The new kitten, Sasha, is named after one of learee's PCs, a high CHA low WIS gal. Kitten Sasha is living up to the name splendidly.

They say cats have brains the size of walnuts. This one has a walnut the size of a brain. A placeholder for brains which might have been installed later. Her stripes are also incomplete. Instead of normal tabby stripes she has few stripes and one one side they clearly mark her as number 116. So I have decided that she must be unfinished, born before she was done baking.

She does not check to see if a door is open before making a beeline for it. Last night I saw her and Gilbert streak toward the bedroom in a blur of tails and then I heard WHAM! I came around to look, found Gilbert playing Cheshire Cat in the corner and Sasha lying groggy on the floor in front of the closed door trying to swipe at the little birdies flying around her head.

She has gone meerkat, striking the upright on her haunches pose, only to take it too far and topple over backwards.

She does not check how close to the edge of the bed, table, couch, lap she is on before rolling over. She was sleeping on my chest once, stretched and rolled over in a downward slope which sent her into a barrel roll down my chest, over my lap, and onto the floor.

She chases her tail. She catches it. She chomps down on it. Then she squeals and runs to me for comfort because Something bit her.

She doesn't realized that Gilbert is bigger than she is so he can jump things she cannot. Both cats love to sleep in Little Boy's loft bed. I came in one day and found Gilbert stretched out on the quilts watching Sasha, who was dangling over the precipice of loft, clinging to a corner of quilt with her tiny claws, doing pull-ups but getting no further.

Look for my next book, The Unfinished Kitten.

Made myself a pocketed tote bag. Been mostly working on recycling materials. I turned an old pair of jeans into a messenger bag, some scrap fabric and an old shirt into a dress, and a poncho I had made last year into a pullover with long sleeves and a matching hat. I have an idea for turning an old buttondown shirt into a peasant blouse and I bought a book of patterns for things made from a single piece of fabric.

And this morning I organized pins in my pincushion by color in a six-sided star pattern.

I need a life.

Last night Little Boy asked if we could go out to eat because "the restaurants cook weller than you.". He spent the entire 30 minute car ride repeating all the restaurants that he'd rather go to than eat Mama's dinner. After a full melt-down I finally got him to the table with a plate of ham and couscous with raisins and cranberries in front of him. He plowed through it. "Yummy, I love ham!". Cleaned his plate.

Later that night when Little Boy was tucked into bed, he asked if I would stay for a while. I did and he hugged me and we had lots of I love yous back and forth. He finished by saying he loved Daddy more than me and goodnight Mommy.

Oh well...

I got a call yesterday afternoon. Little Boy had thrown up at school. When I got there Little Boy was fast asleep in the nurse's office and running a fever. He went straight to bed when we got home and pretty much stayed there the rest of the day. He was feeling better this morning, kept some food down. The fever comes and goes but the highs are lower each time. He missed his sleepover but if he is feeling okay tomorrow I will take him trick or treating at a shopping center. He just wants to wear his Batman costume.

The Husband wasn't feeling well so he stayed home to sleep today. I am trying to hold off until everyone else leaves the house and goes back to school and work.

I am trying to sugar detox. I am not diabetic but I've been sucking back sweets ever since the rainy season started. Hot chocolate, mmmmmmm.....

We narrowed our choice of roofers to 2. It now comes down to which one can start yesterday.

Sasha has a cold and has been sneezing slime all over me for days. Gilbert started doing that last night, too.

We were supposed to have our gutters replaced today. Upon removing the old gutters we discovered crumbling roof parts. Closer inspection found water infiltration at several points which means we are looking at a whole new roof.

Sigh...

I've pulled out my sewing machine. In the past week I've made 2 full size quilts, one twin size quilt, and two baby quilts. I taught Little Boy to sew on the machine so some things are not quite straight but he is very proud of his work. He helped make a quilt for his grandfather and insisted that he needed to sleep with it before we sent it so it would be full of love and hugs and good dreams for Grampa. That kid should work for Hallmark.

One of the execs from Little Boy's tutoring programs was visiting while I was in the waiting area today. We had a nice chat about computers and various programs, especially how certain programs have evolved. It was an adult conversation, hooray! And I think I managed to sound intelligent, double hooray! He asked me for my card, which I didn't happen to have on me but he gave me his. Seems their graphic marketing person just left them and they might be looking soon. I had forgotten how much I actually do know since I use so little of it regularly nowadays.

I am learning tons about roofing today, too. Like how I may need the graphics job to help pay for one.

Sigh...

In the plus column, I am heading to PDX to visit the grrrls again. Little Boy and I are taking the train and The Boys are doing a sleepover. Thanks to sheraya for the sleepover and offering us transportation from the train station.

Then a little trick or treating at the mall maybe. I have to figure out if I want to drag a pair of wings on the train with me.

Okay, that sounds happier than it looks.

I wrote a book for Little Boy explaining a little about adoption. I submitted it to a publisher and the president of the company contacted me today. They are interested! Yay! The big potential deal breaker is (are?) the illustrations. I like to draw but I am not an artist. I made some rough illustrations in colored pencil so Little Boy could have a book with pictures. I don't know if the are good enough for publishing but...

Eeeeeeeeeeee!

Thanks to rhiawolf for great advice on submitting a query to publishers!!!

The Husband and I both agreed that we are not ready for another dog. But our kitty has been wandering around the house lonely, missing his play pal. And Little Boy has been unhappy, missing his doggie. I still get up at night thinking she has to go out or that I heard her at the door wanting to come in.

So we decided to bring some new life into the house. We met Sasha at the shelter and love happened. She is 4 months old but tiny! She is sweet and mellow, cautious but not timid. We think she will get along well with our current kitty. The shelter said she hasn't had her vet visit yet so we can't take her home until next week, but we all left the shelter feeling pretty happy.

Tomorrow Little Boy and I are going to pick up Sasha supplies - bed, litter box, etc. Hooray for Fuzz Therapy!

My dog, Cassie, died today. She was a great dog for almost 14 years and will be missed more than words can say.

Our foster license is here!!!!! Finally! So now we can...

...wait. And wait some more.

But we're a BIG IMPORTANT STEP CLOSER!!! Whoo-hoo!

Had a great time with the grrrls this weekend. I miss being close to civilization and I miss that circle of friends but the making the trip down more often has made me feel connected again. Even the LC doesn't feel as L.

Little Boy got to visit with The Boy. I am so happy to see that at their age, the two of them have not forgotten each other and make the long distance friendship work. I am encouraged by the social skills they both show with each other.

The Husband finally let me buy him some new clothes to fit his slimmed-down shape. Mostly under things but we are starting to try new pants. He tried on 4 pairs today but only 1 pair really worked for him but he also has a new belt so his too big stuff stays up better. He has agreed to go shopping with me this week and try to get a few more pairs of pants. He is looking so good and I think the feel of fitting clothes will make him feel better, too.

I am thinking of jumping back into the GM role. The Pathfinder game Librarian is running looks like a nice complete system that can be run straight from the books. There are several other sets. I have asked her to pick the one she would most like to be a PC in and when her game finishes (probably not for several months since we don't meet that often) I will put up my screen. I don't do well with large groups so it will likely be The Husband, Librarian and Acturial, learee and clackablog. Of course, we are talking probably close to a year away so who knows what people will be up to by then.

Little Boy had an accident last night so his teddy bear had to go in the washer with his bedding. The talkies don't work anymore so we promised him we would go this weekend and have new talkies put in. He is already writing scripts of what he wants us to say.

I had my 6 month dental cleaning this morning. The gap between my front teeth is slowly getting wider so I have to go back for an orthodontia consultation. Yup, at age 37 I may be getting braces and a retainer. I am going to spend the next week eating caramel apples just in case.

I sprained my ankle
I wear a brace
Was playing with kids
Now cannot race
Doctor wrote
Rx for shoes
But shopping just
gives me the blues
Need that foot
To drive my car
Without it
I will not get far
Cannot buy food
or mochas hot
Shoes fit over brace?
Will Not!
All my shoes
Already wide
Could not fit
the brace inside
Cannot wear Nikes
Or even Keds
Forgive the poem
Blame the meds

Little Boy was taking his bath and I noticed a small red mark on his leg. He gets bruises and things on the playground given that he is both fearless and clumsy.

I asked him what that mark was. He looked down at his leg and groans, "Oh, crap!"

I manage not to over-react and calmly tell him that I don't like him saying that and if he says it again, he'll have to sit on the Naughty Stool.

He looked down at his submerged body and asked, confused, "Naked?"

My computer self-destructed while in the middle of downloading the latest OS security update.

Once I got over the irony...

I went to the local Genius Bar. They installed a new harddrive (free since it is under warranty) and threw in an upgrade to the latest and greatest OS (gratis because I'm cute). I have a working back-up on an external harddrive plus all my software is legal so I can reinstall from CD. Meanwhile I have the Blackberry to keep me connected and all my email and contact info can be restored from it.

It will take most of the weekend but I should be back in operation by Monday as if nothing happened. (Knock knock knock on wood.)

Wow, I'm not panicking. I'm actually okay.

*whew*

to whom it may concern

we don’t know how old you are
if you’re 1 or if you’re 2
we don’t know if you’re a boy
if we should paint your room in blue
maybe you’re a little girl
with blonde or red or brunette hair
we don’t know if you learned to walk
or should be carried everywhere
you could be fully 5 years old
less than 1 or more than 3
we don’t know if you cannot speak
or cannot hear or cannot see
is basketball your favorite game
do you like swinging at the park
can you spin circles all day long
are you afraid of the dark
have you a favorite teddy bear
that travels everywhere you go
have you never owned a toy
so much that we just don’t know
we don’t know if you live nearby
or if we’ll have to travel far
before we bring you home to us
before we can be where you are
did you learn to tie your shoes
or will we have to show you how
we don’t know how long we’ll wait
we only know we love you now
you’re bed is made, the toy box full
there’s clothes we don’t know if you had
when you’re ready, please come home
sincerely, future Mom and Dad

Picked 2 quarts of huge juicy blackberries tonight. The apple tree is loaded and the fruit is just beginning to blush. My neighbor's tree is full of pears about ready to drop. If there were just a banana tree around here I would be all set.

The Husband's fingerprints are missing.

We had our fingerprints done as the last step in our foster/adopt licensing requirements. We both went to the same place on the same day at the same time. My fingerprints got sent to background check. His didn't. They are trying to trace them. They don't want The Husband to go again because that will "confuse the system".

I'm waiting for his fingerprints to turn up at a murder site.

So our paperwork is still in Limbo. They can't begin to process our license yet and the one woman in the state who does it is still trying to catch up on the work from her past TWO predecessors, so I'm told. So the 3 to 6 month process we started 8 months ago may end taking over a year. And that's if they find the fingerprints right away. If they wait long enough everything else may expire and we'll have to start all over again.

And that is just for licensing. At this rate by the time we see a child, Little Boy will be old enough to adopt it himself.

My adoption agent tells me I am so patient. It's not always patient. Sometimes I'm just resigned to self-pity and feel sure that it was just not meant to happen.

They're gone. School starts tomorrow. Life can get back to relative normal.

For those of you who are new here and haven't heard me talk about my father, let me give you an example of what I've had going on all week.

Day 1, I was driving them to get their rental car. We went over a high speed bump. My father said, "Good thing you can't get pregnant, that bump was dangerous."

He then spent 20 minutes telling me why his "joke" was funny and I have no sense of humor. This was the point where Little Boy told Grampa to stop talking because Mama was getting upset.

I ended up only cooking for them once. They like to eat out so I tried to find them local places to eat. I think they were a little disappointed that we don't live in a touristy area. We live in the middle of nowhere but they wanted to be entertained every minute so we ended up doing a lot of driving. We made a couple trips into Seattle which costs a bundle for parking each time and then they seemed to expect there to be lots to do.

I don't care for Seattle. To me it is crowded, dirty, overpriced, and not family-friendly. I find Pike Place entirely underwhelming and prefer my little local farmers' market with the free parking. The only thing I like is being able to look out at the water but there is nothing to keep Little Boy entertained in that so it is hardly a reason to go there. We only go to Seattle when we have guests who want to go. Fun guests mean we can have a decent time.

My father is not a fun guest. But he and Stepmom HAD fun so I guess I can call this trip a success.

Little Boy thinks Stepmom is wonderful. I agree with him. I know she and my SiL don't get along great and I could see exactly why. Maybe knowing she was only staying a week made it easier for me to take. I don't know. Maybe it was because she was so good to Little Boy.

My big issue with Stepmom was watching her eat plates of pasta and bread and cups of whipped cream on coffee drinks while she talked about her diabetes. The Husband and I have learned a lot about diabetes lately. The Husband has made dramatic changes in lifestyle and has near normal blood sugar levels every day. Stepmom has over double the safe blood sugar levels and this while on insulin shots. But she buys sugar-free cough drops and thinks she is doing well.

Sigh...

The farther away the plane gets, the better I feel.

My dad is visiting.

I won't go into painful details but at one point we were driving somewhere and Little Boy piped up from the backseat, "Grampa, will you please stop talking!"

From the mouths of babes.

I bought as many pounds of Rainier cherries as I could carry last weekend at the farmers market. I love them. They are one of my all time favorite snacks.

They are starting to get a little soft so I figured I better do something drastic.

I cooked them. I know, doesn't sound so bad but I love fresh cherries so cooking them seems unnecessary. Plus, The Husband can't have sugar, fat, or carbs. So no pie or crumble or pudding or ice cream or custard or...???

I took about 2 pounds of cherries, cut them in half and took out the pits. I cooked them over medium heat in a saute pan until they started loosening up. I dissolved 1/2 cup of Splenda with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, then stirred that into the cherries. Covered and cooked until Iron Chef was over.

I really wish I had ice cream to spoon this over but the lowfat plain yogurt worked just fine.

Ahhhhh, the love of good fruit. Tomorrow I think I will try making a fruit salad and using the remaing cherry sauce as a dressing.