readings...

Trying to finish up the Elizabeth George I'm reading. The last half is fine, but the first half was SO LONG. I'm speed reading past everything, and only reading the dialogue. Definitely not her best. And though I like all the cop characters, I don't like anyone else--and many of the scenes are told from their points of view.

I finished the French teen book I was reading--it was fun.

After the depressingness of the George book, I wanted something lighter. And I've started a mystery novel about a bunch of sheep trying to solve their shepherd's murder. I learned of it last year when a customer requested it.

When the sheep first meet to analyze the murder, the first business they have to decide upon is what would constitute the perfect shepherd--which they decide theirs' was not, but he always fed them, and always looked for their lost lambs, and besides which "he was our shepherd. No one had a right to stick a spade in him."

The perfect shepherd:

- never docked lamb's tails
- didn't keep a sheepdog
- provided good fodder, and plenty of it
- and who clothed himself entirely in the product of his own flock, for instance an all-in-one suit made of spun sheep's wool, which would look really good, almost as if he were a sheep himself.

I'm also wondering whether to buy the new Cathleen Schine book. I loved three of her books (Love Letter, Rameau's Niece, Evolution of Jane), and then hated one so much I couldn't finish it. I have a fourth one that I haven't started yet. I'll probably give in--it's cheap on kobo. The reviews are really split, but they were on the books I loved too, so I can't go by that.


In my internet travels, I also discovered that The Enchanted April is in the public domain, so I downloaded it for my kobo. Very exciting! I read it over 10 years ago and enjoyed it. Not in a "OMG BEST BOOK EVER" way, but in a quiet sort of now-I-have-fond-memories way.

Maybe I should have bought...

sushi slippers.

My Mary Janes (no I haven't bought a bong off etsy)

I bought these slippers off etsy. They're exactly the shade of gray I wanted, and Fernando (who knows his knitting/crocheting) says they're really well made.


But as I feared the heel part is shallow and slips off my heel. Well they're not exactly shallow, but they need to be stretched upwards to cover the heel.

The Mary Jane strap isn't in the right place to keep the heel on. So I wound it through the heel and up to the button, and that holds the heel on well.

And still looks cute. So this might work. If not, Fernando--of course--wants to take them from me. But I think we should order him his own pair in a bright fun colour, don't you agree?
Mind, I'm still yearning for these.

Of course Queen Hal is predictably disdainful:
"MY slippers are far superior, Mahmmy. ...
- they're softer than your slippers
- they don't fall apart when cleaned
- they never slip off
- they have leather pads on the bottom and are made of real fur, but not cruel to animals (riddle me that, so-called vegan!)
- and they come with Wolverine snickety-snicks. Can your slippers tear a man's face off? I thought not."

Kitty contention

So the first Kitty Contender is in our sights. I know a woman who rescues animals of all kinds, and has a kitty rescue charity as well. When I told her of Sherringham's demise she told me she had a girl cat available. Her brother got adopted, but the adopter couldn't take two cats, so the little girl was still awaiting a home. At the time Fernando was still in his One Cat Phase (which we all knew wouldn't last, right?)

I contacted her to see if the girl kitty is still available, if she's playful, and if she does NOT need to be top cat. So far she fits the bill. She is also of the sacred calico clan! So we'd have two calicoes. That would be nice. Maybe another calico would understand Haley's peculiar form of communication ("I hate you! Play with me!!") Mind you, calico is a colouring not a breed, so... maybe not.

It's all very exciting. Fernando is very excited. ...Hopefully Halzebub will share our enthusiasm. It'll be hard to tell at first since the transition period always takes awhile. Better whip out the Feliway. But every night as I sit here with her, she looks boooored. So I'm hoping she'll be glad for the change of pace, and having a young frolicky cat instead of old boys.

Meowee East - season two

As I suspected would happen, Fernando seems ready for a second cat. He's been saying he doesn't want a second one for years, but I've also learned that he likes to bullshit me, so I suspected this stance wouldn't last long. Well also, because he is a lurver of the kitties.

Anyway, he knows someone at work who's cat is going to have kittens, and he wants one. I do think Haley would like another kitty, because she seems a bit bored to me. I think she regrets getting rid of BOTH the old boys, cause she has no one to torment. I'd like to get her a cat who's playful, but unconcerned with letting her be Top Cat. She's not a big cat, so I'd like one that won't grow up to be huge and therefore physically dominant. We need the runt of the litter!

I was thinking of a girl cat, cause I'm so afraid of getting another sprayer... but apparently girls spray too, and are very territorial. So. A small, frisky, non-power-hungry boy?

We would normally always get a grown cat, since they're harder to adopt, but we think Halzebub will feel less threatened by a kitten.

In the old Meowee East Haley was identified as Isreal, because she was the perceived "interloper." But in the end she was probably more Hezbollah that anything else. Sherry was more Israel--clearly the top cat, trying to mind his own business, but ready to FREAK THE HELL OUT if another cat got in his face. Nombly was always Egypt - kindly, stately, but powerless. So what does that make a new kitten? An invading American force? Guess we won't know til we see his or her personality. Expect new and fresh drama in The Meowee East.

music from a sleepytime gal

This is the second time I heard a song on my mp3 player and thought "This is great! How did I end up with it?" and it turned out to be from the free Bonnaroo playlist from Spin.

Scenes from a marriage - Food Fight

Best 1970s play title to come out of a marital fight:

I Never Agreed to Let You Control My Strawberries (I Would Have Remembered)