It's the little things.

Little did I know that when a package arrived from my sister Susan on Christmas Eve, the wrappings would be the most sought-after spots for cat lounging. Silly me, I should have known.

Here's Zellie with the outer box. She immediately turned it on its side and made it into a cave.

And here's Pumpkin with the paper wrapping that the box inside was wrapped in. Other than the ribbons, it was the only Christmas item that aroused his interest.

Kitties say "Thanks for the presents Susan!" More pictures to follow of the cute and clever gift that was inside.

Dig dig dig...

Das Beetle normally endures inclement weather from the relative comfort of her covered carport. Since I was holding out deluded hope that Kris and Kevin would still come down to visit (they are fellow 'ganders after all), I parked her out in the scary open so that they could have my carport spot if they managed to arrive. I doubt she has ever had this much snow on her slick black roof.

One of the endearing qualities of the New Beetle is that it can be hard to tell which end is which. Snow makes this even more apparent.

The snow was much higher than the bottom of Das Btl's doors!

Rob and I cleared out two spots for our cars because I was still hoping that Kris and Kevin could get out on Sunday, but their streets still had not been plowed. I think our cars make a nice pair.

The tomatoes and bananas were restocked by Sunday though! Armageddon averted, for now. No promises for the next storm though.

THE BLIZZARD THAT ATE DC

Apparently while I was at work yesterday, my friends and neighbors were busy devouring the produce department at the Giant next to my apartment. Where are the bananas? The tomatoes? What surprised me was what was not taken -- the onions were cleaned out, but the broccoli was still looking well-stocked. Asparagus was about half gone. Water? Check. Chips? Try again tomorrow.

But it's pretty!

After I walked to the store, I spent some time in the parking lot helping a couple of people get unstuck armed with my mighty snow shovel and my winter driving skills. I had to try to explain to a guy who spoke little English how to rock himself out of the crater he was in by switching from forward to reverse. One poor guy (the same one who warms up his car if it drops below 40) said he had never seen so much snow in his life. He had summer tires on his Mitsubishi Eclipse and I feel like maybe I should have left him stuck -- it would be safer for him. But my motive was a bit selfish; I wanted his parking spot for Rob if he can make it here.

Everyone, this is Rob. Rob, meet everyone.

Rob and I went to the holiday party where he works, but since no cameras were allowed this is the only picture we have. Here we are!

Happy Michiganders!

We waited for days, hoping that the weather forecasters were right. And they were! About 5 inches of heavy wet snow fell on northern Virginia last weekend, and I got out to Great Falls National Park to enjoy it with Rob and Chris.

Note to Chris's mom: this is totally safe and your son was never in any danger of tumbling into the icy river full of jagged rocks.

This was not -- not -- the only kayaker we saw on Saturday. They appeared to be having fun, but they may have just been delirious with cold.

All is safely gathered in ...

... ere the winter storms begin.

I looked out the window this morning when I woke up, and everything was white.

Callie with vanquished prey

While my parents were in the hospital after their motorcycle accident in September, their cat Shadow ran away. In the last couple of weeks they have adopted two delightful new beasties from the local shelter, and I was elated to get to meet them in person this week. This one is a spritely young girl named Callie. She is full of tricks like the sideways Halloween Cat walk (which I hope to capture on video), and she is a wool sucker. My dad is clearly her favorite human.

The other lucky new family member is Julius, a brown classic tabby with white socks and a lot of black in his coloring. He has been fighting a bad respiratory infection since they got him. I took him to the vet on Monday and he is feeling better every day. I don't like being photographed when I don't feel well, so I will afford him the same courtesy for now. I hope to get a picture of his golden amber eyes and wise mien before I leave in a week!

Mmmm, Cookies!

This afternoon I made Chocolate Mint Snowtop Cookies, which I used to love to make when I was a teenager but I haven't made in years! They were just as good as I remembered.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces (no, you can't substitute milk chocolate chips -- they won't turn out right.)

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon mint extract

~ 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, for rolling dough balls

1. Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt, set aside.
2. In a saucepan heat 1 cup of chocolate pieces over low heat until melted, stirring constantly.
3. Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Beat in granulated sugar until combined. Add in melted chocolate, eggs, vanilla, and mint flavoring. Mix until combined.
4. Stir in flour mixture and remaining chocolate pieces.
5. Wrap dough in plastic wrap. Freeze 30 minutes or until firm enough to shape.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F
7. Shape dough into 1" balls; roll balls in powdered sugar. Place balls about 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are crackled.
8. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet.
9. Transfer to wire racks; cool.

Bring these to your next communal feast! Spread the chocolate mint goodness around.

Autumn Beetle Bling

JoAnn Fabrics is the best place to find inspiration pod filler.

Who do the best things come to?

Apparently the FSM's noodly appendages were keeping my sister's birthday card from getting to me until today, but it was worth the wait. I LOLled.

Kim -- If you're reading this, I'm not sure which one of us is which.

Happy Birthday!

For my birthday, Rob and I went to the National Arboretum, which is becoming one of my favorite places. This picture was taken in the grove of state trees. It has a cluster of each state's state tree -- in this case, a paper birch for New Hampshire.

Oh yeah, and I got my hair cut too! Finally!

We have visitors. Tremendous visitors! (part 1)

Last weekend my eldest sister Susan (a.k.a. "1") came to visit me with her husband Mark and their son Keegan. Keegan is three years old, and understands that saying you want something is for amateurs. If you want something, say "I neeeeed it...", because who can argue with what you need?

Saturday morning we visited the Reston Zoo. It's a petting zoo in Reston, about 20 minutes from where I live. It was a great place to visit with kids. Keegan was a bit shy of all of the goats and sheep rushing to the sides of their pens, but he loved the snakes. He did eventually warm up to the baby kangaroo because he was a bit shyer. They also had adorable bunny rabbits of all sizes, who seemed to revel in piling up for photos.

Then we went to Great Falls National Park. As I had hoped, we saw many kayakers playing in the rapids.

... and it gave Keegan a chance to look cute wearing his "pack-pack".

More to come later, where we visit the Udvar-Hazy center and the World War II Memorial.

Gratuitous Cat Picture

If there's one thing the Intarwebs doesn't need, it's another cat picture. But ... Zellie is so kyoooooooot!

Philadelphia, and an update on mom & dad

For Labor Day weekend, Rob and I went to Philadelphia. I had been there before once but I was there for work so I didn't wander around very much. It's only 2.5 hours from the DC area so it was a great pick for a weekend trip.

Our first stop was Eastern State Penitentiary. Built in the 1820s, it was one of the first large prisons in the US. It was intended by its founders to be an all solitary-confinement prison but that did not last into the 20th century. It closed in 1970 and reopened as a historic site in 1994. When I visited briefly five years ago, I still had to wear a hard hat to go inside. No more hard hats and it's a bit more polished now, which I must admit is a bit of a bummer. The prison has a fascinating history which I won't go into here, but if you live in within a few hours drive it's definitely worth a drive!

The first picture shows how the city grew up around the penitentiary. In the middle is the original guard tower, on the right is a newer tower built in the 60s, and in the background is the skyline of Philadelphia. The bottom picture was taken from a catwalk on one of the cell blocks. They do not plan on completely restoring any of the prison, but I love to imagine what it would have looked like.

One of the neat things about Philadelphia is all of the public art. The picture on the left is a statue is called "Government of the People". Rob thought it looked like a bunch of people holding up a giant pile of feces and I can't say I disagree. I wonder if the sculptor was inspired by that thought. On the right is Philadelphia's city hall, also a delightful building. I heard that the best view in the city is from atop city hall.

Philadelphia is just about as saturated with history as the DC area. The picture below is a memorial to all of the soldiers buried in unmarked graves in this public square. The main inscription reads "Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness".

Update on my parents . . . they both spent a week in the hospital following their motorcycle accident. They both will need months to be back to normal, and I'm going home in a few days to give my sisters a break and spend the week helping them out. My mom has a broken right ankle which required surgery (no driving for weeks) and my dad has both cracked ribs and vertebrae and a broken right shoulder blade. He has to wear a tight brace around his torso when he is not lying down. I'm very glad that they are going to be okay! Thank you to everyone for the well-wishes.

Gut-wrenching

Sunday afternoon my parents were riding their motorcycle on M-55 near Cadillac when a car pulled out in front of them. They were unable to avoid colliding with the car. They were both taken to the hospital in Traverse City Sunday night and are expected to be okay, although my dad is in worse shape than my mom. My mom will probably be released from the hospital tomorrow.

I was spending the holiday weekend in Philadelphia when I got the call from one of my sisters and I've been unable to think about much else since then -- especially since I'm so far away and I wouldn't be able to do anything if I was there -- but seeing this picture of the bike in the weeds being photographed by a state trooper was a bit more shocking than I expected.

Yes, motorcycles can be difficult to see, and no one means to cause harm to others when they are driving. That is why SAFE DRIVING IS A FULL-TIME JOB. A moment's inattention can have tragic consequences. Please take the time to look twice.

An eye patch, a skink, and Ira Glass go to the Ren Fair.

This weekend we (Kris, Kevin, Rob, and I) went to the Maryland Renaissance Fair. A lot of it was the same as last year, but this booth was so cool I had to try on an eye patch. In addition to all of the cool things in the background, he also sold barettes with eyes. I'd love to have eyes in the back of my head, especially at work.

While we were walking around, I finally got a chance to photograph one of the lizards who live here. This one is a five-lined skink, also called a blue-tailed skink. Only the juveniles have blue tails though -- the stripes eventually fade and the males develop red heads. In't she cuuuute? They are supposed to be present in lower Michigan as well, but I never saw any.

I also saw IRA GLASS, the host of This American Life!!! He was right in front of us when we were in line for tickets. He's from Baltimore originally. I controlled myself and didn't ask him for a picture, especially since I already have one from when I saw him in Ann Arbor.

Seema's Engagement

Last weekend I went back to Michigan one more time for Seema's engagement party. It was a tiring drive but I was really glad I went. I haven't seen Seema in months and the party was fabulous. I wore the Indian suit that Seema got me but I had my pants on backwards. That got a laugh out of a few people, but they got me straightened out.

Seema's Nani feeds Saurabh's family as part of the engagement ceremony.

Seema and Saurabh -- I think the ceremony was almost over.

Seema and me, after the party had started breaking up.

Now I don't have any plans to go back to Michigan again until Thanksgiving, but that trip will be a doozy! I'd love to go back and walk the bridge for Labor Day ... sigh.

Barbie Beetle and a Bentley

Sometimes celebrities come to visit us and spend some time in the showroom. For the last couple of weeks, the Barbie Beetle has been hanging out. She has pink parts a-plenty (from wiper fluid cap to brakes), and a riot of rhinestones.

This handsome guy has been lurking in the lobby. Please don't sniff the leather!