Guilty kitty

I didn't do nothin'
Originally uploaded by measi.

Cats are retarded.

Lovable, cuddly, cute as hell... but completely retarded. And really, really weird.

Today's example: Noby

Around 3 a.m. this morning, I wake up to the sound of Erich muttering as he climbs back into bed about a stupid cat. I ask what's going on, and I get the most random answer:

"Noby stole the toilet paper."

My brain doesn't really process this comment - whether a lack of comprehension or dismissal as one of my many disjointed dreams, I can't say. I fall back asleep, waking up again as Erich shuts the bedroom door because our daily episode of the Noby and Elly Mutual Pouncing Show began at the ungodly hour of 4:30 this morning.

The alarm goes off, and I trundle to the bathroom in that barely awake stupor, where I find... no toilet paper. And then I get the vague memory of being TOLD about this. I go back to the bedroom and ask Erich.

"I don't know where he put it. There's more under the sink," he mumbles.

Later, I find out that as Erich was using the bathroom in the middle of the night, Noby followed him into the room. Not surprising-- we usually have one feline attendant in the bathroom with us, whether we want it or not. As Erich was using the toilet, Noby apparently reached down into the open tube of toilet paper (that neither of us had bothered to put on the roller yet) yoinked it, and ran.

So somewhere in our house is a roll of toilet paper-- probably stashed either under the bed or under the couch. Undoubtedly, it will be a shredded toy by the time we get home tonight.

Guess what our first chore of the night will be?

Happy Tuesday...

Stitching Progress

Apache Wedding Blessing
Originally uploaded by measi.

My computer is finally home from the repair shop! Now I'm able to upload all of my photos to Flickr to show that I am, in fact, making some good progress on my pieces. If you want to see the larger versions, just head over there via the photo to the right. :)

The piece I've been focusing on is Apache Wedding Blessing. It's stitching quite easily, although I was slowed down last month by having to stitch a large area of light yellow on white - it's rather hard on the eyes! But it's coming along very well, and I'm still shooting to have it done for the holidays so I can present it to Ivanna. Now that the weather is getting colder, I'll definitely be in a mood to snuggle on the couch and stitch.

During my morning and evening commutes, I've been working on Home is Where the Cat Is. It's a small piece that I've had for... ages. I bought it in either 1999 or 2000 and somehow never got around to stitching it. In the last couple months, I've made great progress. It's about 85% complete now:

Last weekend, I started preparing for the OTHER round robin I'll be participating in over the next year: a floral-themed round robin with six stitchers. Stitchers can select any designer. The tricky thing for me was figuring out my layout for each person's block. I first tried a very basic square-on-square format, but I didn't care for the result. Then I started sketching. I finally came up with a loosely "flower" shaped layout with five blocks for petals, and the center block for myself. You can see my rough sketch of the layout at my Flickr account.

I decided to stitch the Morning Glory block from Teresa Wentzler's Floral Bellpull as my center block. It conveniently is the 60x60 stitches I decided upon for each stitcher's area. In about six hours, I've made some great progress on the block:

And finally, Jenni's piece for the UFO round robin showed up yesterday! Her piece is called "The Mighty Samurai." Here's how it looks as received yesterday:

Lots of stitching to do! :)

Friday's Feast

Mary had the Friday's Feast meme on her journal this morning... and I feel like playing, too!

Appetizer
What was the very last song you listened to?
"Do Your Thing" by Basement Jaxx, via iPod on my walk from the train station this morning.

Soup
What is one company/store/corporation you would recommend that people stay away from?
The Knot - for wedding planning. Unless you're having an uber-traditional wedding, it's not helpful. And the majority of the women in the forums are the epitome of bridezilla. *shudder*

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy having your picture made?
6. I usually hate how I look in photos. But at the same time, I like the visual memory of events.

Main Course
Besides a bookmark, what is something you've used to keep your place in a book?
Receipts. I'm usually reading during my lunch hour at work, so I tend to take my food receipt as a placeholder. :)

Dessert
Name a food that you like that most people don't.
Sauerkraut. It's definitely a love-hate food. But in my circle of friends, it seems to be on the feared side. It's comfort food to me.

Thursday Thirteen #3: Why I Love New England

A lot this week deal with autumn... because it is what made me fall in love with New England. But I couldn't drag 13 out of only autumn, so I had to change my title midway through. *grin* And Erich's not on this list-- because, while that is of course the #1 love of my life, I fell in love with New England before meeting him. These are the things ASIDE from him. :)

Thirteen Reasons I love New England 1. The COLOR. Growing up in Montana, I never could figure out why there were red leaves in autumn decorations. Autumn was short, turned very cold, usually had snow, and was nothing more than a bunch of yellow and brown leaves (and cottonwood gunk) on the roads. My first autumn in New England excited me so much that I actually mailed leaves to my parents because I couldn't believe the fiery red existed. Of course, both of my parents thought I was weird (since, being from PA, they both were used to red leaves). Well, they still think I'm weird, but hey (shrug). 2. The smell. New England has a distinct autumn smell to it- a special mixture of morning dew and fog mixed with cold, damp earth mixed with the blend of drying leaves. Even in the heart of Boston in areas where it's nearly all concrete jungle, you can smell it. It's soothing and cozy to me. 3. Halloween. This ties in with the color and smell aspects-- but there' s nothing quite like Halloween in New England. In many areas, the houses are older and just have that appearance of spookiness. Add to that the fact that it's pitch dark by 5 by Halloween. And, it's very forested here. Lots and lots of woods. By that time of year, fog is a fairly common occurrance. It gets very spooky here. There are TONS of haunted houses, haunted hayrides, and other specific Halloween attractions. Most are open throughout October. And of course, there is Disney-Halloween, also known as Salem, Mass. on Oct. 31. Been there, done that. Not worth the insanity. 4. Countryside drives. Oddly this is the only time of year Erich and I do this. We have an annual tradition, mid-Octoberish, where we drive up to Concord, Massachusetts. We go to The Cheese Shop (yes... it's actually called that) in downtown Concord and drop a lot of money on good, imported cheeses, mustards, european chocolates, and perhaps a bottle of chianti. Then we head over to Sleepy Hollow cemetery, which is only perhaps a mile from downtown. We walk around for a while, visiting the graves of Hawthorne, Alcott, etc. And then we start driving back toward Boston down Route 2A... where you find all of the local farmstands. Pie, more pie, and some veggies. And probably a carmel or candy apple. The scenery is beautiful, and it's one of those romantic little relationship traditions that sprung completely by accident, but I look forward to every year. 5. King Richard's Faire. Ren Faire: tigers, ligers and other big cats, jousting, sword play, period garb (Erich prefers me in the corset, heh.), turkey stew, and mead. :) Oh and the two guys that attend every year looking like some cross between Klingons, Mad Max villains and Uruk-hai. 6. Morning chill. It came early this year-- that really honest to god cold air that makes you burrow deeper under the covers, or makes your teeth chatter when you first go outside. I find it quite energizing in the morning. As soon as the chill hits, I know that the heat and humidity of summer is gone. And that makes me extremely happy. 7. Maine. Erich's mom lives there, specifically in the region north of Portland, but south of Bar Harbor. Maine has somehow clung to what I imagine Cape Cod was like fifty years ago-- small seaside towns, many with active sea-related industries (fishing, lobstering, etc.). The town where Erich's mom lives has the appearance of something out of Norman Rockwell. There's the general store (with the 1930s era glass-door display fridges), a post office that closes for two hours for lunch (but everyone knows the postmaster), windy back roads. One school. And lots of stories about the life-long residents and their extended family histories. Stephen King does capture his beloved home well when he creates settings. He generally focuses on the more depressing aspects. And they're definitely there (although not quite always to the extreme of 'Salems Lot, for example). But there is something about those small, seaside towns that are both romantic and terrifying, and my writer's mind goes both directions whenever we go up there. 8. Boston. Generic, perhaps. But I came to New England to go to school in Boston. I love the mix of new and old in the city. I love the blend of cultures. I love the variety of color. The traffic is crazy. The subways have deteriorated in quality considerably since I moved here. But it's a fantastic city to visit, and despite the high cost of living, it's a great place to go to school and live. 9. Sports. Yes, Red Sox fans can be obnoxious. They raise it to an artform, in fact. From my experience, so are the Yankees fans (although I get amused that everyone I know from NY will deny this... I call bullshit to that from a neutral upbringing. Both groups of fans are equally as obnoxious to each other). But the sports passion for the Red Sox - and for the Patriots, although on a different level - is a backbone of the culture here. As a non-native, I can't even grasp how deep this runs, but I see the evidence of it all the time. The eulogy for Erich's grandfather last weekend sums up part of it. His daughter wrote how in the last six years since she moved in to live with him (after Erich's grandmother passed away), she recalled him crying only twice. I don't recall what the first reason was, but the second was when the Red Sox won the World Series. 10. Religion. Contrary to how many of the conservative, predominantly verbally religious states may think of New England... it's not a bastion of godlessness here. New England is as fiercely religious as any other area of the nation. But, like New York and many of the other East Coast cities, there is a tremendous diversity of religion here, with all of the subsets of major religions included. And somehow, despite the occasional mudslinging of bigotry, people have learned to live side by side and go about their lives for the most part. People here are devout, but devotion is considered personal and private. In the towns and circles I've been in, the "my church is greater than your church" crap that I saw growing up doesn't exist. (and I think it's for the better, quite frankly.) 11. The accents. Notice the plural on that... not everyone speaks like Norm on This Old House. There are a number of different accents in New England, and all of them both fascinate and amuse me. I have found that my own accent has changed since living here. I am starting to lose a few "r"s here and there. 12. The size. New England is accessible. Lots of roads and lots of ways to get places - and lots of things to do. Erich and I can go to Maine (which for us is now technically three states away) for a long weekend. Our normal weekend Dungeons & Dragons group has players now from four different states. Growing up, going somewhere in state for a long weekend was usually a pain in the ass, let alone going to the next state over (Wyoming). 13. Forward-thinking intelligence. Being smart and educated is valued here. Being liberal - in the proper sense of trying to seek out ways to improve human life - is celebrated here. Not everything works, and sometimes these states are ahead of their time... but it is an experimenting ground for growth as a nation and culture. Whether it's same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, or the very recent system created in Vermont to allow handicapped voters to vote via telephone (thereby providing an accessible - but physically private - way to vote for the disabled) - experiments and attempts at improvements are always at work here. :) Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Raggedy - Stacie - Sally - Momish - Brony

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Erich's 102 in 1002

Erich's had a list of items to do that he's carried around on the weekends. It was typed in excel, and he has crossed off a few things from the list over the last couple weeks. After seeing my list that I posted last night, he revised his and sent me an email today titled "102 in 1002." Being a Leo, he does, of course, try to outshine. :) #1 is, however, a symbolic reminder that was on his original list.

With his permission, here is his 102 in 1002...

The Mission: Complete 102(!) preset tasks in a period of 1002 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Start Date: Sept. 12, 2006
End Date: June 10, 2009
Last Status Update: N/A
Days Remaining: 1001
As of Summer 2009 we will probably need to replace our roof

Key:
(normal text)- not yet addressed
italic - in progress
bold- completed (with date)

1. Visit Norm (This will always remain at (1) to remind myself of what happens when I procrastinate - Erich)

Home Maintenence
2. Trim side bushes
3. Trim front bushes
4. Mow and edge lawn regularly
5. Laundry regularly
6. Dishes regularly
7. Spray poison ivy patches in spring & additional as needed
8. Trim cat claws weekly
9. Vacuum weekly
10. Clean up cat spots regularly (ewwww....)
11. Clean out bedroom
12. Oil changes for both cars
13. Clean Noby's ears
14. Get a routine down for brushing Colley's teeth
15. Hang up all clothes
16. Create & stick to a walking routine

Home Repair & Improvement
17. Call Cox - switch to HD cable (one box only)
18. Get DVR Box
19. Porch barrel - empty yard waste
20. Clean leaves out from around foundation
21. Find leaks in garage roof
22. Fix leaks in garage roof
23. Buy gigabit switch
24. 1st floor network: switch in basement
25. Rewire high speed connection to enter in basement
26. Replace any damaged windows
27. Measure headboard vs. bedroom dimensions to see if headboard is useable
28. Reorganize bedroom (assuming headboard is useable)
29. Buy a drill and bits
30. Finish shaving office door
31. Buy new litter boxes for cats
32. Repair windows to point that they can be opened
33. Have basement foundation leak repaired
34. Plant hydrangea & little yellow plant
35. Repair tile on bathroom floor
36. Find termite inspection history
37. Schedule new termite inspection
38. Buy & install new showerhead
39. Scrub out microwave
40. Reseed lawn
41. Maintain lawn watering schedule to foster seed growth
42. Buy snowblower
43. Buy new hatch
44. Recover old bricks from under sunroom
45. Create front flower bed
46. Weed side flower bed
47. Plant something under trees in side yard
48. Cut down junk trees & bushes
49. Rent woodchipper
50. Grind yard waste to mulch
51. Contact tree people to trim limbs near lines & rid of disease/dead high stuff
52. Defeat the Triffid
53. Cut out the Triffid stump
54. Bedroom: Take down wallpaper and repaint
55. Bathroom: Take down wallpaper and repaint
56. Kitchen: Take down wallpaper and repaint
57. Sunroom: Restring windows to make them functional.

Self-Improvement
58. Pay off credit cards
59. Find a new job
60. Watch a meteor shower
61. Try a new ethnic cuisine
62. Get to doctor
63. Get to dentist
64. Get eyes checked & new prescription/glasses
65. Research (& schedule) laser surgery for eyes
66. Get weight & waist size to where I want them to be
67. Buy a "new" car

Family Responsibilities
68. Take Ren Faire and other clothes to dry cleaners
69. Attend King Richards Faire 2006
70. Visit Mom
71. Thank you notes for Christmas gifts sent within one week
72. Attend Arisia
73. Visit Vermont
74. Attend King Richards Faire 2007
75. Go to the Big E fair in Mass
76. Visit Roger Williams Park Zoo
77. Spend an afternoon at the Gardner Museum in Boston
78. Attend Waterfire
79. Create an address book with birthdays and important other dates
80. Go on a romantic weekend getaway (Mel note... hopefully with me, *wink*)
81. Create Living Will
82. Take all cats to the vet for annual checkup 2007
83. Get records from the old vet transferred for Fizzy and Gus
84. Get Fizzy and Gus to the vet for annual checkup 2006
85. Pick a wedding date
86. Compile guest list with addresses
87. Send out save the date cards
88. Send out invitations
89. Get married
90. Thank-you notes sent out for wedding within five weeks

The Great Clean Out
91. Sort through and donate clothes
92. Purchase garage storage system- once garage is waterproofed
93. Reorganize garage
94. Purchase basement storage system- once basement is waterproofed
95. Reorganize basement
96. Clean out front porch
97. Clean out front hall (done for 2006- redo after winter use)
98. Help clean out Mel's office
99. Reorganize Mel's office
100. Clean out Mel's hall closet- remove old boxes
101. Prep for yard sale- organize and box up useless shit
102. Have yard sale

- Mel's 101 in 1001 is here.