Hiding from cats...
and “Dum(b)ster Diving”

What am I doing?

My actions came under question recently when I realized that my husband and I were whispering to each other - although we were the only two people in the house.

Actually we were just trying to hide from the barn cats who were yowling outside because they wanted to come in from the frigid night air!

We haven’t been this sneaky since the kids were little!

But the barn cats would circle the house until they heard which room our voices were coming from. And then their yowling and scratching on the windows let us know their wishes.

Now I know they can nestle quite warmly in the hay mow in the barn. But of course we feel sorry for them when the temperature drops out of sight so we let them in the house to sleep.
I just hope that any little critters that have attached themselves to their furry bodies also stay with them when they leave in the morning.

But when I realized that we had lowered our voices and were whispering, I started laughing and asked, “Hey, what are we doing?”
"We are in control? Right?"
Well, maybe...
I don’t know anyone who wins an argument with a cat!
Or with a dumpster.

It wasn’t until my husband found his briefcase with “day planner” and checks had been stolen in an apparent robbery of his car that I took part in the joys of “Dumpster Diving”. Now a strange thing happens when I write that word. I keep making an error when spelling it. I spell it as Dumbster Diving! I put the letter “b” in it instead of “p”!
Maybe that's because it's just how I feel doing it. Pretty dumb!

I got the idea from local police officer, Jill Ekstrom. She had tried to help us find our stuff and mentioned that she had checked some of the dumpsters in the area for us. The reason is that people may get rid of some of the stuff they have taken as quickly as they can. When I contacted another apartment complex the next day, John Miller checked on their dumpsters for me too.

So I decided it was a good idea and bundled up in a snowmobile suit and boots that had seen better days doing chores around the farm. But just how good do you have to look for this job?

I headed off to check the dumpsters in the area Paul had parked his car when his stuff was missing and soon discovered this "diving" wasn't so easy to do. I didn't find anything I was looking for but I did meet a well-dressed lady who politely complimented and as she said, "You are really dressed for the weather."
I told her I was "Dumbster (Oooof! I put that "b" in again!) Diving" for some missing checks and she smiled nicely.

But as I was writing this now I realized that she probably didn't believe a word I said!




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