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Wednesday, June 24, 2020

mission not impossible

I could hear the pressure washer before I saw it. Turning the corner, there he was, getting rid of some recent graffiti.  Someone had painted "LOVE" in huge purple letters that took up an intersection entering our neighborhood.  Coincidentally, this is the intersection of the recent SWAT team drug bust event.  Co-coincidentally, this is the intersection where I used to see people nearby, strangely sitting in cars with the engines running.

Anyway, the LOVE is gone.

And I'll update that I have not seen any idling vehicles parked in the suspicious spot in several weeks.  Honestly, although I joked about a drug drop at the time, I don't think the idling vehicles are related in light of the recent arrests at the nearby house, as the house is on the other side of the intersection.  Seems to me that, if you're buying/ selling illicit drugs, doing so in an open and strange location and having to cross a street wouldn't be the right way to go about it.  I have no first hand experience here, but I think the passing of goods and payment can be done pretty discretely.  It's not like it requires a dolly or something, right?

In other news we're still working reduced hours since the Covid restrictions.  When I started the hospital job, it was three 6-hour shifts a week.  It reduced to two 4-hour shifts for a few weeks.  It's now holding at two 8-hour shifts in recent weeks, and I'm hoping that holds steady until the next uptick.  In the meantime, I'm still going a bit stir crazy on days off.

This week, I at least have Maisey.  Maisey is Wolfgang's cat, and Wolfgang is away having some mountain biking fun with a couple of friends.  So I have Maisey duty. 

She's a rescue cat, and like all of our pets other than Napolion, no one really knows her origin story.  I think all cats have their quirks, but Maisey's a bit of a strange cat in that she's not big on the grooming. Wolfgang has to sometimes either comb out the hair knots or cut them off when there's no hope.  Other cats I've known  have been meticulous with the grooming, but it seems that Maisey was absent that day at cat school.

She has improved somewhat, like the universe sent her a clue.  Despite the ratty hair, she's just too cute.  And she's providing me with some purpose this week.






Today WOULD have been Bike to Work Day in our highly bicycle friendly town.  Cancelled because of you-know-what. 

There is a bike count sign that records bicycle traffic along a particular route in town, and a local bike club has issued a challenge to break the current daily record of 1,737 riders.

I honestly don't know how the sign works.  How does it discern bikes from cars from runners from walkers?

Oh well, I'll go be part of the count and let someone else worry about accuracy.


To summarize today's assignments:
  • Feed a cat
  • Empty a litter box
  • Attempt to remove ratty tufts of cat hair from a cat
  • Bicycle past a sign
  • Don't do drugs



What important things are you up to today?





8 comments:

John Holton said...

Maisie is a gorgeous kitty! Medium- and long-haired cats have to be brushed daily, because they will get like that, as I've learned from experience. I think it's just too much work for them sometimes. Get a slicker brush and give her a good going over daily. You'll get a lot of built-up undercoat.

Linda Sue said...

isn't that the deal with long haired cats? Can you imagine the fur ball in her tummy! We have had long haired cats, not averse to shaving three inches off. FoCo is a cool place( except for pressure washing LOVE out of town), and you have a pretty great governor, I think that you will be OK, promise me!

Abby said...

John, your too-much-work theory makes sense. Another of Maisey's quirks is that she's not big on being pet/ touched except for Wolfgang. I'll see how much undercoat I can uncover - a new mission!

Linda Sue, we had a long-haired cat before, but not nearly as long as Maisey's coat. A shave sounds nice in this heat!
We'll be fine, I promise! Now, I've got a sign to pedal past.

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) said...

I have a list of issues to deal with. Wanna come help me?
I need an assistant and a wife. I need a 1950's housewife like June Clever. Do my laundry, fix my meals, clean my house in pearls and run my errands. Whatever you do don't say that to your husband. I made that mistake of telling him I needed a wife - he said he did too.

Chatty Crone said...

I like your to do list!
Don't envy you on the ratty tufts though.
Covid is really getting big here again. :(
Take care.

Abby said...

Peggy, June Clever didn't help us. She's a myth!!

Sandie, I checked everything off my list! The ratty tufts were the most difficult.

LL Cool Joe said...

Maisie is too cute! Even with the ratty tufts. Actually I have ratty tufts at the moment too, maybe she's just in lockdown mode and can't be arsed about self hygiene? I know the feeling.

Abby said...

Joey, "can't be arsed" - HA!