Suzy Says

Always where he shouldn’t be

Megan and I were planning to have a girl night, starring the delightful Call the Midwife and some cocktails, but plans went somewhat awry…

The Gro has a little deli with delicious things, and Megan had heard they had grilled chicken marinated in tequila and lime. Our work-saving thought was to add some hand-made (not by us) tortillas, salsa and black beans and call it dinner. On arriving at the Gro, I ran into Mark, who had in his truck a replacement for the sliding glass door at my house which has refused to slide for about a month. He headed to my house to install it (fortunately before dark), and I headed to the deli, where I discovered that all the chicken had been sold.

Hmm. There were no obvious substitutes, and I already had all the other stuff in my basket. I set it down and tried to call my sister’s cell from the pay phone (there is no cell or texting service in beautiful downtown Hooterville). No answer. I later learned that this was because she was helping the boys in their well digging endeavor, which tends to be both loud and dirty, so she didn’t hear my SOS.

One of the deli employees helpfully found some pre-made chipotle and lime sauce, so I decided to just buy everything I had and thaw some chicken in the microwave when I got home.

When I got home, I put the bowl for the chicken on the counter and once again tried to reach my sister. I went outside to increase the chances that I’d get cell reception* and as I listened to the fruitless ring, I heard a smash from inside.

Ckyde scampered out as I scampered in, and I was sorry to see the broken clear glass Corningware casserole broken in a zillion pieces on the floor. It had been my parents’ and I remember it from my increasingly long-ago youth. I was really sad to sweep it up and put it in a paper bag. I know we shouldn’t be too attached to things, but we don’t have much left from our parents, and I used it often.

Clyde’s hobbies include jumping up on the counter and even the bookshelves beside the (now) sliding glass doors, as you see above, where he doubles as a statuette. Sometimes he shows off his athletic prowess by slinking across the curtain rod above the doors:

It’s hard to believe that this spectacularly naughty kitty is the same innocent one who I found sleeping cutely behind my bed along with Audrey earlier in the day:

I imagine it’s pretty warm back there with the corrugated plastic stuff. As I write, he is in cute mode again, which is probably how he gets away with stuff like this.

In the end, I got the chicken thawed and made dinner for my tired and filthy sister, who went straight to the shower without passing Go or collecting $200, which she probably should have for her day’s work. The insta sauce was pretty good and we all enjoyed a nice evening together.

*My siblings’ cell phones are long distance, even though we have the same area code. Go figure. So I use my cell to call them since it’s free. On the other hand, the iffy cell reception can make things frustrating. I had a work call drop out three times that day for example. No wonder I have been spared the iPhone addiction everyone predicted when I finally got one.