rss feedThe Sunday Mood No. 32
16:
This Sunday Mood, let Mumford and Son’s Winter Winds sweep you off your feet. Watch them battle the winds as they journey down the road and sing of love, reminding you that spring is right around the corner.
Wendy the Cat – Cats Can’t Read Numbers
16:
Wendy doesn’t try to escape from my current apartment. In all the previous places I’ve lived, she has reached a point of discovery, where she realizes that outside of the front door (or window), there is a world of unfathomable riches – breezes to sniff, flying insects to catch with one’s paw, leaves on which to munch – but in my current apartment, she has never made it outside, and perhaps has concluded that my living room, kitchen, bathroom, and one bedroom are all that exist.
Sometimes she looks at the window as though it’s a television.
Though there was one time, when I had failed to lock the front door to the apartment, and that unreliable door swung open, unbeknownst to me as I graded papers out of sight. Eventually I stood to look for Wendy, hoping to scratch her ear or let her rub her head on my knuckles (one of her favourite hobbies), but I couldn’t find her. She wasn’t lounging on the bed or snoozing on the rug. Nor did I spot her hiding under the armchair, revealing herself with a tell-tale swish of her tail. Upon exploration, I saw, to my horror, that the front door had opened.
“Wendy!” I screamed. I ran into the building hallway, barefoot and alarmed. I heard a plaintive mew from the floor below, so I bolted downstairs (still barefoot, unconcerned about the ketchup smears and heroin needles that might populate the linoleum). Wendy was standing at the door of the apartment directly below mine, looking up and wondering why the door wouldn’t open. True, they are identical, this door and mine, except for the number, but Wendy has not yet learned to read numbers. “That’s apartment 6, Wendy,” I told her. Sensing her confusion, I redirected her to the stairs, and together we hopped back up to our rightful place in apartment 9.
Wendy the Cat – A Matter of Comfort
01:
In the past couple of months, Wendy has peed on two of my handbags. The first was a navy blue canvas bag, and the second was a giant brown leathery-type purse. Luckily, neither of them had important papers inside, and my cell phone, too, was blessedly spared. One had my laptop case in it, but no laptop, and the smell has faded over the past few weeks. I had to throw out a change purse, a pack of gum, and some index cards with Things to Do lists on them, but the damage has been minimal overall.
I’m more considered with the motivation behind these furtive acts. Wendy the cat has a generally mild attitude, which is what allows us to get along so well; she only yells at me once in a while when her food gets low, or when she sees me opening a can whose contents aren’t for her (such as cans of tomato sauce or chicken broth or pineapple), so I don’t understand – is she harboring secret resentments? Does she hate me, in her own quiet way?
Or is it instead a comfort issue? Perhaps she has gotten tired of the crumbly, biodegradable, wood-chippy product spread into that scratched up, plastic, ammonia-smelling tray, tucked behind a pink curtain of privacy I’ve hung for her to do her business behind; perhaps she has made the decision that once in a while, she’d much rather squat her soft cat haunches on to a nice, squashy handbag. As someone who always splurges for the multi-ply, I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same in her situation.
The Sunday Mood No. 29
26:
As 2010 draws to a close, it’s only natural that we begin to reflect on this past year’s events, happy and sad. And we’d like to leave you with Auld Lang Syne. This particular rendition is by Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis. It’s a beautiful song and reminds you that even if you’re alone on New Year’s Eve, we’re never quite alone. Wishing you a very Happy New Year from the TPW family.
Between the Traffic and Ordinary Sounds…
20:
I feel the steady beat of my heart as snowflakes rest on my eyelashes.
The Sunday Mood No. 28
19:
I remember the first time I came across The Bird and The Bee. Having enjoyed Inara George’s songs previously, I fell in love with the duo’s release of Carol of the Bells. It captures the twinkling lights that glow against the nipping cold. And with Christmas just shy of 5 days away, this will get you excited to celebrate it once again. The wait for Christmas will soon be over as it’s right around the corner!
Wendy the Cat – Switcheroo
18:
Wendy doesn’t know that we are moving to Halifax, Nova Scotia in three weeks. I am hesitant to tell her because she doesn’t always deal well with change. When I first moved her from the Baltimore SPCA to my Baltimore apartment, she ran and hid under the bed. And one time I switched the position of my bed and sofa and she stood on the arm of the sofa and howled. “What have you done?” I imagine she might have been saying. “Why have you switched everything around on me?” So I moved them back. I took a few weekend trips last year and she peed in my suitcase twice, having caught on that the luggage was somehow related to my absence.
But, as cats go, Wendy is more adaptable than most. When her litter changed from clay to sawdust (lighter, cheaper, smells nicer), she did not once pee on any of the furniture. And I’ve changed her food a couple of times (better ingredient list, availability in Canada), and she ate it without complaint (though has expressed a preference for canned).When we moved from Baltimore to Toronto, she was quite content in the car. I let her out of her carrier for a while and she sat on my lap and turned her head at every highway sign we passed. It took her months to get used to the house, which is approximately eighteen times bigger than anywhere she’d ever lived. But she adjusted. She claimed every armchair for her own, and all the rugs, too. I moved one of the armchairs from the living room to the family room yesterday (better back support), and she glared at me initially, but today I found her rolling around in it, daring me to chastise her.
Between the Traffic and Ordinary Sounds…
13:
my mind wanders into a forest, silent under a white blanket of fresh snow.
The Sunday Mood No. 27
12:
I remember coming across this song last year. I had it on repeat and listened to it over and over again. The soft voices from Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson’s Winter Song reminds you of snow gently falling down. It beckons you to take a moment out of your day to enjoy winter.
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers
11:
{Copyright 2010 Anchor. All rights reserved.}
Every other Saturday, when Wendy’s not here, you’ll come to find interesting book covers by a variety of designers. Maybe you’ll end up liking one – enough to make a purchase. Xiaolu Guo’s A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers is about Zhuang, a woman from rural China, who comes to understand love and heartbreak in English. The story, paired with the novel’s delicate illustration by Gabriele Wilson, draws you in to find out what happens to Zhuang.
