Snow and Stuff

When the alarm went off this morning, Alex was snuggled next to my body. We were both beneath a sheet, two blankets, and a comforter. I seriously considered pushing the snooze button on the alarm, but the cat who owns me had other ideas. So Alex slipped away from my body and my hand that was encircling his body and, slipping out from the covers, jumped to the floor. When I did not follow him, he jumped on the comforter covering my chest and meowed that it was "time to get up".

My hand, which had been reaching for the snooze button, slid a bit to the right and turned off the alarm. I took the CPAP mask off and turned off the machine. I threw off the covers and immediately began coughing up the mucus that normally builds up in my lungs each night. Coughing and wheezing, I headed for the bathroom to clear my lungs. On the way I grabbed my walking stick so that my left leg (that I injured in the tank accident 36 or so years ago) didn't give out before I reached the bathroom.

As I was hobbling as fast as I could, hacking and wheezing, Alex did his normal thing: he meandered slow in front of me toward the bedroom door and then STOPPED, so that I almost tripped over him. He then gave me permission to lead the way and became royally (an apt adverb for the king of my household) pissed because I walked through the kitchen and didn't add some Friskies to his new, dual feeding dish. (As you remember, he broke his expensive ceramic dish by pushing it off the table when it didn't contain the cat food he desired; the new dish is plastic, not ceramic, and cost only 99 cents).

After I completed the almost impossible process of urinating while at the same time coughing up mucus and balancing myself with the walking stick, I returned to the kitchen where a found Alex unhappily breakfasting on his dry cat food. He had refused to wait for the packet of Friskies. When he saw me approach, Alex decided on a new assignment for his servant. He meowed the command "Follow me!" and strolled toward the front hallway. Of course, he stopped before he arrived at the front door to (again) allow me to guess what he wanted and lead the way. When I arrived at the door, I opened it for my master and he started out. Alex never made it; halfway through the door and with his front two paws just past the threshold, he was greeted by this sight:


OK, that's not very much snow. However, Alex has an aversion to water in any form. Last year he discovered that walking in snow results in wet paws and he doesn't want to repeat that nasty experience. So he gave up on playing outside, left me standing by the open door, and headed for his litter box, where he reluctantly did his necessary things after kicking as much litter as he thought necessary out of the box, missing the small rug on which the box sits, and getting most of the litter on my hardwood floor.

After I swept up and returned the litter to the box in which it belongs, I returned to the kitchen, where Alex commanded me to feed him a packet of Friskies. As I have previously written, I have reduced Alex's ration of Friskies to two packets a day, supplemented by his dry cat food. The little furball is not only getting fat, he also gorges himself on the Friskies and then barfs it up.

After his gourmet breakfast and another trip to the door to confirm the nasty fluffy water was still on the ground, Alex climbed up on a kitchen chair that I have placed for him in front of a small electric heater (electricity is much less expensive than the gas that feeds our furnace), made a nest in the old sweater I have placed on the chair for that purpose, and began a cat nap that lasted almost four hours.


In the meantime, I figured out how to set Outlook Express so that I may again send emails. (I do miss Microsoft Office because there are several files, including my resumes, that I can not longer access). I also added some links to my new blog, UCC on the Net; completed rewriting one of my resumes (I have several that I use depending upon the type of employment for which I am applying); and made some telephone calls regarding alternative forms of income (disability and retirement).

After his catnap, Alex again commanded me to open the door to determine if the snow had disappeared. It hadn't-and more snow is forecast for tonight. It appears that Alex will remain a house cat for the next few days.