Here's Henny in her Halloween costume. I had a few ideas, but I wound up going with the easiest option. (For the record, my two favorite other ideas were 'A Bigger Dog' or a grey cat, so she'd fit in with Beany and Birdy.) To make the bat costume, I just sewed up a shirt using the same pattern I always use, and then I made the wings with heavy-gauge beading wire (and fabric, obviously). I often talk about Henny having bat ears, so now she has the wings to match.

Henny was very 'whatever' about wearing the costume (this was the extent for her interest -- just a couple sniffs and then nothing), because she's a good dog. But my mom urged me over the internet to put the costume on Beany and take photos. So I did.

Who wore it better? I say Henny, but Beany's photo has more 'favorites' on flickr. Henny got a ton of compliments on facebook, though. (I didn't post Beany's photo, 'cause people I went to school with don't have to know I put my CATS in costumes. Sheesh!) Beany was 'slightly' more away of the wings on her back -- this was not the extent of her interest -- there was full-on wrestling with kicking and gnawing. (Not, I should add, in a distressed way; I might not respect their dignity, but I'm not mean to the pets.) I briefly put the costume on Birdy, and she didn't seem to feel very fancy, either. Pshaw.

-- No more leaves for my big tree. Ash trees lose their leaves early in the autumn and are late to get them in the spring. LAZY! But I managed to get them all raked up, since I was worried it was going to rain this weekend (it didn't, but it did rain a little earlier today), so that's taken care of. Now for the maples to shed their leaves in one big whoomp, so I can start all over again.

-- There are several small suburbs just over the western Minneapolis border, and I've always been confused about their boundaries, so I looked up some city maps just a minute ago. Very informative. Not just about the city lines, but about the fact that I really love maps. I didn't realize that was a thing with me, but I guess it is. (I still haven't taken a photo of the US map I painted since I started it! Must remedy.) My bedroom is kind of (very) mappy -- I just got this Ork poster in the mail, and, of course, there's my map of Canada and the northeastern states. There's just something that's 'right' for me about maps.

-- I guess this looked like a good spot to Birdy. The cats love that they have access to the guest room now, since I've been working in there. (I changed the quilt on the guest bed but haven't changed the sheets, which is why they don't match.) I was looking at Beany earlier today, while she was flopped like this, and I was thinking about how much she clearly loves being a cat. If it's possible for a cat to revel in being one, that's what Beany does. She is the ultimate feline (except for her shameless pursuit for affection). Birdy, on the other hand... I think she might be more suited to doghood. She's kind of clumsy and not very good at jumping, and she would make a much better, say, chihuahua than a cat. I think that would make Henny very happy, too.

-- I altered the collar on my Liberty (for Target) shirt last week. This was what it looked like before, and I just couldn't deal with the ruffles. It was fairly straightforward to pick apart the seams, remove the ruffles (in one piece), and then top stitch the collar to close it up. And now I'll wear the shirt much more often! I also made a 3/4-length sleeve t-shirt this past weekend, which I've yet to photograph. I'll add that to the list of things I've made that I must document soon.

-- Yes, this is exactly what it looks like -- a (mini) pretzel bagel. They come with a little packet of coarse salt, so you can add it yourself. When I was rounding a corner at the supermarket, they caught my eye, and I wondered if pumpernickel bagels were now a thing (they probably are), and I then I realized that they're pretzels. I didn't really have to think twice -- into the cart!

-- I'm having a hateymoon with the cats. It's a lot like a honeymoon, in that it's a relatively brief period marked by heightened and slightly unrealistic emotions, except that instead of feeling like I'm in a cloud of warmth and adoration, I'm instead seething with annoyance at everything they do. Birdy shouts and me and knocks things over in her clumsiness. Beany insists on lying on my shins (when my legs are stretched out on the sofa), which I can't stand; if I try to get her to go away, she engages extra gravity cat mode. At least they've been fairly compliant with basement times at night, because Birdy was really starting to get on my nerves with her whole dawn = time to wake up routine.

-- Right now is my favorite time of the year for the garden, I've decided. When I got back from the cabin (I was only gone three days), the lilacs were suddenly all leafed out, as were the raspberries, and everything is looking really lush. The weeds are growing, but they haven't started trying to take things over yet. The rain and lack of hot-hot sun make the yard so green. Although... I also really like it when the vegetables start to look wild in their impressive growth. So I might later say that that is my favorite time of year for the garden.

-- I was on the fence about going out for a run this morning. I was feeling (a little) tired and (a lot) lazy, but the laziness was turning into petulance and filling me with nervous/annoyed energy. So I figured a short run would be good for me, and I decided I might as well try to make it a quick-ish one. Well, 3.1 miles later, I'd set myself a new PR for the distance. I haven't been doing ANY speedwork, so I figured I wasn't capable of getting anywhere near last September's 5k PR, but I beat it by 42 seconds. It's all thanks to the Vibrams, I'm sure. They're quick and light and have helped me build some good muscle in my calves. But I can sure feel today's speed in my tired quads now!

-- To celebrate having had a great eight-mile run this morning, I went to the Vietnamese/Thai BBQ place a few miles down the road and got a mock duck banh mi for dinner. Whenever I have something new like this, my reaction after the first time is, 'Oh my god! I must eat this for every meal from now until forever!' I don't, of course, but I pine away for the food in question until I'm able to have it again. And after that second time, even though it's still really good, I'm more like, 'Okay, I may have overstated the frequency with which I need to consume this particular piece of cuisine.' So it was with banh mi. Still awesome, but no longer on a foodie pedestal. Also, the raw jalapeno (which I can usually tolerate) had started to turn red, and the single bite of it I ate burned my entire face off. Literally. (Not literally.)

-- The cats are going on probation. Their antics woke me up half an hour after I went to bed last night, and I discovered that they'd stolen some yarn AND that Birdy had found something I'd crocheted and immediately put it in the water dish (and then took it out and put it on the floor). They woke me up again at about 5:30am with their stupid cat games and cat noises. I almost never make them spend the night in the basement, but that's where they'll be until they learn to not be such jerks.

-- I think it's possible that I don't have a third thing to say. I keep getting to the end of the day and realizing I still haven't written my post for the books I read in April, though, so I hope I'll get to that tomorrow. Happy weekend, friends!

-- Still working on the drawings. I've slowed down a little bit, because my head has been filled with sewing lately. My mom and I went to the fabric warehouse this morning, and I grabbed some new knits for both Henny and me, along with a couple patterns from Jo-Ann Fabrics. I'd like to find a good pattern for a fleece zip-up, so if you know of one, do tell. Also, trousers/jeans without a really high waist or old-fashioned fit.

-- I went over to my friend Julie's this afternoon, and Henny (dressed in a new-new shirt that I haven't photographed yet, and which turns her into a certified cutesplosion) came along. I don't think it took her even five minutes to get comfortable (with the help of a dental bone), and she was charming and amusing thereafter. Who wants a visit from the miniature dog next? (I'll have to tag along.)

-- Little Beany-Weenie. She's the cuddliest. Henny requires attention (being let outside, etc); Birdy is noisy when she wants something; Beany just stands by quietly. But she's also probably the most affectionate, so she was happy to find me watching M*A*S*H without a dog on the sofa or a laptop on my lap. I have to remember how cute she is here for the next time she darts outside when she's not supposed to.

-- I made the hot and sour soup from The Veganomicon yesterday. I used only about a third of the hot ingredients called for, but it was still way too much for me (and I wouldn't say that I'm a total wimp about spiciness). I strained it today and got rid of the broth; I'll use the tofu and veggies for other things. It's the first time I haven't loved an Isa recipe, but I blame it on the spice.

-- I ran the Get Lucky 'Triple 7k' (aka 21k, aka 13.1 miles, aka half-marathon) yesterday. I was expecting sunny skies, but it was flurrying when we started. Quite cold for the first couple of miles. I'm also trying to manage my IT band issues, so I had taped it at my knee (with KT Tape, which is great), and I also taped my ankle with regular athletic tape, just for support. I ran the race as a long run, which resulted in one of my slowest half-marathon times ever, but I was able to run with a pal (and future Ragnar teammate!), which made it pretty fun.

-- It's really gloomy today, and still too cold for me to want to sit on the porch, but I let the cats out. They haven't left that chair in hours. I was looking for a porch-cats photo from last year (here's one), and I realized that I adopted Birdy exactly one year ago. She's grown a little bit since then.

-- I was going to use this photo of Birdy, but then I realized that the one above captures her personality a lot better. I was thinking yesterday about all the ways that Birdy is similar to Booty, most of them annoying. She's very vocal, and she's got a complain-y whine. Often, when I'm in the kitchen, she'll stand a few feet away and just meow and meow and meowwww until I'm ready to chase her out of the room. All she wants is for me to pick her up, but it's not always very convenient. When I do, though, she's not a typical over-affectionate cat, looking for pets and being shameless in her cuteness (*cough*Beany*cough*); she just wants to get close and put her head on my chest and be with me. I have to admit that that's very endearing.

-- I finished reading Alan Alda's first autobiography yesterday. My local public library is sort of rubbish if you're looking for a particular book, so I always go there hoping to be surprised. That's how I would up with Alan Alda's book. When I was about halfway through, I had Netflix send me the first disc from season one of M*A*S*H, which (would you believe?) I'd never seen in more than one-minute chunks. I quickly got through the first eight episodes, and now I have to wait for the next disc to arrive, since it's not streaming. It's a shame this box set is so expensive, because I could do with a staycation involving my tent set up in the living room and several days of intense M*A*S*H watching.

-- Food, food, food. I'll do my grocery week-in-review tomorrow, but I didn't really buy all that much this past week. My fridge looks a little more bare than usual, but I can't put my finger on what's not there that might usually be. It's a mystery. With regard to food, though, I like the change to Daylight Saving's Time, because it means that I'm allowed to eat earlier. Rather, I'm eating at the same time, but my body thinks it's earlier. I have early mealtimes, anyway, but there are certain things that just aren't allowed, like dinner before 5:00pm. I was wondering if I would wind up operating on a 23-hour day if I let my own internal rhythms take over, going to bed an hour earlier every night and waking up earlier in the morning, too. (Strange, as a little over a year ago, I was sure I'd mastered a 25-hour day.)

-- I went to the library again today (to get Alan Alda's next book, naturally), and I grabbed a few knittings books while I was there, including Pet Projects, which is a really nicely presented book of patterns for animals. There's a sweater that I started making for Henny this afternoon, and all I can say is that I'm glad she's a small dog. Knitting takes forever!

-- Ha, ha, ha! I was just now thinking that it would be nice if I could knit tomorrow while still getting work done, which led me to imagine having the MacBook computer voice read submissions to me aloud. What a bad idea that would be! Can you imagine how upset the authors would be if they found out? Especially if everything was rejected with the explanation that the writing seemed too robotic.

-- It's not all dogs all the time. Although... there's not much new to say about the cats, now that I think about it. I have an oil space heater in the guest room (even though the regular radiator works just fine; sometimes I need that extra bit of warmth in the morning), and it's right by my desk, so when I go in there to work, Beany hangs out with me. And since I've been leaving my bedroom door open more often during the day, Birdy sleeps on my bed most of the time. I can't imagine it's any more comfortable than the other dozen places she could sleep, but I think it has a the allure of the forbidden (I don't let the pets sleep with me at night).

-- I reorganized my race board today. It's in the guest room. The bibs had been spread out, but I'd run out of room to add more. I've already got two races under my belt for 2011 (two half-marathons, at that!), but I have a lot of space to fill, now! My medals are hanging in my bedroom, so I can see them before I drift off to sleep.

-- I roasted the last two butternut squashes from last year's garden and made a batch of soup yesterday. About two kilos of cooked squash translates into twelve servings of soup, when it's done. I add the broccoli and fake sausage when I reheat it (ie, one bowl at a time). Someday I'll do something different (something curry-y, maybe), but I can't bring myself to mess with a good thing.

-- Today is Birdy's first birthday! I got her in March last year, but this is the day she was born. For a while (around 8/9 months), I thought she was going to be a big cat, but she's probably more or less done growing now, and she's only a tiny bit bigger than Beany. I weighed all the pets the other day, and both Birdy and Henny are just under 8.5 pounds, and Beany is 7.5 (perfection concentrated in a small package). I was watching 'old' videos of Henny last night, and she's a little chunkier than she was back then (she's gained almost a pound, which is quite a lot when you're that small), but I figure it's winter weight. She needs it to keep warm, and once we're able to walk and explore the whole time, she'll trim right back up.

-- Did I mentioned I registered for the Fargo Marathon at the end of May? I can't remember. But I did, and I've started using the FIRST program to train for it. I learned my lesson about overtraining last year, so I like that this schedule is based on three quality runs a week instead of four or more. It's easy enough to add an extra run if I'm feeling particularly good and full of beans, but I don't want a program that's going to be too hard on my body. Since it's been cold out, I've been running in the afternoon instead of the morning (need to wait for the temperature to rise, whereas I try to beat the heat in the summer). I used to worry about psyching myself out of a run if I didn't head out first thing in the morning, but the thing about not overtraining is that you are always ready to get moving when it's time.

-- I've been going over to my folks' to use their treadmill since I got back from SoCal. It's been stupidly cold here, and even when it's not, the paths aren't in good enough shape for speedwork. I bring Henny with me when I go over, and she just loves playing with the 'big dogs' (they have two 50-60lb lab mixes). I really wish I had had my camera today, because Henny was full of it, trying to get Sasha to chase her around and then running through the house. She stayed there when I was in LA, and I don't know if she behaved like that while I was gone, but she sure has fun visiting the dogs, now.

-- I'm not done talking about pets yet. I took this last night; the animal interaction around here makes me laugh. Beany loves everybody, including Henny, and she'll gently groom her, given the chance. Henny, on the other hand, is strangely wary of Beany, but she really wants Birdy to play with her. And Birdy only has eyes for Beany -- and me, if I'm busy with something and don't really have a free arm to hold her. She's still the baby, after all.

-- Cookies! I have nothing to say about cookies, other than that I've been eating many more of them than usual. I also like how it looks like David Bowie is reclining in giant cookies. That's... not glittery, but still pretty glam, I reckon.

-- I've been hit with some pretty hardcore wanderlust. I didn't travel much in 2010, with the exception of Las Vegas, which was really just a long weekend in a bizarro world (and one nice day at Lake Mead). For the most part, I'm okay with that, because I like being at home and in the Twin Cities. But my new tent has got me wanting to explore! Hiking and camping and seeing trees + mountains and sitting around a fire. It's rather inconvenient, what with it being the middle (...or the beginning) of winter. Bah.

-- Henny has this thing where she'll come back inside on her own, but I have to stand to the side of the door, or she won't come through. Because of all those time I slammed the door in her face as a funny joke (not true, obviously). It's better than the first few weeks I had her, which involved long games of slow chasing in the back yard. She's pretty reliable now, but she's been having problems the past two days. It's always hard to know what's going on in that tiny head of hers, but I think it might have something to do with the milder temperatures (above freezing!); she just doesn't want to come in. Luckily, she's coupled this regression with a new desire to cuddle, so I forgive her.

-- The cats: My dad got them a laser pointer contraption that has a little motor to move on its own (except it won't move 75% of the time, which renders it... a regular laser pointer). Both of the cats like it, but Birdy is determined to get that red dot. I'm fairly certain she's thinking about it when it's not around. It beats putting toys in the water dish, at least. In other cat news, if you throw snow on an escapee cat, she'll quickly decide it's better to be back inside.

-- Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow. It had started snowing last night, and it didn't let up until... well, I think maybe 5:00pm this evening, but it was dark, so really I just stopped checking. Estimates of snowfall for Minneapolis are around 17 inches. Luckily, I shoveled off the back steps a few times throughout the day (so Henny could go out), because I otherwise would be literally snowed it -- I definitely can't budge the front screen door open. I don't suppose I'll be going anywhere for a while, which is fine with me, although I'm out of almond milk. Thank god there's still a couple days' worth of ice cream in the freezer!

-- I made this banner for Alex's birthday, which was yesterday. You can't tell, but the cardstock is pearlescent, and the fasteners I used have little 'jewels' on the ends. I originally saw the 'Keep Calm and Party On' banner at Urban Outfitters, but I figured I could easily make my own. (And it seems about time that a crafter stole an idea from them instead of the other way around.) I was still in a banner-making mood this morning, so I made this one for myself.

-- The past couple of times I've made scrambled eggs, I've mixed in cottage cheese instead of milk, and it's pretty great. I usually mix a whole egg with two egg whites when scrambling, which is what I did today, but they're much more orange/yellow-y than usual. I suspect it's from the coloring on the seasoned curly fries I had to use when I realized I didn't have any 'real' potatoes in the house. ...yum?

-- Henny was extra charming today. I spent almost two hours (!) wrapping gifts, and she had to check out everything I brought into the living room. She had several cuddles with me throughout the day (like, actually sleeping on my stomach while I lay on the sofa to watch Netflix), and once was curled up right next to Beany, who reached over to give Henny a few licks on her ear (awww). Right now, the cats have ganged up on Henny to keep her out of her 'little house' (crate). Beany is inside, and Birdy's on top. I'm going to remind them of this the next time I try to take them somewhere in a crate and they complain.

Cats, cats, cats. Beany would like somebody to send her more tissue paper for her nest, please. She loves her Birdy, but it's clear that sometimes she wants individual attention, like when she asks to be picked up, so that Birdy can't pester her on the ground. She's also been really into performing her chair trick several times a day, as she gets told she's such a big and clever cat. It's starting to become less impressive, though, and until she manages to stand on the chair with only her back legs (something we've been working on), I thought she might appreciate the curtain rod as a new goal. She liked it.

-- I won't be able to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair this year, and I'll miss seeing my Frankfurt friends and reading German magazines and visiting the Palmengarten and eating a LOT of baked goods. To ease my pain (just a little), I baked up a batch of Brezelbrötchen -- pretzel rolls. I wish they had turned out a little smoother and glossier (I think I should only boil one or two at a time, because I get flustered and -- I think -- leave them in the water too long), but they're very tasty. And if you're a fan of Trader Joe's peanut-butter-filled pretzel bites, just imagine a warm Brezel roll with almond butter. Oh wait, you don't have to imagine. Amazing.

-- I had the almond butter Brezel roll for dinner before heading out for my second Team Challenge run. I promise I'll write more about Team Challenge tomorrow or Friday, but for now I'll just say that I've really enjoyed the training runs. I'm not a super speedy runner, but I am more conditioned than several of my teammates, and being a strong runner in the pack is a nice change! July was a really rough running month for me, but I got my mojo back in August and am more in love with it than ever.

-- The cats are lovable and annoying in (almost) equal measure. That's averaging over both cats. Beany is probably 80% lovable, 20% annoying (and that goes to about 95%/5% as long as she stays indoors), while Birdy is... well, the opposite? But she's only seven months, and Beany wasn't the most charming when she was young, either. Birdy's sort of a jealous cat and doesn't like it when I give Beany a lot of attention. But it's not what you'd think -- she'll come over and try to steal Beany away from me. How dare Beany cuddle with me and not her!

-- If I sit in the kitchen, Birdy has to come to make sure I don't eat anything that she might want once I've finished. In a move straight out of the cat behavior handbook, she ran in from the other room today and immediately threw herself on the floor and fell asleep. She was actually more soundly asleep right before I took the photo above, and it makes me think it must be exhausting to be a cat.

-- A horrible, no good squirrel stole the last apple off my apple tree this morning. I saw him carrying it across the yard, so I ran outside, and he dropped the apple in order to run up the big ash tree. The only sensible things to do was to lob said apple at the squirrel, which I did, although I didn't hit it. I'd like to think that the sight of the little apple sailing through the air and into the alley at least made the scene that much funnier. If I can't have homegrown apples, comedy will have to suffice.

-- After my half-marathon on the 4th, I was feeling a bit burnt out on running. So I took last week off and dove back in yesterday, feeling pretty renewed. I even registered for the Minneapolis Duathlon 'Fun Course', which is a 1.5-mile run, 11-mile bike, and another 1.5-mile run. It seems like just the thing to get a feel for a multi-sport event, and it sounds like it's casual enough that I can ride Yellow Bike (a 1974 Schwinn 10-speed) without feeling like a chump. My main training focus, though, is for the Great River Ragnar Relay, which is about a month and a week away. Hills, speed-work, and multiple runs in a day. Fun, right?

-- When I signed up for the duathlon, I decided I would make up the cost by spending less on groceries. There are some things I need to get on a regular basis (produce and dairy, namely), but I have a lot of redundant pantry and freezer items, so that's where saving will come in. I like to have options and follow my whims when it comes to food, so I wind up buying new stuff (fake meat, bread, etc) before I've used up the old. I actually went through everything today and made a list of what I've got, so I'll be able to look at the big picture and put together meals. And then, once something's gone, I can cross it off the list. I like doing that.

-- I've been getting spam comments up the wazoo, lately. I thought, Hey, maybe that's the internet's way of telling me to update. It's probably not, but whatever gets me typing, right?

-- One of the blogs I read (Heather Eats Almond Butter) mentioned this brownie fudge stuff, and I had to try it out. Packaged brownie mix + pumpkin puree + oven = something edible? Yes! I really like it. Really. I still have a lot of frozen pumpkin downstairs (from last year's garden), so it's handy to find a new use for it. I suppose the fudginess of the result depends on the mix-to-pumpkin ratio; I used a smaller box mix (not the family-sized one) and less pumpkin, and I would say the finished item is more like fudgy brownies than brownie-fudge. But, you know, it's chocolate-y, so I've spent more time eating it than thinking about it.

-- Adorable cats are adorable. Birdy is just over five months old now and weighs 5.5 pounds. Beany will be four years old in September and weighs 7.5 pounds. She's a little cat, and she spends so much time chasing Birdy around. She's noticeably slimmed down since Baby Cat came to stay.

-- I've been having a creative explosion in my brain, lately. I made a little ring-bound notebook for grocery lists, found some iron-on transfer sheets and made a coin purse with the Minneapolis skyline on it, sewed a bright yellow trunk bag for my bright yellow bike, and went to Paint Your Plate with Alex and her sister and painted a mug. I should really take some pictures of all those things (well, I WILL take a picture of the mug once it's been fired). Because I've been so inspired lately, I checked my biorhythms, thinking they must be at their peaks, but no -- I should be stupid and lazy and clumsy right now. (I don't really give biorhythms any credence, but it's like reading a horoscope...)

-- Cats outside! Birdy, who has had a (literally) sheltered kittenhood, took some time to get used to being outside. The grass is just so grassy, and there are things that move and wind that blows. She's got the hang of it now, though, and it seems like she's already learned to stand still while I put her harness on. Annoyingly, Beany went up the tree this afternoon, and she made it down on her own, but she managed to leave her harness up the branches somewhere. Very clever, Beany, except that you don't get to go outside without it.

-- I've been saying for the last three months that I really need to mop my floors (whoops, did I just admit how long I go between mopping the floor?). I finally got around to doing the kitchen floor on Friday, and while I was scrubbing away, I was thinking about how great it would be to have two mops and two pairs of mop shoes. It always seems that by the time I get to the second half of my house, the cleaning implements are no longer so clean themselves and do a poorer job. (Maybe if I mopped a bit more often that wouldn't be a prob-- nah, that'd never work.) Two mops, two pairs of mop shoes, and a really nice mop bucket. I have big dreams.

-- I'd also really like a push broom. Oh man, imagine all the stuff I could sweep outside! My half birthday is coming up this month...

-- I added new photos to my Garden 2010 flickr set. It's starting to hit its stride. The veggies are still small, but they're past that 'brand new' stage, and the perennials are crazy big. I think the previous owners of this house must have put in the lilies and irises the spring before I moved in, because they used to fill just a tiny corner of the back yard. In the past few years, I've split them multiple times and transplanted them in other parts of the garden, and they've filled in the space like it's their job. Which is it, I suppose.

What to tell you today? How about a few updates on all the usual stuff.

-- Running: No running today, because it's rainy and windy (and because I don't have to run all the time. That meant I could have my 'old' pre-run breakfast, which I've decided is too heavy these days. I needed that coffee to pick me up, considering how grey and dark it was/is outside! BUT! Yesterday was a fine morning, and I went out for a four-mile run. It was great. Running outdoors has really helped me pick up the pace, even though I expected the opposite. My last mile yesterday was probably one of the fastest I've ever run; I was annoyed at having to wait for so many cars at the intersection (luckily the only 'real' intersection I have to cross, thanks to the parkway), so I really pushed it the last half mile.

-- Cats: Birdy has been taking amoxicillin for her red, floppy ear, and I'm pleased to report that it's no longer floppy! The vet said she might have been 'pulling' it down because it was sore, but I'd never seen a cat move her ear like that on purpose. Perhaps he was right, though, because it went back to normal pretty quickly. Thank goodness. I paid for two pointy ears when I got her at the humane society! Birdy is starting to understand what 'c'mere' means, and she continues to be a cuddly cat, both with me and with Beany. They are both most excellent.

-- Food: I finished off my puffed rice 'Smacks', so I made a new batch with puffed kamut. It's even crunchier than the rice was, and I really like it! I also finished off the last of my last batch of homemade yogurt. I usually hold some back to use as starter for the next round, but I bought a quart of plain Dannon Naturals to eat over the next few days and then start homemade yogurt anew. My homemade stuff was getting sort of grainy (but not bad -- too much acid, I guess?), so I'm happy enough to start over again.

-- Other stuff: I watched The Thin Man last night, which I'd been wanting to see for several months. How can I become more like Nora Charles? I reckon I need to A) stumble into a large inheritance, B) start wearing much more fabulous dresses, C) up my alcohol tolerance by a factor of ten, and D) work on my snappy one-liners. So, you know, basically learn to be a different person. My hair's the right color, though.

-- Last night, I had dinner at Evergreen in Minneapolis, my favorite place for mock-meat Chinese food. (Somebody please remind me of the similar place in St. Paul that I'm supposed to try, because I forget its name every single time.) I don't usually 'do' leftover Chinese food, because it's not something I really want to eat more than one day in a row, but the orange mock-chicken was just so good. I cooked up my usual mix of green veggies and dumped in the leftovers, and it was the perfect meal. Yum.

-- I don't let the cats sleep in bed (or go in the bedroom at all), and by some stroke of luck, Birdy has picked up on the whole nighttime = sleeping thing. When I woke up yesterday morning, the cats were sleeping on the back of the sofa, as per usual, except that Beany was curled up at one end, and Birdy was curled up on top of her. My head nearly exploded from that much cute so early in the morning. I wanted to take a photo, but Birdy jumped down to greet me before I could get the camera. Later in the day, she fell into a full bathtub. It was an eventful day in the cat department.

-- I did a little bit of garden clean-up the other day, including digging the leaves out from around my herbs. My oregano pulled through the winter, as did the thyme. The thyme, you guys. I have so much of it; it's ridiculous. I should hack it back and dry bundles. The chives are pretty tall already, and the mint is growing too. And the rhubarb is up. What a spring.

-- I put a link to the 2009 Twelve22 Annual that I published through Lulu at the end of last year. I mentioned it here once before, but sort of just in passing, so if a little book of photos and the like might be your cup of tea, check it out. Pleasethankyou.

Hopefully you weren't literally balancing on the edges of your seats, waiting for the cat update, because I didn't get around to it yesterday. Whoops! But it's time for cats now.

Beany loves the Cat-O-Wheel. I had retired it to the basement a while back, because there's no real spot for it upstairs, but I thought it might be a fun togetherness activity for Beany and Birdy, so I brought it back up last week. They're loving it. I have to put it out on the porch at night, or they'd make too much noise playing together.

And they have been getting along swimmingly. There are occasional moments when Birdy's persistent kittenhood obviously starts to wear on Beany (she just wants to say hello to me and get a pat, but someone keeps flinging her tiny cat body into Beany's side). For the most part, Beany just ignores the unwanted attention. But they're really good at playing together, especially when there's chasing involved. Sometimes I even feel a bit left out, because I'm not included in their cat games, but it's actually sort of nice to let them entertain each other.

Birdy is obsessed with the bathroom. I keep the door shut when I'm not in there, so Birdy comes running whenever she hears me opening it. At first, she just wanted to play with the shower curtain and chase her tail on the bathmat, but this week she's fascinated by the sink. She's only just realized there are surfaces higher than she can leap in a single bound, but she's figuring out how to work around that. So, when I open the bathroom door, she shoots in there and jumps from the ground to the toilet to the sink, where she then sits until I wash my hands. She jumps out for that, but she's very interested in where that water's coming from and where it's going.

Sadly, I started noticing that her left ear looked a bit red on Monday. I only noticed it after she'd been running around, so I figured she might just be overly warm. But when I got home last night, it seemed to be sitting at a funny angle, and this morning, the top half started flopping over. Since both the vet and the humane society gave her the all-clear on ear mites, it's probably an infection (or allergies). I'm taking her back to the vet tomorrow to see what they think. I'm sure it'll clear up with the right treatment, but I'm most worried about the floppiness. I hope her ear goes back to being pointy! (You can tell in the photo that her ear -- on her left -- isn't standing up properly.)

I continue to be impressed with Beany at how well and how quickly she decided to accept Birdy. They always seem happy to see one another, even when they're just walking from room to room. Oh, and I weighed Beany the other day, and she's not quite eight pounds. So even though she seems like a behemoth compared the The Bird, she really is still my Teeny Beany.

So that's the latest on the cats. You may now resume your normal sitting positions.

-- I'm so pleased with myself over this ice cream. I had whole milk and half-and-half left over from my first (and semi-failed) ice cream experiment, and I knew I wasn't going to use them before they went bad (I use skim milk for yogurt and tea, and I put almond milk in my coffee). So I stirred 1.5 cups whole milk, 1 cup half-and-half, and one small box of instant vanilla pudding in a bowl for a few minutes, and then I dumped it in my ice cream maker. Ridiculously easy and SO good. It sat in the freezer for about an hour after it finished churning, which meant it was the perfect froziness when I was ready to eat some. And it was still light, so I took a photo (FOR YOU, ALEX).

-- If one could create a 'word cloud' for my blog, but with entire phrases, I'm pretty sure 'pleased with myself' would loom large. Of course, every time I say that I'm pleased with myself, what I really mean is that I'm pleasantly surprised with how well something has turned out. I'm not really that chock full of self-confidence, complacently chuckling over my abundant talent all day long.

-- But speaking of being pleased, my second batch of yogurt made in my thrifted Salton Cosmopolitan yogurt maker came out even better than the first. I used half a cup of yogurt from the first batch as my starter culture and let it cook overnight (at least ten hours, in the end). I'd almost forgotten about it by the time I stumbled into the kitchen this morning, so that was an exciting discovery. I expected it to be thinner than the first batch, since the culture generally gets weaker every time you use it, but it's actually much thicker than the first time. Success!

-- Beany and Birdy continue to get along better and better. When they walk by each other now, they'll usually stop and bump noses, and then Beany give Birdy a few licks on the head. Affection the other way around usually isn't accepted, however; Beany hisses if Birdy tries to get too close on her own. I imagine Beany is just trying to keep the balance of power tipped in her favor. They were doing a lot of play-chasing earlier today, and I saw Beany streak by more than once with Birdy in hot pursuit. What will become of the household when Birdy weighs more than two pounds?

-- I made a taco salad for dinner, and it was delicious. To make the shell, I oiled (sprayed with Pam) and salted both sides of a high-protein tortilla, draped it over a metal bowl, and stuck it in a 350F oven until it was crunchy (5-10 minutes?). It's not exactly restaurant style, but it's a heck of a lot healthier, and I still enjoyed it. Of course, now I'm thinking about the taco salad that Little Angie's in Duluth makes. It might be time for my annual trip up there.

-- True to my word (well, eventually), I tried making my own Smacks today. Well, I used puffed brown rice instead of puffed wheat. In a saucepan, I melted a tablespoon of butter and added 1 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp honey, and 3 tbsp maple syrup (I would've used all honey, but I was running low). Once it was bubbling, I added a splash of vanilla (maybe 1/4 tsp?), a dash of salt, and 1/4 tsp baking soda. I figured that Smacks are basically a wheat version of caramel corn, so I based my ingredients very loosely on caramel corn recipes I've used in the past. After mixing in the soda, I poured the syrup over the entire 10-cup bag of puffed rice (in a bowl, of course), tossed it to coat, and then spread the rice out on two baking sheets. Into the oven for ten minutes -- the first five at 350F, the next five at 250F. It gets crisper once it starts to cool, which it should do completely before you put it in a storage container. If it's still warm, I'm guessing it would form condensation and go manky quickly. The result is lightly sweetened cereal; if I would have used half the bag (or doubled the syrup), it would've been a bit more like Smacks.

-- I added a few more Birdy photos to my pet set on flickr. She and Beany aren't friends quite yet, but Beany's slowly relaxing. In response to people who've asked where the name 'Birdy' came from: I decided a while after getting Beany (and thus forming a B-y theme with cat names) that my next cat, if it were a boy, would be called Bertie (as in Wooster). The obvious alternate for a female cat was 'Birdy', which is said the same way with an American accent.

So, the ol' blog's been pretty cat-heavy over the past few days, no? Hope you don't mind. As I mentioned last night, I adopted a kitten yesterday, and she is now called Birdy. And she's cute!

I wasn't sure I was 100% ready to get another cat. You know how when you've just gone through a break-up, you get super cynical and feel like all your friends' relationships are doomed, too? (No? Just me?) Well, I had a touch of that regarding cats. Just a bit too much heartbreak over Booty; it was hard to think about cats without thinking about losing them. But I was keeping tabs on the humane society website, because, well, I do that even when I have no intention of adopting a pet (animal window shopping, if you will). But also to check if there were any young, female cats available for adoption.

A litter of kittens was posted yesterday morning, so I decided to pay a visit, even though I didn't really want to adopt a kitten. There were a few other cats that sounded promising, although none of them were there when I arrived (there was one super sweet male cat, but it said he didn't do well with others). So I played with two of the female kittens and decided that perhaps little Birdy (my name for her) could be right for Beany and me.

Beany's still getting used to the idea of having a new cat around (even though I clearly explained that that's why I was going out yesterday morning), and there's been a lot of growling, but it's mostly for show. Her body language is friendly enough, and I think she'd really like to jump in and play with Birdy, but she's got to make it clear she's top cat. More than anything, though, she trusts me and needs affection, so she's deigned to sleep quite near to Birdy if there's cuddling with me involved.

But, you guys, kittens are insane. I don't know why people like them so much! I haven't had a kitten since Booty was little, over sixteen years ago. Birdy makes Beany look sensible and sedate, and I'm talking about the same Beany who, yesterday evening, threw her toy mouse across the room and then ran head-first into the wall while she was chasing it. Birdy will play with anything, and if there's nothing available, then she'll just play with nothing. It makes no difference to her.

Of course, she's also stupidly cute. I chose Birdy over her littermates because she made eye contact when we were playing, and it's easy to lose track of time when she's just staring into your eyes, trying to figure you out. I always think that an animal making eye contact (in a 'what do you think of this?' kind of way) is a sign of intelligence. Beany is particularly good at this, especially in unknown, slightly frightening situations.

So, it's going to be an interesting journey, starting with a little eight-week-old kitten. I hope that Beany warms up to her soon, because seeing Beany and MiniBean curled up together would just about melt me. For now, I'll settle for them chasing each other around the house and having a passed-out itty bitty kitty on my lap.

Booty the Cat passed away last night. It happened at home, and it was very quick, which was what I had hoped for. He'd been getting noticeably frailer over the past few weeks but was still very much himself. It was obvious that his joints were stiff and that it was a bit of an effort to get around, but he never seemed to be in any pain.

Booty would have been seventeen in July; we brought him home when I was only eleven, and he was the last of my childhood pets. I remember very clearly the day we got him at the pet store. He was with his brother kitten, but Booty was smaller and cuter and had that funny mustache. I remember holding him while we were in the store and thinking that everybody else must be really jealous that he was coming home with us.

He wasn't originally called Booty, but he taught us a special cat version of peek-a-boo, which involved a human hiding down the hall, behind a corner, calling, 'Boooooooty!' He'd come running, and that eventually became his name.

In a house full of cat toys, Booty only ever cared about the little, squishy, foam rubber toys that look like golf balls. Those were his. And if you teased him and tickled his tummy, he would grab his own back foot and bite his claws, as if that were the only way he could stop himself from biting you.

Even though we had three cats when I was growing up, Booty always felt the most like 'my' cat, so I was very happy to be able to take him in when I bought my house in Minneapolis. Then Beany came to live with us, and the two of them got along so surprisingly well. Having a young friend seemed to make Booty feel younger as well, and he finally had a fellow cat to curl up with (our older two cats were never interested in him).

On Wednesday, he was able to sit out in the sun with me one last time; he was still so excited to get outside. And even though he was obviously failing yesterday, when I sat on the living room floor, he came over to curl up in my lap. He spent his last hours quietly lying in the piano room. I heard a noise and went to check on him, and it was painfully clear that the end was near. I put my hand on his side and told him that I loved him and that he was such a good, good boy, and then he was gone.

Thank you for all the wonderful years, Booty.