Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Yep, I told him to do that!
Monday, September 28, 2009
You know what's fun? Getting The Force to "help" cut PB's hair. What's more fun? When he asks what the little brush that cleans the clippers is for, telling him they're to clean Daddy's ears and nose out with. He takes his job as comber and cleaner VERY seriously. I would post pictures, but left my camera at PB's house and can't get it right now. I'll have it tomorrow or Wednesday, so you'll just have to come back to get the visual. Trust me, don't have anything in your mouth when you look, 'cause it will be coming out your nose a few seconds later if you try!
I also did some alterations to off-the-shelf Spiderman suits. The Force has had, oh, about 30,429 different ideas for Halloween costumes. Every time you ask, he comes up with someone different. Batman, Spiderman, Luke Skywalker, Bobophet (not sure if I spelled that one right), Jaba the Hut, Captain America, Bolt, Ginormica, a vampire, etc, etc. There's no pinning down what he really wants, because, well, he really wants it all! So when we saw that Evil WalMart had several superhero costumes in an X-small children's size, I knew I could alter it to fit The Force, and PB bought him the Blacksuit Spiderman. On Saturday, I found a redsuit Spiderman costume on a clearance rack for $7. Sold!
Yesterday afternoon, PB asked The Force what he'd like to be for Halloween. The conversation went something like this:
PB: Hey The Force. Have you thought about what you'd like to be for Halloween?
The Force: Batman, the Dark Knight Detective.
PB: Anyone else?
The Force: Ummm, Iron Man.
PB: Anyone else?
The Force: Ummm, Captain America.
PB: Anyone else?
The Force: Ummm, Luke Skywalker.
I swear, the kid picked EVERY OTHER costume Evil WalMart had. PB was crestfallen. Finally he asked, "If you could be redsuit or blacksuit Spiderman, which would you be?" Immediately, The Force starts to giggle and wiggle. He yelled, "Blacksuit!" PB showed him the costume, then explained that he would have to stand still while I pinned the suit to shorten the arms and legs, then take it off while I sewed it. Much to my amazement, he stood as still as a statue! He didn't even fuss when he had to take the suit off. It was truly astonishing.
I sewed for a few minutes before dinner, then took a break to eat. I went back to sewing while The Force finished eating his dessert. While I was sitting on the couch sewing on the hem on a sleeve, The Force looked over from the kitchen table and said, "T, you're so beautiful!" I cracked up, thanked him, then asked if he thought I could sew faster if I was beautiful. Of course, the answer was an emphatic yes! Well, it must have worked because before too long the redsuit was done.
Then it was time for the blacksuit...
And it was on like Donkey Kong! The boy was wide open with the Spidey moves after that. I didn't think he'd be able to sleep. He wanted to wear his blacksuit to bed, and how could you refuse a boy who had been so good and so patient? PB stripped his shorts and t-shirt off, telling him he only had to wear his underwear under the suit. Well, that was fancy! He couldn't believe that the pants were part of the suit! Crazy talk! But off to bed he went, happy as a clam. I thought for sure he'd be up half of the night, but he fell asleep faster than ever, surely to dream of spiders and webs and catwomen, and such. :)
Friday, September 25, 2009
A quick update since the world economy still doesn't run on wampum or dog hair, which means I still have to go to work. (I really wish the hippies protesting G20 would get to work on THAT!)
I got to see Baby, aka Penelope, and her babies yesterday. TOO FREAKIN' CUTE! Turns out she had 3 babies, one was hiding when they were first discovered. One is a black and white tuxedo kitty, just like Baby. The other two are the softest buff tan color and white, with black tipped ears and black ringed racoon-looking tails! They're awesome! I can't wait to see them as they get bigger and really develop their personalities. The couple that took Baby are just in love with her, and she is such a good mama. She let us love all over her and the babies and was her normal sweet, purring, lovey self. The couple just fawned over her (and the babies too) and I couldn't be more sure that she's in the perfect home! Sigh.
Pooh King had an unfortunate run-in with a spare-rib that landed us in the vet's office. Thankfully surgery was avoided, but it was a rough few days while his stomach digested the bone and his gut was very inflamed. Poor guy... well, he got what he deserved, and really, poor me and my wallet. He snatched the rib at the petsitter's house (poor girl is 41 weeks pregnant, currently, and couldn't waddle fast enough to get it away from him... he stole it off the damn stove!) and she did kick in 1/3 of the bill, which is probably more than she could really afford. Anyway, all is on the mend now, thank goodness, and Pooh King wants more ribs. Bad dog!
PB's friend Mark was laid to rest at his small country church yesterday. It was a glorious, clear fall day, and the heavens seemed to shine, warming the earth and welcoming him home. Today, the heavens are crying, realizing what the world has lost. The girl from West Virginia is being buried today in her hometown, and we've heard that Emma and her mother will be buried some time in October. The preliminary hearings are scheduled to start in January. The killer has been assigned a public defender, who has met with him and described him as "overwhelmed". Join the crowd.
I got to see Baby, aka Penelope, and her babies yesterday. TOO FREAKIN' CUTE! Turns out she had 3 babies, one was hiding when they were first discovered. One is a black and white tuxedo kitty, just like Baby. The other two are the softest buff tan color and white, with black tipped ears and black ringed racoon-looking tails! They're awesome! I can't wait to see them as they get bigger and really develop their personalities. The couple that took Baby are just in love with her, and she is such a good mama. She let us love all over her and the babies and was her normal sweet, purring, lovey self. The couple just fawned over her (and the babies too) and I couldn't be more sure that she's in the perfect home! Sigh.
Pooh King had an unfortunate run-in with a spare-rib that landed us in the vet's office. Thankfully surgery was avoided, but it was a rough few days while his stomach digested the bone and his gut was very inflamed. Poor guy... well, he got what he deserved, and really, poor me and my wallet. He snatched the rib at the petsitter's house (poor girl is 41 weeks pregnant, currently, and couldn't waddle fast enough to get it away from him... he stole it off the damn stove!) and she did kick in 1/3 of the bill, which is probably more than she could really afford. Anyway, all is on the mend now, thank goodness, and Pooh King wants more ribs. Bad dog!
PB's friend Mark was laid to rest at his small country church yesterday. It was a glorious, clear fall day, and the heavens seemed to shine, warming the earth and welcoming him home. Today, the heavens are crying, realizing what the world has lost. The girl from West Virginia is being buried today in her hometown, and we've heard that Emma and her mother will be buried some time in October. The preliminary hearings are scheduled to start in January. The killer has been assigned a public defender, who has met with him and described him as "overwhelmed". Join the crowd.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Murder in a Small Town
If you've been reading here long, or know me in real life, you may know that a horrible crime was committed in my town last week. A horrible, atrocious, heinous group of murders has rocked my little town to its core. A family is gone, a family in West Virginia has lost a daughter, and somewhere, someone in California has to wonder what the fuck happened in their family that their son/brother/nephew/grandson could have murdered 4 people, mutilating two of the victims so badly they have to be identified by dental records, then stayed in the house for at least a few days with the bodies.
This young man who rapped "horrorcore" music detailing horrific crimes, then went on to nearly identically commit the crimes he wrote about, is now in our regional jail. Friends of mine are charged with the task of protecting him inside that jail. The police have had the horrifying task of collecting "hundreds of pieces of forensic evidence", then have to close their eyes and try to sleep.
The daughter met their killer on MySpace. His personal page has been removed, but was up long enough after his name was released to be well read. He wrote disturbing, sick, twisted things on his page. He wrote about defiling graves and had pictures to prove it. He wrote music about the pleasure of killing people. Maybe you can't say that music makes people go out and kill people... but really, if you or your child enjoys listening to music that details the brutal, tortuous murder of another person, there's a problem and you'd better get that shit in check quickly.
Why she thought it was a good idea to talk to him, to tell him she loved him, to tell him to come, to pick him up from the airport, and to invite him into her home, we will never know. What we do know is the killer came here some time last week. The daughter's friend was visiting from West Virginia. Her mother called the house when she wasn't able to get in touch with her daughter, the killer answered the phone and told her they were at the movies. She was suspicious, called the police and asked them to check the house. The police went, the killer answered the door and told them the same thing. At that time they didn't have cause then to enter the home. The mother called the police again on Friday and they went back to the house. This time there was cause to enter, and they found a murder scene. The killer had fled some time overnight. It seems PB's friend went to the house some time on Thursday and was killed then. Before or after the police were there? We don't know yet. The others were already dead, but it's not known yet for how long. The killer left the house on Friday early in the morning, showed up at the Richmond airport some time Friday night, and was seen and arrested there Saturday just before noon.
All I can say for sure is that there is a lesson to be learned. If you have kids old enough to be on MySpace, FaceBook, or the internet in general, tell them this story. Read up on what happened here. The Richmond Times Dispatch has had good coverage of the investigation and good articles. If your kids are old enough, make them read the coverage. If they're not old enough, find good words to help them understand that the world can be a dangerous place, and the internet is not always a safe place to meet people. If they think this is something that only happens to other people, you have to tell them. I can tell them what it was like to sit next to PB when he received a phone call telling him his friend and family had been murdered, and what it was like to wait for every phone call after that, hoping there was more information that would explain it, change it, make it go away. It happened here.
A minister, a professor of sociology and criminology, and two teenage girls have been brutally murdered. The minister was a good friend of PB's. He was a good, good man, and he is dearly missed.
**Edit: A press conference was held this morning to release more details in the case. The Commonwealth Attorney was very tight lipped, but did confirm the identity of all 4 victims. Previously, PB's friend, Mark, was the only one positively identified. Now his estranged wife's, daughter's, and the daughter's friend's identities have all been confirmed. They were all killed with blunt force trauma. He refused to answer a lot of detail-related questions, and said only that they were still waiting final autopsy and forensic results. I'm sure we won't know a lot of the details until the trial begins. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 11. We now know that Mark and Debra took Emma to a Horrorcore music festival in Michigan on Sept. 12, the weekend before Richard McCroskey, the murderer, came here. The family was in counseling related to the separation and the parents realized that Emma was openly spinning out of control. They were doing anything they could to reach out to her and show here they loved her and wanted to be involved in her life. It is believed this music festival was not the first time the two met in real life, in addition to having extensive contact online. Unfortunately, these murders were the horrific outcome of Emma's relationship with this man. It's still too much to comprehend.
This young man who rapped "horrorcore" music detailing horrific crimes, then went on to nearly identically commit the crimes he wrote about, is now in our regional jail. Friends of mine are charged with the task of protecting him inside that jail. The police have had the horrifying task of collecting "hundreds of pieces of forensic evidence", then have to close their eyes and try to sleep.
The daughter met their killer on MySpace. His personal page has been removed, but was up long enough after his name was released to be well read. He wrote disturbing, sick, twisted things on his page. He wrote about defiling graves and had pictures to prove it. He wrote music about the pleasure of killing people. Maybe you can't say that music makes people go out and kill people... but really, if you or your child enjoys listening to music that details the brutal, tortuous murder of another person, there's a problem and you'd better get that shit in check quickly.
Why she thought it was a good idea to talk to him, to tell him she loved him, to tell him to come, to pick him up from the airport, and to invite him into her home, we will never know. What we do know is the killer came here some time last week. The daughter's friend was visiting from West Virginia. Her mother called the house when she wasn't able to get in touch with her daughter, the killer answered the phone and told her they were at the movies. She was suspicious, called the police and asked them to check the house. The police went, the killer answered the door and told them the same thing. At that time they didn't have cause then to enter the home. The mother called the police again on Friday and they went back to the house. This time there was cause to enter, and they found a murder scene. The killer had fled some time overnight. It seems PB's friend went to the house some time on Thursday and was killed then. Before or after the police were there? We don't know yet. The others were already dead, but it's not known yet for how long. The killer left the house on Friday early in the morning, showed up at the Richmond airport some time Friday night, and was seen and arrested there Saturday just before noon.
All I can say for sure is that there is a lesson to be learned. If you have kids old enough to be on MySpace, FaceBook, or the internet in general, tell them this story. Read up on what happened here. The Richmond Times Dispatch has had good coverage of the investigation and good articles. If your kids are old enough, make them read the coverage. If they're not old enough, find good words to help them understand that the world can be a dangerous place, and the internet is not always a safe place to meet people. If they think this is something that only happens to other people, you have to tell them. I can tell them what it was like to sit next to PB when he received a phone call telling him his friend and family had been murdered, and what it was like to wait for every phone call after that, hoping there was more information that would explain it, change it, make it go away. It happened here.
A minister, a professor of sociology and criminology, and two teenage girls have been brutally murdered. The minister was a good friend of PB's. He was a good, good man, and he is dearly missed.
**Edit: A press conference was held this morning to release more details in the case. The Commonwealth Attorney was very tight lipped, but did confirm the identity of all 4 victims. Previously, PB's friend, Mark, was the only one positively identified. Now his estranged wife's, daughter's, and the daughter's friend's identities have all been confirmed. They were all killed with blunt force trauma. He refused to answer a lot of detail-related questions, and said only that they were still waiting final autopsy and forensic results. I'm sure we won't know a lot of the details until the trial begins. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 11. We now know that Mark and Debra took Emma to a Horrorcore music festival in Michigan on Sept. 12, the weekend before Richard McCroskey, the murderer, came here. The family was in counseling related to the separation and the parents realized that Emma was openly spinning out of control. They were doing anything they could to reach out to her and show here they loved her and wanted to be involved in her life. It is believed this music festival was not the first time the two met in real life, in addition to having extensive contact online. Unfortunately, these murders were the horrific outcome of Emma's relationship with this man. It's still too much to comprehend.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Well, Big Poppy did really well, and was able to have the lesser of the two surgeries! Whoo hoo! He was out of the O.R. in about 4 hours and home the next day. I hustled on down to the farm on Saturday to help out, though I'm not sure how much "help" I'm doing versus "R&R" alongside Dad. Aside from doing a few environmental modifications (add a pillow here and there) and telling him to push from somewhere else, he's really doing pretty well. We go for walks around the driveway a few times a day and he's supervised my cleaning of the pool. Aaaahhh, farm life!
I got a call from the lady who took Penelope (the pregnant rescue cat). After having a last minute freak-out that almost kept her from taking poor Penelope (nothing to do with Penelope, more with some extended family stress), she agreed to take her on a "trial" during the week that I'm here at the farm. The agreement was, if it's not working out when I get back, I'll take her back. Whatever. I knew if I just could get Penelope there, the woman would be in love with here and there would be NO WAY I would ever get her back. Well, it took exactly 10 seconds for her to be in love. I dropped Penelope off on Thursday. I talked to J (the lady) on Friday morning. Apparently Penelope walked into the house, checked out her new digs, and promptly plunked herself down in front of the fireplace. J's husband wanted to turn the air up and build her a fire. J didn't sleep much that night... she got up about once an hour to make sure Penelope was comfortable. Too sweet. By Saturday J had slept more and Penelope was one of the family. But her name's not Penelope anymore.
J: Tiff, I don't think her name is Penelope. I'm not sure what it is, but it's not Penelope.
Me: That's okay. Her name can be whatever you think it should be. It will strike you when you get to know her well. What are you calling her?
J: Well, mostly we just look at her and say, "Baby, you're the best cat ever". So, I guess we call her "Baby" most of the time.
That cracks me up! J called me this morning to announce that Baby had blessed them with 2 beautiful kittens last night. "We couldn't find her last night. We looked and looked, and M (the husband) said she was probably having the kittens, so we just let her be and didn't try to find her anymore. This morning she walked right up to me while I was in the bathroom and led me to where the babies are! One black, and one tan/yellow striped one!" They're tickled pink and I couldn't be happier. Nope, no chance I'm getting her back, or her kittens! Good job, Baby!
I got a call from the lady who took Penelope (the pregnant rescue cat). After having a last minute freak-out that almost kept her from taking poor Penelope (nothing to do with Penelope, more with some extended family stress), she agreed to take her on a "trial" during the week that I'm here at the farm. The agreement was, if it's not working out when I get back, I'll take her back. Whatever. I knew if I just could get Penelope there, the woman would be in love with here and there would be NO WAY I would ever get her back. Well, it took exactly 10 seconds for her to be in love. I dropped Penelope off on Thursday. I talked to J (the lady) on Friday morning. Apparently Penelope walked into the house, checked out her new digs, and promptly plunked herself down in front of the fireplace. J's husband wanted to turn the air up and build her a fire. J didn't sleep much that night... she got up about once an hour to make sure Penelope was comfortable. Too sweet. By Saturday J had slept more and Penelope was one of the family. But her name's not Penelope anymore.
J: Tiff, I don't think her name is Penelope. I'm not sure what it is, but it's not Penelope.
Me: That's okay. Her name can be whatever you think it should be. It will strike you when you get to know her well. What are you calling her?
J: Well, mostly we just look at her and say, "Baby, you're the best cat ever". So, I guess we call her "Baby" most of the time.
That cracks me up! J called me this morning to announce that Baby had blessed them with 2 beautiful kittens last night. "We couldn't find her last night. We looked and looked, and M (the husband) said she was probably having the kittens, so we just let her be and didn't try to find her anymore. This morning she walked right up to me while I was in the bathroom and led me to where the babies are! One black, and one tan/yellow striped one!" They're tickled pink and I couldn't be happier. Nope, no chance I'm getting her back, or her kittens! Good job, Baby!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
09/09/09
By all that's holy, it should be a good day. I mean, I love cool numbers, and this is one of them... 09/09/09. 9 years ago, on 09/09/00, my best buds Peg and Chris got married, with me as the sole bridesmaid. That makes today their 9th anniversary. 9 years on 9/9/09. I didn't realize it at the time, but I have a sneaking suspicion they planned it that way.
My Dad is going in for more surgery on his lower back this morning. Needless to say, my Poppy's got crap for a spine, and less than a year since his last surgery he's had another disc collapse. The short version of the story is that if we're lucky, the surgeon will be able to build a scaffold-type structure off the top of the bars that are already there to lift up the vertabrae that has collapsed down into where the disc should be. If not, all the bars and screws that went in before have to be removed and replaced with longer bars and more screws. We really want option A here, folks. I'll let you know when I know. I'll be heading to the farm on Saturday to help out for a while, so probably the updates will be a little more frequent then.
I will also be attending a funeral this morning. One of PB's cousins was born with a congenital blood disorder and was not expected to survive infancy. He lived to see his early 40s, and passed away on Sunday afternoon. Life is precious.
Hopefully Penelope will go to her new home tonight and will be happy with that.
All this on 09/09/09.
My Dad is going in for more surgery on his lower back this morning. Needless to say, my Poppy's got crap for a spine, and less than a year since his last surgery he's had another disc collapse. The short version of the story is that if we're lucky, the surgeon will be able to build a scaffold-type structure off the top of the bars that are already there to lift up the vertabrae that has collapsed down into where the disc should be. If not, all the bars and screws that went in before have to be removed and replaced with longer bars and more screws. We really want option A here, folks. I'll let you know when I know. I'll be heading to the farm on Saturday to help out for a while, so probably the updates will be a little more frequent then.
I will also be attending a funeral this morning. One of PB's cousins was born with a congenital blood disorder and was not expected to survive infancy. He lived to see his early 40s, and passed away on Sunday afternoon. Life is precious.
Hopefully Penelope will go to her new home tonight and will be happy with that.
All this on 09/09/09.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
My hillbilly tooth, and other such stuff
Yep, that's me. And that's my hillbilly tooth. You see, I have porcelein veneers on my 4 front teeth. I was very self conscious about the gaps between my teeth when I was younger. When I was about to turn 20, my parents got me veneers for my Christmas and birthday presents combined. They're like false fronts on buildings... my own tooth is underneath, just with a shiny, pretty top. My dentist has been telling me for the past 3 years that it was about time to get them replaced. You see, they normally last about 10-12 years. Mine have been on 15. "It's better to plan to hae them changed, then to have your hand forced." I told him they would have to fall off before I would hae them replaced. These f*ckers are really expensive! Well, let's just say my hand has been forced. I had a water bottle in my mouth, flicked it forward oh-so-gently, and pulled the veneer off the corner of the tooth, cracking it in the process. Just goes to prove that exercise is dangerous and water can kill you.
Of course, that happened on a Thursday night and my dentist's office is closed on Friday. (Well, at least the branch I go to is closed on Friday.) Thankfully they got me into another branch office to have it patched. The dentist was sure it wasn't cracked all the way through. "No, really, it isn't." And as he wiggles it, in a vain effort to show me he's right, that dirty fat bastard breaks the veneer off in my mouth! Oh yes he did! Wanna see?
So, now I'm on the 2 week bleaching plan before I can get my new veneers. I can't bite into anything lest I crack my patch job and have to go around with my hillbilly tooth until the bleaching job is complete. I'm bringing sexy back to the dental chair!
Pooh and Oz continue their love-fest. Actually, mostly Oz adores Pooh, and Pooh is beautiful and smart and nice to cats. :)
And this is Penelope. Dear, sweet, pregnant Penelope. I finished up my workout at the YMCA on Tuesday night and she was crying outside the door. The workers told me she'd been there 2 days. She was very friendly, and the small group of us who were there that late stayed and pet her for a few minutes, lamenting at how horrible it was that this cat seemed to either be lost or have been dumped. In my head I was thinking, "I'm not taking her home. I'm not taking her home." I had just sent Blue home with Brook, and I didn't think I could take the emotional onslaught of another cat just yet. So I walked away. I opened the door to George Jetson, and before I could toss my bag in the back, the cat jumped in. She sat down and looked at me, and my heart just broke. There was no way I could put her out. The Y is on a busy road, and she obviously needed help. I couldn't stand to see her hit on the road, and I knew I could help, so home she came. And she's a gem. It was obviously meant to be because she's already got a new home, and the people are tickled that she'll have kittens. Then they'll have them ALL spayed and neutered so there won't be forty'leven more kittens running around. Perfect!
And here's Brook's Boy Blue. He's doing great in his Forever Home. It took him a few days to settle in to the relatively chaotic surroundings of a family of 4 plus a foreign exchange student compared to my house. But obviously he's doing great, and Brook's pretty pleased, too.
It all makes me happy!
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