1/24/07

Or you can see a smaller (better) picture by going over to Fred’s site and downloading it off this page (the link’s toward the bottom).

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The spud (who, by the way, made it safely to California yesterday) informed me Monday night that she needs to get “one of those cards from the funeral” to bring back with her, to prove that she was gone at a funeral. They’re only allowed so many “parents notes” absences each year, apparently, and to not use up one of those allowed absences, she needs proof in the form of a funeral card. I think that’s a little crass on the school’s part, but probably they have a problem with kids claiming they’ve missed school for a funeral when really they were hanging at the mall.
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I think that y’all should know that there is nothing on this earth (aside from world peace (hee! I originally typed “world peach”!) of course) that I want more than an iPhone. Fred was all skeptical and pshaw-y about it until he took a good look at it, and now I think he wants one, too. I’d sell all the kitties into kitty slavery for an iPhone. And I will have one of my own by the end of the year, you mark my words, folks. Oh yes, I will.
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From my comments: Who did the picture above the fireplace? The brothers [Tommy and Sugarbutt] are so cute, do they tend to stick together when with all the other cats? That picture was done by Zhen-Huan Lu. I saw it when I was in Maine one summer and fell in love with it! Tommy and Sugarbutt sometimes cuddle up when the other cats are around, but then sometimes go for days acting like they’ve never seen each other before. I guess it depends on whether they’re in the mood for love or not!
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When Mister Boogers thinks about how much he hates us, is he thinking in a voice that sounds like Gollum from Lord of the Rings? Because that’s the voice I hear as I read his thoughts. In my head, he’s got a bit of the snooty French accent going on, but if you’d prefer to think of him sounding like Gollum, I can certainly see that, too!
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Robyn, you and Fred are doing such a great job on the Smallville house. When you get it all done – or to the move-in stage, you should do a whole page of before and after pictures – including the yard. It’s been quite a transformation already! We definitely intend to put up a “before and after” page when we’re done, probably before we start moving stuff in. I wish I’d taken more pictures of the yard before we moved in; I can only find a couple, and it looks HUGELY different than it did when we moved it!
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Oh my gosh! I didn’t think anyone else had even heard of “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”!!! My husband thought I was making it up until I found it online and played it for him. Do you have this link? I didn’t have that link, but thanks to you, I do now! When I was in Pigeon Forge at Christmas, I kept cracking up my nephew by singing the song. Which reminds me, I need to send him that song in MP3, so he can drive his mother crazy with it…
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Hi robyn – are you going to leave your packages on the front step for the postman to pick up so you don’t have to stand in line behind the crazy at the post office this year? If so, please let us know how that goes? I love the commercials, but I have little faith in my postal worker. I didn’t leave my packages on the front step for the postman to pick up, because I really don’t trust that they’d actually get picked up. I actually sent my packages out via UPS this year, because it’s a lot less expensive, and you get that convenient step-by-step tracking, which I didn’t realize until my sister pointed it out to me.
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I love the purse picture telling what everything is! I have to ask..why so much tylenol though?! Just wondering – how many different kinds of Tylenol do you have?! I had, I think, three different types of Tylenol in my purse back when I took that picture of everything in my purse: regular Tylenol, fast-release Tylenol, and children’s Tylenol. I had the children’s Tylenol because I wasn’t sure how fast Tylenol would release into my system after surgery, and whether regular Tylenol would help at all. I determined that regular Tylenol does just fine, so currently I only carry a small bottle of regular Tylenol. The irony is that I need MAYBE one Tylenol a month (it’s okay to take very occasionally, according to my doctor), so I was carrying three years’ worth around with me!
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I suppose I should have asked you long ago, because I have you linked on my journal under “Journals I read” or some such list. So. Do you mind that I have you linked? I won’t be offended if you’d like me to remove your name/link from the list, just let me know. I absolutely don’t mind being linked by people who read me, and no one even needs to ask permission. The only thing that’s really pissed me off when someone links to me is the one person who linked to me under a list of links entitled “People who link to me.” Well, I don’t link to her; I don’t even read her, though I’ve heard of her. Oh look at me, getting all pissed off about it all over again! I want to email her and demand she take me off her list o’ lies, but I’m going to take a deep breath and get the hell over myself instead.
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Happy New Year, Robyn! Sounds like you all had a great time – boy, you sure can tell Brian and the Spud are related. Is it just the photos, or do they look enough alike to be brother and sister? They absolutely look enough alike to be brother and sister. When they’re together, people tend to assume they are brother and sister, actually, it’s funny how much they look alike.
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Will you be cleaning the paint off wooden stairs? If so, what works best? I have to clean up some myself. I’ve found that the best way to get paint off wooden stairs is the use of Windex, a scrubby sponge (with the green scrubby side) and one hell of a lot of elbow grease.
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When you’re ready to put in your new woodstove, are you going to consider a pellet stove? They make them to look just like wood stoves, and the type of heat radiation from the pellets is similar to wood heat, but they do not grossly pollute the air the way woodstove emmisions do. Word is that eventually there will be a ban on wood stoves, although I think the newer ones are less polluting (better catalytic conversion) and of course who knows how and when the EPA will actually put any type of ban into effect. I would like to consider a pellet stove, but word from Fred is that we won’t be considering them at this time. I’m interested in them, though – this might be a dumb question, but I assume that a pellet stove takes wooden pellets? Where does one get the wooden pellets to feed into the stove?
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Did you ever decide on the best sports bra? The best sports bra, at least in my opinion, is the Enell. They make me look barrel-chested and kind of funny, but when you put one of those babies on, your boobs do NOT move and that can only be a good thing!
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Did you get many duplicate cards? I’m always amazed that I only seem to get 1 or maybe 2 duplicates, though I get nowhere near the number you do. This year, I don’t think I got any duplicates at all! I don’t know if it’s because of a wider selection in the stores or because more of the cards I got were handmade, but no duplicates. Usually I get two of at least one card, but not this year!
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So the other day Fred and I were despairing because Moondance was spending all her time hiding in her room (even though the door was open) or under the spud’s bed, and that is just NO existence for a cat. Then Fred got the bright idea of carrying her downstairs to see what she’d do, both of us fully expecting her to haul tail back upstairs, only she looked around, settled on the couch a few feet from Fred, and decided this whole “downstairs” thing wasn’t too bad. She’s settled into a routine of spending most of the day upstairs – with the occasional foray downstairs to see what’s going on – and once Fred gets home from work, she follows him downstairs and hangs out, giving him the Eyes of Love and all the other cats the Eyes of You-Go-To-Hell. It works out pretty well. She likes to show her butt as much as Mister Boogers does, and if the two of them ever got within a foot of each other, I’m fairly certain there’d be a nuclear-like explosion and we’d be screaming for Jack Bauer to save us. “I hate you, and you, and you, and especially you!” JoeBob (FNKAMM*) is a plant eater, much to my displeasure. At least he doesn’t barf up the leaves he eats on the carpet or the couch. Or at least not YET. Mudderly love. “I am IN the box, but I do not LIKE IT.” “Hey, I think Mom’s in the box!” “Mom, you in the box? What you doing in the box, Mom?” “Mom’s in the box! Hey look guys, Mom’s in the box!” “Hush up, you little monsters. Alls I want is some peace and quiet.” All of today’s uploaded pictures are hither. *Formerly Known As MoonMan.
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Self-portrait #15. “I’m sorry Healthy Back Bag, I swear I will NEVER toss you over for a Liz Claiborne Grandma purse again, I swear it! Forgive me?” Seriously, y’all. I’m two weeks into this daily self-portrait thing, and I’m out of ideas. How many damn ways can there be to take a picture of oneself? Give me some ideas to make it interesting, wouldya? (And skip the “We want to see full-body pictures of you in something that fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiits.” I’m holding off on that because I’ll be posting full-body pictures of me in something that fiiiiiiiiiiiits for my one-year Surgery anniversary next week.)
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Previously 2006: “Y’all shut UP. I don’t hear you complaining when you run around FARTING on everyone.” 2005: Letters. 2004: No entry. 2003: I swear, I have no control over my body sometimes. 2002: The shithole on Goddard Street. 2001: Lucky for her I’ve calmed down to a growling grumpiness, or it wouldn’t be a very good time to be the spud. 2000: We’re a pathetic lot, aren’t we?]]>

31 thoughts on “1/24/07”

  1. Do you let the fosters go outside w/the other kitties?
    I’ve been thinking about fostering some dogs (we live on 10 acres), ’cause my 10yo son would like a dog, but he doesn’t realize the time they need. If we foster, he can get an idea of what he’ll be getting himself into!

  2. Self-portrait ideas: You kissing each kitty, yours and “not” yours, that should take up at least two week’s worth; Wearing a variety of hats (take them at a hat store!); and I’m only on my first coffee, so I’m already out of ideas.

  4. Self photo ideas:
    1. You listening to BobPod
    2. You reading
    3. You cooking
    4. You working at the Smallville house
    5. You watching TV
    6. You hugging Fred
    7. You on a walk
    8. You eating lunch/dinner/snack
    9. You shopping for clothes, food, etc.
    There, that should get you through a few more days at least! 🙂

  5. I am totally with you on the iPhone! I’m a huge Mac fan and I was watching updates on the “Special Event” as they were uploaded. The new phone is awesome and beautiful and I too shall have one by the end of the year! I’m trying to convince myself to wait until any bugs are worked out. But I have a feeling that as soon as they are available for purchase, I’m going to run out and buy one.

  6. We have a pellet stove and love it. We get the pellets from the dealer we bought the stove from. We don’t buy them in the winter though; we stock up in spring and summer and store them in the basement and shed – they’re cheaper in the off season, and easier to get large amounts at a time.
    Our heating bill is down about 60% since getting the stove – and we live in the Midwest where it’s a lot colder than by you.

  7. And I snorted Diet Coke watching that video! I feel bad for laughing and yet… I’m helpless not to.
    Picture-taking ideas, hmmmm. I like the suggestion of you and Fred hugging–or you doing the Bitchypoo face and hissing “Yer pissin’ me off” at him. 🙂 Other ideas:
    – Stuck behind an old lady in a Wal-Mart aisle (not sure how–with the Gorillapod??)
    – Choosing what to read next from your bookshelves
    – Using a chainsaw
    – Painting (because it’s your favorite thing to do)
    – Using one of your exercise machines in the garage
    – Checking your P.O. box
    – Standing in front of your newly installed “No solicitors” sign 🙂
    I’m not very creative today, but I’ll add more ideas if I come up with any good ones.

  8. Does it have to be a face portrait? I’ve noticed on flickr that people doing this project will take pictures of all differnt parts of themselves..feet, hands, back of the head, knee…whatever

  9. I listened to an all Christmas music radio station during December and heard I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas about a million times! Believe me it ain’t that rare!

  10. Why is the Spud’s school being so hard-assed about absences? Don’t schools get all their funding as long as they get the required parental excusal?
    My sister used to spray ginger water on her houseplants to keep the cats from eating them. It worked most of the time.

  11. I used to post the occasional self-portrait with my finger oh-so-delicately in my nose. Just a thought.

  12. Outside! More pictures outside. Under a tree, in a tree, near a tree, near a ditch, in a ditch, on a porch, below a porch… the possibilities are endless.

  13. What does your “Liz Claiborne Grandma purse” look like? This is the second day you mentioned it, and I have to see it! Well, not really have to, but have a burning desire to see the object of scorn. So I can hate it too.
    (And did you love the “Liz Claiborne Grandma purse” at one time?)

  14. self portrait ideas: How about you with different hair styles. Curly, straight, wet, shampooed, moussed in a mohwak, styled different ways etc.

  15. Donna’s right: The next 8 photos could be you with each of your eight (yes, I said eight) cats. Then a photo of you with each of your foster kitties. Then go to other people’s houses and ask to pose with their kitties, or their lawn gnomes or something.

  16. Robyn, a question re: your eventual move. Are you going to sell your house in-town first and then move, or move into the Smallville house and sell your in-town house when it’s empty or partly empty? I don’t have as many cats but I do have kids and for me, having realtors come in unannounced or on short notice would be a problem.

  17. Robyn I just bought that EXACT bag from LL Bean b/c I kept reading your raves about it, and I am using it as a diaper bag, purse, luggage, packsaddle, etc etc etc for me and my 3 little kids. And I am in love with it! When you had your post about your new purse I thought “Great, the COOL kids are on to something new without me again!” I am glad to see you have come to your senses!

  18. Help, help, help!!! I need that bag! I want that bag! I *must* have that bag!! What’s the name/pattern of that Healthy Back Bag? I can’t find it and I’m drooling all over my new keyboard.
    Please help a girl out, won’tcha?.
    Mercy buttercups!

  19. The last funeral my own kiddo attended with me was for one of his baby cousins. We remembered to get an official letter “on letterhead” from the funeral home, but the school district wouldn’t count it as an excused absence. Why? Because only parents’, grandparents’, and siblings’ funerals are excused in the great state of Texas now.
    (Oh, and JoeBob (FNAMM) should be JoeBob (FKAMM). /nitpick)

  20. For the love of god. Over 1,000 hits since I posted my entry, and HOURS later Jennifer finally points out my typo? Are you people not paying attention? Hmph! (Thanks, Jennifer!)
    Aly: I sent you an email, but for anyone else wondering the same thing, apparently LL Bean isn’t carrying that bag in blue anymore, but they’ve got the green one on sale, here: http://tinyurl.com/37a39g
    Victoria: Good question, I’ll answer it in tomorrow’s entry! 🙂
    Elaine T: Great minds think alike – I was planning on doing something along those lines. 🙂
    Lisa: Nope, it doesn’t. I did do a picture of my hands last week; I’ll have to think of other body parts to take pictures of (and I mean that in a non-porny way, o’ course.) 🙂
    Renee: Another good question to answer in tomorrow’s entry! 🙂

  21. We got a pellet stove this year and I LOVE it. The type we got is a fireplace insert and actually is really pretty looking but the cool thing is that you just pour in the pellets and it is all automatic. It is hooked to a thermostat and we just set it at the temp we want and it does the rest. I am lazy -so it so works for me. We buy the pellets by the ton at a woodstove/pellet stove store – they come in big bags which we pour into a bucket and then into the stove!

  22. I seriously can’t believe Spud’s school is requiring her to bring a card from the funeral – that’s insane.
    And how about some pictures of you wearing different “Fred” t-shirts…the funny ones!

  23. Another Great Entry.
    When you were talking about the portrait in something that fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiits happening on your surgery anniversary, my brain could not read surgery anniversary without collapsing it into “surgiversary”. What this means about my brain is anyone’s guess.

  24. I had to comment on the pellet stove. I got one this year and i love it. You buy the pellets at the same place that sells the stoves. Pellets here (St. Louis) run around $300 a ton. We have not used a full ton this winter yet, probably have gone through more than half a ton though. Our heating bills are about $150.00 a month less than they were last year at this time. Plus the house is much warmer. It has a remote control and you just set it for what temperature you want the room. It has a self feeder for the pellets. It is awesome!!

  25. Mary, you’re better than I am. All I could think was “sugary anniversary,” wondering “is sugar really one of them? paper, tin, silver, gold…sugar? surely that’s under 10 years…maybe it’s 7th.”
    Robyn, picture idea: naked.
    That is all.

  26. I see some people who are doing the 365 thing take pictures of themselves with their lunches or the socks they were each day. To each his/her own. I have also seen people snap themselves in front of their computers or television sets…with different things on the screen.
    Good luck with it. All of the pictures so far have been interesting.

  27. Hi Robyn, I “recommend” that you have a “recommendation page” for products etc that you’ve tried and either liked or hated. I have gotten alot of good ideas from your site on different products.

  30. Devil: Recipe for ginger water please? (Ginger + water, I got that much, but.. ginger root steeped in water? Powdered ginger mixed in? What?) So far the only way I can keep one of my cats out of the plants is to put all plants up, except a cactus. He learned.
    Robyn: That video of the electrical fence zapping Mr. Boogers is just CRUEL. I can’t believe how mean that is. Absolutely horrible and sadistic, the way it made me snort so hard that I tore something in the back of my nose. Heh. He almost went *over* the fence, it looked like! ROFL
    Seriously, though, my train of thought went, “Oh how MEA- play it again, play it again! That poor ca- how funny! TJ, come watch!! That’s just awf- quick, forward to the good part!” It’s so damned funny but I feel so bad for laughing! ::giggling all over again::
    PS in case it’s not clear, I’m *not* criticizing – better a zapped (hee!!) cat than a squashed one, like my Vascha (car), or a mutilated one, like my parents’ Sir Mooch (dogs). I just feel kinda bad for laughing so hard at poor Meester Boogers. Six times. heh.

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