Blurf. Coffee will be ready in a couple minutes. The kitty is demanding attention. Today I plan to nest. I don’t need to de-clutter really but I do need to reorganize some stuff and move other stuff into the loft to get it out from underfoot. It can wait until I caffienate, though.
FCM, I remember seeing a bald eagle once driving up 301. It was cool. A hundred of them, kai? jealous Way cool!
Good morning! Sounds like a lovely day, kai! We get a lot of raptors up here, and there’s a bald eagle nest on Ross Island, not a hundred yards away from one of the busiest bridges in Portland! We get a lot of hawks, peregrine falcons and ospreys around too–one juvenile redtail took a bird in our front yard, not fifteen feet from where Himself was standing. Freaked both of them out!
I was planning on sleeping in, but the animals had other plans… yawn Oh well, gives me a little time to go surfing this morning before meeting up with the kids and grandkids for brunch, which we’re having on account of iz mai birfday today. My daughter abandoned all hope of being sly and surprisey yesterday and called me (well, she originally texted me to ask me if I like how I look in light blue–which I don’t, really) from the Columbia sportswear outlet to seek my advice on a nice rain jacket–I think I know what’s awaiting me later! Iz purty, iz green and has neat vent pockets in front so I can let the heat out without having to actually unzip the front–iz high tech coat, fershure! On the way out she spotted some little kid coats in purple on huge sale, so I think Princess Granddaughter is getting a surprise too… She’s such a nice auntie, as well as being a stellar daughter and an awesome mom–naw, I’m not proud of her or anything… 
Son and DIL have said within hearing range of witnesses that they will be there on time at ten for brunch, so we’re all in the betting pool for whether or not we have to call and wake them up, heh heh… Son works a late shift and they’re both night owls who seldom hit the hay before the wee hours–combined with being marathon sleepers. It makes any plans that begin before afternoon an interesting logistical problem…
Well, my coffee is ready–have a wonderful Sunday, y’all, I know I will! 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SMARTIE!!!
I took pictures of our shindig last night, but when I went to upload them to the computer, I had a real :smack: moment. I didn’t have the memory stick in the camera. However, the pictures we took were saved on the internal memory. Unfortunately, the quality just isn’t that great. Sigh…
I need to hop in the shower so I can get purtified for brekkies.
Happy birthday to the Smartest of Aleqs!
Let’s try this again with proper coding:
Happy birthday to the Smartest of Aleqs!
[SIZE=“6”]HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SmartiePants!!![/SIZE
Haven’t done much. Need to get moving. Someone motivate me? kthxbye
I kinda liked it all hidden like that.
Many Happy Returns of the Day, SmartAleq.
We have quite a few red tailed hawks here, as well as bald eagles about 90 minutes southwest of here (Starved Rock, IL). They are quite a sight to see in a clear blue winter sky. No godless killing machines, though. <phew>
I am all angsty and cranky today. I slept like the dead (yay) and decided to read in bed for a bit this morning. That was all fine and good, but the upshot is that now my neck is all tight and spasm-y due to how I was lying there…
I’m off soon to buy a new crate for our cat (who is now too [del]hugely obese[/del] large for the old one.) Stoopit cat was licking my hair this morning as I was trying to read. I think he was telling me to turn the page already, but #2 son says no.
I’ve been a cranky pants somewhat since yesterday evening … so bad on me for not posting a big thank you to FCM! My selections arrived yesterday afternoon, safe and sound … and boy was -that- fast, even though we do live fairly close by each other. Thank you again so much, FCM; I am quite pleased with my selections. 
Now, the reason I’ve been cranky is because it appears that I’m diabetic now (type II) or pre-diabetic, or maybe it’s just something called Metabolic Syndrome. Yes, I’m heavy, my blood pressure is high, my triglycerides and cholesterol are high and now my blood sugar is running high. Plus a few other things, in addition to my hypothyroidism. My A1C results were 6.2, up from 6.1 in Sept.; my fasting blood glucose was 128, up from 116. I know that fasting number is bad/diabetic range. I just wish that if I am diabetic, they’d go ahead and make the diagnosis. It’s the carb thing that really has me cranky though. Damn but I love bread and pasta! And I’m sorry but I’d rather not eat pasta at all than to have the whole wheat version. 
Gah, maybe I’ll change my mind on that. I don’t mind brown rice, fortunately. Ah well… guess I should start reading up on dietary changes. I know what I should be eating … and I do want to be around longer, so I’ll just have to buck up.
And a very happy birthday to you, SmartyPants!! Hope you and Himself have a good time on your get-away.
:: gooses Smartie ::
Happy Birthday, dearie.
Otherwise, I got nuttin’. Built a fire, working on laundry load #3, and the dishmasher is running. I think now is quality sloth time.
Happy Birthday, O Smart One!
I would declare a moratorium on crankiness, but I’m kinda cranky myself. Not sure why. I’ve put away laundry and am about to clean up the living and dining rooms. They’re looking messy.
Maybe I’ll go for a walk, too.
Back after a bit.
GT
I have an appt with Apple Tech Support for tomorrow at 11 am. They may take my laptop away from me for 48 hours. :eek:
I am already going through withdrawal.
Plus, what is it with retail experiences being surreal these days? I went to PetCo to get a new carrier for our lardass cat and it was like entering the Twilight Zone. This one woman was carrying on because she thought her new dog was GONNA DIE (the dog was not present. She said the dog had a cough. The clerk said she didn’t know what it was, but that they sold no meds there and that the dog should go to the vet). Then the clerk helped me find a price on a carrier for dogs. Carriers are effing expensive. I decided on the clearance one–it’s actually a crate. She said $17.99. Compared to the base price of $40+ for the others, I was sold. She tried to tell me it was for only up to 10 pounds. It’s a very sturdy metal crate.
So, I go to check out and this checker asks me repeatedly if it was $17 or $70. I said $17.99–it comes up “manager discretion”, so he rings in $17 (I am left wondering if he would have done the $70–is such a range of price for a single item so plausible?). I give him a $50 bill. He takes it into the office, cannot find the Magic Counterfeit Pen and says he wasn’t born yesterday and it looks all right to him. Cat fits into crate just fine and it holds him. (It has a plastic liner bottom so Simon is not on metal rungs). I need to put a blanket in it.
I swear I am not on drugs, but the world seems odd to me these days…
Box is packed and ready to go to Afghanistan tomorrow. The young soldier is getting 2 helmet liners - hope he shares one - and an assortment of snacks (jerky, granola bars, candy, goldfish crackers, and some lemonade drink mix. I wonder how long it’ll take to get to him?
We’ve got a fire going in here again - very comfy!
Oh yeah, and I’m about to wrap up the last 2 boxes of pottery. And do some laundry.
And before I forget:
Happy Smartie Day!!!
Ahhh. Better. Showered and lunched, and the living room picked up and the books all neatened up on their shelves. And I might or might not do much else today. Plus I feel good, for no obvious reason. I’m not going to argue with that.
rigs, she thought her dog was going to die but instead of getting it to a vet went out in search of doggie Robitussin? WTF???
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SMARTIE PANTS!
Just wanted to say THANKS to FCM, whose lovely kittehpot arrived in one piece (well, two pieces, but it was actually designed to be in two pieces instead of the USPS deciding it should be so) and is now occupying a space of honor in my china cabinet. Thank you!!!
Glad it arrived safely, bobkitty!
This giveaway was pretty successful - I re-homed quite a few pieces. I probably should have counted. So yay!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE CRACKER OF WISE
Today is my lovely daughter’s birthday, too. You fishies are marvelous!
Loads of raptors around here including Bald Eagles. One of the things I love about Flawduh.
Thanks for all the condolences on the review. It really wasn’t all that bad but I am used to 18 years of excellent reviews. All I can say is that if the guy is looking to build the best team evah, he’s going at it all wrong. I hate management by intimidation. Ah, well, I only have to last five and a half more years. 
Well, I best be getting to cooking some game hens. See y’all tammarry.
Tupug
…………*
Happy Birthday Smartie !!!
……[/color]……*I worked, missed the game. I took Gordie for a walk, then he "helped’ me clean the bathroom. Martini time!
kai, we used to have a herd of rabbits in the complex(they used to sit on my stoop and taunt Maggie Wonderbeagle), and a hawk that would circle around whenever the neighbor’s Chihuahua was outside.
rigs, the world seems odd because you’re not on drugs.
Herbs, the whole wheat pasta is good. Try some.
LiLi, I need to get back to going to daily Mass. and Sunday Mass. And Confession. At least I’ll go to Hell with clean undies on.
Update, 6:58EST: Gordie just beheaded his monkey.
RIP, poor monkey!
Thanks for the well wishes, y’all, and Hippo Birdy to **Pugsdottir, **too! I’m having a lovely day, we had a rather boisterous brunch, my new coat is FABULOUS, another friend stopped by to make me laugh and get some pointers on babysitting the goggies and now I’m plotting on how to score some chocolate cake for my birfday. I don’t want a whole cake, that’s too much so I think I"m going to slope on down to the Slaveway for a chunk of overly-frosted bakery cake. That sounds very sleazy nommy right now…
Nonsense, Herbs, whole wheat pasta is the bomb! It’s so flavorful, it has excellent bite and doesn’t go smooshy and sticky like the pale stuff does and it sticks to the cheese and sauces better too! Get the stuff with flax seed in it if you can find it–that stuff’s the tits! Eating right isn’t a punishment, it’s your gateway to the full enjoyment of food. There’s a whole world of great flavors out there that open up to you when you have to forego the easy garbage food that surrounds us constantly…
mmm, cake that is not a lie is calling out to me–laterz!
Yay for good coats, Smartie! I’m eating chocolate cake right now. (Leftovers from last night’s party.)
I’ve been looking around at what to do for Lent. I’m very much not a Lenten giver-upper. Artificial going without doesn’t do anything for me, really. So I’ve been looking at on-line retreats and meditation stuff. I feel like I really need to focus; I think that’s why the knitting has been so therapeutic lately.
Came across an interesting Oscar discussion while looking at Lent stuff (it’s the Jesuits vs the Paulists, an Oscar smackdown; yes, Catholics are weird). The first part of the discussion is not very good, but I thought the Slumdog Millionaire discussion was really good; it starts just after 23:05).
I’m 1/2-watching the Oscars. Not sure why. I don’t normally watch them. Really don’t much watch TV.
Really ought to be thinking about beddy-bye. Instead, I’m thinking about other productive things to do while watching TV.
I have an idea to get us started tomorrow, by the way. Gonna write it up in a few. Not sure yet if I’ll post it tonight or early tomorrow…
GT