When too much is just enough

Bet you thought I was talking about yarn, huh?

Well, last night I was working on the cupcake cake. I had baked the cakes, then set them to cool and taken Jane and the Unpleasantness (which I heard of through Allison's blog) to the bath for a little reading and relaxation.

When I was dry and dressed, I went to get a cup of hot chocolate -- in the book, everyone is drinking chocolate for breakfast, and it was inspiring -- and as I leaned over to get a pan out of the below-counter cupboard, a wee little mousie ran across the counter about a foot from my eyes. My reaction? I shrieked and decided I didn't need cocoa after all. I did clap my hands to make certain that I wasn't going to get another surprise, and moved the cupcakes. Rustlings from behind the stove still gave me the wobblies.

My spouse said that my reactions were harming my reputation as a big, strong woman. Be that as it may, rodents in the house are something of an Achilles heel for my toughness.

This morning, the cupcakes (blissfully ungnawed) were transformed into the birthday cake of Thing 2's dreams.


There were snake-themed activities:


And snake-themed gifts:


And when it was all over, Queen Cleopatra came home from the vet's.


She's a very vocal Burmese that we got at our local animal shelter, and she had to go to the vet before coming home, to make certain that she had been spayed. She doesn't think much of our other new family member, Puck, a regular old fluffy black kitten:

That said, she may have a point. He's got some manners issues.


So now we have eleven creatures in the house (not counting the mice, whose days are numbered if I have to carpet the place with snap traps) depending on us for food, care, companionship, and housing. The snake is happier with more heat, the parakeets think that the cats are a Very Bad Idea, the dog seems to be resigned to his fate, my spouse (who doesn't like cats too much) has become the favorite lap, and Mr. Sucky the Vacuum and I are going to continue our special relationship. It's okay, I've missed having cats, and these two make me laugh already.

I guess a woman with four children has already demonstrated a commitment to overabundance, huh?