Why hello, poor neglected blog. I am currently finishing up a Big Work Thing or at least a trip that was connected to said Big Work Thing.  Unlike most of my Big Work Things, this one has been a rather pleasurable experience and not fraught with headaches, hand-wringing and fantasies of quitting and applying to be a Maggot Wrangler or a Spam Copywriter because not only would that be less stressful but it would also be a much more satisfying endeavor.  

This Big Work Thing has at least allowed me to work with some amazing individuals who were not only good at their jobs and accommodating but who also appreciate me and reported in my Board of Directors' meeting that I was, and I quote, "ferociously, terrifyingly competent," which is maybe the best compliment I have ever received in my life.

I want to put that on a business card now.

There have also been a bunch of Big Family Things.  But the most recent of the Big Family Things is that the cats got a new toy.  I got lectured about the overweight-ed-ness of my BoyCat at the last vet's visit and have been searching for ways to exercise BoyCat without resorting to walking him because when you put cats on a leash and try to take them for a walk, it's an exercise in passive resistance that ends up really more like "taking them for a drag."  Both cats are obsessed with it and even when it's turned off, they claw at it and try to find the Thingy.  (That's a technical term, right?)

The Dormouse came home from school and saw it sitting in the middle of the room where BoyCat had been playing with it for an hour before he started panting and sat down, too tired to chase anymore.

Dormouse: "I don't think the cats really like that thing.  They don't seem very interested."

Me: "Well, you should have been here an hour ago."

Dormouse: "Oh?"

Me: "Or last night at two a.m. when they managed to push the button and turn it on in the middle of the night and then I had to get out of bed and stumble around in the dark before I figured out what was making that noise and how to stop it."

Dormouse: "That's funny!"

Caterpillar: "Not for Mom."