Our Kitty

Oliver has had to go to the vet today for possible surgery. He has a bump on his back near his tail that is really painful if we touch it. Because it is painful, he hasn't been cleaning that area and it's pretty gross looking. And because they will possibly need to put him under to perform the surgery, we had to put up his food last night at 8pm. He was a very unhappy kitty this morning.

In fact, he and Lochi thought we were very stupid humans this morning since we were CLEARLY not seeing that the food was gone and that they were very distressed about it. Both of their pupils were very large, and they were sitting on the mat we put their food on top of meowing like they were going to die. It was actually pretty funny.

So, hopefully the painful bump on Oliver's back will simply be a cyst and not something more serious. He's been very playful and cute and not acting at all like he's unwell, so we're keeping our fingers crossed!

*******

Update: Oliver is doing fine. Out of surgery and the growth has been removed. They will send it for biopsy just in case it's cancer, but the vet doesn't think it is. He's been groomed and should be pretty and soft for the evening!

Party Girl!

Sorry about being out of touch the last two days. Tuesday I was sick and yesterday I just couldn't think.

On a more fun note, we're having a party on Saturday. I've always loved having parties. In grad school in KY we would host one everyone every Friday. It was easier for us to host since we had the kiddoes and could simply put them to bed when they got tired. No one else seemed to mind. I would plan the whole thing--we would decide on a theme and then I would assign people which food items to bring. We even had one "couple" who had to do the dishes and clean up afterwards--they didn't have to bring food of course.

But this weekend's party isn't like those grad student parties. For beginners we invited just about everyone we knew, not just those we like. We are supplying all the food and drinks, and there isn't a theme. A number of people keep asking what the occasion is--there is no occasion, we just wanted to have a party! And at this party, the kiddoes will be working instead of just being cute and then going off to their room at 10:30. Although I suspect most people will be gone by 10:30...we are older after all.

I'll have a report, and maybe some pictures on Monday.

Creativity Kaput

Was up until 3am with a terrible stomach ache. I just got down a bowl of soup and hope that it doesn't go crazy on me. Hopefully will be able to write tomorrow!

They Amaze Me...

The "they" here of course being my teenagers. Last Wed. night at bookclub one of the women in our group was talking about her daughter (15) who has Cystic Fibrosis and mentioned that she had had to go on homebound because going to school all day was simply too tiring. When asked what we could do to help, she said, "if any of you know any teen girls who could be her friends, that would be so nice because she doesn't have any outside contact these days." To which I replied, "well, I have two, let me see if they'll be interested."

So, over dinner Thursday night, I brought up the situation, explained to them that the girl is very ill (she's in the final stages of getting her "make a wish" planned) and would they like to go over to her house and keep her company a couple of days a week and be her friend. They so willingly and heartfully jumped on the opportunity that my own heart filled up with pride about how genuine and caring they have grown to be. I even threw in the "she may not live through the year and if she dies and you've become her friend it will break your heart." To which THEY replied, "If I can help make her happy, I'll take the risk."

They've been talking about this non-stop ever since to everyone they meet. They simply cannot wait to meet their new friend. It looks like they'll finally have the opportunity this weekend.

Why I love Fall

A BEE Purse

It really is! A BEE purse. I just may have to save my allowance and get one of these things. How cute is this!

Bookclub Book Review: The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I absolutely loved this book when I read it three years ago. I picked it up when I was doing a good bit of traveling, having read a review and thinking that it was either going to be a very good book or a very dorky book…it was definitely the former.

The premis of the book revolves around Henry who has a genetic mutation which causes him to spontaneously travel backward or forward in time—the main catch being that when he travels, he arrives naked. This is the part of the review that when I read it, I thought—now that sounds dorky. But it’s such a pivotal fact of Henry’s life, that he has to train extensively so that he’s not arrested for public indecency. He never knows how long he’ll be somewhere and he has no control over when and where it happens.

To make the story even more interesting, a love story is added between Henry and Clare. When Henry and Clare first meet, Claire is a young girl and Henry is a middle-aged man. In “real time” they are only a few years apart, however, but Clare’s experience of their love life together is very different than Henry’s, having met him and gotten to know him long before he does her.

The narrative format is what makes the books for me, though. It is not linear and is told in alternating points of view, so we get both Henry’s and Clare’s perspective on the developing relationships. Even though the story is disjointed it moves along and progresses so that you see the love story, the development of the characters, and the agonies they endure in trying to live with this disability, if you will. It’s also a narrative that bested me at my own game. I usually read ahead a few pages when I’m finished with my reading session to keep me interested and also to give me some relief in very tight narrative spots. There was no relief of that kind while reading this book because the disjointed narrative just opened up new nodes of the story that I wasn’t prepared for. So, there were many restless nights and days when I couldn’t wait to get back to this novel.

I truly hope that Niffenegger has another novel in her. I so thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am excited that my bookclub read it because I’ll be able to talk to several of my friends about it.

Living on Credit Sucks

Three weeks ago Elizabeth agreed to mow the yard so that David would take her and her friends to and from the mall. Our usual agreement is that if they go somewhere with their friends and need a ride, we'll take them one way and their friends' parents will take them the other.

Well, the very next day she comes down with a cold (real cold, not fake) and didn't mow the yard that weekend. Then the next weekend it was something else that kept her from mowing the yard, and last weekend, she was busy watching TV or something along those lines. And every afternoon after school, Gilmore Girls is on and she can't miss one single minute of that show.

So, yesterday, when she wanted a ride home from the gym, David reminded her that she still owed him a yard mowing. She begged, she pleaded, she tried to mope and pout, but nothing changed David's mind, so A went to the gym and E stayed home where she said she was going to get "fat and illiterate."

As we were talking to her before bedtime last night she said that living on credit sucks. I told her that it doubly sucks because not only did she not get to go to the gym tonight, but the yard is going to be really hard to mow now that it's waited at least a month AND that in that time, the yard could have been mowed again so she would have earned the money she would normally have gotten paid.

I saw understanding there. I hope it sticks!

Book Review: The Three Incestuous Sisters by Audrey Niffenegger

The Three Incestuous Sisters is a novel in pictures by Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Travelers Wife (which I will review on Wednesday). The basic story line is about three sisters who become jealous over a young lover who chooses Bettine, the beautiful, yellow-haired sister, to be his lover.

The story in words isn't much more than that--the fall out of jealousy and passion, but the story in pictures is so much more than that. The pictures are done in aqua tints, which Niffenegger describes as a very difficult and archaic medium with which to work. She doesn't know exactly how the picture will turn out until it's printed--which has to be exciting.

I bought this book because I loved Time Traveler's Wife so much. TTW was an intriguing book and was written while Niffenegger was in "writer's block" on TTIS. The 14 years it took to get TTIS completed was worth it, especially when you consider the "bonus" of TTW.

Book Review: Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith

In the 5th installment of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, Alexander McCall Smith does not disappoint. I enjoyed this book so much, I stayed up well past my bedtime to read it. This series is so delightful, that I’m trying to get everyone I know to read it! If you haven’t start it today!

In this installment, Mma Makutsi, the secretary, assistant manager, and assistant director as well as typing instructor, is doing so much better financially that she is able to move to a much better area of town. In this chapter of the book there is a beautiful description of Mma Makutsi bathing at the shared tap that really brought home to me the utter poverty in which Mma Makutsi lived in order to supply money for her family “back home.” She really matured in this book and I hope to see some wonderful stories about her in the future.

In fact, Precious almost took back seat in this book. Her stories are not as big or detailed, but they are important. Hired by a rich woman to discover the real reason behind her suitors’ interest in her, Precious begin investigating them individually. She has issues with letting her personal opinions get in the way, however, and is shocked by a revelation at the end of the book. I think much of Precious’s problem with this assignment is her own lengthy engagement to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. The surprise ending to the book, puts everything together for Precious, though, and leaves the reader waiting impatiently for the next book.

Finally, the story surrounding Mr. J.L. B. Matekoni is humorous and sweet. He is pressured into agreeing to consider a parachute jump by the ever-more-involved head of the orphan home, Mma Potokwane (sp?). The older apprentice ends up taking over the arduous task and enjoying himself very much.

Lots of allegory and allusion in this book, but it’s all subtle and understated. Again, the love of country, landscape and simple way of life pervades the main characters’ actions and thoughts. I did find myself at times having trouble following whose point of view the story line was following, but for the most part that was minor. I enjoyed this book as much as the others and am impatiently biding my time to get to #6.

Mahi Mahi Burger

In 1993 David and I traveled to Hawaii. On this trip, we went to Hana, Hawaii. If you've never traveled this road, it does indeed look much like the cartoon map on the web-site linked above. Fifty-two miles of the most harrowing road I've ever been on--and once you get there you have to drive it back.

But, much encouraged by the locals we talked to, we decided to take the trip. We had a little mustang convertible which was cute, fast and perfect for an all-day drive in paradise, so out we headed on Sunday morning for a tiny little village that thrives on tourists.

Our first mistake was that we were in Hawaii on a very cut-rate package because people just weren't traveling over there at that time of year (mid-May). Our second mistake was to go on Sunday. Our third was to not pack lunch. Our fourth mistake was to assume that the fast little mustang would make much of a difference on this road, where if you drove over 30 miles an hour you'd careen into a cliff or canyon and never be seen again.

It was indeed some of the most beautiful picturesque landscape I've ever seen. I can still close my eyes and see some of the bays we drove around with sheer dropping cliffs and rainforests all around. We have pictures of elephant ear plants that were bigger than me. It was truly inspiring and awesome.

So, we get to Hana, tired and hungry and ready for a romp around this little town, only to find out that every restaurant was closed except for this one little road-side hut-thing where you ordered your dinner through the window and sat on picnic benches to eat. While this wouldn't ordinarily be a problem, I do tend to sunburn very easily, we were really ready for some air conditioning and some quiet (we were both beginning to feel a little green around the gills from the drive), and well, I have a thing about ordering fish out of a "hut."

Standing in line and trying not to be too grumpy, we weren't talking much, so we got to over hear the "surfer dude" in front of us ordering his lunch (and please read this in your best imitation of stoned surfer dude that you can conjure): "I want a mahi-mahi burger, man, without the mahi-mahi, man." The cashier replied, "Huh?" So the surfer said, "You know, man, I want a mahi-mahi burger without the mahi-mahi." He paused to judge comprehension and seeing that the cashier was still really confused he went on... "Look, dude, I want the mahi-mahi burger without the mahi-mahi. I want the lettuce, the tomato, and sauce and the bun, but I don't want the mahi-mahi, man."

Finally the cashier got it and told the surfer that she couldn't charge him less for the sandwich just because he didn't want the fish. And he replied, "That's fine, dude. I don't eat anything that was alive once, man." He got his sandwich and walked on. I don't know where he ended up or what he did after that.

While David and I were refueling with whatever lunch we ordered, we talked and laughed about the mahi-mahi man, and to this day, something will trigger the memory in us and we'll look at each other and simultaneously say "I want the mahi-mahi burger without the mahi-mahi man" and make ourselves giggle.

I Have Attitude!

OK...just a little background before getting into this story:

• first, I take classes for my PhD in Higher Education Research two nights a week--last night was one of those nights;
• second, we usually eat dinner as a family most nights of the weeks;
• third, we are having to retrain our daughters how to be polite at the dinner table--this may include burping, farting and other rude behaviors that they should have left behind (pardon the pun) in 2nd grade;
• fourth, my daughters seem to have forgotten that germs are transmitted through hands, mouths and air;
• fifth, my daughters are teenagers which means they have sudden outbursts; and
• sixth, we "debrief" said daughters every evening to help keep in check the tantrums and we'll give them up to two points on a chart for good behavior and after they've earned 80 points, they earn $100 to use to a large purchase or save for trips, etc.

*****Now, on to the story. *******

We sat down to a dinner of quesadillas (which were mighty good, I might add) and E was late in getting to dinner. After we called her twice, she showed up, put a quesadilla on her plate and started to eat. At this point she said, "my stomach's hurting, and I don't think I want to eat anything."

I replied, "that's fine, you can stay at the table if you feel like it, otherwise, go to your room and rest."

She said, "I'm not sick, just have a stomach ache." (at which point my adult logic said, HUH, but then thought she must be referring to feminine issues so let it drop).

Then she picked up the two quesadilla wedges that she hadn't eaten yet and threw them back on the plate with all of the other quesadilla wedges not yet eaten. I said, "No, no! Don't do that. If you're getting sick, I don't want your germs on my food."

To which she yelled, "I'M NOT SICK!!!"

So, we dealt with the yelling and I went to class. David debriefed her that night and told her that I had talked to him before I left and that I did not like her yelling at me and wanted one of her points deducted for getting nasty.

To which she replied, "Well, mom had an attitude, and I needed to set her straight."

The Simples Pleasures of a Box

Log Cabin

Log Cabin Quilt machine pieced in 2000-2001. Completed piecing before I moved to Mississippi. It's made up of light and dark materials from my stash in one inch logs. It is set in a diamond pattern. I really wanted to do a barn raising set, but realized after I thought I was finished that I would need another row across and down and just couldn't fathom making that many more blocks. It is about 125" square. I had it hand quilted by an Amish Quilt shop this year.

Book Review: Shield of Three Lions by Pamela Kaufman

This was a very good book. I enjoyed it from the first sentence to the last, and that isn’t usual for me. The story isn’t all that demanding, in a “try to pull all the pieces together” but it is enjoyable, funny, serious, scary, thoughtful, and interesting.

The main character, 11-year-old Alix/Alex sneaks away from her home, Wanthwaite, with her friend to see the traveling players on the day that her castle is sacked and her parents and all their knights are killed. The lone survivors of the sack are her wolf, Lance, who was locked in a storage shed, and the cook who was hiding in an underground tunnel. The rest of the novel is Alix/Alex’s adventures to get the land back.

In order to do so, she must dress as a boy for her protection and mobility. This allows her to travel unchaperoned, though she does happen upon a protector, Enoch a wily Scot, who sticks with her throughout the novel. She expects to meet King Henry in London only to find out he has recently died, so she must then figure a way to get to King Richard on his crusade to Jerusalem. She manages to do that, and the king is so taken with the boy Alex that she is made a page and the king personally agrees to be her protector and provide her land upon her majority.

The tension in the novel resides between Alix and Enoch, who also wants Wanthwaite. The two are constantly parlaying to gain access to the land, and this tension resides up until the very end of the novel. There are some really great, comic moments between these two characters due to the fact that Alix doesn’t really know anything about being a boy but must rely on her intelligence and wits to get her through. Her innocence also allows for some misunderstandings to take place—some of which aren’t funny because they cause problems as Alix acts inappropriately and causes danger for herself or others as a result.

STL is the first in a trilogy about the character Alix and her love of her property and the experiences she must go through to keep and maintain her inheritance. In a time when women are seen as chattel and have few, if any, legal recourses, this is a rather daunting task, but the Alix is strong. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next two books!

Ye Olde Thornton Memorie

David is always amazed at how I can remember things--fairly vividly--that happened a long time ago. This is made more amazing by the fact that I can read some books twice and not even realize it or mis-remember huge important plot devices or characters. (Sometimes I even misplace characters in the wrong books, but I think that's more my overactive imagination rather than a bad memory.) And movies are the worst because I've forgotten what happened by the time I walk out of the theater or turned off the DVD player.

But if it is an event that I lived through I will remember in fairly good detail what happened, where I was, what I was doing, what month and year it was, etc. David thinks that is a trait of the Thornton family--which he calls our elephant memory.

I think he's right in that my grandmother remembers dates unlike any other person I've ever met. I remember as a kid that she could state within a second exactly how long she had been married. Betty tells stories of Grandma remembering people's anniversaries and birthdays that she had met only one time.

So, I thought I would share a little about how that memory works. I can usually place myself time and date wise fairly quickly. For instance, if you were to ask me what I was doing in April 1998, I would think through this way: I moved to Kentucky in June 1996, so April 1998 was in my second year of being in KY. I was teaching composition 2 (my second time to teach that class at UK) to my class of 7 Matts, 4 Michaels and 5 Jennifers (no kidding). I think, too, that was the month I went to my first academic conference in South Carolina with an old professor from TAMU. The girls were 6 years old and still at Alpine Village School. We were living in the little house on Eagle Creek. This was around the time the ducks were eating my flowers--and I know that because it was my first spring at the house and we were going to be gardeners despite the fact that neither David nor I have the patience or talent to garden. I couldn't even begin to tell you what I was reading because I was reading so much for classes. I do, however, remember spending a lot of time at the campus bookstore--probably because it was on my way to my car and there were so many books I wanted to read and couldn't, so I went to the bookstore to ogle them. Also, this was the summer before my serious bout with the hives brought about by my stressing over the exams that I thought were upcoming.

I personally don't think this recall is anything special. I'm also really uncomfortable that I've gotten a good bit of it wrong, so, loyal readers, tell me, can you remember general information about what you were doing in April 1998?

Eliot, the Cat

Three years ago, one week to the day before my grandfather passed away, my Russian Blue cat, Eliot, died of liver and kidney failure. We're not sure what happened with him. The vet said he had fatty liver disease, something that attacks over-weight cats when they stop eating for whatever reason. My question all along was "why did he stop eating to begin with?" Clearly there was something other than that wrong with him. The vet never satisfactorily answered that question, and now we have a new vet.

Oliver, my orange tabby with a swirly side (his stripes don't go down his side, but instead swirl into a bulls-eye), loved being the only cat for a few weeks, and then he started getting a little depressed, and started sleeping all the time. One evening, David and the girls were gone and I was sitting in the living room sewing when Oliver burst through the cat door that goes to the screened in porch and meowed at me like his life depended on my response, then he bolted out the door again. I thought to myself, "that was strange, but it's nice to see him up and around again." Then he burst through the door again and meowed and then ran out one more time. I laughed at his unorthodox behavior and continued sewing.

More quickly this time, Oliver ran back in, came over to my chair and meowed and meowed at me. I finally "got it" that he wanted me to go outside, so I did, and sitting outside our screened in porch door was a grey long-hair scraggly looking cat who looked at me and meowed--in exactly the same voice as our recently departed Eliot.

Oliver looked at me as if to say "see...he's back and you didn't listen to me when I told you that he was out here THREE times! Now, go get him so I can fight with him again." I went out the door and sat on the ground and this strange cat eventually came over to me and let me pet him, but when I stood up he ran off. He showed back up the next afternoon, so I could show him to David who thought it was really funny that a gray cat who meows just like our old cat would show up just weeks after that one died. We named him Eliot, though we hardly ever got to pet him.

Then one day Eliot was gone and I figured he had gone the way of most stray cats and perished under a car or in the jaws of a dog. But about a month later he showed up again, with a healing gash on his side--not dead but clearly having gone through a pretty serious ordeal. And also clear was the fact that someone was taking care of him even though he hung out in our yard almost all day and night. Last summer he brought a new kitten around and they played in our yard all the time. This summer he's sporting a new red collar.

Eliot still hangs out and torments our indoor kitties. Here is a picture of him sleeping on the wall that goes along our alley-way. I still don't get to pet him very much, but for whatever reason he just loves hanging out in our yard despite the fact that we've never fed him and clearly someone else does!

Sugar Free--3 Months!

I'm so excited and proud that I'm still going strong in my desire to stay away from sweets. It's not easy every day, but it's easy more days than not.