Only 2 episodes of LOST left!

Today was another blah, cloudy, rainy day. Mark was happy for the rain, and while I know our garden needed it, it doesn't make me feel very cheerful. I was home yesterday with a migraine and some of the worst menstrual cramps I've ever had, and that's saying a lot. Still only feeling about 30% today. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning for my headaches. While I hate and have no faith in western medicine, I need head X-rays. Since Dr. Jill can't do X-rays, I have to see Dr. Ellison. Once I know what's going on, I can work with Dr. Jill on fixing it.

My little diddle-butt is lying in bed next to me--again, she should have been asleep already but isn't. After we read tonight, she said a phrase I hear often, during our cuddle times, "Mommy, tickle my little back". For some reason, though, tonight, as I was tickling her little back, I flashed back to my childhood. I vividly remember Grandma R. tickling my back, whenever I spent the night there. She always had nice hands; soft, small, nicely shaped nails, which I contrasted with my large man hands. Anway, she would always tickle my back as she told these stories about a little girl name 'Amy', that she made up. There was usually a moral/lesson of some sort snuck into the stories. I remember as I child really looking forward to the special bedtime routine of back tickles and stories. I also liked to play games with her, particularly Aggravation, even though she did cheat.

Today's picture is of Oliver. As you can see, Ivan isn't the only one who likes the My Little Ponies. Ivan left a pony unattended, and Oliver took it and hid under the chair with it. I have probably the fewest pictures of him, because I have a hard time getting good pictures. I think because he's all black, it's harder to get a good pic that shows his cute little features. He has stunning green eyes. He is the sweetest-natured, most loving little guy. He was a stray that I was feeding outside and was skinny and ratty. I took him to the vet to get him neutered, have shots, and all the other necessary stuff done, but figured since he was an outside stray, he would want to be an outside cat. One horribly cold, sleeting November night, after I came home from class, I saw him sitting outside the door with his entire back covered in sleet/snow and frozen solid. I brought him in the house, thinking he would be stir crazy and ask to go back out. He never asked to go out again. He's been a strictly indoor cat now for 1.5 years and will continue to be for the rest of his sweet life. I am so happy he picked us to live with. He's a chubby, round boy now, but he's happy. He gets along with all four of his brothers and is always kind to everybody (humans and non-humans).