lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
In the dining car, Mr. Benjamin sat at one table with Xiuying across from him. He inquired after the Sauvignon Blanc but she declined, so they had sparkling apple juice instead....

“Oh...” Xiuying sighed. “Pull the bunks down. My ankles are swollen from all that running and I need to put my feet up....”

“My fur is so much shorter,” Xiuying said, “and it’s not thick like...like your father’s. Yes, it’s changed a little recently, but—”

“That’s why they’re always over the river,” Mrs. Friedman said. “Your mom and I were swapping some recipes.” She winked at Xiuying. “Just avoid fish for a while. Especially the oily ones....”

“It’s not a risk I can take right now,” Xiuying said, holding herself tightly....

Video

Jan. 4th, 2021 11:04 pm
lolotehe: video (Video)


Exactly the kind of sappy thing that gets me every time.

There ur seeds on the air which wull be trees.
Choreography on the air, danced by bees.
There’s auld licht made braw by a billion stars;
the pure white o’ Venus an’ the red o’ Mars.
lolotehe: Events (Events)
Back before Thanksgiving, I bought a couch. I've never bought a piece of furniture new before, besides a couple office chairs or desks.

The old couch was purchased at Salvation Army by friends and they gave it to me when they moved. So, it was used-used before I had it. Comfy enough, with two reclining seats and center that folded down with drink holders. An absolute monster.

Habitat for Humanity is one of my favorite charities and I've bought stuff for the house at their Re-Store many times. Salvation Army can suck a bag of dicks and Goodwill was not accepting furniture donations.

My only problem was I couldn't get the couch out the front door by myself. Luckily, they said the driver was allowed to come in for it. I said I'd help and he said he had a guy but I explained it wasn't that hard, we just had to rotate it. Once you have the second person, it's a snap.

When I showed him what I meant, he started laughing. "I see it! You know all about this! This ain't your first rodeo!"

So, farewell, old couch. Go make someone happy.
lolotehe: Events (Events)
I put up the lights yesterday. I meant to put them up last weekend, but it didn't happen for various reasons, so they went up yesterday.

I do a line of blue icicles and line of white and can usually get them up in an hour. This is because I have a system and it's worked well for more than ten years.

  1. Turn off porch light (to give it time to cool)

  2. Go to attic to get lights, open attic window and tie off rope

  3. Test lights and note needed replacements

  4. Unwind lights across the front of the house and make replacements

  5. Using a bamboo pole with a notch in it, string lights on existing hooks

  6. Tie remaining strand to rope, go up up attic with pole and pull up strand

  7. Hook lights to hooks on peak. Yes, this is its own step and a tedious one.

  8. Toss down pole, put up tinsel wreath, go downstairs

  9. Attach extension cord, finish hooking

  10. String up lights on porch

  11. Get on stepladder and replace porch bulb with adapter, plug in lights, tie up cord

  12. Turn on lights, put box away in attic, bring down wrapping paper and cards

And after that it's just wrapping presents and writing out cards and Christmas is done.

This year was more tedious as two strands of the white had gone out and one of the blue strands was a different blue than the others. I decided, due to how it works, I could swap out a blue with another and the different shade would be on the peak.

Also, much to my chagrin, I discovered the hook at the peak was missing, so the lights are more of a trapezoid this time around than a triangle. I'll have to hire a guy with a ladder to replace it, but that will be for next year.

Tim across the street was putting up a tree on his porch when I started, so of course he finished before I did. Both of us were distracted by another neighbor out walking her dog. The dog had a toy she was carrying, because another neighbor had put out a collection of dog toys at the curb.

Amazon delivered a package next door at Al and Ester's. You may remember Al as the neighbor who had the brain tumor. Anyway, Ester came home shortly thereafter and said (hand to her chest), "NOW it's Christmas."

"Oh, what'd you get?"

"No, your lights," she said. "I love your lights. That's how I know it's finally Christmas."

I had no idea they meant that much to anyone. We never know, do we?
lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
The kitten books are really about music. Figured I should put some playlists together so you can hear what each one is doing.

I. Veritas Violin we meet the cast
II. Avuncular Adventure Ivan's point of view in Singapore
III. Cornett de Couer Dmitri shows us life at the orphanage*
IV. Maternal Mystery back in the town with Pavel
V. Bellicose Banjo Alexei's story


*There are two tracks Youtube would not let me add to a playlist, as they are for children: a song about fingers and one about making a pizza.
lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
A couple of weeks ago, my neighbor Carol (of lending me traps fame) let me know she'd caught the twisted tail stray that's been chasing Pavel's mother around. She'd gotten him fixed, chipped, and his shots, but wanted to know he could stay in kitten room a bit to recover.

And also, if I could domesticate him.

By the third day, he was purring and leaning into my hand when I pet him. Really, he did the work there.

Today, Carol called and said, well... she already has three cats and it might just be better to let him back out. I suggested she come by at his regular wet-food time and she carry the food down to her place so he could follow. He was an outdoor-only cat for more than a year, after all.

So, we opened the door nice and wide and...

He rolled over on his back and looked at us. He purred. When I tried to push him to the door, he made the "No, that's very scary," sound.

And he let me put him in a carrier. No growling, no hissing, no swatting.

He's tasted indoor life and is not going back.

Which I guess is what we set out to do.
lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
I swear, this scene. Quebecois French is so different from European.



The orange and white passenger laughed when Alexei came out of the house. “Tu as une blonde petite!” he shouted at Duncan.

“Ta gueule
!” Monsieur Duncan said.  “Elle n'est pas ma blonde.”

The driver, a tortoiseshell girl yelled over the passenger seat. “Mais elle est si jolie! Dépêchez-toi et embarque.”

Monsieur Duncan started to crawl in the back hatch.

“Is this your family?” Alexei asked.

Monsieur Duncan shook his head. “School chums.”

Alexei waved at the two cats in the back seat. “You want to be journalists, too?”

“Reymund will be police,” the Persian girl in the back seat said.

Her companion, a black cat, nodded. “Musette is fashion.”

“How do you handle the rust under the battery?” Alexei asked the driver. “What about the fuel hoses?”

Ta blonde aime les chars,” the orange and white cat said.

La vôtre aussi,” Monsieur Duncan snapped back.

The orange and white cat shut the hatch. “We go to a movie.”

Monsieur Duncan said something to Alexei through the back window of the car, but she couldn't hear him.

Allons-y!” the orange and white cat said, getting back in the car.



There's like, three things there that don't translate easily.
lolotehe: Events (Events)
Got the request to disable all the accounts for a user from the third floor today.

He only went to the hospital last week.

After this weekend, he won't need them anymore.
lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
The Kittens K—Ivan, Dmitri, Alexei, and Pavel—all live in the same house now. They’ve recorded an album with Mr. Spencer at his studio and now face their greatest challenge: school.

But, Tuesday is Halloween! While the kittens try to pick out costumes, their uncle Harold prepares for a performance on the grand pipe organ at the concert hall. Meanwhile, their cousins Jeanine and Angela are going to cotillion classes and becoming proper young ladies.

Add to it all, Xiuying is coming to town! While Mr. Benjamin tries to get things ready for his new wife, the kittens find some interesting clues at the local library that may help find their mother and Pavel learns things about his father—his real father.

While the house holds new mysteries, everyone discoverers more about their mothers, and mother-to-be

book back

Mar. 14th, 2020 06:43 pm
lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
Ivan, Dmitri, and Alexei—the Kittens K—have returned to Saint Jerome’s after their adventure in Singapore, when they found their Aunt Calliope and cousins Jeannine and Angela. Their cousin Pavel will also join them when Mr. Benjamin arrives to make good on a promise he made.

But first, the church that founded both the orphanage and surrounding town is having its hundred and fiftieth anniversary. There will be a festival and a concert to celebrate. Everyone is looking forward to the weekend’s events.

So, why is Mr. Benjamin so doubtful the church’s prized possession—a cornett made of bone—isn’t what everyone says it is? What disaster separated the kittens from their mother? Will Mr. Benjamin be able to keep his promise? And why did a town just being built need an orphanage so soon?
lolotehe: Events (Events)
I was up at Northwest and I-35 this morning and swung by the Starbucks to grab a sandwich.

If you check on a map of Dallas, this is pretty much in the center of a LOT of men's clubs (Titty bars! Strip clubs!). I figured the dancers frequent this particular Starbucks.

ME: Everything's shutting down. Are the clubs still open?

BARISTA: No, they're closing, too.

ME: Does that mean everyone's twerking from home?

The only reason I grabbed the sandwich there was we had a mandatory meeting scheduled for my usual lunch time. I was totally ready to ask "Do you think it's wise to collect a bunch of people together in a room for an hour-and-a-half?" but by the time I got back, it had been rescheduled to take place in "Teams" instead of one of the conference rooms.

Everyone is realizing it could have been an email.
lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
In working on the kitten books, one decision I made was Pavel spoke French. I had to put a barrier between him and his cousins and explain why he was generally so quiet. It also allows him to be a cheeky monkey in his native tongue.

C’est moins un provocateur qu’un pédant (said of Ivan)

Les gens comme cela ne sont finalement jamais drôles. (said of a radio station owner)

...as a couple examples.

But why French? Easy. The cat who raised him spoke French. Les serviteurs parlent plusieurs langues. And, more importantly:

Bob looked down at Pavel. “Êtes-vous du Québec ?”
Non, du Ontario ,” Pavel said, getting up.

Which is a thing we explore a little more in the third book.

But, I also wanted to have Pavel sing a verse of the lullaby in French. Now, I had lucked out on an earlier song and reached a good approximate rhyme, bu I wasn't going to be able to pull that off and make something that rhymed in English also rhyme in French. I'm just not that good.

Enter my SL friend Jaelle. She's helped me correct my grammar in other translations, or use the correct word, like to know someone vs. know something. Look at the amazing thing she did for me:

Wind and rain will whistle past
Something here will always last
Storms and dark will pass us by
Our family bond will never die

Pluies et vents passeront
Pour toujours il persistera
Ténèbres et tempêtes hurleront
Jamais notre lien ne mourra.


And sure, it switches from an AABB to an ABAB, but I'm totally OK with that. It's still fucking fantastic it can be done at all.
lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
The Kittens K—brothers Ivan and Dmitri, their sister Alexei, and cousin Pavel—have arrived in Singapore to help their Uncle Harold locate the whereabouts of their long-lost Aunt Calliope and their other cousins.

But first, they meet Mr. Benjamin’s aunt and uncle: Elizabeth and Felix. What did they know about Miss Elephi and TUXI? How did one cat teach another lullaby to three generations and across the world? And what is the origin of a flock of birds able to imitate anything they hear?

The kittens learn the songs of Singapore and the history of a mysterious flute from two years ago. It seems the Veritas Violin wasn’t the only magical instrument in the world, so just what is TUXI planning?

As the kittens discover more about their own family, they also uncover unfortunate truths about Mr. Benjamin, a cat who—in the end—has other plans for them.
lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
The Kittens K—brothers Ivan and Dmitri, and their sister Alexei—are a string trio and about to perform in the last competition of their tour. Everyone is looking forward to going home, even if home is the orphanage where they were raised.

And this is no ordinary competition! The winner of the soloist division is supposed to give a final performance on the Vertias Violin: a very old and perhaps magical instrument. While the kittens face the snobbery of other musicians and the competition organizers, it looks like the winner might be another kitten, who looks oddly familiar....

Not that any adults make it easier. Mr. Benjamin, a monstrous yet musically talented cat with six fingers; Professor Edgar, with his laboratory and its lasers; Detective Theo and the full force of his police station; even a stellar circus—each play a role in an unfolding mystery where one of the strongest clues is a lullaby about a cardboard box.

While everyone looks for one missing item, the kittens get closer to finding something far more precious.
lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
Mr. Benjamin and Pavel were at a shooting booth. The cat running the booth had his ears back and was lashing his tail.

Pavel was already holding two large stuffed animals. “For the orphanage,” he told Dmitri.

“Once you know how misaligned the sight is,” Mr. Benjamin said, “the correction is easy to make.” He fired three times and hit three targets.

“Which one would the gentleman like this time?” the booth operator said.

Mr. Benjamin turned to Dmitri. “You pick. Which would they like the best?”

Dmitri looked at the two Pavel was holding: a bear and a rabbit.

“If you get the big snake, a whole litter can hold it at the same time.”

“Is the snake a popular one?” Mr. Benjamin asked the booth operator. “Maybe, we could trade the others. Or would it be better to get several little ones?”

The booth operator reached behind a counter and pulled out a bag. “Would twenty little bears make you go away?”
lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
So! The kittens have been declared ring-worm free! This means they can be fixed this weekend, on the 30th, then go to the adoption center on the 7th.

Also, as we're far enough away from Halloween, their names have changed.

Ichi "first" https://petharbor.com/pet.asp?uaid=DLLS.A1083296

Nineko "second cat" https://petharbor.com/pet.asp?uaid=DLLS.A1083297

Sannan "third boy" https://petharbor.com/pet.asp?uaid=DLLS.A1083298

<---------- note missing unlucky number four and a jump in control numbers

Kurogo "black five" https://petharbor.com/pet.asp?uaid=DLLS.A1083300

Really, Nineko and Sannan already look a lot like Yon.

I am kinda hoping that missing fourth kitten "primes the pump" so to speak. People will think it's already been adopted.

I suppose it has, just not by a person.
lolotehe: Quote (Quote)
Uncle Harold folded the paper and placed it carefully in his breast pocket. “Right now, we’re in the middle of a new kind of war. There are no big battles and it’s not fought by soldiers. Not the regular kind, anyway.”

“A cold war,” Mr. Benjamin said. “A very special kind of world war. America and her allies are the first world. The Soviet Union and its allies are the second world.” 

“Everyone else,” Uncle Harold said, “those who don't matter or haven’t picked a side yet—are the third world.”



“They have secret missions, like this trip,” Ivan said. He turned back to Dmitri. “They work for a government to fight in the...cold war.”

“What’s a cold war?” Dmitri asked.

“It’s a kind of world war,” Alexei said.

Dmitri’s ears flattened. “The world’s at war again?”

“No,” Alexei said. “More, a war between worlds.”

“Like with Martians?” Dmitri asked. “Space is cold, isn’t it? Why are there Martians in Singapore? Is it because they want all our water?”

Ivan lashed his tail. “They aren’t worlds like that.”

“Is there going to be another laser?” Dmitri asked. “Do we get ray guns?”

Alexei shook her head. “No, we’re fighting the Reds.”

“Mars is the red planet,” Dmitri said.

“There are no Martians!” Ivan snapped.

Dmitri looked very disappointed. “No spaceships, then.”
lolotehe: Events (Events)
We got notice that Otaku Hell was accepted to play at A-Kon this year. Yay, great. Feeling good about that.

I got the schedule on the 14th and saw that NinjaHell! was on there, but not us. OK, slightly worried. I emailed them and let them know I'd done a phrase search on the sheet and only found three instances of "hell", one being inside the phrase "in a nutshell".

"Did you not get a copy of the schedule?" they asked.

"I did; that's why I ask."

They replied:

We have your panel actually slotted for the Alamo Draft house Theater at Saturday 1:15 a.m. - 3:15 a.m.

Now, that's a very late set, so I'll be sleeping all day. I've already taken Thursday and Friday off for it, but this is...unexpected. The show might have to change a bit, but we'll see.
lolotehe: kitties (Kitties!)
Well, now that everyone's been in that room for a while, they've calmed down a lot and their personalities are starting to show.

Mercury: I'd let you pet me more, but you keep cleaning my face.
Venus: I'm the biggest kitten and I know it. Bow before me!
Gaia: I have developed EARS. You may now scritch behind them.
Mars: I love you. You are my safe space. No, don't get up.
Jupiter: You should put your hand on me and feel how soft I am.
Saturn: When you're close, I can see how big your mouth is and it scares me.
Neptune: I'm gonna climb your leg. From inside the pantleg.
Pluto: I don't know if I want you to pet me. We can still hang out.

I gave them a small cardboard box today and instantly regretted not bringing a camera with me. They all tried to get in it at the same time, then they tried to eat it. Someone got so excited, they peed in the box. Goodbye, box.

Mars' eyes are clearing up, as are Saturn's. Mercury's are still messy. Jupiter still sneezes. Looking over things, it's the kittens who still have gunk in their eyes who are the least outgoing, so maybe they can't see that well.

The gas-giants all have very round faces. Mercury and Mars have kinda pug\Persian faces and the rest have long noses. It doesn't feel like they're all from the same litter at all.

They're still on .05cc Doxycycline until the 1st. Of course, everyone has diarrhea as a result. No one's lost any weight, though, so I can feel good about that. We're just doing straight Iams kitten (dry for open feeding and wet after everyone is weighed and gets their meds). I have a bottle of pedialyte in case we have to rescue anyone, but I doubt it will be needed. For a bunch of "sick" kittens, they're all doing pretty well; my smallest is 1 lb 8 oz. At six weeks, that's not bad.
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