Not-so-little buddy

Presto is still full of pouncy kitten energy, but from some angles, he could be mistaken for an adult cat. The cooler weather is bringing out his snuggly side. And while he and Sprite still are not great friends, they can now share the couch for a nap.

not another cat photo!

I've been chided lately for posting only cat pictures to my blog. To prove I'm not quite a crazy cat lady yet, please view these pix of some equally cute two-footed creatures who came to visit Sensational Acres this weekend.

Link to photo album: http://picasaweb.google.com/Jugglernaut1/BrownsVisit72008

Just another spring evening

Must be basketball tournament season

kitsch as kitsch can

If you don't have time to meander through your local thrift shop and gawk at the krep people deposit there, get your fix from Thrift Shop Horror, a community photoblog showcasing the worst of the worst.

I can't believe anyone bought most of that stuff in the first place, let alone that anyone would want to buy it used. But hey: One person's junk is another person's online time-waster, right?

Merry Fishmas

This morning, Christmas Eve, Mom and I got together with my Aunt Jo in the tiny berg of Newell for morning coffee. We met at the Sinclair station and chatted in a booth beneath this and several other festive, fin-tastic decorations.

When I was 14, I took my driver's test in Newell, population @ 650, 25 miles from home. I could have waited another three weeks for the examiner who travelled our rural circuit to come back around to my hometown, but when you're 14 and eligible to get your learner's permit, who wants to wait? Rather than hear about my misery for another three weeks, my parents allowed me to go to Newell for the test. I failed parallel parking (and still do), but passed the rest, so I have fond memories of Newell — even if the mighty Irrigators did beat us in basketball a little too often.

Please send photos of interesting holiday decor! And tell me about your driver's test. Did you pass on the first try? No fibbing, now. Santa will hear you.

Let the festivities begin!

The cats and I made it to SD in one piece (despite one cat food spill in the car). Mother Media's tree, with just a few gifts beneath it, gave us a warm welcome. The cats have already burrowed in, and I've been eating Chex mix for two hours. Mom and I will soon be off to the store to buy ingredients to make cookies. More cookies.

Sister-san, Chef Jeff, and CNE will arrive late the night of the 25th, so our celebration will extend into midweek. It's going to be fantastic!

invisible bunny

This week's snowfall left my back yard crisscrossed with rabbit tracks — and some scramble marks where one took shelter under the deck.

These are iPhone photos taken at about 12:00 p.m. Not bad, eh?

now I know jack

Behold my jack-o-lantern! It's titled either "A Thousand Points of Light" or "Multiple Stab Wounds," depending on your state of mind.

For best effect, I should make the holes bigger and/or put a stronger light inside. But . . . it'll do.

And since I photographed it in the bathroom (darkest room in the house), I think I'll call it a john-o-lantern.

Rockin' the Rockies

I spent last weekend in Colorado, first with Lisa & Kevin in Denver, then with Jerry & Susan in Berthoud. As usual, I pretty much ate my way through the local attractions.

Highlights of the Denver portion of the trip:

• Fondue dinner
  
• Rockapella concert
  
• My introduction to Ace of Cakes, possibly the best show on TV
  
• Wandering through a corn maze, followed by the hottest, freshest kettlecorn of all time
  
• Italian dinner with portions the size of Mt. Etna
  
• Sunday brunch complete with Ultimate Margaritas. Lisa had hoped to run the half-marathon of the Denver Marathon that day, but the weather was too in hospitable, so we opted for church and brunch with friends instead. When that restaurant says it serves the ultimate margarita, believe it!

Then we met Jerry on the side of the road, and I headed to Berthoud for continued fun. Once I'd emptied the mini-bar in the sumtuous guest wing of the Double W estate, we:

• toured the Celestial Seasonings factory, where I loaded up on tea. Watch out for the mint room!
  
• strolled through an outdoor sculpture park on a perfect fall day
  
• experienced a Blizzard
  
• did a little wine tasting
  
• prowled a surprisingly large used book store
  
• hiked around the lake behind the estate — until we heard hunters in the woods
  
• learned far more than we wanted to about a waitress's bad airline experience

I had a fantastic time, and thanks to technology, didn't even fall behind in my work. I did, however, inspire the Colorado Rockies to win their division and head for the World Series for the first time.

Click the image to see photos:

Colorado, Oct. 2007

New York City photos

Click the photo below to view a few shots from my recent long weekend in the Big Apple. The captions tell most of the story, and I'll fill in the rest of it here: IT WAS COLD.

My fabulous hostess Laura and I spent a lot of time walking to and from subway stations, restaurants and cultural destinations, which is normally a pleasure. However, when it's 15 degrees and windy, one doesn't linger to snap photos. So I guess I'll just have to go back again when it's warmer.

NYC — January 2007

Behold -- the only source of heat in my cubicle

Dragon*Con photos!

Here are links to my Dragon*Con photos. NERDVANA!

Click on any of the photos to enlarge it —
and if you can identify any of the costumes on which I drew a blank, please let me know.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

EDIT: DAY 3 LINK NOW FIXED.

Jedi Academy Class of 2006

Geek classique

Green Lantern, Superman, Phantom

Random superhero

Babylon 5

Hulk pose!

Stargate, I think

Some costumed groups stage scenes for the Geek Prom photo orgy before the formal masquerade.