If You Can't Feed 'Em, Freak 'Em Out

Okay, we won't even talk about what time I got up this morning. Sheesh. I stumbled downstairs to feed the cats, but I wasn't exactly in the mood to put up with all the caterwauling that usually fills the air while I scoop out canned food into their bowls. I had all five dishes on the island and was ready to serve the crew when Luna jumped onto the counter and tried to snarf down a serving. I picked up all five bowls, balancing them on my arms like a waiter in a Mexican restaurant, and ever so gently stamped my slippered foot on the floor to encourage the little scamp to get down. Holy cow. I never saw it coming.

Either the little feline was afraid she'd miss breakfast altogether, or I really stamped louder than I intended, but she leaped off the counter in a flash. In her haste to be on the floor, she knocked over an empty aluminum can, which bounced into an empty plastic water bottle, both destined for the recycle bin. These fell onto the floor with loud rattles and clangs, sending the cats careening around the lower level like bumper cars at an amusement park. I stood rooted to the spot, still holding all five bowls of cat food, watching wide-eyed as furniture was moved and tabletop items swayed from the disruption, holding my breath all the time and waiting for something to crash and break into a million pieces.

Now, it's a known fact that cats can't get traction on hardwood floors, so they spent a good twenty seconds scritch-scratching all around the lower level, racing by and then racing back the other way. Every sound they made only served to frighten them more, so by the end of the time, which seemed more like twenty minutes, there wasn't a cat to be seen, and me still with breakfast on my arms, laughing uncontrollably at what had just transpired before me. The last thing I saw before the tears clouded my vision was Simon losing his footing and sliding on his backside underneath the couch, rear paws in the air.

I put down the bowls without spilling any of the food and dissolved against the counter for quite some time, laughing and trying to catch my breath. The cats stayed where they were, doing the same thing, I guess, only not the laughing part. One by one, they emerged from their hiding places, tails fluffed out to twice their size, suspicious of all noises in the house, looking around, ready to bolt at the slightest creak or knock. Eventually they all did eat their breakfast, but it was some time before I could do anything but giggle. I tried to tell the kids about all the commotion, but I guess you had to be there.

Suffice it to say we made it to art class on time, if just barely. We stopped by the grocery store on the way home, and then started right in on schoolwork after lunch. We still managed to get everything in by 4:00. Not bad.

The soup from yesterday was totally yum after cooking on low for another 4 hours. I had a bowl for lunch, but wasn't planning to make the family try it again for dinner. Meatball subs were on the menu anyway because they were quick and easy and could be made in a skillet. That was the main purpose for stopping at the store, to get fresh hoagie rolls. We ladled in the meatballs and sauce, topped the sandwiches with provolone cheese slices and broiled them in the toaster oven for a few minutes. Nothing like following up a dog of a meal with a home run. Keeps the family's faith in my cooking going strong. Heh.

After dinner, the kids and I went on a nature walk on a wooded trail near our house. Yes, the same trail they use for ATV riding, but I wanted to see the creek and the flora and fauna up close and personal this time. We went with some neighbor kids, but since they were on bikes, we didn't see much of them until we all stopped at a bend in the creek to play and search for interesting naturey-things.

I love to watch my kids in the woods. They aren't squeamish about bugs and other critters, they love to find things to show me, and they love to ask questions. They totally enjoy learning, and they don't mind being called from one discovery to look at another. When we get home from our outings, there are always one or two specimens we have to look up online or in one of our reference books to get more information. This brings to mind the bumper sticker I have on the back of the Behemoth: Homeschooling--The World is the Classroom.

At least that walk counted for my exercise for the day, recorded on the calendar with a gold star. Especially since I snored through the morning's designated walking time. I'll do better tomorrow. I want to see what happens next in my book.

I spent a good deal of time tonight online, searching for information regarding the history of the public school system in America and its origins in the Prussian state instruction system vis a vis Horace Mann. A little light reading, yeah? My interests are many and varied, but some of the subjects I study have been a source of much fascination for me for years, the above-mentioned one being near the top of my list. Each time I delve into one of my favorites, I find new and exciting concepts I'd not learned before. That's what keeps me digging, I guess, like an archaeologist. Because I never know what I'll learn on the next page.

Maybe tomorrow I'll look into the fright-and-flight response in domesticated cats. Should make for hilarious reading.