Stop to Smell the Kittens

This last week I  worked like a mule, make that like two mules where one dropped dead and the other (me) had to drag it along. Fun times. This isn't what I went to college or grad school for. In some way being occasionally worked like a mule satisfies my inner feminist that is proud to see good work spinning out of her many hands like a meeting from an Indian goddess with many hands and Remedios Varo painting "Bordando el Manto Terrestre."

"Do you need a hand? I am a multi-tasker!"

There she weaves by night and day a magic web of colors gay.

That being said, my life got pushed to the side for a while while I was busy weaving in and out of each day. It took this weekend to see myself again. Have you ever stopped seeing yourself? It can get pretty lonely and sad if you stop seeing everyone, rush in from one day to the next to the point where yourself is this little blurred image of someone you once knew. Loosing yourself for a bit is like colorful fall loosing its leaves and remaining bare.

The girl/lady I knew likes so many things.....especially....housewifey types of things.

playing Marco Polo alone

I kid you not. Spending an hour cleaning and scrubbing my kitchen to a buffed shine that Mr. Clean would be impressed with is as satisfying as a credit card gifted from Donald Trump. Cleaning, scrubbing and watching the bubbles form makes me think and decompose everything from my day, my life. I can pick apart conversations, looks, meanings, figure out what to do next and what is worth just ignoring. By the time I have it all sorted out the cabinet under the sink is back in order.

After cleaning, the best thing to do is to get all dirty again cooking. If you are good at it, and even if you aren't, cooking is an art that if you let yourself sink into it will loose you in its path. My favorite type of cooking is stuff that needs to be simmered or baked.

a meeting of vitamins

today's manicure is a splash of Tide with a polish of onion fragrance'

 I like letting my food spend time with each other, "Carrot, meet Chicken. Mr. Chicken is boneless but loves to hang out in simmering water like a hot tub with Mr. Spud and and Miss Bay Leaf."

You all will be spending a few hours simmering together. Enjoy!

It is nice to figure out what kind of spice the beans like to hang out with and for how long till they are done.

And cooking isn't just for the ladies, mind you. In these parts of the country there is a man who loves spending quality time with his food before he eats it.

Gnocchi

 He is a wild man, that Chef, and does a good job at getting the kitchen dirty so that I can enjoy cleaning it.

"Is this the apron you just washed? oh." 

I really don't mind the mess he makes because he has so much fun doing it.

And lastly, while I was working like a mule, I totally forgot how lovely it is to spend an evening with the kittens. These old boys (13!) sure know how to make me unwind and relax.

holding paws is so nice

he loved watching the Real Housewives of Atlanta with me. Quality chill time. 

We have been planning this week's Thanksgiving grocery shopping together in order of priorities. Croissants and water are necessities at the top of the list.

"Don't forget the kitty food. You might consider switching because the new one is hard for my old belly to digest." said Bentley

They are stoked about Thanksgiving. This morning started with Fatty smelling like rosemary.

Mr. Rosemary

I discovered shreds of rosemary around the plant and figured out that he had been looking for a little snack, that sneaky fat fluff a puff.
But why would he eat rosemary? I can tell you...he thinks he is the Thanksgiving turkey. He has been watching the neighbors walk passed the window with their Butterball Turkeys and decided that he had the shape of a turkey. Ever since, he is practicing his pose over a bed of imagined carrots, stuffing and onion.

Roasting at 450 Fahrenheit

Make sure you baste the turkey

I kicked him off the clean socks shortly after discovering him, so this turkey is under cooked.

There really isn't a lesson learned other than it is almost as nice to do really well at work as it is to make a mess in my kitchen, make home-made gnocchi with the nicest guy I know and hang out with some fluffy kitten clowns that make me smile (except when they fight like Roman lions).

The end and happy Thanksgiving week! Take some time to smell the kittens and enjoy a dinner, even if it is for 2 or 1 with a good book.