Amber & We'll Pay For This Later

I feel guilty, but I also know we'll pay for it when the revolution comes.


Our ever-watchful James brought the odd relationship between tea and chimps to light with this passage from the Annotated Prachett File, a weird world of words about which I knew nothing until tonight.


For the entertainment of their younger visitors, British zoos used to have the tradition of holding Chimpanzees' Tea Parties, where the chimps were dressed up and seated at a table, drinking and eating from a plastic tea set.

Chimp tea parties have remained in the British consciousness due to the TV advertisements for PG Tips tea bags featuring chimps pouring tea.

Huh. So there's that.

Amber & Discoveries

I loved Nancy Drew as a lass. My mom bought me the yellow-spined cloth editions whenever we found them at yard sales, and I devoured them--when I wasn't too terrified to uncover my eyes and look at the covers.

I remember The Clue of the Dancing Puppet being the most terrifying of them all.

I wasn't terribly brave. (And still am not.)

And I loved TV.  So, how did I not know about this show?

It's basically the plot of Felicity (young girl moves to city for college) but instead of finding herself, Nancy finds the answers to mysteries along the way.

Why, the second episode even features Scott Speedman as a moody on-again-off-again love interest from her hometown who follows her to the city.

J.J. Abrams, I am onto you.

Also, 1995 Nancy Drew, I am into you.

Amber & A Girl's Best Friend

With the rare exceptions of amazingly sparkly necklaces I wear to certain 1920s themed events, I am not really a blingy type girl.  (Although, I sure did want a robot hand thing.  For a little while.)

But, thanks to Alison, I am totally rocking two carrot earings.

I know from television commercials that the more carrots there are, the fancier the earrings. I have a whole carrot on each ear!  Plus, a whole pea pod!

P.S. And, lest my diet not be well balanced, Alison also included an assortment of Goo Goo Clusters. I am the richest post-birthday lady in the world.

Amber & Individualism

How is it that one brother--and let's face it: not the bravest or most adventurous of the two--excels at mouse catching, while the other brother can only trot alongside on the proud march from room to room (and onto the bed at 5am) wishing it were him with the mouthful of mouse?

Maybe the success of the hunt relies on more of this...?

(patient watching under the stove for hours, not blinking, not even to be wooed away by treats)

...and less of this...?

Honestly, I take more pride in ability to induce squees while sleeping than in presentation of prey in the bed at 5 am.  Both skills, though, are clearly hard-wired.  As is my skill of screaming in terror while simultaneously procuring a plastic container to carry and release the prey outside.


Sorry, Pickles.  We have different ideas of what one does with mice.

Amber & On The Lane

Somebody's tail is saying, "I love morning walks."

Amber & There is Pie in Heaven

RIP, Doc Hazlitt.

You were a good friend to both Jessica and me.

Amber & Fireside Stories

This is my new most favorite thing ever.

Fireside Stories

You MUST listen to this.

Really.  It will change your life.

Friends are the best.

Amber & The Greatest Art of All

For Nick's birthday, James gave Nick this amazing t-shirt.

Ghandi, the cow, and the spinning wheel are all cut and sewn felt pieces.  And the stitch work is absolutely amazing.

I was already glad Nick was born, but even more glad when the anniversary of his birth resulted in me getting to see this amazing art.  Win win!

Then, imagine how wholly blown away with thankfulness for both Nick's birth and James's commemoration of it when I, too, was gifted with an amazing work of art?  Win win win!

Amazing.  Look at how much work went into conveying the quintessential curliness of Pickles!

These amazing wearable art pieces are made by the amazing Melody Sia.  How she came to capture the spirit of Ghandi, Tiggy, Pickles and Ginger so amazingly well is absolutely beyond my comprehension.

Really, these t-shirts are a sort of wearable metonym for my life.  My shirt is the epicenter of my thankfulness for my friends like Nick, my appreciation of the kindess and generosity and sense of fun friends like James offer, and how freaking much i just love having kitties around me.  Or, specifically, having them on the front of my chest.

Bravo, friends.  And bravo, art.

Amber & Night Out

Usually, when we are at the River, having a night out means throwing some pizzas on the grill and sitting at the picnic table until the barely-see-ems get the better of me and I retreat inside because I can't physically carry the weight of any more OFF! spray.

But last night, we went out to the Water Wheel Café in celebration of Diana's birthday.

Here is a casual shot I took of the three friends during our meal.

Diana wore the same outfit to her birthday dinner that she wore to the Lady Bug Release at the M’Finda Kalunga community garden, home to our weekly CSA pick ups.  (I didn't comment on this to her directly.  She was the birthday girl after all.  And, anyway, it was weirder Nick kept his hat and sunglasses on inside for the whole meal.)

Jimmy took some amazing photos of that event which are worth seeing.

Even if my face is really asymmetrical in all of the ones in which I appear.

Happy birthday, Diana.

Amber & Friends Old and New

Hello, new friend little beetle guy who joined me during my work time at the picnic table.

You were very hard to photograph because you obviously had somewhere to be and could not hold still.  I've learned you are a grapevine beetle, and a member of the scarab family. And those tiny fans at the end of your antennae "increase the exposure of [your] sensillae to air."

And, hello, old friend River.

You jes keep rollin' along.

Amber & Happy for Others

I sure don't want to do this, but these people being happy makes me super happy.

Amber & They're Just Little Guys

Fun Fact:

Did you know Ginger and Pickles are made of sweetness?

(toddler photos by Jimmy)

Happy Birthday, small guys.  I love you, now that you are turning four--more than ever.

I love the Baby Julio and Baby Raoul in you.

Amber & World Champion

Every day, I play a trivia game on my phone. It takes about 15 minutes to go through all the questions, and there are categories like Science, History, Entertainment. Unfortunately, there's also Sports and those are very low-scoring days for me.

Today, James went Global.

Good job, Jimmy.

Amber & Communication

I've seen the memes: texts from my dog, texts from my offensive cousin, texts with ghastly autocorrect errors.

But I, dear reader, am proud to be the recipient of...

Texts from James.

If, instead of paper, they made a trailer for a certain film with Jimmy Durante playing all the roles.

Amber & Contemplation of Mystery

As a famous James once said, "This is very special day of kitty mystery when every year since 2006 we celebrate kitty eyebrows."

I hope you're taking some time to contemplate and celebrate the expressive nature of eyebrows, and how, although at first kitties may seem to lack them, they are in fact another mysterious aspect of kitty wonder.

It's always nice to get a little face-to-face time with cats.

Except right after they eat dinner.  Cat breath is leaves no mystery to how nasty cat food is.

Amber & You Don't Know Me

Listen, Internet Marketers.  You don't know everything about me.  I cannot be reduced to an algorithm.

Sure, I love crime shows.  I have recently completed watching Season 1 of Law & Order on Netflix, for example.  (Amazing, by the way.  And Timely.)

And I like shows about Ladies With Careers.  Everybody knows I can't get enough of that Liz Lemon or that Leslie Knope.  (And that Amy Poehler is my new fashion icon.)

And, sure one of my favorite shows features a lady detective and a lady medical examiner.

(I even watched that damn show with the desperate housewife where she would be sawing on a dead body with her hair all willy nilly. And super soft and glamorous looking. And so unsanitary.)

So, sure: a crime show with career ladies seems like the perfect fit for my interests.

But, I have absolutely no interest in Rizzoli & Isles people. None.  Whatsoever.  You can keep serving me ads for it when I go to buy my lunch, and telling me that people who watched shows I have favorited also loved it, but I am not going to try it.  No way*. This show looks terrible.

Unless CRD has seen it and thinks I would like it. Then, I would definitely give it a try.

Amber & Cuteness We Can All Believe In

Alison sent me this video, which, after slaying me with cuteness, then made me glad that Pickles mews at 3 am instead of pigging.

Amber & Media Week

If only the whole movie were in paper, I might not have to hide my face the whole time I am in the theater and then sleep with all the lights in the house on and a baseball bat clutched in my arms.




"CUT IT OFF CUT IT OFF!"

I am so scared/excited.

Amber & Things I Did and Did Not Know

I totally knew these were hydrangeas before Diana confirmed it for me.

I did not know that their color depended on the minerals in the soil.

There are seas of them in Stuytown.  Some are pink.  Some are a sort of pretty green.  And they smell nice.

I thought these shoes were pandas.  But they guy at the shoe store said they were cats.

Now, the sleepy right-foot guy does have one gray eye patch--and I've never seen that on a panda.  But the ears are very panda.  Let's compare to a black and white cat.

I still don't know what those shoes are, but I sure do know Pickles is the curliest kitty guy I have ever known and that I love to snuggle him.

Some things you just know.

Amber & Natural Opposites

In some ways, cats and flowers are opposites.

One way is that flowers start out closed.

Then, with sun, time, and a patient blogger walking past them every day even though it's not really on her walking route, they bloom.

Cats actually start the morning in the eastern sun, spread wide, petals made of fur unfurled.

Then, they get overheated and retreat to their corner behind the rocking chair, near the lamp where we keep the sisal that will eventually go around the really hot radiator pipe and where the Internet cable comes out of the wall and drapes over the magazine rack.

A guy has to cool down.  Flowers don't.

Another way they are opposites is that kitties will eat flowers you bring into the house.  Unless you put them up super duper high.

Amber & Be Careful What You Wish For

Often, I wish I could be friends with all the animals.

So, when I saw this little black squirrel guy, I, of course, went over to say hello.

It was like  fantasy! My little squirrel buddy seemed happy to let me near.

He even noticed me and turned to listen to me compliment him on the fluffiness of his tail.

But then, when he decided to take our friendship to the next interspecies level, and started to approach me, I hightailed it out of there.

Back at home, I remembered that I am friends with some pretty special fluffy-tailed animals that don't have rabies or ticks.

But they sure do have flexible spines.

Amber & It Was A Dark and Stormy Night....

How to make a dark and stormy* by Nick.

1. Have friends that go to Bermuda.

2. Ensure those friends are generous and kind enough to bring you back Gosling's Black Seal Rum.

3.  Make drink. Gaze upon your success with surprise and anticipation.

3.  Sip.

4.  Sip again.

5.  Let others know to stop photo documenting and start enjoying their beverage.

6.  Ask Diana to identify this flower in keeping with the theme of the week's blogging.

I call that one "fuzzy pink guys in clusters."

*The official ALH Beverage of 2012, as suggested by Erl.

Amber & Flora and Fauna Week

One of the nicest things about living in Stuytown, only coming in behind not living next door to a recording studio, being within walking distance of Sapporo East, and having an express bus that runs directly from my house to the K&D friends' house, is that we are surrounded by some particularly spectacular landscaping.

The bad thing about this is not having Diana, the detective of nature, around to identify all of our favorite samples of flora.  (We can usually identify the fauna-- black squirrel, gray squirrel, starling, sparrow, red hawk eating a squirrel, cutie doggie.  That's the menu of options.)

Diana, what's this pretty pale green guy?

Here is a close up.

In the meantime, we'll be calling it "those pale green guys over on the way up the hill between Mary's and the Avenue C Loop."