CafeChatNoir

I did move the strap out of the way so she doesn’t get caught on it.

As you can see, the kittens are terribly intimidated by the dog.

More after the jump, including zombie kittens!

Continue Reading “All three together!”

Damn they move fast.  And the lighting in my room sucks to boot.  But I got 2 pics today!

They are so sweet.  Their personalities are definitely starting to emerge – Lily stops for attention before going off to conquer the universe and if Carmen is getting cuddled, she’s right there going, “What about ME?!”  She’s a leg climber and does a lovely impression of a parrot on my shoulder.  The minute she hears me coming in the room she’s off the top of the carrier and right there waiting when the door opens.  Carmen has already established her “waking up from a nap” routine.  There’s some rolling around on top of the carrier, then she slides off it, works on her nails on the little mat, then comes sauntering out to see what’s going on.  She’s figured out that the big wide world isn’t going anywhere, so she can take her time.

The minute I pick up either one, they start to purr.  Their incisions are really starting to heal nicely, thank you Dr. Alt, Clavamox and hydrogen peroxide.  This is a good thing because they’re getting more active every day and keeping them in check is getting very, very difficult.

Cat TV is awesome, they found yesterday’s episodes to be particularly compelling because of the wind – lots of leaves blowing around and the trees were moving.  Since I’ve shown them the windows, at night they look at them and look at me with this “Turn it back ON!” look.

Moxley is happy they are here, but doesn’t quite know what to make of them.  This morning Lily marched right up to him and headbutted him and then laid down right next to him.  I thought his head was going to explode.  But he stayed perfectly still, and didn’t even flinch when Lily went after his tail.  He did definitely want to go ahead and return to his station down on the couch after that.  Carmen will walk up to him and give him a, “Hey dog.” look but then goes on to patrol the master closet.  (She finds it quite interesting despite there being nothing she can get into in there.)

And on to the pics!  (Nope, didn’t make my bed this morning.)

Hit the pool for the dog day again this year and a good time was had by all.  Mox is not even slightly interested in the water, but there’s grass to run on and his adoring fan base of kids was there.

The kids, they do love Moxley.

Given that Fairfax’s county fair has long since been nothing more than a massive trade show and concert venue, the fact that we have enough interested kids in the county to support a 4H club and a fair is nothing short of a miracle.

It was at Frying Pan Park/Kidwell Farm, which is a gorgeous little spot.  I totally LOVE these fairs – just wish there had been more animal exhibits.  (Either they didn’t have enough people for chickens and other poultry, or it was yesterday.)  They had botanical exhibits, livestock handling and a bunch o’ bunnies.

The rest of the pics are here.

When the wildlife comes up and poses for you.

I was down on the beach, on my stomach & propped up on my elbows reading a book and minding my own business when something went skittering under my chest.  I sit up and find myself face to face with the biggest, boldest sand/ghost crab I have ever seen.  And he was rather insulted that I had abruptly taken away his shade.  He spent some time on the towel, then under my chair, then back up around to my book again as if to say, “Whatcha reading?”

Couple more pics:

Continue Reading “Wildlife photography is easy!”

Best Cat Ever.  Couldn’t have asked for a better 15 years from my furry friend.

Haven’t been there in forever, I swear it’s smaller than it used to be, but still fun.

Big disappointment – the vendor that used to sell gator was not there. :(  But, all your other standard street fair foods, except I didn’t see any funnel cakes anywhere.  Could have just not been looking in the right place.

I love how you’re welcomed with this cheery sight:

Once inside, I had to get my pirate tattoo. The ink didn’t last too well in the heat, but here is the design:

Stop looking at me like that – I ASKED if they were only for the kids! It’s not like I got one of the balloon swords.

More pics…

Continue Reading “Alexandria Waterfront Festival”

Went to the cardboard boat races today. It’s been going on for years and this is the first time I’ve gotten over there. Should you ever decide to go there, a few observations…

– There is a PITA chokepoint getting in and parking because they do charge for parking for the event. I spent 20 minutes traversing an length of road that normally would take 1 minute… The parks department might want to think about throwing an extra body at parking $$ collection
– Bring a nice picnic lunch. Even though there are food vendors, they’re just not quite ready for prime time. Not very long lines, but slow as all get out.
– The spectators are kind of vicious. There is as much, if not more cheering for capsized boats as for the winners.
– The range of boats is pretty spectacular, from a bunch of cardboard boxes taped together with packing tape, to a space shuttle.
– It’s really worth the $4 parking charge and the bit of a wait – very fun and I’d do it again.

Scavenged cardboard: $0
Paint & Magic Markers: $15
Being able to say, “We did it ourselves!” AND winning your heat? Priceless.
Boat: Swordfish

I’m fairly certain the little one on the right was the one I heard later saying, “Dad! The boat tipped over and we fell out! Did you see it?! It was AWESOME!!”

More pics after the jump

Continue Reading “A Day at the Races”

Finally got the photos done from Philly!

Reading Terminal Market

Independence Hall

Flower Show

Got back in this afternoon – tired as hell, but what a great little trip. I have SO many damn pictures to go through and right now I can barely see straight, so it will have to wait. This is the view from the top floor of the hotel where my room was:

It’s snowing in Philly today, and no one is freaked out about it. Cars are not spinning out, cab fares have not been doubled, school is in session and yes, it’s definitely different than DC.

He wasn’t as miserable as he looked, I swear I did not throw him out in the backyard for a photo op.

Just for this, the patch of Leyland Cypresses aren’t going anywhere anytime soon – a hound needs a dry spot…

Several hours and a couple hundred bucks later, I have a new ignition cylinder. Not surprised given that the cylinder wasn’t even engaging at the lock point. I was in such a daze when I left the house this morning that I didn’t even remember to bring a book with me. I do not do well when bored, and frankly, there aren’t a lot of places that are as boring as a car dealership.

I know it’s quite calculated on their part to make you wait while bored to tears. You’ll start thinking things like, “Maybe it would be faster if I just bought a new car at this point…” Which I did think, but only after things like, “What can I set on fire for entertainment purposes?”

I’ve been mad at Jeep ever since they discontinued the Cherokee, but this new trim line for the Commander did redeem them a tiny bit in my eyes: ( is cringing at this, but I loved the old Wagoneers.)

Unfortunately, that particular model was listed for 42K, which is a touch out of my price range.

No matter, I’m still in love with the new Wranglers. Dirty sex on wheels.

OK, so I went up to the city today to see a rally/protest/march/whathaveyou to see if actually seeing it in person would give me some more insight into why people do this and what it accomplishes.

Color me somewhat underwhelmed. It was interesting, but I still don’t think these activities necessarily accomplish anything, and the message gets lost when other groups come out and join in. (I was approached by the socialists a couple of times…thanks, just observing.) Did get some pics – I’d toss it in the photo gallery, but I wanted some narration so they’re behind the cut, and it is very image heavy.

They said that there were 30,000 in attendance. I don’t think it was quite that high.

Pick your sign, any sign…

Or, a button

This idiot nearly got his ass kicked by the folks at the rally – the police eventually convinced him it would probably be in his best interest to not provoke people. This was not a quashing of free speech, this guy was there for no other reason than to cause trouble. He was hollered at by several people that this was not a racist event and to please take it elsewhere.

Prayers

Just not what I’d expected to see

The police had it fairly easy today – things were pretty well controlled overall. The officer on the right asked if I was Muslim or a sympathizer – basically just trying to figure out what this decidedly out of place looking gal was doing. “Just observing.”

After the rally, they marched in front of the White House and over to 15th Street:

No anti-war march is complete without the Grim Reaper:

No official counter protests, but there were these rather hateful people over on the side. No, the police aren’t protecting them, they’re at the corner of the route where they have to make sure the march turns and goes down the right street: