I'm so exhausted. Have not been sleeping well, and part of it is due to certain fur-covered beasts generally taking over the bed as usual, wanting to cuddle and then lick their paws for two hours in the middle of the night, thus driving me insane. I already have to get up at least twice a night to pee, and it's not easy to get back to sleep. A couple nights ago I returned to bed to find that where I had been laying now had TWO cats in it, with six inches of space for me. I love my kitties, but I have fucking had it. I need my sleep, and when baby is born, there will be no animals in the bed, possibly even in the bedroom. They will all be confused and pissed off, but sorry, the first thing Simon is going to do is try to take over the co-sleeper because it's new and comfy. Nein!

Speaking of animals, on my lunch break today I went downtown to Specialty's to get a fancy peanut butter/apple/banana/cranberry sandwich. On Third Ave I spied this big boat of a car driving along, and saw that there was a small dog standing on the center area that separates the driver and passenger seats. Just standing there, inches from the dashboard, and I'm pretty sure it was eating something that had been dropped in front of it. Of course that is not even the worst I've observed; I once saw someone driving with their medium-sized dog in their lap. Illegal for children, but I guess dogs don't become projectiles in collisions, right? We keep Kona in the back seat when she is in the car, still not the safest option of course, but she is never allowed in the front seat. And she has developed pretty good balance for those occasions when sudden braking occurs. She loves riding in the car.

It is Simon's fourteenth birthday today. He was a very good boy all day and we let him walk around outside on the leash for a while. Brian used our awesome camera to make a movie of that adventure, which will be put online soon.

We met the little black puppy today also. She was so cute and bouncy and adorable. And sweet and affectionate and curious. She's also quite skinny -- she was rescued from the streets of Taiwan -- but will bulk up soon enough. As far as her size and breed, she has a very small lean body, big pointy ears and a curled tail, smooth black coat, kind of like an African wild dog. She will probably grow up to be mid-sized, maybe 40 pounds tops.

We have not made a final decision yet, but we have time. Her appt to be spayed is in a week. Her foster mom will hopefully come visit our house tomorrow, to make sure we aren't living in squalor or hoarding animals, I guess.

Brian and I talked about names in the car on the way home. He actually suggested Juneau, which I love, as long as it is spelled like the city, of course. It also fits the two syllables, ends in a vowel rule. I also like the name Angie, because I am fond of giving people names to pets.

So what do you think?

Poll #1197268
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

which name do you prefer?

In other news: this was my first ever trip to Bremerton, which is the place where the main character in my book is supposed to come from. As has happened a few other times since I started writing this thing and visited Alaska, etc, Bremerton was much like I imagined it to be, at least his neighborhood; very drab and filled with bleak, nondescript ramblers with overgrown lawns and old faded curtains in the windows and peeling paint. Almost exactly the way I pictured it, in fact.

As anyone who has ever visited my home in the past nine years knows, I used to have one of these for my cats:



( As seen in these file photos: )

They freakin LOVED that thing. Sadly, it was just too heavy and old and beat-up to move north. Granted, it was still in perfect cat-enjoying condition, and hopefully the people we sold it to are enjoying their kitties having fun playing/sleeping in it.

We promised Simon and Sasha that when we bought a house, we would get them a new playhouse. And today, I placed the order:



This one has two beds, so no more fighting to cram two cats into one basket (though they probably will battle for the top one). It cost $310. Not bad for a piece of extremely durable furniture that will last ten years.

It's fully customizable, so I chose medium blue carpet as the main color and light grey for the secondary color. The two back posts will be natural solid wood, and the two front posts will be wrapped in sisal, the cats favorite scratching material.

One of the greatest things about this company is that since I bought my first cat tree from them in 1999, their prices apparently have NOT increased. Wow.

Support this company: angelical cat. They have a ton of stuff, including cedar dog houses, regular scratching posts, condos of all sizes, all hand-made to order in the United States.

I looked across the room at Simon, who was sitting in front of the window, looking intently at something in the front yard. Meow, he said. His voice was almost conversational in its calm tone. A moment passed and he meowed again. It wasn't the noise he makes when he sees birds, which is more of a throaty warble.

I got up to investigate. And as I suspected, there was a cat sitting on the bench just under the window, looking up at Simon with wide yellow eyes. It was strange, almost as though the two cats were just having a little chat. In contrast, when Sasha sees another cat outside, he goes into defensive mode instantly.

Did the grocery shopping this morning, picked up a library book, and I think I might take a walk downtown this afternoon. Tonight: makin bigass pot of chili.

I got out of bed before eight a.m. today and made a pot of coffee. I checked the outdoor thermometer: 32 degrees F. There was a very thin rime of frost on the deck, not as thick as it was a few weeks ago. It looked colorless out there.

I drank some coffee at the dining table. At the back door, I heard Sasha making a very loud, very low noise, which could only mean one thing: he had spotted another living creature in the backyard. Sure enough, he was standing there, all puffed up, nose to nose with a sleek, jet black cat, who stood calmly on the other side of the glass.

The visitor saw me and began to walk away. Sasha continued to talk and stare, probably imagining that his intimidation routine was working. The black cat headed into the garden and over the fence, and Sasha proceeded to recount the whole thing to me in detail. He is so cute when he's territorial.

scene: inside car, driving home from downtown, where we had coffee and I purchased a few house wares

Jane: Also, I got this spoon rest for the stove. It's shaped like a cat!

Brian: [looks at it] Oh, I thought maybe you got one with a picture of your favorite band on it.

Jane: Right because I want to put my dirty spoon right on Britt's face.

Brian: You totally do, just remove the letter "s" from "spoon".

(lolz)

fin

* * * * *

I also bought a new catnip toy for the buddies. It's the size and shape of a hot dog; just a tube of fresh catnip wrapped in pinkish fabric. I gave it to Simon and he went mental, but Sasha didn't seem to care. I fear he may be one of the 20% of cats who is immune to the catnip spell.

However he did totally love the sushi toys Allison sent and played with them all the time. Unfortunately he also dismantled them and they were tossed/lost during the move.

Brian is growing a beard. We will see how long this lasts.

Today has been good. I finished up a freelance project and got paid. Cleaned up my inbox and went downtown for a cup of coffee with husband. After that we stopped at a local bakery and I bought a loaf of bread.



I think I will make pasta tonight. And watch the repeat of "Beauty and the Geek", yay.

Today we traveled from San Francisco to Roseburg.

We started with a full tank and stopped for gas once, in Medford. We'll probably get gas again about 250 miles from here, somewhere in WA. Even with our car loaded with crap, we're averaging 46mpg.

In Redding, we got coffee at Starbuck's. The young guy working the register was wearing a hearing aid in one ear and spoke in a slight monotone. I was of course fascinated. Anyone who has read parts of my stupid book will know why.

As we left Redding I saw a flyer stapled to a pole for a band called Hookahstew. Wow. Hookahstew.

The cats were drugged early this morning and were knocked out sleepy the whole way. No crying or yowling, just dozing. They are now wandering around the hotel room, thinking this is where we live now. Brian is napping. We're going to some crummy place called Elmer's for dinner.

As we left SF I did feel some sadness, some strangeness. I think that's normal. Right now I am still feeling odd. It's not as though I'll never go back. But it will never be the same. Moving messes with your head, especially going so far. I hope to snap out of it soon.