Lauren

I have to begin the story by saying that we had Ralph put to sleep back in July. I didn’t write about it because, well, I didn’t want to. I sure miss him, but he was so skinny and messed up at the end I felt bad that we didn’t do it sooner.

Anyway, this post is about the remaining two. As it turns out, Ralph – even though he was skinny – was really the driving force behind getting everybody fed. His morning and evening screams were so persistent that the food bowls were always filled and there was always wet food out every evening. (He ate a lot, but he barfed a bunch of it up. Sorry, breakfast eaters.)

Now? Wally and Emme greet me at the door with a couple of meows, then some pathetic stares. If I’m busy, I forget to feed them. When we met camping last week I actually forgot to leave food for them. Don’t worry, they lasted that whole day.

They certainly can’t eat a whole can of food between them. I’ve taken to opening a can and only giving them half with some water added. They drink the soup and leave the little meaty bits behind. Those dummies. (Ralph used to hoover over the plate, eating everyone else’s portions. “Mine! Also mine! Also mine! Move out of way!”)

I’ve wondered if I could just feed them some broth. I tried mixing up some instant bullion stuff.

It did not go over well. Wally gave the ‘soup’ a couple of licks and Emme just circled the bowl shooting me pathetic stares. Oh, well – it was worth a try. I might try a carton of actual broth.

I actually did a small amount of housework before going to bed last night. I’ve had ‘vacuuming’ on my list for – no joke – three weeks, and last night I vacuumed the upstairs. I also processed a load of laundry, so I am calling that a complete win!

Sorry this is all so boring. I need to take some photos so I have something to actually talk about. Have a great Thursday!

The Early Dark (as Brad calls it) is arriving, and last night I was dozing off around 7:30 because…. well, because of all the reasons. Lloyd was already conked out on the couch so I just gave up and went to bed.

It was glorious.

Have a good Wednesday!

We went camping this weekend, and Rachel and Sam went along! Rachel is a gung-ho camper like me, and Sam is more like Lloyd: He’ll go, but he’ll really wish we brought a house with internet along. They were both great sports, and were very busy around the site.

Sam and Rachel had a bigger tent, so we all slept together like a big ol’ sleepover. I couldn’t get over how tall it was inside! So much standing room! I have a bit of envy, but am content with my ease of assembly of my own. …..mostly content……

It got good and cold, but we all brought enough stuff to stay warm. I need to remember to bring five times as much firewood as I think, though. I bought a bundle from a friend but it’s so dry it is gone in an hour. Luckily, some previous camper left a whole bunch.

I forgot to say the best part: We were the only people there!! It was totally empty and quiet. No people, no generators, just the sound of a stray cat getting into my bag of Sun Chips. Ahhh……..

Sorry for the vertical video. We did not get eaten by bears, by the way.

Thanks for camping with me, Sommerers!

The rock is out of the toilet. As it turns out, it was a chunk of concrete. Since the sides weren’t smooth that contributed to it getting stuck. Our facilities manager came back and he was able to wiggle it free, saving us $750 for a new toilet. toddler staff has actually asked if we could remove all of the rocks since they caused troubles in many different kinds of ways. Seems like we could buy about $750 worth of pavers and solve this problem.

in other news, I have a funny story. In my room we use stuff up. Before things go to the trash, first but we make art out of it. I cut up cardboard boxes and throw them in our scrap box so the children can create things out of them using their masking tape and paper. One little boy was making something and asked if he could have the box that was currently holding tissues. I told him that we have to wait until that box is empty before we used it, and we went about our day.

The next day, I noticed he was wiping his nose a lot. I walked over to check to see if he was all right, and noticed that the trashcan was filled with a whole bunch of not-used tissues. I looked at him, holding two fistfuls of crumpled up tissues, and said, “I see what you are doing.” I explain to her what he was doing was very wasteful, and that we just have to wait until the tissues were actually gone by people who actually needed them. To his credit, he was immediately contrite and apologized. I stiffled my laughter as I gathered up the tissues.

Oy.
Today is a workday for the staff. The children get to stay home but I have a full day ahead of me. Enjoy your Friday!

Brad’s comment yesterday reminded me of a childhood incident. I had a red plastic spoon that I really loved for some reason. It wasn’t an eating spoon – it was a play serving spoon. One day I had it in the bathroom and I dropped it in the toilet. I was distraught! My spoon was gone forever!! I ran crying to my mom who said the strangest thing ever: “Get it out.”

Out?? That was impossible! Things that went in the toilet were gone forever! Exit only! Surely that liquid was acid or something. But no, I put my hand in that deadly water and…. got the spoon.

Amazing! I didn’t lose an arm!

However, I am fairly sure it wasn’t my favorite plaything after that.