Gross kitty

Look at this face. He looks so sweet and innocent. He's not.

The other night I saw the cat pounce on some small, dark shape in our dining room. Then he ran out the back door. I wanted to see what he had caught.

He had run into a dark corner of our backyard. I couldn't see anything, but I heard - CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

Ewwwwww!

I couldn't help myself and I got a flashlight. I saw him chomping on the remaining half of a grasshopper. A big grasshopper. Looked just like the one at the top of this blog (except it no longer had a head or many of its legs left.)

I told the cat he was gross and left him alone to enjoy his snack. I wonder if he really likes it or if he just feels obligated to eat it now that he's caught it. Like when you order something at a restaurant and find out that it is not as good as it sounds but you eat the whole thing anyway because you are paying for it.

cold

I've had a cold for the past 2 weeks. Started out as your normal cold - sore throat, congestion, coughing. It lingered on and every day I just felt worn out.

The Internet can be dangerous. I look up my symptoms on WebMD.com and find out that I could possibly have Tuberculosis, Histoplasmosis or Pneumonitis. Somehow these sound more glamorous and exciting than just having a cold.

Went to the doctor after a week because people at work said, "Maybe you need antibiotics." At the urgent care department, they had signs plastered on every square inch of wall space that said:

Colds are caused by a virus. Antibiotics do NOT work on viruses. Don't even THINK about asking your doctor for antibiotics if you have a cold. We mean it. We'll just roll our eyes and sigh heavily as we point to this sign and say with more than a little disdain in our voice "Duh!"

The doctor had no problem giving me a prescription for cough medicine laced with narcotics (codeine) which the label said "May be habit forming."

Another week goes by and I am still coughing and my nose won't stop running and I still feel tired every day. Went back to the urgent care place and this time I pinned the doctor on the floor and put him in a headlock and forced him to give me antibiotics. No, I flashed him my winning smile and charmed him with my adorable personality and he gave me antibiotics. The truth is that I had just passed the time limit - if my symptoms hadn't gotten better in 2 weeks, then MAYBE it is bacterial and they can then give me the antibiotics.

Started taking the antibiotics and took the next day off work and I am starting to feel better.

This DOESN'T bother me, REALLY IT DOESN'T

In an attempt to raise the reading level of this blog, I did an entry with just lists and lists of SAT words that I copied from some webiste. Then I ran the reading level test again.



Ha!
SAT words bumped me up - but not that much.

From now on, I'm using only 5 syllable words. I know it might be superfluous and inconsequential, but I am unabashedly discombobulated by this unfathomable development.

I shouldn't have done this

Now I feel stoopid.

Saturday afternoon at the nursery

Went to a funky, local nursery to attend a cooking with herbs class. It wasn't so much about lots of different things you can do with herbs. It was more just a baking demonstration with a few herbs. It was still wonderful. She made everything look so easy to do.

It was held in the house of the guy who owns the nursery. His house is on the same property. It was a lovely, light-filled kitchen with plenty of space. The whole front room was basically a large open area. There were at least 30 people there. I wish I had brought my camera.

She made Lavender-Lemon cookies, Basil-Lime cookies (with cinnamon basil), and a tart with a Rosemary-Madeira Wine crust. Everything was yummy. Now I know how to use real vanilla beans and vanilla bean paste if I ever have to. I want them to have a bread baking class next.

And, by the way, some people (who we won't name) should really come out for a visit, if only just to visit this nursery with me. Some people would really love it. City Farmers Nursery

And while I was there, I asked them about the lavender plant that I thought I was killing. She told me that they just get that way and I should just take off the brown parts and trim about 3 inches off the stalks. So I guess I'll try that.