The kitten thing got out of hand really quick. I love kittens but one unfortunate thing happened: Aqui, their mother who used to be an outside cat, did not do a very good job of teaching them how to use the litter box. I’m kind of surprised because she learned how to use it herself and they watched her. Maybe it’s my fault somehow. I don’t know…I put a small litter box in the shower where the kittens were living but they didn’t get it. Even if I put them in the box so they could smell all those gross cat smells they still didn’t use it. They used the shower floor instead and then the carpet next to the shower, and then under my bed.

At first it was cute.

Awww… look at that little tiny kitten poop on the carpet. It’s mini poop!

Then it was NOT so cute.

3am: What is that smell? Ugh! Did a little fuzzy kitten butt just take a turn under my bed right where I lay my head to sleep?!!! Please say it’s just a bad smell wafting over from the cat box in the bathroom. Please, please, please…Ninja Bunnies!

So I cleaned up the carpet with Febreeze and vinegar and put the little fuzzy kitten butts in the cat box with some smelly poop to “teach” them but it didn’t really work. They climbed right out of the box and went next to it. Rinse, repeat.

After several days of this, I finally had enough. And my mom, aka my landlady, had scheduled our carpet to be cleaned. That was purely a coincidence but it did put my kitten issue front and center. Did I want them to ruin the freshly cleaned carpet? NO.

The kittens needed to go. They’ve been eating solid food for weeks now and they run all over the place wreaking havoc in the middle of the night. I think they are old enough to find loving homes elsewhere.

I put the kittens in a box and took them to Bug’s kindergarten. Surely, I’ll find a home for them there, I thought. Who can resist a kindergartener begging for kitten? Right?

That was hilarious. All the kids wanted to hold them and the kittens did not want to stay in the box. It was a regular three-ring kitten-circus escape act. Thankfully, kindergarten pick-up is not as crazy as regular school letting out so the kittens were not mauled by mobs of kids or anything. But there was a line of fourth graders sticking their hands through the fence begging me to let them pet one. I gave out about 500 business cards and they all promised me that their moms would call me so they could have one.

So far it’s been a day and nobody has called me. No one at her school could take one either. Apparently kindergarten parents are smarter than they look. They all had big dogs who eat kittens or too many cats already or someone in their house who was allergic. A lot of people wanted them though.

One lady did come by later and she took “Right Cheek,” one of the twins. There were two kittens who had identical markings except in mirror. We called them Right Cheek and Left Cheek because that’s how you could tell them apart. I really liked the twins. They seemed to be the most mellow.

My mom has the kittens (and their mom) for the weekend (since we go out of town to visit Toby) but this coming Monday I’ll be back on Mission: Find the Kittens a Home. Anybody want one? They’re super cute. Maybe you’ll have better luck with the cat box training than I did. Anybody have any special tips?

We are going to keep one. Fiesta, the all gray short-haired one. We were going to keep Shylie (the one with the white markings on its nose) but Fiesta won our hearts over. She seemed to attach herself to Bug and they are smitten with each other. Or at least Bug is smitten with Fiesta.

I just hope Fiesta learns how to use the cat box. I don’t know what I’m going to do if she doesn’t.

The kittens are mobile and it turns out they are very hard to photograph when they are moving around so much. They do not stay still!

In fact, the other night when we came home from a weekend at the beach and we went to the usual place in the bathroom shower where they used to live, we were totally shocked to see that they were GONE!! No kittens anywhere! I thought maybe someone stole them. Mama cat, Aqui, was there. She was pacing back and forth, acting all nervous but the kittens were no where in sight. I looked high and low and they finally showed up in Bug’s room sleeping in a pile next to some of her bedding. Silly kittens. You just never know where they are going to show up now.

Their little legs are wobbly and they kind of splay out behind them when they walk on the slippery linoleum but that doesn’t stop them. They have a fervent curiosity and will go anywhere to see what’s to be seen.

Especially after their mama, the walking milk bar.

Where you going little asterisk butt?

You better watch out. There are scary creatures lurking about.

Zoom! Zoom!

Bug thinks they’re a riot.

Holly doesn’t seem to mind. This morning Holly was walking down the hallway one way and a little kitten, with his tail sticking up straight in the air (all one inch of it), was walking the other. They had a stand-off for a few seconds and guess who backed up? Not the kitten. Holly did. I don’t know if it was out of respect or fear but I’m thankful she’s not the kitten-eating kind of dog. She seems to be protective of them and licks them now and then which is kind of sweet.

Maybe they are kind of scary. Nah. They look like they are hissing in this photo but they are actually just incessantly mewing as they are wont to do when they can’t find their milk bar. Aqui likes to take little mini-vacations from them and they do not like that. But I’m not too worried about them because their bellies are so round and full. Having kittens with a built-in mother is soooo much better than bottle feeding. They are soft and fluffy and they don’t have goop in their eyes or anything funky like that. They seem to be the picture of health.

Aqui is a very good mama.

And she’s still a kitten herself!

They’re so cute I almost don’t mind the fact that I now have to clean out a smelly cat box twice a day. But I will be glad when the kittens are grown and off in their new homes and I can let Aqui be an outside cat again.

As you can see (by my banner and all these pictures) we are in full tomato production out here in the sticks. Tis the season! I’m surprised I haven’t turned red, I’ve been eating so many.

For breakfast I have a bagel with cream cheese and a giant slice of tomato and then a slice of muenster cheese on top. It’s soooo delicious. I could and do eat this every day.

Then I have a tomato sandwich for lunch. Pretty much the same thing as breakfast just minus the cream cheese and bread instead of a bagel. Mmmmmmm….I can’t believe I’m not sick of this yet.

I have them for dinner a lot too. I should post a picture here of some delicious spaghetti I’ve made with fresh tomatoes but I haven’t figured that out yet. My mom has convinced me that it is easy but I’ve yet to try it. One of these days…

My mom canned a lot (this is only half of them) so I can make spaghetti with them even easier. It’s going to save me so much money this winter. Well, maybe not. It’s not like jars of spaghetti sauce were breaking my budget but it does make me feel super frugal and less wasteful when I see all these jars lined up so nicely in my pantry.

Tomato plants are a pretty good investment, especially if you count the water bill as therapy. Yes, I water my garden to calm my nerves. You should try it. Now you know the secret to my green thumb.

Tomatoes,

tomatoes,

tomatoes!

We’ve got them coming out our ears.

There’s only one problem.

Somebody else likes my tomatoes.

Somebody who doesn’t even bother to pick them.

They just walk by and take a big ol’ bite out of a slew of them in the middle of the night when nobody’s looking. And then they just leave them there to rot. How rude!!!

I’m talking to you Mr. Possum! You might look cute and cuddly but YOU ARE NOT!!! You are a snarling, growling, evil tomato-eating menace.

Even Holly is afraid of these guys. We camped outside the other night and I thought sure that Holly would finally catch one, she barked enough. But no. Apparently Holly is a big wuss dog. Though that might be a good thing because I really don’t want to take her to the vet to get possum teeth removed from her nose. Have you heard possums growl in the dark? They are scary!!!

So does anyone know how to get rid of possums? I’ll pay you in tomatoes.

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In other news: Please check out my review for REI.

We had so much fun with them!