Meet Valentino!

<-- This is Valentino. He will be staying with us for a few months while his mom recovers from a bad car accident. They were very sad to have to leave each other, and it made me feel so bad for both of them. She will be coming to visit him when she can.

Saffron and Cypress (also doves) were very excited to see one of their own kind and have been competing for Valentino's attention. He just arrived this afternoon and is getting acclimated to his new environment. He's very sweet and affectionate, and we're excited to get to know him better.


He has met all of the birds, the rabbits, and Luciana even introduced him to Botswana, who is always curious about anyone new in his room.

We made it to the farmer's market during work today. Poor Sarita has been struggling with problems with one of her apps (hosed by an Oracle upgrade), and really needed to get out of our office! It's hard to take the time to step away when things aren't working, but it really helps.

The canteloupes are officially done for the season, so I will have to wait several months to enjoy them again. Once they are available at the market, I make sure to always have one cut up and ready to snack on in the fridge. I am completely addicted to them! I was able to get one last week, but no more. I'm mourning the loss of my sweet, delicious melons! That's a word I can't actually say in front of my husband, because he cannot hear that word without turning into a snickering adolescent.

Happy Dassera!

A very busy weekend!

I spent all day Saturday painting. I needed to remove some wallpaper and repaint the side entryway and some areas in the family room. It was not fun at all, but I am glad I got so much done.

Saturday night was date night, and M surprised me with tickets to opening night of the symphony at the beautiful Coronado Theater (in Rockford). The featured violinist was fantastic! We had a very nice time. The beautiful music is so well complemented by the stunning decor that I was thrilled to have another few hours to gaze at. You know what you don't see enough of at the opening night of the symphony? Tattoos. Definitely not a tattooed crowd.

My entire day today was spent in the kitchen. Yuk! I baked 5 dozen cupcakes for a baby shower I'm throwing this week (for a woman I barely know, but that's a long story for another day). More accurately, 4 dozen for the shower, 1 dozen for the family. In the midst of baking, I also made pizza for dinner. We ended up being so short on time that we had to take our pizza to eat on the way to Madison (to the Dassera celebration).

L didn't have dance today, as there was a Dassera celebration tonight--L's first Bharatanatyam performance. She was very nervous, but she did fine. The room wasn't conducive to good pictures, but at least you can sort of see her. The performances were quite enjoyable, and Meenakshi sang beautifully! I need to get a pretty salwar kameez for myself. All of the women looked so beautiful--even the other American women, and my American clothes were not nearly as pretty. Or sparkly. I want to sparkle too, dammit.

Thursday

Thursday was our first appointment at the doggy pool. L & I took all three dogs, Jezebel, Daisy, and Chloe, to Dunkin' Dogs for a one-hour swim session. I wasn't sure what to expect, and none of the dogs has ever been swimming (at least since we've adopted them).

The first challenge was driving across town with all three dogs in the backseat of the Corolla. Unfortunately, there are only two windows in the back, so that caused a lot of shuffling around back there, as each tried to get a window. We made it safely, but it was a wild ride!

Chloe started us off just superbly by walking through the door and proceeding to pee all over the floor. Since none of the girls were expert swimmers, they all got a life jacket. They were definitely scared at first and not particularly willing to enter the water. They had to be tossed into the pool. They went one at a time, and Nancy stays in the pool the entire time. I sat on the edge and helped with getting them in and out. I was also their cheering section, encouraging each little swimmer and clapping and making a big production when they got back to the edge.

Nancy walked back and forth, guiding each dog, as they paddled with all their might. They were SO cute! Daisy, when left to her own power just swims in a little circle over and over. Jezi and Chloe were better able to keep to a straight line. I was completely soaked, as I was in the pool and holding the dogs, and so was Luce. By the end of their hour session, those three dogs were exhausted. It was a lot of fun, and my only regret is that I forgot my camera and got no pictures. I'm definitely taking it next time!

They have another appointment in two weeks, and we will continue going regularly. We're hoping that regular swimming will help with Chloe's hip displaysia and help her to lose weight. Minimally, though, it will get the girls in good shape and provide some variety and excitment to their lives.

We came home, cleaned up, ate a quick lunch and then went to meet with a woman who does guinea pig rescue. L is going to adopt some guinea pigs from her, so we were meeting the piggies and looking at her very cool homemade giant cages. She took in 8 rescue piggies earlier in the week, and two of the pregnant ones (there may be three more that are still pregnant!) gave birth the night before, so we got to see the little piggies who were less than 24 hours old. They were SO cute! We were shocked by how big they are. They were about the size of a newborn kitten, and given the size of an adult guinea pig compared to an adult cat, I can't imagine how those poor tiny mommies can carry four giant babies! Their eyes were fully open, and they were running around already.

<-- This is one of the girls L is hoping to adopt.

Wednesday

It's been such a busy week! I think I'll have to do a few separate posts, or this will be epic--even for me. Wednesday, I took the day off to attend the public hearing on the 'puppy mill bill' (AB250/SB208). Allegrea and I rode together. Unfortunately, Les couldn't go. We got there early enough that we were able to go to the farmer's market and get lots of good produce and of course we grabbed some vegan apricot bars and some vegan chocolate muffins.

We got to the hearing fairly early and were surprised to see that the large room was almost full already. We found two seats together and were even happier to see that we ended up being right near Eilene R-R (from the No WI Puppy Mills project) and a large group of our side. There were around 300 people there, with the vast majority being there to support the bill (yay!), and only a few opposing. Those very few who spoke in opposition of the bill did more harm to their own cause than good. It was perfect and quit entertaining. The bill is on pretty solid footing now, with the only threat of not passing being due to budget issues. We just have to keep contacting our representatives and hoping for the best now.

One of the most notable dog pimps there was an old man--well into his 60's, probably closer to 70. He spiffed himself up in his finest fancy wear for court. He was wearing jeans that were somewhat clean, a white button-up shirt that was stained with yellowish areas (sweat?, urine?, probably best that we don't know what it was), red suspenders and a color coordinated red, whit, and blue trucker hat. The trucker hat was the piece de resistance, and he kept it firmly upon his head throughout the entire proceedings. The hat had printed front and center in bright red letters, wait for it...this is priceless...

PUSSY FARMER
and proud of it!

We tried to get a photo of it with our phones, but were unable to get one in which you can see and read the logo. It was pretty special, and he made a great representative for a group of people who pay for dogs to have sex, so they can sell their babies into an overpopulated world.

The hearing was scheduled to go from 10-1, but it went until 2:45. No breaks. No food. It made for a long day. We cried--some of the testimony was heartbreaking, and they had a fantasticly huge blown up picture of one of the precious mill survivors who didn't make it. It was very emotional. By the end, we had been through this emotional roller coaster, we were tired and hungry, and we started to get the giggles.

I was too keyed up to sleep Tuesday night, so I was super tired and wishing for a nap after the hearing. In reality, though, I got home in time to clean up and put away my farmer's market goodies, and then run straight out to meet M at a volunteer dinner at the gardens.

After the dinner, I came home and read to L and got her and the animals all settled for bed. Then I went over to Dej's to hang out with her for a while and to get some new pictures of my grandkitties. They've grown a ton since I last took pics of them. As always, within two minutes of my sitting on the couch and setting my water down, Tallulah (Tillie) had stolen and mangled my straw. Sparta, Tillie, and Allistair showed off their athletic prowess in chasing the laser until poor little Allistair got so tired he was panting.


Myrtle is still really shy with me, so she stayed in the cat room, but was fine with letting me pet her when I went in to visit her.

Two on Tuesday

The critters that live with us have such a knack for making me smile/laugh, which I especially appreciate on a dreary, ugly day like today.

Two things they did that brought happy sunshine into my day today:

1. When the cats hear me gathering and filling their bowls, they get ridiculously excited. Twice a day, every day, as soon as they hear me grab their bowls (and no matter how hard I try to be quiet about it, they ALWAYS hear), they start running around like little maniacs, sharpening their claws, climbing like kittens, in anticipation of their meal. Seeing their unbridled joy over the simple bowl of food tickles me completely. It's impossible not to smile!

2. I love to see the lineup of furry little cat and dog rear ends, side by side, waching the little vole outside. The vole makes repeated trips to the bowl of cat food I have outside (to feed the strays), climbs into the bowl grabs one piece, and then runs back to its little hidey hole in the garden. The vole is very diligent and will make this trip 20-30 times, all while the cats and dogs have their little faces pressed up to the door, wishing they could get to that vole who is a mere 8 inches away. This is why my side door is always covered with nose prints. Sometimes there will be up to six of them lined up in this little entryway. Mark was quick with the camera, and got a pic that shows the cute little vole (look closely, just to the left of the food dish), along with Chloe and Petey, who were enjoying the show.

M won first place in the chili cookoff again. He actually tied for first, but he likes to think of himself as the only winner. I’m pretty sure his secret lay in the fact that since he only cooks twice a year (also on St. Patricks’s Day for the “Irish meal”), he has lots of cooking mojo that builds up. He tantalizingly mentioned to me that he could see himself really getting into cooking when he retires. Why wait? I would be happy to retire from the kitchen and would gleefully turn it over to anyone who doesn’t cook with body parts from living creatures!

We had a good time at the chili cookoff, and we all ate enough chili that we paid for it later! L & H came, but Dej had to work and couldn’t make it. My parents came, and we stopped to pick up my friend, Em, on the way. We filled up a whole table, and ate lots of chili. Of course AFA had provided their usual selection of delicious vegan desserts, which I enjoyed immensely. I always look forward to the desserts!

I’m still a lonely plant-sale widow for another week. While I’d like to think it will be better now for a little bit—at least until the light show construction starts—I doubt it. There’s still the 8 zillion speaking events he has on nights and weekends year round.

Yesterday was a bit of a cluster for me. Every single thing I touched, I dropped/broke/spilled. My future computer genius, Hunter, managed to accidentally install several nasty, nasty pieces of malware on my old XP machine. I have to keep this one old XP machine, because our food buying club still lives in the dark ages, and their clunky software only runs on XP. Until our group decides to move into the century and use the web application that’s available, I have to keep my old dinosaur limping along. Since orders are due this week, this machine has to be up and running if I want to get food, and I do. I spent 7 hours working on that crap yesterday. Computer issues really, really piss me off.

H sat next to me for several hours of my frustrating computer work, talking. And talking, and talking, non-stop! He always has billions of questions about how things work and what this item does and what that component does. So I’m working in the registry (never fun), and he’s asking about every single entry and key. “What is that one for?” “What does that do?” I love the curiosity and would hate to break his desire to learn, but in my head, I was just screaming, “SHUT UP!! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!” I managed to restrain myself, as I do when L gets me to that point: “Honey, I love that you’re asking good questions right now, but I cannot answer questions right now. This work makes me very crabby, and I need to not hear anything for a while.” That helped, for about 15 minutes.

Saturday afternoon, I spent a good portion of the day helping the children to negotiate who would have which type of privileges on the computers they use. L decided to change the rights of the machine she now works on. She logged in as me, granted herself administrative privileges and granted Hunter user privileges only. To pay her back, he got on the other machine and did the same. They then decided to go in with their administrative roles and invoke extremely strict parental controls on each other. We finally came to an agreement that I would be the ONLY administrator, and they could each be power users with the less strict parental controls that I had initially set up for them. They are 9 and 8, and fighting over roles. I love my unique little geeks!

Due to a major miscommunication, I was unable to take L to her Bharatanatyam class Sunday afternoon for the first time. I hated missing her class! M was actually working the plant sale, and had to take off a few hours to take her to class. It was nice for her, in that it gave her a little extra time to see him, and she hasn’t had much of that lately. I was especially sorry that I missed it, though, after hearing him whinge about the indignity he suffered there. Poor, poor M was recruited to help with some Dassera decorations for next Sunday. He was given the ignominius task of wrapping wooden dowels with shiny purple and silver decorative paper. He had to use tape. And glue. And as he’s describing the horrific experience of kneeling on the floor with some of the other mom’s, working on this project, I am rudely laughing my ass off. He was just so distraught over the whole thing, and worst of all, the kneeling hurt his knees. I asked what seemed to me to be a logical question, “If the kneeling was so painful, why didn’t you just sit on your tush?” His answer, preceded with an icy glare that conveyed instantly that I, who was so inexperienced in dowel decoration, could never understand the logistics involved, was simply, “The logistics—it just needed to be that way.”

What are the odds that the one class I don’t attend, is the one at which parental involvement is needed? I so wish I could have watched the whole thing! Of course if I had been there to watch, he certainly wouldn’t be doing it! Every time I think about it, it makes me giggle a little!

This sign is hanging out Luciana's bedroom window (on the 2nd floor). It says "Break a leg". I have no idea why she put a sign out her bedroom window that says that. I asked her why, and she replied, "Because I wanted to." I guess that makes sense. Why else would one put a sign out one's bedroom window?

Another wild Friday night

I'm feeling pretty good right now. I have my grading and prep done already, and it's only Friday! That means I can focus on my homeschooling work tomorrow, and then I can enjoy the weekend.

Mark's working on chili prep--chopping vegetables--for the annual chili cookoff tomorrow night. Notice the his red, watery eyes, from the onions he just finished chopping. That, right there, should be an indicator that onions are disgusting and should not be eaten by humans.

I've been working in the kitchen, so I can hang with M while he chops and I grade. He's got the radio on, and they've been playing good music tonight, that has helped me feel in a good mood and hyper! Thompson Twins, The Cars, Rick Springfield, John Cougar Mellencamp--yes, it's a good radio night! L is downstairs working on one of her blogs, and H is upstairs working on the computer he built (he's spending the weekend with us, as usual).

I take pictures, every so often, of L's art table/desk, as it's always an interesting peek into her world. Here's what's going on over there right now.


This is one of her many dress designs--not sure why she picked this one to hang.


These are some random cat things she taped to the wall.

Loving this post today

Saw this posted elsewhere and tracked it back to Carrie's website. It was written and posted by Carrie Fisher, and as I struggle with weight and aging, I particularly appreciated seeing it this morning. I haven't really thought about or noticed Carrie Fisher lately, though 30 years ago, I wanted to be Princess Leia so badly (and Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman)! I had Princess Leia action figures and a big doll with hair that I could style into little donuts or whatever else took my fancy. Based on this statement, at least, I'm happy to see that one of my childhood heros turned out to be a pretty cool woman. You tell 'em, girl!

Weight AND Wisdom!By Carrie • Sep 6th, 2009 • Category: News

I thought that I’d forgotten one of the things I was thinking of writing about, but now I remember………at least I think I do…… One thing is that I foolishly Googled myself last nite—–because the Enquirer has been trying to get me to confirm some asinine thing I said as a bad joke AGES ago, & I wanted to see if had shown up somewhere—- which it hadn’t—– until now, when I stupidly call attention to this non event here——- ANYWAY—–in the process of searching, I found that someone had posted that I USED to be hot, but that now I looked like Elton John. As much as I attempted to place myself above the reach of this observation……
I must admit that…..yup……. This ended up hurting my feelings—–all 7 of them.

You see, I was hot when most people are hot—- in my fucking 20’s & part of my 30’s……THEN, in an effort to imitate humans, I had a child &, to further maintain my life like disguise, I took medications for about 9 thousand years, &, despite all my efforts, I continued to get older & older——inadvertently, I assure you———-I tried to arrest my development physically as WELL as emotionally, but unfortunately without as much success. I also must confess that I ate food. I’m sorry….. I realize that I promised never to eat anything but lettuce & sun flower seeds, but tragically, I was unable to keep my promise

Yes, I realize…..I KNOW that I vowed to exercise for 3 hours a day—-aerobics, pilates AND yoga, but alas, I admit with a large quota of shame, that I failed to fulfill this other important commitment.NO, I shouldn’t look as if 30 years have passed. I understand completely if you can’t find it in your heart to forgive me for looking like 3 decades have passed…….Of COURSE you should mock & belittle me for being so large!! What else could you POSSIBLY do?????!? I’ve let you down by treating my body as though it were just some giant sad sack that I use to haul my personality around. You have every right to compare me to Yoda or Elton or Kirstie…….I’ve brought it on myself.

But here’s this thing that I found myself wondering………what the fuck do YOU look like??!

I know i don’t really have the right to ask……I’m a public figure——Ive made an unspoken contract to keep that figure slim…….but still, I find myself wondering…….See, I think the folks that insult & mock celebrities who DARE to pack on ten pounds or—–God forbid——MORE than ten!…..I would think it only fair that they post a photo of themselves along with their poisonous observations! And you know what else would be SUPER cool??? Their IQ! ALL the numbers! An approximate count of Weight AND wisdom!

And as a teeny aside—–my show on Broadway is not about my appearance. Oh sure, I’m killing myself trying to lose weight before I open so I won’t offend any theater goers eyes while attempting to entertain them via their ears…… But just in case I don’t achieve my goal of keeping my promise to look 25 & instead manage to remind you of bulbous slugs or gay, iconic musicians……..I’d like to take this opportunity to offer this quasi poignant explanation & to say to those of you I’ve visually offended…… from the bottom of my heart encased in fat——-
BLOW MY BIG BOVINE tiny dancer COCK!

Two on Tuesday

Tuesdays are tough, with the later class this semester. Instead of my usual 5:30 class, this semester it's at 7:00, which seems to make for a much longer day. Plus I lost out on one of the benefits of my 5:30 class, which was not having to make dinner. Now I come home from working in Madison, make dinner, go to class, and get home at 8:45-9:00. The class itself is great though. I seem to have another good group of students, which makes the class pretty enjoyable for me.

Okay, back to my two. Luciana taught me some very cool things about gerbils that she gleaned in her research. We all think Botswana is the coolest little guy!

1. Gerbils are very social and love to interact. They will respond to a wink by winking back. We've tested this, and it works everytime with Botsi.

2. Gerbils purr when they are content/happy. The first time Botsi did this, we didn't yet know gerbils purred. We thought he was frightened and quivering and felt really bad. Now that we know he's happy, we get very excited when he purrs while being held and petted.

Whinging...

I took a picture of this new quilt yesterday, (which I found on clearance sale!) because I just love it! I love the toile design, the colors, the weight, the quilting, the texture. It will never look this beautiful again, and I want to remember it in its glory--the first day I put it on. It will, very soon, be stained, ripped, and nasty. Our quilts get heavy usage and frequent washing, so they have a pretty short lifespan. Last night, a few short hours after I took the picture, I managed to spill blue nail polish remover all over the it. I think I got it washed out, but the next spill is just around the corner.

I’m a plant-sale widow again, so the few brief moments M is home, he’s so worn out from overworking that he’s immediately sleeping. He’s working long days, seven days a week. Again. Besides missing my partner, I get very frustrated watching him do this to himself repeatedly!

He was out cold within about five minutes of getting L settled into bed. We were going to watch a movie Dej had brought over for us, and I hadn’t even started the movie when he started snoring! I sent him to bed, knowing he had to be up early Sunday morning to put in another long day. Dej and her new ‘friend’ came over and kept me company for a few hours. I went up to bed at around 1:00, because I was tired, but didn’t do very well with sleep.

I notice that many of the nights that I am unable to sleep, the cats are noisy and disturb me a lot. It’s tempting to assume I don’t sleep because they tear around like little maniacs all night long. I suspect, though, that they are behaving as they normally do, but since I’m wakeful and frustrated, I notice it more than when I’m sleeping peacefully.

I wasn’t feeling quite ready to discuss this topic, but I guess it’s time, considering that I mentioned Dej and her ‘friend’. She has broken up with Joe, and he is no longer living there. I’m not happy about it. M & I love Joe and his mom and wish they would have been able to work it out. I never had delusions that (at their young ages) this was for life, but we did hope they would stay together until she finished school. I’m extra sad for my poor little grandkitties, who have suffered the trauma of a relationship ending and don’t understand where Joe went. They were very close to him. I’m still mourning the loss, which is a tough adjustment, particularly since I’m not thrilled with her current replacement.

My spawn, keeper of all knowledge in the universe, is annoyed that I am sad and haven’t just moved on and bonded with the current beau. Apparently I am supposed to instantly accept and love whoever she brings over. I’m supposed to ignore or at least not share any gut instincts or warning signs I get about the new partner. Then, when she’s done with them, out of the clear blue, I’m supposed to be happy about it and move on to the next and no longer care about what happens to the person who had been included as “part of the family”. I lack the ability to change my emotions on a dime—loving and unloving on command, and I guess the parents of adults are supposed to have that skill. This sucks.

I did manage to have a little fun when Dej left herself logged into Facebook on my laptop. I made some very special posts for her and modified some choice bits of her profile. It was pretty funny to me at the time. I was doubled over laughing, unable to breath, as I watched her face as she read my handiwork on her profile and the comments “she” made. I’m enjoying it now, because she informed me that when I least expect it, she will get me back. So…if my FB comments start to seem even weirder than usual or something like that, it’s probably my richly deserved payback.

M made it home from work Sunday night just in time for family movie night. We usually kind of take the summer off, because we’d rather she play outside than watch a movie. This Sunday was extra special though, because the new Scooby movie that L had been so excited about was premiering. We’ve seen all of the Scooby movies and shows a few times. The new movie was okay. It didn’t rock my world, but she enjoyed it.

Another sleepless night followed. L Maybe tonight will be the night I finally get some rest!

Darwin, Saffron, and Kealy - the first to get to their nightly snack.



I took some pics tonight in the birdroom, while everyone was enjoying their fresh greens and strawberries. Except Botswana, who doesn't like greens and only ate a strawberry.

Fiona & Fergus - Despite having a variety of chewing material in the room, they always chew the foam off of the mats on the floor. They are still chewing away on the couch, too. >:-[



Botsi loves to run around on us during our nightly reading time.

I spent half of today chauffering a precious little kitten to Verona, and the remaining portion listening to my dumbass neighbor trying to use a bobcat to take out a giant tree stump. The tree was a huge, gorgeous sugar maple--probably 75 years old or more. There was nothing wrong with it. It apparently bothered the neighbor, though, what with all the leaves and shade. The rest of the neighbors are appalled as well. It has ruined the picturesque look of our street! Who rips out a gorgeous, healthy shade tree that's in the terrace? M & I are getting a little chuckle out of the fact that their air conditioning bill is going to skyrocket. That provided shade to the entire front of their house, which is almost all windows. Idiots. Yeah, anyway, instead of grinding out the stump like normal people do, he decides he's going to pull it out with a bobcat. Clearly a man who has no understanding of how tree roots work. He's still out there working with the headlights on! Can't wait until daylight to see what kind of mess is out there.

I picked up the kitten from an empty duplex today. This little tiny guy was there all by himself in this empty house. Poor little thing came running as soon as the door opened. I swung by my vet's office to pick up a dose of Revolution, so he didn't take anything into the wonderful no-kill shelter I was taking him to. We had absolutely no place to put him, and Angel's Wish was so helpful in squeezing in a spot in a foster home for him. I've never been to their shelter before (in Verona), and I was quite impressed by it today.

While on I90, shortly before my beltline exit, I started smelling something nasty. I asked the kids (L & H), who were in the back with the kitten, if either of them had crapped themselves (my classy way of asking if they farted), and they said it was the kitten, and he'd been farting for quite a few miles. I guess it took a bit for the smell to travel up to me. I then proceeded to tease the kids about blaming their nasty farts on a poor innocent little kitten. By this point in the conversation, we're on the beltline, and the smell has gotten much more intense. I started to gag. I asked if the kitten had pooped. They said no. I asked what the kitten was doing, they said, "he's sitting." Me: "sitting?" Luce: "uhhhh...eeewww, he's pooping. Well fuck.

By the time we arrived at the shelter, nearly 20 minutes later, we were slightly dizzy from all the breath holding we did in an effort to survive the toxic waste in the Corolla with us. We were so happy to get out of that car. I then had the pleasure of cleaning up. We felt pretty good for the ride home, we left the little sweety in capable, loving hands, and we could breathe without wretching.

Tica and the table issue (yes, created by me) is getting worse. My dogs are spared somewhat from being completely spoiled and indulged, because I know it's bad for them and makes them unhappy. It's kind of hard for me, but I completely believe in "the cesar method", so I can handle it. The cats don't really suffer negatively from being spoiled and indulged, so I tend to spoil them. Tica especially. She has suffered so much in her short little life! I have been trying to keep her off the table. It is a little annoying, and she tends to have a lot of accidents with her little "stumpy" leg (as Mark says). It sticks out behind her and to the side and it frequently knocks things over as she hops around.

As I was getting ready to put dinner on the table, the minute I turned my back to grab food, she made her move, leaping to the middle of the kitchen table. I've been trying to keep her off, but her strategy seems to be just to wait long enough and I will eventually turn my back, and she jumps. M and I both told her, "no", and she turned to jump down. Her little stumpy leg hit his large, 40 oz. cup of peach iced tea. It hit the table and with great force and velocity, the iced tea was splashed across the entire kitchen--walls, floor, everywhere. Despite having scrubbed the kitchen down several times, we are still running into sticky iced tea spots!

As unpleasant as that was, I felt very lucky. Just a few minutes before that, I had moved my stack of Skeptical Inquirer magazings (from the library!!) from that table to the counter. I was really looking forward to reading those mags. and would also have really not been happy about having to pay a replacement fee because they had been soaked with peach iced tea!

The cat then had the nerve to try to get back up on the table after everything was cleaned up. By the time I got to sit down and eat, my food was cold and everyone else was done. She would not stay off the table. It was maddening! I had even given her a generous tablespoon of my (leftover) lentil pilaf on a little 'plate' for her on the stool next to me. She would not touch her food until she was able to get back up on the kitchen table after, and only after, I finished my food and was doing dishes. I am going to continue to try to keep her off the table, and I'm sure she will continue to resist my efforts. This battle could potentially continue for the next 15 years!

Today L & I had a really fun and productive day of learning. We had to take a break mid-afternoon to attend to more messy animal issues. Daisy and Jezebel were enjoying today's gorgeous weather and having some playtime in the back yard. Daisy came in with a streak of dark sticky matter along her right side, from her body up to her neck. She had rolled in something, and it smelled like hell. I mean it was bad and unlike anything I could describe. I have encountered it in the past, however, also smeared along Daisy's body. It was really, really hard to get the stickiness off, and the smell didn't go away for a couple of weeks. Nast! We looked all over our fenced in back and side yard but could find anything that would have caused that. It wasn't crap. It wasn't skunk spray. It was just completely repulsive in every way possible!

We put a reluctant Daisy into the tub and used the handsprayer on her. L. had to stand next to me the entire time, blocking her from leaping out of the tub and making a bigger mess. I soaped her up three times with lavendar castille soap. I then rinsed her with red vinegar. I then washed her again. The sticky black was gone, but the smell, though fainter, still remained. I sprayed an enzyme neutralizer spray on her stinky areas, but that hasn't eliminated it either. I guess time will be the only thing capable of eliminating the mystery stench. At least it brought some unexpected adventure and lots of laughs to our day.

If we get our learning goals met in time tomorrow, we will give Jezi a bath--just for fun. We have art/drawing, and music/piano, along with several fun projects. It should be a great day!

Those have been my adventure-filled days. L & I have a little fall headcold, so it's been kind of a challenge form me to keep up with both of my jobs and our learning, but we've done okay. We should be back to 100% by next week.

Tame yourself

A poem and complementary picture from Luciana.

"I feel a slight breeze, one that

barely sitrs the trees Yet the rain pours

down

Life comes out of trees and holes.

Birds sing, they enjoy the rain.

Tis a sodden boy walking in the rain, but

the rain floods the countryside. The world

is sodden but yet the beauty grows, green pops

up from the earth. Yet I sit and wonder what is life without Death?"

I so enjoyed this Monday off but am now starting to stress about going back to work tomorrow. I know that my computer is still in the same erratic, crappy condition I left it in, and I'm going to have to go in tomorrow morning and deal with that. Yuk!

I've been working furiously away at getting everything in order for L's homeschooling. She starts her first full week of learning tomorrow. I'm all ready and excited for her to get going. She will be working on a lot of new subjects this year, but they were all subjects that she indicated an interest in, so there shouldn't be too much opposition. I'm so jealous that she gets to spend everyday learning! That would be a dream come true for me!

I haven't have much leisure computer time for the last couple of weeks, but I'm hoping that will be a little bit better now that I have my college class and L's classes prepped.

We had date night Saturday and went out with some friends in Madison. We had a great night! We went to see the movie, District 9. It was quite good. The graphics were fantastic! The aliens were extremely well done. It was a movie that leaves a lot to think about and talk about, particularly in regards to how humans define "other" versus "us". It's always interested me greatly, mainly because that "us" status is granted so rarely, usually after a fight or war of some sort, and because they seem so incapable of learning from the past and applying it to new situations.

We got carryout from Ban Thai (which included a couple of orders of sticky rice with mango) and enjoyed a fun evening at their home, with good company and good food. They are, of course, AR vegans also, so we were on the same wavelength in our thoughts and discussions about the movie. The only bad part of the night was the drive back from Madison so late.

I had some nice grown-up time on Sunday. I was supposed to go to my friend's house after L's Bharatanatyam class to photograph her foster cat. L returned home from my parents' feeling horrible. She went with a cold Saturday night, but by Sunday morning, she was miserable enough that we felt she should stay home and rest. That freed me up to go to Julie's and enjoy some visiting time. We enjoyed a few beers on her big deck that overlooks the lake. It's always nice to visit with her.

I was hoping Julie would drop some wisdom on me. She's my original mentor from way back when I was in college. She was an AR activist and vegan long before I was, and she always has good advice and guidance for me when I need it. In talking to Julie as well as with Rick & Lynn Saturday, I was looking for direction. I'm feeling very stagnant right now and am struggling with the most effective way for the movement to make some progress. They are feeling the same way. We're all kind of plodding along, trying to figure out what the fuck to do now. They were supposed to have all the answers for me! I count on them knowing everything that I don't, and it makes me very nervous when they don't. Since it really makes me feel better to believe that the "parents" of the AR movement really do have all the answers, I plan to try to delude myself that they do indeed know everything, but they are choosing not to share it with me yet because I'm not ready for that knowledge. It works well for the godbots, so I've decided to try it as well. ;)

This blog entry is taking absolutely forever! I've spent way too much time today watching the Cesar marathon (dog whisperer). He's another one I choose to grant 'god' status to. When it comes to dogs, Cesar knows absolutely everything. He is infallible. I keep looking up at the show and then I get sucked in and forget about my blogging. Okay... I am now giving up on the blog (after breaking away from another 15 minutes of watching). The Cesar is too strong to ignore.

TGIF

My two cuties on their recent UP camping trip.

This hasn't been a fun week! I've been stressed and things are not going well. My pc at work has become possessed--this is the new pc that I've spent weeks trying to get set up to work with my multi-platform, multi-language environment. It's behaving in strange and completely illogical ways and is very erratic. It simply makes no sense. So I'm frustrated with that and falling farther behind every day. I don't think there is any way I can make my next two project deadlines, even if the strange issues with my pc just magically disappeared. I left work Weds. feeling very unhappy.

Last night (Thurs.) was my first class of this semester. I got everything finished up in time, and it should have gone smoothly. I am in a new classroom and a new office, in the newly constructed building. Both the classroom and my office are lovely, but they're new, which is stressful for me. I knew my old classroom so well--all its little issues, how to get around the things that didn't work quite right--it was comfortable for me. The new classroom has cutting-edge technology is beautiful and everything seems to work, but I don't have the old comfortable, familiar feeling with it yet.

Despite being prepared, early, and having a fully-functional classroom, it was one of the worst classes I've ever experienced. It's important, especially the first few classes, to be very upbeat, positive, and fun. The computer science classes can be very intimidating to students, so I work hard to get them relaxed and unafraid, so they are able to learn (and hopefully have a little fun, too). Unfortunately, I had a migraine. I took a lot of drugs, and used every ounce of discipline I had to be "on" for the duration of the class. I felt horrible! I was unbelievably hot yet having profuse cold sweats--dripping! I also had to repeatedly swallow the vomit that came up in my mouth. It was horrible beyond words. I made it through, with the students none the wiser (I think/hope), and had barely enough left in me to make the drive home. I came home and continued to get sicker. I guess it was all from the migraine, because when that finally broke in the middle of the night, all the sickness left, too.

Today has gone much better, so I am choosing to think everything will be looking up from now on. We had a great day of schooling today. I'm going into this year very well organized, and we're off to a good start. We worked on history, keyboarding, Bharatanatyam, drawing/art, music/piano, and I even squeezed some housework in.

Tonight we took the kids (L & H) to the library. There was a strange assortment of patrons there, and quite a few groups of rowdy kids. Mark saw a both group of loud children and a man (completely unrelated incident)get kicked out. It was unusually busy for a Friday evening--kind of weird. I went with a list of four books that I was hoping to get to complement our history studies and managed to get all four. I was pretty giddy over that.

We came home, and I made pizza burgers for dinner, and now the kids are downstairs enjoying their sleepover. They picked out some children's movies from the library to watch later. They are currently working on the computers down there, having their "blog time". They each have several blogs, most of which are dedicated to Cat Warriors fan fic. They're so cute!

We are really, really, super desperate for wonderful, loving cat homes. Please consider opening your hearts and homes just a little bit, to let some of this wonderful kitty love in. And beg all of your friends and relatives to do the same. The situation has really now come down to life or death for these cats/kittens, and they are so wonderful and loving, that would be a tragedy! Remember how important it is for all of us to sacrifice and share our homes with others less fortunate. It's not going to get any better as we slide into fall and winter! Plus I'm getting really worn out and tired, and adopting a cat or three would really help me sleep at night! :-D

Two on Tuesday

I am working so hard trying to get ready for the semester (both for the college and for Luciana) and am quickly running out of time, so tonight's just a quick picture post.

M is a good photographer, so I had a really, really difficult timing choosing just two to post! My two favorites from their father/daughter camping trip last week.

1. I love this waterfall and can almost hear the water!

2. It was about 68 degrees (F), raining, with a water temp of about 40-45 deg (F), and here's our girl.