Done this month (20130702 Tu - 13 Sa)

[mdlbear]

An eventful couple of weeks. Also stressful.

We nearly lost our Curio cat -- twice! The first time, on the 3rd, he managed to get himself through the unpatched hole (it used to be a laundry chute) in the master bedroom closet, and under the floor of the bathroom! After N and I tried unsuccessfully to lure him out, Naomi's daughter G managed to coax him out. He apparently comes when called. Calling him is something we all have to practice, it seems -- good skill to have.

G is officially the Cat Whisperer.

Then, only this last Friday, we made the mistake of leaving the cats loose in the house while the painters were in. No Curio. We started getting worried when he didn't come up to my room at night. I looked all through the house, and outside. Twice. I left some food for him next to the front door, but no luck.

Finally, after spending a lonely night and a heartbroken morning, and after reading up on lost-cat behavior, I took the food bowl down to the garage in hopes of luring him in through the cat door. Not expecting anything, I called to him... and there he was coming from behind a pile of boxes.

Did I mention that he's a smart cat, who comes when you call him? But that was stress I didn't need.

It's surprising to me how fast and hard I've fallen for that cat. But then, I always was a little slow about these things. Curio came up to me about 30 seconds after I came into the room at the shelter, and announced that he was My Cat.

I seem to recall something similar happening with me and Colleen 30-odd years ago.

I also got shelf ceiling track and standards up in the master bedroom closet, and puttered about organizing stuff various places around the house. It's looking quite habitable now, mainly thanks to our housekeeper, Giselle.

It took the whole two weeks, but my leg (which you might remember I tore a muscle in), is finally back in usable shape. I walked around the West Seattle street fair with Naomi yesterday, and held up pretty well. More a matter of being out of condition than anything else; the leg didn't give me any trouble.

Oh, and Doug Engelbart died. He was a friend of Colleen's mother; she was his favorite editor at SRI, where they both worked.

Links, as usual, down in the notes.

0702 Tu
  * up 5:15; W=204.6; d, n
  * 70 bus very late; didn't get home until 8pm (2 hours after leaving work)
  * Curio in the bedroom; stayed on my bed even after I put the CPAP on
    Found him in the morning curled up behind the recliner.

0703 We
  * up 6:15; W=205.4; d
  : Curio managed to get himself through the unpatched hole in the closet and
    under the floor of the bathroom.  After N and I tried unsuccessfully to
    lure him out, G. managed to coax him out.  He apparently comes when
    called.  Calling him is something we all have to practice, it seems --
    good skill to have.
  : G. has officially earned the title of "Cat Whisperer"
  : Drywall guy came today; fortunately I was here to show him where work was
    needed.  Unfortunately didn't have the details.

0704 Th Independence Day
  * up 9:15; W=204.4; d, n; shower
  & spoke with the social worker at Park West - Karena Smith.  Helpful, I think.
  % *very* worried about Colleen coming home - the house is fine for somebody
    who can walk a little; it's not set up for a wheelchair.  Do Not Like that
    possibility.  We'd be really screwed.  
  * 15min: did some work in the MBR closet, and rearranged some shelving on the
    North wall.
  @ A few words on Doug Engelbart
    Computer Visionary Who Invented the Mouse - NYTimes.com 
    Doug Engelbart, visionary - I, Cringely 
    Doug Engelbart 1968 Demo "The mother of all demos"
  * track down external router's IP (67.170.11.141), put in h.home.html
  @ ysabetwordsmith | Story: "No Winter Lasts Forever" (Part 44) family of choice
    lots of good links.  Good story, and the footnotes are fantastic.
  * Visited Colleen for over an hour with the YD; mostly sat and noodled on
    Plink while they talked.

0705 Fr
  * up 6:30; W=204.2; d, n,... l
  * got up, worked, visited Colleen (with Plink and the YD).  Just another day.
  * Some singing.  Lord of the Buffalo, Jabberwocky, Times They Are A-Changin',
    Desolation Oh No, When I Go
  * 15min:  look around downstairs; take shelf standards up to MBR

0706 Sa
  * awake 3:40ish, up 5:30; W=204.2; d, n; shower
  @ What does Amazon use for its build and release system - Stack Overflow 
    Not to be confused with _catch_ and release.  But anyway.
  * some minor shopping; got BioBags for the kitchen compost bin.
  % using the cane this afternoon.  Overdid it on the stairs.
  * Good long visit in the afternoon with the YD.  Her request.
  * 15min:  mopped the floor in the studio to pick up the drywall dust.
  & Have spent most of the week without Cygnus in my backpack.  Makes it
    lighter, though still not really light enough.
  * Take the kids to the airport ~7:15.  One stuffie forgotten (J's), and many
    of their clothes had to be brought down with them from their other parents'
    place, but otherwise smooth.  Doesn't keep me and N from worrying, of
    course.
  * 9:58 - the plane is in the air, and we haven't heard from them.  So far, so good.

0707 Su
  * up 7am; W=204.2; d, n
  % Weird being in the house without Emmy and the kids.  And Colleen.  Kind of
    pleasant, actually, but it'll start feeling lonely soon enough.
  @ Why Is It Hard to Make Friends Over 30? - NYTimes.com 
  * 15min:  puttering with boxes, bins, and small luggage
  * Home Depot:  clip-type shelf brackets for the bookcase in the hallway; Cree 40Weq
  & Safeway:  eggs, nectarines
  * Order two portable air conditioners from Costco
  * Container store -- 9" and 7" brackets.  4' track -> 56" is what they have.
    The 9" brackets (for 1x10's) aren't being made anymore.  Grump.
  * pick up Chaos 5:30ish.  Dinner at Sushi Connection in Woodinville
  ? could have sworn I'd transfered birthday money to Chaos, but apparently not.
    Probably forgot to click "confirm"

0708 Mo
  * up 6:30; W=203.2; d, n
  * Drove to and from work with N.
  * dinner out at Jak's steakhouse with Naomi, who wanted a large piece of dead cow.
  * got through the day without using the cane -- second day in a row.  Yay!

0709 Tu
  * up 6:30; W=204.4; d, n

0710 We
  * up 5:30; W=204.6; d, n, l; shower
  @ When not to engage with art | angelahighland.com 
    Orson Scott Card can go **** himself, except that's probably against his religion.
  * Put up shelf track in MBR closet.

0711 Th
  * up 6:40; W=203.4; d, n
  * cut check for Giselle.  26 hours
  * N. deemed the house clean enough to let the cats out, so they spent some
    time exploring downstairs.  Desti came back to N's room for bedtime; Curio
    came to my room later on.  
  * 15min:  put up 12" wire top shelf in MBR closet.

0712 Fr
  * up 5:30ish; W=204.2; d, n
  * quite a long time playing and cuddling with Curio.  Nice kitty.
  ~ transfer birthday money to Chaos - rounded up from enough to cover her new
    Acer laptop. -> this apparently went through 7/9
  * 15min:  assorted puttering.
  * Reasonably satisfying, productive day at work.  Maybe it's because I like
    getting to a test coverage of 100% on the classes I've worked on.
  @ Finally got to read "The Great Nebraska Sea" (via ysabetwordsmith)
  * long, rather sad visit with Colleen.  She's horribly homesick.
  : 9:50 Curio hasn't been seen all afternoon.  Worried, though he pulled
    something like that yesterday, too.  Still...
  ! worried.  scared.  lonely.  sad.

0713 Sa
  * awake 5:30, up 6; W=203.0; d, n; shower
  : Curio is gone.  Best guess is he got out while the painters were cleaning up.
  @ Angry vs. rabid weasels | Mary Robinette Kowal A tutorial
  * 15min: puttering.  Not finding the cats' folder, but getting useful stuff done.
  * sent lost cat post to West Seattle Blog… » Pets
  @ The Raspberry Pi Microwave | Raspberry Pi
  * To Office Max (on First in the Starbucks Center) for ink.  Ouch!
  * order checks from Union Bank
  ! huge relief!  Curio turned up in the garage -- I'd gone down to put down a
    bowl of catfood in hopes of luring him back.  *So* happy that he comes when
    called -- that's twice that it's gotten him out of trouble.
  * 15min:  both cat doors fixed, by installing a screw on the outside, thus turning them
    into *trap* doors.  A cat can get in, but not out.
  * checked up on my tgax refund.  Have to call Monday
  * fired up the Workforce 600 printer.  Did a head clean and self-test; worked perfectly.
    Weird -- last time half the black nozzles were plugged.
  * spent some time comparing tablesaws.  Current front runner is
    Ryobi 10 in. Table Saw with Wheeled Stand-RTS31 at The Home Depot
  * To the West Seattle Summer Fest with Naomi.  
    Parked on Dakota just path 40th Ave, which meant a couple of blocks of
    walking.  Ate street-fair food -- I found pork skewers, spring rolls, and
    fried bananas.  N stopped about halfway back to the car.  I think I can
    officially ditch the cane at this point.
  @ The Insanity Virus | DiscoverMagazine.com 

Comments

[jcfiala.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that your leg is feeling better!