storytime:
The high school friend of my mother that my mom and aunt have been helping moved on Friday. Yesterday was my first day to go and help.
Recap - this woman has become a hoarder and not the clean OCD type, the her house was a health hazard type. In addition to this, she has had health problems in the last 5 years and stopped being able to care for herself or her pets (there were three, now only 1).
The new place is where we started. Due to miscommunication with the movers and a enabler friend to the woman, WAY more stuff was moved over than should have been. The night before I had been asked by my aunt to research for the nearest thrift store and to be prepared that rather than just unpacking, we would be taking out lots for the new pace.
I ended up taking the following to a thrift store: 1 end table, 1 credenza, 1 HUGE Christmas tree, 1 barstool, 1 microwave rolling cart, and 4 boxes of knick knacks and VHS tapes.
We ended up removing for a garage sale 2 small SUVs full of boxes.
AND I still think she has too much in the new place.
When we finally went over to the old place to get things like cleaning supplies and to try to catch the other cat (basically a feral cat she had living indoors that no one but her ever sees more than a blur of), I saw the horror. It was the worst place have ever seen in person. Also, some cabinets and closets are still full. The cat was never found and we discovered a floor vent cover off, so the cat could be in the ductwork.
My mother and aunt have been going over at least one day a week for almost 2 months and have already brought out at least 35 boxes of things they think they can sell. In addition, her other friends have had at least 4 garage sales with her. IN ADDITION, a charity came and took boxes from the garage on Friday. The house is still not cleared enough where you could start to just clean. It boggles. And smells oh my lord the house smells of human and cat waste, it permeates the boxes that were moved. Basically everything that was moved from there needs to be washed and aired out.
I am exhausted and sore from it, but I am absolutely cleaning in my own house today. More books already went for resale. A stack of papers were gone through and mostly tossed. A trip to the PO got some more things sent out.
I am folding and putting away clothes, have washed dishes, and am going to vacuum next.
holy crap, msbelle. You are a hero, as is your mom.
Tom, do you have a new kitty?
Timelies all!
Was a bit warmer today, so am tired and a bit sweaty after our day at the folk fest.
Wow, msbelle. That's ... very helpful of you. And yikes.
I too need to know the cause of Tom's feline outburst.
After spending all morning cleaning, I decided to break out of my comfort zone and got try this taco place that a fellow NMican (& freelance Baltimore crime scene photog, but that's another story) discovered yesterday & swore by. It's called Cocina Luchadoras (!) and is the dream project of a Mexican American lady my age. It's a family affair, her young daughter was playing behind the counter, her mom & dad were also cooking. She's worked for United her whole career but grew up in her extended family's restaurant kitchens in NYC and Mexico City. She was always frustrated by the lack of good Mexican home cooking here in Baltimore, so...
And it's good. Really good. They do tacos & tortas, (though will sometime do a soup or stew special) I just had the tacos. Al pastor with nopales, pollo with rajas, all with cilantro, chopped onions, tomatoes,radish and lime squeezed over, plus salsa. They make their own corn tortillas, cooked for each order and they were perfect. The salsa verde, while more tomatillo than my One True was delicious. Frankly, they were better than my favorite place back in Cruces. And it's in a cute corner, hole in the wall spot and I just felt right at home.
It's down on s. Broadway, north of Fells Point, so not super convenient for me and they're only open until 6, but I foresee working in weekend pilgrimages. I can get tacos and tortas to go (although talking to the proprietress was just... this is her dream. It's infectious.) Also, a graphic designer friend of hers made her logo and sign: [link] So awesome.
Also, I left Loki out on the deck while I went and got tacos and wandered down to look at the water. Oops. At least it wasn't too hot & he doesn't know how to get off the deck. Had it been Pumpkin...aahhh, don't want to contemplate.
Ahem.
BABY KITTY IN THE HOUSE!!!
One of the backyard cats is now an inside cat. It is freaking out with the transition, so we haven't been able to check out its parts to see if it's a boy or girl kitty. We have it in a big cage, with a litter pan and fleece blankets and a box to hide in and food and water. One of my friends volunteers with a cat rescue place, and she socializes feral kittens at her home (she calls it kitten boot camp), so she gave us good resources on how to do that. (Mostly, it involves food and a lot of patience.)
So right now we have a scared baby kitty of indeterminate sex. One of my friends on Facebook said a great gender-neutral name is "Murderbiscuit," which I've started using already. But if it's a boy, it will almost certainly be Hercules Mulligan (who needs no introduction).
Yay! Sound like you've already got a good resource, but the kittenlady also has vids on taming feral kittens, if you need reassurance at 2 am.
Hercules Murderbiscuit Mulligan. You don't know it wasn't his middle name.
