Clumps of Stuff

**Meow mix

The cat has departed from our possession. The cat's name was/is boogcat, from what information we got from the owner. He got this rather interesting name from the fact that he had/has a light tan freckle on his otherwise white nose, lending the impression of a booger. Anyway, we were quite thrilled to find the owner, except for the fact that we did so the day after the cat departed from our care. Last Sunday arrived and I found I could no longer ignore the height of the grass in the yard. The mower was in the garage, which is where the cat was being housed. The last time we tried to restrain the cat while removing something from the garage, Sheri got a nasty scratch on her forearm. So, my thought on it was this: the cat likes the dogs, seems to like us, and has food, water and a litter box-what's the harm in opening the garage door so I can get some things done? When I opened the door, the cat meandered out into the yard, mewling all the while. He'd run out towards the road, and then dash back up towards the house. This cycle repeated itself enough times, that I soon stopped paying attention and just went about my business. Sheri came out a time or two to see what he was doing, and then wandered back in herself. By about 1730 I was pretty much done, and was looking to close up the garage and head inside for a while. Looking around the driveway, I saw no cat. Looking around the front of the house and the side of the garage, I saw no cat. Looking around the front yards of all the neighbors, I saw no cat. Wanting to get something to eat and a nap, I closed up the garage and went inside, reporting my findings to the boss. She was concerned and relieved at the same time. After a few hours had passed we did another survey of the yard and surrounding areas with similar results: no cat located. We shrugged at each other, I made a note to clean up the random piles of poop that I had found in the garage, and we both hoped he had found his way back home. That hope lasted until the next day, when Julie was contacted by the owner of the cat. The home of the cat was about 4-6 blocks away, across 1st Street, over in Tilton Park.

**rainy days

A rather long string of gloomy, damp, and cool days is upon us. Does very little for my motivational level. Makes the grass grow like a son of a bitch, though.

**car return/stealth car

-With any luck, I should be getting my car back on Friday. The only problem is that with the imminent arrival of Zella, the folks have borrowed Sheri's car to be able to bring back the drafting table for me. So, as soon as we get my car back, Sheri is appropriating it, since she hates to drive the Prius. I like the Prius. It's like a little stealth car.

**Zella should be here within the next 10-14 days.

The drafting table is mine, for free, as soon as I can get it back here. Hopefully it will be a nice addition to the studio and will make things a bit more functional.

None of the new perennials I planted last year have come back. I'm thinking about trying my hand at elephant ears, since the whole banana plant experiment seems to have gone awry. I have also rearranged the stone border in front of the house in line with my plans to put in areas of purple coneflowers and butterfly weed along the front, since nothing else seems to have done well there. The spaces in front of the basement windows will be reseeded with grass. The grass seed I put down in back has come up decently, but putting some more down while we're in this damp weather pattern would probably be a good idea.

A pile of stuff is slowly accumulating in the doorway of the garage. It's a fairly large pile. The question is, how do we dispose of it? Neither one of us wants the hassle of having a garage sale, and I haven't heard of anyone I know asking if we want to put stuff in theirs. I like the idea idea of stacking it all at the end of the driveway, putting a sign out that says 'Free Stuff', and just letting people cart it all off. It's amazing what people will take if it's free. Whatever is left over afterwards could be donated or trashed, depending on what it is. Right about now, I just want it all gone.

Is it better to have studio time early or late? I can't decide. During the summer, I am drawn more to be in the sun, so getting up earlier would be better, but that's when everyone else is up and trying to claw away little bits of my time. The interruptions are endless and just gnaw away at the time I have. Staying up late gets me around this issue, but limits me to doing things that are fairly quiet in nature, and predominantly inside (I am starting to dread how bad the mosquitoes will be this year).