1.  I have recently become obsessed with HGTV, specifically the shows “Love It or List It” and “Property Brothers”, the latter of which I have taken to calling “The Hot Guys Show”.  They are horribly formulaic, to the point where “open concept floor plan” has become a running joke around here, but I kind of can’t stop watching.  One of these days Erik is going to come home and find that I’ve installed a bathroom upstairs.

2.  From watching these shows, I’m pretty sure that putting in an upstairs bathroom is not even possible.  We live in a duplex built over 100 years ago, and our existing bathroom very clearly got carved out of our neighbor’s side.  To run the plumbing upstairs would most likely mean tearing apart adjoining walls and all sorts of chaos would ensue.  Plus we’re renting, and while our landlord has been super great about all manner of things, he would most likely draw the line at a major renovation.

3.  The cats continue to hate each other.  On the advice of the vet, my cat is now upstairs and E’s cats are downstairs.  We’re in the process of slowly moving E’s cats food station up the stairs, so that we can hopefully re-introduce them through the screen door we installed.  Neither of us is holding our breath. Last night we tried bringing each of his cats up to the door and both cats flipped out and ran off.  My cat just sat there.  She has conquered her world.

4.  One would think with 3 cats around the local squirrel population would have taken a hit.  But no:

So far I have not seen them near the garden.  They stalk the bird feeder, eating whatever the birds drop, and occasionally climb the feeder pole to try to shake the seeds out.  While I’m not thrilled with this, I’d be less thrilled with them chomping my plants.  It’s a bargain I can live with, anyway.

5.  Meanwhile, with the squirrels and birds running amok nearby, Cleo shames her entire species by opting out of all the cozy spots in the house and instead sleeps on the cement walkway:

6.  On Sunday my iPhone suddenly stopped charging, and after about a hundred hours at the Verizon store I waltzed out with a new phone.  And a new number, because BLAH BLAH BLAH RULES.  (Trust me, it’s complicated, having to do with moving me onto E’s plan because he gets a company discount.)  There I was, standing in a Verizon store, calling Verizon customer service, with the store guy telling me what to say to the customer service guy.  Apparently they work for the same company and are not allowed to talk to each other.

7.  After finally escaping Verizon’s clutches we meandered over to Great Brook Farm State Park.   It was hot and I was grumpy and it smelled of manure badly, but it was a nice walk and there was this: