Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Short Update:

I am working to attend the Tennessee Broadcaster's Association job fair in Nashville, TN on January 8th. At least - that is the preliminary plan. I hope to have some gallery cards printed up to bring with, and make the rounds.

Went to the local job center today (as well as price/spec hunting on the cards) and was told 'What are you doing here? Go to indeed.com and post an Internet resume, get the same hits as here, and the entire area.... OK. Hopefully I'll get more help on my resume today, tweaking and working with it.

Jack of all trades.. master of none?
It comes down to the line - do they get the job done?

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Merry Christmas to All


and Happy Holidays!

I've been quiet for a while, may be quiet for a while more. I've rewritten my resume and bought a new suit for interviews.
My sincere thanks to Lynn for giving me some sound advice this season, when it was badly needed.
Alee, I haven't forgotten about the aliens - they'll get done right after Christmas and sent out to you. Then, for a while, I may close the shop.

---we know that all germs or seeds, whether vegetable or animal, when they fail to meet with proper nutriment or climate or soil, in proportion to their vigour, are all the more sensitive to the want of a suitable environment, for evil is a greater enemy to what is good than what is not. --- Plato's The Republic
---"Fix your mind on the right way; hold fast to it in your moral character. Follow it up in kindness to others; --- Confucius

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Kitty Whisker Wishes for Boogie

Susan's little girl Boogie is sick - and Willow and Sally are sending kitty whisker wishes to her to get better!


Sally


Willow

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Momma Calico


There are just so many stray cats in our neighborhood, truly - it is a sad sight to see. This little girl has been hanging around a lot lately. Earlier this year, she had three kittens. They've flown the nest. Recently, she has been trying, quietly, to ask me to take care of her, following me within five feet, waiting for me by the door, etc etc..

She even sits on the roof of our truck looking at the back window (maybe Sally and Willow talk to her?) I talk to her too - 'Pretty Girl, you need to find a person to take care of you, and it can't be me...', 'I have two little girls in the house of my own - you look a lot like their momma.' and 'Are your kittens all grown up now?' She cocks her head and gives me the slit-eyes relaxed face, but stays where she is. When I start to go back in the house, she jumps down and follows to keep her 'decided-upon' distance from me.

Today I took the vacuum cleaner outside to change the bag, and she was there watching me. The cord came undone as I was bringing it back in the house. As I started dragging the cord towards me to roll it up, I saw this look in her eye and a little 'oh I see a toy' hop - and then after almost bounding towards me, she stopped and said 'Oh, wait... I'm a big outside cat.'

Then she casually sauntered over (as if, who me?) to the porch there to sit and watch me some more.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Geek Craft: Rhombicuboctahedron


stage 1

OK - my brain is seriously on overload lately:

Materials: wooden dowels
each stick is 4" long and joined at ends
pruning shears
tape measure and marker
floral wire
this page

I might cover it with rice paper and hang it from the ceiling...
maybe no rice paper, we'll see how the framework looks afterwards.
I'm sure there are better ways to make these -- but I've had a fun morning.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

In honor of 10,000

Susan gets a gift, in honor of being the closest to the 10,000th visitor that my hit counter was able to identify by location and referring URL. I'll get a nice package ready for her in January! Thank you Susan, and thank you everyone! I've really enjoyed our conversations and shared experiences throughout the last year!

Today I am looking at:
Turing Machine
Beethoven's Creatures of Prometheus video at Youtube
Word Shoot typing game, spell quick or die!

Knitting:

Lace Pattern.
Number of stitches - even number greater than 20
(I have 54 in size 5 needle).
Garter stitch border for bottom.
Begin to knit a stockinette lace interior with a border on each side of 5 garter stitches.

K5, work 5 stitches regular, decrease, yarn over, decrease, yarn over, work stitches to last 5, K5. Repeat for next row as above.
K5, work to last yarn over of previous row, decrease, yarn over, decrease, yarn over, work stitches to last 5, K5, Repeat for next row as above.
Repeat pattern until the eyelet stitches meet in center, begin to work pattern backwards, so eyelet stitches are moving away from center again. Repeat until end of scarf.

It would be interesting to see multiples of this pattern stemming off of each other - but that would require more 'keeping track of' than this pattern currently does. Thiis pattern was decided upon specifically because there is no keeping track, the pattern itself tells you the next step, and the next etc...

Friday, December 15, 2006

Rebekah tagged me... six weird things again


At Knitowl and friends


Still working hard on the shop stuff - trying to keep things going, even though there is a lot of stress around here lately.

Knitting:
I have FOs to show sometime this weekend, as well - a pair of socks and the final outcome of the Triangular Theatre Shawl... (at least, I've been wearing it this way, don't think I'm going to change it now) The grey lace rectangular shawl is about 3 inches from culmination. These are the things I do when watching tv with Mr.J in semi-darkness (our comprimise - I keep on the light in the other room and sit in the cast light while we watch).


Meanwhile...


Jess and the Boss work on sticking old parts together
and making them work as a new machine.


I was tagged by Rebekah! I did this meme before, but I'll try to find some other weird things about me. Shouldn't be hard ;o) I'm weirder than most (you were warned)

So here's the "Six Wierd Things About You" Meme Rules:

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.' People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged' in their comments and tell them to read your blog."

1.) When I was eleven, I was fascinated by the world of conlanging (making your own, unique language from elements of real ones). My language got -complex- I even studied linguistics to make it better. There still might be some of that out on the Net from when I published a little of it (my Babel text was out there up until last year). What can I say - I was a geeky kid with few outlets. Mikelul garanveten edtun sip?

2.) My ink art has been described as 'Look out Picasso, here she comes.' and 'Escher on LSD - after a long fever.' Those are compliments, right?

Example:

A failed drawing from my right-brain day.Kinda scary, huh? - I thought so.
Today's drawing has more promise, as I have a little more focus and mental cooperation going on.


3.) I believe in the healing powers of certain herbs - things my Grandmother told me, that seem to be a bit more than 'folk knowledge.' I've learned some of her 'remedies' are actually medically sound, like willow-bark for a headache, or rosehip tea for a cold.

4.) My mom taught me it is perfectly alright to talk to animals - all animals -- it doesn't matter if they don't seem to understand your words. What is important is they hear your tone of voice and see you trying to communicate with your body language, which we humans do best when we talk as if something understands us.

5.) I have a medical condition called orthostatic hypotension which is very unusual in 'younger' people (not elederly). It's a pain. I had 17 stitches in my head in 1998 which led to the doctor finally admitting my dizzy spells and occasional loss of vision were not just fantasies.

6.) I have a recurring dream I am late for school, don't have my schedule and am running all around some mish-mash of every school building I've ever been in, trying to find out where I'm supposed to be.

OK - but I can't tag anyone. Sorry!

Thursday, December 14, 2006

First sentence meme

I saw this over at Chris' blog. What was the first setence you posted every month on the blog?

Since I'm having a 'right-brain' day, this is a nice substitute for trying to make sense of real words.

January
How to write 'cat' in Japanese - neko!

February
I think Willow is saving up for tuna.

March
We went out to look at another piece of land today -- a place that we are quite interested in.

April
We are off to Paris Landing State Park today!

May
All of the POV-Rayed images here were generated by me.

June
*sighs* - I have so many little creatures to get done!

July
I promise lots of pictures tomorrow. (migraine day)

August
Yesterday was so hectic!

September
I'll try not to ramble too much, but I am having a sinus nightmare right now.

October
This was the most fun I've had in at least a couple of months ;o)

November
We're back at work - trying to get caught up!

December
Can I ask for a survey here?


Right brain day: A day when all the stars in my head are exploding with wanting to draw everything at once and the limitations of time and space are frustratingly clear with each line put down on paper.

right-brain linkys
leonardo da vinci drawings
Mayan glyphs
vesalius drawings (anatomical - discretion of viewer advised)
da vinci anatomical drawings (discretion advised)
Aratus by Johann Buhle constellation maps
Anatomical drawings at wikipedia
geometrical drawings and cartesian coordinates.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Robot Hamster?


More progress at the toy shop...
They seem a little frightened about being mailed this close to Christmas...

3 more aliens to do and I'll be done!



I dub thee: Robot Hamster.
Another 'from scraps' toy.


Sally auditions for Fark.
I'm in your house, turning up your HEAT!

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Progress

Progress at the Softie Toy Shop
for the Holiday rush


These two were a LONG time coming, and I really wish they could have been done earlier - but now they are, and hopefully the rest will get done tomorrow, so I can do all my mailing on Monday. I just haven't felt particularily 'artistic' this last month - although I've been doing things. The applique work on these aliens really takes my time and concentration to end up 'right' - which up until today, I hadn't had enough of either.

A thank you for her
made from scraps
Everything at KnitOwl is hand-stitched.


Off to start the finishing-work on the next order.

Friday, December 08, 2006

Where is Salamander and Willowpede?


In the Window, of course!
It was 56° in the house at 10 am this morning.
They were cuddled onto a wool coat until the house heated up,
then it was window-time.

I really love their expressions here!



My current WIP (for office)...most of it is just 'guidelines'
Being designed with: Inkscape
I reccommend it - it's cool (and free!)
.
Progress Report: 8 aliens due PDQ. 1 finished, 2 in applique, 2 in sewing, 3 to cut out.

Office: I heard our radio ad play today! No calls yet :o( We have three more days on two separate stations. The above work is for a logo for our newspaper ads. Inkscape can do some 'mathematical' work - which makes it excellent for this kind of work - but would work well for freehand drawing as well. It is a free graphics program that works on Mac and Windows machines.

Mail! : I received the Fall 2006 issue of Interweave Knits from Knitter Sue in Australia! Thank you Sue!

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Salamander lives up to her name, again.


The plan is percolating...


Note the monkey-like back paw 'clinging' to the air conditioner ridges.


That's a ledge of about 1 inch. Yet she balances for several minutes.


Sally: What are you looking at?

Mr.J originally named her Salamander for two reasons - one, she "clings to walls" and has been seen hanging from things by one paw. two, the nickname "Sally" fits her well - as she is a bold, loud type personality and all the Sally's we had known up till then fit that description well.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Not my workstation anymore...


When the temperature drops below 65°* - the KnitOwl loses her workstation by the simple dropping of a sweater...

Progress Report: 1 alien finished, 1 ready to applique, 1 in sewing stage and 1 more cut out. 6 total due PDQ. Sally and Willow claim they are unable to help speed things along... something about no thumbs (and cat hair).

Mr.J: He sees the surgeon for the last time today to check on how well his bones are knitting.

At the Office: Dragon mailbox is being put in the ground today. We are trying to solidify a radio advertising deal to begin tomorrow. Our boss did the voice-overs for our commercials, and wow, they sound professional.

* : Inside the house.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

'Work-space' is to alien as 'Knit-Owl' is to....

I've got lots of toys to sew!

I'd better let the alien invasion come sooner better than later! ;o)
before other things crop up next week and keep me from the workshop again.



See you soon!

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Willow and Sally meet the helicopter

Mr.J borrowed a radio-control helicopter toy from our boss, and the girls don't know what to make of it. Willow thinks it is annoying, until it comes near to her, then it is going to eat her. Sally thinks it is interesting, and keeps pulling it down out of the air when it flies too low. Then - when it 'attacks' her, she attacks back. I'm worried it will buzz them badly, but so far it's been the other way around. Mr.J had to replace the rings after Sally batted it too hard and sent it crashing into the ground.


Sally: I hear something overhead!



Crash-land on a candle left over from the last blackout.
Little claws have been murder on
my grandfather's secretary-desk lately.. :(



Hey Mom, it's dead now, right?


Bonus: That's a pair of white WoolEase socks
I'm finishing up knitting from a while back.

Friday, December 01, 2006

How to use a receipt book?

Thanks Everyone!

Can I ask for a survey here? When using a carbon-copy receipt book, does the business keep the original (white) copy and give the yellow (duplicate) copy to the customer, or the other way around?

Please post your answers in the comments -- it seems to be a simple method, but there is disagreement here.

Answer: The customer gets the white (original) copy and the business keeps the yellow (duplicate) copy. thanks to all who helped us out!


And why? Because the company had a residential job last night - the first since the split-off from our parent company. We were all surprised it came in so quickly. Newspaper advertising works!


YAY!

The Case:
User cannot reach Google or Yahoo on his browser. His network connectivity had dramatically slowed and other techs in the area had been unable to solve the problem.

The Diagnosis:
All network hardware was in working order. All computer settings seemed correct. A text-based browser was able to connect to the internet with no problem. The machine could still ping remote browsers and receive back packets.
The diagnosis was that the machine was suffering from viruses and/or spyware affecting search results and advertising, which were crashing the browser.

The Solution:
After spyware removal software refused to find and eliminate the issue, and anti-virus software refused to install - we were faced with a backup of the drive and reinstallation of Windows XP from the user's original disk. We then installed a less virus-prone browser and new virus protection software (which had no issues after the Windows install).

Result:
User's Internet connectivity was restored. Further protections were made against recurrences of the specific problem.

So, which copy does the company keep and which does the customer get, for future reference?

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Oh My Word - it's almost December.


Abby and Puck had a fight last night,
but today, they're friends again.
Abby's puppies are due around Christmas.

How did that happen? I'm definitely not ready for it to be almost December already... Luckily - we did push back our Minnesota trip this year to next February, because Mr.J's little sister is getting married (shock and fainting inserted here - the 'I will never ever get married' sister, yes that one). We all hope Bob can handle her ;o) *wink*

At the Office:
We have a meeting with a big-wig radio guy this afternoon at the workshop - that should be interesting. Once he gets over the ten dogs and the goat in the yard, then sees the data center (he says he's a geek... wonder what his reaction will be to 16+ servers and spare parts to build a dozen more)... He insisted on coming out to see us in person, so we're not going to put on airs for him. This is what we do and where we do it.

Linky time:
Jhoanna has a cool pencil/notebook holder tutorial over at her site - with pictures. She did a really great job with the step-by-step!

Hop Skip Jump blog has really cute bunnies posted! (toys)

Little Birds blog has a good idea for a draftstopper - we could use one of those at our house! Hmm.. yes I do have a bag of rice to spare and some fabric...


For Christmas: I've been stashing a few things in my cedar chest to send back home. My mom is slightly upset we won't be making it back for Christmas, but .. I think she understands. Driving 18 hours one way isn't an easy trip to make - or a cheap one.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Godzilla Cardinal Attacks!

my early morning photoshop skills are somewhat lacking..
but you get the picture

Ignore the title of this post, we all have strange nightmares once in a while, right? Mine tend, on the average, to be weirder than most. But - if you do happpen to see a Godzilla-sized Cardinal in your forest throwing around vehicles like a tornado - let me know, we might have an infestation, or I might just be overtired. ...

Thanks again, everyone, for the supportive comments yesterday. Our little three-person business has split off from it's parent corporation and it's sink-or-swim time here in the boondocks. It's nice living in the boondocks, until you have to go out and get customers! I should qualify for a degree in advertising after this is through ;o)

PARTICIPATE -- Help a Grad Student!
In the Name of Science
: Acephalous is making a test of how fast memes travel over the Internet - go over to his post and link it to your blog to participate. Help a grad student! Make blog history! Oh - and when you're done, ping Technorati.

For the record: I saw this meme at Stumbling Over Chaos blog.


My partner in Lynn's Three Pin Shuffle is RennyBA, from Norway! How exciting! Go see his pictures of his trip to Brussels!

**The KnitOwl is off to work
with a large can of Anti-Godzilla-Cardinal Spray.**

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

shoot for the sky, maybe.



My time has been put in a pinch, and it's really hard to get done everything I used to, and all of this added on!

So - I'm calling for radio ads, and newspaper ads, and printing business cards, getting new mailboxes and phone numbers set up - and we're all holding mini-meetings about 'what do we do today to keep on track.' Busy. "Need to start getting up earlier just to keep up" busy. "Where's lunch today Rhe? Don't know - what's lunch Mr.J?" busy.

I've still got two orders to finish for the toy shop, as well.

OK, done complaining.. no wait, and I couldn't get my ears pierced last night because my ID was lost (temporarily) and the lady wouldn't believe I was over 18. compliment or insult? not sure. no more time today for it :o(

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Playtime for Willowpede and Salamander

I've got nothing - except cute cat pictures... :)

Mr.J brought a big leaf in from outdoors and opened the window a little bit. They've spent most of the day sitting there and playing with toys.







Other than that - we saw the new James Bond movie Friday night - not bad at all. Not super, either - but definitely worth a ticket.

Very girly: I loved the green linen dress the girl wore in the hospital scene - and the dangly earrings. I need to get my ears re-pierced next week! Also: found this dress online, looks simple to make. Wonder if I could pull that off ;o)

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Mr.J's vegan Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving - the apple pie was appreciated by everyone. We all ate a little too much - just a little, and there were leftovers until today. Mr.J had several vegan dishes (besides the apple pie) that he enjoyed. Since the topic here is vegan recipes, I had to share this picture of a building near Mayfield, KY. We cracked up on seeing it - made Mr.J stop so I could take a picture.


Vegan Metal fabricators


Our recipes:
Vegan Stuffing

Fresh cleaned mushrooms - chopped up fine.
Celery - chopped up fine.
1 small onion, chopped medium.
green onion stalks, chopped up very fine.
Vegetable boullion (vegan)
ground sage, thyme and garlic powder to taste.
boil all above in a small saucepan with just enough water to cover. Replace liquid as needed during the next step.
Chop up 1/2 to a whole loaf of vegan French bread (Read labels - or make yourself) into small cubes. Lay out in a roaster pan and toast at 375 degrees, turning often until toasted nearly dry.
Strain broth from mixture, mix vegetables and dry bread together in roaster pan. Carefully spoon broth layer evenly over entire mixture. Cover roaster pan with aluminum foil and place back in oven for a few minutes.



Vegan Banana Maple Syrup Cornbread
I used the recipe here - except for changing the applesauce to two small mashed bananas mixed with 2 tbsp. of pure maple syrup. Add liquids to this mixture in the bottom of the pan to be baked, and stir until even. Add dry ingredients (mixed in another bowl) and mix until smooth. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
DRY:
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. white flour
3/4 c. cornmeal
4 tablespoons sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
WET:
2 small bananas, slightly over-ripe, mashed.
2 tbsp. pure maple syrup (we used Spring Hill)
1/2 c. unsweetened soy milk
1/2 c. water

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Give Thanks!

Give thanks rabbits: image copyright of Marie Winger-Meyer 2006
Happy Thanksgiving!


We are spending Thanksgiving at our workplace and pooling resources together. I hope you all have a warm and happy holiday wherever you are!

To Litljon in Iowa: We love you and miss you!

Dragon Mailbox


Wow - working on a metal surface with ridges is hard! I'm using Enamel paints - so it will be weatherproof, and didn't want to risk spray-painting through a stencil because of the ridges. So - I went with the small brush and a piece of paper method.

I still have a little detail and correction to do - but things are drying right now.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Slow Tuesday ramblings

Linky: cute baby okapi at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago


A little of that sunlight quality
coming in through the forest
on the way to the office.


We went grocery shopping at 11 pm last night - Mr.J is BIG into Thanksgiving. He was positively grinning in the car all the way home, because he had stocked up at the grocery store. He even found a vegan apple pie!

I've been working, trying to get things done, but also have managed about ten minutes with my sketchbook in the morning sunlight. I like to work in the clear white sunlight that comes in the early morning. The white paper seems to glow, causing every black line to resonate. When I was at the college, the old drawing studio had a specific place that caught both the light from the skylight above and the windows to the South. When no one else was there - I would pop in, drag out my board, turn on the classical NPR radio station and 'jam.' At least - as far as I ever 'jam.'

Working on this dragon, inspired by the dragon mailbox I'm painting for the office. It's far from done.


I have a bad tendency to 'overdecorate' when it comes to ink works.
Sometimes, it goes too far and I start over, wasting 5-8 hours of work. After this many years - you would think that wouldn't happen as much, huh?


Toy shop is behind a little - maybe I can catch up tonight or tomorrow.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Cold Busy Weekend


Everybody go over and wish Chris at StumblingOverChaos
a Happy Birthday!!!


I can't really say there have been many moments this weekend that our days were anything BUT busy - and because of that, I don't have much in the way of pictures.

I did catch a glimpse of the cotton machines - but from a long distance at sunset :o( Those white rectangles with the green tarp on top are finished bales of cotton.



Made 'old home food' last night - potatoes, onions, garlic and vegetable soup. It reminded me of cooking back at my Mom's house when I was growing up in Northern Minnesota. My Mom taught me to cook starting when I was 9. When I was little, there was always biscuits, spaghetti, stews, potatoes fried and boiled, home-canned veggies and jellies, 'hotdishes' and clear soup with handmade egg noodles or drop dumplings. (Mr.J has always hated the dumplings, so I just make them for me)

What do you consider 'old home food'?
And why?



My Mom always cut the vegetables on a glass plate too (which Mr.J says is dangerous... huh?)


Fried potatoes for Mr.J (on right, just before the frying) and soup for me on the left.


Mr.J got vegan fried potatoes with olive oil and garlic. In my part of the soup (on the left) I put a tiny bit of meat from the freezer, which made the broth delicious after boiling for an hour. We sat down finally at about 11 pm and watched 'Stray Dog', a 1949 Japanese film starring Toshiro Mifune. This morning I had more running to do, programs to work on, and am preparing to paint a mailbox for the company. We've decided on a pair of white dragons facing each other, just small silhouettes.

Mr.J is calling for me to help with wiring the UPS - which was put on hold when he broke his wrist. He sees the doctor again on December 5th. He should be all healed up by then but is still finding it hard to sleep because it aches.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Cotton in the field in West Tennessee

About two miles from work. Cotton grows all over the place here, and sometimes we get to see the big machines out baling it. I'd love to have had a camera with me when they were baling this field last week. Maybe I'll still catch it before the season is over.


Sally and Willow go to the vet

Willow after vet
'Are they coming for me again?'

Sally after vet
'Go away now. I'm not talking to you anymore today.'

Everything turned out okay - the biggest thing was their feline leukemia test. They hadn't had one last year, and Sally had been exhibiting some strange nasal dripping symptoms - which had worried me for a few months now. They are both negative, which means they will have long lives with us :o)

They received their vaccine for FLV and boosters on everything else. The vet also said there was no respiratory issues with Sally - so the nasal thing might just be because she drinks out of the faucet and it leaks back out? Don't know - it is still strange.

Big shock of the day: The bigger, less-active cat is NOT the heavier cat. Weird, huh? Sally weighs 9.5 lbs and stands at least an inch shorter than Willow. She is the active, hyper-I-got-to-get-that-toy-or-bust cat. For no apparent reason, she'll race around like a spider monkey hyped up on coffee. We call it 'seeing imaginary bats.' Willow gets really worried about her at these times, and goes to sit up somewhere high until it is over. But.. *drumroll* Willow weighs 9 lbs even.

I'm flabbergasted. Looks are certainly deceiving ;o) but hey, either Sally has more muscle or just some very weighty opinions going on! (not my quote)

Afterthought: And they had to wear COLLARS! The shame! Both of them were wrested into their 'travel collars' with their names and a phone number stitched/drawn on to them. They sat there for hours before the trip just staring at me like 'This is NOT a good sign Mom. What's up?'

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Mouse the Office Manx (Picture Day)

Swap Linky: Check out Lynn's Three Pin Shuffle exchange that she is organizing! It is three pins (to wear on jacket, coat etc). One is your state flag (if you can find it) or country flag, something from your region, and then something for fun.


For those of you who don't know - Mouse is our girls' big sister. She lives at the office, and has recently become an 'inside cat', originally much to her disdain. Now that it's cold outside - being inside is pretty cool ;o)


C'mere!


Kitty curl


Willow refuses to see the obvious resemblance...
Mouse and Willow don't get along well.

P.S.: For all of you who have sent words of support these past few weeks/month - thank you so much. It really has been uplifting and helpful to confide in you.

In other news: Willow and Sally go in for their 1st yearly check-up tomorrow. Mr.J wants to not use the cat carrier this time unless we absolutely need it.