Photo-rific

Jason and I spent the weekend visiting his grandma and parents at his grandma's ranch in Wallowa, OR (think: very rural, very rustic and LOTS of snow - 10 inches at least!). We had a great time playing in the snow. I tried snowshoeing for the first time, and we went sledding. And Bella - well, Bella + Snow = Tru Luv. She couldn't get enough, though poor thing was often up to her neck in it. She was a trooper, which surprised me, since she's such a momma's girl and her momma is a big wimp.

As I was uploading the pictures from this weekend (oddly, well not so oddly, we took no photos at the actual ranch or of the people we were with), I found a ton of pictures on our camera from the past year. And I just had to share with you all.

First, introducing Hugo. These pictures do not do his justice. He is a beautiful cat, especially his eyes, the color of scotch, and his gorgeous pink bow lips. And I can just tell he will get more handsome as he gets older.

Second, the view I've been raving about. Still doesn't do it justice.

Third, cute pics of Bella. The one of her and I was taken a couple weeks after we adopted her.

And lastly, some cuteness - me and J at the park and our little Christmas tree.

I wish all of you a very happy and safe New Year's!

Oh the Holidays

So, it's been a quiet holiday season for the J-meister and I and our little farm. We stuck to this side of the mountains because Jason had to work the days surrounding the 25th. We made a pre-holidays jaunt to the Workmans' and had a wonderful time. They are just good peeps. Except, they got me addicted to a video game that I am still craving to play and we don't own. Thanks a lot, Workmans.

On Christmas Eve, I cooked lamb shanks*, sauteed kale and spiced parsnips, which all turned out marvelously, according to fellow eater and helper, Jason. Christmas morning, I made scones, which turned out okay. For some reason, I was bitten by the cooking bug, hence all the non-typical cooking by me. After breakfast, we opened gifts from each other - I got Jason the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman and he got me a sewing magazine, a Sudoku book, and the first season of the Adventures of Pete & Pete. Oh, and some candy that was supposedly for me, but he's eaten an awful lot of.

We were invited to Christmas dinner with some new friends. Dinner conversation included how the 20-something son's ex-girlfriend couldn't figure out how to use birth control, the mom's tryst with her college professor, her pot use post-knee surgery and the father's belief that men shouldn't be in the delivery room (this came up twice, actually). Honestly, it was a lot of fun.

As for the pets, they got tuna for dinner on Christmas Eve and their grandma made them gifts. Bella got a giant blue and pink fleece coat and the kitties got fleece catnip toys made with some of the most potent catnip ever. It transformed Paul into a slobbering mess and Rachel lashed out at anyone who got near her toy. Hugo, oddly enough, was not very affected by it. And poor Alfie went presentless. Since he's a fish, I'm sure he's already forgotten. One minor holiday triumph - and I jinx myself, I know, by writing this - no holiday decorations were attacked, torn down, chewed on, etc. A miracle, really.

For New Year's, we're planning to par-tay with our friends, Matt and Jan, and perhaps the Workmans. Now, when I say par-tay, I mean hang out at Matt and Jan's, drink wine, play Carcassone and be silly. Wait, that sounds an awful lot like what we did last year. We're getting old, folks. We go to bed at 9, play board games and stay at home rather than risking an adventure on the town. We're only 30 - what will we be like at 50?

I wish all of you a very happy New Year's.

72 Days?!?

It's been 72 days (or something like that) since my last post. Seriously, I'm not quite sure where the time has gone. And it's not like I've been super busy. I'll just blame cable TV, which we cancelled today, so that's a super convenient excuse.

So, what have I been up to? Well, for starters, we now have 5 - count them 5 - pets. Fred (aka, Winifred the kitten) turned out to be a Hugo, a healthy, male kitten, and we decided to keep him. He's a bit of a terror, as kittens are, I suppose, despite having him fixed. But, I absolutely adore him - well, when he's not attacking one of the other pets or Jason or digging up my plants. I'll try to post a picture of him soon. Seriously, he's the cutest cat ever. EVER.

And we also have a Beta fish - Alfie, the Alpha Beta fish (I named him, if you couldn't tell). He's a gift from Jason's co-worker. Initially, I was not thrilled (fish in tanks - caged animals of any kind - stress me out) but things are working out nicely. I even feed him every once in a while.

What else? The new house is grand. I just love all the space. And the view, my god people, the view! Again, I will have to post pictures. Words can't describe. And living a block up from the library is fantastic. I've checked out so much, but actually read very little of it. Sometimes, I just like having the books around. And knowing I can get such cool stuff from my rural library system. I tell ya, it puts the Chicago Public Library system to shame.

And...my food issues. So, still having sensitivities to dairy and eggs. I've started trying Lactaid (the generic version, actually) and that's going okay. It's allowing me to eat pizza again. Goodness, how I have missed pizza. Unfortunately, no remedy for the egg thing, so I will have to continue pining away for a big plate piled high with steaming scrambled eggs. And baked goods - I can't even handle the eggs in those. I'll have to write an Ode to Eggs or something.

Well, there's tons more I could talk about, but I wanted to get an initial post up and don't want to tax you too much after having gone such a long period sans Cora postings. I'll take it easy on ya until you build your endurance back up.

Peace out.