Last night both Colley and Gus decided they wanted to cuddle on the bed with us. In true cat fashion, they chose the Pin Human Formation for their sleeping placement. Colley slept in his normal spot between Erich and I at approximately my stomach. Gus decided to sleep on the opposite side of me down at my ankles.

So every time my body wanted to turn, I woke up.

In my experience, the Pin Human Formation occurs when the cats sense that something’s wrong. I first experienced it when I had jaw surgery at age 16. Kelim usually slept with me with his head on the pillow. But Kashan rarely came up to me, preferring my younger brother as his human companion. Yet during the first 24 hours or so that I was home from the hospital, I had two large male cats in Pin Formation guarding me. Kelim in his usual spot with Kashan playing foot point.

It’s uncanny how Gus and Colley seem to do the same thing. I’d say it was a male cat thing, except that Fizz has been known to get into the act, and my mom’s female cats have done the formation, too.

So now I have this stupid paranoia that something’s wrong that I’m not aware of…

Needless to say, I’m very tired today. I’m planning on making a lunchtime run over to Starbucks to get something entirely too caffeinated for my own good to handle the afternoon. And hopefully I’ll go to bed early tonight, although I don’t count on my brain agreeing to that idea.

******

Did anyone watch the South Park episode last night? (hence another reason why I’m tired). Most of the time, I think the show goes a bit too stupid to be funny, but last night was taking on the media circus that has become of the Shiavo case.

I haven’t written about it, mostly because everyone else has. The entire circus makes me sick, and I want to smack all of the protestors and online pundits who are purposely driving this into the anti-abortionchoice movement, demonizing one side or the other.

The bottom line? The woman will not recover. Her brain is dead. She’s breathing on her own because her brain stem is still intact, which continues the involuntary body functions such as breathing, but everything else is gone. The humane thing is to allow her still existing body to go in peace and let her soul go to rest. Her parents need to come to terms with it, and I see their constant fight as denial of the reality of the situation. For this, I give them condolences. They have lost a daughter. No parent should have to bury a child. But it does happen, and their refusal to see reality has led them into a horrid obsession that has become selfish. It’s not about whether Terry should live– it’s that they can’t let her go. Why do I say this? Because the parents have protested the medical staff giving her morphine to dull the pain– because they’re convinced that the staff wants to give her an overdose to speed her death.

Why, in any Divine Being’s name, would you want your child to linger like that? Seriously. Considering the alternative, which is the current starvation. Why is the current solution being done, when a quiet morphine dosage could be used to release her peacefully?

It’s selfish denial. I can only hope (although I doubt) that her parents will someday realize what they were doing. I could understand their fight if it had only been one year since she fell into this state. But we’re talking fifteen years, folks. From my perspective, that’s half of my lifetime.

The conservative Christians who protest this might actually want to take the surprising shred of truth from South Park last night– maybe God has a plan for Terry in the afterlife. If these supposed morally right people accept God as omnipotent, they need to start listening. It was her time. There are some medical ailments from which people won’t recover. And to keep their bodies going is attempting to play God.

Last time I checked, questioning God was against most of their faiths.

Anyway… that’s my take. But really, the best post I’ve seen on the issue comes from Shandra.

~ Mel.

When the power goes out at the office, it’s not the end of the world. The office is not doomed. We don’t get to go home five minutes after it goes off. We don’t need flashlights to get around when there is emergency lighting and natural light coming into the building. If you want to go out to Starbucks and get a cup of coffee while it’s out, you don’t need my permission. No, I don’t know if it’s affecting the bank down the street. No, I can’t get a contract copy off of my computer for you– as my power’s out too. No, really– we’re going to be okay.

Take a deep breath, enjoy your coffee. Make those phone calls you need to make. Clean your office (after all, we’re moving in two months). If nothing else, go outside and enjoy the absolutely beautiful spring day out there and take a short walk in the sunshine.

Bottom line… Chill the eff out. It’s a fucking power outage. You’re all grown human beings. You’ve seen this before in your lifetime. You’ll see it again. So WTF? STFU and deal.

Sincerely,
Your admin, rolling her eyes

Oh, and one more thing… You don’t need a flashlight to pee, either. Especially if you’re female. And no offense, but if you’re using a flashlight while you’re peeing, I don’t want to touch it afterwards. Nor do I want to know what you’re doing with said flashlight in the bathroom.

Rain has taken over and did a fairly good washing of streets and sidewalks yesterday. Hopefully New England will have a significant decrease in the winter grime that’s built up over two months without a break of snow-covered ground. Although I’m sure it’ll take a few more storms to really rinse all of the crud out.

It’s so odd to see bare lawns. Seriously. I didn’t realize how much I’d come to blank out the dirt-covered snow that was everywhere since mid-January. Of course, thanks to two months of blanketing, everyone’s lawns look horrible right now. I hope the snow plus rain leads to very green lawns come May.

Erich and I had a nice weekend up in Maine. The weather was beautiful– low 40′s during the days with brilliant sunshine. The nights were below freezing, but that was to be expected. It’s March… in midcoast Maine. I did get a few pictures while we were up there, and forgot to take others. (I’ll get those uploaded tonight.)

Erich’s mom has finished the renovations to her little apartment, and both of us were amazed at how good it looked. When she first moved into the little apartment, it was so dark. I was honestly worried that it would lead to depression because it was small and dreary. But I have to admit, she made some wonderful changes to her portion of the house. Lots of new windows. A repositioning of the doorway. It looks open, warm, and inviting– and looks much larger than the 600 or so square feet that it actually is.

She’s doing well. The move to Maine was a good one for her. Erich’s worried that she’s relying too much on her wheelchair. But otherwise, she seems healthy and happy. And ultimately, that’s what’s important.

Oh– and she called me Daughter this weekend and expressed how happy she is to finally have one. (hee!) After all of the years of hearing horror stories about mothers-in-law, it seems that I’ll buck that trend… hopefully forever. She and I are able to sit and chat. I like her. I’m not able to call either of Erich’s parents by their first names yet, though. It just seems– weird. I just don’t know them well enough yet, I guess. A lot of it is fear of offending– my parents (read=mostly dad) were kinda strict on the proper addressing for elders, after all.

We had Easter dinner on Saturday afternoon, rather than Sunday. Since it’s a 4 to 5 hour drive home, we didn’t want to get on the road too late on Sunday or have to rush through dinner. The ham that she bought was delicious. The blueberry pie did something stupid while baking and fell apart, but was salvaged over ice cream as topping. On Saturday night, she wanted to relax at home and do her leg therapy, so Erich and I had some alone time to go wandering. We both were craving lobster rolls, and since Red’s isn’t open yet for the season, we had to find another outlet. Maine seems to shut down by 9 p.m whenever we’re there– and at this time of year when very few places are open, 7 p.m. seemed late to find good luck on food, so finding a place early was key. We wound up at Cappy’s Pub, which was a slightly claustrophobic seaside place. Not really a dive, per-say, but decorated to look like one. Very good lobster rolls. Fantastic haddock chowder. And good clam chowder, too. And yes– it was white. Which is the only real clam chowder that should exist.

And yes, I realize I’m moving to Rhode Island, where they do things differently. My clam chowder, however, will remain white. thankyouverymuch.

We drank blueberry cream sodas and walked along the pier and the lighthouse. I got entirely too cold standing against the wind coming off the bay. And we danced across the somewhat firmer patches of ground to get into the apartment, avoiding the ever-present mud that pervades everything in Maine this time of year. When they say Mud Season, they mean Mud Season. It was extremely… mucky mud. All of that snowfall that has melted plus an unpaved driveway equals muddy ruts from hell.

And muddy cats

And muddy cars

And muddy clothes

Yet Erich’s mom was wondering why we were leaving our shoes by the front door. You’d think she’d realize that after thirty years of demands to not track mud into the house, Erich and I have started actually listening to our parents…

seriously.

A few days ago, I posted an ask-me-questions meme. Two lovely women dropped comments and questions for me– and so, as promised, my answers to anything…

First, from Bozoette Mary, who has been giving sound, helpful advice on the mortgage suggestions lately…

1) How did you come to be a pagan?
Through a weird combination of my parents divorce, seeing the cracks in the reasoning of my childhood faith (and that of my friends), and accepting the beliefs that I’ve always had but hadn’t validated until I went to college. I grew up a very devoted Episcopalian. The long version I’ll have to turn into a full entry, honestly– because it could take a long time to explain (and honestly get my own thoughts around). Through a lot of reading and prayer, I realized and came to accept (at first very warily) what my beliefs were, and why they fit under Paganism.

The short version of the answer, though, is that everything fell into place by one cold afternoon when I entered a Pagan shop in Salem during my freshman year of college. Things just clicked.

I’ll do some more work on an entry on this for later this week. Because this question really is a deep one that I should give a proper answer to.

2) Do you have a dress yet?
Sadly, no. Other than talking rough dates, I haven’t done any planning yet. I have an idea of what I’d like for a dress. But I need to go try a couple on.

3) Are you having fun?
Lately? Definitely. It’s strange to say, but I definitely am. Life’s been… interesting.. this year. In a very good way.

And from my West Coast twin, Minarae…

1) Are you laughing as much as I am over the fact that the two of us both turn 30 AND got engaged the same year, and are getting married within a month of each other??
Yes. I’m also rolling my eyes at how insane it is. You’re sure that your birth record is correct, right? You weren’t adopted from Butte sometime in January ’75, too?

2) Now that you have a house, are there any new pets you might add to the three cat collection you already have?
If we were home more often, I wouldn’t object to getting a dog. But we’re not going to be home enough to properly care for one. We’ve joked about a pet-pet kitten for Gus to keep him occupied.

3) What’s the most romantic thing Erich has ever done for you (aside from the engagement)?
Oooh… tough. I have two. And I honestly can’t pick between them…

The first would be our first anniversary get-away to New Hampshire. Erich picked the place and surprised me. The bed & breakfast that we stayed at (fyi… that picture is of the actual room we had) was incredibly romantic. And the power was out for the first night we were there due to a bad thunderstorm– which just added to the atmosphere.

The second thing was something very simple. Last Valentine’s Day (’04), Erich had flowers sent to my office. But instead of the basic rose bouquet, he sent me red tulips and blue irises. They were so pretty and so different for Valentine’s Day. I still think of them all the time.

Thanks for the questions, guys– anyone else want to throw some out there?

~ Mel.

Back from Maine. Have a few questions to answer from folks (anyone else? Please?). But while I decompress from the five hour drive…

1. grab the nearest book.

2. open the book to page 123.

3. find the fifth sentence.

4. post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.

5. don’t you dare dig for that “cool” or “intellectual” book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! just pick up whatever is closest.

“Secrets are also useful for subverting the minds and wills of potential converts. A well-placed secret in the right ear may gain a new soul for Shar must faster and more lastingly than a conversion obtained at swordpoint. A favorite recent example involves a certain notable countess in Sembia, who was ignorant of the fact that her beloved husband was engaged in an affair with her sister… until a priest of Shar whispered the awful secret in her ear.”

~ Lords of Darkness (D&D Forgotten Realms Accessory)

Is “lastingly” actually a word?

Granted– it’s a gaming book. They do whatever the hell they want.

But lastingly?

My post-work evening would consist of a martini, the finest meats and cheeses throughout the land (elegantly placed on a serving platter), and a cat on my lap. Perhaps later, I’ll bring out the nifty new lap stand for my Egyptian Sampler project and sit propped against the pillows in our bedroom, working away dutifully on the heads of Horus and Osiris.

I’m about to have a long weekend, and I want to start off in style, see.

Of course, what will more likely happen is “I’m too tired to cook” and a trip to Wendys, watching Halo 2 on the TV as Erich blows the shit out of trash-talking teenagers, and a cat– specifically Cat the Eldest– crawling on me and releasing a sound that’s somewhere between a quack and a bleat, and crushing my boobs as he demands attention.

This, of course, after I pick up the Jeep from its brakes-turned-into-the-165,000 mile-checkup appointment. Which is costing me a tad bit of money due to a severe alignment mishap that’s wrecked both front tires.

yay.

“Blowout imminent” indeed. What the hell do you do when both front tires blow out, anyway? Spare tires are great and all… but they don’t divide like amoebas. So yeah– Jeep will be all patched up again. For its next 15,000 miles until a crisis needs to get averted. At least it’s one less worry on my mind for the next few weeks.

Should it be disturbing me that with all of the talk of house money, $700 in car repairs suddenly doesn’t seem like that much money at all? $700 literally appears like a drop in the bucket compared to the $20,000 we need to have for the house closing, according to the plan we’re doing for the mortgage. Or is it just due to the über amount of repairs last year. What’s $700 compared to a $6,800 body repair job, anyway?

I’m burnt from this week. It’s just been stressful and weird around the office all week, and I can’t pin it down why. Everyone’s in a cranky mood. Things seem to keep breaking. Last Friday’s tour through the new office space seems to have caused part of it. But a couple projects seem to be causing a few burrs in peoples’ collective asses. Being the admin and all, I’m usually oblivious to project-specific burrs, however. I keep my head down and just keep cranking the paperwork.

*~~~~*~~~~*~~~~*

Erich and I have the house inspection tomorrow morning. Crossing my fingers that all goes well.

Afterwards, we’ll be packing up and heading to midcoast Maine for the weekend to see Erich’s mom. I hope the weather holds until Sunday night. There’s supposed to be another storm on Sunday, but the time it’s going to hit is still iffy.

Which reminds me– I need to make sure I have gloves and a scarf– I imagine it’ll be a bit raw right by the ocean.

Happy Easter to those who celebrate. Blessed Ostara for those celebrating late.

~ Mel.

Erich has officially sold over his soul to the mortgage company. He should hear back on the official approval this week. In order to qualify for a first-time buyers program, he’s the only one on the mortage. Together we make too much money to qualify.

BUT… considering the amazing rate he got (5.35% fixed), this isn’t a bad thing. Especially when we saw the reports of rising interest rates. As fast as this happened, we’ve realized that we timed this really, really well. Between the interest rates and the stats from our lender and broker that Rhode Island real estate is going up in value by 23% a year, we made the Right Call.

And honestly, I already feel so much calmer than I did last week. I think figuring out the down payment was the biggest worry. That’s now taken care of/in process. Now? It’s mostly a waiting game.

House inspection is this friday morning. Hopefully all goes well with it, and it’s just little things like missing washers and doorknobs, which we can fix ourselves. We do have four big concerns, though, for our planning…

1) How’s the roof (which is 20+ years old)?
2) How’s the wiring (which apparently still has some knob and tube original wiring)>
3) Is the house cable-ready?
4) Is there proper electrical current and a vent for a dryer in the basement?

We’ve already decided that our first order of business with renovation/remodelling will be the floors. We’ll pull up all the carpets and get the floors sanded and refinished (as needed). There is a known spot of old termite damage in the family room/TV area. If we can replace a few boards, great. If not, we’ll have them sand and refinish as best as possible and use an area rug for now to hide it.

The second thing is rewallpapering the kitchen and the master bedroom. Those are the two wallpapers that are just too deadly to deal with. Honestly, all of the others aren’t that bad.

Once we have that done, we’ll probably spend the summer doing yard stuff. Erich has told me that flowers are up to me. So last night I was looking online for some ideas. Hydrangeas grow very well in New England– and almost all that I see rotate through the colors here.

Do day lillies NOT grow anywhere? I love how day lillies look, especially if they’re tended in nice, thick bunches. Perhaps sprinkled with some Asiatic-hybrid lillies in the front. Just think– Stargazer lillies in front of a house. That scent wafting into the Florida room in the summer? Heaven. Add some hostas for some extra texture where needed, and we’re good to go.

I would like to plant a hydrangea bush on the south side or that side’s corner of the house next to the Florida room– I think there is more appropriate sun for them there. Minarae’s right– they look amazing next to white houses. Especially when they generally change colors through the season, as they do around here. Blue hydrangeas are just striking.

In any case, with a large yard, some bright flower patches will be good. Over time, I’ll develop them, but to start I’d like a few things that don’t need quite as much care (like the lillies) but add lots of color. But I want to start by making the front of the house pretty and welcoming.

ESPECIALLY since (somewhat of a wedding announcement here) we’re planning to have the reception for the wedding at our house. Outside of our immediate circle of friends, the chance of folks being at our new home before the wedding is fairly slim– so we’re thinking that it will be a perfect time to have the family-appropriate housewelcoming party along with our wedding. After all, both are a celebration of starting a new segment of life together, right? Something a bit more intimate and laid-back. Appetizers, cocktails, and friends. Really–what more can we ask for?

But I will admit– wedding planning is basically being put on hold now until probably August or so. That still gives us plenty of time to plan and arrange things, but will allow us to get ourselves settled in. I’ll be keeping those arrangements in mind as we tend the yard this summer. THAT at least will have to be figured out this year so we can get the yard in good order by next spring.

So that’s the update. Providence, May ’06. Our house. Date still TBD. But not the 20th. Because I promised a friend it wouldn’t be that weekend.

In the comments (or via email)

A) Recommend to me:
1. a movie:
2. a book:
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(B) Ask me three questions, no more, no less. Ask me anything you want and I will post the answers in a new entry.

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