A cat's life

According to Thing Two, twilight in the garden offers the following to Clovar, the Blind and Slightly Daft Cat:

New sounds!
New smells!
New adventures!
New things to eat!


New places to pee.

This, from the kid who suggested chocolate asphalt.

His brother, not to be outdone, recreated Hamlet's soliloquy with a Chewbacca figure and C-3P0's head. Who stepped up as Gertrude? Aunt Beru, of course! The rest of the casting was, at last check-in, still in flux.

Don't phase me, bro!

"She's got beautiful plumage"
Originally uploaded by chickenygoodness

Star Trek: The Experience Closing in September

We have very fond feelings toward this exhibit/ride. Michael and I have gone to the Experience twice without the kids and twice with them, with the last time just a few weeks ago. The kids loved the rides and the exhibits and the actors walking around were a highlight, too. We'll be sad to see this shut down, but I like to think that it will open the doors for future exhibits. I'm hoping that the new movie will also spark interest again. Star Trek needs to be around, I think.

Giant Scowling Lincoln!

Giant Scowling Lincoln!
Originally uploaded by chickenygoodness

We arrived home around 6:30pm on Friday and immediately jumped into the morass of yuck. Between clients who couldn't ever grasp the concept that I was out of town and finding out about the death of one of my foster mothers, I'm afraid that I was pretty overwhelmed. I was ready to call it all quits for a while, much to Michael's alarm, but I've snapped out of it, reevaluated, and have been able to pull everything back in line. It's been something of a trip, not unlike being in the car with my husband and brother-in-law for two days.

The good news is that we made it home safely and the journey itself was without significant stress, if you don't count the fact that I didn't do the gas budget right with relation to all the hills and the driving into a head wind. Aside from that minor detail, there were several incidences worth noting. There was God Pizza, which appeared to have gone out of business, the Generic Motel, of which there is a picture on Flickr, feeding groundhogs and praying that they wouldn't climb into the car, and the Giant Scowling Head of Lincoln. Seriously, that thing was massive. Also, I think it would have fit in better in Illinois than in Wyoming, but I suppose that's just the way things like that go. Nothing is guaranteed to make sense, you know.

It was nice to talk with my brother-in-law again. It's been two years and he's changed a little, but not too much. This is good. I wasn't sure how much deprogramming would be required as he downshifted from mission to normal, but so far he's been normal-ish. I'll keep an eye out for residual missionary behaviour.

Mosquito chow

In Iowa, where it is about 11pm. Parked at a rest stop, where there is wireless access. Really want to be home now. I guess we'll get there when we get there.

And we are.....home!

And we are.....home!, originally uploaded by chickenygoodness.

Welcome to the new place.

Stained glass

Stained glass
Originally uploaded by chickenygoodness

The other houses that we looked at yesterday were pretty consistent in theme and in mood: college housing, property management, small, not enough bedrooms, two cats at most, if at all. It wasn't until almost three in the afternoon, just driving randomly through neighborhood after neighborhood, that we spotted a sign that clearly said "for rent" but didn't have a company name attached.

We had an hour or two before the next appointment (we thought an hour, the landlady thought two), so we made an appointment to see the place. From the outside, it was very promising, as were several other places. However, this place lived up to its potential. Four bedrooms, plus an office. Huge backyard. Two car garage, which is unusual for a property of its age. And as for the age? Turn of the century and I mean last century. The remnants of the cistern in the basement were the clue on age; cisterns were common in constructions right around 1900. The owner confirmed my suspicions, which means I've still got it in the antiques market.

After viewing the heartbreaker house, which was also a century or more old, we called the owner of the cistern house and told her that we wanted to take it. She was very excited; apparently there's been the hope that a family would take the property and we not only qualified, but had the full deposit available.

We went back in today to sign the lease and to take pictures and measurements. I was able to walk around the property to identify plants and trouble spots in the yard. The new landlady, who I will call Grandma Cat Lady, seemed pleased that we were committed to caring for the place and excited about the move. The lease is very straightforward and I'm just relieved about everything. We even get to keep Daria the Wonder Cat, who is the problematic cat number three.

Please note that I do not refer to this woman as Crazy Cat Lady; she is simply a woman who discovered the joy of cats rather recently and she cannot help that it happened when her kids were gone.

The kids have been called and alerted about the house and they are excited, too. Thing Two was almost as excited about the prevalent wildlife as he is about the house.

This place is thick with squirrels and rabbits. We found, and I played with, a frog at the heartbreaker house yesterday. Today's discovery, though, was absolutely adorable. Michael and I visited campus so I could take care of some administrative and payroll business and I spotted a largish rabbit near one of the buildings. I began walking in that direction when I glanced down and spotted a baby bunny that had joined the great circle of life. However, a little brown bundle that was not looking as dead caught my attention and I crouched down to investigate. There, very much alive, was a baby bunny that was tiny enough to have open eyes but little ears that were still lying back against its head. I touched its back gently and could feel that it was not unlike a pocket heater, soft and warm and so darling that all I could do was melt at the sight of it.

The mother rabbit kept a close watch on me and I left before long as I had to get to the admin building before it closed. I checked on the baby again as we headed off campus and it was still there, although mom was out of sight this time. Michael located what must be the nest and, as baby was close to the nest, we felt good in leaving.

Again, it's a little thing, but something that made me fall that much more in love with the area.

Home of the National Tractor Pulling Championships

When it comes to finding a new place to live, you've got to kiss a lot of toads before you find a prince. We visited nine properties and seriously considered two for rental. It didn't take long to rule out what was originally our best hope, as the outside was incredibly promising but the interior had been seriously violated by the management company. I'm sorry, but you don't go randomly sticking closets into rooms so you can claim additional bedrooms. Also, black widow spiders and an inch of standing water in the basement are turn-offs.

On the upside, though, we have seen many squirrels and rabbits and I even picked up and held a small frog.

House number one was a nightmare. The carpet, gray and fraying, was filthy, the bathroom color scheme was circa 1967, and the doors and walls were poorly and copiously patched. The kitchen backsplash, while not tie-dyed, was still hideous. I smiled and nodded to the nice woman who took the time to speak with us, but left it with "I'll call you tomorrow with a decision."

That woman wasn't the only thing that spoke to me; the house spoke, too, with volumes of "no!"

I will be calling the lady, just for the record.

Coming tomorrow, as I'm falling asleep: more houses, more bugs, and more miles put on the car criss-crossing Sunnydale North while hunting the elusive rental property sign.

What Cheer!

What Cheer!
Originally uploaded by chickenygoodness

So....Emily the GPS. Emily is a loaner from the darling family that is currently caring for the kids. These people really are wonderful and have been since the day we arrived in the neighborhood. They also have shown, time and again, that they're willing to share with us. The first time it was their SUV to go get my desk from IKEA. This time it was Emily the GPS, who has proven herself invaluable. However, she's also got something of a personality and that means she pronounces things a little funny.

Emily's peculiar pronunciation pops up every now and again, but the one phrase that she's consistent about is "Burger King". She pronounces it "Burjer King", which leaves Michael giggling. I get the feeling that a new in-joke has arrived.

Troll, or toll, roads are still pretty new to us, but they were not nearly as expensive as I would have feared or as Michael expected. I wasn't impressed with the Indiana toll road, as the gas was more expensive than we'd seen anywhere else along the trip, and that discontent expanded when we heard a report on the complaints filed about the stretch of road. However, the others were fine.

We drove through four states today: Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and into Ohio. The weather was wonderful. The only catch was frequent stops for construction. While the weather was nice, that sun still gets hot after sitting on I-80 for almost an hour.

The Kool-aid interactive exhibit

Sleeping was kind of a joke. A sick, sick joke. I know I slept more than Michael did, but it was fragmented, with ample startles and phantom fears about colliding with Bambi to break up the monotony. However, the trade-off is that the sunrise over Iowa is really beautiful.

Poor Michael. He’s really suffering right now from lack of sleep, which is why I’ll take over driving again once we get to Des Moines. It’s another of those lovely things about our marriage; he’s great driving at night, while I’m better first thing in the morning.

However, if I’m going to be taking over in an hour, I better rest up. I’m yawning much more than I want to be at this point.

I've got lots to update but still, even after this point in the day, I'm completely wiped. I'm thinking dinner, a shower to wash off the road, and then maybe I can be a human again. Still to come: adventures with Emily the GPS, the Troll Boothes, and crossing four states. Also, there appears to be some sort of swelling in my right forearm. It's been burning and sore, which is new and entirely unpleasant.

Bubba and a little more chlorine in the gene pool

We stopped at Wal-mart to grab some deli items for dinner (don’t judge- the sandwiches were not made in Central American sweatshops; they were made in good, old-fashioned American commercial kitchens with questionable standards!). While there, availing one’s self of the restrooms seemed like a good idea. What I found in the ladies room would have made a monkey blush. I encountered a small blond boy guarding the bathroom entrance, not with a sword, not with a spear, but with the orange and black “bathroom cleaning” sign. In his mouth. I was pretty sure that neither it nor the child had made the acquaintance of any sort of cleaning products lately.

The capper for me was the sound of the mother calling this darling cherub to her side. “Hey Bubba!” she bellered. I wasn’t sure if Bubba was a term of endearment or his name, but either was possible. When I informed her of Bubba’s choice in mouth accessories, she simply asked “Why did you put that in your mouth?” By this time I’d slipped into a stall and was trying, unsuccessfully, to put the whole thing out of my mind. It contributed mightily to putting me off my feed, which worked well in keeping the associated costs low.

Wal-mart’s big thing is “Low prices. Always.” Tonight, that definitely proved to be the case.

Bunny meat

We got a slightly later start than expected, as we didn’t pack as much as we were expecting to pack last night. It was a late night anyway, as I wandered the upstairs, making The Kat’s bed and covering up Two, the Immortal Parakeet, in Thing Two’s room. Thing One, in an increasing show of teenagerhood, asked that I not go cleaning up his room in his absence. I had no problems with this, instead finding it just one more sign that the adolescent apocalypse is nigh.

We’re in Nebraska right now and we’re in the middle of a storm. Michael is keeping an eye on the horizon, watching the lightning and hoping a tornado isn’t going to kick up. The skies are so dramatic and the fields seem to go on and on, clear out to the skyline. I’m so accustomed to being embraced by the Utah mountains that the open vista has become foreign to me. The mountains have been my daily companion for sixteen years and it’s difficult to let them go. If I could bring them with me, reality issues aside, I would. However, I also know that we can always go back to visit.

The air is heavy and the sky is growing darker as we drive further east. Farm houses dot the landscape with miles between neighbors. I don’t know where we’ll sleep tonight and yet I’m more or less at peace with that.

We’ve passed some of the fattest cows I think I’ve ever seen.

Wyoming was positively gory. The roads were plastered with the remains of small animals who had unsuccessfully participated in live-action Frogger and I’m sure I saw three or four varieties of roadkill. I saw precisely one tiny, intelligent, ground mammal who, as I passed at 80 miles per hour, darted into the middle of the left lane, assessed the situation, and retired from the field, life intact.

Check-in

We're currently sitting in a parking lot in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It's been an uneventful drive so far, just peaceful and me becoming reacquainted with why I enjoy driving. After Serenity, the 1994 Sentra, driving the Defiant has been extraordinarily pleasant. I'm working on an entry offline, wherein I will talk about copious amounts of bunny meat, the impending adolescent apocalypse, and Emily the GPS. I'll likely post it when we get to Iowa or when we stop for the night, whichever happens first.

Until then, wish us luck and safe travels. Your good thoughts are not only welcome, but much appreciated.

Catseye

Catseye
Originally uploaded by chickenygoodness

We spent last night talking with James, husband of Aimee, and again I was reminded how grateful I am for his friendship. It is a joy to have friends who are not only friends, but who are also swimming through the great information continuum (with apologies to the Great Material Continuum) in the search for understanding. Also, he ranks as a fellow geek, so that doesn't hurt.

Michael and I leave for points east at ungodly o'clock tomorrow morning. The kids will be staying with a friend and neighbor, which is nice because they already know the routine over there and they're close enough to take care of the cats. I hate leaving them. The kids, not the cats. I know that they know that we love them and hate like poison to go without them and probably wouldn't go without them if it weren't for the fact that we're hauling their uncle and his two year's worth of detritus home from his mission at the end of the week.

Again, the kids, not the cats.

At first, I wasn't sure where we'd be staying during our visit, as I was concerned about finances - I think I always will be, no matter how much money we have - but I popped things into the listings on Priceline and not only came up with a nice place to stay, but a place with a kitchen, laundry facilities, and wireless.

It feels almost like this is one more instance of "this is the right thing to do".

It's comforting, but a little weird.