3May2008
Posted by Artchick under: Eclectica.
I guess I haven’t been writing much. There’s been so much on my mind that I just haven’t felt like it-it’s seemed like a chore more than anything else. I am currently trying to think what to do with this space and decide if I want to keep the blog or try to turn it into something else. I don’t know. For now, though, a catch up for people:
* We are about to get our landlord to sign the contract on this house (yes, still.) He’s coming over today with a bunch of carpenters to work on the roof and bathroom ceiling and Paul intends to corner him and get a signature.
*We purchased the lot next door, which went up for auction in November. We couldn’t afford it then, so our neighbors bought it on the understanding that we’d purchase it from them in the spring. We now have an enormous yard, but more importantly, we have some place to pitch a tent and live if for some reason this house contract should ever fall through. 
*Bond turned 8. He recieved a knotted rope to hang from a tree in the backyard and climb like a monkey, his first pocket knife (which he only gets to use under supervision right now) and a set of beginner golf clubs. He and Paul have been going out in the yard and having hitting practice every day that it isn’t raining…
*It’s been raining darned near every day. The garden has not yet been planted.
*I thought I was pregnant. I’m not.
*Bond also has a dog, now. She’s a puppy, nearly 6 months old and very smart, which would be great except that I don’t know how to train a dog and neither does Paul. Apparently, training a dog takes nearly every spare second of your entire life and if you leave them alone for very long they pee on the kitchen floor.
*The dog got mange. So now, in addition to training, I’m shoving foul-tasting medicine that she Does Not Want down her throat every morning.
*I’m working, Paul is working, Bond is really making his teachers work. He’s been having a lot of trouble in PE, and telling us that the boys are picking on him there. Knowing the PE teacher as I do (she was also my PE teacher, and the mother of one of my classmates and does NOT put up with crap in her classes) I thought that perhaps this was a case of him misunderstanding boyish jostling around. They gave him a one-on-one helper for PE, who promptly discovered that he was, in fact, being bullied in PE - the kids at 8 years old are already sneaky enough to know how to do it so that the teacher didn’t see or realize what was going on.
So, not counting the thousand and one little annoyances and things that need to be dealt with involving other family members (who generally don’t like it when I write about them online), you can see why writing has fallen by the wayside lately. Hell, I’ve barely had time to knit or play WoW! Or read anyone elses’ blogs, for which I am sorry - just so you know, it’s not just *your* blog I’ve been neglecting - it’s everyone’s. I promise, I still love you.
9March2008
Posted by Artchick under: Kumba Kitchner.
Vampire Cat never drinks…wine.
Originally uploaded by ctartchick
This may be the best picture of Kumba I’ve ever taken. He’s only yawning, but doesn’t he look evil? Gawd, I love my cat.
7March2008
Posted by Artchick under: Eclectica.
Enter the ICHC online Poker Cats Contest!
26February2008
Posted by Artchick under: Eclectica.
I’m watching a dvd of Bizarre Foods episodes. I enjoy this show a great deal. At the risk of sounding entirely xenophobic, I like being aware of the names of things that I never, EVER want to eat in my life.
Look up a Balut. It’s a Filipino food. Do Not Want.
On the other hand, I would love a marketplace that sells fresh bamboo shoots and smoked fish.
23February2008
Posted by Artchick under: Out and About.
20February2008
Posted by Artchick under: Geeks.
I tried to take a picture of the total lunar eclipse (which isn’t so total just yet, but still looks pretty cool) for you guys. But I am hampered by inferior equipment. Paul’s camera, which takes such stunning shots of coasters and running children, is sadly incapable of taking clear pictures of an object a mere 350,000 miles away. Not even a single AU - not even near it. How sad is that?
I must have better equipment by 2017.
16February2008
Posted by Artchick under: Kumba Kitchner; Kisa Rose.
Haven’t been on much the last couple of days - a difficult decision was being reached around here. Between the peeing and the fact that Kumba has been beating up on her pretty much daily for the last five months, Paul and I decided that another home would likely be better for Kisa. So yesterday, we loaded her up along with food, medicine, favorite toys and kitty treats and took her back to the Humane Society where we got her last September. This was not an easy decision for me. I get entirely too attached to my animals, and somewhere in the back of my mind is the certain and sure knowledge that my baby girl is even now sitting in the Humane Society shelter wondering where I am and why I don’t come back to get her. I’ve had several good cries already, and my eyes hurt.
I can’t feel resentful towards Kumba, of course. He’s a cat and he was here first. It looks like if we want another pet, it sure won’t be a cat while we’ve got Sir Kumba Kitchner in the house. And it was very odd, but he seemed relieved when we came home. He has followed me all over the house since last night, which is not something he’s done for a long time. And he parked himself to sleep last night in the spot on our bed that Kisa usually took - right between my feet. Maybe he knows I’m upset, who can tell? I’m never sure what is going through his head at any given moment, he’s one of the most unique cats I’ve ever had. But then again, so was Kisa.
13February2008
Posted by Artchick under: The Y Chromosome; The New Donna Reed.
Poor kid. I really do feel badly for him.
Yesterday morning, the boy woke up and informed me that he felt horrible. I believed him. He looked horrible. Problem was, Paul had just gotten home from work and was unable to pry so much as one eyelid open, and Mom was feeling pretty poorly herself which left the likelihood of me being the only assistant/receptionist/general gofer in the office. Dad can’t run an office with no assistants. So, I sent the kid to school and told him to do his best to stick it out. I was fairly sure he wouldn’t make it through the day, but I figured if he could get through lunchtime, Paul might be awake enough to watch him by then.
He made it just about exactly that long before spiking a fever. 102.something or other - Paul picked him up and he spent the rest of the day on the couch looking miserable.
This morning, when I went to wake him up, he surprised me.
“How ya feeling, Boog?”
“Oh, Mom, I feel fantastic!”
“…”
“Really. I feel really good. I can go to school.”
Well, how often does a mother hear that? He didn’t have a fever, and he certainly seemed fine. I sent him. I got the call about 11 am - the boy had thrown up. Repeatedly. My turn to get him, since work was a bit slow. Poor kid, he was laying on the floor on a mat in his classroom next to a tall trash can. Boy, you hate to have to keep that trash can with you. Home we came, and he’s in bed this evening sniffling and coughing and telling me that he feels fine, he can go to school, really he does. Why all the insistence on getting to school? Because tomorrow is Valentine’s day, and instead of partying with his friends (and eating candy) he will be spending his morning at the doctor’s office.
Someone in this house is not happy with his mother this evening.
11February2008
Posted by Artchick under: The New Donna Reed.
Something I read on a crafting website I frequent has gotten me a bit riled up. The poster in question was discussing children approaching her animals incorrectly and without asking her permission and that this irritated her quite a bit. Before my rant, let me make it known that I was in complete agreement with her on this point - you don’t pet someone’s dog without asking unless you know the person or dog already. And there is certainly a correct way to approach a strange dog. We’ve made a point of teaching the boy this. But then she went on to remark that she corrected strangers’ kids in front of their parents all the time, and that if the parents didn’t like that or got angry about it, “ask me if I care.”
The more I think about this, the more fuming I find myself getting - to the point where I simply closed out the forum and came here to grouse about it, because I’m angry enough that nothing that comes out of my mouth is going to be polite at this point. And me, rude, won’t convince anyone I’m right - even if I am.
Let’s think about the two statements made by this person for a second:
1. Don’t you dare approach my animals without my permission - and if you do have it, you’d better approach them properly.
2. I will approach your child without your permission and if you don’t like it, tough sh*t.
Is anyone else seeing just a teensy problem with these two statements? Because I sure as heck am. How dare you? Really. How dare you put your dog above my child - not just my child, but any child? How is your animal worth so much more than a child that your permission must be asked before interacting, but the permission of the parent is not needed for you to do the same? Do you know the child? Know the parents? Do you know what problems the child may or may not have that will affect how or even if your lesson will register, or how your remarks will affect them? Do you know if the parents have been laboring to teach that child not to talk to or listen to strangers? Did you even stop to see if the parents were about to make the very same correction?
Let me make something very clear, here: NO ONE gets to correct the boy in front of me without my permission. There are people that have it: family members and very, very close friends who know my rules and my son’s personality and issues. And even then, if they do it so much that they are shutting me out of the discipline of my own child, they’ll get a polite but firm ‘cut it out’. Strangers do NOT get to correct my child - if he’s doing something wrong and I haven’t noticed, bring it to my attention and I will take care of it. If you do not like that, please feel free to GO AWAY AND STOP TALKING TO MY KID - because you don’t have my permission to discipline him any more than I have your permission to whack your dog on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper the next time I catch it making a mess on my lawn.
9February2008
Posted by Artchick under: Geeks.
I’ve been looking around for a bag to carry Lilly in. Requirements for said bag:
*Must hold a laptop with a 17″ screen.
*Must have padding for said laptop (or I must be able to obtain padding inexpensively from an outside source, in which case the bag must fit laptop plus padding.
*Must be a semi-attractive color (read: not black)
*Must also carry knitting or spinning and notions.
I’ve found a couple that fit all of the above requirements but led me to add yet another requirement:
*Must not require me to ransom my firstborn child in order to purchase.
This has lead me to the Jack Sack. It took me a while to figure out what this was, since I don’t watch television much these days. But it seems that the lead character on the show 24 is named Jack, and it further seems that “Jack” is continually toting around a big canvas messenge bag during the course of the show. Hence “JackSack”.
Anyway, a canvas messenger bag is not so expensive and neither is a neoprene laptop sleeve. Looks like I might be able to aquire a bag and sleeve for around or slightly more than $50, which isn’t bad at all. Also at that price, I won’t feel at all guilty about drawing on/painting on/otherwise decorating my laptop bag.
Go, me. 