Just FYI to all the witchy folk, Friday night is a black moon, the second dark moon cycle within the month, an especially powerful time for working magic (especially banishing spells) and for meditation and introspection. It's at 9:49 pm CST. On Saturday there's also a solar eclipse, so there's lots going on in the heavens this weekend.
More moon links:
The Magick of Hecate
Moon Phases - Enchanted Oak
Witches' Voice 2003 Moon Phases
Women and Dark Moon Magic
Moon Lore
These are hard...
1. What do you most want to be remembered for? My honesty and personal integrity I guess... my cool website maybe ;-)
2. What quotation best fits your outlook on life? Treat others the way youíd like to be treated.
3. What single achievement are you most proud of in the past year? Ugghh, the last year has been a blur of inactivity. Perhaps figuring out how to install and customize Movable Type enough to create this weblog and keep up with it regularly.
4. What about the past ten years? Starting my own business and being able to work at home. Also Iím approaching six years of creating and maintaining my main website, Morticiaís Morgue. All of my computer skills were self taught, Iím very pround of that :-)
5. If you were asked to give a child a single piece of advice to guide them through life, what would you say? Two things I think... never stop learning new things, and be honest with yourself and others.
I went to our neighborhood Petsmart and bought two more of Phoebe's favorite catnip Eeeks mice after the other two mysteriously disappeared. We've looked under every piece of furniture in the house and in the closet where they've been found twice before and nada. Then this evening one of the missing ones turns up in a place I've looked at least half a dozen times. So now she has a grey one, a brown one, and two pink ones (one is MIA and the other is in the drawer as an emergency mouse). It's such a cute mouse, though, really ;-)
Also found yet another interactive cat toy that she just went bonkers for, a mouse on a wand with a little computer chip in it that makes it squeak when it moves. The noise drove Sparky nuts, but the kitty couldn't get enough of it. I got her some more catnip also, I'm guessing the packet that came with her scratching post is probably a little stale. From her reaction the the new batch, I was right. Do you think whe's just a little bit spoiled maybe...
So far the best homemade toys have been - a drinking straw, sheets of packing paper that are good for hide and seek, anything fished out of the trash (wadded up napkins are very popular), a fresh green bean (I think she thought it was a lizard), and the number one - ice cubes. Yes, she's one of those odd cats that begs for ice cubes whenever Sparky opens the freezer and then she chases it around till it melts or ends up beneath the stove.
Yea! I registered this domain name over weekend, figured it would be easier to remember than the current one, though both will continue to work, and it's up and running :-) The domain name without the hyphen is taken by an adoption agency, which make perfect sense, so I went for the hyphen. I've got another domain or two I'd like to regsiter when I get a bit more extra money. more info when they go up.
Now I need to redirect all my archives and weblog files, etc. to the new domain, I'm too tired to even begin tonight. I've spent the last two days solid photographing, scanning and listing things for Ebay and I now have an insane 202 things up for sale! And I still have a stack of things to pack and mail, zzzzzz....
Sorry, I haven't slept well the last few days, I think it's hormones from not stopping my bc pills, I didn't feel like having a period right now, the last few have been miserable. I've redesigned my EBay store to focus more on my witchy and gothic things than my postcards, which I've been very bad about listing lately. I like the fact that you can put things into categories and search within the listings, it drives me nuts to hit an EBay seller that has like 1000 things listed in no order.
Having spent almost my entire life in retail, I was hoping people would do some online shopping this holiday weekend, but then Dubya raised the alert to orange midweek and that ended that.
Kitty's restless tonight, I think we still have some fleas remaining despite repeated sprayings inside and out. She gets all hyper when the bugs are around, even though she's been getting her Advantage twice a month instead of once. I'm listening to Cassandra Wilson's "New Moon Daughter"� right now, Phoebe seems to really like her voice, nice and soothing.
So anyway, bookmark Wednesdays-Child.com if you'd like, it's mine now :-)
1. What brand of toothpaste do you use? Mentadent
2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer? Usually Scott Tissue, occasionally Cottonelle (tends to stop up the toilet, though)
3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear? Faves are Rockport and Ecco (I have flat feet!)
4. What brand of soda do you drink? Donít drink much, but when I do itís Classic Coke, Ginger Ale or Dr. Pepper (if Iím sleepy!)
5. What brand of gum do you chew? Canít chew gum anymore because of my TMJ and numerous crowns and fillings. When I was a kid I went nuts over that Hot Dog gum, but it only tastes good for about 3 or 4 minutes.
1. What drinking water do you prefer -- tap, bottle, purifier, etc.? Evian!
2. What are your favourite flavor of chips? Iím not a bit chip eater. We had a party a few weeks ago and had some Layís Chicago Steakhouse Loaded Baked Potato chips that rocked.
3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most? I love my own Fettucini Alfredo, I do a good lemon chicken breast also. I think my favorite splurge to cook is �Bananas Foster, though I donít light them on fire and most of the time I use heavy cream instead of ice cream. I donít really cook too many things that require more than a few ingredients. We have a George Foreman grill and I can make steaks without setting off the smoke alarms, which is cool.
4. How do you have your eggs? I like them scrambled or hard-boiled, though when I was a kid the only way Iíd touch them was sunnyside up. Now Iím allergic, though...
5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out? My husbandís mother, she made her own motherís day dinner last weekend (long story), it was great. Boiled shrimp, green beans and potato salad, we ate like pigs ;-)
I've had a weird last few weeks or so. Besides the rampaging allergies that is just part of the joy of living in Texas, we've had the added pollution of the smoke drifting up from Mexico. So I've been tired, listless and sneezing my head off. I swear I've done my best to spend as much time in bed the last few weeks...
I went to the opthalmologist's earlier this week to see why vision has gone to hell the last year or so. I'm only 41, it shouldn't be deteriorating as fast as it is. I'd thought perhaps I'd had an optic neuritis attack because I've been having a ton of floaters, plus double vision and dimness in my good eye, but she didn't see any swelling of the optic nerve. (I'm guessing I probably did have an attack and it's healing now) So I went back the next day to have a visual field test, which came back with the same blind spots I've been having so nothing there either.
She did tell me I need glasses for distance now again. At least I got a little over 10 years of 20/20 with my RK surgery, but she told me because of the surgery I couldn't really go back to wearing contacts again. Drats, I hate wearing glasses all the time.
Anyway, all the eyestrain took it's toll. The night after the visual field I was getting ready to take a shower and go to bed when I noticed some flashing in the corner of my vision. The first thing I thought was "that's a bad floater, why hadn't I noticed it before?". Then after a few minutes of it getting larger and brighter, I realized it was visible through both eyes, and was actually a migraine halo. I don't get haloes very often, usually just the throbbing pain, but I ran and gulped a Maxalt and the flashing was almost gone by the time I got out of the shower. Just this evening I'm finally getting some pain, so perhaps the medicine stalled it for a few days.
I have been really food obsessed lately but I've been in a mood where nothing really seems to taste good. So whenever I've been hungry lately, I've been snacking on those Mini Stoned Wheat Thin crackers that you get in the fancy foods aisle of the store (near the shortbread). They're bland and salty and make me feel like I'm actually eating something. I've been eating these on and off for years, I'm sure I'll burn out again soon but for now it's green tea and crackers. And an occasional real Coke, which I rarely drink but have been craving lately.
I've also had some really major lower back pain, but I'm beginning to think that it's being aggravated by all the extra activity of hunting and throwing catnip mice that I've been engaged in lately ;-)
OK, I've recently realized that my weblog, like the rest of my main website, has been indexed by Google and that I have no proper description or keywords in place :-( I was so intimidated by the rigors of XHTML when I put this thing in place I think I was afraid to change anything as major as META tags (I had a lot of trouble rebuilding this thing properly when I first began).
Soooo.. if you search by name for my blog, here's the first listing that comes up:
Oh well... I went in and added a proper description and relevant keywords so hopefully my weblog will be properly indexed on future spiderings...
I also found out there is at least one more weblog and a website with the same title, so hopefully no one will get us confused. The latter site has so many pop-up ads I didn't delve past the second page, but it appears to be some sort of gay male fiction site. Being a hetero female (with no pop-ups), perhaps the readers will be able to distinguish us after all.
I've gotta do an "About Me" area for my weblog... Coming soon ;-)
I love this weekís questions! Iím a major obsessive compulsive organizer, check out this post from January, Obsession & Organizing, for lots of organizing info and links.
1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not? Yes! Itís a constant battle to keep some sort of order, but the minute I stop trying I know Iíll be completely lost. It drives me insane to not be able to find something. I'm one of those people who has always been surrounded by piles of stuff, tons of little slips of paper and just excessive stuff in general.
2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly? I have a really nice Dayrunner organizer thatís stuffed so full the pages sometimes tear when I turn them, I try really hard to use it. I have a tiny little purse-size organizer also that I carry with me. I like to write things down, I donít think Iíd do well with a PDA... I'm one of those people who goes psycho in an office supply store or somewhere like The Container Store.
3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now? Actually, today itís in very good shape, check out the pic above. I canít help but end up with piles, but I try and keep them sorted and go through them every week or so. I end up with tons of little receipts and things that I literally stuff into a big legal envelope and then go through it every few months. That way at least if I need a receipt of something I can find it.
4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter? Yes, Iím dying to get a larger CD rack that will hold everything and one that doesnít have individual slots so when I buy a new CD I donít need move 40 CDs to keep them in order. My books are grouped by type, and then sorted by author. Theyíre not ALL alphabetical, but they are in some sort of order so I donít go nuts (I have a lot of books). My first job at 17 was as a library assistant shelving books in the childrenís section (the kids were fine, the parents were slobs, though!). I still pull things out when Iím at a book store and theyíre in the wrong place, etc.
Here are some of my double and triple stacked bookcases.
5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize? The library was hard to keep up (try putting things in order when the reference numbers are like 679.23459a). I think the biggest onetime challenge I ever faced was the first day on the last job I worked (as a retail clerical) when I was handed literally about half a dozen huge boxes of assorted reports and paperwork an told to sort and file it all. The biggest problem was I was not at all familiar with any of them, they all looked similar, had similar (mostly numerical) names, and I didnít have any clue which ones were important and which were garbage. The woman I was replacing had been there for 30 years, had her own system, and I only had three days to train with her. If youíve ever worked in retail, you know the buying office is a nightmare to keep organized.
On a personal level, I think trying to weed through like seven years of mine and my husbandís accumulated junk before we moved into our own house to decide what to keep and what to toss. Weíre both ìcollectorsî and we still have way too much stuff, but at least now itís semi-organized ;-)
ADDENDUM - I was just reading someone else's Friday Five and it brought back a memory of the really hardest thing I ever had to organize. I was volunteering at a Jaycee's Haunted House in Austin years ago and ended up having the whole thing dumped in my lap when the girl who was a Jaycee that was running it quit. It was all teenagers and yuppie volunteers and had a budget of zero. The teens actually were the only semi-reliable ones and would actually usually follow instructions. The adults wouldn't stay in their places, kept getting drunk and all wanted to be tour guides or sell tickets {sigh}. That was the worst organizing nightmare, I think I had blocked it out mentally...
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We had to take the kitty back to the vet yesterday, she had developed more itchy raw spots around her neck and they weren't healing properly like the first round of hot spots she had. Turns out even though we'd treated her with Advantage she still a few fleas left (even the vet had a hard time finding them but he found two live ones) and she's very allergic to their bites. So we got more Advantage with instructions to give her another dose in two weeks instead of the normal four, and she got a steroid shot for her allergies.
Then I went out later in the day and bought her another mouse (one is MIA), more treats and a new scratching post from Petsmart to put under my desk. Of course, after I bought it I realized it too short, but my husband's opposed to having cat furniture all over the house and with her elevated cardboard scratcher I think it will work for now. They didnít really have a very good selection of sisal posts, mostly a bunch of huge carpeted furniture. Hereís a really good looking scratching post Iíd like to work up to ;-) She has the little Softpaws nail caps but I'd like for her to go au natural eventually, I think it would be healthier for her. She's been getting her little vinyl claws caught in things lately, too, poor baby. She's so gentle, even when she's in her schizoid running through the house mood, she's not at all destructive. I think the first anti-declawing law just passed in California this week, more related links below.
Today she's been very calm and very sleepy with some bouts of playfulness mixed in. I think the steroid shot is making her feel a lot better but it's also making her somewhat tired. I put a piece of cardboard covered in double-sided tape beneath the offensive recliner that she likes to hide under, so far she's stayed away from it, thank goodness, and is sleeping in safer places. Besides being a dangerous place to hang out, it's nasty and dusty under there and she has inhalant allergies as well.
I think the fleas are officially dead for now, luckily we only have one and a half carpeted rooms in our house so the vet didn't think spraying was warranted. I think I'm going to check into some online places to get her Advantage, it was like $75 from the vet
Iíve been reading Pam Johnson-Bennettís Think Like a Cat - How to Raise a Well-Adjusted Cat -- Not a Sour Puss and itís really interesting and so far useful. Phoebe is such a little personality I feel like I need all the insight I can get into understanding her. Sparky thinks Iím nuts for doing all this researching and obsessing but Iím actually enjoying it and learning a lot.
Since we got her I did some research and found out she's not a mutt at all, but an actual real Burmese color variation, she's a Black Smoke Asian. So technically we have our black cat ;-) There's a photo hanging on the wall at our vet's office looks exactly like her that I thought was like stock art but turns out to be a past patient. She has the most beautiful silky coat, itís black over a white undercoat.
More kitty links:
Declawing - What You Need To Know
The Paw Project - Declawing FAQ
De-Clawing.com Directory Listing
Why Cats Need Claws from the Whole Cat Journal
Cats International.org - Cat Behavior Articles
Burmese Cat Club
P.S. I just noticed this is my 100th entry in this weblog :-)
Reallllly late this week, but too good to pass up
1. Name one song you hate to admit you like. Christina Aguilera �Beautiful�
2. Name two songs that always make you cry. I usually only cry at live performances.
3. Name three songs that turn you on. I�m not sure if they really turn me on, but:
Tori Amos �Liquid Diamonds�
Chaka Khan �I Feel For You�
Sheila E. �Glamorous Life�
4. Name four songs that always make you feel good.
Bowie & Queen �Pressure�
Blondie �One Way or Another�
Burt Bacharach �Bond Street�
Echo & the Bunnymen �Lips Like Sugar�
5. Name five songs you couldn't ever do without.
Wings �Maybe I�m Amazed�
Elton John �Funeral for a Friend�
Alice Cooper �Only Women Bleed�
Lesley Gore �California Nights�
Alan Parsons Project �To One in Paradise�
From Melissa at Anything but Ordinary�s �Music Meme� list which I couldn�t resist:
3 most diametrically opposed songs on my (current, everchanging) playlist
Jack Off Jill �Cumdumpster�
�Theme from Xanadu� by Olivia Newton-John
Nina Hagen �Springtime in Paris�
2 songs you wouldn�t guess I would have
The Archies �Justine� on vinyl
Mireille Mathieu �Hinter den Kulissen von Paris�
And kadyellebee�s cool addition which is funny because I was just thinking about this the other day
Good FAST driving songs
The last time I got a ticket I was listening to �Sky Pilot�
Guns n� Roses �Coma�
Meatloaf �Paradise by the Dashboard Light�
Aerosmith �Livin� On the Edge�
The B-52�s �Love Shack�
Garbage �Cherry Lips�
and Bitweever already nailed two of the best, �Radar Love� by Golden Earring and �Freebird� by Lynyrd Skynyrd
OK, that qualifies as a weird selection, you�ve got to agree...
Happy Beltane to everyone, today has been a day for getting rid of the old, which is always nice. Sparky and I tossed a full recycling bin plus two grocery bags of old magazines today. Somehow I still have an entire shelf full of ones I haven't even opened. Plus tons of Oprah magazines that I'm debating whether to keep or cannibalize. I got rid of like half a dozen issues of Allure, it's so cheap I haven't been able to discontinue my subscription but since I never go anywhere anymore that requires makeup it does seem like a bit of a waste... I tossed most of my 2001 and older Mac magazines, a few were relevant to the time I bought my G4, though, so I felt obliged to keep them for awhile longer. I've installed OS X but I'm still using Sytem 9, I really dislike the entire OS X interface.
I went cat shopping the other day (without Sparky who's a party pooper) and bought Phoebe new ceramic bowls (in case the plastic ones are what's causing the rash on her neck), new food (Science Diet for Sensitive skin instead of the Iams Hairball she's been eating, she doesn't shed!), one of those feather toys on a stick, some medicated wipes for her neck, cat shampoo (more on that below) and something that seemed totally whimsical at the time but has proven to be incredibly useful - a battery powered vibrating "Power Scoop" for the litter box! I was afraid to show it to Sparky until I tried it, and it makes cleaning the box like twice as fast, which is great because bending over for too long is tough on me. I was looking for a longer handled metal scoop like they have online at Petsmart.com, but this works even better.
We gave Phoebe her first bath the other night, we figured since she was a foster kitty and young she'd probably never had one before. She's also been itching some and has some raw spots around her neck that come and go and I'm afraid are going to require another vet visit. She didn't have any last time we went. She's fascinated by water and figured she'd do pretty well, which she did, no real hysterics, just some loud meows. But after we finished she lay wrapped in the towel like she was in shock, poor baby, shivering and shaking. We were both really worried, but then she snapped out of it. I think it was just that she'd never been bathed before. But she's nice and clean and fluffy now, still a little itchy, though. If you want a cat that doesn't shed, get a Burmese. We towel dried her and there was hardly any hair on the towel afterwards. She's been really easy on my allergies too :-)
More kitty photos to come!