kittehs to my emotional rescue

me: So- here is an odd request. Would you make one of your goofy faces and send it to me? I need a laugh and that will help.
me: Seriously.
me: It is just insane sometimes the things that can make me desperately miss my mother.
me: Just insane.
me: Like the movie The Intern. That should be safe, right? Apparently not.
me: Insane.
bfe: Oh, gawd, don't you just love them!
bfe: But you don't need some emoticon! What you need are...cats! I have two here for you:

bfe: That's the Tess!

me: Lol! How on Earth did you get her to consent to that shot? Beautiful.

bfe: Awwww, it's the Chlo!

bfe: Chlo always takes a good pic. She's always putting her paw on her hips and making a duck face. That's Chlo.
me: I guess that's how Michelle Pfeiffer got started. :)
bfe: Was there something wrong with the movie? We are thinking about seeing it this weekend.
me: I think it was very good. It was the unconditional support of Ben for Jules that just clicked on a switch in my head. I don't know that i have it under wraps yet, but i am better.
bfe: Well, you will be better after this...

me: ha ha ha :-). THAT was priceless, and you can tell her i said so.
bfe: I was scratching her neck and I think you can see the smile on her face!
me: Most def. Thanks. Got to go. Sandy is in the Story Slam and it's starting.
bfe: Have a good night Faustina, and when you go to bed, have sweet dreams.

let sleeping kittehs lie

Today, I had lunch with the bfe to celebrate his birthday.

I thought that was back in November.

Well, it was, but today we dined in the Galley, with him dining courtesy of the university. You see, for our birthday, the Human Resources folks reward us with a free meal on campus. He had contacted me last week to suggest we dine sometime this week, and today was that "sometime".
Cliff and Mitch joined us for awhile, then they scooted on back to the Science Center.
Very kind of them to do so.

(arched right eyebrow)

You know, so the bfe and I could have some time to chat freely. After all, I had been invited to the luncheon; they had invited themselves. Or perhaps been included when today's hall talk turned to lunch options. I really don't know and am "just making it up at this point".
That's how the bfe refers to conjecture.
(smile)

I see. How does he deal with creating hypotheses? Those are conjectures.

Yes, but there is a general scientific underpinning to those. That makes them "okay".
Anywho, I was talking about lunch today and conversation with him.

Do tell.
Seriously.
Y'all have some pretty interesting talks.

I know! Today, we were talking about burlesque shows that didn't happen and burlesque shows which were missed.
We were also talking about odd words, like "Fliss" and "fliss" and "frotteurism". That conversation arose because I had told him I had done a search to see if my Fliss of Kickstarter blog was still on darknet.
Honestly, I have to wonder if that boyfriend of mine in San Diego, lo these many moons ago, had known of that term "fliss" when he nicknamed me that. He had said it was because of the sound of my initials run together, but he was certainly the kind of guy who would know about kinky, torturous sexual practices.
But I digress from my tale of today.

I'll say. DLE was thirty years ago... Wait a minute! Hadn't he wanted you to marry him and move to Spain?

Yes, that's David. I was already out of the Navy and out of California, but he still had several years to go. When he got orders to Spain, I was settling in to life in Savannah and starting school and... well, to be honest, I was a bit relieved to know he was going across the Atlantic. What we had in San Diego was done, d o n e, done, in my book. Last I heard, when he got to Rota, he met a Marine and married her.
Good for him, I say.
I was certainly not the right one for that relationship.

Okay... meanwhile, back at the ranch...?

Oh, yeah. I was looking to see if my blog was still, essentially, operating in Darknet, where even the Great Google could not find me.
BWAH ha ha!!!
Apparently, it is off that search engine's radar still.
As you see, I do pepper my posts with links to other websites, wondering whether mine will be uncovered by doing so, but, honestly, I like being on the dark side of the internet.
Fewer robots come crashing over to make inane comments on posts.
THAT is a very, very good thing.

Dear, if I may interrupt before you catch hold of some other wild tangent and go winging off into the ether? Please tell me the reason for the photo?

What's that? You want to know about the photograph at the top of this post?
Sure thing!
The bfe snapped it of his old lady cats, Chloe and Contessa.
That blue tortoise one is Contessa. I've waxed rhapsodic about her a time or two.
That's not to say I have disregarded the Chloe girl here - never! She was the one I wrote of here and here, even though her name was not mentioned.
The two girls have been quite sisterly since Thanksgiving.
United by a common enemy, as it were, but I like to think that Oskar and Klaus have had a beneficial influence, too.

Beep! Beep! Back up there! What was that "common enemy" thing about?

Well, on Thanksgiving Day, the bfe and his girlfriend cooked duck, among other things. After they were done with the meal, they shared some of the fowl with his old lady cats and her tiny dog, Cocoa Chanel. Generally, Cocoa and Contessa get along quite well; Chloe tolerates the dog's existence.
Like I said, the humans were sharing their repast with the critters. Chloe chose to abstain and was looking in the kitchen for treats. 'Tessa ate up all in her bowl and then moseyed over to check out the slow-eating guest. At that point, the little dog lost her mind and began barking! The 'Tess hissed, startled, and Chloe came racing in from the kitchen, making a beeline for the dog!!! Wow! What chaos! The humans had to react quickly to keep blood from being spilled!
But how very nice that Chloe came to Contessa's rescue!
The bfe and I believe the book about the blind cat and its best kitteh friend has helped remind his girls to look after each other.
Isn't that sweet?
I am so proud of them!
(beam!)

who you gonna call - ghostbusters!

Run for your lives!!!
The bfe's kittehs have taken over the radio airwaves!!!
Actually, I don't think Chloe is quite smart enough for that.
The calico is clever, sure, but not a deep thinker.
No, for true smarts, look to the blue tortoise of Contessa.

Just look at that face!
See? Where Harry Potter has a lightning bolt, she has a peach blur.
I tell you, she can work mAgiC!
How do I know for sure?
How do you know that I'm not just making this up?
I'll tell you and you can judge for yourself.


First, let me start with the television set. When the bfe left for the Great White North and SNO+, he left the tv on the channel for AMC. After all, that may be the only channel he ever watches.
I can't figure out how to tune in any other channel. So, it's AMC or nothing.
For the first two weeks, it was nothing. Then I wised up and have been trying to schedule my visits with the "girls" for those times when a movie I like is on.
I'm fairly certain 'Tess has taken note of that.

Second, I try to visit the girls every other day since my return from Daytona.
I know Contessa keeps track of that. However, I juggle the time around so they can be surprised when they see me.
Chloe hardly takes notice, as long as she gets treats at once.
Contessa, however, does not care for my random arrivals at all.
She has become much more possessive of me and my lap and my hands, not wanting to share me with the other kitteh. Still, when I carefully explain that the other one needs petting, too, and I have made sure that 'Tess gets my love first, she does vacate the lap, at least for a little while, so Chloe can get some hand time.
Smart, right?

Third, I believe she is also telepathic, at least with me.
You know how dragons and people imprint on each other when they stare into each other's eyes and find a kindred spirit?
Well, Contessa knows I "belong" to her and I know I "belong" to her.
Right? Not that she "belongs" to me, right?
She is the bfe's cat and has been for better than thirteen years. (Which means all of his life, if you recall that he is a thriteen-year-old boy...)
Heretofore, I have just gotten to visit her on an irregular basis, usually for our Tuesday "dinner & a movie" gatherings.
Not that I'm complaining, just explaining.
On those previous visits, Contessa has had my lap, and my hands, to herself, and to herself only.
You see, the bfe's favorite is Chloe.
He definitely "belongs" to her.

But I have digressed... I was talking of 'Tess's ability to telepath.
She really can.
You see, I had gone to the movie listings and written down the times for the ones I wanted.
I did that here, at my house. But when I visited them - which I have done daily for the past three days - I might have let it slip that I would be coming to watch "Ghostbusters" at 3 PM on Friday for an extended stay. I might even have "mentioned" that I might stay for the sequel, too.
So, today, the Friday, had been slipping by. I had decided that I needed to write thank-you notes for the surprise! birthday party and for my stepmom's generosity, I needed to write to my youngest brother, I needed to send a get-well card to Mister Willie for his shoulder surgery yesterday, and I needed to mail to Califor-ni-a the birthday gift for Riley. I had accomplished all of that and it was suddenly after 2 PM.
Say what? I still needed to take a shower and eat lunch and go to the post office!
Maybe I wouldn't be going to visit the kittehs after all.
Time was flashing past - what a quandary!
So I took my shower and got dressed and got all things ready to be mailed.
And I no sooner turned on the car radio than the song started.

"If there's somethin' strange in your neighborhood,
who you gonna call?
-ghostbusters-"

You're kidding me, right? Hahaha! Well, maybe I am supposed to go over and watch that movie. But I need to get this stuff mailed today, so let's see how long this takes. I could maybe pick up some lunch at the Kroger downtown...

The line for postal services was all the way to the outer door, but no one was using the self-service center. Cool!
I got my package stamped and sent out a certified letter and I was done!
Back to the car I went, to be greeted by this tune.

"We are spirits in the material world,
are spirits in the material wor-r-r-rld."

Hahaha! Very funny! Okay, okay, I'll come watch the movie with the kittehs!
Just hold on!

And then the next song came on, as I turned off the parkway near their place.

"Hey soul sister
I don't want to miss a
single thing you do-o-o
Tonight."

How very, very sweet of the Contessa!!!
And at the Kroger what did I find?

A heart full of sushi!
Very nice touch!
So, I watched the movie with the kittehs and ate sushi from a heart.
What a good day!

it was a dark and stormy night

... and there we were, tromping around in a cemetery, with lightning flashing.
Not jellyfish lightning, just the normal variety.
The group of us were there for the Bonaventure After Hours tour, a "rain or shine" event.
This evening, it was definitely "rain".
Then again, I was there with my bfe, so of course the weather was marking the occasion by throwing water at us.
At least it was warm water!
Seriously.
I guess we should have given fair warning to the rest of the group.
"Hey, just to let you know! The bfe and I made this tour date with plenty of advance notice to Mother Nature, so you should make sure to bring your wet-weather gear!"
We were all pretty thoroughly soaked by the time the tour was done. The plastic rain ponchos and umbrellas and raincoats were no match for the dripping of the sky and the trees and the bushes. Nope, no match at all.
The tour guide was fabulous, keeping up his steady patter as if the day were bright and clear, rather than dark and stormy. His huge flashlight illuminated the statues and slabs and tree roots of interest along the way, serving as a focal point and a distraction from the water drops beading up and dripping from every surface around, and on, us.
Still, I enjoyed myself.
You know me: I come to the party to actively have a good time, not to placidly be entertained.
Once the tour was done and we were heading back toward the exit gate, I was free to listen to the music in my mind.
After all, the bfe had other things on his mind and was fairly uncommunicative. He'll soon have to say a last farewell to his favorite cat, as she has a cancer which currently occupies about a quarter of her mass, but does not seem to cause her pain. I hope she will make it to the summer.
Most of the group was lagging behind, perhaps mistakenly thinking they might be able to stay a bit drier if they tarried.
I had no such delusion.
The deluge had me soaked pretty well from my knees to my toes.
So, as we had just left the final resting place of Johnny Mercer, I started singing "Skylark" to myself and dance-walking along the puddle-strewn paths.
Hey! That was fun!
Then, "Singing in the Rain" popped into my brain and, as that is one of my all-time favorite songs since I was a girl, I started dance-walking to that, singing to myself and snapping my fingers a bit.
Definitely fun!
Then I just turned loose! Why bother trying to keep the hood of the rain poncho up on my head? My hair was getting wet anyway! And why, pray tell, should I entertain myself with song sotto voce when it was clear to all that something was up? Whistle, my girl, whistle away!
And so I did, whistling while my hair was caressed by the wet breeze, whistling as I snapped my fingers and waved my hand and waggled my shoulders and hips, whistling as I STOMPED in the puddles!!!
Why not?
After weathering the emotional storm throughout the week, this bit of weather was just that: a bit of weather.
Wet weather.
Rain.
And I like the rain.
I have some of the best times ever with my bfe when the rain falls.
Even when he is mourning his dear cat.