Kitchen Kountdown Kommences

Mark January 4th on your calendars. I expect you to all celebrate this day in your own kitchens. On January 4th our new cabinets, countertop, etc are being installed. At long last...
Expect photos on January 5.

Post-Xmas Wrap up (follows the unwrapping)

We are not braving the Boxing Day sales. I don't think I've ever been shopping on boxing day. There's no need when "boxing day" sales last at least a week. Plus, who needs more stuff after Xmas?? We've got plenty of Booty already thanks. See :


We received many fondue items from my grandparents and aunt - including fondue plates - yay!! Time for a fondue party!!!!! We already had one fondue pot from the wedding, but we actually wanted a second. Josie things she got boxes for Yule. Darla got a new ball (see picture 3) and a tin of treats. She was afraid of the ball at first, which annoyed me because I spent good money on that toy - again! - and I was certain she would like it. Turns out she's afraid of the bell that was inside. Once I popped that out she loved it! Good to know - no noisy toys for Darla - which means Robin can't be tempted to get her a squeeky toy just to annoy me.

We hope you all had a fabulous Holiday and have exciting New Years plans (any suggestions for us? we've got no plans yet.)

Holiday Blessings

Fenwick has been celebrating a little too much

Gryphon's been helping Santa make toys.
Monkey oversees things in the elf-shop.

Darla runs errands for Santa. Don't we have great little elves.

Yule Blessings - the secret is revealed

What lies behind door number one?
Did you guess already?
I did.
And I guessed right!
Robin lied. He lied! Damn he's good at that. I'm jealous. I can never hide that stuff from him.
I am impressed that I actually guessed correctly.
Figured it out yet?
That's right. My Yule gift is a beautiful wooden rocking chair.
Just like I guessed.

Robin received PJ pants and a t-shirt. Not nearly so exciting. But I do have an official UN patch to sew on the T for him :) I just wanted to make sure the T fit before sewing.
When I was in Washington I bought him an emroidered CIA t-shirt.

And of course, we're both getting a Monkey this year :D

Solstice Blessings from Sunny, Snow-free, Blue-skies Kitchener!!

Well, I'm off to re-fill my delicious fair-trade coffee (finally got a new bag of beans recently after running out a month ago) and spend time with Robin.
Probably watch some Angel...
(shh, don't tell mom - mom stop reading - but we were anxiously waiting for the Christmas gifts to arrive so we could open a season of Angel early! We've been desperate!! So... yeah... that season was actually a Yule gift... and I only opened it 2 days early... and we're half-way through the season. I said desperate.)

Early Yule Gifts

It's official.
We're adopting Monkey. (Josie)

:D

I'm trying to get photos of her with the other cats now. So far I've caught her sleeping near Gryphon. I could get some fun action shots with Fenwick, but it's dark on that side of the basement so I don't think they would turn out well.

I still don't know what's hiding in the spare room.
Aren't I a good curious-cat? I've not peeked at all!!!
What's wrong with me????

Or maybe the question you are all asking yourself is "what's wrong with Robin?" Three cats? The things you do for love :) Oh, I'm not saying he did this for me (well, not totally). He is very fond of Monkey. He takes great pleasure in playing ("torturing" - nothing that ever hurts them of course, just what he likes to call it to justify his actions as a (former) anti-cat person) with the cats.

Bloggy Goodness

I'm just full of bloggy goodness lately.
That is, I've been blogging a lot. I don't always/only blog here. I have one for school stuff elsewhere.
(Is bloggy a word? Well, if it isn't yet I'm sure it will be - and not because I said it, but because blogging is a rapidly expanding phenomenon and will develop its own vocabulary.)

So, for bloggy fun:
My driveway is now clear of my former linoleum floor that had been tossed out there long ago... It finally found its way to a dumpster. Cleared driveway - check.

Josie's potential adopter decided not to adopt another cat before even meeting her. Silly fool doesn't know what he's missing.
His loss, my gain.
Maybe it's just meant to be... ... ...

Yeah, I know, I was anti-kitten for a while. I was good and strong - loving yet detached. And now I'm failing Fostering 101 yet again.
But not because she's a kitten.
It's because Josie fits here. She matches the other kitties - she could be their daughter, if kittens looked like their parents (which they often do not).
She's not a cuddle bum, and for once that works for me. I've got enough cuddle-kitties and a big suck of a dog.
Plus, she's good for Fenwick. I've mentioned already how they play together - and I see Fenwick out of her hidey hole far more often now.

Potentially increasing the household cat population to three - check.
(This is still under consideration.
I had 3 cats for a while after Jenny was born and while Snuggles was still around. Snugs, Ren and Molly made a cute family.)

I met with Barlee's Angels volunteers the other day. It's a great group of people and I am happy to be involved. Then I rushed to pick up Robin from work, home to change, and off to a Yule ritual I was planning.

Oh, gotta go. Watching Elf on TV.

Yule Torture

Robin is evil.
He has "hidden" some large gift for me in the spare room. And by "hide" I mean he closed the door and told me not to look inside because my gift is there. He says he can't even wrap it.
So... too big to wrap, but light enough to carry up the stairs...
Hmmm...
I already guessed a rocking chair. Sadly, that wasn't it.

For those who know me, you know how torturous this is!
What if I needed to get one of his presents out that is also hidden in that room? (Granted, I wrap my gifts as soon as I get home!) What if... well, okay, there's nothing I can't fetch Robin to get out of that room for me...

In other news, I had half-holiday cookies today. As I lamented earlier, without an oven we've had absolutely no holiday baking yet this year. It's terrible. My department's Holiday Party is in late January. Robin had a work lunch today. And nobody else I know is having a party. Usually we have the party. I decided that I had to have *something* so I picked up some holiday-themed sugar cookies, ginger bread, and almond-flavoured cookies at the grocery store, but they are not homemade (Voortman cookies) and thus I can't really call it holiday baking.
Yes, it's pathetic. You can pity me all you want - and then send baking!

Also, Yule cards have all been sent (assuming I have your snail mail address). Yay me. Check.
As far as I know, I'm also done all my shopping and package shipping. Check and check.

Now *you* are jealous of me! I know it.

Farewell Foster Kitties

Ginger is happily in her new home and loving it.
Now Josie has a local application in process. I'll be curious to learn how he heard about Josie/Barlee's. That's two local applications for these two. Of course, that's not surprising if they search with PetFinder.ca since Barlee's is at the top of the list when I search with my area code. Last Saturday after I dropped Ginger at her new home, Josie and I spent 4 hours hanging out at PetValu to attract attention for Barlee's Angels. Sadly, people generally were not interested - had to pick up pet food and run. Of course they cooed over Josie, but always with the follow-up phrase "I already have too many; My partner would kill me." I can appreciate that - I'd be doing the same. Still, I didn't expect them to take her home (not that they would be allowed to) but I did think they might pick up literature about Barlee's.
Josie's application was only just received, but I'm assuming they will want her before Christmas and I am happy to oblige since we were wondering what to do with her when we go to my grandparents' for the holidays.

She's at least well integrated into the household, so we could just leave her with the other two cats, a pile of food, and water. Still... I'm sure she would have gotten into trouble.

She's been growing on me. Heck, she's like a shoulder growth :) Always here on my shoulder while I work. When she's not unwrapping Yule gifts or climbing things (like my leg!) she's adorable. [In the photo below, I don't know if you can tell that she was chewing the plant.]

She has also been very good for Fenwick. Josie is the only other animal Fenwick will hang out with (or tolerate for that matter). They like to play in the sink together. They also play tag in the basement. As a result, Fenwick has been coming out her shell more. There were recent thoughts of adopting Josie (mostly on my part, but Robin was definitely convincible since he really likes her) to stay here... but now there is an application in process :( Still, we didn't really want 3 cats... and I am happy if she can find a great home. If the current application doesn't work out...

I still think it odd that I've got 3 brown tabbies (for now). I was never particularly attracted to tabby cats. Usually I admired a calico or tortoishell or solid coloured cat. Now that I have 3 beautiful tabbies I don't understand how I never noticed the beauty of the stripes before :)

Sing "Taking Care of Christmas, everyday..."

...Taking Care of Christmas everyway
I've been taking care of Christmas, it's alright
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!"

This is what I heard yesterday in the car. Randy Bachman ripping off his own song for a Christmas "hit". It was catchy...

Yesterday the large flakes of snow (snowball snow) started to fall, and fall, and fall. YAY! Looks like it will be a white Yule. Finally the snow caught up with my neighbours' decorations. There've been inflated snowmen and Santa Claus cutouts (not to mention houselights and Christmas trees indoors) for weeks now (well over a month for some!!!)
I don't understand why some people decorate starting Novemeber 1st - no joke, I saw Christmas trees up in houses that early.
Mom and dad even started earlier than usual this year (for a house party, so I guess that's a good reason.)
Me, I finally said "screw it" to the mess, cleared some space, and hauled out some Winter decorations yesterday.

I dug out the Yule CDs to help me decorate. Between little tasks I graded assignments, which was a refreshing way to grade. It kept me from getting frustrated with students and the slow computer.


This table was covered in junk, but I managed to tidy it. And then add more stuff :) But this is festive stuff.

Ah, the festiveness of it all... I really need to do something more with that wall. It's just so plain. Some huge piece of artwork would be great! Usually there is a round sun-moon plaque where the wreath is. (Ericka decorated that for me, thanks Ericka.) Where the star is hanging is where we would normally put the Yule tree... so let's pretend there is a full tree beneath the star (this is also the start I put atop the tree last year, so it's easy to imagine.)

This is the only tree beneath the star. I used my mini-decorations that usually adorn a fake mini-tree.

After snapping these photos I headed back upstairs to notice

It seems I forgot to put away all the previous decorations.

In other exciting news:

Saturday will be a busy Barlee's Angels Day for me!!

In the morning I take Ginger on a home visit to what will most likely be her new forever home. YAY for Ginger!!!! She is very lucky because many of her feline friends fostered by Barlees have been in foster care for a long time. Lately there has been an increase in adoption applications for the cats though, which is great. And almost all the dogs have forever homes now too. I guess we'll start taking in new dogs again soon once the adoptions are settled.

Surprisingly, Josie still remains. So, Saturday afternoon I have arranged with my local petstore to go in with Josie and some Barlees literature to raise awareness about our animals and the organization. I'm hoping someone will fall in love with Josie and submit an adoption application for her!! I am also going to bring a binder with information about the other animals currently seeking homes, and hopefully some of them might receive applications as a result. Yes, it's a lot to expect from a few hours at a pet store, but I figure every small piece of exposure is good for Barlee's Angels.

Wish me and Barlee's Angels all luck on Saturday.

Ginger, Josie and other sillies

Great news today - Ginger was in for her spay and while under they did a biopsy on her skin lesions to determine the exact problem. The results indicate that she has an auto-immune difficiency. This is good news in a way because we knew something was clearly wrong and might require daily medication. This would make her difficult to place in a forever-home. Fortunately though, she only needs shots 2 or 3 times a year and provided her new family is on good terms with their vet (and the vet is nice), these can cost as little as $20. It is a relief to know exactly what is wrong and how we can treat it. PLUS, a potential new family did come meet her (and Josie) a couple days ago and they really like Ginger (though at the time I thought they were favouring Josie with her kittenish-charm), but while they awaited her spay and results, plus the application process, they've met another of Barlee's Angels' cats, so I don't know what they will choose.
Josie has another application in progress, which will hopefully go well also. She's such a cutie - who (besides me!) wouldn't want to adopt her? And the sooner the better - she won't be a kitten forever!

I have impressed myself with my ability to foster. After we fostered Darla and then fell totally in love with her, I wasn't certain I could do this... I have discovered that I can love these kitties, and still help them find another home.

In non-feline news, the floor progresses. I haven't shared a photo in a while because I'm hoping to wait now until the floor is done. Maybe even until the cabinets are in the base trim is installed. Okay, maybe not the last part, because who knows how long that will take!

Back home in Winnipeg, dad is hanging his balls on the ceiling. lol Sorry, old family joke. But really, the brightly coloured, glass balls are now dangling from the ceiling. Robin and I have started collecting glass balls for this purpose (and yes, one day I will joke about Robin hanging his balls), but they are definitely not going up this year! I'll be lucky if we can clear space in time to get the tree up! Oh, I'll make space!! Even if it has to go in the bedroom... actually... not such a bad idea... It would make a pretty nightlight! And it's not as if anyone will be visiting here to see it, seeing as how the house is a DISASTER and utterly un-guestworthy.

In other Winnipeg news, V and her partner are moving back! December 24th is their arrival date. She really seems to like moving during the holiday season (or taking off to Europe). Mom and dad are thrilled of course because they'll be close to their first grandchild (due February). V will probably be living with them for a while, and I envision mom will be spending a lot of time with the baby.
Now that V is moving home, I of course am being asked when we are returning to Winnipeg. To live? Maybe never. Sorry friends and family. Not that we wouldn't - provided we could find a place in Wolsley or Wildwood - those are my conditions - oh, and a job at UW.
But that future seems far far away right now.
First things first - I have a degree to finish.
Right after I finish this darn baby blanket for V... why did I create this elaborate design?? I'd share photos, but I want it to be a surprise for V.

Thinking of the blanket, and Yule package mailings (one of which is delayed by knitting)... I've yet to start cards AGAIN. I'm still debating if I even want to do cards... I used to be great at it. And I think of how much I love receiving cards...
Oh, okay, I'll get on it!