Happy October

Welp, Inky and I are officially on a diet. I took her to the vet Monday for her first checkup, and as soon as I picked up her carrier I thought… hmm, there seems to be a lot more cat here than when I brought her home three months ago! She’s gained two and a half pounds, which is a significant amount for a small-framed kitty. Vet says she should be around 9 even, so we will aim for that. Since my weight has crept up too, it’s the buddy diet system for us. Solidarity! Today I began a new blog to document our progress, but I’ve kept it private for now. I might decide to rant about other stuff in there, who knows.

I do enjoy Inky's pudgy-wudginess, particularly because Gatsby became so thin at the end. Her extra padding makes me happy that she's a healthy creature and will hopefully be around a good long time. But that's selfish. Inky should be at the right weight for her optimal health, so we will get back there. She is so vibrant, and her fur is so soft and shiny. She loves to play now and has her favorite toys, one of which (feather wand) she likes to bring into our bed every night. It's too cute!

Anyway. The disgusting heat wave is over, TG, and I have a lot of social activities planned for October. Hopefully, my migraines will get the memo and stay away (I did have to take meds this morning, boo). I’m back into jigsaw puzzles! They’re such a great way to relax and zone out from the news and all the yuck online. (I guess I'm trying to do a bit of dieting regarding social media and the news as well as the traditional food restrictions. Gotta take care of my mental/ emotional health too!) I created a method to cover them when I am not actively working on them, so the pieces won't get disturbed by kitty curiosity, but it’s a clunky system. I have this cool plastic tray table with drawers and a cover in my Amazon cart, which I hope goes on sale next week during Prime Days; I will buy it either way. 

My memories of working on puzzles with my mom are of the 1500-2000 piece ones, but those are too big for my table. I have found that even a 1000 piece puzzle is a big commitment for one person to do alone, especially if it's not an "easy" puzzle with distinctive areas. I'm working on one right now that's a bear (not an actual bear), but I like it, so I will finish it, even if it takes me two weeks. The tray table I want to buy is only for 1000 pieces or fewer (a few brands have the "wrong" dimensions, so I will need to pay attention to that if I buy new 1000 piece ones), and my thinking at the moment is that I probably will stick with 500 piece puzzles. There seem to be more of them, and they're not so overwhelming. It's infinitely easier to have a puzzle buddy for the larger ones, but there's just me doing them now. I am not a puzzle prodigy, a la the movie Puzzle ~ I'm a puzzle plodder. If I get a dozen or so pieces in one short session, then that's a win. That's a great movie, btw. I hope to watch it again someday.

I'm enjoying the (slightly) cooler weather and pumpkin spice everything. I don't even mind the earlier dark. Off to do some aerobic exercise!