Quarantine-- stories from Ms. J

My new "office" 

What a weird time in life, eh? Cory and I have been quarantining since Friday, March 13 and I can tell he's getting a bit tired of only having me to talk to. I actually would love if everyone would start a blog right now so we could realize that we're all bored, all restless, all stressed and all of the other things you're feeling. I feel like I'm getting a small glimpse into everyone else's time "stuck at home" through Facebook and Instagram though, and I apologize for the insane amount of pictures you'll see of Stella in the coming weeks. But to be honest, Cory's in his office all day and I'm at the kitchen table and she's all we have to look at, besides one another. Also, this extrovert is doing better than she thought she would, but still misses Goodwill and Marshall's. 

Anyway, since we've been home so much, we've had some more encounters with our fun-loving neighbor Ms. J. If you haven't read about her yet, here's the blog from a few months ago to set the mood. 

Freaking Neighborhood Cats
Right after moving into our sweet home, we noticed random neighborhood cats everywhere. After about 2 weeks of living here, Stella had a terrible case of fleas, and our new vet told us that Stella had "super fleas" that had come from these hoodlum cats. I mean, what? Y'all, these cats are everywhere. Someone has cut the bottom half of milk carton off and puts fresh water and/or a bit of milk out for these cats everyday-- on the sidewalk next to our home. Then, not too long ago, I caught a man dumping cat food onto our driveway. Cool. 

Possum referenced in the story. 

So, last week, I walked outside to get some fresh air, and Ms. J was sitting on her front porch. She proceeded to tell me this story: 

J: Mrs. Brooke. I had to call the po-lease last week because there was this loud racket outside my house-- in between our houses actually. It was shaking the house and I was scared and didn't know if it was someone trying to break in or, you know we got them neighborhood cats, and it sounded like two of them was fighting. Or, you know that possum that's always around, I thought it was fighting one of them cats. 

B: I'm so tired of those cats.

J: Ugh, my too. I hate cats, and that guy down there (gestures wildly) always be feeding them. Mrs. Brooke, will you call the SPCA on them? 

B: I don't think they'll do anything about them.

J: Well, the po-lease came by and looked around and didn't see anything. Told me to tell you to put a lock on your gate over there though. 

Not suitable for everyone story:: As a note, a couple of months ago, Cory and I were both awakened at 5:30am to what sounded like two cats fighting. After 10 minutes, realized that one of those cats was in heat and obviously they were not fighting. 5 minutes of that later, I asked Google to turn on relaxation sounds, the beach, to drown that out. It didn't, and made the cats sound like they were mating on the beach.  

Always in Samuel L Jackson mode
Cory and I have been on the front porch a good bit after the work day is over, just to change up the scenery. Ms J came out Friday and I asked her if she had to go back to work because of the city-wide 'Stay at home' proclamation our lovely Mayor made and she said "Oh, did they? If I don't have to go back to work, I'mma sit my ass inside my house with a pack of beer then." This morning, she was yelling at someone at 9:30am for parking in her spot while she was getting her groceries out of her car. Cory's at the front of the house in the office working, and many days since Friday, she's been outside "talking" to people. He messaged me the other day and said "J has got to go back to work. She is so loud!" I'm at the back of the house in the kitchen, working at the table, and can hear her clearly from here most days. Her voice does carry, that's for sure. 

She loves me, yeah, yeah, yeah

As you can see from this picture, our homes are very close. Her house is still a split shotgun, and her side is the door you can see in this picture. Cory and I park on the side of our house and always come in the back door, but Ms. J parks right out front, and will come at you if you're parked in "her spot." Her car is named Nelly, by the way. I'm not really sure how or why I know that. Anyway, Tuesday, I walked outside to check the mail, and noticed that Ms. J's blinker was on and she wasn't outside. So, I sent her a text to let her know so her battery didn't go dead. A few minutes later, I get a text that said "Love you." Then another that said "Thanks so much." And before I could respond, she was calling me. Apparently, she had been outside earlier cleaning out her car and must have hit the blinker and it's been on for hours! She thanked me again and hung up. But you have no idea how special I feel that Ms. J loves me. :) 

I hope you're all weathering this well. I'm so thankful for our neighborhood-- multiple walks with Stella, lots of people of their front porches, and the weather has been amazing. It can be an easy funk to settle in to because of this, but it's important to stay home and follow the rules, y'all. I will say, doing squats at your desk do help to make the day not so monotonous. Also, call your momma. See you next time!

Red Beans and Ricely Yours, 
B