Critters (Love)

Good Evening, my Darling,

I'm finally home. 'Twas a long day, lots of back and forth, driving, driving, driving. I always love to get out of the car, so now I can relax. I forgot to mention that last night I took Pearl to Toys R Us to pick out a stuffed animal for the toy drive. Did I mention it? Anyway, she had a blast in there. Bought a big ol' stuffed panda, then didn't wanna give it away after all because it was too cute. I talked her into donating it as originally planned, and suggested we go back to get her one, too. :D

I gather from this morning's Insomnium post that maybe you are hunkered down, working on a project of your own, too. Maybe the Black Metal Elizabeth project? Or maybe it was just about Insomnium? Or maybe both. But I just now checked the weather and Good Lord, Woman!, it's fruh-heezing in your town. Six degrees, my goodness. So I suppose you are hunkered down one way or another.

I went to feed the black kitty this evening. I've been telling Pearl, "That kitty pounds food". Because in the morning I'll fill up the pan with dry food (I just use an old pie pan), and when I come back in the afternoon, it's all gone. Every day. So, I've been putting another panful out at night before I leave, with the same result. When I come back in the morn, it's gone. When Pearl's daughter was here over Thanksgiving, she bought a whole case of canned cat food, and so for the last couple days I've been feeding the kitty with that. Well, I put a can's worth in the kitty pan when I got there this afternoon, and before I was gonna leave, I went out to check it, just for the heck of it. It was really dark out. When I got back to the tool shed, where the kitty hangs out, I saw her up on the fence that runs between Pearl's and the neighbor's house. At least, I thought I saw her. I thought it was weird that she'd let me get so close, because she's feral. Usually she runs away until I put the food out and leave. But this time she just sat there on the fence. So, I got a little closer, and I said (cue kitty-speak voice) : It's okay kitty, it's just me. I put my hand out, on the slim chance she might trust me and come closer.

Then I noticed the long, thin tail. And the paunchy frame.

And I saw that it wasn't the black kitty at all, but a good sized possum. There's a few of 'em up at CSUN, but I've never seen one in the residential areas. But then, they only ever come out at night, and even then, only when no one is around. So, Mr. Possum must have smelled the cat food from wherever he lives, and perhaps it is he who has helped to make it disappear so fast every day. I don't think they come out in the daytime, but.........

I have seen the black kitty eating the food herself, so I know she's getting fed. But I am gonna do some Googling on possums, to see if they are solely nocturnal, if they are mean toward other animals, etc. I don't begrudge the poor guy some chow, but black kitty has priority, goshdarnit. And I can't put her food in the house because she's feral. So, I'll Google it and figure it out.

I hope the project is coming along well (or maybe it's already finished), and that you had a good day. I'll be around all evening except for my walk at 8:30, and then I'll write more later.

I Love You!   :):)   xoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)

11pm : I Googled the UW schedule, and I see that you have one week of classes, and then a week of finals. I saw the Emily Tebbets post, and you will soon join her - in being done this year, and eventually done, period. One thing I have found fascinating as the years have gone by is how we adjust to the passage of time, and what happens when you get to be (dreaded phrase coming up) "my age", is that you start to anticipate time. In other words, you can, for instance, see Spring approaching if you are in Winter, and you also get a month-by-month feel for The Year. You have an idea of what's coming. In that way, you can kind of psychologically control the passage of time. When you are younger - here's a great example : when you are, say, twelve, you think about getting your driver's licence at 16, and it feels like a million years away. But after awhile, you get the hang of Years, and you start to "surf" them. That was a thought I came up with a while back, the idea of "surfing life", as if life were a big and long lasting wave, and because you were on a surfboard during your tenure in life, you had to get the hang of surfing it. And you do after a while. You master the passage of time, and you can slow it down to your satisfaction, so that it is under your control.

You may be wondering what the heck this has to do with finals, and it's just that I can see the finish line for you already. Not just for finals, but the final college finish line, as Emily Tebbets just experienced. I don't know for sure, cause I never asked you, but I think next year will be your last? You will graduate after Spring 2015? That's my guess. So, from my perspective, I can see it clearly, and it's close. In the meantime, screw all the pressure stuff (even though you ace finals) and concentrate on things like Italy next Fall. I am just saying all this, of course. I have no experience with college, only life. So that's my abbreviated take. The bottom line is that you already know all of this stuff, but I tell you because, being born earlier, I got to it a little earlier. So, just to remind you that you are in an awesome period of life, school or no school. And in the long run, you will look back on school fondly, because that's another thing that happens : all strenuous experiences become awesome, in retrospect.

That's a nice pic of your photo club, too, moustaches and all! It's gotta be an inside joke........

Well, I Googled it, and I see that possums love cat food! It came back in many links. So, the concensus is don't put the food out at night. The kitty will have to wait for morning, and eat only in daylight hours, but it will prevent Mr. Possum from stealing her food. Problem solved, hopefully.

Tomorrow is a typical Sunday, Kobester to CSUN, etc. So I will see you in the morn, my Angel.

Sweet Dreams til then.

I Love You Always.    xoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)