That is Totally Unacceptable

Meredith likes Skittles. Periodically, we ask in guild chat what everyone is eating as we head into a raid or an event or just to make conversation, like last night when I took a long flight so I could finish eating a piece of chocolate cake. Meredith eats Skittles.

She had a conversation on Facebook about needing a proper bowl in which to hold the Skittles. Just having them in the bag wasn't really acceptable. The bag can rip and spill your snack all over the floor, not that I've ever had that happen to me. She found something that looked, from her photo, to be brushed aluminum or steel. It was a sleek design but, at least as far as I was concerned, didn't have much life to it. If you're going to sit at the computer and eat Skittles, the least you can do is eat them out of a unique container. And with that phrase, an idea was born. I would set out to find Meredith a unique bowl in which to hold her Skittles.

Thankfully, this is the start of fair season. Every weekend, one can find some sort of arts and crafts fair in the Chicagoland area. The first weekend of the month was Wheaton's Cream of Wheaton festival which featured arts and crafts. I figured I'd start there and see what I could find. The first tent I walked into was a potter. She had exactly what I wanted at the price I wanted to pay for something unique.

Now, I didn't set out to match the Skittles bag to the inside of the bowl. That was a happy accident. I didn't want anything too big. It had to hold at least a half a bag and if it held the whole bag, that was a huge plus. I saw several bowls that were cheaper than this but they were also much lighter in weight. As I turned them over in my hands, I realized that they had the potential to be knocked off the desk top.

So, I spend $5 to get a hand made bowl, but it lasts all of two weeks because it's so lightweight, the cord from the mouse knocks it onto the floor. Well, there is no value in that.

This bowl, as you see, has a "foot". That extra edge and its thickness, combined to give this weight. Even if Meredith's mouse cord gets caught on the "other" side of the bowl, it's not going to cause it to go flying. I had to send it with a couple bags of Skittles and, it appeared to me, that the bowl would hold almost a whole bag. I made the creator's day too by being her first sale. I can't find the business card I took so I can link to her site. She had some unique pieces, including handmade buttons. If I ever get around to making that new fall coat I keep thinking I want, I'll seriously consider getting handmade buttons for it.

This was a hit with Meredith. She's sent so many wonderful boxes of awesome to me that something like this is the least I could do to repay her kindness. While her other bowl was okay, it really wasn't acceptable for someone as unique as her. Now, she has a one-of-a kind treasure for her Skittles.

Beverage:  Yorkshire Gold Tea

Deb

The Start of Summer

Wheaton has been holding this festival, entitled Cream of Wheaton, for a long time. The Chamber of Commerce and the Park District combine to sponsor the event. It's free and held in and around Memorial Park which is just north of downtown.

I've decided that part of getting back into life is to attend things like this which have little to no cost, other than gas and maybe parking, depending upon where it's located. Plus, I was looking for a gift for a friend, a specific gift, and I knew Cream of Wheaton had an arts and crafts component to it.

Memorial Park is where the Disney Channel set up a radio broadcast.

It's also where businesses in Wheaton or serving Wheaton were invited to rent a spot and hawk their wares. My impression? This is the most boring part of the event. There must have been at least a half dozen tents offering massages and chiropractic evaluations. There were banks. There were insurance agents. There were city departments and representatives of the garbage service. There were places where grade school kids could make posters and the Park District had a long table advertising their programs. The guy advertising the Wisconsin Dells would not take "No, thank you" for an answer so I filled out his entry for a free weekend. Is it bad that I put the phone number of the old Internet line that I had discontinued back in March? I'd take a free weekend, but I am not interested in having sales people call.

The arts and crafts part of the festival was very interesting. There were two blocks of tents.

I found what I came for in this section. Along here was a tent for Wheaton College's "Artist Series" concerts. I've seen some very good performances at Wheaton College over the years. At the far right, above, you see some kids coloring on a large mural. It was an advertisement for Wheaton's Cosley Zoo. You could color on the mural and then get a free photo of yourself with the mural. Well, I suspect it wasn't completely "free" as the photos were sponsored by Allstate.

Here's the other block of tents, right around the corner from the above.

I found the cat toys in this group of tents. The gals who made the cat toys also had some very nice wallets. They had one in a dog print. If they'd have had a cat print, I'd have purchased it. They took my email and are supposedly going to contact me with prices for making a wallet in the cat print. I'm also kind of kicking myself as the statuary display at the far right had a couple of things my brothers would like.

There was music in the bandshell in Memorial Park from the Disney Channel and music in front of the old Wheaton Theater from local musicians. Carnival rides were stretched from Hale Street to Water Street.

Although it was cloudy, it was reasonably warm. The carnival "opened" at noon and they were in the final stages of getting things set up when I wandered by. The festival managed to stay dry until 4:15, when the skies opened and it poured. You can't help but think about the vendors out in the open or people who might have been on the Ferris wheel at the time.

I walked a fair chuck on Saturday. It was a fallacy to think there would be any spaces in the downtown parking garage so I didn't even check. Plus, so many streets were closed for the carnival and for the vendors that even getting around downtown required patience. I parked 5 blocks away and walked. It was an hour and a half on my feet, in good shoes, mind you, but my left knee let me know it wasn't very happy.  The next day, I certainly felt the repercussions of all that walking.

Still, this is a good thing for me to do, get out and go to these things. Even if all I get are 3 catnip mice for $2.00, it gets me out and moving. This coming weekend is the Printer's Row Book Fair in downtown Chicago. I know. I know. I don't need any more books, but that's, technically, not the point. There is a free festival somewhere every weekend between now and Labor Day. The point is to get out of the house and do things. Festivals are the way to go.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

Festival Eats

One of the things I commented on, when I turned in my observations about the Ale Fest, was the lack of food vendors. I have never seen beer as being something consumed alone. Beer is best when it goes with things. Even meeting someone for a beer generally results in the bar having some sort of snack available. So, I was very disappointed with the food offerings at the Fest. It was quite humorous to see people with pretzel necklaces, a string on which were threaded a lot of pretzels. Obviously, they had done this before.

I had a hearty breakfast, my usual Saturday oatmeal, but by noon, I was ready for something. The trouble is, the pickings were not very good. A chocolate shop had a guy with a cart and he was selling popsicles and ice cream sandwiches. The ticket-mentioned sausage and cheese tasting was nowhere to be seen. There was a restaurant selling skewers, a tent with sausages, a guy with cinnamon sugared nuts and a guy, way down at the far end, with one of those vans with the kitchen in it. He was selling sandwiches.

Come on. Beer deserves hot dogs, sausage, pizza, chicken wings, giant soft pretzels, and sandwiches of roasted chicken breast, hamburgers, cheeseburgers and thin sliced ham piled high on a sourdough roll. I realize this is the first year, so I will cut them some slack but I hope they recitify this next year. They had a lot of the tall tables out so there were places to stand, drink and eat.

I wasn't sure what I wanted but I wanted something. There was a gal walking around the grounds who was acting as an ambassador for the Downtown Business Association. She told people, "Go to the yogurt shop and tell them they have the best yogurt. You get 15% off." Frozen yogurt and beer? Not a great combination but I was really hungry. I rinsed out my glass, drank half a glass of water and went to the yogurt shop.

Chocolate frozen yogurt covered with chocolate chips and sprinkles. It was also air conditioned in the shop and it felt good to get off my feet in some place cool.

I savored the coolness of the shop and watched as a 3 people came in feeling overwhelmed by the heat and humidity. That's when I realized they didn't have a cooling center set up and they really needed to. Again, this is the first time for this so I hope that's an idea they adopt for next year.

I went back out into the festival and had a couple more beers. I was still hungry for something that really went with beer so I stopped at the sausage tent.

It's a simple hot dog. They had a bratwurst with onion and peppers. I love brats but with spicy mustard. They had another sausage that was made with chipotle peppers and a couple of other things that didn't appeal to me. There was nothing, other than this hot dog, that was simple. I thought back to all the times I've gone to a baseball game. Beer, hot dogs, pizza, pretzels and brats; simple brats, made without additional flavors, nothing "designer" about it. That's what I wanted. The sandwich truck at the far end had steakburgers, slabs of meat between bread. I wanted to say, "The food does not need to compete with the beers. Can't we have plain?"

I felt sorry for those people who signed up as Designated Drivers. While they got a discount on their ticket and got a separate bag of goodies, the food available to them wasn't stellar. I hope there is more of a selection next year.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb

Souvenirs

I'm not quite sure what I will do with the lanyard and the VIP tag. The shirt I have had for some 20 years. I made that. It seemed to be the appropriate shirt for a festival involving beer.

This is a nice, heavy, glass which everyone got for tasting. On the back side is a line marking 3 ounces. You could have less but you couldn't have more at one time. In the time I was there, I never heard the unmistakable sound of breaking glass as one of these was dropped. Maybe that happened later or maybe it didn't happen at all. This is something I'll hang on to. It's very good quality.

We VIP's got a tee shirt. I really need another tee shirt like I need bubonic plague but they did not skimp on the shirt. These are heavy duty cotton with a well printed design. Sometimes, these festival shirt designs can peel as you're walking out to your car.This is going to hold up over several washings.

We got VIP on the arm...

and the slogan on the back. A few people were wearing their shirts over what they had come in. Most people were carrying their shirt around. I used mine as a towel to mop off my sweaty brow. They checked you in and crossed off your name when you got your tee shirt.

I hope each year's tee shirt is just a little different, not that I'm looking to add to my shirt collection. It's just that if you wind up attending something for a long time, it's nice to pull a shirt out of the closet and think, "Oh yeah, that was the 4th annual festival because the shirt was yellow."

This souvenir I could do without even though I know it's necessary. I hate these things. Invariably, I put it on either too tight or too loose. Then, when you get home, the only way to get it off is to cut it off. VIP's got green bands while general admission was red.

I didn't go to get a tee shirt and a glass. I went to try something new. These are, however, nice items to get for forking out more money to come early.

Beverage:  Earl Gray tea

Deb

An Afternoon with Ale

I know people are waiting for my photos and my reactions to the first annual Wheaton Ale Fest. Here goes post #1 in what will be a series of posts.

 

It rained Saturday morning and the threat of rain hung around all day. It was overcast by 12:30 which kept the temperature down. But the humidity! Oh the humidity. "Dripping" is a nice word to use. 85 degrees is fine but when the humidity is around 70%, it's still uncomfortable. The above photo is at Hale and Front Streets. 

My ticket said 12-5. It also said that VIP people would get in an hour earlier. It was not specified anywhere that I saw, that this 12-5 time included the VIP early arrival time. Plus, I received emails every day from July 30th, reminding me this was upcoming, that they were sold out of VIP tickets, that proper behavior was expected, that parking was here and here, etc. I found those emails to be very informative. For a festival revolving around alcohol, daily reminders that proper behavior was expected is not too much.

I am glad I arrived at 11, however. They started lining people up at 11:30. The real entrance was not clearly marked, something I pointed out in my post-event comments. A flag or some other marker would distinguish where the actual entrance was. People were going to the fence at the street, when the actual entrance was a few steps to the south. 

And to further discuss the event times, as we are standing on line, people who were not VIPs got in line since it was obvious this was the line going in. They had to be turned away and told to wait for an hour. 

We were processed through very efficiently. Because I had a VIP ticket, I got a lanyard, a heavy glass drinking glass and a tee shirt. I was supposed to get a sausage and cheese tasting but never found that. 

The tents visible at Hale and Front were the bigger brewers, Sam Adams and Goose Island. I know them. I've tasted their beers. I wanted the small craft beers. Those were across Main Street. 

The fest took up two blocks of Front Street, from Hale to Cross. This view, looking east, is where the micro/craft beers were located. I know this will sound really odd, coming from me, but this is where I did the majority of my drinking.

 

Each tent had two companies. I don't know how they decided who got which tent. I love dark beers so those were the ones I searched out first. I started with Grumpy Troll. I mean, with a name like that I had to stop there. Very nice. I tried Grumpy Troll's summer ale which had a honey flavor to it. It was nice but not something I'd regularly order.

I had an Emmett's Red which was too bitter for me. There was another dark from a brewery I didn't write down that I liked, a lot, and then an Old Brown Dog Ale that, while not the stout consistency, was a dark brown and very good. I also had Great White because they advertised it as a "citrus India Pale Ale" and the name is great. The combination just seemed strange enough that I would like it. I did. I wasn't sure I'd like a light colored beer but the distinct flavor of oranges and lemons was very nice. 

I went to Limestone Brewing Company. They did not have their dark beers with them so I tried The Wheatlander. It was okay, but I've had better German-inspired beer. At this point, I looked around and decided to head back the other direction and just see what Sam Adams and Goose Island had with them.

The press release on Sunday said 1700 people funneled through the festival. 

There were lines by some of the tents but they were not impossibly long. I think the most you had to wait was 2-3 minutes. Goose Island had a peanut butter beer. I kid you not. It was supposed to have a "delicate" peanut butter finish. I tasted the peanut butter, alright, and decided it was not for me. It's the only beer, out of all that I tried, that I did not finish. I added water to it and poured it out. 

I went to the Sam Adams tent and they had a beer with a pear finish. Having had Great White with the citrus overtones, I was interested to see how pear would work. It was okay. I can see people liking it but it's not a beer I would order.

After drinking the pear Sam Adams, it was now pushing 2:15 and my knees were beginning to ache. I had consumed enough, for me, and felt that I'd gotten a good value for my VIP ticket. So, I packed it in and headed home. Having arrived early, I found a spot on the street a couple blocks from the festival. This is the east end.

The people they had stationed at each end of the "blocks" were very knowledgeable, not only about the festival, but about downtown Wheaton in general. They often directed people to places in downtown or how to get around this event. 

Wheaton has a French Market every Saturday from May through October and it was going on at the same time as the festival. It ends at 2. That was a great idea because I saw people come from the market to the festival. 

Police presence was there and then it wasn't there. They directed traffic at Main and Front streets for sure, but there were uniformed officers walking with the crowd. They said hello to people and thanked them for coming to the festival, but they were not obtrusive. 

There were just enough volunteers to man all the booths and to do the things that needed to be done at a festival like this. One of the problems they had was not every brewer who sent their wares sent someone who knew about the beers or sent any kind of publicity. A few of the booths were manned by festival volunteers who said, "I don't know anything about the beers. I'm just here pouring them." That's too bad because so much of the presence of a craft beer is having someone who knows it tell you about it as they serve you. There were a couple of brewers who didn't show up, too. 

I saw on the Facebook page that people who arrived as I was leaving ran into the problem of some tents running out of beer. That is something I don't quite understand. The festival was limited to 2000 people. Surely you can plan for how much beer you need to serve 2000 people realizing that some will come back more than once and some people won't care to try what you have. 

Another thing I told them they need are cooling centers. I stopped to get some yogurt and there were 3 people inside the shop because it was air conditioned. If it had been one of those horribly hot July Saturdays we had, more people would have been in there. While that's probably good for his business, you don't want people collapsing from the heat. They should have gotten those mist towers and provided a place where attendees could go to recover from the heat. 

Bottom line, I had a great time. It was akin, in price, to attending a concert. I think it was a good value for how long I stayed and what I got. If I can afford it, I will go again next year. 

Beverage:  Earl Gray tea

Deb

Decisions Decisions

The list of brewers coming to Wheaton Ale Fest next weekend has been announced.

 

Looking this over, I know Blue Moon and Sierra Nevada. Neither is an Illinois brewer. I just learned about Magic Hat. They are from the Northeast US. And look, Leine's. I remember when Leinenkugel was very regional. You couldn't get it in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, where I went to college. We had to rely on someone heading north into their delivery area to purchase some and bring it back. Plus, unlike Old Style, which you could get for pennies, Leine's was expensive for the average college student. We used to pool cash to have enough for a couple of bottles for everyone on the dorm floor. I like Leine's, but they aren't, anymore, a what I would consider a micro-brewer. 

I can't drink a lot. First of all, I'm sure the Wheaton constabulary will be watching all the roads out of downtown Wheaton. Second, my medication has the nice "Restrict consumption of alcohol while taking this medication" label on the side. As a VIP ticket holder, I get a sampling glass which I shall make great use of. I won't be drinking the Blue Moon, Sierra Nevada or Leine's as I know those beers. Do any of my readers have a familiarity with any of the names on the list? Where should I start? 

This should be interesting but, more importantly, a lot of fun. It's time I treated myself to some fun. 

Beverage:  Scottish Blend tea

Deb

Ticket Procured.

I got my VIP ticket for this event today. It's printed and on my fridge. If the weather is nice, I can walk here from my house. Even rainy, I could put on my raincoat and walk. Although I don't wish the days to pass any more swiftly than it appears they currently do, I'm excited to go. www.wheatonalefest.com gets you all the details. 

Beverage:  Cranberry Grape Juice

Deb

I Think I Need to Be Here

I just found out about this today. It popped up on the side of my Facebook page. It seems this is an inaugural event.

It's Saturday, August 6th. Craft brewers from around Illinois will be competing for Illinois All-Star Ale Award. Tickets are $40 for General Admission and $65 for VIP admission. If I have the $65 and they haven't sold out because that's limited to 200 people, I'm going to get the VIP ticket. You get a t-shirt, which I don't really need, but you also get to sample sausage and cheese and rare and limited edition beers. Every attendee gets a free glass.


This is actually quite humorous to someone like me who has lived in this city since 1981. When we first moved here, Wheaton was dry. With Wheaton College and a plethora of religious organizations making their home in Wheaton, there was no incentive to change that. In 1984, however, a referendum went on the ballot to allow packaged stores. I can remember not being in favor of it, not because I don't believe in drinking alcohol, far from it, but the city had a character I rather liked because it was dry. The voters ruled Wheatonites could purchase alcohol. Then restaurants were allowed to serve it and now, you can get limited alcohol at some city festivals. So the idea that we are hosting an alcohol-driven event causes me to guffaw. City founders would be shocked, shocked, to see this.

So, if any of my area friends would like to tag along, let's do it. If it's a nice day, we can walk the 2 miles from my house to the festival. I'm excited at the prospect of some finely crafted beers to sample. Maybe I'll find a new favorite.


If you're interested in more information, www.wheatonalefest.com.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Second year in a row.

I'm rather glad I made the decision on Tuesday to stay home and not go to the Illinois St. Andrew Society's Highland Games today. There is a music event tonight and they like to have clans set up on Friday and be at their tents from 4 to 7 p.m. About a third of the clans actually do that.

The weather forecast was for hot and humid conditions with a large threat of rain in the afternoon, similar to last year. Jon had to go cover a shot at a quarry and said 70 mph winds were predicted about the time the shot was to go off. Fortunately, the quarry superintendent pushed the shot up because he has weather radar and noticed a rather icky (technical term there) line of storms coming from Iowa marching east.

I had to go to the post office and the bank before coming home. At 3 p.m., I noticed the sky was growing dark and turbulent. I made the decision to leave the office early. Post office? Check. Bank? Check. Drive home and get comfortable and the storm came through at 3:54 p.m.

I would have still been at the office; we get done at 4; and I would have stayed there and not driven home. Even with working wipers, there's no reason to head into the teeth of a gale.

When it rains sideways, there really isn't anywhere you can go in one of those exhibition-type tents that a cube with a top on it. It would not have been a good start to the weekend.

It's just raining right now, a steady rain. It looks like another 30 minutes of rain and then it clears up. Supper is the rest of the pint of Ben & Jerry's Cheesecake Brownie ice cream. I'll get donuts tomorrow for myself and Peter and Mary from Clan Wallace who will be next to me. Other than some warmth, it's supposed to be a nice day tomorrow.

For the Society's sake, I'm glad the storms rumbled through now. People will still come for the music tonight. Although I feel badly for not being there, this year, it was the right decision.

Beverage: English Breakfast tea

Deb

Happy Music

Music hath charms to soothe a savage beast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.

--William Congreve

Such a familiar quotation, but it's true. What you are listening to says a great deal about who you are.

Everyone knows I listen to jazz. My parents listened to singers who have been given the moniker "crooners"; Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perry Como, Bing Crosby. They grew up in the 1950's, when the solo jazz artist was in his prime. Swing's time had passed with the end of World War II. People listened to music. I remember my father, who couldn't carry a tune in a dump truck, singing all these jazz standards to the cows as he milked them. It doesn't seem at all a stretch to be a jazz lover now. "Lady What-ga"? Rap? Isn't that another term for knocking on something, like a door?

I fire up my iMac, turn on iTunes and let the music flow. I have a little over 5 days worth of music. In true collector form, there a number of tunes for which I have 4 or 5 versions, my favorite jazz standard, "April in Paris", is an example. My iTunes play list probably consists of 70% jazz in some form and the rest in classical, pop, celtic, folk, Christmas, movie music and other eclectic categories.

When I'm contemplative, there is nothing like Copeland, Mussorgsky, Grieg or Joshua Bell. I don't usually have music playing when I read because I find myself pulled towards interaction with the music when I have chosen interaction with the printed word. When I play World of Warcraft, the games sounds and musical snippets get repetitive, so I'll turn on my iTunes, set the sort for some category and let it go. In the summer, if I'm sitting on the deck, I'll some times crank up the volume on the computer, which sits right by the window, and pump Ella and Louis and Frank and Dizzy out into the atmosphere. The Beach Boys can't be beat for driving around Chicago with the top down on a July Sunday.

As I'm cleaning my house in preparation for a visit from my daughter, I've had 'happy' music on. Generally, this consists of peppy jazz, Count Basie and Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman with some Glenn Miller thrown in for good measure. But I also include my favorite Scottish band, Old Blind Dogs, in the category of 'happy' music. The skirl of the pipes, the bouzouki, the fiddle make a nice counterpoint to buffing windows, dusting pictures and door frames and sorting and shredding mountains of papers.

I was listening to WDCB, College of DuPage. Last night, I turned on the radio before going to bed, just to unwind. They were running promos of upcoming programs and this music came out of my radio in response to a promo for "Mountain Stage". It was peppy. It was bouncy. It was happy. Who is this? Pine Leaf Boys. Never heard of them.

So, this morning, I did some research. Oh man. I will have to find a way to get one of their CDs. I could play this music a lot. Give them a listen. Go to the "Media" tab and click on the videos. This is infectious music. I see they were at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, the venue where Carole and I saw a lot of Old Blind Dogs. I couldn't afford to attend a concert there right now, but Chicago has a lot of free festivals during the summer. Maybe they will turn up on the venue for one of them. I'm thinking, like OBD, listening to them live is much more of an experience.

Tonight, I work on the living room. Maybe some Nat King Cole?

Beverage: China Black Tea

Deb

Kitteh visits

I went to visit Val and her cats. No pressure to take them, no not at all.

"I told Dawn that you were thinking about taking them and everyone at the clinic is really excited. They all think you're awesome and really couldn't think of a better person for them."

Did I say no pressure? HEY! Put that screwdriver away and don't tighten those!

Yes, I have actually considered NOT getting any more cats, at least through the end of the year. There is something to be said for being able to linger in places because I don't feel I have to be home. I look ahead at what I may be doing; Scottish festival in Iowa at the end of September, 30th class reunion in LaCrosse at Viterbo College (yeah, yeah, I know it's called 'University' now, but it will always be 'College' to me), and the thought of using up my vacation days with a visit to my daughter, which she didn't know about until she reads this. Plus, there's Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's tossed into the mix.

It is undeniable, however, that I am lonely. I nearly had a heart-attack on Wednesday night. I went to bed at my usual time, but I find I am not sleeping well and am waking up at odd hours and noises. I will swear, on any size stack of whatever religious tome you wish, that I heard a cat jump from a windowsill to the floor. If you have heard it, it is an unmistakable sound; feet hitting the floor. At night, that meant someone was coming to sleep with me. I was so terrified I would suddenly feel the weight of a cat on bed and this "cat" then lying on my legs as they were wont to do. I curled into a ball, pulled the covers over my head and fell fitfully asleep. I have no idea what I really heard. I just know my sense of sound heard something that was translated into a memory that couldn't possibly be happening, or could it?

I walked into Val's apartment and one fled. The other looked at me before going behind the futon. She was, however captured and held while I let her smell me. Then, when there were no hisses or spits or struggles to get away, she was handed over. She sort of looked at me and then lay down in my lap. "She's the lap cat," Val said. She stayed for a good 10 minutes before deciding the petting was enough and she jumped off. (That's how we got Shakespeare. He fell asleep in my arms at the pet store where he was. Well, you can't just wake up a cat. He's obviously comfortable with me.)

At that point, Val got the other one out of hiding. She struggled a bit so Val calmed her down and then I offered my hand to smell. She looked at me but didn't want to be petted, so she was let go. Val and I talked about their care and their personalities and then Val got the recalcitrant cat again. This time, she allowed Val to place her in my lap. The ears flicked back for a minute or two but when she realized the ear and chin scratches were offered, she was fine. She only lasted a few minutes in my lap, but she's not the lap cat the other is.

By this day next week I'll either have 2 new friends or be getting 2 new friends. Labor Day weekend is an good time. I am clearing my calendar of any ancillary engagements that I can spend the weekend bonding. My house is empty. I am empty.

They won't be allowed into the basement until they are used to the upstairs and used to me coming and going. I have to wash the kitchen and bathroom floors and one more litter box. Both are quite chunky which neither Betsy or Rascal was which will be quite different, but they do love to sleep with their owner. I realize that is what I miss the most, rolling over to find a purring cat. Pillows are no substitute.

Yes, you can hear the not quite 100% completely sold sure right now in my voice. Am I talking myself into this? I don't quite know. Only Shakespeare was a sure thing. Everyone else was an "am I doing the right thing". There were no regrets once the cat was in the house.

As I huddled under the covers last night (What is this with a night temperature of 53 degrees in August?), the idea that I'd have foot warmers again gave me a better sleep than I've had in several days. I am a cat person.

Beverage: Prince of Wales tea

Deb