Nothing major has happened since the flood, so I finally decided to say it out loud to Jerry: “Our luck has turned around! What else could possibly happen?” Then Jerry started laughing, and said, “Really?! Really. Okay. Here, HOLD MY BEER!” Hahaha.

Over the weekend, I was working on a new sewing project–basically combining two pairs of pants into one–and each pair had a drawstring. I was only going to be using one drawstring for the finished pair. I am METICULOUS about picking up any piece of thread or string or anything like that because of what happened to Duck in 2021.

(If you’re not aware, Chick and Duck ate some yarn. Chick threw it up, but Duck did not, and he got very sick. I took him to the vet as soon as I noticed what had happened, but he needed emergency surgery. He developed a high fever and spent several days at the vet. It was horrible. And it cost $3,000! Lesson learned: DO NOT LET CATS PLAY WITH YARN OR STRING OF ANY KIND.)

Sewing is kind of a scary hobby for me to have after what happened with Duck–but that’s why I am extra careful about keeping all thread cleaned up. I even cut the tails into tiny pieces just in case one should fall on the floor. It drives Duck crazy that I don’t let him play with it. Anyway…

Duck was attacking the drawstring while I was pulling it out of one pair of pants. Since it was so large, I decided it was okay for him to play with it. Jerry and I played with the cats (all four of them were having a blast) and when we were done, I looped the drawstring around a dining room chair.

The next day, Jerry and I decided to play with the cats again, but we couldn’t find the drawstring. (You see where this is going.) I really wanted to get the cats playing again, but I couldn’t find the string. Chick likes to take his toys into my room and hide them under my bed, so I figured that’s what he did. I didn’t bother looking; again, since the drawstring was so big I wasn’t worried about the cats eating it.

BIG MISTAKE.

The next morning, Duck was sitting on my lap and I heard the god-awful noise of (who I thought was Phoebe) retching like she was going to throw up. I felt bad disturbing Duck, but I knew I’d have to clean up cat puke, so I got up to clean it. Then I noticed it was Chick and not Phoebe. Chick very rarely throws up, and the few times he has, it’s just been a hairball (well, except for the yarn of course).

I noticed something hanging out of his mouth just a couple of inches, but I reflexively grabbed it (he was trying to swallow it back down). And then it was like one of those clowns pulling scarves out of their sleeve–it just kept coming.

The entire thing came out. And it was the ENTIRE DRAWSTRING. You can see just how long it is–about as tall as me!

The look on my face is actually a moment between my retching (that drawstring was the most foul-smelling thing I’ve ever caught whiff of) and Jerry laughing at me. I literally almost threw up while I held it up for a picture to show how long it is.

I was completely stunned by the whole thing. I am SO SO SO glad that he threw it up instead of it making its way into his intestines. He is so lucky.

And so are we! Can you even imagine if he’d needed surgery? That would be the cherry on top of the shitshow that has been the last year.

So, please don’t ever assume that just because a string is huge means that it’s safe for cats to play with. I will never, ever make that assumption again.

Anyway, after all of that, the rest of my pictures aren’t exactly exciting. But here is what I’ve got…

Jerry sneaks (the most unflattering) photos of me all the time and then I come across them on my phone later; this is when I was making seitan. We love seitan and because it’s so versatile, it’s super fun to try new recipes for it. (I almost always have some form of seitan in the fridge for lunch or snacking.)

I always rely on my kids to tell me honestly what they think, and neither of them eats seitan. However, they both said that this “tastes just like turkey pepperoni” (they have always preferred turkey pepperoni because it’s not as greasy). The fact that they BOTH like this made me feel giddy, haha. This is perfect for snacking (and it’s super healthy). Now, if I could just find an amazing vegan cheese recipe for homemade pizza… (I’ve tried so many. There is one that we like, but it’s not what I would call “amazing”. If you have one that is knock-your-socks-off good, please share!)

Speaking of pizza, Eli decided he was going to ask his girlfriend to homecoming by making a pizza at work with “HOCO” spelled out in pepperoni–hahaha! (They are going to homecoming tomorrow; it’s Eli’s last one, so it’s bittersweet.)

When he told me about the pizza idea, I remembered that I have a picture of Jerry from when we were dating, and he worked at a pizza place. One day, he knew I was going in there to see him, and he made this crust with “I <3 U” cut out. Eli totally one-upped that, haha. 

This was a great week for Eli because he also bought his first car! It’s a 2008 Volvo, and my parents’ neighbor sold it to him for $500. (Luckily, he’d started saving up for a car in the summer and had the money.) It’s in fantastic condition–and naturally, he’s thrilled. After what happened to him with the Patriot, he deserves this.

And that’s all I’ve got. Have a great weekend! xo