Happy Palmetto Day!

Today we remember the American victory at the Battle of Fort Moultrie in 1776. Vastly outnumbered and outgunned patriots prevailed over British attackers. They were aided, in part, by a fort constructed of palmetto logs which absorbed the enemy fire harmlessly instead of shattering. More can be found here. (Note: This site calls it Carolina Day, the lame PC term for Palmetto Day, which apparently is out of favor owing to its Southern Nationalist associations.)

I could have celebrated with Huguenot torte, or Hoppin John, or some other indigenous food, but I took the lazy option and had some fried Haloumi cheese (deelish) and a salad. Oh, well.

In other news, the two circ knitting has progressed to the point where I can take it on the bus, a big accomplishment in my mind. Also have gotten past midterm grade time in class, so the worst of it is over. Fourth fun this weekend in Virginia Beach - an anniversary party for my aunt and uncle. And a haircut for me this Saturday! Pictures are forthcoming.

Last night I saw the most wonderful rainbow!  It was a full one, too, stretched across the sky from north to south, straddling the West End like the arch in St. Louis.  (What's that called?)  Pretty.

Not so pretty has been the last week at work, which has been characterized by crazed genealogists from Texas.  It's also been busy extracurricularly, and exhaustion is not a state I deal with well.  I get extremely sensitive to noise, which is unfortunate as I have the world's most vocal cat.  She and I have mostly made up since The Great Escape two weeks ago, but I must say that the magic is gone.

What I Had For Lunch

This is for Kerry, who thinks I should eat more. At left is a sample lunch. Okay, maybe not the most representative sample, as it's a Tuesday lunch, which includes supper too. But anyway.

It's been an exceedingly busy week, and hot as blazes. The a/c has been running close to non-stop (and I keep it set around 76). So not looking forward to next month's power bill.

Make Way for Ducklings!

So, I was on my way to work this morning and decided to go via Broad Street so I could run by the Starbucks. I was leaving the complex and was stopped by a (herd? gaggle? clutch? flock?) of four ducks and at least ten little ducklings crossing the road, heading to the pond. It was just the cutest thing I've seen in a long time. And they were little ducklings too, tiny downy balls of fluff. Even better, as I waited for them to cross I noticed one of the adults hanging back, and I soon discovered it was because one of the babies had gotten separated and it waited for it. Too, too sweet. Just made my whole day.

After work I went to look for them and, while I didn't find the same ducks, I did get some pretty cute pictures of the avians that inhabit my neighborhood.

No pictures tonight, and not much to say either - have midterm grades due tomorrow (well, Friday actually, but since campus closes at 2 on Friday and I have to work at the real job all day . . . you get the picture) and have to grade tests for last night, develop a spreadsheet, and plug in all the numbers.  Will be a tiresome evening, I can tell already.

It was weirdly cool and damp today - Alberto remnants, I believe - I was actually a bit chilly waiting for the bus.  This too shall pass, however; I see we'll be in the nineties by the end of the week.  Continuing to practice sock knitting, and whilst I'm not confident enough to take it on the bus (working on a M-D dishcloth there) I do believe I've figured it out.

The Perp

Here she is, the big bad kitty cat that dived off the balcony and then scratched her rescuer. There's a metaphor for something in that, I'm sure. Anyway, she's been all nonchalant about it the last two days. This morning she had great fun lounging around with me. It's a good thing she's so cute.

Observe, too, the groovy sheets I scored at Walmart last week. $20 for the whole set. They're that t-shirt material, which I haven't quite made up my mind on, but for $20 I'm not going to complain.

We also have for your enjoyment a picture of my foray into two-circ knitting. I'm not sure why the picture is so darn blurry; obviously still working on that focus thing. The camera seems to be fixated with the lovely yarn (and who can blame it? I think the SP said it was called Opal, which I've never heard of before but is delightful) rather than the knitted tube I'm constructing. Anyhoo, I'm pleased to report that I started to make the transition stitches, i.e., the first two or three on the new needle, as tight as I could, and the whole thing looks much better. You can't see it here, but the laddering problem seems to have gone, and the gauge looks tighter and more even. I did have some issues today with somehow all the stitched getting onto one needle and having to be slipped back to their rightful place. This may have had to do with the fact that I was watching Dr. Phil's show about horrible in-laws.

In actual news today, I was greatly amused to see that Richmond's mayor Doug Wilder debated some people protesting outside of City Hall today. Apparently the protesters are steamed over, among other things, the re-routing of bus stops from in front of the Library. There's video if you care to watch. Funny man. (Oh, and about the re-routing of the bus stops: I haven't seen any official statistics, but anecdotally I can tell you that I haven't heard a single shouting match since they moved half of the bus stops from in front of the building, and the traffic certainly seems less congested.)

Just had an email from Mom telling me Kenny's plane back from Ghana landed. Welcome back, brother!

Stupid cat.  I was out on the balcony tonight talking on the phone and decided to let Marzie enjoy a bit of fresh air too; I don't mind as long as she doesn't eat the plants.  So there I am lounging and chatting when she decides to jump from the second floor balcony to the ground.

Now, my building is built into a hill so there are terraces to climb.  I get to her the first time and pick her up (she is predictably displeased) and am trying to figure a way down that does not require arms to clamber when she spies a neighboring cat and commences to howl, hiss, and spit  to beat anything I've heard from her.  Digs her claws through my new shirt, into my chest, draws blood, bites arm in several places.  

"What the **** is wrong with you?" I ask as I drop her.  Then stalk her through thorny bushes whilst plotting an easier path back to the apartment.  Finally catch her and (wisely this time) hold her with all injurious surfaces far away while carrying her back to my abode, at which point she becomes all domesticated again, purring and ingratiating herself.  No ma'am.  I know the score now.

Loot!

I came home on Wednesday to a wonderful surprise: A gift from my Secret pal! Pictured above is all the goods (tres generous!) as well as Marzie's reaction to her present. I've never tried catnip on her (she's crazy enough, right?) but she loves it! And why wouldn't she - it's the finest Alaskan organic catnip. Also included were some tasty lychee candies, chocolate, Addi needles to try sock knitting on, some sock yarn to play with, refrigerator magnet word things, and a Burt's Bees facial kit. I love me some Burt's Bees. Many thanks to the pal!

You will also notice that I am posting this at a normal hour, which can only mean that we are now Interneted at Chez Moi. Yes, while I was off frittering away my time at the VL, the roomie bravely set up the software and called the ISP. Result: We have officially rejoined the 21st century.

Just a lovely day . . .

Mondays off are the best! Sure, working on Saturday is a bit of a drag, but then you get the following Monday off, leaving you with time to sleep in, go to Walmart when it's not crowded, have a leisurely lunch, go to the gym, get caught up on school work, etc. I've gotten so much done and it's not even eight!

So, at the gym there was a little ten minute health screening. Apparently I'll live. I got the feeling the people conducting it were trying to get statistics about depression because you had to answer all kinds of questions like, "Have you not done activities you enjoy in a while?". It's funny because I was just reflecting on how I haven't done much cooking or knitting lately and how that's probably not a good sign. Mom will be happy to know that the lady said my body fat percentage was a little low. (Maybe not happy so much as vindicated; she and Charlotte both harped on me about that last week.) I'm trying to rectify that by drinking a whole milk iced latte.

As promised, above is the "NO MAYO" picture. Below is one of a quaint little street scene in Fredericksburg. What a delightful town.