Can't sleep

Which is kinda ironic because if Larry's home watching Netflix, I have no trouble going to bed to sleep. But with him gone every creak in the night makes me awake. And I make huge grandiose plans of what I'm going to organize when he's gone, get 1/3 into a wheezing and sneezing fit, sit down and turn on the computer and drink herbal tea waiting for the claritin to work it's magic.

And last night the artillery was blowing stuff up that did more than a little window rattling. However it didn't do alot of banging, so with only the window rattling, it was sleep with the light on sort of night.  I was talking with a fellow wife who said she loved having her big german shepherds when she was alone and I realize.. no. I'm ok. I don't want a dog. or 2. especially large hairy ones. I already can't breathe and the cat lives outside.

The cat. I haven't told you about that.

You see, Kayla batted her eyes and did a "daddy, I really want a cat" thing and we were finding rats outside with our neighbor's apple tree... so we went on the get a kitten hunt (think I did mention this) anyway.. kitten goes out one night and doesn't come back. Still hasn't. And another cat went missing that week also. I suspect there is a crazy cat lady somewhere.... anyway..

Because kitty was cute and sweet and I felt bad I said we could get another one. Larry, on the other hand said no, we're not going to get another and spend money on it. To which I reply, what if it's fixed already and free? To which he agreed.

So I go online a few times and find a cat. Free. Fixed, has his shots. And.. Orange.. which was the color we were originally trying to get because Kayla's fixated on her "stripey" the orange beenie baby cat she's had since she was 2.

And Violla.. She sends me a picture of this younish cute orange cat. Says he's a little shy but great with kids and playful like a kitten.  I ask, is he short hair, she says yes.they have a baby and can't devote the time to him... (really. it's a cat. how much time are you talking here?)

So I show up. The cat is long haired, 45 lbs, and nearing the end of it's life. In fact I'm pretty sure I caught a glimpse of the tunnel  of light it was supposed to travel down. Cept it was too fat and lazy to get down that tunnel.

Mistake #1. I had the kids with me, Larry was somewhere overnight and I thought maybe if the cat was settled in when he came home it would go over better.

Actually that's mistake #1 and #2.

Mistake #3. I didn't say "are you sure this is the same cat you were talking about? he looks 8 years older than his picture you sent?" and walk away. No stupid me let the girls go "AWWWHHHHHH mommmy! it's a cat! can get really have it?!"

So Cat came home with us. A sign of how "loved" he was might be when I asked his name, she said "we just call him fatty"

It stayed under the couch for a day. I'm surprised it got under the couch.  Then it went under a bed for a day when we moved the couch. And when it was under the bed (we had extra kids sleeping over, to boot) the kids got hysterical- at 11pm- that the cat smelled and they thought it pooped.

Mistake #4. having friends over the weekend the new cat comes home.

Move bed, get cat, make sure the floor is clean and move cat outside to the garage.

It's been outside since. Once I realized it did nothing but sit on the shelves in the garage he got evicted from that, also. He's now an OUTSIDE outside cat who sits at the door and meows that he thinks he's an indoor cat.

He catches nothing. But he has lost enough weight that he could climb over the lower fences in the back yard. This is an improvement- before he couldn't get 3 feet off the ground. Did I mention this cat was Obese?

And he's named Garfield now. It fits, fat orange lazy cat...

The one almost good thing he's done is to sleep at the front door and fight with the across the street cat that sprays our front door. But he's only stopped him twice in 2 months. So can't say he's really earning his keep.

But it's minimal upkeep, throw some food and water in a dish once a day.

Still have most of our other animals - Pet rabbit, 9 chickens remaining after rooster was re-homed and 2 died in the 110+ heat we had last month. I haven't counted the quail. Cages get opened and not re-hooked good so we've lost to nature probably 15 that way.  Some wild animal has attacked and killed another 12 and another 6 went in the heat and 12 went in the freezer... But we still have dozens of quail left.

But really.. farm life is messy. It's not all cute cuddly creatures and yummy veggies. It's life and death and vermin and weeds and bugs and, and, and... kinda like Genesis says life would be difficult to live on the land.  As much as I live in paradise, we still live in a fallen world.