January 2010 – Bitchypoo

1/29/10 – Friday

My parents arrived safely yesterday evening with Benjie in tow. When Benjie walked through the door, you could almost hear all the cats in the house fluff up. Miz Poo, in particular, did not appreciate this new development. We spent the evening in the living room talking, and the cats had different takes on the … Continue reading “1/29/10 – Friday”

We spent the evening in the living room talking, and the cats had different takes on the Benjie Situation. Tommy sat on the floor a few feet away, staring at Benjie, ultimately decided Benjie was no threat, and rolled around to show his lack of concern. Elwood inched closer and closer and then would run off for a few minutes to regroup before coming back to inch closer again. Jake was NOT interested in THAT DOG, and spent the evening atop the big cat tree. Fred brought him down and into the living room, and Jake immediately puffed up and moved verrrry verrry slowly until he could get back to safety. Spanky was completely unconcerned and uninterested. Sugarbutt came in a few times to eyeball Benjie. The first (and so far, only) cat to make contact with Benjie was, surprisingly, Steely Dan. Benjie was sitting, facing my father, and Steely Dan reached out and grabbed Benjie’s tail.

Poor Benjie, who probably remembered the last time he visited (about 2 1/2 years ago, I think) and was roundly boxed about the ears by Maxi AND Newt, quietly sat by my father and wished those damn cats would go away.

I didn’t get any pictures of the interactions, but you know I’ll share ’em when I get ’em!

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Have you kept records of your fosters and how long it took to get them adopted? It seems like your area does a terrific job of getting kitties adopted. Do they have any secrets that help them get furever homes for the kitties. I am really impressed with how quickly your fosters get homes.

Not only have I not kept records of how long it took the fosters to get adopted, I don’t even have an exact number on how many cats and kittens I’ve fostered! (I’ll remedy that at some point – it’s my goal to get all the entries about my fosters copied over to Love & Hisses, so I have a complete record.) I don’t know that Challenger’s House has any secrets – the fact that they’re a Petsmart Love-A-Pet partner helps a lot, I’m sure!

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Re: pond in back forty – are you concerned it may become a mosquito breeding haven? Just a thought.

Not really – it’ll be back at the back of the back forty (heh). When we had the pond before, located right behind the back yard, it had water in it for at least part of the summer after we moved in, and I never noticed a mosquito issue.

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Love the cat bed that Sugarbutt is in. *Wink*.

I know! Me too! I bought it especially because it matches him so well!

Just kidding, of course – awesome reader Betty sent us that cool bed back in December. First, Violet and Veruca claimed it for themselves, and then it happened to fit perfectly in the cave part of the Room with a View, and apparently Sugarbutt agrees, because he’s claimed it for himself. Maybe he thinks it’s his mother ’cause it looks so much like him. 🙂

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Hey, Wild Berry Jolly Ranchers here.

Although it’s a 12-pack of the little bags. You may be way over them by the time you finish 12 bags.

It would probably take me a year to finish off 12 bags of Jolly Ranchers, but I don’t know that I could ever get tired of them, especially the Wild Strawberry flavor!

I should totally buy, like, 100 bags of those, separate out the flavors, keep the Wild Strawberry, and sell the other flavors on eBay!

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What is UP with cats freaking about the slightest little change to their sleeping area?

Cats are like Fred – they don’t like changes, and they get bitchy when changes happen without their consent. 🙂

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Petal sleeps on the back of the couch – which is fine, but she is shedding like MAD, and I am sick of cleaning fur out the cracks between the cushions. I put a lovely, soft throw that I purposely bought for this over the sofa back for her, and Ms. Thing had a total fit. She sat on the love seat facing the sofa, apparently perplexed by the appearance of this weird THING that had taken over her sleeping spot. I tried putting her on the throw, and she reacted like I’d dipped her in a tub full of water, almost climbing up my arm. Three days later, and she still wouldn’t go near. Removed the throw, and everything was back to normal.

Anyone have any suggestions?

The only recommendation I can think of is, instead of putting the throw over the back of the couch all at once, fold the throw up and put it maybe to the side of where Her Majesty sleeps. Once she’s grown accustomed to it being there, move it a tiny bit closer to where she sleeps, wait a week, repeat. Maybe it’s the sudden change she objects to?

If anyone has a better suggestion, feel free to leave it in the comments!

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Whoa. That cheesecake photo of SDan looks exactly like a fluffy Meester Boogers. I see that a lot! How similar are their personalities?

I am sad to report that there seem to be no Mister Boogers in Steely Dan’s personality. He’s a very sweet and friendly boy, but he has none of the Boogie sass.

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When I was cleaning up after I made my lunch this morning, I accidentally ran my fingers across an open can of cat food. (My elderly cat eats canned food because he has elderly teeth.) I said to myself, “Goddamn it. I bet shit like this never goddamn happens to Miz Robyn and she’s goddamn surrounded by goddamn cats.” And do you think I could get the goddamn cat food out from under my goddamn nails? And then the goddamn stink was in my nose and I swear I can still smell it. Goddamn disgusting canned cat food.

I get canned cat food on my hands ALL the freakin’ time, and the worst part is when I get it on my hand and then don’t realize it, then I’m sitting there thinking “God, what is that horrific SMELL?!” I loathe the smell of canned cat food. GAH.

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I see you wash your cat beds often (or at least I see them stacked up after you’ve washed them). Anyway, how do your cats react to a clean bed?

Every single time I wash our cat’s beds (all 409 of them) she stomps around sniffing all of them, then yells at us, rinse/repeat. I do not use stinky Downey and our detergent is unscented, so it’s not that. I guess she just prefers stinky, hair beds?

Our cats are pretty good at adjusting to clean beds. They’re pretty flexible, I guess, since I rarely put the same cat bed back in the same place, and yet they don’t seem to have an issue with whatever bed I put in their sleeping spots.

I bet your cat’s issue is less that she prefers the stinky, hair beds than that the clean cat beds smell unfamiliar to her. That said, I have no advice on how to convince her that they’re HER beds, even if they don’t smell “right”. Anyone? Suggestions?

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Last night, we let Steely Dan and Fagen stay out in general population all night. They did really well, and in fact Fagen came downstairs to eyeball my parents (and Benjie) from the hallway several times. They didn’t sleep with me last night, but I could hear them running around my room from time to time. At 2:30 I don’t know what on earth they were doing, exactly – it sounded like they were climbing to the top of the chair beside my bed and throwing themselves to the floor, over and over again. I said “Oh, come on, it’s TWO THIRTY!” and eventually they stopped.

They sure are sweet boys, these two.

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Kara, keeping an eye on YOU.

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Previously
2009: “Thank GOD you’re going for a cut and color. I didn’t want to say anything, but you have got some SERIOUS gray going on. It’s rather disturbing.”
2008: This is my entry in honor of [Spot].
2007: Obviously he just doesn’t love Joe Bob enough.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: Okay, I promise that’s the last weepy I-miss-my-kitty entry.
2003: Bleach is the shit.
2002: Just for the record, Mike Tyson is the biggest fucking idiot in the entire world.
2001: How the hell am I going to get my ass on Survivor 3 if they’re looking for model types??
2000: I was quite excited, as I recall.

1/28/10 – Thursday

It is ABOUT GODDAMN TIME Elizabeth Edwards left that fucking douchebag. And that’s all I have to say about that. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I gots stuff to do, so in … Continue reading “1/28/10 – Thursday”

It is ABOUT GODDAMN TIME Elizabeth Edwards left that fucking douchebag.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

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I gots stuff to do, so in lieu of a real entry, I’m clearing out another folder I discovered in my /tmp folder. I named this one “Let me in/ let me out”, so guess what it’s about.

I think all the pictures are from last March, judging by the date stamp on them. And there’s a special appearance by da Boog!

Anyway, here you go:

Let me IN
Let me OUT

“I am in, and Newt is out. Therefore, I want out.”

“IN, PLEASE.”

“HELLO HI IN IN IN DID I MENTION IN?”

“Um. Did I say ‘in’? I meant OUT.”

“I SAID OUT, PLEASE. If you don’t let me out, I will take this drill and I will DRILL YOUR BRAIN until you let me OUT.”

Newt’s all “In, out, whatever.”

“Hi.”

“Boogie, let me in.”

“BOOGIE. Stop teasing. Let me IN, so I can hiss at you and box your ears!”

“Well, shit. How’d I end up in here?”

(Please note that there IS a cat door in the back door, leading into the back yard. And she and Newt know PERFECTLY well how to use it, but they much prefer to make us let them in and out ALL FUCKING DAY LONG.)

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The brudders, snuggling on the chair in the kitten room. The last few days, Steely Dan’s been wandering around the house for most of the morning, then asking to be let into the foster room with Fagen around 1:00 or so. He spends a few hours in there (usually Jake and Elwood go in there, too), and then comes back out when Fred goes up to check on them at 3:30, when he gets home from work. After dinner, we throw the foster room open, and Fagen is allowed to wander around the house for a few hours. The first night, Fagen was extremely skittish. Last night, I was laying on the couch reading a magazine, and he jumped up on me and asked to be petted. Definite progress!

Dan and Jake & Elwood love hanging out in the foster room for the afternoon because the sun shines through the windows, and it gets nice and warm in there. They snooze in the sun and could not look any happier.

Fagen and Elwood (Elwood’s got a complaint!)

It’s tiring work, carrying around all this fluff!

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“Hellew.”

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Previously
2009: Today marks a year since Spot died. And yesterday marked ~~four~~ five years since Tubby died.
2008: Yes, he is a good dog. No, we’re still not keeping him.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: Yesterday marked one year since Tubby died.
2004: Tubby is dead.
2003: No entry.
2002: Signs of spring.
2001: No entry.
2000: Some work day, huh?

1/27/10 – Wednesday (kittehs)

They’re getting ever closer to goal for Misty! 85% is awesome! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * For the rest of the month, 10 Top 10 Lists For Cat Lovers will donate money … Continue reading “1/27/10 – Wednesday (kittehs)”

They’re getting ever closer to goal for Misty! 85% is awesome!

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For the rest of the month, 10 Top 10 Lists For Cat Lovers will donate money from every sale of their ebook to Challenger’s House. Go check it out!

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Cheesecake pose.

Fagen on the cat tree in the guest bedroom.

Elwood, keeping Fagen company.

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Jake, sound asleep. I love it when they curl up like this!

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Previously
2009: “I sense oncoming snacks!”
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: Fuck you, Lesley Stahl.
2005: Yes, I look like a dork.
2004: Better paranoid than hitchhiking across the country to meet some perv though, eh?
2003: No online presence in the day and age where every Joe Dork has a page? Inconceivable!
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: Ooooh, lucky me, I got to go to the gynecologists’ today!

1/26/10 – Tuesday

You know how there are days when you have a million errands to run, but you don’t wanna run ’em? But there’s no one else who’ll run them, so you have no choice? Yesterday was one of those days for me. Though, really, none of my errands were so pressing that they couldn’t have been … Continue reading “1/26/10 – Tuesday”

You know how there are days when you have a million errands to run, but you don’t wanna run ’em? But there’s no one else who’ll run them, so you have no choice?

Yesterday was one of those days for me. Though, really, none of my errands were so pressing that they couldn’t have been put off a day or two, I wanted to get them done and over with. So I left the house a little after 9 got back home around noon. In between I:

* Stopped by Walgreen’s to look for Wild Berry Jolly Ranchers. I like the Wild Berry mix more then the original flavors, but they’re hard to find. And apparently Walgreen’s doesn’t carry them anymore, damnit, so I bought a bag of the original flavors. If I could buy a bag of JUST the wild strawberry flavor (the hard candies, not the gummies or chews), I’d be a happy camper.

* Stopped by TJ Maxx. I was at the TJ Maxx in South Huntsville last week, and saw that they had Mrs. Meyers Automatic Dishwashing Liquid for $5 a bottle. It usually runs in the area of $8 a bottle, so I decided to buy a single bottle and give it a try, figuring that I could give it a try, and if I liked it, I could stop at the TJ Maxx in Madison and buy more. As it turns out, I like the Lemon Verbena version quite a lot, so I wanted to get more before TJ Maxx sold out. I was ready to stock UP on that stuff, but they only had two bottles of the Lemon Verbena left, and the Lavender scent smells like ass to me, so I just bought the two they had, and called it good enough.

* Stopped by the place where I have my eyes examined to pick up the two boxes of contacts I’d ordered last week. I thought about looking at the glasses, but there were a lot of people in there, so I decided not to. I’ve already told Nance that she’s on the hook for going glasses shopping with me next time she comes to visit, because clearly I need someone to tell me what the hell to buy. My parents are coming to visit later this week, maybe I’ll drag my mother to the glasses place with me so she can advise me. Do I know how to show my guests a rollicking good time, or what?

* Stopped by Target because… well, I don’t think there was anything I needed, but I hadn’t been to Target in two weeks, so was going through withdrawal. I bought a few groceries, including a bag of Clementines (which are awesome), looked at the body pillows, and just generally wandered around. I didn’t end up buying a body pillow because for some reason they were not doing it for me. I’ll have to decide whether I really want one, or just think I do because the one Mary Louise Parker was hauling around in the most recently released season of Weeds on DVD looked so appealing. (Speaking of, I am enjoying the hell out of the delightfully creepy Shane.)

* Stopped by Petsmart to eyeball the cats (remember the little bitty bottle babies that I babysat for a few days, and then the woman who had them had a family crisis and decided to turn them over to Challenger’s House, so I had them here full-time for a few days before turning them over to another foster mom? The black one (Sweepie) was adopted over the weekend, and the black and white one (Sootie) is waiting for someone to come along and fall in love with him. He was curled up, sound asleep, looking mighty happy when I wandered by.) (Also, reading that entry I linked above made me realize that I REALLY FREAKIN’ MISS MY COOKIES AND MY WONKAS.)), and then look at the food storage containers. The containers I keep the cat food in right now look like this and I thought I’d prefer to replace them with a couple of these, but after much looking and dithering, I decided that what I already have works just fine. I bought some bird seed and a few cat toys, and left.

* Stopped by Publix to pick up my Synthroid prescription.

And then I was home again! Now I don’t need to run any errands for at least a few more days – which is good, because the house needs some cleaning before my parents get here on Thursday, and also I have at least three episodes of Hoarders taking up space on the DVR, so I need to get to watching!

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A couple of you asked how George and Gracie did with all the rain. They were fine – when the weather’s going to be horribly nasty and rainy like it was over the weekend, Fred leaves the coop open at night so they can get inside out of the rain. Of course, if they were ever desperate, they could get in out of the rain in the dog house that Fred built for them on the back side of the coop (it’s well sheltered and elevated and stays nice and dry), but they could not be less interested in that dog house.

They thought the water was great fun, though – more than once I looked out to see them running through the water in the corner of the back forty, water that was up past their bellies.

I think that scientists need to take up the study of whatever George and Gracie’s fur is made of – I swear to god, they’ll get horribly muddy and nasty looking, and then a few hours later they’ll be completely clean again. I tell Fred I think their fur is made of Teflon, and the dirt just slides right off.

Taken not ten minutes ago. Look at those guilty faces. “We weren’t slacking off in the coop! We were, uh, investigating! Some suspicious chicken poop!”

Please shed that chicken poop ASAP, George, if you don’t mind.

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This is how organized I am – I stumbled across a folder on my hard drive labeled “Stuff I bought.” This folder had pictures I’d taken of stuff I bought, that I wanted to show y’all.

This stuff I bought, when did I buy it and take these pictures, you ask? September of 2007. Good lord. And it’s not like the folder was hidden or anything – I tend to put everything in my /tmp folder before I ultimately file everything (it works for me), and the “Stuff I Bought” folder was a subfolder of the /tmp folder, so I’ve been scrolling past it at least once a day for the last two years and some months.

So here you go, here’s some stuff I bought back in 2007!

Coaster. It cracks me UP.

Refrigerator magnets.

Watermelon cat on the left, and onion cats (salt and pepper shakers) on the right.

Catnip mat. I’m not even sure where this is. I think one of the evil little bastards peed on it.

A tin of catnip with toy mice inside. The cats REALLY liked these mice, as I recall.

This is a spoon rest, but I’d like to figure out a way to mount it and hang it on the wall. Suggestions?

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Fagen TRULY does not like being alone. If he’s in the room alone, he howls and howls. Luckily, Jake and Elwood are very good about going in and keeping him company (though to be honest, I’m pretty sure their interest lies more in the fact that there’s a bowl of Science Diet kitten food in there and fun toys). He ran out the door yesterday evening, so we waited to see how he’d do, running around the house.

Not very well, is how he did, and having him out running around actually made Dan start to revert to his skittish behavior. So back into the room we put Fagen. My parents are coming to visit later this week with their dog Benji (who is a very nice dog), and I’m curious to see what Dan’s reaction to the dog will be.

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At Christmas, Fred’s father and stepmother offered us a few things they’d cleared out of their attic. One of those things was a basket. I liked the size and color of it, though when I took it, I wasn’t sure what we were going to do with it. I tried putting a cat bed in it, and put it in the front room, and one of our cats reacted by peeing in it. (Grrr.) So once it was cleaned up and destinkified, I put another cat bed in it, and we put it on top of the canning cabinet in the dining room, where Stinkerbelle always sleeps.

Oh, she had a FIT because we took her old bed away and replaced it with this horrible basket FILLED with cat beds to make it ever more comfy for her Highness. She made her angry high-pitched meow, she stomped around, she glared at the basket. Fred caved in less than an hour.

“I’m going to put a bed back up there next to the basket,” he said. “She doesn’t like the basket!”

“Well, give it a DAY before you give up on it!” I said, but he would not be dissuaded, and he put a bed up there next to the basket.

The next morning, I was leaving the house, and glanced into the dining room. There, curled up in the basket, looking as happy as she could possibly look, was Princess Stinkerbelle. I snapped a picture and sent it to Fred, saying “Poor, poor Stinky. It’s a rough life!”

Note that the basket is actually sitting on top of a cat bed so it doesn’t rock back and forth when she’s climbing in and out. SO SPOILED.

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Previously
2009: You are correct, sir.
2008: The dog continues to improve. (Read here to see how the dog came to be in our possession.)
2007: Are ya feelin’ bubbly, punk? Well? Are ya?
2006: I think it would be hilarious if someone started manufacturing imitation Maui Jim sunglasses and called them “Oahu James” sunglasses.
2005: I figure they’re professionals and know what they’re doing, so I have no desire to clutter up the small amount of space left in my brain with that kind of information.
2004: I sense that there is a battle of epic proportions in my future, a show-down between Miz Poo and I as to just WHO the blanket belongs to.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: But don’t tell Miz Poo I’m admiring another cat, please…
2000: It’s a conspiracy!

1/25/10 – Monday

I can’t help it, this made me laugh and laugh, probably because Taylor Momsen strikes me as an annoying emo twit. I love a good typo. I will remember Tami from The Real World and “It wasn’t not funny!” until my dying day, I swear. * * * * * * * * * … Continue reading “1/25/10 – Monday”

I can’t help it, this made me laugh and laugh, probably because Taylor Momsen strikes me as an annoying emo twit. I love a good typo.

I will remember Tami from The Real World and “It wasn’t not funny!” until my dying day, I swear.

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I’m really really ready for about a month of no rain. We got pounded with rain early Sunday morning, and this is what it looked like around 9:00.

From the back door, looking left. (Large version here.)

From the back door, looking toward the right. (Large version here.)

Off the side stoop. (Large version here.)

We went out to do some shopping – looking for a new TV console – and by the time we got home about an hour and a half later the water had fallen drastically, but there’s still plenty of standing water to make it highly unpleasant out there.

Fred had a guy come out and talk to him about moving dirt around on our land so that when it rains like this, the back forty doesn’t flood, and under the Poltergeist tree (between the house and the small chicken yard) isn’t knee-depth mud from October to June every year. One of the things he recommended was – can you guess? – to have him dig us a pond so he can use the dirt from that to kind of shape the rest of the property.

Long time readers might remember that we used to have a pond, out between the back yard and the beginning of the back forty, and we had a year and a half of such dry weather that the pond was dried up most of the time, and we were all “This is ridiculous! We could use that land for so much more! Let’s have it filled in!” We had it filled in about two years ago, and guess what we’ve done with all that land?

Not a goddamn thing.

We’ll likely have the pond dug out in the back part of the pig yard so that they can get in it and swim around, rather than put a pond right back where it used to be.

Fred said something yesterday about having fish in the pond, and I was all aghast, all “But the pigs are going to be swimming around in the pond, shitting it up! I’m not eating pig shit fish for dinner!”

Fred just laughed at me. But I’m serious! No pig shit fish for me, THANK YOU.

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Even the birds are sick and tired of the damn rain. (This woodpecker was on the pecan tree right outside the window over my desk. He’d been halfheartedly pecking at a pecan, then gave up and just sat there staring up into the sky.)

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For the rest of the month (well, it’s been all month long, I’ve just been a slacker about linking to it!), 10 Top 10 Lists For Cat Lovers will donate money from every sale of their ebook to Challenger’s House. Go give it a look-see!

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83% of the way to goal for sweet Misty!

(You can read more about Misty at her ChipIn page.)

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So, on Saturday, we separated Fagen and Steely Dan for the day. Fagen was SO super friendly every time I went into the room to hang out with him, that when I opened his door that evening to go inside and he ran out of the room, I decided to let him have the run of the upstairs for the rest of the evening, and see how that went. I pulled the half-door across the hallway so that in addition to having the run of his room and part of the hallway, he could go into my room and the bathroom as well. He did a lot of low running around, and when I approached him, he’d skeedaddle away from me. We brought Steely Dan upstairs to hang out with him, and Steely Dan was more curious than scared.

At 9:30, we went upstairs to gather them up and put them in the foster room. Dan was no problem at all – Fred went upstairs, picked him up, and carried him into the foster room. Fagen, on the other hand, was hiding under my bed and wouldn’t let either of us touch him. We finally got him to run out from under the bed, and when he ran toward the foster room, Fred opened the door, and Fagen ran right inside.

So separating them seems to have had a different effect on each of them – Steely Dan is pretty much your average kitten now. If you approach him and hold out your hand to him and talk softly, he’ll come over and bump his head up into your hand for a pet. Fagen is friendlier than he was, but if you give him too much space to roam, it makes him nervous, and he reverts to his scaredy-cat ways.

Yesterday, we let Steely Dan have the run of the house, and brought Fagen downstairs to hang out in the guest bedroom (with plenty of visits from Fred and I, and Jake and Elwood, and even Steely Dan a few times). It went well – Steely Dan really likes having the run of the house, and doesn’t run from us or hide. He sat with us last night while we were watching TV. Fagen just needs a little more time, apparently!

That’s okay, we’ve got plenty of time.

When I say to him, “Fagen, are you the pretty boy?” he stops and thinks about it for a moment, and then meows. Apparently the answer is “Yes. Yes I AM the pretty boy!”

Dramatic Kitteh is Dramatic.

Dan in the guest bedroom.

Talk about your sultry look!

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Suggie in the Sug Cave! (Also known as the Room with a View, which I got for half price back in December! Sugarbutt has claimed the cave part as his own, and the other cats seem to be respecting that, for the most part.)

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Previously
2009: No entry.
2008: Yes, he’s cute. No, we’re not keeping him.
2007: That damn sponge will never glare malevolently at me again, I’m sure of it.
2006: “Thy-y-y-yme is my crack! Yes it is!”
2005: He emailed me back immediately. You’re already too old to die tragically young.
2004: No entry.
2003: No entry.
2002: And Mildred and Myrtle were hanging out merrily in their very sheer bright yellow bra, waving at all and sundry.
2001: Just thinking about it makes me grumpy.
2000: Y’all stay warm, now!

1/24/10 – Sunday (kittehs)

They’re 81% of the way to goal for sweet Misty! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A wonderful update on Mike and Gus (who are now Topher and Dorian)! I swear, when I … Continue reading “1/24/10 – Sunday (kittehs)”

They’re 81% of the way to goal for sweet Misty!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A wonderful update on Mike and Gus (who are now Topher and Dorian)! I swear, when I opened the email and saw those pictures of the boys, I SQUEALED, I was so delighted to see them!

Updates on our beloved Mike & Gus (we’ve successfully
switched Gus’s name to Dorian now, but still occasionally call
Topher Mike out of habit)

They’ve both warmed to us. Mike, especially, is SUCH a HUGE baby!
I’ve never seen a cat that dog-like in his desire for attention (in a
good way). He turns into a loud purring machine as soon as we get
close to him, and purrs nonstop while we pet him. He’ll actively
climb onto us and roll around like a baby, aggressively rub his head
and nose and cheeks against our hands and just BASK in love with this
blissful look on his face, it’s so funny! Dorian, on the other hand,
fits his new name perfectly. He’s a beautiful, graceful, and an
exceedingly inquisitive creature. He likes being near us – he’ll walk
over to us, rub our legs with his magnificent fur, and grace us with
his presence. Mike, on the other hand, will climb onto us, put his
head under our arms and flip over asking for a belly rub. He even
drools sometimes when we pet him, and then rub his drool-y cheeks all
over our hands! Is that adorable or what! Dorian, by the way,
LOVES to play. Mike does too. Mike plays in this cute clumsy way –
he’ll chase and chase and jump but just not quite catch the jingling
feather teaser. Dorian, on the other hand, will stalk, watch, and at
the right moment pounce, sprint, leap, and catch the teaser with dead
precision in midair (the teaser is moving rapidly in midair, mind you,
it’s not like we hold it still for him) with his claws and mouth, flip
over, land, and hold on to it tightly while growling and looking
around. I love watching Dorian play, he’s amazingly graceful and
precise in his movements, and the speed with which he sprints! We
play with them multiple times daily and we’re still impressed by him.

Here are some pictures of them we took. I apologize for the lack of
action-pictures. My camera is shitty and action pictures generally
turn into a blur, which is just too bad because they do the cutest
things when playing.

Beautiful Dorian and Topher napping on our couch.

Topher, HUGGING Dorian as they napped.

Dorian, showing off his leg. I couldn’t resist taking
this picture because it looked like a heart-shaped kitty nappy
position.

One of Dorian’s favorite hang-out places. My bookshelf.

Another GQ shot of Dorian, this time endorsing a lens cleanser.

We noticed today that Topher’s super long “eyebrows”
have twirly ends! How did that happen?!

Dorian, being a successful jingling-feather predator.

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Previously
2009: No entry.
2008: The Annoying of the Poo, a step-by-step instructional guide.
2007: I’d sell all the kitties into kitty slavery for an iPhone.
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?

1/23/10 – Saturday (kittehs)

Awesome news – HYDROX WAS ADOPTED YESTERDAY!!!! Last week when Keebler and Pink were adopted together, they put Hydrox in a cage with another kitten (Maynard), and they both were adopted together! Hydrox is going to get a new name – Oreo. Hey, at least it’s in keeping with the cookie theme, right? I’m so … Continue reading “1/23/10 – Saturday (kittehs)”

Awesome news – HYDROX WAS ADOPTED YESTERDAY!!!!

Last week when Keebler and Pink were adopted together, they put Hydrox in a cage with another kitten (Maynard), and they both were adopted together!

Hydrox is going to get a new name – Oreo. Hey, at least it’s in keeping with the cookie theme, right?

I’m so thrilled for Hydrox! I was so worried about him, worried that no one would fall in love with his big baby ways, but apparently the right person came along.

Yay!!!!

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Sweet Misty is now at 78% of the way to the fundraising goal so that she can have surgery for megacolon!

You can read more about Misty over at ChipIn. 78% is so close! I love seeing the numbers climb. Have I perhaps mentioned that y’all rock? Because you do, indeed!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Yesterday, I made the decision to separate Steely Dan and Fagen. We’ve separated super skittish kittens in the past, and it always works like a charm. Steely Dan and Fagen clearly want to be held and petted, but they seem to feed off each others’ fear. I had considered separating them when we first got them, but wanted to see how they’d do together.

When Fred got home from work yesterday afternoon, we brought Steely Dan down into the guest bedroom and left Fagen in the foster room. After half an hour, we went in and saw each of them, and it’s like someone had hit a switch. The fear was 90% gone, and in fact when I walked into the foster room, Fagen greeted me at the door, howled at me the entire time I walked across the room, and then jumped up into my lap. Every time either of us went in to see him from then on, he would run under the chair for a second, then come out to be petted and kissed and loved on.

I’m not sure why separating skittish and semi-feral kittens works so well, but it always does. Like I said, they seem to feed off each others’ fear, and once they’re separate, the fear goes away.

We left them separate until bedtime, but then Fagen began howling sadly from his room. I’m pretty certain that neither of them has been completely alone in their entire short lives. After a few minutes I couldn’t stand the sad howling, so I went downstairs and got Steely Dan and put him back into the foster room.

This morning when I went into the foster room, they were back to their skittish ways. So I brought Dan downstairs and put him in the guest bedroom, and again the lack of fear from both of them was almost instantaneous. We’ll keep them separate during the day for a few more days, and put them back together at night so they won’t be lonely. I’m afraid that putting them back together will just bring the fearful behavior back, but I can’t stand the thought of them being alone.

We’ll see how it goes!

Don’t feel too bad for them, though – not only do we both spend a lot of time hanging out with them, but Jake and Elwood are also spending time in the rooms with them as well. The idea isn’t so much to make them so lonely they seek love from us, but to break the cycle of feeding off each others’ fear so that they’re adoptable. If you have a few super-skittish or semi-feral kittens, try separating them – like I said, we’ve never had it not work for us.

Yesterday, I brushed them. Dan loves a good brushing; Fagen isn’t crazy about the brushing, but he’ll put up with it.

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Previously
2009: I forgot how much hotter Sawyer was with short hair!
2008: Since it’s getting late and I need to scoot out of here, how ’bout some links to check out, some pictures to admire, and a promise to see you tomorrow?
2007: Questions answered.
2006: You can’t ride two horses with one ass.
2005: No entry.
2004: Damn Home Depot.
2003: Yep. READY FOR SPRING!
2002: Sam’s rocks. Just so you know.
2001: I don’t know how on earth I missed it the first time around. But I’m sure it was Fred’s fault.
2000: “Fred, is F-A-G a bad word?”

1/22/10 – Friday

I love, love my Kindle – esp for the huge, heavy books. A hint: go to the Kindle books page on Amazon regularly and they always have free books (look under the Kindle bestsellers). A lot of the first books in a mystery and even fantasy series are offered regularly as are other authors – … Continue reading “1/22/10 – Friday”

Oh, I stalk the Kindle store every day to see if there’s anything new I can download for free. I just finished reading Suite Scarlett, which I downloaded for free (and enjoyed a lot!). I’ve downloaded other free books as well, including a Jane Austen novel I can’t remember the name of. Pride and Prejudice, I believe. The free downloads are awesome!

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Don’t know if you can organize it but you really should not have to have your blood taken that many times in a week. The docs should be able to consolidate what they need and have you go in one time for a draw. Want me to come down there and kick some doc butt?

It really wasn’t the fault of my doctors – I didn’t think far enough ahead to realize I was going to require having so much blood taken in the space of one week. Had I, I would have encouraged communication between the surgeons and the hematologist to see if one session would have gotten all the blood required (and I’m sure my insurance would have appreciated it, too!). I’ll have to keep that in mind for next time! (I’ll keep you in mind for doctor butt-kicking, though, Elaine. I’m sure they need their butts kicked, just on general principle.)

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Feb 10 is not that far away. The Uterus seems to have powers though. It got you sick so you could not remove it and therefore kill it. I would try to fool it by saying the wrong date for the surgery, a later date of course, any time you speak about the surgery. Then if you must communicate you could write a note with the date on it. I don’t think Uteri can read.

and

I believe Elaine knows Uteri…I too, suspected this was a plot by your uterus. Go with Elaine’s plan to speak aloud a later date. And for goodness’ sake, if you have to write the actual date down, take no chances! Make sure you’re wearing pants, where the Uterus can’t see, just in case it taught itself to read. 😉

Very VERY good point, Elaine and Jean! The uterus is a wily organ and should not be underestimated. From here on out, when discussing the upcoming surgery, I will say the date in Pig Latin – Ebruaryfay enthtay – as the uterus is known for being unable to speak foreign languages.

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How did Fred do in taking care of you while you were sick?

The problem is that when I’m truly sick, all I want is to be left alone. He’s very good at that, coming in to look at me and ask “Are you better yet?” every once in a while, but leaving me alone otherwise. It’s when I’m on the mend that I want to be pampered, and then he knows I’m just lollygagging and rolls his eyes when I weakly say “Could you bring me a drink? I’m so thirsty…” :::dramatic hand to forehead:::

I only asked him to scoop the litter boxes for me once while I was sick (well, one and a half times – the half would be when I didn’t want to haul my ass upstairs and asked him to do the litter boxes up there, and did the downstairs ones myself), and did so uncomplainingly.

He’s not a bad nurse.

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Do you have a case for your Kindle and if so, which one? I am trying to figure out what kind I want.

When I ordered the Kindle, I got this case for it because it was the cheapest one I could find. But it’s a pain in the ass sliding the Kindle into the case, especially when you’re at an appointment and they call you back, and you have to fumble with getting it back into the case and zipping it closed.

So I got another case – it looks kind of like this one, but I got mine off eBay, because holy hell are Kindle cases expensive. It’s a lot more convenient than the first case, because you can leave the Kindle in the case, and just open the case like a book. But like I did, I highly recommend you look on eBay for a case, because did I mention those things are expensive?

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Robyn, as a fellow WLS patient, I had to laugh my azz off at this comment you made:
“I left the office with enough time to run to McDonald’s and get a cheeseburger, which I ate in the parking lot of my weight loss surgeon’s office building.” What a contradiction in terms – McDonalds cheeseburger/WL surgeon — ROFL. But I totally understand.

I was sitting there eating, and thinking “With my luck, he’s going to walk RIGHT by my car and see me here, eating this crappy cheeseburger and give me shit for it!” He didn’t, though. It’s a big office building, so I got lucky. 🙂

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Yogurt is slimy and gross. Gak. I can manage it if I eat the Yoplait Whip kind, but that’s about it. I take acidophalus (sp?) in pill form daily b/c I used to get yeast infections so often. Works like a charm.

Enough people mentioned the acidophilus pills, that I picked up a box of them yesterday and will give them a try!

I did find ONE yogurt I can stomach – Light & Fit Key Lime Pie isn’t bad. I mean, I’ll never CRAVE it, but it’s less yogurty than the other flavors I got.

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I always thought it had to be live yogurt for it to counteract the antibiotics potential side effects – is the stuff you take the live one? I hate yogurt too – bleugh!

Yep, you’re supposed to be sure they have “active yogurt cultures including L. Acidophilus”, and Light & Fit yogurt does. Actually, I picked up several different brands to check, and all of them had that listed. I think it’s the norm, these days.

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As for the vinegar as a douche; it works like a charm. Only one time and the infection is gone. It is what I use to get rid of a yeast infection; but be fair warned it burns like the dickens. Especially, if the infection is really bad.

That’s what the nurse told me, that it burns like hell but works really well. I’m still going to aim for prevention, just to be on the safe side. I don’t need any burning, if I can possibly avoid it. 🙂

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I’ve also heard that cranberry juice works to prevent a yeast infection when on antibiotics.

I’ve never heard that! I’ve heard cranberry juice helps with a urinary tract infection, but hadn’t heard that it works for a yeast infection as well. It’s a miracle juice!

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Yogurt suppositories knock out a yeast infection in one night! (As long as it’s plain, unsweetened yogurt.) I’m a nurse and luckily have easy access to many vagina-sized syringes (hee) and I fill one up with yogurt and inject it to do its magic on the yeastie beasties overnight. Pharmacies will give or sell you syringes as well.

This makes me want to go into a pharmacy and bellow “May I have a vagina-sized syringe, if you please!”, just to see the reaction!

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Even though we’ve never met, I must really trust you because I swear every time you put up one of those widgets collecting money for kitties, I click! If you weren’t honest, you & Fred could’ve gone to Tahiti by now! 🙂

Hey, Tahiti’s expensive, give us a few year to bilk y’all out of your money to build up enough money to really live it large in Tahiti!

Seriously, though, the reason I always link to the charity who’s raising money for these causes is because I don’t want to have anything to do with handling the money! Let them deal with it, I’ll just point y’all in their direction. 🙂

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Steely Dan kinda looks like a furry Mister Boogers.

Indeed he does, down to the white on his chest, and the white paws!

And Fagen looks like Fancypants!

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Does the ear in the second picture looked like some photoshopped skull picture to anyone else? Is that weird?

I can kind of see that!

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In the comments yesterday, Suzanne (who’s helping with the fundraising for Misty, the kitten who needs surgery for megacolon), said:

Robyn…you have my utmost appreciation for posting Misty’s story for all to see. In less than four days we are almost at goal…thank you for taking the time to spread the word. Between you and your friends, you are going to make one little kitty a very happy and blessed girl…healthy too!! My thanks to everyone who contributed, almost 50 animal lovers…AWESOME!!!!!!! With respect and best wishes to all, Suzanne

But then, later, I got an email from her. It turns out that there was a miscommunication (or lack of communication) from the charity aiding Misty’s owner in raising funds for surgery, and the surgery will cost more than the $1,000 they originally thought. Suzanne said, on the ChipIn page, in part:

So we contacted the vet with the awesome news that we had reached our goal of $1,000…she’s completely in awe that we collected that much in donations in only four days…

But…Uh oh…not so fast…apparently our goal number is so far off!!

The Birmingham vet bill will be closer to $2,000…so we have gone ahead and changed our goal to $2,200 and we will continue to “solicit” donations until we can reach that number.

I am so utterly sorry for any confusion. This is what happens when you are not completely in the loop. I (Suzanne, the fundraising queen) get pulled in by groups and people other than my core volunteer groups (SNAP and Forgotten Felines) and so I don’t talk with the vets on a personal level. I rely on the information given to me by, say, No Greater Love, and it’s leader.

So we thought for a little while yesterday that the goal had been reached, but as it turns out, it hadn’t. The goal has been raised on the ChipIn page, and thus far they’re 55% to goal. So keep spreading the word, if you would.

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Awww, look what I found on my memory stick!

That’s Mike, mid-yawn, next to Hydrox, with Gus in the background!

Mike, Hydrox, and Jake, sharing a bed (and doesn’t Jake look thrilled about it!)

It was a nice surprise to unexpectedly see their little faces again!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Yesterday, every time I walked into the foster room and sat down, Fagen made a beeline for my lap. It took coaxing to get him actually up in my lap, but he ended up there every time. Steely Dan would sit up, stretch, look at me, and go back to sleep, but Fagen would roll around in my lap and purr and purr. I told Fred last week that although Steely Dan was the friendlier of the two, I thought that Fagen would end up being more of a lapcat. He clearly wanted so badly to be held, even as he was skittering away from us.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re both still skittish, but it’s nice to see Fagen slowly overcoming his fear to come and get the love he craves!

Chomping on the camera strap.

Atop the cat tree, Steely Dan decides whether coming down for petting is worth it.

Considering.

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It’s da Newt. (And thus ends what turned out to be the Week o’ Newt!)

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Previously
2009: First time in my life the weight on my driver’s license has been anything but a flat-out lie, believe you me.
2008: If you can’t wander around in your nightgown and parka in the country, where can you?
2007: more than once I got frustrated and called Fred at work and wove an impressive tapestry of profanity that impressed him
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: You don’t actually have to say the words “You’re a dumbass” to get the idea across, and thus when your wife is mad at you later and you so very innocently say “Are you mad about something?” and she says “YOU CALLED ME A DUMBASS!” and you say “I did NOT call you a dumbass!”, you are wrong and she is right and you’d best commence to begging for forgiveness, you fucker.
2003: Little bastard.
2002: I can’t believe I’m FUCKING FALLING DOWN.
2001: No entry.
2000: I apologize for the lameness of this entry.

1/21/10 – Thursday

Today, my uterus is gloating because had things gone as planned, it would be GONE. Instead, it’s here to make my life annoying and bloaty and crampy for another threeish weeks. Gloat on, my friend. I’LL WIN IN THE END, even if I have to evict you myself with a rusty fork and a cat … Continue reading “1/21/10 – Thursday”

Today, my uterus is gloating because had things gone as planned, it would be GONE. Instead, it’s here to make my life annoying and bloaty and crampy for another threeish weeks.

Gloat on, my friend. I’LL WIN IN THE END, even if I have to evict you myself with a rusty fork and a cat to mop my brow while I’m operating!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A few months ago, I was running low on multi-vitamins, so I did a casual look around the internet to see where I could find them the cheapest. I buy Bariatric Wellness multi-vitamins (and calcium) because they’re chewable and thus (one assumes) easy to absorb. Also, I take two big-ass glucosamine/ choindroitin pills every morning, and the chewable multi-vitamins coat my mouth so that I can get the glucosamine pills down without gagging on the taste.

Anyway, either they were cheapest the Bariatric Advantage main site, or I decided to just get them there because I could get calcium and iron at the same time. In any case, I placed the order and eventually it arrived.

Then a week after it arrived, I was going somewhere and checked my cell phone (I rarely check my cell phone unless I’m bored or on my way out the door – thus the reason, if you text me, I tend not to get back to you for hours) and saw that I had a message. It was Bob from Bariatric Advantage who was just calling to make sure I’d gotten my order and OH, did I know that I could sign up for recurring shipping so that when Bariatric Advantage’s records had determined that it was time for me to be running low, rather than me having to do all that pesky logging onto the computer and placing the order, they’d just SEND me what I needed and charge my card? Was I aware of this super-fabulous option? WAS I? Bob wanted to let me know that he was there for me whenever I needed, I could just give him a call and sign up for the recurring bullshit AT ANY TIME.

I rolled my eyes and erased the message.

I got, basically, the same message a few weeks later, rolled my eyes, thanked god that I hadn’t given them my home phone number (the cell phone is much easier to ignore, given that I only hear it ringing if I happen to be right there on top of it), and erased the message.

Then there was, basically, radio silence from Bariatric Advantage until last week. Apparently a red flag went up in the Bariatric Advantage database and an alarm signal was generated throughout the building and people went running to and fro screaming that “OH MY GOD ROBYN AND3RSON IS OUT OF MULTI-VITAMINS, SHE MUST BE, IT IS TIME, WE MUST BE SURE THAT SHE IS TAKING HER VITAMINS!”, because I got another call from Bob.

Eye roll, delete.

Two days later, another call.

Eye roll, delete.

And then they decided to get serious and hit me where I live. Those fuckers sent me an email.

DearRobyn:

Thank you for choosing Bariatric Advantage for your all your micronutrient needs. We are following up in regards to the order that was placed on 9/28/2009.

We at Bariatric advantage want to ensure you are staying compliant with your doctor’s orders. If, you are ready to place a new order please contact us at (blah blah blah).

Oh hello, WHAT THE FUCK? You want to “ensure” that I am staying “compliant” with my doctor’s orders? I’m so sorry, am I 10 years old? Do I need you fucking assholes to come along and watch over me and make sure I chew my chewable vitamin every day?

No, thank you, I’m 42 years old and I have somehow managed to figure out the terribly complicated vitamin regimen my doctor has put me on. I know that many of we post-gastric bypass surgery patients are drooling goddamn idiots and somehow “Two multi-vitamins every day” is beyond us, and THANK GOD we have you to prod us into staying COMPLIANT. Could you maybe send someone over to slap me upside the head if I forget to swallow after I chew my multi-vitamin, because I AM SO STUPID I need you to tell me how to live my life correctly.

You may certainly go fuck yourself, Bariatric Advantage, because I do not need you standing over me making sure I’m “compliant*” because oh, right, YOU HAVE MY BEST INTERESTS AT HEART. My best interests which are, you know, attached directly to your profit margin.

ALSO, maybe spend a little less time harassing people who have purchased from you once and WILL NEVER PURCHASE FROM YOU EVER AGAIN, and maybe proofread your goddamn form emails.

So I’m dumping Bariatric Advantage. Other post-WLS patients, I know you’re out there – what NON Bariatric Advantage supplements do you recommend?

*LOATHE LOATHE LOATHE the word “compliant” when used in that way because it implies (to me) that you are a stupid, troublesome patient and also that MY DOCTOR IS THE BOSS OF ME AND HE IS NOT. I also CANNOT STAND “denies”, as in when your doctor says “Do you have a headache?” and you say “No” because, well, you do not have a headache and then your doctor writes “Pt. denies headache” AS IF YOU ARE HIDING SOMETHING.

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How AWESOME are you guys? Answer: SUPER AWESOME! Misty, the sweet kitten who needs surgery for her megacolon is a mere $135 away from being fully funded!

You guys are absolutely awesome – thank you to everyone who has donated, and to everyone who’s spreading the word. I’m sure if Misty could, she’d hunt every one of you down and snorgle you ’til you begged for mercy.

You can read more about Misty here.

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“Who, ME?”

Keeping an eye on Fred.

THAT ain’t a look o’ love!

Once these guys are calm enough around us, I’m going to break out the brush and see how they like being brushed. They could certainly use some brushing!

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“Just hanging out on the dining room table, reading my Jack Reacher book. You got a problem with that?”

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Previously
2009: Eric Stoltz makes a REALLY good creepy serial killer.
2008: We were in bed asleep by 10:00, because we are such the party people.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: Yeah, it doesn’t take a whole lot to make us laugh, I guess.
2004: Now isn’t there anything we can do to force Joey Buttafuoco back into obscurity?
2003: So if you meet me in person and expect a “Mighty fucking fine to meet you, fuckface!”, you’ll likely be disappointed.
2002: Wrong on that one, Brigitte. Trust me.
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.

1/20/10 – Wednesday

Yesterday I got through the last round of my medical appointments (hopefully for the YEAR), and I’m glad to have them over with. I left the house at 9:45 for my 10:30 appointment with the hematologist armed with my Kindle, my iPod, and a big-ass bottle of water. I got there right on time, was called back for my vitals half an hour later, sat in another waiting room for another hour, and then in the exam room for another half hour. I had my Kindle, I had my water, I had my phone for texting, and I just kicked back and relaxed while I waited.

Man, that place has some TRAFFIC going through it. They must have funneled upwards of 30 people in and out while I sat in the waiting room (my hematologist and his partners are also oncologists). At the two hour mark, the nurse came in and discussed my lab results with me.

Boring story short, my numbers are fine, my B12 is a bit low, I need to up my B12 (which I take sublingually), and if it’s still low next time we’ll discuss getting me taught to give myself B12 injections. Back in 3 months for more labs (but don’t need to bother with the office visit), and back another 3 months after that for more labs and then an office visit.

I left the office with enough time to run to McDonald’s and get a cheeseburger, which I ate in the parking lot of my weight loss surgeon’s office building. I regretted the cheeseburger almost immediately because it was overseasoned and super salty and just blech. Also, I kept burping up onion, which is ever so lovely.

(Aside: when I worked at McDonald’s back when the world began, those onions on the burgers were called “recons” because they were reconstituted onions. I wonder if they still have to reconstitute pans of them at a time?)

I sat in the parking lot and listened to Keith and the Girl on my iPod while I cleaned out my purse, and then I put the iPod away and read on my Kindle until 15 minutes before my appointment. I thought that perhaps if I showed up a little early, maybe they’d take me a little early. And even if they didn’t, I could sit in one of the huge, comfy chairs in the waiting room and watch some bad soap opera acting.

The soap opera acting was SO bad that I ended up sitting and reading until I tuned into the conversation going on over at the reception window. At first I thought the patient was having an issue with having to pay her copay, but after some intense listening on my part, I discovered that she owed the office some money for not showing up for previous appointments, and they wouldn’t allow her to keep her scheduled appointment unless she either paid or made arrangements to pay.

I was called back to be weighed and have my blood pressure taken, and then somehow I got into a conversation with the nurse wherein I told her that I was on antibiotics and feeling just fine, but concerned that I’d develop a yeast infection from them, so I was gagging down a cup of yogurt every day. (I have come to the conclusion that yogurt is a taste I just don’t care for, no matter the brand, no matter the flavor, just ugh. Though the Greek stuff is not bad, it’s not something I would ever CRAVE, either.)

And she told me that you can use vinegar to get rid of a yeast infection, both as a douche and to apply externally. Who knew? But I’ll still gag down the yogurt a day to prevent it from occurring in the first place, thanks.

I was so geared up to deal with the surgeon being his usual jackass self that when he came in and was perfectly nice and perfectly brief and the hell out of there, that I was thrown for a loop.

THAT DAMN MAN LOVES TO KEEP ME OFF-BALANCE.

(Seriously, can you believe it’s been 4 years (the end of this month) since I had weight loss surgery??)

When I walked out of the building, it was 2:20, so I went over to TJ Maxx, browsed for a while, and then headed into Huntsville to meet Fred for a super-early dinner. I’d been craving Olive Garden since before my birthday, and I figured that it’s a rare occasion when Fred and I are both in the right area at the right time of day, so I was going to drag him there for dinner whether he liked it or not.

I was almost at Olive Garden when my cell phone rang. It was my plastic surgeon’s office, reminding me that I had an appointment today at 3:15.

“I do?” I said in surprise. She said that I did, I figured it was some sort of follow up appointment for my lower body lift, and I told her I’d be there, and hung up.

When I got to Olive Garden, Fred was waiting, and I told him about the call I’d just gotten. I’d actually thought about it after I hung up, and now would be an odd time for a follow up appointment on the lower body lift. I had that done in May of 2008, so it wouldn’t be a two year follow up, and in any case, I pretty distinctly remembered him telling me I didn’t need to come back unless I had any problems.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Call them back and ask.”

We went inside and were seated, and after we placed our orders, I took my cell phone back outside and called them back.

“I don’t mean to be stupid,” I said after I told them who I was. “But can you tell me what my appointment is for?”

She looked and then said “Juvederm.” Oh no. No, no, no. Nothing injected into my face, thank you.

“I didn’t make that appointment,” I told her. “I need to cancel it.”

We discussed it for a few minutes, decided that maybe the name had been entered incorrectly (or hell, maybe there’s another Robyn Anders0n who goes there, who knows?), she apologized, I told her it was okay, and we hung up.

Our food came really quickly, we ate, got our leftovers boxed up, and were headed home by 4.

(The best thing about eating out: leftovers for lunch the next day! In this case, I’ve got my leftovers for lunch today, and Fred’s for tomorrow!)

I always hate being away from home for so long, and am certain every time that I’ll find the house in smoking ruins, the dogs out running wild, and the chickens running around like idiots (which they do pretty much all the time, so that would be nothing new). But the house was in one piece, the cats were ready for their snack, and the litter boxes were ready for scooping!

I have no appointments for the rest of the week, so I’m going to take advantage and (1) do some damn housecleaning and (2) start watching the new season of Weeds, which just came out on DVD!

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Speaking of TV, we watched the first 2 hours of the new season of 24 on Sunday (well, the first hour on Sunday, the second on Monday), and have you guys seen this? Because Katee Sackhoff is on the show (Battlestar Gallactica fans will remember her as Starbuck), and let me tell you what – that girl has been BOTOXED to within an inch of her life. Her face literally DOES NOT MOVE as she tries valiantly to emote. At one point I burst out laughing because she was trying SO VERY HARD to frown, and her eyebrows did not so much as twitch.

Young Hollywood, please STOP THIS SHIT. It’s horrifying.

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Are you, at this exact second, saying to yourself, “Self, I wonder if it is at all possible to make Pioneer Woman’s friend Pam Anderson’s Best Baked Beans Ever, only instead of making and eating them right away, can them? Is that possible? Do you think, Self? Could it BE?”

I’m here to tell you that yes indeedy, it is not only possible but I have done it my very own self!

Back around the 4th of July, I made the Baked Beans, and they were indeed fabulous. With just the two of us here eating them, it took forever to get ’em gone, but we managed for we are nothing if not gluttons.

We immediately began discussing the possibility of making and then canning them, and I got excited at the idea and went out and got more canned pork ‘n beans (I had everything else on hand). Then of course those pork ‘n beans sat in the pantry until one of them fell on my foot for the 15th time, and then I decided to get my ass in gear and get them the hell out of there and use them the hell up.

I followed the recipe (except for the part where she puts green pepper in, because green peppers are an abomination upon the world until I need them for making jalapeno jelly) up to the point where you put everything in the oven. At that point, I heated the beans up ’til they came to a boil, put them in pint jars with a few pieces of bacon already at the bottom, and pressure cooked them at 10 pounds of pressure for (I think) 75 minutes (follow the canning time for baked beans, found in the wonderful Ball Blue Book of Canning, or whatever the hell it’s called). I ended up with 4 or 5 (I don’t remember and am too lazy to go the 10 feet to the canning cabinet) pints, and one half-pint.

Over the weekend, we popped open the half-pint, and I tell you what: two thumbs up!

Of course, the issue is that we don’t really eat baked beans all that often, but when we want them, there they’ll be!

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This tiny sweet girl:

is Misty. (Resembles Steely Dan more than a little, doesn’t she!) Misty has a condition known as megacolon (you can read more about the condition here) and she needs surgery to correct the condition. Unfortunately, her owner cannot afford the surgery, and another local animal charity, No Greater Love, has stepped in to help him raise the funds for surgery.

You can read more about Misty here.

Even if you can only afford to give a few dollars, it all adds up in the end. Every little bit helps!

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I tell you, it’s two steps forward, one step back with these kittens. One time you go in, and they take very little encouraging to climb into your lap, and other times they seem to revert almost back to where they were when we got them. It’s frustrating, but I know we’ve got time and there’s no rush.

It’s especially frustrating when they lay on the floor across the room and roll around on their backs and you wish like hell you could pick them up and squeeze ’em. They’re so freakin’ cute and they KNOW it!

This morning, I walked into the room and sat down, and Fagen was in my lap in seconds. It took Steely Dan a few more minutes to climb into my lap, but he eventually did. I sat there for twenty minutes with them just rolling around in my lap, purring like mad. Now, watch – next time I go in there, they’ll look at me like they’ve never seen me before in their lives.

I think they just like to mess with me.

“WHAT? What is this you tell me? There are scritches going on and I am not being scritched?!”

“O Lord, why have you forsaken me?!”

“I shall wander the cat tree in search of scritches even if it takes me 40 years!”

“Mission accomplished!”

“Now you may rub mah belleh!” (Please note, those are Fred’s hairy knees, not mine!)

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Happy, snoozin’ Newt. Don’t be fooled by the sweet face. Yesterday morning I walked out onto the side steps, and SOMEONE had eaten and then vomited up parts to some sort of small rodent right there on the top step. I had to kick a RODENT LIVER AND SOME OTHER ORGAN off the steps so I didn’t have to keep looking at it as I went by.

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Previously
2008: I tend to assume if someone wants to know something specific, they’ll ask.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: I think I took my first steps toward being an adult yesterday.
2005: Who the fuck knew?
2004: A Kitchenaid mixer!
2003: “My ass. Please let him go for my ass, and not my throat or my eyes, I’ve got plenty of ass to spare.”
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: Double ear infection, thankyouverymuch.