Cat: Unfocused

The cat jumped on my lap. She had her head down on the keyboard and looked so cute that I grabbed the camera. She was curious. Then she wouldn't leave it alone.

Getting Bids

Hello to all the ships who pass in the night.

As I might have mentioned, this spring I wanted to replace the siding on our house. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but we will have enough money to have the window frames, soffits (sp) and porch repainted. And maybe new guttering. YAY! So I’ve been making appointments with painters to come and give me estimates. Yesterday a man by the name of Greg came over and talked with me. He was in business with his daughter, and had twenty years of painting experience. His daughter’s name is Sonya! What an excellent sign! Both were very nice, asked questions and gave good answers (when it comes to getting estimates on home repair, I follow the lawyer’s mantra when they’re in court: “Never ask a question you don’t know the answer to.”)

“What type of paint is best on home exterior?”
“How warm does it have to be to beginning the paint job?”
“Will you prime all surfaces before you begin?”
“It’s probably lead paint, and I garden. Will you put tarps on the ground to catch all the flakes you scrape off?”

Greg said he really wanted the work and would supply references and a copy of his insurance papers before the job. I like people who tell me, “I want this job and I’ll do right by you.”

Someone else is coming over this afternoon. She sounded too foofoo over the phone . . . like she was going to do decorative painting. I explained that it was exterior painting, not interior painting and she still wanted to bid on it, so we’ll see how it goes.


When I told my boss that I was taking yesterday afternoon off and why, he said “Why don’t you two paint it yourselves?”

Me: I don’t do stuff like that. I don’t want to do all the scraping.
Boss: I enjoy that stuff. Last summer I painted the front door and garage door. It’s something that I can see—the accomplishment of it.
Me: I guess you don’t show your grandkids a spreadsheet and gush, “Hey kids! Grandpa did this all by himself!”
Boss: Exactly!
Me: I want to pay someone to do the grunt work. But I’ve bought stencils and when the porch is done, I want to do some stencil work on it.
Boss: Oh? What stencil?
Me: It’s a stencil of Dubya and his butt with a bullseye on it.
Boss: Get out of my office.

It’s a rare thing . . a Republican with a sense of humor

update

George Dubya’s administration is neck deep in scandals. How many more must we endure?

(not listed in any particular order)


Allowing a United Arab Emerates company port management contracts


Packing the US Supreme Court with rabid conservatives


Hanky-panky in Florida in first election/stealing election from Al Gore.

The whole Iraqi War and absence of any WMDs

Outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame for political payback

Scooter Libby/ Karl Rove (who still has his job)

Jack Abramoff

The Katrina mess and failure of FEMA/Homeland Security

Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse

Guantanamo prisoner issues

Unlawful wiretapping of citizens

No bid Halliburton contracts

Underestimating/lying about the real cost of Iraqi war

Tom Delay

AWOL Vice President who lives in a bunker except when he comes out of hiding to shoot his friend in the face and chest



Plus he has done nothing about:

Selling off national forests to private interests

Global warming

Enough Immoral Scandals to Sink a Battleship, All From Someone the Religious Right Elected

George Dubya’s administration is neck deep in scandals. How many more must we endure?

(not listed in any particular order)

Hanky-panky in Florida in first election/stealing election from Al Gore.

The whole Iraqi War and absence of any WMDs

Outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame for political payback

Scooter Libby/ Karl Rove (who still has his job)

Jack Abramoff

The Katrina mess and failure of FEMA/Homeland Security

Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse

Guantanamo prisoner issues

Unlawful wiretapping of citizens

No bid Halliburton contracts

Underestimating/lying about the real cost of Iraqi war

Tom Delay

AWOL Vice President who lives in a bunker except when he comes out of hiding to shoot his friend in the face and chest

Plus he has done nothing about:

Selling off national forests to private interests

Global warming

Chloe Bag

This is the new handbag my sister was carrying when we met to go shopping Saturday. "I love it," I told her. "You'll probably get it when I'm tired of it."
YAY!!!









Here are the details
Kerala Style.
• Brown leather with dark brown trim.
• Golden hardware and studs.
• Shoulder straps with rings.
• Horse and logo-engraved horseshoe charm with ID tag.
• Open top; extended tab with clip.
• Lined.
• 13 1/5"H x 14"W x 5 2/3"D.
• Made in Italy.

You Guys Won't Believe This!

Seems that Nesta was so fond of being tossed in the microwave to thaw out, that now she paws at it like it's her long lost friend! By the way, in honor of the microwave, we've decided to change her name to "Amana."










postscript: No felines were harmed creating this post.

Frozen cat remedy

Not too much to report today. It's colder than a witch's tit here. Woke up to one degree temperatures. Went to let in Nesta from the backporch and she was frozen stiff like an ironing board. I popped her in the microwave (low heat--what do you think . . . . I'm stupid?) for about three minutes and she came out as toasty warm as an English muffin. I'm thinking about sending this suggestion to PETA as a quick cat warm-up.
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BP is leaving today on a business trip so LP and I are going shopping with my Lexus sister and sister Connie and her three kids.
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Have a wonderful day.

Never Marry a Canadian

LP is actually doing better in school. I’m stunned because he’s been bringing home papers, and even more stunned that the papers have good marks on them. Last week we were talking about his health class and I asked him what they were doing in it.
LP: Mom, I can’t believe how stupid some of these people in my class are.
Me: How so?
LP: We’re talking about prejudices and the teacher gave us a sheet of paper and one question was “which of these people wouldn’t you marry?”
Me: Who was on the list?
LP: Blacks, Asians, Mexicans, Jews, Catholics, Communists, Canadians, people like that.
Me: Canadians? (laughs) Which one do you say you wouldn’t marry?
LP: I just put down “communist” but then I got to thinking that I’d go ahead and marry a communist and then maybe change her mind.
(haha)
Me: Well, why do you say some people were stupid?
LP: Most of them were saying things like “No way would I marry a Jew! They suck” “Asians are ugly.” “Catholics don’t worship Jesus, they worship statues.” I was getting madder than hell! I said ‘I am half Jewish and half Catholic. So you’re saying I suck and I worship statutes?”
Me: Good for you , Puddin. That kind of crap comes from ignorance. Most of the parents of the kids in your class have probably never been out of the State of Indiana and they haven’t met any Jews or Asians, or even Canadians. And unfortunately they pass along their ignorance to the kids. But if the kids go to college and get a little more experience with people, hopefully they’ll change their minds. But I’ll warn you against one thing.
LP: What?
Me: Never marry a Canadian, eh?
LP: Mom, you’re not even funny.
Me: So I’ve been told.

A conservative group called Progress for America (they should be horsewhipped for using the word “progress” to describe themselves) is starting an ad campaign to support the Iraqi war, and to help their “progressive” ilk get elected/reelected in 2006.
"The 60-second spot features Iraq war veterans defending the U.S. presence in Iraq as crucial to winning the war on terror. "You'd never know it from the news reports, but our enemy in Iraq is Al Qaeda, the same terrorists who killed 3,000 Americans on 9/11," one vet says in the ad, which includes images of the Twin Towers, a bombed Madrid train and other terrorist attacks. Another vet cites the "real progress" in Iraq, telling viewers, "The media only reports the bad news." "
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"OUR ENEMY IN IRAQ IS AL QAEDA"????????
Didn't Dubya's administration sell us on invading Iraq because Saddam had WMDs?

The Dickster and Lost

There is just something so intensely disagreeable about Dick Cheney. Even when he's trying to be humble and apologetic, he just comes off as cold and condescending.
Whereas Republican Christine Todd Whitman was on The Colbert Report, and dare I say it . . . was actually sensible and down-to-earth . . . almost "warm."
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I'm so afraid Lost is going to go the way of Desperate Housewives (which I loved the first season, but this second season is downright lousy.) Last night's Lost was not good. Ohhhh, Sawyer kills a tree frog with his bare hands . . . he's mean to Hurley . . . oh, oh, they think they caught an "other." Yawn City, do wah diddy.
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I put "Dick Cheney" in Hunter Orange . . get it? har har har

Freaky, Thy Name is Nesta

As I type, the cat is going freaky. She is running (like a bat out of hell) from the kitchen into the living room, jumps on the sofa, crawls along the back of it, jumps behind it, runs the length of it, comes out from beneath it, zooms by me back into the kitchen, runs around the table, and zips back past me into the living room and starts the cycle again. It's fascinating to watch and I wish I had that much energy.
Last week BP bought the book Catwatching by Desmond Morris at a used bookstore for a quarter. Now I'm reading it. It's a very easy read, with chapters like: Why does a cat purr, How large is a cat's territory, what does a cat signal with its ears . . .
Here comes the tornado again, but wait. She's plopped herself down in the middle of the floor near me, stretched out with her stomach exposed.

A dumb/fun thing I got in email

Age Gauge This will really make you feel old....... Put your birth date in the pop up window after you click on the below link. What happens is pretty interesting. It's also amazing how quickly it computes!! Very cool. Send it on to all you think might like a bit of trivia and history!! Click here: http://www.frontiernet.net/~cdm/age1.html

Electronic Mouse

BP bought Nesta a remote-controlled electronic mouse toy and spent most of last evening running this mouse all over the living room. I think BP enjoyed it more than Nesta did but a good time was had by all.

We were lucky: The Blizzard of ’06 sailed over us and dumped on the east coast.

It’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow and we’ve decided to go to Books-a-Million and pick out our own gifts. Not too romantic, but very practical.

And on Wednesday we’re going to get our taxes done. This lady named Judy has done our taxes forever. I’m one of her favorite clients because I always bringing her bagels or muffins. She’s always busy this time of year and never even takes time for lunch.

Snow

Gnome in the snow and my front steps.
A snow covered birdbath and container

















I went outside this morning to take some pictures. Lubee wants some snow. Here in Indiana (unfortunately, a Red State) we're just getting a light dusting--accumulation of about an inch or so. The east coast is getting clobbered.

I have not/probably will not watch any of the Olympics. They don't float my boat.

I have not yet checked our Powerball tickets.

If anyone wants a free DVD of Italy go to www.perillotours.com They had a commercial on during Samantha Brown's Passport to Europe. She was in the Brittany region of France today. I knew very little about this region. It was settled by Celts many many centuries ago and some of them don't even consider themselves French. They even speak their own language. They are known for lace, pottery and seafood. The towns look incredibly quaint and old-fashioned. In past shows Sam's visited Normandy, and Provenance (the lavender fields I'd love to see!)
She also has visited many areas of Britain. I enjoyed the Cotwalds show.
I love travel shows!

Updates and Dubya is a Moron

**Nesta came through her spaying just fine. The two vet assistants we talked to praised our kitty as being “sweet and cuddly,” and “a great patient.”

**Hm. Dubya has claimed not to know disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff (I get my picture taken with lot of people), but Jack ‘Off’s email shows he had dozens of meetings with Dubya. Maybe Dubya was dreaming of one of his 3-month long vacations to Crawford Texas in each one of those meetings. An aside: The Daily Show showed a snippet of Coretta King's funeral and commented that Dubya felted uncomfortable because in that entire crowd of people the only one who voted for him was Laura.

**Project Runway: I hope the Final Three are Chloe, Daniel and Santino (just for laughs.) Daniel needs to win. The dress he created from muslin, leaves and flowers was gorgeous.
(Heidi Glum is still the most boring reality show host ever.)

**The Office update:
Michael showed a genuine sweet side when he told the Big Cheese that he made up the story of him and Jan sleeping together. Self disgust showed on Jan’s face when she kissed Michael at the elevator. His movie presentation was hilarious. “A Michael Scott Joint.” Haha!

Dwight got a Bobble-head made in his own image from secret crush Angela for Valentine’s Day. He had that “Oh-my-God,-someone-I-like-gave-me-a- Valentine!” look of joy down pat.

Jim was so patient with chatterbox Kelly. But the star of the show was receptionist Pam who got increasingly disgusted having to deliver all of Phyllis’ Valentine booty, sent by her boyfriend Bob Vance (Vance Refrigeration) to her. When confronted, Pam’s slacker fiancé of three years, Roy, promised her “the best sex she’s ever had.” Yawn. Pam wanted something tangible to be delivered to The Office

Dead to Me

I’m stealing Stephen Colbert’s DEAD TO ME idea. On The Colbert Report (if you haven’t yet seen this show, you’re stupid and worthless because it’s one of the best shows on television) he keeps a list of Things/People who are Dead to him (shades of Nixon’s Enemies List!)

Dead to me:

Grammy Awards. They try to be hip, but aren’t.

Razors. I’m growing armpit hair long enough to double as a shawl.

The United States Supreme Court. It might be a court, but it’s not supreme.

February. What good is this month? It’s Black History Month, sure. We celebrate President’s Day in it, but will I get a Happy President of Emmerica day Hallmark card? Probably not. It’s a good-for-nothing month.

Coworkers who go to Hawaii for vacation and bring back turtles made of little seashells as gifts. I don’t want a turtle made of tiny seashells, sporting wire glasses, and a wee straw hat sitting on my computer tower.

People who schedule meetings but expect someone else to set the agenda. I don’t even want to meet with you much less set the damn agenda.

People who use bath towels as car seat covers.

Squirrrels. ‘Nuff said.

Surgery Day for the Cat

This is the cat who hopped up on the fridge. Right now she's prowling around, hungry. I can't let her eat. I drop her off at the animal hospital at 7:30am. That's all for now.

It's Gone

Remember these? From BP's Weird Auntie? It's all gone now (a lot of it went to her new house--haha.) We went up to see her after Christmas and drove by the old homestead and it's leveled waiting for development. Don't know if that's good or bad.

Conversation with the Cat

These pictures are last spring’s columbine and honeysuckle. Both are to the point of going wild in my yard. This spring I need to thin out the columbine because it reseeds everywhere. And I’m considering hacking down and Rounding-Up the honeysuckle after it blooms. I think I want to plant clematis in its stead.

The Cat-on-the-back-porch experiment was a success. She didn’t do too badly out there—a little meowing at the beginning. At 5:30 am I got up to pee and let her back in,
Later, when I was watching Samantha Brown:

Me: Do you forgive me for making you stay on the porch?
Nesta: (just looks at me)
Me: You did a good job out there!
Nesta: (just looks at me)
Me: Well, that’s how it’s going to be from now on, so just suck it up and live with it.
Nesta: (hops up on my lap and chews on the string from my hoodie)

Does anyone know when the Super Bowl starts? LP wants to watch it over at his friend Jordan's house but I think it goes on until about 10. Right?