Well, the Bay Bridge is reopened, but I'm just not sure how long the repair will last.

( It looks pretty flimsy to me )

After much debate, Tom and I finally agreed to name our little gray boy 'Nico' as a nod to Tom's Greek heritage.

Mollie is doing OK with him. She'll hiss if he gets too close (and he's started hissing back), but for the most part she ignores him. We're monitoring them.

And now ... more pics!


Tom keeps Nico warm while we wait for the light to change.

( Another pic, plus one of Mollie and a macro )

Happy Birthday, lokiz_mom!

I spent Halloween in San Francisco this year!

First of all, our two RHPS shows were AMAZING. Saturday we sold out, and on Friday we sold 250+ tickets. Best Halloween shows ever!

I have to share the best Halloween costume I saw. San Francisco has a tour company called "Go Car", a GPS-guided tour of the city in little yellow go-karts. We were about to cross the street when a Go Car went by with a guy in a turtle costume at the wheel. OK, cute. Then a guy in a spotted mushroom hat drove past. That's when I got it. "Oh my god, it's Mario Kart!" This was confirmed a second later, when Luigi went by. It was brilliant! I wish I'd gotten a photo.

Meanwhile, reactions to my costume ranged from people who knew exactly who I was (including one guy who started quoting Woody's lines to me), to those who said, "Oh! Oh, I know who you are! You're from that movie! Toy Story! You're that character! Oooh, what's her name?", to those who simply tugged on the pull-string pinned to the back of my shirt. Overall, though, I got raves, which I was thrilled about. (Photo below the cut.)

I didn't have a lot of time this year, but it wouldn't be Halloween if I didn't bake something, so:


Oh what a tangled web we frost ...

( the whole colony and my costume )

I would have avoided an argument. I might not have lost a friend.

I'm going to be Jessie the Cowgirl from "Toy Story 2". No coordinating.

I sort of made the costume. (I didn't like the look of the "officially licensed" package version.) I bought a white shirt and painted on the design, made chaps to attach to my jeans, and ordered the hat. And yes, there is a pull-string on the back of my shirt.

A big thank-you to kor27 for helping me get my karaoke song into CD+G format for the party last night! It was much appreciated.

There was just one problem: the party was at a karaoke dance club. Upbeat music only! Singing a sad ballad - even in the appropriate costume - would have brought the party to a crashing halt. Oh, well. (On the plus side, my costume was very enthusiastically received!)

If I'm not too wiped out from two nights in a row of RHPS, I'll come to the Halloween karaoke party at King of Clubs Sunday night. Maybe I can sing it then.

http://www.sfweekly.com/events/the-rocky-horror-picture-show-1724207/

That's right, people: of all the fishnetted crazies in the Bay Area - and believe me, there are plenty - we're the highest-quality ones. (Also, I'm the Columbia in the accompanying photo.)

So, I brought the gray kitten home over the weekend. He is a real cuddlebug! (He's also one hell of a climber. If I'm standing up, he will start at my foot and make it all the way to my shoulder.) He's very social, too, which is good.

He's living in the master bathroom right now, so Mollie can adjust to him. We have him out for short periods of time, though, so she has seen him. She isn't quite sure what to make of him yet. She alternately ignores, stares, or hisses at him. It's a gentle hiss, though, not a real threatening sound. I think she'll be OK once she adjusts. (One quirk I noticed: she doesn't like being picked up right after seeing him. She yowls and struggles. No idea why.)

Tom and I haven't come up with a name yet. Suggestions are welcomed!

And now, I leave you with pics of the little furball fast asleep, nestled between me and the couch arm:




Such a soft fluffy head ...

There's a song that I want to get the karaoke track for, but so far I've only found it as an mp3 download. If I download it and burn it to a CD, will the lyrics show up if I put it into a karaoke player?

Anyone have suggestions for how I can get this cat ...


... to get used to the idea of sharing a home with this cat?

That's right, folks: we've found two more kittens at the back of our property. Seems several cats have made their home in a shed back there. One kitten, a dark-striped one, came running out towards a man when he went to check on them, and just curled right up to him. My co-worker Barbara was driving by and saw what was going on, so she called me. The other kitten - a gray one - crawled onto my shoulder, under my coat, and went to sleep.

There was no sign of any adult cats around, and these two are just about weaned. We were worried about the kittens dashing out into the parking lot and possibly getting hit, so we brought them in. I suspect they might be Caruso's littermates; the dark-striped one looks like the one I saw the day I rescued him. (He's reportedly doing very well, BTW.)

These two are massive cuddlebugs. Whenever someone goes into the room we put them in, they just climb all over us. They're not frightened at all.

Of COURSE I took photos!


"How could you possibly not love me?"

( Four more ... )

We're not sure yet whether someone will take them home today or we'll take them to a rescue or what, but we'll take good care of them!

This figures. I leave for vacation tomorrow, and I'm coughing and sneezing. Any suggestions for OTC remedies - especially those that will help prevent me from being miserable on the plane - are needed and welcomed! (NOTE: I can't have aspirin or ibuprofen, due to my stomach surgery. Acetaminophen is fine.)

UPDATE: The Humane Society couldn't take Caruso. They're full up on foster parents who can take bottle babies. Luckily, I have a co-worker who not only has experience bottle feeding kittens, she has a cat who recently birthed and is still lactating. I took Caruso over there along with some formula. She'll keep me posted!

My co-worker Ben went outside the office and heard what sounded like a newborn kitten mewling. I started looking, and found a feral cat with two tiny kittens buried in the ivy under a tree at the edge of our property. One of the kittens, a little gray one, was crying with all his might. The mother cat hissed and ran off when I got close. (Oops.) We took the kittens and made sure they were OK, then put them back so the mom would return and move them. She did and all was well.

About an hour later, I took a bowl of cat food out to the mom. (We have a bag for the ferals that show up around the office sometimes.) I could hear the gray one still, so I walked down the parking lot intending to put the food near them, but not so close that I'd scare the mother. What I found was the gray kitten all by himself on the asphalt. I searched for the mom, but couldn't find her. then I thought maybe she was moving the other kitten and would come back for this one. So I left him out there by the food bowl.

30 minutes later, I checked and he was still there. He was curled up, no longer mewling, and clearly scared. Guys, I simply did not have the intestinal fortitude to leave him out there. I brought him inside, and after work I'm taking him to the Humane Society where I volunteer. Hopefully they'll be able to take him in, and then I can see him until he's adopted.

But I couldn't let him leave without taking photos, could I?

Due to his lung power, I named him 'Caruso'.

( one more )

I'll keep you guys posted! Hopefully he'll get put up for adoption and find a wonderful family!

Wow, 4 cakes in as many weeks! Busy me!

My mom's 60th birthday was yesterday, so of course I made her a cake. She requested one similar to one I made for her and her co-workers about a year and a half ago, so I did the same flavor - lemon cake with homemade buttercream - and a similar design. This time, though, the vines had something to say:



( side view )

Not the Official Statistics; just a few things I noted throughout the night:

( But who's counting? )

The Humane Society is holding its annual Walk 'N' Wag fundraiser on Saturday, October 3. My office has decided to form a team, and now we're looking for sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring us, please go to the Walk 'N' Wag site and donate any amount you like. You can either sponsor me or my team (Archie's Angels, named after a co-worker's dog).

Thank you very much! Any help you can offer is appreciated!

My friend gave me a massive white chocolate bar. (When I say massive, I mean it takes two hands to carry it.) Anyone have any good white chocolate recipes? :-)

After I posted the Stormtrooper cake yesterday, my friend William teased me about making him a 'Serenity'-themed cake for his birthday tomorrow. Well, it happened that he was coming over last night for a Beatles Rock Band session. So I picked up a small cake, and in 30 minutes I came up with this:



For those of you not familiar with it, it's the movie's logo.

Not the cleanest, and I'm sure I'll try a better one in the future - but for a quick piping job, not bad!

"A Patrick Swayze Christmas"