Food

Last night I fed Tom, Peggy, Ben, Paul, Keith and Jeff pork roast done with garlic, bacon and bay leaves (it made the house smell REALLY GOOD) and many, many vegetables, including beans and cauliflower and broccoli and beets and potatoes.  Katie and her housemates were invited, but Katie was already on tap to do shrimp and spinach canneloni that night so she turned me down with thanks.  It would have been an ‘add two leaves to the dining room table and where the hell are the chairs going to come from’ evening if they HAD come, so I don’t complain and I added some chairs to my want list.

Margot quacked like a duck for the folks.  She has a doctor’s appointment on Monday; she needs to be checked out for heart problems, which are quite common in Persians and don’t necessarily show up during the work up prior to neutering; her quacking and breathing issues may be normal Persian noisiness or it may be something more sinister.  She’s so placid, except when I’m brushing her, that she doesn’t appear to have any problems otherwise.  I keep telling myself that she’s like a kid… I get to look after her for a while, and then she’ll leave my life; I’m attached to her but I hope not too intransigent on the subject.  And it’s my own damn fault that I brought her into a household where it would be impossible to keep her as an indoor cat.  She gets FILTHY sometimes, having all that fun out in the rain and dirt.  If it’s really pouring she won’t go out, but light precip doesn’t seem to register.

Back to the Friday Feast.  I said to Ben, “There are two pinball machines downstairs.”  He said, “I’ve never played pinball in my life.”

shock,  horror!

We fixed that. Obviously he must play pinball before he goes to Hudson’s Hope.  (He got a job with Hydro).

After Tom Peggy and Ben went home, I decided I needed both air and exercise, and Paul and I wandered around the neighbourhood looking at the Christmas lights (Keith and Jeff were busy killing zombies in the trial version of Zombie Apocalypse). There are some spectacular displays, especially close to the school.  Then we came back after about half an hour and I picked up the guitar and composed another (what, another frakking tune, what the ???) song, which I think is going to be called “God Willing” and be about the immigration of my ancestors to Canada. No lyrics yet.  I know; for an atheist, I’m such a sucky accommodationist.  But you would be too if you had so many religious relatives, who also happened to be pleasant, intelligent and hard-working.

That’s the single biggest issue I have with the media atheists (I FLATLY REFUSE to use New Atheists.  That’s like calling people who are Christian NEW CHRISTIANS. Atheists are atheists, there’s nothing novel about them, and you can see their lineage throughout history from Epicurus forward.)  They are on the “All theists are stupid” train, whereas I am on the “All human beings have cognitive biases, and atheists may have at least one fewer than theists” train.  Also, many media atheists have the distinct advantage of not giving two shits what their religious relatives think of them, an advantage I don’t have.  It’s why I don’t give vent to some of my more shocking opinions (yes, hard to believe, isn’t it?  But much goes on behind my face that doesn’t come out in my blog).  I was a lot more venty when I started this blog, as I recollect.   I don’t usually go back into the old format portion of the blog unless I’m trying to figure out what happened in say, July of 2005.

Keith called up the optician’s office he was still working at on Saturday (he didn’t give that other job completely up, the wise soul) and hopefully he’ll be getting more hours later this month.  It’s hard to be a young person these days.

Today, AVATAR.  I am very stoked.  Now to check the hellacious mess that is the Translink site and plan my trip itinerary.

I so enjoy feeding people.  It makes me feel good, and that was a damned fine roast.  I miss the rosemary bush from the front of my old house.  A sprig of rosemary in the roasting pan would have made it even more wondrous.

Not one word else

Yes, I am dating somebody.  I can hardly deny it when he met everybody in my family yesterday.  That is enough on that subject.

I missed the winter spectacular as a result (Sue gave me tickets), but life presents us with many situations where bi-location would be useful, and I decided to stay home.

The rest of yesterday was a few chores and being amazed by the fury of the rain.

And now, a picture of a bat eating a banana, and a list of the best restaurants in Vancouver, and Nathan Fillion kissing his new co-star.

Trading emails

My bro emails me as follows.

This is what Margot looks like to me all the time:

ಠ_ಠ

Concerned cat is concerned.

I email him back.

^    ^
O~O

is more accurate.

He emails me back….

Sez you.

_________________

The mailman was very happy I put down de-icer yesterday.  I try to do as I would be done by, with variable results.  This time it worked.

I can’t find my cell phone charger.  I have no idea what I did with the darned thing, which is rather anxiety making.  At the same time, I know it’s in the house, so I am not too worried.

My cousin Katherine had a b-day yesterday; facebutt lets you know when people on your friendslist are approaching their natal day, so I and many other people wished her a happy birthday.  Her userpic in facebook is a piece of anime art she did herself.  Talented lassie!

My mother also had a birthday recently.  She and pOp celebrated, in part, with a drive in the country, a family tradition to which I, alas, cannot subscribe, as I don’t have a car and I don’t have any friends or relatives in town willing to indulge me in my fondness for aimless carbon release.

Eddie crawled into my lap … twice … yesterday.  Gizmo, not to be outdown, followed me into the bathroom at one point and insisted on being brushed.  It amazes me; both of the cats have changed so much since Margot came along, and apart from the truly remarkable noises Eddie makes when Margot goggles at him unexpectedly, I’d say their behaviour has become more affectionate.  Now, if we could stop them from throwing up.  But in the words of Dr. Jane, the singing paleontologist (now Dr. James):

Cats they shed, and cats they throw up

Cats they defecate and spray (and they spray)

And I’m gonna be a multi millionaire

The day that I can make these products pay.

Hey, if you’re going to sing about cats, one should strive for accuracy with those, dare I say it, caterwauls.

Very cute photosets of kids and animals.

I must admit some of these pics raised a smile.

A year at Kew from a fabulous nature photographer (thanks Chipper).

Yet more kitty pics.

Stay tuned for the new Enceladus fly-by pics on Saturday … that’s when the raw pics will be in.  Can’t wait!  30 metre resolution of the jets on Enceladus!!!

My head it is reeling

I just wrote two hundred and fifty words about the coffee date I went on tonight.  I backspaced over the whole thing.  I have no idea what to write that doesn’t sound like I’ve gone completely insane.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy at how things went.

He’s paralyzingly cute, without being an ass.  How did that happen?  Yeah, you read that right.  Paralyzingly.