Mad Zoo House

the "senior" cats of the household:
Medea, fall 1995

2002 (chubbily 14-15 pounds!)

now (a svelte 9.7 lbs!)


Pandora
spring 1996

2002 (chunky 11-12 pounds)

now (also a skinny minny at 9 lbs!)

I'm fostering three kittens for the humane society. They all have URIs (Upper Respiratory Infections) and are congested, sneezy messes. But they are oh so cute.

Latest projects on sale in my Etsy store:
baby blanket



baby sweater

Check out this fatty! And on the dog's bed, no less! This is Asparagus. Also known as Gus, Gustifer, Mr. Gustavson, Augustus Gloop, and the like. He was adopted the same day as Moe and although they hadn't met before that day, they have become fast friends.

Gus is about as laid-back as a cat can get, which is great in a house full of 3 other cats (two of which are persnikkedy females - more on them later) and 2 large dogs. He occasionally will hang out on the steps, and when one of us walks downstairs, instead of running away, he does things like this:


which is adorable but often causes us to maneuver quickly rather than step on fat and furry kitty belly.

I feel like frickin Elphaba. I'm melting. Melting! It's been in the triple digits for a few days now here in the "temperate" (coughbullshitcough) Pacific Northwest. I've been holed up in our finished basement with one or two fans blowing directly on me at all times. Whenever I have to move, it immediately feels like I'm in a sauna and I become a whiny pisspot. :P

Forget about keeping up the house. It took me three days to finish all the laundry - much of it was sitting around unfolded in laundry baskets for a day or two. It's about all I can do to unload and load the dishwasher before I start to feel the vapors and have to sit down in front of a fan. And what is it about heatwaves that make animals want to be RIGHT UP NEXT TO YOU at all times? Too much fur in my house.

Movies I have watched in said basement:

• You've Got Mail. Yes, again. So? I think it was the first time I'd actually seen it from the beginning and all the way through without interruption. I'd never seen the part where Tom Hanks is in his father's office and asks what kind of fabric the couch is covered with and Dabney Coleman says "Money." Maybe it's the heat, but it made me chuckle. I had also never noticed that Meg Ryan walks so funny before.
  

• My Life Without Me. Loved it. Loved it! To read the synopsis (a 23-year-old mom of 2 with a slacker husband finding out she has a terminal illness) you'd think it would be totally depressing, but if anything, and at the risk of sounding totally cheesy, I found it life-affirming.

• In Good Company. What you would expect. But worth it despite the over-exposed Scarlet Johanssen (is there a movie in the last few years that she ISN'T in?). Dennis Quaid is hot. Enough said.

• Lady in the Water. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would (we basically just wanted to enjoy being in air-conditioning for a few hours). Normally I'm not a fan of M. Night Shamalamadingdong's movies, but I think that's due to the fact that they're typically marketed as horror/thrillers when really they're about something else, so I always ended up pissed off. Or, I just love Paul Giamatti.
  

• Amelie. Sometimes I think people say they "loved" foreign films because they think they're supposed to. Or, because they think if they don't really get it or follow it, it must mean that it's good. Kind of like how I feel walking through art museums at times. :P I felt like I was watching this movie for 4 hours. I know it wasn't that long. But it felt like it. Maybe I was feeling too hot and sleepy to keep up with the subtitles. Maybe that makes me a stupid American. Maybe I can accept that. I did enjoy it, otherwise I wouldn't have finished it (see my Netflix rating of "You and Me and Everyone We Know"). I thought it was very sweet. And about 45 minutes too long. :O
  

In the few sporadic moments over the weekend that I had some clarity, I tried to brainstorm how to afford installing central air before next summer. Stay tuned.

This little guy is so cute. I am this close to keeping him for myself. :P

So last night we had friends over for drinks, munchies and croquet. It was our first time using these wicket lights that my mother-in-law gave us. Between that and our solar yard lights, our backyard looked like a plane could land in it. But, at least we could play croquet after dark! Of course, we didn't think about needing some kind of light for the ball. Oh well.

Oh, and Tubbs? Yeah, that would be me. Bread, cheese, wine. Lather, rinse, repeat. Fatty signing off here. :P

I've seen this on several blogs lately and what can I say except that I'm a lemming.*

What you do is copy the list and bold the ones you've done.
- How boring are you? -

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said ‘I love you’ and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone’s life

* Yes, I realize lemmings don't really jump off cliffs.

We finally have a deck! Please note: many pictures to follow. Please also note: we did not build this deck ourselves (we are definitely not that handy). It was built by friends of friends which = awesome deal and long timeline. :P

Join me in the journey:

August 2005


September 2005










October 2005 - we finally have a deck that goes all the way to the back steps!




March 2006 - steps! we have steps!






June 2006 - after El Fyd power-washed the deck, and I stained it (which is an annoying job), as well as my meager attempt at plants (lilacs on the south side and New Zealand flax on the north) on the diagonal portions so that guests don't assume there is a step, hurt themselves, and become litigious. ;)






I'll update this after we maybe have a shmancy new grill and there is less crap on the deck. Until then, our deck and new patio set make it a lovely place to hang out.

Blue Dog now has a home. He is being sent out today to New Mexico. I hope he doesn't overheat.

And now you can all see what kind of printer I have. Note to self: create staging area.

Is it weird that this was one of my favorite presents from last Chrismakuhwanza? I don't care. It's awesome.

Despite the insane heat and no central air (though the "installing central air" talks have been happening at the Zoo House), I have been crocheting. I just finished two projects:


This is a 35x35-inch baby blanket in pale yellow and a fun bright pink.


A bright blue baby sweater made of 100% cotton - size: 6 months.


I'm trying my hand at selling on ebay, so we'll see if I get any bites there. (ahem, tell your friends!)

In other happy crochet news, someone gave this guy a happy home with her grandson. Exciting!

The only time we get all four cats in close proximity/the same room or anywhere near downstairs (aka the dogs' territory) is when it's dinner time.