Belated Friday Five

Belated Friday Five:

1. What was your first grade teacher’s name?
Mrs. Weir. As in WeirD. She was this really scary mean old lady. I remember that one little boy had to transfer into our class from the other first grade class, and she made him stand up at the front of the room and admit that the reason he got transferred was because the other teacher couldn’t teach him to read. She also tied the class bully to his chair once with a jump rope because he wouldn’t stay seated. Another time she took him out in the hall to paddle him and she called all the other teachers to come out and watch. She was scary. The only good thing about her was that her ancient husband was a Shriner so the whole first grade got to go to the Shrine Circus for free.

2. What was your favorite Saturday morning cartoon?
I loved Saturday morning cartoons. Mom would set out my bowl of cereal the night before and leave me a cup of milk and a baby orange juice in the fridge. (Remember those orange juices? In the little plastic containers with the foil lids? I miss those.) I’d get up at 6 a.m. and sit there for, like, five hours. My favorites were the Bugs Bunny Looney Tunes show, the Smurfs, and Garfield and Friends. I also think I’ve seen every episode created of Muppet Babies. I wasn’t a fan of those weird grown-up shows like Kid Video and Dungeons & Dragons. They were just a little too surreal for me.

3. What was the name of your very first best friend?
Hmm. I haven’t had a lot of “best friends,” but I think my first one was Annie Fleck. We’d sit up all night playing with her huge Barbie collection (she even had Jem and the Holograms!) and then we’d play Nintendo Track & Field (on the cool running mat) and listen to Tiffany and prank call boys in our class. Her Mom was a manager at Dairy Queen so she was always bringing home prototype snacks, like cherry-flavored Dilly Bars. We’d swim in the lake and ice skate on it in wintertime and host awesome slumber parties. She was fun. I haven’t talked to her in years. We drifted apart after I changed schools in junior high.

4. What was your favorite breakfast cereal?
Whichever sugar-laden nutrient-free novelty one Mom wouldn’t buy us. Once I got a little older and my tastes settled down, I’d choose Golden Grahams every time.

5. What was your favorite thing to do after school?
Since our parents didn’t get off work til later, we all ended up at a local babysitter’s every afternoon. Luckily there was a playground in the field behind her place, so if it was warm we’d play out there. In the winter it was mostly TV. (That’s where my “Days of Our Lives” addiction started, to tell you the truth.)

Day 2 of Cat Ownership

Day 2 of Cat Ownership
I’m tired. I feel like Dooce. Okay, that’s not true. If there’s a scale of maternal misery, she’s at, like, 100 and I’m at 7. But my level of sympathy for her is going way up. I spent the whole night lying awake listening to Amy meow pitifully in the bathroom. I knew she’d go to sleep eventually but it just broke my heart to hear her. Then I started envisioning all the things that could happen in there. “Snookums, our toilet seat isn’t very heavy. She could push it up with her head and fall in and drown! Oh, and I left the bottle of hand soap on the sink. She could accidentally push it and then lick the soap and get poisoned!” He’d just grunt, turn over, and start snoring again. Eventually she quieted down and I feel into an uneasy sleep. This morning we gingerly opened the bathroom door to see her peeking out at us from her new cat bed. And lo and behold, she’d done a poo and a wee in her litterbox! Good girl, Amy!

I’m going to get her a scratching post tonight. So far she’s tried scratching her little claws on the couch, the bathroom rug, my jeans, and the dining room chairs. Only the first two are acceptable. Now the only decision is whether my cat-mommy guilt will allow me to purchase the cheap one-tier post or whether I’ll shell out $100 for the ultra mega three-tier-and-a-tunnel playground. We’ll see.

I swear this isn’t going to become a total CatBlog. It’s just the novelty of the thing. You may have to sit through a few more pictures though… 🙂

Introducing Dr. Amy Jones!

Introducing Dr. Amy Jones!

Dr. Amy Jones

And just like that, we’re a family.

The cat’s name was originally going to be Dr. Alowicious Jones, but that’s really more of a boy’s name and she’s a girl. So then we came up with the idea of naming her after my sister, for the pure comedy of saying, “Amy shat all over the floor!” and “Amy’s coughing up a hairball.” Think of it as a compliment, Sis. 🙂

Get well, orangecat!

Get well, orangecat! Huge hugs and warm thoughts to Robert, who often posts here. He had a headache that wouldn’t stop and started affecting his vision. According to the comments on his last post, he was rushed to hospital and had some sort of surgery. His mom reports that he’s feeling better now.

Columbine Peak Socks

Another FO!
(That’s “Finished Object” for you non-knitters.) After doing two pairs of simple basic socks, I was ready to expand my skills. So I cracked open my copy of Socks Soar on Two Circulars* and picked out the “Columbine Peaks” pattern. The leg of the sock has a lacy pattern that forms little v-shaped mountain peaks that continue down onto the foot. It wasn’t too hard, though you do have to count and sometimes I have difficulty with that. (Handy tip: Knitting and wine don’t go together so well.) Now they’re finally done. Unfortunately the Sockenwool I had was rainbow-colored so the pattern doesn’t show up so well, but I still like them. They give me the craziest urge to buy some Birkenstocks and walk around like a German tourist. (Note: That second image is a big scan and shows the stitch pattern nicely.)

Ignore my hairy legs!     Scan

* Although I like the technique used, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book for beginners. I’ve found several frustrating errors in the patterns. You can see a list of some corrections here.