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Life after Ferko
Apr. 8th, 2009 07:40 amThe first order of business after having Ferko put to sleep was cleaning my office. I was a little afraid that she might have harbored some fleas, although I saw no signs on the occasions I was able to groom her, and although I had used Frontline on her last fall and last month.
As some of you know, my office is jammed with stuff, and cleaning it is a bit like working one of those toys that has fifteen numbered tiles on slots and sixteen spaces. So it has taken two days to move a bit of furniture, vacuum thoroughly, lay down a dose of pyrethins/methoprene on the carpet, and wipe down various surfaces.
As I was working on this, I came to realize the extent to which my life had become circumscribed by the need to accommodate my feline room-mates over the course of a decade. The remains of Fort Kitty have been removed; the pathways to allow Ferko to come and go no longer need to be kept clear; other horizontal surfaces that were subject to Ferko shedding and/or pushing things overboard are once again available for my professional use.
We have a Purple Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner, arguably the strongest, most pet-hair-competent suck-em-up made. My office, which is about 11' x 11', yielded two full canisters of Ferko hair. There's still some hair embedded in the carpet and some residual hair on surfaces, but I literally can breathe easier now.
As some of you know, my office is jammed with stuff, and cleaning it is a bit like working one of those toys that has fifteen numbered tiles on slots and sixteen spaces. So it has taken two days to move a bit of furniture, vacuum thoroughly, lay down a dose of pyrethins/methoprene on the carpet, and wipe down various surfaces.
As I was working on this, I came to realize the extent to which my life had become circumscribed by the need to accommodate my feline room-mates over the course of a decade. The remains of Fort Kitty have been removed; the pathways to allow Ferko to come and go no longer need to be kept clear; other horizontal surfaces that were subject to Ferko shedding and/or pushing things overboard are once again available for my professional use.
We have a Purple Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner, arguably the strongest, most pet-hair-competent suck-em-up made. My office, which is about 11' x 11', yielded two full canisters of Ferko hair. There's still some hair embedded in the carpet and some residual hair on surfaces, but I literally can breathe easier now.
Houseplants, backyard plants, bluegrass
Mar. 29th, 2009 09:17 pmSettling back into a routine, sort of.
There's some definite swelling on the pollinated hippeastrum. (For comparison, see entry from a week ago.) Looks like I can expect some seeds. Wonder if they'll germinate as exuberantly as the last batch.
There's another Nopalxochia flower at the peak of its bloom, and the last one is starting to color up.
Three peony shoots have poked through so far. I hope to see at least two more.
I did three loads of wash.
Roy came home from walking the dog all excited because there was a bluegrass jam taking place on our block and he got us invited. I went to observe, then sent him home for my guitar and played till my thumb blistered (forgot to ask for a pick).
It was sunny and warm, and then we had a thunderstorm with hail the size of peas.
ETA: Forgot to mention that the microwave had an epic fail (including bolt-like flashes of light, loud noises, and bad smells) yesterday. We've had it since 2000. So we lugged it out back and reinstalled the Amana Touchmatic Radarange that Roy got in 1978. We retired it because we wanted a smaller model in our kitchen but we kept it, and a good thing it is, too. It looks as though we have the dashboard of a 1978 Buick Skylark on the kitchen counter, but it works.
There's some definite swelling on the pollinated hippeastrum. (For comparison, see entry from a week ago.) Looks like I can expect some seeds. Wonder if they'll germinate as exuberantly as the last batch.
There's another Nopalxochia flower at the peak of its bloom, and the last one is starting to color up.
Three peony shoots have poked through so far. I hope to see at least two more.
I did three loads of wash.
Roy came home from walking the dog all excited because there was a bluegrass jam taking place on our block and he got us invited. I went to observe, then sent him home for my guitar and played till my thumb blistered (forgot to ask for a pick).
It was sunny and warm, and then we had a thunderstorm with hail the size of peas.
ETA: Forgot to mention that the microwave had an epic fail (including bolt-like flashes of light, loud noises, and bad smells) yesterday. We've had it since 2000. So we lugged it out back and reinstalled the Amana Touchmatic Radarange that Roy got in 1978. We retired it because we wanted a smaller model in our kitchen but we kept it, and a good thing it is, too. It looks as though we have the dashboard of a 1978 Buick Skylark on the kitchen counter, but it works.
