catiecake.

Golden Gate Bridge

Dear Kittens,

We have these wonderful friends, Kate and Graeme. I don't think we've ever spent time with them where we did not laugh and laugh and laugh. We went to San Francisco and had lunch and then snacks with Kate and Graeme on Saturday. It was foggy and chilly in the city, as per usual. It was such a great time. Here is a photo of Kate and me having such a great time:

While we were cavorting with the McMillans, our house was being painted. The house is not completely finished yet. The trim around the windows still needs to be painted, but I am thrilled with it. The house looks exactly how I wanted it. It's so nice to go outside and not see peeling paint

I do not mind telling you that one of my neighbors expressed her dislike for our color choices. Calling them "different" and "bold" and "different". For a while I was bugged by what she said. I even decided to view my house with a super critical eye and guess what? I still love it! It is bold and it is different and so am I. And I am so grateful to be okay with that.

This is my beloved front door. It is a Dutch door, which means the top half opens. If a person wanted to, a person could sell pies from her front door. Ever since I was a small girl I wanted a Dutch door in my house. It makes me so happy to have this door be our front door. It's totally worth having to wear pants in the living room all the time.

And now it's time for me to have lunch with my mom and go buy some cosmetics and shoes and then complain about how exhausted we are from lunching and shopping.

Love,
Catie

 

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The house gets painted.

Dear Kittens,

The important news that I forgot to tell you is that I got my computer back. We sent it out on Thursday and I got it back on Tuesday or something. it wasn't gone a week. It's pretty much brand new acting, which was great. One of the problems is that the case was breaking up and it couldn't keep the guts of the screen all held together anymore. One small souvenir from the time when the screen was open on one side is that there is a single Seamus hair behind my screen. Andy said it's so I do not forget about my kitties with all those long hours I spend online. Because cats are notorious for just being quiet and leaving you alone.

Just this morning Seamus started meowing at me to let him out. I tried to ignore him by turning away from him, but he walked over my mostly asleep body, walked right up to my face and very gently patted my face and then meowed very loudly. I told him to stop being such a cliche, but he would not listen. Honestly, I don't think cats mind being a cliche.

Our house is being painted right this second. I'm really excited about this because this house needed to be painted probably 10 years before we bought the place and we've lived here for almost three years. We're leaving in about 40 minutes to meet the McMillans in the city for lunch, so we won't see the whole transformation as it happens.

And now we pee and get in the car.

Love,
Catie

 

Pink Scarf

Dear Kittens,

1. Yesterday the kitties all had an appointment with the vet. The annoying thing about this appointment is that they were meant to get shots, but apparently they've changed their minds about how often the cats need shots and so it was just an exam. Thankfully, my dear friend Tracy was able to come and help be my lovely assistant. It's a little hard for one person to carry three cat carriers. We learned that Seamus is a pound heavier than last year, Petey is 5 ounces heavier and I'm not sure about Roo. Our vet loves Seamus. When the vet sees Seamus, he calls Seamus "Handsome" today he even gave Seamy a kiss! This cat kills me with his popularity. Roo was called Mr. Grouchy Pants or something like that.

2. I'm reading a book that I'm enjoying. It's from one of my favorite authors, Jincy Willett. Willett's first book is a collection of amazing short stories called Jenny and the Jaws of Life. These short stories are some of the best crafted stories I've ever read. Her second book, Winner of the National Book Award is really good, too. Her newest book, the one I'm reading now, is called The Writing Class. It's predictably about a writing class and there's this bit of suspense thrown in for good measure. It's a fantastic summer book because it's well written, but still light and funny and you don't really want to put it down.

3. Thursdays are my favorite days. Thursday is usually the day I get my manicure and pedicure. It's a huge luxury to do this once a week and even though I've been doing this for more than a year, it's still something that I look forward to every single week. It's a wonderful treat, I always feel very good afterward.

4. This afternoon my friend Tracy fixed me the most gorgeous lunch. I wish I had my camera so I could've taken photos. I mean, she put flowers and raspberries in our salads! Our sandwiches had little flowers sticking out of the bread! LITTLE FLOWERS! STICKING OUT OF THE BREAD! Come on. Everything was delicious and it was just the loveliest treat. Tracy is moving away soon and I cannot tell you how sad I am about that. I know that we will still be in touch, but it's not even close to being the same.

5. I have been watching Law and Order Criminal Intent every single day. I love, love, love it. Man, I love a cop show.

6. I have giant, big plans for tomorrow.It may or may not include laundry.

Love,
Catie

Where I complain only a little bit

Dear Kittens,

This whole deal where my favored computer is broken SUCKS. I will not complain as much as I want to only because my computer will not be gone for very long and so me whining would be super duper crybaby. A designation that I do not normally mind, but you know- everyone should have their pretend limits.

This weekend we went to the amazingly hot Pasadena. I had all manner of plans, but it was just too hot to do anything. We did manage to go to a museum that took all of 15 minutes to look through. Honestly, the gift shop took longer than the museum. We also managed to sit around in the lobby area of our hotel and play cards a lot.

Andy and I met my good friend Kim and her family for lunch, which was really lovely. We spent a couple hours with them, but I wish it could've been longer. Kim and I participate in the same online discussion group- we're a pretty lucky group in that everyone is awesome and we all wish we lived closer together so hanging out would be easier.

The whole purpose of this trip was to see my friend Charlie play gay softball. The softball game was so much fun! It was hot, but the bleachers were in the shade and there was a nice breeze blowing. The two teams were well matched, which made the game extra super fun to watch. Sadly, Charlie's team lost, but Charlie made a couple really great plays and it was just so much fun to watch.

We made a horrible mistake on our road trip. We attempted to power through instead of drinking plenty of water and making multiple stops and taking little walks each time. That meant I ended up all bloated and swollen and gross feeling, which was not helped by how hot it was in Pasadena.

This week promises to be a mellow one. I'm glad for that. No workers are coming and that is such a relief. Even though everyone we've had to do work at our place is really nice, it's too much sometimes with the chit chat and not being able to watch endless cop shows if one is in the mood for such a thing.

And now I go to the bed and sleep and sleep and sleep.

Love,
Catie

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I wrote a list of a list, just for you.

Dear Kittens.

I have made a list of what to write about today because I do not have a lot of time, but wanted to be sure I tell you every single thing. I am so committed to you.

A. Computer Broked

My super sexy laptop computer stopped working. It's sort of a long story, but it's not a surprise this happened, just a total bummer. I'm using my desktop computer right now and the discomfort level could not be higher. Well, maybe if I had to sit on a chair with a seat of nails, but otherwise, I am maxed out, discomfort wise. The chair is too tall for the desk, the huge ergonomic keyboard seems like it's made for a giant and I am running across the keyboard jumping on each key to just type out a sentence.

DISCOMFORT, like I said.

B. Hello, Summer

So, it's summer time. Actually officially summer time and I am not sick of it yet (because we have AC), but I get the idea this is going to be a scorcher and any second I am going to be sick of it any second. The best parts about summer for me are the boat trips on the lake, wearing skirts all the time and Popsicles. I do not particularly like being hot or having the sun drill holes in me because of it's hotness and my relative delicateness.

C. Gay Softball

This weekend Andy, my parents and I are driving down to hot, hot southern California so we can watch my friend, Charlie, play gay softball. He's been playing in this gay league since late winter and he loves it. We've been joking a lot about how now he's a jock-a-lete and whenever we're together I have to feel his "guns". Charlie told me last night that one of his teammate's relatives went a straight softball game and said that it was totally boring because the straight guys are not really interested in playing softball, but in looking cool out on the field. We laffed and laffed.

D. Lady's Choice

From time to time I come up with new things to do/say that amuse me. Lately it's been saying "Lady's Choice" whenever I make a decision that impacts Andy. Like what we eat for dinner, if I eat the last brownie, or whatever else. Like most things that I do to amuse myself Andy (limited sense of humor) finds it funny for a short while and then he starts saying things like, "still?" and "really?" and other words that are clearly designed to thwart my bliss. It's been known for a long time that Andy + Fun = Zero, and let me tell you, that has never been truer than it is now.

Anyway, the other night I was begging for a glass of ice water by my bedside (I was already in the bed and of course once you are already in the bed, it makes ZERO sense to get out of the bed). I have transcribed the following conversation for your reading pleasure:

C- oh no!
A- what is it?
C- I don't think I have any water by the side of my bed!
A- Oh, alright. I'll get you some water.
C- it should probably be cold.
A- so, you want ice water?
C- whatever needs to be done to make it cold. Also, i need a drinking implement.
A- like your lips?
C- yes, but something more than just my lips.
A- A spo-
C-Yes (he tricked me. I thought he was getting ready to say Straw, but really he was saying spoon)
A- a fork? a knife? No, not a knife. You cannot be trusted with a knife. Or a fork, if we're being honest. Okay, do you want a large spoon or a small spoon? Lady's choice.
C- HAHAHAHAHAHAAH

E. Iced Tea

I am drinking so much iced tea that it is interfering with my sleep. It's just that it's so delicious and I cannot stop drinking it. All. Day. Long. I'm sure I will reach critical mass at some point with the tea, but right now I am happy enough to spend my days swilling lemon juice spiked tea and my nights laying awake wondering about what curtains I should buy for the master bedroom.

F. The End

This is a very busy day for me and I've been writing this post in fits when I want to take a break from the grueling job that is Getting Ready For a Road Trip. Thankfully, I am almost done with everything on my list and now I can just sit around and wait for Andy to get home. I may or may not post stuff from the road this weekend.

Love,
Catie

Check Next To Your Name.

Dear Kittens,

The painters are here prepping the house. I have no idea how long it's been since this house has been painted. At least 7 years, but I'm sure it's been much longer than that. I am excited to get fresh color on the place. I want the house to be painted a darkish green that is best described as "moss", with the trim to be cream and the accent color a deep red/wine. There are a few other green houses nearby, but none on my actual street and none look like how I want our place to look. The front of our house makes it look like the house is pretty small, so I want to sort of highlight that and go with a cottagey sort of deal.

One of the things we're doing is redoing our driveway and walkway. The original plan calls for using stone on the walkway, but that might be a little out of our price range, so we're thinking about doing stamped concrete instead. Here's where I tell you some stuff- I hate stamped concrete that looks like stone. In fact, I do not like any sort faux stone application. If we go with the stamped concrete will have the concrete colored and we'll go with a diamond shape stamp. That way I can pretend it's argyle and every day it will be like my house is wearing argyle socks!

There's a fire in Santa Cruz and it's making the sky look creepy/wonderful. Also, this morning is like beach weather. It's nippy, but with the promise of warming up, which is my favorite weather in the entire world. When I was ages 7-12, we lived in San Diego. We were extremely poor and our major form of entertainment was the beach. I know there are people who do not love the beach and quite frankly, this puzzles me. That's like not liking pickles or ice cream or air. And do not go to my comments and start telling me about how much you hate the beach and pickles and ice cream and air because I will judge you harshly and put a check by your name in the little notebook I carry with me.

It's almost 11 am and I need to get showered and prettied up so we can go run some errands and whatever else.

Love,
Catie

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Seamus sends you a kiss