Tag: cats

Pop the kettle on, pet

Bloganuary writing prompt
If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?
View all responses
When I pop the kettle on, I make hot cocoa, not tea.

I fell asleep watching Call the Midwife last night. For those unfamiliar, the series follows the lives of several midwives and their community in London’s East End in the 1960s.

As I was drifting off, I heard a character call another character “pet.” I was half-asleep so I don’t remember who was calling who “pet.” All I remember is it was an adult calling another adult “pet.” It sounded something like this:

“Pop the kettle on, pet.”

“Okay, love.”

I’ve noticed the midwives issue a lot of nicknames. They do not discriminate. The call babies everything from “young sir” to “old bean.” They call old women everything from “sweetie” to “old thing.” They call women who’ve just given birth “brave girl” or “good girl” or “lass” or “precious.”

If I were to witness any of these “nickname moments” in real life, I’d be equal parts suspicious and pissed. But there’s something super special about the way the midwives do it — I listen for the nicknames and love every single one, including “pet.”

***

Why do you watch the telly when you’re trying to sleep, pet? Help me understand.

When my husband is out of town, I tend to sleep with the TV on. I like to watch / listen to dramatic television series that I think are perfectly written. Call the Midwife is one example. Mad Men is another. The Queen’s Gambit is also excellent. I was born in the 60s and am naturally drawn to the decade. Also, I cling to an absurd hope that listening to good television writing while I sleep will help me write better.

***

Why do you write this blog, pet? Help me understand.

I cling to an absurd hope that blogging will help me write better.

***

How do you feel about being called pet, pet? Help me understand.

In my imagination, I like it. In real life, I don’t. So I let the voice inside my head call me pet, but no probably one else.

***

Not a lot of time to write today. Thank you for reading. Do you like nicknames? -Connie

Has pepper ever made you sneeze?

Zoom in to see all the pepper!

Today’s prompt: Where can you reduce clutter in your life?

I was thinking about the “clutter” prompt as I was cooking dinner (spaghetti and meatballs) this evening. I wanted to add a dash of pepper to my sauce so I reached for my pepper shaker. The moment I picked it up, the tiny plug fell out of the bottom and the pepper immediately poured out and made a mess. Not only that, it caused me to sneeze.

Don’t worry. They were cute, barely audible, miniature sneezes. More like sneezettes, really. The kind that makes you think, “Oh how whisper-like and adorable!”

While I was being dainty and feminine, it dawned on me that I really need to de-clutter my spice rack. Between sneezettes, I wondered “Why do I have three separate containers — and brands– of cumin?” and “I bought the garam marsala in the summer and have used it once. Will I ever use it again?” and “Didn’t I buy that cream of tartar at Byerly’s…when I lived in Minneapolis…more than twenty years ago…the first time I made snickerdoodles?”

Suffice to say, I’ve made plans to clean up my spice rack. Tomorrow morning, it’s going to sparkle! After that, I may move on to organize the coat closet or or clean out the fridge. It’s a brand new year, baby. Time to tidy!

Or not. Probably not.

It would appall you how much crap we have. Our mantle alone is filled with old mushrooms and that’s hardly the only place I feature “God’s art.” Every flat surface in this house features rocks, feathers, pine cones, leaves, twigs, horse chestnuts and old bird nests.

On top of that, we have art supplies, light bulbs, tools, old toys, puzzles, books, candles, flashlights, first aid kits, musical instruments, cables, batteries, extension cords, adapters and more situated throughout the house. We have a drawer filled with hot sauce packets…and nothing else. It’s fine. We’re weird, I don’t care and I don’t mind the clutter.

Thanks for reading! -Connie

P.S. Until tonight, I thought pepper-induced sneezing was something that only happened in cartoons. I’m going to tell you the truth: It’s much cuter when it’s Tom (the gray cat from Tom & Jerry) sneezing, versus, say, a 54-year-old Rockford woman.

P.P.S. If you’re wondering, the spaghetti dinner was ruined from the pepper and sneezing so I ended up serving egg rolls and leftover mashed potatoes.

The last of the breakfast eaters

Today’s prompt is How do you define success?

I have anxiety and low standards so:

  • keeping my cats inside (they love to bust out in the warm months)
  • walking my dog before work (not just letting her out in the back)
  • brushing my cats before work (minimum of ten strokes each)
  • having my cats’ favorite canned food well stocked (or stop at ALDI on way home)
  • having my dog’s favorite canned food well stocked (or stop at ALDI on way home)
  • when the water in our fish tanks are crystal clear

I’ll stop there because I’ve just realized how much my pets control not just my definition of personal success but my sanity. I’ve always suspected it, even joked about, but it’s actually true.

You’ve heard the expression “If Momma Ain’t Happy Ain’t Nobody Happy.” In this house, it’s “If Barbara, Tuffy, Two-Spot, Vice President-Elect, Senator Snout and The Debt Collector Ain’t Happy Ain’t Nobody Happy.”

When people go on a vacation or a road trip, I’ve heard them say things like, “It was nice but I couldn’t wait to get home to my dog,” or “I had a great time but I missed my pets.”

You’ll never hear me say that. I have anxiety but I don’t have Stockholm Syndrome.

I need to wrap this up because I have to go to work. I’m happy to say Barbara is fed and walked, the fish are swimming around in their tanks all fancy free and the cats have been groomed and fed. This, along with serving my youngest son a big breakfast (my other kids are breakfast-shunners) before he catches his bus truly helps me walk out the door feeling like I can do my best in the world.

Thanks for reading!

Yours in remembering to pick up fish tank filters from PetSmart,

Connie

Omigosh you won’t believe what these kittens JUST DID!

Boy howdy, these kittens sure are adorable! Not only that, they have secret talents. We caught up with Lieutenant Kitten (the kittens’ leader) and asked her what makes the kittens so special.

“We’re artists,” she said, “and we’ll be performing in the Rockford Fringe Festival!”

Awwwww. Doesn’t that make your HEART MELT?

The lieutenant said her crew of kittens is mostly interested in theatre but they also sing, act, dance and recite poetry.

“Each kitten is poised to share their unique talent,” said the lieutenant. “Just like the humans who will be performing at the Rockford Fringe Festival!”

***

Shame on me (Connie) for using kitten click bait to get you to read this story about the Rockford Fringe Festival. But desperate times call for desperate measures!

***

Shame on me again for using emotional, over-the-top language. These aren’t “desperate times” and I’m not interested in pursuing “desperate measures.” Here’s what I’m interested in: producing this fringe festival!

As you know, the performing arts add so much to a community. Likewise, a healthy, unique and robust community adds so much to its performers. It’s a symbiotic relationship and cultivating it takes some effort.

How can you help?

Click “like” on social media posts. Every time you share, follow, comment, retweet, etc., you are building a robust online community – one like at a time.

Volunteer. You don’t have to commit hours of your time! Simply committing 20 minutes of your time helps immensely! Help us cross our ‘t’s’ and dot our ‘i’s’ by signing up to volunteer.

Submit your idea or script. The shorter the better as that will allow more performers to share their unique talents. The lineup will be announced on or before June 15, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.

Save the date! Got plans for July 9? Unless those plans involve the Rockford Fringe Festival, cancel them immediately and plan on attending the Fringe instead. Thanks for reading! -Connie

Meow! This kitten can’t wait to perform at the Rockford Fringe Festival!