Photo Friday- Parking Nazi edition

I tried my hand at adding text to these photos, but I see that it is too small. I think you can click on the pictures to embiggen them so that you can read my clever annotations.

Every once in a while, they have school on Fridays. It seems to happen about twice a month. On those days, I get to pick Madison up from school. On most other weekdays, Spencer picks her up. He and I have compared notes about what goes on in the parking lot and we have come to a conclusion: The school parking lot is not for the timid or weak-minded.

The lot where we park and wait for Madison is rectangular shaped. Cars park along either long end of the rectangle and in a row right down the middle. This leaves a "U" (or "O", but I will get to that later) shaped lane of travel, wide enough to accommodate two- way traffic. At 6 o'clock on the U, or O, is the chute through which the children emerge.
You can see that there is plenty of room to negotiate the turn. You may also notice that I have a good parking spot and think that I show up really early. Not so. For some reason, no one ever parks in this spot. For some reason, hardly anyone parks. Most of the other moms circle the parked cars like buzzards, trying to time their arrival at the chute with their child's. The SUV moms can see their kids coming. The more aggressive picker uppers make up their own parking space to the left of the Honda, above. The really aggressive ones mark to the left of that, which blocks the buzzards.(sorry that the windshield is all wet, but it is difficult to surreptitiously photograph someone directly in front of you)
Finally, the Taurus moved and the buzzards could resume circling.

Ptomaine Wednesday- Thursday edition

I did not cook on Wednesday, because I was home for all of about 20 minutes. I did try a new recipe tonight, from Rachael Ray-Spaghetti a la Carbonara, which I figured my family would like because it's bacon and egg pasta. I was right.

This 30 minute meal takes all of about 15 minutes, and it makes the house smell fantastic. We all wished I had made more. Here is the recipe, you should try it.

The coolest thing about tonight's dinner was that I got to use my new cookbook holder that I received in a blind gift exchange. I think this may be the best kitchen gadget, ever. When I opened the box and saw that it was just fairly thin wire, I doubted it could support heavy cookbooks, or worse, floppy paperbacks- but it does.

Just Tuesday

I've got lots of excuses, er, reasons for why I haven't been on the wiiFit lately. Not the least of which is that our house is small and we have one tv and I am rarely alone, so when I use it, it's the Kaycee on the Wii Show and I don't like that.
Also I think that no one really wants to read about it. I know I wouldn't. So.
I read this story today, and I think everyone else should, too. It's the story of a young college man who walks into the first day of a lecture one hour late and is asked to leave. The young man later sends an email to the professor, detailing his concerns about the professor's policies.
The professor's response should be required reading for everyone.

eight things no one really cares about concerning the first week with my new cat

1. He does not have a name. We were thinking of keeping to the Lonesome Dove theme and naming him Pea Eye, but he is no Pea. He has Woodrow potential, and he sometimes exhibits Blue Duck like behavior.

2. He was hit by a car about a month ago, resulting in a fractured pelvis. The person who brought him to the shelter found him injured. His fracture is healing, but he can't really jump up onto anything over 18 inches high. I don't know if that will improve or not.

3. He is hyper-alert. He notices noises outside and reacts as if they were inside. It took a while for us to figure out why he was spazzing out for seemingly no reason- it was because the car door closing outside scared him, and we didn't even hear it. I think he will chill in a few days.

4. He growls like some kind of pit bull. You know how cats make a low, growly sound right before they hiss or scream? My cat doesn't do that. He just growls like a dog, or a cougar. He does it when he hears the big dogs bark, or when Tina moves. It's getting better, though.

5. He's got weird little pseudo-claws on his front paws, called horned paws. They are callouses, I guess. His actual claws are trimmed very very short- in fact I had to check to see if he wasn't declawed.

6. He is aggressive toward Tina. (Although this behavior, too, is quickly improving.) I've never seen a cat move toward a dog, hissing and growling. That's what my cat does. Tina just shakes and waits to be rescued.

7. He lies on his back and looks at the TV upside-down.

8. He makes a real mess out of his water dish, as if he cant' drink right. I know that Scottsih Folds have a reputation for liking to drink from a drippy faucet, so I offered that to him, but he didn't seem interested. I'll give the bowl of water a few more days.

So, yeah. He's a quirky cat. But he is nice to people, and his unpleasant behavior really is decreasing rapidly as he gets comfortable. I try to imagine what he's been through, to fit the pieces of his life together like a puzzle to figure out his past. Maybe I can make up a really great story about him. But first, he'll need a name.

Things I learned this week- Mardi Gras edition

Last week sure was busy. I did a lot, and I learned a few things. Here are some of them.

*I learned that February 13 is Mistress' Day, but I think that's all wrong. I read an article on the internet about how the day before Valentine's day is the day when mistresses get taken out to dinner and romanced, because cheating bastards have to pretend to love their wives on Valentine's Day, which makes them unavailable to the other women on the 14th. But.
I asked Spencer to take me to dinner on the 13th because I thought the restaurants would be crowded on the 14th. So we went to Carino's, and I started looking around for mistresses.
All I have to say is that if the women in that restaurant, myself included, were examples of the kind of women that men stray for, we've got problems, and I am glad we didn't go out on the 14th to see the wretched wives.

* I learned that my kid has grown in the past 6 months, which surprised me. I thought she had plateaued. I think it was a half inch. In June we are going to the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where she will be part of a Turner Syndrome study. I bet I will learn a lot that week.

The cat story

I've been looking for a Scottish Fold cat for a while. Looking for a Scottish Fold is no like looking for a lab- they are a little more difficult to locate and often more expensive. There is one breeder in Oregon, in Klamath Falls, which for all intents and purposes is California. However, that breeder is the breeder closest to me. Unfortunately, that breeder sold a couple people cats with health problems, and those folks took their beefs (beeves?) to the internet, where I saw them and ruled out ever buying a cat from the Oregon breeder.
So I widen the circle.
In November, I found an adorable teenage Scottish Fold with straight ears for sale from a breeder in South Carolina. The cat was reasonably priced, $75 if I recall correctly, but I would have to pay for him to be shipped to me. I had myself convinced that I wanted that cat for my birthday/ Christmas. But. Animals can only be shipped in aircraft when the temperature is at least 50 degrees at all stops. So I had to wait until Spring. Meanwhile, she sold the cat to someone local.
I check craigslist about weekly to see if any cats are available, and last week to my complete overjoyed surprise, a couple in my town was looking for a new home for their Scottish Fold female because the cat didn't put up with the two-year old daughter's pokes and pulls.
My whole family went to meet the cat, and she was adorable. She was floppy and sweet and as cute as could be. I was smitten. But.
The owner asked for a couple days to make sure she was doing the right thing and to be sure she could bear to part with her cat of eight years. She sent me an email a day later thanking me, and apologizing for deciding to keep the cat. It's not me, it's her. I felt like crying.
Instead of crying, I sat down at the computer and typed in various combinations of "scottish" "fold" "oregon" "adoption" "for sale" "kitten" and then, I found one at a shelter in Klamath Falls. so I picked up the phone.
The nice lady who answered told me that the cat on the internet was a mixed breed, but a nice enough cat. She told me that she had another Scottish Fold that was just yesterday ready for adoption. She sent me a picture of a cat she called Judd who was recovering from a fractured pelvis he got when he had presumably been hit by a car, and I decided to drive to Klamath Falls.
So this morning, after setting up a Girl Scout Cookie booth, Madison, Tina the chihuahua and I headed south. 4 hours later we found ourselves in the fanciest animal shelter I have ever seen. No cages, just cats. Fresh air. Room to roam, light. And there was Judd.
He's on my lap now, we are becoming pretty good friends. Madison is absolutely in love. Even Spencer likes him and Tina seems tolerant. I think he was worth the wait, but he needs a new name. We are thinking Pea Eye.

Photo Friday- 2/19/2010

I've got a couple photos to share today. The first one I maybe should have shared on Wednesday, since it is what we had for dinner on Ptomaine Wednesday. You may recall that I failed to try a new recipe. I had a meeting of one sort or another and so Spencer cooked dinner. Since it was a big Olympic night- halfpipe and short track, we wanted something we could eat without paying too much attention to our plate- so knives and forks were out. He chose nachos. Uninspired? Hardly. I think that Spencer has been secretly inspired by my culinary endeavors. Here is a photo.
You will see that he used black beans instead of refried beans, even though we had refried beans in the pantry. And do you see the Iron Chef ingredient? That's right, corn. Those are Santa Fe Nachos.

My love of all things Olympic has me in front of the TV for hours on end in the evening. I am fascinated by the events, but I find it difficult to just sit and watch. I needed something to do with my hands. So I started this project, a crochet tote bag, and I fully intend to complete it during the closing ceremonies. Isn't it marvelous? I can't remember having more fun crocheting. I love the cables and bobbles. I have the front completed.

A week full of failure.

This week, I failed to use the wiiFit, I failed to try a new recipe yesterday, and although I was pleasant today, I wasn't particularly thoughtful. But I am okay with all of that- I have just been too damned busy to do any of it.

Today, Joe the Pilot flew his airplane into the IRS building in Austin, Texas. He left a suicide manifesto on his blog, which can be found on The Smoking Gun. I read it, and it's sufficiently nutty... but also suprisingly well written and, okay... not crazy. He mentions his disgust with the bailout of GM, which I found to be a disappointment, too. I think GM should have been allowed to fail. If I don't completely disagree with a wacko, does that mean I am a wacko, too?

Eight Olympians I've got my eye on

8. Johnny Weir- I know he isn't going to get on the podium, but I love to watch him be fabulous. I thank him for acknowledging the overwhelming gayness of mens figure skating.

7. Bode Miller- I loved him 4 years ago for not giving a shit. I am rooting for him this year even though I think he gives a little tiny shit now.

6. Lindsey Jacobellis- Even though I know that she didn't get a medal, if I had written this on Monday when I was supposed to I still would have held out hope. She's so darn cute and likeable.

5. Quatchi- My husband brought this home from Canada for my daughter last year. It's Quatchi, the official Vancouver Olympics mascot. I've had my eyes peeled for him at the games, but like the real sasquatch, he has proved elusive. Or maybe we have the only one.

4. ski cross(er) Errol Kerr, Jamaica's sole Olympian. I wonder if he will be on primetime TV. I would check nbcolympics.com, but I have to obstain because I just checked over there a minute ago for something else and there was a result from tonight's telecast right there on the front page! bastards. At least it wasn't anything I care about.

3. Shaun White. I am actually rooting against him, now that I know that he owns his own halfpipe on a mountain in Colorado. Seems non-Olympian.

2. Okay, not an olympian, but a gripe: The games are being held in my time zone, and I can't watch them live.

1. Louie Vito. He rides tonight, and I will have my fingers crossed. He's five feet of pure charisma and charm.

Things I learned this week- slippery slope edition

Hmmm.... where was I?

Oh that's right, Sunday.

I've had a busy weekend and there's no rest for me in the foreseeable future. The number one thing I learned this week is really something I already knew about myself- that if I don't keep up on something, if I let it go just a little bit, it all goes to hell. This is how my sink gets overfull of dirty dishes, how my pool turns green, how all the little things get neglected. So I need to get back to daily blogging, no matter how inane my days are.

What else did I learn last week?

It all went by so fast, I can hardly remember. I guess I learned the value of a good nap.