More importantly

What's more important than boots, you ask? Well, this baby for one. We are aunt and uncle again - that's twice in one month! We're pretty lucky. Kim and Justin welcomed Noah Robert yesterday afternoon. He is 7lbs, 2ozs and 20in long. He was also 12 days late. See, I was in town until the day before he was born and I guess he just really wanted to avoid me. Musta heard that I'm a baby biter. Well, he can't avoid my choppers forever!
BEFORE






AFTER

Boot Casserole

Okay, sorry I was remiss. Here are the boots. They are not of the super sassy variety, but of the dry, functional, still pass as fashionable variety. And the dish I made was a sweet potato pudding. It's made of shredded sweet potatoes, cream, butter, and brown sugar. This concoction is then baked until it becomes pudding like. It is certainly quite healthy. What, you doubt me? I had gone to a Thanksgiving dinner at the Catholic church with some of my neighbor friends and that's what I took. At least I was the only one with that particular variation.

Boots

You know how sometimes you are going to an event and you are bringing a hot dish to share (hot dish as in temperature, not necessarily a casserole) and you're left wondering how you're going to safely transport said dish? Well, tell you what, buy a new pair of boots and you are set.

On the road again

Just in time for my full day of driving, the rain began again. I woke up yesterday to find it had rained all night and discovered as my day elapsed that the rain was not to stop.

Well, I left the kids with their jailers just before 10 am and headed east on 70 to Raleigh. I stopped at the state's farmers' market there where I found this little piggy girl.

From there I continued east to Greensboro on 40 where I picked up 85 to Greenville, SC. I continued east from there to my final destination near Clemson. Just after I passed there and darkness had settled and I began to need to pay close attention to my directions, the volume of rain increased. A lot. I was white-knucking it and probably negated the positive effects of last week's massage. Gah. But, I made it in good time and incident free and in time for cocktail hour, so all in all, a good day.

Speaking of blazing...

My old town is on fire, again. The hills above downtown Ventura lit the pre-dawn sky with flames Friday morning. I saw a picture online that looked a lot like the view I had from my living room window ten years ago. I tell ya, it's a bizarre situation when you can look out of your window or at the television and see the same thing. That fire was contained before any structures or lives were lost. Hopefully this one will also be. Those of you who've lived in southern California know all about those untrustworty Santa Ana winds. They really take "fanning the flame" to heart.

The latest.

dogsense

I don't blow my hair dry much these days, no real need, not going anywhere. So, at first I didn't realize that it was the dryer that was making the dog bark. I thought maybe the doorbell had rung and I couldn't hear it. I went to investigate - nothing. It happened the next time, and I assumed it was Quentin since he's the loudmouth. The other day I was drying and I heard barking and lo and behold, it was Shane. Now, she's the one who is more curious than scared when it comes to the vacuum, so why bark at the blow dryer? Maybe it's a sound frequency issue. If so, maybe the food processor is on the same frequency because I was just using it and she was just barking. When she barks, Quentin barks, but he doesn't know what at, so he wanders around looking for something. Aimless toughy.

Brrr

I wrote Brandon that it's cold enough now that I can see the dogs' breath when we're out walking, even at 9 in the morning. He wrote back, "Puppy breath. Stinky clouds of love!" So true, so true.

Busy week!

I spent about 14 hours at the local public radio station over the last two days. I was volunteering with two big mailings. I used to do lots of those at my last job. I missed the paper cuts so much I decided to do it here for free!

The time I put in yesterday and today, added to the hours I spent there Monday making gift baskets, earned me a spiffy cap embroidered with "Volunteer." I got the goods, time to move on.

Last night's fun

Well. Sue and Evelyn picked me up at 4:45. From here we grabbed Jan, who was subbing for Carol. We headed downtown and slowed enough to get Patty, who'd been at an art class. After that is was on to the cooking demonstration! It was pretty fun, a bag full of coupons and a cookbook, a full-blown demo on stage, lots of door prizes. Oh! Did I mention I won a door prize, well, I did. A silver mesh box full of stuff. And by stuff I mean crap. Well, some is useful, to be fair, but the box is the best part of the deal. I got a notepad, a pillbox, a coozy, a highlighter, flashlight, and some bandages. My friends were sure I'd win something, and they were right. I made sure they didn't forget how right they were. As we piled back into the car, there was some concern that if we all put our bags in the trunk, we'd get them mixed up. I said I'd know which was mine, it had a prize in it!

My patron and my muse

And I am so lucky to have found either, let alone both in the same man. A belated Veterans' Day to you, Captain.


The Euphrates.

These pictures were taken by someone else. I don't know who, but credit is due.

Sunday fun

Took the dogs to the mini-mart so I could get a paper. They sell individual biscuits there so I got them a couple and they set right to them. I'd handed them over from the other side of the car, but this seemed to be the best position for each to really sink their teeth in, so to speak. We may have to make a habit of it.

I don't know why it took me so long to notice

I've been shopping at this grocery store since we got here. No excuse, really, for me not to have seen it sooner.
Sorry it's not the clearest pic, I was trying to be sneaky.

Night out

Patty, Sue, and Evelyn picked me up at 5:30 and we headed out to an Italian place for dinner before the show. These gals are Italian-American Catholics from the Bronx. They are hilarious. Sue must be first generation as she often says a word in Italian as she's remembering the English for it. They reminisced about roller skates and skating skirts and a rink they all went to in their old neighborhood. They laughed as they shared stories of "discipline" and how they'd met their husbands. They chuckled at the story of how I met Brandon and the pizza incident, but I know it didn't hold a candle. We met another three at the restaurant and the group proceeded to torture the poor waitress. Service wasn't fast enough, separate checks for all, you get the drift. It was one of those nights where you slip a couple extra bucks on the table as you slink out.

Although we had gone to dinner plenty early, we still got to the theater a minute late and clunked up to our balcony seats while the orchestra was playing. The production was pretty good, some outstanding singing, some not so hot. Unfortunately the seats were hard and the family sitting right in front of us consisted of a tall, broad young man with big hair, his excruciatingly fidgety older sister, her two adolescent daughters (best behaved of the group), her sleeping husband, and another young man. Every one of these that were awake leaned forward for most of the show, effectively obscuring the view for those behind. The fidgety woman alternated between obscuring the view and simply distracting those behind her with the nonstop movement. They had additional family including her parents in another row and, at every opportunity, she asked them if they could see by miming. This mime involved pointed to her own forehead (third eye?) and then the stage. The theater has cushions for each seat, but people had taken two, and since we were late, we had none. This led Evelyn to exclaim on the ride home that her "ass" was killing her. Did I mention how fun these gals are? Next date is Tuesday!

So many things!

Today is a special day. It's Veterans Day. It's Armistice Day. It's Remembrance Day. It's Kurt Vonnegut's birthday. It's Grandma Jo's birthday. And, it's the first Friday I have plans with my new lady friends! Can't talk long, have to get going. They're picking me up at 5:30, so the evening routine with the dogs is bumped up an hour. Then, I have to get ready. Luckily I laid out my outfit, including accessories, two nights ago. Do I sound desperate? Ha ha ha ha ha!

Hold the phone! Stop the presses!

Presenting Jocelyn Charisma, born November 2 to Joshua and Julisa. Weighing in at 6 pounds and 11 ounces, measuring 19 inches in length.
Simply stunning.

Sorry, but my kids are ridiculous

Originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

And you all have to look at them. I see them everyday (except when they're in jail) and I still think they are so funny. It's okay if you don't agree, I know how annoying moms can be. But, just in case, click here for a short slideshow.

Wow!

Ever since I hooked up with the garden club, my social calendar is hopping. They've picked me up to go to the gym the last two mornings, we're going to dinner and a show on Friday, and next Tuesday to a cooking demonstration. There's no Scrabble tomorrow, but we'll be back on next week. Unfortunately, I missed Mah Jongg last night, forgot all about it. Oh boy, I'm clearly going to have to start keeping my calendar on paper.

My new friends

Last Thursday I went to a meeting of the garden club and joined up for $15 per annum. It was an hour and a half of three dozen ladies talking about a number of things including, but most certainly not limited to, gardening. After that, I stayed for a game of Scrabble, lunch, and more Scrabble. It was a pretty fun day, I have to admit. And, it got me invited to a wine and hors d'oevres evening at one of the gal's places tonight. I was excited to have plans. I put on some slacks and a twin set and was ready a half hour early. The evening started at 5:30 so I had to bump up the evening dog walking/tooth brushing/feeding ritual an hour. I hitched a ride with some other neighborhood denizens and we arrived promptly. There were ten or twelve women there and plenty of food. A few hours later many of the party-goers suddenly left including my ride. Luckily, I'd met Sylvia, who also lives on my street, and she offered to give me a ride if I wanted to stay. And then it was 10:30. A good time. Thank you garden club!

Carolina evening

Just got back from walking the dogs. It's a beautiful evening and the smell of fireplaces burning and the glorious oranges, pinks, and blues of the sunset almost made up for the mosquitoes swarming around my head and the fact that Quentin had peed on Shane's head.

Add "snake killing" to the list...

... of unanticipated things to which getting married has led me.

Friday afternoon I pulled into the garage and saw something that required a second look. I pulled back out and discovered it was a snake. Just a little guy. A little guy with an immature rattle on the tip of his tail.

ALIVE.
Short of the long, I killed it. With my car. It was awful. I hated it. But the thought of it striking one of the dogs convinced me it was the thing to do. The only youngish male neighbor I know wasn't home and I really would have felt terrible if I killed one of the old people, so I dealt with it myself. After it was dead for a day, I took a picture and sent it to Brandon. He identified it as an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. I looked 'em up, They are considered the most dangerous in North America. Also the rarest in North Carolina and important to the ecosystem and something that shouldn't be killed. Like I didn't feel crappy enough already. Man.

DEAD.

Happy Belated Dogoween!

I'm experimenting with a plan I have for the human children - shared costume. Why go crazy spending money on multiple Halloween costumes? That's money that can clearly be spent better on wine for mommy. Instead, buy one costume that's just big enough to stretch over the largest kid and split time between that kid and the other. Sure, it might be too big for the little kid, but the kids should really just consider themselves lucky they get a store bought costume at all. If they complain too much, we'll give 'em a pillow case, a marker, and some scissors. It was good enough for us, right? Click the link below to see the results of this year's trial.
Slideshow here.

P.S. These were actually taken yesterday afternoon. On Monday night, we were hiding inside, pretending we weren't home, eating all the candy ourselves. (Okay it was just me, but still.)

Afternoon puppy hands

I would be remiss

If I didn't tell you all about the innkeepers of the bed and breakfast my mom and I stayed at in Black Mountain. They are Susie and Walt Ward and man are they nice. They just opened in July after a very quick renovation following Walt's retirement and their move from Winston-Salem. They don't have any illusions of getting rich from their operation, they just really like it. They even both have part-time jobs in town to help pay the bills. And they did the most amazing thing. After they learned of Brandon's deployment, they gave me a gift certificate to come back with him for a weekend on them. Believe me, Susie and Walt, I can hardly wait to see you again.

Mountain Oaks Bed & Breakfast

Funny face in full effect

Birthday eve, no presents, so sad
Originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Brandon sent an essay in photographs to illustrate the roller coaster of emotions his 31st birthday brought him. Click on this one to see the rest of the heartwrenching journey.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, this is what he had for dinner that day:

I had special birthday cheeseburger with an onion ring on it and some pickles and onion and a little bit of mayo and some thousand island dressing and it almost tasted like In and Out but not quite then I had some ice cream that was flavored like pralines with nuts and some caramel sauce and one tiiiiiiiny marshmallow on top! And water to drink. MMMMMMM