No Hurry

No hurry to get out today!!  The driveway is covered even though we did make one pass with the snowblower yesterday.  Blackie, the cat, survived the night in his box by the front door.  Today we may get the cat bed from the garage (that has a heating element) and put it in the cardboard box so that Blackie can make it through the frigid temperatures that are supposed to set in.

I found the cat bed on a website called Cozy Winters.  It has padded sides and the whole thing is covered in a soft fabric we can wash.  The heating element is covered up and promises to remain at an even 102 degrees which is optimal for cats.  It's been working now for a number of years and has lived up to every promise.  They also make a heated cat mat that is excellent for outdoor use.  The price is around $60 but spaced out over the probably six years we've had it, that doesn't really seem like all that much.

The reason for it being in the garage is that Fred, our inside/outside cat gets a little "moody" sometimes and he needs a time out.  With the cat bed, he is warm and cozy and has a great place to adjust his temperament. 

So far, I've been following some of my own advice and getting the Christmas stuff gathered up.  I went through all of the leftover stuff before putting it away.  We rearranged our medicines and vitamins, etc. and got rid of anything out of code.  We put the mugs and cups in the cabinet above the coffee maker, which seems much more efficient (as soon as we get used to it).

When I worked at The University of Akron, there seemed to be two schools of thought.  A messy desk meant that someone was really busy and getting things done.  Or a neat desk meant that someone was organized and on-the-ball, doing tasks and moving paper.  I was the neat desk person.  It gave me a sense of order and kept my ADD brain from overloading on clutter.  I bought organizers for pencils and file folders and cleaned the office on a regular basis.

One of my favorite days (kidding) was Butt Mark Day.  If you sit in an upholstered chair day in and day out, dust settles everywhere your rear end isn't.  Right?  So after a while, there is a butt mark on the chair and it is not attractive.  So I'd bring my R2D2 indoor/outdoor vacuum cleaner to work with me (riding shotgun in the car) and wheel it from office to office, sweeping the office and desk chairs and going over keyboards at the same time.

The faculty members warmed up to the idea and it got so that on Butt Mark Day, faculty members actually wheeled their chairs out into the hall so I didn't have to work as hard.  I guess they did appreciate the extra effort and it made the place look so much better. 

Hope you are keeping warm, dressing in layers, covering your ears if you venture outside, and drinking hot beverages.  Every little thing helps.  God bless the people working to keep our power on, and say a little prayer for Allie Rohr who is a patient at Akron Children's Hospital.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.