The Time Sink

Well, well... The post and much of the work planned for tonight pretty much evaporated when the power went out just after the football game ended (yeah, you tell time your way; I'll tell it mine <g>): the storm that was supposed to 'mean nothing' to us as late as 1830 suddenly shot up the east side of the valley and proceeded to give us one heck of a lightning storm for an hour or two. ...and took down power to about 35,000 customers in our area. ...and dropped nothing more than a sprinkle or two so far.

So it was tooth brushing by candle light for Daniel and a firing up of the flashlights and glow sticks for Brad (you could hold a seance in his room); and Shelley slept through it all (she's working Tuesday and checked out early). Power came back on around hour two of "dan time" and is still up even though the light show is still going on around us. So far I think I have all the clocks reset to wake everyone when they need to get up in the morning, but I think Shelley will have to wake me before she leaves...

As promised: Brad took a few shots of the 'reflector setup' (Hi, Lynn!) while we were out on Sunday. Here's the one that matches today's blog photo:

Yep, nothing too tricky... Well, other than getting all the angles lined up. ...and the small matter of the sun being behind a tree. ...and the guinea pig scurrying through the garden to our left (we were at the neighbor's house). ...and the wind. ...and the hound dog doing lip curls on the corner. Typical Sunday...

Oh! For those dropping by looking for news of Lori, she's alive and well and prepping for an art show. ...but her site is hosed from a server move that didn't go exactly as planned:

Now that we know what the problem is (the hosting company's migration plan didn't take into account the vagaries of an MT installation) I think we'll be able to get her going again. We finally were able to ftp in Monday and it looks to be a case of permissions and configuration. Please stand by...

Last night continued the trend of "The Week of Evening Excitement": after homework was finished and I was settling in for a late evening's work on this and that (and the never-ending game on the tube) Daniel suddenly bolted for the front door saying, "Mischief's outside! She's outside my window and the screen's pushed out!" Umm... Okay... That yard is closed in, and Mischief is the fifteen year old cat who's been dying of 'lack-of-liver' since 1999 (yeah, none on X-Ray; the vet is very interested in a post-mortem exam!) so I'm pretty sure she isn't going to be jumping any fences...

I stopped for a flashlight (memo to self: restock batteries; this is looking to be an interesting week!) and wandered out to find Daniel and the two neighbor kids trying to deal with a scared, permanently attitudinal cat (Shelley and Brad were fast asleep on the other side of the wall and remained so throughout the entire escapade). "Ummm, guys (and gal), you probably want me to try to pick her up..." After one of Mischief's patented "I will tear your heart out and eat it in front of you" growls, the older neighbor kid backed off and let me pick her up (with minimal damage to my dermal layers).

With the cat inside, a little forensic work showed that likely one of the kittens bounded up the window screen and popped it out of the frame. ...at least that's what the little paw prints on the screen and the "innocent" face in the window seemed to indicate. ...Daniel was telling me how the neighbors figured it out first because they heard a cat fight and their dog was barking; and I wondered what neighborhood cat (or possum) she'd run across in our yard as I headed back inside to get something done with my evening. ...only to hear Daniel open the door and say, "Dad, Mocha's outside!"

Okay, that explains who she was making noise at. ...and maybe how the screen was pushed out (Mocha, with "innocent" Zoe staying inside and making 'bleep' noises as we 'rescued' Mischief). ...only the problem now is that Mocha has holed up in the woodpile because of all the noise we'd been making (and likely she's as much scared as curious). ...and she's a very black Calico. ...and it's night. ...and well, night means she plays at hiding from me so she doesn't have to 'go to bed' in Brad's room and this is now all one huge game to her. Wonderful...

"Okay, kids, you're dismissed to showers and bed; this one is going to take patience" (proven out by her not coming out for either her favorite toy or food; she's thinking this is all part of the 'game' we play every night trying to get her to bed). So I sit and talk and wait and she calms and wanders out and back around and avoids me (it's still game time) and I can see she's working her way around me (with much stopping for sniffing and investigations and just obstinacy) and toward the window. ...only we've replaced the screen and that room still has Zoe inside making 'bleep' noises at her sister who's out with me. <sigh>

It took a while, but I managed to corner her and bring her back inside (after removing spider webs from her adventure in the woodpile). ..and a few minutes later it's Zoe running up the screen in a living room window (and Mocha not following at all once she saw where Zoe went!)

Peace seems to have been restored to the household; however the sanity issue is still somewhat up in the air.

Nothing happened last night. Well, the Astros lost and a kid got grounded, but it's not like that's news...

Ah, one cool day (in the weather sense) finally! ...and maybe more to come. I doubt we hit seventy yesterday and it was just great! ...and there were some sprinkles on and off much of the morning, not really rain, but enough to clear the air. To be able to walk outside and take in deep lung-filling breaths of air without coughing up ag dust and diesel exhaust a moment later? Oh, bliss!!!

Okay, it wasn't that heady a day, but I sure was wishing the roads were dry enough to go blading on when I got home. Man, I'd maybe have had to wear a t-shirt too, instead of a tank top!

Hey! Maybe it's cool enough for that one special day here when both of the deciduous trees in the town turn their leaves for a day! Wow...

A "pacing" day... I slept in a little, took some photos, bladed, did household chores, took photos, watched the local team beat Hawai'' (in Hawai'i!!!), napped, watched a movie with Daniel ("Godfather I", as promised) and generally got a bunch of things caught up while not pushing myself too hard. Yes, that does mean I have a major project scheduled for Sunday!

Hmmm... I think I'm going to have to defer on my idea of dressing the kittens up in Halloween costumes and taking them to the church gig tomorrow night... I thought it would be a great idea, especially since I had the concepts just flat dialed in, but I don't think I'm going to be able to sew up their costumes in time.

I mean, I think I had it pretty well thought out: Zoe could just wear a little teeny tiny 'kittie wig' and go as one of the Zoe Girls (a singing group and probably where her name came from). That would work.

...and Mocha? I was thinking of a very special American Indian Kitty Princess costume. ...one just for Halloween. She could go as...

Wait for it...

Yep, you know it's coming...

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"Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic."
Arthur C. Clarke, "Technology and the Future"

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