What on earth is it?

This is my yearly semi-yearly whenever the hell I want to do it, "What on earth is it?" contest.

As always, the first person to correctly guess, will win either an all expense paid trip to beautiful eastern Montana or a half full bottle of Strawberry Hill wine.

Good luck!

Laughter, the best medicine!

This is not my cat, my bathtub or even my bathroom. I used this picture to illustrate what my cat did last night as I lay in a steaming tub of water hoping to unblock my sinuses which had been cemented shut for the past several days.

After moping about all day, feeling sorry for myself, working when I had the energy and generally feeling like the world was abusing me in every way possible, I decided enough was enough and ran myself a hot bubble bath.

I love my apartment. Even though when the neighbor children come and go it sounds like a herd of wildabeasts have invaded the building, even though you can't run the microwave and the toaster at the same time without throwing at least one breaker, even though the washing machine spins so out of control that it knocks my pictures off the wall...I love my apartment.

Not only does it have ginormous windows, central heat and air and the quaintest kitchen in the free world (yes, yes, I'll post some pictures eventually...don't nag me!!), it has a REAL BATHTUB. You know the kind...real ceramic. Not the plastic crap they use now-adays, but real old fashioned ceramic. It has molded edges and feels nice to the touch. The water stays warm in it FOREVER and it is long and deep.

That's what I'm talking about...a soaking tub.

I placed my special bath salts (lovingly bought by none other than Wolf, the best son in the universe) in the steeping hot water and watched as the aromatic bath tonic melted in. I inched my sore, tired, achy, strep infected body into the almost too hot to stand water and lay there listening to jazz on xm radio.

I'm not sure how much time passed, but it was awhile. I dozed off and was awaked by the touch of my sweet Emmy cat's soft paw on my arm. Obviously concerned about me, she was sitting on the edge of the bathtub watching me...with her tail in the water. I thought she must not know it's in the water, so I gently removed it and placed it back on the tub edge. Back in the water it went...moving as though it was paddling. I removed it several more times, telling her "cats don't like water, Em"...but she didn't listen and back in the water it went over and over again.

I'd have given my left kidney for an actual photo of Emmy's tail in the water, but alas I was unable to get up to get the camera without disturbing her, so I just sat in the tub and watched her tail swimming in the warm water.

And laugh, oh mercy, did I laugh. I laughed so hard I cried.

It had been awhile since I laughed that way...the last time was in Denver with Wolf. It felt so so good! I could feel myself starting to heal right then and there and sure enough...today I am feeling nearly normal, whatever that is for me...lol!

So thanks to my favorite kitty in the universe, for reminding me to laugh.