The Blog Pound

Sunday, February 06, 2005 , evening

Cat butt

Am I the only person in the world who has to wipe their cat’s butt on a regular basis? I don’t read about this problem in books, I’ve never heard of a support group for it, thus, I have to assume I’m the only person on the face of the earth with a cat with a perpetually dirty butt. When I go through the checkout stand with the jumbo pack of “baby wipes” and the cashier asks, “How’s your baby?” I get to answer, “furry and with a strong affection for turkey giblets, thanks for asking”. Derek has been such a perfect cat that I guess it’s only natural he have at least one personality or behavioural flaw, but I never figured it would center on his butt. He gets stuff stuck to it, he doesn’t clean it, and then I have to chase him around with a soapy paper towel and scrub him clean. I hate to admit it but I think he might like the scrubbing part... perhaps he’s a cat with a creepy fetish and not just poor personal hygiene. Ewww.

And speaking of cats with bad habits, this is just my favourite website link of all time: “Independent Woman”, played by kittens.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/06 at 09:51 AM
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Saturday, February 05, 2005 , late at night

Friends

Tonight I sent my blog link to a number of my friends in Canada, San Francisco, and other places too far away to visit on a regular basis. I hope that wasn’t a lame thing to do, as I don’t want it to seem like a “look at me!” kind of thing. I really just miss having contact with the people who are special to me, and I never seem to get around to writing emails because my inbox is filled with lots of work crap and customer support requests from Retrostats and the like. I want to tease Clancy about his sperm count, laugh with Franca, and hear Larry say my name as if he’s genuinely happy to see me :) I miss talking to Daphne, an amazing woman from China who emigrated to San Francisco, learned English, and then studied a number of computer-related courses so she could support her family. She introduced me to the wonders of “hot pot”—you don’t know how good a duck uterus can taste until you’re eating it in the company of a friend. I also miss Jie Liang from San Francisco, although we’ve lost touch—she was kind enough to give me my love of red mung bean cakes, and she always invited both me and my cockatoo over for dinner. Nothing says “good times” like a cockatoo sitting on your soup bowl. Then there’s Brendhan, from Toronto, or Vancouver, or perhaps someplace in-between, always ready for a heart-to-heart even when we haven’t spoken for years. There’s Donna and Brenda, the freaky cat-owning lesbians (why anyone would want to own cats is beyond me, sheesh), Jackie, the only really good memory I have of my university years, Steve, who always got us the best pet-store discounts and pet-store gossip, and I could go on and on and on. I hope some of them will pop by for a visit and say hello, because I really do miss them all.

I now have the unenviable task of waking Eli up and moving her so the little dogs can go outside for their final potty trip. Eli is sleeping so peacefully, the cats are peaceful, and I’m going to throw a wrench in the works. The little dogs need to learn to pee in cups or something for when these situations arise. I promised Eli she could spend the entire night upstairs tonight—the first time since we got the new cats—so I think it’s going to be an interesting evening. Luckily there’s no reason to get up early, as the Superbowl doesn’t start until almost 3:30 pm our time (but the Animal Planet Puppy Bowl starts at 3pm, I think)(I’ll TiVo it and watch it later, because hey, PUPPIES!). Considering that I won one of my Fantasy Football leagues this year (beating both Tie Domi and his wife in the process, nyah!), and I placed second in my other Fantasy Football league (beating out Tie Domi and his wife in the process, nyah!), I’m feeling Superbowl disinterest. The Patriots bore me and while I like the Eagles, I don’t like Terrell Owens. I’m hoping the Eagles will win with T.O. on the sidelines, because even though “God” has promised him he’ll be able to play, I hope “God” gets preoccupied with something else like, oh, tsunami survivors or genocide in Darfur.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/05 at 11:53 PM
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My life in a nutshell

This is so true-to-life it’s almost embarrassing. Thanks to http://www.muttscomics.com for the loan.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/05 at 10:46 PM
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My dead bug collection

Today I spent about 4 hours cleaning up the room where I keep all my dead bugs, aka, the garage. I don’t intentionally maintain this collection of dead bugs… they just seem to build up on their own, and then about once a year I take the time to sweep them out of all the nooks and crannies, from under cabinets, etc. My incentive for cleaning today was to tidy up the workbench, as it’s the only area of the house that’s “mine”, yet is a horrible, cluttered, unorganized mess. I can’t find anything, including basics like hammers, rechargers for cordless screwdrivers, etc. So, I cleaned. I finally finished installing the organizer shelves in the garage, too (it only took four years…), so now it’s a MEGA-GARAGE, with a tidy workbench and freakish, obsessively-tidy details like wall hooks to hang the weed-whacker on. Assuming there isn’t a big crash in the middle of the night as everything comes crashing to the floor, I’m happy with the results of my work and will really make an effort to keep the place in order. I still didn’t find the case for the reciprocating saw, though… I can’t find the case, the instruction booklet, the blades, anything. It’s like it just dropped in from out of the sky or something. The poor Bosch table saw is now just a table saw, rather than a junk collection unit, and hopefully I’ll get that properly set up soon so I can use it for my projects like cat trees! I’ve also got a Delta midi-lathe which has never been opened. Do I have a future in bowl turning?!

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/05 at 09:57 PM
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Providence of a Sparrow

You will either love Providence of a Sparrow, or you will despise it. Judging from reviews I’ve read there’s no in-between, because you’re either the type of person who’s excited by 300+ pages of minutia about sparrows, or you’re not. To put it another way, if you sometimes stand on the sidewalk and watch an ant carrying a cracker crumb, you’ll love this book. On the other hand, if you’ve got the exterminator on speed-dial because you want the neighbourhood pigeons poisoned, well, you can skip this title.

I, of course, adored this book. It’s a slow, quiet read—it makes you feel like you’ve taken some Valium and then have gone to sit in a Zen garden to listen to the afternoon breeze. It’s serene and peaceful in mood, while also being amusing and gentle. The author, just an everyday “joe average”, finds a baby sparrow which he nurses to health and then ends up keeping as a pet. Deciding the sparrow needs company, he buys finches. He then ends up with canaries, and eventually he’s living in a household with innumerable birds who rule the roost. The book must have incredible scientific value because of the detailed observations the narrator is able to make as interacts with his birds, but the story is never dry. After reading, you’ll perhaps come away with a newfound respect for sparrows and their intelligence, or at the very least, you’ll hopefully realize the connection it’s possible for humans to have with other species, even tiny ones. In short, I loved this book a lot, thought it could easily be my life, and am glad to know there are such compassionate and caring people in the world.

Sorry, now closed to new comments because of spam.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/05 at 09:38 PM
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

My friend Celine suggested I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, so I took her up on the offer, but I figured it would be one of those hip books for young ‘uns that would go right over my old grey head. I was wrong—it ended up being a fascinating, fast-paced book with great characters, including the narrator, an autistic teenage boy. The book is worth reading just for the glimpse into the mind of an autistic person (albeit a highly-functioning one), and is full of observations of daily life that most of us take for granted. It’s not a flawless book—the overall premise of “who killed the dog, Wellington?” is a bit weak, and the resolution to the “mystery” is a bit weak, but the journey through the book is nevertheless well worth it. I’d recommend this book to anyone for its entertainment value, and promise that you’ll never look at red cars the same way again.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/05 at 09:29 PM
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Books waiting in the wings

We have so many books that they threaten to suffocate us in our sleep. Still, we order more and more and more and dance with maniacal glee when they arrive. Well, maybe not exactly dance, but books do make us really happy. Before Christmas we were lucky enough to each get $200 in Amazon.com gift certificates, so here’s what’s sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read:

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Burning Road: A Novel by Ann Benson
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
Death’s Acre by William M. Bass, Jon Jefferson
Sylvia’s Farm by Sylvia Jorrin
Dry : A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs
Who Let the Blogs Out? : A Hyperconnected Peek at the World of Weblogs by Biz Stone
On Writing Well, 25th Anniversary : The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (On Writing Well) by William Zinsser
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers
The Philip K. Dick Reader by Philip K. Dick
Found : The Best Lost, Tossed, and Forgotten Items from Around the World by Davy Rothbart
The Beak Book: Understanding, Preventing, and Solving Aggression and Biting Behaviors in Companion Parrots by Sally Blanchard
Living on the Edge : Amazing Relationships in the Natural World by Jeff Corwin
The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom by Slavomir Rawicz
The Time Quartet Box Set (A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters) by Madeleine L’Engle
Appointment at the Ends of the World : Memoirs of a Wildlife Veterinarian by William B. Karesh
Archangel by Robert Harris
Doctor on Everest: Emergency Medicine at the Top of the World - A Personal Account of the 1996 Disaster by Kenneth Kamler
Deadly Innocence by Alan Cairns
Into the Heart of Borneo by Redmond O’Hanlon
Most of My Patients Are Animals by Robert M. Miller
Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet Of Wonder : Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology by Lawrence Weschler
Stories from a Moron : Real Stories Rejected by Real Magazines by Ed Broth
The Five Minute Iliad Other Instant Classics : Great Books For The Short Attention Span by Greg Nagan
The Making of a Woman Vet by Sally Haddock, Kathy Matthews
Touching the Void: The True Story of One Man’s Miraculous Survival by Joe Simpson
The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing
Investing Online for Dummies
A Beginner’s Guide to Short-Term Trading
Think Like a Cat
Cat Culture
Dr. Pitcairn’s New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats
Confessions of a Street Addict
The Philosopher’s Dog
The Cat Who’ll Live Forever
Lords and Lemurs
Wonderfalls DVD set waiting to be watched!

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/05 at 05:57 PM
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Thursday, February 03, 2005 , the wee hours

Cat Tree

I was feeling very “Bob the Builder” today and began work on a homemade “cat tree”. I like to think that building furniture for my pets shows my love for them, but actually it shows that I’m a cheapskate, because I can build cat furniture a lot more cheaply than I could buy it at the store. A cat tree also gives the cats something to claw at other than the sofa. We currently have two cat trees, but with three cats, there’s some odd competition going on for the premium real estate, so I thought a third tree was in order.

I paid $9.95 for plans at CatTreePlans.com, then spent another $30 at Home Depot for wood, sisal rope, etc. I had a spend a bit extra this first trip as I also bought a little gadget for measuring angles, and I bought two sizes of rope as I wasn’t sure which would work best. So, total real cost for the materials was closer to $22. We’ve got tons of scrap carpeting, so I don’t think I’ll have to pay for any of that, and already had plenty of screws and staples on hand. I’m starting small and building the luxurious “Mungojerrie Window Perch”, pictured here:

So far I’ve cut most of the wood, but still have to cut the angles… I’ll do that tomorrow as my hands were getting numb from the jigsaw. Time for a new jigsaw blade, I think, as the one I’m using is about as sharp as a butter knife. I have a beautiful table saw in the garage but I’m too lazy to move everything to get to it :-S In any case, I’ll post photos of the finished product, and details of any emergency room visits which might be related to the construction.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/03 at 12:04 AM
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Wednesday, February 02, 2005 , evening

We’re #1… actually, we’re #25, but that’s not so bad

Secrets of Angels & Demons has reached #25 on the New York Times Best-seller list. Sure, it’s the non-fiction hardcover list, and sure, it’s the extended best-seller list, but it’s better than a kick in the pants, or a bowl of lima beans.

Speaking of books, Amazon.com has started a new program called, “Amazon Prime”. For a flat fee of $79 annually, your household (up to 4 people) will receive free 2-day shipping on most in-stock items ordered from Amazon. I imagine there would still be surcharges on large items, like 62” television sets, but if you just order a lot of books and CDs like I do, it’s a pretty good offer. Amazon does have “Free Super-Saver Shipping” on orders of $25 or more, but it can take an eternity for those items to ship. We placed a $400 order in mid-December, took the free shipping offer, and didn’t get our books until mid-January. So, having the shipment guaranteed in 2 days seems great for impatient people like me. Even better, if you’re a “Prime” member, you can have overnight shipping for just $3.99. I’m pretty sure I’m going to give this program a try.

Olympus still hasn’t repaired our camera, and Chelsea is being crochety today. Jackson and Derek got into a brawl, and Jackson won (the biggest victim seems to be Derek’s pride). On a bright note, you *can* dip a banana into a Starbuck’s Chantico and make a tasty treat.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/02 at 09:11 PM
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Tuesday, February 01, 2005 , the wee hours

New things

I’ve added some new features, some which work and some which don’t ;) The first is the “time of day” plugin, which is supposed to convert all the entry times on my blog to warm, chatty vernacular. For some reason, it doesn’t really work for me, and all my entries are marked as “the wee hours”. Perhaps my blog software is just really smart and has figured out that, on average, I’m never in bed before 3:am. I also added a new calendar with the nifty Overlib feature (hover over a calendar date and you’ll see how it works). Best of all, there’s now a Photo Gallery! It’s still a work-in-progress, but I hope to be able to upload lots of photos of the pets, and other things around the house, like hairballs. Olympus can’t return our camera soon enough.

There was an earth-shattering moment in our Cat-dom today. While I was watching TV, Chelsea came down off the cat tree and voluntarily climbed onto my lap. And she stayed there. And then Derek came over and rested his head against my leg, just inches from Chelsea. For one brief shining moment we had Cat-a-lot. However, I then had to make a bathroom trip because I’d consumed a venti peppermint mocha just an hour or so earlier, and the spell was broken.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 02/01 at 12:18 AM
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