This and That

 

Google is being glitchy about which pictures it allows me to post.  I have more pictures on my phone than what it shows when I try to post one here, so the "this and that" I am going to post here is partly based on what pictures I have available to post.

Hence my first subject is this kitten.  We, Ellen and I, decided to call her Chica, but it just doesn't fit somehow.  Oh well. Smudge is learning to tolerate her, and will even show interest in playing when Chica is on one of her playing fits; romping around like a cat gone wild.  

A funny thing about Smudge; she, like many in the family here, has a weight problem.  At her last vet visit she'd gained a pound and was up to 16, which is very chunky for a cat.  The vet says that cats only need 1/2 cup of kibble per day.  Smudge would eat that much for breakfast and then pester for more. All. Day. Long!  For the past 6 months I've only bought her weight control food, painstakingly measured it out and limited her canned food to random treats occasionally.  This hasn't worked.

Funnily enough, getting a kitten has.  Haha...  It's put her off of her feed.  As in; her eating habits have completely changed.  Maybe she will get a better report the next time she goes to the vet.  I rarely take her in, so we might not find out for another year.  Or wait ..she might be due for a rabies shot this coming Spring.  

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Hmmm....I don't have any other current photos.  So you will have to endure my text without supporting visual cues.

We are heading into the potentially extreme cold weather months.  A couple of nights ago we dipped down to the lower teens.  Gary, who does water well installation and repair, got 2 or 3 of the expected panicked calls; "We are out of water!" A couple of them had even put heaters in their well houses already.  Gary just advised them to get a hairdryer and warm up the switch or inside the control box, or along some of the pipes that might be close to the exits...as it were.  Sometimes it takes much longer to thaw out than you'd think.  No one called back, so we assume that they all thawed and began working again.  

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My substitute teaching has been going well.  I aim for one or 2 days per week.  On Fridays I usually go do my caregiving job with an elderly couple.  I don't think of it as a job per se, more of a ministry.  Most of the subbing I do is for special ed at the grade school.  One paraprofessional had foot surgery a couple of months ago and has needed subs on a regular basis.  She works with 2 1st graders.  It is not a difficult job, by any means, but it does have its challenges.  This coming week I will be subbing for her one day, then I will be subbing at the high school one full day.  This past Thur I sub ed at the HS for a half day.  I'd subbed there before, so I kind of knew the routine.  

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Ellen has a boyfriend; Hunter.  I'm not sure of the dynamic going on there, but I find it reassuring that neither she, nor Hunter, have found it necessary to take innumerable selfies and flood them all over social media.  Here is the one pic I managed to get of them when he was here and they were playing Uno.  

Ellen is about 9 months older than he is, he just turned 17 on November 9th, and she will be 18 in February. In the common vernacular this makes her a cougar.  She finds this funny.  They get along well together and seem pretty "chill." They go out to eat, or bowling or hiking.  I think their first date was hiking at HaHa Tonka.  

That's enough of this and that for now