rental cars and car shopping

mama's in a rental car. now to decide what to do with the old almost dead car. sell it? trade it for a ps3? mama's not sure yet. she's been saying she wants a mini-van. then she and uncle jerry can start a moving company called 'j & t moving'. she cackles wildly when she says their motto: 'when we're damn good and ready'. for some reason, i don't think that's going to be the way to pay for the new vehicle! still, mama thinks she's funny. ok, i guess i do, too.

anyway, this weekend will be car shopping...to go with packing. has there ever been so much fun in one household?

we're off to bed now.

ciao

--suz

already 'one of those days'

mama's a little stressed today. dad just emailed from work that there are problems with mama's car (they've traded for this week because mama's car gets better gas mileage and dad has to drive further). more 'fun' to go with the daily light show (the lights on the dash go on and off at random times...it appears that the car's electrical system is going out). btw, what's an electrical system? i get little electrical zaps when mama's carry static electricity...is that what makes a car go? i thought cars used gas...(and mama's isn't a hybrid) hmmm. i'll have to ponder that while i stare off into space today.

mama would rather crawl back in to bed and pull the covers over her head. i would--of course--stay with her to minister to her needs by purring her through the day. (i'm just sweet like that...lol)

so she's going to go get ready for her day out of the house. i couldn't convince her to stay home. and she'll let us all know what gets decided about the darned car.

ciao
--suz

monday monday

mama's wishing she had more time to cuddle with me. i'm wishing it too. but today's a work day and she's got to head in soon.

she spent a good portion of the weekend synching music to her new mp3 player. she just tried out the speaker configuration, and it's pretty darn cool. it sounds so good! now there'll be tunes at the office.

ben's been swiping some of my lap time with mama. he's discovered that it's good to cuddle with her while she's on the computer. that used to be my special place.

i'm going to go cuddle back into her pillow (warm and cozy...and it smells like her). she's got to go to work.

ciao

--suz

800+ hits!

wow...it's been less than a month since we were at 400! thanks for visiting.

on the weekends, dad usually sleeps on the couch...he stays up late watching tv and playing on his computer. that means that i get the other half of the king size bed! mama has warned me that after the move, she's taking over the whole thing! she plans to sleep in the middle...lots of pillows and a cozy nest for us. mmmm. warm and cozy...my favorite three words!

mom's been getting a little more photo savvy. a little. no great skill yet. still gets us with our eyes closed. it's fun, though, to have pictures to share.

last week--when mama got the new computer--she copied a bunch of music from dad's mp3 library. he has over 20k songs! she has around 5k. she bought a cool new mp3 player called a 'dream'eo enza'. it's kind of big and clunky, but it's ms media player compatible--which is a big deal for mama. so all she has to do is plug it into speakers anywhere and she's got her own stereo.

does it seem strange to you that christmas was just a little over a month ago?

ciao
--suz

sheep shorn Benjamin

 

well, here he is...shorn and soft. mama says he's extra cuddly, probably because he's a little cold. if he'd put up with a sweater (or maybe a pink bathrobe), he'd be toasty!

mama says that ben's extra soft. she had to promise him that she wouldn't rub against his fur, even though it feels so good. it's kind of irritating to ben.

mama hasn't been on to write because life has been hectic and hard. she's been working and sleeping. feeding us and cuddling us, too.

last night, she built a fire (not really that cold, but since there isn't a fireplace in the new place, she wants to use this one as much as she can. a fake fireplace will work, but it is--after all--fake). i sat on one leg, and ben sat on the other. all three of us were toasty warm.

the packing will start next weekend. neither mama nor dad wants to do the work, but it's one of those chores that doesn't go away just because they want it to. i'm glad i don't have opposable thumbs! in fact, i'll stay under the bed while they pack.

another cropping

i really wish i didn't look so crabby...but that flashy thingy gets to me. mama will have to take pictures during the day time so i can have a better expression!


 

cropping me

this is a nicer picture...at least i think so. (ben)


 

pictures

here you go...
mama says she'll keep working on finding extra-good pictures of me and ben so you can see us like we really are!

and of course, tomorrow, there'll be pictures of ben with his lion cut! (teehee)

ciao

ben's pretty handsome

here i am showing off some of my gorgeous fur. after tomorrow, i'll have a little left on my feet, my tail and around my head. otherwise, i'll be shorn like a little sheep! and just as soft...

 

ben wanted to show off

this was a cool series of pictures...and then they stopped loading. i'll post post-lion cut pics later today.

It's me!

don't like the flashy thingy! i'm not really that crabby looking...


 

Benjamin the second

 

new 'puter

good morning...
mama's new computer finally showed up! she bought in in september. dad couldn't make it work. the guy who sold it to them--who said '90 day warranty'--decided to not honor anything. dad's friend finally figured it out, and about $150 later, mama has a newer much faster machine!

i haven't really noticed the difference yet, although mama does seem to spend lots of time there. lol i guess we'll see over time. so far, mama seems happy.

one of the best parts, she says, is that she can transfer the music she's interested in from dad's computer to her own so she can take it with her. even though they'll be good friends, mama would like to have her own music and not depend on dad. (that sounds kind of sad...and it actually is. i'm playing scarlett--o'hara, not johansson--and will think about that tomorrow.)

there will be ben the second's pictures before his lion cut tomorrow. we'd planned to take them this weekend. dad slept most of the weekend (dealing with giardia is no fun! 3rd course of antibiotics...and this one for 30 days!), so didn't give mama the help with dealing with camera connectivity.

mama promises, though, to get the camera thing figured out so that you can see both of us...especially ben pre- and post-lion cut!

the first six boxes are still empty...sprawled in a pile in the hallway where dad knocked them over this morning because he was late for work! mama knows that i don't like it when she starts putting things in boxes. it brings back memories of those many many many moves we've had! i think i have post traumatic stress disorder. (could explain why i spend so much time under the bed!)

still, those boxes will have to get packed sooner or later. maybe she'll start in february. then there won't be too much time between the packing and the unpacking. mama does say that she wants to sort and pitch again before she gets started.

sort and pitch! she's done that so many times since she moved to western washington in 2003! she and uncle jerry made AT LEAST 30 trips to goodwill, and to the perpetual garage sale run by 'people for abandoned pets'. probably enough stuff to fully stock those places at least one time! lol

this time around, the sort and pitch will include older toiletries, unused craft supplies, and stuff to be shredded.

i'm going back to bed and i want mama to come with me...

ciao

auntie suzanne

mama culpa

mama says she's sorry about not letting me get on the computer these past few days. after having been off work for 6 days (weather/weekend/holiday), it's been hard to catch back up. the particularly sad part is that there isn't really all that much to talk about.

i've been busy doing what any kitty with kidney problems does: i drink water out any one of the three water bowls around the house. and then i go potty. and i go potty. and then potty again. it's important for mama or dad to clean out my box every day!

i won't eat any of the 'prescription' kitty food. ick! mama says she's not going to starve me until i change my mind (at 5 pounds, she doesn't think i'd last long). i don't like the royal kanin baby food. so i eat friskies special diet sliced chicken. if mama or dad is eating poultry, i get little bites of that. i like to lick dairy products from mama's finger: ice cream, sour cream, cheese. my favorite temptations are the dairy-flavored ones. i don't mind the dentabites, either. that's it. i'm happy with that. i don't want anything else. sometimes dad thinks i need 'variety' and gives me a different flavor...and i usually throw up.

i gotta tell you, getting older isn't much fun. keep your kidneys healthy if you can!

auntie suzanne

it's raining

the roads are clear and the snow's almost gone! the parking lot looks like a mess, but the roads are good! mama gets to go to work. has to start early today because of a big 1x per month meeting (ugh), but it'll be good to get to the office anyway.

mama's been having weird hard dreams lately. kind of disturbing. i sleep on top of her when she's restless and try to keep her calm. it didn't work last night. this is the second night of those dreams. maybe if she could get to bed a little earlier... in any case, i'm extra tired and will be glad to cuddle up in bed and doze the day away. warm and cozy for me, thanks!

ben the second has been trying to take my place on mama's lap while she's at the computer. he's not always completely aware of what's going on, but he seems to sense something, and he's looking for reassurance. so mama holds him, pets him, talks to him. he's almost shameless in his desire for her attention. he lifts his head for her to rub under his chin, and presents a cheek for scritches behind the whisters. she's a bit of a sucker for him when he does those things. the saddest part is that he won't listen to me when i tell him to get ready for big changes. there are going to be TWO big changes for him: one is that he's going to get his lion cut soon (big fuzzy full of mats). the other is the move to the new place. hopefully, he'll start listening to me about to handle moving. i've got LOTS of experience.

mama's got to get ready, so i'm going to hop down and let her do just that. have a good day, efurryone!

dinner out

mama just got back from a dinner hosted by the board of directors at the agency where she works. the restaurant was beautiful--right on the water--and the service was superb.

mama told me that she saw a woman she knew...but she couldn't remember how. it turned out that mama and this woman had lived in the same dorm on the same floor during their freshman year at college. (that was a really really really long time ago). no contact since then. the woman traded places with her husband at the table and she and mama spent the evening talking about what college had been like--not much fun.

here's a bit of mama's story. she was a forever student and it's hard to explain why...mostly she kept trying to find herself and what she wanted to do. lots of jobs and lots of degrees.

it's only in the last 6 months that mama has had a job that she really likes. she feels like she's learning every day, that she has something to contribute, and that the work is worthwhile.

now that she's going to be getting her own place again, she's thinking that maybe a lot of things will come together...and life will be a little less hard, and maybe a lot more fun!

here's to more fun!

it's OURS

mama just read the email from the landlord...and we got the condo! yippee! if she could tap dance, she'd do that. if she knew how to jump into the air and click her heels together, she'd do that.

happy happy happy

thanks for all the good wishes about us getting it. it's such a relief to KNOW.

CLOSED again

mama just got the call from the vp. the office is closed again today. waiting for an email from the office assistant so she knows who the clinicians need to call to cancel appts. after that, breakfast and a nap! probably a fire in the fire place.

mama needs to get some boxes so she can start doing some packing. whether the condo comes through or not, she's going to be moving in february.

warm and cozy!

MORE snow

it's pure craziness is what it is. the folks here in puget sound have NO IDEA how to drive in the snow. now my mama, she spent a few years in iowa, a year in norway. she knows how to do this.

so we have an accumulation of approximately 1-1/2 inches, and the agency might be closed again today! like i mentioned last night, mama wants to get in to work today. maybe she'll go anyway. take it slow. look forward to a month from now when work will be 3 miles instead of 22.

last week, mama shared her over-the-door hooks with the interns so they'd have a place to put their coats. she needs to shim the over-the-door part because it rattles right into her office (the noise is a little startling...it sounds like someone knocking or scratching). she bought a new 'screw-into-the-wall' hook set for herself yesterday and she's eager to put it up.

before any decisions to be made today, though...BREAKFAST! stinky goodness!

monday evening

mama's freshly showered and ready to get into bed with clean sheets. in her mind, that's almost the best. the *best* is when i get into bed with her! lol

she took a drive to maple valley today and paid for a dining table and 6 chairs. the table extends to 96"! there are going to be good dinner parties at her place when she moves.

mama still hasn't heard about the condo yet. seems like a long time to wait. still, she's trying to be patient (or is it trying my patience?).

the weather forecast is for more snow over night. while i like having her home, i know she's getting antsy about getting back into the office. stuff to do...paperwork to peruse, things to shuffle. lol if i were more social, i'd let her put me in a snuggly and take me with her. but i'm not.

otherwise, not much new. i'm waiting for us to finish up here so we can go crawl in bed. she thought about watching a video, but may opt for a re-read of one of the amelia peabody mysteries by elizabeth peters. did you know she doesn't have a new amelia coming out this year? very sad. so re-read time.

stay warm and cozy!

late saturday evening

my brother--benjamin the 2nd--has been trying to get me to fight with him. he sprawls in the door to mama's room and i have to JUMP over him to get in. it's not really play fighting...he's trying to be territorial. he doesn't get that mama is MINE. she's been MINE for a really long time.

mama and uncle jerry (mama's brother who talks much too loud when he comes over; i spend most of my time under the bed when he's here) went out for awhile today. it was SNOWING!

anyway, they went out to a second-hand store just doing some day-dreaming about furniture for mama's new place (she hasn't heard yet if she'll get it). there's some cool stuff out there. mama told uncle jerry that with some patience, upholstery pins and a staple gun, they can probably recover just about anything. mama's leaning toward a couch with pillows at that the back...the kind that can get moved around. you know me, all i want is warm and cozy.

they also talked about electric fireplaces--if mama does get the place she wants, there's no fireplace there. she's seen some nice looking ones but doesn't have much experience with them. do any of you have one? do you like it? mama says she won't live anywhere where she doesn't have a fireplace...even if she has to buy it herself!

hope you're all doing ok. staying warm and cozy and all that.

--suzanne

My Fortune Cookie told me: It is time to open your dream boxes. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

400 hits!

wow...we're getting there! it's so nice to have new friends. please leave a comment so i can add you to my 'best friends' blog roll.

mama got a golden rod bubblepack envelope in the mail. daisymae maus's mom picked out some purrtiful yarn and her mom (my aunt lynne) knit mama a scarf. it's pinks with white eyelashes. it's a nice move toward spring! thank you dmm's mom. (mama says 'thank you jessica!)

i've been taking advantage of having mama at home...and we've been napping a bit. last night she built a fire and i sat on her lap warming up in front of it. toasty. between that and the feather comforter that's back on the bed (see posting 'fev-vers'), we're cozy. we haven't had any company in awhile, so i've not been spending much time under the bed. wonder what's under there now? what's under your bed?

--ciao
suzanne

another snow day ?

we say a big 'thank you' to daisymae maus's mom, jessica (who is quite the tech geek on all things bloggy). she was able to fix us up yesterday so that the TT works just like it should. yippee!

well good morning! it was a short night. mama's back to not sleeping well, and so we didn't get to bed until nearly 3 am. the phone rang at 7:30. the vp called to talk about what to do for the day: not too many clients on the calendar. who can get there safely? if one person goes in, does the day become 'optional' for everyone else? if it's optional and people don't go in, then today becomes a vacation day or a work from home day. i'm so glad i don't have to go to work like mama does!

mama sent in her information to the new landlord--at least we hope he'll be the new landlord. now to wait to see what his plan is. even though i REALLY don't like change, i'm a little excited to see the new place. mama says the heat is 'radiant'. does that mean it's really happy? she says 'no, it means that the heat drifts down from the ceiling'. because there's someone below this unit, it might make our floors warm. that would be such a nice difference! cold floors on tender toe pads are NO fun.

***
phone calls made and the sich has been explained to each employee. mama's going back to bed for a bit and then will go in to the office for the afternoon. she'll leave in plenty of time before it's dark and it freezes over again. dad moved mama's car last evening so that mama doesn't have to walk across the frozen parking lot. nice guy, my dad.

have a good day everyone!

hrh empress suzanne

having a little trouble getting the Thursday Thirteen to work

it's me again. i'm having a bit of trouble with the thursday thirteen. i'm not sure how to add the 'comments' section to the post so that i can see who stopped by and what they had to say. if you can help, please leave a comment for this post and i'll work on fixing up the 13.

--ciao
suzanne

I am an Empress. I've always known...and now you do, too.

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Empress Suzanne the Introspective of Puddleston St Droop Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Thursday Thirteen - Edition #1

Thirteen Things about SuzanneThirteen places I've lived:
1. Olympia, Washington. Mama and I found each other there. (read my baby story for more info).

2. Rochester, Washington. Mama and I (and all of my brothers and sisters) lived with Grandpa for awhile.

3. Dubuque, Iowa. Mama went to school in Dubuque. Benjamin the first and I went together. Ben really didn't like it there. It was too hot and humid in the summer. It didn't bother me so much. In the winter time, Benjamin would share his tummy fur with me so I wouldn't get cold. We snuggle together and stay toasty!

4. Kennewick, Washington. Mama and Benjamin the first and I moved there in the summer of 2006. We lived with Aunt Donna and Uncle Rich, and our human cousins, Sam and Sunny. Uncle Rich called me a phantom cat because he didn't ever see me.

5. Saco, Maine. Mama took a job at a summer conference center in Maine. We drove from Kennewick to Maine, and spent the summer living in a TINY cottage on the beach. I STILL found places to hide.

6. Kennewick, Washington again. Mama took us back to Kennewick to Aunt Donna's house. In October, we moved to our own place, which is #7 on the list.

7. Kennewick, Washington. Mama finished graduate school while living in two separate apartments in Kennewick. We'll count these as one, cuz there are plenty of places still come.

8. Pendleton, Oregon. Mama got her first job out of graduate school at a community residential program for kids with psychiatric problems. We had lots of weather in Pendleton. This is the place where I fell down behind the hot water heater on the day we moved in. Talk about stress for everyone!

9. Kennewick, Washington. We came back to Kennewick after a year in Pendleton. Mama found us a very cool apartment...(cool is important for Kennewick summers). After a year of living there, Mama got us a house...it was hard living in the same building where some of her clients lived.

10. Kennewick, Washington. We'll claim the house as number #10, because we're getting close to the end. The house was fun. It was the biggest place we lived. There were lots of fun places to play and hide.

11. Bellevue, Washington. Mama got her social worker license and we moved to wettern Washington for her new job. The first place was soooo hot. The complex manager let us move to a downstairs unit so we wouldn't fry.

12. Bellevue, Washington. Mama met Dad. They found a condo together and we all moved in together. The place is much too small, but it's been home for nearly 2.5 years.

13. Seattle, Washington. Mama, Benjamin the second, and I are moving to Seattle next month. Mama says that Dad will always be Dad, but they're not going to live together any more. She says he'll still come visit and will still give us treats. That's good. I'll miss him, but I want my Mama to be happy. She tells me that we're going to like our new place: it's bigger than this place, and the windows are all new and it will be quiet and warm.

snow day!

we got several (?) inches last night. mama's drive home took 2.5 hours. it's only 22.5 miles, so the average mph was 6.67. wow! i could have kept up with her. she was glad to be home.

the snow's not melting fast, so it's possible that there will be another snow day tomorrow! and if there is, the weekend is extra-long as the office is closed on monday in honor of mlk jr day. a five day weekend without any sick or vacation time! that's pretty cool.

dad's new supervisor told him that the only way the office is closed is if they're without power. the only acceptable reason for an employee to be out is if the employee is 'deathly ill'. so they won't make 'seattle's top employer'!

mama's going to make herself some lunch, share with me, watch some tube, and then probably take another nap. snow days are good for that. sweats and wool socks.

hope you're staying warm and dry!

ciao

midnight

the stroke of midnight...and we're still awake. almost time for bed.

the weather reports talk about more snow. mama says that this is one of the (very few) times she wishes she wasn't a supervisor. if it does snow, she's got to be up early calling folk to not go to work, and then calling clients to not come in. lots of phone calls.

you know me...i just want her to be in bed with me where it's warm and cozy. with the feather comforter back on, it's warmer and cozier every night. i LIKE it.

'bout an hour ago, we had a hail storm. kinda noisy. already melting, though.

i want mama to find the camera so we can put some pictures on this page. wonder where it is?

--ciao

fev-vers

mama put her fev-ver comforter back on the bed tonight. and then she didn't stay in bed with me! it's so cozy in there.

while she couldn't sleep, she's been surfing the net looking for an electric fireplace. some pretty ones out there. although she likes the sound of crackling logs, i won't miss them. they scare me and make me want to hide--guess where--under the bed!

i've staked my claim on dairy-flavored temptations. sooo yummy. i eat them from mama's hand, crunching through each one to get at the soft tasty goodness inside.

the weather guy says we may have snow this next week. i don' t want snow unless mama gets to stay home. if she could stay with me, then as much weather as wants to hit is free to come on in!

there are lots of changes coming here...and i'm going to get some rest so i'll be ready for whatever sunday lays out for us!

--ciao

up and at 'em

mama got up fast this morning. i was cuddled next to her under the covers when she woke up with a gasp and a pounding heart. she's slept through her alarm--including a full hour of music! mama can jet when she needs to, and this morning she did. fed us, got dressed, took dad's lab stuff to the doctor, and was only 15 minutes late!

i had hoped that by oversleeping, she was planning to just stay home with me. it's weird to have her so glad to work after the several years of both of us wanting her to stay home every day. sometimes, i wish she still wanted to stay home with me. at least she's making some money so she can keep me in temptations!

--ciao

happy new year!

mama's not quite ready for sleep, even though we're both pretty tired. i wish she would just come to bed...warm and cozy. she's getting sleepy!

been thinking about what we want for 2007. we're going to work hard to make it a good year. a better year. more time enjoying each day and less feeling unhealthy stress. some exercise maybe. save some money. make some new friends. do the things that are fun and creative. get more proficient at blog page layout. lol

it's going to be good and fun, and we're glad you're with us...