Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Writing On The Wall


 She is growing, my Little Martha. She follows me around outside. She seems to like to walk around me as I garden. She climbs over rocks and stumps to get to me, curious about every weed I pull. If she loses sight of me she will cry out plaintively until I call her and she can follow the sound of my voice.


And yet, she refuses to lap up the formula out of a saucer. She has eaten a little wet food mixed with the formula and definitely knows how to lap it up. But she wants the bottle.


She won't suck, though. I have to squeeze the bottle and when she gets a good stream going, she will wrap her tongue around the nipple and drink, her ears wiggle when she hits that rhythm. The rest of the time she expects me to keep a steady drip going in the side her mouth while she chews on the nipple. She is very demanding when she is hungry. Amazing how much noise such a tiny little thing can make.


She has learned to do without a middle of the night feeding. Good thing, since I had decided that she could live without me getting up!! She purred for the first time today. I purr for her while I am feeding her.

Back to the holiday weekend. I never filled the park. I usually have to turn folks away, but I had empty sites. In spite of that, we went through over half a case of toilet tissue. Never, ever has this much tissue been used, even when we have the church group all in tents on Labor Day.

Saturday night found me cleaning the nastiest bathrooms ever. The walls of the ladies room were decorated with feces. Some one managed to loosen the drain under the sink and instead of reporting the water issue, the sink was still in use. I grabbed a mop after I removed the art work and sanitized the wall. Trashcans were overflowing and I repeated my actions of the morning and left the bathroom spotless. The men's room was equally disgusting. The toilet paper dispenser was ripped from the wall and used tissue littered the floor. More puddles of muddy water graced the floor and I repeated my morning routine in this one, too.

I was exhausted and disenchanted when I finally made my way to the kitchen at 9:30. I was so tired and mad I forgot to take my meds. Went to bed and woke at 5:30. I made the caramel sauce and got the cinnamon rolls ready to rise. They have to rise at least 45 minutes and no longer than 75 minutes. You can tell by the way the dough looks. I was tired, but afraid to try a nap.

I went out the side door. The grounds were littered with white stuff. Turned out to be paper towels, probably a roll and a half. I picked all that up and approached the doors to the restrooms cautiously. After the night before, I was not going to rush in.
I prayed that it was mud on the floor, but ...... my prayers were not answered. Despite the fact that I had stocked the bathrooms with paper product the night before, there was no tissue in either and a partial roll of paper towels were on the floor next to the toilet in the men's room. I suppose I should have been thankful that the paper towels had not been flushed. That fact provided very little consolation as I again did a major cleaning in both rooms.

Throughout the day I would check paper goods in the bathrooms and restock. Little did I know that, like an elf in the night, good kamper Patrick was checking them for me, too. The only thing we can figure is that the rolls of tissue were being stolen.

Ever stay in a hotel and assume that they wanted you to take all the complimentary products left for your convenience? Really, they didn't. They were left there in case you forgot something from home. All these things have to be paid for by some means. It all factors into the overall cost of your stay. I admit that I had never considered the cost of these things until I was the one who had to purchase them and then watch them go out the door.

Did you know that kittens burp?

10 comments:

Joanne Noragon said...

And they hic-up, too. They're precious. And, they make mighty fine cats.

Well, I wish you could fire some of those campers. I can't say another word.

Val said...

Yeah, they're stealing the TP. Which, as you must know, has grown increasingly expensive. Paper products are sky-high.

The kitty is a cutie.

Kathy G said...

Those are some seriously cute cat pictures!

Would it be too cost ineffective to buy locking toilet paper holders and install them in the bathrooms? A lot of the parks around here have started using them. Probably for the same reason you would.

ellen abbott said...

I already have a bad opinion of humanity in general. Having a campground and having to clean the bathrooms would find me packing heat and going postal. What is the matter with people! Smearing feces on the wall? Is that to teach you a lesson to keep enough toilet paper available? What kind of person does that?

ellen abbott said...

Oh, but the kitten is just adorable.

mamahasspoken said...

I always wondered about people who leave messes like this. Why do they think this is a socially acceptable thing to do? Hope you catch the people and charge them extra for the 'cleaning service.'

Brian Miller said...

it just blows my mind the feces on the wall and mess people make...that is ridiculous....loving your adventures with the kitty though...smiles.

Char said...

The first time I saw toilet paper on rollers that had padlocks on them in rest areas, I was shocked. Just couldn't imagine that people were stealing the rolls...! Then a friend who works at a rest area said she had actually seen a woman spending 15-20 minutes patiently UNROLLING the paper from the padlocked holders in order to steal it. She said the local Sheriff just laughed when she reported the lady.

Linda O'Connell said...

People who rub feces on walls are mentally disturbed, even if it was a bratty child. It's enough to make a campground owner get a porta-potty or two-whole-sitter and a Sears catalog.

That Martha baby has won my heart like she has yours.

lotta joy said...

Okay then. My hatred for common people is spilling onto my keyboard. Your campgound is only partially full because working people cannot pay for the gasoline that pulling a camper costs.

Since campers can be purchased cheaply now, the only ones who can afford the gas too, are the ones who are being financially supported by the government.

Already having a sense of entitlement, YOUR toilet paper is THEIR reward for giving you their business.

The feces on the walls tells how your cleanliness is an affront to their lifestyle.

KEEP THE KITTEN INSIDE!!!!!

Forever!