Sleeping with Cats

May 4, 2008

That’s the title of a memoir written by the incomparable Marge Piercy. Piercy spoke Friday night at the Literary Arts Festival at one of the colleges where I teach. She was great: cranky, funny, obnoxious, generous– and such an amazing poet. When asked by a student what advice she had for new writers she exclaimed: Read! Read! Read!

Amen.

Sleeping with cats is also what i’ve been doing the last two nights since Ted is in San Francisco for the weekend. With more space in the bed Betsy and Hermia have been flanking me– i’m terrified to roll over on one of them; no matter which way I roll they are right there.

I’ve also been doing some gardening. We don’t really have a yard, but we have a patio and i’ve been tending to the plants. About 6 weeks ago I bought some tomato plants. They were about six inches tall then, but now they are about two feet tall and one is growing a tomato!!! This is the first time i’ve ever grown a vegetable. I’m so exited. It’s called a patio tomato, and will hopefully turn red (it’s pea-green right now–see the pic on the left). I’ve also planted yellow tomatoes and peppers.

Friday I bought a lemon tree and re-potted it. I don’t know how long it will take to grow lemons (the guy who lives upstairs from us has a lemon tree in a big pot and it’s growing these huge lemons), but maybe by the time Ted and I move out of the apartment i’ll be able to plant the lemon tree in an actual yard.

I’ve also got a bougainvillea growing, several cacti and jade plants. You should have seen me out there, re-potting in my little green garden gloves, spraying for bugs, feeding the plants with Miracle-Gro, while Jack and Betsy sat in the sunshine. Here are some pictures of the cats in the ‘garden.’

Jack contemplates the tomatoes

sometimes Jack runs away from me and I have to chase him into other peopless’ patios– he’s especially partial to the patio belonging to the cute, blond, Scandinavian-looking surfer guy next door. Bad Jack! Bad!

Hermia thinks that rolling around in the dirt and grass and filth is detestable.

But she does miss Daddy.