Kitty Construction Project

As previously reported, Firenze is made out of claws and fangs.  After putting them to use on us, the furniture, the other animals, passing lint, etc., we decided to make a scratching post.  Ginger doesn't have front claws, so we never needed one before.  Handily our company just finished remodeling and we were able to get a bunch of carpet samples for free and we got planning.  Add to that some wood from the basement, a staple gun from Todd's mom's house, and miscellaneous screws and saws....and you've got yourself a scratching post.  

We also filled the post with catnip under all the carpet, so the cats took an instant liking to it.

 

Awesome Birthday Gifts!

This year I made out like a bandit for my birthday!  I got cards and presents that were useful, pretty, practical, thoughtful, and funny.  Practical presents are totally underrated.  I got a lovely two-tone watch that I put on immediately and have worn every day.  I received a similar watch when I turned 18 or 21 that I loved and I wore it until the clasp broke right off.  At one point I purchased a much simpler watch and wore that one too until the metal it was plated with wore through.  So a watch is an excellent gift.

Some people think that gift certificates are a cheat in terms of a gift, but there are ways to give great gift certificate gifts.  I say this because I received gift cards to DSW and I think they're great because I can always use more shoes, preferably of the cute, comfortable and work appropriate variety and I probably wouldn't get around to perusing shoes, but now that I have the gift certificates, that might be the nudge I need.

I also got an assortment of presents to feed my knitting habit, including: the pattern book for the Great American Aran Afghan, a gift certificate for Jimmy Beans Wool, pearl stitch markers, Holly Wood Kits, and some sparkly merino wool.  I don't even know where to start!  Actually, I do.  I'll have to resist the knitting temptations until after this year's Christmas knitting flurry has subsided.

The most momentous gift was actually the gift from Todd who presented me with a gorgeous diamond solitaire ring and declared open season on wedding planning.  Hurray!

Thanksgiving in Kent

This year we spent Thanksgiving day in Kent with Todd's extended family.  That whole week was an adventure starting with being in Boston on Monday, which made an already short week into a two-day week.  Then Tuesday was my birthday, the celebration of which included a 5pm client meeting.  Our first guest arrived on Tuesday night at the Newark train station; our second guest arrived Thursday morning at JFK at 6am.  We figured that the best thing to do was to go straight up to Kent from there.  Jess and I had to wedge Buddy between us on the back seat of the car.  Buddy was not pleased.  He usually gets the entire seat to himself and was not keen on sharing.  We finally had to put the pillows in the space between the console and the seat so that Buddy could prop himself up.  Jeez.  

On the way we got lost by about 4 miles in each direction as we followed signs to Dunkin Donuts hidden deep in the woods.  We asked to check their oven for children, but only got blank stares.  Fortified with coffee and 50 munchkins, we made it to Kent just in time for our sugar rush to kick off so we could take a long nap.  It was glorious.

When we woke up the party had just started and everyone had arrived:  Scott's girlfriend; all of Todd's uncles, aunts and cousins; and two family friends, for a total of 20+.  Definitely the biggest Thanksgiving in recent memory.  We had a fantastic feast and some heated games of Pictionary.  People lazed off their turkey by watching Casino Royale and Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The Movie.  Overall, it was an excellent Thanksgiving.  

Also, there were lots of bad teeth at this reunion:

Trip to Boston

This past weekend Todd's family convened in Boston to play in the Fall North America Bridge Championships.  While they spent 12 hours a day honing their bridge skills, Buddy and I explored Boston.  We hit a friendly local pet shop, the dog park, Starbucks, the dog park, the local yarn shop, the dog park, Whole Foods, and the dog park.  

When I was in boarding school Boston was the closest big city around, so I actually spend a lot of time there.  But I haven't been back much since, so it was nice to get to explore it again.  It was also really nice to catch up with a friend that I hadn't seen since college.  

P.S. Todd and Scott came in second in one of the games, which is excellent.  If they'd come in first they would have gotten pictures in the paper and trophies to take home.  Melissa and Scott later got to the last round in a knockout-style event, which is also awesome.

Pepper

Sad news on the home front: Pepper passed away this weekend.

Georgetown Law Gilbert and Sullivan Society's Urinetown

This past weekend we drove down to DC to see Jess in Georgetown Law Gilbert and Sullivan Society's Urinetown.  The production was great!  We saw Urinetown on Broadway a few years ago and this show gave it some fierce competition.  Before the show we helped Jess finish up a potato and cheese gratin for the cast party.  Then we zipped out for a bite to eat.  We had originally planned to get Chipotle or something and then eat on the way back.  However on our way there we were assailed by the delicious aroma of garlicky chinese food.  That quickly convinced us to change our plans and we were rewarded with an awesome meal of pork buns, garlic chicken and pork belly.  Yum!

After our meal we dashed over to the theater.  Here we are knitting before the show.  Jess had already gotten into costume and we had a little time before the show began. 

Everyone did I great job.  I can't believe the actors all had time to get everything together so well and also do their law school work!  We were the first people to break the no flash photography rule at the end of the show so that we could take a picture of the bows at the end.  

And here we are after Jess' successful show!

Then we had a little down time before the after party - so of course there was more knitting!

We took Jess and Erin's tasty snacks over to house of one of the other cast members for a show finale party.  We put the address into the nav system and the proceeded to ignore it and ended up at SW instead of NW and almost crashed someone's quiet night at home before we realized that we were catty-corner from the house we were supposed to be at. 

We may have had a little too much fun with the left over dry ice from the show.  Check out the huge chunk in the bottom of this beer. 

As our second to last food adventure we decided to combine to of our favorite activities and we went to Kramer's bookstore for a brunch.

Our final food adventure was trip to Ben's Chili Bowl.  A DC landmark for over 50 years, we were not disappointed by milkshakes, chili cheese fries and a chili half-smoke.

Overall it was a great weekend and I'm so glad that we could make it!

He's a keeper!

Meet Firenze! (http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/pronunciation.htm) We have decided to keep the kitten. Afterall he did find us - which is fortunate for him because NJ shelters are kill shelters and only keep strays for 72 hrs. After we finally managed to catch him he spent a week in his create getting adjusted before we could give him a bath and take him to the vet, but now he is doing well. We didn't want to get too attached in case he had some horrible fatal disease. The trip to the vet was a group trip.  We took our little orange visitor to get checked out and to get Buddy and Ginger check ups and shots. Everyone got a clean bill of health (give or take Buddy's ear infection) so we could introduce him to the other pets and let him explore the house.

He didn't fight having a bath and we discovered that he was in good shape except for a few fleas so that was a good start.

Once he started to adjust he spent most of the weekend frolicking around the living room - mostly with the dog.

One of the smartest things we did was to use Loki's old crate to give Firenze his own mini litter box, food, water and apparently jungle gym. It gave him a place of his own where Ginger and Buddy couldn't overwhelm him, but he could still keep an eye on everything. It also is making the litter training much easier. For now at least he can always get back into the crate if he wants to and has to stay in it while we are out of the house or asleep. It is good for everyone.

The socializing Firenze with Buddy has been much more successful than with Ginger. Ginger makes ferocious rumbling growing noises every time she sees Firenze. He on the other hand is curious about her and when I picked her up and she meowed, he ran right over to see what was going on.

And being smacked in the head for trying to catch her tail doesn't seem to have phased him at all. All the excitement did tucker him out and fortunately a big, fluffy, newly groomed Buddy was happy to share the privilege of sleeping on the couch.

Halloween in Bayonne

We also had a Halloween Party at our place this year, with a surprising turnout considering the last-minute planning.  Again, in no particular order, some fun pictures.

Knitted pumpkins:  Olivia worked on these guys in the week leading up to the party.  They appear flatter here than they are in real life.  I love the pumpkins, which happen every year.  It's a toss up between these stuffed pumpkins and the pumpkin bags from last year. 

Here we are with Elphaba (Michelle) and Scarecrow (TJ).

I can't remember why I'm holding Baxter in the air.  Apparently I do this to all dogs.  In my defence, they all seem to love it.

Aw, look!  Baxter fits on Laura's lap.  That look on Buddy's face is "I'm sure I can fit on Laura's lap too."

Even the little kitty got to come out and play.  And it looks like the party went way past Buddy's bedtime.  What you can't tell from the picture is that he's snoring!

Here we are absorbed in GH3.

And here is an action shot of me enjoying some of the tasty treats from our haul at Costco.

Check out the cool costume that Grier made herself!

This man grew up in a log cabin in Illinois.  Can't you tell?

What you can't tell from this shot of Clint is that his costume included some terrifically gory open wounds with glass in them.

This is exactly the way Buddy wanted to be woken up from his nap.

More GH3 - look, we have new addicts!

The animals had as much fun as we did!  They certainly did get a lot of attention.  Ginger must be getting mellower in her middle age; she hid in the bedroom instead of hiding all the way downstairs.