on a very special blossom

kitten season is fast approaching and the cats are coming back to the yard. and recently there is one that has decided to make the shed home. she (thats only a wild guess. i havent been able to catch a peek at any bits) is consistantly there and allows me get pretty close to her. the last two times ive left out food, ze's come out to eat it while we are still playing in the backyard. i wonder if ze is a recently dumped cat. that might explain why ze would pick a "home" so close to people and doesnt instantly run away when we appear. and augustus decided to name the cat blossom, not after the eccentrically dress television character, but after ruff ruffman's cat. ze isnt black, but is grey tabby and white with what i could only describe as white "tears" on zur's face.

ive got a list of potentials i need to fax in so i can start trapping again. and a few weeks ago, i trapped another cat. he didnt really strike me as a cat with much personality so i didnt really name him. and when i picked him up from the vet's, the tech said she didnt think i was feral. he seemed pissed off enough to not like people (although being in a small trap wasnt all the fun either) but i figure if i happen to catch an unaltered, untagged animal on my property, you're pretty lucky he didnt go the way of poison or bb gun which i can only imagine would be some of the other animal control options in texas. and it's dipshits that dont fix their outside male cats, cause it's not like they will have to worry about finding homes for unwanted kittens, that impregnate my feral females and make more cats for me to trap.

And regarding Sarah Palin, Feministing, link on the side, has been covering the issue quite well so there's really nothing more i can say on the subject. But one thing i will add is that Sarah Palin fired a Wasila librarian over censorship issues, only to reinstate her after the public protested. In honour of upcoming Banned Book Week, i suggest donate a copy or two of some of the many challenged books to your local library in Sarah Palin's name. Apparently, there is also a Planned Parenthood fundraiser in the same vein, because PP will send a thank you card to the person.

harriet miers 2.0

apparently i wasnt the first to think it but it makes me feel kinda good to know andrew sullivan and i think on the same wave length.

in case i need to spell it out, back in the day bush nominated harriet miers for the supreme court because sandra day oconner was retiring. it seemed like the only reasons were because she was the closest vagina-owner with appropriate political leanings. her nomination was later pulled when bush realised he wasnt fooling anybody and a good 'ol white boy was found. on npr they quoted some people at the rally and it seemed the only thing going for palin was that she was anti-choice. when that's your only qualification, any jack-ass will fit the bill.

and, in some unsubtle move to be historic and non-bush lite, palin is the anti-cheney. she can smile without making babies cry. she's mom, and what person wouldnt want to vote for mom? (oh yeah, those with a brain who can pick apart her policy positions. argh. too much alliteration.) what's next mccain? baseball for sec. of the interior? apple pie for the head of the Dept. of Agriculture? this is base pandering at it's most obvious. this quote sums it up.

"I'm not sure what she brings to the ticket other than she's a woman and a conservative. Well, she's a better speaker than McCain," - Faye Palin, Sarah Palin's mother-in-law, laughing. Faye may vote for Obama.

honestly, im hoping this crashes and burns similarly as miers's nomination. obama and biden have been given the presidency on a fucking platter. lets hope they dont fuck it up.

im calling it

i thought of this last night and am making claim to it.

sarah palin = harriet meyers.

you heard it here first. ill flush it out later. back to pancakes.

my house is cool!

the folks came to do the attic. for the first time this summer, the AC wasnt running all day long. at 4:30pm the house was 80 degrees, not 84. woot!! they sprayed the radiant barrier and blew in more insulation. lets hope we see a big difference the the electricity bill.

and to be more confusing, im doing a name change. buddytwo has always had ears that stick out. it's really cute. octavian augustus had jug handle ears. suetonius said his ears were of "moderate size" but colleen mccollough made a big deal of them.

as for buddyone, maybe sulla. just forget the mental break-down at the end and proscription.

speaking of, sulla's birthday is soon. we want to hold the party at the house. one, i hope it doesnt rain, cause the house is not big enough. two, ive got tons of stuff to work to do in the backyard. and speaking of the backyard, i want a wood chipper and a sod ripper cause im sick of the big pile of random wood by the "garage" and i want to put down buffalo grass. the stickers are driving me fucking insane.

and i want to put texas sage and rosemary on the south side of the house. i wouldnt have to mow and both can be neglected and still come out fine. id like to make it a raised bed, too. but i dont think ill have the money for that.

someone at abcnews.com reads my blog

thats not me, but thats exactly what im doing.

and i promise ill update soon.

cars, cats, and the cashless control grid

ive discovered my 97 mitsubishi montero can get 21 miles to the gallon if i stick to lots of highway miles and drive under 60 mph. and sometimes it's better to waste gas. the other day i had to take a cat to get fixed (more about that later). the closest vet who will do feral cats for feral friends is 15 miles away and you have to drop off by 9am and pick up is some time in the late afternoon. with a 16mo and an almost 4yo, that makes for a very long day. naps are missed, lunch, snacks and random shopping is done. like the other day i spent over $20 - granted some of it was planned but we got some lunch and "ice cream" at mcdonald's while waiting. plus i made up some of the mileage driving around to get the boys to sleep and looking for some place to go. or i could have just put 30 miles (roughly $6 in gas), eaten at home and gone to the library. live and learn.

and after i complain about not catching any cats, i caught 3. one was dash, the little tuxedo i got fixed a while ago. she was in the trap with jack jack laying right there watching. the next day, i got this picture:


there he is. right outside my kitchen window. the trap is full of food.

here he is telling me where to shove that trap and food. he's big and well fed. for all i know, he could be someone's pet, but he's really skiddish around me.

and then i caught this little guy. his name is octavian. he might have been one of the kittens i saw way back before i caught antonia. it was cute because he had violet, and two other cats watching over him.

i was very happy i caught him because i wanted to get antonia a friend. assuming he is the same age as antonia, he was a month older (and probably out of the good range for socialising feral kittens) and still took wonderfully to taming. by day 3 he was roaming the house. i named him octavian because in those first days he was so quiet. when i was holding him, he wouldnt purr and every now and then would slowly turn his head around and just stare at me. it was quite unnerving. since then he's gotten really chatty though usually it's when he's hungry and now that his comfortable and playing, it's mostly stopped.

then i caught helios

he was not happy about getting caught. i was taking buddyone to mother's day out and thought, what the hell, let's see if i got anything. good thing i did because the trap was placed in a spot that would be in the sun and i was planning to stay out all day running errands. i did see a completely grey kitten in the batch, but he seemed much older than antonia or octavian. he got fixed on thursday, and then i got him again today. he was pretty pissed off at me about that.

and i saw dash again with three different kittens eating out of the compost bin. at least im pretty sure it was her - they were various black and white which could make them her's, but she was fixed. i dont know enough about extended cat families to know if non-mothers would babysit a litter. and she was sitting facing the back door while the kittens played. like she knew i might come out. that was wednesday night, i think, and i havent seen them since. there's also an adult tom that looks like octavian. if only i could get him, jack jack and octavia fixed, i might be able to keep the colony under control. the vet does ear tip the cat's that get fixed, but it's very subtle and it can be hard to tell when they are bouncing all around the trap. i wish they would punch the ear like they do with livestock. there would be no mistaking that.

back when husband stayed home with buddyone, he got really into alex jones. for the most part i think he's complete bullshit. im just too skeptical to accept conspiracy theories, but i think he got it right during his screed of the cashless control grid. while driving to get helios fixed i heard a story about gas stations charging more for gas to cover the costs of credit card purchases. like those fuckers (the credit card companies, that is) havent been making money hand over fist and all those commercials about what a loser you are for using cash or checks. be a happy brainless consume-bot and use plastic for everything!!!

so in the spirit of dissent, ive decided to use paper over plastic. and i think it will help me stay on budget, too. i remember seeing something in tightwad gazette about the envelope system of budgeting and thats what im doing. ive allotted certain amounts for the main things i spend money on during the week - groceries, gas, household, dining, entertainment. this money has to last me during the pay period. when it's gone, it's gone. i will be forced to make smarter purchases - no brainless shopping sprees at thrift town, nor will i buy more because i cant justify debiting a buck o' five. any money i have left over will go to making some of the bigger, household need purchases - like im on the hunt for a good end table or chest for all our afghans and blankets and more bookshelves. i will keep the debit card for emergencies purchases - like tomorrow the kitties have to go to the vet, but it's not those things that make us go over budget, it's trips to the mall and sonic and "im bored, let's go to home depot." im hoping it works.

and i told husband i wanted an h2o steam mop for christmas.

my updating-fu sucks

im going to do another bulleted post because theres two weeks worth of crud to talk about. lets see. breaking down by topic

chillins

• agrippa had a nasty ear and sinus infection last week. i really need to talk to the ped about getting stronger ABXs or something. giving him 10 days, twice a day is just too much work. he screams and pukes it all back up.
• we went to the zoo yesterday because it was a "cool" 93 degrees and the train and carosel rides were free. i try to stay away from parenting drive-bys but im always amazed at the number of parents who take their kids somewhere really exciting and fun and then expect perfect behaviour. we go to the zoo, ride the train, look at the tree frogs and play in the sand box. thats about it. oh, and play in the kid barn. but the number of parents who wont let their kids play in the sandbox or keep asking "dont you want to see the animals/get something to eat?" when they want to keep playing. or parents who make their kids stay in the stroller went they want to get out and walk. honestly, isnt the whole point to hang out and have a good time with your kids? it cant be that fun when you are dragging your kid kicking and screaming around so you can get your money's worth of animal viewing and "fun family time?"

aminals

• murphy's law of feral cat trapping - "if you set it, they will not come." i went through my quota of gas and could not justify the 40mile round trip to take any cats to the vet so i didnt set the traps. and suddenly they are everywhere. cats i havent seen before or in a really long time. jack-jack has made an appearance the last few nights but i think he's "too smart" for it. last night when i was putting faramir to sleep i saw him hanging out on the patio. and then tonight i went walking around and he was behind the big tree. saw dash too.
• antonia's doing good. i need to start treatment for ear mites though. i dont know why it took me so long to figure it out, especially with the inlaw's dog, roxie, and her chronic ear problems. that should have been the first thing i looked at.

thrifty

• sam's puppy robeez are getting worn out so i used up my credit at kid 2 kid and got some knock-offs with trains on them for 1.99. also got the complete curious george.

thats all i can thhink of for now.