Every Woman Exchange

It is 20° this morning. It's not supposed to get too much warmer -- only to 26°, though it's supposed to gradually warm up all week and possibly even hit the low 50s on Saturday. January Thaw time.

Yesterday, there were flakes in the air occasionally, but they were kind of lackadaisical about it and there was no accumulation. Toward evening, there was even almost sunshine, which was nice.

The day did not go the way I had hoped. I went out for groceries early and was home by 7:30. You can tell it's getting on toward inventory time, because the shelves at WickedMart were bare in a lot of places. The Christmas stuff is all gone, of course, and there isn't enough Valentine's Day stuff to fill in the gaps. I did pick up a new hair dryer, though there wasn't much choice about it. Here's what I want in a hair dryer: small (because my arms aren't long enough for a full-size one), preferably three temperature settings and two speed settings. The one that sparked at me the other morning was a Revlon travel dryer. They apparently no longer make it...because of course they don't. The one that I did purchase was not what I wanted, so when I went out again to pick up my prescription, I took it back to WickedMart and chose a different one...which seems like it's going to be too big; the barrel is at least an inch, possibly two inches, longer than the previous one. So then I started searching online, which is why I figured out that they don't make what I really wanted anymore. Remington does have a model that seems to be what I want, but that, also, appears to not be being made any longer as it is out of stock on Remington's own site, though it was available on Amazon.

BFT says she uses a profesional Conair dryer. I'm not willing to pay that much for a hair dryer.

I have not yet returned the second dryer that I bought at WickedMart, so perhaps I will try it out first, since it does at least fulfill the three heat/two speed requirement, even if it's too big.

In any case, after the internet failed me, I ended up going out again. I checked Ollie's, Marshall's, and CVS to see what they carried. CVS at least had a Conair that I had been considering, so I was able to open the box and look at it and determine that it wasn't suitable. That sucker was heavy for a hair dryer. I considered BJ's, but decided not to stop because by that time, the Saturday crowds were out in force. (Also, Marshall's was practically empty, given how much stock they had crowded into that tiny store for Christmas.)

I was a bit out of sorts when I got home, but I have discovered (rediscovered?) the simple joy of Campbell's tomato soup. For years, I have bought Progresso's tomato-basil soup for tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich dinners, but I am thinking that after all this time, I do prefer the Campbell's. It's warm and comforting and there's probably some nostalgia involved, since we always had it in the house when I was a kid. I add some rice and eat it with Ritz crackers when I'm not in the mood for making a grilled cheese sandwich. Yum! (And that way, a single can gives me three lunches. I prefer to add my own rice rather than buy the tomato-rice version.)

There was a completely cat-free nap (kind of disappointing, but they were both upstairs on the bed when I laid down on the couch).

I called MyAuntie around late afternoon and we talked for three hours. I'd say that's a record for us, but it's really not. We generally talk anywhere from two and a half to three hours. We certainly never talk for less than two hours. And usually when I go out there, I'll sit down at the dining room table for lunch, and we'll still be sitting there yacking come dinner time.

I floated the idea of going out there in May and September this year in addition to my regular July visit and she was enthusiastic about it. Since I get the maximum amount of vacation time due to my longevity at the agency, I still have two weeks of vacation left going into this year, and by the end of next month, I'll already have another week. I would still like to spend two weeks at a time out there, but can't leave the cats on their own (even with twice-daily visits from my sister or BFT) for that amount of time.

Today, I really have no plans. My vacation-week do list is glaring balefully at me, but it's too late now. Maybe I'll just spend the day reading. After two Snowflake Challenge challenges, I am already realizing the impossibility of keeping up with reading others' challenge responses, especially after I go back to work tomorrow. Ah, well. It is ever thus.

Challenge #2: Pets of Fandom

Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!

My pets have actually just celebrated their first Gotcha Day with me; I adopted them on New Year's Eve 2024. They are two black cats that I adopted from the SPCA.

Parker:



Parker is about five years old now, all black, except for a scattering of stray white hairs on his chest and belly, neither of which is enough to even think about calling a patch. He has amber eyes. He is exceedingly regal, except when he doesn't want to be. He hasn't done it for a while, but he used to like to jump into the bathtub and chase his tail.


Tegan:



Tegan is a tuxedo girlie with a ridiculous white Mr. Pringle mustache. At the shelter, she was named Meghan Trainor, and after calling her Miss Meghan and Miss T for a week, I decided that her name was probably Tegan, instead. She is about two years old now, and she is the miracle kitty -- she was brought into the shelter partially paralyzed from being hit by a car, but while they were discussing what to do with her, she got up and started walking again.

Of the two, Parker is probably the braver one -- right after I let them both go in my basement after bringing them home, I found him two floors up in my bedroom. Tegan, meanwhile, didn't come out of the basement for more than a week. On the other hand, she is also the one who mastered the kitty fountain, while Parker still seems to prefer the plastic bubblers from WalMart.

Parker is definitely more aloof, but when he wants attention, he lets it be known. I was just talking to my aunt on the telephone, and he insisted on being held the whole time.

Tegan is shy around strangers, but if I sit down anywhere other than my desk, she is right there demanding her due. If I want to sit down to read, I have to make sure that there's a pillow in my lap to prop the book on, otherwise there's Tegan. If Parker wants attention while I'm reading, though, he'll just climb onto my chest and get in the way of the book.


Both of them:



They play together occasionally, but they don't curl up together at all. This is the closest I have seen them when not playing, or when both of them aren't trying to sit on me at the same time.