The sun is shining, the birds are singing

It's gorgeous weather here today. I have every window in the apartment open, and the kitten has been out on the balcony for most of the day. Thank goodness she's found a new activity, because for the past couple days she has been completely obsessed with my rabbit fur earmuffs (yes, yes, I know: I am an evil bunny killer). She found them in a box of winter stuff in the back of my closet. And again when I put the same box up on a shelf. And again when I put the earmuffs in a dresser drawer. No matter where I hid them, I kept finding her in the living room biting them, kicking them with her back feet, and growling. When I finally got wise and closed the closet door more tightly, she spent far too much time (mostly in the middle of the night) rattling the door by shoving her paw underneath, whining all the while. On the bright side, I don't think I'll have to put her on Ritalin any time soon.

Today she seems to have mostly forgotten about the earmuffs in favor of new distractions, like birds, which are pretty fascinating when watched through a window, but all the more so when they're just a few feet away, mocking her with their proximity and their so-called "songs." There's plenty for her to look at inside, too. I'm spending most of the day packing. I have managed to accumulate a shocking amount of stuff in this apartment, considering I've only been living here about 6 weeks. Besides the things I actually use every day, the remains of my CD project are strewn all over the living room (I'm happy to say that 36 GB later, the project is done!). Not to mention the alarming number of wine, liquor, and beer bottles taking over the kitchen as they wait to be recycled. Looking at them, anyone would think The New Oregonian and I were total lushes. Ahem. The best vantage point for the kitten to watch all the activity is, of course, from inside her carrier. I guess she's excited about going back to Bella's house.

I'm savoring my last few days with the kitten before my trip, because I know I'm going to miss her so much. This also may explain why I've been blogging about her constantly, although in my defense, there is apparently an internet phenomenon known as "Feline Friday" (Google it if you don't believe me), in which various bloggers write about their cats on this particular day. No, I don't plan on adopting this as a weekly tradition, but just this once, what could it hurt?

Coming up: Concert of Arias tonight, closing night of Flute tomorrow, and hopefully a new hairstyle early next week before I leave for my trip. Stay tuned for the pictures I will undoubtedly force upon you.