The Hollosphere

Ever since she heard about lolcats, Tessa Leone Croydon has been wanting to get in on the fun. So she convinced my daughter, Tasha, to help her out with her plan for lolfame and posed for this picture. Now all she needs is some help coming up with the lol part. Here are the ideas so far:

• Haaaay! who puts teh vodka up too hai for meez?! (Holly)
• I iz cobra kitteh no mess wif me! (Holly)
• Vampyr kitteh sez I WANTS UR BLUD! (Tasha’s buddy, Kellie)
• Me did it maaaaaaaaaaaiii waaaaaaaaaaaaii! (Holly)
• Hey u kidz! Get off mah lawn! (Tasha’s friend freewaydiva)
• Fangz of Doom, I has dem (Holly)
• Figaro, Figaro, Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigaro!!!!! (BB/Mom)

Btw, I just got off the phone with Tasha, who was calling me from the vet’s office. She had taken the kitteh to the vet because we were worried about Tess’s recent weight loss and also about some flaky, itchy skin issues. I could not be happier or more relieved to report that the vet found Tess to be in excellent health. He said that if he’d seen her on the street he’d guess she was about ten years old, a considerable compliment to a grand old diva of fifteen. Apparently, she (Tess not Tasha) growled and hissed at him a bit, to which he commented, “Well, she’s a tortoiseshell, so…” referring to her coloring (a racial remark!). Hmm, I had not heard that torties were reputed grouches. I guess when you have golden laser beams for eyes, you gotta act the part.

Dr. Joe told Tasha that the little monster is at a good weight for her size (she was a bit of a porker in the past, apparently), and simply suffering from an allergic reaction to fleas. He gave Tess a cortisone shot to quickly alleviate any discomfort, and for long-term protection from the rotten little biters she’ll get some of that wonderful back-of-the-neck flea treatment.

Yay! Our kitteh be da picshur of health. Now, all she needs is your help to achieve lolcat greatness, so let’s hear your best lols!

*replied Tasha when I emailed her this picture of me and Conal

Conal’s granddaughter, Audrey, is visiting us at Murray Creek this week with her mom, Charlotte. Audrey is two. Audrey likes rice. A lot.

When you’re really chowing down hard on the rice, like, straight from the pan with your fingers, it’s important to protect your eyes.

Cats have been on my mind lately. Firstly, I’m completely addicted to lolcats. Srsly. I mean, come on! Also, people keep sending me pointers to assorted ridiculously adorable cats online. Check out this delightful video of Nora, the piano playing cat.

All this inescapable feline cuteness has me missing our family kitteh, Tess. Full name, Tessa Leone Croydon. I didn’t think she’d long survive country life. There are plenty of predators in these foothills who might make a quick snack of a city cat. So Tess went to live with my daughter, Tasha, when I moved to California. This picture was taken by Tasha in the spring of 2007 just after Tess had moved in with her.

Tess came unexpectedly into our family as a teensy kitten. It was an accident, on my part. A coworker brought her into the office to find a home for her. I had already been asked if I wanted a kitten and declined. However, when I opened the door to the office where she was visiting with a crowd of admirers (hey, I was trying to get work done!), Tess immediately dashed over to me and climbed me like a tree in about a half a second. I didn’t even have time to squeak. Once she’d made it to my shoulder, she proceeded to purr loudly while nosing around my ear with her cold wet nose. There was a general chorus of “Ooooh, she’s found her new mama!” and “Sold!” and things like that. I was pretty much sunk. She’d claimed me. Needless to say, she came home with me that day and became a full-fledged family member, growing up side-by-side with Tasha. My memory is filled with moments of excruciating cuteness between them, the little monsters.

Now she’s getting to be an elderly lady (Tess, not Tasha), hanging out with the kids and having a relaxing life free of cougars and rattlesnakes, lounging around on pillows or warm laundry, getting underfoot in the kitchen, and begging to be swept.

I enjoy the freedom that comes with not having responsibility for a pet. Heck, we don’t even have a houseplant. We can decide to hit the road anytime, lock the house behind us, and have no worries about leaving the place uninhabited.

But le sigh. I sure miss having a purr-baby around.

Conal and I began fixing up our home office. We spent a day painting it a couple of shades of gold with white trim and a white ceiling.

Then our friend Bill came out and laid down a wonderful new floor. We choose super durable Pergo flooring so that we can zoom around in our office chairs without worrying about scratching it up. Here is Bill laying the first board.

And here is the floor all laid down. Purty, eh? I’m very impressed with the new Pergo products. They have managed to make the texture line up with the wood pattern, making for a very realistic look. We love it.

Tasks remaining to complete the project include more coats of gold on the walls, touching up boo boos, repairing the moldings (which had to be removed to lay the floor), filling nail holes, and figuring out what kind of lighting to put in. We are looking forward to setting up our new L-shaped desks from Ikea, hanging pictures, and making it a lovely, cozy work space. For comparison’s sake, here’s what it looked like before.

Calaveras Big Trees State Park is about an hour’s drive from our place further up into the Sierra Nevada mountains. Where the snow is, this time of year. When my mom visited earlier this month, we took a trek on up to see the “vegetable monsters,” as the early 1800’s advertisers of the park called these living giants. Words and pictures certainly can’t do them the slightest justice, but here’s a couple of pictures anyway.

Here’s me with one of the little ones:

And my mom with a truly ginormous one:

Mom came to stay with us at Murray Creek earlier this month. I enjoyed her visit very much. Among the highlights were a labyrinth walk (including playing and toning with the family temple bowl when we reached the center), a trip to Angels Camp and Big Trees, Christmas tree decorating, and general merriment. From here, Mom flew to San Diego to visit her new grandboy, Graham. Mom is the first of my family to visit.

Here’s me, my mom, Conal’s mom, and Conal:

Labyrinth walkers:

Mom and Ann walking along Murraydale Lane near the labyrinth:

My brother and sister-in-law, Scott and Kimberly, had their first child on December 4th. I’m an Auntie, for reals! Baby Croydon’s name is Graham Scott, and he weighed 6 lb, 14 oz, at birth. All is well with Graham and his adoring parents.

Here is me. I am smiling, you can see. Why am I smiling? I am smiling because I so much enjoy our new washer and dryer. Aren’t we all lovely?