End of the Season

We finally took down the Christmas tree and other decorations today. I meant to get to it last Sunday, but it didn’t happen. Noodle was kind of upset that we put the Nativity scenes away, as she really liked playing with the kid one. Then she asked if she could help pack it up, so that alleviated the sadness.

Our stray cat Nemo reappeared tonight. We hadn’t seen him all day yesterday, and didn’t see him this morning, either. I was starting to worry, and it seemed particularly ironic because we just bought a case of 48 cans of cat food. His brother Stripers disappeared about 3 weeks ago, and I feel pretty certain that he must have died. I know that I am much more sensitive about the suffering and “emotions” of animals than 99% of the population, so I couldn’t help but worry about Nemo. Heck, I hadn’t even wanted a cat, but then he came along and was just so friendly and likeable. He’s by far the nicest cat I’ve ever known, which is even more remarkable considering he was born to a wildcat MEAN momma.

Other than that, I am feeling a sense of restlessness. It doesn’t look like we’ll be in a position to meet with a lender before mid/end of February, so until then my house-hunting is on hold. It’s probably just as well, as more homes will be listed in early spring, and at present the pickings are pretty slim. I just feel aimless without something to “work” on a bit every day. I had Christmas & Spud’s birthday to get together and look forward to, but now I just have the rest of a looooong winter stretching out ahead of me. We are going to get a second car next month, and that will help a lot. As it is now, the kids and I are stuck at home everyday, and if it’s too cold outside (which it looks like it will be for the next while) we develop some serious cabin fever. It would be a delight to be able to take them to the library or even shopping to burn off some of our energy. One of my NYs resolutions is to develop a routine/schedule of things to do with the kids, but when the options are “Be stuck at home” everyday, that feels a bit pointless. Especially as Spud isn’t exactly at the age where you can engage him in planned activities.