Monday April 26, 2004
..............................

Friday I went out and bought my new refrigerator. It was part of the kitchen remodeling plan, and it was time for it. It's almost 30% bigger than the old one, and it's a side-by-side with ice and water in the door. And it's black, to match my dishwasher and stove.

I asked how soon it could be delivered and they confirmed Sunday (yesterday). Great, thought I, and paid for it and left happy. They called later to say it would be delivered between 7:15 and 9:15 am. Kinda early, I thought, but I was up at 6:30 Sunday morning, emptying out the old 'fridge. At 6:47 the truck pulled up outside. I was nowhere near ready. We shifted into Panic Mode. I quickly got dressed while the Husband began clearing space downstairs for the old 'fridge. We even found time to feed Opie (who waited patiently by his dish while we frantically ran around).

While the delivery guys took measurements for getting the new 'fridge up the stairs, I finished emptying the old 'fridge (I just put stuff anywhere). They wanted to move old 'fridge out before bringing in the new one, so I moved cars out of the driveway so they could bring it in through the garage, which gave the Husband time to finish clearing space downstairs.

The old 'fridge was going into my future stamping room (the Husband's old darkroom), which is behind a bar in the family room. With the doors removed from the old 'fridge, there was still only 1/4" (7mm) of clearance between the bar and the back wall. But the delivery guys accommodated us cheerfully (and I gave 'em a big tip for it).

So now the kitchen is almost complete. I'm waiting for the new countertop and drawer hardware for the new base cabinet, plus some more wall tile. Then the kitchen is complete. On to the attic, stamping room and front step renovations.

I think we must be insane.

 

Monday May 3, 2004
..............................

The last few years have been tough ones. I lost my Uncle Sam in August of 2002, my Mom in June of 2003 and this week my Grandmother. Grams came to live with Mom and Dad when Uncle Sam got sick. She was 99 years old and sharp as a tack. She had her own apartment until she was 96 and while taking out her trash she slipped on ice and broke her hip. She had pins put in and from then on needed a walker to get around.

She was so fortunate to have so many people love her and moved in with my Uncle Sam's dear friend. They took care of her needs perfectly. When she moved in with my parents, my Dad was busy keeping things going with my Mom who had Alzheimer's. His devotion to both Mom and Grams was unbelievable.

Although we had lived over 300 miles away most of our lives, we all have such wonderful memories of Grams. As small kids we could do no wrong. I still her saying "Awww Joe, they're not doing anything wrong" "Gloria, leave them alone" She was the perfect grandmother in our eyes.

Every morning one of my sisters or I would go over and get Grams ready for another day. She hated mornings more than me. We'd bathe her get her dressed and figure out what to give her for breakfast. She did like eggs. And we considered ourselves lucky to be able to see her daily and talk and ask her questions about her life. She had a very full one. We learned about her Mom and Dad, her brothers and sisters, my Dad and Uncle Sam. She told us of her experiences as a young woman selling lamps, a job that was considered a man's job. Women sold "womanly" things. I do believe she was ahead of her time.

She loved my laugh. It made her laugh. It was fun watching her interact with her great-grandchildren. I was lucky because the little ones didn't consider me old. Their definition of old was over 100. They called her Gramma Terese.

Last week, when I went over to get her up, she was unresponsive. The day before she had eaten a sausage omelet, toast, 2 cups of coffee and a biscotti for breakfast for me. I tried to rouse her, but we ended up at the hospital where, after a few minor tests, they told us that her organs were just worn out. We got her comfortable in a private room and stayed with her, talking to her, holding her hand and she very peacefully passed away. I'm glad that she really lived all the way to the end of her life. The day before she was teasing her great-grandchildren about what her favorite color was. They thought they knew it was red although she told them it was green. She did laughingly admit finally that it was red.

We were so fortunate to have her with us for so many years. We'll miss her. She'll always be in our hearts.

I love you, Grams.

 

Monday May 10, 2004
..............................

The Husband's nephew graduated from college this past weekend, and we decided to attend. The school (James Madison University) in located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, which is about five hours away. Normally.

We planned to leave around noon on Friday and take a leisurely drive through the picturesque Shenandoah Valley. But our departure was too leisurely, and we didn't get on the road 'til one o'clock. We figured we'd get lunch on the road. An hour later we ran into very heavy traffic, so we got off at the next exit and found a Steak and Ale and had a leisurely lunch. We then had to follow a circuitous route back to the interstate, which got us to a traffic jam in Baltimore, delaying our arrival in Washington DC until the 5 o'clock rush hour. We were stuck on the Washington Beltway for over two hours, creeping along mostly in second gear. How do people who commute to jobs in DC go through this every day?

When we finally escaped that mess, we were greeted with a downpour. Make that a deluge. We sought respite at a McDonald's until it was over.

The Husband's sister (mother of the grad) kept calling to see how we were doing. We finally arrived around 9 pm, totally spent. We spent some time with the Husband's other sister and her family before retiring early.

The graduation ceremonies, by comparison, were much better. We attended a fun party at the grad's house with lots or relatives in attendance, and left around 6pm. The drive home was 5 hours, 10 minutes. Much, much better.

And Opie was glad to see us. And we him. There's nothing like being greeted by contented purring after hours on the road :)

 

Monday May 16, 2004
..............................

Last summer our gas barbecue grill ran out of gas. I tend to use the grill year-round, even during the winteriest months. But for whatever reason, the propane tank has sat empty for the past eleven months (procrastination gets much easier with age!).

So Saturday I decided to give the ol' grill a major cleaning and put it back into action. Then I hauled the tank over to Home Depot and exchanged it for a filled one (this has become the new way of getting the tanks filled - rather than taking it somewhere that pumps new propane into your old tank, you just bring in the old empty tank and exchange it for a new filled one. Much easier and quicker).

My father was over most of the day helping to install the pull-down attic stairs. It was very hot up there (over a hundred degrees F.) so it was slow going. But they did get the opening cut and framed and a couple of the floor panels temporarily in place before calling it quits for the day. Then we watched the Preakness Stakes (a horse race, second of the Triple Crown). Normally I wouldn't be interested, but a local horse won the Kentucky Derby (and, as it turned out, the Preakness also) so the whole thing was getting a lot of hype, making everyone want to watch the race (which is the purpose of hype, I guess).

Then I was ready to put the barbecue grill back into action. Now I thought the quick disconnect fittings (for attaching the tank to the grill) were universal. Apparently not. The Husband went to hook up the new tank to the grill and discovered it didn't fit. Great.

So it was back to Home Depot to get a tank with the proper fitting. They didn't have any. Great.

So dinner was via the kitchen. It was still pretty good. But I want my grill back.

 

Saturday May 22, 2004
..............................

One of my godsons graduated with honors (Magna Cum Laude) from Temple University on Thursday. The commencement speaker was Bill Cosby. Unlike the Husband's nephew's graduation a couple weeks ago (where as many relatives/friends could attend as wanted), Temple's graduation ceremony was limited to six attendees per grad (of which I was one).

The big ceremony took place in the field house where Temple plays its basketball games. Following the speeches, the graduating class broke up into individual groups and relocated to their individual schools.

Bill Cosby's speech was the usual inspirational stuff injected with his own brand of humor. But after just a couple minutes he announced that he had another commencement address to deliver at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and he left. We thought he was just being humorous and entertaining. But he was gone. Other speeches followed, then it was over.

Following the awarding of diplomas and congratulatory hugs and photos, we all took the honored guest out to dinner. Temple is located within the city of Philadelphia, which has a lot of first-class restaurants and no parking to speak of. There are lots and parking garages, but they usually require walking long distances and/or a week's salary. But we were persistent and managed to find on-street parking not terribly far from our restaurant of choice.

All our friends' kids are growing up. There will be lots more graduations in the next few years, followed by weddings and kids of their own.

I'm not ready. And never will be.

 

Friday May 28, 2004
..............................

I finally found a propane tank for the gas grill with the proper fitting, and I am once again cookin' with gas. I've used it three times in the past week.

I'm still waiting for my kitchen remodeling to be finished officially. Right after having new cabinet fronts and countertop and sink installed, we decided to go out and buy another base cabinet and wall cabinet to fill the 21" space between the refrigerator and the wall. It all worked out well, and I really enjoy the extra kitchen storage, but I wanted the countertop for the new base cabinet to match the newly-installed countertop. So I called the cabinet folks to whom I had just paid thousands of dollars and asked them to make me a new 21" countertop for the base cabinet. Sure they said. I also wanted hardware for the new cabinets that matched the other cabinets. Oh, that may take a while; they have to be special-ordered.

They said they don't usually handle jobs that small (the small countertop, a new door for the upper cabinet that matches the other cabinet doors, and the new matching hardware), but since I just did a major remodel with these folks, they would make an exception (I would think so!). Then they'll wait for an installation job that won't take a full week, so they can then send the crew over to us to install our new stuff so they don't have to hire a new crew just for one day.

Yesterday they called to say they'd be out today. After waiting nearly two months. But I did say that I wasn't in a big rush for it.

I won't say that again.

 

Wednesday June 2, 2004
..............................

My company sponsors an annual awards dinner for over-achieving teenagers about this time every year in recognition of some really amazing kids (you know the type - proficient on 16 musical instruments and volunteering to help the homeless while unlocking the secrets of the atom - stuff like that). And not just one or two standouts, but 35 of them! I'm always amazed at what they've accomplished at such a young age (when I was seventeen, my goal was just to graduate).

We also get a local celebrity to show up and make an inspirational speech. This year was a singer named Lauren Hart. She has a couple cd's out (I bought them both and she autographed them for us), she sings the national anthem at the Philadelphia Flyers (hockey) home games, and she's opened for such acts as Tori Amos and Frank Sinatra. But she was just a regular person and very friendly. And extremely cute. Y'know how some people who look really good don't manage to look that way close up? Well, she was just the opposite. Way up on the cute scale.

And we got dinner out of the deal. The ceremony is held every year at an old (19th century) restaurant which serves really great food. It was another successful event and we will be back next year to honor another bunch of kids.

And I'll be amazed all over again.

 

Tuesday June 8, 2004
..............................

Now that the attic renovation is complete, the clutter round-up has begun. Much of the stuff accumulating in the spare bedrooms has been making its way up to the attic. We spent most of the day Saturday packing things away in large plastic storage tubs that fit neatly into the spaces between the roof trusses.

I made such a noticable dent in the clutter pile in the small bedroom that Opie had to investigate and temporarily curl up in the new space that appeared. Then he sat curiously at the bottom of the folding attic stairs and watched us disappear through the hole in the ceiling (although he refused to venture up).

We bought fourteen of those 18-gallon (68 liter) plastic storage tubs, and we're down to three, and there's much more to go. The Husband began clearing out the darkroom (soon to be my stamping room), filling five containers, and the room is still full of junk. This is going to take longer than I thought.

The stamping room is the next project on the list of home improvements, 'cause my stamping stuff is beginning to take over the house.

We celebrated the Husband's sixtieth birthday on Sunday with my family. The party was here, and I was so happy getting a significant amount of clutter out of the way that I actually enjoyed cleaning the house for the celebration. He didn't want any big deal made of the fact that he was beginning a new decade, so we didn't. We had Mexican food and the presentation of gifts. He had mentioned that, although there are funny cards about turning 30, 40 and 50, there are none about turning 60. Well, he received two of em :)

The packing up of accumulated clutter will be an ongoing event for the next few weeks at least. And each time the lid is snapped onto a filled plastic tub, I feel better.

I gotta get more of those tubs.

 

Monday June 14, 2004
..............................

Happy Flag Day. Go fly one.

I decided to have a sit-down dinner for my immediate co-workers on Sunday. There was much preparation involved, but I usually enjoy that stuff. Plus I just got new dinnerware (square plates, serving bowls and cups - unique design; some pieces are black, some white), plus I have a new kitchen than none of them has seen (in person).

However the kitchen wasn't quite finished - there was the matter of some tile work between the two new cabinets to be added. My father said we could get than done quickly in time for the big dinner, and since I trust his judgement, I said okay, let's do it.

So I set aside Saturday 'til mid-afternoon to allow for tile work. That still gave me plenty of time for cleaning up and food preparation. Sure enough, we had the tile in place by 11 am. But we forgot one of the design elements that was on the other tiled wall (a thin dark green strip of tile). So we tore out the newly-placed tile and added the green strip, re-cut new tiles to fit and we were still done by noon. I made steak sandwiches for lunch. The kitchen remodeling is officially complete!

So we were done early. Then the Husband suggested we try geocaching, using his new gps unit. It was against my better judgement (I had lots to do); he said it would only take an hour, and I was curious about it. It took a little more than that, and it involved hiking through underbrush (which I'm not big on), but it was fun, and I would do it again. When I don't have a sit-down dinner to prepare.

Did I mention that Saturday night was also my nieces' dance recital? It ran long, but I was the official videographer, and it was worth the time. Even with food preparation waiting at home.

Sunday my father returned to grout the newly-placed tiles. That went smootly and we were done by 10am. I then managed to get all the food prepared and the house cleaned on time, and the meal was a success, and everybody loved the dinnerware and the new kitchen, and they left stuffed and happy.

Now it's back to work - I can use the quiet time :)

 

Tuesday June 22, 2004
..............................

We have a standard formula for celebrating family occasions that we have perfected over the years. It involves lots of food, a gab fest for the girls, some kinda televised sporting event for the guys, games for the kids, and, depending on the occasion, the exchange of gifts or other recognition. The only variable is the venue.

The occasion may be a holiday picnic, or a personal anniversary, or just the fact that we hadn't all gotten together in a while.

Father's Day is a prime example. We have three fathers in our family group (the husbands of two of my sisters, plus our father), so it demanded a celebration. This year one of my sisters was in Florida with her family, but we managed without her. My sister from Denver was in town, and the remaining sister served as hostess. I supplied several desserts, including a sugar-free item, which I spent several hours preparing (always a labor of love).

My sister the hostess had just gotten new living room furniture and was soliciting opinions from everyone regarding its arrangement. We spent quite a bit of time trying different arrangements (with the good-natured assistance of the guys), but of course there was no consensus. The fact that the end tables and a sizable entertainment center were still to arrive made it more difficult to envision, but it was fun trying.

The fathers on hand were treated to gifts over dessert, and it was a typical celebration, always fun. Even the Husband received a Father's Day recognition from Opie.

Like I said, we have this celebration thing perfected.

 

Monday June 28, 2004
..............................

Both of us are careful about downloading anything from the 'net. Stuff with goofy characters and nonsense words are automatic trash. And we keep up-to-date with the latest scams and never respond to any requests for personal information. We each have a firewall, and the latest anti-virus software, complete with a subscription to update any new virus definitions automatically, with regular memory and hard drive scans performed automatically.

But Friday we got burned.

The Husband was looking for a copy of JFK's "Berliner" speech, and ended up on a site with numerous pop-ups. He routinely closed them one at a time, but he either clicked on the wrong button (or a deviously mislabelled button) and the anti-virus software displayed a warning: possible malicious script detected - do you want to stop it (recommended). He did so, appreciating the bucks he'd spent on the anti-virus protection.

But when he returned to his home page, it had changed. And it couldn't be changed back. It was an unknown search engine page, and it was sneaky. No matter what criteria you typed in, it took you to a site selling snake oil in one form or another or financial schemes or anatomical enhancements. If you tried to use another search engine, it popped up instead.

The anti-virus software includes a log of all encounters with suspicions incursions, but the newcomer also blocked access to that. And for reasons unkown, it also closed the Windows notepad application immediately after it was opened. And God knows what else.

So the Husband spent all day Saturday wiping clean his hard drive, reformatting it and reinstalling everything. It took the whole day, from morning 'til late at night, but everything is back the way it was.

Except our confidence.

 

Sunday July 4, 2004
..............................


Happy Independence Day, America! As with most of the country, we have a three-day weekend to celebrate the occasion.

After being sidetracked for a couple of weeks with lawn mower repair and computer virus repair, the Husband has returned to the task originally at hand - cleaning out his old darkroom so I could move my stamping stuff in.

Besides the darkroom equipment, the room has also become home to everything we didn't know what else to do with. Each box and bag of stuff has to be inspected to determine its next destination (attic or trash). It's a tedious job. Most of the junk in that room belongs to the Husband (although we did find some Tupperware that had managed to find its way there without ever being used), and there wasn't really room for both of us to work in there, so I left it to him. My work begins when he's done.

My sister had invited me over to use their pool, and it was a good day for it, so I accepted. When I left around noon, the Husband was busily hauling stuff up to the attic.

What's nice about a day at my sister's pool is just the chance to catch up on things while swimming, sunbathing (with appropriate spf of course) and relaxing in the attached Jacuzzi. It's a nothing day with a purpose, and time goes by quickly. I had dinner there (burgers on the grille) and returned home after dark.

It seems the movement of junk to the attic had gotten sidetracked. The Husband found boxes of letters he'd received from friends in North Carolina during his two-year hiatus from college in the '60's, and he had to re-read each one. That took four hours.

I guess it's good we have a three-day weekend :)

 

Saturday July 10, 2004
..............................


I don't know exactly how my compulsion for stamping grew, but I know how it started. I attended a stamping party once out of curiosity, and suddenly I was hooked! It's given me the chance to be creative, which is something I never thought I could do.

I hosted a stamping party last Thursday, and I still felt the same enthusiasm I've had since the first time I tried it. And while my friends and I were stamping madly away in the dining room, the Husband was downstairs cleaning out his old darkroom, which is soon to be the site of my brand new stamping room. Just a coupla more weeks, I'm hoping. I promised everyone at the party that by the next party I would have my own dedicated stamping room for them to be jealous of :)

There is already a nine-foot work surface in place and several shelves (remnants of the darkroom), but I'll be adding more shelves to accommodate my thousands of stamps, paper, tools, etc. I'm getting excited now.

I spent the last week organizing my stamps in small see-through cases and labeling them so that once I have them stacked along several eight-foot shelves, they'll be easy to find, and within easy reach of my work space. This is gonna be fun.

Is the grand opening gonna be featured on Opie's website?

Bet on it!

 

Friday July 16, 2004
..............................


We've had a wild week locally, with serious flooding just a few miles away, and the declaration as a national disaster area. But we have been spared any hardships. Even the roads we use on a daily basis have remained dry and undamaged, even though all around us roads have collapsed, bridges washed out and dams burst. But the worst is over, the waters have receded and the clean-up has begun.

Tomorrow I leave for a week at the Jersey shore with my sisters. The shore was also spared any damage, although several main roads between here and there have been washed out. But the interstate and the toll roads are intact, which will get us there. I got bogged down at work yesterday and didn't get home 'til late, so I still have shopping to do tonight and packing for the trip. The house we rented this year is brand new, just finished a few weeks ago, and fully furnished. It's only a block from the beach and has plenty of room. And it's air conditioned. A classy beach house.

The Husband (not a beach person) will remain home with Opie. They will finish the dismantling of his old darkroom (the Husband doing the physical labor under the watchful eye of Supervisor Opie), so I can move in with my stamping tools and paraphenalia when I get home. Okay, I'm being a little optimistic, but it's getting close. The room is just about empty now, and requires only some shelves, some electrical wiring and a phone jack and tv antenna cable, a few other accoutrements, and I'm ready to start setting up shop!

But that's after I get back. For now I'm looking forward to sandy shoes and salty air and plain relaxation for a week.

And I deserve it!

 

Thursday July 22, 2004
..............................


Greetings from the Jersey Shore!

This is my annual getaway with my family, and this year we've rented one of the more classy beach houses in all the years we've been doing this. The place is brand new, construction having been completed just a few months ago, and all the furnishings are new (not the typical cast-offs that usually end up in summer homes). There's a huge stainless steel side-by-side fridge, a dishwasher and a microwave, in a modern kitchen. There's also a big-screen tv, plus two other tv's, all with accompanying dvd players.

We're in the lower unit (the upper unit is unoccupied this week). It's a unique construction, with a great room built over a three-car garage, and five bedrooms downstairs behind the garage. There are three full bathrooms (one has a glass-enclosed shower stall with five shower heads) and a laundry room. The great room (living room, dining room and kitchen combined) has to be twenty by thirty feet at least, with an abundance of floor-to-ceiling windows and a wrap-around deck that looks out on an ocean view.

It's perfect. Almost.

It's supposed to be air-conditioned, but the air conditioner has not been cooperating. We have called the realtor, but it states in the contract that failure of the air conditioning (among other systems) is the responsibility of the owner, not the realtor, and is not part of the contract. They are, however, interceding on our behalf.

But so far the days have not been oppressively hot, and with all the windows, plus the ocean breeze and the ceiling fans, it has been bearable. And sleeping has been comfortable.

But even without the A/C, this place is definitely cool :)

 

Monday July 26, 2004
..............................


Happy Birthday Debbie!

And Sandra Bullock and Mick Jagger. I don't know them, but Debbie is a friend.

I'm back from my annual week at the shore. The place we stayed this year was absolutely fabulous. It was brand new, with all new furnishings. There's just something about a new house. It wasn't completely finished - they were still wiring the place for home theater sound, but it remained unfinished when we arrived.

On Tuesday the air conditioning quit, and even though the realtor was exempt from the responsibility for fixing it (it says so in our lease), they sent somebody out the next day to fix it. I was impressed.

We did our usual summer stuff - laid on the beach and read books, laid around the house and watched movies, wandered the boardwalk and let the kids get their thrills on the arcade rides (we watched), and diets, of course, were thrown to the wind (although I didn't veer too far off course).

We had a couple days of drizzling rain, and a couple humid days, but mostly it was sunny and breezy (i.e., great!).

So now I'm home. Opie was glad to see me back on the other side of the bed. At least I think he was; he kept nuzzling up against me all night. Maybe he was just telling me that he's claimed that side of the bed now after my prolonged absence.

The Husband has just about completed the Stamping Room renovations. He says I can move my stuff in next weekend. I'm psyched :)

But today it's back to work, And I guess I'm as psyched as I'm gonna be for that.

 

Wednesday August 4, 2004
..............................


I love it!

My stamping room, that is. For so long I've been working at the dining room table, assembling the bits and pieces of each session from their storage spots around the house. It took time to set up and more time to clean up. I have over a thousand stamps, inkpads in 48 different colors and even more kinds of paper, plus all the tools for cutting, shaping, embossing and trimming. How nice it would have been to have all this stuff in one place.

So when our great clutter round-up sent years of accumulated stuff up into the renovated attic, a whole entire (albeit small) room opened up, and I saw great potential for it - a room just for stamping! It took a bunch of weekends to get it ready, but last weekend it became operational.

I love it!

I have an 8x2-foot- countertop work surface with "wings" that wrap around at both ends over storage drawers for paper and tools. There are shelves and more drawers above the enire work area that keep all my 1000+ stamps within arm's reach. Directly behind me is a large bookcase for more storage. To my right is an area for my cutting board with a high-intensity light mounted over it; to my left are my inkpads and other tools. And in one corner are such amenities as a phone with Caller ID, a small tv with built-in dvd player and a power strip for plugging in such accessories as a heat gun and a light box.

I spent the last couple nights down there being creative without ever having to set up, unpack or clean up anything. When I'm ready to quit, everything stays where it is 'til next time. I'm happy.

Did I mention that I love it?

 

Tuesday August 10, 2004
..............................


For twelve years my primary vehicle was a small import from Australia called a Capri (imported by Mercury dealers). It was a compact little convertible designed to compete with the popular Mazda Miata. It didn't compete that well as a new model, and importation was discontinued after three years. That makes it kind of a rarity on the roads. The Husband thinks it will eventually become a collector car, increasing in value with every passing year. I just think it's fun.

So when it came time for a new car this year, I chose to keep my fun little convertible. Twelve-year-old cars with 100,000 miles (166,000 km) on them don't have much of a trade-in value anyway, so it wasn't worth it to me to trade it in. But I've only driven it a few times since then, mostly to stretch its legs (and to keep its battery charged).

But yesterday was a convertible day - one of those days made for top-down driving. It was a sunny day, warm but not hot, the humidity was low, and there was a slight breeze. And when I opened the garage door and let the sunshine in for the first time in a while, I could sense my little car perking up in anticipation. It started up right away and purred smoothly as I drove along the sunny roads to work. I was a little late - I took the long way :)

So if I save my little car for the occasional convertible day, plus regular road exercise, I think it's good for another forty years. I'll be one cool octogenarian.

I love my little car.

 

Monday August 16, 2004
..............................


Recently, we were offered a kitten. But before we could make up our minds to accept it, they had found another home for it.

I have to admit I was ready for a kitten, and was anticipating having this one around. But it was not to be. Then last Saturday we were both in a pet store, and the local animal welfare folks were there with felines needing homes. And there were two kittens I fell in love with. If I hadn't been anticipating that other kitten, I might not have been so smitten. And the Husband was along, so we decided it was time. These kittens were brother and sister and obviously enjoyed each other's company. So we came home with both of 'em.

We spent the afternoon trying to come up with names. The criteria was to find a pair of names that went together, but also stood on their own as individual cat names. It wasn't easy. We consulted a bunch of websites for famous couples, famous pairs, cat names, etc. My sister e-mailed us a list of names. After many hours, we finally settled on Hunky and Dorie. But we weren't quite sure about those names either. We decided to see how they sounded in the morning.

The next morning we decided that they sounded all right, but mostly because our brains had gone numb.

The adjustment is going well. The kittens are trusting us more, and Opie is tolerating them. They still try to approach him, but he hisses a warning if they get too close. We're hoping by next weekend he'll accept them fully. We get the feeling that they regard Opie as an authority figure, and we're hoping Opie accepts that role, as he did with c.c.

They spend most of their time with me in my stamping room, away from Opie. Having spent most of their young lives in cages, having an entire room to themselves is wonderful. When Opie is out snoozing on the deck or the front steps, we give them the run of the house. They're definitely feeling more at home.

But it's going to be a busy week :)

 

Sunday August 22, 2004
..............................


The Great Kitten Indoctrination continues. They still spend most of their time in the stamping room, but their whole-house time is increasing. Opie remains tolerant and curious, but we think he's feeling a bit left out. The Husband makes sure he receives full attention whenever the kittens are loose in the house.

In the meantime, life goes on beyond kittendom. One of the perks of my job is that I get a laptop computer for my own use. It's for work-related stuff, of course, but I get to bring it home and use it for personal stuff as well. Just recently I got upgraded to a brand-new Dell 2.2 Ghz with wireless networking. It's much bigger and heavier than my old Compaq, but it has a lot more. It has a large 14" screen which is great to work with. The old Compaq had a cd-rom that interchanged with a floppy drive (they plugged into the same slot). The Dell not only has separate floppy and cd drives, but the cd is a combination cd writer and dvd player. I can watch dvd movies on long trips on a 14" monitor.

It's also got a docking station (which I keep at work) so I can use a regular mouse, keyboard and monitor with it. And even though it's bulkier and heavier, I rarely have to carry it beyond the car to work or home. But I'm thinking about getting one of those backpack laptop cases anyway :)

It's only got 256 megs of RAM, and I plan to upgrade that (I need lots of memory for editing my photos!). And I'll eventually get a wireless router for my home computer so I can access the 'net from the laptop from anywhere in the house (such as, f'rinstance, my stamping room).

It's only got a 30 Gb hard drive, but that's plenty so far. We'll hafta see how many of my photos I need to carry around (whenever I have a new bunch of photos to show off at parties or gatherings, rather than print them out, I just tote along my laptop and present them as a slide show).

Who knows; this computer could also come in handy at work :)

 

Saturday August 28, 2004
..............................


Our newest felines had been recently spayed/neutered (just before we adopted them), and it was incumbent upon us to get them to a vet to assure that they were healing well, and of course we did so. Our vet is always happy when someone adopts a homeless kitty, and doubly so when two find homes.

He gave them a quick check, verified that they'd had all their current shots, that they were well, and he gave them a clean bill of health, and added their charts to our account. We were concerned that they both had been sneezing - not a lot, just often enough to be noticeable. He said that's not uncommon in cats from shelters and we should see sneezing episodes diminish over the coming weeks. We've already noticed a decrease.

We were also concerned that Opie was avoiding us when we let the kittens run loose, but even that is beginning to change for the better.

To kittens, everything is new. They enjoyed the ride in the car and exploring the vet's examining room. Not a complaint the whole time. I wonder how long this is going to last.

We let them run loose at night, and they eventually find the Husband who stays up late web surfing. The Husband's computer is in the spare bedroom, and he sits on the edge of the bed while using the computer. Opie likes to curl up next to him, and eventually the other two wind up on the bed also, just lying there. So far they're all getting along.

So the kittens are well, they're getting along with Opie, and they make me smile. Three outa three.

 

Friday September 3, 2004
..............................


Life continues to be exciting in the presence of Hunky and Dorie. In the beginning we confined them to the stamping room, letting then out in the evening to run around. Now we only confine them there when we're at work. But today will be the final day of confinement. Opie has accepted them, albeit a bit grudgingly, and they respect but do not fear him. So far, so good.

We have discovered that they are only insane when we're around. I was out last night, and the Husband fell asleep while Opie was out and the kittens were free-range. When he awoke he discovered that they had returned to the stamping room and settled into napping mode. But once he was up and about, they returned to their wild 'n crazy ways. Apparently, our presence represents security to them, as does the stamping room when we're not present. Which is great! I like the idea that they're not tearing around getting into things when we're not here.

However, when I'm here and trying to make use of my new stamping room for the purpose that it was intended, I find it extremely difficult with two felines traipsing across my projects. I have tried, without success. Sometimes I get the Husband to distract them so I can sneak down to the room, but it never lasts long. Yes, I could shut them out, but I'd be shutting out two of their security blankets (me and the room). So I endure as best I can.

Another fruitless activity is computing. Web surfing and e-mailing are challenging activities when eight little paws scamper over the keyboard. I find it odd that they seek me out while the Husband is readily available in the living room. Of course he usually has a lapful of Opie to deter them.

But I love 'em. And I'm still glad we got both of them. They seem to be very happy animals, and if they're happy, I'm happy.

 

Thursday September 9, 2004
..............................


A friend of a friend informed someone at the local newspaper that we had remodeled our kitchen. Now this wouldn't normally be a newsworthy item, but the newspaper has a weekly home section, and they have a regular feature on remodeling, and they asked me if I'd be interested in having my kitchen featured.

Sure, I said. I didn't know they meant this weekend! So the next thing I know we're being interviewed by a reporter. That was Friday. Tuesday they were sending a photographer to document the results.

The Husband has been refinishing our 70-year-old kitchen table and it was ready for painting - just in time. But we hurried the job. We put a base coat of wood primer on first, but tried to get away without sanding it. Mistake. The glossy paint wouldn't lay properly on the fuzzy primer. The heavier I put it on the worse it got. We're going to have to sand it all down and start again.

Meanwhile there's a photographer due. I'm ready to go out and buy another table, but the Husband came up with an alternative suggestion. He bought a length of white pvc drainpipe to cover the legs, then threw a tablecloth over the whole thing. It worked!

The photographer was a nice guy. He noticed Hunky and Dorie were black and white to match the kitchen and wanted to include them in the pictures, and they cooperated for a few (he must've taken over 200 pictures).

The featured homes of the last couple weeks were big remodeling projects (a Victorian mansion and a backyard-to-garden-paradise); we'll see how creative they are with our tiny little kitchen :)

 

Wednesday September 15, 2004
..............................


We have always referred to Opie as the perfect cat.

He goes out of his normal cat way to please us. He understands "no" the first time, he uses the scratching post, but mostly he accepts the presence of the new two without antagonism. Dorie has begun rubbing up against him, and he responds by licking her face and head. This was a tactic c.c. used to make friends with Opie. We're hoping it works with Hunky and Dorie too.

Hunky is fascinated with Opie's tail and has tried a couple times to claim it for himself. Opie has pointed out the error of his ways to him with a few paw bats to the head (but no growling) and Hunky respectfully shrinks back in submission. This is good too. Both kittens have acknowledged Opie's position of authority, and Opie has allowed them access to his space. This is pretty much the way things began when we introduced c.c. to Opie's world.

We're not expecting the type of bonding that occured between Opie and c.c. - for one thing, there's two kittens, they're siblings, and they have each other. They are more likely to seek each other out for bonding rirtuals than to seek out Opie. But they do make frequent overtures to Opie and he responds favorably. There are no breakthroughs to report yet, but things are progressing smoothly. We expect they'll soon be curling up with Opie for catnaps, and Opie will accept that.

Because Opie is, after all, the perfect cat.

 

Tuesday September 21, 2004
..............................

Greetings from Hershey, Pennsylvania!

I'm out here on a two-day management seminar, along with a whole bunch of management types from work. One of the first things they should teach in a management seminar is that someone should stay behind to watch the store. We're all out here, and the inmates are running the asylum. Fortunately, they're all very competent inmates :)

Today is the second and final day, and so far it's been bookwork and lectures. I did have to give a short account of myself (as did everyone else) in the introductory phase, but then it was mostly note-taking. But today I fear role-playing. I hate role playing. The way I handle management problems is in no way dependent on my skills as a pseudo-thespian.

But I got a great dinner out of this trip last night. And we sat around and compared notes before the conversation dissolved into other concerns. I had to chat up the new kitties, of course. Talking about kittens is like talking about babies - you can overdo it. But I regaled everyone with tales of our mini-marauders anyway. They remained politely interested.

I miss Hunky and Dorie, even though I'm only away two days. I found myself concentrating on my walking, as though there was a kitten underfoot. And whenever I heard an extraneous sound, I had to look around to see which kitten was into what.

But I'll be home tonight, and they'll be happy to see me (they're happy to see everyone).

But first (swallow), role-playing.

 

Monday September 27, 2004
..............................

Litterboxes - the price we pay for domesticated wildlife.

Ever since Opie arrived nine years ago, he has preferred the wide-open spaces of the outdoors to the two square feet of the litter pan, which certainly makes sense to me. So he had free access to the outdoors, and he made use of it, even in weather of extreme inclemency. He had several bushes he'd go to for privacy.

When c.c. arrived, she was eager to follow Opie's lead, wherever that went. Fortunately, it went outdoors, and we had two cats and no litterboxes to clean. Well, we did keep two litterboxes always ready, just in case, but they were rarely used. If they were used twice a year, that was a lot.

Enter Hunky and Dorie. These guys have never been outdoors. They only know the litterbox and they make use of it. Frequently. And since it appears unlikely that they will ever be outdoor cats (they have no survival skills), the litterbox appears to be a fact of life for all of us.

Opie still goes out every morning to take advantage of the litter-box-big-as-all-outdoors, but any other time requires getting our attention to be let out, or using The Box. Thanks to Opie's 21 pound (10 kilos) size, he can - uh - fill a box in a single session.

The other two take the covering-up behavior to extremes. They'll use one side of the box, then pile all the litter from the other side onto their - uh - event. In the process, much litter ends up on the floor.

So we've gone from "Litterbox? What litterbox?" to daily cleanings (sometimes twice daily), only because we have Hunky and Dorie.

Which we think is a pretty good deal :)

 

Sunday October 3, 2004
..............................

I hadn't hosted a family event in a while, and I hadn't planned on hosting one, but my father wanted to come over Saturday to help with the front step remodeling project at which the Husband has been toiling away all week. My sister learned that he would be helping and wanted to know if her husband should join them. This evolved into a lunch gathering for the family, with little or no pre-planning.

My sister from Denver was home this weekend, and she joined us. She met Hunky and Dorie for the first time. My youngest sister was away this weekend or her family of five would have been here too.

And since the focus of this event (the front steps) was a day-long experience, it became a family dinner gathering as well.

As with all spontaneous family gatherings (this was a Saturday event that was not conceived until Friday night), my sisters and I coordinated efforts and meal preparations. I spent Friday night making a couple sugar-free cobblers and Saturday morning preparing homemade pizzas to be cooked up just before noon. My younger sister was planning to have a large dinner at her house anyway, so she brought the dinner with her, which we cooked up after the pizza lunch.

We even had some afternoon time to watch a couple movies (Calendar Girls and Miracle). The Husband and my father and brother-in-law (our handy home remodeling crew that has been so helpful this year) spent the whole day knocking the latest project into shape. The Husband had been sick two days this week, which put him a bit behind. They finished up around six (it was getting dark), and we all sat down to a wonderful dinner.

Preparing this kind of get-together on short notice could be a very frustrating experience. But it never is :)

 

Saturday October 9, 2004
..............................


Today we're going to a Renaissance Faire. Neither of us has ever been to one, so this will be a new adventure. I had always equated them with things like Civil War reenactments, but they are apparently much more than that. There are always shows and various forms of entertainment in progress, much of it simultaneous, so you can't see everything in one day. There are plays, comedy acts, magicians and musicians.

The whole layout is an old sixteenth-century English village with shops, theaters and taverns. There are handicrafts for sale everywhere you turn, and all kinds of food. Apparently the staples of these faires are jumbo turkey legs and ale, but you can also get a Philly cheesesteak if you desire. I have a feeling that none of these food services caters to diabetics.

And there are the wandering jesters, musicians and assorted characters wandering about, including King Henry VIII and his wife du jour. But it's hard to tell the employees from the patrons, since many of them attend in full Renaissance garb. They're like Trekkies. Or hockey fans. Perfectly normal people outside the gates, but they undergo a mysterious transformation once inside the village. There are costume rentals available on arrival.

We'll be meeting some friends there from North Carolina, who qualify as borderline renfairers. They attend these things regularly, sometimes in costume, sometimes not. This faire is in Annapolis, Maryland (3 hours from here) and is the second largest Renaissance Faire in the U.S. (according to the brochures). The village covers 25 acres and there's 85 acres of parking.

Sounds like lots of walking. I wonder if they rent medieval sneakers?

 

Friday October 15, 2004
..............................


On this Friday morning I'm at one of the hotels at the Philadelphia Airport. I spent the night here with three friends, and all four of us will be on an early flight to Aruba. The three others are sisters who have a timeshare there, and each year they take turns inviting one friend along. Last year I was chosen by the sister I work with to join them, and we all had a good time. So this year, when it was another of the sisters' turns to invite someone, she chose me also because we had so much fun last year!

So in a few hours we'll be on a four hour and fifteen-minute flight nonstop to a week-plus in sunny Aruba. I have my passport, my disposable underwater camera, my sunblock, and my new luggage.

I got the luggage because of last year's experience with customs in Aruba. After inspecting your bags, they are all placed in a common area in a heap. Last year I had black luggage. As did everyone else. It was very frustrating having to feel my way around other people's luggage to find the pieces that were distinctly mine.

This year I bought bright red luggage. I will find it from a distance instantly.

This is the second year in a row I've gone to the Caribbean without the Husband. I feel bad about that, but the alternative was turning down the invitation, and I don't feel that bad!

The Husband has promised to have the new front steps completed when I return. There's still no bottom step, which is frustrating. But I won't be giving it a thought for the next 11 days.

I will miss my new kitties. I hope they don't grow up too much in 11 days.

I hope they don't forget me in 11 days!

 

Thursday October 21, 2004
..............................


Howdy, and greetings from sunny Aruba.

I didn't take my laptop with me this year, so I have no access to the 'net while I'm away; I guess I'm kinda roughing it (there are internet cafes here if I get desperate). So I'm phoning in this posting and relying on the Husband to get it onto the server.

So here's what we've done so far:

Sit on the beach. Eat. Gamble.

It's a start. Today we're going snorkeling. We did that last year and it was a lot of fun. I have a disposable underwater camera to document the experience once again (it's one of those cameras that uses film - remember them?)

My first night at the casino I went in with $40 and left with $200 (playing Roulette). The next night I gave it all back (it's not money lost, it's the price of an evening's entertainment). They have penny slot machines there. Pennies! Do you know how long you can play using pennies? When our original budget was expended, we would spend the rest of the night pumping pennies into these machines. We'd pretend they were silver dollars and get excited when we won 25 of 'em. My friend Valerie won 700 dollars (er, pennies)!

And dining out on vacation is a must, and there are numerous excellent restaurants to accommodate us. So we're definitely having fun.

Hello to Opie, Hunky and Dorie - I miss you guys - see you soon :)

 

Wednesday October 27, 2004
..............................


Okay, I'm back from Aruba, arriving at the Philadelphia airport around 9 pm last night. It had been warmer than average in Aruba (80-90 degrees F. - 26-32 degrees C).for the 12 days I was there, so it was a bit of a shock when I stepped out into the cold October night of home.

When I went last year (friends have a timeshare there and invited me along), it was all new and amazing. This year it felt familiar and comfortable. I felt like I belonged. We did a lot of the same things we did last year (lying on the beach, snorkeling, eating and gambling). But mostly we laughed. All of it was fun; there was never a dull moment.

I also bought some more jewelry. Jewelry is cheap there (relatively speaking) so I picked up a new ring as my Aruba souvenir for this year.

This year I saved mementoes of the trip (like receipts from restaurants and Aruban money) to make a scrapbook of my days in Aruba. Scrapbooking is a natural extension of my stamping hobby, and this is a good spot to begin.

I was gone for twelve days, enjoying the sun and fun of a Caribbean island, walking colorful old world streets, eating out in restaurants almost every night, winning and losing money at the international casinos, and enjoying non-stop adventure with friends. But it's still good to get back to the winter chill of home.

Yeah, right. But I did miss my kitties :)

 

Wednesday November 3, 2004
..............................


Here I sit in the wee hours of the morning, as are millions of others around the U.S., watching election returns. Both the Husband and I were lucky today - we arrived at the polling place at separate times, but neither of us had to endure long lines to cast our votes.

They say this is one of the most important elections in recent history, and the two candidates are significantly different, but what differences do either offer? The war will still be a mess, the budget deficit will still be a mess, and the economy will still be a mess, no matter who wins, and neither will be able to do much to change any of it.

Now they're saying it will be many hours before the final totals are in, but everyone feels confident that there will be a winner declared by dawn.

I can wait.

 

Tuesday November 9, 2004
..............................


This year has gone fast. And it will be going faster. It's less than seven weeks 'til Christmas. And between now and then there is also Thanksgiving, my older sister's birthday, my father's birthday, two nieces' birthdays and, oh yeah, my birthday.

This is always a fun time for me with all the aforementioned celebrations, all in the surroundings of the Christmas atmosphere. And I've already begun my Christmas shopping (I usually begin early). And the weather is cooperating. It was sunny and warm just a couple weeks ago. Even this past weekend was sufficiently comfortable to venture outdoors without a jacket. But last night the temperatures dropped to near-freezing. That's more like it. Can jingle bells be far behind?

I do a lot of my shopping by mail, which means I end up on a lot of mailing lists, and sure enough, around this time of year there is a daily pile of catalogs awaiting me when I get home. And I am personally obliged to pour through each of them diligently.

My birthday is less than three weeks away, and I told the Husband what I want for my birthday. He doesn't like it when I do that. He says gifts should be from the giver, not decided on by the recipient. But it does make his task of gift selection easier, and I think he appreciates that more with each year. Still, he says he accepts my request as a "suggestion," with the caveat that if he finds something else that he feels is more representative of a gift from himself, he may get me that instead. But he never does :)

So before I know it, Thanksgiving, then a bunch of birthday celebrations, then Christmas parties and our always-hectic Christmas day will be upon us.

Happy New Year!

 

Monday November 15, 2004
..............................


My company sent me (and several others) to a Dale Carnegie management seminar out in Hershey PA. I'm not sure if it was to improve our management skills or to standardize them, but it was a pretty intense two-day event. That was back in September.

Since then we meet every Wednesday morning at a site twenty-plus miles from here (at 8am - I don't usually get outa bed 'til 8 am) for refresher classes. Having to be there at 8am is bad enough, but we have to give speeches, solve hypothetical problems and do homework. Homework!

At first it was adventurous, driving to an off-site location to practice our skills. But the adventure wore thin fast. Mondays and Tuesdays were spent trying to do my job as usual, while also trying to complete my homework assignment. It was like being back in high school and trying to finish your homework during another class.

But once Wednesday morning passed, I was free to return to normal, do my job, have a relaxing weekend and then ... Monday. And the yet-to-be-started homework assignment. And Mondays are bad enough, so that leaves ... Tuesday. It's the same every week.

So this weekend I forced myself to do my homework. And I felt much better when it was done. Just like in high school.

But I'm still not looking forward to getting up at 6:30 am on Wednesdays.

Just four more weeks.

 

Sunday November 21, 2004
..............................


A couple years ago I got a decent annual bonus and I splurged on a 5 megapixel 8x zoom Nikon digital supercamera. It had more bells and whistles that I would ever know what to do with. And it had all the things I did know what to do with. And it took great pictures.

But within a year, digital SLR's began to proliferate. First Canon, then Nikon, then others, and the prices soon dropped below $1000. I told myself that would be my next camera. And as time went by, I began seeing them advertised more. I envied the fact that they had interchangeable lenses. Lots of them. Which meant that many more opportunities to be photographically creative.

I wanted one. But I'd just bought a really nice high-end digital camera. But I still wanted one.

Yesterday I did some web research on the newest Canon SLR - the EOS 20D. It was classified as semi-pro. I wanna be semi-pro. The Husband joined me and we examined the fine points. He pointed out that Christmas was coming and a new camera offered opportunities for gift givers to select accessories for the thing (flash cards, spare lithium-ion battery, a case, a fancy flash), and I get my bonus this week. But my Nikon digital is only two years old - how do I justify buying a new camera?

The Husband offered to buy it from me (he had dropped and broken our old Olympus digital, and he's been using the still feature of his camcorder for the pix on the website). So for the price of a fancy upgraded, auto-focus-synchronized bounce flash, I took him up on it.

By mid afternoon I ordered the camera, a long zoom lens and some filters. For the second time in two years, I have a new high-end digital camera.

Or I will in a coupla days. I ordered rush delivery too :)

 

Friday December 3, 2004
..............................


Last weekend was my birthday. Yesterday was my sister's birthday. We celebrated both last Sunday.

This weekend is my father's birthday and my brother-in-law's birthday. We will celebrate them on this Sunday.

In between (now) is the Christmas adjustment period, when we accept that that's winter weather out there, and no, you can't put off getting ready for Christmas any longer. Ideally, by the time my father's/brother-in-law's birthdays are complete, all Christmas cards are done and ready for delivery to the post office, all gifts have been determined if not yet purchased, and the house is all decorated for the season.

Yeah, right.

Normally this is the time we get our Christmas tree, but the Husband has been putting in extra hours at work, which includes Tree-Buying Saturday (this weekend), and the birthdays being Sunday, it looks like the tree will be a week late this year.

And the tree will be quite different this year. I have hundreds of ornaments collected over the years which define my tree, but they will remain packed away. The mini-marauders (Hunky and Dorie) have shown their proclivity for theft and subsequent hiding away of each purloined treasure. A large portion of my ornaments would simply vanish. Plus some are quite breakable with swallowable pieces. We don't need all that. So rather than lock the kittens away for the Christmas season, we decided on a kitten proof tree this year. Yesterday I purchased 200 styrofoam Christmas balls covered in red satin, 400 white mini-lights and some red and white ribbon. And that will be the extent of the Christmas decorations this year. I'm sure much of them will be batted around the house to be found in obscure locations months later, but no harm will come of it.

So no tree yet, but I have the decorations :)

It's a start.

 

Thursday December 9, 2004
..............................


Well, I can say that my worst expectations have not come to pass. The Christmas tree is still standing with the majority of decorations intact. And while the kittens are frequently under the tree batting at the balls and branches, they are not in the tree, trying to climb to the top. Not usually.

Not usually, but occasionally. A sharp admonishment of "No" generally discourages the activity. And the frequency of these occasions is diminishing. They seem to have adjusted to the fact that there is a tree in the living room, and it has begun to lose its novelty.

Those bright red Christmas balls, however, have not. The tree is just above the landing by the front door, and every evening I come home to a presentation of the latest catch at my feet. I had expected to be recovering and replacing balls throughout the season, but I had assumed they would grab one or two and play with them; instead, they seem to delight in the actual plucking from the tree. Once it's down they move on to the next one. So far I have collected 24 balls and replaced the undamaged ones.

Two things I hadn't expected. They occasionally manage to shred the satin covering on the balls and leave strands of satin all over the house, and the ball in question becomes a shabby remnant of its former self, not fit for tree duty.

The second thing involves the balls themselves - they are solid styrofoam; lightweight, but sturdy. They don't give under your feet (which is where a significant quantity wind up), they roll instead. It's like stepping on a roller skate (the old fashioned kind you strap to your shoes). Which can be very inconvenient (and dangerous) when returning home laden with packages. But we are injury-free so far, and I no longer leave them around for the cats to play with (the theory being that if there was a ball on the floor to play with, they would leave the tree alone - heh). The stair landing would've been ankle-deep in Christmas balls.

We're still hoping that the novelty of the red satin balls will soon wear off and they will ignore them completely.

Ho ho ho.

 

Wednesday December 15, 2004
..............................


Hunky and Dorie are exhausting. Every day I replace eight to ten Christmas tree balls on the tree. And that doesn't include the other daily half-dozen that they've mangled, shredded, chewed and otherwise incapacitated. I found one yesterday that was completely void of its satin covering, and it had been nearly flattened!

They have also taken to stealing tissues from the pop-up dispenser in the bathroom (one at a time) and hiding them under the couch in the living room.

Yesterday we found a piece of the baseboard from the laundry room under the Christmas tree.

I have a small snowman figurine with wooden stick arms that is missing one of its arms.

And we still haven't found the strainer screen from the bathtub drain.

But I know I'm going to miss these antics when they get older.

I will, right?

 

Tuesday December 21, 2004
..............................


Just a few days to go. After a full day at work, I engaged in another round of Christmas shopping yesterday. I still have a couple things to get, and they will all get gotten by this evening.

The Husband finished all his shopping last week, but acquired a serious head cold in the process, which left him incapacitated for several days. He has about 90% returned to the living as of last night.

So except for the few loose ends, we're pretty much ready for Christmas. But not winter.

Today is the first day of winter, the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year (sunlightwise). And in celebration of the occasion, Mother Nature dropped temperatures with a thud. I had to bundle up in the heavy-duty outerwear and negotiate ice-slick patches on the roadways, when just days before a light jacket was sufficient and ice was something out of the fridge.

In other words, it's cold!

So, see you on the other side of Christmas, where it will be warmer. The tv weather guys said so. Heh.

 

Tuesday December 28, 2004
..............................


It's the lull between storms - the week between Christmas and New Year's. Although the second storm isn't what it used to be. We actually used to go out to celebrate New Year's Eve. This year there will be a small gathering at my sister's house. We'll sit around and chat, watch the ball drop on tv, then go home. Excitement.

I got another digital camera for Christmas. Some background is necessary here. About a month ago we got my sister a digital camera for her birthday. She just wanted a small, simple-to-use snapshot camera that took decent pictures - nothing fancy. So we got her a Nikon 3200, which is very compact (pocket-size) with a 3x zoom, lcd view screen, flash, timer, etc. A very nice camera. I even commented that it was a camera I could use. Some further background - I'm seriously into photography, which is why I got myself a digital SLR with interchangeable lenses and a long list of goodies. Back in the old days (when I used film), I would cart around a gadget bag filled with years of accumulated camera accessories so I would be prepared for anything. But I also carried a decent little point-n-shoot Pentax 35mm with built-in zoom for the quick-and-easy shots that didn't require lots of setting up.

So now that I'm back to SLR's (albeit digital) with all the lenses, filters, bounce flashes and other attendant goodies that go with it, the Husband decided I could use another little point-n-shoot camera (digital this time) for the quick-and-easy shots. Having had my digital SLR for only about a month, I hadn't even given a thought to having a simple back-up camera. But now that I have it, I think it's a great idea. It was a pleasant surprise.

I got the Husband a psaltery - that's a medieval musical instrument. He saw one at the Renaissance Faire we went to back in October and almost bought it. So instant Christmas present. The rest of my family got him a violin - he wanted to learn something new. Here they are.

I'm off this week, except for Friday. The Husband goes back to work today. Temporarily back to reality - the lull between the storms.

Happy New Year!

 

January 3, 2005
---Monday---


The first workday of the new year, and it has to be a Monday. It's weird when the new year kicks off on a weekend. Weekends are for parties and it becomes an extension of the holiday season. I had a small gathering on Sunday for the folks I spent a week with in Aruba for the last two years (they're sisters that have a timeshare in Aruba, and they invited me to join them during their week in October). One feature of our Aruba week is paninis. Paninis are large grilled sandwiches that can involve any number of ingredients, and we would make a variety of them during the week there. Last year the Husband got me a panini maker for my birthday. So this weekend was panini weekend with the gals from Aruba.

Which disrupted our traditional first weekend of the new year. Usually we take down all the Christmas regalia (which is plentiful), but it was too soon this year (it should at least be up for a few days after New Year's). But it was a balmy day for January 1, ideal for working outdoors, so the Husband did pack away the outdoor decorations. But the Christmas tree and the indoor decorations will remain in place 'til next weekend.

Also on the first weekend of the new year, we gather up the gift cards we each received for Christmas and go on a shopping spree, which also includes lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. But this year I had my panini party, which, including housecleaning and preparations, monopolized the weekend. So next weekend will be the unofficial first weekend of the new year, giftcard-and-tree-dismantling-wise.

And today I head back to work - the first Monday of the new year - back to the same ol' stuff.

The Husband has off today, but he's using it to get a broken tooth attended to. I think I'd rather be working.

 

January 9, 2005
---Sunday---


Every year we wrap up the Christmas season with a tradition. On the first weekend after New Year 's day we stow away our Christmas decorations and drag the tree out to the woods for small critters to inhabit. Then we gather up the gift cards we got for Christmas and go on a spending spree. And that would be this weekend.

Shopping first. We began at an electronics superstore, where I got a memory card for my new little digital camera, plus a buncha movies, and a memory card reader. The Husband got a movie and a media storage thingy (jump drive/flash drive/little-transportable-memory-storage-gadget-that-plugs-into-a-USB-port). The Husband exceeded his gift card amount, so I traded him a Borders card for his Home Depot card (I need paint for the bedroom makeover still to come) and some cash to come out even.

Then it was on to Barnes & Noble for books for myself. Then we had lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant (which is always part of our gift card shopping spree, since it's close to a lot of the stores), and then stopped at Borders books, which has a large selection of dvd's, where the Husband picked up four movies (you get one free with each three you buy).

Then it was home to undecorate the tree, which is normally a lengthy task, but since decorations were limited this year to cat-proof ribbons and satin styrofoam balls, the tree was dismantled and out on the deck in record time. Then we spent the evening watching movies. Not bad for half a weekend.

Today is my nephew's birthday and Tuesday is his girl friend's birthday, so we'll be partying for both today. Happy birthdays, Matt and Christina!

 

January 15, 2005
---Saturday---


It's the weekend again, which means fun things like housecleaning. It's also the wrap-up to packing away Christmas for another year (a process we've managed to spread out over a couple weeks). So while the outside decorations were taken down two weeks ago, and the Christmas tree was dismantled last week, there are still dozens of smaller decorations all over the house that have to be carefully packed up and stored.

I always procrastinate about this - Christmas is my favorite time of year and I like being surrounded by its accoutrements (each year I leave up one of the decorations year-round as a subtle presence of the Christmas spirit).

I put out fewer decorations this year because of our newest residents and their penchant for carrying things off to the land of Never Seen Again, so the packing away process should go smoothly. I'm sure Hunky and Dorie will be observing carefully throughout.

They spent a couple days adjusting to the absence of the tree. They would sit in the empty space where it had stood and just look up. The tree was also against a railing, and they used to like to run along the railing, then jump into the tree. After its absence they still ran along the railing, but they stopped halfway and looked around.

So today will be boxes and much activity to attract the curiosity of young felines, which may make the whole process more of a challenge than a chore :)

Happy new year.

 

January 21, 2005
---Friday---


One of my Christmas gifts was a wireless router. My computer is in a room adjacent to the Husband's computer, so it was no problem hard-wiring a connecting network to the two, but I also want to be able to use my laptop in my stamping room, which is at the opposite end of the house and down one flight from the DSL modem. The cost of the cable alone was almost as much as a wireless router, so simple seemed the way to go.

Wireless is a mainstream technology now - the non-geeks have 'em. So last week, I spent some time reading the simple instructions - plug in the cables and install the software, and that's it! Except that wasn't it. Nothing connected. Reread instructions. No help.

There are SSID's, WEP's and WPA's that all hafta coordinate (I dunno what that means either, but I'm learning). And there are eleven channels. It's helpful (but NOT necessary) for the router and the wireless card in the laptop to be from the same manufacturer. Mine, of course, are not. But as long as they're set to the same SSID, WEP, WPA and channel (which I'm still working on) they SHOULD work.

So I spent a couple frustrating evenings educating myself on the wonderful world of wireless. I played with set-ups and configurations and anything else that showed promise, but I ultimately got nothing. I had to reconnect the old hard-wired network so we could upload our regular pearls of Opie wisdom. But I'm not giving up.

My new router uses the most current wireless standard (G), but there is a newer standard on the horizon (N). That should be available just about the time I get this mess figured out :)

 

January 27, 2005
---Thursday---


Last night I was the official babysitter for my youngest nieces and nephews. Not that they think of me as a babysitter. I'm their wonderful fun Aunt Jackie. And we do manage to turn my babysitting duties into fun.

I listened to my six-year-old nephew read his homework assignment to me. It was "Itsy-Bitsy Spider." Did you know there's more to it than the one verse kids learn? I didn't. But I do now. There are somewhere between twenty and a bazillion verses to that thing. But he managed proudly to get through all the verses.

When I spend the evening with them (the twins and their slightly older sister), the phrase "Can we watch a movie?" always seems to arise, followed by an involved decision-making process to determine exactly which movie to watch. Tonight the amicably-arrived-at choice was "Sandlot" (about kids' impromtu baseball games and the "beast" that lived on the other side of the fence over which home runs were hit). Suffice it to say it was cute.

Mom and Dad returned before the end of the movie, but everyone was allowed to stay up 'til it was over. I hung around chatting 'til it was my bedtime, then headed home to my own bedtime.

I always enjoy these evenings, but it was especially enjoyable this week, 'cause I'm a bit stressed. We're installing a major software upgrade in all my company's computers this week, to go into effect Sunday, and if it doesn't work exactly right, I'm gonna be awfully busy this weekend.

I'd much rather babysit nieces and nephews than cranky software.

 

February 4, 2005
---Friday---


There is a day in the life of each of our cats that we never look forward to. We know it's coming, but we're never prepared when it arrives.

Wednesday we learned that Opie's kidneys are barely functional and that he doesn't have much time left. He had been keeping to himself recently (not typical Opie) and not eating much (also not typical) so we took him to the vet. The vet discovered scar tissue on his kidneys while poking around and did blood and urine tests, which confirmed the worst.

Opie is presently in the hospital getting fluids intravenously. That will clean out some of his system and help him feel better. We can bring him home tomorrow. We're also supposed to give him small, regular doses of Mylanta, since the disease causes a sour stomach that impedes his appetite. But he's not in any pain, so he won't have to spend his final days away from home.

Kidney disease is insidious. There are no symptoms until it begins to affect other organs. The organs receive nutrition from and expel waste to the blood, which the kidneys are supposed to cleanse. With the backup of waste in the blood, the organs receive depleted nutrition and eventually shut down. I think that's right. I was still sort of numb after the initial prognosis and wasn't listening carefully. The vet did say that this disease progresses quickly, but he wouldn't put a specific time limit on it. It could be days or weeks.

We have always tried to accept the fact that death is part of life, and measuring life by its rewards has been pretty good to Opie. But we're not handling it well yet; we're hoping the time he has left will allow us to accept this particular fact of life.

It is assured that Opie will be getting lots of attention in the coming days, one day at a time.

 

February 10, 2005
---Thursday---

Tonight we take Opie back to the vet to get an updated prognosis on his kidney failure. Tonight we have to ask the tough questions. We've already decided that if he only has a few weeks that we're not going to go to any extraordinary lengths to gain a few extra days. We don't want to subject him to any confusion or stress.

We have been searching the Internet for any information we can find (thanks to Barb in Texas for pointing us to some really helpful stuff), and we've learned that there are many felines who have survived a long time with kidney disease, but results of Opie's blood and urine tests have proven to be too high to hope that he might be one of them. All we can do is give him low doses of antacids to keep his stomach calm so he will eat. Not eating just makes matters worse. Opie's appetite is fine for the present. He eats only small amounts at a time, but he returns after a few minutes to eat some more.

Opie, by the way, is doing great. It is we who are not faring so well.

 

February 16, 2005
---Wednesday---

I'm in Florida. At a seminar for work. I'll be home tomorrow.

This trip was planned months ago. Originally, the Husband was to join me. Then he had his dental setback that depleted all available vacation funds. Which was just as well, because I think he would have cancelled anyway after Opie's diagnosis of kidney disease.

So I spend my little bit of free time with the co-workers that travelled with me, either nursing a single drink all evening in the hotel bar, enjoying long dinners on the expense account, or watching tv and going to bed early.

The seminar wraps up tonight, and I leave in the morning. Opie has a follow-up visit at the vet tonight also, and will probably be receiving additional subcutaneous fluids to keep him hydrated and healthy. I wish I could be there too. But tomorrow night he will personally receive my undivided attention and lots of head rubs.

It's 70 degrees down here. But Opie's up there. See ya soon, kitty.

 

February 24, 2005
---Thursday---

Opie is doing well. He's got a lot of his strength back (although he still has trouble walking) and his appetite is good, and he is managing regular visits to the litter box. Everything seems to be fine. We have to keep reminding ourselves that it's not.

Opie has never been a complainer, and he isn't about to start now. He comes to greet us when we bring him food (it was just last week that we was neither eating nor walking). And he welcomes a lap to nap on, purring the whole time.

But every day we have to give him a half teaspoon of antacid, 1 ml of a liquid antibiotic, a half of a Pepcid AC tablet and 100 ml of fluids injected under his skin through an iv drip. We also periodically have to clean up his litterbox mishaps (sometimes he's just too weak to get out of his own way).

So we look at the good moments (the coming to greeting us, the purring lap naps, the healthy appetite) as extended chances to be with him the way he wants us to. And we treat the necessary impositions on his life (the medications, the fur-cleaning, the injections) as reminders that we have to be prepared for the unfortunate day that is ahead.

Even though each day is a lot of work, we still welcome each day that we have.

 

February 27, 2005
---Sunday---

Good news! Opie has decided to rejoin us (he had been secluding himself in a non-traffic area of the house, preferring to be left alone), and he has gained back two of the seven pounds he had lost. He doesn't sleep as much, and his eating and litterbox habits are normal. This is a great relief to us. Of course to achieve this we had to force-feed him baby food through a needleless syringe (when he wasn't eating), give him antacids and antibiotics twice a day, and inject fluids under his skin every night.

It hasn't been easy, but he hasn't complained. And neither will we.

 

March 5, 2005
---Saturday---

There's another newcomer to the Foo Gallery. Say hello to Inky Patches. Welcome to our corner of the web.

Today we have to return to the vet, although no felines will be going with us. We've depleted two of the IV fluid bags for Opie (technically they are called IV Drip bags, even though they are administered under the skin and not intravenously), and we'll be needing more. The theory is that the fluids absorb and dilute toxins from his body and are carried out when he pees, aiding the reduced function of his failing kidneys.

We continue giving him a half-teaspoon of Mylanta and a half-tablet of Pepcid AC each day, in addition to the fluids therapy. This is all necessary to keep him comfortable and to keep his stomach from being too upset to want to eat.

It's a routine that he's come to accept. So have we. He's worth all that and more.

 

March 11, 2005
---Friday---


Opie's been hanging on without much change for over two weeks now. He continues to eat and use the litterbox, and he does get around on his own, though slowly. These are all positive signs. Yet there's much we miss.

Like the way he'd know to jump up on the bed just minutes before the alarm would go off so he could coax us into getting up to feed him.

Or the way he'd hide by the front door and dart out when we arrived home, only to meow to come back in minutes later.

Or his drawn-out meow that specifically meant "feed me."

He doesn't do those things any more. When we were around, he was around. Now he prefers to spend his time in a largely-unused room downstairs.

We bring him upstairs now for his antacids, pills and fluid treatments, but we go to him downstairs for quality time. That way he doesn't worry that we're going to subject him to treatments when we visit downstairs.

Throughout it all, Opie has not been difficult or complaining. It has to be as frustrating for him as it is for us. But nothing beats an hour with a purring feline. For us and for Opie.

 

March 15, 2005
---Tuesday---


The day we knew was coming arrived yesterday. After several weeks of doing so well, Opie suddenly began refusing food on Sunday, and he could no longer stand up on his own. We would be taking him to the vet Monday morning, and we figured we would also have to be making that very difficult decision about how long we should continue treatments.

But just before dawn, Opie quietly slept through his final minutes. The Husband had been sleeping (not very well) on the couch downstairs and found him with his chin resting on his crossed paws (his patented sleeping position), but he had already gone. We had always hoped that when the end came he would go peacefully in his sleep while at home in comfortable surroundings, and, always being the accommodating cat, that's just what he did.

I volunteered to deliver Opie to the animal hospital for cremation while the Husband got some sleep. We wrapped Opie in a floral-print sheet - rigor mortis had begun to set in and he was still in his familiar sleeping pose - he looked very peaceful. The folks at the animal hospital were very nice - they ushered me in and allowed me to bring him into the cat examination room (the room he was always familiar with when we brought him there before). I gave him a pet on the head and said goodbye.

We will get his ashes back in a couple weeks, which will be buried in our small cemetary at the edge of his beloved woods.

This is a major turning point in our lives. Hunky and Dorie will have some pretty large pawprints to fill.