Cause There's Nothing Like Smelling Like Cat Urine All Day

I'm exhausted! Almost too exhausted to even attempt to do a halfway decent blog post so I apologize if I begin to ramble. Yesterday topped all of the crazy days this week! The cleaning service came to clean a house that hasn't been thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom in years. And we have three cats and a son who blows in from college every now and then to contribute to the mess.

Needless to say what we thought would be a four hour job lasted all day. They got here at 8 and left at 5 completely worn out. The supervisor came by twice and they even had to bring in a couple of extras to help move things along.

Cadence and Ed hid under beds immediately but Phantom was a little braver as long as nobody was vacuuming. I knew the carpet cleaner was coming for the third time to clean the boy's area downstairs which is also where Phantom hangs out most of time. Phantom had to go to the vet for a follow up appointment so I called the vet to see if he could be worked in since it was so busy around the house.

Phantom: NO! Don't take me back to that place!

He wasn't seeing his usual vet since I worked him in last week and I kept him with the same vet for the follow up since that vet knew what was going on. I went to drop Phantom off around noon and find out that the vet is at lunch and won't be back until 2:30. I didn't really want Phantom to have to stay there that long but I thought they would take him out of his cramped carrier and put him in a bigger cage with a litter box.

Apparently this didn't happen because the vet called me at 3 after he had seen Phantom and after giving me the prognosis he said Phantom had urinated in the carrier and they were going to have to clean it. I must have gotten there before they had the chance because as I was carrying Phantom I noticed a very stinky urine smell.

I put the carrier with Phantom crammed in it in the front seat of the car and let Phantom out of the stinkiness. Unfortunately, Phantom's entire rear end area is soaking wet with urine. His paws were wet and he left a trail of stinky wet paw prints all over me and the car. His carrier was soaked!

I feel so bad!

All I had was a small package of Kleenex that I use to try to dry Phantom and me and the car off with. Phantom tolerated this momentarily before I got a little to aggressive and he gave me a little warning nip. He's pissed! And stinky! The entire car is stinky! When I picked Phantom up I get nice fresh cat urine all over me too. Phantom and I both end up covered in it.

When I get home the maids are still there so I wait and wait and wait, but by the time they leave I have to go with the Murph to meet a guy who wants to buy his car, the "Silver Bullet", not Mac Daddy, the car with the jazzy theme song.  We're keeping that one.

Then we go for workout number 2 at the gym. Then out to grab a bite for dinner.

All this time I have had no shower! And I smell like cat urine!

When I finally get to take a shower I discover that the maids have cleaned the shower doors so good that they now are not on the track. I give it a yank to try to get out and the entire structure comes apart from the wall. I can't get out and the glass doors look like they could crash onto the floor any minute. I yelled for the Murph to come save me but he can't hear because he's got jazz Cd's playing as loud as he can get them.

Finally I manage to escape. The doors are still perched precariously against the frame, but I'm out! I told the Murph when I first moved in that those kind of glass shower doors are way out of style now according to the guys who remodeled my master bath a few years ago. He should thank me that I've almost demolished the entire frame so it will be easy to get them down now and replace them with something more modern.

Anyway you'll be happy to know I don't smell like cat urine anymore. Especially if you're one of those people I work out next to at the gym.

There's nothing worse than smelling like cat urine except being stuck in the shower of hell.

It Got Worse Before It Got Better

Just when I thought this painting job was not an inconvenience in any way, it suddenly became one. The painters started upstairs and that was no problem. Then they moved to the Boy's "apartment" downstairs. Still no problem.

But today they hit the main floor area. Big inconvenience. We were dodging around plastic all day.  And they covered up my phone so I couldn't find it. Phantom was a little unsure when he had to walk over the stuff to get downstairs to his litter box. He seems a little more off today than he has been since he got back from the vet.

All the other cats ran for cover the minute the doorbell rang.

The painters finished today and tomorrow the cleaning service and the carpet cleaner are coming. All the carpets upstairs are cleaned. The only thing left is the downstairs carpet where Phantom was puking all last month. I've gone through two cans of Resolve, but the carpet is going to be a challenge! Good thing we waited to clean it last because the carpet cleaner would never come back if he had to clean that one first.

The worst part about carpet cleaning is that the first thing one of the cats did after the upstairs carpet was cleaned was run up there and puked a big hair ball up. That was Ed this time, not Phantom. The Murph can't be mad at me if it was his cat that puked, not one of mine!

Phantom hiding out but not puking

Friday we start showing the house. We already have several people who want to see it and the inventory in this area and price range is extremely low now so I don't think it will take long to sell. Hopefully it will be under contract before we move to the coast and we won't have to list it with a realtor. Especially since I am a realtor, just one who has her license inactive right now.

When I sold my own house last year I listed it with a friend I use to work with because I was inactive and living at the coast to be near the Boy as he started his first semester in college. I paid the commission. I guess it was worth it at the time since I really didn't have a choice if I wasn't in town. Maybe this will make up for it.

Tonight is a two plus glass of wine night! I think I've pulled a muscle in my back from all the heavy moving. Boxes and furniture. We have another load to go to charity. Probably won't be the last. I must be doing pretty good on the sorting of the stuff and deciding on what I'm keeping and what is going to charity because the Murph hasn't complained too much.

The Murph was outside talking to the Larry across the street today while I ran to Home Depot to get more drawer pulls for the cabinets in the bathroom. He bought some several years ago because his interior designer told him too but he never changed them out. All this time he's had ugly white knobs circa 1970's.

Old knobs

New knobs

I knew he was talking about me when I pulled in and Larry made what looked like a cross sign like back away vampire girl. I interrogated the Murph about it when he came in and he admitted that he was indeed talking about me and wondered how the heck I knew. He was complaining to Larry about my "hoarding" tendencies and Larry actually defended me and told the Murph that I wasn't hoarding I was "nesting"'. Women tend to do that according to Larry.  Larry's wife does this and poor Larry has a houseful of stuff. Some of the stuff belongs to his son and daughter who are now grown. He also pays $200 a month for a storage unit for the stuff that won't fit in the house and has been doing this for years.

The Murph did NOT want to hear that. No way!

So there you go! I'm not a hoarder, I'm just doing what comes naturally to women. I'm "nesting".

Hint Hint

I barely even noticed the broom this morning, leaning against the kitchen table at the time I first walked into the kitchen.   My only thoughts were getting those demanding, meowing cats fed as quickly as possible so I could get my first cup of coffee.  I saw the broom out of the corner of my eye, but didn't think anything of it.

Why would I?  It's a broom, not a pair of Jimmy Choo's.

Later, when I went into the kitchen to put my coffee cup away, I didn't think it was strange that the broom was now leaning against the kitchen counter, right where I walk in the door.  I walked right past it, once again not thinking anything about it.  Not even wondering why it was out of the closet.

It wasn't until after I had changed into my workout clothes that the Murph, frustrated with my lack of attention, pointed out the pink sticky note that was stuck to the top of the broom.

My name!

The Murph had put my name on the broom and then had been moving it around the kitchen in hopes of getting my attention.  A "subtle" hint that it was past time to sweep in there and sweeping is now my job.

The Murph was right.  The last time I swept was right before we left for the beach and that's been well over a week ago.  Maybe two.  The floor has gotten a little crunchy in there.

Sweeping use to be the Murph's job, but in order to even out the work load around here, he made it mine.  Which is fine.  The only problem is that when it was his job, he swept once a week only.  Never more, never less.  Now that he's made it my job, he thinks it should be swept daily.

So not gonna happen.  I prefer to clean the way he has in the past.  Weekly.  And that's only if I don't forget it's that time of the week to clean.  Then it might be every other week or every other week and a half or so.  Until I remember I haven't cleaned or somebody sticks a sticky note on something.

I got the kitchen swept after we got back from the gym.  The Murph clapped his hands, jumped up and down, and grabbed the camera for this rare photo op.

He's just so precious!

Next time I'm putting sticky notes with his name on them on all the toilet bowl brushes.