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April 2, 1997
I was feeling so self-satisfied having gotten through the worst of the storm without losing the power. Then I got home from the cat shelter this afternoon and the power was off. I was so tired from a long eventful morning that I decided to take a nap while the power was out. I woke up when the Personal LaserWriter cranked up to print its test page.
Finding the power out and then napping seems to have given me a severe case of writer's block. Or a case of ennui or something equally boring. I browsed the web a little to see who this month's Info Beanie is and to try to find some links of interest for future journal entries. What a boring way to celebrate getting the power back on, getting coffee, and having a parking space again! I think the storm knocked the stuffing out of me more than I believed.
It was a long treacherous walk on solid slick ice to the car this morning. I slipped several times and had visions of knee surgery in my future but I managed to grab onto other parked cars to break my fall.
I backed into a snowbank trying to get the car out and unbeknownst to me knocked the muffler down again. I assumed the dragging sound was from ice built up under the car. It wasn't until I stopped for gas across the street that I realized it was the muffler. I knew I should have replaced that bracket weeks ago - the one that broke the night I made up the oceanography exam. The gas station only sells gas. They're not a garage. They loaned me a piece of rope from their Mobil flag and tied the muffler to the trunk latch.
I drove to the Texaco station further down the road a couple miles. They had the bracket right there in stock, only charge me $6 for it, and they put the car up on the lift and snapped it on for me! I didn't have to crawl under the car on the ice! The storm brought out the neighborliness of the mechanic, I guess.
I intended to stop for coffee and a bagel at the Dunkin Donuts in Amesbury on the way to the cat shelter but when I passed it the entrance was blocked by a broken down truck and I would have had to drive up to the next intersection and hang a uie(sp?) to get to the other entrance. I headed for the one in Salisbury instead. Bad mistake. The road is all dug up for the construction so the snow melt made it into a sea of mud. It was a challenge. I got my coffee and bagel and sped slowly across the mud to the cat shelter.
The news on the cat front: Joanie, the eating machine, got adopted. As did lots of the recent cats. One of the new cats who came in this week has thumbs! I swear. Not only is it an extra digit on each paw, but a huge extra digit that looks almost opposable like a monkey's. And his feet are gigantic. This cat could be the beginning of evolution into Bigfoot.
Tiva scratched me because she didn't want to go back into her cage after her sojourn in the socialization room. The scratch looks worse than it feels but it does sting.
We have an unneutered male, David, who smells unneutered and male. I could smell him from downstairs on the doorstep when I came in. He was scheduled for the surgery yesterday but nothing in the Massachusetts universe happened yesterday. He had to stay in his cage - not even go into the socialization room - because he hasn't been tested for FLV and FIV etc. yet.
We have a motherless litter of kittens. Really young. Their eyes aren't open yet. They'll need round the clock care and dropper feeding. Dawna was calling around for a foster home. They're wicked cute.
Eileen brought me copies of the pictures she took on the set of The Crucible. She took some good ones of Wilbur gazing out the window of the livestock trailer at his beloved cow. She even has a picture of the cow. She pointed out which one it was for me. I told her the pics will go in my family album. I wonder if Wilbur would recognize the cow from the picture or if he has to smell her?
Rejoice! Rejoice! The parking lot has been plowed! And one of the Beans dug a path through the giant glacier blocking my walk. Not only can I park but I can walk to/from my back door to/from the car without technical ice climbing gear.