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So, apparently Black Cat Awareness Day came and went with me completely unaware. That won't do, because I have a gorgeous, wonderful black cat full of quirks and earnest charm and I feel the need to brag. In other words, it's time for a picspam.
I've posted this before, but here's how Busy looked when we first got him, three (four?) years ago.
He had a bad cold, but the first thing he did when let out of his carrier was come up to me and climb up on my back. The shelter had named him Crow. I quickly changed that after seeing the amount of energy he had - even while sick! This skinny little bundle tore apart three cat wands - one in less than two minutes!
He's settled down some since then, but not that much. He's still very energetic, playful and hilariously high strung, but also very respectful (if that word can be used about a cat). He knows not to use claws on our bare skin, he makes requests with little whines and soft paws. He loves cuddles, but doesn't ask for any when Markus is around, because Markus is the higher one in rank. He still always kicks Markus' butt in a fight, though.
He loves blanket tunnels and chasing after cat wands. He can bat a ball in mid-air with perfect precision, but doesn't know what to do with it once it stops. He never eats full meals - only many small ones throughout the day. He's always a dream at the vet and has the most wonderful medium-length silky fur, shiny and soft. He likes to groom us - reaching for my hair with soft paws and lick it until it's all clean or polish my husband's scalp to perfection while purring so loud any stress just melts out of you. He's our little bundle of joy and here he is, in a picspam of his very own:
( Busybeans )
I've posted this before, but here's how Busy looked when we first got him, three (four?) years ago.
He had a bad cold, but the first thing he did when let out of his carrier was come up to me and climb up on my back. The shelter had named him Crow. I quickly changed that after seeing the amount of energy he had - even while sick! This skinny little bundle tore apart three cat wands - one in less than two minutes!
He's settled down some since then, but not that much. He's still very energetic, playful and hilariously high strung, but also very respectful (if that word can be used about a cat). He knows not to use claws on our bare skin, he makes requests with little whines and soft paws. He loves cuddles, but doesn't ask for any when Markus is around, because Markus is the higher one in rank. He still always kicks Markus' butt in a fight, though.
He loves blanket tunnels and chasing after cat wands. He can bat a ball in mid-air with perfect precision, but doesn't know what to do with it once it stops. He never eats full meals - only many small ones throughout the day. He's always a dream at the vet and has the most wonderful medium-length silky fur, shiny and soft. He likes to groom us - reaching for my hair with soft paws and lick it until it's all clean or polish my husband's scalp to perfection while purring so loud any stress just melts out of you. He's our little bundle of joy and here he is, in a picspam of his very own:
( Busybeans )
( Long rant about my cat under cut. )
Oh well. Other than that, I'm merely tired and have links to share for anyone who's bored:
Games:
Wonderputt - a golf game. Perhaps the cutest, loveliest, most brilliant golf game that ever came for free. There are frogs and submarines and torpedoes and cows being abducted by UFOs! Let your cursor hover over the ball and you get an arrow that you can spin around in whatever direction you want. Pull the cursor back and the arrow will widen and turn red - the wider and redder the arrow, the more force in your putt. After you've played the first 18 holes you unlock the "Wonder Mode", where you have to complete a rainbow by hitting every rainbow colored drop on the course. You can also win achievements as you go. Have fun!
Tanooky Tracks - Tanookys are mischievous little spirits that like to hide in objects that resemble themselves. This house is infested with them! Find the hiding spots of all twelve Tanookys and lure them out by either attracting them or repelling them. A hint book is provided, with riddles for each Tanooky, designed to give you a clue. (Here's a walkthrough if you get stuck).
Vision - one of the most gorgeous escape-the-room games ever created, and a well-made game, too. It's just stunning from start to finish. (Here's a walkthrough, just in case.)
This is just because...do I really need to explain myself? :
Adam Savage as Gollum sings "I will survive".
Oh, and have a kitten.
Now: I will draw.
Oh well. Other than that, I'm merely tired and have links to share for anyone who's bored:
Games:
Wonderputt - a golf game. Perhaps the cutest, loveliest, most brilliant golf game that ever came for free. There are frogs and submarines and torpedoes and cows being abducted by UFOs! Let your cursor hover over the ball and you get an arrow that you can spin around in whatever direction you want. Pull the cursor back and the arrow will widen and turn red - the wider and redder the arrow, the more force in your putt. After you've played the first 18 holes you unlock the "Wonder Mode", where you have to complete a rainbow by hitting every rainbow colored drop on the course. You can also win achievements as you go. Have fun!
Tanooky Tracks - Tanookys are mischievous little spirits that like to hide in objects that resemble themselves. This house is infested with them! Find the hiding spots of all twelve Tanookys and lure them out by either attracting them or repelling them. A hint book is provided, with riddles for each Tanooky, designed to give you a clue. (Here's a walkthrough if you get stuck).
Vision - one of the most gorgeous escape-the-room games ever created, and a well-made game, too. It's just stunning from start to finish. (Here's a walkthrough, just in case.)
This is just because...do I really need to explain myself? :
Adam Savage as Gollum sings "I will survive".
Oh, and have a kitten.
Now: I will draw.
- I made key lime & white chocolate cupcakes! They taste as splendidly as you might suspect.
- I randomly found a blog post with an adorable little girl. It was her birthday party and it was all a big success (even though she had ordered a blue cake and got a green one instead - blue food coloring's hard to find in Sweden, I've noticed).
- Markus the Cat is a smooth, conniving little sociopath! We feed our two cats separately, due to Busy getting crystals and needing a special diet. Markus is overweight, so he gets a small amount of diet food twice a day. Busy's a snacker with an overactive metabolism, so we've taken to feeding him several times a day. Sometimes Markus happens to be in the room when this happens, even though he's not supposed to be. Like today. He was aware, of course, that he wasn't allowed to eat out of Busy's bowl, and keenly aware that we were right there, watching him. So he sat himself down next to Busy, staring at him snacking away for a while. Then he very, very gently and politely stretched out a paw, and fished out a piece of food onto the carpet, where he devoured it. While we gaped, he repeated the process.
He got into trouble, alright, but it's hard to be mad at someone that cheeky.
- Oh! Easter baskets! I got a huge Easter basket with candy from my hubby! He also included sugar snap peas and chips with guacamole dip! I got him one, too, with smoked oysters and cream cheese and Trisquits and candy and a chocolate bunny with a little storybook where you can read the tale of the bunny you just bit the head off. <3
- And I made stuffed game hens! (Take a look at Elsa's blog, btw - it's mainly in Swedish, but she and her blog is gorgeous. Someone even started a tumblr for her!)
- I randomly found a blog post with an adorable little girl. It was her birthday party and it was all a big success (even though she had ordered a blue cake and got a green one instead - blue food coloring's hard to find in Sweden, I've noticed).
- Markus the Cat is a smooth, conniving little sociopath! We feed our two cats separately, due to Busy getting crystals and needing a special diet. Markus is overweight, so he gets a small amount of diet food twice a day. Busy's a snacker with an overactive metabolism, so we've taken to feeding him several times a day. Sometimes Markus happens to be in the room when this happens, even though he's not supposed to be. Like today. He was aware, of course, that he wasn't allowed to eat out of Busy's bowl, and keenly aware that we were right there, watching him. So he sat himself down next to Busy, staring at him snacking away for a while. Then he very, very gently and politely stretched out a paw, and fished out a piece of food onto the carpet, where he devoured it. While we gaped, he repeated the process.
He got into trouble, alright, but it's hard to be mad at someone that cheeky.
- Oh! Easter baskets! I got a huge Easter basket with candy from my hubby! He also included sugar snap peas and chips with guacamole dip! I got him one, too, with smoked oysters and cream cheese and Trisquits and candy and a chocolate bunny with a little storybook where you can read the tale of the bunny you just bit the head off. <3
- And I made stuffed game hens! (Take a look at Elsa's blog, btw - it's mainly in Swedish, but she and her blog is gorgeous. Someone even started a tumblr for her!)
- I just ordered these! My left foot has been swimming in rain water for too long. To add insult to injury, the shoe stores have decided that real ladies don't need boots at this time of year while the weather says that yes, you really do. So, online I went. I never ordered shoes online before. I'm a little nervous, but hey, free return shipping!
- I'm also on AO3 now! Maybe there will actually be more than one story there at some point, who knows? Seriously, my output is pathetic. I need to stop wallowing in my own inadequacy and start producing.
- My cat Busy has started stinking these past couple days. It started as a cloying, musky-sweet smell and turned fishy-cheesy after that. I suspect there's something wrong with his anal glands, so off to the vet he goes as soon as the next check rolls in and here's hoping it won't ruin us again. Sigh.
- I've gained weight and had to get new pants.:(
- I sniffed B&BW's new perfume Country Chic and now I want it. I want it bad. Although I wonder how they managed to cram "bright spring woods" in there.
- I just got Carla Speed McNeil's Finder graphic novel "Voice". It's a strange, dark, but absolutely fascinating coming-of-age tale and you all need to get it and read it. That is, if you're not allergic to being confused now and then, because the Finder world is so rich and detailed, Carla's in the habit of adding footnotes for every page at the end of every volume. But the pay-off is so worth it. Nothing in Finder feels predictable or cliched. It's a bizarre world that also makes a frightening amount of sense, and at its core is a bunch of well-rendered, believable characters. Read it, please. Support good work! She has an uncompleted sequel to Voice up on her site, un-inked, but very readable.
New rule in this house: DO NOT DISCUSS MONEY ISSUES RIGHT BEFORE BEDTIME. I couldn't get to sleep until 6AM and then I woke up again after 4 hours. But that is why they invented coffee.
Been working on fic. Yeah. This playlist with relaxing music has kept me from going mental. I recommend it to anyone who feels like they're going to pieces. Incredible visuals, too.
Sweetest game premise ever? Tiger and Monster had a fight and you must bring them back together by removing the blocks in the correct order.<33
And, finally:
( Fluffy love. )
Been working on fic. Yeah. This playlist with relaxing music has kept me from going mental. I recommend it to anyone who feels like they're going to pieces. Incredible visuals, too.
Sweetest game premise ever? Tiger and Monster had a fight and you must bring them back together by removing the blocks in the correct order.<33
And, finally:
( Fluffy love. )
Woke up around 6:30AM from EXCRUCIATING PAIN. I cried (tears and all) and screamed (literally) for hubby, who was up, and he came and saved me with his presence and a hot water bottle. Yes, it is Menstruation Time in Roily Land and the roller coasters are now operating 24/7. You might want to bring a Kleenex or two.
I took a nap, and within five seconds, Markus was there, digging at the blankets, narrowly missing my face with his claws, and he didn't stop until he was safely nestled under the covers, pressed up against me and purring like the little cuddle machine he is. When I had to switch position, he pressed up against my back instead. With a little sigh. I shouldn't love a creature that annoying so much, but he's irresistible.
Aren't you, sweetie? Yes, you are.
Yeah. That's all I've got. Now: pain killers.
I took a nap, and within five seconds, Markus was there, digging at the blankets, narrowly missing my face with his claws, and he didn't stop until he was safely nestled under the covers, pressed up against me and purring like the little cuddle machine he is. When I had to switch position, he pressed up against my back instead. With a little sigh. I shouldn't love a creature that annoying so much, but he's irresistible.
Aren't you, sweetie? Yes, you are.
Yeah. That's all I've got. Now: pain killers.
Today at work, a lady walked up to me, leaned on her cart and said "Can I ask you something?"
I, naturally, said yes, and she went:
"My idea. Of customer service. Is that if the customer wants something... you give it to them."
She went on to explain that she had intended to buy a piece of furniture in our store. "I do not want to assemble it myself," she said firmly. She had talked to the furniture manager, who had kind of shrugged and said that maybe, if some of the guys had time (though at the moment we were speaking, the only floor workers left in the store was me and another girl, tasked with cleaning up the entire store, so I don't know if she just came in earlier in the day or if he meant that she should come back the next day...? She didn't specify), they could maybe put it together, but it wasn't likely and it wasn't policy.
She fixed her eyes on me. "What do you think?" she said. "Do you think that's good customer service?"
I hummed and hawed, of course, said I was really not in a position to comment and so on, as politely as possible. She rolled her eyes. "OK. Fine. Whatever. You know, that's the problem. No one has an opinion." She waved at me dismissively. "And you're young." Then she left. I didn't tell her I'm thirty.
To the cashier, she launched a tirade about how she was raised in a high-moral family and been taught that the customer should get what he wants and if SHE ran a business, she would be putting together furniture all day long.
The piece of furniture in question was a $79 dresser that she apparently wanted just for her jeans.
In less irritating news, I found an online interactive documentary about Pine Point - a small Canadian mining town that was erased completely from the map after the mine closed. One of the ex-residents - a man who used to be extremely athletic, but now sits in a wheelchair because of MS - has built a memorial website about it, using only voice commands to his computer.
I was so taken by the idea of the place you grew up in just not being there anymore. The whole thing is just really engrossing and fascinating and well-done. Check it out!
Oh yeah, I also locked Busy in the closet today before I left for work. Thankfully, the hubby noticed his little scritchings and scratchings and saved him.
I, naturally, said yes, and she went:
"My idea. Of customer service. Is that if the customer wants something... you give it to them."
She went on to explain that she had intended to buy a piece of furniture in our store. "I do not want to assemble it myself," she said firmly. She had talked to the furniture manager, who had kind of shrugged and said that maybe, if some of the guys had time (though at the moment we were speaking, the only floor workers left in the store was me and another girl, tasked with cleaning up the entire store, so I don't know if she just came in earlier in the day or if he meant that she should come back the next day...? She didn't specify), they could maybe put it together, but it wasn't likely and it wasn't policy.
She fixed her eyes on me. "What do you think?" she said. "Do you think that's good customer service?"
I hummed and hawed, of course, said I was really not in a position to comment and so on, as politely as possible. She rolled her eyes. "OK. Fine. Whatever. You know, that's the problem. No one has an opinion." She waved at me dismissively. "And you're young." Then she left. I didn't tell her I'm thirty.
To the cashier, she launched a tirade about how she was raised in a high-moral family and been taught that the customer should get what he wants and if SHE ran a business, she would be putting together furniture all day long.
The piece of furniture in question was a $79 dresser that she apparently wanted just for her jeans.
In less irritating news, I found an online interactive documentary about Pine Point - a small Canadian mining town that was erased completely from the map after the mine closed. One of the ex-residents - a man who used to be extremely athletic, but now sits in a wheelchair because of MS - has built a memorial website about it, using only voice commands to his computer.
I was so taken by the idea of the place you grew up in just not being there anymore. The whole thing is just really engrossing and fascinating and well-done. Check it out!
Oh yeah, I also locked Busy in the closet today before I left for work. Thankfully, the hubby noticed his little scritchings and scratchings and saved him.
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We've been living here for five years and this is the first time we've gotten trick-or-treaters! I guess that yard work kind of paid off, after all?
I have a day off. I am kind of almost working on my fic about Arthur's mother. And Arthur. And his tentatively budding friendship with Eames post-Inception. I am a horribly slow and lazy writer. There's something wrong in my brain that makes it so. Internet distraction factors in as well. But then, I also feel out of my depth, because the Inception world is very very far from mine.
It's upsettingly wet outside, considering I need to go out to buy cat food. But I need to go, because otherwise Markus will squeal and beep and chirp in agony tonight. There's no way I'm braving this waterfall all the way to the pet store to get him the diet food tonight, though - he'll get a couple cans of Friskies to tide him over. I'm sure he won't mind.
I have a day off. I am kind of almost working on my fic about Arthur's mother. And Arthur. And his tentatively budding friendship with Eames post-Inception. I am a horribly slow and lazy writer. There's something wrong in my brain that makes it so. Internet distraction factors in as well. But then, I also feel out of my depth, because the Inception world is very very far from mine.
It's upsettingly wet outside, considering I need to go out to buy cat food. But I need to go, because otherwise Markus will squeal and beep and chirp in agony tonight. There's no way I'm braving this waterfall all the way to the pet store to get him the diet food tonight, though - he'll get a couple cans of Friskies to tide him over. I'm sure he won't mind.
Today we merrily went to IKEA to pick up the TV stand I've been craving, only to discover that it was too big to take on the bus home! Woe. But! I decided I would no longer put up with the glued-and-stapled mess of boards and wax cloth we've had since we moved here and put the rest of my birthday money towards getting it delivered. And we got $20 off, by showing a bus ticket! God and me, we're pals.
So! Things are looking up a little at Casa Roily. My precious couch cover should show up any day now, too. I know the kitties are already sharpening their claws in anticipation. They will be dealt with.
Speaking of kitties, Busy demands to be let into the bedroom every morning and then it's cuddle time. He steps very gingerly and politely and makes requests with soft little paws. If you wiggle your toes, he will politely attack them. If you make a sudden move, he will jump three feet in the air and his tail will foof like a feather duster. (My hubby has way too much fun with that.)
His cuddle time must be done sans Markus, because once HE's inside the door, it's every man for himself. There's nothing polite about Markus' approach. He will walk all over your tender parts, scratch his way under your blanket and burrow in, blithely flexing his claws on whatever piece of skin he can reach. Just try to remove him - I dare you. He will cling to the sheets, to the covers, to the carpet, to you. He will lay down on his back with his claws out. And he will scream like you're cutting his umbilical cord.
I love them.
I took a Sex ID test on the BBC site and apparently, my brain is pretty male. Whoda thunk? It was spurred by this. The debate in the comment section - as with most debates - makes me want to skip the gender thing entirely. SCIENCE SAYS a whole lot of contradictory things, apparently.
I need to pee.
So! Things are looking up a little at Casa Roily. My precious couch cover should show up any day now, too. I know the kitties are already sharpening their claws in anticipation. They will be dealt with.
Speaking of kitties, Busy demands to be let into the bedroom every morning and then it's cuddle time. He steps very gingerly and politely and makes requests with soft little paws. If you wiggle your toes, he will politely attack them. If you make a sudden move, he will jump three feet in the air and his tail will foof like a feather duster. (My hubby has way too much fun with that.)
His cuddle time must be done sans Markus, because once HE's inside the door, it's every man for himself. There's nothing polite about Markus' approach. He will walk all over your tender parts, scratch his way under your blanket and burrow in, blithely flexing his claws on whatever piece of skin he can reach. Just try to remove him - I dare you. He will cling to the sheets, to the covers, to the carpet, to you. He will lay down on his back with his claws out. And he will scream like you're cutting his umbilical cord.
I love them.
I took a Sex ID test on the BBC site and apparently, my brain is pretty male. Whoda thunk? It was spurred by this. The debate in the comment section - as with most debates - makes me want to skip the gender thing entirely. SCIENCE SAYS a whole lot of contradictory things, apparently.
I need to pee.
.
