As you well know, our family celebrates Buy Nothing Day. That is the holiday of anti-consumerism that takes place on the day after Thanksgiving, called by eager shoppers; "Black Friday" or "Blitz Day", and marketed as the biggest shopping day of the year. Businesses have taken advantage of this, and in an attempt to boost their sales on the unholy grail of shopping days, offer huge discounts in order to entice customers to come buy from their store instead of all of the others.
Of course items that usually cost $400 dropping in price to a mere $100 is terribly tempting, and this entices people so much that they awake at 3am so they can fight for parking places, jostle for a place in line, and wait in the freeing cold for hours, just so they can have a chance (yes, that's right, a chance, there's no guarantee here folks), of getting the one thing they want most. Some people even go so far as to bring a sleeping bag and camp outside of the store with friends, sleeping in shifts to be assured one of thes magical and elusive first spots in line, and thus, first dibs on spending money. This past year it was so bad that there were several injuries and even a death as customers stormed into the store in a rush to get to the gifts they most coveted.
This lunacy is brought to you by the idea that spending lots of money and getting really fancy gifts for your friends and family around the holidays is the best way to let them know you care. Of course it is also helped by the advertising industry, and people who seem to think that teaching their children the joy of giving is not an important part of the season, which leads to excessive cases of the gimmies, and creates the vicious circle of consumerism.
Some businesses are cluing into the fact that there are a lot of people refusing to buy on "Black Friday", and have created new ways to take advantage of the consumerist rush, and many internet companies have made the day after black Friday another big shopping day, in the hopes that more people can be drawn to shop at online retailers.
Amazon.com for example offered special deals and sales, with all the pricing of the unholy shopping day, but starting on Nov 27th, and going on for several days of special deals, with one deal each day. It's the same concept, but a little more innovative. I have to give them credit for thinking outside the box like that, and I'm sure that their creativity got some of those who celebrate Buy Nothing Day to indulge in a little extra shopping too.
With the bad economy, and the prevalence of gift cards as presents in recent years, other retailers have tried to get people out on December 26th as well, to spend those gift cards, and get what they really wanted from the cash they got back after returning their unwanted gifts.
This last year was extra-special!
This year, we attended our very first zombie walk!
At the Battlefield Mall at 1pm, zombies invaded Springfield, trudging through the mall and mumbling things like "consume" and "buy" instead of the typical "brains", then when they were kicked off of mall property, moved over to the dark lord WaldeMart for a bit more fun before shambling back to their dens to sleep out the cold. Little known fact, zombies really dislike cold weather.
The zombie walk was an open event, and all were welcome to join in the fun. Shredded clothes and special effect makeup were not necessary, but they did make things a lot more amusing.
At roughly 10:30pm, at the corner of 7th and Mt. Vernon in Springfield, Missouri, a garage caught fire. By the time the fire department arrived, the fire had completely engulfed the building and spread to an adjacent utility pole, and the pole had begun to lean precariously towards the pole across from it on 7th street.
We arrived on the scene at about 10:45pm, when the flames were towering over 10 feet above the roof of the building. We never would have known about it when we did if it hadn't been for two untagged, but well cared for dogs with collars, who ran into our house through the open door for a bit of a visit and some love. We had gone out to see if we could find their owners before we turned in for the night, and that's when we saw the fire, a few blocks away. Thinking that the dogs may have escaped from what appeared to be a house fire, we went to find the residents and offer them their precious puppies back.
Here is the video Keebler took of the fire a couple of minutes after I called 911, and they told me that trucks were in route.
Luckily, the garage was a free standing building, so the fire didn't spread far before the fire department arrived, and quickly got the blaze under control.
Some photos of the firepersons hard at work on the remnants of the blaze (taken with my cell phone, Keeb still had the camera. Still, they came out surprisingly well.).
After a short investigation on my part, questioning the fire department and bystanders, I learned that the house was vacant, and for sale. It's good to know that nobody lost any possessions in the blaze, but the garage will need to be completely torn down, and the house is going to need new siding, due to heat damage (and the fire dept ripping some of it off to check for possible smoldering underneath).
Remember, you heard it here first, folks!
Here's a photo of the dogs.
Anyone know who their owners are? I'm sure these playful pups would love to get back to their rightful home(s).
It is storming here pretty badly, a huge stream of storms coming northwest from Oklahoma straight up through Springfield and up into and past the Lebanon area in Missouri. Pretty creepy.
On the first storm, we were driving straight into the stream, trying to drive quickly to the nearest safe place. We got here in time and without incident. There are baseball sized hail, heavy rains, and high winds. I am trying to get a photo of the weather map to show to you.
The unseasonally hot weather the past couple of days, breaking hundred-year highs yesterday with temperatures in the upper 60's has caused severe weather when the chill reenters the air. High pressure and low pressure trying to regulate makes for nasty outdoors.
6pm got to the safe place and set up. Turned on the TV for weather and opened up a bunch of weather websites.
6:15 called all of my friends and family that I had the numbers of. Everyone is safe.
6:35 In the north of town, Faith has found and photographed a piece of hail larger than a golf ball. They are safe, her son Zman has stored it in her freezer.
7:08 I took a film of the severest of the storms I've seen personally. Very wet out there.
7:44 There are reports of two missing women, property damage, and two tornadoes have been spotted thus far this evening.
7:48 Roofs reported torn off of houses, semis flipped, and a trailer home rolled into a building across the street from it's previous location.
7:52 Flash flood warnings have now been issued due to too much rainfall.
8:00 Found a photo for you finally. Posted it at the top of the entry. The sirens sing on and Keebler has changed the channel. I guess he's bored with the weather situation. There are two more storms headed up this way, but we have already endured two which were very indicative of tornadoes when seen on the radar.
8:21 Here's that video I took. It will play, just click the arrow.
The winds are huge, gusting at over 70mph, and the tornado watch is scheduled to continue until 5:30am.
8:24 This second storm has left Greene county.
8:45 The tornado warnings for Springfield have now expired. There is another on it's way, however, and it is slated to be here in another 45 minutes or so.
8:47 56 yo Nancy Greene of Marshfield, resident of a mobile home in Webster county between has been found dead, a victim of the tornado. I wish her family comfort in this difficult time.
8:51 I have to run an errand before the next storm shows up. I'll post again when I get back.
9:28 We are back safe. New tornado and T-storm warnings all over the area. One storm threatened to turn around and come back, but does seem to have traveled on at this time. Several homes in Springfield have been destroyed, and there are large trees uprooted, but only minor injuries reported so far. A shelter has been opened in Strafford in the gym of the high school, and it has about 100 people in it at the moment. Search and rescue teams are scouring Greene county for folks who need picked up and taken to shelters in preparation for the next wave.
9:40 Republic elementary #3 had the roof ripped off of the 5th grade wing, destroying their computer lab and many books. It is suspected that there will be no school tomorrow for the students there.
9:50 A new tornado warning has been issued for southeastern Greene county until 11pm. It does not effect Springfield at this time. Just south and east of Ozark, there has been some "major rotation" spotted. The storm over Rogersville has been declared "huge". Hail, flooding, and wind gusts of above 70mph.
10:00 School is confirmed canceled in Republic for tomorrow, abandoned cars are everywhere from people who ran away from their vehicles seeking shelter. A convenience store has been damaged and there have been several injuries coming into the local hospitals from the storm. 106mph winds in Phelps county. Most of the current tornado warnings are set to expire at 11pm.
10:17 We can hear storm cell #3 rolling into Springfield now, and they are predicting that this will last for the next several hours. Several new storms seem to be developing near Harrison, AR, and Ava, MO. They are not severe at this time, but are being watched very carefully.
10:25 Highlandville (Christian county) 5 homes with severe damage, roads blocked and flooding. Wall cloud between Highlandville and Nixa. Northern OK has severe storms. Mcdonald and Barry counties have been issued a tornado warning at this time. Phelps county has 25 cattle dead, several people missing, houses demolished by storms and fire, and several barns flattened.
10:32 On the news: Earlier in the evening, for the first time in their careers, the meteorologists in the TV station ran for cover in the bathrooms there. You get a feeling the storms are bad when the weatherfolks repeatedly say that this is not the time to grab the video camera and run outside, and that everyone in the path of the storm must take shelter immediately. I have never heard them say it as much as they have said it tonight. You know it was bad when they tell you that they were hiding in the bathrooms while they were saying those things.
11:05 A Strafford resident, Rachael Lawson, has died in the hospital due to storm-related injuries. The storms are awesome and terrifying. The destruction to material goods and homes is horrible, but the taking of lives is almost too much to bear. My heart goes out to those who cared for the deceased. These storms have extended for 6 hours so far, and more storms are forming. Greene county is now under a severe thunderstorm warning again.
11:20 Several hundred City Utilities customers are currently without power, but the company is working hard to get it turned back on. More tornado warnings are constantly being issued, and others are now being allowed to expire. Please visit weather.com to see what is going on in your area throughout the night.
11:36 Just found out that there are some homes destroyed in Lebanon, MO, and several people are hospitalized with weather related injuries. I hope a speedy recovery to all of those injured by the storms tonight.
11:48 Liveblogging the storms, from the safest room in the house. Look, it comes equipped with a chair! *grin*
11:51 Leaving to pick up Keeb's mom from work. She walks to work, and I'm not letting her in this weather. Better to get her back quickly while there's a lull in the storms. She tells us that she spent quite a bit of time in the hallway at work tonight.
12:11am Back to safety, we are all very, very wet. The rain is pouring down, and thunder is intermittent.
12:20 All tornado warnings for southwest Missouri have now been lifted. There are still some very serious storms however, with high winds and hail continuing to be expected, and tornado watches are ongoing. The television station has returned to their regularly scheduled programming.
12:39 Learned a new term tonight; "Hook Echo". This is a term used in meteorology that talks about a curve in a storm system. These curves are picture perfect indicators of the circular wind patterns that create tornadoes.
12:57 Looks like we have the all clear and it is going to stick for the rest of the night. There's flooding everywhere, and debris in many areas, so drive safely if you have to be out on the roads tonight or tomorrow. I'm done for the night.
Good rest to you!
2:41am Guess I wasn't done for the night. The sirens just went off again. Looking at the radar, I see one storm cell right over Springfield, and another close grouping of smaller severe storms not far behind. These storms are fast-moving but have some serious boomerang shapes to them (thanks Moosie!), otherwise known as hook echoes.
2:55 We just heard the roof lift a bit and took refuge in the bathroom. On the weather sites again, watching the radar animations.
3:04 Can't see the TV, relying entirely on the radar maps on the internet, just like the pros. The wind is whipping the sounds of even the closest sirens away from us, so for several seconds at a time, there is silence, all but the howling of the winds. The storms are moving fast, east, northeast. This looks to be the worst of the storms that we are in right now, with everything to the east simple T-storms.
3:17 Someone has spotted a funnel cloud in southwest Springfield near the Rivercut golf course. If it is a tornado or forms into one, the wind direction will take it right through the center of town.
3:25 The tornado warning has been canceled. We're in a calm spot right now, preparing for the scattered and less dense storms that are coming our way. I'm a bit concerned about the hook that I see on the radar below us, but right now, even that looks less severe than what just passed us.
3:45 Moosie just lost power. The hook at the end of the storm cell seems to be dissipating into some pretty harmless thunderstorms, smoothing out it's edges and jags, signifying a loss of circular motion within the storm itself. If things continue on the way they look right now, we're in for some thunder and more rain, and that's it for the rest of the morning. More storms developed last time I thought we were relatively in the clear, however, so I'm not saying anything for certain.
4:00 I was right, there are more storms forming in the center of OK and down into Texas, I wonder if they will travel up here to cause trouble as well?
4:22 The storms I saw earlier are increasing in severity and moving right towards us, but still don't have the tell-tale signs of tornado creation, and I'm exhausted. Keebler's mother will wake up if the sirens sound again, and she'll wake us. In the nice time, I'll leave the meteorology to the professionals. Before tonight, all I knew about reading satellite weather imaging was how to tell if there was heavy rains, and now I'm the go-to person for extra storm-tracking info when my friends don't feel that the weatherfolks are enough. I never said I wasn't a quick study, nothing like a 12 hour crash course to get one competent in a skill. *chuckle*
4:31 Tonight has made me sure that we will need an in-motion satellite system for the RV though, as my access to the internet tonight has made all the difference, and a regular RV sat system would have to be shut down in severe weather or risk being blown off in the storms and high winds. I'm off to bed.
Update on 1/8/08: There were 7o tornado warnings last night, rating up to EF3, and with hurricane force wind gusts. The worst of the damage was in Western Webster county and Eastern Greene county. Twelve homes were obliterated, and over 100 were damaged in the storms. Two people left this world for the next, and the government is considering declaring the area a disaster so that those effected by the storm can get financial assistance to rebuild their lives.
The night of tornadoes will be remembered and talked about by area residents for generations to come.
Quick and easy to create, this stable fake fireplace with sturdy mantel serves all the decorative purposes of a real one.
A temporary fireplace when you have no Santa portal. Supplies
* Six milk crates * Brick red acrylic paint (2 jars) * 10 brown paper grocery bags (used) * Foam paintbrush * Paint dish * 2oz clean water (an empty paint bottle full) * Large cardboard box * Packing tape * Piece of 2x12 wood * Warm colored tissue paper (reds, oranges, & yellows) * Wrapping paper tubes
To Build Fireplace 1) Disassemble paper bags. 2) Tape three bags together widthwise, two bags widthwise, and two bags lengthwise. 3) Empty paints into bowl and add water. Stir together. 4) Paint red rectangles (bricks) onto paper bags and lay flat to dry. 5) wrap each column of milk crates with the painted brick paper. 6) Line up columns to fit board. 7) Place board on top of columns and wrap, leaving a drop of paper about 2 inches long in the front. 8) Tape last bit of painted paper to the wall behind the columns to complete fireplace.
To Build "Fire"
1) Cut two "firey" shapes out of cardboard box. 2) Cut a slice 1/2 way from the top to the bottom of one cardboard piece. 3) Cut a slice 1/2 way from the bottom to the top of the other cardboard piece. 4) Slide them together to make a standing cardboard frame for the fire. 5) Tear tissue paper into random uneven chunks and crumple lightly by hand. 6) Lay the frame flat and apply glue to entire surface. 7) Beginning with lightest color, apply layers of crumpled tissue alternated with glue. 8) Repeat tissue & glue procedure on each of the four sides of the frame, creating a "merrily roaring fire". 9) Stand fire up and fluff up tissue, placing your "prettiest" side facing the front. 10) Cut wrapping paper tubes to size to represent firewood. 11) Stuff some scrap paper bag bits into the ends of the tubes and arrange in front of fire to complete the effect.
Optional changes:
* Make your wood more realistic by painting the tubes dark brown or even rolling newspaper into "logs" and painting for further realism.
* Place your fireplace's center right in front of your heating register so that when the heat is on, it blows the "flames" about and exudes warmth.
* Put a mirror under your "fire" and place small blinking and solid lit LED lights in yellow and orange between the "legs" of the fire to provide a flickering effect and ambient light in your fire.
Hang stockings, decorate mantle, and enjoy!
Apologies for posting this craft so very late in the season. At least it is still good for bringing a warm feeling into the home during the winter months, right? *sheepish grin*
At the end of the season, take down the fireplace and toss all the paper and cardboard bits into the compost heap to make mulch in the spring. This is a great (and frugal) way to recycle some paper grocery sacks, teach the kids about reuse of things, and spend some fun time together.
Before I left for work on my bicycle, I listened to a friend DJing on an internet radio station. DJ Wholf hosts the "Saturday Morning Cartoons" show on Synful FM internet radio. It was really nice to have good music and a friendly voice in the morning. *smile*
When I got to work yesterday, nobody was there except the skeleton setup crew from campus. After a bit of mildly unpleasant discussion with a worker who had been there for several hours in the cold and had lost his sense of humor sometime previous to having encountered me, and a short chat with one of the main setup folks, I discovered that I had arrived an hour early. Seems the TV station was going to air the game live, and had to switch the times so that the game that was supposed to start at 2pm, was now scheduled to begin at 3. *rolls eyes* This is just great. I have scheduled to stop work at 1:30 (already loosing quite a bit of revenue) so that we can make it to the event we have scheduled to celebrate my mother's birthday. During the wait time, I ended up sitting on a wet porta-potty seat. Beautiful start to a fabulous day. *drips sarcasm*
Meanwhile, Keebler was at home, cleaning house. Finally we were able to spare a moment from the last couple of weeks to get something done with the "drop, grab, run" mess that had begun to accumulate (laundry and the like) while we were uber-busy. He looks at the "Murphy's Law" plaque on our wall, and there is a knock at the door. Guess who?
D.F.S. is at my door. Not that I wasn't expecting it. I mean it is the beginning of the school year (just like last year), and my kids still play outside during school hours (just like last year). One of these days, the neighbors will learn to mind their own business. I was sort of expecting it, really. *sigh* But Keebler is home alone. He has nobody to support him in standing up for his (and my) rights. So of course she does her assigned job of intimidating the crap out of him, and gains entrance into our home. *growl* I never would have given in. (Yes he heard about it later). To make it even worse, she "insisted" on coming to my work to check to see if Ladybug (who works with me sometimes) was safe, and to insult me. *hiss, spit* So I have a government worker at my JOB, making me sign papers and interrogating myself and my daughter in public. I informed her in no uncertain terms that she would not gain entrance to my home on Wednesday when she comes back for a "follow up". I did find out what the "report" was this time. It seems that if we can't be seen from the street, we aren't outside. Of course, that means that when we were working in the yarden while we had the girls harvesting walnuts off of the carport roof, that they were "playing on the roof without any adult supervision". I cannot begin to describe my anger at the wasted time and effort of these people who have to keep coming to our home because someone else couldn't keep their nose in their own business. That's half the problem with this country in the first place! We can't keep our attention on our own problems, so our country goes to shit while we run off and "rescue" the rest of the world. I can darned near guarantee that whatever busybody who reported us is up to her ears in debt and unhappy with her life. She probably also lives on talk shows and Jerry Springer, but that's another matter entirely.
My mother showed up at my work to rush me to go at 1:20, and continued to harp on me even after I had packed up and come back home. She says she was so rude (screaming, rushing, harrying) because she didn't know how bad the rest of my day had gone before she came into it. I say that there is no reason to treat another being with such blatant disrespect, especially when it is obvious that they are already under some duress, whether one knows the reason for it or not. Maybe it's just me.
So I had a panic attack, we missed the event, and life was groovy... riiight. Anyway, after two phyto-proz Supreme, and about a half-hour of me alternately shaking, crying and screaming, I was able to calm down to a stupor-like state where I stared off into space and breathed shallowly while my eyes leaked.
When I was finally able to speak without breaking into tears, we arranged to go to the next showing of the Dixie Stampede (on special homeschooler discount rates!).
On the way to the second showing, we were alerted to a mostly-flat tire by some friendly strangers in a white minivan. Thank goodness. We pulled into the first gas station we saw off of the highway for air. In Saddlebrooke, Missouri, the price for air is seventy-five cents. In Springfield, the maximum price is fifty cents. As we pulled up to the air compressor, the scene unfolded like this:
Keebler: "Three quarters" Mother: "Three?" Me: "Inflation" Everyone but me: Giggling, snickering and laughing Me: "huh?"
After they explained to me (in detail) my accidental double entendre (inflation= price increase as well as airing up), I got a light chuckle out of it as well. I was still in pretty bad shape.
After getting lost twice on the way there (I wasn't driving this time!) we finally arrived and got in to see the show. It was lots of fun and the food was great. Littlebit got to join in on the chicken chase too! She won a medal (made of real metal!) and a board book (for playing, her team didn't win). I'll agree that it is the most fun place to eat in Branson, but what they neglect to tell you is that it is the calorie-burningest place to eat in Branson too! Despite all of the amazing food and the fact that we were all stuffed silly by the time we left (dragging our leftovers along behind us, so to speak), we were hungry again within an hour. As we left, we let the kids look at the horses and white homing pigeons that were used in the show.
It was the first real fun I'd had all day.
At the end of the show, they got all patriotic and I bawled. I couldn't help it. I Couldn't stop thinking about how sad it was that the majority of the people there, standing and cheering with pride for the flag and the light up costumes, had no clue that their beloved country was crumbling right under their noses. There were many tears for the ignorance of the majority of the American populace.
Later that night, a new activist was born, amongst much suffering, immobilizing terror and many tears. It hurts when you have beleived that everything is allright for so very long, and suddenly you discover how very wrong you really are. Lastnight they spoke to me. Today they spoke to their mother. Be strong, brave one, freedom is in your hands.
Friday the 13th, 2006, a digital camera was found in the many acres of the popular Campbell's Maze Daze corn maze. The following soundless footage was recovered from the memory card.
Ladybug took this film with her friend Firefly on our visit to the farm. I think it's a great first video for a 12yo! *grin* No corn was harmed in the making of this video.
Seriously though, the car's battery decided not to work this morning, so we were given a ride to the event by a good friend. Despite my complete lack of excitement for the opportunity to get lost in a cornfield, have dust tossed in my face while I sat on a hay bale in a trailer behind a tractor, and get a tiny pumpkin to paint with cheap paint for $7 a person, we did end up having quite a bit of fun.
It ended up that they had two corn mazes (one for smaller kids, and one for the bigger ones). They also had a really small wooden maze for toddlers, (which I thought was a cute touch), games, pony rides, snacks and drinks to buy, a giant inflatable jumpy-thing, and fresh apples. There were prize choices for the kids' participation in the corn maze game (coloring book, bubble gum, or decorative gourd). My kids both picked a gourd as their prize, both for different reasons. (Ladybug wants to save seeds, Littlebit wants to have it for dinner)
And Everyone had a ton of fun on the tricycles. *laugh*
In other news, we weren't able to go to the Fri 13th party this evening because of the broken car.
Last evening we went over to Lovelife's house. It was great to see them, as usual. There was much chatting and happiness while Littlebit wandered off to play with the exceedingly tolerant cats, and Ladybug played with her knitting. (I wouldn't usually call it playing, but she wasn't knitting. It was more like she had the yarn and needles in her hands and was dragging them around on the floor trying to see how much cat fur wool could collect from a clean floor). Littlebit wandered back and forth several times checking in, begging for drinks and such, then she came in and her eyes were puffy, red, and wet.
We asked her if she'd been crying.
She said no.
We asked her if the kitty had scratched her.
She said no.
We asked her if she was okay.
She said no.
Someone else asked her if the kitty had scratched her.
She said yes.
So I told her to rinse her face and hands with some cool water and come back in to us. (we all figured maybe she had had an allergic reaction to the cats, maybe. Sudden allergies have happened to other people *shrug*) The rest of the visit went allright with Lovelife making macrame' bracelets for the girls, and us making some lighting modifications for her videoblogging.
We asked Littlebit where the kitten was.
She said she was in the living room... Playing. (pause included)
We chatted for a bit more and Lovelife fed the girls a snack before it was time to leave. We have the hardest time leaving their house when we get a chance to go over and visit, we have so much fun.
When we actually did get up to leave, we smelled bleach on the way out. Seems Littlebit had decided it was a good idea to spray bleach that was in a squirt bottle on Lovelife's curtains. I'm thinking "At least it isn't too hard to find green drapes, I can get her some new ones". I talk to Littlebit (AGAIN) about touching things that are not hers without permission and about spraying things inside. She acts polite and somewhat subdued. She played (and argued) pretty hard, she was probably tired.
After we got home, I'm getting the meals ready for the next day when the phone rings. Keebler says "Oh god no" and I stop what I'm doing to see what the matter is. It's Lovelife. The kitten wasn't playing, but she was in the livingroom. The kitten is dead. Littlebit killed her by spraying her down with bleach and then hid the body under a pillow so she wouldn't get caught.
We went to tell Littlebit that the kitten was dead.
She nodded, said the kitten tried to bite her.
No tears, no nothing.
Remember that last nerve from the other post?
Yeah, me neither.
I cracked. I became an instant "bad mommy". I started crying, screeching, and yelling. Littlebit was a bad girl, a horrible child, and a murderer. I told her between gritted teeth that she'd better stay in her room until morning, no argument allowed. Shaking and hyperventalating, I shut myself into my bedroom and rocked as the tears flowed.
I WAS ENRAGED. It's what shock and devistation does to some people.
After about an hour, Littlebit was asleep, and I was calmer. Still traumatized that I am harboring a murderer in my home, but calmer. Keebler and I talked about the situation. I cannot handle this type of behavior from someone in my house. We discuss getting a psychaitrist, and putting her in a mental facility for a while so she can get help.
We peice together the evening into a more feasable rendition of what happened.
Littlebit went to play with the kitten.
The kitten was in a playful mood, and kittens play with claws and teeth.
Littlebit had seen or heard somewhere about people spraying naughty cats.
She saw the spray bottle and grabbed it, and sprayed the kitten. A bunch.
The kitten died.
She cried silently for a while, alone.
We called her to check in.
She quickly hid the kitten under a pillow on the couch in the living room.
She came to our call.
The red puffy eyes weren't allergies.
I stayed up most of the night bawling over the senseless loss. Would have gone to work with nearly black circles under my eyes had it not been for the Snake Oil.
That poor poor kitten. And Lovelife, who had just decided to give the little foster a forrever home in her heart. Knowing littlebit's predisposition for the excesses of a 5yo, the kitten was probably soaked with bleach and died quickly of fume inhalation. We can pray as much anyway. That she didn't suffer too much before she left this plane. (I asked her today, and Littlebit said that she did indeed spray her a lot. It will take her a while to get over this as well. She despairs deeply every time she thinks about what happened or remembers that the kitty is gone. I can only be thankful that she is so young and has such a short attention span. I don't want her to forget by any means, but constantly dwelling on the experience will do her no good either. Today she thought about Pearl about 15 times that I saw. She will never forget.)
Pearl was a really good kitten. Affectionate and cuddly, she played gently even when her claws were extended. Tolerant to a fault, she would put up with being carried all over the house with no tushy support without complaint.
Commonly found sleeping on electronics or people, with her hymalayan-colored fur sticking up at all angles, she was adorable and well loved. She even did a special little dance sometimes. The night she passed, she was playful and energetic. I didn't know her as well as I would have liked to, but all who met her fell in love instantly.
She left behind several furry friends, Lovelife, Storm, and her kitty mother.
Mayhaps she plays even now on the rainbow bridge with my Lafarga.
Lovelife and Storm were kind enough to send me this picture and this link to a video introducing her to the world before she passed. May she live forever in our hearts, be remembered only with joy, and may the lessons she taught us in her short time here never be forgotten.
At the Battlefield Mall at 1pm, zombies invaded Springfield, trudging through the mall and mumbling things like "consume" and "buy" instead of the typical "brains", then when they were kicked off of mall property, moved over to the dark lord WaldeMart for a bit more fun before shambling back to their dens to sleep out the cold. Little known fact, zombies really dislike cold weather.
It is storming here pretty badly, a huge stream of storms coming northwest from Oklahoma straight up through Springfield and up into and past the Lebanon area in Missouri. Pretty creepy.
A temporary fireplace when you have no Santa portal. Supplies
5) Tear tissue paper into random uneven chunks and crumple lightly by hand.
heating register so that when the heat is on, it blows the "flames" about and exudes warmth.
