Kristi and Isabel

Well.....after a brief period of mourning over our beloved bearded dragon, Mitchell, Devon and I decided to once again take the plunge and get some new pets. This time we decided to go with the easy care Guinea Pig. We picked out 2 lovely females...Kristi (belongs to Morgan) and Isabel (belongs to Devon). They are really cute and we brought them home yesterday evening. I though we were good to go. I never thought the cats would bother them. I must have confused the cats with snakes who never try to eat anything that is larger than they can consume. Well I was wrong.
I went to bed last night and while reading I thought I heard some high pitched squeaks coming from downstairs. The girls are residing in Devons room in a large aquarium with a screen top. Apparently in the middle of the night "the girls" had an unexpected visit from one of our cats. Thankfully no one was hurt, but the poor things probably think they were brought to our house to be tortured.
When I went to wake Devon up this morning I glanced over at the cage and was horrified to see the whole lid to the aquarium had collapsed inside in a mangled twist. The image of Cheif Brody and Quint from the original Jaws movie came to mind. You know .... the one where they crank up the destroyed "shark cage" and wonder what happened to Richard D. Luckily I had the foresight to buy a little plastic Igloo shelter for "the girls" and apparently that saved them. One of the cats must have jumped on the lid and rolled around repeatedly trying to get inside.

Dave has proclaimed me as the "worst pet owner ever". Needless to say we went out this evening and bought a very sturdy wire top for the aquarium and clips to hold it in place. Devon has decided to keep his bedroom door shut at night to prevent and midnight visits from the cats.

Take care!!
Sue

Weekend Update (and not the SNL version, for those of you who don't go to bed at 10:00 PM)

I wonder, sometimes, just where Roscoe's mind goes.

I know he is addled, senile, obviously bigoted ... but one thing in the Sumner Press's online version this week really bothered me. And this is his comment: "Go Indians!"

Here is a publisher of a Sumner "newspaper" (for what it is) proclaiming support for the Lawrenceville team, without one mention of how Red Hill's (ok you old fogies, "Bridgeport's") team is doing.

I hope Red Hill kicks "Hellville's" ass this coming tournament. Let's go, Salukis!

By the way, I am following Nick Evan's career ... I think he might make a good addition to UConn's team, as a collegiate. I will be sure to gloat over Roscoe if Jim Calhoun (the UConn coach) sends someone out to recruit him, and not someone from Hellville.

John, you are closest out there ... have a word with him ... tell him he's publishing the wrong newspaper.

New Glasses

Morgan got her new glasses today and looks really cute. I thought it was funny how she was amazed at how "smooth" everything is now.....especially the TV. When she went to bed tonight she was worried that her glasses wouldn't be there in the morning.
Oh to be young again!
At least she's taking the whole thing well.
Sue

We Are Here

Although we are now well into the insanity of another work year. However, Janice did have MLK Day off, so she made the most of it, and took down our Christmas tree and various Christmas decor. I, unfortunately, had to work, so was unable to assist.

We are well, and are now thawing out from the ice/snow storm over the weekend. It could have been worse than it was, had the temp been colder here for the initial day-long rain to have been snow. But ... like I always say ... if it's going to be cold, at least give me some snow to look at.

I've been very busy at work, dealing with various bits of "fallout" from our New Years Day implementation of two projects. **it happens.

On a happier note, it looks like I might celebrate my birthday in Ft. Myers, FL. We normally go out to STL to celebrate Joe's birthday (2/17) and Janice's sister Susie's birthday (2/19), at which time we also celebrate mine. However, this year, I think we may have Joe and Joyce convinced that a jaunt to warmer climates might be just the ticket to get through the winter doldrums. Susie (Ms. Travel Coordinator for several years running) is looking into rentals in the Ft. Myers area, so I don't have exact dates yet, but the change of venue would be fun. I have a "freebie" on SWA that we could use, so it wouldn't be bad at all, airfare-wise.

Other than that, it's the SSDD scenario here.

Finally, let's not forget ... today would have been Mom's 83rd Birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom! We all miss you, and hope you and Dad had a nice 64th anniversary last month.

Hope all is well with everyone. Love to you all.

Is there anybody out there..........

Wow,
This has to be the longest stretch we've gone without communicating.
Hope all is well with everybody out there. Not much new is going on here....We're still settling in to our house. We painted the bottom floor bedrooms and bathroom this past weekend.
We said goodbye to our friend Mitchell on Friday. He was a cute little Bearded Dragon we got for Devon as a Christmas present. We picked him out Dec 27th and all was well until he started laying around not eating. He died 4 days later. I have no idea what happened. We had all of the correct lights and heating elements. We fed him his "salads" and live crickets everyday. The only theory we could come up with is that the water softener water killed him. In my defense none of the extensive literature I have says anything about water softener water being toxic. It's a mystery. This is the first pet I've killed in at least 20 years.......I had a few hamsters that died due to simple neglect long ago.
I took Morgan to the eye Dr last week because she failed her school vision test and it was a nightmare. She actually went into hysterics when the doctor tried to put eye drops in her eyes and ran out (escaped) of the room. I found her hiding in the restroom about 3 minutes later. I was so embarrassed. Needless to say she needs glasses and most likely has lazy eye in her left eye.
Devon has had some trouble in school this month and I asked Mom about how Eric and I were at about the same age.....She told me she "blocked it out" as it was a "painful time" in her life. I got a kick out of that. Being a parent is so hard sometimes....makes me appreciate the fact that Mom and Dad didn't just drop me off on the highway somewhere as a child. I know I was a challenge.

Lori and Brad.....I assume you are living in chaos in your new home. It's all worth it!!!
Take care everyone!!!,
Sue

Happy New Year 2006

Well, I hope everyone made it to 2006 safe and sound.

We did our usual "stay at home and avoid the idiots on the road" gig last night, and we are both still full this morning from our gluttonous meal last night. We had some simple food - a bit of crab and asparagus sushi with the obligatory shaved ginger and wasabi and a bit of "King Creole Crab Dip" on Breton crackers from our favorite market while we grilled a couple of filets and prosciutto-wrapped jumbo prawns as a main course. The "masterpiece" was the Morel and Madiera sauce for the filets. Yum. The funniest part of the evening was when Jake and Elwood sniffed raw shrimp in the air, and went completely insane while Janice deveined them ... I had to hold them, to keep them from attacking her and the prawns. Janice said Elwood was looking at her and the prawns like a vulture circling over fresh roadkill.

We hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas cards. And no, so far, PETA hasn't knocked on our door to arrest us for Kitty Cruelty (they don't know about the staples we had to use to keep those antlers on ... ha ha). Nor has any mental health official knocked on our door, thinking we're nuts for taking that picture. They may, after next year's. I already have it planned. LOL

It snowed about 2 inches here yesterday afternoon/evening, and I am beginning to think we're in for a pretty hard winter here in the Northeast. It's pretty, though.

We both want to wish every one a Happy, Healthy, Safe, and Prosperous New Year. Love one another, and spread peace and joy to all those around you in the coming 365 days.

My New Year's Resolutions:

• Be nice to everyone I encounter and try to do 1 "good deed" every day;
• Find the resolve to quit smoking (may be the first one broken);
• Lose the weight I've put on over the Holidays;
• Be a little more frequent with my blog postings (aren't you all happy now? LOL);
• Enjoy some golf outings;
• Watch the Redskins win the Super Bowl (ok, that may even be the first to be broken LOL)

Those are mine ... how about yours?