The Cat-Man

On a BART train, over East Oakland...

Today I went into Oakland (Emeryville, actually) to get cat food at the big pet food store over there. I bought a large assortment of different senior foods since we need to try to get Katie eating a senior variety. As I was standing in line, the man behind me asked in a friendly way, "How many cats do you have?" I answered, feeling slightly sheepish as usual, "Um, three." He says, grinning widely, "Oh, that's not very many. I feed 50. Twenty outside and 28 of my own inside."

Um. I was stunned for a moment and then said, "Well, that's a lot of cats." He said, "Yes, it gets quite expensive to feed them all." I blinked and then said, "Yes, I can imagine." And turned back to the register.

Fifty cats. Twenty-eight inside. The mind boggles. Suddenly three seems quite reasonable.

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A miracle occured today. I went shopping at Berkeley Bowl and not only found a parking spot right away, but the lines to check out were not out of control. I got overwhelmed as usual while in the produce section but I managed to get my entire list crossed off, including various bulk spices, and not fall into a low-blood-sugar crisis. Those protein smoothies in the morning appear to be working.

I love Berkeley Bowl. I wish it were open late. I would shop there at 10 pm when the aisles would be empty, filling my cart with beautiful local peaches and tomatoes, able to leave my cart in an empty corner while I perused the lettuces.

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Tomorrow I will be making a sample of the wedding cake I'll be putting together for my mom's wedding in early September. I made the lemon curd tonight, and will make the blackberry filling, cake and frosting tomorrow. And then I will make my co-workers very happy when I bring in a huge cake for them to demolish over the course of the day.

I'm reading an extremely dry biography of Julia Child. I'm racing through it because I want to read My Life In France, by Miss Julia herself. Even though the book is so dry, the life described is not, and I was inspired to make rice pudding for Terri tonight. It's bubbling away merrily on the stove, filling the kitchen with its creamy scent.

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If cake-making does not eat up my entire day tomorrow, I also plan to continue work on The Art Room. I have such a plan in my head... it takes a long time to come to fruition. I want to have mobiles and all manner of delightful floating art hanging from the ceiling. I also really, really need a different chair. The one that is there is full of bad karma.

Random posting tonight. Reflecting the state of my mind.