Imagine What Could Be

I don't remember where I first saw this picture so I can't give credit to its creator, but I thought it interesting enough at the time to save it.

It probably says different things to different people. The woman may be imagining what she'd look like if she made (and kept) a New Year's resolution to exercise and lose weight. Conversely, she may really see herself this way. I'd really be interested in what you think this image represents.

And then there's this:

So, is this one any different? Does it send the same message to you? Knowing the crazy, daredevil antics of kittens, I would have to believe that this kitten really believes he is a lion. Besides, isn't it solely a human quality to imagine what could be, and then plan and strive to make that happen?

Perhaps this is a good segue to my New Year's Idea (distant cousin to the New Year's Resolution.) The idea is for each of us to form a notion of what could be... something doable... and then try to achieve it. Our theme song for the year could be Lennon's "Imagine" and our mantra Gandhi's "Be the change you wish to see."

Go look in your mirror.

Winter Flora In The South

Although I miss the snow and cold weather of the upper Midwest I really do appreciate the warmth of the winters here. Sometimes the winter weather can linger gray and damp in the lower 40s, but I feel grateful nonetheless for its relative gentleness. To enjoy my surroundings I need to go no farther than my own back yard.

Remember the post from September about the bugs on the leaves? The second photo down showed some seed-filled pods. This is what they look like now. All their seed babies have flown the coop.

I believe this bud belongs to one of our species of roses.
Can you believe it looks so alive like this in December?

Wow. So red without any photo enhancing tricks.

If you couldn't see the dead brown leaves behind this ivy you might think it was summer green.

Here is a "spaceship pod" that Martha didn't use in my Christmas basket. (It's actually a pine cone from our Sweet Gum tree.)

More ivy. This vine is extending its reach along the base of a tree as if it were spring. It knows that even if we were to have snow it could just hold still for a little while until it warmed up again and then continue its progress.

Cozy Banu

I know I've blogged about Banu's love of towels in the past, but I can't pass up another opportunity to show how adorable she is. I had just taken these towels out of the dryer and within minutes she had somehow buried herself completely inside this warm, soft nest.

My pleasant discovery .

Seeing me, the purring starts.

Green eyes, nose half pink half tan, black eyeliner...

... beautiful.

Getting sleepy...

... goodnight.

If you turn up your volume you can hear her purring:

Martha & Ken's First Travel Book

I was so surprised to open a gift that revealed the photographic and narrative talents of my sister and her husband. Avid travelers for years, they have found an enjoyable way to present their labor of love in a form others can enjoy. Below you will see my photographs of their photographs (!) but later I realized that you can just go to www.blurb.com to see it even better.

The photographs are amazing...

...but then so is the occasional narrative. I never knew my sister could write so poetically, so eloquently. Please look at it the next time you're at our house.

Neighborhood Luminarias

Our neighborhood puts out luminarias every Christmas. It takes quite a bit of effort on the part of a few to make sure every house has them on the prescribed night. The result is beautiful; it's like a sparkly fairy land. I wish Cyrus had been here to see the neighbors' Christmas lights surrounded by candle lit paths. Quite heavenly!

A Boy And His Toys

Here are just a few more pictures from this weekend. Pretty soon they'll all leave me again and the house will seem very quiet indeed, sigh... I think the kitties will be happy though, except for Chappu, who seems to have decided she likes the strange bald cat that crawls towards her every chance he gets!

Merry First Christmas to the little boy with the cute little sideways smile!

Havin' too much fun!

Poor Gabriel. He was up so much last night with Cyrus that we had to wake him up to do stockings... huh? What stockings?

Shirin, also sleep deprived, perked right up with the prospect of a hidden toy surprise in her box of Cracker Jack!

You may see the indicator in the white "naughty" section of Cyrus' stocking but when Santa filled the stocking the indicator was on the top section labeled "Nice."
Who did that?

A nice blue and white striped hat...

... a new bib with a kitty on it...

...jus' stylin' dude...

...oh yeah, and socks.

In preparation for walking Cyrus has begun transferring from one support object to another fairly well. Listen for his new sound - the consonant "D" pronounced "dih" :-)


Apparently, I too am a support object. Listen to the impact as he hits the floor; that's one sturdy kid!:



Here's a short little video of Cyrus heading for Chappu. I'm not sure why he stopped short; usually he goes for the gold! Yesterday he actually grabbed her face gently and she just sort of moved her head back. I thought she'd walk away (or kill him!):


Cyrus is preparing for the next Florida gathering by practicing his ball skills:


Figuring out the new electronic book (his version of a kindle):

First Taste Of Persian Food

I know, the pictures don't match the title, but that's because the title refers to the first video. I'll be talking about "today" but since it's after 1 AM it's actually tomorrow so "today" is yesterday... oh never mind.

After a nice breakfast Shirin, Cyrus, and I decided (it was Cyrus' idea) to take a walk around Cherry Park. It was pretty warm today so the walk felt great.

I'd be all smiles if someone were pushing me around in a stroller too.

Ok, the set up to the first video is that Cyrus had already eaten his sweet potatoes and was experimenting with his first taste of Persian food before I began recording. Since he's eaten pretty simple stuff so far the Persian food was more of a gamble, but he clearly liked it and kept eating it even though he wasn't that hungry any more.


And the clean up:

He's Gonna Find Out Who's Naughty Or Nice

Uh-oh, I think someone may be in trouble. He's only got a few more days to convince Santa he doesn't belong in that lowest black zone on his stocking labeled, "Lump of Coal Naughty."

Cyrus' stocking

Videos Galore

Shirin's post from a few days ago mentions that Anahita isn't getting enough Cyrus media, so here we go.

Saeed took this video for you, Anahita. Hope you like jumping!


This story is told in two videos. Cyrus had never before seen the crawling Winnie the Pooh bear and is very clearly frightened of it. I quit recording so he could climb up into my lap and get some comfort. During the second video he gets to watch Winnie from afar and his Grandpa's silly clapping puts him at ease. Damn that Winnie the Pooh!




This next one is really pretty silly, but we were trying out Cyrus' new stroller. I love his reaction to my interview question, sort of like, "I don't have to answer that question."


Here the men are making more manly noises. I love the way Cyrus first goes into a trance with the back rub.


OK Khaleh Tita, that's it for now.

Our New Buddy

We just got home from our new best buddy's house. In an effort to give Shirin some more study time we went to play with Cyrus and do a little laundry. We were pretty busy so I didn't take any pictures (except this one.) In addition to laundry we did a little bit of cleaning. Saeed kindly cleaned out and reorganized the refrigerator; I hope Shirin and Gabriel can find everything and don't starve to death.

So why do I call Cyrus our new buddy? Because he really seems to like us and want to be with us. Of course, as we discussed later on the drive home, he is a very friendly baby and probably is totally ecstatic with anyone who will perform the required support tasks, but we seemed to detect a new degree of recognition (on his part) of who we are. Well, that's our story and we're sticking with it.

We did take some video though, so I'll be uploading and posting as they're ready.

Tail Chaser

Lupe still thinks she's a kitten. She chases her tail every morning, sometimes while we're still asleep. (Yes, this is the same cat that wakes me up a lot.) Usually this event occurs on our bedroom floor while we're getting ready for work, so I've never stopped long enough to record it. She's pretty noisy about it too; I can be downstairs and hear her upstairs thumping on the floor as she twirls around pouncing on her tail.

She also likes to chase her tail in the bathtub while I'm scooping litter, so last night I taped it. I love the way she stands upright but looks over her shoulder at the wiggly little tip until she can't resist it any longer... and when she sits on her rump and reaches down in front of her to grab it... and when she walks toward the drain and then whips around to surprise her tail. Silly girl.

Confessions Of A Muggle

As I mentioned in an earier post, I am reading the Harry Potter series. I didn't want to read them, I never thought I'd read them, and I certainly didn't think I'd like them.

I'm hooked.

I'm on book #4 of seven. I obtained the first three books through BookMooch, the online book swapping site I use to get books, but #4 was unavailable. I felt like an alcoholic without a drink on a Sunday morning in South Carolina. Desperate circumstances call for desperate measures: I called a friend and asked her to bring #4 to work for me to borrow. When I first saw her at work I tried to nonchalantly greet her as always, but I'm sure she saw the addict's gleam in my eye. Did she have it with her? - yes!

So, what makes an adult who's not into reading juvenile literature fall in love with these stories? I don't know... I'm still trying to answer that question. Surely Rowling writes well... the plots are good... the characters are entertaining... but is that enough? Perhaps the appeal is in the mystery, the thrill of finding out who done it, and the magical events which are clever and not too far-fetched. I'll just keep reading and let you know when I've figured it out.

Ta ta for now, you muggles!

Don't Forget To Shop Kindly

As you do your Christmas shopping, consider the full impact of your choices. A couple of ideas to consider...

*1) Do not give an animal as a gift. An animal needs care and attention for the length of its lifetime. Shelters are full of animals that were "a good idea at the time."

*2) Do not give a gift that is made from the suffering of animals: leather, fur, meat, etc..

*3) Look to be sure toiletries, perfumes, etc. have not been tested on animals and meet the Leaping Bunny criteria.

*4) If you have pets be sure to keep them safe and secure during all the holiday changes. Decorations can be deadly if ingested, noise and chaos can upset animals used to a quiet house, and opening the door for guests can result in an indoor pet running outside and getting lost.

Most people don't hurt animals on purpose.

Make sure you don't hurt them accidently.

Exhaustion

Ok, so maybe my exhaustion doesn't compare with that of the parents of a certain six month old, who have recently been woken up every two to three hours throughout the night. But I have a demanding baby of my own named Lupe.

The Rascal.

Lupe seems to think that I don't need to sleep past 4:30, 5:00 in the morning, weekend or not. She sits on top of me and digs at my body till I wake up. If that doesn't work she jumps up on the bookshelf to pull on my earring display so that it crashes (repeatedly) into the wall, "clank, clank, clank, clank."

You would think we'd get mad at her and throw her out of the bed, or even shut her out of the bedroom, but ahhh.... then you don't understand the love of a true cat lover. Usually if it's a weekday I just get up since I have to get up really early anyway. But if it's a weekend we just open our eyes and look at each other and laugh, and see if she'll let us go back to sleep.

Imagine my joy when I found this drawing on a blogger's website. "Speck" has two blogs, one to just chat about what's going on, and the other more oriented to her artwork. I wrote her that she has captured a bit of my life in this sketch: Layli sleeping on my left side, and Lupe digging at my head. It looks so cute, so picturesque, so... comfy. Is there a way to sketch exhaustion? Yaaaawwwwnnnnn... ...hhhhmmm ... ...I'm going to have to start going to bed at 7:30.

Sparkly Surprise

The other day our mail carrier left a big box on our front steps. Hmmm... what could that be? Upon closer inspection it was from Martha, but it seemed too early for a Christmas present and the box was so light I wasn't sure there was anything in it! As you can see she made a beautiful decorative Christmas basket full of shiny miniature gifts, pine cones and lights.

These are not just any pine cones though. The larger cones are from the campgrounds where she and Ken stayed when they came to visit two springs ago. The smaller ones are from the sweet gum tree in our back yard. She called them "space ship pods" which very accurately describes their appearance! They are decorated with a sparkly paint that makes it look like they have snow on them. How neat that she made this with cones/pods from the local flora.

Oooh! And how pretty! This picture doesn't do it justice.

Thanks Martha!

So Many Books, So Little Time

This is me at my happiest. I love to read books more than just about anything. A good book, a cup of tea or coffee, some warm fuzzy slippers and a kitty on my lap and I'm in heaven. Fortunately Saeed also shares my passion for reading. Our favorite "dates" are at coffee shops or Earth Fare's cafeteria where we can read till they kick us out. Even better is our own living room where we are soon snuggled in with five cats (or in the piano room with three cats.) I'm also lucky that Shirin loves to read (I'm working my way through {and enjoying} the Harry Potter series at her behest), that Gabriel loves to read (I read {and loved} "Time Traveler's Wife" at his suggestion), that Anahita likes to read (I sent her my copy of "A Long Way Gone" and "For The Love Of A Dog") and my sister as well. Martha sends me her books when she's done with them, and there's no better present than a box full of books from my sis!

Martha recently sent me "Better" which I enjoyed so much. I think anyone would get a lot out of it, but since I work with doctors it was especially meaningful.











She also sent me (which I'm reading now) "The Glass Castle", the amazing true life story of Jeannette Walls, currently an MSNBC gossip columnist. Here's a great description, taken from
www.thereadinggroupguides:
The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family. The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered. The Glass Castle is truly astonishing -- a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar, but loyal, family. Jeannette Walls has a story to tell, and tells it brilliantly, without an ounce of self-pity.

So many books, so little time.

Catnip Coma

Sometimes before I begin cleaning house I initiate an activity that is great fun for the kitties who will soon be running and hiding from the vacuum cleaner. I sprinkle catnip on the carpet and on their toys. It takes all of 20 seconds for them to begin rolling around in pure ecstasy. It really is somewhat chaotic, since it seems to cause irrational behavior and alternating states of consciousness! It was hard to get good pics. Maybe next time I can capture it on video.

Tippy is hugging the lime-green doggie while Obi, Frosty Paws, and Calvin have licked up the catnip and are in various stages of stupor.

They look like two stoned hippies.

Enjoy it while you can Obi, before the vacuum cleaner makes its appearance.

Ok, time to quit posting and start cleaning the house. Aargh.

Final Cyrus Pics And Videos

These are the last of my pictures and videos from last weekend's visit. I'm not sure I ever explained why Cyrus is now in a cage like a wild animal, but I guess it's fairly self-explanatory!

When I was a small child my European parents took me everywhere they went. To keep me safe they put me in a harness that attached to a leash; this allowed me to walk wherever I wanted within leash's limits. I remember people looking at the situation with some disapproval, as if my parents were treating me like a dog, but those Europeans knew what they were doing! Now you can find similar contraptions in American stores.

Where The Wild Things Are

The new thing: sucking the lower lip.

Preparing the pigskin for a pass:
spitting and sucking on the end so it spirals just right.

Will you look at that hold!! Are there any recruiters out there?

Cyrus with his mommy....

... and Cyrus with his daddy.

OK, now some videos for Cyrus' Khaleh Anahita.

This first video showcases Cyrus' talent for blowing a raspberry and then practicing his "man" sounds so he can sound like his Grandpa:


Stange woman with a silly cow rattle makes Cyrus giggle:


Cyrus doesn't seem to be aware that I'm looking at him through a hole in the barrier but once I get up above it and say "hello" he's all grins:


This one is kind of long. We realized that Cyrus crawls around so much easier when he's naked! Those long pants just get in the way, so Shirin first stole his clothes, and then stole all his toys so he would have to go get them (mean mommy!) My favorite part about this video is how he now "talks" to his toys: