Kisa the Kitten

Why I thought adopting a kitten at this point in Caliber's life was a good idea, I'll never know. I've been wanting a cat for years and Mike has been telling me to get one (especially the free ones at Petco), but it just never seemed right. I was aimlessly wandering through petfinder.com and came across a very cute kitten at my local shelter. I had no choice but to adopt her, if for nothing else, to change her name to anything besides Nicole. Who names a cat Nicole? This little cutie pictured below had been at the shelter for THREE MONTHS! Can you believe it? She came in as a stray, and is believed to be about five months old. We're pretending she has the same birthday as Caliber since he was five months old too!

 

I named her Kisa (pronounced Keysa). It's from the wonderful manga Fruits Basket. Cute as can be, but she's been a real challenge for my little guy. He just wants to play with her and sniff her all the time. I think he's expecting her to play like the dogs at the dog park. Instead she shys (runs frantically) away from Caliber.

 

This is pretty much how the entire day goes...Kisa on her side of the baby gate, Caliber on the other... whining. Nonstop. Pacing. Ringing the bell to go outside. Sniffs around the house for her. I swear he thinks there are two of her. Getting a big gulp of water. Repeat.

 

 

Until she runs across the house and dashes under the bed. Then all hell breaks lose. Caliber isn't quick enough for Kisa's tight maneuvering. His paws thomp on the floor (when did I get a horse?) and his claws scurry--I swear our hardwood floors are an ice rink for him. Of course, when the bedroom door is closed it really throws off her game. You never know if she'll make it back to laundy room in time, or if she'll hideout behind the couch.

 

We have tried everything to get them to be calm around each other. Caliber has never once tried to hurt her, he just buries his nose into her for a good smell that he cannot get enough of (no, she doesn't appreciate it). We had her wear a calming collar that smelled like lilacs and chamomile that was supposed to mimic mom's pheromones, but it didn't seem to calm her. We had Caliber on a leash, but Kisa didn't know that so she still ran away. We had Kisa in the carrier and let Caliber come to it, but she just hissed at him. I even did the no-no thing and held her and put her near him. That actually seems to work the best. I kinda hold her against her will and don't let her swat at his nose. From what I read, it will take a while. It's been over two weeks and let me tell you... I am running low on patience. I can understand why she's afraid of a big thing charging at her, but he's not always chasing her and he's never once tried to bite her or anything.

 

It's extra hard for me because cats aren't energy-based like dogs are, so I don't know how people train them. I think it'll get better once Caliber stops reacting to her presence. Eventually she'll stop being afraid, right? I don't know how anyone, or anything, could not love my sweet baby dog. He doesn't get it either...

 





Damnit

On my last grocery store visit I accidentally bought Halloween Funfetti cake mix and frosting. Then the next day I accidentally baked it. Then Mike and I impressively only ate one piece each after dinner.

I put my Pyrex glass dish cover over the metal cake pan even though it didn't fit--just to cover it up so any random kitchen debris wouldn't ruin my masterpiece. Apparently I hallucinate pantry tornadoes and fridge hurricanes. As I placed it back in the oven for storage I thought, "Mike is going to turn the oven on and not realize this is in here." But, instead of doing anything about it I just walked away. I didn't even caution Michael.

The next day I had a piece of cake for breakfast (best decision ever), and placed the pan back in the oven. I went about my day and when dinner time was rolling around I decided we were having burgers and fries. A few minutes before Mike came home I preheated the oven so it'd be ready in time.

He walks in the door, greets Caliber and me and then alerts me that the cake pan is in the hot oven. Damnit. Damnit. Damnit.

So here's what I pulled out. If you look closely, you can see the black pot holder melted to the top right corner. It was pretty much unavoidable. Why I even used the damn cover is beyond me. You can tell it doesn't fit. It merely sat on top, doing nothing to keep my cake moist and delicious. Everyone knows there's no kitchen debris in the OVEN where I placed it. Le sigh.

Here's what a frosted cake looks like when you bake it...

The worst part is that I had a fork in the pan from when I ate my breakfast, so that was hard to pull off. I almost had to ask Mike to help, but didn't want him to know about it. Thank God I found some muscle! I couldn't save my Pyrex cover for my dish, but I managed to save my fork. Ya win some, ya lose some.

Once the melted cover cooled, it peeled off the pan pretty easily. The pan itself was in good shape. We thought about eating the cake, but the new texture it acquired stopped me. It was hard but spongey at the same time. And of course, I kept recalling when Fred Mertz baked a seven layer cake, but only presented one flat-as-a-pancake layer because he included them all as one! And the frosting was mixed in there too. Pretty sure his looked better than this.

So a few lessons were learned on this adventure--Next time I think Mike will F something up, say it out loud to help me remember so I'm less likely to F it up. And, don't put baked goods back in the oven. Just give up the counter space for God's sake. I have plenty of room! Good thing I'm not a homemaker full time! 

Questions

Here is a short list of questions I often ask myself:

• It is the 21st century... Why can't semi trucks accelerate to 65 mph by the time they reach the end of the on-ramp to enter the highway?
  
• Why don't I pee BEFORE I paint my nails?!
  
• When will Michael hang the curtain pull-backs I bought in June? Why don't I just do it myself?
  
• How do I not get sick of watching reruns of Gilmore Girls, Full House, Frasier and Roseanne no matter how many times I've seen the episode?
  
• Can I just get married now please? For free. Thanks.
  
• Will my walnut tree ever be empty of nuts? It's so scary to stand in my yard without a helmet.
  
• How was I lucky enough to get the best puppy in the universe?
  
• Why does Michael always try to talk to me while I'm blow drying my hair?
  
• Why oh why did I move to a city with no Taco Johns?
  
• When the H will Kraft get their shit together and change their box-opening design. It has never worked, and it never will. "To open, push here" it says. But opening it by a simple press of the thumb is NEVER going to happen.