The Third Formant

New Fishie!

2008-11-07T16:03:00.003-06:00

I got him on Wednesday because I was sad I hadn't had a fish in so long.

His name is Barack Hussein Obetta, but we just call him Barry.

Hello, Barry!

More New Piccys

2008-07-30T16:31:00.003-05:00

Sorry we haven't been updating much. It's been busy busy.

Anyway, some pictures! First some silly kitties:

Then the Amaryllis finally bloomed... nearly a year after we bought it, and several months after we stuck the dormant bulb in a corner of the dining room in the shade. Huh.

And finally, it rained! Again. Anyway, found a couple of snailios marching across the front porch when I got home. Doo de doo doo:

I Lives!

2008-06-22T17:44:00.002-05:00

And, of course, the only reason to post anything is pictures!

First, a close-up of a fly... they're really kinda pretty if you look at them up close.

A baby mourning dove! Well, juvenile. I watched this little guy flapping around begging for food from his parent, but the parent was gone by the time I came out. He looks so cute, here.

And a clearer picture...

The coreopsis is amazing this year! It's huge! And it looks so nice next to the anise hyssop and the yarrow.

Is it REALLY spring, this time?

2008-04-16T18:10:00.004-05:00

Gardeny pics! The leaf buds are from the lilac tree.

More...

2008-04-14T19:35:00.001-05:00

You know you want more kitty pictures! I think they're annoyed with me now. Personally, I think the first pic of Meara is hilarious. I'm happy, 'cause she's so hard to get a decent picture of.

More Piccys

2008-04-11T20:00:00.002-05:00

I been playing with different settings. :P

Eeeeeeee!

2008-04-11T16:51:00.002-05:00

I know it's not my birthday yet, but I'll be at school all day (8:00-8:00, no I'm not kidding) on my birthday, so I opened my present anyway. Yaaaays! Here're my (unretouched) thank you pictures. I need more stuff to take pictures of. Hurry up, spring!

Happy, happy!

Public Market!

2008-04-05T12:48:00.003-05:00

We wents to the public market, today, and this time we brought money! Here's all the stuff we got for under $35:

The hydrangea was $10, ALL of the grapes were $5, and the apples were $2. The cheese, vanilla extract and bread appear to be local. Overall, I think we only spent slightly less than what we spend at Wegman's, but we went in the middle of the day. Apparently the prices drop a lot 30 minutes before closing time as the vendors try to get rid of everything before they go home. We'll have to try that next time, perhaps.

Anyway: yay food! And flowers!

Christmas

2007-11-26T15:09:00.000-06:00

I know, I know. Long time no post. I'm very tired. :P

Anyway, I'm at school right now, so I have to make this fast. Here are our Amazon lists.

Our Joint List
Patrick's List
Melanie's List

Dickens is home!

2007-08-22T22:29:00.001-05:00

Dickens just got back from his three-day trip to Petco. I finally got a decent picture of him! Lookit those pretty kitty eyes... he's so happy to be in a window again.

Also, I stubbed my toe really bad. Here it is a full two days later... I thinks I broke it. Stubbed toes don't generally hurt for that long. If it is broken, this is officially my first broken bone! Anywho, its not quite as bad as it looks. My toes have never really matched, plus it's swollen, and a little "dented" from being taped to the next toe with gauze in between. The bruise didn't show up until the day after I stubbed it.

The funny thing is, I knew what to do with it as soon as it started hurting. Even without looking it up... where did I learn about the buddy-taping thing? Hrm.

Fosters and Plaster and Fishies, Oh My!

2007-07-27T18:14:00.001-05:00

Lessee.. first we've got a new foster! His name is Dickens and he is HUGE. We don't have any good pictures yet, but I tried. He's getting along okay with the other kitties, but isn't excited about them. He loves to play, though. You should see him going after Da Bird!

Oh, and there's a big gaping hole in our living room ceiling! While Patrick was up at the lab late on, er, Tuesday? night, the plaster cracked and came crashing down. Poor little Jazzy was nearly underneath! She went racing upstairs and wouldn't come down again for almost two days. Poor thing still stares at the hole whenever she comes downstairs, and stays as far away as she can manage. It's funny, yet sad. This'll be a nice, expensive project to fix. *sigh*

Oh, and I gave the fishy tank a good cleaning! We got a special new siphon that attaches to the faucet with a twenty foot hose, so I can empty and refill the tank without moving it. Yay! Also, we got a separating screen so we could put Eowyn back in the tank without worrying about Arwen nipping at her fins. AND we got three new cories. Well, we got four, but the one with the red eye died within hours. One of our cories is deformed. He has a really tiny pupil in one eye, and none at all in the other! I named him Greebo. The other two have no names yet.

New Foster!

2007-06-30T14:19:00.000-05:00

This one is named Hank. He's a silly kitty who loves to sit in your lap and purr.

Krack-a-boom!

2007-06-19T17:29:00.000-05:00

Hmm, I wonder what this lump in the covers is...

Oh, it's Jazzy hiding from the big scary thunderstorm!

Poor Jasmine. She's so scared of thunder. I woke up to a particularly loud thunderclap, and one of my first thoughts was "I wonder when Jasmine will get under the covers?". Then I felt a nose up against my leg. Yup. She was already there. Jasmine doesn't normally get under the covers unless it's very cold, or very scary. Silly kitty. She's at the foot of the bed right now: comfortably cool but prepared to dive under the covers again the moment the thunder comes back.

Gardeny Pics

2007-06-13T20:48:00.001-05:00

Simon is off to a new home!

In other news, garden pics! The yarrow has gone crazy:

Remember the roses? Yup. That's not a climbing rose on the right:

A little marigold in the shade of a hedge rose. I like this one.

Peas on my makeshift trellis. We'll have edible pods soon!

And a wide picture so you have an idea how much we've put it:

New Foster!

2007-05-24T20:10:00.000-05:00

Well, about 3 weeks ago Nimmy went of to a good home, so today we got a new foster! Meet Simon, a young adult who just got neutered today. He hasn't made a sound yet! He's very friendly, though.

Also, Oro says the violin case is perfectly kitty-shaped. :P

Letchworth State Park

2007-05-21T16:34:00.001-05:00

New York is purty...

I had so many pictures to choose from. I tried to get one or two from each overlook. We hiked about 3 miles total to get these pics, but it was really 1 1/2 out, then back the same way. Be on the lookout for fuzziness in the last picture!

Gardeny Pics, Redux!

2007-05-21T16:25:00.001-05:00

Some slightly older pics...

First, bulbs in the front yard:

Then, roses! So, I didn't prune back the roses this year because I wanted to see how much would come back. Most of them ended up getting hacked down about halfway, some more. THIS insane bush came back COMPLETELY. This is at least a six foot tall rose bush (you can't see some of the taller branches because they're in front of the rose of sharon), and the whole friggin thing came back. Oh, and it'll be blooming soon. Wee!

Gardeny Pics!

2007-05-21T15:58:00.001-05:00

Sorry, long time no posty. But here's some garden pics!

First, the mysterious yellow groundcover, which actually bloomed this year:

Our baby Jane Magnolia bloomed! Yay!

The broccoli has gone crazy. Here's a few with one of our roses.

One of our garden beds. The seedlings are spinach and shallots. The transplanted chives from last year have gone nuts this year.

Lilac! Weee! It didn't bloom last year.

I swear, it took less than two days for the green beans to go from being underground... to this. These are at least two inches tall.

Piano + Snuggle Sack + School

2007-04-12T14:02:00.000-05:00

I gots in to SUNY Brockport! Yay! I intends to major in Environmental Science, with a concentration in Aquatic Ecology. Yup. Now here's hoping I get some financial aid.

In other news, our tax-refund present, a digital piano! Its not the prettiest in the world, but its got good sound, a nice little sustain pedal, and we got it with a stool at cost and music for free. Hee.

Also, we got our paw-points reward the same day. Its a snuggle sack! It has a padded bottom and crinkly plastic in the sides. And Jasmine is actually using it! Yay!

More Kitties!

2007-04-02T15:05:00.000-05:00

More Nimloth pictures!

Kitties getting used to each other.

Meanwhile, two feet away... Meara's clueless.

Meara in my lap!

Foster Kitty!

2007-03-30T20:16:00.000-05:00

Meet Nimloth! (We named him.) He's about a year old, and he just got neutered today. Poor thing. Anywho, he's very friendly and purry, though he's also still learning that he's no longer intact. Nothing major... he just keeps trying to mount my arm. Anyway, he seems to be very interested in the other cats, though Oro and Jasmine aren't too happy about him. Its okay, he's got my studio to himself. Meara was actually pretty friendly with him. They sniffed each other's noses and seemed to be getting along, then Meara whacked him on the head when she found his food, so I made her leave. He's got the room all to himself, now. Here he is!

Kitties and Plants

2007-03-26T17:11:00.000-05:00

Oro likes to guilt-trip me when I'm not playing with him. This is what he was doing while I was untangling his kitty toy. This is far from his most pitiful face, but its the best we could get a picture of.

Some sort of pretty snail... (Yes, I know snails are bad for the garden.)

Crocuses = Yay!

Oro decided to actually get inside the kitty hotel once. After all the time we've had it, he gets in just this once.

Hee hee!

2007-03-26T17:07:00.000-05:00

We gots us a souvenir.

By the way, this stuff is REALLY rich, so if you're gonna get some, you might wanna halve your usual ice cream dose.

Wisdom Teeth + Bathroom Stuff

2007-03-15T22:09:00.000-05:00

This is me not feeling too well after having my wisdom teeth extracted. My chin is pretty swollen in this picture (it looked worse in person). I'm feeling better now. - Patrick

We took the legs off the toilet thingy and screwed it into the wall. Yay! More storage!

Kitties on Da Porch

2007-03-15T22:03:00.000-05:00

We finally had a warm day. The kitties enjoyed it. Its cold again, though.

After

2007-02-26T21:27:00.000-06:00

In a fantasy world: An' then, we waved a couple hundred bucks around, and magically there was a new sink!

In the real world: We spent two to three hundred bucks, patched the hole in the wall with drywall, joint compound and leftover paint, soldered the new drain pipe to the floor pipe, drilled holes in the floor of the new vanity and threw everything together. And shimmed it up. And screwed it into the wall. And got all the pipes to fit together... barely. Oh, and we added shutoff valves for the water lines under the sink, so if we need to mess with the faucet again it'll be easy! So far, no leaks. Eep.

The faucet is a Moen, by the way. And we got a plug style drain because unlike a plunger drain it works. Also, the sink just sits on top of the vanity. No glue or nothing. The weight and the pipes hold it together. Its vitreous china and about half the weight of the old sink. Or less.

For a before picture, see previous post.

Lookit our Pretty Bathroom!

2007-02-23T20:26:00.000-06:00

It's a new style. I call it "the Derelict look."

So... uh... hopefully we'll fix this this weekend. Stupid rusty sink. Stupid decrepit drain pipe. Stupid non-matching faucets.

As you can see, the old wall appears to have been that fake tile/molded plaster stuff we've got down in the kitchen. It was painted yellow. Le sigh.

By the way, its worth zooming in on this.

Snowy snow snow!

2007-02-16T16:32:00.000-06:00

Snow! We gots about two feet. Much less than to the east, but still. Snow! Bwahaha!

Kitties, Daffodils and the Icicles of Death!

2007-02-03T13:53:00.000-06:00

Not at the same time, of course.

First, Oro in their new bed.

Oro suddenly decided he liked Meara's bed, but Meara did not approve and smacked him on the head. So, I brought in her other bed and set it next to him and she got right in. :P

Success with my forced bulbs!

And scary killer icicles of death! Some of these were sharp, too. Patrick's knocking them off right now.

Oh, Canada!

2006-11-25T12:25:00.000-06:00

So... we wents to Kingston, Canada for Thanksgiving. They have Thanksgiving on a different day, so stuff wasn't closed. :P

On the way, we stopped by this little lighthouse near Cape Vincent, NY.

Here's a view from the bridge we took into Canada. Actually, there were two bridges, but they were basically the same.

Here's the ferry we took while we were in Kingston. The ferry to Wolfe Island is free, even for cars! Its getting from Wolfe Island to the U.S. that you pay for, though that's closed right now.

Some views from the ferry. This is the City Hall.

Here's a pic of Wolfe Island from the ferry. We didn't get off, 'cause there wasn't really anything to do on the island.

On the way home, we checked out Wellesley Island State Park (Wellesley Island is where the bridges go between the U.S. and Canada.) Here's a giant nest we saw.

And some views from the shore.

And then we came home and saw the kitties, who were all very sad that we left for three whole days. :P

Christmasy Stuff

2006-11-13T21:16:00.000-06:00

Okie, here's the post where you can put stuff that you bought for us, but didn't go through Amazon.com to get.

I will put a comment on this so you know you're in the right place, but AFTER that, we will not look at it again.

Puppeh!

2006-11-13T21:13:00.000-06:00

Mom and Dad have a new puppy! His name is Freckles. :D

Autumn Leaves

2006-10-22T17:54:00.001-05:00

We went to the Eastman-Duran park to see the autumn leaves, so here's ya some pictures!

Snails and Plants

2006-10-18T16:18:00.000-05:00

Welp, we did another fishie run. This time we got a snail (Edgar) and a couple of bundles of plants to take care of the algae problem and stocked up on fishie chemicals. We also got some extra gravel for the bottom of the tank and some marbles. I think the marbles might be too heavy for the girls to push around, but at least its something interesting to look at it. They were very curious when I first put them in.

Kitty!

2006-10-12T17:56:00.001-05:00

No photoshoppin' or nothin'.

Sunday Mini-Adventure

2006-10-08T18:03:00.000-05:00

This time, the Mt. Hope Cemetary, the nation's first Victorian cemetary. Pictures in no particular order.

The gatehouse. Now houses the cemetary offices.

Founder of the city.

A pump, for some reason.

A civil war general.

Funny rock thingy.

Susan B. Anthony. Her whole family is here.

A hawk!

Our Amazon Wishlist

2006-10-03T20:05:00.000-05:00

Our Wishlist

This list says Melanie Carter, but its for both of us. If it says "for Patrick" or "for Melanie", that means it would be an appropriate gift for one of us specifically. There's also some shtuff for our bathroom, 'cause we're poor.

If we don't get everything, we'll disown you.

Sunday Mini-Adventure

2006-10-01T17:00:00.000-05:00

Welp, we went to Menden Ponds today, since we'd been wanting to see it and its too cold for mosquitos. We went hiking, saw a bunch of chipmunks and squirrels, got lost, then found our way back to the car and drove around for a bit. The foresty pictures didn't really turn out, but here's some of the ponds:

Lots of Kitty Badness

2006-09-30T19:34:00.000-05:00

Kitty badness.

Purriness.

Jasmine checks out the sleeping bag.

More badness!

And Another Jazzy Pic for Good Measure...

2006-09-24T15:24:00.000-05:00

White belly! Yaaaaawn!

Long Time, No Post

2006-09-24T15:13:00.000-05:00

Anywho. Piccies!

Jasmine likes pillows. :D

Purty sunflower. It really does look purply in the shadows. (Mexican Sunflower/Tithonia)

TALL sunflowers! Yay! Note these are 7-8 ft tall, at the highest point. I took these two pictures in a strong wind. But it don't matter, 'cause I'm GOOD. Haha!

The Importance of Health Insurance

2006-08-25T16:34:00.000-05:00

Well, its a good thing we had health insurance. We just got our statement for my trip to the emergency room. Without the insurance, it would have cost over $1500. As it is, we only have a $50 copay.

Meep.

Obligatory Kitty Pictures

2006-08-17T21:30:00.000-05:00

Jasmine bein' cuddly.

Yes, she knocked it off the couch. :P

Gardeny Stuff

2006-08-17T17:37:00.000-05:00

Just some little backyard updates.

Here's the azalea. Its two to three times larger than when we bought it... it came in a quart sized pot, I think. I left the fence in the picture for scale. Anywho, it was happy happy grow grow for awhile, until last week. Then, suddenly, it went put. It folded up and dried up and shriveled in on itself. We thought maybe it was getting too much sun, so I dug it up and moved it to the back corner of the fence. Digging it up was too easy. Turns out it was rootbound... all these months and all its roots were still in the shape of the original pot! So, as soon as I dug it up, I stuck it in a bucket of water and let it sit there while I worked around the yard. It perked up almost instantly. By the time I came back to the bucket, less than an hour later, it was halfway back to normal. Seeing that it was rootbound, I worked in the water for awhile loosening up the roots and separating as many as I could. Then, I stuck it in the ground, filled the dirt back in, covered it with pine needles (both for the acid and to kill the weeds), and poured three buckets of water over it. Tada! Instant happy plant! There were still a few folded up leaves yesterday (I did this two days ago), but its all back to normal now. Yay!

A view of some of the zinnias. We're really starting to think that's sunflower, back there. Its getting really tall. It looks like it wants to be as tall as me before it blooms. Oh, and its growing fast. That's nasturtium way down at the bottom.

Our happy rose. This is the one we bought in a gallon pot when it was too tiny to hold up its flowers. Hee. Its missing a bunch of leaves, and a couple of stems, because I had to prune off some blackspot. Grrr. But its still doing pretty well, and its about three feet tall.

The hydrangea in front. There are three other hydrangeas, but none of them look interested in putting out flower. Mrr? Perhaps they're too young?

The mini rose is pleased that I pruned back the lindheimeri. It never had leaves as big as those on top before. And this is after I pruned off a bunch of blackspot. Go mini rose! I can't wait to see how big it gets! And maybe it'll bloom again! Squeee!

Little Flowers

2006-08-03T16:13:00.000-05:00

Ahah! They're zinnias! Unfortunately, they're also annuals. *sigh* But at least they're pretty for now, right?

AC + Gardening

2006-08-03T15:46:00.000-05:00

We gots a new air conditioner! Thanks, mom and dad. :D It works well, but it pulls a lot of power, so we have to be careful how much we run at the same time. This house really needs to be rewired.

Oooh! Big box! Exciting!

Today we worked in the garden. We found a couple of young rose-of-sharons in the black-eyed susans, so we transplanted one to the middle garden. Cross your fingers! We also trimmed back the lindheimeri, to give the mini rose some more breathing room. Yes, that's trimmed back.

Here's all the stuff that was trimmed off!

We also transplanted a couple of clumps of black-eyed susans to the opposite fence. Again, cross your fingers! You can't even tell they're missing. :P

More little flowers coming out! They've got a lot of petals (like mums), and they come in pink, red, purple-pink and yellow. Still not sure what they are. :P

Apprenticeship, Etc.

2006-08-02T09:28:00.000-05:00

Well, I applied for the apprenticeship today. They're doing the applications now, the test in December, and interviews in January or February. No hires until April and August. :( Oh, well. Its still a good job if I can get it.

In other news...

Oro is bad. He snuck past Patrick out the front door this morning. Patrick didn't see him until he was pulling out and saw a bad little orange kitty munching on grass on the front lawn. Lol.

Annnddd... when I planted my little seedlings, I just used the seeds that escaped to the bottom of the bag. So I have NO IDEA what I planted. Even now that there are flowers. Help? Here's my ickle flowers for you to identify:

And my teeth are doin' fine. No complications so far.

PS. Its really, really hot. Really hot. I ain't goin' outside any more than necessary. Nope.

Wisdom Teeth Update

2006-08-01T13:22:00.000-05:00

Well, apparentely they didn't hit a nerve, which is pretty good for a full bony. Yup. Apparentely my lips were just the last to lose the numbness. So everythings back. The Ibuprofen has, so far, been plenty of pain control, and I have yet to take any of the narcotics. I mean, its sore, but its not painful.

I was a bit worried for awhile, since the first 24 hours are when your blood clots develop, and I didn't want to get dry socket in my upper teeth. (I couldn't get it in my lower, 'cause they hadn't erupted, so they had gum to stitch back over the socket, but the top two HAD erupted, so there was nothing to cover them with, and they really needed the blood clots.) The reason I worried is because I have a funky way of swallowing (according to my old orthodontist), and I noticed that it happens to put alot of suction on my back teeth, exactly where I don't want it. So I took the gauze they gave me and bit down on it until I ran out, then concentrated on swallowing properly for the rest of the day/night, which wasn't fun, 'cause it made it hard to sleep. 'Specially with mister Toss-and-Turn smacking me in the face at night. :P Oh, and it was hot. On the bright side, it meant I woke up early so I could take my six hour dose of ibuprofen, then I went back to bed. Now I feel better. :P And I get to start on soft food tonight!

Oh, oh! I forgot. Kinda funny thing... apparentely sedation has a funny effect on my memory. I can never remember the first fifteen minutes or so after I wake up, even though I was awake and talking at the time. Patrick says when he first came back to see me, they showed me my wisdom teeth, and I commented that one of them was cut in half. I have absolutely no memory of this whatsoever. Man, I wanted to see my teeth! Lol. I thought I woke up later than that. When I was sedated for my jaw, I think the same thing happened. Although, that time I could tell that there were bits I was only half-remembering, so I had a clue that I had forgotten stuff. Heh.

In other news, I go apply for the apprenticeship thing tomorrow. *sigh* Hopefully that will go well. And, perhaps, if we have time, I can apply for my driver's permit. It recently occurred to me that this is probably a good time to get a license, since Patrick needs to have his wisdom teeth out, too. Yep. Anywho, wish me luck on stuff. (BTW, yes I have driven before. I just gotta get used to it again, in a larger car, and New York has rather strict laws on getting a new license if you haven't had one in more than a year. Which involves taking a six-hour pre-licensing course. Grr.)

Wisdom Teeth Report + Eowyn

2006-07-31T12:46:00.000-05:00

Well, I gots my surgery today. It went pretty well, me thinks. They said the surgery itself went great. It'll be a little on the expensive side (if we pay anything; it may be completely covered by the insurance) 'cause my bottom two were full bony. I think they may also have hit a nerve on the bottom, which is really common with full bony impacted, especially in someone my size. This just means I'll have a numb lip for a couple of weeks or more. Anywho, the only "complication" I had was a little nausea, probably a reaction to the narcotics. But they gave me a "wonder drug" for that, and it went right away. I'm still a little dizzy and jittery, but that's pretty good post-sedation. (Yah. I went for the full sedation. I was out for a couple of hours, I think.) I got some ibuprofen, a prescription anti-biotic mouth rinse, and some narcotics just in case. Hopefully the latter will never be used. Today its an all liquid diet, and ibuprofen every six hours. Tomorrow I start the rinse, and keep taking ibuprofen, then I take what I want for the rest of the week until I return for my checkup. Yep.

In other news, Eowyn is apparentely fishie-speak for "Suicidal Jumper". In case you've forgotten, Eowyn the First jumped out of the tank one night and dried up into a crispy fishy. It took a lot of effort to jump out where she did. It was highly unlikely. Then we got Eowyn the Second, who looks pretty much just like the first. Well, I was feeding the girls their favourite treat (bloodworms) yesterday, and Eowyn got excited and leaped out of the tank trying to get at it. Yup. Out of the tank. She fell all the way down the cabinet and into the pile of paint chips. She just HAD to pull this stunt while I was chipping the paint off the cabinet. Erg. Anywho, I ran and got a wet paper towel and dumped both her and her accompanying paint chips back into the tank, then fished the paint chips out. Actually, she was so wriggly that on my first attempt, the paint chips went in and she fell back down. I was really worried that she got hurt (I wasn't worried about her suffocating. Bettas can survive quite awhile out of water as long as they don't dry out, thanks to their labyrinth organ.), but she was okay. She's swimming around like usual, now. Bad fishie. Shouldn't scare me like that. :P

Anywho, that's the news for today. :)

I Gotsh Glasses

2006-07-29T18:17:00.000-05:00

I needz them if I'm ever gonna drive again, which I probably should. *sigh* Anywho, spent about $300 on an eye exam and some nice little glasses. Here dey is, plus a gratuitous picture of Jasmine being cuddly. (She's only cuddly for a little while, then she gets bored.)

Edit: Deezh is the glasses. The color is Fudge/Honey.

House Pictures!

2006-07-26T18:14:00.000-05:00

Adventure Sunday!

2006-07-23T18:54:00.000-05:00

Dum dum DUM!

This time we went to Watkins Glen State Park. Its a network of falls travelling through a deep gorge, down Watkins Creek and into Seneca Lake. Anywho, the WPA built a bunch of walkways and stairs in the 1930s, so you can actually get around. Its fairly crowded, but... Ish very pretty. Here's a few pictures! The last one is of part of the walkway. Apparentely, this is the pattern of the sand on the sea floor, before it got covered up with more layers of sediment and compacted into rock. Yep. Anywho, purtiness!

I Win!

2006-07-22T16:28:00.000-05:00

Bwahahaha!

So, the power button on Patrick's laptop broke. We didn't know why, and I couldn't find anything on the internet about his specific model, so we just took the thing apart.

Patrick took allll the screws out of the back. (Turns out only two needed to be taken out, but whateva. You learn as you go!) Then he fiddled around until he figured out how to pop out the bit between the monitor and the keyboard. (Apparentely called the "keyboard cover", for no really good reason.) This wouldn't have come out if two of the screws hadn't been taken out, so the first part was still mostly worth it. Anyway, we fiddled around with that piece and managed to get the backing off the control buttons. Turns out that the buttons are in two "parts." One big part that you push on, which is fused to one little part that actually pushes on the pressure switch. Little, bitty, tiny part. Just a piece of plastic sticking off the edge of the piece of plastic you push. The button you actually push is *not* over the real pressure switch, but slightly offset. I assume this is so that people pounding the power key will only break the button and not the switch, but I still think its a terrible design. 'Specially since you have to replace the entire keyboard cover to fix it, anyway. (At least, unless you work at Gateway.)

So. A replacement keyboard cover would cost $75. Yech. So we decide to try to fix the button ourselves. We started by trying to hot-glue the little piece back to the big piece (cyanoacrylate can't handle torsion.) But, I tried it about three times and it wouldn't stick, so we gave up on that. It seemed like we were going to have to buy the keyboard cover. But then, I took the cover back off and looked at the buttons and figured, well, it may not be as nice, but you can still press the pressure switch to turn the computer on, as long as you leave the plastic bit off. So we wouldn't need to replace the thing. We decided that was the thing to do.

Buuuttt.. I didn't like it. Using it like that would mean leaving the plastic bit off, and some of the circuitry slightly exposed. Not so bad, really, considering that desktops are like that anyway, but it bothered me. Plus, the buttons don't stay in place without the plastic bit, which would make closing the computer a hassle. PLUS, I'm big on aesthetics. :D So, I decided to improvise. I had Patrick fetch me some stuff, and used electrical tape to attach a sliver of old credit card where the little plastic bit used to be. This worked until I popped everything back into place, but then it was in too snug, and the button was constantly depressed. So we took that out, and Patrick went and found some plastic packaging that was alot thinner than a credit card. I cut out a sliver of this and tried again, but it wasn't strong enough. So we taped a second sliver on top, and it works perfectly! Patrick says it actually feels like a button, again. :P Its got just the right sensitivity.

Bwahaha! No $75 part for ME! I win!

ER Fun!

2006-07-18T02:37:00.000-05:00

So. At about 7:00 today I dislocated my jaw. Yes, Connie, while yawning. You may smack me. I'm usually good! I shall never yawn properly, ever again. Half-yawns with my hand under my chin from now on! Though they ruin the experience...

For those of you who don't known my Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) experience, its been largely more frightening than painful. Basically, since I was six years old I've had the occasional TMJ "slide". Over time I've learned to deal with it. It happens less if don't open my mouth very wide, so I avoid yawns and big foods and the like. (No corn on the cob! Yeek!) If I notice my jaw has slid, I've learned to relax my jaw muscles then pull it down and back into place. Its very nearly painless. If I don't notice its slid, well, Connie cover your eyes, it "crunches". I close my mouth anyway, and the result is very painful and equally frightening. I can hear little bits of bone tinkling in my jaw for awhile afterward.

Aaaanyway. That's been the extent of the problem, until now. I've entered Connieville. I had my first, bona-fide dislocation that I could not fix. And it was a yawn, which makes it very fitting. :P In any case, it was bad. I couldn't move it. My mouth was stuck agape. (Apparentely this is a slightly more rare form of the problem: they're usually stuck shut. I think Connie is like me, though, right?) Patrick, of course, was at the grocery store. I didn't want to interrupt him with a cartful of groceries, so I waited 30 minutes before I finally called him. As soon as he got home, he took the milk and butter and stuff inside (I told him to!) then accidentely set off the alarm, calling the cops. *sigh* We were in such a hurry we couldn't keep up with it. But we managed to call Doyle and get them to call off the cops. I suspect there will be a charge on our next bill, though.

Anywho, we arrived at the ER, but there was no parking. So I went inside to check in while Patrick parked. By now it was about 7:45. So, we waited in the waiting room for about fifteen minutes before being called in for triage. Triage was nice. About three different people asked us the same basic questions: what's the problem, how much pain, what's my age, etc. Y'know, I thought we made the situation pretty clear.

Apparentely not. We were escorted out to a bed in the hall, where I lay and felt miserable for...wait for it... 3 and a half hours before ANYONE who knew what they were doing came by. People were being helped all around us. Some made sense, some not quite. While I pity the man who'd been hiccuping for three days, I'm not sure he belonged in front of me in line. I mean, I had a joint problem, I was in fairly severe pain (it kept getting worse and worse; it wasn't bad when it started), and I was throwing up every fifteen minutes because of all the mucous draining down the back of my throat. I think the mucous was a reaction to my mouth being so dry, but all it did was go to my stomach and make me sick, so I had to carry my basin everywhere.

Finally, an RN showed up. She asked me a few questions, then messed with my jaw, then told us (in so many words) that someone had reeeally screwed up. She was expecting dental pain. DENTAL PAIN!!! Yaaargh! So she runs off for something. A while later, the doctor shows up, tries to move my jaw back into place, but decides I need muscle relaxants. He runs off. About fifteen minutes later, sometime around 11:30, an orderly shows up to wheel me off in a little wheelchair to get some X-rays taken. While I'm waiting there, (some screamy kid was getting x-rays done), the doc shows up with my muscle relaxant and injects it into my arm. Kinda hurt a bit, but not much. Then I get all my X-rays done: One where I'm seated on a chair and the x-ray is aimed at the front or the back of my head, then a panorex. The panorex was funny 'cause its specifically designed for people to bite down on the little plastic piece. Its the same thing they use at the dentist. Anyway, they improvised. :P

So, after that, they wheel me off to the trauma ward, where they had to move some furniture to get around some crazy guy going on about the cops stealing his watch because they had to take it off of him. Why yes, he was strapped down! So, we squeezed past him. They took me to a little, um, cubicle thingy with the curtains and had me lay down, but with the back part sitting up so I was only really reclined. The doctor tried to replace my jaw again, with the muscle relaxants, but they didn't do much, so they decided to go ahead and sedate me. They stuck me with an IV, attached three little, um, sticky thingies, and stuck this little thing on my finger that tracked my pulse. I assume this was all to make sure I wasn't having an allergic reaction, or somethin'. They also stuck a little two-pronged thingy up my nose to make sure I breathed properly under sedation. I wish I had a picture. My first trip to the ER, and it looks like I had a stroke! :P They had me sign a paper for the IV, saying that I know of no allergies, and I don't hold them accountable and all that. Anyway, they stuck this stuff into my IV, and I started feeling a bit loopy and they told me to lay back. And, um, that's all I remember.

The next thing I remember is being awake in my bed, laying down, with MY MOUTH CLOSED!!!! Yayyyy! I missed the worst part! One of the nurses or students or somethin' said something and Patrick came in. I, um, said some things. I wasn't entirely all there yet. I honestly don't remember most of what was said at this point. Patrick says something about the time, so I ask him what time it is.
"About 15 til."
"15 til midnight?"
"Uh, no... 15 til 3."
Eeep! How long was I out? Then the orderlies came back to wheel me back to the X-rays to see how it went, then brought me back to the trauma ward to get all set. A doctor came and told me the obvious (as she put it): Don't yawn! And don't open your mouth very far. Ever. Evvvveeeer. Then she said that the X-rays showed no fractures. (Yay!) Then she gave us some paperwork, took out the IV (oooh! Lookit all the blood that comes out!) and sent us on our way.

That was a miserable experience. Really, just the waiting was miserable. Once I actually got to see a doctor, they seemed to figure things out really quickly, and it was practically blissful. 'Specially since I got to be sedated.

I never, ever, ever, ever, ever want to do this again. Maybe I should make a little chin-cap that doesn't let me open my mouth very far. :P

This, of course, makes me curious what Connie's ER experience was like. Worse? Much worse? Lotta lotta worse? I have trouble imagining it was better, unless the wait time was better. But if you didn't get sedated for the, um, replacement of the mandible. *shudder* That would almost make up for the huge, painful, nauseating wait. (After they put me under, I never felt sick again.)

Anywho. That was my adventure. May it never, ever happen again.

Fun Fact: This was my first ever trip to the ER.

Flowery Stuff

2006-07-17T13:58:00.000-05:00

Look at the size of our neighbour's Rose of Sharon!

Rose of Sharon in the front...

Rose of Sharon in the back...

Purty Gladiolii.

Adventure Saturday!

2006-07-15T20:33:00.000-05:00

So, last night was fun. The power went out at about 4:30, 'cause of a thunder storm. No fans! Eeee! It got really hot, and the power was out for two hours, so we didn't get back to sleep until about six or seven. The sun was up, anyway. Bleh.

But today was fun! We went to Chimney Bluffs State Park and hiked around for a total of three miles, after having a quick lunch at the picnic area. Here's how it went.

Ooh, let's take the Bluff Trail! See how pretty it is?

Hmm. Looking more like a trail now. Still pretty, though!

Swamp, what swamp? Oooohh... Time to turn around.

A quick look at the beach. We can see the start of the bluffs in the distance!

Lets try the East-West Trail. Oooh, bunny rabbit!

Pretty wildflower... And a great picture, too! *preens*

More wildflowers...

Funny bulbous bit on a wildflower/plant...

Hmm. The trail is looking slightly less manicured. The ruts on either side are full of water. Still not as bad as the Bluff Trail.

Spotted Jewelweed! *Is proud she knows this.* Its a natural antidote for poison ivy! It also likes the same habitat.

Eep! Well, we've come this far... Yes, that pond is the trail. Splashy, splashy!

Ahhh, the bluffs!

Ooooh.....

Poor stubborn plant life.

Aaaahhh....

Look, mom! See how close I am to the edge? :D Why, this trail probably used to be a good five feet from the edge.

Yep. That's where we came from.

Bluffy bluff bluff.

The "stairs" to the Bluff Trail. Huh? What stairs? (Turns out there were stairs for the first 10 feet.)

Prettiness.

We took the Seaside Trail, otherwise known as the beach, back. It was drier. And shorter. (Two miles through the East-West to Drumlin to Bluff Trail. One mile along the beach.)

A view from below...

Spiky!

This, boys and girls, is why we don't wander too close to the edge of the bluffs.

Cute waterfalls at the base.

Fin.

I figured it out!

2006-07-14T18:26:00.000-05:00

We have a few dark purple Rose-of-Sharons.

By the way, this is what a Rose-of-Sharon looks like:

clicky

:D I'm excited! They haven't bloomed yet. We should transplant some of the little guys. These can get pretty big. Might be useful.

I Spy Three Kitties

2006-07-13T16:48:00.000-05:00

Where oh where could they be?

Answer (Highlight with your cursor.): Jasmine is in the shadow between the plastic bag and backpack in the upper right corner. Oro is to the middle left and Meara is on the bottom left.

Silly kitties. Oh, its so hot out! Lets lay out on the hot porch!

Hydrangea!

2006-07-13T16:46:00.000-05:00

Weee!

Gladiolii, Day 2

2006-07-12T13:44:00.000-05:00

We also have a dark purple and two greens coming in. And three buds on one of our hedge roses! Yaaaay!

RIP Carla

2006-07-11T17:39:00.000-05:00

Carla the Cory is gone. :(
Nothin' but bettas in the tank, now.

P.S.

2006-07-11T13:42:00.000-05:00

One of the old roses has blackspot. :( I gots to go out and remove a bunch of leaves, now.

Yaaaay! The gladiolii are coming in!

2006-07-11T13:25:00.000-05:00

Some orangey-reds and a pink...

Close-up of an orangey-red.

My Black-Eyed Susans are coming in, too!

A fancy pink one...

The seedlings I planted 2-3 weeks ago! They're twice as spread out as they were when I planted them. Can you believe it?

Roses!

2006-07-08T12:59:00.000-05:00

Our very first hedge roses! Yes, there's two. :P

Our First Black-Eyed Susan

2006-07-05T16:19:00.000-05:00

Yayy!!!

Funny Fishies

2006-07-02T14:00:00.000-05:00

I love bettas. :D The disk is dissolving cory food, since Carla is a bottom feeder, but for some reason the bettas (including Paul) always get excited when I drop it in. Arwen really wanted some. Hee.

Umm... if you can't see it 'cause of bandwidth, I'll email it. I've gotta work on shrinking some of these movies so they'll fit better.

She did this on her own!

2006-07-02T13:57:00.000-05:00

Jasmine decided to pin me down in the chair. :P She'll sit in this chair whether there's anything in her way or not. :D

Fishies

2006-06-30T15:30:00.000-05:00

Fishies are swimmin'! I just fed them, so they're all excited looking for more food. :P

Luthien is actually violet-blue with red tipped scales on her fins. She's very pretty.

They're so much easier to see in video!

Oro

2006-06-27T19:35:00.001-05:00

See? He's a sweety. :P

Squeee!

2006-06-25T14:36:00.000-05:00

Our hedge roses have all made it! AND a couple are even putting out blooms. Yay!

The bud is inside the red circle. :)

Catnip Sock!

2006-06-25T14:34:00.000-05:00

The kitties found the catnip sock. They've all had a turn at it, now. :D

Linky

Cute Kitties

2006-06-23T19:17:00.000-05:00

Some big city pigeons were on the porch roof, but they just flew away. Poor kitties.

When I went to get the camera, Jasmine was sleeping in the exact same position as Oro. Oh, well.

Oro thinks he's a violin.

Garden Pics!

2006-06-23T19:09:00.000-05:00

My little island garden. The orange phlox-y flowers (phlox, I guess?) grew from seed, as well as the soft grey-green ground cover looking stuff on the right, the minty stuff in the middle right and the tall spikey plant to the right. Unless they're weeds. :P Ummm... the rest was planted. The spikey stuff in the middle has gone crazy since we planted it. Very, very happy, and the purple spike is new too. The rose seems perfectly happy, and is growing well. That's a new bloom, there, and there's two more on the way. :) I also planted my mini-rose. Hopefully it will do well. No gladiolus pictures, 'cause they're just green spikes right now. I want flowers!

One of the roses the previous owners planted. Only a couple of blooms on this plant, but they're pretty. :)

Roses! Wow... This bush is loaded. I hope deadheading will be enough for these to rebloom. :D It's really a light, baby pink.

Eowyn Fishie

2006-06-23T19:05:00.000-05:00

We replaced the third fishie. Her name is Eowyn, too. Sorry the picture is blurry. Fishies are hard to take pictures of.

New Fishies

2006-06-17T14:28:00.000-05:00

Well... we gots some new fishies. Since we couldn't find any friends for Carla (albino cories) we decided to fill the tank with female bettas. Wellll... we bought three, but only two made it. :(

We're not sure what happened. Eowyn (she was white with red fins) only lasted a few hours. We found her dried up behind the aquarium. :( What this means is either (a) she jumped out (bettas do this) or (b) she was fished out by a kitty. Either way, this was a one in five thousand chance. She had to have gotten out through the hole for the filter, which is only about 5 square inches and has the added disadvantage of swift moving water (from the filter) which would have made either kitty-fishing or jumping difficult. In any case, we covered the hole with a dish towel, now. *sniffle* Poor fishy.

The other two made it, though!

The red one is Arwen. She's fiesty. She was very interested in what I was doing.

The blue one is Luthien. She's slightly neurotic and tends to stay towards the back of the tank. It was hard to get a picture. She's at the top.

Silly fishy! Arwen's behind the plant.

Poor Paul :(

2006-05-26T20:07:00.000-05:00

R.I.P.

Paul Atreides

July 2005-May 2006

He was probably about 2 years old, really.

*sniff*

He got swim-bladder disorder, probably from constipation. He was swimming upside down and laying on the floor sideways. He knew us. He'd come out of his hidy-hole when we tapped on the tank, and swim up to say hi, 'cause he thought we were feeding him. He was a good fishy. He was buried beneath the rhododendron.

Carla now lives alone. With a bunch of tiny crustaceans living on the glass that came out of nowhere. Apparentely harmless.

Bathroom B & A

2006-05-21T20:58:00.000-05:00

Dum dum DUM!

Before:

After:

I just put the first picture in for the kitty. The second one is colour-correct on an LCD monitor.

Office B & A

2006-05-21T20:52:00.000-05:00

Before:

After:

Studio B & A

2006-05-21T20:44:00.000-05:00

Before:

After:

Bedroom Before & After!

2006-05-21T20:29:00.000-05:00

Before:

After:

Birdies!

2006-05-21T12:36:00.000-05:00

Birds that have been spotted at or below our feeder:

House Finch
Black-capped Chickadee
Redwinged Blackbird
Mourning Dove
Rock Pigeon
American Robin
Northern Cardinal 06/20/06
House Sparrow 07/02/06
American Goldfinch 05/30/07
Purple Finch 05/07

Airport Adventures

2006-05-16T21:08:00.000-05:00

For those of you who haven't heard about my airport adventures, here's what happened:

I arrived at Tulsa Intl. at about 12:30 to make my 2:30 flight. Security was a breeze. Oh well. Its always easy when you're not running late... So, I get to the gate to find out: eep! Chicago-O'Hare is having t-storms, so they're delaying incoming flights to prevent anyone from having to circle the airport in the storm. Small shuttle flights like ours are the first to get delayed. We weren't leaving until 4:30. Sigh. So I grab a snack and wait it out. 4:00 is boarding time, but we don't take off until about 5:00. My connecting flight leaves at 6:35. Eeep! So much for a two hour layover. I hope that my next flight is delayed...

Just before landing, the flight attendents give us all connection instructions. Turns out I'm in a different terminal and have to take a shuttle. And I don't get off the plane 'til 6:25. That doesn't count waiting for my checked bag. Should've checked it officially, instead of plane-side. Oops. I get my bag, run to the shuttle, then find that the shuttle takes me to the wrong end of my terminal. Argh! I powerwalk to my gate, arriving at 6:35. Blast. Then I look at the sign: my flight is delayed until 8:30. Sigh. The gates are incredibly crowded, so I make my space on the floor and start reading, snacking, calling Patrick, etc. While I'm on the phone, the gate agent announces that this is NOT my gate, the signs aren't working, and that I need to be a couple of gates over. And that my flight isn't taking off until 9:30. Double argh! I ended up moving twice, actually, because that gate wasn't my last. We boarded at 9:50 from the gate next to my original. Everyone was exhausted, bemused, and slightly (or more) confused. At one point, someone got out and started playing a saxophone, to many cheers. Our gate agents ended up sticking up taped-together paper signs with our flight numbers on them. I don't know when they finally got the computers working, but it wasn't when I was there. My plane finally took off at 10:30.

Everyone was really nice, though, so that helped make up for it all.

The first thing Jasmine did when I got home was to roll around in my new shoes, then cuddle into my jacket. Maybe she liked the smell of something on the plane? This is the cat that likes the taste of plastic bags...

New Nightstand

2006-05-16T20:57:00.000-05:00

Well, actually, its a plant stand. But it fits perfectly! And it does the job, which is to be tall enough to level with the bed and thin enough to fit between the bed and the door.

This is a victorian plant stand. At least, its about 100 years old. Its made of metal and green marble. Prettier in person than in this picture.

Oro Goes Outside!

2006-05-01T17:16:00.000-05:00

Oh, the excitement! Oro caught sight of a squirrel towards the end there. They chirped at each other.

Jasmine the Shoulder Kitty

2006-05-01T15:20:00.002-05:00

Hee. She does this on her own.

Yard Shtuff

2006-04-22T22:03:00.000-05:00

So. I met the neighbours across the street. Apparentely they're landscapers, so I asked a few questions. :P

(1) The tree in our front yard is a Gingko. Apparentely it turns bright yellow in the fall. :D

(2) Mom will understand this one. Those "bushes" by the driveway are actually Black-Eyed Susans! I needs to cut them down, so they can grow new stuff.

In other yard news, apparentely we have tulips, not irises. They're pink, red and white. Those WERE hyacinths in the front, and come in about 4-5 colours. Lots n' lots of daffodils, but they're all clumped together. I'll have to spread them out in the fall. They are pretty, though. :) We've got more bushes that I haven't identified, but the lilac I planted seems really happy, as do the roses. My rose hedge for the back fence should arrive next week. Yay! Oh, AND the seed-eating birds have finally arrived. Even the grackles are trying to eat my seed, though the feeder is meant for smaller birds and they have trouble balancing. Its funny. And the squirrel is still eating my lily bulbs. Bad squirrel. Um. If we figure anything else out, we'll post it. :)

No pictures this week. Camera is out of batteries.

In other news, Jasmine fell off the top nest of the kitty gym. She was being all cute and rolly-polly and didn't realise there was an edge. :P I caught her and broke her fall, though. Amazingly, she only gave me one little scratch. Silly kitty. She's playing with the other kitties now. All settled in. :)

Piccy of the Bed

2006-04-12T16:21:00.000-05:00

Viny Stuff

2006-04-12T14:31:00.000-05:00

So, since Mom and I were talking about clematis and I was thinking about some cheaper ways of training mine, I looked it up. Here's a webpage about pruning and training vines:

clicky

Mom should find it of particular interest, since it shows that there are TWO types of clematis: one that grows on year old wood, and one that grows on new wood. I got lucky. I got the C. Jackmanii, which just happens to grow on new wood. Woohoo! Less work for me!

Jasmine!

2006-04-12T13:55:00.000-05:00

Jasmine discovers the kitty gym. (Again.)

Jasmine on the chest of drawers, being purry.

Jasmine is a blanket kitty. Hee. I moved the cover so you could see her. Also, she woke me up diving at the crack between the mattress and the wall. Not sure why. She seemed excited.

Notice the confused Meara in the background. (I know, she's hard to see.) She doesn't understand the concept of kitties under blankets. She walked all over Jasmine, trying to figure out what was going on, sniffed the blanket and stuck her paw underneath. Jasmine never seemed to notice.

Also, Jasmine likes plastic. As in, she likes to eat plastic. This is not good. Oro will not appreciate his bags being taken away.

Jasmine is getting better. She only gives the other kitties a cursory hiss, now. She tolerates them in the same room, and even within a few feet of her. Just don't try to get in her face if you're Oro or Meara. Hopefully she'll get over it soon. She's still sweet to us, and likes to butt heads. She loooves to purr and twitch her tail. :)

The Kitty Gym

2006-04-11T17:39:00.000-05:00

By the way, this is the kitty gym we got:

Clicky

Just so's you knows.

Jasmine

2006-04-08T19:37:00.000-05:00

Meet our third and last fur-child. :D She's bein' a silly. She'll need a bit of time to get settled in. Right now, she hisses at the kitties and says this to us: purr purr hiss! Heh. Anyway, she's a sweety. She'll get settled in. :) Right now she's got a favourite spot in the armoire. We have to keep the other kitties locked out to keep her happy. We'll have to lock her in the office tonight so the poor Oro and Meara can sleep with us.

Oh, and she's about two years old. Her poor foster-parents' daughter cried when we took her. :( They'd had her for almost seven months.

Meara on the Gym

2006-04-08T19:34:00.000-05:00

Just showin' ya that she uses it too. She likes to sleep in the nests. :)

Why Yes, We DO Have Spoiled Kitties

2006-04-01T09:29:00.000-06:00

So. We gots a kitty tree. Oro thinks its the grand big scratching post. He doesn't even touch the platforms most of the time, just climbs the posts. :P He loves it when we toss toys up there to run after. :P He'll even get in the house! These are in chronological order.

Melanie's Birthday

2006-03-31T16:18:00.000-06:00

So. Everyone wants to know what I want for my birthday. So here it is:

Parasol
A gift card from Lowes (for my garden!)
The posterbook thingy below.. (See "Squeeee!")

Erm. That's actually all I can think of right now.

New Address

2006-03-14T16:06:00.000-06:00

As of thursday, our new address will be:

224 Lehigh Ave.
Rochester, NY 14619

Silly Kitties

2006-03-12T14:26:00.000-06:00

The first picture is of Oro and Meara watching Patrick pack the car while we were getting ready to head back to New York from Mom and Dad's. The second is a picture of how their cat Cowboy sleeps. :P

2006-03-12T14:19:00.000-06:00

Heh. Mom and Dad's rescue cat, Cowboy, is a funny cat. He'd probably never been outdoors before he got to their place... now he doesn't know what to do. :P Mandy and Ginger (the other two cats) were terrified.

Meara Kitty

2006-03-11T12:36:00.000-06:00

Well, I've done a bit of research, and I am completely convinced that Meara is a Chartreux mutt, not a Russian Blue mutt. There are differences between her and a normal Chartreux, but those may be explained by her mutt-ness. Why am I so sure? Looky here:

Clicky

Tell me that doesn't look like Meara. The eyes are darker, but hers are still in the "range." Apparentely show cats should have copper eyes, but she has gold eyes. She's smaller than a normal Chartreux, but again, she's a mutt. She has the thick coat, the EXACT body type, less the size, and the proper eye color. All the Russian Blues I looked at had skinnier, more oriental-type bodies, and blue or green eyes. Really, they don't look anything like her except the color. If you google Russian Blues, then Chartreux, you'll see what I mean.

So it's official, as far as I'm concerned. Meara is a Chartreux-mutt. Oro is an Abyssinian-mutt.

:P

EDIT: Well, I read up on it some more. Apparentely male Chartreux are much bigger than the females, and Meara is actually exactly the right size. So the only differences (between her and a purebred) are her pink tortie markings and slight differences in temperament. Even her paw-pads are the right color. :P

Flying Spaghetti Monster

2006-03-09T21:12:00.000-06:00

Connie wanted this, so I posts it. Just so you guys know, this is satirizing the idea of ID (Intelligent Design) as "science", not the idea of actually believing in a higher power. Notice the use of charts and data.

Clicky.

Squeee!

2006-02-26T19:43:00.000-06:00

Clicky.

Birthday? Pweeeeease?

~Melanie