The Marci Rating System

On the plus side, we could really use some rain! I'm sure it's good for all the plants. And the river!

But also it's sooooooooooooo gray outside. The cat and I are parked in front of the full spectrum light, pretending not to notice the time passing. (She is doing an excellent job of it!)

*Got 'The Wedding Witch' by Erin Sterling from my hold list this week, which is the third of a three-book series. Getting it was a fun prize all on its own, since notifications like 'the book you placed on hold is now ready to borrow' are an EXCELLENT use of technology.

*The first two books of the series were largely memorable for the talking cat (obviously my favorite character). The talking cat only had a tiny cameo in this book, which was unfortunate. There was a second cat introduced, though -- a delightful surprise despite not having a speaking role.

*The summary offered bears Very Little resemblance to the story itself (like, way less than usual). Unless 'Declan' is the Welsh way of saying 'Colin,' which could actually be the case, I don't know.

*I really thought the author was going to do something clever to wrap up the plot, not just 'time travel is so weird, I guess magic?' BUT I absolutely respect the 'I'm finishing this story and that's THAT' strategy, and I was definitely not reading it for the plot. So, that's fair.

*I definitely WAS reading it for the cat and the relationships (both romantic and family), which got the main focus. Hooray!

THE BEST PART OF THE AUDIOBOOK

*It's narrated by Mary Jane Wells. This is the first book I've listened to with her narrating, but she was GREAT. I was experiencing 'Raphael Corkhill narrating 'Winter's Orbit'' levels of listening enjoyment. I immediately looked up what else she's narrated and tagged some for future listening. A book I enjoyed that leads to other books I might enjoy: MY FAVORITE THING!

Today I thought to myself 'I'll write a quick post; it's not going to take long, there's no need to really settle in anywhere.'

And then I thought 'but I could sit on the sofa; I like doing that, right?'

And now I am snuggled up on the sofa with a cozy blanket, and I'm next to the cat sleeping on her comically enormous bed, and I can see the sun lighting up the trees outside even though it's cloudy, and it's genuinely delightful.

So this is a reminder to my future self: it's worth it to settle in! Get comfortable! It's up to you to build opportunities for comfort and delight into everyday activities! (Also I love you, and remember to stay hydrated!)

There is some context that probably makes this story make more sense, like: the cat's food and water dishes live on the bathroom counter (when they're on the floor she repeatedly knocks them over in attempts to 'bury' them). About a week ago, said cat was enjoying a daily dash around her space, when a particularly enthusiastic leap up to the counter led to a skid, and the food bowl wound up in the sink.

Since it was a ceramic bowl, this led to some cracks, and it was time to retire the bowl. Perhaps, I thought, a different bowl would be acceptable. We had several options already, after all!

One was too large. One was too deep. One was carefully angled to make eating easier, but the angle made it too difficult for the cat to be indulged in her second-favorite part of mealtime (getting me to rotate her bowl so the remaining food is in the 'front' of the bowl).

She finally settled on a small bowl that came with a dish set, but it was clearly Not Quite Right, so I ordered an exact replacement from Chewy, and it arrived yesterday. Hurray! Happy cat, happy day!

*Let's goooooo!!!!!!

*Uh, not sure I have anything more specifically motivating than that.

*Next Saturday, November will be over, no matter how many words are written, so we might as well have fun while we're in it.

*lol having said that, time to do some early Black Friday shopping!

*The cat is still kinda loopy from the pain meds she got at the vet, but she's doing much better. Breakfast consumed and litter box used, both very good signs!

*Some words I wrote today: “Okay, this definitely wasn’t on my bingo card for today.”

*That's 10 words! Only 1657 left to go!

*panic and freak out

*wait, that's not helpful

*okay, voting, that's helpful, definitely on the list

*buy a car (?!?!?!?!?!?!)

*(so, the car search was great last week when it was distracting me from election stress, but now they have CONVERGED in a wildly unexpected way and this sure is gonna be a DAY)

*pat the cat; she is the best and a true role model (cat advice for the day: relax, stretch, nap)

*write some words

*(HOW IS IT ALSO NOVEL-WRITING MONTH, WHAT EVEN IS THIS)

*but once all that other stuff is done, if there's still time, definitely panic and freak out

Amongst an array of odd dream snippets last night, one stands out as perfect for a caturday. I present to you: THE BABBEL CAT

(This was very obvious in the dream, in the way that things make sense in dreams. Someone mentioned the cat, and my dream!brain was all 'ah yes, of course, the babbel cat. The app that comes with a virtual cat friend.' Simple. Genius. I love it.)

I just had to look up how to spell 'babbel' as in 'the language learning app,' so I honestly do not know if babbel ALREADY includes a cat. If so, wow, I am an exceptionally great dream guesser. If not, babbel, this one's for you -- a freebie. Please add a cat to your app.

Made my first attempt at getting an absentee ballot yesterday! Found out that although the town *office* is open on Fridays, the town *clerk* is not. This is a level of detail I think I may have once known, and now know again, and -- let's be honest, will probably forget again.

BUT! I had a very enjoyable walk to and from the town office, and on the way back I sat on a rock to eat my snack, and a friendly cat came over to greet me! I had a nice chat with the cat, and also the other person who wandered by around that time.

CONCLUSION:
Actual objective: not achieved!
Overall outcome: very rewarding!

Blanket is complete! I started it in April, so that's about two and a half months? Seems good to me. Short enough that 'making a blanket' seems like an achievable goal, but long enough to keep anyone (me) from thinking I could just whip one up over a long weekend.

Of the 19 skeins of yarn I (somehow!) purchased for this project, I have 3+ skeins left over. Which isn't exactly GREAT estimating, but is certainly less frustrating than being 3+ skeins short. So I'm calling it a win.

It does, of course, raise the question of what to do with the leftover yarn. A small-size matching blanket for the cat? (hahaha all blankets are the cat's blankets) A long scarf? I wonder if I could double or triple up the yarn and make a small basket? (I LOVE CONTAINERS)