1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own Blog so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them

(I think I'll post a reply to this and include a 'clean copy', for anyone else who may wish to participate, as cleaning this up was a pain...)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Finally, a place for his stuff...

Recently, fellow blogger Marius quipped that God must be getting ready to make one helluva movie, as he was snatching up great actors and effects people left and right. Well, this blockbuster is obviously going to be rated R, as he took George Carlin from us on Sunday. He "passed away". He had a "terminal episode". It was a "negative patient outcome".

Or, just maybe, considering his parody “Frisbeetarianism”, his soul now rests on the roof…

In the spirit of Lenny Bruce, Carlin was as filthy mouthed as they came, and, like Bruce, he backed it up with a brilliant mind, making observations on everything, from the use of language and its taboos, to politics and religion. His pondering influenced just about every single modern day comedian.

In addition to a ton of HBO specials, Carlin was the first host, ever, on “Saturday Night Live”. He appeared on the “Tonight Show” about a squillion times. He was the all-knowing Rufus in the Bill and Ted adventures. He shocked some folks by toning down the adult-only nature and narrating “Thomas the Tank Engine” and by hosting “Shining Time Station” on PBS. He was the “kind of asshole who would bless his golf clubs for a better game,” in “Dogma”, playing Cardinal Ignatius Glick. He even proved he could be a serious actor, but did so, unfortunately, in the horrific dreck of a film, “Jersey Girl”.

The material in his later years was less cutting edge observations, and more along the lines of angry rants, but he still managed to hit nerves and make people laugh, and, more importantly, he made us think. He compared life to a roller coaster, and urged Americans to lighten up a little and have a bit of “dangerous fun”.

Carlin always joked about his health, comparing himself Richard Pryor in the Comedian Health Sweepstakes.

“An update on the comedian health sweepstakes. I currently lead Richard Pryor in heart attacks 2 to 1. But Richard still leads me 1 to nothing in burning yourself up. See, it happened like this. First Richard had a heart attack. Then I had a heart attack. Then Richard burned himself up. And I said, 'Fuck that. I'm having another heart attack!”

Pryor left us 3 years ago. I guess Carlin finally won the sweepstakes.

In honor of a brilliant man, I end this with seven appropriate words: Shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker, tits.

Birthday musings

I have a couple of friends, T and K, who have been together for something like 25 years now. They have loved each other and made it work while I have been through one relationship after another during the same timeframe. In fact, a lot of people I know have been in and out of relationships during this time. A lot. Yet T and K have found the magical formula and have stayed together. They know what true love really means, and I envy them. I think that I’ve finally found “the one”, and hope our relationship will be as good as theirs.

Only… I’m a lot luckier. I got to marry my love. Y’see, T and K are both men. They’re gay. The law says they can’t get married. I don’t get it. They’re in a relationship regardless of a piece of paper, so the effect is already there. They both work, they pay their taxes… They do all they things everyone else does. Except have a wedding. Because that would destroy the sanctity of the institution. Right? Like we hetero’s haven’t already destroyed marriage. I think that’s a ridiculous response from a bunch of bigots who can present no rational reason why homosexuals should not wed.

I’ve been their friend for a very long time. Their “gayness” hasn’t rubbed off on me, nor anyone else. Nor has our heterosexuality rubbed off on them. They live ordinary lives. They are not freaks. There isn’t a damn thing wrong with them. So why are they so ostracized? What’s the big whup?


California finally got their act together and allowed marriage between the same gender. It’s about time we realize that they’ve the same rights as we do. It really isn’t that big a deal. Yet, the controversy still remains, and some are still up in arms over the law.

Take Kern County Clerk Ann Barnett, out in Bakersfield, CA, for example. As of the 17th of this month, when the law takes effect, she is banning all civil weddings in her jurisdiction. Everyone can still get married; they just can’t do it at the courthouse. She claims that it would overwhelm her staff and pose security risks. Right….. It’s surely just a coincidence that she made said announcement only after learning she could not marry only couples of her choosing. It doesn’t matter that she’s banning everyone, homosexual and straight. The fact that she’s doing it at all shows her bigotry. She really should be fired. Her attitude is archaic, and has no place in such a position. Any position, for that matter.

It’d be nice when it is no longer an issue, and the real question before a wedding is not whether they stand or sit when they pee, but rather whether or not the couple is in love.

Wishful thinking, no?

Through the Looking Glass

So, I’ve been waiting to have my windshield replaced…

A while back the windshield on my van got cracked by a woodpecker. I’m not talking about those little grey suckers you seek rapping on telephone poles. I mean the pileated woodpecker – the ginormous one. You know, the inspiration for woody woodpecker? These suckers are large. Huge.

I park ‘neath a juniper tree, and it seems that some of the berries lodged under my wiper blades. I guess that an all bug regimen is right out for these birds, and he wanted to add some fruit to his diet. Someone came into the office and told me that a woodpecker was pecking at my windshield. I really didn’t believe them, but went outside and looked. Sure enough, there he was, pecking away. I shooed him off, but the damage had already been done. There was a tiny crack in the glass.

It was small, so I ignored it. Not the thing to do in this climate, as the days heated up and the crack grew in intensity. It went from a fraction of an inch, to a snaking think of about 18 inches. In Florida, your insurer pays to have the front windshield replaced, but I just never got around it. Finally, about a week ago, I started the process. My insurer referred me to their glass claims folk. The number they gave me was wrong. I finally found the correct number on my insurer’s website. Sheesh.

The glass folk didn’t seem to want to answer their phones. I called and called and kept getting the “all operators are busy, please leave your number” message. They didn’t return my calls, so I kept calling. I finally got through, and the process from there was relatively painless. They didn’t even ask how it happened, for which I am extremely grateful. We settled on a local glass firm, and the paperwork was faxed to them. I spoke with the glass company, and it took a week to get the glass in, and make an appointment, scheduled for today.

I received a call on Saturday, but it went to voicemail. It was the girl from the glass company, reaffirming the appointment “between 10am and noon, tomorrow.” Wait! That would make it Sunday! I just assumed that she meant Monday, and went about my business. The appointment time came and went, and no sign from the tech. I called the company to confirm the appointment, and the girl said the weekend girls were mistaken, but I was definitely scheduled, for some time in the afternoon.

I ran down the street at lunchtime to grab a quick sandwich and, sure enough, that’s when the tech called. I figured he was at the office looking for me. Turns out he was lost. I started to give quick directions, and he mentioned that he wasn’t from around here, so the landmarks meant nothing. “Where are you coming from?” I asked, as I headed back toward the office. He started to describe the road he was on and the buildings he was passing. Roundabout? New townhomes? Regions Bank?? Heh, I just passed them myself! Dude!! I looked in the mirror, and sure enough, he was right behind me. “See that blue van in front of you? Just follow it.” He followed me back to work, and I parked away from the other cars, so he could work.

He mentioned that he was from Titusville, and drove up here every day to work. It seems Gainesville has a lot more glass claims than Titusville does… I wonder how much installers make, if they can afford to drive two hours every day, each way, to work? Yikes. Oh, well, I’m not paying for it.

I don’t know why I am so excited about it. It’s just a windshield! But yet, the almost feeling of Christmas is upon me, and I can’t wait to get out of here and drive my new windshield home. Is that too weird?

And on the Kitty Front, things are getting better. There's still a bit of histrionics going on, and no one cat seems to like any other, the level of "tolerance" is increasing. The hissing has mostly stopped and has reverted to a matter of kitty mumbling and grumbling when they're near each other. Gray Kitty seems to be the last holdout. He still hisses at all the others, and hides under the bed most of the time. If he doesn't chill out soon, it may be time to find him a new, preferably single cat, home. "The good of the many" and all that rot...

Cats in the Cradle...

Sigh. Life with cats. Sigh.

We're making progress, but it is slow. Impy is still not getting along with the other cats, but at least he is getting better. He no longer attacks everything that moves (and some that didn't). He doesn't his and spit at every cat he sees. Well, at least not all the time. He has chilled a bit and now wants his Mama-cuddle time. He has mostly reduced his protestations to little "meeps". Slowly...

Purrsey continues to amaze. Instead of living a "life in one room" philosophy, she has been much more social. She's still not a "rub against your leg" kind of cat, but the improvement is remarkable.

Sophia has mostly settled in. She is still loving, and will "do your hair" (ech!), but mostly avoids the other cats. No hissing or fuss - she just wanders off when the others come around.

Oliver has adopted a "whatever" attitude. He just finds himself a nice place to lay down, and ignores the rest. He still wants to make friends with the others, and makes the occasional foray into nose-sniffing with the others, but whereas they sniff back, then growl, he shrugs, finds a nice spot, and plops down. "All in good time," he seems to be thinking.

Gray Kitty... Oh, GK. GK, GK, GK! We came home from dinner last night, and he made another break for it. The moment I unlocked the door and turned the handle, he as waiting. Bolted right past us and out the door. I'd already declared him on probation, and that was, to me, the last straw. If he doesn't want to live here, fine! I was all for taking him to the pound when he showed up in the morning for his food fix, which was inevitable that do, but Sheeps talked me down. Yes, that would be the kiss of death for him, and I'd have that on my conscience. She says that this is his way of dealing with the other cats. He mostly hides during the day, except when he comes out to eat. I am still not at all happy with him, but I'm letting it simmer...

He did, indeed, show up in the morning, yowling at the door, wanting his breakfast. When he saw that it was me opening the door, he did not immediately come in. He wandered a few feet away and layed down. I went out to fetch him, and he got up and ran inside. His avoidance didn't buy him much love from me. He was caught up, lectured sternly, and bathed. He abhors getting baths, and made his displeasure known, but he didn't struggle nearly as much as he usually does. I think he knows he's in big trouble. Huge. It is very hard hating a critter that you love so much, but he's making it too easy of late...

Sigh.

What's New, Pussycat?

So, life in the world of a 5 cat household moves on...

All cats have been "integrated" now, though none of them seem to be getting along with any of the others. Mostly they just hiss and growl at each other. At least they're not trying to take each others heads off any more... It was meeting night, though, and would be the first time we'd left them all completely alone, so we didn't know what we'd face.

I got off work yesterday and headed home to pick up Sheeps and head out for the Baronial meeting. Afterwards, a few of us headed out for dinner at Fazoli's. It isn't anything special, but it is cheap and fast. And, it was right across the street from a bookstore, and Sheeps needed some new reading material.

No one seemed to be in any hurry to leave dinner, so a few of us just hung out and talked about this and that. Well, I know why I wasn't in a hurry to go - I was waiting for them to brew a fresh batch of unsweet tea... We all finally decided that we'd delayed long enough, and went our separate ways. Most went home; we headed to the bookstore.

I found a kewl book on one of the display tables out front. I didn't even get beyond the main aisle before finding my next purchase. It is a book of warriors through the ages, and with all the re-enactment groups around, it is chock full of pictures and diagrams. Very nifty. Sheeps found a couple of books for herself, and we headed for home.

Upon pulling into the driveway, I saw a familiar orange and white tabby in the driveway. What the hell is Oliver doing outside?? Oliver bolted for the half-open door, and Gray Kitty was there beside him, but GK veered right and ran for the neighbhor's yard. Sheeps leapt out of the car in an effort to cut him off, but, in the dark, ran into the crossbar of the lamppost out front. She slammed her noggin' but good, and the gray demon ran off. We went inside to check on the other cats, as none of those three are used to the house or the neighborhood. Luckily, all three of hers were still inside. Thank goodness! That's a hunt I did not want to undertake. We made a token effort to find GK, but I knew that he would hide and run from us, so it was mostly pointless. He'd be back in the morning, expecting breakfast.

As near as we can figure, the door couldn't have been open for too long. It must not have latched completely. UPS had delivered a package earlier (for whatever reason, they don't deliver in my neighborhood until 7 or 8 at night) and his knocking on the door must have jarred it loose.

GK hasn't made me too happy lately. Can't say that I'm too fond of him right now. For whatever reason, he poops just outside the litter box. He's been making several breaks for it lately, and runs and hides from us, instead of coming when called. He'd better watch his act over the next week or two, 'cause I've now got a surplus of cats and very well might consider paring it down by one...

No, I can't truly blame him for Sheeps bump on the head, but if he hadn't been outside, or didn't run from us when he is, she wouldn't have gone running through the yard in the dark to start with. Yeah, he's definitely on probation.

As for the rest of them, it is baby steps. One small step at a time. Last night was the revolving door of kitties through the bed. One would jump on the bed and sleep with us for a little while, until the next one would jump up, his at the current occupant, who would then leave, and the newcomer would take its place. Imagine this, all night long, spread among 3 cats in a continuous cycle. Purrsey stayed out in the living room, and seems content to look down at the world from her new found perch.

But all in all, things are starting to click. The hissing will eventually stop, and maybe some friendships will begin. Stay tuned...

Kitty Update

Before I continue the tale of the “kitty melting pot”, perhaps I should give a brief rundown on particular cat personality…

Hers:

Impedicles, aka Impy: Very friendly, if a bit high-strung orange tabby. He’s a young cat, full of boundless energy, and he is a mama’s boy. She can do anything to him, and he just purrs. He tends to play a little too rough (except with mama). He has the cutest Mike Tyson voice, which does not match his lean, stocky body and bowed front legs. He has a very “happy-go-lucky” nature about him.

Sophia: The youngest of the brood, and the sweetest. A black tabby that is a tad shy around strangers, but very loving. Very outgoing and affectionate. She is, essentially, Impy’s playmate. They chase each other all day long.

Purrsephone, aka Purrsy aka Ms. Grrrrr: The “old lady” of the bunch, and a grouchy one at that. She does not tolerate the others, at all. In fact, Mama is the only one who can really come near her without a bunch of growling and hissing. She is a beautiful calico, but spends most of her day hiding in her favorite niches, growling at the world.

Mine:

Gray Kitty: As the name implies, he is gray, but he is definitely not a kitty. He is full grown, full blown. He’s large. He’s poofy. GK is a long haired Maine Coon and is absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, he is utterly stupid. I don’t say that to be mean. He’s just dumb as a stump. Very, very, very loving, very outgoing, and relatively mild mannered.

Oliver: The absolute oldest of the bunch, and is a very mild mannered orange tabby. He is loving, but more so to certain individuals. He prefers girls. He loves his Daddy, but Mama is his special love. He’d much rather cuddle with Sheeps, but thinks Dad might be jealous, so doesn’t show it when he’s around. He’d rather be left alone to his own devices most of the time. GK constantly starts fights with him, mostly in play, but Oliver doesn’t put up with it and usually beats GK down, even though he is smaller (though not by much…). Oliver is master of the silent meow. He looks at you and opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. Good natured and mostly accepting of everything, though relatively shy.

All righty then! Intros have been completed, so let’s get on with the tale!

As previously mentioned, Impy has gone completely nuts. He growls and spits at everything, including his sisters, who he is used to. He has mellowed a bit, allowing Mama to give him attention, but he loses his mind at the merest sight of any of the other cats. He is taking the move the hardest. This is a shocker, as we figured he’d be one of the most acceptable. Not so. He is coming along, but slowly. For now, he is still locked up in the spare bedroom, alone. Sheeps goes in and spends quality time with him, but we can’t let him out amongst the “herd” until he gets rid of his little homicidal streak that he displays upon the merest sight of any other cat.

Purrsey was the first to come out and be social. This is one we’d have never guessed in a squillion years. Yes, she still spits and hisses at all the others, and isn’t too interested in making friends, but is at least sociable to people. She even lets me scratch her head, and can not get enough loving from Mama. Weird.

Sophia is essentially hiding from everything. We thought she’d be the first to adjust, but she just wants to hide from the world. If you can find her, she is still loving, but doesn’t want to come out.

Oliver is being the social butterfly, and wants to meet everyone. He did hiss at Impy, but only after receiving a growl from hell. He actually wanted to go up and make friends. For the most part, he is being friendly, but none of the others has shown any indication of being pals, just yet.

Gray Kitty has spent most of the time hiding under the bed, except for when he is hissing at Sophia, in the rare times when she ventures out of hiding. We thought he’d be the most outgoing of mine. We thought he’d love Sophia, but he seems to have taken an instant dislike to her. He just runs from Purrsey. Her growls scare the crap out of him.

So, all in all, one big happy family, right? Oy. Well, slow and steady, as they say. We knew from the start that this would be a difficult transition, and it has been. It just hasn’t been the way we expected, as all of the cats are acting contrary to their natures. One day at a time…

Movin' Right Along

Ah, the joy of moving. Moving is, they say, like a vacuum cleaner. It sucks. It’s like a reverse Christmas. You take all of your cool stuff and put it *into* boxes…

Yes, we finally moved Sheeps up to G’ville this weekend. Well, Sunday, at any rate. After the wedding we each still had to go our respective ways, as she had yet another week of school to work. Everyone keeps asking me how married life is, but I have no valid response, as I hadn’t had a good show of it yet…

We’d been wondering when and how we were going to work this out, without making at least three trips to get us both down there, with only one car… Well this weekend past was Art/Sci, and Sheeps was obligated to go, as she is a Laurel, and had to judge. I was retaining for their Highnesses, so had to be there as well. It was (relatively) near my house, so we decided to day trip the event, and boogie out of there as soon as possible, and head for Tampa.

The event was nice, but quiet. It was being held a mere week after TMT, and with gas prices the way they are, there was little participation. Someone said there were only 15 entries. The few that were there were nice, though.

She did her judging thing, and I worked my shift with the Prince, and we bugged out early. We had to make a brief stop back by my house to pick up her purse (which she forgot in the rush to get out of the house on time) and to also pick up one strong-backed teenager that had been donated for the move. Gotta love friends. The downside is that we had to feed it, and, being a lanky teenager, he ate a lot. We even got to play Sheeps’ favorite new game – horrify the passengers with Stephen Lynch. Poor little Iain couldn’t believe what he was hearing. All he could say was “that guy is wrong!” And he’s right.

By the time we got through the drive and had dinner to boot, it was approaching “late”. Okay, it was only 10ish, but it had been a busy day that started very early, and I’d worked at the bar the night before, so we were tired. We left the “kidling” downstairs on the couch with a TV and a remote, and we headed to bed. There was still more packing to do, but we decided to get up early instead of staying up late...

We got up very early the next morning and worked on throwing the rest of her stuff into boxes. We had a couple of hours to work before it was time to pick up the truck, and Sheeps had to head off to work her last day. Ah, the truck. She had reserved it 6 weeks in advance, and got the confirmation call the day before, while we were at A/S. The place they’d assigned her to was an hour’s drive away from her house. She was a bit upset and called the national reservation line. Surely there had to be something closer?! Of course there was. They reassigned her to a place about 20 minutes from her house, which was much better. The fact that we’d passed a UHaul business a mere mile from her home was a bit frustrating… We arrived at the address 30 minutes early, and settled in to wait. For whatever reason, a lot of these places are put in less than savory neighborhoods, and this one was no exception. Other than one woman trying to sell us her unruly child (“Did he lift heavy things,” I asked…), the wait was uneventful. They finally opened and we paid for the truck and waited for it to be pulled up outside. It was a lot smaller than either of us had anticipated, but “we’ll make it work” I said, and sent her off to work, while I headed back to her place.

I arrived back at the house just in time to greet the “helpers” that started showing up. We had quite a few hands, so it wasn’t to bad on anyone, but it was still moving! The process consisted of getting the big stuff and all the boxes into the truck, packing up what was left, and herding cats all the while.

I’d shut them in the one bedroom for a while, but we needed to get in there and get stuff, so we went to shift them. Only, the door was locked. “What do you mean, locked?” I didn’t lock it! “It’s locked!” It was the simple button lock that you can open by pushing a wire through the small hole, so we soon had it open. It occurred to me later that that kind of lock can not be locked from the outside. It unlocks if the door is opened then shut. The only explanation was that Impy had locked the door from the inside. He’d somehow reached up and pushed the lock button… It’s the only way!

Marius was one of the helpers, and go to meet Impy, who was acting very, very uncharacteristically. He was the sweetest thing. This is not Impy! Well, he can be sweet… just before he draws blood... But the move must have had him disoriented, and he wasn’t himself. Impy, not Marius. Marius was his usual self. Marius was responsible for the one truly funny moment. To me, anyway. He carried Sheeps’ exercise bike down the stairs, all by himself. I marveled at that, as I was the one who had to carry it up there, after she’d purchased it. Of course, it was in a flat box at the time, so was a bit bulkier, with the weight spread out strangely… Anyhoo, after I said something regarding his accomplishment, he just pshawed and pointed out that it had wheels on the back, which made it easier. His only regret was that it didn’t fold up smaller. As he said this, the big bolt holding the adjustment arm loosened up enough and the bike neatly folded itself smaller. “Like that?” I asked? Sometimes life just hands you great moments.

Speaking of cats, everyone has been wondering how well ours were going to integrate. Well, they haven’t, yet. Hers are being kept in the spare bedroom until they settle down a bit. Especially Impy. He has gone completely feral. He is attacking anything and everything, including his beloved Mama. She can usually do things with him that most cats would freak over. (Like holding him upside down while rubbing his belly.) She can do no wrong in his eyes, but he was coming after her with a vengeance after the ride. He bloodied her up pretty good. Then he hid in the closet and growled whenever anyone walked into the room. As of this morning, he is doing better, but only slightly. His Mama brought breakfast in and he came out and ate, growling the whole time, but he didn’t attack her. He’ll eventually settle down and we’ll get on with the trauma of introducing them all. For now, they get to smell each other under the door…

Noonish came, and I had to make a trip to Wally World to pick up a tarp, and to grab sodas and lunch for the crew. As we were walking in, we noticed a man sitting on a bench in the foyer area, with a suitcase beside him. ‘Oh, no!’ I thought, but he remained quiet as folks passed him. Okay, maybe he's not as freaky as he looks. But, sure enough, my freak-magnet was on, and the moment I walked by he launched into a tirade about “Bathrooms having no baths; no parking on parkways; no driving on driveways; no walls at Walmart…” “At least there’s a nut in the nuthouse,” was my response, which seemed to shut him back up.

Lunch was fed to the crew, and Sheeps got home from work in time to supervise the last little bit, and to round up the kitties into their PTU's. (Prisoner Transport Units) They were not at all happy about that part, and were perfectly willing to let the world know it. I was just happy that I was not the one who had to ride with fuss the whole way. Luckily for Sheeps, they settled down once on the road.

The drive north wasn’t too bad, but did have a couple of scary moments. We’d hit a couple of good storms, and the wind knocked the truck around a lot, but we still made pretty good time, and arrived in G’ville right around the time I thought we would, with a crew waiting in the front yard to unload.

The unloading went fairly fast, but, as we are mixing two households full of furniture, things were essentially piled up in the living room. It is now jam-packed, floor to ceiling, with her stuff. She is going to spend the next few days figuring out what goes where, and we’ll sort out what goes to Goodwill… Mostly my stuff, I’m sure. Her stuff is all antiques, while mine is, mostly, bachelor furniture. That’s fine. As long as we make one house out of two, eventually, everything will be fine. If we can get the cats to get along…

Stay tuned for more in the saga of General Cat-Bitchin’…