They Say It's Your Birthday

It's my birthday too, yeah.

Really. And I am spending it just like the last six days - eight to twelve hours of heavy studying for the oral boards. But since it is my birthday, and Friday and all that...



This has been the view from my lap most of the week (with notes, book, tea, nice view, and of course Zima the cat). It may look like she's sitting on a stereo receiver, but it is really an electronic cat warming device that happens to play music.

OK, back to my cave. I fly to Louisville tomorrow afternoon. The test is Sunday. See you in June.

Tuesday is the new Saturday

I took today off as a comp day, since I spent all day at work Saturday not getting things done around the house. After allowing myself twenty minutes with some hot tea and the newspaper, I hit the ground running and didn't stop all day. I got surprisingly little checked off my list, although it should be vastly easier to clean the house for our Thanksgiving guests next week. I spent most of the day deep cleaning. I hate how it takes all that work just to get back to status quo (clean house, no cobwebs or cat hair). I only got a tiny bit of work done on the new bathroom. It is functional now, but I will save the picture show until we have painted and installed all the new hardware.

My reward was going to see Zack and Miri Make a Porno at the local movie tavern with a friend. (Getting out of the house was the only way I was gonna stop working -- I was obsessed.) The movie was fun. Raunchy of course, but the underlying story is actually kind of sweet. It was a good choice. We both needed to laugh and this movie delivered. Plus, I had wine and a quesadilla. And came home to a very clean house. Life is good.

Backaches and Improbable Statements

The amount of work I get done around the house and yard on a given weekend is directly proportional to the intensity of the backache that inevitably results. I got a lot done this time. There is not enough naproxin sodium in the world to fix this. Now I'm sitting here with a hot pack wrapped around my lower back. I hadn't planned to work in the yard at all on Saturday, but the Tech game was such a crapfest that I went outside to burn off my frustration. For three hours. At top speed. *sigh* I was pretty mad.

At one point, I had to go get PDM and ask "Hey honey, can you move this toilet so I can get to the lawnmower?" Then I cracked up. Never thought I'd have to say something like that. That ranks right up there with the redneck classic: "Can you move this transmission so I can take a bath?" The bathroom construction project is still going on, and we have bath fixtures all over the place. Including the carport storage room, right in front of the lawnmower.

It wasn't all drudgery, although our fun plans for today were scuttled by my waking up with a sore throat -- we were supposed to spend the day on the lake in a friend's boat. That didn't seem like a great idea given the cool temps and my possible cold or whatever this is. We stayed home and painted the wainscoting in the new bathroom instead. But I did get to see my sister. She spent last night with us during an Atlanta layover. We went out to dinner, then watched Clerks II and drank the bottle of Bordeaux she brought back from Paris. Classy, no? Nothing goes with "ass to mouth" dialog like fancy French wine.

Fall Foods

Fall is the best time of the year for cooking up some great meals. Shorter days bring you inside earlier. The cooler weather makes it OK heat up your kitchen again. Sure, summer has dynamite fresh produce and is a great time to create cool salads and other less cooked fare. Maybe fire up the grill outdoors for the meat. But fall has the apple harvest and tailgating, the beers and sausages of Octoberfest, festivals and hot cider, and that huge turkey dinner. It is the time that we welcome hearty meals and comfort food. I start to crave substantial eats -- with roasted root veggies, cold weather crops, savory sausages and meats, sauces and gravies, mashed potato, and hot soup. It is a perfect time to cook up something spicy, or maybe a touch exotic, with strong flavors. There are still fresh herbs in the garden, just waiting for that last harvest before the first frost. We have basil, sage, thyme, chives and rosemary that need to be used before they go dormant for the season.

As I type, I am roasting a butternut squash and shallots in oil, seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground peppercorns. I'm trying a new recipe: southwestern butternut squash soup. After the roasting, the squash mixture will be pureed with chicken broth and cooked with cumin, lime juice, honey, minced chipotle in adobo sauce, and heavy cream. I'll throw in fresh chopped cilantro just before serving. I hope it is as yummy as it sounds.

I still miss the butternut crab bisque that I used to get at Margaux's Deli in Southbridge, Massachusetts. That would be a recipe worth searching for. Maybe I'll do that soon, because Fall is a great time for cooking, and what's not to love* about crab bisque?


* For the record, PDM is not crazy about cream sauces and bisque. Or crab. But he eats it if I cook it, which makes him a good sport, don't you think?

Close Encounters of the Fowl Kind

There's been a lot of fowl play around my place this weekend. This bird house is on the side of the carport. There is another one hanging from a branch in the back yard. Both have been taken over by wrens. This is a vast improvement over their choice last year of raising a family in my hanging flower basket. Mama bird would fly out abruptly and scare the crap out of me every time I watered the plant (very carefully avoiding the nest), even though I was expecting it (except for the first time, when I wasn't).

I haven't seen the babies, but I'd say they're getting bigger and hungrier. They sure do make a ruckus when mama bird flies in with some vittles. And I'm not the only one who has noticed the cheeping of the chicks. Zima has taken to hanging out on top of PDM's truck, parked in the carport adjacent to the birdhouse. I give it about 50-50 odds that one day she takes a flying leap for it. The odds would be higher if she wasn't 14 years old. She'll probably just sleep on the truck cab and dream about catching the birdies. If we were letting Moxy outside, she would be all over it. Moxy used to climb the tree and literally go out on a limb to mess with the other bird house earlier in the spring.

The neighborhood hawk attempted to land on a tree branch across the street this morning, but he broke it. For some reason, this made me laugh. Maybe he needs some avian Slim Fast. He quickly flew over to the power lines in front of my house. I got one photo of him before he flew away, but it didn't have enough magnification to see much of anything. Darn it!

Our hummingbirds have grown fiesty. For a while, they would visit the feeders one at a time. Very calm, no fighting, no competition. Now there are at least two going at it. It is much more entertaining. Aerial acrobatics galore, and twice the sighting potential. Now that they have goaded each other into being all territorial, they've grown much bolder about the non-bird "challengers", such as humans and cats, and even yellow jackets. I cracked up yesterday when Moxy and one of the hummers were having a "face off" through the kitchen window. Moxy was chittering and pawing the window and that little bird was holding his ground and getting all up in Moxy's face. Today the bird did the same thing to PDM through the window, mirroring his every move. I hope he doesn't get attacked by the killer hummingbird while he is outside grilling our steaks tonight.

And now the gang's all here! I just erased the bit I wrote about the barred owls being the only regulars who didn't show up for all the bird action this weekend. It is half an hour before sunset, and the owls just started calling to each other. I can't see them, but they sound like they're pretty close.

BAT UPDATE: PDM called around, and it turns out that bats are protected here until August 15, in order to let them complete their nesting season unmolested. So we can't do anything about them until then. We've decided to mount a bat box on the house close to the vents that they are currently using to get into the attic. That spot is ideal for bats, which is probably why we have them in the attic to begin with. They'll be able to continue ridding our yard of skeeters and we'll get our attic back.

Bat Country

...now includes my attic. While I appreciate the fact that the bats spend their time eating mosquitos, I'm not exactly thrilled at the prospect of my attic filling up with bat guano. And I am wondering if they are the reason the attic fan isn't working very well.

Any ideas how to encourage them to find another place to roost? Should I get a bat house?

Back to work, but relaxing just got easier.

Back to work today. Ugh. Good thing I have a nice, big screened-in porch to relax in when I get home. That's right - it's finished! Doesn't have any furniture yet, but we aren't letting that stop us from enjoying it. We spend our evenings sitting out there on our tailgating chairs drinking beer and wine and watching the birds. And cats. There's some good cat-watching opportunities whether they are inside it or outside. One sure thing about the cats: if they're in, they want out; if they're out, they want back in. Here is a rare shot that captures all three of them exploring the new space.



Random question of the day: Has anyone ever dismantled a sleeper sofa for disposal? If so, how'd that go? Ours is so stained, torn and horrible the Salvation Army doesn't even want it. We're thinking of taking it to the recycler, but it would be easier in pieces. I once hacked apart a regular sofa for dumpster disposal, but it didn't have metal parts.

Some chores are better than others.

Every spring and summer, my gardening work in the yard requires dozens of bags of mulch. PDM never minds going to get mulch for me. In fact, a lot of the time he will drop everything and go get it right after I tell him I need more. I'd like to think it is because (a) he really loves me, and (b) he is proud of my landscaping efforts. But I know the answer is mostly (c) Home Depot is across the street from the pub.

A Winkin' Kitty!

Happy Friday, everyone! This Friday CatBlogging post is dedicated to the original winkin' kitty. I'm sure she'd like it if you check out her new book lover's forum: Cyber City Bibliotheca. No doubt you'll recognize a few familiar screen names over there.

I'm exhausted from herding cats - figuratively at work, and literally at home (if two cats counts as a "herd"). The project I am involved with at work has to do with electronic medical records, and while we are evaluating paperless radiation therapy documentation, the physicians who are piloting this new system have to do it the new way AND the old way. Keeping track of them and making sure both get done (and match each other) is like herding cats. Add to that the changes that we are making in how the physics staff uses some the software applications, and you have a recipe for barely controlled chaos while we're sorting it all out. And a ton of extra work.

And at home, they've been painting the new porch this week. Guess where Zima and Moxy like to hang out now? You got it -- the new porch railings. So when we let them out in the evening, one of us has to stay with them and attempt to keep them away from the freshly painted porch. Now that Moxy has discovered that one of our birdhouses is occupied, we have a hard time keeping her out of that as well. Keeping two determined cats from going where they want to go in an open yard is a difficult assignment.

Under Construction

I temporarily removed all my sidebar items last week when I posted about Big Daddy's death. They seemed too distracting and frivolous to occupy the same space as such a post, and were easy enough to get rid of. But now I am thinking this is a good opportunity to clean up my template and make some of the changes I have been meaning to do for a long time. So my blog will keep the plain Jane look for a while longer until I get everything the way I want it. Not sure how long that will take. Now that daylight savings time has kicked in, I am more likely to work or relax outside when I get home from work than to spend much time on my computer.

It isn't just my blog that is undergoing some construction. We just signed a contract to have a screened in porch built where our patio is now. This time we were smart enough to hire somebody rather than to try it on our own. Photos to follow, of course.

And no, the bathroom is not yet finished. PDM wants you to know that my use of "we" when I have discussed this project is misleading, as he is doing nearly all of the work these days.

Wild, Wild Life

When life gets a little too exciting, it is nice to chill out and commune with nature. And sometimes there is no better place to do that than from your own yard. (There is a lot of stuff going on lately that I haven't disclosed in the blog. Maybe later, or maybe never. Some family stuff and lots of drama at work, among other things. Thus, the lack of posts other than photoblogging lately.)

I spent some time outside in my yard at dusk this evening after a draining day at work. Moxy was entertaining as she hunted squirrels from tree to tree. Zima followed me around as we watched Moxy's exploits. Moxy's becoming quite the climber. Getting back down is still the hardest part, but eventually she figures out that she can't go down head first and it all works out.

Standing at the edge of the woods with the cats, I heard a familiar call - "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?" It was a barred owl (strix varia), perched in a nearby tree. The owl was watching Moxy, too. I fetched my binoculars for a better look and the owl obliged by sticking around for a while. It was too dark to get a decent photograph, but not too dark to observe the owl with binocs. There are a pair of them who have claimed our neighborhood as their territory. These owls are frequent visitors to our yard, which has lots of hardwood trees and a creek running through the back. We hear them more often than we see them, but both owls made appearances tonight. If we are lucky, there will be some owlets to watch later in the spring and early summer.

If you find owls as fascinating as I do, you may enjoy exploring the OwlCam website. Some folks in Eastern Massachusetts built an owl house, and a pair of barred owls took residence and raised families there over multiple years. They have a lot of information and some spectacular photo and video footage of the owls and owlets, as the owl house was wired for audio and video. There is a nifty library of owl sounds, so you can figure out if the hoots in your own yard are from barred owls.

Psycho Kitty

There is a dangerous predator loose in our cul-de-sac. This insane, vicious creature attacks Zima on a near nightly basis. Worse, it is nearly impossible to get rid of and it always comes back. Its lair is just next door. It is always watching. Who is this demon spawn? Skittles, the Psycho Kitty.

Stop laughing. I mean it! This cat is pure evil. That little old lady's house next door might as well be the Cave of Caerbannog, because "the entrance to this cave is guarded by a creature so foul, so cruel that no man yet has fought with it and lived." Skittles, I dub thee The Legendary Calico Beast of Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh.

Before I knew better, I once tried to shoo her out of my yard. The standard way to do this is yell at them. If that doesn't do it, maybe lunge toward them, waving your arms wildly. Most cats would take one look at you and beat a temporary retreat. But with Skittles, what did I get for my trouble? She attacked me and clawed a gash in my palm. So I tried again, this time armed with a broom. She attacked the broom and still wouldn't leave. Just about the only thing that even halfway works is water, the mortal enemy of cats. Since we can't use the hose anymore (watering restrictions), we keep a big squirt bottle handy to try to fend her off. And yes, more often than not she attacks the water stream and goes for the bottle. This cat disturbs my calm.

Tonight she struck again. While cooking the evening's meal, we heard the familiar caterwauling. Skittles and Zima were getting into it under my car. We nearly emptied the squirt bottle on her and never did get Skittles to go home. Just chased her around in circles. We had to settle for grabbing Zima, complete with puffy tail, and carefully bringing her inside, out of the fray. I know calicos are known to have a mean streak, but Skittles takes it to a new level. I'd feel better for our safety if we had a holy hand grenade or two...

Round 2, By Request

By request, here is a view from my back patio door on Saturday, during the height of "Atlanta Blizzard 2008". You'll notice that the snow is only sticking to the plants, not the patio. That is why there are no photographs of any associated carnage. The roads remained passable throughout the day. Sorry to disappoint.

Now it is just cold as all get out. But not as cold as the northeast. I remember those times - two weeks or so every winter when it never got about 20F - and I do not miss it. Not one tiny little bit. Nope, this is more than cold enough for me. Looking forward to a return to more normal Georgia weather soon!

I promise the next post will definitely NOT be about the weather.

What's this white stuff?

Guess what, ya'll? We're getting some snow here in the deep south! This is a rare event in Atlanta. Yup, last week it was in the mid-70s and now it is 33F and snowing. Those Adirondack chairs now have a nice even coating of about a quarter of an inch. I went ahead and took the picture earlier because it was getting dark and there is no guarantee it will still be there tomorrow. We're pretty close to the snow/sleet line and they say we will get freezing rain overnight. Joy.

I predict an outbreak of widespread panic and general freakoutery, both tonight in the grocery stores and tomorrow during the morning commute.

Copy Cats

Happy New Year from the Cosmic Cats.

CSI: CC

Crime Scene Investigation: Cosmic Cat edition.


We've noticed a lot of commotion coming from this spot in our house. Upon investigation, I found that the cats had broken into the new cat scratcher (it was under the furniture in the top right part of the photo - you can see the yellow tassels on it) and pulled out the enclosed bag of catnip, along with the label. The bag was ripped open and the catnip scattered all over the floor. No wonder there has been such a ruckus over there!


Silvio returns to the scene of the crime to get his catnip fix. Bad cat!

Water Wars

Who knew that the silly movie Tank Girl had it right? It isn't oil that future humans will fight over. It is water.

Nearly the entire state of Georgia is experiencing "severe hydrological drought". Lake Lanier, a man-made lake, is Atlanta's main water supply. Inflows are controlled by Mother Nature. Outflows are controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers. The same Corps that accidentally released 22 billion gallons of water in 2006, just as the drought was beginning, draining the lake two additional feet. Mistake notwithstanding, the Corps still controls the outflows, which are reported to be ten times larger than inflow. The outflows are mandated by federal law for downstream power plants and some sort of endangered mussel. State and federal sources say that there are about three month's worth of water stored in the lake, and if there is not a significant change in the weather, we will run out of water at that time. They are talking about lake levels that are so low they haven't been seen since the lake was originally filled.

The entire northern portion of the state is in a Level 4 drought, which calls for severe water use restrictions. (Georgia has a water plan in place that restricts water use even in plentiful times.) The state is considering even tougher measures. There is going to be a huge economic impact. There is no question that restrictions will go even deeper, especially for businesses. No other major metropolitan area, including frikkin' Las Vegas, has ever had to impose these type of measures. Meanwhile, Alabama has no water use restrictions whatsoever, and the Corps keeps sending billions of gallons downstream to them and to Florida. Normally I am sympathetic to environmental causes and endangered species concerns, but we cannot continue to supplement the natural flow by a factor of ten (and yes, the Corps in their infinite wisdom just RAISED this amount as inflows continue to decline). This is very scary stuff here. We are not talking about having green lawns. No, we are talking about being able to take showers, drink, and flush our toilets.

For our part, PDM and I are trying to conserve. Shorter showers, less rinsing of dishes, and more conscientious water use. I save gray water when I can to take outside and pour over shrubs and trees. I keep a pitcher by the sink for such purposes, and a bucket in the bathroom for shower water. But all of this crap makes me seriously think about having a well dug on my property. Not going to do that yet. But if the rain deficit continues, we may have no other choice. It is only a matter of time before further rationing sets in, and they attempt to restrict indoor water usage.

Limenitis Arthemis

I was lucky enough to be charmed by this little guy for about an hour on Tuesday evening. It was crawling around the birdfeeder slowly opening and closing its wings when I got home from work. It was so perfect, I think it had probably recently emerged from its cocoon. There was a second one flitting around in my flower beds. After taking a few dozen photos, I went inside to fetch my field guide, because I always want to know what it is that I have observed. This is a brushfoot butterfly, limenitis arthemis, commonly known as a "red-spotted purple". This species mimics the coloration of the poisonous pipevine swallowtail butterfly as a protection against predators. I love the latin names for flora and fauna, thus the fancy-pants post title.

I am fascinated by the ordinary world of the suburban back yard. You don't need an exotic location for a photography safari. All you need is some patience and a good eye for finding the wonder in your surroundings, wherever you happen to be. There is a ton of life around you, and interesting discoveries to be made, whether you are in an exotic locale or in your own yard.

And who says mother nature doesn't have a sense of humor? This photo makes me smile:

Hard Times in the Cat House

All is not well in the house of three cats.


Silvio is a cute little guy, but it was not very cute when he peed on the bed this morning. On the quilt that I made for PDM by hand. That is not all that washable. *sigh*


Zima has lost her voice. Friday she could say "Meow." By Sunday all she could do was croak a staccato "Maa." I took her to the vet today. There was no obvious cause, so we have to watch her over the next few days.


Moxy is very unsettled. She "plays with" Silvio, sort of. But mostly she watches his every move like a hawk. I don't think she cares much for being a "middle child". She is curious and interested in Silvio, but jealous at the same time.

Weekend Wrapup

So, another weekend bites the dust. What's new? Friday wasn't very good for PDM and me. He had to go in super early and worked a long day, and we had an emergency patient late in the day, so I ended up staying much later than normal. We completely missed the happy hour crowd at the pub.

As usual, it didn't rain here. But it was cloudy on Saturday, which made it cool enough to work in the yard. Since I can't plant stuff (due to no rain and all), I wrecked my hands pulling up weeds and monkey grass. I also managed to contact some poison ivy, which itches like crazy now.

On Sunday, we went to see the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Unlike Spidey 3, I really liked Pirates 3. Sure, it was a long movie, but not a boring movie. And I loved the little blurb after all the credits. I don't care what the critics thought - it was damn entertaining. I am a satisfied customer.

After the movie, we went to lunch and then shopped for furniture. Why is it that the majority of couches in showrooms are leather? Leather couches and cats do not mix.

Today, we turned on our air conditioning for the first time this year. Yes, in Atlanta, Georgia, we made it until June 3rd without any air conditioning. That's gotta be a record. There have been only two good things about the drought: very few mosquitoes, and low humidity. Today, it seemed muggier than usual and kind of hot, so we caved.

Did I mention that I got poison ivy, and that it itches? A whole damn lot.

I hope you had a more exciting weekend than we had. If you did, please tell us all about it in the comments!