Saturday Snippets

The cat plays at midnight.
I’m told he’s a kitten and kittens are prone to biting fingers and toes, destroying their toys and wanting to play wild games in the middle of the night. My new flannel comforter is bite-proof, thank goodness, so the dog and I are safe as we huddle under it to find sleepy warmth. It does get hot though, so my feet emerge at some point, as does Chienne’s head. We are then vulnerable for Sprout’s less than subtle attempts to rouse a playmate.

Biting my toes is effective only for getting scolded. I don’t even feel guilty about chastising him since it’s hardly a habit I want to encourage. I was next awakened by a low growl from the dog as she rested her head on the pillow across the bed from my own. I rolled over to blink at her, wondering what was causing such a tired yet irritated sound, and saw Sprout standing over her, paw ready to swat her nose again. I stifled a laugh and shooed him away, patted her head, covered her shoulders, and snuggled into my own pillow again.

So on his first overnight chance at freedom, Sprout did some damage to my sleep schedule. I also think I’m trying to make up for missing rest due to the parental visit. Regardless, I slept hard for parts of last night – I don’t remember waking at all on my own. And a night limited to cat-related disturbances is a good night indeed. I tried to get up around 7:30 – that’s officially sleeping in for me. But I ended up back in bed until nearly 10. At that point, the day is officially wasted in my mind, so I accomplished very little. You could basically list any number of tasks and I would shake my head sadly. I didn't do much of anything.

Why get out of bed at all?
Answer: To help America’s youth. Halloween is approaching and I went through massive amounts of candy last year. In an attempt to help me out, Mom bought treats to for me to distribute and stored them on top of my refrigerator. I politely left the bags alone while my parents were here – thanking them for taking care of those purchases – but quickly went to investigate after they left.

My first find was Kit Kats, which were a favorite childhood treat. We would park the car on Grandma and Grandpa’s blacktopped driveway and enter the side door. I would climb three steps to arrive at the kitchen, then turn immediately to the right and open the second drawer from the bottom. After retrieving a Kit Kat, I would go to collect my hugs, and have someone open my candy so I could break off pieces and savor the crunch and chocolate. I do enjoy Kit Kats.

So I had a few of those. Well, more than a few. But I told myself that there’s some kind of childhood obesity epidemic and that I was only saving the dear kids from a future of diabetes and heart disease and all sorts of awful fates. Apparently this altruistic urge comes with the understanding that I might suffer all these problems myself, but will have enjoyed some high quality candy along the way.

Then I found the bag of Twix and the day went from bad to worse. I like Twix almost as much at Kit Kats! Which is why I buy any candy other than those for Halloween. M&Ms? Eh. Fruity candy? I’ll leave it alone. Hard candy? I might have a single peppermint. Anything peanut-buttery? I wrinkle my nose. But some sort of crunch – from wafer or cookie – and chocolate and perhaps some caramel? I’m all in. I have a feeling that this recent dilemma of my pants being too big is going to get solved posthaste.

Out for the evening
I did have plans this afternoon, so I finally took Chienne for a walk (though I’m not sure of the point when I’m consuming thousands of calories in candy) and cleaned the kitchen (had to pick up all those candy wrappers) and picked up the living room (um…more candy wrappers). Then I finished unpacking, sorted some clean laundry, gathered dirty clothes, fed the animals (they eat each other’s food. Why? And I gave them some leftover chicken and Sprout was delicately trying to eat his to provide contrast to Chienne’s inhalation method. He accidentally dropped his tiny piece of meat, and the dog quickly took care of that. And he hissed at her for the first time today.) and got ready to go.

I was sleepy and did miss my candy, but I had a nice time. There’s something about listening to English spoken in a lyrical Spanish accent that’s quite enjoyable. I drank sangria and thought about how nice it was to eat wine-soaked fruit. I considered how rarely I get to watch flames as I stared at the grill, then had an excellent meal. I met Unnamed Friend’s friend and several pretty cats. There was entertaining conversation and a tour of a very cool house and a declined offer of leftovers.

Then I drove home, opened Sprout’s door, accepted Chienne’s frantic greetings – she misses me ever so much when I’m gone, and took out my painful contacts. I really don’t like my new ones – they correct for astigmatism, but they hurt!

So after writing a rather lame but newsy blog post, I have to decide whether I can stay awake long enough to do a couple loads of laundry. And, of course, choose between a Kit Kat and Twix…