random thoughts – Day 1,455 – (Monday) – wind, soup, and art

The wind is back and seems really, really miffed about something. After the trash truck came and collected the weekly pickups, the emptied bins were blowing in the street. I went out and collected mine before it went astray and rescued the neighbor’s bin which had relocated to the middle of the street.

The BungaLowell sounded like it was under attack much of the day, but once again, and like a week or so back during that previous windy spell, it was the neighbor’s fence under assault. An earlier round of abuse by wind shredded an end piece and wrecked the latch to the neighbor’s two-door wide enough for a truck to pass through gate. Once liberated, one gate panel was continually blown open and slammed against the adjoining fence panel.

Today, the other gate panel suffered the wrath of the wind. The edge piece that held the latch was ripped off and the interior slats to the panel were strewn across the back yard like giant popsicle sticks. There were slamming sounds throughout the day as parts of the gate that remained attached were flung back and forth with the gusts.

There has been wind since the previous neighbor homeowner installed the fence during the height of the pandemic that temporarily shuttered the gym where he worked, but it took the mighty wind blasts of 2024 to ruin the gates. So far, the fence still stands and sways in the wind. Crazy.

Veggie and ravioli soup.

There was a reserve of vegetables that had been turned into a soup, so as the day wound down and the wind kept gusting mighty gusts, the soup pot warmed on the stove. Spinach cheese ravioli provided some bulk, and it was a welcome hot supper while the chilly day raged outside, rattling the storm windows on the porch. 

Kiki seemed unaware of the activity both outside and in. She started the day under the dining room table and allowed me to deliver the morning adoration. Once I headed to the desk, she headed for the area behind the couch where she stayed all day and into the evening.

Even when there was hammering in the bathroom while Cat Lady mode entered its next phase, Kiki was not the slightest bit curious. Cat Lady mode has been percolating for weeks, while deliberations whether to advance to the next phase were underway. This evening, the moment of “just do it” arrived and the action was completed.

Nails had been chosen and set on a counter with the hammer two weeks previously. A triptych of framed “art” pieces bought on a whim from the fine art and housewares aisle of Family Dollar sat nearby. They had been liberated of their retail packaging weeks earlier, but with the sales receipt nearby and at the ready with the empty box in case a return was decided. 

Kiki's personal dining space.

Tonight, nails were tapped into the wall and three framed squares installed. They are not perfectly aligned, which will haunt me forever, but the more I fussed with it, the worse it got.

Kiki now has her own personal decorative art above her personal dining station. She has not seen it yet, and hopefully, it won’t startle her and/or inspire her to claw it off the wall, because I spent ten solid minutes once I finally completed the deliberations and executed the installation. 

The next Cat Lady art acquisition may be one of the pet portraits in royal garb that can be procured online. It will be fabulous.