Mari Musings

Hi, how are you? The holidays are coming up so fast, but I’m barely past Halloween emotionally. And before I know it, it will be 2026. Will I be past Thanksgiving by then? (⌒_⌒;)

Today, I learned that I can decorate my iPhone photos with my iMessage stickers natively in the Photos app. It lacks the functionality of a more robust editing app, but it does the job. It’s been fun to play with Picmix-style edits. Here is a photo diary of sorts! My coworker gave me this adorable sucker. It was heart-shaped and so sweet. ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～♡ My phone is basically a ticking time bomb at this point. It’s an iPhone XR, and it’s hard to believe it’s already 7 years old. I can’t use many apps due to performance issues, so I rely on the browser. Unfortunately, most sites are so bloated that my phone crashes after a few minutes. On the bright side, this keeps me off my phone lol.

Today, I bought fabric for a sewing project. My mom asked me to sew her a pair of ‘quilted pants with side blankets.’ Basically, she wants quilted pants, complete with batting, with blanket ‘flaps’ sewn onto the side to act like a blanket. …Why not just have me sew a matching quilt? I don’t know — she is an odd woman. But I am her daughter, so I will acquiesce to her request — sans the flaps.

I haven’t sewn a pair of pants in like 15 years, and I have no idea what I’m doing lol. I’m sure my mom won’t mind if they’re a bit funny looking… she literally wanted flaps! Like a manta ray! I can’t get over it, it’s so funny.

Upon returning from the fabric store, my neighbor texted me that she was looking for her cat. He had been missing since yesterday morning. I am good friends with both my neighbor and all of her cats, and especially close with Kakashi, the kitty she was looking for. He visits me every day, but I hadn’t seen him when I got home from work. I felt a bit worried because his shy kitty brother, Puck, came by looking for Kakashi. He’s done this before, but Puck was frantic today. He was meowing at the top of his little lungs despite normally being a gentle, quiet cat. It was definitely out of the ordinary.

My boyfriend told me not to go out looking because he was worried I would disturb the neighbors and that they would call the police. That’s a bit dramatic… but I understand where he’s coming from. He is naturally the kind of person who avoids troubling others, and he urged me to stay home. Despite that, I felt an overwhelming compulsion to take my flashlight and leave, so off I went.

After only a few minutes of searching, I passed by another neighbor warming up his truck. He noticed that I was shining my flashlight into the bushes and approached me, asking if I was looking for an adorable tuxedo cat. I was immediately relieved that Kakashi was safe, and I brought the man to my other neighbor’s house, where she was reunited with delightful Kakashi. He seems to have an issue with his stomach, so I’m still worried about him. (╯︵╰,)

I try to take time to be grateful every day for the life I have, and moments like these are some of my most cherished. I feel God’s hand on my shoulder guiding me, and I feel her love. If I had left my house mere minutes later, I would have completely missed the man who had Kakashi. I’m grateful that Kakashi was found by a kind man, as the weather has been awful here.

Kindness to animals is a most virtuous trait, and I’m grateful to have friendships with my neighbors and their cats. Really, I’m friends with my neighbors because their cats introduced us. That’s an animal’s power.

Animals show the purest form of love. They know no evil or hatred. Cats love us at our ugliest, without real judgment, and they love unconditionally. It’s an innocence worth protecting and cherishing. ヽ(♡‿♡)ノ