Walk In the Woods

Our first Walk In The Woods event was this past Sunday, a very wet and cold day for the 2nd day of spring. Amazingly, we had friends who were willing to join us - Steven and Mary and their girls and Caroline and her two children joined us. We traveled to Mastodon State Historic Site where we spent about 2 hours hiking a short gravel trail. Hiking isn't really the descriptive word: puddle jumping, pebble collecting, rock splashing, mound climbing, stick finding and nature gazing are all probably more apt. It was a wonderful time despite the drizzle and the chill. After the "hike" we spent some time enjoying blondies and exploring the little museum on site. My camera's battery power was giving up by the time we reached the mastodon bones, but be assured that they were wonderful to behold. So was the Giant Ground Sloth re-creation. This was well worth the journey. Tune in next month to see where we might travel next!

Being Crafty

Thanks to Carol, I now know that this is National Craft Month, and thanks to Laura I have crafts to share! Last Saturday (yes, I know that was still Feb, but don't get too particular) she hosted a Bitch and Stitch and Cheila, Natascha and I attended. There was wonderful food, conversation, and thanks to the sublime Jenny Hart at Sublime Stitching, we had some modern embroidery to do.

I don't really have a good history with finishing embroidery projects. I started a small table cloth while in Germany and it's still not finished. I bought some of the Sublime Stitching patterns way back when we lived on S. Grand, and I never used them. Fortunately, this occasion offered the opportunity and the time need to complete a project (I would have worked on the tablecloth, but it's packed away someplace). I used the woodland friends pattern and stitched up this hedgehog on a vintage handkerchief.


Although, I'm inspired by N's adding some toadstools to the hem of a skirt and next I think I might take on something like that because it was so adorable. I also finally got around to covering some buttons with scrap fabric to make some hair bobs for Nora (and Laura and myself as it turned out). I don't have pics of those, but I might post them later.

When I got home, I was so inspired that on Sunday (I know, still not March), I finally, after 30 years of using this sewing machine, I worked up the nerve to change out the stitching feet and play around with other stitches (zig zag, smocking, etc.). Then I jazzed up an old tote bag that was laying around the house with an obnoxious logo from some company. Here's the result. I think my Great Aunt Minnie had a dress made out of this material (getting into Mom's fabric stash as been a great deal of fun).

Yes, I know that pocket is a bit lopsided, but it's really hard to run a pre-made bag through the sewing machine without sewing the bag shut.
On the back, I appliqued some circles using some new stitches. Again, it's sloppy, but I'm fine with that.

This month is so crazy, I don't know that I'll get any more crafting done, but I'm hoping Laura will organize another night in April. I've got all sorts of things I want to try next.

For Natascha

I know it's too late for your first day of school (and your first day of work), but I saw this and thought of you. Congratulations on the new job, the new school, and being back in STL instead of jetting all over the world.

Which Witch is Which?

A few photos from Halloween:

It's been a rough week

We lost Karl, Jason was disappointed in a promising job prospect and Nora said her goodbyes to the Sunshine Room and has graduated to the Red Room. But we also had some goodtimes too. We celebrated Nora's 3 1/2 mark and the coming of summer at the Zoo, we sweated and rode pink elephants at the Marine Homecoming with Aunt Linda, Leah and Mete, Friday night, and Nora had her first horseback ride thanks to Aunt Lynn and Ellen yesterday. Oh and I burned my scalp in the sun at the pool Saturday, but luckily that was all. I don't have pics of Nora up on Shadow, (I'm hoping Ellen will e-mail them to me from her camera), but I do have some shots of Jason and Nora on the Pink Elephants. Webster Community Days begin this week, so maybe they will be riding more amusements together, but honestly, I wouldn't count on it. Jason is a big chicken when it comes to rides.


Okay, these are left from the Merry Wives of Windsor, but I love this picture of Natascha.
Jason is always telling Nora "Get Down, Get Funky". See, she sometimes listens.
One of the hottest days of the year at the zoo.



Last day at the sunshine room - Nora gets a cake that everyone (even she) can eat. Unfortunately it isn't as tasty as the ones we make at home. Damn that no baked goods from home rule.

Nora eagerly awaits the Triad Marching Band. Well, not really, they don't have candy. But everyone else does and Nora gets lots of it. We all have blue tongues by the end of the night.

Amazingly, my timid daughter has insisted on riding the pink elephants. She stood for a full 15 minutes transfixed by their big blue eyes and gaping mouths, while we waited for Jason and Aunt Linda to join us after taking the chairs back to the car. Fortunately, Jason is ready to be a Daddy-O and is willing to board the monster with her.

Oh, I forgot to tell him, the Elephants go airborn too. Did I mention that Jason hates rides?

It Might Be 15 Degrees Outside, but the KC Hall was on FIRE!

We had a blast last night at the Farewell Tour for the Starlighters, my Uncle Bill's dance/wedding band who's last gig was 20 years ago. We got there around 6:30, and the place was absolutely packed. Thankfully, Ted and Linda had saved us a seat and Ted, who'd been standing in the beer line for 10 minuets already ($4.50 for a PITCHER of Bud Light), took our beer orders, we went with the pitcher. After a close call with the fish plates (they had already run out of slaw, and we got fish right under the wire - not really a big problem since there is now a pretty good Mexican kiosk inside the KC hall too) we settled in for what turned out to be a really fun night. Lynn and Ellen had clued us in that the band had practiced only 3 times prior to this evening, and they were pretty nervous. You sure couldn't tell once they got started. Amazingly, it appeared that 80% of the hall, did I mention it was packed?, was here to see the band, including Bill's Psychology class from SWIC - they even had shirts! The Starlighter's repertoire includes a mix of oldies, country and polkas and this crowd, which ranged in age from under 3 to 93, was really into it.

Nora had a great time on the dance floor, but often had to make sure she kept out of the way of the the serious dancers who were on their feet through just about every song. It made me really wish I actually knew how to dance, even a polka. One of the neatest things about the evening was the multi-generational makeup of the dance floor. The older folks put us all to shame (except for one fabulously nimble-footed teen-aged pair) and it makes me think that the Starlighters really need to consider this as the beginning of a reunion tour instead of their final performance.

Here's some shots of the night:

I give you THE STARLIGHTERS

My Uncle Bill, obscured by mike. I understand that there was a plan for multiple changes of headgear, but that the person in charge of wardrobe "forgot" to bring them.
Fans Uncle Ted and Aunt Linda joined us for fish


And on the dance floor:

Aunt Lynn and Ellen partnered Nora throughout the evening on the dance floor, they agree that Nora needs to take lessons from someone other than Jason, who could use some lessons himself. The table behind us was in agreement.
Nora and Aunt Lynn take a break and admire the drums

Jason and Nora get down
Nora leads Aunt Lynn back to the dance floor after getting some coaching in moves from her both of her Aunts.

The evening finale (for us) Smoke on the Water, notice the addition of shades, which were thankfully not entrusted to Wardrobe. While we were busy dancing it was reported that Bill took the power stance and performed the windmill twice (he also removed the shades for the sax solo - but maybe it was because he needed his glasses to read the music), BTW, those two in the foreground - the aforementioned teen dancing duo:
Nora and Aunt Lynn are feeling the Purple Haze

New Years Resolutions

I don't have any. Nor do I have a five year plan or even a one year plan. This may have something to do with playing too much Civilization at the warlord level. Or maybe it just is what it is. If I made New Year's resolutions, I should probably include one about blogging more, especially since due to Facebook, I now have more readers stopping by, at least for the moment.

I still don't know what I think about Facebook. Sometimes it makes me super-happy. Just seeing the interconnectedness of the Hendrix diaspora. And I enjoy the silliness of it as well. And the strange disconnect but also connect between ourselves as highschoolers, as college students and whatever we are now, I guess that would be adults. But I also sort of resent the minute to minuteness of it all too, that our lives are measured by the continually updated news board of what we are doing right now. And then there is this weird sense that we are somehow staying in touch through cheerful notices about our fandom or tossing philosophers about.

Anyway, in an effort to keep you all apraised of our activities, here's what we've really been up to (when we're not making virtual buttons with My Pretty Pony Newborns on them):

This week, Jason went back to teaching classes, thus ending his long winter break. We broke down and subscribed to super duper soccer dish tv, so now there is even more soccer in our lives than before. And lots of Monk. And Dr Who - not that we watch these things, we just record them. There is only 5 hours left, we've got to get cracking. And he bought a new winter coat with a velvet collar (so very unexpected).

Nora went back to pre-school after taking a day off to finally purge the stomach virus that has been plaguing her. Now she is staying there later too and is (happily for her parents) seeming to really enjoy being there. Or is at least no longer really upset when we go. She is still touch and go on this potty learning thing. Some days are all about the big girl pants and other days we could care less. Since Christmas, we've been receiving phonecalls from Mary, Joseph, and the Baby Jesus on Nora's red phone. They are all on at once, not sure if it's a conference call, three-way, or if everyone is just bunched up around the phone. This is my mother's doing, but I think I'm okay with it for right now.

I've been back at work for the past week, and while nothing new is happening, I did get to meet up with the group of women I've been working closely with for the past 4 years (some of them for longer). We all belong to different programs in the area and externally we couldn't be more different (we span at least 40 years in age, are various races and marital statuses, some of us wear suits and heels others (me) sloutch on by in cords and tees, some of us are moms, some are grandmoms and moms and some are moms to pets, etc) and we've been meeting monthly as a committee over this time and we've done some really amazing stuff around literacy and advocacy and student leadership and all sorts of things. I've realized that I've really come to appeciate our value on the process as well as the product and the complete lack of ego, turf, and grandstanding that too often happens in meetings that are supposed to be about getting something done. Over the years we've learned so much about our lives outside of work and the stresses that drain us at work and figured out how to keep ourselves and our little group going and moving and building. It's nice, and I just thought I'd share.

I started swimming again, and hopefully I'll keep with it since it's relaxing and exercise (amazing that it can be both) and those are both good things.

Karl remains the ever loyal dog he's always been, but is starting to show his age - which would be somewhere between 13 and 14 years. His eyes are starting to cloud over with cateracts and he's not hearing as well as he used to, but he still tries to give the squirrels a run for their money.

My parents are in Florida so the kitchen wars have stalled right now, but look for a return to the battle of the toaster oven when they get back. We are also strangly aware of the lottery right now.

This weekend is the farewell tour of the Starlighters at the Maryville KC Hall. I have to say I'm excited about going.

Hmmm, that sort of covers the updates.

Weekend Update

This past weekend, Matt came to visit. He and Nora hit it off. And Karl picked up his Matt-worship right where he left off when Matt moved back to DC several years ago. This caused some jealousy on Nora AND Karl's part when Matt gave some attention to the other (as far as I can tell, Matt was not jealous of Nora's adoration of Karl, but maybe I was wrong). You can see, sitting next to Matt is a much valued position.
Often Nora would attempt to get up between Karl and Matt, but climbing on top of Matt was even better:

Matt's visit got us out of the house, much to Nora's delight. We went to the Farmers Market where I bought a cute purse from the St. Louis Craft Mafia booth.
I admit that I initially thought Nora needed this purse, but then I decided to appropriate it. It's a little too big for her, but just right for my wallet, keys, and sunglasses. I wish it had a little pocket inside though. There's an apple on the back as well. I feel very "first day of school" when carrying it. We also picked up one of Companion Bread's Mystery Boxes. These are a big box of pastry goods for $15. It was delicious, but really we needed more people than the three of us to get it eaten. Inside we had a chocolate croissant, several plain croissants, several danishes, muffins and scones. About 8-10 items all together. Very, very yummy.

After the Farmers Market we headed to O'Connell's, a favorite haunt of Matt's (and ours). We feasted on roast beef, burgers and fried yummy things and a pitcher of beer - O'Fallon Weach (possibly one of the best deals at O'Connell's).
Nora was very good throughout the long wait, and we kept the tiger nearby to remind her that next we were going to the ZOO!!!!!

Unbelievably, Matt never visited the zoo throughout his time here and as everyone knows it's one of our favorite places to go. It was a really hot day, which should not have been surprising for August, but we had been really spoiled with mild weather all month long. After hitting the the Rivers Edge (sorry we forgot photos) and seeing the Rhino and the Cheetas up close (all four of them where right up front) and glimpses of the Jade the baby elephant, we headed off to see if our luck would hold and if the baby tigers were out. Disappointingly, they were not, although Jason and Nora and I had gotten a great view of them on our earlier visit. We did check out sea lions, the bird house, the big cat country and then meandered back through the snake house, which I haven't seen in a while. The American alligator was giving us a wicked grin when we decided we really had had enough of the heat and that we needed to head home.

That night, Jason and Matt brought us carryout from Cherrokee Street, and it too was terriffic. Nora and I went to bed and the boys stayed up to late talking, which no doubt they regretted when they got up at the crack of dawn and took Nora to see Tottenham vs Chelsea at the Tigin. I stayed at home and read a book.

Before Matt took off back home we tried to visit some of his old haunts, but it's hard to find things open in STL on a Sunday morning. We had lunch at the Schafly Brewhouse and then took Matt to the airport. Since he left, Nora's been asking about him everyday, so we'd better not wait so long to see him again - it's hard to believe it's been nearly 6 years!

On Monday we hit the Japanese Festival and ate noodles. It was wonderful, but I'm really happy we went early, since by noon it was sweltering and very, very crowded. We forgot the camera, so no pictures of the festival but here's Nora's lunch from Tuesday: Mac and Peas, oranges, cookies and juice.


Unfortunately, Nora is reaching the stage where mixed up things are no longer acceptable. While she loves Mac and soy cheese and loves peas, they now need to be in separate dishes. I'm sad, they looked so nice together.

Congratulations to Todd and Jason

While there has been a very brief mention on Todd's blog, you may not know that they have an essay in Star Trek and Philosophy, which is available now! Here's a few comments from Jason about the publication:

Well, I got an early copy of Star Trek and Philosophy today and it's been fun. Todd and I have an essay therein with the title "Recognizing the Big Picture: Why We Want to Live in the Federation". The anthology is part of a Popular Culture and Philosophy series that has had some fun volumes covering Seinfeld, the Simpsons, Buffy, Star Wars and a host of other topics. This one is edited by Jason T. Eberl and Kevin S. Decker who (1) have been great friends since we all met at SLU and (2) had kept their middle initials hidden from me up to this point.

The essays are very approachable, presenting whatever background would be needed. Authors bring up rival conceptions of death, ethics, politics, and time. These are related to particular episodes, or characters, or facts stipulated by the show. Todd and I are the only authors to mention Ricardo Montalban or cite Leonard Nimoy's explanation as to why the show has appealed so much.

The book will be out early in September, I think so get your copy now. Todd and I will sign them if you mind the tip jar.

Congratulations to you both!

The Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth Has Begun

Everyone, condolences are in order to Todd and Jason (and possibly Natascha, who seems to have fallen to this disease as well) who suffered a terrible loss today. Robbie Keane has gone to Liverpool and with him goes Tottenham's chance as the number 4 spot this year (number 4 is the new number 1). I thought Jason would be the hardest hit since Keane is the captain of the Irish national team and Jason wears his shirt, but Todd was last heard from down at the Tigin watching Southerland pre-season friendly, which can't be a good sign. It has been a long month of dire forecasts, and much hand wringing while rumours were bandied about, so while this was not unanticipated, the blow is still quite distressing. While Nora and I are unaffected, a dark cloud has fallen over our house and there is a sudden beer shortage. Please send your sympathy e-mails to the grieving parties, they are in need of the balm of friendship in these troubled times, but whatever you do, don't mention relegation.

Nora and the Crow

Nora has been giving the crow at the zoo money. Here she's with her cousins Kylie and Logan (Mete was there too, but he wasn't leaving the stroller for a crow) and all three of them gave the crow a dollar (thanks Uncle Ted for the cash). Although this was her second encounter with the crow, Nora seemed unsure at the last moment whether she really wanted to let go, but eventually she let him have it. Oh yeah, I'm in the video too. The crow stuffs the dollars into a box and it all goes to the zoo's conservation work. I'm sure that Nora will be meeting the crow again, I just hope she doesn't think she needs to give all crows money. I'm still amazed that she's willing to go face to face with a crow (and his sharp beak) but smaller younger children (much less bigger older children) make her retreat in haste.

Welcome to the World, Mete!

Nora now has a new cousin! My cousin, Leah gave birth to her son, Mete Dylan Berkoz this past Saturday. He weighed 8 lb. 1 oz. and was 20 inches long. He came right on his due date - what a prompt little guy! Congratulations new parents Leah and Oguz and grandparents Ted and Linda. I can't wait to meet him!

Spunk Lost and Found?

Carol has been complaining lately of a lack of blogging spunk and apparently it is a problem over here as well. I can't complain about a complete lack of activity, because, actually November has had plenty, which may be why I've done so little blogging.

We returned Sunday from our trip to Arkansas for Thanksgiving which was a bit of an exhausting drive and required more luggage than a debutante's tour of European capitals. But Nora got to see her grandparents again, and Jason's grandmother, Grant was up from Texas and Max was down from Bentonville. Nora had a great time re-arranging Kathy's rock tray and bowling walnuts, and practicing her piercing shrieks among people who find it endearing. Jason and I took advantage of the free babysitting to eat a meal together (as opposed to in shifts between Nora chasing) and to check out downtown Hot Springs and marvel at the changes that have occurred since our Little Rock residency. Happily, the fabulous toy store is still there and we had a great time buying too much stuff for Nora (musical instruments, kitties, and a music box). For those who care, the Arlington now has a Starbucks and they've done some redecorating so it's not quite so bright in the lobby. Oh, and there was some football game between the Razerbacks and LSU, I'm told it was quite a game, but it's really not my thing.

We took a little side detour to Conway to see Bob, Sarah and Zelda. They ministered to our need for a place to unwind and an audience to vent about the horrors of travel and holidays with family. Zelda kindly played big sister with Nora and let her touch and play with all of her toys (even the horses and unicorns) and read stories to her and prevented her from destroying the house while Jason and I languished on the couches and made Bob and Sarah entertain us with stories. It was very restorative. Hendrix has grown by leaps and bounds and I learned that there are actually two new mascots - one with a sword and one with a banner not sure that one is that much of an improvement over the other.

Now we're home again and December looms in front of me. I actually do have some Christmas spirit this year and while that doesn't translate into putting up a tree (we really don't have any room). I did get an advent calendar for Nora (it came yesterday and no, I didn't pay that much for it) and I think there is some serious baking in my future (I've got the whole Veginomicon to get through!). The Rock N' Roll craft show is this weekend and while I know I will be shopping I also hope it inspires some more craft activities. Unfortunately, I didn't really have an opportunity to work on Nora's stocking this break and my mom has made a lovely one for her already, so I might not get it done, but I had so much fun with the felt food, that I'm hoping I get another project underway soon.

Fallen Behind

It's been forever since I've posted, and I really have no excuse. But here's a run down of what we've been up to lately. Last weekend (not this just past one, but the one before) we made a mad dash to Chicago to see Anouk and Christoph and their parents. We had a wonderful time visiting the zoo, Northwestern University, watching the kids, and eating delicious food. Oh, and there might have been a stop on the way home at Ikea that was way too expensive and time-consuming, but one of us had a lot of fun. Nora generally felt that Christoph was just fine, despite his fondness for baseball bats, but that maybe Anouk should keep her distance a bit. I've got excellent video that I will eventually post.

This past weekend, I was baby showering in honor of my cousin Leah, who is due at Thanksgiving time and then Todd and Natascha made an amazing brunch for us that was made even more amazing by Nora sitting in a big person chair and eating all of her waffles (graciously made vegan by Todd) while the rest of us actually got to eat and talk! She then tried to put her syrup sticky hands on everything and everyone, but fortunately the kitties were too quick for her, or else there might have been some grooming nightmares.

The weekends prior to these two were spent painting all of the furniture in the bedroom and then re-arranging said furniture in the bedroom and then deciding one of the bookcases looked better in the living room which resulted in more furniture moving in there. Big thanks go out to Todd and Laura who got in on the rearranging (Todd actually got talked into it twice!). Jason is completely sick of the upheaval, but we've got to get it all back in shape (which it's not) before Friday when his parents arrive. And I'm working all day Saturday. Whew. So that's where September went. Do I have any pictures of all this activity? Yes? But of course not handy. I will eventually post them....

In food news, I've been proceeding with the Isa recipe testing. Sunday I made some black bean soup in the crock pot which we didn't get around to eating until last night, so it was a perfect opportunity to test Isa's vegan cornbread recipe. I loved it, but I should warn readers that this is not quite like southern cornbread (it has more flour) but nor is as sweet as northern cornbread. Perhaps it's a happy medium. I did it in the 9x9 cake pan as Isa (a New Yorker) instructed, but I think I might see what happens if I were to do this in an iron skillet, which is how I do regular non-vegan cornbread or maybe in muffin tins. If you aren't a cornbread purist, or if maybe you think of this as something else entirely, I'd recommend giving it a shot.

Given the eating of black bean soup and cornbread along with the date on the calendar, you might think, ahh fall is here. Unfortunately, it is not. Yesterday it was 90 degrees and the rest of the week plans to hover around in the 80s. I am so very sick of this non-fall weather. It is the time of long skirts and boots and cute sweaters. I'm still here in my capris and tee shirt, although I did put away the sandals, but still, this is definitely not office wear (although I get away with it in the summer). What am I going to do? It's bad enough we don't have any apples due to the late freezes this spring, and I'm sneezing my head off with allergies (seriously, every hour!) but I could handle that if there were some crisp weather.

Soccer Blog

No, this isn't Jason's Blog - he doesn't have one because he has a dissertation instead. So why am I writing about soccer? Because my cousin is. Well, really my cousin's son, Sito is. He plays soccer for his school and also for the Scott Gallagher team (okay, I don't really follow much soccer, but I'm told he's a big deal). Anyway, the cool thing is that Sito's team has made it to the 2007 National Youth Soccer Championship (way to go, Sito!). But for me the really cool thing (not a soccer fanatic, remember) is that he was one of 7 players chosen to blog about it on their site. Check him out here. I hope they win and that he keeps writing.

In the Park

This weekend we went to the Shakespeare festival in Forest Park with Todd and Natascha. Despite the heat, a lovely time was had by all. Natascha and Todd had brought a yummy yummy picnic that we contributed some wine, cheese and bread to and Nora did her best to flip over all of the containers to feed the absent Karl. Or maybe that's just how she views eating - stick food in mouth, dump bowl over, repeat, sometimes with out that first step or with the added step of opening mouth and letting food fall out. It makes for a delightful meal.



The play this year was Much Ado About Nothing, but set in the Old West. Once we got over the strange (but very necessary) disoriented feeling of having all of the actors miked over the loudspeaker and the whole gunslinger atmosphere, we settled down and enjoyed the play. Nora's favorite part was the Hey Nonney, Nonney song (she's got a thing for guitars - maybe she'll have her own garage band one day).

Three of us had to leave after the first two acts. Someone was sleepy (okay, really all of us were sleepy, but one of us HAD to go to bed), but fortunately the two of us who were still following the play had read it before or seen the Emma Thomson version, so we knew the ending, and didn't have to call T & N for a recap.


All in all, much fun, and it was sort of nice to get out and do something adult-ish and still bring the kiddo along too.

Possibly the best part was that the next day, Nora slept into the unheard of hour of 9:00! Absolutely the best Father's Day gift ever (and I got to share in it too!)

Zoo Two

Here's some more pictures from this weekend. Sadly, I have none(!) from Todd and Natascha's fabulous slide show party. But here are some more from the zoo and throughout the weekend.

Here's Nora and Zelda finally making use of that crib! They got on so well and Zelda was a peach for playing so nicely with and keeping an eye on Nora.


We got out and about by use of my parents van, which made me accept that if we ever have another child, a minivan would be an necessity.


Bob, Sarah and Zelda at the zoo - I am totally sad that I didn't dig up my cowgirl hat to join in the fun. I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but Z's hat also includes a tiara!



Here's Zelda and a friendly penguin. It was a busy day at the zoo and I'm amazed we were able to get this close to the tank and I was able to snap the photo without someone walking through.



And then we fizzled out on picture taking and we didn't get much else of the weekend. But in addition to the afore mentioned slide show party (check out Todd blog for the lowdown) there were also waffles, sausage, beer, Thai food, a run through the water jets at Tower Grove park, some tag playing, lots, and lots, and lots of commentary on Karl, (finally, Nora found another member for her Karl fan club in Zelda) not enough chocolate (Merbs closed too early), Ted Drews (that's a DOUBLE chocolate, mocha, heath bar, please), Buffy, and quite a bit of lazing around and napping. Oh and there was some talking too (that's a given).

It was a really nice visit and I was shocked to realize that it had been TWO years since we last got together. We won't wait so long again!

Zoo!

This weekend Bob, Sarah and Zelda came to visit and we went to the zoo. It was possibly one of the best zoo days ever for me. While we didn't see everything, we came really close. I'll post more pictures later, but here is one of the peacock in all of his glory. I don't know that I've ever seen one up close with the complete fantail before.

Cats I Have Known

The lack of cats in my immediate environment (and Carol's excellent kitty pictures) has led me to muse on the cats of days past. Here's a roll call:

Dyer Cats and Dyer-Murphy Cats
Mungo (saved me from having to have this name)
Stubby (a stripey cat, don't remember if a he or a she - but it did have a stub tail)
Stripe Hunnybun Dyer (stripey grey cat, he died in a joint snowstorm/dog attack)
Jake and Orvill (named after riverboat captains, there is a longer story about them, that I won't go into here)
Ceasar and Lady Paws (both were six toed cats, they were actually sequential, they didn't live with us at the same time, and there might have been another six toed cat in here too, but I can't really remember)
Boots and Biscuit (came to live with Jason and I in Arkansas)
Archie (remembered more fondly in death than in life)

Todd and Natascha's Cats
Gumby
Mycroft
Mrs. Hudson
Moneypenny

Carol's Cats
Murphy
Edie (granted, we haven't met in person...) and her three as yet un-named offspring

Bob, Sarah, and Zelda's Cats
Skunk
Spot
Meowy Cowgirl
Tiny Buckeroo (we too, have not yet met in the flesh)

Tree's Cat
Pepe Uriburu

Various Other Cats of My Acquaintance
Lucius -my grandmother's cat
Gauss - succeeded Lucius
Bogey -my aunt's cat
Scut Farkus - Ellen's cat (but formerly Laura's boyfriend's)
Rosie - Laura's cat
Picklepottomus - Ed and Elena's cat
Josie, Josie II & Bandit -Bill and JoAnn's cats
O-Boy - cat that stalked my parents neighborhood and fought with Archie
HB and the barn cats- Grant and Tim's house cat and the ever-multiplying mob in the barn
Gato - Pat's cat
Tasha - my parents' neighbor's cat
Lavender - Kat's cat
That grey farm cat that stalks Ted and Linda's windows - does she have a name? How do I not know it?


I'm sure there are many more that I've forgotten. Feel free to submit names. I feel like I should have sort of a big family tree like they have in the front of historical romance novels that explains who's who and who lived when, or at least pictures.

For Carol & Edie's Kitties

I don't have any kitties, but I thought your new babies would like to see the tiger cubs that were at the Toronto Zoo - they are getting too big to be considered babies anymore, but they sure were cute! Edie, I hope this inspires you to feed them up strong!