Today's Discoveries

Things I learned today:

Our cat can balance things on her head.

(See Chuck for the champion of balancing.)

UPDATE: Ernest calls this Cat Jenga.

It appears we have termites. The inspector is coming on Friday.

There are 110 holds for the new Michael Connelly book.

I tried those darn reading glasses again.

I'm TRYING to smile here but my eyes are watering.

Things are easier to read, though.

Frank can no longer copy the WoW patches to Ernest's storage device (his iPod). Now Ernest has to download them himself. (Ernest used to carry WoW around on the iPod so he could use it on any computer he found free, but now I think he has to stick to one computer as WoW will no longer allow itself to be copied.) It took 15 hours for Frank to download the new patch.

Do I care about this? No.

But it was a discovery, and has consumed the two of them since 5:00 p.m.

YESTERDAY.

SO WHAT DID YOU DISCOVER TODAY?

Why Won't Birds Use Our Birdbath?

Ernest made a cute birdbath in a crafts class a few years ago. But the birds never use it. This is why:

It's the cat's drinking fountain.

Field Trip

Ernest took the greatest field trips in 4th grade (2 years ago).

Yesterday, we revisited one: Oso Flaco Lake. About an hour away, a boardwalk crosses a small lake (translates to "Skinny Bear") and the dunes, to the ocean. Much of the area is protected to conserve plants and wild life. We tried to find the large accessible dunes suitable for "dune diving" but couldn't remember which path to take. Ernest thought they were one way, I thought they were another. We were both wrong. But we eventually got to the ocean and Ernest and McQueen compensated by digging a giant hole on the beach. A rogue wave almost got them.

After lunch at In 'n' Out Burger, we came home to find the Brown Truck of Happiness had left a treasure trove of cardboardy goodness. All the online shopping for Ernest's birthday arrived on the same day! He's counting. "21 and a half days," he said.

Later in the day, the Cat Whisperer appeared. Ernest enjoys meeting a standoffish cat and convincing it to be petted. His strategy is to approach the cat low and slow, and offer his hand for sniffing. Once he is sniffed out to the cat's satisfaction, petting is usually allowed. This cat's name is Harry and lives down the street.

Frequently Mistaken For...

CAT--One hell of a nice animal, frequently mistaken for a meatloaf. - B. Kliban




Here's our version. How to tell a cat from a throw pillow.

This might help.

Wake Up Kitty

This totally reminds me of our cat:

Happy Birthday Sox

Our cat is old. Handy Husband brought her home 16 years ago, a stray kitten that had been sniffing around the dumpster at his office. She weighed one pound. We never knew her exact birthday, so we let her share Frank's, which is coming up this week. She was the lowly third cat for many years, banished outside with the others when the second cat was peeing everywhere.

But she outlasted them, and as the only cat has become a welcome fixture at the foot of our bed every night. She used to lie on the HH's nice wool sweaters, but I put a stop to that. Sorry kitty, dry cleaning is expensive. Now she shreds up a lovely old towel. Many nights she slinks up to where our hands lie, and nuzzles and purrs until we rouse enough to pet her.

Ernest has appointed himself the cat caretaker. His morning routine (eat breakfast, brush teeth, etc.) is not complete without petting the cat. He has also assumed responsibility for putting the nutritional supplements on her food, for her arthritis. Ernest has tried different combinations to determine that she likes the tuna/chicken flavored powdered supplement, but hates the fish oil.

So in honor of the cat's birthday, here is one of Ernest's favorite YouTube videos: