Of Cats and Car Alarms

Hello! I've been away from my computer for a few weeks, doing Christmas and wedding and medical (with my Daddy) stuff with friends and family in Arkansas. We lived through lots of typical holiday times: cramped quarters (4 people, 4 dogs, 1 bathroom!), lots of laughter, several levels of bitching, overeating unhealthy food, not enough sleep, disappointment, joy, wrapping paper to the ceiling, ping pong tables, and driving home on Monday through seriously cold temperatures and snow flurries. Bouie didn't get to fetch any ducks because there was way too much water to tempt many of them in (a new record for rainfall in Arkansas -- now think about 4 dogs in cramped quarters and muddy paws!), but he is now officially a "goose" dog, having fetched a number of them -- not all of which were quite dead enough not to fight back! More about wedding stuff to come.

So, now I'm back home and facing the un-decorating of Christmas and the decorating of Mardi Gras Carnival season. And, boy, am I home. Monday night reintroduced me to my New Orleans -- there was little sleep for the weary, namely me. Pepper can sleep through small rocket fire.

We apparently have a new neighborhood cat of rather promiscuous nature and loud vocals; I spotted a gray-and-black-ringed tail disappearing beneath the house this afternoon when I was taking out the trash. She'll probably seek out new digs once the dogs get re-established in the yard. I hope. Kittens under the house are not on my list of "must haves."

And when the pussycat wasn't laying down tracks for porno-movie voiceovers, someone in heavy equipment that is obviously regulated by OSHA was backing up at all hours of the night somewhere down the street. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

And someone a block or two over must have gotten a new car alarm for Christmas. And doesn't know how to shut it off yet, or adjust its sensitivity. Joy.

Just imagine my cacophonous "Welcome Home" Symphony.

But my bed felt good anyway -- I had changed sheets the morning I left, so there were crisp, cleans linens to curl up beneath. And there was ham-and-bean soup in the freezer to fill our tummies. And the Saints will play their opening play-off game on Saturday the 16th instead of Sunday the 17th, so I won't have to miss a minute of it for CAMAN Ball practice.

So, I'm home and back in real-time. The local TEA Party group is gearing up to fight health care reform in its current form, King Cake is on sale at the supermarket, and the Sophie Wright Middle School marching band has begun outdoor practice for Mardi Gras parading.

Life is good.