Symphony of Crickets

Holy Hell.  What am I thinking?  I can't even manage to blog on a regular basis and I think I'm going to write a whole freaking novel in a month?!?!  That is just hilarious.  NaNoWriMo starts in a matter of hours and I have a title (Symphony of Crickets) and maybe a general idea of what I'm going to write.  Sort of.  Maybe.  Or not.  I mean, I have hours to decide how it starts, right?

I'm thinking it is going to be a Sci-fi/Romance/Thriller/Comedy/TRAINWRECK.  Kind of like Bubba Ho-Tep  meets Mars Attacks! with a splash of love interest.  And with Buddy Holly (hence the crickets) instead of Elvis and the aliens aren't from Mars (or maybe they are).  Obviously I plan on writing an original novel that is going to be an award winning, best seller.  And then they are going to make it into a summer blockbuster and show it at the IMAX.  Also? It is going to be an Oprah Book Club Pick (this is out of the ordinary because my book will not be depressing).  That is how good it is going to be.  Yep.  And I am going to write this groundbreaking novel in one month.

nails are expensive

I really need a chaperone to go to the Home Depot.  I went there to get nails so I could put up my Halloween decorations.  I did get the nails, but I have yet to put up any Halloween decorations.  For one thing, I had to put my new lime tree in its new bright, lime green pot.

Since I was taking pictures, I went ahead and took yet another set of garden pictures.  My broccoli and brussels sprouts are coming along nicely.

My lettuce is already yummy (I snuck a little nibble), the radishes are huge on top (but not so much underneath), and the bell peppers are starting to take off (but I'm pretty sure I planted them too late to expect any thing good to come of it).

My pumpkins are still alive...

And blooming.  But no actual gourds have started growing...

My little pot of lettuce has started growing so I will have more lettuce after I eat the first round.

My basil variety pack is looking good too..

But my cilantro is not.

Oh well.  I guess not everything is going to stay alive...

Keeping it classy!

...but you might not want to get behind this guy.

here comes megatron

Meet Megatron.  Megatron lives next door.  And ever since I moved in, Megatron has pretty much avoided me.  Recently, Megatron has started approaching me, but then changing her mind at the last minute and running away.  But for the past few weeks, Megatron has started throwing herself at my feet and winding herself around and round my legs.  I have never once petted this cat.  Why would I need to when she does all the work, right?

However, Megatron does not like Laverne and Shirley.  And she used to run away when they barked.  But that too changed this weekend.  I think it was the peacocks that did it.  Because the weather has been nice I've been opening the windows and leaving the doors open.  The other morning, there was chaos in the kitchen because Megatron was yowling to be let in the screen door and the girls were barking wildly to be let out.  It wasn't until the peacock incident that I realized that they were also torturing poor Megatron in the front yard, too.  Those peacocks were all over the place.  The girls chased six of them out of the backyard.  One was on the roof honking for about thirty thrilling minutes.  There was also a herd wandering around in the front yard.  Most of the time Megatron does that whole arching back, hissing thing when the girls bark at her.  But she has gotten a little bolder.  I guess near peacock death experiences do that for a cat.  Like today.  Megatron jumped on top of my car where the girls could see her and just stood there.  Finally Laverne couldn't take it anymore and started barking and barking and barking.  Megatron didn't even flinch.  And tonight.  Megatron came calling through the kitchen screen door.  Shirley was resting comfortably on the couch and Laverne was in her blanket cocoon under the coffee table.  Damned if those dogs didn't go flying out the back door to bark at that cat some more after I shut the door.

It is like I live in a lunatic wildlife asylum.  I have two nutty dogs, Megatron, the other cat next door that taps on the glass to torment the dogs, exotic lizards, skunks, hawks, and peacocks.  I guess I should be thankful that there aren't lions and tiger running around this place, too.

victory (garden)!

First, let's take a look at those pumpkins:

Notice how they always look the same?  See how they don't seem to be getting much bigger?   Looks like I am looking at having mature pumpkins in about 2012 at this rate...

But my radishes as lettuce are looking good.  Also, my bell peppers are starting to sprout.

And my newest addition -- broccoli and brussels sprouts!

And cilantro

And my basil bonanza (I have sweet basil, lemon basil and thai basil):

But I will always be a pineapple princess:

so long, kitty

When I first brought you home in when I was a senior in high school, you loved me beyond anything else and would cry when I left you alone. Then one day I was taking you to my room and you saw a plastic lei hanging on my door and you attacked my face. You never felt the same way about me after that. I can't say that I really ever got over having my face clawed.  After the incident, you stopped crying when I left the room and you didn't want to snuggle at night anymore. Then I moved to a place you weren't allowed to live in so I left you with my parents. Despite the attack, I didn't really want to leave you behind.  But I did.  And then you became completely and absolutely obsessed with my dad. You also grew to hate my mom after she dropped a glass too close to you. By the time I lived in a place where you could come live with me, you loved my dad so much that it would have been wrong to move you.

Over the years you were mostly an unfriendly cat to the world at large. When company came to visit you would disappear somewhere in the house. We never did figure out where you went, so we just called it Narnia.  I guess we will never figure out where Narnia is now.

Other than my dad, you had a true love for the family Airedale, Winston. You would demand that we let him in the house so the two of you could hang out and take naps together. After he died, you threw fits at the backdoor for months demanding that we let him in the house. And you never forgave the new dog for taking his place. Astro was never your dog. After Winston was gone, your obsession with my dad grew to new heights. You started demanding he get up and keep you company in the middle of the night and anytime he sat down you were instantly on him trying to get in his face.

And then one day you got nice again. Maybe you had a stroke?  You came out to visit company. You forgave me and my mom for our past transgressions.  You someotime were happy to see me when I cam over.  You even enjoyed taunting Laverne when I brought the girls to visit Astro.  But you never really liked Astro because, well, he was never your dog. You only tolerated him or tried to get him in trouble.  Oh well, you can't like everyone. 

Over the past 19 years, you have been an unusual cat. Your relationship with most of the world was complicated and usually involved blood shed at some point. But we all loved you and will miss you. I hope you enjoy your adventures in Narnia forever more.

dear santa

Today the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book came out.  And so why would be care about the Needless Markup catalogue?  I can tell you why in two words: CUPCAKE CARS.  You heard me.  Cupcake cars.  This is totally what I want for Christmas.  And I want a whole fleet of cupcake cars.  Really, what would be the fun if you were driving a cupcake car on your own?  I mean silly cars that have a matching hat are fun and all, but it would be way more fun with a friend or ten.  When I saw the cupcake cars, I called the Pineapple Dad and made him promise that if he won the lottery he would buy this for me.  At first he questioned why I would want a fleet of cupcake cars, let alone a fleet of cupcake cars.  And then he saw the videos on youtube.  And he agreed that if either one of won the lottery, we are getting a fleet of cupcake cars.  Still doubting that cupcakes are super awesome?  Check this out:



If this doesn't convince you that a cupcake car party would rock your world, then something is wrong with the way you are wired.  Seriously.  

yankee, doodle and dandy

I know I've done a spotty job of keeping you up to date with my pumpkins.  But don't worry I have pictures.  Hell, I even took some while I had the flu.  Not that I remember doing that, but it seems I did.  I'll be posting highlights later this week.  Apparently, I was really into photographing pumpkins, radishes, and lettuce in my fevered state.  Also? I took quite a few pictures of my dogs.  I guess that would be normal if I only remembered doing it...  Anywho, I'm getting off the topic here.

When I started my pumpkin seeds (the second time), I planted a whole bunch just to be sure.  And then they all grew.  So I promised the Pineapple Dad that he could have whatever I didn't plant.  As the weeks went by he would call to check on his pumpkin plant.  He even named it.  Pumpkin Doodle.  Seriously.  I'd pick up the phone and the first thing I'd hear was, "How's Pumpkin Doodle?"  There were several calls where checking on Pumpkin Doodle was the sole purpose for calling me.  Don't worry about how I'm doing.

You may recall that I mentioned my original plan was to dump a pile of dirt in my "garden" and see what happened.  Clearly, that did not happen.  So after my gardening extravaganza I was left with three pumpkin plants.  I called the Pineapple Dad to let him know what to expect and he was thrilled.  And they all have names now: Pumpkin Yankee (the northern most pumpkin plant), Pumpkin Doodle, and Pumpkin Dandy.  And so what did he do when I took them over?  Dumped a pile of dirt on the ground and stuck them in there.