Charli — my little lovebug of a cat — has picked up an un-fun habit of biting me or snagging me with her claws to solicit my attention when I’m not sufficiently engaging with her.
This is new in just the past few weeks to a month. She doesn’t do it a lot, but I have begun to reprimand her verbally and disengage entirely when she does it so she gets the message that I don’t like or endorse it as a communication strategy. My skin is too thin these days to survive and endure it and open wounds here in the tropics require extra care so they don’t become infected. (Side note: Great thanks to Laurie and Mel for turning me onto a magical spray that immediately helps protect against infection and helps heal wounds quickly. They sell it at Rainbow Refuge. It’s called Schweitzer Formula and the company that manufactures it is EarthMatters.)
Shoulda Named Charli Worf!
Charli seems needier since moving to Costa Rica whenever she’s indoors with me. I never dreamed I’d own a Klingon (cling-on) cat! LOL!
She meows far more often than ever before, and it’s directly to me, like a spoken conversation that I’m supposed to know how to de-code. In all other ways she’s the same, without missing a beat. She just wants to stay very close whenever I’m at home with her.
When I’m away, she usually goes up to her loft to sleep on my suitcase or her travel carrier. She remains very good about using her litter box, and I clean it three times a day to keep it pristine for her.
Max X Menos Delivered Cat Litter and TP This Morning
I now have plenty of cat litter and TP! Boy howdy! So, I can put that concern to rest for probably two to three months! LOL!
Enjoy Traveling By Bus Now
I enjoy traveling by bus to and from Grecia now. That’s good because I no longer need to feel “trapped” here in the heights and as if I can only go once a week or so when I need to get groceries or have lunch with my friends. Now I can just hop on and go with no particular destination in mind: to the park, to Cafe Delicias for a Plato Ejecutivo, or to do anything else that floats my boat.
THANKSGIVING INVITATION
I’ve been invited to Thanksgiving in San Ramon by Dani, but I won’t be going. That’s three bus trips away (and the buses don’t gather at the bus barn presently and won’t until mid-December Jon tells me — they’re scattered all around downtown Grecia) and it’s going to be a potluck. I’d be coming back in the dark and it’d be problematic to try to bring anything to share (food or drink wise) on three different buses (the bus from Grecia ends in Naranjo and I’d have to find the street where the Naranjo to San Ramon bus picks up passengers). But I adore Dani to the moon and back and am grateful that she thought of me. I don’t know her super well but it’s completely obvious what a kind, welcoming soul she is! Very easy to hang with — and miss! Her young daughter Georgia is great fun, too.
Truth to tell, it has been so long since I’ve attended a Thanksgiving dinner (too many Trumpers in attendance, and I won’t break bread with any of them or pray with them unless it’s unavoidable!) that not attending this year won’t feel at all strange. That’s the GOOD news!
WASH DAY
I’m in the process of washing the patio bench seat cushions right now. The washer/dryer combo in this casita is terrific. It does a great job of cleaning things but the drying process is hours and hours long — usually three hours. And sometimes I have to put them through for a little longer depending on the density of the fabric. But it isn’t like I have any other pressing projects around here, and if I had any, I could do them while the machine does its thing. It doesn’t require any babysitting! All in all, I’m very happy with it.
OOPSIE!
When I returned from Grecia yesterday and started to unload my groceries, I realized I was missing two avocados and a head of American lettuce that I had purchased from a vendor at Mercado Municipal! I either (1.) walked off without collecting them or (2.) they dropped out of my cart bag when I took it off its frame to load the big fan I bought at Mundo Magico. I’m not sure which!
I had already bought cauliflower from the same vendor and then looked at my list to see if I had forgotten anything. I saw the avocados (aquacate) and lettuce and went back to buy them from him. I watched him bag them up and I gave him the money. I’m guessing now that he gave me change and the goods, but they weren’t in my bag when I got home.
It isn’t the end of the world, but IF that’s what happened, he might remember next time he sees me and complete the transaction by giving me the avocados and lettuce. But, of course, if those items fell out of the bag later on, that has no way of happening! I’m certainly not gonna confront or inquire of the vendor, as I’m just not sure which way the situation happened. But it did cause me to second guess the quality of my “mindfulness” during the transaction or during the time the bag was off its cart and half-collapsed onto the pavement in front of Mundo Magico! That’s for sure!
Fortunately, stuff like that is an almost rare-as-hen’s teeth occurrence for me. I’m usuallly hyper vigilant when doing transactions and uncommon actions.
Charli came in for a few moments and then went back outside. I guess she was checking to see if I’m still here. I heard a plaintive meow at the screen door and let her in. I gave her a little bit of tuna flavored cat food, and she went out again. It’s a quiet, calm, cool day and still before noon, so she has a lot more exploring to do, I’ll wager.