N is for Newspaper Nuisance

Day 14 of the challenge!

My theme is NIFTY NUGGETS. Little nuggets of writing based on a photo, a phrase and an object, which is designed to encourage lean, tight writing. I’m aiming for a word count of under 300 words.

Thank you to L.Diane Wolfe for providing the beautiful photo prompts.  You can visit her blog to check out more pictures.

NEWSPAPER NUISANCE

NEWSPAPER NUISANCE

PHRASE – out of sight, out of mind

OBJECT – snow

Fifi is always out of sight, definitely not out of mind. I know he’s up to all sorts of mischief and certainly involving copious amounts of paper, including books, magazines, journals and his favorite, the daily newspaper.

I haven’t missed a copy of the daily newspaper in over 20 years. All that news has accumulated like snow in a blizzard and has taken over the basement, the back bedroom and the stairs.

Paper hoarding used to be my hobby, now it’s bordering on insanity.

It’s a nightmare.

The furniture and kitchen countertops are inundated.

Over the years, numerous attempts to clean up my act, as in filing, throwing out, and archiving, have come to nought.

It’s a full-time and arduous task.

I’ve lost count of the myriad of “Why?” moments, when I didn’t know why something had been saved. Had I answered the letters? Had the bank account balanced? Was there something vital amongst all the junk mail envelopes? Were the receipts for a reimbursement? The newspapers, books, and magazines contain a project that I’m going to try next year.

I live in constant anxiety. My blood pressure is through the ceiling.

But for Fifi the cat, it’s just another day of mischief-on-the-go; and he’s having the time of his life as a news-wrapped bandit peering from beneath his makeshift hide out… frollicking amongst the endless sea of paper.

A battle for the title of ‘newspaper nuisance’…

10 Comments

  1. Hilary on April 18, 2015 at 4:07 pm

    Hi Michelle – oh golly to think of that amount of paper around .. what’s here is bad enough! But at least Fifi is very happy scrabbling amongst the masses of scrunched up newspaper ..

    Love Diane’s photo once again .. Newspaper Nuisance – good one .. cheers Hilary

  2. Robin Rivera on April 18, 2015 at 7:11 pm

    Cats do love paper, but the idea of so many newspapers crammed into one house gives me the creeps. I can’t image the life of a hoarder. It must be so sad and isolating. At least they have a cat to keep them company. Nice A to Z post.

  3. Michelle Wallace on April 18, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    Thank you, Robin!
    I’ve always wondered what goes through the mind of a hoarder…

  4. Alex J. Cavanaugh on April 19, 2015 at 11:42 am

    She’s a hoarder! I think she needs a few more cats. They would shred anything and then she’d have to get rid of it.

  5. L. Diane Wolfe on April 19, 2015 at 5:41 pm

    Hobbes would’ve shredded everything in that woman’s house by now.

  6. Mary Aalgaard on April 20, 2015 at 12:55 am

    It’s stressful to be under that snowstorm of paper. I hope Fifi is having fun!
    (Thanks for continuing to try to access and comment on my blog.)

    • Michelle Wallace on April 20, 2015 at 1:35 pm

      Fifi is having the time of her life! She’s the only one not complaining…

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