I just went out and took a dead mouse away from Elwood, who was tossing it in the air and batting at it. Now Jake, Elwood, and Tommy are all diligently sniffing the ground where the mouse was laying. Then George and Gracie started barking wildly, both looking at the garden shed, so I ran … Continue reading “7/20/10 – Tuesday”
I just went out and took a dead mouse away from Elwood, who was tossing it in the air and batting at it. Now Jake, Elwood, and Tommy are all diligently sniffing the ground where the mouse was laying.
Then George and Gracie started barking wildly, both looking at the garden shed, so I ran out to see what was going on. I’m still hoping that the litter mates to the feral kitten who showed up on Sunday will show themselves. There was nothing by the garden shed, but George and Gracie are still out there barking. They like to bark at nothing an awful lot. I’m thinking they see something in another dimension that mere mortals can’t see.
I hope it’s not a dog going after my other-dimensional chickens.
I got a fantastic night of sleep last night, for the third or fourth night in a row. It’s amazing how much better I sleep when I don’t have Bolitar (bless his wet nose and snuggly little heart) climbing all over me. At bedtime, I go into the guest bedroom and call “Little bitty kitties, little bitties, little bitties!”, and all four of the Bookworms come running in. Some of them come in sooner than the others, but they all eventually come in. For the past two nights, Jake has been running in there with them, so I shut him in. They’ve got a litter box, food, and water. What else do they need? Jake loves his Bookworms.
I was concerned about the new feral kitten yesterday, so I mixed up a batch of KMR and took it out to him. I tried giving it to him in the bottle – he mostly licked at the nipple. Then I tried syringing some into his mouth, and he swallowed what I put in his mouth, but he wasn’t that interested in it. He was mostly curious about it – but after I’d given it to him, he became super friendly. He goes back and forth between skittish and friendly at the moment. Right now he’s spending his days in Fred’s room and his nights in the downstairs bathroom. He’s a jet setter!
I shouldn’t tell y’all this, but we’re planning to turn the blue coop (not the big coop in the back forty – the medium coop in the side yard near the garage) into an outdoor kitten room. I had the little feral out there for most of the day yesterday. Even with the windows open and a fan on, it got hotter than I liked (I know, right? Alabama in July. Who knew it was going to be hot? CRAZY!), which is why we brought him inside. We’ve ordered an air conditioner, which should be here before the weekend. The plan is to use it as is for the time being if we need to, and then this Fall we’ll get serious. We’ll have an electrician out to run power to the coop, Fred will build a screened-in entrance so the kittens can’t escape. We’ll insulate and sheet-rock the inside, paint it. It’ll be awesome – or at least that’s the plan! Right now even though Fred spent a good part of Sunday cleaning the coop, it stinks in there. Which is to be expected – it was a chicken coop, after all. I’m going to get out there before the weekend and do some more scrubbing. I fear that it might always smell faintly of chickens, but it certainly could be worse. I have PLANZ for that coop, believe you me. There’ll be shelves under the windows! There’ll be toys hanging from the ceiling to bat at!
It’ll be spectacular. I hope!
Before I went wandering off up there, I meant to say that I brought the kitten bottle in to clean, filled it with water and left it in the sink. When I went to actually wash the bottle, the nipple was missing. I have no clue where the damn thing is – but I know that Bolitar’s the one who stole it, because at one point yesterday afternoon he had the scoop that I’d used to scoop out the formula with, and he was licking it, then proceeded to bat it around before I rescued it. He’s a little thief, that one. When I was giving the feral his flea bath yesterday (the Advantage killed the fleas, but the poor guy was covered in flea dirt and he was one stinky little guy, so he needed a bath), Bolitar was sitting on the kitchen floor howling and howling like he was afraid he was missing out on something good. He’s such a brat (and I love him).
Today, I am scattered (which is no different from any other day, I know) because I have a lot of stuff to do. I have a hair appointment, an appointment with the hematologist, and then tonight I’m taking Sofia to the adoption center to meet up with her new mother and go home. There’s a gap of about two hours between my hair appointment and my appointment with the hematologist. I’m trying to decide whether to come home and shower before I head back out, or just stay out. Both appointments are in the same general direction, and coming home to shower would be backtracking. I have errands I can run, so I may just stay out. I want to go by Sam’s and Costco and Best Buy to look at the netbooks they’re selling. Someone made a good point in my comments yesterday – I should actually put my hands on the netbook I’m thinking of buying rather than just ordering it online.
But before I leave for my first appointment, I need to put together a turkey and rice casserole for dinner tonight (I’ll cook it this morning so we can just reheat it tonight), do some laundry, figure out what I want to do with the squash Fred brought in from the garden last night.
So let me babble on about the cats for a bit and then we’ll call it an entry!
Pancho is a little goofball. And SUCH a snuggler. When I go into the foster room and sit on the floor, he climbs into my lap immediately.
The bros. Pancho, left, and Hermano, right.
Three of the four. But their eyes are closed, so I don’t know who’s who! (Tonight, I buy collars.)
Hermano, left, and Sofia, right.
Pancho, the luvah.
These kittens, I swear, have got the softest, silkiest fur. It’s such a pleasure to pet them! I mean, it’s always a pleasure to pet kittens, but these guys are especially pleasurable to pet.
Tonight, Sofia goes to her new home! I think she’ll be happy with her new parents and her new brother. It was nice to have her here, even though it was for such a short amount of time.
The feral (who pretty much has a name, if Fred gets his way. We’re negotiating.) is doing well. He was tested yesterday and is negative (yay!). Right now he’s living in Fred’s bedroom during the day and in the downstairs bathroom at night. He’s scared and skittish, but also playful and likes to be petted. He SO did not care for his bath yesterday afternoon, but he was terribly stinky and covered in flea dirt, so he desperately needed it.
Previously 2009: I should have demanded a decorator’s fee. 2008: The last time I wore a bikini, I was around five, and I expect that unless I lose my mind, that’s the last time a bikini will come anywhere near my body.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: No entry.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry. 2001: And then he looked at ME, like I was the instigator or something! 2000: “Where’s my food?! Where’s my FOOD, bitch?! I need fat, I need salt, I need sugar, and GIVE IT TO ME NOW, or I’ll drive you completely insane!”
Things on my recent List of Annoyances. 1. The company that provides our phone service and internet. I’m pretty sure they’re trying to make me have an aneurysm. SLOW SLOW SLOW FUCKING SLOW. Every single day I can be found in front of my computer screaming “EVERY DAY! EVERY FUCKING DAY! GODDAMN YOU TO FUCKING … Continue reading “7/19/10 – Monday”
Things on my recent List of Annoyances.
1. The company that provides our phone service and internet. I’m pretty sure they’re trying to make me have an aneurysm. SLOW SLOW SLOW FUCKING SLOW. Every single day I can be found in front of my computer screaming “EVERY DAY! EVERY FUCKING DAY! GODDAMN YOU TO FUCKING HELL EVERY FUCKING DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!” And what’s worse is that we thought we were SO FUCKING SMART, that we decided to host our own server, and with the slowness and the always going down, guess what? Every time the internet goes down ALL OUR FUCKING SITES GO DOWN TOOOOOO.
Fred was instructed to find us a new host while I was on vacation, but didn’t even pretend to look. Fucker.
So tell me about your host, but only if you think they are the BEST! HOST! EVARRRRRR! (Or, you know, if you’d like to bitch about your host, too, go for it. You know I feel your pain!)
2. Fred
a. Laying in bed the other night.
Me: So, I was listening to Bob and Sheri, and this female rocket scientist called in, and she said that she was ditched in the middle of a blind date. It was going well ’til the guy found out she was a rocket scientist, then he went to the bathroom and never came back.
Fred: Huh.
Me: What is it? Do guys not like smart women?
Fred: (long pause as he considers the question) I don’t know.
It took him a long moment and a “Hmph!” from me before he realized what he’d said and started laughing.
b. I want a netbook. I WANT A NETBOOK. Lugging the laptop to Maine and back reiterated to me that I WANT A FUCKING NETBOOK. I know I bought one from Woot last year and it didn’t work out. I know I only travel a few times a year and hardly ever use the laptop while I’m at home, but did I mention? I WANT A NETBOOK.
I cannot get Fred to even feign any kind of interest in my need for a netbook.
“You’re not even feigning interest in my desire for a netbook!” I whined the other day.
“That’s because I’m not interested,” he said.
“I WANT A NETBOOK!”
“I didn’t say you couldn’t HAVE a netbook,” he said. “I just don’t know anything about them and I’m not interested.”
I sent him an email that said I’m thinking that when it’s time to buy a netbook, we should go for either the Dell Mini or the Toshiba Mini – I’m thinking the latter. They both got pretty good ratings on Amazon, the Toshiba’s ratings are slightly higher, and I’m leery of Dell.
His response? Okay.
Is it too much to ask that he pretend to be interested in the topic? Apparently so. HMPH.
You guys love me, right? What kind of netbooks do you recommend? I’m leaning toward the Toshiba, but I’m open to suggestions.
3. We were watching Friday Night Lights the other night, and there was some important play or another going on, one that could take them to… the semifinals? State? Something like that? But anyway, this play was going on and the camera panned to the sidelines, where several of the players were standing watching the play with sweaty intensity.
“Huh,” I said. “That looks like an important play.”
“Yeah….?” Fred said.
“So why are QB1 and the running back and the greasy Tim Riggins* standing on the sidelines?”
“Because defense is on the field,” Fred said.
“So?”
“Because it’s a defense play, not an offense play.”
It took a long time before I understood. Apparently in football, a team does not have its offense and its defense on the field at the same time.
I am 42 years old. I have watched (though not particularly paid attention to) many football games. Both my brothers played football when they were small. I was a CHEERLEADER when I was 8. WE’VE GOT SPIRIT, YES WE DO, WE’VE GOT SPIRIT, HOW ‘BOUT YOU??? Also when I was 8, I declared that I was going to be the first woman playing football in the NFL.*
(You see how that worked out.)
How did it escape my notice for all these years that a team’s defense and offense are not on the field at the same time?
Days later, this still BLOWS MY MIND. I keep trying to find the loophole. In the car yesterday, I said to Fred “But if one team’s offense fumbles the ball, the other team’s defense could take the ball and run it to the goal, right? THEN AREN’T THEY ACTING IN AN OFFENSIVE MANNER, MAKING THEM THE OFFENSE?”
Yeah. He seemed unimpressed with my argument. I can’t imagine why.
*I jest. Tim Riggins seems to have taken a shower over the summer.
**Can you imagine? Coach would be all “Anderson, it’s time for you to take the field and lead us to victory!” and I’d be all “But the defense isn’t on the field yet, Coach!” I DODGED A BULLET THERE!
4a.Arbitron, a marketing research company, called the house in mid-June. I squinted at the caller id, and doesn’t “Arbitron” sound like it could be a company that hires software engineers? Well, it sounded like it to me, so I answered the phone in hopes that someone might be calling Fred for an interview. (This was before he got the job where he is now, and is deliriously happy, might I add.) Anyway, I answered it and the woman told me that they wanted to conduct a radio survey in my area, blah blah blah, would I be willing to keep a diary of the radio stations I listen to?
Because I was feeling charitable, I agreed, and then we hung up the phone. The next day, Arbitron called again to let me know my radio diaries (I agreed that Fred would keep one, too) were on the way. A few days later, I got a letter from them with a crisp dollar bill in it, letting me know that, hey, my diaries are on the way! A week later, the diaries, each with a crisp dollar bill, arrived. Arbitron called to let me know that I should have my diaries. They took to calling every single goddamn motherfucking day. I stopped answering the phone. They called twice a day, hanging up on the answering machine each time.
I filled out the goddamn diaries (and we got yet another crisp dollar bill in a letter letting us know that the diary-keeping period was over and we should send the diaries back) and I sent them back but CHRIST ALMIGHTY, let me tell you what. Next time Arbitron needs me to fill out a diary detailing my radio listening patterns (and I spend maybe 20 minutes a day TOTAL listening to the radio, unless I’m going somewhere), they are SHIT OUT OF LUCK. Talk about your needy motherfuckers.
b. UAH, Fred’s alma mater, wants to put together an alumni directory. They desperately want Fred’s contact information. Fred is uninterested. Every 10 days or so, we get a postcard in the mail letting us know (in case we’ve forgotten in the past 10 days) that the deadline is approaching, and they want to be sure Fred’s information is correct. Fred doesn’t call them. I don’t call them FOR him. It sounds like UAH is shit outta luck. Maybe they could get together with Arbitron and start up a needy relationship where they call and write each other constantly.
5. “He actually swore yesterday,” Fred said, of a coworker.
“Really?” I said. “What did he say?”
“‘Shit.'”
Now goddamn it, I OBJECT. I will never fucking understand why “crap” is not a swear word, but “shit” is. THEY MEAN THE SAME GODDAMN THING. But “shit” is always bleeped out on TV and “crap” never is. NOT FAIR.
6. My hair. My HAIR. GOOD CHRIST ALMIGHTY ON A CRACKED PEPPER AND OLIVE OIL TRISCUIT WITH A BLOP OF ONION DIP ON TOP, my hair is driving me NUTS.
(Don’t be fooled. I took one step outside and it went POOF.)
I SUPPOSE, if you must be technical, it’s my own damn fault. Back when Fred first lost his job, I was in “I shall spend not one penny more than I absolutely must!” mode (pay no attention to those cat toys behind the curtain), and I cancelled my hair appointment the first week of April. Then Fred got a job, and I didn’t make an appointment. And my hair grew. Three months later, here we are: a big frizzy shapeless mass of what the fuck.
I have a hair appointment tomorrow, and that shit’s going to be chopped off, believe you me.
7. Cats. Seriously. See the next section for the “WHAT THE FUCK?” of THIS weekend.
I was preparing to get into the shower yesterday morning, and I heard Fred come upstairs and down the hallway. There was a pause, and then a knock.
I opened the door and said “What?”
Fred found himself a feral kitten. Going out into the back yard, he saw something dart from next to our fence to the massive boxwood bush a few feet away. The neighbor who was in his back yard practicing his fishing technique, told Fred that he thought it was a rabbit. Fred thought about just going out to do his chores, but his innate nosiness overcame him, and he went to investigate.
Hello, feral kitten.
He had to do some chasing before he caught the little guy, who fought and hissed and growled like a good little feral. Fred put him in a carrier and then came up to get me. I took my shower (come on, I had hair color on my head and needed to rinse it out!) and then went downstairs to check out the situation. In the carrier on the front porch was a little guy, voraciously eating the canned food Fred had given him.
He had fleas (I put Advantage on him), he’s got the big round belly that usually indicates worms, and he desperately needs a bath, but all in all he seems to be in pretty good shape. But this morning with the help of Gerber Chicken and Gravy (which is like crack to kittens), not only did he let me pet him, he stood on my leg and kneaded, and then he rolled over and presented the belly for rubbing.
At the moment he’s not in the house, but once he’s been tested (which he will be in a few hours), we’ll bring him in. Or maybe we won’t – the shelter manager might have a lead on a foster home for him. We’re not going to name him just yet – if he goes to another home, his new foster parents can name him. (Annnnnd, not ten seconds after I wrote that, Fred informed me that he’d like to raise this guy ’til he’s ready to be adopted. I… guess we have a new foster!)
He’s a boy, a brown and white tabby, and initially I thought he was 7 or 8 weeks old, but this morning I weighed him and he’s just over a pound, so maybe 5 weeks old? I don’t know, I’m terrible at aging kittens. In any case he eats well, he’s lively, and he even played with a toy mouse briefly this morning.
I suspect there’s a mother and/ or more feral kittens out there somewhere, but we both went all over the property yesterday morning looking, and found nothing at all. We’ll have to wait and see.
Los Gatitos are doing well, their first weekend here. They spent a lot of time sleeping (they had their first vaccination Friday night, which always knocks them out for a day or two), and I could hear them up there playing, and they spent plenty of time keeping a wary eye on me. Sofia and Pancho were the first to break and come to me for petting.
This is Sofia. Don’t get too attached…
Sofia’s already been adopted!
She goes to her new home tomorrow.
This is Pancho. He’s the friendliest of the bunch. You walk into the room, and he comes over and falls at your feet. Silly boy. (His eyes are green.)
Evita’s a little shy, but give her some time. She’ll warm up, I’m sure of it.
People have asked whether any of these kittens are deaf. Initially we thought that Hermano (the blue-eyed boy) was because he wasn’t responding to any of the noises I was making. However, on Saturday he was sleeping, and I rattled a toy behind his head. He woke up and turned around to look, so he’s got at least some hearing.
Bolitar. I love this guy; he cracks me up. He likes to get whiny and howl at me, and I say, in a mocking voice, “Wahhhh! I’m da babyyyyy!”, and he howls again.
He doesn’t mind being mocked.
Sleeping Reacher.
Four nights ago, I hit my limit. After being woken up every half hour by marauding Bookworms, I decided I’d HAD it. The next night, we put the Bookworms in the guest bedroom and shut the door. There were some puzzled meows, but they were quiet all night.
I got a great night’s sleep.
And now at night, the Bookworms go into the guest bedroom, and I sleep most of the night through without cats climbing all over me.
I find that when I get a good night’s sleep, I can put up with the daily cat-related annoyances a lot more calmly than I do when I’m sleep deprived. Go figure!
Previously
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry. 2007: Goddamn squirrels.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: No entry.
2003: No entry. 2002: OR I may have thought to myself, well, every author is entitled to a horrid piece of excrement or two. 2001: I’ve been packing in a desultory and lazy fashion this week, and have about half the upstairs done. 2000: I think if any of the kitties lose their mind and go on a human-throat-gnawing spree, it’ll be her.
From the Challenger’s House update email: Here at Challenger’s House it’s been hard to keep up with all the calls & requests for us to take cats & kittens. It was a late “kitten season” but even with an adoption center (at Petsmart) full of kittens, and foster homes full of kittens, and kittens here … Continue reading “7/16/10 – Friday”
From the Challenger’s House update email:
Here at Challenger’s House it’s been hard to keep up with all the calls & requests for us to take cats & kittens. It was a late “kitten season” but even with an adoption center (at Petsmart) full of kittens, and foster homes full of kittens, and kittens here at the shelter, adoptions have been slower in 2010. In the first quarter of this year, we took in 37 and adopted 47 but in the second quarter we took in 57 and only adopted out 27. We still keep a population of 120-140 at any given time.
What a lot of people don’t understand is that being a no time limit (no-kill) shelter, we can’t take every cat or kitten that comes along. If we did, we would be overcrowded, disease would set in, and money would run out quickly. And since we keep the cats until they are adopted or die of old age we end up with cats that are middle aged & older, some of whom will probably live with us the rest of their lives.
At the current time, donations are down & our funds have dwindled. We are asking that everyone who is able, send a donation to help us defray the cost of vet bills, medications/vaccines, flea control, food, litter, utilities, and all the other expenses associated with operating a shelter that provides a comfortable place for the cats & kittens to stay until they are adopted. You can make such a difference by supporting Challenger’s House in its quest to help as many homeless and unwanted cats & kittens as possible.
We take the animals we can but when our foster homes are full and the shelter is full, and when money is tight, we have to turn people away. It’s heartbreaking to tell them we don’t have room for the litter of kittens they found in the ditch or the cat that their neighbor moved off & left.
If you’d like to donate to Challenger’s House, you can do so by mail, phone, or Paypal – all the information is at the bottom of their Petfinder page, here.
Robyn, any chance you remember and wouldn’t mind sharing the store where you got the “Say no to Pot” Lobster shirt? I need to order one!
You can get one at Cool as a Moose! I love that store, and always have to visit it every time I go to Maine. They have the best stuff, and a great Life is Good selection.
The first couple of squirrel pictures I declared “That is one BRAZEN ass squirrel!” and then I scroll down and you declare him brazen too. That must be a New Englander/Maritimer expression because I never hear anybody out west say it.
I wouldn’t be surprised – I’m sure I picked it up from my mother, who was born and raised in Maine. It’s a good word, isn’t it? 🙂
We were at my parents last month and my 7 year old daughter came up to us and said, “Mommy! That squirrel’s tail was soooooo soft!” After a brief recovery period, I asked if it was dead. It wasn’t, but it clearly had some serious issues. Later it fell out of a tree, about 20 feet to the ground, for no obvious reason. More than a little disturbing.
My brother (a new parent) was surprised that I was so calm. But we’d been through almost the exact same situation last year with a raccoon. Only that one WAS dead. I thought the “No petting dead things” rule had me covered. Clearly, I need to come up with something a little broader.
Just when you think you’ve got it all covered, they come up with something new, don’t they? You might need to go with “No petting ANYTHING without asking me first!”
“She gives the best stink-eye on the planet. But once she’s relaxed and fed, she is one happy child. (Just don’t let her see you pointing that camera at her.)”
My GOD, if you replaced “child” with “middle aged hag” you’d be describing me perfectly.
I love that yellow bathroom. Very cheerful and you’d never know it was in a basement.
This comment made me laugh out loud.
And the bathroom was awesome – I said to my parents “Now when I have to get up in the middle of the night to pee, I don’t have to go upstairs and wake up completely in the process!”
Do you suppose I had to pee in the middle of the night even once during my stay? NO. But if I had, I’d have been all set!
My parents’ basement is a walk-out basement, so it’s not as dark as your average basement. Considering that when they first bought the house, the basement was nothing but a big cement room, they’ve done some amazing things with it!
Do you ever get trolls, and what’s the most ridiculous thing anyone has ever criticized you for on your blog? I never read you talking about jerkoffs, so I figure you must not respond to them, and that really is the best strategy – all they want is attention. But at the same time, because of your larger readership I am sure you must get some weirdos from time to time.
You know, I think I’m pretty damn lucky – the hateful comments I get are few and far between, and it’s been a few years since I’ve gotten any that I remember. There are three that come to mind.
The one that immediately comes to mind is from 2003. Jackie in Vancouver, WA posted a comment saying that my new haircut looked like crap, I was an idiot for “letting” Fred take the spud on day trips, and I better get back on track with the weight loss or keep looking over my shoulder. (My response to that is here. Fred’s, which was vastly better, is here.)
(Hey. She called me “honey”! Maybe it was actually Teresa from the NJ Housewives!)
I’ll admit, that was the funnest one to deal with because our girl Jackie? Seemed to have forgotten that Fred is pretty damn good when it comes to computer-type things. In less than 5 minutes we had her home address and phone number and knew that her deceased father was retired from the Navy. Someone might have called her phone number and claimed “Sorry, wrong number”, but it wasn’t me. Nope.
Another one (which I only remembered because I was looking for the post about Jackie) was in the comments (which no longer exists, apparently, because I can’t find it – it must have been lost when I switched from Movable Type to WordPress). In that entry, I mentioned a book I’d seen at Target and thought about buying, but which I put on my Amazon wish list instead, so I’d remember to buy it when it came out in paperback. “Sandra” left a long, accusatory email about how I only mentioned the wish list so someone would go buy the book for me. I was mostly horrified that anyone would think I was doing that, but “Sandra” was also not a long-term reader, apparently, and had never left a comment before, so I think she was just a drive-by. There seems to be a certain breed of internet asshole who like to wander from blog to blog and leave bits of assholery behind.
And the last was the comment from Lakewood, NJ who wanted to school me in the correct way to lose weight. My response to that is here. (Huh. 2003 – 2004 was quite the time period for assholes, wasn’t it?)
I feel like someone left a hilariously nasty comment about the fact that I’d decided to have weight loss surgery – I remember that it made me laugh because it was so poorly written (here’s a hint, if you want your nasty comment to be taken at all seriously, probably you might run the spell-check on it first), but I haven’t been able to find it.
Oh, and the last (and the one that still makes me laugh). A few years ago someone took me to task because the cucumbers we’d been growing in the garden were being eaten up by bugs, and I was tired of dealing with them so had Fred pull them up. (You can scroll down to her comments here.) I think, mostly, that she was looking for attention, so I helpfully went back and deleted her url from all the annoying comments she’d left leading up to that last comment.
I’m sure there are more, but those are the ones that come to mind. And like I said, there haven’t been any in a good long while – but I am NOT complaining about that, believe me!
Don’t all the kitties come running to you for snackin’ time? I thought they had you trained pretty well, Robyn? 🙂
Believe it or not, I have actually discontinued snackin’! time!, and the cats are all still alive and kicking. And so am I, which is a little bit of a surprise, because I would surely have thought they’d killed me in my sleep by now.
Oddly enough, what I thought was a rag that SYMETRY guy was cleaning the windshield wipers with looks like it IS a shirt; if I didn’t know it was too ridiculous to be possible, I’d say it looks like he’s trying to sew a button on while his hatted passenger (wife? almost certainly) rolls her eyes in exasperation. I can’t see her eyes, mind, but that pose just SCREAMS “I am rolling my eyes at you.” Which is kind of a waste of eyes, because niiiiiiiice arms.
The guy in question:
What he appeared to be doing was putting shirts over the seats – I’m sure the seats were leather, and either hot or sticky (or both). He seemed to be taking a long, long time to get it done, though!
For two days I have not had any of your photo’s or banner come through. Do you think it is at my end? Anyone else have this problem?
I know it’s been a few weeks, but is this still happening for you, Catsy? I’m trying to get Fred going on finding a new host for our websites, but there appears to be a serious lack of interest on his part.
Not to be rude, but I’ve gotta ask – do you actually own any clothes that fit, or are they all oversized t-shirts?
Oh, hush up. YES I own clothes that fit, but I really HATE IT when my clothes touch me. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – if I could wear clothes that only touched me at the neckline and then billowed out to touch me nowhere else, I’d be a happy camper.
I went and added a note on yesterday’s entry, but in case you missed it…
“NEGATIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!”
“And then we was tutored, and it was EXHAUSTING!”
They tested negative (didn’t I tell you they would? But I was still worried!), they were neutered, and they had their ID chips put in, got their rabies shot, the whole kit and kaboodle. Now they’re ready and available to be adopted, we’re just waiting for room at the adoption center!
Meet Los Gatitos (Spanish for “The kittens.” At least that’s what Babelfish tells me. I know nothing of Spanish, so if Babelfish steered me wrong, please let me know.)
This is Hermano.
Pancho, Sofia, and Evita sleep off their spay and neuter surgeries.
Hermano’s a little leery of me.
“Whatchoo doin’, lady?”
Yes, we have FOUR white kittens. Hermano has two blue eyes, Sofia has one blue and one green eye, and Pancho and Evita both have green eyes. (I’ll be putting collars on them so I can tell them apart from a distance.)
They’re about 10 weeks old, and when they counted back on the calendar at the vet’s, they came up with May 5th – Cinco de Mayo, thus the Spanish names.
These kittens were tossed in a ditch by some guy in a van out in the country. Luckily, the sister and mother of a Challenger’s House friend came upon them almost immediately, which is a good thing – white kittens are particularly vulnerable to predators because they’re so visible.
They were a little bit skittish last night, but this morning they weren’t too concerned about me. Hermano let me pick him up and pet him, and didn’t think it was TOO horrible an experience. Pancho is a live wire – he was literally hopping straight up in the air to get rid of some of that energy. They’re adorable, sweet, playful kittens, and I’m looking forward to getting to know them!
Previously 2009: I do not like scary flying things or their nests. 2008: “LOOK AT ME WHEN I’M REFUSING TO LOOK AT YOU, YOU GRINNING MORONIC MOTHERFUCKER!” 2007: I can’t speak for Fred, but I know I was thinking “Jesusgodalmighty, I hope that scar on his head doesn’t pop out and his brain doesn’t come sproinging at me, because then I’d have to bat it like a volleyball and I never was very good at volleyball.”
2006: No entry. 2005: Off to Maine!
2004: No entry. 2003: “That is a child who does not fear her parents nearly enough.” 2002: It’s a Poo! Inna box! A Poo inna box! What more could you possibly hope for?
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.
Edited to add: The Bookworms? NEGATIVE!!!!!! YAY!!! From the Challenger’s House update email: Here at Challenger’s House it’s been hard to keep up with all the calls & requests for us to take cats & kittens. It was a late “kitten season” but even with an adoption center (at Petsmart) full of kittens, and foster … Continue reading “7/15/10 – Thursday (Vacation Pics)”
Edited to add: The Bookworms? NEGATIVE!!!!!! YAY!!!
From the Challenger’s House update email:
Here at Challenger’s House it’s been hard to keep up with all the calls & requests for us to take cats & kittens. It was a late “kitten season” but even with an adoption center (at Petsmart) full of kittens, and foster homes full of kittens, and kittens here at the shelter, adoptions have been slower in 2010. In the first quarter of this year, we took in 37 and adopted 47 but in the second quarter we took in 57 and only adopted out 27. We still keep a population of 120-140 at any given time.
What a lot of people don’t understand is that being a no time limit (no-kill) shelter, we can’t take every cat or kitten that comes along. If we did, we would be overcrowded, disease would set in, and money would run out quickly. And since we keep the cats until they are adopted or die of old age we end up with cats that are middle aged & older, some of whom will probably live with us the rest of their lives.
At the current time, donations are down & our funds have dwindled. We are asking that everyone who is able, send a donation to help us defray the cost of vet bills, medications/vaccines, flea control, food, litter, utilities, and all the other expenses associated with operating a shelter that provides a comfortable place for the cats & kittens to stay until they are adopted. You can make such a difference by supporting Challenger’s House in its quest to help as many homeless and unwanted cats & kittens as possible.
We take the animals we can but when our foster homes are full and the shelter is full, and when money is tight, we have to turn people away. It’s heartbreaking to tell them we don’t have room for the litter of kittens they found in the ditch or the cat that their neighbor moved off & left.
If you’d like to donate to Challenger’s House, you can do so by mail, phone, or Paypal – all the information is at the bottom of their Petfinder page, here.
Spud! I know you’re curious how the spud is doing, and the word is that she is doing well. She’s recently become single again, she’s working, and she’s happy. She’s not in school right now, but is intending to start either in the Fall or the beginning of next year in a program that will get her her Associate degree in 18 months (or less, depending on which of the classes she’s already taken can be transferred) in Business Management.
The spud and I!
I come by my love of blueberry muffins honestly.
My almost 17 year-old niece, Mireya. (Because I know you’re curious, Mireya is Korean on her mother’s side, and has Down’s Syndrome.) Mireya comes from a place of “no.” Her knee-jerk reaction is “no.” Want to go swimming? Want to eat dinner? Want to watch a movie? “NO.” She gives the best stink-eye on the planet. But once she’s relaxed and fed, she is one happy child. (Just don’t let her see you pointing that camera at her.) She’s fond of her father (HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT), and if she suspects you might be trying to take her Daddy away from her (I’m looking you, great-nephew!), she’s sure to repeatedly let you know that that is HER Daddy. HERS. Not yours. HERS. Also, she’s going through a self-renaming phase. While I was there, she declared that her name was “NOT Mireya.” – (1) Wall-E, (2) Waterboy, (3) Beatlejuice, and (4) Sassy. I also called her Pickles one day, because we were hanging out in the pool talking about pickles (what?) and she thought that was one funny-ass word.
Anyone know what this is?
Lobstah time!
Million Bells petunias. They are SO pretty – I’m trying to figure out where I can hang a pot of them around here. The most obvious places (front porch, side porch) don’t get enough sun.
Benji spends a lot of time waiting for his people to come home. (They take him with them a lot, but this last week was very hot, so they opted to leave him home. He did not approve.)
Some of my mother’s Fiesta Ware.
You saw the house to the left of my brother’s house, the one for sale for $74,000, right? This is the one behind him. I think he said the owners are trying to sell it (or intend to try to sell it) for a cool million. They believe they can get that price (and hey, maybe they can – who am I to judge?) because it’s on the water. The house itself is falling down, though.
And the falling-down garage-type structure to the right of him. There’s a house that goes with this (that I apparently failed to get a picture of) where no one lives. It’s also on the water.
Did I post this one the other day? I don’t remember. If so, here it is again! The spud and I in Freeport.
My brother and father built this deck in just a few days. I wish I had someone who would build me a deck. ::sad eyes:: Or maybe a covered porch off the laundry room. ::very sad eyes::
Went to the Sea Basket twice. Liz was having a craving. You didn’t hear me complaining!
The spud and I outside of Wilbur’s. Don’t we look relaxed and comfy? DAMN THAT SUN, it was always in my eyes!
Banana for a monkey.
Mireya (yes, she likes hats) and Curly McGee.
I cannot figure out why this picture made me think of June. It’s a mystery. (I eat my everyday whoopie pies every day!)
The SQUIRRELS in my parents’ back yard! So freakin’ BRAZEN. The last morning I was there, my father walked up behind a squirrel who was chowing down on the suet and the squirrel didn’t notice my father until he REACHED OUT AND POKED the squirrel. I bet after being poked by a human, that squirrel was glad he was wearing his brown pants. So to speak.
My parents recently put a bathroom in their basement. I LOVE it.
The shower’s a bit of a step up (5 1/2 inches up, to be exact. They needed room for the plumbing.), and about half the time, I lost that knowledge while I was in the shower and stumbled down into the wall opposite the shower on my exit.
The boys are off to be tested and neutered in a little while. ‘Til tomorrow, here are some pictures I took the day before I went on vacation.
Awww, look at Gavin and Garrity, right there in the middle of the vegetable inspection!
All four Bookworms (click on the picture to go over to Flickr and see notes on who’s who), Lieu, Garrity, and Jake! Could we fit any more cats in one picture?
And by the way, so far only Sheila has been adopted (this can be partially explained by the fact that there was initially a litter of Siamese kittens in the very next cage. And you KNOW how people love the Siamese. They suck up all the attention!). The other four are at the adoption center. I’m hoping this weekend will be their lucky weekend!
Previously 2009: Is it called “BeelzeBoogs”?? Oh, that sounds like a FUN book. 2008: “Huh. An armadillo. Weird. They don’t usually come this far north!”
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry. 2005: “Bessie,” he said. “That is CAT POOP, not kitty treats!”
2004: No entry.
2003: No entry. 2002: Our kitties, spoiled? Nah.
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.
From the Challenger’s House update email: Here at Challenger’s House it’s been hard to keep up with all the calls & requests for us to take cats & kittens. It was a late “kitten season” but even with an adoption center (at Petsmart) full of kittens, and foster homes full of kittens, and kittens here … Continue reading “7/14/10 – Kitteh Wednesday”
From the Challenger’s House update email:
Here at Challenger’s House it’s been hard to keep up with all the calls & requests for us to take cats & kittens. It was a late “kitten season” but even with an adoption center (at Petsmart) full of kittens, and foster homes full of kittens, and kittens here at the shelter, adoptions have been slower in 2010. In the first quarter of this year, we took in 37 and adopted 47 but in the second quarter we took in 57 and only adopted out 27. We still keep a population of 120-140 at any given time.
What a lot of people don’t understand is that being a no time limit (no-kill) shelter, we can’t take every cat or kitten that comes along. If we did, we would be overcrowded, disease would set in, and money would run out quickly. And since we keep the cats until they are adopted or die of old age we end up with cats that are middle aged & older, some of whom will probably live with us the rest of their lives.
At the current time, donations are down & our funds have dwindled. We are asking that everyone who is able, send a donation to help us defray the cost of vet bills, medications/vaccines, flea control, food, litter, utilities, and all the other expenses associated with operating a shelter that provides a comfortable place for the cats & kittens to stay until they are adopted. You can make such a difference by supporting Challenger’s House in its quest to help as many homeless and unwanted cats & kittens as possible.
We take the animals we can but when our foster homes are full and the shelter is full, and when money is tight, we have to turn people away. It’s heartbreaking to tell them we don’t have room for the litter of kittens they found in the ditch or the cat that their neighbor moved off & left.
If you’d like to donate to Challenger’s House, you can do so by mail, phone, or Paypal – all the information is at the bottom of their Petfinder page, here.
Speaking of explorers, how’s your escape artist doing these days?
Glad you asked, Sarah! Would you believe the utter gall of these cheeky little brats?
Tommy’s all appalled – “THEY aren’t supposed to be out here, are they??”
Loony Jake approves.
Rhyme and Corbett are the worst offenders when it comes to going outside, but they all do it. I’ve fought them on it – first I’d give them time outs in the guest bedroom every time I caught one of them outside. Then I left the back door closed (which just isn’t fair to the permanent residents, who love to be outside). I put all four of the Bookworms in the guest bedroom during the day while the permanent residents got the run of the house and the outside (THAT went over like a lead balloon with the Bookworms, let me tell you). We talked about putting collars on them, but we don’t have enough extra collars, and the collars are kind of big for little kittens. I mean, they’re not tiny kittens any more, but they’re still smallish.
Finally, I threw up my hands. Fred made the back yard fence even more escape-proof (he put fencing around the top of the fence posts so the kittens couldn’t climb over). When I see them outside, I go out and wrangle them back inside, and if I’m leaving the house for longer than twenty minutes or so, I make sure all four of them are inside, and shut the back door until I get back. And they KNOW when they see me coming outside that they’d better get their butts inside. One day before I went on vacation, I had an appointment, so I went out to make sure there were no kittens out back. Rhyme and Corbett must have been feeling particularly rebellious, because they went under the shrubbery near the pecan tree and hid there, and when I went to grab them, they’d go further into the shrubbery where I couldn’t reach them.
OH was I livid!
I stomped around and waved my arms and told them what bad boys they were. They just sat there and looked at me, all smug and safe in their shrubbery fortress. Finally, I grabbed the hose and I sprayed a jet of water at the shrubbery.
They weren’t smug THEN, believe me. They ran out and into the house, and for once I was the victor.
Take THAT, bad boys!
Speaking of the brats, the Bookworms are going for their retest tomorrow, and – assuming they’re negative – will be neutered. They’ll be with me for a while longer, I imagine, due to how slow adoptions are this year, but this is the first step toward their Forever Home.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if someone stumbled across pictures of these guys and fell in love and adopted them the way it happened with Gus and Mike? ::Puppydog eyes at the internet::
Previously 2009: That right there is what we call a “no-shitter.” 2008: All in all, a very good weekend.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry. 2005: It doesn’t have that ring of finality to it, that “I’m ending this goddamn email, see?” air. 2004: Why the fucking hell shouldn’t men cheat on beautiful women? 2003: Could I be more boring, yammering on about my email address?
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry. 2000: I guess I should clean under the couch a little more often, huh?
I’m headed home this afternoon, so here’s a quick one (with plenty o’ pics) to keep you occupied. I’ll be back on Wednesday to put up a kitten entry, Thursday with a buttload of vacation pics, and then Friday with a real entry. (Assuming, that is, that I don’t get stuck in Detroit overnight, the … Continue reading “7/12/10 – Monday”
I’m headed home this afternoon, so here’s a quick one (with plenty o’ pics) to keep you occupied. I’ll be back on Wednesday to put up a kitten entry, Thursday with a buttload of vacation pics, and then Friday with a real entry.
(Assuming, that is, that I don’t get stuck in Detroit overnight, the way I got stuck in Newark last year.)
If you’re visiting Maine in the near future and were hoping to eat lobster, I’m so sorry. I ate ’em all. Better luck next year!
The spud arrived on Monday and left on Friday. In between, we dragged that poor child all over hell and creation. She didn’t seem to mind, though.
She’s still got Edgar. I still miss Edgar.
My great-nephew (and my nephew and his girlfriend) came to visit (we coordinated visits so we’d be here at the same time. They drove from Maryland, and they’re leaving to drive back tonight). I always forget just how entertaining they are at 16 months.
Previously
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry. 2007: Nest = empty. 2006: If you could possibly NOT lay three inches from me and spend 63 hours slurping on your asshole so that I am driven into a homicidal rage and forced to run you out of the room, I would very much appreciate it. 2005: They’ll be fine, they’ll be fine, they’ll be fine, they’ll be fine… 2004: And I’m not even a George Michael fan. Though “Faith” rocks the casbah.
2003: No entry. 2002: Fred: “It’s dick in your mouth good!”
2001: No entry. 2000: You know, life would just be so much simpler if I were already queen of the world and in charge of punishments and such.
Sights from around Crooked Acres. (All pics taken last week, before I left for vacation) (PS: Flickr is being a pain in the ass, so I won’t be linking these to larger images at Flickr, sorry.) Those pups sure do love their rawhide. “How come THEY always get the good stuff?” Happy Gracie. The dogs … Continue reading “7/8/10 – Crooked Acres Thursday”
Sights from around Crooked Acres.
(All pics taken last week, before I left for vacation)
(PS: Flickr is being a pain in the ass, so I won’t be linking these to larger images at Flickr, sorry.)
Those pups sure do love their rawhide.
“How come THEY always get the good stuff?”
Happy Gracie.
The dogs dug out a space under the tree to lay in, and the chickens have taken it over for their dust baths.
Happy George.
Happy peeg.
I love it when the chicks get to this age. They’re so gawky and goofy.
I love the casual “Just hopping off the ramp, here. Nothing to see. Move along.”
Bolitar is an explorer. If there’s a place to be, he’s been there. It took him a little while to figure out how the big cats were getting on top of the kitchen cabinets, but once he figured it out, he was up there checking things out.
He doesn’t want to miss anything, y’know.
For the record, Jake and Elwood – who have been with us for close to a year – haven’t figured out how to (1) Jump up on the counter, (2) Hop from the counter to the top of the refrigerator and then (3) Jump from the top of the refrigerator to the top of the cabinets. They haven’t even figured out the FIRST part of that three-step process.
They must not be adventurers.
“What?”
Trying to figure out how to get past Sugarbutt, so he can do more exploring. (He finally tried just walking past Sugarbutt, who has been known to smack kittens who get up in his space. It worked!)
Previously 2009: Garden pics 2008: Boneheaded things I have recently done
2007: No entry. 2006: Just a quick picture to let y’all know what we did with our Saturday morning. 2005: I turned and gave her the Bug-Eyed Look of Annoyance*, to no avail. 2004: “Agh!” I yelled. “I hate you kitties! I hate you all!” 2003: Do motherfuckers retain water? 2002: “Your cheatin’ heeeeeart…”
2001: No entry.
2000: No entry.
Tom Cullen: Simply Flabulous. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Previously 2009: We are some squash-loving motherfuckers. 2008: Here’s a tip: if someone teases you about being a Housewife of Doom and a perfectionist, it is difficult to refute that assertion if you’re caught in a compromising position. 2007: No entry. 2006: Damn freaky cats. 2005: “It’s cancer,” … Continue reading “7/7/10 – Kitteh Wednesday”
Previously 2009: We are some squash-loving motherfuckers. 2008: Here’s a tip: if someone teases you about being a Housewife of Doom and a perfectionist, it is difficult to refute that assertion if you’re caught in a compromising position.
2007: No entry. 2006: Damn freaky cats. 2005: “It’s cancer,” Fred said. “That’s a tumorous lip if I’ve ever seen one!” 2004: I didn’t tell her that I think scars are badass and it can scar up all it wants. 2003: God, I hate people.
2002: No entry. 2001: So the house situation, oh what a story it is. 2000: This week, the devil won.
Greetings from Maine! I got here Saturday morning after a fairly uneventful trip. I did walk into the airport and see a sea of non-English speaking kids in Space Camp t-shirts, all standing in line at Delta, and all WILD. I feared they’d be on my flight to Detroit, but they weren’t. (Alabama to Detroit … Continue reading “7/5/10 – Monday”
Greetings from Maine!
I got here Saturday morning after a fairly uneventful trip. I did walk into the airport and see a sea of non-English speaking kids in Space Camp t-shirts, all standing in line at Delta, and all WILD. I feared they’d be on my flight to Detroit, but they weren’t.
(Alabama to Detroit to Portland is such an odd route.)
Debbie picked me up at the airport, and we went to lunch at The Olive Garden (why yes, I flew to Maine and immediately went to a chain restaurant. What’s your point?), then did a little shopping before we went to her house and hung out for a little while. Brian and his girlfriend Emily The Adorable showed up a while later, and we headed over to my parents’ house.
The visit has been fun – there’s been plenty of eating, believe me, between the ham Italians from The Kitty Korner, the whoopie pies, the cookout on the 4th of July (strawberry shortcake!) and today Liz picked us up and we went out for lobster rolls at The Sea Basket.
“We” being the spud and I – the spud drove up from Rhode Island this morning, arriving in three hours and 20 minutes, and she’s staying ’til Friday.
There’ll be more shopping and eating this week – that’s what vacations are all about, after all! My oldest nephew and his girlfriend and their son will be up later this week. We’re not sure yet whether his visit will overlap with the spud’s visit or not, hopefully it will.
Expect posting to be somewhat spotty this week. I have lobster and whoopie pies to eat, y’know. I’ll be home again next Monday. I’ve taken only a few pictures so far, but I’ll hopefully stop slackin’ and start snappin’. 🙂
Dude needs to put on a shirt. Seriously.
The sign Of random capitalization, At Friendly’s.
My brother’s house. This picture doesn’t do justice to just how cute it is.
If you’re in the market for a falling-down house on a teeny piece of land where you might be able to see the water if you lean to the side and squint a little for the low low LOW price of $74,000, do let me know. On the up side, my brother lives right next door, and he’s a very good neighbor.
The day I took Sheila and the other Rescuees to the adoption center, I vacuumed first. Sheila did not appreciate this turn of events.
Unfortunately (I blame the holiday weekend), none of the Rescuees were adopted Friday or Saturday. Reports, however, are that they were perfectly fine and snuggly and talkative, so I have high hopes that they’ll be adopted like crazy this week.
Corbett and Reacher. I’m sorry – have you EVER SEEN ANYTHING CUTER?
Previously
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry. 2007: I like me a crisp pickle. 2006: One more year, and we get to move out to the country where we will hopefully be acres and acres from the nearest neighbors, and children will not treat our yard as their very own. One more year, one more year, one more year… 2005: I’m all about the quick and easy, wink-wink-nudge-nudge-har-har. 2004: If you set off fireworks for three hours straight, starting at 7:30, you are not only an asshole, you live near me.
2003: No entry. 2002: A bunch of links that are probably no longer good. 2001: Pictures from Maine. 2000: Unfortunately, I forgot that when I say things like “Let’s go skinny-dipping and watch the fireworks”, what I actually mean is “Let’s go skinny-dipping and watch the fireworks”, but he hears “Let’s go swimming naked and get frisky in the pool under the fireworks.”
Philadelphia area readers: The Philadelphia-area shelter I volunteer for in a dire situation. A new director is coming in and is going to set a number of cats beyond which any extras will be put down. Right now it is looking like hundreds. Most of these cats are highly adoptable- healthy and friendly. If you … Continue reading “7/2/10 – Friday”
Philadelphia area readers:
The Philadelphia-area shelter I volunteer for in a dire situation. A new director is coming in and is going to set a number of cats beyond which any extras will be put down. Right now it is looking like hundreds. Most of these cats are highly adoptable- healthy and friendly. If you or anyone you know is able to adopt or foster for a couple months until the danger has subsided, please contact Cat at cat_hoffman@yahoo.com. I will pay your adoption fee if that is an issue, and drive up to 3 hours (New York, Baltimore, DC) to deliver. There are all colors, ages, and sizes…I know many of them and can help pick out one with the right personality for you. You WILL be saving a life.
Gaston County Animal Control’s Director, Reggie Horton, is purposing legislature to stop the shelter’s adoption program and rely entirely on the “gas chamber” to solve the overpopulation problem. It will save the county the enormous sum of $7,000.00 annually. We can not allow this to happen. It is extremely urgent that we get as many signatures as possible. The Board of Commission will have to make a decision before June 30, 2010.
Go here to read more about the topic, and sign the petition. It only takes a few minutes.
The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee is having their annual Dog-A-Thon fundraiser! Click on the picture to make a donation. If you don’t, it will make Charlene Butterbean sad – and you don’t want to make Charlene Butterbean sad, now, DO YOU?
Wednesday, as some of you noticed, marked a year since Mister Boogers died. I told Fred last Fall that Mister Boogers’ death seemed to have kicked of a Year of Suck – first Mister Boogers died, then we had the four kittens who died, and then Fred lost his job.
So it was kind of neat that Fred started his new job – a job that he’s really excited about – on the anniversary of Mister Boogers.
I miss Mister Boogers, still. There are times when Jake or Elwood looks up at me and they look so much like him that it takes my breath away. He would have loved those two (though to be honest, if he had still been around when they showed up, I’m not sure we would have kept Jake and Elwood), and he would have hated and then loved all the fosters who have come through in the past year.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned that Fred and I have started watching Friday Night Lights on Netflix, starring my third husband Kyle Chandler, who I have loved since way back in the Homefront days. We’re a little more than halfway through the first season, and I’ve gotta say, I disapprove HIGHLY of all this underage drinking. Tim, drinking with his brother. Tyra, saying “Let’s get drunk” to her mother. I guess what surprises me is not so much that there IS underage drinking as much as how casual it is. Like, everyone does it and they don’t even attempt to hide it from their parents. What the fuck, I ask you?
But it’s a good show, and I highly recommend it, not that y’all haven’t already been watching it all along because I’m always the last to know about the shows worth watching. Every time we finish an episode, Fred says “I can’t believe what a good show this is!”
Indeed.
So we’ll keep on watching, if only to answer the burning question, the question I ask myself every time Fred hits “play”, the question that makes my heart race and my hopes rise, only to be cruelly dashed in the next instant:
Just when WILL Tim Riggins wash his hair?
(Seriously. That boy looks like he’s got the stank going on. Surely Tyra and Lyla can find a cleaner football player to moon over?)
So glad my cats aren’t the only green-bean-freaks in the kittycat world. I have to immediately put a lid on freshly picked green-beans before Zsazsa sees them, or she strews them all over the house. Sometimes I’ll give her one or two to play with. She loooves them.
Before Fred pulled up the pole beans, he went through and picked what was left. Then we put the bowl on the counter, with the intention of occasionally giving the cats green beans to play with. Unfortunately Bolitar – WHO IS A BAD BOY – has figured out how to get up on the counters, and so he’s been having a good time jumping up, getting a green bean, and then running off to play with it. Yesterday, he took two okra pods off the counter, and I have no idea where they are.
Um, Robyn… if y’all ever want a “proper” vacation and need a Crooked Acres sitter, send me an e-mail. For me, that’d be like the best vacation EVER. Kittehs? Yes, plz!
Rousing games of “Do I smell cat pee?” Sure!
I’m totally serious. I might need to come a day or two early to learn ’bout all the farm critters, but I’d be more than willing to study quickly so y’all could go and have a nice relaxing getaway.
You better believe that if I could ever talk Fred into leaving the farm, you’ll be the first call on my list! 🙂
Do your cats check your breath? My cat has a breath inspection every day when I get home from work. She only gets excited if she smells gum though. For some reason she loves to eat minty fresh gum. She will actually dig in my purse looking for it. So strange, these cats.
I actually don’t have any breath-sniffers among our bunch, although when she was a kitten, Miz Poo would practically stick her head in my mouth, sniffing wildly. I know we’ve had a few litters (Phyllis, Dwight and Phyllis come to mind) who were big-time breath sniffers. I wonder if some cats outgrow it, and some never do?
I gotta say, Robyn, that your blog is the best laid-out one that I read. I’ve been checking out a lot of new blogs lately, and most of the bloggers could really take some lessons from you. Yours is easy to navigate, easy to read and excellent photos. Not to mention that you are a charming hoot (but you already knew that).
Why, oh why, do some bloggers insist on putting crappy music on their sites? And you can’t turn it off! If I never hear Music Box Dancer or My Heart Will Go On again in my life, I’ll die a happy old hag.
Awwww, gosh, THANK YOU! I try to make my site pretty easy to navigate (nothing annoys me more than discovering a new site that makes it difficult for you to go back and read old posts), I’m glad you approve.
I don’t know why some people insist on forcing their music upon you – maybe they think the music should be part of the blog-reading experience. If I were going to have mandatory sounds on my blog(s), it would be the sound of many cats purring. Wouldn’t that be soothing?
Hey Robyn, have you ever heard of strawbale gardening? We’ve done it for the past two years and it is awesome. It works really well, and the best part is there is no weeding! Been meaning to mention that to you for a while now, but just finally got around to it. Happy Friday!
I had never heard of it before, actually, but it sounds pretty interesting. Maybe next year, among the raised beds, we should have an experimental straw bale or two!
OK, I know this is weird, but I had this dream last night that I found 4 kittens in my bookcase. I pull them out, turn to my husband and say, “We have to give them to Robyn and Fred to foster.” Although in the dream, I was worried that this would put you into kitten overload! My subconcious scares me sometimes.
I had a dream that I was driving by a church, and someone pulled out right in front of me, then pulled into a subdivision where I just happened to be going. They swerved over onto a random lawn and started putting kittens out of their car. As fast as they got them out of their car, I grabbed them and put them in mine. I kept saying to myself “Fred is going to KILL me!”
They were all brown tabbies.
And when I woke up, I realized that we live right next door to a church, and I’m wondering if that’s where the dropoffs could be coming from.
Holy moly! I know that you’ve SAID that Elwood was big, but…. I didn’t realize he was quite so, um, ROTUND. Wow.
Who’s the biggest cat you have now, anyway?
The scale reports that Tommy’s the biggest cat at 13.5 pounds. Elwood’s not too far behind, at 12.5 pounds. Sugarbutt’s a couple of ounces heavier than Elwood. And Jake weighs three pounds less than Elwood. No wonder Elwood looks so much bigger than Jake!
Do you have a recipe for the refrigerator dill pickles? I looked on the recipe site but either there isn’t one or I’m blind.
I got the recipe from Annie’s Eats. I haven’t tasted them myself, yet, but Fred reports that they “taste like dill-flavored cucumbers”, and gave them two thumbs up, for what it’s worth.
Also, are you watching the NJ Housewives? I finally caught up yesterday and holy jeezus! I thought Danielle could not possibly be more crazy, but I was wrong wrong wrong. She’s a psychotic 14 year old in a 50 year old body. & thank god she got that boob fixed.
Um. EXCUSE ME. Are you saying that someone COOL enough to follow Paris Hilton’s brilliant pretend-to-be-on-the-phone thing is NOT the coolest gal in Jersey?
She is a complete nutball, that one. But unlike Kelly from NYC (who has, I do believe, a serious mental issue), I think Danielle knows exactly what she’s doing. I love how she creates drama where there is none! She drives me nuts, but I have to say, thank god for her. If she wasn’t there to drive the Manzos crazy, the show would be nothing but Ashley pouting around acting like a spoiled brat, Caroline sobbing about her empty nest (with the damn kids STILL LIVING THERE), and Teresa’s girls needing a good, hard smack.
Actually, most of the kids on that show need a long timeout in the corner and a whack with a wooden spoon, if you ask me.
The “ham game” makes me want to punch those kids. Ham isn’t dry! It leaves goo everywhere! It’s NASTY! Stop that shit!
Two weeks later, my bruises are 99% gone, and my elbow doesn’t hurt at all. I managed to escape with nothing broken this time around, thank god!
Watched the Real Housewives of New Jersey-question for Friday if you watched it-was Teresa stirring the pot? Danielle is a nut case but I think the Manzos handle it better. Do you also watch Watch What Happens? Did you see Danielle sing on it and what did you think?
Teresa was ABSOLUTELY stirring the pot. She had the crazy eyes a-twirling, and come ON – after throwing the table at the end of last season, she thinks it’s “silly” to not make polite conversation? For the love of god.
I did see Danielle sing, and I actually think that unlike Kim (Atlanta) and Luann, she won’t need to be Auto Tuned to within an inch of her life in the final product. She can sing, kind of, and the song was interesting.
Is she a lesbian? I doubt it. I think she’s just trying to get more attention, and has decided that this is the way to go about it.
And someone please stop that woman before she Botoxes again!
Do you ever have a slug problem? We plant a few squash every year, and the slugs make a tasty treat out of them.
Strangely enough, we don’t have a slug problem, and I’m not sure why. We don’t put down anything to deter the slugs, they just… aren’t there. Now that I said that, watch. Tomorrow morning Fred will go out to check on the garden (“Yep, still there!”), and the slugs will have decimated the squash plants.
We’ll be headed out to the adoption center in a few hours, so I can get the Rescuees settled in their cage. Adoption hours take place this evening and again tomorrow, so I’m keeping my fingers VERY crossed that they’re all adopted super-quickly. Y’all keep your fingers crossed, too!
Kittens… and a bucket of squash! Of course. Where else would the bucket of squash be, after all?
Sweet little Lieu.
Gavin, lookin’ smug.
I don’t know. I didn’t ask. I’d rather not know.
Sheila, with a toy in her mouth, fighting with Lieu. Who says kittens can’t multi-task?
Melted kittens. (Garrity in the front, Reacher in the back.)
Don’t Sheila and Reacher look like they could be related?
Sheila, fighting with Bolitar.
Lieu, sound asleep.
And a Rescuees movie, without Lieu. Lieu hadn’t shown up yet when I shot this stuff.
Previously
2009: No entry. 2008: I envisioned an evening wherein Fred and Trey discussed how Trey’s shrimp was too shrimp-y and then Fred could talk about the organic eggs we bought a few years ago being “too egg-y”, and they could bond like the weirdos they are. 2007: I gave him The Eyes and said “Oh NO you did NOT!”
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry. 2004: Had I, in fact, ONCE KILLED SOMEONE and the memory was trying to break free into my conscious mind? 2003: “Yeah, I see you, you portly little cat. You don’t scare me!” 2002: Some Eminem lookalike just drove by and put a flyer on my mailbox. 2001: I have the sinking suspicion that we’re going to be homeless by August 1st.
2000: No entry.
