I haven't done anything but shop for the last two days and boy does it get old fast! I still have one more trip to go to pick up 'incidentals' --- all the things I left off the list on the last three trips and discovered when I got home. When the first Friday of the month coincides with the third day of the month, Katie-bar-the-door, the stores are packed with government, military, seniors and the disabled. I thought about going at three this morning when there was a chance that the lines would be shorter, but it was raining and icy out so I went back to bed.

Tarka is loving the cold snap though. She has been out in the cold rain for half an hour and shows no signs of wanting in. "Brrrrr chilly," is all I can say. But then, Sterling our cat has been outside all along, too. I thought cats weren't supposed to like rain, but he wants to be wherever Tarka is. I don't know if he thinks he is a dog or if Tarka thinks she is a cat. Probably a bit of both since Sterling is the wildest cat I have ever had that wasn't strickly a barn cat. He has decided that he can't use the litter box anymore and is now using my houseplants. I threw out four more yesterday but caught him this morning and gave him a shot of cold water from the squirt gun. It didn't phase him. I picked him up and took him to the litterbox and stood there until he gave in to my demands. I rewarded him with a dab of butter. Not good enough. He only wants butter when he can steal it off the counter, it seems.

I have said it before. . .having pets is like having perpetual two-year-olds in the house who shed.