It’s summer, and I have a kitten. Things seem to be moving at even a more languid rate than I expect from summer hours. I blame the kitten. There are the additional tasks that come with caring for another creature – food, litter box cleanup, grooming – that I have tried to adjust for, waking up half an hour earlier than needed to make sure everything gets done. But there are two aspects of Having A Kitten I didn’t really factor in to my timing: playing and ogling. 

I guess I knew that I would play with the kitten. But I didn’t realize that he would have specific Play Times that would require so much human participation. Don’t get me wrong – he can entertain himself. But sometimes, “entertaining himself” means getting into mischief, because he’s very curious and has no idea which activities/areas/objects are restricted. I have found it better for all involved to dedicate intensive one-on-one attention to him when he’s feeling playful. This turns into 30 minutes about three times a day where I am doing nothing but playing with him. We have a wand with some attachments that he loves to chase. We have some balls with bells inside that he loves for me to throw. I mentioned previously that he adores the little mylar crinkly balls. He has at one point had two spirals, which he loves, and also loves batting under the stove. Both of them are currently MIA. 

The internet has implied for years that cats love boxes, and this cat does indeed love a box. We got a new vacuum and the box it came in has holes on two sides for handles. He loves hiding in the box and batting at things from inside the “windows.” He loves it when I throw a ball inside the box so it bounces of the far wall. We introduced him to the joy of a paper grocery bag today and he is having big fun with that. In fact, I had to take a fifteen-minute pause in writing this post because he hopped up onto the chair with me, purring loudly, planted himself firmly between me and my laptop, and then started biting my arm. So I got him a fresh bag and a feather toy which are currently distracting him very nicely. They are also distracting me, though. 

That brings me to the next time adjustment, which is for ogling. He is so cute that I spend waaaaayyyyyy too much time watching him be cute and taking pictures and videos. Carla is also spending waaaaayyyyyyy too much time doing those things, and also picking up the kitten every time he’s not already in her arms, and also saying, “Mom! Look at what Lenny is doing!” and also giving me a play-by-play of what the cat is doing anytime I am not looking directly at him.

Anyway, I am living solidly in Kitten Adjusted Time (KAT) right now, which is super adorable but also super non-productive. 

Let’s see. Despite the kitten and his darling antics, we still need to plan and prepare and consume meals. What shall we eat this week?

The rain persists, with little bursts of occasional sunshine. This makes it hard to know what I want to eat. Do I want warm and cozy things, like chicken paprikas and lentil soup? Or do I want fresh summery things like grilled chicken caprese salad or grilled summer squash with lemon-scallion dressing? 

I better come up with SOMETHING.

Dinners for the Week of June 9-15

• Copycat Carbone Spicy Rigatoni: My husband requested this one and I’m a sucker for a good vodka sauce.

• Slow Cooker Balsamic Pork: We haven’t had this in a while but it sounds good. I have never simultaneously had a cat and a crockpot though, so… hmm. We combine this with caramelized onions, feta, Kalamata olives (for me), sun-dried tomatoes (for my husband), and put it all over brown rice to make yummy shredded pork and rice bowls.

• Sheet Pan Mediterranean Chicken and Veggies: I can use the leftover feta from the balsamic pork bowls for this, which will be tasty. I like to top this with a tangy cilantro dressing.

• Cold Noodle Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce: We haven’t had this in a long time but it sounds like a perfect summer meal. I may buy some flank steak so we can have some teriyaki steak to go on top of it. Bonus: my kid will eat steak.

• Pickle-Brined Chicken Tenders: This is a big hit around our house, even though it is a bit fussy to make. Carla hopes to have a friend over for a sleepover one of these nights, and this will be a good friend-friendly meal. (I typically make tacos for sleepover nights, but we just had a tacos-and-sleepover evening last week, and I’m not ready to do that exact combo again.) I need some sort of veggie for the side. We’ll have to see what looks good at the grocery store.

Okay, that looks like a respectable list of meals!

In case you were wondering: The kitten tired himself out attacking the paper bag I got him. He is now fast asleep, inside it.