Housesitting

I am writing this from a nice little apartment in North Hollywood, where I am housesitting for a friend and taking care of cats. I don't know if I am a cat person or not. I think I would be if I weren't allergic to them, because honestly they are wonderful to cuddle with--when they are in the mood, that is.

My friends use some stuff called Allerpet on the cats, so I haven't had any trouble with allergies. What I have had a little trouble with is the fact that one of the cats wheezes worse than I do when my asthma kicks in, and I worry that any second she is going to die. My friends left a note for me with various instructions, including the injunction to not worry about her dying because that's just how she sounds, but I can't help it. She sneezes alot too, and I wonder if she's allergic to something. My lungs hurt just listening to her breathe!

But at least she is very friendly. I like cats that like to be petted, and that like to curl up on your lap and purr. That's what cats are for.

It's nice to have a place all to myself for awhile. There are lots of books here, and all sorts of guitars. I'm going to try my hand at the 12-string later, if I can figure out how to tune it!

My friends thoughtfully left me a gift certificate to Trader Joe's, my favorite grocery store in the world. Just walking into Trader Joe's makes you feel healthy and organic. They have all sorts of specialty foods, as well as wines and juice and soy milk. I like soy milk. They also have great dark chocolate. Trader Joe's was one of the things I missed most during my time in New Zealand.

The other thing, of course, was In-N-Out, which isn't healthy at all. Hmmm.

Well, I am rambling. I am also (shhhh!) procrastinating on finishing another newspaper article. Yikes! Better get back to it. But first I'm going to play with the cat, if I can find her. Oh wait, I'll just follow the sound of her breathing...