this one's for my girls . . .

so proud of you kidlet, les and roo . . . my personal heroes!!!!

poop and other stuff . . .

today ends my adventures in cat sitting for joanie's beasties.  i love her annie.  annie may come to live with us when joanie isn't looking.  annie and pippin would be fast friends.  shebs, on the other hand has a tendency to be a little standoffish.  i'm not sure she would care for the pandaemonium of the cave.

that's under normal circumstances.  but this stint was a tad different.  it took annie four whole days before she decided i was good for pets, scratches, rubs and other feline necessities.  shebs, however, was up for them from the very start.  i think they swapped personalities.  goobers.

i have discovered one thing.  either her beasties are pooping under the sofa or behind a chair or my beasties are champion poopers.  our litter box is well sprinkled with presents on a daily basis.

sigh.  you know i'm low on escapades when i stoop to discussing trinkets in the litter box, so i will leave you with this and call it a day:

oh, and p.s:

let it go . . .

i really love this:

but keep the sweet memories close.

stuff . . .

another slug day in paradise.  may i tell you a secret?  i miss the cold weather.  this 80+ degree weather in december is annoying.  i placidly wait all summer long for october when the humidity drops and the air gets crisp.  didn't happen this year.  then came november.  more of the same.  and then december and on and on.  so i closed up the house, turned down the a/c and pretend it is a real december.  so there, she said, stamping her foot to the amusement of mother nature.

does it tell you something when you end up with seven bottles of wine for christmas.  gawd, i love my friends.  and kidlet got me a traveling wine cup.  think of a tervis with a wine glass inserted inside.  i have a tendency to pop wine glasses.  they never last.  this, i cannot break.  good one kidlet.

i've been reading my brains out.  my personal challenge on goodreads. com, is 52 books this year.  normally not a problem but it seems i took more time off then usual and fell behind.  way behind.  but i'm back on track and have three and half days to read the last book.  easy peasy. 

be safe.

post christmas oddities . . .

since lee, kidlet and i grilled our christmas dinner, kidlet had to show lee the residents behind the pool's wall clock:

i think this guys has been in hiding for way too long.  he matches the siding.

and i really did take some photos of christmas . . . sort of:

very little light at 7:00 a.m.  yes, we are still kids at heart despite our promises to each other to sleep in.

and this was the first year the zombie cats have left the ornaments alone.  we may be able to revert back to normal ornaments next year.

 no shots of faces allowed . . . remember we had just crawled out of bed and look rather raggedy.

 pippin left the ornaments alone but the presents were too much for her curiosity.

and i leave you with this because it works so well for the two of us:

enjoy!!!!

happiest of birthday's . . .

to sue:

hope it's a fantastic one.

goodness . . .

up early because, well because it's christmas day.  lots of goodies under the tree.  i need to download the pictures tomorrow.  happiness is kidlet and christmas.  most wonderful time.

then a nap or two and dinner with lee.  kidlet and i prefer filet mignons. she gets the inside of the taters, i get the outside.

 lee prefers anything with fat and a bone:

so we did them both along with roasted asparagus, baked taters, salad, deviled eggs, baked apples, rolls and butter, sautéed mushrooms, a chocolate ganache cake.  slurp.  burn.  fart.

good food.  good friends.  good will toward men.

let the magic begin . . .

47 meatballs swimming in the gravy.  5 italian sausages in a pan all wavy.  12 country pork ribs sizzling on the stove.  4 loaves of garlic bread, oh what a trove.  a giant bowl of  salad sitting in the fridge.  1 pan of ziti minus its lid.

it's christmas eve!!!!!!

on tap . . .

postponed the cleaning festivities until after a chinese lunch with lee and kidlet.  slurp.

i was worried the propane tank in my car would blow little miata pieces to kingdom come but the gas man told me not to worry . . . like that works.  since the three of us are having christmas dinner together, i thought it would be nice to have a backup tank just in case.  usually, it is a no-brainer.  the tank not on the grill is empty, but when i went to pick it up, it was a heavy beast and i wondered if i had swapped tanks and forgotten.  what to do????  i loaded it in the car and headed to my friendly ace hardware to let them figure it out.  the conversation with the first employee didn't go well.  i asked if anyone could tell me if a tank was full or empty.  she told me to pay for the new tank and she would send someone out.  i tried again to explain that i really needed someone to assess the situation.  she told me to buy a new tank.  i said what if it turns out the tank is full, will you refund the new tank.  "oh, you need to know if your tank is empty, why didn't you say so."  in my best christmas voice, i thanked her while she called for backup.  the sucker was empty.  now of course that we have it, the steaks will happily grill to perfection without incident.  well, two of them will.  lee likes hers so raw you can put your foot on it and it growls.  actually, she really only loves the bone and the fat.  the steak is just a condiment.

the ziti is made.  add more parmesan to tomorrow's shopping list . . .

as i am sitting here typing, i keep hearing this scratching and my brain tells me it is one of the cats in the litter box.  after ten minutes of this, i have to go check out the situation.  little box is unoccupied with no one in sight.  i still hear the scritch scratching, but since the litter needed to be changed out and i was down there, i figured i would get the job done.  it was no problem except pippin escaped into the garage and refused to be caught.  so i did the only logical thing.  i  hit the opener on the garage door.  it is ancient and heavy and noisy.  one very frightened pippin ran in the house and is still under the bed.  one of these days, that trick is going to backfire on me.

still with scratching.  i did a quick cat count.  pip and ninji accounted for.  bear was up to mischief.  it seems, that pippin's semi empty food plate was in the bottom of the plastic bag hanging on a door knob until it was taken downstairs.  bear was relentless in his attempt to garner the goodies.  poor bear, he is the least ferocious of all the monsters and made no headway at all.  garbage removed.  cat frustrated.

and last but not least, a shot of dezzy and kidlet with kidlet's christmas socks from joanie:

it's almost time!!!

it's beginning to look a lot like . . .

christmas, everywhere you go . . .

i finished all my shopping a couple of days ago but wrapping is not my favorite thing so it got put off until today.  now if i could produce these amazing, glittery, bow enhanced treasures that people with dedicated present wrapping rooms make, it would be a different story.  but my efforts always look like the trash man stomped on them for three days before setting them aside for the neighborhood dog to pee on.  really.  if you ever get a gorgeous package from me, the store did it.

so i dragged out the christmas paper, scrounged up some tape and found a pair of scissors, punched out some tags and went to work.  nope, same as last year.  it's a good thing my family knows i am missing the decoration gene.

and since my memory is shot, i have had to make a list, day by day, to keep myself on track.  today included my usual christmas lunch with nancy with cards for gron and michelle.  a trip to the fish market for legs 'o crab since by the time we are done noshing on christmas eve, we won't want to see italian again for an entire year.  i needed to pick up some liquid libation and some veal.  i am officially done with chores for tuesday, december 22.  i might have to make sure the libations are languidly lovely.

if i haven't said it before.  merry christmas to you all.  if you don't celebrate christmas, i wish you the best life has to offer.  always.

good stuff . . .

yesterday, i made some early christmas presents for the herd.  needless to say they were immediately stoned out of their gourds.  i hadn't meant to pass them out so early but i was messy with the catnip and they came a running.  rather than get mugged by the masses, i caved.

i had also made two for annie and sheba who live with joanie but pip found them hidden on the top shelf.  i shared them anyway . . . pre-loved.

apparently, i forgot to check the mail on saturday because this was hanging in the box sunday morning:

many thanks to michelle who is making them for all in our loop.

and finally, i leave you with this tidbit, perfect for kidlet:

thank you, ina garten . . .

so much better than those that jumped to their death last week:

these are more psychologically stable.

 less neurotic.

 they will definitely be visiting again, said she, as she waddled out of the kitchen.

more goodies from yesterday . . .

i absolutely adore the expressions on our faces.  we match.  laurel and hardy.  ben and jerry.  abbott and costello. 

 we look a little more sedate here.  maybe we could pass for normal.

 nope, not a chance.

 back to the giggles.

 staid and sedate.

just plain happy campers.  i love you, les and b.

and not to change the subject, but . . .

hee hee hee.

bestest of days . . .

kidlet and i met les and brent for lunch!!!!

of course since this is my world, my ducks decided to scatter at the last minute and the restaurant i had chosen was closed for renovations.  probably to keep it from sinking into the sea.  but i finally gathered them all up and we went to the turtle shack instead for crab cakes and home made chips with bleu cheese and balsamic reduction.  yes, i was a puddle of slurp.

it's ever so slightly weird to meet someone for the first time who knows everything there is to know about you because you are a blabber mouth on your blog . . . especially most of the down and dirty stuff about the 9TS.  but since no bolts of lightening smashed around our heads, i am going to assume that the 9TS approved as wholeheartedly as did we.

les is as wonderful in person as she is on her blog.  more so.  is that possible.  and brent and kidlet were throwing one liners back and forth.  fun time.

more photos to come from Brent's phone.

love you les!!!!!!!!

when your friends know you so well . . .

this from kelli:

less than 24 hours les.

aarrghhh . . .

since kidlet was at the dentist's office this morning i decided to roll over and go back to sleep.  hunger, however, drove me out of the bedroom and into the kitchen.  we had all the goodies to make some pumpkin muffins, so i whipped them up and shoved them in the oven.  thank you Ina Garten.

but, not being known for my finesse, grace or balance, i present my poor sad muffies:

aaarrrghhh . . .

mastering christmas shopping 101 . . .

i'm not sure i passed the class.  everyone except kidlet is done.  kidlet is mostly done.  her big stuff is, at any rate.  it's her chileetes that are causing problems.  chileets is 9TS speak for small presents, i.e. stocking stuffers. we agreed on 10 chileets each . . . five down and five to go.  hopefully, i will finish up at target tomorrow and will have broken a personal world record for christmas shopping.  stranger things have happened. yes, i am THAT last minute shopper.

lunch today with nancy.  thought it was about time i posted shots of the new la's:

it has been packed since the day they reopened.  yay for carlos and the staff.

three more days before lunch with l and b!!!!

from the wedding this weekend . . .

happy life to you both!!!!

from joanie. does she know me or what . . .

there is love . . .

kidlet's best friends got married today.  i went long enough to catch some shots.  this is my favorite so far:

that is jen and tim squishing noses, and d., jen's son, kidlet and jen's brother justin.  the theme was black and red and silver.  the guys wore red converses and the girls wore red heels.

check out the cake topper:

too much fun.

oh happiness . . .

yin. hens. excitement for kidlet.  tomorrow she is in her best friend's wedding.  today was nails, lunch and the rehearsal dinner.  tomorrow is hair, dressing and the real deal.  so much excitement.

one week from today i finally get to meet L & B!!!!!!!!!!

this from a new class i am taking.  in the end, i will have an album to be sent off and printed.  
life is surely good.

happiness can be found in the smallest places . . .

some goodies to keep in mind:

 

i particularly like the wine truck!!!

another good day in the cave.  got lots of mundane, boy i hate doing that, totally boring and banal stuff done.

goodness . . .

truth, i've been having a baby pity party since the holidays started but that is OVER!!!!  life is back on track and i am a happy camper.

got this in the mail today from sue who sends me monthly art tags.  this is a christmas bonus.

how cool and creative is that!!!!

and today, i headed north to have lunch with robin and a fun little restaurant on the ocean.  look at these goodies . . . and yes, we shared . . . crab cakes and grouper fingers with home made chips.  slurp!

so good with a glass of vino for robin and a miller lite for me.  Oh.my.gosh!!!!

and then we decided to hit a couple of shops.  i will show you my loot when it is hung.  happiness.

i made a quick pitstop on the way up:

i miss the mountains of north jersey but nothing beats the ocean. and then i looked upward and saw this:

contrails and the sun.  just the best.

namaste to you all.  i love my tribe.