Mist is sleeping. She has been sleeping all day. She has been sleeping so soundly that several times I have stood over her, watching for the telltale rise and fall of fur.

By the end of last week, it became apparent that Mist suffered from an infestation of fleas. It is a mystery as to how this came to be, she is an indoor cat and has had no exposure to the earth or other animals. My, that sounds grim, does it not?

Anyway, fleas tormented Mist. Her personality slowly evolved until we noticed that she was jumpy, often distressed, and constantly scratching. The final proof came when I found a dead flea in a hair-ball.

Yesterday, after researching shots, and topical treatments, I decided to use Advantage from Bayer. It sounded promising, but was quite expensive. It claimed to eventually eliminate fleas from Mist's fur, and our house.

The next step was to acquire this magic liquid. Veterinarians only sell it. The first one that I called insisted on seeing Mist first, before "prescribing" the flea treatment. She only wanted $48.00 plus tax for seeing her and $58.00 plus tax for the prescribed treatment.

Several more calls revealed that animal clinics had a wide range of prices and required services. At the end of an hour, I had made my decision. Mist sat on my lap the whole time, licking my hand, licking the keyboard, and moving about endlessly in circles. It seemed important to make a quick decision, and to take immediate action.

An early drive to the other side of the city, and I purchased the treatment for $43.99 plus tax. Thank goodness for the little green car. But for which, I would have been stuck dragging a terrified cat in a cage to a nearby animal clinic, and paying $106.00 plus tax for exactly the same thing.

After arriving home, I settled myself in front of the keyboard, where Mist likes to visit my lap. Soon she had joined me and I applied the liquid to the skin at the base of her neck.

She was livid! She struggled against me. I won. She was a very sore loser. The moment I released her she leapt from my lap. She first settled herself in a corner of Attila's studio. Lying on some papers, her head glumly propped upon one outstretched leg; she eyed me with suspicion.

When I approached her, she made a run for the basement, where she stayed for the rest of the day. Her return in the evening was calculated to impress upon me the error of my ways. She sat, back turned, refusing to acknowledge my existence. Later, by her food dish, I discovered several dead fleas. Success!

This morning she was her usual friendly self, it seems I am forgiven. Today, she has taken over my chair in the living room and has been sleeping for the past 6 hours. Finally, she can rest comfortably. She is back to being her own calm self.

A few weeks ago Attila brought home a lot of squash. This squash grew unattended in a compost heap, and most of it was gigantic. No one else cared to harvest the bounty, so Attila brought it all home.

I have been cooking squash forever! We like it seeded, quartered, and baked with a bit of butter and brown sugar. We like it boiled and mashed.

I am still trying to come up with new ways to eat squash. Today I came up with something I will prepare again tomorrow. I beat together 1 egg, 1/2 cup pureed squash, a dash of salt, freshly ground pepper, and 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese. I poured this mixture into a small heated frying pan where I had melted a bit of butter. After browning one side, I attempted to flip it like a pancake. It was a bit crumbly, and so broke apart. When the other side was browned I transferred it to a plate and sat down on the footstool, near Mist in my chair, to gobble it up.

Mist did not move a hair.