Vive la volcano!

About Carrie (our kitty)...She's actually Hunter's cat. His dad didn't want to keep her at their house anymore and was giving her away. I returned home one night to find a message on our machine from Hunter, who was weeping and asking if we could keep his cat, because he had to get rid of her. This little 7-yr old has lost his mother and recently his pet gerbil. He trusted me, that I would not let him lose his kitty, too. She lives here and we take care of her, but he comes to visit her every day. She's a very sweet girl.

L & H were very busy last night. They decided at 7:00 pm on a Weds. night, on our two-block long street, that they were going to set up a stand and sell diamonds. What they call diamonds are rocks that they smash open with a hammer, to reveal the sparkly white inside portion. I should know what this is called, but I don't really remember that much from geology. They made a sign, set up the stand, and even brought out speakers and H's little electric guitar, so they could have music at their stand. One of our neighbors came over and bought two diamonds, so they each had a dollar. They were very happy. L was quite annoyed, however, when she asked me if she had spelled diamond right and I told her no. Words that aren't spelled in a logical (phonetically speaking) way really piss her off! I had them clean everything up and come in once it started getting dark, which was only about a half hour after they got set up.

Then they got the cat collection out. L has this huge collection of plastic Schleich big cats, that she can play with for hours on end--both alone and with friends. These cats go on camping trips and pretty much anywhere else she will be for more than a few hours. I love watching her set up elaborate cat villages and use her wonderful imagination.

I finally was able to get my starfish tattoo today. I love it, but am not going to post pics yet. Soon, though--Tuesday I think .

My dad and my brother and his family have all returned from Africa safely. My dad and most of the people he was with, returned dreadfully ill. He has lost quite a bit of weight already. We were all (my family, brother's family, parents) going to go out for dinner tonight to celebrate my mom's birthday together. Her birthday is actually tomorrow, but since Michael and family were already here from Appleton, tonight worked best. My dad thought he was feeling better but became extremely sick again right before it was time to leave, so he couldn't join us. My mom is taking him to the emergency room. He probably just picked up a little hitch-hiking parasite, but whatever it is needs to be resolved quickly.