Of funks, angry mushrooms, and help from kitty friends

If those who post on the CB can't already figure out I'm in a funk, then yep, I'm in a funk. Not wanting to post on the boys' blog or comment, blah blah. I always retreat, feel like quitting blogging altogether, when I get like this. Whatever. This too shall pass and all. And by "funk" I don't mean suicidal. I mean a funk.

Anyway.

So, Friday at work, we were debating the merits of angry mushrooms, not to be confused with any other type of mushroom.

One of the department heads (we share space with two other units) recently had gone to Japan on a business trip and brought back some treats:

Someone thought the mushroom (above, on the box cover, at the right) looked angry. And who'd want to eat an angry mushroom? But upon closer inspection it was decided that the poor mushroom was just straining under the weight of the double layer of chocolate it was holding up. Or perhaps it was constipated.

Note below that the actual treats have only a single layer of chocolate.

 I tried one and found it rather bland, nothing that would tempt me into having another.

The other treat was this "Crunky" bar. Crunchy malt puffs and chocolate. Interesting name. I had a tiny piece and found it, too, to be unremarkable.

When I eat chocolate, and I do eat far too much of it, I want it to be a nice, smooth dark chocolate. Or even my current favourite regular bar, Crispy Crunch (hard to find around here). And definitely not to be confused with "Crunky."

Let me tell you, those treats probably were the most interesting thing about my work week. I packed it in just after 2PM on Friday, because I was done, mentally and emotionally, for the day.

And so this leaves only the "help" from kitty friends, this morning, actually. Both Toby and Mr. Peanuts were great "assistants" with my Christmas decorations on the garage (the garland and bows I put up). Well, it was mostly Toby assisting, with Nicki screeching from inside that we were doing it wrong.

This is how Toby "helps."

Mr. Peanuts came around to offer a few suggestions, as well.

I didn't bother snapping pics of the garage, it looks the same as last year (below), only with fewer bows:

Hmm, no wonder I had so many bows left over this time around. Well, I can always add more if I want, but I don't need to overdo them like I did last year. (I have 3 up each side and only 2 additional ones along the top, not counting the large ones. Still have the bell and bow in the middle, of course.) And no, I couldn't find more thick garland to match. I can't remember where I got it, maybe Michaels (crafts). Tough bananas that the garland doesn't go all the way down--it's not life and death.

Since the shrub by front step is all cut back now, I won't be putting lights on it. So I'm not sure if I'll bother with outdoor lights this year at all, probably not. Maybe I can find something for the bedroom window (it's above the garage, which is partly why the bedroom is so cold). A few lights in the window clearly would be visible. I'll have a peek in Canadian Tire and WalMart next weekend.

Oh, and yes, it's early, but the weather has been glorious this weekend, though seasonal (i.e. about 7C). It's not supposed to be so warm or so nice next weekend and I much prefer to be out there when I don't need gloves or a coat.

Besides, the tree will go up next weekend, I think.  :-)

BTW, after all of Nicki's indoor supervision, this is what he's doing right now:

 Keeping an eye on one human and two outdoor kitties is exhausting!

Oh, sometime last week, at suppertime, I opened the screen on the storm door to let Nicki sniff Toby out on the front step. Because Nicki doesn't fuss much when Toby's on the other side of the fence out back, or even on the fence. He watches him avidly, but that seems to be about it. And I come inside the house smelling like Toby every day, after I give him his breakfast and supper (and cuddles). So I thought maybe, just maybe, Mr. Territorial Nicki would be okay.

Sniff, sniff...and in the time it took me to close the screen and turn around (i.e. a few seconds), Nicki had turned on Derry and attacked him in redirected aggression. I broke it up quickly, put Nicki in the basement for a few minutes to calm down.

Yeah, that went well.

And one last bit of "news" regarding the upcoming week: My patio door and adjacent window are being replaced on Wednesday, barring the need to reschedule. This is via the condo corp, what our condo fees go toward. So I'll be taking the day off work and will have the cats locked up. No problem with Derry, he'll be under my bed, terrified, but Nicki will want to be in on the action and will fuss all day. I'm pretty sure I'll be locking him up in one of the spare back rooms, away from Derry--his fussing and loud meowing will just stress Derry further.

I certainly hope things will go well, though there always are glitches. As long as they have everything done that day and don't leave me with any gaping holes it'll be okay. The high is supposed to be +9C (high 40s F), so it'll be cold in the house, but at least they're not doing it on a day when it's minus 9C!

I'll have lots of snapshots, of course--before, during and after. Just in case there's ever a question about the work down the road.

That's it--if anyone's actually read to the end of this, I'll be amazed and impressed. LOL.

Peace.