Notes From All Over

I woke up in Jacksonville this morning and went for a walk along the river, just as the sun was coming up. It was just me and some joggers, and two people sleeping in the park. Oh, and some dolphins. That was great!

It sure was different seeing the bridges from the Riverwalk. Last time I saw them, I was kayaking under them. Such happy memories of the crazy currents there. 

I am about 80% of the way toward introducing the kitten to the cat. It is taking me forever. I know it's my own anxiety that's making it such a slow process. I probably worry way more about the What Ifs than both of them put together. But I just can't quite get it done -- yet.

The fleas are terrible this year and I am losing the battle. Today I got flea collars from the vet for both kitties. They are expensive but will be worth it if they work, and I only need to buy them every 8 months, so the per month number is not too bad (balanced against the time and expense of everything I've been doing that hasn't been working).

It has been raining almost every day: huge pouring thunderstorms with lots of lightning and dramatic skies. That's just great, because we really need the rain. And the late afternoon thunderstorm pattern is so typically Florida, it makes me feel like a kid again.

On the other hand, a few days ago a huge thunderstorm at 3 a.m. made it impossible to fall asleep again, after the thunder and lightning woke me up.  I finally just got up and started my day, because it was clearly a waste of time to stay in bed and worry about not getting enough sleep.  

I've been trying to transition my yard to native flowers and plants, slowly but surely moving away from a grassy lawn and clearly defined borders to a more natural layout with less grass and more diversity. Now come to find out this kind of getting-around-to-it gardening is called Slow Gardening (analogous to Slow Food).  I'm trendy and didn't even know it. I thought I was just lazy . . . or easily distracted.

One happy consequence of spending time outside this past weekend was a very cool wicker rocking chair I picked out of the alley, courtesy of my neighbor. It needs a coat of paint and a new cushion.  It's really true: someone's trash is someone else's treasure. I wonder what she will think when she someday sees it happily doing its rocking thing on my back porch? 

Ready for Summer

I've never been able to locate this delicious hot pepper relish at any of my local markets, so I ordered 4 jars from MyBrands.com, an outfit in New York that specializes in hard-to-find items.

They arrived today, carefully packaged with double boxing, plenty of padding, and a hefty swath of bubble wrap. The company went to a lot of trouble to ensure my order arrived safe and sound.

And now my sub sandwiches will have a scrumptious kick all summer long!

I've Been Busy

Here's what I was doing while taking my blog break. 

Paddle to the Sea

It's going to take some time to process the amazing journey we experienced, filled with the awe-inspiring beauty and power of the St. Johns River and the unbelievable kindness and generosity of the river community along the way. (You can get the flavor from our Facebook page.) 

Right now it's a little difficult to reenter so-called real life again.

Taking a Blog Break

I'm taking some time off work and also taking some time away from most things electronic. I'll still be using my camera, though.

Y'all take care. I'll be back soon.

Variations on Delicacy

Thanks to Maggie the kitten, I have learned a new euphemism:  "sanitary clip."

I have never had a long-haired cat before, and the kitten is definitely of that variety. In fact, her tail and haunches are so relentlessly, enthusiastically fluffy, I have taken to calling her "Little Miss Sparklepants."  I'm not sure why, but it seemed to fit.

Unfortunately, the other night she had a litterbox issue that changed her name to "Little Miss Stinkypants" (and perhaps you can use your imagination to fill in another word that begins with S and combines easily with "-pants").

I attempted to handle this matter myself, but I needed at least two more hands to get the job done via washrag and scissors. It didn't help that Maggie thought the whole ordeal was a delightful game and reacted by clawing and biting my hands in a playful manner.

She's cleaned up now, but she also goes to the groomer tomorrow for a (ahem) sanitary clip.

Meanwhile, I keep thinking of existential Henri, Le Chat Noir. If you don't already know of him, you probably should remedy that.

A certain delicate maintenance, indeed.