He Must be Part Tiger

Linus has always been a water-kitty. He's followed me into the shower from when he was the tiniest kitten. He does it to this day, sometimes I don't even notice until I get out myself and he's "drying himself" right outside the shower.

Last night was different. Last night, I ran my bath and walked into the kitchen for a minute (to get the stock pot full of boiling water, which I add to the bath, because otherwise I'd be sitting in water three inches deep and I prefer more, gah, this water heater sucks, etc) and came back to the bathroom to see Linus jumping out of the bathtub. For serious.

What a nut!

Pea in a Pod

I'm sitting here highly irritated at myself for neglecting a specific instruction in my knitting pattern that I have been warned about countless times before.

I did not read ahead. I knit on, through countless repeats of the lace panel on this sweater (at least two, probably closer to three) and then read the fateful words, "At the same time..." Which means that I had to rip back what felt like half of the painstaking knitting I've been doing and figure out where I am in the lace chart, then figure out which repeat I'm on, then figure out all of the rest of it and AAaaarrrgghhh!!! WHY IS NOTHING SIMPLE?

I like simple.

PS: It's the Peapod Baby set from Interweave a few years ago. The pattern is free on their website, and I've been yearning for a baby to knit it for for a couple of years. Lo and behold, I have a nephew now.

90% Car

Drove to Milwaukee today.

Drove back today.

Oh, and I did the same thing on Friday.

Weekend? What weekend?

I jest. Despite the driving (partly because of it), I had a fantastic time.

Day in the Life of: Me

S:ok, so last night i realized i'd have to get up early and do stuff to get out of the driveway, right?
scrape my car off (10 inches is a lot, yo) etc
so i set my alarm for 6:30, 1/2 hour early
you with me so far?


L: on the edge of my seat


S: ok, so I sleep, etc
mom comes up the steps to wake me up, warn me that im going to have to get up early, to "prepare me"
i ask her what time it is, she says 20 after six.
so i automatically wake up pissed that i missed 10 minutes of perfectly good sleep for her to tell me something i already knew


L: i hate that


S: i really really hate it
so i get up, shovel my car off (yeah, i know i shouldn't, but it worked really well)
take a shower, start the car, let it run for 20 minutes like a granny
and i go to work.
i have to baja out of the driveway, but i make it to the street
I go to first house, all is well.
i go to second house
i pass the county line sign on 55 heading to Seymour and all of a sudden the ice and shit gets really loud and i think "uh oh"
so i pull over.
sure enough, my tire blew


L: no way


S: way
so i pull out my phone to call the house i'm going to and let him know i'll be late
guess what?


L: ?


S: my phone won't dial out, because i'm in the "Extended" area
so i sit there for a few minutes freaking out
and text message my brother
no responce.


L: good thinking though


S: so i get out of the car and look in the trunk, sure enough the spare is in there. Man, can i change a tire? I know the basics but ive never done it and it seems hard
lots of steps and nobody needs an improperly changed tire falling off on the highway
so i decide i have no choice and get to it
i actually figure out how to do it
amazing
and like 30 cars pass me as i'm sitting there with my hazzards on and wrenching lugnuts off etc and NOBODY STOPS
What is WRONG with people?
do I look like an old changin-tire fool?
apparently i'm such a natural that nobody thinks i could need assistance.
finally this lady stops and asks if i need to use her phone
and i'm like YES
and i call the house i'm on the way to and he asks if i need help and at this point i don't really, but i'm still afraid i'm not going to do it right so i say OK
and then it takes him forever so i've got the tire off and in the trunk and the spare on and i'm eventually just waiting for him when i get a call from Robby
he's called home for me and Dad's on his way, so i tell him to call back and tell him i don't need him I did it all by myself and he does
and Dad is apparently so proud he could bust and i'm pretty happy with that, you know


L: yeah


S: but what is wrong with people?


L: that's what i'm wondering
they'll stop for any other reason
...like to whistle at you and ask if you need a ride when you're just trying to get some excercise


S: anyway, i changed a tire all by myself in the freezing cold and with no instructions!
yay me!


L: good for you


S: so then i get to the guys house and he leaves right away and then comes back like an hour later with a tire for me, haha, and puts it on for me

Three Cheers for Linus

As you can see from the lovely orange countertop and the summertime outside, that's Linus in the old house. Back before he was fixed, he was quite the manly cat, very handsome. Sadly, it all congealed when he lost his balls and started caring way more about food than about sex. Usually. He and Stinky both ate free-form style at the old house, whenever and as much as they wanted. It got a little out of hand, as you can see from the picture above.

Linus has been on a diet since we moved back home. Actually, they have both been on a diet, but Stinky looks about as chubby as he did when he moved in. Maybe that's why Linus's diet is going so well, they do eat out of the same dish, after all.

Anyway, I think he's doing great! Check out the slender figure below:

Happy VD, Indeed.

There's something almost refreshing about being around people who don't celebrate holidays on the holidays. I'm not so great with small-talk, I think, and this way, I don't have to bring it up at all, pretend that I really want to hear about their romantic plans with their spouse. Especially when my plans were: go to work if weather is not too bad (it wasn't), go to other work if weather is not too bad (it wasn't either), text family members and mope about it being VD with nothing to do, watch bad reality TV, take a bath, go to bed.

I've got presents to hand out, but I have to wait until I've got some money to spend on getting them where they need to go. It might be a while.

Tradition

Last year, my cousin and I got together and made Valentine's gifts for friends and family. It was the start of the tradition, so it makes sense that not everything turned out exactly as we'd envisioned.

My idea was a serving or two of homemade hot chocolate mix. The mix itself was just OK. Most people weren't prepared for the chili powder that gave it a more adult kick. The kids especially were less than thrilled. It maybe should have went out with instructions? I don't know. A friend of mine called it "brown drink" which, while more than accurate, still stung. I was determined to find something that wouldn't suck this year.

Enter the homemade instant chai mix. I got the recipe here and there are a few to choose from, all pretty similar. I loaded it up with spices and (this part is key) tried it ahead of time. Also, I let other people try it ahead of time. I find that a lot of the time when I'm excited about a recipe or craft or what-have-you, I am capable of completely blinding myself to any bad points it might have. (And yet, at other times, I totally can't tell how awesome something I make myself is, either.) Anyway, people seemed to find it appealing, even went so far as to compliment it. Nobody called it "brown drink". So it's a go.

Next year, I'm thinking about making a homemade powdered cappuccino mix? Single-serving warm drinks still seems to be a good idea. Mid-winter, who doesn't need a little cup of warmth wrapped up in a heart-spattered package?

Especially when it comes with fudge. Yeah, that's my cousin's contribution.

Enjoy

Indexed gives us another great one.