November 2006 Archives

First it Floods, then it Snows. What's Next?

I awoke this morning hearing children's voices laughing and having fun. Odd, I thought. It's a Monday. I didn't think school was closed for Thanksgiving. Then I saw out the window in the closet that the trees looked very snow-covered.

I wasn't surprised—as the forecast had said we could get snow Saturday night into Sunday morning. Turns out the weathermen were a day off. But I'm sure the kids were happy by Mother Nature showing up on Monday instead of Sunday.

The beasties didn't give me the look as if to say, "Make that cold litterbox stuff go away!" as I believe they are in a state of denial. They all acted like it was another day in the world in which I am to serve them their tuna in a timely manner.

I took this picture of Mr. Doo looking out at the snow. He had his usual look of evil about him—he knows he can take on anything and win.

Design My Own Shoes

I got this brainy idea that a nifty way to connect with my non-adult clients is to wear funky shoes that would be very noticeable and possibly start a conversation. The shoes would have to be child-friendly and yet express my Shrone nature all at the same time. I knew that I needed to acquire a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor's.

Little did I know that I could design my own! Oh, blessed are the Shoe Gods for making this available to the masses like myself who desire control over colors! I am in absolute shoe-heaven-on-earth!

Immediately I told Pooky of my creative discovery, and so it came to pass that he said that if I wanted a pair (or two) of these specially created Shrone shoes that I could order them as his holiday present to me. So behold my creations:

Shrone low suede
Shrone low canvas

Both shoes are personalized with "SHRONE" on the heel. I'm sure people will want to know what that means and I shall say to them my usual statement about Shrones: "Think of a crazy cat lady, only she's sexy and would invite children into her gingerbread house, only she wouldn't eat them, because cannibalism is not her style."

I hope that my shoes arrive before I leave for North Carolina. I'd so love to be able to show off my new Shrone shoes as I travel.

Cafe Au Lait by Patricia Kristoffersen

The above doily is from PK's Coffee n' Cream pattern book. It is made from Valdani size 12 thread color V15: Algae. It measures about 12" in diameter.

Ultimate Doily

This doily comes from the Ultimate Doily pattern book, and the name of it I do not recall at the time of this entry. It is made using Steinbach Wolle, a size 10 cotton thread. I believe this doily measured about 16". It was sent to my Secret Pal. I didn't take very good pictures of it, so no detail shots on this one. I guess I'll just have to make it again some day!

I gave into the gravity of cooking a holiday meal. It's a stronger influence than gravity now that I think about it. What swayed me to buy a Butterball wasn't the low price—it was the thought of enjoying turkey panini sandwiches in our new sandwich maker; it was thinking I'd have an excuse to make green bean casserole, pecan pie, and Stove-Top stuffing.

Now that the Day of the Bird is here it also means the flood-gates of Christmas marketing have been opened. I think of it as Mr. Burns releasing his hounds. For the next 32 days there's going to be Christmas crammed down our throats—some of it will be enjoyable: like those cute Rankin/Bass productions with Rudolph and the Bumble.

As much as I do enjoy having a real tree in the house, I think I'll skip it this year. I'll be flying on Christmas Day and so we'll more than likely celebrate Christmas at someone else's house on Christmas Eve. Perhaps I'll look into putting up a Christmas Twig.

The year is winding down, winter is almost here, and that puts us into an introspective and reflective mood. How will I remember 2006? Will it truly be the year without a Santa Claus? Will 2007 not happen at all until Rudolph and previous Father Times find the lost Baby New Year?

In thinking about being thankful, I notice that each day I have a little bit of thanks and appreciation—though not a conscious and deliberate declaration of thanks. Examples: During the night when I am bone tired and would like to sleep un-interrupted, Smee decides that this is the ideal time to come and lay on my head and try to hatch me. He purrs with such happiness that whatever irritation and annoyance I initially felt is melted away into blissful love. I recall life before Smee and how I longed for this kind of feline companionship—the kind that transcends species differences and reaches a deep spiritual level.

And my thanks isn't all for Smee. I've been known to be thankful for the other 4 felines, and yes, thankfullness for Pooky. In my mind Pooky is the closest human there is to being a cat—minus the purring and kneading. Often I do take Pooky for granted, but then I catch myself and realize that though Pooky's behavior gets under my skin, I remember to laugh about it. It's silly to let little annoyances get in the way.

Least I not piss off the karma gods and powers that be, I give thanks, too, when things go right—and I've been known to be thankful for when things go horribly wrong. When things go wrong it teaches me a valuable lesson and I learn something from the experience. Mostly I learn that I'll never do the same thing again that made things go horribly wrong.

May your holiday feast be blessed with a moist turkey,
May you enjoy the warmth of love from family and friends,
May you get the bigger end of the wishbone, and
May you experience great joy and happiness on this day of celebrating thanks!

Thirteen Holiday Secrets Revealed I wonder how many people will be reading TT lists today? I suppose while the turkey is roasting and the football game is on and it's going slowly there will be moments to sneak a peak at all of the lists. Mine this week is about those things I have never revealed about my holidays—the stuff that is mildly embarrassing. I had a rectal abscess burst the day after Thanksgiving in 1999. I once left a fake Christmas tree up until May. I was in college at the time and had very little time other than to eat, sleep, and go to school. Our first Thanksgiving in the Pearl House, Pooky and I thought we'd make homemade stuffing. Somehow we got messed up with the recipe ratios of bread cubes to water and we ended up having enough stuffing for 12 turkeys. I know the secret to the wishbone. It's all how you hold it. The pie crust for my pecan pie is not made from scratch. We rotisserie our turkey and I think it comes out a lot better than oven roasting. My favorite side dish is the green bean casserole with crunchies. I often cheat and make turkey gravy from a packet. However, I am inclined to make real mashed potatoes. If a turducken wasn't so expensive, I might try it, but after seeing that guy on Monday night football tear into one and make a pig of himself, my creep and gross factor kicked in and I still can't erase the memory of it. I can't stand to look at the turkey neck inside of the giblets package. I think it looks like a skinned penis. I won't be getting up extra early on Black Friday to go shopping for great holiday bargains. I don't care to watch the parades or football games. In my mind I associate Thanksgiving entertainment with the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which means I should probably go rent it today. Cranberry sauce won't be found on my holiday dining table.

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Thirteen Realizations of the Past Week It's been a weird, rainy, windy, and busy week. Here's just some of the highlights, along with my profound realizations. We upgraded to digital cable. I love the free On Demand movies. I realized that I don't have nearly enough time to watch as many as I'd like to. We also switched to digital voice for phone service. I can listen to my voice messages on the Internet. I realized that this is very freaky. Yesterday I received some of my first feedback from a client via my supervisor. The client didn't want an intern providing their therapy. I realized that I was irked by this feedback, but then realized that I learned a lot from the experience. I ordered 4.4 pounds of cream earl grey tea. I realize that this amount of tea will last me a year. Smee's photobook from Snapfish arrived. I realized that I could easily spend a fortune creating dozens of such photobooks. I realized that Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I have no burning desire to cook a big meal for just the two of us. I realized that I need to start video taping my clients if I am to present at my pro-sem on November 30th. Only right now I don't have any clients scheduled. This coming Sunday my Little Sister and I get together to bake cookies. I realized that baking cookies is an important activity in a little girl's life. There's been too much rain, wind, and leaves. I realized I can't do a damn thing about it, too. I realized that one year from now I should be graduated! Yesterday and today I observed two intake assessments and realized that there is so much stuff to know, and I wonder how I'm going to learn even a fraction of it within the next year. After purchasing my tickets to fly out to see my brother, I realized that I finally get to meet my nieces and nephew, and I'm pretty excited and jazzed about that! As much as I enjoy playing the cello in the community orchestra, I realized that I don't have the energy to participate in a meaningful way, so I'll have to take a break from it until I feel more perky.

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This morning I awoke before the gods to go with trepidation about my dental appointment. I was fearing that I'd have to endure a root canal, that the anesthetic wouldn't kill the pain, and by all was said and done I'd be out hundreds of dollars.

Not only was my face numbed beyond expectations, the drilling was minimal, and all was done in about an hour! I was out only $36 for the filling and have been spared the expense and horror of a root canal.

So what did I promptly do upon returning back home? I went and bought a new toothbrush and toothpaste because I am determined to keep my teeth free from further dental procedures beyond the occasional filling. I'll poison myself with fluoride if necessary.

It's official: I'll be flying out to North Carolina on Christmas day to visit my brother and his family for a week. I will be meeting my nieces and nephew for the first time. The oldest, my niece, is 10 years old.

My niece is, in my estimation, a junior crazy cat lady in training. I'm sure she and I will get along in person. I've been writing letters to her for awhile, and I have a feeling that we'll shift from a paper relationship to living one very nicely.

I've wanted to visit The South for awhile, and I consider North Carolina to be one of the southernly states. I told my brother I'm interested in seeing historical sites, grocery stores, and eating real barbecue. Kooky roadside attractions, too, but not as important as getting slow-cooked meat.

Pooky won't be going with me—finances factor into the decision. He also has more duties at work and so getting that amount of time off isn't easy. I may have to stow Smee in my luggage as I don't think I can be away from my Ami that long. I'll be coming back on the 31st, then I leave for Module 3 on the night of the 3rd for a four-day stint with my classmates. I will have just enough time to unpack my stuff, wash it, and reload.

I have a lay-over in Las Vegas on both flights coming and going, so I will get to see a little bit of the wonders. I've something like a morbid curiosity about Las Vegas—too bad I can't go into the city, but the airport will do just fine.

Thirteen Drops of a lot of Rain Since last Thursday it has rained everyday. Here's 13 thoughts about so much rain. The currently monthly total of rain fall is 10.8 inches. On Monday, 4.55 inches of rain fell. It was also Pooky's birthday. Ironically, our summer was one of the driest on record. Last December we had 34 days of consecutive rain. Nobody has been making jokes about building an ark. Umbrellas aren't typically an acessory a Washingtonian uses. We're naturally waterproof. The weather pattern that brought the rain is called a Pineapple Express, since the moisture and energy comes from Hawaii. Damage to the roads to Mt. Rainier iare so extensive, that access to the visitor's center and other parts of the park are closed. That has never happened before in the history of the park. One river in King County is suspected to have altered its course due to the storm. A drop is considered to be 1/72 of a teaspoon. While at module last week, the parking lot flooded and I had no choice but to park in the new lake. The water was up to my ankles. For the record: I don't like rain.

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Happy 40-something birthday, Pooky!

Yesterday we celebrated Pooky's birthday! While the torrential rains came down (I believe we received 3.33 inches of rain yesterday which I'm sure is a record) we spent the day at the dentist for me and then we went to Endless Shrimp at Red Lobster where we enjoyed way too much scampi.

Earlier in the day I gave Pooky his "special" present ;-) and we've already enjoyed the nifty panini sandwich grill that I bought as his memorable birthday gift.

Thirteen Wishlist Items from Archie McPhee Archie McPhee is running a contest that I could win my Wishlist items if I post them for all the world to see. I thought this would make for a fun TT list, plus perhaps give my readership some ideas about potential gifts ;-) Bacon Wallet. I want to keep my money wrapped up in bacon! Bacon Tape. I fantasize about wrapping my boxes and packages in bacon tape. Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud action figures. Hey, I'm a therapist in training and need a little guidance! St. Gertrude—The Patron Saint of Cats. I think every dedicated feline maintenance worker needs a St. Gertrude Hindu God Finger Puppets. I love blue-skinned deities and deities with multiple arms. My Analyst Ball. For when I need my own therapy sessions! Invisible Devil Duckie. Because sometimes I wish I was invisible. Meat Shower Curtain. I've often dreamt of lying on sheets of meat. This is the closest I may get! Cat Buddha. I've often said that Mr. Doo is either an enlightened Buddhist monk or a serial killer—or both. Glow Fairies. I'd fill up our spare room with 60 Glow Fairies and turn it into a place of enchantment! Pirate Canvas Bag. Why, to stow all me booty of course! Krishna Singing Alarm Clock. I consider myself one of Krishna's gopi. Hindu Metal Case. Perfect for business cards!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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