Pilling the Wild Beast

Pilling Clueless Wonder can be a true joy. It can also be a source of amazement. CW is currently getting antibiotics twice a day. It’s a small pill, and I could probably fit three of them on my little finger’s nail. Because of this, I just bury one in a cat treat (Pounce is the treat preferred by CW and the Grey Menace) and then make CW do one of his tricks for me (I’ve taught him to sit, beg, and give a “high five”). He’s usually so eager to get his treat that he does a bit of pouncing himself once the Pounce is made available. Chewing is optional.

This morning, I was tired. Too tired, evidently, to make a decent job of hiding the antibiotic in CW’s treat. CW was apparently in a more laid-back mood than normal; it was Sunday morning, after all. He decided to chew. And he spit out the pill.

I sighed, and bent down to retrieve it. CW put his paw over the pill. I withdrew my hand, and CW removed his paw and stared at the pill. I reached down to pick it up again, and CW lowered his nose to it, blocking my way again. On a hunch, I pretended I was going to take it out from under his nose by waving my hand close to his face. Out of spite, he decided to eat the pill to keep me from taking it back.

I’m not sure who outsmarted whom here.

The Socialist and I had a good time last night. We watched the extended version of Two Towers, and I was chagrinned by how much I hadn’t remembered from the original theater release. Yes, I know there were 45 minutes of new footage added to the extended version, but I was having trouble figuring out what was new and what I’d seen already. Looking back on it, I think this could well be because of how sick I was getting this time last year. At least, that’s all I hope it is.

I enjoyed seeing it again immensely though. It’s always so much more comfortable to watch a movie sprawled out on your sofa at home than sitting in a seat in a theater with several hundred other people, with sticky floors and expensive treats and no way to pause the movie for a potty break. Afterwards, The Socialist and I played some cribbage, and then some gin rummy. We laughed, and tried to psyche each other out and he even got me a piece of the chocolate cake he purchased for himself (Pepperidge Farm is the greatest). We also did some heavier discussion about religion and beliefs. It’s one of the things I love about this man; we can disagree on some very fundamental things, and still end up having a great philosophical discussion without getting in each other’s faces about who’s “right” and “wrong”. While The Socialist and I agree on some of the basics regarding religion, we do differ drastically regarding beliefs and religion’s role in the world.

The Socialist’s gift from Moscow arrived yesterday. The only English on the package was my address. The stamps were very foreign looking, and made the package look very exotic and mysterious, as did the Cyrillic return address and instruction. Inside was a deck of cards I’d ordered. They were playing cards from Russia, rather artful, very clever, and along the lines of the French playing cards depicting the “52 Most Wanted American Terrorists”. There’s an article here about them: Political Lesson in the Cards. Frankly, I think the American, French and Russian cards are all a bit ludicrous, but they are all part of history, and they are a statement on our times. The Socialist seemed appropriately amused by them.

Current musical accompaniment: Loreena McKennitt’s “Full Circle” from “The Mask and the Mirror”. It has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas.