2009.09.06 Lay Flat to Dry

We took four friends to the Carolina football game Saturday (Carolina 40, Citadel 6) and had a great time in great weather. The win didn't hurt either. We were a little concerned about having that many in one car but the Lincoln was comfortable for everyone. I didn't feel a bit crowded and everyone else came through comfortably also. We even had snacks and drinks each and still were able to handle everything just great. Lunch was great in the team's normal non-game-day dining area. There seemed to be a choice of three different meals at three different stations. I got one and then put a few salad fixings on the side of a plate. It was quite good.

On Sunday (the 6th), I washed the clothes I had worn on Saturday to the game and the top I had worn said to wash on gentle cycle and then lay flat to dry. So I prepared a place on my dining room table with clean towels and carefully laid my top out on the towels to dry. I spent some time making sure there were as few wrinkles in it as possible. Then, I busied myself with other things and, voila, pretty soon I spotted Milo all laid out on my newly washed top - wet though it was. What is there about this cat and his love of water?!!! I bet there are now some wrinkles in it, I told him, since he usually has to spin around a few times to get himself comfortable. He appeared to be trying to sleep on it. Since I had already been angry with him earlier over jamming my printer with his antics, I just had to laugh at this one. I told him I always tell people the outfit isn't complete without a few Milo hairs anyway. I wish I had taken a picture but I didn't. I could probably reproduce the scene merely by laying any article of clothing on the table as if I were trying to handle it with care. Evidently, he is even jealous over clothes - or he just loves me so much he wants to be a part of anything I have handled. I gotta love this creature and I do love him, by the way.

Another pet story - this one about Grayson. He has still been reluctant to move around much in the house and I have been concerned. He is getting a little age on him but I don't think this kind of slow-down is good for anything. Anyway, I had him up on my bed petting him Friday morning and picked up his right front paw and said something like "What a great foot! Even your feet are handsome, Grayson, so perk up baby." Well I felt a claw that was so long it had curved around and was sticking in the pad of his foot. No wonder he has been reluctant to move around. (I really hope this explains his lethargy.) I turned the house upside down looking for my cat nail scissors (which I know how to use) and could not find them. Don and I went to the pet store and I got a new pair, came home, and I did a little "surgery" on Gray. That tip of the nail came out of the pad really easy with this equipment and then the outer sheath which had gotten thick from disuse just crumbled right off the toenail. He has been out to lay in my lap for 3 nights in a row now and has been laying right by my bed in the morning when I wake up. I think these are good things, but not quite enough being out and about. I am trying to encourage him to "sharpen" his claws on a scratching pad I have for him. So far, he does a tiny bit of clawing on it but not enough to make me happy. So every now and then I make like I am grooming my own nails on it - believe it or not, this sometimes works! He wants to mimic my action. I am hoping if I can get him doing this regularly, it will keep his nails short enough that this won't happen again. I put a little catnip on the scratching pad this morning and that perked up his interest a bit in getting on the pad. Unfortunately, it got Milo's interest a lot. He is now in love with the scratching pad - literally. He lays on it and looks like he is hugging it for dear life. Until I can Gray more interested, I will try to do a once a week check on how long his nails are getting and keep those new scissors handy just in case.

Not much else cat-related. The main thing is I still love both my boys. Oh, and in trying to find the cat nail scissors, I found my long-lost address book. God does work in mysterious and surprising ways. I was VERY happy to see that book again and had feared it was gone for good. Now that I have started a second address book, I am going to try and keep them both. I have learned through losing two of these things within the last year that it pays to have a backup, at least for me.