked healthy and beautiful. this morning they were wilted over the sides of the planter.

of course i had just said to someone last night that i was impressed with myself for even having plants. it's been awhile since i've been able to grow anything inside and i'm only partially successful outside.

at least i have some clippings from the ones that died overnight that i can replant and this time... i think i'll keep them a little thirstier.

God's peace and green thumbs y'all

postsecret

i always go to postsecret.com every sunday to read the new postcards. if you have never been there before it is sadly beautiful.

this was the first one this week. (no, he's not the silent prince... but it certainly made me think of him.)

God's peace y'all

9:01PM

so i had to make an ice cream run for the princess kitty and her sleepover friend last night. it was about 8:45 when walking out the door hubby asked me to make it a beer run as well. "hurry," he told me "because you can't buy beer in the market after 9PM".

at the store i grabbed a cart and threw in a 12 pack of something or other and a 6 pack of something else and trotted down the ice cream aisle to get some fudgsicles.

i heard the announcement that it was time to close up the beer area, but i had mine in my cart already and i had a few minutes to spare. i decided i wanted some pita bread and hummus for a snack and got into the only line open behind 2 very full carts.

another cashier opened for another man with a few items and i snuck behind him and put my beer up on the conveyer only to be told by the cashier that by the time she would ring me up it the register would probably not let her sell me the beer. "go to customer service quick and see if she can do it."

so i take off for customer service where i also wind up in line. by the time she scans my beer it is 9:01 and it will not scan.

now... it's just beer, but come on! i had it in my cart and i was in line before 9:00. and because i had to wait in line i can't buy it!

oh, but i can go out to a bar drink all the beer i want and try to make my way home. but, if i want to buy beer to drink safely in my home... forget it!

one minute... one stinking minute...

ah well...

God's peace y'all

world AIDS day

december first (today) is world AIDS day. the princess kitty is having a sleep-over, the silent prince came home from school and passed out asleep, i have 2 meetings tomorrow, the bishop is coming to visit on sunday, there is an ordination sunday afternoon i need to attend, and i have a funeral first thing monday morning, which means that...

i have no time to write about a topic near and dear to me. so i will say this quickly... please remember all those whose lives have been affected by AIDS, use a condom... EVERYTIME... and pray for an end to this terrible disease.

God's peace and healing y'all