Our Buddy

...curled up and went to sleep in the corner of the cage for the last time last night.

Sparky found him this morning.

RIP, dude, RIP.

Buddy with Ruka behind him, Fall 2008

[edited to add photo]

We are officially DORKS

Mood: OK, tired
Hair: very warm on my neck
Eyes: they are behaving today
Listening to: see remainder of entry.

Dorks, because Beast is clicking on animals (etc.) on Bzzzpeek and we are making fun of everyone. I recommend the horse, but you probably should work up to it. Start with cats, chickens, and ambulances.

OMG--some of them are just...weird. Apparently, owls are terrifying in India, and the person doing the Chinese horse was actually doing sheep through a mechanical duck call and adding a touch of frog. No horse in earshot.

Donkeys are funny wherever you go.

And Croatian toads have lengthy conversation!

---

Urban Word:

Early Nerd Special: Midnight showing on the day of release of a highly-anticipated film [or book], typically of the science-fiction/fantasy genre.

Sparky was anxious to get his copy of Brisingr, but not anxious enough to pull an Early Nerd Special.

Poetry Month

Religion
by Robert Wrigley

The last thing the old dog brought home
from her pilgrimage through the woods
was a man's dress shoe, a black, still-shiny wing-tip.

I feared at first a foot might be in it.
But no, it was just an ordinary shoe.
And while it was clear it had been worn,

and because the mouth of the dog--
a retriever, skilled at returning ducks and geese---
was soft, the shoe remained a good shoe

and I might have given it
to a one-legged friend
but all of them dressed their prostheses too,

so there it was. A rescued
or a stolen odd shoe. Though in the last months
of the dog's life, I noticed

how the shoe became her friend, almost,
something she slept on or near
and nosed whenever she passed,

as though checking it to see if,
in her absence, that mysterious, familiar,
missing foot, might not have come again.

Poetry Month

Meditatio
by Ezra Pound

When I carefully consider the curious habits of dogs
I am compelled to conclude
That man is the superior animal.

When I consider the curious habits of man
I confess, my friend, I am puzzled.

To all my dog-lovin' friends: please give your loved ones a scritch from me today.

Dress Rehearsal

No school today, so we're having our final dress rehearsal for Youth Sunday at 11 this morning.

I was wigging out in a huge way on Wednesday, which was supposed to be our final rehearsal. Several of the kids were beyond goofy--so was the other leader--and I was tired, but I managed not to strangle anyone. I'm calmer today. I think we're probably good to go, really, but Wednesday was so uncoordinated that we all felt like we needed another run through.

Sparky, in his own inimitable way, managed to screw up his conferences last night by not turning in a major project on Monday. Everything was going swimmingly until we found out about that. He is fortunate to have a kind-hearted science teacher who is letting him turn it in today. He had to come to the library last night to use Publisher so he could finish it. Idiot. Really, just...dodo headed twit. So we have to run him to the high school before our rehearsal at church.

My head hurts this morning, also my neck and shoulders.

We have ridiculous birds around our house who appear to be suicidal. Either that or they are blind. They keep flying into our windows, even with the shades pulled. Apparently our windows are too clean and they are seeing their own reflections and trying to knock out the competition. Even boy birds are idiots!

Ruka is still skittish and shy. He only eats when no one is around. Or maybe he's not eating at all. Anyway. Buddy's his protector, so that's a relief. No fighting in the cage.

Beast is adorable. He's working at home today. I'm not supposed to be bothering him, but of course I can't help it.

But, see, I'm not knocking boys in general. Just the idiot boys.

Oh--the sun is shining. Yay, sun!!

wheep, whirrrrrrrr, wheep

We have a new addition to the family who looks a lot like this guy.I'll take pictures soon.

He is as yet unnamed, but very similar to this photo, except that he's about 4 months old.

He and Buddy seem to be getting along fine so far. As Beast said earlier, they are both pretty mellow guys.

And yes: he IS a guy. We made sure of that before we left the store. No more babies in our house!!

Feh!

We've been skunked. The odor is seeping in through various vents--microwave, dryer--and impregnating the basement and kitchen.

Ugh.

Guess it's spring. Officially.

Putting the "pub" in "public"

Mood: Good, but tired beyond belief
Hair: Braided, inwards
Eyes: Fabu
Listening to: Some commercial or another

Today was one of those truly bizarre days that everyone who has dealt with public service has experienced, but only public librarians will 'get' in all it's hallucinogenic permutations.

As I've told a couple of people, it was all about kids (relatives of staff), dogs, perverts, drunks...and crack(s). I got to hold a toddler, talk seriously with a 4-year-old, coo over a baby, pet a dog--our regular visitor--interpret a patron's poor English well enough to try to find the other dood looking and 'nude women' on the computer, stare down a crack that reveled the Grand Canyon (eeewwww....shudder), and listen to Crazy Cat Lady and Schedule Nazi ramble on and on and on. LOTS of email, much of it bizarre. A tempest in a teacup (because it's not a Friday without some stupid thing involving CT!). Realization that I have a Cataloging meeting next week and no agenda. Two funny ADHD kids who managed to crack me up while proving that I may have ADD tendencies of my own.

So I came home to a large glass of wine, spaghetti, and the creation of the following list for this weekend:

• Talk to Sparky about grades
• Meet with mentee
• Call James and Alan & Katherine
• Tidy kitchen
• Run Roomba
• Clean all bathrooms
• Dust
• Figure out cost/kid for mission trip
• Watch Sarah Connor Chronicles and Survivor
• Go to Sam's Club
• Pick up Sparky's new glasses
• Vacuum stairs
• Talk about Rx changes (insurance)
• Work on car(s) (Beast)
• Look over Sparky's homework and help as necessary
• Write letters to Mr. K's sister-in-law and Dean
• Draft letter for church seniors
• Draft job description for youth leaders
• Clean up and email Session minutes
• Put together April newsletter article
• Update next week's calendar to include meetings
• Call Ryan
• Clean up spare room
• Talk to Beast about Kyle's letter
• Laundry
[updated 3/9, 8 a.m.]

I got a letter today from a relative of my growing-up next-door neighbor with whom I've exchanged Christmas cards, along with his wife until she died a few years ago. OK, that's a nightmare of a sentence. Anyway, Mr. K died last August after a fall and a broken hip. They are sending out letters to everyone who has written him since his death, and are just getting through the Christmas cards, apparently. He was in his mid-90s, I think, and one of the nicest men I ever knew. Sigh.

OK, I'm off to be bored.

THIS is my kind of cat

For clarity's sake

An extract, for your reading pleasure, from the Usborne website dedicated to "A Surprise for Princess Ellie" (that damnable PINK one pictured in my previous post). My comments are in block parens:

CHAPTER ONE

"Good girl," [oh, goodie, the horse is female too] said Princess Ellie, as she cantered Moonbeam [eyeroll] towards the last jump. The palomino pony eyed the wooden poles warily and tried to swerve away. But Ellie was ready for her. She [the horse?] kept a firm hold on the reins [oh, "she" in this sentence is not "her" in the previous sentence...] and pushed the pony on with her legs. Moonbeam did as she was told. She leaped forward and cleared the jump easily. Ellie galloped between the finishing posts and pulled her pony to a halt. Then she turned round to see how the others were getting on. She was just in time to watch her best friend soar over the wooden poles on Rainbow [FUCK me!]. Kate's jumping had improved enormously since she came to live with her gran, the palace cook [cooks are good jumpers? hmmm]. Perhaps that was because of all the practice she had on Ellie's ponies [oh, well, better than riding her Gran around anyway]. Prince John was further back, riding Sundance [forehead smack]. The chestnut pony jumped over a fallen tree trunk and cantered down the hill towards the last obstacle. Then he pricked his ears forward, lifted his front legs [lifting the back legs would be wholly different] and bounded over it. Prince John grinned broadly. It was hard to tell which of them was enjoying themselves most, as they galloped through the finishing line. "That was brilliant," said John, as they rode slowly back towards the stables. "I'm going to ask my father to build a cross-country course in the grounds of our palace – but I'm sure mine will be longer." "Of course it will," sighed Ellie. She really liked John. He was the only royal person she knew who shared her love of ponies. But he did have an annoying habit of insisting everything was bigger and better at his home in Andirovia. Kate leaned forward and patted Rainbow's grey neck ["Rainbow" is...grey? OMG]. "I'm not surprised you want one," she said. "Cross-country's much more exciting than jumping in the paddock."

"But even that's not as exciting as a real adventure," [Horse-jumping as adventure? Uh, really?] said John. "Do you remember how we went hunting for ghosts last time I came to stay?" "I was really scared," [chicken!] said Ellie. "So was I," agreed Kate. [henceforth to be known as The Agreeable Friend] "But it was still fun," [translation: "scaring girls is fun, and they enjoy it anyway"] laughed John. "What are we going to look for this time?" The girls stared at him blankly [...as girls do most of the time, y'know]. "Well, aren't there any mysterious legends about your palace? What about tales of hidden treasure?"

"I've never heard any," said Ellie.

"Dragon's eggs?" asked John.

"Now you're being silly," giggled Kate. [The Agreeable, Giggly Friend]

"How about a secret passage, then?" suggested John. "All the best palaces have one of those. Our one at home is brilliant." [It has an IQ of 183!]

"But that's not secret," Ellie declared with delight. "It can't be if you know about it." [Well, she's not as dumb as all that] At that moment, they reached the lane that led to the palace stables. A bay pony whinnied loudly and cantered across the nearby field to meet them. She was larger than the ponies they were riding, and the long hair that nearly hid her hooves made her look like a miniature carthorse. She skidded to a halt beside the fence and put her head over the top rail.

"This is Starlight," [it seems obvious that all these horses were named by 4-year-olds] explained Ellie, as Moonbeam sniffed noses with the bay pony. "Do you like her?" [We've got the sun, moon, stars and rainbows covered...all's we need is rain and lightning...and something like midnight or night-time...]

"She's [no male ponies allowed!!] lovely," said John. It was the first time he had come to stay since Starlight arrived, so he hadn't met her before. "She looks much better than she did in that photo you e-mailed to me." Ellie smiled proudly. [uh...is she proud of her mad emailing skilz or the fact that she can't take a decent photo, or maybe because the horse hasn't died yet?] "I'd only just found her then. She'd been living wild for so long that she looked really neglected." [And I'm sure you are the Angel of Mercy who has been nursing her back to health every day] "She doesn't any more," said John. He twisted a finger thoughtfully in Sundance's chestnut mane and added, "She's quite fat now." [words every girl, including a girl horse, loves to hear]

"No, she's not," said Ellie, indignantly. “She's just well built. [big-boned] Ponies like her have big bones." [yup, I told ya] She turned Moonbeam firmly away from the fence and led the way towards the stables. "You don't have to be thin to be beautiful." [...but it helps, girls, it helps. Don't forget: boys notice this stuff!]

There was a long, awkward pause. Then Kate [The Agreeable, Giggly Peacemaker] broke the silence by saying, "Wasn't Ellie clever to catch Starlight?" [Oh, yeah, it's clearly a sign that she should join Mensa] She looked wistful for a moment and added, "I wish I could find a pony." "So do I," [uh, what's wrong with the one you are SITTING ON?!] said John. "I'd like a palomino, like Moonbeam." [OK, everyone in the bus--we're headed to the Lost Pony Store, where you can all pick your favorite color Lost Pony! Pending availability....]

"Copycat!" cried Ellie.

"No, I'm not," said John. "My palomino would be bigger than yours." [Boys are, after all, ONLY about size!]

"Then it wouldn't be like Moonbeam, would it," [see, different sizes mean different breeds...] Ellie declared. "Anyway, you don't need another pony. You've got two already." She'd seen plenty of pictures of the beautiful, chestnut mares he'd left behind in Andirovia. "Why shouldn't I have three?" argued John. "You already had Sundance, Moonbeam, Rainbow and Shadow [yup, had to know it was coming] when you got Starlight. That's five." He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, there's no point arguing about it. My father already thinks I spend too much time riding. [not manly enough] There's no way he'd buy me another pony." "My dad won't get me a pony at all," added Kate, very quietly. ["The last pony, Mom cut up and made into stew. It was delicious, but I missed riding the pony."] The sadness in her voice made Ellie feel guilty. It was mean of her to argue with John about how many ponies they had, when Kate didn't even have one. Ellie was happy to share her ponies with her best friend, but she knew that wasn't the same. Kate desperately wanted a pony of her own. If only there was something Ellie could do to help. [Something tells me there IS something she can do! Quick, go get the book and read Chapter Two]

Next week, I'll take the first few pages of Eragon and deal with them, just to be fair.

Hysteria

This made me laugh so hard that I really cried. For like five minutes. Each time I played it. OMG.

I simply can't watch it without hysteria, and now I'm practically having an asthma attack.

(must have sound for full effect)

Pendulum swing

From one side to the other...

This morning at DbD, I was mistaken for someone who owns horses and also makes her meals there. I like my other self, actually, if I own horses!

Later, at Sam's Club, I was called "snotty" by another shopper. OK, I probably was being snotty, but only because she and her Crew were being stoopud. I did not respond to her comment "Well, aren't we snotty!"

On the drive home I got behind Stereotypical Driver From Hell. Speed: varying between 43 and 49, but not according to the posted speed limit signs. Where we were supposed to go 40, I was left in the metaphorical dust. When the speed limit went up to 50 or {gasp} 55, I caught up. For bends in the road, we braked. At stop signs, we opened the door (coat caught in it?? I have no idea) and closed it, which confused everyone. Finally, on the last straight stretch, posted 55, I could pass without breaking 60mph. Grr!

When I turned onto Mere, I passed some friends clearing brush and slowed down to say hi. They were too occupied to notice me idling there, and it wasn't safe for me to pull of, so I went on and crested the rise...only to see a 4- or 5-point buck stand in the exact center of the road 100 feet in front of me, silhouetted against the trees and looking toward the right side of the road. He eventually took off down toward the creek.

Now that I'm home, I can hear the popping that means hunting season is in full swing. Sigh. I hope he makes it this year.... (Yes, I know deer season doesn't start till later, in November sometime)

Mashup

I haz nuthin 2 sei, so her:

lolcats + PostSecret = lolsecretz

I haz nuthin 2 ad

Prolly a good thing

Our local Meijer's just redid their whole store. I can't find anything in the grocery department anymore, so I wandered a lot today. And I nearly did something that is veryVERY unlike me: a major impulse buy.

But, it turns out they no longer sell guinea pigs, only fish.

So I didn't impulse-buy a guinea pig today. Sorry, Buddy. Have some turnip greens instead.

Stupid School

So yeah...we had a Special Visitor today: someone's dog jumped out of his truck and followed him into the library. We have motion sensor doors, so he probably waited a Very Long Time in doggy minutes before following (maybe 10?). Maybe his human was in trouble, after all!

Anyway. He was very cute. I musingly said that it would be nice to have a Library Dog as a mascot (most libraries have cats). Then again, I continued, it won't happen as long as the director and I are here, since we are both allergic to both cats and dogs.

To which C.T. responded: "Well, I'm not allergic. We should get a dog. I'd feed him."

I did NOT verbally (or physically) smack her. I was busy being completely stunned at her intense stupidity.

The dog was sweet though. Made my day, actually.

Omen

My spider, or her offspring, is back.

I like spiders.

Does that make me weird?

Quote

Today's Quote of the Day on my Google page is:

You cannot make a man by standing a sheep on its hind legs. But by standing a flock of sheep in that position you can make a crowd of men. - Max Beerbohm

And if you add in a few OCLC records, there you have a decent representation of my afternoon today.

"Baa, baaa-baa-baaaah, Harry Potter, baa."
"BAAAAAAAAAH, BAA-BAA-BAA-BAAAAA-BAA, BAA, BAAAAAAAAH-BAAA-BAA-AAAA-BAAA..."
"Baah."
"Baa."
"Harry Potter baa. Baa baa baa baa baa-baa-baahhhh. Baa!"
"BAAA. BAAA. BAAAH, BAAAAAAAAAAA, BAA-BAA-BAA-BAAA-BAAAAAAAA! BAAA Harry Potter BAAA BAAA BAA-BAAA-BAA."
"Baaaah!"
"BAAH!"
"...baa-baa..."
"Baa."

"...maaaah?"

"BAAA!!!"

"...baa..."

For cat-lovers...

This post will make you happy.

Read the rest of the blog, too, and buy his book if you can (I'm hoping it eventually gets publishing in the States....)